Chapter Five: Two Plus Two Equals...?
You want me to keep going a little longer? Alright.
My curiosity regarding the... complexity of this AI had reached its peak, by this point. Too many things were coming together in all the wrong ways. The penny we've been waiting to drop? It was waiting for one more tiny push. The funny thing is, though, that the push would be such a simple statement, one that anyone in her position might have made.
We're not quite there, just yet. But almost.
Moving on.
As we went down the stairs to the next floor, I asked, "If you could have any superpower in the world, what would it be?" A good question, I thought, to see just how advanced this game's AI really was. After all, while a computer might have all sorts of facts about the past of her world and whatnot, I figured that the real test would be whether she'd have an opinion about something almost completely random.
Elizabeth, surprisingly, giggled at that question, and said, "You obviously don't know much about changelings."
"What I know could probably fit inside a thimble," I admitted, "and still have room to spare." After a moment's thought, I added, "Where I'm from, 'changeling' is a word used for when a child is stolen, and replaced by a magical creature."
"Weird," she said, then after a moment, she continued, "Well, regarding your original question, changelings have a number of what other creatures would consider 'super powers': We can fly, shoot streams of sticky goo from our mouths, walk on walls, and we have a hard exoskeleton." She punctuated that last one with a solid thump to her chest. "Plus, commoners can burn love energy to boost out physical abilities, and aristocrats can use love energy to fuel magic spells."
"An impressive suite of abilities," I said, impressed. "Anything you'd want to add, though?"
"Not add," Liz said, a little sadly, "but maybe trade."
Now incredibly curious, I asked, "Trade?"
"I'd trade being a changeling for being an earth pony any day of the week."
Now incredibly confused, I asked, "An earth pony?" Let's be honest: Unless you've been to Equestria, there's no way you would know what that would be.
Clearing her throat as we reached the door to the next floor, she said, "An earth pony, yes. I mean, it may not seem as fantastic as a unicorn's ability to cast spells, or a pegasus' ability to fly or control the weather, but I honestly think that being able to plant seeds and make them grow, being able to make flowers bloom... to be able make your own food come out of the ground, that is a far better power than even all of the abilities of a changeling, a unicorn, and a pegasus combined."
She runs on love energy, I reminded myself, and she is almost out: She's on the verge of starving to death. Of course being able to make her own food would seem like heaven. But I didn't think she realized just how difficult that kind of work can be. My grandfather, on my father's side, was a farmer, before a random event and a few intelligent choices changed his life, and that of his son, forever. Everything I had heard from my father and grandfather about life before that lucky day had made it clear that farming was a lot of work, from sunrise to sunset every day, and it didn't always pay off: There were so many things that could go wrong with any crop that it boggled the mind that the human race hadn't starved centuries ago. Oddly enough, rather than telling her that, I was tempted instead to tell her that she didn't need to be some sort of 'Rock Horse' to make things grow: All she really needed was a seed, a cup of dirt, some water, a sunny place, and some patience. Of course, maybe the rules were different there. Maybe only 'Rock Horses' could make plants grow where she was from...
I was disturbed by my contemplation as she asked, "And you? Any powers you'd want?"
"Flight," I answered immediately, looking down at my left foot. Yeah. That one.
As she began looking at the room we had just entered, she noted, "Quick answer. I take it that you've given that one some thought?"
"Yes," I stated simply, as I studied the room myself. Taking in the environment, I was not all that surprised by what I saw: The symbol for this floor was a boot, after all. Lit like the last one was, the flooring of the room was almost all gray tiles, save for a line of glowing white tiles that cut through the middle of the room, making a path from the entrance to the exit. Looking over at the door, I noted that, rather than a single bar, three separate bars locked the exit. Shining a light on the door, I said, "This room looks to be a simple speed lock: When you step on each of the glowing tiles, it will probably change color temporarily, and some sort of timer will start. You'll have to light up all the tiles before the timer runs out to open the lock. Since there's three locks on the door, you'll have to do it three times in total." After a moment, I added, "The position of the white tiles will probably change each time you clear the course, so wait a few seconds for things to change afterwards."
