"S-Spike...? Ugh, could you get me something for this pounding headache...?" The purple mare muttered to herself, she was met with no answer.
"Spike?" She spoke up again, rubbing her eye, Twilight peaked opened. She jumped up with a start looking around vigorously in confusion.
All around her, no floor, ceiling, or walls, all there was a black void. Despite not seeing any surface, she still felt the ground under her hooves.
"What in the name of Celestia!?!" She cried. "W-what's going on here!"
She started to gallop, however, she felt like she was running in place. Stopping, Twilight started to hyperventilate.
"Hello!?!" She called out, her voice not evening echoing. "Anypony!?! ...Pinkie?"
She waited for a response, but went unheard. She fell back on her hind legs, with her hooves she grabbed her mane while shaking like a filly.
BOOM!
Twilight flinched as the deep, echoing sound that erupted before her. Looking up, she gasped dramatically. Far above her was a gigantic, black square darker then the actual void with text written in a bold, deep red font.
GAME OVER!
Twilight nearly fell over in surprise and shock.
POP!
She tilted her head down to see a far smaller and not as nearly dramatic text box appear.
Congratulations! You have survived (61) years, (7) months, and (5) Days!
You have completed the following achievements:
-Hatch a dragon egg and become Celestia's' student
-Befriend all Mane Six members
-Defeat NightMare Moon
-Defeat Discord and restore harmony to Equestria
-Attend (And Save) your Brothers' wedding
- Uphold abstadance and never sleep with another stallion (Or Mare)
-Send (999,999,999) Friendship reports to Princess Celestia
-Ascend to Alicorn status & become a princess
-Track Sunset Shimmer to The Human World and reclaim your crown
- Reform Sunset Shimmer
- Reform Starlight Glitter
- Defeat Trek
The mare nearly fainted. After a moment to recompose herself, she looked over her 'achievements'. "Wow, I know I did a lot of stuff, but to have all on one list..." She caught sight of her fifth accomplishment. "Wait, why is my virginity on there! Ugh, whatever... At least my reports are accurate"
POP!
She saw another window appear.
Start New Game?
[Yes][No]
Twilight raised a brow seeing the question. "'Game'?" She pondered the meaning. Was it asking her if she wanted to leave? Or something else along that nature? What would happened if she chose 'No'?
After a moment's thought, she decided. "Yes." The screen remained.
"Um... Yes, I would like to start a new game." Still nothing. "Hm..." She tapped her chin with her hoof. She stopped and looked down at it.
"Maybe...?" She brought up her hoof and pressed [Yes].
Another screen came.
You started a New Game! Would you like to see the Basic Tutorial?
Again, she pressed [Yes].
First things first, your inventory. This is where you can carry all of your items with none of the weight! But just this doesn't mean you can carry your whole bedroom and the kitchen sink, some objects can be too large and must be moved by hoof. Most items like potions and throwing knives are stackable, meaning they only take one slot in your inventory, the highest stack of any item can be 9999. You can also equip cloths, armour, and jewelry in your inventory.
Twilight felt a slight smile on her lips, this was very well explained and informative. Whoever made this 'Game' seemed to know what they were doing.
Second, is your quest log. This is where you can view possible missions and quest that you've accepted and are currently pursuing. There are four types of quests: Story, Side, Character, and Repeatable.
Story Missions are what allow you to advance the main plot and campaign. They are also the most flexible ones. Your choices and actions and heavily influence your journey to the point you never have the exact same playthrough twice.
Side Quests are just that, smaller but just as entertaining quests that can be taken on the side when the player doesn't feel like blowing through the main story. This is highly suggested so the player can see more of the world and gain special rewards not seen elsewhere.
character quest are special tasks the player can take up for the NPCs'. These quests commonly allow the player to increase their reputation with that character and can only accessed when they reach a certain status with them. They player can also receive special bonuses and may even pave the road to that one special night~
Repeatable Quests aren't really much in terms of substance and more akid to chores. They are mostly their for the player to farm basic resources like EXP and crafting materials. But they can still be useful, you never know when you need that one last bit of Experience or piece of herbs.
