Spike, somehow, went through the five stages of grieving the moment he read that sentence. He denied the existence of the possible dangerous and or parasitic glove, but after a while got angry at the fact that he put the glove on before checking anything else, as well as making a Spike face shaped hole on the wall out of pure anger. He then pleaded with any gods that existed for a solution to his problem but then became depressed over the fact that he might die (he wasn't sure if the glove was safe), and finally, he accepted his destiny no matter how grim it may be. All in the span of five minutes.
Finally, Spike decided to get back to reading the scroll, hoping that nothing too bad would happen.
‘If you did put the glove on, do not worry. I was actually going to tell you to put it on either way since the glove is perfectly safe…’ Spike then punched the pillar hard enough to split it in half. He was mad at the author of the scroll for giving him a near heart attack.
‘Now allow me to tell you what this objects are, specially since i doubt anyone has seen a gun in Equestria. The glove is a relic that goes by the name of The Volt Glove. The volt glove uses the magic in the air to allow to create lightning in whatever form the caster wants it to take. It allows it to copy spell or attacks from powerful enemies you have defeated specifically.’ Spike was surprised that something so powerful even existed and was really excited to use it but decided to keep reading since the scroll appeared to have more info on the glove.
‘But that's it. Really the glove is nearly useless since you can't even control the direction the magic it makes goes. Not without a lot of training anyways.’ Spike was disappointed. Even if he learned how to activate the magic now, Spike had no time to master the trajectory of the spells enough to use it safely. He decided to keep reading, already giving up on learning how to use the glove.
‘Do not be disappointed my friend. That is what the gun is for.’ Spike turned to look at the weird piece of metal.
“What is a gun? This just looks like a piece of metal with cool energy going through it.” Spike told himself while picking up the gun. After looking at it for a minute, he gave up on figuring out what the gun did and returned to the scroll.
‘The gun’s official name is The Volt Gun. Before I go to more detail on it I think it may be a better idea to tell you what a gun actually is. A gun is a far more advance version of a crossbow.’ Spike looked back the slab of metal to try and see the similarities. He found none.
‘Yes I know it doesn't look like a crossbow. But this small piece of metal carries smaller pieces of metal inside that work as the arrows of a crossbow. Just pull on the small lever that is in the middle of the hole in the gun with a finger to see it at work.’
Spike did as the scroll said(mostly out of curiosity since he thought that it wasn't true). To his surprise, the small piece of metal shot something out straight forward after pulling on the lever. The object hit the wall just hard enough to make a small hole on it. Spike slowly turned to the gun, then slowly looked back at the hole before putting the gun on the ground and taking ten steps back away from the gun, acting as if the gun was an extremely dangerous monster(which, in a way, was).
‘Unlike a crossbow however, a gun can shoot at least triple the distance than a crossbow can. The quote on quote arrows it shoot are too small to be captured by magic safely and it can carry hundreds of bullets, bullets are the name of the arrows for the gun, which makes it extremely deadly.’ Spike took twenty steps away from the gun this time. Or tried to since after the third step he hit the wall.
‘Do not worry my probably terrified friend. This gun was designed to not pierce living tissue to much since the gun wasn't made with killing in mind but instead was made to help the glove. Using technology far more advance then Equestrias currently has, the gun makes its own bullets making the gun have practically endless ammunition. The bullets themselves releases a special signal that allows the glove wielder to hit the target with the magic guaranteed. But enough bullets shot at a single target can kill it.’
Spike was stupefied. He was not expecting today to be the day to find to extremely dangerous relics. Actually, he never expected to find something so dangerous period. But the scroll was STILL not over.
‘The first thing that you may think of is how are this objects safe if they can kill? Well, that depends how you use them. If you use the gun only, than yes you can eventually kill innocent creatures. Same with the glove. But that depends wholeheartedly on YOU. You can choose to kill, or to spare the enemy through a knockout if the enemy doesn't want to things peacefully.’
Spike though the words written on the scroll. True, the gun could kill anyone but if it does kill someone, it was by choice not because the gun forced you to kill it. As such he wasn't as scared of the gun anymore, specially because Spike saw it as if he were himself. In all the fights he has been in with the residents of the Everfree Forest, Spike had the choice to kill them but he instead chose to just scare the creatures away instead.
