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// Chapter 74: Diverted Disappointment 
// Story: Spike of All Trades 
// by Ariamaki 
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Eventually Spike made his way out and said his goodbyes: They shared a hug, this one far less awkward than the first. Gillie made triply sure that Spike had the address for the hitching post where he could pick up mail during their route, but there was a clear glint in his eyes as he did: It seemed that he just liked playing the part of the old grandpa, even if he was younger at heart.

"Ya tell Arcane that I still expect to see her before I leave town, ahright?"

"Of course! I'm actually heading over there right now."

"Walk well, Spike."

He did, at that: The walk from Gillie's to the Arcade wasn't long at all, but Spike took it carefully and made sure it was a smooth trip. He could have spent that time multi-tasking and grinding skills or trying to figure out what was up with that coin, planning recipes or composing letters... But he decided to just let the journey be a journey for a change of pace, travel for travel's sake.

Before he even had his thoughts fully collected, Spike was making his way through the front door of the AAAArcade and into the back. Piercing nodded towards him from behind the food counter as he passed, and Spike gave him a respectful nod back in return. Further into the facility he found the wall of targets and markers that comprised the shooting gallery, along with Rarity and her aunt.

Arcane Ammo was wearing a simple vest today, along with a plain visored hat. It reminded him of the pictures Rainbow Dash kept of Wonderbolt captains past and present: Maybe there was some Night Guard equivalent, or just a general trend in military dress? Either way, he had to stifle a laugh at Rarity's pained expression: She clearly didn't agree with Dash's taste in jackets, and kept her magic aura as close to adjusting the collars as possible without enraging Arcane.

"Hey! Sorry I'm late, I-"

Before Spike could finish his sentence, Rarity seized the opportunity he delivered: Her magic surged out in a soft blue cloud to snap Arcane's collar and lapels into position. Unfortunately, before she could finish her 'repairs', Mrs. Ammo had already levitated a clipboard over and started swatting at her niece's mane. That left Rarity shrieking and giggling as she tried to protect the wave of purple hair, kicking her hooves up in a feeble attempt to hold off the threat.

Arcane was clearly used to holding a conversation in the middle of battle, no matter how silly the fight was, as she turned to look at Spike with a bone-dry sarcasm on her lips.
"Good timing. That stalemate was interminable: And you're not late, it's still at least five minutes before I said to come."

Rarity finally managed to step back from the sweeping range of the clipboard, clearing her throat as she nodded to Spike.
"I believe he was mostly concerned with being Twi-late, Auntie. The Sparkles are, her brother excluded, all about punctuality. I've rarely seen her and Spike be anything less than early barring emergencies."

Spike looked at his system clock before shrugging, ruffling the spines on the back of his head with one claw.
"Eh heh, yeah, she's... not wrong. But hey, at least I arrived in time to defuse whatever that was. I'd been kind of caught up talking with Gillie Horse, and well..."

He didn't even have to explain what he meant about how Gillie had impressed him: Arcane was already nodding, the tenor of her smile shifting warmer.
"Yeah, he's quite something isn't he? The Roama are always moving, so they have to rely on the strength of their warponies over any kind of walls or fortifications. Canterlot could honestly do with having a less secure location, if the latest generation of guards is anything to go by... Your brother being a notable exception of course."

"Oh trust me, I've heard enough of his complaining during our O+O games to get the gist. I still think he should get the barracks together for the occasional campaign to get them in the tactical mindset."

That got a laugh from the others, and he finished crossing the gap now that there was no threat of an imminent sheaf of papers to the face. He looked over Rarity briefly, pausing to take everything in. She looked back to him, and while it was still a warm and affectionate expression... It didn't have quite the same grip on him that it did in the past. He could tell she wasn't rattled by his old interest either: Their entire situation felt more balanced now, more harmonious.

"...Guess you two worked your issues out last time you were here, huh?"

The delicate balance in the air broke, but they both laughed it off and turned back to their soon-to-be instructor.
"I suppose you could say that, yes: As much as I complained in the moment, I do owe you for intervening as you did. We had let things simply linger for... too long."

"Seconded: Thanks a ton, both for the kick in the pants and for offering to teach me!"

"Think nothing of it, kid: I promise that my instruction will be thorough, even if it might not be enjoyable. Rarity here has a predisposition for the kind of fiddly work involved in specialized shots, but I still don't even know if you can do magic like that. We'll be starting from the bare basics today and seeing how well you pick up, alright?"

That was exactly what he was hoping to hear anyways, since the more elementary the skill was, the better he felt like his Gamer abilities would be able to pick up on it.
"Sure!"