She reread the passage again to memorize them. Twilight made her own little opinions of each description. "Hm, that's really informative. So 'Story missions' advance a plot of some kind. Side quest seem pretty interesting, I wonder how many there are. Character quests seem somewhat off... What was that last bit suppose to mean? And now that I think about, Spikes' only been doing repeatables' his whole life, I... Kinda feel bad for that." She looked to the next text.
And Lastly, is the Status screen. Here, you can view your all your information from Name, to STATS, and even Buffs and Debuffs.
Twilight raised a brow. "That's it? Nothing more? Kinda disappointing." She saw [Okay] at the button and pressed it.
Before you start, please select at least one beginning perk. These perks will become a permanent part of your character. Most provide advantages along with some drawback, Please note contradicting perks cannot be taken together.
(Normal Mode)
(Purple Smart)
(Alicorn Twi)
(Earth Pony)
(Pegasus)
(Anthro)
(Genderbend)
(Canterlot High)
(Casanova)
(The Gamer)
Twilight felt intrigued by the number of options, she pressed her hoof on (Normal), a text box with a poriet of her appeared.
(Normal Mode)- Nothing too hard, nothing too easy. Good for beginners.
"Hm... As much as I'd like to get some practice at this 'Game', I doubt this would provide a sufficient challenge." She pressed [Back] and selected (Purple Smart). Another picture of her, but done in a way so it was far more stereotypical. She wore thick, coke-bottle glasses held together by scotch tape and wore a silly little bow tie and collar around her neck. She even sported a small case of acne. She cringed at memories of her High School years.
(Purple Smart)- A lot more brilliant than your average Twilight, this one has dedicated herself to studying and spell casting, but has neglected her body and social skills as a result. +5 to INT and WIS, but -5 to STR, END, and CHA. Also 25% less reputation gained from social interaction. Faster Leveling for skills involving Spells and Knowledge.
She felt a twinge of embarrassment. "That's... not really different from right now..." She checked (Alicorn Twi). She saw a significantly older version of herself, she looked like Celestia or Luna except colored purple. This picture of Twilight had a peaceful, almost benevolent look to her. She also took notice of her angelic wings.
(Alicorn Twi)- From the moment you pass the Dragon Egg test, you gain Alicorn status then and there. You gain god-like abilities just like Celestia and Luna, if not more powerful. This mode is for players seeking a more 'God Mode' playthrough, pun intended.
Twilight blinked at the discretion. "I must admit, that is very tempting... But that would be too much stress for the time. No thank you." She looked at (Earth Pony). It was a simple portrait of her missing her horn.
(Earth Pony)- Your parents, despite both being Unicorns, have long lost earth pony blood in their veins. You are born as an Earth Pony and have higher physical traits as a result. +5 to STR & END, but -1 to INT & WIS. Faster leveling for skills involving farming and physical tasks.
"Hm, This seems like something Applejack would choose." Twilight checked (Pegasis). Just like she guessed, it was merely her with wings.
(Pegasus)- Your Parents have long dormant Pegasi linkage and it reveals itself in you. You gain better reflexes and a more extroverted personality from it. +5 to DEX & CHA, but -1 to STR and END. Faster leveling for skills involving weather and social interaction.
"Hm... Seems like a bland pallet swap compared to the Earth Pony perk." Twilight said with clear disappointment. "And with a bonus like that to only what I can assume is charisma, shouldn't somepony like Fluttershy be better at talking to ponies?" She looked at (Anthro). It was portrait of her with a weirdly shaped body like a more slender (and oddly flattering) ape clothed in a simple black shirt and skirt.
(Anthro)- Lyra was right! Well kinda. All ponies, Griffons, Diamond Dogs, and any other intelligent creatures are now anthropomorphic. This perk is purely cosmetic and does not change base game.
Twilight gained the most genuine look of confusion on her face. "What's Lyra have to do with this? And what does 'Anthro' means? Hm, I'll have to look it up." She exited and looked at (Genderbend). It was just her with more masculine features and a dreadlock-like mane.
(Genderbend)- Everypony's the opposite gender, with the player being optional. +5% more reputation gained with the opposing sex.
She felt blush cross her checks. She quickly looked at (Canterlot High), it was a picture of her human form from her adventure where she had to retrieve her crown from Sunset. She then began wonder what was going on in the human world now.
