The sturdy stump-based table at the core of the library's ground floor was made primarily for ponies to read around, not for having conversations: The carved bust in the center existed purely to disrupt conversations. Despite that the three of them made do: Spike settled into a central position with Twilight on his left and Pinkie on his right. From there they treated it more like a diner booth or a park bench, as opposed to a table with individual chairs.
Snacking on the leftovers of their lunch definitely helped with the atmosphere. It also helped in more tangible ways, since his levelled-up Dragon's Kitchen and Layer could work in concert to extend the duration of existing buffs. He'd already been able to refresh his own Kitchen buff duration with gems alone, but now he could use his MP to directly extend Twilight and Pinkie's benefits from both. Pinkie described the sensation as 'very tickly', although that might have just been his claws.
Going too hard on a subject for too long was an easy path to burnout, something Twilight had learned (and relearned) early (and often), so they were currently just having a relaxed conversation. Topics drifted here and there, between Pinkie asking polite-but-pressing questions about Twilight and Celestia (she insisted Pinkie would get answers alongside everypony else at the party) to Spike and Twilight getting caught up on Pinkie's wide net of Ponyville town news. The details were the kind of things that Rarity would probably call gossip, but Twilight never thought of it that way. She just liked to be informed about things, in general, as a matter of case.
Of course, that urge for information eventually led to Twilight asking him about one topic in particular...
"You never did tell me about that plan you were working on for the Ticket."
Pinkie suddenly leaned across Spike, poffing her entire body into his lap to reach her head closer to Twilight. He didn’t particularly mind, even if the pose was kind of ridiculous.
"Oh! Did you finally come up with an idea? I was so excited about that!"
Spike cast his mind back to the moment he'd acquired that Ticket. It had been a reward specifically for discussing his Gamer nature with Pinkie, along with Unlockers. Those were apparently an annoyingly vague number of intangible items he could use to 'open up' how skills worked: He'd already spent one Unlocker making it so that the Dragon's Heart buff could have variable duration, intensifying power by sacrificing time. The Ticket, on the other claw...
[Late Bloomer's Ticket]
Rank: Mythic Consumable
This special pass allows for those with a slow-growing power to surpass their boundaries one time, and one time only: Creating a skill, item, or other mark on the world beyond their current potential.
It may only be used once, but the creation born from it is permanent.
Yeah, he was still not sure about that. Plus:
"...Pinkie, it has been one day. Singular day. I mean I'm excited too, but-"
"W-well yeah, I just... I got kinda nervous and silly-filly when you said that you'd be willing to let me use it! That was such a big thing for me to think about. I'm really glad you came up with something to use it for, for yourself."
Spike wiggled a claw at that, levelling it off in mid-air to signify his ambivalence.
"Not... exactly? It'd actually be way more for other ponies than for me. Sort of the point, really! But the idea does have a lot to do with your advice, and you in particular."
The earth pony rolled herself up so that she was facing up at him from below, still wriggling around across his legs. The expression she had was... He'd never seen this kind of smile on Pinkie before.
"Awww, Spike."
He cleared his throat and his mind... This was still not really a fully-baked idea, and he knew it would take a while for him to get there even if the Ticket did allow him to create something 'beyond his current potential'. Because this was what it meant to go even further beyond, if Spike was being honest.
"So, we were talking about me becoming a generalist, an everydragon, that sort of thing. And it seems like so far the Skills I’ve gotten allow me to boost up other ponies a lot, and bolster myself even more. But... If there's anything I've learned from Princess Celestia, it's that one pony can only do so much on their own. I, that is to say we, need friends and allies. No matter how strong the individual may be, they can excel as part of a team."
Pinkie pivoted back into a seated position, now that he'd gotten serious. The look she gave him had not changed at all though: It was kind of like the proud expression Twilight had, with overtones of something else entirely. He carried on regardless, letting his thoughts spill out.
"So like... There's a metaphor I heard Granny Smith use at some point, and I didn't quite get it then. She'd been talking about the time before Princess Celestia granted them the land to found Sweet Apple Acres, and she'd said... I mean, I'll paraphrase, because Granny Smith. But it went like this:
'If you farm food for somepony, that could save their life. But if you make it so that they can farm for themselves, that'll change their life.'
And the more I think about that the more it makes sense, on a lot of levels: Even if you teach somepony a new skill they never use? They still have the new knowledge, and the new perspective! I never got to go with the colts and fillies, but I think that's a lot of what school is about when you get down to it. The lessons themselves are only kind of important. The bigger part is the actual act of learning how to learn. Well, that and broadening your perspective. And tolerating others. Dealing with irrational schedules... You get what I mean!"
