Chapter 48: Returned, Revealed
That... that was a lot. Too much, even. Rather than try to take in those changes logically, Spike decided to grasp them in practice. As soon as he resumed meditating he felt the upsurge in power: His magic seemed like it was refined, made clearer: A substance that had been purified and elevated to a concentrated form. It also recovered much more quickly than before, and letting that go to waste would be sad. As such, Spike decided this could be his final review before the big test.
At first he directed the power into his 'Dragon's' skills, one after another in the same order he found them. Enhancing his claws, bolstering his stats, turning on his magic vision, lazily expelling a cloud of orange fire... Stretching his legs (and the rest of him), raising his defenses, letting resistances soak away the remaining damage from his growth.
Then he tried out Layer for the first time, since his MP was nearly full even after all of that. Each buff cast on himself felt potent in a way the Satisfying Meals hadn't: The energy was concentrated and put into play directly, instead of spread out and delivered by a physical source. As the description promised, the effects stacked together without any issue.
Spike's perception gained new clarity and stretched further away (enough so that he could vaguely tell the train was pulling into the station, but in his meditative haze he couldn't tell you how he knew that), his movements accelerated sharply, and his health recovered fast enough that the dings and cracks from the Dragon's Hoard weren't lasting even a second.
If anypony had been watching him he'd have looked like quite the spectacle right now. Spike could imagine how he seemed from the outside. A vaguely-familiar dragon, pulled and stretched into proportions easily double his original size. Flame pooled and flickered around his gaping maw, heat radiated off every one of his burnished scales. Wicked claws flickered and shone at each tip of ten long fingers, his hands the size of a full-grown pony's head.
The creature stirred in sudden jerks and bursts of high-speed movement, and despite its eyes being closed it seemed to be... waiting for something. And yet the absurdity of it all was that, even with his imposing frame and strangeness? He was just standing by a bench and waiting for the train like anypony else. He had made himself into easily the most shocking thing in Ponyville (at this exact moment in time, anyways), and-
"Spike?"
One pair of eyelids flew open, and then another. Twilight was standing near the open door of the closest train car, her few pieces of luggage levitating behind her. The angle was strange, she was so much lower than usual... It was like looking down at her from a ladder at the Library. If it weren't for the one thing that had changed about her while she was gone? Spike would have taken a moment to appreciate the absurdity of that. As it was? He immediately stopped everything he was doing, unfurling one buff after another and letting his Hoard pull him back down to his (new) normal height. Eye to eye with Twilight, ignoring the trepidation in her eyes... He looked over her head.
[Devoted Lover]
Twilight Sparkle
LV 31
"...Welcome back?"
Everything fell into place before Spike could think. A trip to Canterlot she hadn't told him about until the day-of, yet one that took an entire day from sunrise until deep in the evening. But it was also a trip Twilight had been prepared for: At least prepared enough to get new clothes from Rarity well in advance. Minimalist clothes, based on the things Rarity had said about using 'just a little' fabric. Celestia's letter had said that Twilight was coming, so they spent at least part of the day together, and now this change in her title... Even if Observe hadn't shown him a variety of status effects like Sealed by the Solar Sigil and Invictus Secundus, even if it hadn't displayed her class as Celestial Consort... He knew it.
This was the 'Proof'.
STORY ARC: My First Day As The Gamer
COMPLETED!
Reward: All Sub-Quest Rewards, All Quest Rewards, 50,000 EXP, 200 Bits, ???, ???, 'Proof'
What had been a modest shiver the first time he gained a level now hit like a full head-to-toe quake. An eruption of boxes flooded his vision, and he started going through them one by one: Twilight had made him wait all day, and he didn't want to call her out on the 'Proof' in public. He'd clear this up first and then they could go back home and talk things out over dinner.
The first handful of boxes were all levels, putting him up to 13 in total. It was a huge leap from this afternoon, and enormous compared to how he woke up. He'd gained even more points in all of his stats, more bits racked up alongside his earlier allowance and the matched-value from the fines... A skillbook appeared, but then whisked itself away just as quickly. He minimized the error message that came up as it did, since it wasn't a priority. Weird, sure. Priority? Not as much. The only things left (since his 'Proof' wasn't an object at all) were a few gems and a folded paper map... All of which reacted to his Quality Assurance skill.
Spike had taken a little time to do all of that, and was jarred out of his focus just as he finished.