(Canterlot High)- You are born in the Human version of Equestria, Earth. Very little magic and sorcery is known here, so the natives resort to cold, hard science to improve. So you have no access to magic, but gain natural proficiency with anything of that world. Access the exclusive Canterlot and Crystal Prep Questlines and Equestria will still be available through the portal, but only through certain time frames.
Twilight shrugged. "Eh, I've already seen it enough, I doubt I'd find anything of interest I couldn't just ask Sunset." She looked to (Casanova). She blushed furiously at the picture. It showed her lying on a massive bed surrounded by faceless stallions and mares, and even Celesta and Luna were all lying around her giving her bedroom eyes. The picture of her merely smugly stared back at her through its black sunglasses.
(Casanova)- Oh Baby, is that saxophone I hear? You were born with the natural ability to be irresistible to both genders. Stallions and mares will stop in their tracks and do a double take as you trot down the street. No one is completely immune to your charm, even the Sun Goddess herself will quiver at your touch. 50% more reputation gained from everyone. Anyone you meet will start automatically with the 'Liked' reputation level. Antagonist and other normally hostile NPCs will become neutral. Buffs gained from romances will be doubled in effect.
Twilight buried her face into her hooves in emressment. "W-Who would make such a perverted option!?!" She cried. She frantically backed out and looked at (The Gamer). It was simpler her staring at a screen with a smile, quite like now.
(The Gamer)- Fourth wall? What fourth wall? You gain the ability to see the world in a way even Lauren Faust can't. You're able to see the information of nearly everything in sight, from an enemy's' stats to an unknown ponys' name, you can see it all as if life were one big video game. Immunity to mind-based effects like confusion and insanity.
She felt a surge of excitement. As a seeker of knowledge and insight, this would surely aid in her gathering. And the extra defense to her mind was just icing on the cake. "Oh! This on goes looks too good to pass up!" Twilight clapped her hooves in glee. She quickly tapped [Take Perk]. It brought her back to the previous screen with (The Gamer) greyed out.
She rubbed her chin in thought. "Hm... It did say I could take more than one..." She muttered. "The 'Purple Smart' makes it seem it gives a good boost to intelligence and wisdom, and I doubt I'll encounter many problems where brute strength will be needed... But that big reduction to reputation gain. I'm not entirely sure what that is, but it sounds important." Twilight puddered for a little longer.
"Until I can understand the full extent of these numbers, I better just go with the balanced route." She selected (Normal Mode) and [Take Perk]. She then tapped [Done] at the bottom of the screen.
You have selected the (Normal Mode) & (The Gamer) perks! You're new game will start shortly.
Twilight sat patiently, waiting for this 'New Game' to start. What would happen? Will she wake up back in her old bed like nothing happened? Or will she become a filly? Or, worse, this was all just some huax played by some god-like deity of the afterlife who just wanted to mess with her?
Oh dear Princess Celestia, that last one actually scared her a little. Twilight brushed that thought away as she yawned. A sudden rush of fatigue came onto her. Lying down, she rested her head on her hooves and started to snore.
-Loading New Game-
"GRRRRRRRRRR-!" The muffled sound growled.
Twilight shivered at the wet, hot, convolsing around her. It felt so... disturbing!
"...On...ore...Pus...!" She heard another speak, she started to hear heavy breathing as she felt herself slid. She tried to opened her eyes, but to no avail. She tried to move, but found that her body felt wrong. It barely responded to her commands and her limbs felt heavy and sluggish.
She opened her mouth, but it was shut by the tight, slimy walls.
"GAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH-!" Twilight perked up at the sudden scream as she felt herself shoot out of the gooey prison and into a rush of cold air.
A small, hoarse cry escaped her lips. "Wah... Wah...!" She sounded nothing like herself.
"...Wait..." She thought. "....Am I...?"
"There we go! You did very well Miss Velvet. Here, hold your child." A voice said.
Twilight opened her eyes to be met with a painfully bright light. After her vision adjusted, she saw her mothers loving face. She had terrible bags under her eyes, her fur and face drenched in sweat, and her mane was a complete mess.
She saw her father, who looked less awful, come into sight.
"There she is... Our sweet little filly..." He said.
