Joshua looks at his now recovered arm.

  His left side is healed, without any soreness. But the phantom pain still lingers for an annoyingly long time.

  Looking at his food supply, he winces at how much of it dwindled in this one session of eating.

  Joshua learned not long ago about another function of his “Minecraft logic” body. After he was shot in the leg by that skeleton, he noticed that after he had an apple for a light snack, the pain in his leg disappeared, and the hunger still remained.

  Shockingly, when removed the bandages he discovered that the wound was gone, not even a scar remained.

  Eating restores his body, just like in the game.

  He's still uncomfortable with his physiology being altered, but he can't help but feel gd that he could survive thanks to it.

  So now, his body is restored, but his food is nearly depleted.

  Jophiel is faring better. She doesn't have the same ability, but he's guessing that she's using her psychic energy to restore herself, which also uses food for the energy. Slower, but she'll be fine.

  “Pony!”

  “I know I know, I'll make it quick then we book it out of here”

  Joshua quickly dismantles the pne, urged on by Jophiel's impatient whines. She's definitely upset she lost her shovel, but with the iron he's getting from this he can just make a new one.

  The third generation of the White Horse's shovel bloodline. Soon…

  He doesn't even bother pacing himself, he and the mare sprint away as fast as they could.

  As they run, Joshua thinks back to that moment.

  Another verse…

  He can't deny it any longer.

  Whatever is causing those verses to appear in his mind, and what's allowing him to do these strange “holy” things is directly tied to his faith.

  Joshua has always taken scripture, and religion as a whole, with a grain of salt. Not dismissing it but not taking it seriously either.

  2 Corinthians 12:6-10 is not even one he recalls having any special memories tied to it, he just remembers it due to his upbringing.

  And the verse didn't grant him power.

  It granted him a chance.

  It's half-assed, his faith, but he can't keep doing that anymore.

  Because multiple times now, only when he's in extreme peril and all shreds of doubt leave him for just a moment, he's able to be sincerely faithful. And that granted him opportunities to save himself.

  Maybe he was being stubborn, a child ignoring when he's wrong.

  But doing that now leaves a bad taste in Joshua's mouth.

  He's real.

  God is real.

  Jesus is real.

  The Holy Spirit… The Dove…

  It's all real.

  Holy shit.

  And Joshua doesn't know if that realization is cathartic…

  Or terrifying.

  But a warm feeling stirs in his chest.

  He doesn't know why, but he's smiling.

  It wasn't some random bullshit that allowed him to survive. Sure, the indomitable human spirit is strong, but you can't just shrug off being basically bisected.

  There is no deus ex machina.

  Faith gave him a miracle.

  Not in giving him power.

  But in giving him an opportunity.

  His heart beats wildly in his chest.

  Only a single phrase goes through his mind as the revetion finally clears.

  Holy fucking shit.

  …

  Joshua has a lot of questions, but he chooses to focus on the important ones for now. Sitting in a cobblestone bunker he created, dug out the side of a mountain, Joshua sifts through his inventory and crafting interfaces.

  What was that… Centaur… thing?

  And those… parasites?

  Are they parasites? They seem like it.

  Is the Centaur just a parasite in a host body?

  That's… unsettling.

  But more importantly, how does he kill something like that?

  “An iron block? Expensive”

  As he thinks, he went through his inventory and pulled out the weird scroll he got from the pne.

  [RECIPE: Workshop]

  And it was… exactly what he expected. On the scroll was the grid recipe for some kind of alternative crafting table? It looks more like a workbench, with loose tools spread across its top with what he can see from the sprite.

  Just some wood, metal scrap, and a block of iron.

  The fact he can learn more recipes is nice, he was wondering if he was just supposed to figure it out himself.

  Wincing a little as the iron block he crafted disappeared into the grid, the “Workshop” appeared in his hand and he pced it down.

  He guesses it involves machines, and as he opens the interface for it, he's immediately proven correct.

  The interface lists different machines, albeit “Minecraft” machines. Pipes, gears, the things he expected.

  It's interesting, but he skims through the list of listed recipes with haste. A gearbox won't do much against whatever the hell these parasites are.

  “Hey, Jophiel”

  “Pony?”

  “What was that… uh… the fire thing you did before? That was new”

  “Pon” She shrugs.

  Maybe some weird psychic reflex, he isn't sure.

  He looks to his chat to see if anyone has any answers. They tend to be better versed in magical mind-reading pony stuff.

  But it's strangely silent, the st message was from a comment he saw damn near an hour ago.

  Where is everyone?

  Are they sleeping?

  [VIEWERS: 5,294]

  wow okay no they are not.

  “Am I gging or something?”

  “P-ony…”

  “I don't see you having any better ideas”

  Jophiel rolls her eyes and continues with what she's doing, which is currently hovering a (newly made and non enchanted) dagger over a block of wood and repeatedly throwing the dagger into it. Her throws are clumsy, but she's slowly starting to get used to it.

  Is she practicing or is she just having fun?

  Who knows, White Horse found a new fvor of violence, everyone run for cover!

  It is the birthright for ponies with white fur.

  “Oh… OH…”

  Speaking of birthright.

  Joshua finds a section in the Workshop that makes every ounce of his American body leap in joy.

  Listed in front of him are recipes…

  For guns.

  Joshua smiles. He looks at the list of guns, and the many types of bullets.

  Some are incendiary…

  He wondered how he was going to be able to kill those parasites.

  But now he has an answer.

  “Jophiel…”

  “?” Jophiel raises an eyebrow and subtly moves her head towards him.

  “Do you want a new toy?”

  She faces towards him fully now, head tilt in confusion.

  “Po-”

  She stops when she sees the interface in front of him. It takes her a moment to recognize what she's looking at. But when she does…

  A radiant smile spreads across her muzzle.

  “Ponyta”

  Transtion: “Abso-fuckin-lutely”

  …

  Somewhere, a parasite shivers, though it doesn't know why.

  “Hi mister! Are you cold? I don't have a bnket but I can help you find one if you want!”

  SCREEEEEECH!!!

  Where does this horse keep coming from?!