Spike had been meandering towards the school while trying to run all of that down and produce theories and write down his notes for later. As such, he had made it... Three blocks, if you could even measure Ponyville by the block. It seemed like his multitasking was going to need a lot of work, but that didn't dissuade him from moving on to an inventory management spree. Just that and his quests and he'd have everything totally in order, then he could hoof it. Inventory, inventory... Huh.
A good start: Nothing surprising in terms of actual contents. Gems, comics, books, blanket, pillow, quills and ink, the ledger, the journal, some loose paper, his bits (which resided in a currency tab instead of being ‘items’), the pouch from Twilight, the muffin from Pinkie, the fines (these were an item, either because he didn't think of that as "his" money, or maybe their quest connection?), the books that were returned, the contents of Rarity's Hopeless Case mixed in with his own gems, the gifts he bought for the Crusaders, Pinkie's recipe, and the Ticket. He hadn't mysteriously been burdened with items, hadn't accidentally stored anything, no weird backfires. A reliable system!
Somewhat less good: He still couldn't Observe that piece of metal from the Case to any real consequence. However, all the various stones and gems had been connected in Indra's Net, his web of information filling out with all of their similarities and interrelationships. Spike wondered if his escapade with the Case had been some hidden prerequisite to attaining this subskill, given how much the skill’s display mimicked the results of that experiment.
The best news? Quality Assurance worked, and it worked even in his inventory. He could see four marked items, each surrounded with an orange-gold glow. The Ticket of course, the Zacahuil recipe... as well as one of his books and the strange metal. Attempting to turn Quality Assurance on them directly with Observe, he could see... Errors, mostly.
Late Bloomer's Ticket
Allows for an act of exceptional creation.
Legendary Recipe: Zacahuil
Teaches a new cooking recipe... but you do not meet the minimum requirements.
INT: 15, LUK: 35, Cooking: 30
Able Actor's Advice (an introduction to performance art, by the nonponymous Able Actor)
Teaches a new skill... but you do not meet the minimum requirements.
STR: 40, DEX: 40, VIT: 40, INT: 40, WIS: 40, LUK: 40, LV: 10
???
Improves Dragon's Breath... but you are not powerful enough. Failure Chance: 37%
On the one hand, it was nice to know that this little chunk of metal would be useful... Eventually. But he wouldn't risk that failure chance. Heck, throw a decimal between the 3 and the 7 and he still wouldn't do it: What if this was totally unique? Plus, the idea of eating something he couldn't put a scratch into with his newly-buffed claws? That was the very definition of unappetizing. No, he'd put all this back for now, even the ticket: While he could use it whenever, and he even had an idea of what he wanted to use it on... The plan wasn't perfect yet.
Another block or two of walking done, and all that was left were his quests. That was a lot simpler. He had to serve the last fine (a bit out of town towards Fluttershy's, might as well visit her while he's at it), 'Visit Other Ponies' (hopefully Fluttershy counted, or the Apples when he dropped off AB?), deal with dinner and snacks and the book shipment (all on the way home or even at home), and...
"Hay Spike!"
"Yoooo!"
"Aw hay there Spike!"
"Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, no outbursts in class! And where... Oh. Hello, Spike."
He waved through the open window, leaning across the sill into the classroom. The Crusaders were waving back, as were a few of the others: Button, Diamond, Silver, and Twist. Cheerilee herself was looking at him with a surprised expression, eyes just barely widened.
"Hey everypony, don't mind me, just dropping in."
Cheerilee sighed, putting one hoof to her forehead and setting her pointer down with the other.
"Yes, well, I'm very glad to see you and we can speak after class... But that's after class. Can I trust you all not to cause any more disruptions? Because if not, I'm closing the window."
The class nodded and quieted down, and Spike followed suit.
> Visit Cheerilee + CMC (before class lets out)
With that handled, he took the opportunity to look around the classroom, firing off something like several hundred Observes in ten or fifteen minutes. Why so many and how so many? Apart from the motivation that is 'grinding itself', there were 20-ish ponies in the class. 20, times that many desks, times twice that many quills, times four-fold that many books, then the shelves, clocks, Cheerilee's desk...
THEN he had to switch to Indra's Net and do... Oh. He had forgotten that the Net auto-updated when he looked at any part of a relationship he already knew about. That shaved off quite a few Observe casts from the back end. Still! By the time he was done Spike was really impressed.
Over the years the class had grown up and really improved themselves in all sorts of ways. Nowhere was that more evident than in the fact that nopony was on bad terms anymore: Not a single line of hate or disgust or any other purely-negative relationship on his little web chart. Sure, a lot of the colts and fillies in the class were still distant from each other, especially from Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. But everypony was civil, which was an improvement over when he first arrived in Ponyville, and even over when he tried to attend the school himself. His sleeping schedule had put the brakes on that plan very quickly either way...