"Hm, yeah." Her mother lightly moaned. "I'll name her... Twilight, Twilight Sparkle."
birth...!" Twlight thought. If only she could cringe.
Interesting. Always liked a good gamer fic, although this is more along the lines of the 'Game of the Year' genre (where the character dies, discovers the game interface, and chooses New Game/Plus).
All in all, I am interested and tentatively watching. Good luck.
9042435
I'll post the next chapter tomarrow.
We really need more gamer fics on this site. Fanfiction.net is swamped with them, but I'd like to see more ponyfics with this premise. The only reason I haven't made one is because I wouldn't know how to go about it. I wish you luck and hope that you'll continue on with the story.
...Any RPG fan can tell you that Luck is one of the 3-5 most important stats to level up, period. Crits and Better Loot will save yo' ass more times than you realize.
Glad you aren't getting attacked for copying.
9042482
Good news! I JUST made a group for it! It's called 'Life Is One Big Game'.
9042487
Eh, its not like I would give a shit. If someone doesn't like my story, then why are they reading it?
9042483
Looks like Twilight better brush up on her game manual then, huh?
Very interesting, I could ignore some of the errors, otherwise its good, Keep it up.
9042503
The mods are the real threat in regards to that.
This could really use some proofreading. All the errors are fairly distracting.
9042697
That's why I'm offering.
"Abstradance"?
I think you meant "absistence".
Also, "Trak"? Maybe "Tirek"?
On a side note, there`s a bit of a... mathematical inconsistency. Achievements state lifespan below seventy years, but in order to write a billion of friendship reports? Well, if Twilight managed one report in five minutes (which is pretty good rate for a letter-sized report) and never bothered to do ANYTHING else at all (as in, no sleep, no eating, no socializing, just writing reports 24/7), she`d need literally over nine thousand years to achieve a billion.
1000,000,000 / 12 = 83333333,33333333 (hours to complete, if Twilight makes 12 reports per hour)
83333333,33333333 / 24 = 3472222,222222222 (days to complete, assuming Equestria has 24 hour day and Twilight never sleeps)
83333333,33333333 / 365 = 9512,937595129376 (years to complete, assuming Equestria has 365 days per year)
So... a bilion reports is worth nine and half millenia of nonstop writing. Maybe uh... amp it down a little? An achievement for a thousand reports sounds good, considering Twilight should only write them when she actually HAS something to report.
9042785
Damn... You actually did the math..
Well, that achievement was mostly meant as a joke.
But thanks about the errors, I'll fix that real quick.
9042805
Maybe it counts all the variant Twilights from the infinite branch of universes created by Starlight. Or it’s a glitch.
9042482
I actually have both some advice and a plotline if you're interested.
*Pegasus
*Lauren Faust
This story appears to have a similar concept of "Twilight in a game over screen" kind of fics I have saw before. However, none of them decided to make a longer story rather than a one shot before. I guess this'll be also unique.
9042785
I think you mean Abstinence.
9042895
Your suggestions are very much welcomed, I was basically just going to rewrite the series but with Twilight having the Gamer powers, obviously I was going to make some changes to the story, like the Changling invasion and King Sombra with the Crystal Empire, as well a sub plot about Twilight discovering just how much she can screw around with these new abilities. And maybe have a joke plot about Discord or Pinkie being self aware about being in a video game.
Please, feel free to toss some ideas into the hat. I'd love to hear them.
9042895
Sure, why not?
9042921
Nah, absistence is actually a word. I checked.
Now, abstinence is also a valid choice, but one does not preclude the other.
I like!
I have read the korean comic and the other fim fic Twilight The Gamers.
In my estimation you are doing at least as good as the others. The twist with the game starting at her birth .. Beautiful!
Please continue.
9042785
Heeheheheh!
Season one Twilight would have been all over that .. assuming that she thought of it as an assignment or extra credit.
later seasons?
Well she changes and grows up.
The really surprising number is the vergenity counter. That girl needs to get laid!
Like you point out, it's been done. Multiple times, even. But that's fine. Give us a good delivery and we'll read it.
9042954
I actually meant my offer for the7saviors, but sure. If I have any ideas, I'll share them. And here's my first: a good way to write a Gamer fic would be, in my opinion, to keep the mechanics as far in the background as possible.
