(Un)Skilled

by nameundetermined

Rating: mature
Tags: Profanity, Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Adventure
Length: 14673

An every day loser gets a second shot at life. His goal: Escape mediocrity. His chances: Low.

Or "I'm Still Mediocre Even After I Reincarnated to Another World" if you wanna get OG with the title.

Jack died young and accomplished little. Out of sheer pity and boredom, the powers that be offer him the opportunity to continue his uneventful existence in another world, in a new life. Will he actually make something of himself this go around?

Maybe, if he can stand to put the effort in.

Bad Content Warning: Contains Light-novel-esque RPG elements and tropes and RGRE elements as well.

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Published 2022-03-11 07:50:01 UTC
Last updated 2022-03-26 13:37:46 UTC

Chapter One

As Jack floated helpless and naked in the endless abyss, he could only cross his arms and wonder where he had gone wrong with his life.

"Oh, but that would imply something ever went right. A bold claim to make for one such as yourself."

A feminine voice he did not recognize echoed through the vast expanse. The comment drew a small amused snort from the man before he could help himself. it also made him realize that wherever he was, and whyever he was there, he was certainly not alone.

"Who said that?" he said quickly, perking up as he looked this way and that, hands slipping down to cover his privates. He could feel a blush settle across his face as he looked this way and that in an attempt to zero in on the speaker. Where the hell were his clothes? He had paid good money for that outfit and yet here he was in the middle of nowhere stark naked in the presence of a stranger.

"Calm down, and don't bother with the hidey hands. You don't have anything down there I haven't seen, and you certainly don't have anything I want anything to do with," The voice rang out again, closer this time.

It seemed to be a feminine voice, one that was getting steadily nearer, along with the sound of clacking footsteps. He zeroed in on the source and turned to come face to face with...

A horse.

Or a pony rather, by the looks of them. It possessed both a horn and a set of large wings. Its coat was a deep, rich purple, and in the breadth of her wings swirled a vast expanse of galaxies. In its mane churned countless nebulae, and between its fiery eyes rested a single brilliant shining star.

"Well damn..." he said simply, his hands slowly falling from his junk and instead planting firmly on his hips as he leaned forward to look the other over. "You're a real freakshow, ain'tcha?"

"Says the hairless ape," She replied with an irreverence that playfully matched his own, seeming unbothered by his insult.

"Aight, aight. Touche, horsey, I'll give you that one," he says with a small chuckle, feeling a bit more relaxed as he banters with the creature. it was a momentary but welcome distraction from-

"Hey, wait a second. What's going on here?" he asked, tensing up slightly as his attention snapped back to the matter at hand. "One minute I was on the wrong end of a busted hot water tank, and the next I was here. Did I uh..."

He gave the equine an uncomfortable look and drew his finger across his throat. She chuckled softly at this and nodded, giving him a sympathetic look. "I am afraid you have passed from your previous life. I'm not sure what's more tragic really. the fact that you died at only thirty years, or the fact that you would have done nothing with your life even if you had lived thirty more."

"Hey! I take exception to that...admittedly fairly accurate assessment..." he finished, considerably more meekly than the sentence had started. "But it's not like I didn't have a good thing going. I had a nice cushy job with a steady check...."

"We both know you hated that job."

"A cheap apartment with all the fixings included...."

"You had a few more years there at best with how bad of a tenant you were."

"Plenty of pals..."

"Half of them didn't even know your name and you didn't know the names of the other half."

"...you know, you're a real fuckin downer, lady."

"And looking over your -ahem-...portfolio was less than pleasant, so I suppose that makes us even." She said with a small frown, seeming to have lost just a smidgeon of her patience with him even in the short time they had been conversion. he always did have a knack for getting under people's skin, and it looked like that translated nicely over to strange equine beings of the beyond.

"Well, you're probably about to wipe me like a suspicious hard drive and toss me back into the middle ages where I'll live out the next glorious twenty years as a potato farmer until I die of malnutrition, so no, I don't think we are."

"Oh hush now, you big foal. If that was how things were going to go, they would have already sent you on your way and you never would have even seen me."

His eyebrow ticked up slightly at this. "Oh really now, so what's gonna...wait, what do you mean they, would have sent me on my way?"

"Oh well erm..about that...you aren't technically within my jurisdiction, actually..." She said, quickly moving on from this with a more confident tone. "But I happened to be over for some tea with ᔑʖ∷ᔑ ̇/ᔑᓭ when you expired, and the two of us decided that it might be fun to do one of our infrequent little exchanges. One of his for one of mine, you see."

"Wait wait, are you telling me that not only is there a god, but there are multiple gods presiding over different realities, and you go around trading mortal souls like ethereal baseball cards?" he asked, his voice steadily gaining an octave from the sheer stress of the outlandish situation slowly settling on him.

She blew a raspberry and shook her head, gesturing dismissively with a hoof. "Of course not, that would be silly and childish."

"Oh thank god, I thought you were se-"

"We also get a kick of pitting you against each other and watching you compete, so it's more like pokemon cards."

He deflated almost comically at the second half of her statement, all traces of hope for a greater meaning to life flickering out from behind his eyes, snuffed violently in the face of the all-encompassing nihilistic gale now ripping through his consciousness.

She smiled wider and stomped her hoof into the ground(?) with a resounding clop, giving him an excited look "See, yes! that! That right there is why I love doing trades with ᔑʖ∷ᔑ ̇/ᔑᓭ, you humans are all so refreshing. it's like taking a shot of straight espresso when your usual is more cream than coffee!"

"So you decided you wanted me in your sphere of influence because I am-"

"A sad and bitter little man, yes! We don't get a lot of those in my neck of the woods."

"Ouch. Well, I'm glad you find me so entertaining."

His expression was less than enthused or amused, and she was quick to pick up on it. "Oh, don't be like that. Not everyone gets the chance to reincarnate without being wiped like this you know. And my creation is pretty swell if I do say so myself, I'm sure you'll at least have a better time there than running down the clock back home."

He drew a slow breath and exhales, pinching the bridge of his nose as he tried to stay settled and have a think. "Ugh...you know what, fine. It is what it is. I suppose I should at least try to count my blessings here. I...suppose I should at least thank you for going out of your way to give me special consideration, even if it is for reasons I might not find entirely copacetic."

"That's the spirit! No use in moping about it." She said, smiling a bit wider. "If It makes you feel better, You'll be headed somewhere you find at least vaguely familiar. My sphere has a fair number of similarities with what you are already used to. Even if there are some elements you might find a bit odd, it's not like you'll be totally lost. Though I suppose even if you were you’d have plenty of time to adjust, so either way, it’s a win-win!”

“Yeah, sure, let’s go with that,” he snapped dryly as he crossed his arms. “So uh, any caveats or special conditions I should know about? I’m sure there has to be some kind of catch here, right?”