After thinking about the meaning of the words, Spike went back to reading. ‘A bit more about the gun before we move forward. The gun has three types of shooting styles and they are normal shots, tracer shots and spread shot. Normal shots shoot forward and the best used for pressure and head on fighting. Tracer shots are shots that bounce around for a total of ten times and home in on target that you set your eyes on as well as follow paths you graph for it. Spread shots just shoots a ton of bullets right in front of you. Each bullet also has other thing that make it special. Normal shots can be shot a total of five times before you stop shooting all together and the bullets disappear after it goes a certain distance away from you. Tracer shots can be shot three times and can go as far as they want and get faster the more they bounce. Also the tracer shot only homes in after it hits an object since it must hit something, hence why they bounce ten times. The spread shot can only be shot once and it only goes ten pony hooves lenght in front of you but cover everything in front of you. The bullets reload at different times. Normal takes half a second after the first shot disappears, tracer ones take three seconds after it disappears, and spread bullets reload after ten seconds. All bullets leave a marker that only the glove wielder will see on whatever targets they hit that allows the ability to control the lightning or other forms of magic from the glove. Use this information intelligently.’
Spike was surprise that the gun was more complicated than it appeared to be. He also noticed a small wheel on the side that showed the bullets types meaning that that was how you changed the shooting styles.
‘Now, for the things you get for free just for having the glove on. The first thing is a major boost to your speed and stamina. The reason for this is that your body now has lightning coursing through it thanks to the glove. The best part, you have full control of how much of a boost you want. Useful when it comes to everyday life.’
Spike did a spit take when he read that. He got lost in the Everfree forest and most likely not make it to Zecora’s hut in time and yet he still did what he was sent to do.
‘You also get a screen hub. What this does is that it shows you just how much life force a creature has as well as what troubles it. The life force is shown through a bar that changes color depending on how filled it is. If it's green, the creature is perfectly healthy. If it's yellow, it means the creature is hurt. If it's red, it means that the creature is so hurt that it is near death. If the bar is empty, then the creature is plain out dead. Any and all symbols that appear near the life force bar means something bad is ailing them. For example, if a square with bubbles is next to the bar, it means the creature is poisoned and is slowly dying. Take advantage of this to help people you care about from things like that.’
Spike though it sounded a lot to what one of those health bars that appear a lot on Button Mash’s videogames. Still he loved this free skill since he could now help Fluttershy take care of her animals better or help at the local hospital.
‘But that is not all. If you swipe your left arm while saying “skill show” you can see all the skills you have gain throughout your entire life. Not just battle skills but casual skill like, for example, cooking skill. Do it now.’
Spike was not expecting that. Technically he didn't expect anything at all but he didn't see the video game like power to come from a glove that lets you shoot lightning. Seeing life force. People gives pulse that can be tracked with a bit of energy. Seeing what you know how to do was impossible since you need to be scanned. Then it hit him. Since Spike is wearing the glove, then the glove had to scan him for safety precautions.
“Skill show.” Commanded Spike. Suddenly in front of him, Spike saw three screens. All the screens were different sizes. The smallest he recognized as his health bar. He mainly recognized it as his own because it had his name on it. The second biggest screen said ‘click on a skill for more detailed information on it. The biggest screen showed all his skills and a small summary of what each was. One skill in particular got his attention though and that was his predator skill. Reading the summary though calmed him down though. It said, ‘This skill is a skill for predators only. It boost reaction time and strength while fighting. Can make you look terrifying but does not define who you really are.’
After reading the screen Spike realized something, something really important. How do you remove the screen hub. Spike decided to test something before going into a panic. “Skill down,” Spike commanded. The screen suddenly banished. All except the health bar. The health bar turned smaller to not obstruct his view which spike found useful.
Getting back to the scroll Spike read, ‘Oops, forgot to tell you that to remove the hub you need to say “skill down.”’ Spike face palmed at this. ‘That and if you say “skill show target” it shows the targets skills. Don't use in a fight though unless you want to be blind in the middle of a fight.’
Spike noticed that he was almost done with the scroll and was starting to get excited for two reasons. One reason was because the rest of the scroll may teach him how to use his new powers. The other reason was because he was finally going to be done reading the book length scroll.