Studying the room, Liz nodded and said, "Seems pretty straightforward." As she got into a sort of sprinter's stance, wiggling her backside back and forth (Yes, she even does that now when she's getting ready to dash off. No, you can't see it! Get your own waifu! She's mine! Ah, sorry, I... um... Moving on!) as she began preparing to run, she mentioned, "You seem to have a lot of experience with this sort of stuff."
"Some of this 'stuff'," I admitted, "is common in Dungeons and Dragons games, as well as a number of other games I've played. It's to the point where they're beginning to border on cliche."
"Well, while that's all well and good," Elizabeth said with a smile, "just don't start thinking that this is all a game." With that, she took off, zipping across the field with fairly surprising speed. I had forgotten that, while a human's top speed might be over twenty miles an hour, if they were in exceptional shape and a professional runner, a horse can go anywhere between thirty to fifty miles per hour, more than double that speed. As she cleared the first course effortlessly, she said, "This isn't 'Let's Pretend': If I end up getting hurt down here, it's for real."
Bam.
That was the moment. The penny dropped. The game itself had just said that this wasn't a game. The simplest thing she could have said ended up being the one thing that had the most profound effect on me. Clearing my throat, I said, "Elizabeth, I need to step away for a little bit. The... orb will still be here, but I won't be watching over you while I take care of something. I won't be going very far, and I should only be gone a few minutes."
Something must have shown in my tone, because, as tiles began flipping over, revealing the course to now be a circle around the room, Elizabeth asked, "Is something wrong?"
"Maybe," I admitted, struggling to control my voice as best I could. "I'm not sure. I... I need a little bit of time to clear my head. I won't be too long. Five minutes, maybe?"
"Alright," Liz said, as she took up another sprinter's stance and wiggled her rear again. "Hurry back, though: I'd... prefer not to be alone too long, if that's okay. I've had my fill of solitude over the last few weeks."
With a weak chuckle, I said, "Perfectly understandable. I'll be back directly."
I took off my headset, picked up my crutch, and walked out of the room, and went to pick up my cell phone, which I had charging in my bedroom. I selected a number I had on speed dial, and waited for the person I called to pick up.
Within two rings, 'Smith' picked up. He promptly said, in a friendly tone, "Hey, Hiro! How are you doing?" Caller ID is a wonderful thing, isn't it? After the conversation that he and I had about my... role in his previous case, he'd left me his phone number, and asked me to call him up the moment that I saw anything else magical happening. He also recommended that I call him once a week, so we could chew the fat for a bit. I think he knew what I was going to be going through, and that it might help if I had someone to talk to who understood. That, and we do tend to get along pretty well. Like I said, he's a great guy, all things considered.
"Not too good," I admitted, gulping, struggling to fend off the attack that I feared may be coming. "I think that it might be happening again," I said without preamble.
His tone immediately professional, he asked, "What makes you think that?"
I answered his question by asking, "How much do you know about changelings?"
"Which kind?"
"The kind," I said, not all that surprised that there might be more than one, "that go on four legs and look like someone mixed a bug and a pony together."
There was a moment of silence, followed by, "I, personally, don't know much, but I have a few experts on the subject that I can tap. Is this involving video games again? I thought that you decided not to get a new game console yet."
"My pc works just fine, and my LoL crew and I are still together, and still planning on going to a tourney in a few weeks" I answered, then added, "I received an 'alpha' for a game today that I think... might be something more. I did some research into it before I started it up, but I'm starting to wonder if the information I read had all been part of an elaborate setup. I'm not a hundred percent sure, but I think it might be something similar to last time." Giving a look towards my computer room, I added, "Similar, but different. Radically different. It... might take too long to explain over the phone. Can you come over?"
Smith was quiet for a moment again, then said, "I'm in the area, and two of our changeling experts happen to be in the same neighborhood, too. Give me a little time to get them together and snag one of our techs. Say... twenty, thirty minutes?"
With a chuckle, I asked, "Is the pizza free if it takes you longer?"