"I am never one to turn down a refresher: I often take time each Spring to work on barebones dresses and accessories to keep my grip on the form sharp."

"Yeah, I do the same with magic: Although in my case, the bare bones can be more literal."

The intense glint in Arcane's eyes probably should have been a lot more frightening, but... Well, he'd grown up with Twilight Sparkle. A little mania wasn't going to shake Spike T. Dragon's composure. He could take a lot!

- - - - 

That night lying in bed, pretending he'd even be able to sleep... Spike couldn't take it. After a day like today he had hoped to push everything aside and just go down like he used to, out like a light before midnight. But a solid week of replacing (unneeded) sleep with meditation and thinking about everything he could possibly do, all the time... It left him incapable of even trying. He couldn't sleep if he wanted to, not without a few more hours burning the metaphorical lantern oil.

"Blegch!"

Studying with Arcane and Rarity had been an unmitigated failure. He hadn't learned a single thing, hadn't even parsed out one useful bit of magic with Dragon's Mind. That had been bad enough: He went into the situation cocksure and confident and came out apologizing and questioning himself. This entire time his abilities as The Gamer had been consistently helpful, or at least consistent even when they were unhelpful. The one time he needed it the most, wanted it the most? They backed off and let The Old Spike take center stage.

Rarity had been subtly amused at his first few attempts and failures, but both her and Arcane grew obviously concerned over time as Spike kept making increasingly desperate attempts. Eventually he resorted to using his Breath and Stagnet to try and make at least an imitation of what they were doing, hoping it would jumpstart something. The best he could do with that was throw the resulting bullet, which missed both the target and the point... Even if it did blow up pretty impressively.

Rarity had remained worried about Spike, but Ammo ended up taking the entire thing in stride. She ended their session by inviting him to come back any time in the future, and also by pointing out the obvious:

"It's not like you have a horn, kid: Don't let this get to you."

He learned a lot in terms of knowledge, that much was true. Maybe even a base for future progress. But things he could do, things he could use now? Spike walked away from the Arcade feeling more useless than he had in weeks, even before the Gamer. Rarity had caught up to him afterwards, and they talked... Which had been nice. Not particularly helpful for his problem, but really just nice: A pleasant experience. He promised her that he'd feel better in time for the party, and then they parted ways.

Dinner with Twilight wasn't any better, because that's where he realized the real thing that was bothering him: How little everything else was bothering him. Ever since he'd woken up as the Gamer a week ago, Spike had noticed that his emotional responses were quick to flare out: He'd still get mad, feel affectionate, have moments of awe or sadness... But then they washed away within seconds, falling into the background without ever lasting long enough to change him.

Spike tried to make the distinction clear to Twilight as he spoke, but of course she took it differently than he meant it: She thought he was worried about feeling distant or even sociopathic, becoming unfeeling. The truth was that he still felt emotional, but his feelings didn't change things. His emotions weren't driving his actions or even having any effect on what he did... No effect. That was when he realized the truth.

[Gamer's Mind] (Passive) Lv Max EXP: N/A
Allows the user to calmly and logically think through any situation with a peaceful state of mind. Grants total immunity to psychological effects.

He'd been prompted to let Luna inside of his mind during the 'dream' a few nights ago, probably because Gamer's Mind protected him from mental influences even if they meant well. But there wasn't a prompt to turn it off when it worked on his own emotions: Those were also psychological effects according to his system. 'A peaceful state of mind' was one way to put it... Yet Spike wasn't ready to think about that very much, much less discuss it with somepony else. He had, at the time, hurriedly pivoted in the conversation with Twilight. 

After all, he did still feel things. Maybe he just had to get used to feeling them differently?

Twilight had very obviously not bought his diversion when he dropped the subject: As much as he didn't want to, he probably should tell her about his hunch... But that was for later. In the moment, he had just changed the subject to discussing what happened at the Arcade... At which point she said the same thing that Arcane had brought up.

"Spike, I mean... It's not like you have a horn. Maybe you have to figure out another way?"

Maybe he did! His frustration could just be misdirected, aimed at a road bump when it should be aimed at the real problem. Did he need to grow or change himself until he had some kind of magic-processing organ? He could do like the showponies and craft himself a wand, substitute for his lack of a real horn with a symbolic one. Make some kind of charm or...

No.

Wait.

Spike sprung out of bed and onto his feet, grinning with a (brief) flicker of triumph in his mind.
"I do have a horn!"

He quickly moved back onto his bed, dropping into Omphaloskepsis almost immediately... But not before pulling a small piece of carved steel from his Inventory.