"Spike, is everything-"
He quickly hammered shut all the rest of the UI pop-ups, turning towards his (there-is-no-word).
"Yeah! I mean, things are obviously a bit weird, but let's talk about that at home, alright?"
Twilight was clearly hesitating, and she scuffed one hoof along the ground and looked down at... Oh, she was looking to where his head height would have been, and was, when she left.
"Are you sure? Because-"
"I know why you went to Canterlot and I don't think you want to have that conversation out here."
She giggled, and it warmed his heart that even in this awkward situation her laughter was still as free and light as usual.
"Oh Spike, I was just-"
Rather than try to explain it the long way around, he just leaned forward and whispered her new title and watched for the reaction. He hadn't even gotten to the '-er' in 'Lover' when the color drained out of her face, and what had been a loose and casual smile turned into a manic rictus.
"AHHAHA WELL LET'S NOT WASTE ANY TIME THEN!"
He couldn't have wasted time even if he wanted to, since her next act was to abruptly teleport them both to the Library. He braced himself and tried to keep his eyes open during the process, hoping to see something of the nature of the advanced spell... But like every time, his eyes forced themselves closed as soon as they popped out of normal space and time, only reopening a half-second later as they arrived. Twilight was already levitating her bags up the stairs and trying not to hyperventilate.
"...Should I go get a paper bag?"
Twilight shook her head and dropped to her haunches, sitting on the floor and staring off into space. A moment passed, and another... Eventually she nodded to herself.
"I-it really says that about me?"
"Among other things, yeah: Want the entire list? I've gotten some practice writing down a pony's character sheet from the Crusaders earlier."
"The Cru- Right. Of course you did. Of course they did. And yes, I actually do want the entire list, although not right away. Can you remember it until later or should you write it down now? I'm not entirely certain how this..."
"I can't not remember it, I think: Picked up a skill for eidetic recall."
That got her attention, and she snapped her head over to look at him with gleaming eyes.
"Really? Oh Spike that's fantastic. I know this is all new and I shouldn't be thinking about the research applications already but think about the research applications!"
"Waaay ahead of you on that one... for once."
There was a moment of peaceable silence, and Spike could tell the earlier tension was dead. They had known each other for too long to let even something like this throw them off for longer than was totally necessary. He and Twilight were too close to break over something as measly as 'one of us has turned into a video game character and the other is sleeping with Equestria's god-ruler'...
"So you and Celestia, huh?"
"Wait it told you that part? I thought it just said Devoted Lover, not-"
Spike put a claw on her shoulder, really appreciating their new respective heights.
"It did, but first off: Who else would it be? What other pony, of all the ponies in Canterlot, could even think about being a match for you?"
She blushed at that but didn't stop him, instead just curling in on herself in a fit of embarrassment.
"Spiiike-"
"Also the nitty-gritty details in your status screen might have given me a bit too much nitty gritty, so unless somepony else is causing status effects with names like Invictus Secundus..."
She went quiet except for the sniffling, looking happy-yet-pensive: An introspective joy.
"That... It said that, too? That's quite flattering actually... Well. Yes, Celestia and I. Which means I suppose we both have a lot to talk about, huh?"
Spike nodded and pulled her towards the kitchen, glad for the segue.
"I was going to say 'you're darn straight we are', but then I realized you're now provably not!"
"That joke was awful! Did Pinkie rub off on you that much while I was gone?"
That innuendo was a reminder that whatever Gamer's Mind and Body did for him? Preventing a red-hot blush from creeping across his cheeks wasn't part of it. Twilight took her seat, giggling again, while he turned his face away and busied himself getting out the prepared food and snacks.
"W-well anyways, I saw this coming... sort of. The 'needing to talk' part at least. I went all out: Dig in!"
Stats
Page generated in 0.044 seconds
Total duration
672 users online
1,057,427 hits today, 2,054,621 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Here we go! Excited to hear the next chapter, really want hear about the talk they’re gonna have!
For those playing at home, I went back and checked: Twilight earned four levels from her adventure. Sure, Spike earned twelve in the same time period, but that was from a lower starting point and deliberate grinding.
10174110
Must've been quite the visit.
gaaayakakakak, ahh there it is!
....I admit, this is something concerning for me.
10174123
What kind of sex was it, that made her gain 4 levels? Must have been either a dominatrix celestia, or it was 'transcendent'. I'm putting my money on transcendent, since no mention of any wounds on her person.