“Oh no, nothing like that! Just live a life worth living this time. It shouldn’t be too difficult, especially for someone with your proclivities.”

“And what do you mean by that?” he asked pointedly, sounding just a tad defensive.

“Nothing bad. Don’t worry, it’ll all make a lot more sense once you start actually getting into things. Here! As a show of good faith, I’ll even let you make one request in regards to your reincarnation and I’ll honor it no questions asked.”

His eyes widen slightly at this ”Huh…well damn. I mean…hmm…” his expression goes from surprised to pensive, a hand coming up to run through his hair as he started to pace slowly back and forth.

She could, of course, be totally sincere. He had no real good reason to think she wasn’t but something was screaming out to him from within, as it often did, that there had to be something he wasn’t considering. What if it was some sort of test, or what if it was a monkey’s paw sort of situation and she’s actually some sort of twisted bitch.

He stops after a long moment of intense pondering and strand sup straight, giving her a confident smile, bordering on smug. “I’d actually prefer to simply be average if that’s okay.”

She seemed taken slightly aback. “Average? But why?"

"I was under the impression there would be no questions asked."

Her mouth snapped shut for a second and she exhaled through her nose. "Well, it's just...I'm genuinely curious. You could be born to a rich family, or I could gift you with abilities beyond your wildest imagination. Why would you settle for just average?”

He shrugs. “Well, being too flashy draws a lot of attention. When you’re good at something, people expect a lot from you. They start making assumptions and claims about what you should or shouldn’t be doing, and they start…really getting on your case when you don’t meet their expectations. It’s… soul-crushing really…”

He realized he was kind of getting a bit outside of what he was meaning to say and shook it off, resuming his previous tone. “Or at least, that’s what I gather. I’d rather be able to just live a decent, comfortable life where I’m good enough. That’s why they call it good enough, right? Because it should be good enough.”

She gave him a soft, sympathetic look, turning her head in contemplation for a moment before looking back to him and nodding. “Well, alright. If that’s what you really want. I’ll make you average,” she said, smiling a bit wider as she seemed to warm up to the idea a bit. “Now, I think we’ve chatted for long enough. If there isn’t anything else you wanted to ask, I’ll be sending you on your way.”

He slowly shook his head “I guess not. I’m mostly just uh…kinda nervous, you know? It’s a lot to deal with, even if I’m prepared for it.”

“Yeah, I get that. But don’t worry, you’re in good hooves, the best even! Just close your eyes, and whenever you are ready to open them, you’ll be where you are meant to be.” She said consolingly, placing a hoof on his shoulder in an attempt to reassure him.

He relaxed slightly and gave her another slow nod before drawing a deep breath and closing his eyes. As he did so, what little that had previously lay before him faded away into nothingness. He was alone, save for the beat of his own heart echoing loudly in his ears.

Then he opened them again, and was assailed by a bright light, and the sound of an infant’s cries. His own cries, as he came headfirst into a new world, filled with all the possibilities that entailed. He was lifted and held, quickly swaddled in blankets and set down. He was unable to move his head with much effect, but was able to turn it just enough to be greeted by the sight of another strange equine, this one with a spotted dark coat, a white mane, and bright golden eyes, a kind, female voice issuing forth from its lips as she pulled him close in its hooves, a pair of wings encircling him.

“Well hello there, little one…” She said softly, clearly tired from her ordeal as she gently pressed a hoof to is nose playfully. Another equine stepped into view, this one a dark green, with a black mane and blue eyes and a pronounced horn. It looked a bit more built than the female and spoke in a deeper tone.

“We did it, Slipcase. Our own little colt,” he said, seeming almost in awe of the miracle of life made manifest he had been presented with. “And such a healthy one too. Look at him. He almost looks like he understands every word we are saying.”

As a matter of fact, he did understand them, but sadly he lacked the facilities with which to communicate that to them. Memories as intact as they might be, it was not much help to him if he lacked the motor functions by which to execute actions based on that information.

He sighed softly to himself, it coming out of him as an adorable little huff. Hopefully, these creatures developed more quickly than human children.

Slipcase hugged him a bit tighter to her chest, nuzzling against him. She smelled warm, comforting to him, though perhaps that was the instincts of his new body in effect. Either way it was…relaxing. He felt safe, content even. She spoke to the other. “Yeah, he kinda does, doesn’t he Buckram.” She said, looking down at him affectionately, a hoof caressing his head, petting him.

Jack heard the sound of copping hooves approach, followed by a feminine voice speaking outside of his range of view “Miss Slipcase, we still need a name for the certificate. Have you received your Revelation of Naming?”

She pauses, seeming a bit concerned. “Hmm..no. not yet. I’m sure it’s fine though. Sometimes it takes a bit after the actual foal birth. In the meantime, you can just use the name…”

Author's Note

And like that we are finally back in it. Afte r a long hiatus to deal with some personal issues and finish a commission, we now return to our regularly scheduled bullshit. I'll be trying a few things I haven't really explored in earnest in this fic, and I have some ideas I hope will pan out really well, but only time will tell ^^.

Chapter Two

It was a pleasant, balmy afternoon at Golden Oaks Library. A young colt sat near a window, studiously pouring over a hoofful of books. He had one in particular in front of him that was taking his attention for the time being. It was a beginner guide to spellcasting, one that didn’t see a lot of action here in Ponyville. It had collected its fair share of dust in the interim, and Incognito was finding himself having to blow the dust off of the pages periodically, much to his annoyance.

Nevertheless, the minor inconvenience did little to phase the colt, nor did it much hamper his pursuit of knowledge.

What did, however, hamper his pursuit of knowledge, was his limited understanding of the language. Sure, the spoken language was similar enough but….the written language was another story. But fuck it, he had learned to read once and he could damn well do it again!

A familiar face peeked from around the corner, blue eyes beaming at him from behind a pair of half-moon spectacles, and accompanied by a kind smile from behind a well-groomed, pointed goatee.

“How’s that book treating ya, kiddo?” Buckram asked warmly as he came around the shelf and pulled up a seat, sitting across from the other.

The colt smiled at his father, matching his warmth as he peered at them from behind his own thick glasses, his golden eyes moving from the page before him to make contact with the others from across the table. “It’s…it’s going dad,” he says with a slightly tired tone, yawning a bit as he ran his hoof through his long, dark green mane.

He gave a small sigh and looked back down at the tome, rubbing his forehead slowly.
“School starts in a few days and I haven’t even got the basics to level ten yet.”

He took a moment to look over his stats and skills, opening a window to gloss over them.

