It was a bit of a blur as the two of them made their way through the arcade. They'd bounce from one set of games (racing, both character and vehicle) and towards another (shooting games, near the range) and then out to a third (adventure games this time), all the while talking about the small details and changes. They were both out of their depth, coming from different directions: Piercing Ammunition didn't really know much about modern gaming, but in return Spike's knowledge of the old ways was just as spotty. They filled each other in as well as they could, occasionally pausing to talk about personal questions. It was a literal back-and-forth, in tune with the way they walked.
"So how long have you been here in Ponyville?"
"About six, seven months. You?"
"...Since Luna came back?"
"Right! Right. Should be hard to forget, but... you and the Elements don't raise a lot of fuss."
"Hah! And you say you've been in Ponyville for six months."
"You know what I mean: None of you go around rubbing it in ponies' faces."
"Oh! Yeah, I guess not, even moreso after dealing with a really arrogant unicorn one time."
"...Just a wild guess, but does the name Trixie Lulamoon ring a bell?"
"Loudly. It's a bit weird hearing it without the 'GREAT AND POWERFUL' though."
"Hah. Haha. Yes, that's... Well, she's getting better."
"You know her personally? I had guessed you'd heard of her, or seen one of her shows."
"Story for another time, Spike. Now tell me about these contact screen games..."
Shifting back into business mode, Spike began explaining what he could. They were pretty new to him as well, but some games used a magical crystal for the whole screen, instead of having a projected image. Not only could it produce much more realistic three-dimensional images, but those games could be controlled with the screen, using direct contact. Most of them still used a mix of buttons and contact control, but it allowed for unique methods of play and easy interaction.
"Hmmm. Makes sense, and it's an improvement over a lot of older games. I remember joysticks so twiggy you had to be a unicorn to play well. Using your hoof is an interesting development."
"Yeah, it's neat! Some games have gotten kind of lazy with it, but the best ones do really cool stuff. And a lot of the designs for modern controllers are an improvement over what you're talking about: I'm not a great judge though, what-with the claws and all."
Pierce rolled his neck with a faint -crck- and started trotting away, letting Spike follow behind.
"Understood. Moving on?"
"Sure! Do you have the time right now, though? I thought you were working the counter..."
"I'm free: I put one of the employees on it, they need the counter practice anyways."
"That makes sense! But, um, how many employees do you even have? This place is..."
"Big? Yeah, we snapped up a lot of the local night owls to cover certain shifts. A dozen, or so?"
Spike whistled. "Pretty impressive! And I guess you're having them all train everywhere?"
"Mmh. Me and Arc can't afford to specialize, so why should they? Everypony does everything."
"That way you two don't have to be here all the time, even as the managers."
"Exactly: It would be a shame to move to Ponyville and not be able to spend any time exploring."
"I take it you both like it, then? A lot of ponies think it's, um, 'quaint', to be polite."
"Yer shootin' straight we like it: Quiet, compact, not too far from Canterlot... It feels comfortable."
"Hah! I was thinking the same earlier. And it's growing all the time, I mean, just look here!"
"Glad to be of service. Speaking of: How much do you know about cabinet and engine repair?"
They came to a stop near a door on one far wall, off in a corner, with a strange flat-looking crystal panel where you'd normally see a handle or a lock or even just a push-plate. Spike looked from Pierce to the door, thought about it, and put two and two together once again.
"...Employee's Only door, and you're about to show me the repair room. Also, not much."
Pierce chuckled and ruffled Spike's spines, putting his other hoof onto the panel. It let out a faint ding and a glow before unlocking the door. Spike watched with curiosity, throwing an Observe at it and shoving the window aside to read later. So cool.
"Got it in one. And we can fix that last bit, if not today then next time. Come on in!"
Their tour of the service area was all ups and downs for Spike. On the one hand, he got to see a ton of things he barely even understood and had never seen before in his life. On the other hand, he got to see a ton of things he barely even understood and had never seen before in his life. He hadn't been so frustrated with the (admittedly ever-shrinking) limitations of Observe before, much less the limitations of linear time. He wanted to understand everything he was seeing, to figure it all out and develop new skills (or even new Skills), but he had a schedule to keep and the same was probably true of Pierce.
Still, Spike didn't let anything go to waste: He fired off an Observe into every single individual object he saw in the tightly-packed room, minimizing all of their windows to make room for more. Asking questions of Pierce and taking the time to look at things with his eyes as well, Spike indulged himself. It was a fun time for him, and the bat-pony also seemed to enjoy it. Eventually, reluctantly, they made their way back out into the main arcade. Spike did manage to extract a promise from Pierce that the next time they were able, he could start studying all that stuff properly.
"Gladly. Should go well, too: I like to think I'm a pretty good teacher, given all this."
The stallion gestured at himself, but Spike didn't understand what he was getting at.
"...Your fur's nice and all but I'm not sure how it makes you a better teacher?"
"Pffft! No, I mean being a Night Guard."
"Also nice, but I don't get what an illusion would do to your teaching ability either."
Piercing Ammunition pulled up short, his posture strangely stiff. A moment later he turned his head back to look at Spike, expression dead neutral and tone undeniably cold.
"What did you just say?"
OK yeah this is a time for backpedalling.
"W-well that's what Celestia told me. I asked her about the Day Guard when I was younger and she said it was just a kind of glamour that she put on them, and they weren't all identical underneath or anything, so I just figured-"
Pierce shook his head, his expression softening.