He could think about disappointments later: Right now he had other appointments!
Namely, class was letting out. That meant that everypony except for the Crusaders and Cheerilee began filtering out and heading towards their homes and after-school activities. Nopony was staying behind for remedial lessons or detention from the look of it, so Spike made his way to the double doors and stepped inside. For a lot of ponies the smell and feel of a school hallway was nostalgic or familiar, even at their equivalent to his age: For Spike it felt like a cut-rate version of the Library he lived in.
A jog past the lockers and the water fountain took him to the open door of Cheerilee's classroom. Ponyville's constant growth had lead to the schoolhouse expanding over time, from a one-room setup back before he and Twilight arrived all the way into its current form. These days they had a solid pack of teachers and a veritable swarm of students of nearly all ages. Twilight had considered petitioning for secondary education initiatives, specialized classes for the adult ponies in town.
All of that aside, right now Spike only cared about this one classroom and the ponies waiting inside.
"Come on in, Spike! I apologize for being snippy earlier, but you know how it is trying to keep order."
[Homeroom Teacher]
Cheerilee
LV 19
"Hay! Ah thought ah recognized those claw-clicks walkin' in the halls. What brings ya round?"
[Cutie Mark Crusader]
Apple Bloom
LV 5
"Aw dude as soon as we blow this joint I absolutely have something to show you! Um, no offense Ms. Cheerilee."
[Cutie Mark Crusader]
Scootaloo
LV 5
"Afternoon Spike! Did you see my sister yet today? I know she said she'd be working outside..."
[Cutie Mark Crusader]
Sweetie Belle
LV 5
"No problem, various news, awesome, yes I did and yes she was... In that order."
Spike expected a laugh or even a giggle-fit, after a line like that. What he didn't expect was the dead silence and unabashed staring of the fillies (plus a grown mare) looking at him like he'd gained a third eye. Wait, had he grown a third eye? Twilight had said something about that when she was teaching him meditation but he had thought that was a metaph-
"Spike, when did you get so tall?"
-or. Or it could be the growth thing. Come to think of it, he hadn't run into anypony who knew him very well since the incident at Rarity's. A random bystander would see little amiss, but these ponies knew him. Which means they also knew that he had been fully six inches shorter circa yesterday.
"Ah! Ahha. Funny story, actually! I had a bit of a growth spurt, sort of a dragon thing..."
Sweetie Belle looked at him with a narrow glare.
"Um, I'm pretty sure growth spurts affect ponies too, and they're not so... sudden?"
"Maybe ponies grow up slower?"
Apple Bloom was the next one to fix him in her gaze.
"Ah live down on the farm and lemme tell ya, that much overnight is plain freaky."
"...Dragon thing?"
Scootaloo was too busy looking at his new form from various angles to complain much, but Cheerilee eventually broke up their standoff with a sigh.
"While I admit that Spike's sudden... change is rather... impressive, we should all really let him be. Don't you all remember what it was like when you started growing up and out in various ways?"
There was some unspoken recollection behind that, because all of the Crusaders immediately went quiet and pulled away from him. Scootaloo even blushed, rather uncharacteristically. Their teacher stood up from her desk with a smile and trotted over, putting a hoof on Spike's shoulder.
"I'm glad you came by to visit: Although maybe some forewarning wouldn't hurt, next time? I have quite a few tests I need to grade, so I'm going to have to send you all away early."
"Oh! Sorry about that. And it's no problem: We can head out to the Clubhouse and chat there."
"Very good! Now don't forget girls, the reports are due in three days, and we have a quiz tomorrow."
"Um, Ms. Cheerilee, I don't remember you saying anything about a quiz during class..."
Cheerilee smiled at the four of them before making her way back to the desk.
"Oh! Dear me, I'll forget my head at this rate. It was supposed to be a pop quiz. It would be a shame if everypony found out about it early somehow... isn't that right Snips?"
A muffled "Yes ma'am!" came from the window outside the classroom, then a moment of silence, followed by the distinct sound of Snails' voice, his "Really?" coming a second later.
Cheerilee let her smile shift into a smirk as she winked at Spike and the Crusaders.
"Class dismissed... For real this time. I hope."
They all laughed at the absurdity of it, but Spike internally wondered just how perceptive Cheerilee was. Picking up that kind of detail was impressive even if it was a regular event... He decided to take one more look while she settled in to grade the papers and tests on the desk. At which point he jerked back in surprise, met with an unexpected shift.
[Pass / Fail]
Cheerilee
LV 19
That Ticket is Soo enticing, but with the skills etc Spike is already aquiring at such low levels, hopefully with work and grind leveling up Indiras Net he can unlock something like probability density plots for possible interactions, and eventually Missing Link or even Skill, Item, Ability etc, so one action can cause a whole network connection, reconstruction and formation?