With a loud laugh, the agent said, "No, but if you feel like ordering a couple of pies, I'll split the total with you. I'll take mine with pepperoni and mushrooms. I'll see you shortly."
"Thanks," I said, and then, after he disconnected, I breathed out a long sigh. Strange as it may sound, speaking with the secret agent who specializes in the supernatural actually served to restore my sanity a little bit. Weird, right? It reminded me that, yes, in fact, this stuff really does happen to people, asides from myself. Besides, this was, like I said, similar but different from last time. I wasn't playing the role of 'Lord Death Of Murder Mountain', so in a way, that helped in keeping me from freaking out like I should have been.
Limping back to my computer room, I leaned my crutch up against the wall, then I picked up my cane for when Smith and his team arrived. Yeah, call it vanity, but while I'm alright with using a crutch to get around the house, if I have company, I prefer to use a cane. It makes me look a little more... dignified, don't you think? And you have to admit, I have a pretty sweet collection.
As I sat back down at my computer and put my headset on, I noticed that the door to the next chamber was unlocked and open, and Liz was sitting down, studying 'me' with an odd expression. I asked her, "What's wrong?"
She immediately asked, "Who were you talking to?" There wasn't an accusing tone, just a... worried one, I guess.
Geez. I hadn't realized that my headset was that sensitive. Maybe I was just that loud? Hard to say. Clearing my throat, I decided that it might be a good idea to be perfectly honest...
-------------------------------------------
I'll take over for a little bit, babe.
It took Hiro a few minutes to explain what was going on. He was unnecessarily apologetic about things, honestly. Let's be clear here: He did nothing to intentionally mislead me, and he really had no reason to think that what was happening was anything other than how it was originally presented to him. In fact, if anything, I was grateful: What we were doing now was preferable to sitting in an abandoned ruin with nothing to do but slowly go insane and contemplate whether or not I should feed myself to hungry monsters.
If I ever meet whoever was responsible for all of this, I will give him/her/them the biggest hug I have ever given anyone, ever.
Anyways, when he finished, about five minutes later, I summarized, stating, "So, you've spent the last hour thinking that you were playing a game while speaking with an incredibly well-crafted homunculus?"
Clearing his throat, the orb bobbed up and down and said, "Basically, yes."
Shrugging, I said, "Fair enough." Giving Hiro a warm smile, I added, "So, ready to move to the next floor?"
After a moment, he said, in a tone of disbelief, "You... still want to keep going?"
Giggling, I said, "This really hasn't changed anything important: We're still here, in this 'dungeon', as you've called it. At the bottom, there's supposed to be a wishing star, and that star is my only way of getting out of here alive. Someone, or something, led you to me, and while I'd normally be suspicious about their reasons for doing so, I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth just yet." With a sad little chuckle, I added, "And it isn't like I have anything better planned for the next five days. So, yeah, let's get going."
I have always prided myself on keeping a level head and a rational mindset. I do get angry about things, and there are individuals who I hate with a passion. However, being angry at Hiro, just because, up until this moment, he'd thought that he'd been playing a game, rather than guiding a flesh and blood individual, would be rather foolish. I admit, I was a little bit disappointed that, when he'd commented on my 'dressing sexy for him', he thought that he was talking to a game character, rather than a girl who was flesh and blood. However, he'd not said anything to retract that previous statement since then, so...
Hey, a compliment is a compliment, right?
Hiro's orb bobbed again, and he said, "Alright. But... after the next floor is cleared, we need to stop and take a break, until a visitor I'm expecting arrives. Besides, I'm... worried about the fifth floor. If that skull symbol means what I think it does, then we'll be facing a boss fight there."
Puzzled by the unusual term, I asked, "What do you mean when you say 'Boss Fight'?"
"In games," Hiro said, with an audible gulp, "a boss fight will show up occasionally: In combat based games, it's a monster significantly more powerful than the other ones that populate the area, and in puzzle games like... like this one was presented to me as, it's just a creature who uses the mechanics of the area as a means of attacking you, or may only be defeated by using those mechanics against him. Boss fights usually mark a milestone in the player's progress. Given the nature of the... 'game' so far, it will likely be a Puzzle Battle. Sliding blocks, fast footwork, and whatever is on the next floor will play a pivotal role in overcoming the trial. And... since it will be a boss battle, there will be an opponent there who might potentially be able to hurt or kill you. It will likely be a battle of wits... to the death."