"I would have expected her... Actually, nono, wait. How much younger is 'younger'?"
"Waaay younger. Like, three or four years before we came to Ponyville, I think? So eight years ago, might have even been nine... I hadn't even been out in public in Canterlot that much, so I mostly saw royal staff and Guard ponies back then. Hence the confusion. Sorry for the offense."
"Hrm. So Celestia keeps state secrets from her state secrets? That makes... a distressing amount of sense. Oh well: None of my business! Not that part anyways. So, let's grab a seat. And no offense taken: I'm not mad. I just, well... What the Princess told you isn't entirely true, and what you said to me might come off as an insult if you said it to another pony on either Guard. Since there's a lot more of us in town these days, best to cut any kind of misunderstanding off at the pass."
Spike didn't want to cause any more problems, so he followed and sat down at the table, listening carefully. Twilight had taught him that the best way to make amends for this sort of mistake was to apologize and pay attention. It's one thing to make a mistake, it's another to fail to learn from it.
"So... The true part is that I'm a normal pony, underneath. A pegasus, just like my wife is a unicorn. If you saw her 'normally', the resemblance to Rarity would probably be a lot more apparent. And that much is obvious: After all, not too many ponies rock natural black and purple color schemes, much less the leather wings or thorn-laced horns, right?"
"Heh, yeah... But-"
"The false part is that it's a glamour or illusion. It's something bigger, something real, something that makes an impact. The spell Celestia uses on her Day Guard, and the spell that Luna used on us Night Guard after her return? Those are a unique kind of power that only the Princesses can bring to bear."
Observes been whipped up so much, its a wonder Pinkie wasnt waiting there at the table with a cherry.
The Guard in this case dont use Illusion, via Armor or otherwise, but Geas of Duty, thats only removeable in death, and even then, for certain extremely few induviduals, its optional?
1) Touch screens before transistors? Or did I just never hear about one?
2) So no Sarosians, eh?
Keeping state secrets from state secrets? That would imply that SPIKE himself is a state secret! Who walks everywhere with Celestia's not very secret apprentice!
If we apply video game logic here I guess he's saying celestial and Luna are like faction leaders who can give a race/class up to members of their domain.
9984252
We've seen that some of the parts in an 'engine' are driven by magical tech, and this is a likely example. Either that, or the infancy of transistor-driven machines. Pony tech is weird. :V
9984287
Spike himself might not be a state secret per se, but he's definitely got them in his background. After all, where did Celestia even get a dragon egg from to begin with, and why use it to test students? Those are both pretty tightly-kept secrets to which she only answers with a knowing grin.
The idea of the night guard not being illusions is a lot more interesting then the constant illusion trope. I'm guessing some sort of imparted divinity. The game ability is shareable so perhaps their is potential for more power their. And that trixie tease. I would find it awesome if spike ended up getting the job as a repair man for the machines and is great at it thanks to the gamer. Gaining independence. So far this has been one of my favorite fics.
Just now read through everything so far in the last hour or two – I'm loving this. There are a lot of really cool setups happening, great premise, and really nice balance between character moments and cool mechanics moments. Hugely looking forward to where it's going!
Does Spike really have room in his schedule for the day to spend this much time here? Feels like we must have spent at least a couple hours so far. Then again, actually playing the games a little is maybe what we came here for in the first place, so I suppose it's good to get a little bit of that done.
Spike is a tab hoarder.
So, an illusion with a buff? Doesn't really explain the hostility though, unless maybe the Guard is really proud and protective of it.
9985218
I think the implication is that some level of legitimate transfiguration is involved. To say nothing about the possibility of enchantment that 9984186 posited. (Link is genuinely necessary context, as the word is being used in its D&D definition and that needed to be clear)
I spent the last day or so reading through this in my free time. I must say, this is the best gamer-fic I have ever read. This is one of the best stories on this site in my opinion. It feels grounded in ways other docs that give characters crazy abilities often miss. Spike has a wonderful personality, and you absolutely nailed the characterization of Pinkie and Rarity. I am going to be watching this one very closely, keep it up.
9985218
I did a rough chart-up of Spike's day back when I was writing this section and I believe he's on-pace, if slightly behind schedule.
9985320
That means a lot: Thanks much, and I promise that where we're going won't disappoint.
9984582
Anyway I find it unusual that they have Spykoranuvellitar in the first chapter, but in subsequent chapters never mention it, his full name even comes up as Spike The Dragon.
9985776
The dream was of Spike playing O+O with Shining and the Crusaders (note the Cleric's magic color, among other hints). That's the name of his Paladin character, not his true name, in this fic. :V
9985935
OH THAT MAKES SENSE
OOPS
9985218 Tab hoarders destroy laptops. I know because I’m related to one. I also try not to keep more than four tabs at a time because I write fanfiction. Three of those tabs have to be for editing and research.
Ahem, Spike? Now’s as good a time to use your copy-magic ability as any.
10079101
*looks at 37 open tabs on 12 year old laptop* huh, never thought about that.
10103907
Depends on the browser you use. While my browser technically has a couple hundred tabs, only a small amount are actually 'Active'
10087319
Interesting idea, but these spells sounds awfully permanent.
Very juicy worldbuilding here! Well done and to be continued
I wonder how old the Sisters are and how there Benediction came to be...
Re-reading is quite the fun
I never really cared about bat ponies all that much. Although in canon it is kind of iffy if they exist or not. Also night court was never a thing either. All Luna ever did was dream therapy