Wait... did I miss the part where Twilight already knows about his "gamer" thing, and all the "status screens", "skills" and "titles"?
I remember that he tried to tell her at the very beginning of the story, but she brushed it off and he decided to try telling her again after she returns... which he never did. Or at least, I don't remember it happening.
Ergh can't wait for more. The confrontation between Spike and Twilight was great and took a nice turn with Celestia being involved. But I can't wait for more in the next chapter!
10174305
yeah, he mentioned it waaayyyy back at the start before she left, but he couldn't fully explain it then, was still figuring out wtf
10174288
10174123
I personally chalked it up to the physical challenges caused by the size difference.
10174305
10174382
He mentioned it, but not in enough detail for her to really understand or believe him.
10174413
Huh... The more ya know.
Twilight got a paramour and a new research buddy on the same day!
Its time for The Talk?
Currently though, this story isnt That story, so its just talk through, although Spike will have to insist Twilight gets some sleep, just so he can have defineable seperable days?
I wonder, if Spike can use Observe etc on himself while asleep, if the mechanics allow him to sleep and dream coherently, he can gain Skill:Dream walker?
Have the two unknown rewards unlocked yet or do those only occur with Twilights actions with the gems and Spike, or whereever the map leads to? Spikes new gem source cave thats not Mauds? Location of hidden artifacts like PipBUG?
First time I was almost finished reading this chapter and a thunderstorm passing within a mile decided to drop a zapper so close, the phone line sparkgap lit up the room, and the LAN switch lost a bank of ports.
10174382 10174401
yeah, my point exactly, he tried to tell her, but she brushed him off, so he didn't give her any details. She shouldn't know about his skills, status screens or that he can see the titles, but she seems to already know about those.
What? I thought the whole point of the proof was because Twilight didnt believe him. Why does she suddenly know so much about whats going on when she was in Canterlot all day fucking Celestia?
10174110
I'm pretty sure Twilight was grinding, too.
10174382
10174655
10174744
Twilight's a perceptive pony, and the exact opposite of stupid: Spike said enough about his concerns in the morning for Twilight to have some idea what he was talking about (even if she didn't believe it at the time). Then Spike sent his letter about his further concerns to Celestia, either immediately before or while Twilight was with her. It may be surprising to hear this, but people (and characters) are entirely capable of jumping to conclusions and being right about them, from time to time.
Not to mention that you seem to be skipping lines or ignoring things. Let's look at the actual conversation here, just two lines:
Twilight doesn't know, in advance, about what Spike is claiming to see about her: She's solely responding to him mentioning the Devoted Lover title, to which he responds by offering to show her everything he can see.
TL;DR Twilight has enough data to use as a baseline, Spike is giving her the information needed to extrapolate further, and his bold-faced statement of what she did is sufficient to confirm "OK, this is real and not a delusion". From there... Well, purple smart horse brain go fast. :V
10174401
If what your saying is true, then most older guards should be much higher levels. And that's definitely not been happening if this story coincides with the timeline we have.
Well, that's a little personal to have on such open display.
I figured it was a date, wasn't expecting it to be Celestia.
Hah!
10174804
Very nice explanation of how she pieced it together. Though I do hope it gets explained a bit within the story next chapter. Even twilight mentioning seeing his letter and putting the pieces together herself when she saw him meditating at the station, that would be enough. It's just a little jarring to have her, from our perspective, suddenly understand enough to call it out. I do like how you are having her jump to the right conclusion though, not something I see very often.
I would love to see some art of spike meditating at the train station, sounds like some awesome desktop background or wallpaper. Heck, a poster too.
I'm excited to hear how spike explains it to her, even more so now that I know she has a speedy horse brain. I look forward to the next chapter!
10175139
Don't worry at all: The next chapter is pretty exclusively focused on that discussion anyways! Well, among a few other things. In retrospect this placement for a chapter break might have been the wrong split, in terms of making sure people got the correct message. I'm no speedrunner, gymnast, or soda jerk: Splits aren't my thing. :V
I absolutely love this chapter and the reveals and reactions in it! 10/10!
Next time you got a gamer system remember to not play too much with it or 'Error' will happen
Never studied Latin, but...
"Invictus Secundus" - "follower of the unconquered"? I suppose this implies Celestia dommed Twilight?