The recipie for cooking, thats BonBons, sugarcube Corner, Apple family bake outs, and other such large events because thats a Lot of cooking needed, variation hopefully improving the multiplier more than quantity?
The piece of metal working with his Dragon Breath? Makes me think either of Dilithium, unlocking his range to Dimentional, and so Unlimited Local, or even more intresting, A bidirectional Antenna, so he can Unlocks Full transportation options, locally to range, locally to and from Inventory, and even better, Self to Range etc? Although Self To Inventory needs some working on, the rules get a little tricky.
Spike has seen that Cheerilee can MultiClass like DnD, or Job Switch like Bravely Second, but her Level is a value relative to her main school work for years instead of world beaters directly?
If the CMC are only Level 5 given the totally insane amount of effort theyve put in so far, what Level are average schoolkids? Or do they even have classifiable Levels on Spikes ratings currently?
Spike can now be distracted by the possiblity of Multitasking MultiClass, Jobs, while the CMC decide that the fastest way to check Spikes new Endurance leveling, at the clubhouse, is by simple defenestration?
A new challenger approaches in the shipping wars, it seems. Also, just... did they forget about that time he turned into a kaiju, or did that just not happen in this AU?
10016619
If I'm remembering the rest of the fic correctly, the average adult is around that if not lower, and also doesn't have a title like they do. I'd say that's a much scarier benchmark.
10016742
The kaiju moment came up before actually, and did happen. The thing is, that was pretty binary: Either Spike was normal size, or he was stupid huge. He spent a little time in-between at a weird medium height, but he was obviously affected. This relatively sedate gain in height is unusual, especially since they haven't heard about any new incidents around town.
10016619
Hah. Heh. Hahahaha... Oh just you wait. 🔪
What the heck could Pass/Fail mean as a character title??
10016796
I think the Pass/Fail gives her a boost for reliable answer giving i.e Grading Skill. It switched when she started grading her papers. Her Homeroom Teacher probably gives a boost to the Teaching Skill. Proly some inner switch involved.
I know titles in some games give some benefits to the wielder. Like [Hero] giving the ability to wield Divine class items.
10016924
Could also be a type of Skill based Title, akin to something like bluff/identify/divination?
10016924
Ah, setting an active Title could definitely be a mechanic (and way of showing changing a frame of mind). You could see Twilight switch from, say, [Librarian] to [Lecturer] or [Student], granting various minor stat changes as a result. Here, [Homeroom Teacher] might indicate friendliness and perception (especially emotional perception), as well as both patience and authority, while [Pass / Fail] lets her work through that current task faster and more accurately, at the cost of being a little less aware on the edges of her senses and less overwhelmingly patient and kind.
Fantastic chapter
10016770
Im sorry, but I couldnt reply earlier because your reply made me remember Wile E Coyote verses, The Catapult.
Im still laughing.
Something for much later on, probably.
Sorry Cheerilee, but when you have a quest you have a quest.
Interesting. Her title changed?
10016770
Y'all know defenestration is throwing someone out a window, right? Not sure how effective that might be considering how low to the ground the clubhouse is.
10016770
Quick question
Are the cutie Mark crusaders being level 5 a pokemon reference?
Cause they are 3 different tribes of ponies(unicorn pegasi earth)...
And there are three of them...
And ponies can 'evolve' into alicorns...
10026151
To be honest, I think that many of the things happening around Spike right now would not be happening if he didn't get the Gamer ability.
Think of it this way: his "game mechanics" are affecting not just him, but practically everypony. He's going around and including them all in the mechanics one way or another, and I wouldn't be suprised if they started to 'level up' more in accordance w/ the game's logic, rather than the way they 'used to' (through unseen progress).
Sort of a 'meta' component to the whole thing. It doesn't change much, it's subtle in how it works, but it might change things in critical moments. For instance, if Twi went against a very difficult spell with a high failure rate, before the Gamer she'd have "pulled it off" - but now it's going to count as a limit break, and she might actually get interesting buffs from it (where previously she would've gained none).
Kinda like that. I mean, our abilities are fluid, they fluctuate... but how is the 'game' going to represent all of that in a way Spike can comprehend? And it must, for Spike must comprehend - that's part of the entire premise of the 'game'. So... does it 'round them off'... or does it force them into patterns that fit the game?
Interessting chapter. Spike get mature has effects beyond anyones expectations.
Great humor.
Pony have interessting Titels... I guess it get more stable with time.
Multititels... Reminds me of 'So im a spider so what'.
Singel Spike has growth and age... Mare are going for him soon? Herding is a Equine thing and Hording a Dragon one...