Incognito

Race: Unicorn

Stats
—-------
Intelligence: Lv 8/70 (Progress to next level: 98.60%)
Wisdom: Lv 6/70 (Progress to next level: 20.20%)
Strength: Lv 4/70 (Progress to next level: 06.90%)
Constitution: Lv 4/70 (Progress to next level: 04.13%)
Dexterity: Lv 5/70 (Progress to next level: 61.20%)
Charisma: Lv 6/70 (Progress to next level: 42.00%)

Skills
—-------
Intuition: Lv 9/70 (Progress to next level: 17.76%)
Literacy: Lv 8/70 (Progress to next level: 80.50%)
Spellcasting: Lv 5/10 (Progress to next level: 92.01%)

Attributes
—-------
Marked*
Jack of All Trades(Blessing): All stat/Skill caps will always max at the average level for a member of this species (70/100)
Master of None(Curse): All Exp Gain on Stats and Skills is reduced by 50% unless otherwise nullified up to Lv 70

Buckram nodded slowly as he glanced at the boy’s status window and gave the little one a reassuring look. “Hey, I know you’re having a hard time. Your…issue might make things a little harder than they are for other ponies, but the important thing is that you’re putting the work in. I’m proud of you, champ.”

Incognito smiled softly at the praise and seemed to sit up a bit straighter. Thanks, dad. I really needed to hear that.” He said softly.

The stallion nodded, reaching across the table to tussle his sons hair. Tell ya what, son. Things are kind of slow today anyway. How about you put that book away and Let your old man show you how it’s done, huh?” he said playfully, gently tapping a hoof to his own horn and giving the colt a wink. “You’ll get experience a lot faster learning from another pony than you will from self-study at your level anyway.”

They were right of course. Incognito would be hard-pressed to name an occasion when they weren’t. As the town librarian, Buckram knew a little bit about most anything you’d care to ask about as far as his son had been able to tell.

Incognito smiled a little wider at the suggestion, closing his book as he beamed up at the older stallion “Really dad?” he asked, a coltish excitement creeping into his voice, ears perked and forward-facing. “You mean it?”

“Of course,” he said, pushing his chair out and standing up, stretching a bit. His back gave a small pop and he shook himself off a bit after. “No use in me manning the front desk on a Tuesday afternoon if no one is going to come in, so let’s lock up and head out back and see about getting in some actual practice.”

The colt didn’t need to be told twice. While the other was still warming up. He had already slipped out of his seat and was quickly trotting towards the back door, giving an excited little squeak. “Yes, Dad!” He said quite eagerly as he made his way out into the back of the building, his father following behind.

—-----------------

About half an hour later, the two of them were still at it. Incognito was panting softly, his soft green coat damp with sweat as he began to gather himself for another attempt to lift the orange-sized stone in front of him, eyes fixed and utterly focused behind his large-framed glasses.

“You can do it son. One more rep! Just focus on the rock and will it to move.” Buckram encouraged as he stood to one side, leaning in slightly with anticipation for his colt’s next attempt.

“I-I’m trying, dad,” Incognito said somewhat nervously. He was starting to feel sort of disheartened. After all, they had been at it for a bit and he was getting a bit fatigued.

He took a deep breath and once more brought his will to bear on the stone, eyes narrowing slightly as he channeled energy towards his horn. His aura, a soft, pleasant grey, manifested around the appendage and slowly enshrouded the rock.

“Atta colt, there you go!” His dad said excitedly, ears flicking as he bobbled up and down a bit. “Keep that aura tight, son, the less energy that leaks out of your horn, the more goes into the spell.”

He did his best to heed the advice, focusing on drawing his aura a bit tighter around his horn. And while it took more effort, the stone did feel a smidge lighter than before, giving him a bit of hope. Emboldened, he pressed harder. He grunted softly with the exertion as he felt his muscles tense in response to the strain, gritting his teeth.

“Alright, now shape it! Weave the energy into the pattern for the spell and wrap it around your horn.”

Now came the difficult part. While maintaining his focus, he began to more deliberately shape the energy, pulling on threads of it and turning those threads into an interwoven strand. It was a very simple pattern, one he had played over and over in his head dozens of times while studying. That being said, actually using it while maintaining the rest of the prerequisite preparation was another matter, especially multiple times over.

It almost felt like smoke was coming out of his ears as he wrapped each thread around the other, slowly allowing the resulting strand to wrap around the base of his horn.

“C’mon, ‘Nito! Dig in, you got it, you got it! Almost there!” His father cheered from beside him almost frantic with excitement.

And he was! Incognito could feel the almost-complete ring of the spell around the base of his horn. The effort was starting to cause a burning sensation in his horn and the surrounding area, and his eyes began to well with tears, blurring his vision a bit. He did his best to blink them away and was contemplating perhaps allowing himself to lapse, to dissipate the energy and end the strain.

But as he cleared the water from his eyes he saw his dad, now standing in front of him. They were smiling wide, looking down at the little colt with tremendous excitement in his eyes as he saw them so precariously close.

Above all, he could see the pride in the stallion’s eyes. Pride in him.

And he knew he couldn’t let them down.

With a final push, he almost snarled as he brought the loop closed around his horn, connecting it back on itself, and suddenly the tension lessened considerably as he only needed to exert enough energy to keep the bond between himself and the target of the spell tethered. He felt connected to the stone, as if it were an extension of himself, and so he did the natural thing and thought about lifting it the same way he would lift his leg.

With a bit more effort, the stone slowly lifted into the air, hovering at face level.

Unfortunately, that was about the end of his rope. He lost his focus after a moment and the spell destabilized. The ring around his horn dissipated rapidly with a small explosive *pop* and a flash of light.

He gave a small yelp of pain as the heat and force of the dissipation struck the base of the sensitive spellcasting appendage, and the rock smacked back down onto the ground, once more inert as the colt rubbed at his forehead and winced. “Ow…”

In moments his father was already gently embracing him, pushing away his hoof to inspect the area “‘Nito! Are you okay, champ?” he asked as he leaned in close to get a better look. “It looks like the backlash wasn’t too bad this time. You’ll probably just have a bruise,” he said, sounding relieved as he hugged the little colt close to him.

“Yeah, I’m fine dad…” he said somewhat huffily from within his father’s embrace. He begrudgingly nuzzled against them before squirming a bit. “Y-you can let go now, dad…” As much as he appreciated it and admittedly…enjoyed the attention, it was still sort of embarrassing. He was still (sort of?) an adult on the inside after all, right?

His father withdrew, softly patting him on the head “Alright, alright. As long as you are okay. But hey, you did it!” he said, smiling down at Incognito with that same pride as before. “You managed to do ten whole reps. You should be really proud of yourself, sport. There are plenty of kids your age who can’t even do that much.”

Incognito gave a small huff and a smile at this. He didn’t have a lot of unicorns his age in town to compare to, what with Ponyville being mostly an earth pony community, but even then he had a knack for knowing when he was being fluffed up.

