- - - - TWO WEEKS LATER - - - -
Yeah well, I was right about that.
Spike sighed as he levitated the last bit of interred insect entrails into the storage shelves. The days since then had been a doozy, although he'd made sure to pace himself as it went along. Magic time with Twilight had started immediately and became a daily (and often nightly) occurrence. His own self-study had been focused on refining his current haul of skills, rather than trying to pick up even more new avenues and sidetracks. Hangouts with the Crusaders and their other friends were short but sweet, since everypony seemed to be dragged into a late-spring frenzy of activity.
His first big surprise came from Lyra at the library door one day, extending her hoof in invitation back to the dojo. After that? Even if he'd had more time to spend on hangouts, his sleepless days were chock-a-block full. Twilight's teachings in the morning, dojo trips most afternoons, a visit to the AAAArcade every other night for more hands-off lessons on magic, then Twilight again when he got back home...
For a normal pony this would have been a run-ragged schedule fueled entirely by sugar and sheer willpower, but for Spike it was just his new normal. A total lack of sleep meant he only had to take downtime when he wanted to meditate and consolidate his lessons. Disruptions to the schedule did happen from time to time: At one point the Elements went out of town for a surprisingly-brief adventure that he only heard about third-hand from bystanders, and the week after that Spike made a trip back to the Warrens.
The Diamond Dog that came into town to pick him up that day was one he'd never met before, and as they had predicted the local ponies were initially confused or scared or both... Until Spike's prior Pinkie Plan picked up with perfect timing. After a whirlwind party (complete with literal cotton-candy whirlwinds), Spike and his much-fuller messenger were on their way out of town with waves and cheers behind them.
The Dog (Snarly, according to the name overhead) looked back with a mix of appreciative confusion.
"Pony town has many strange pony."
"Preaching to the choir man: So what's the target?"
It turned out the target was an extended Mountain Crawler nest that had started forming above the main warrens, swiss-cheesing their ceiling within days. The crevices were far too small for the Dogs to fight effectively, but Spike was able to use the Dragon's Hoard to squeeze his way into every last nook and cranny. He came back dusty and drained, but they were one step closer to solving that particular problem... And he was one bit of treasure richer!
Wormwrap
Rating: Uncommon
Defense: Mediocre
A thin waist-belt made of porous leathery hide. While the belt itself is flawlessly albino-white, when injected with the owner's magic it exudes a surprising number of colorful and useful fluids.
(+) Spray-Sash: At varying MP costs, the belt can produce any one of its fluids: Quick-setting foams, acids, glues, binding agents, cleaning solvents, perfumes, oils, smoke screens, etc.
(-) Depletable Dermis: The Wormwrap has a limited supply of all of its fluids. The remainder slowly regenerate when supplied with magic, but if one set is totally exhausted that option is gone forever.
While it lacked the dramatic gravitas of his fight with the lone Glittershell, the matriarch of that Crawler horde had provided Spike with his very own utility belt. Hum Drum, eat your heart out!
Twilight and Pinkie alike had both fretted over him on his return, and he made sure to spend a little extra time with Pinkie over dinner to help calm her concerns. Not like a date-date kind of dinner! Just a casual thing at one of the outdoor cafes nearby. Sure, they'd had candles on the table, but it was pretty late! That totally nullified any romantic implications... that, and the fact that both of them knew they were angling for a better starting point than that.
It really did help ease things along when both sides of the equation were equally dramatic.
Twilight's concerns had been more about him over-working himself, so he'd taken a day or two to mostly cool down and relax. That had been when he found time to chill with the Crusaders, catching up on comics and swapping stories: The girls had a lot going on at school (although no progress with the apples of their respective eyes) and he had plenty to talk about with his exploits. Those conversations paled in comparison to their run-in on the way to the ice-cream shop, however...
Spike, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom had all stopped in shock when Princess Luna stepped out of the store, levitating a dark wooden basket at her side. Sweetie Belle of all ponies had just kept trotting, waving to royalty as if this was regular for Ponyville... Which, yeah, kind of? But still!
The other Crusaders had both nudged him in the belly rather than say anything, so it came down on Spike to try to figure out what had just happened.
"...So uh, do you see the Princess often or something? I thought that would have come up."
Sweetie actually took a second to process that before striking the ground with her hoof.
"Oh! Gosh I guess it kinda slipped my mind. Rarity's been working on some kinda whole-new wardrobe project with Princess Luna! It's been all she talks about ever since they met up the other week. I keep seeing her around the Boutique so often that I just kinda... forgot it wasn't normal?"