For example, the readers can safely assume that if you are storing or withdrawing an item, that you're doing so from your inventory, so you don't have to actually SAY 'Twilight stored the staff in her inventory'. Also, don't bother stating level and stat increases. In that case, just treat it like as shonen fic - she trained/studied/fought, and obviously grew stronger/smarter.
9042974
The above was my advice for you, so here is my plotline: There is one background pony whose name pretty much screams The GAMER. Button Mash.
So, the plot: The Mane Six confront and defeat some great evil (maybe Grogar?) by sealing him away (ala the Pony of Shadows). However, as he's getting sealed, he hits them with a spell that drags them with him - sealing away not only the Mane Six, but all memory of them and the results of their influence.
The result is that time resets to just before the return of Nightmare Moon (There first act as a group), they themselves seemingly disappear, and almost everyone forgets they ever existed. The only ones who DO remember are those who were extremely close to them, and Button Mash who is protected by the Gamer's Mind. It is now up to Button Mash, The Gamer, to assemble a group, step into the roles of the Mane Six, and protect equestrian - All while working to rescue the Mane Six and reverse Grogar's spell.
9042983
Huh, so it is. Although, considering the context of its use, I think my suggestion is a better fit.
9043008
Different trains of thoughts, different words used.
That`s the biggest benefit of peer review - seeing what alternatives are there. Having options is ever so nice.
P.S. Picking someone well-familiar with the mechanics of RPG games as a protagonist is a double-edged sword, you know. The lure is great to engage in min-maxing and munchkining, given the hilariously broken abilities one can gain if game mechanics are applied to life. This is good if you want to make the story full of crack and lulz.
Picking someone smart but inexperienced in the exact mechanics, on the other hand, is the best option for semi-serious story.
OMNI:You sir have my Full Fucking Approval...Carry on.
9042697
9042748
You can get a proof reader here
https://www.fimfiction.net/group/27/]The Proofreader Group
Or join the group, if you're interested
I always enjoy a good Gamer fic, though the shitty ones outnumber the good ones by a wide margin. Unlike a lot of other crossovers, I don't think it's a problem that you don't know the source material, because what you're really looking for is just the general RPG concept, not specifically a crossover with the manhua.
Some advice:
humanpony rate.Before you add a mechanic, think through the implications, as opposed to just automatically copying something from an RPG (e.g., skill books, party system, hp damage vs. real physical damage, quests being common). There are a lot of RPG-esque elements that are perfectly fine, it's just a matter of whether that's the kind of story you want to tell.
9042954
I'll be honest; a canon rehash seems to me the least interesting thing you could do with this concept.
If you made Twilight a Gamer at, say, her ascension and then did a canon rehash from there? Eh, depends on your writing skill if you could keep my interest. Having her do a New Game+, where she has the Gamer skill and knowledge of the future, and just walk through all the stations of canon? At that point, it's basically just watching someone play a video game on easy mode with all the cheat codes enabled, and you'd have to be an amazing writer to make that interesting.
I'd rather see Twilight think that she's got everything handled, and get smacked in the face with reality. She spends her formative years getting to the point where she's a lot more skilled than at the start of canon... but when she gets there, it's clear to the rest of the Mane 6 that she's obviously just going through the motions, they don't actually gel as friends, they can't get the Elements to work, and Nightmare Moon gets away. Now what?
Or maybe it starts earlier. Does the fact that she's actually mentally older than Shining Armor/Cadance mean that she never quite bonds with them like she did in canon, and how does that affect things? Or does she spill the beans on the Gamer abilities/future knowledge and get them as close allies from the beginning (and does that fuck up Shining Armor/Cadance's relationship because "You're going to get married, rule an empire and have an alicorn kid" is a lot to drop on a teenager)? Celestia's obviously experienced enough that she'd plausibly figure out that there's something going on, even if not exactly what. Does Twilight pretend to be an innocent naive youngster, or does she get Celestia on board, and what kind of relationship do they have? You could honestly do an entire fic just with her filly years, ending at the start of canon.