Still, his dad looked so happy for him, and to be honest, he was feeling pretty good himself, he didn’t want to ruin the moment. “If you say so.”

“I do! As a matter of fact, go ahead and check your stats, I’m sure you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

The colt gave a little snort but nodded, opening his window to give his stats another once over. They were mostly the same aside from-

Spellcasting: Lv 6/70 (Progress to next level: 20.00%)

The colt's eyes widened and he smiled up at his dad, a feeling of accomplishment swelling in his chest. “Dad, I leveled up! I did it, I passed level five!”

The stallion smiled down at his son and nodded again, smiling a bit wider. “You sure did son, good effort. Now, how about we go out to Sugarcube Corner and get you a little something. I bet you could use a little pick me up after all of that.”

Incognito perked up noticeably at the prospect of sweets. Buckram was right, he was in the mood for a treat. But then again, the colt was always in the mood for something sweet to munch on. “That…actually sounds really good. Maybe pick something up for mom too and drop it off for her at work.”

“Well, isn’t that thoughtful of you. I don’t see why not,” His father said, patting him on the back. “Go ahead and get showered up and grab your saddlebag, then we’ll head out.”

“Okay!” Incognito said excitedly as he hurried back inside and hustled towards the bathroom, eager to get going

—----------------------

The two of them arrived at Sugarcube corner a bit later in the day. The familiar pastry-themed building stood out even from the playful and colorful rural architecture Incognito had come to associate with the town of Ponyville. There were a hoofful of customers enjoying some afternoon treats at various tables and booths, and behind the counter was a rather kind looking blue-coated mare with a very recognizable two-toned swirling pink mane.

“Hello, Miss Cake!” the colt said chipperly as he trotted towards the counter, his father following close behind. Incognito reared up and placed his front hooves on the counter as he looked up at her. “I’d like my usual, please, and one to go also.”

He took one hoof and rummaged through his saddlebag, pulling out a small pile of gold coins and placing them onto the countertop as he beamed up at her.

She met his smile with her own and gave him a nod. “Well hello there, little ‘Nito. Back again already? Weren’t you here just yesterday.” She asked him as she took his money and laced it into a register. “At this rate, you’ll bleed your allowance dry.” She said, tsking in a joshing manner before looking to his father and giving him a nod of acknowledgment as well.

“I’m actually hoofing the bill today, Chiffon,” Buckram said as he watched the mare pull a couple of cinnamon bruins from the display case. “It’s a special occasion after all.”

“Oh come on, it’s Cup Cake now, Buckram. Please try to remember, after all, Carrot And I have been hitched for nearly a year now” She said, as she placed one of the rolls into a bag and the other onto a small plate, pushing both towards the colt. “So what’s going on then?”

Incognito piped up, a bit of pride creeping into his voice as he spoke. “I finally used magic to move something!” He said as he placed the paper sack into his saddlebag and grabbed the plate in between his teeth, moving to set it onto his back before it was caught in a blue aura and hovered away from him. His father walked to a nearby table, placing the dish on it before speaking to her again. “This little scamp here finally passed level five in Spellcasting.” He said, gesturing to Incognito, who nodded quite happily in confirmation “Yeah, I’m level six now!”

She put on a surprised face, bringing a hoof to her cheek “well lordie! Congratulations, little guy. I’m sure you worked awfully hard at it!”

He nodded, puffing out his chest just a little bit. “Mhm! Of course, I also had a pretty good teacher.”

Buckram did a bit of puffing of his own at this, seeming quite pleased with the remark. “Nothing to it, sport. You know you can count on your old man whenever you need a bit of help.”

“Of course dad,” Incognito said warmly, getting settled in at the table and tucking into his cinnamon roll as Miss Cake spoke again.

“Pretty soon you’ll be hitting level ten and you’ll start getting Accolades, that’s when you start getting the fun stuff from leveling.”

The colt bobbed his head in acknowledgment “Yeah, I’ve been reading about that! Level ten is like, the baseline, right? Where you are able to do normal things like reading and stuff without it being a struggle. That’s what the books I’ve been reading about it say, at least.”

“You got it,” Buckram said, taking a seat at the table as well, watching him enjoy his meal with a content look on his face. “Five is a beginner, ten is baseline competence, 50 is a hobbyist, 70 is a journeyman, 90 is a proper professional, and 100 is mastery,” he says as if by rote, gesturing with a hoof while he does so.

Incognito smiled and nodded. “Yeah! Thanks, Dad, that was it.”

He looked down at his half-eaten cinnamon bun, going into contemplation for a moment and frowning a bit. “So does that mean..I’ll never be a professional level at any skill? I mean, All of my caps are at 70. That’s still a long way off but still…”

His father picked up on the shift in mood, and Miss Cake scurried off to let them have a moment. he gently reached across the table and patted his son’s shoulder. “Hey now, none of that. Just because you aren’t the best at something, that doesn’t mean you aren’t good at it! As long as you do your best and you’re happy with what you’ve done, that’s all that really matters right? As long as you are out there giving it your best shot, I’m proud of you, and I always will be.”

He rubbed the colt’s shoulder a bit before leaning back and smiling again. “Besides, every pony gets at least one uncapped skill when they get their cutie mark. There’s going to be something you excel in, just wait and see!”

The matronly blue mare returned, piping up with a small grin. “With how often he has his nose buried in a book, I bet he’ll end up taking over the library when he gets old enough.”

“Hah! You say that like it’s a joke but I bet ‘Nito here wouldn’t mind that one bit, would you?” Buckram says, giving the colt a playful wink and a nudge. “He is a real chip off the old block in that respect. I bet one day We’ll be able to slip a pair of contacts on em to change the eye color and nopony will notice the difference if I take a day off. Oh! Speaking of time off…”

The stallion drew a watch from within his saddleback and smacked his head “Ah geez. ‘Nito, me and Miss Cake are probably going to shoot the breeze for a bit longer. Be a sport and bring that goodie bag to your mom down at Town Hall before her lunch break and tell her I said I love her, won’t you?”

Incognito fought the urge to roll his eyes. He loved his dad, but god did the man tend to really work his jaw when he got comfortable. He smiled and nodded, slipping out of his chair and quickly trotting toward the door. “Sure thing Dad! I’ll see you when I get back to the library.”

“Sounds like a plan son, be safe!” Buckram called after his son as they walked out of the door and started on their way towards the Town Hall.

Incognito happily trotted his way down the street, giving a little hum as he went. He hoped his mom enjoyed the treat they had gotten her. She always worked so hard, she deserved to enjoy a nice treat.