Now that was... worrying. Gulping, I said, "Alright. As long as it isn't hoof to hoof combat, it shouldn't be completely hopeless."
"I'll be there with you, every step of the way," Hiro said, his tone surprisingly hopeful. "Between the two of us, we should be more than a match for whatever is waiting for us." With a small chuckle, he added, "And I have company coming shortly who should be able to help us out. If we put all of our heads together, we should be able to do this without any serious problems. Besides, in my experience, the first boss is always the easiest."
I certainly hope so, I thought to myself, nervously. Like I said, I wasn't brave, back then... and if I had known what was waiting for us on floor five, I would have scared out of my wits...
Easiest, right. 'Easy' can be such a relative term...
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New Chapter Up!
5380811 Wizard's First Rule: People Are Stupid.
i think i missed what happened to his foot, in which chapter is it?
5391703
Chapter One, I gave you a little hint:
I know I've peppered in a couple of others, too.
While it has been hinted at in previous chapters, this is the first time that it is openly stated that he has something wrong with his foot. More detail will be given later.
Poor Hiro. I have to wonder, though...just who DID make this game?
5391888 Hasbro ... :-p
About time the penny dropped ... and yeah, I can imagine that simply being believed is a huge relief to Hiro's psyche right now. Glad he and Elizabeth both took it in stride.
As for what's below ... golem?
5392185
How'd Gollum get to...oh, dimensional portal, same as everyone else.
5392196 Not Gollum LOL, one of the guardian golems mentioned a chapter or two back. That said, it would be hella funny if Gollum popping up and trying to use the Wishing Star to get The Ring back ... only for Elizabeth to buck him away at high velocity while he screams "Myyyyyyyyy Preeeeeeeciiiiiiiiooooooouuuusssssssss!" really loud, dopplering as he flies.
5392208
I know, I was kidding.
5392218 Figured you probably were. I mostly wanted to share that mental image that popped up. Dunno if it'd be funnier if he were ponified or not, though ...
Well, he finally figured it out. I wonder what's going to happen on floor five. Should be fun.
5391741 Yeah, I admit, I didn't think much of it at the time, but when the crutch and cane were mentioned, I realised it had been hinted at a couple times, and laughed that I didn't really notice before. It was well-done. It's why I like your stories. Thanks for the hard work!
Since he has to hold a crutch/cane most of the time, and can't lift anything that requires both hands and carry it anywhere while doing so, yeah, he'd have a hard time doing any serious cleaning.
Another clue. Sorry I couldn't find that one earlier.
Someone been playing some New Vegas?
5392233
He'd be ugly as sin.
5392620
Yes
Something's been bugging (pun intended) me every-time it's been said.
Just how, exactly, does miss Bit-Progression know the term "look a gift horse in the mouth". The only thing that comes to mind is slavery, considering "horses" are an intelligent species on her world.
Unless you take the sight-gag of Twilight turning mice into horses to mean that they are a separate, non-intelligent, species different from ponies (and I think there was at least one other reference to "horses" somewhere else but I can't remember). I just take it as a sight-gag for the audience watching and that "in the real scenario" she'd use some other beast of burden.
Though it would not, at all in any way, surprise me to find out that for changelings the origin of "gift horse" was indeed "a living pony who has been brainwashed to love you unconditionally and serve you as you see fit."
As if the Astros needed any more reason for us to hate them... .
Keep it up, I'm liking how this one is going. Though I am going to have to be "that guy" as say I'd also like to see more of The King Is Dead, Long Live The Emperor! and The Changling Who Broke The World, preferably in that order. Though I wouldn't be disappointed to see that Nor Iron Bars A Cage has updated either.
I really like your changling stories. I don't know about your mane though... .