Even in canon, there's lots of room for things to go horribly (and interestingly) wrong through butterflies--e.g., she never does the closed time loop thing from "It's About Time", which means random potential problems they did preventative maintenance for in that episode now happen; she knows exactly where to find the Crystal Heart, but maybe that means that King Sombra didn't get lured in by the crystal pony's despair and isn't in range to be blasted by it when they reestablish the shield, and now she's got to come up with another way to defeat him.
Or maybe she solves all the big threats just like in canon, but it's the relationship-level issues she has problems with. The overwhelming majority of MLP episodes, after all, were about interpersonal issues, and I'd have to think it'd be tough for Twilight to deal with the rest of the Mane 6 on the same level now, when mentally, she's more of a peer to Celestia and Luna. It'd be like a sixty-year-old going back to high school; could they really relate to their friends in the same way? This seems like the toughest kind of story to pull off, though.
I think a Peggy Sue Gamer fic is an interesting and daunting thing to tackle, but I'd recommend basically anything except just a canon rehash.
Oh my! Unless Equus years or days are way way way way longer then ours then Twi sent around 1 friendship report per second since the day she became proud Ponyvillian!
...I'd cut down on the number of nines there. Otherwise the reason why Twi encountered Game Over by being alicorn so early is most likely connected either to Tia, local Greenpeace or both.
> highest stack of any item can be 9999"
This is SO exploitable! Imagine taking the whole stack of throwing knives from the inventory and dropping them. Preferably while flying. What will happen?
BTW, original The Gamer manga really screwed itself over a few times already. It's good or at least were good, but kinda broken. So, be really careful with taking ideas from it unless you have a clear plan and ready to go to the stars and beyond.
Interesting idea story start. I'd like to see more. Now then, here's a few mistakes I saw.
achievements
accomplishment
virginity
Also, it was the sixth accomplishment, not the fifth.
I think you meant to have the "Twilight felt a slight smile..." part not be centered and bolded.
opinions
missions
quests
interesting
The "I wonder how many there are" should be preceded either by a period or by the word "though"
compared
disappointment
portrait
weirdly
embarrassment
avail
You seem to be writing well enough, but your spelling, wording, and formatting could really use some help. Of course, you already know that, given what you've mentioned in the author's note. I've read The Gamer all the way up to the end of the third season of it, though it's been a while so I've forgotten some things.
You have my attention
9042483
I know, right? My top three are luck, intelligence, and agility. After all, if the enemy can't hit you, why bother being a tank?
9043398
...What's the point of being dodgy if the enemy can just one-shot you with a lucky hit? My top three are Luck, Health/Vitality, and Speed/Agility.
9043402
And you'll die of being as smart as a brick. ;)
9043418
That is why Intelligence is Number 4. Number 5 is whatever boosts your damage more.
9043420
Hey, you just dumped all your points into Luck, Vitality and Speed. Now you have only 2 points left! Either take points from your mediocre strength or live being as smart as two brick. ;)
...Fallout 2 with 1 INT brings memories.
9043424
Never played any Fallout. Never had that problem.
9043402
But when facing someone with armor out the wazoo and the health to match, one lucky hit ain't gonna work. And hitting an enemy who has a spike attack (basically an attack/defense thing that can inflict you with a status effect, deal damage or a combination of the two) means you're gonna have a bad time every time you hit the enemy
9043431
BTW, I have hardcore pure retaliation build in Grim Dawn.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9pXzJ3SwkKE
Absurd amount of HP, absurd HP restore and 99.9% of damage comes from throwing all the damage back at the offenders.
This could be interesting.
A few typos I saw:
Surface
Benevolent.
So fallout 3 start, nice and the cassinova perk woukd have equeled easy mode lol
9043402
Ah. Most games I play have Agility being speed and evasiveness.
9043447
So complete dick mode?
9043506
FINALLY! Someone mentions it! I was waiting for someone to snicker at that...
9043447
me gusta
9043525
Eeeyep!
BTW, there are a few more videos with the same build. Like this epic heroic battle with fiery daemon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQKfnbg1DZA
It's quite hard to play hardcore mode with anything else there, though. You have only 1 life, no reload after death.
9042482
I think theres a group calles video game crossovers
It has hundreds of fics
9043578
It's like me in Elder Scrolls Online. Go Archer Nightblade, and put points into Assassination and Strife.
no dragon option? or gryphon? worst character creator ever -10/10