Author's Note

And there we go! Two days, Two Chapters. Sorry if things seem like they are starting up slow, but I really wanna commit to a certain pacing this time around. Consider it indicative of the stories themes if that helps >:3

Chapter Three

Incognito trotted happily down the street, a sense of contentment settling comfortably over him. All in all, it was shaping up to be a pretty good day, and he was glad to be making the most of it. The sun was slowly sinking westwards, but there were still a good hoofful of daylight hours left, and after he finished up this delivery to mom, he could enjoy a nice relaxing afternoon-

“Hey, watch where you’re going!”

He was sadly pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of some rabble being roused nearby. A rather haughty female voice crying out in indignation.

“I-I’m sorry, I just don’t know what went wrong…”

The colt turned to the source of the commotion. He saw a little grey pegasus filly with a blonde mane sitting cross-eyed on the cobbles, rubbing her head as a rather angry-looking little blue unicorn filly glared down at her with disgust apparent in her eyes.

“Well, clearly quite a bit from the looks of you, if I had to guess, your mother probably drank too much when she was bearing you.”

Incognito sucked wind at the sound of this awful disparaging remark, his jaw clenching a bit. He hadn’t seen what happened, but he was already getting a feeling deep down in his gut that this filly was in the wrong.

At the same time, he also got a feeling like she wasn’t somepony he wanted to mess with. He couldn’t check her stats, not without going over and asking her, which, fuck no. But even without that, he could tell she was probably a bit more physically imposing than he is, and definitely a hell of a lot more confident.

He started to step forward as the little pegasus spoke again, her eyes welling up with tears. “H-hey, don’t talk about my mo-”

*SMACK!*

A sharp squeal sounded from the little blond filly as the other smacked her across the face harshly with one of her front hooves, snarling at her. “Be quiet, you little invalid. Trixie will make whatever remarks she pleases about your dam,"she said, spitting out the disparaging term harshly.

As he was attempting to work his way through fight or flight, he eventually, reluctantly concluded that getting involved probably wouldn’t make things better. As he turned to leave, he heard a loud *DING* and a notification popped up in front of him.

Intuition has reached Lv 10/70. Rank E of skill Intuition achieved.

Hidden Requirement for Accolade: Coward has been met. (Allow your fear of suffering to overshadow your resolve to act when presented with an innocent in danger)

Level requirement for Accolade: Coward has been Reached

You have attained the Accolade: Coward

Attained the Skill: Dodge: Lv 5/70
Attained the Skill: Assess: Lv 6/70
Attained the Skill: Escape: Lv 5/70

Received Attribute: Cowardice (Curse)

-Skills awarded by the “Coward” Accolade increase in effective level by 25% When in use against a perceived more powerful threat, but reduce offensive skills by 25% under these conditions.

-I’m disappointed in you, Jack.

Incognito’s eyes widened, his face going pale as he read the notifications scrawling across the box. As his eyes scanned the words over and over, his throat caught and his breath hitched a little bit as his muscles stiffened.

The message was concerning, certainly. He had a feeling that he knew exactly who it was speaking to him and grimaced.

Normally this would be an occasion that would have him celebrating. Not only had he finally cracked the level 10 hump, but he had even gotten some new stuff in the process! But that was all outweighed by the accolade he had gotten.

“Coward”

He swallowed, a lump forming in his throat as that word, that damned familiar word and its related faults raced through his mind in a hundred different voices and parses.

“You didn’t even bother trying, did you, you coward…”

“How could you just let that opportunity slip by you like that…”

“You could have stopped it if you had bothered to try, you know…”

“It’s your fault you didn’t get your shit together man, not mine. Get out...”

“Hey! Hey you, colt! what are you staring at, huh!? Do you have something to say to Trixie or are you just going to stand there and cry all day?”

The harsh tones of that haughty voice snapped him back to reality. His screen was gone and he could feel wetness creeping down the sides of his cheeks as he blinked, blurry-eyed as he was greeted by the sight of the unpleasant little filly standing directly in front of him.

He finally gathered enough of himself to speak again, his tone somewhat shaky. “S-sorry, I was just…”

“Don’t bother,” she said, waving her hoof dismissively at him as she turned back towards the blond mare, who shot him a pleading look as she scrambled to her hooves and ran behind him., causing the unicorn filly to scoff. “Pathetic, hiding behind a crying colt. You are not even worth the effort it takes Trixie to put you in your place.”

She clicked her tongue and turned to start walking away. “See to it that you do not cross Trixie’s path again, or else next time she may not let you off so easily.”

Incognito stared defeatedly at the filly, watching her walk away until she disappeared around a street corner. Once she was gone, his attention was caught by the sound of the pegasus simpering behind him. He wiped his eyes and took a breath, turning to face her, trying to hide the shame in his eyes as he tended to her. ”H-hey there, are you okay? That looked like it hurt…”

She nodded slowly, rubbing a slowly reddening hoof mark on her cheek. “Yeah, I’ll be okay..” she said downtrodden, as if she was disappointed but not surprised by the events that had befallen her here today. If he had to guess he would say that this was probably not the first time she had been bullied, and probably would not be the last.

But at the very least he could try to make things a little better now, even if he hadn’t ~~been willing to~~ been able to stop what happened.

He offered her a comforting little smile as he looked over at her. “Well don’t worry, she’s gone now, and hopefully we won’t see her again.” He said gently. “What’s your name? Mines Incognito, but sometimes people just call me ‘Nito for short.”

“D-Derpy. Derpy Hooves,” she said, offering him a brave little smile in return, seeming at least thankful for the kindness. “Thank’s for letting me hide behind you. I know it must be scary for a colt to have such a big mean filly in his face. That was really brave of you…”

He felt his heart twinge painfully with regret as he looked away for a moment before responding sullenly. “I-it was nothing really, anypony could have done it. I’m sorry I didn’t speak up…”

“It’s okay.” She said, seeing his distress and attempting to offer him comfort in return for what he offered her. “I didn’t do anything to stop her either, and she was doing it to me, so I should have stuck up for myself instead of letting a colt take the heat off of me," She finished, sounding just a tad ashamed of herself.

He sighed as he was once again reminded of the difference in gender roles in this world. It wasn’t always in focus, especially at this young an age, but he still caught hints of it now and again and it always threw him for a bit of a loop.

But he could wrestle with his struggle to properly soak in pony cultural norms later. He had only just gotten comfortable with being naked all the time a year ago, these things take time.

“Well, if you want, we could hang out for a bit so we aren’t alone in case we see her again. I’m going to bring my mom something to eat, and then I’ll be going to the library, you can come with me if you want to.”

She seemed taken aback by the offer, surprised, and perhaps a bit touched. She smiled a little wider, sniffling and wiping her eyes. “Yeah, that sounds nice. I have to be home by sundown though, or mommy will get worried.”

