Long ago, there were two sisters. One brought forth day, the other night. This was the origin of the superior jobs, The Sun and The Moon. The sisters’ names were lost to time, so even now they are only known by their jobs.
They had ruled over a portion of the land that became Legendaria and peace had initially prevailed. Yet, it was that peace that allowed The Moon to look upon her citizens. What she saw was them enjoying her sister’s day, but only sleeping during her night.
A pit of jealousy grew within The Moon until one day she decided not to end the night. The Sun tried to speak with her but The Moon would not listen. Her envy and hatred of the people that scorned her beautiful night twisted her into a terrible creature.
This was the birth of The Nightmare: Nightmare Moon. It vowed to wage war on The Sun and bring an eternal night.
With no choice, The Sun did battle with the monster her sister had become. Day and night became a maelstrom and it was unclear how long the fight lasted, but eventually the dawn returned to the land, along with the Sun, terribly injured but alive. The people, still fearful of Nightmare Moon, asked what had become of it. Before passing out from her wounds, The Sun had told them to look to the moon.
That night, for the first time, the people of Infinite Dendrogram saw the visage of a spectral mare on the moon.
It is said that Nightmare Moon, still seeking vengeance, comes to people in their sleep and tortures them from its eternal prison on the moon. Should there ever come a day where the Sun weakens, the stars shall aid Nightmare Moon in its escape.
~~~
This was a story from one of the books Twilight had gotten back in town due to her first experience in using magic. After the first fight with the wolves, she had decided to decompress a little and enjoy a few more treats provided by Pinkie.
Pinkie has also provided Twilight an MP potion. That had been handy for a few more fights. Twilight even gained some levels.
Despite it being a fairly short read, Twilight had gone over the story several times now. This was because interspersed between the fights, Pinkie had also shared many tidbits about Infinite Dendrogram. Two particular areas stood out: Jobs and Unique Boss Monsters (or UBMs for short).
Pinkie had illustrated Jobs by showing off her own. First there were lower rank jobs, of which Masters and Tians could hold six. Anyone could obtain these by going to a job crystal, as Twilight had. Pinkie herself had four: Chef, Jester, Engineer, and Journalist.
Then, there were the high rank jobs, of which Masters and Tians could only hold two. The exact conditions varied, but they were more difficult to gain than a lower rank job. Pinkie’s was Pâtissier.
Finally, there were Superior Jobs. Masters and Tians could only hold one Superior Job. The conditions to obtain one were incredibly exacting. Not only that, but, unlike the other job ranks where the number of people holding a job usually was not capped, only a single person in Infinite Dendrogram could hold a Superior Job. Pinkie held the Superior Job of Master of Ceremonies.
The way Pinkie had casually explained that she was a Superior Job holder stunned Twilight.
“Eh,” Pinkie had shrugged. “Even among Superior Jobs, some are easier to get than others. Plus, I do like to party!”
Pinkie, in Twilight’s summation of her, lived up to her appearance by having her thought process and view of the world be up beyond the clouds and in space. In addition to her earlier eccentricities, that view was solidified because Pinkie had volunteered what it took to become Master of Ceremonies: hit the level caps on the low rank jobs Chef, Jester, Musician, and Organizer; hit the level cap for at least one high rank job themed around parties that included Pâtissier; make at least five hundred friends; and host over 365 social gatherings. The final requirement came with the additional caveat that one of those parties had to be for royalty. To an introvert like Twilight, the latter requirements made obtaining this job appear impossible. Putting her own personality aside, Twilight saw nothing that made this Superior Job seem easier than any other given the sheer amount of time and effort needed to obtain it, even if it involved no combat.
Pinkie had only giggled at her shock.
Pinkie then went on to talk a little about Superior Embryos and how they were even more rare than Superior Jobs, but it was a different scale of things. That discussion had actually helped bring Twilight back to rationality since it was fairly straight-forward. Embryos, hers included, once it hatched, would go through seven “forms.” The final seventh form was a Superior Embryo. Yet, Pinkie stressed that gaining a Superior Embryo was incredibly difficult and only a handful of Masters in the entirety of Infinite Dendrogram had done so. She herself, despite boasting a Superior Job, only had an Embryo at the fifth form. Although, the conversation had shifted before Pinkie would go into deeper details on her own Embryo.