How did Twilight already know about Spike’s gamer abilities? And using those abilities for research? There are far better uses than that.
Not really a fan of Twilestia (it's just a little creepy and low-key toxic, imo) but I figured she was on a date of sorts. Glad to see Twilight finally in the know now!
10176475
I think the biggest issue is its never given time to ferment. Ya can't just plop it in all sudden, ya gotta build, drop hits, etc.
Also, kinda toxic IMO because that shit go from 0 to 100 at LIGHT SPEED. They still mostly normal people, so ya gotta show day. Royalty is just a facade, and one is still just a nerdy librarian.
Wonder if we'll get some stories outta Twilight on how their relationship started.
10175173
Yeah, this was definitely the wrong place for a chapter break, given what the readers currently know. Fortunately, I am far too invested in the story right now to care that much, and I trust that you can still write things well, but others might not feel that way. And even readers that might not be confused/mad enough to actually do something extreme like give up on the story completely might just put it aside for a while. (Something even I've done when a story stalls for too long or makes a questionable or overdone decision.)
Don't worry. I've seen relationships work even when told in flashback form, so as long as the relationship remains believable, it's fine enough, and even though I was looking forward to Twilight's initial reaction, I'm more interested in her secondary reactions in this case.
10175814
As a Latin scholar (Latin III), and Having studied Roman naming traditions, I can verify that the following quote is true.
This quote is from here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_naming_conventions
but, as Twilight is called
This means that Twilight is a guy.
So, what happened is that either the author got his Latin wrong, or that Twilight is a guy,as the us in Invictus Secundus is a masculine ending (Ignoring the issue of a guy being called the second, as that is for female naming only). In addition, even if the name was Invicta Secunda, this means that Twilight is the second out of at least 3 daughters to somepony named Invictus. In conclusion, a far more accurate title would be T. Sola Invicta, which means that she is the daughter of Sol Invictus, which might not be strictly accurate, but it is far more accurate than calling Her Invictus Secundus. In addition, we can handwave that issue by her being an honarary daughter of Celestia. (Interestingly, her name is very close to the Latin caelum, meaning “sky, heaven, atmosphere” -Charlton T. Lewis, Ph.D. and. Charles Short, A Latin Dictionary Oxford University Press, 1879. Entries for caelum and caelum.)
In addition, we can solve the problem of Celestia being called Sol Invictus, a masculine name, by saying that it feels more like what a ruler should take upon for their name as they wage war.
10181390
It's neither actually: I've got a few years of Latin under the belt myself (shout out to my teacher Joe, wherever he is in these troubled times), and while I know enough to use the formally-correct versions of things when needed? I'm also more than willing to twist it for specific purposes, no differently than any other language. The title being used is a callback to something outside of this fic, a case where the genericized title of Secundus has a different contextual meaning. Invictus, in turn, was then used as the matching declension purely for the rhyme, with neither side of it meant to imply gender.
TL;DR Invictus Secundus is incorrect Latin, but it's deliberately incorrect. Thanks much for the scholarship though!
Completely unfamiliar with Latin, and read through those last few comments about the Latin. A quick google search left me assuming it was supposed to be something like "Unconquered Second" or "Unconquered Favored"? That would make sense to me because Twilight seemed flattered in a soft kind of way – both of those would imply a sense of equality or a sense of equality as well as affection. Was this closer to your intention?
Also, great chapter! I love Spike's new skills and such as he acquires them, but what I love best are all the character moments caused by said acquisitions. Twilight seems VERY in character. I love how quickly she caught on that Spike was telling the truth. Classic speedy scholar.
Will it be explained what does Sealed by the Solar Sigil do?
So... This chapter finally seals the deal for me. This is now in my Top 20.
10369795
Glad to hear it, and glad to have you! Hope you're in for a long ride (he says, looking at the current segment he's writing in another window)... Yeah, just a little bit of a long ride. :V
Very juicy chapter ♡ Magnificent story so far. Finaly the quest is done. Forward towards the next one
Well then
An unexpected turn of events!
[Shooketh Expression was neutralized by Gamer's Mind]
Nice
I love puns ♡ Spike... Can he get a comedy skill?
Mare on mare, all missing is Popcorn
Personally I’m really not a fan of Celestia X twilight shipping imo. Like Celestia is way more a mother figure or pseudo mother figure than lover