“Yeah, that sounds good, we have plenty of time to hang out then,” he says, with a nod that seemed to settle the matter. He started walking towards town hall again, this time with the little pegasus fluttering along through the air next to him. He still felt rather bad of course. You don’t just shrug that sort of thing off, especially when the universe itself calls you out on it. But he was certainly feeling a little better, and he had even made a friend, so maybe it was okay…

He stewed in these mixed feelings as they trotted along the road, listening to Derpy tell him all about anything and everything that came to mind and nodding along with a kind face as they made their way uptown, the pit in his stomach already feeling just a bit shallower.

Author's Note

I hope you guys think this is a good one because it was damn emotionally draining to write, lol. I do hate to see my boi suffer even if it is for the sake of art. I'm off to bed now, enjoy!

Chapter Four

“Miss Slipcase, you have a young gentlecolt here to visit you. Shall I let them in?”

Slipcase peeked out from behind the massive stack of papers on her desk as she heard the voice of the mayor’s secretary through the intercom. She scrambled to look a bit more put together. The bun she had tossed her mane into had been becoming steadily messier throughout her day and was on its last legs at this point, but she did her best to make it look presentable before she cleared her throat and responded, pressing the button. “Oh yes, of course, please, let them through.”

A few minutes later, through her door trotted the colt in question!

“Hi, Mom!”

Oh yes, her adorable little colt. She smiled warmly at the sight of him, pushing her chair out from behind her desk to get up and walk over to meet him halfway. She threw a leg around his neck and hugged him close, the two of them nuzzling against each other softly before she caught a whiff of-

“‘Nito, is that-”

“Mhm! Dad bought us both one, so I decided to bring you yours before lunch so it wouldn’t be too cold,” He said sweetly as he pulled from the embrace to pull the confection’s paper sack from his saddlebag, presenting it to her happily.

“Oh! Dad says he loves you by the way,” he adds, tacking it on as an afterthought, gently smacking his own head as he remembers he had been asked to relay the message.

“And I love both of you,” she says, taking the bag in her mouth and placing it on the desk behind her before turning back to her son. “I take it you closed the library early again huh? No customers, I presume?”

“Yeah, Dad closed up and took me out back to help me work on my telekinesis. I even got it up a level!” he said with a hint of pride as he placed his hoof on his chest and did a little pose for effect.

She chuckled and gently tousled his hair “Well I am very proud to hear you have been working so hard, honey. Can I see what your stats look like now then?” She asked as she looked down at him approvingly.

At this, a small look of realization crossed his expression, and a look that she as a mother was far too familiar with quickly followed, one of shame. “Oh uh…m-maybe later, I kind of have a friend waiting for me outside. She wanted to hang out with me at the library until you guys got home.”

Although she certainly did not forget what she just saw, what she just said was enough to get her to not pursue it. Her eyes widened a bit and she gave a small smirk “‘Nito! You didn’t tell me you had made a friend!”

“Yeah uh, I met her on the way here. She’s really nice, I’m sure you’d like her,” he said, giving her a brave smile and attempting to mask that expression, but he was not doing a terribly convincing job of it.

She clicked her tongue softly, and he wilted slightly as he caught wind of that glint in her eye. The one that always signifies that they are definitely going to discuss this in detail later. But for now, she seemed content to let him be. “Well, I hope the two of you have fun. Go on ahead and run off now, I have a few more things to do before I head off and have lunch.”

“Thanks, Mom! I love you!” he said quickly, hugging her once more before quickly turning to trot his way out the door.

As it closed behind him, she gave a small sigh and rubbed her head. “What am I going to do with that colt…” she said softly to herself as she turns back to face the monumental task still at hoof. “And what am I going to do with this…” she said with a small groan as she took a seat at her desk once more. Something told her she would be having a late lunch today…

—-----------------

“So Derpy, what do your parents do for a living?”

The two of them were sat on the floor together, both making liberal use of the lovely collection of building blocks the colt had gotten last Hearths Warming while they chatted. Incognito was in the process of building a little fortress, complete with a watchtower.

“Well, I never really got to see my mom a lot, she left when I was really little, but my Dad says she was a salesmare,” she said as she put together what looked to be a sort of blocky, office-building sort of structure. “My daddy is a delivery stallion though. He says when I get old enough, he’ll let me work with him and he’ll teach me all about how to be the best delivery mare in town.”

“Oh! You mean, Mr. Handy?” he asked her, his ears perking a bit at hearing her dad’s profession. There weren’t a lot of mail ponies in Ponyville since it was such a small town, so Handy Hooves stuck out in his mind as the only one who was a stallion amongst them. “Big guy, Brown eyes and coat, blonde mane? Cutie mark of a box?”

“It’s not a box, it’s a package! It’s very different.” She said as though she has said it a thousand times, giving him a playful boop on his nose for his troubles. “But yeah! That’s him.”

“Oh! I always thought he was a pretty cool guy, really friendly and all of that.” Incognito commented, which seemed to satisfy Derpy who nodded in agreement and kept playing with her blocks.

“What about you, ‘Nito? Your mom is the Record Keeper at town hall, and your dad works here, right?”

“Yeah! Well, with Dad it’s less a job and more like, a passion project. The library doesn’t make a lot of money outside of donations, and that mostly goes towards keeping everything up and running. Mom brings home most of the money in the house.” He said, rubbing at one of his arms. “Dad always says that one day when I’m older he hopes I’ll get married and take over looking after the place. ‘Nothing is more important than the pursuit of knowledge, and nothing more important to maintain than the facilities that make it possible!’” the colt finishes, putting on a deeper, gruffer voice in a poor impression of his father.

This managed to get a small titter out of the filly, who flashed him another warm smile. “Well, I’m sure he’s really good at it. I don’t really come here since I don’t read a lot. It’s kind of hard because of…” She says softly, tapping at her eyes and looking a bit down before perking right back up. “But Daddy always reads to me whenever I want, so it’s not so bad!”

Incognito gives her a sympathetic nod. “That’s nice. My dad reads to me sometimes too. He knows lots of cool old stories that no one else around her knows.”

“Really? Wow, no wonder your dad is a librarian, he must be really smart!” She said, sitting up a bit straighter at the prospect of stories. “Maybe If I come by again, you could ask him to tell me some of the stories he knows. I could bring my daddy along and they could be friends just like we are!”

Incognito smiled softly at that. Handy Hooves had come by on more than one occasion, delivering new books and appliances from mail-in catalogs and the like, so his dad was acquainted with them, and they seemed to get along fine when they chatted. And his dad got along with most of the folks in Ponyville so they might already be friends. He nodded at her idea, smiling back at her “You know. That sounds really nice. I’m sure they would be best friends!”

“Yeah, just like us!”

His heart skipped a beat at that statement in a moment of mild panic. He looked up at her confused. “W-wha-?”