Somewhere along the journey they had gotten to talking about UBMs. While there were strong monsters in Dendro that could be classified as “boss monsters,” UBMs were different in that while there could be boss monster “species” there was only ever one UBM, hence the term, “unique.” Upon defeat, they granted an equally unique reward to whomever had contributed the most to killing it. This recipient was an MVP. Though, what determined an MVP varied wildly due to a number of factors. Pinkie had even once seen a child that some Masters had rescued from a UBM become the MVP. The Masters that had initially helped the child were quite shocked and a few were disappointed with that result.
Pinkie, in her job as a Journalist, had just recorded the event and sent it over to her employer, DIN, the Dendrogram Information Network. As Pinkie explained it, it was one of several ways she earned cash. Plus, they paid extra whenever she found what to Twilight sounded like glitches, but people in-game referred to them as “anomalies.”
Now armed with a fair more amount of knowledge than when she had started, Twilight could form hypotheses. This was helped by the detail put into the game. This random book, with a piece of lore that was not actively thrust into a Master’s face, showed how interconnected the world was. Jobs were not just something Masters could take up, but a cornerstone of myths. At least two jobs were present with The Sun and The Moon and possibly a third with The Nightmare. It also contained a potential UBM in Nightmare Moon. Pinkie had explained there were indeed tales of humans becoming UBMs as well. All this left Twilight marveling at how far Infinite Dendrogram went to not present a game, but a world.
The thought occurred to her, Could a game really be this detailed?
She did not have an answer to that question, and her experiences so far provided evidence pointing in both directions. As she pondered and resolved to gather more evidence if time allowed for it, Pinkie stood up and wildly pointed ahead.
“We’re here! We’re here!”
Twilight looked ahead and saw thatched and tiled roofs in the distance. Above them rose another tree. This one was far smaller but it was still a dominant feature of the town that came into view.
“Took ya long enough.”
Twilight spun at the unfamiliar voice. Pinkie turned too. Both were met with a girl flying beside the cart. Her apparel of a sports bra and spandex shorts appeared appropriate for a gym, but that was where reality stopped. Sweat shown off her teal blue skin, which contrasted with the yellow hawk-like talons at the ends of her arms and legs. Her hair was comprised of seven different colors and would have been her most eye-catching feature were it not for the wings flapping across her back. Despite Applejack’s speed, this girl was able to fly alongside the cart with ease.
“Hey, Dashie! Out here training?”
“You know it!” said the girl. “Gonna be putting on quite a show for the Celebration!”
The girl then swooped up and landed in the cart. Pulling a modern-looking sports bottle out from a storage bag at her side, she took a swig while furling her wings. Her cerise eyes fell on Twilight. “And a tourist. Neat.”
“Dashie, this is Twilight! She’s not just a tourist but totally new!” Pinkie’s smile shrank only the slightest of degrees. “I was actually kinda hoping I’d get to see her Embryo hatch on the way over but looks like no luck there.”
“What are you talking about? You’re in plenty of luck. You get to see me, after all.” ‘Dashie’ held out a talon to Twilight, who took it. It was a firm grip but at least not bone crushing like those of actual birds of prey. “Name’s Rainbow Dash, and you’re about to watch the greatest flyer in Infinite Dendrogram perform!”
In the face of Dash’s cocky grin, Twilight felt a bit intimidated, but this had been her third such forceful greeting, so she was getting used to it. “Twilight Sparkle. Those are quite impressive wings. I didn’t go far enough in character customization to find what race they belong to.”
“Race?” Dash glanced at her wings and then at her talons. “Ah right. I think I’m what you call a Tengu?”
Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Why do you sound unsure?”
“I’m not really big on the whole myths and monsters thing. I just asked the girl at the start which races had some tactical advantages and wound up with this one. But glad you like my Embryo!”
“Huh?”
With aplomb, she struck a pose with her left fist raised. The back of her palm displayed a cloud with a streak of tri-colored lightning racing out of it. “Took a bit, but now that Daedalus is at its sixth form we’re really getting somewhere with flying. Anyway, I still have some prep to do but I’ll be seeing you at the Celebration!”
Dash took off, rocking the cart, and zoomed into the clouds above.