"That's a very meaningful lesson in and of itself, Spike: Many older ponies don't even grasp that concept, much less students young enough to benefit from it in the moment."
"Heh, thanks... I mean, you're a big part of me figuring that out. When we switched to doing home lessons for me here at the Library, you taught me so many things that I didn't think were important. But eventually I caught on to the big picture. Which is what I'm thinking of here, along with Pinkie's advice about covering all my bases and being the best generalist I can be."
Just discussing this idea with others was helping solidify it in his mind, and he realized that even if the Ticket wasn't able to support this goal? He wanted to strive for it, make it his own personal quest. It felt like a worthy goal to set in his sights, even if it ended up being an impossible dream. He’d seek it out and try.
"Even if being The Gamer, whatever that means... Even if it makes me the ultimate support the world has ever seen, I want to have a bigger impact. I want to spread the benefits as far as I can, even when I'm not around to do things personally. That's something I think I picked up from watching how the Princesses handle ruling, and... I want to follow their path."
"Leadership?"
"Immortality?"
"Benediction."
Pinkie wrinkled her muzzle in confusion, Spike leaned back in relief at having said it, and Twilight? She stared into thin air. At first he thought he'd offended her, but then he noticed that both her eyes and Pinkie's were moving as if they were...
Reading...
Yes, they were in fact all reading from the screen in front of them. They hadn't broken the Party after their testing, so they could all see his system’s major notifications. Which meant that now all of them were looking at an absurd and absurdly large panel of menu-light.
When he set eyes on it? He heard the chimes again, felt them again just like the previous morning. That colossal bell and that flawless chill, up and down his spine. Whatever had caused Spike to become The Gamer had decided that it was time to kick off a quest again.
This one was just a bit bigger than the last...
STORY ARC: A Benediction Befitting a Gamer‽
By boldly choosing to lay foot on the path trodden by deities, you have set a tough row to hoe. One time and once only? Your grand quest may fail yet still continue: This is an Arc that can be cut short without doing the same to you. Should you succeed, should you learn enough to create your own unique and irreproducible blessing? This world will never be the same again. Stride forth! See what there is to see in the land of Equestria, before necessity takes you and yours beyond it.
Objective: Complete all Quests*, then consolidate your knowledge with the Late Bloomer's Ticket.
Failure Condition: Using the Late Bloomer's Ticket for another purpose, or if one year passes.
Reward: All Sub-Quest and Quest Rewards, variable EXP, Bits, and Items*, Your 'Benediction'
*NOTES:
Not all Subquests are mandatory, only a portion must be completed within each Quest.
Your rewards and the quality of the power you create will, however, depend on your completion rate.
Quests which are mandatory are not marked: Only you can know the moment that you are ready.
Some Subquests have a variable rate of progress, and will not be considered finished normally.
These mark as complete when a maximum reward is reached or when the overall Story Arc is completed.
Celestia Sol Invictus, She of The Rising Sun
> Meet with this person of great power and learn their perspective on your potential.
> Learn the nature of Celestia's Benediction from her.
> Learn the nature of Celestia's Benediction from a bearer.
> Selflessly serve the ponies of Equestria for many days.
Luna, She of The Diamonds In The Sky
> Meet with this person of great power and learn their perspective on your potential.
> Learn the nature of Luna's Benediction from her.
> Learn the nature of Luna's Benediction from a bearer.
> Survive untold instances of life-or-death combat.
Mi Amore Cadenza, She of All Loving Things
> Meet with this person of great power and learn their perspective on your potential.
> Discover the nature of Cadance's Benediction.
> Help Cadance create her Benediction.
> Successfully guide the creation or repair of numerous healthy relationships.
Twilight Sparkle, She of Thine Wordless Name
> Meet with this person of great power and learn their perspective on your potential.
> Achieve a base of 75+ in every personal statistic, and 2,000+ points of both HP and MP.
> Learn at least 40 Skills and at least 10 Subskills (Consumed / Merged Skills do not count).
> Reach at least Level 50 with the skill 'Observe'.
> Acquire the skill 'Internal Alchemy' and raise it to at least Level 10.
> Create at least one Original Skill using more than two components.
ERROR
> A portion or portions of your Story Arc have been veiled from your eyes by a great power.
> Upon the moment of revelation, these tasks will be exposed to you.