“Well, you’re my only friend, so that makes you my best friend, right?” She asked, tilting her head to one side with that same innocent, wall-eyed stare.

He hesitated for a moment, but he couldn’t really refute her logic. After all, he didn’t have any after friends either, so he couldn’t rank her below number one here. “I...yeah. We’re best friends, Derpy,” he said kindly, feeling a small pang of guilt in his chest at the statement. He knew he didn’t deserve to be her friend, let alone her best friend. She deserved somepony who could look out for her, somepony who wouldn’t chicken out when she was getting bullied on the street like some sort of

[Coward]

He thought back to the Accolade and cringed a bit, shaking his head and trying to rid himself of the train of thought. It was ultimately self-defeating and definitely unhealthy to dwell on, and he should try to move past it and do better next time.

Knowing that intellectually was one thing, but acting on it, especially when your emotional and mental maturity are no longer synced, was another entirely, however.

He did his best to not let his hurt show though. Derpy was innocent in this, and as long as she was happy, he didn’t want to drag her down with his problem. She was such a nice filly, and well, if she wanted to be his best friend, he supposed he didn’t have the will or the desire to tell her no.

The smile she gave him at his confirmation of their friend status was almost worth it too. It warmed his heart when she beamed at him and gave a small little squeak of delight. “Oh boy! Daddy will be so happy to hear that I have a best friend. I can’t wait to tell him.”

“I’m sure he’ll be very happy to hear it. My mom was pretty happy when I told her I made a friend today, so I bet your dad will be too.” The colt said gently.

Derpy smiled a bit longer, then her expression changed as she seemed to be thinking about something, then back to a smile as she thought of it! “Hey! You said your dad tells you all kinds of neat stories right?”

He nodded slowly, having a feeling he knew where she was going with this, but letting her finish. “Yeah, lots! Why?”

She seemed to hesitate for just a moment before deciding to go for it and asking “Would you mind telling me some of them? It could be fun. and then I could tell you some of the stories my daddy tells me!”

Incognito couldn’t help but smile a bit wider at this request, quickly nodding “Yeah sure! Here, my dad told me this really good one the other day about how The Mare on The Moon got up there…”

Author's Note

And another one! I'm really making the best of these two days off. Hope you all enjoy ^^

Chapter Six

It was a few days later, and Nito was making his way towards the abode of his new teacher. He gave a small nervous sigh as he trotted down the street, looking this way and that as he milled over his first meeting with his new teacher.

He had not exposed Trixie, as much as he had thought about it. He had simply informed his parent’s that he had happened to meet her earlier that day, and the filly had been willing to play along after a bit of surprise on her part. He had not, admittedly, been terribly convincing, and His mother had given him a bit of…a look. But considering the situation, she had seen fit to allow it to pass for the time being.

His first lesson had been, well, less of a lesson and more of a meeting with his parents. Jackpot had asked them a number of questions about his progress, spells he might already know, his general level of arcane stamina, favorite snacks, and the like, and had given him a bit of a once over before sitting down with his father and talking shop for the rest of the morning after telling him that they would be having lessons at the magician’s home three days a week. It had really been more a meeting to familiarize all of the involved parties than anything else. Not that that was a bad thing, it had certainly helped the colt relax a bit, set him more at ease.

He was admittedly a bit nervous to be seeing her again, even if there would be an adult supervising the entire time she was…sort of intimidating.

The colt felt a deepset pang of self-loathing as he milled over being scared of a filly despite being a grown man deep down. But then again, he wasn’t a grown man anymore, or even a man. He was a little colt, and as difficult as it was to really come to grips with that even after several years, he liked to think he was getting there.

He took a deep breath and steeled himself, continuing on with a bit more resolve behind his trotting, head held a bit higher. No use in stewing in it all day, he had things to do, ponies to see! And in any case, he certainly didn't want to show up to his first day of proper lessons looking like a sadsack.

He arrived on the outskirts of town at what appeared to be a fairly large tent,. It was primarily purple, with some star and moon designs on it here and there, and a few patches. It seemed in decent shape, but it had obviously seen better days. Parked beside it was a well-traveled-looking carriage with a sign on the side bearing three golden stars.

This certainly seemed to be the place. Incognito swallowed softly before approaching, attempting to knock on the front door.

Pamf pamf pamf

The sound was of course, muted and fairly soft since he was simply smacking his hoof against the fabric. His face lit up a soft red as he cleared his throat to announce himself “M-Mister Jackpot? I’m here for my magic lessons…”
The tent flap opened and out popped the stallion himself, smiling down cheerfully at his new student. “Ah! Nito, please come right on in, make yourself at home.” he said as he gestured invitingly.” “Trixie is out exploring the town again, so it’ll be just the two of us today, but that just means I’ll be able to focus on helping you get yourself oriented!” he said as he turned and trotted inside, seeming a bit eager to begin.

The colt gave him a small nod and entered, looking around. Despite it being a tent it was well…fairly homey. There were multiple sections it seemed, all portioned off by further fabric curtains, staked down and serving as walls. There were shelves here and there where things needed to be stowed away, and a number of chests as well. The floor, rather than being simply dirt, seemed to have been tamped down and packed, smoothed even to resemble something properly livable. He had to admit to himself that the whole thing was honestly fairly impressive considering.

Jackpot picked up on his attitude and gave a small smirk, playfully elbowing the colt. “Not bad eh? A little magic goes a long way. Some soundproofing on the walls here, a bit of work on the floors there, a minor ward or two to help protect from the weather and it’s almost like you’re in a proper house. Usually, we just bunk in the carriage while traveling, but we break Ol’ Faithful here out for extended stays.”

Nito absorbed all of this, his ears perking at the mention of magic being usedin the process. “Oh! Yeah, that is actually pretty impressive, Mister Jackpot. Would you be able to show me how you did all this?”

“In time, my colt, in time. Some of it is a bit beyond your current level if what your father was telling me is true, and well…I am not sure how much your parents would appreciate me teaching you a soundproofing spell…especially once you start getting a bit older…, but I’m sure I have more than enough tricks up my sleeve to keep you happy and growing as a magician.

Nito hangs on Jackpot’s every word, admittedly a bit pulled in by the stallion’s bold, showmanly tone as they continue to speak. “Of course, that’s one of the most important lessons to learn about magic right there. It’s a tool, like any other, and the most important thing you need to know as a caster is the right time to use it.”

This seems to make the colt stumble a bit in his enthusiasm. He looks confused and the stallion picks up on it, moving to explain. “Well, think about it, Nito. Magic is all well and good, if you have the talent for it, but well, most ponies make due just fine in most things without it. Most ponies rarely end up learning magic outside of their cutie mark save for your bog-standard telekinesis and illumination spells.”

Nito pipes up at this. “Yeah, that makes sense. but isn’t that the point of learning magic, to use it to do things you normally couldn't, or do them more easily?”