“Watch the merch!” Applejack yelled at her. “I swear, that girl…”
Twilight stared at where Dash had been and blinked after a moment. “What?”
~~~
It was only a short bit from there to the center of Ponyville. Most of the buildings reminded Twilight of what you would see at a Renaissance Fair, but a few had more of a late 1800s-early 1900s look. Some even resembled modern buildings with large glass windows that displayed their wares. She was not quite sure what to make of one building that resembled a vivid multilayered carousel on the outside sans anything to ride on. Another appeared to be made out of giant pastries. Hansel and Gretel came to Twilight’s mind.
Like the capital, many inhabitants here bore fantastic skin tones and some went beyond that with feathers, scales, fur, tails, and horns. In particular, Twilight caught sight of a light green unicorn lazing on a bench. Now, an actual unicorn was already quite fantastic in Twilight’s mind, but this one was sitting, not like a horse would, but with its back pressed against the bench and in a relaxed posture like a rude man on a subway. Also, it was holding a conversation with a young woman whose blue and purple hair seemed completely normal compared to a unicorn. Twilight could only assume based on the lyre on the unicorn’s left flank that she was a Master.
Twilight could not process what spending time in a completely inhuman body would be like. At least Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie had some human traits. Twilight made a mental note to also look out for any debuffs or jobs that would transfigure her avatar’s body.
As they moved along, they eventually came to a stop right by the confectionary shop.
“Thanks for the ride, Applejack!” said Pinkie, after getting off and unloading some of the cargo.
Twilight bowed her head. “Thank you very much.”
“No problem. If I had time, I wouldn’t mind showing around, but I’ve got some unpacking to do.” Applejack glanced back at Apple Bloom, still sleeping. “Maybe put this one to bed.”
“I was actually wondering about that.” Twilight eyed Apple Bloom. “Couldn’t she have logged out if she’s this tired? I’m guessing it’s getting a little late for kids wherever she is.”
“It is, but we’ve run into this problem before,” said Applejack. “If Apple Bloom had logged out back in Amneal, either she’d have to get out here on her own or I’d have to go back and get her.”
“Can’t you just choose a spot you want to log in at?”
“Dendro don’t work that way. You’ve got save spots, mostly towns, but you can’t just log out and log back into the same place if you’re, say, out in the wild.”
“Unless you’re camping!” Pinkie proclaimed. “Gotta do a lot of set up though!”
“Interesting.” Another piece of information was added to Twilight’s internal library.
“And don’t feel too bad, Applejack!” Pinkie gave Twilight a slap on the back. “I can show Twilight ar—”
The door to the Hansel-and-Gretel-style building opened up and a woman whose hair resembled a swirl of raspberry soft serve waddled out. Based on the width of her stomach, Twilight estimated she was near the end of her second trimester or possibly in her third. Her hands were bare of any crest.
“Oh, Pinkie, thank goodness, I thought I heard you! Some of our other deliveries got delayed so we’re now a bit behind schedule.”
“Roger!” Pinkie gave a playful salute. “I can get us caught back up. You and the twins take it easy-peasy!”
Pinkie lurched forward, read to sprint into the building, but stopped just before her feet left the ground. She twisted her upper body towards Twilight a few degrees more than what a spine should have allowed. “Oh my gosh! Twilight, I know this is super sudden, but do you think you could do me a super huge favor?”
Given that Pinkie had provided her with a ride, food, and a plethora of info, Twilight responded, “Of course. I only needed to stop by that tree. I’d just planned to log out after that until the Celebration.”
“But then you’ll miss a chance to try all the fun special tre—” Pinkie slapped herself in the face. From her storage she pulled out what resembled a cooler used to transport sensitive medical supplies. “Gotta focus. Can you please run this over to a friend of mine? Here, I’ll make you a map.”
Instead of pulling a pen and paper out of her storage, the skin of Pinkie’s arm peeled off. There was already what looked like ink on it, showing a rough outline of Ponyville with a large red X on a path that led to the outskirts of town. While retaining its pink hue, the skin’s texture shifted to that of parchment. Pinkie tore the map off her arm without a care.
“D-doesn’t that hurt?” Twilight hesitated a moment before taking the map. It did feel like parchment, but she could not ignore it had been Pinkie’s flesh and blood a second ago.