While it didn't seem to bother the little unicorn at all, both of her constant companions had the kind of expression that read 'Should I tell her or should you?' while Spike just shook his head and got in line for his triple-scoop. They'd burn that particular bridge once they got to it, if there was even a bridge there to begin with... The metaphor was breaking down.
... Speaking and thinking of breakdowns, that kinda led up to Spike's biggest problem during this time. He'd managed to get up to what was (in his mind) a rock-solid and respectable point, 50 flat in every single stat and Level 23. Observe was approaching the benchmark for Twilight's quest, he'd made progress on other objectives... But then there was the breakdown, or rather the lack thereof.
The Unihorn was still lingering in his guts. And it wasn't doing so patiently, as Spike unfortunately discovered. It happened almost two weeks to the day after his dream-time devouring of the little steel charm. He'd rounded out the last few hours of his "night" by meditating and practicing the dreamscaping spell Luna gave him. That all went fine, if not better than usual: His dreamspace crafting bench was making it easier than ever to practice those skills without wasting material.
The problem became obvious when Spike brought himself up to consciousness and checked his stats. He was down about 1% of his HP. Not in terms of the bar getting shorter or the total number getting smaller, but just... damage. Damage which wasn't recovering past that point, empty space in the UI filled with an ugly black gunk. At first he'd shrugged it off as an Internal Alchemy backlash, since those had also been getting a little nastier over time... But when he got up from meditating the next day and saw another sliver of the bar taken over? That was cause for concern.
Either it works or it doesn't. No room for in-betweens or indecision. Ponies didn't really understand luck the way Discord did, and Spike wasn't sure he did either. He'd hoped on some level that hitting the stat benchmark was enough to complete the process. On another level he'd put his hopes in the magical training with Twilight. That had produced results, at least! He picked up a single new skill to his name during these two weeks. Another 'original skill', this time from Twilight's teachings.
There had only been one logical thing to name it, given that and past precedent.
You have created an original skill through the precise tutelage of a person of great power.
What would you like to name it?
"Twilight's Teachings."
[Twilight's Teachings] (Passive) LV1 EXP: 0.00%
Magic is a science and yet a personal art as well. It's precise and imperfect, emotional and calculated. Bridging this gap is as mysterious as friendship itself, and the ties that bind both sides are the ties that bind all things. Your knowledge of magic comes from the best possible source.
You were bestowed an optimized personal process for studying, analyzing, and practicing magic.
While using these optimal methods you learn with significantly greater stability and safety.
These methods emphasize safe and stable magic, and make it harder to perform ad-hoc spells.
This skill represents the magic of friendship: You may pass your knowledge on by teaching others.
This skill embodies many scientific methods: You may analyze spells piecemeal and in pieces.
Come to think of it, he'd just acquired that skill not long before this little problem started. He hadn't told Twilight about it yet, not wanting to cause a panic or lead to any problems: If his dreams were any indication this was his own issue to solve anyways. There wasn't a quest but Spike knew this was a system issue that had to be solved in the system: 'Engine repair' for lack of a better concept.
Once he finished all the shelving and reminiscing, he had a quiet meal with Twilight (he'd done some more potato experimentation, tonights' were scalloped) and then excused himself up to his room. There was one idea he had about this issue...
The practice of EMC without a magic-controlling organ or bodily system is very taxing.
That was the warning text in the skill for External Mana Control. He'd assumed that was a matter of Stamina and MP consumption. To be fair it was probably also that. The fact remained that he was doing a lot of complex and draining magical exercises, multiple times per day, without meeting the real requirement for handling it. Until he bridged that last gap there was going to be... strain. Wear and tear, which might be tolerable on a game engine but was a lot less exciting to see on his body.
He curled up in his bed, using Dragon's Hoard to shrink back down to the size he'd always been before... all of this. The pain made him wince a little but he shook it off: The acid burns back in the warrens had been a lot worse, and that memory was still fresh. This new HP-reduction wasn't even painful at all, just... dreadful. If it weren't for his Gamer's Mind it would probably be filling him with dread, but as it is? Spike just calmly looked at the now-3% reduction to his total life and sighed.
He didn't think that his power had a mind of its own, but it did sometimes have a... conversational tone. Observe results were weirdly sarcastic sometimes even by his high standards. Alerts were congratulatory as if speaking from some position of authority or power. Even his menu options had a more distinct personality than you'd expect. Maybe it was just equivalent to talking to himself?
Well, this was the Sparkle household (Ponyville branch), so talking to yourself wasn't even weird. Maybe the fact that he was about to bargain with himself was.