5393118 He's ugly as sin as it is ... I'm just thinking that there might be more Rule of Funny potential with him as an ugly, twisted Pony adapting to his new form while up to no good as opposed to an utterly alien creature (to the other characters) doing horrible things. More Rule of Drama potential too.
5394140
If there isn't a fic about this already there should be.
5394145 Agreed.
Nice to see Hiro finally connect the dots.
5394083 It's not just in this fic or 'verse, Twilight used the phrase "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" in a friendship lesson of all things at the end of Suited for Success. And yeah, it has some potentially unpleasant implications in a world of sapient equines.
5394699
It bothered me in that episode as well.
That's probably the other instance of "horse" that I couldn't really remember but now that I am directly reminded of it I remember my unease of the line in that report.
A lot of terms and phrases can carry over, but when you're dealing with other worlds you've got to put some though into the origin of the phrase in addition to the meaning of the phrase.
As an add on to that I had another thought on it when it comes to an Astro and this saying. It means checking to make sure the teeth have been removed, so the pony in question has to rely on someone else to crush up their food for them to eat.
I freely admit that I am a horrible person.
5395190
Don't Examine This Too Closely.
The term exists, in universe. Maybe it does have ugly connotations to things in the past, but given that, when Twilight Sparkle said it, she giggled, those connotations are so far in the past that even a mega-nerd like her (And we love her all the more because she is one) would scarcely remember them. Maybe there's a funny story about how someone had looked a gift horse statue or toy in the mouth sometime in the past, and it turned out that something silly shot out of its mouth, startling and embarrassing the recipient of the gift, caused the phrase to become popular.
I think at least a brief moment of distress at this point on BOTH Their parts would have been more realistic: "OMG OMG OMG, it's happening again? Send the marines, Agent Smith!" and "OMG OMG OMG. you thought I was a GAME? What if that last thingy had been a death trap??"
5395237
Maybe it's along the lines of an escort or something else not as dark. Maybe even a toy or statue like you say.
But I just can't not think about it. That's not how my mind works!
5395237
The phrase, "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth." has no particularly horrid meanings.
A horse's teeth continue to grow throughout it's life, to compensate for the diet of grass that wears those teeth down. The teeth need care to keep them from growing and wearing unevenly, and in a properly run stable they are routinely "floated" or ground flat with a file so the horse can continue to chew food without pain or damage.
In short, looking a gift horse in the mouth is an insult to the gift giver, suggesting they may not have cared for the horse properly.
And that's all it means.
"rather than guiding a flesh and blood individual"
Wouldn't she say "shell and blood" or what ever that fancy word for bug shell is.
wow. this really triggered something...
one of my favorite books, "the last centurion" by John Ringo, made a reference to a very old book called "the malthusian equations" by Malthus. he calculated that population growth would expand faster than farming space, causing half the human race to starve every decade or two. but modern farming methods, especially weed-killing and pest-killing sprays, have overcome that.
the protagonist of The Last Centurion said that without those, farmers would lose 1/4 of their crops to weeds, and another 1/4 to pests! "that's a lot of f***ing food".
5578133 oh, i read something that gave a really nasty twist to that phrase: a crooked person who wanted to sell an old horse would try to make it look younger by feeding it Arsenic! this would increase it's appetite, leading it to become "glossy and fat"...and die shortly after being sold. the best way to tell if someone was trying to pull that stunt was to look closely at it's teeth.
that was in a fantasy story by Mercedes Lackey...who really owns horses and works with falcons.
woah, i just remembered: she's still wearing her "maid" disguise!
Telekinesis
And no, I'm not talking about the kind of telekinesis that you use to move a remote around.
I'm talking about the kind that you can use to fly if you so desired, the kind of telekinesis that you could train to get even greater degrees of precision and power with.
The kind of telekinesis that you could potentially use to gather the moisture in the air together, the kind you could use to freeze said water into ice or turn it into steam
To spark fires, manipulate, distort, create and silence sound.
To manipulate the very air around you, to bend light.
The kind of telekinesis that would allow you to keep a, softer than a, down feather's touch on everything around you so you know where everything is.
That's the kind of Telekinesis I would wish for
Oh hoho oh yeah