“Oh no worries, I turned the pain function off.” Pinkie drew close to Twilight. “It’s super important you keep that on you though. Angel is ultra-sensitive about strangers.”
“Is Angel who I’m meeting?”
“Oh no, no. Meeting Angel would just be silly. He’s a bunny, after all. My friend’s actually his Master, Fluttershy.” Pinkie pinched the finger and thumb of her left hand together. “She’s just an itty-bitty bit shy.”
It’s even in her name, Twilight thought.
“Dang, that’s the opposite direction from home for us,” said Applejack. “I do still feel bad about our first run-in though. Tell you what, let’s be friends, and you shoot me a message anytime you want to come over to the farm for some cider and zap apple jam.”
“Okay sure,” said Twilight. The two completed the task of approving each other as friends and then all of them split up.
With the cooler in her storage, Twilight, still unfamiliar with how exactly her item inventory worked and its limits on preservation, made a beeline for the tree. This had been her only business left to complete before the Celebration. Professor Dominguez had probably intended for Twilight to spend any additional time exploring Ponyville, but she had not explicitly said so, so Twilight had resolved to just get to town, do this one task, and then log out. Tacking on Pinkie’s request did not seem like much. Although, with magic, centaurs, aliens, and unicorns, her mind was stretched a bit. Even taking into account that this was a game (even with part of her brain starting to think it was more than that), all these fantastic sights were a bit much.
There was also the possibility that Professor Dominguez would be at the tree.
When you get to Ponyville, go to the Golden Oaks Library. You can’t miss it—it’s a big tree. I’ll have a surprise there for you!” she had said.
Pondering what it could be while giving it a 60% chance of it being cake, Twilight entered the tree. The inside reminded her of when she had started the game with books lining the walls. The scent of books that she adored was mixed with something akin to cypress. There was a desk at the center with an older woman manning it, but it must have been a slow day because she was sound asleep. Twilight went to approach but something tugged at her pants.
Looking down, she was met with a girl that appeared around Apple Bloom’s age. Her skin was a deep brown. Though, given how character customization worked, it was not indicative of any nationality. Sticking out of her hoodie was faint blue hair that matched her eyes. Those eyes were like a cat’s and the way they were focused reminded Twilight of a tiger ready to pounce.
“Easier than I thought. You haven’t even got an Embryo,” the girl giggled. She then lowered her tone. “Are you Celeste’s star pupil?”
“I… I wouldn’t say star pupil…”
“And so bashful.” The girl grinned showing that her teeth were fanged. “Well, I’m glad I didn’t have to wait too long. Now I can go back to having fun. I’m really looking forward to seeing you at the Celebration.”
The girl giggled some more before fading away like fog at dawn. Twilight stood there for a second with goosebumps running up her arms. Something about the child had seemed off and the way she vanished reminded Twilight of ghost stories. Professor Dominguez had not lied about what awaited her at the tree being a surprise, but it had not been a welcome one. Having completed her task, she turned to go.
“Ah, wait,” someone coughed. Looking back, Twilight saw it was the librarian. She rubbed one eye and yawned. “Forgive me. Strange as this may sound, I received a request where I would fall asleep and when I awoke, I was to lend a book to the first Master I saw.”
Twilight approached while the librarian pulled out a tome. To her surprise, she recognized it: it was the very same book that had made her a mage. But, given it was related to Professor Dominguez, Twilight still took it. As she did, a letter fell out. Twilight snatched up, and, setting the book aside, opened it up.
Glad you made it to Ponyville! it started. Sorry for not properly addressing this, but I’ll explain more when I have some time. I’m a bit busy getting ready for the Summer Sun Celebration, but I made sure to look through some things. I’m sure you’ve gotten a little familiar with how things work here by now, but I still wanted to give you a little help. So, I consulted the Suitable Job Diagnostic Catalog and found a job that looked like a good match: Mage! Of course, this is just me guessing and the Catalog works much better when a Master does it themselves, and it is just a suggestion. What I’m hoping most for is you to have fun!
Twilight wasn’t sure what to make of Professor Dominguez reading her like a book, but it sounds like so far, Twilight had fulfilled whatever goals her advisor was expecting of her in Infinite Dendrogram. Just to be sure, she took the book with her.