‘Now for the fun part, learning how to use you powers! All I will teach you is lightning change, self regeneration 1 and 2, and finally a super called Excalibur strike 1. All other lightning skills you can use you must create yourself though. To use lightning link, all you have to do is snap your fingers and then leave your hand open. This attack requires the help of the gun to be usable though, unless you feel like getting really close to your enemy. Without the gun, this move at best creates creates a small energy ballon front of you but make sure to concentrate and train with it when you have free time. Why? If you use it without the gun at first, you will lose control of it. If you shoot a target with the gun and use lightning link, the ball of energy will instantly launch a lightning strike that will continue to hit its target until you get too far away from the target or stop using lightning link. The attack will not stop if something gets in between target and you though so careful. At first you can only target three objects at a time though but you can later, if you train, can target up to ten targets. Another you must know is that you can use multiple lightning links on one singular target.’
Spike eyes were shining, almost as if he was looking at the greatest thing in the world. Immediately Spike tried what the scroll said and found out three things. The first thing was that he could use lightning magic. Second thing he found was that his new powers looked really cool. The third thing he found is that the scroll was right. How did he found out? Because a lightning bolt flew right onto his face two seconds after lightning ball was formed. He realized with that that he really need to practice the skills if he wants to use them at their best, or at least so he doesn't get another lighting strike to the head. After the pain left, he went right back to reading.
‘Self regeneration 1 all you have to do is snap your fingers and make a close fist close to yourself. This heals you and only you. Self regeneration 2 though is much tougher. Snap your fingers and make a fist but leave your pointer finger out. If sparks come out then you that means you did it correctly. Point your finger at whoever needs healing and then get close but don't touch them unless you want to shock them. Forgot to mention that self regeneration 2 can also be used on others. Now that I think about why did I call it self regeneration 2? Meh, don't care it's just a name.’
Spike, taking advantage of the break on the scroll tried both regeneration moves. He found the first one to be ridiculously easy while the second one did nothing until his tenth try. Spike went back to the scroll after thinking of practicing the move.
‘Now then for the last move I will teach you, Excalibur Strike 1. This will be your in case of emergencies attack since it will completely tire you out. Practice this when you have a lot of free time. To use it, you must say out loud “The blade the protect all, Excalibur!” When you say Excalibur, snap your fingers in front of you and the attack will activate. Remember, this your most powerful move for now. You can improve or find better moves with time. Also the more you get used to the move the less tired you will become. Note this move creates a huge lightning sword in front of you so use this as a reference if you do use it in the future. Also the first time you use it WILL make you pass out.’
Learning that he had a move that had a cool phrase before activating made Spike excited to use the move but he knew, thanks to his experience exploring the Everfree Forest, that it's best to conserve energy if you know you are in a dangerous place.
‘Let me finish this, probably, half an hour long note with a few more things. Defeating powerful enemies will give you access to new modes for either the gun or the glove. An example would be pierce shots. This spell thought to you in specific use finger snapping for easy learning so note that not all spell can be fasted like that. Right now your glove only has access to thunder magic so if you want to cast fire spells or water spells with the gloves, you may need to fight something strong that have access to the spell. To change modes for your gun or glove, just say “Show Modes” and then point to the mode you want. Last but not least, how this power will shape the world you live in depends wholly on YOUso if your world is destroyed by the power of the glove, please realize that it was not the glove and guns fault but yours.’
Spike was surprise surprise ch simple objects had such complicated ways of using them and that they can become even better if he wants them to be but before he left he noticed something else on the scroll that made his eye twitch for a second.
‘P.S Both the gun and glove have a camouflage mode which allows it to either hide them by saying “hide Gunvolt ” or can hide your identity somewhat by saying “transform Gunvolt.” The transformation does nothing but hide your identity so don't expect to suddenly turn you into something like super mare or something.’
Seeing nothing else to do in the cave, as well as not sensing the weird feeling anymore, Spike left for the exit will trying out the gun. By the time he left the cave he had a basic understanding of how to use the gun as well as a mild headache from having walked into the tracer shot path. He noticed a small ramp outside the cave hole that lead above what guessed to be a small gorge. Once back above the Everfree, Spike shot a few trees and tried using lightning link when he saw the markers appear on his sights. He did this until he got back to Ponyville, and took notes for his map, and got one or two items that Zecora said she wanted to get, as well as got chased by Timberwolves. Let's just say the trip back was eventful. At least Spike found out regular Timberwolves did not give him powers when knocked out