Jackpot gave an almost incredulous scoff at this statement. “Perhaps for some third rate casters, but a lot of the time learning how to take the time to do something the mundane way is a lot more practical and rewarding, and you’ll find that more often than not there's a way to do something you thought was impossible without any magic at all. Your greatest tool as a magician is this,” he said, emphasizing the last word while gently tapping the colt’s head. “Not the thing sticking out the top of it. Magic takes effort and time o learn and costs energy to cast. For instance!”

He tapped at the ground a bit, looking from Nito to the ground as he did so. “This tent. I used Magic to smooth the floors because doing it normally would have taken hours and been pretty exhausting. I mean, I’m no earth pony after all, and cleverness can only do so much when all you’re working with is a bit of fabric, so that was the way to go for making the place generally livable. But you can be darn well sure my darling little Trix and I set up this tent properly by hoof. A bit of practice is all it takes to be able to do it in a matter of minutes if you really hustle, especially with a team. It’s way less hassle than trying to levitate everything into place, not to mention hammering down the spikes.”

Incognito was surprised to find himself finding a fair bit of sense in this approach. “Yeah, I get it, I think. Just because you can do something with magic doesn't make that automatically the easiest way to do it.” Something that upon a few moments of further reflection, he realized with a small cringe that he knew plenty well already from his long evenings in the backyard with The Rock.

Jackpot saw the twinge on his expression and chuckled softly, gently patting the colt on the back. “Indeed, I’m sure you have plenty of first-hoof experience with that. Foals your age are always so eager to try to push their limits, I find. Magic is no exception to that! Not to worry, now that your parents have left you in the capable hooves of a seasoned veteran such as myself, I am sure that we’ll have you up to snuff in no time! Please, follow me.”

Jackpot gestured with his head for the colt as he began to walk deeper into the tent, with Nito quickly following behind until they came to a stop in what seemed to be the living area of the tent. Some old, tattered but comfortable looking furniture was arranged around the room, a couch, a coffee table with a small clock perched atop it, even a cozy little lantern to keep the entire thing pleasantly, warmly alight.

The stallion cleared his throat as he took on a more mild, informative tone. “Now, the first thing any aspiring tradespony should learn is how to maintain and properly handle their tools to make sure that they do not damage or wear them out. Tell me, ‘Nito, have you ever meditated before?”

“Uh…no, not really…” he said as he scratched his head, attempting to recall. He had probably done it a few times back in his old life, but definitely not since coming to Equestria.

“Well, that’s going to change. I am going to teach you how as your lesson for today. Please, take a seat on the floor here.” Jackpot said firmly as he dropped down onto his hindquarters right there in front of the colt, assuming a criss-cross applesauce sort of position that, if not for understanding that equine anatomy here was very different from back home, would look incredibly uncomfortable. Hell, even after five years seeing shit like this made the poor colt cringe a bit internally.

After a bit of doing, Nito managed to replicate his sitting posture, his hooves in his lap looking up at the other for approval.

He got it, a small nod and smile came from Jackpot before he began to speak again. “Alright, now, I want you to close your eyes and relax, just listen to my voice and follow along with what I ask you to do, okay?”

It seemed straightforward enough, the colt nodded, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath as he tried to relax as the other had instructed.

“Good, now, just breathe in and out, deeply and slowly. In…then out, nice and steady.”

He did as he was bidden, allowing his breath to be drawn deeply overtime before being slowly exhaled once more. With each breath, he felt himself relax a bit more. It was an effort to maintain his posture and not slouch over with how relaxed he soon became, but after a few minutes of working through it, he found himself maintaining a reasonable posture automatically and comfortably even as he felt as if he was slowly settling into the ground under him.

“There you go, looks like you are starting to get properly relaxed, very good. Now, I want you to slowly start to draw your focus in onto the top of your head, a bit above between your eyes. Tell me what you feel there.”

It took him some time to shift his focus while maintaining the same state of mind, but after what felt like a few minutes, the colt could feel…

“I feel…a sort of tingle, a bit of warmth. I can sort of see it behind my eyelids….A light. It’s…a soft grey sort of color, Like my magic.”
Now, I want you to imagine reaching out to it with your hooves and gently holding it between them.”

He did as he was bidden, he visualized his hooves moving from his lap and towards the little ball of grey light. As the imaginary hooves grasped it, he heard the familiar soft chimes that accompanied the use of magic within the depths of his mind, and he felt the energy encompass his horn. “Okay, I’m doing it…”

“Very good. Now, I’m sure you feel it in your horn. Let that feeling wash over you, don't try to shape it or contain it, just let the feeling of it slowly ease over your body, bit by bit, breath by breath….”

He nodded ever so slightly as he continued to hold the light in his mind's hooves. He allowed the feeling to slowly, gradually leak down from his horn.it slid over his head, down his neck, and over his back and chest. He felt it slowly run down his lower body and over his legs. Every breath he took the feeling slowly enveloped a little more of him, until he finally felt the comforting warmth of his magic envelop him totally like a soothing blanket. The chimes were louder now, but not a distraction. They melted into the background of his thoughts as easily as the magic seemed to melt onto his person.

He stayed like that for some time, content to feel nothing, hear nothing other than the warmth of his magic and the echoes of the chimes, the beat of his heart, and the drawing of his own soft breath. It was tranquil, incredibly soothing, the most natural thing in the world. Even more so than the breathing it required, the pumping of the blood that sustained him, the ebb and flow of energy through his being felt as if it was his center and his end.

“Alright, now go ahead and roll it back, concentrate the energy back to your horn, then release the light.” he heard his instructor's voice gently urging him.

He gave a small frown at this. “D-do I really have to?” he asked softly, admittedly a tad hesitant to let this wonderful feeling end.

“I’m afraid so, I know it’s nice, but we cannot simply sit around meditating all day like some sort of monk. Go ahead.” His tone was sympathetic but firm. Nito gave a small sigh as he began to obey. He allowed the energy to recede back into his horn reluctantly, the feeling of warmth pulling away as smoothly and slowly as it had first enveloped him until it was finally located entirely within his horn once more.

Once he had done as he was bidden, he released the light, the feeling in his horn dissipating, leaving him feeling slightly chilled, as if he has stepped out of a particularly warm shower and into the cold open air of a chilly fall evening. He shivered slightly and opened his eyes, blinking a few times in surprise.

Everything seemed a bit more…vivid, a bit more there than it had before. Not by a whole lot, but enough that it was noticeable that something was at least a little different. And on top of that, he felt refreshed. Despite having been sitting there for some time, he did not feel the slightest bit stiff or sore. On the contrary, he felt like he had a bit more energy than usual, like he could think a bit more clearly. He felt…at ease, like everything was okay, was going to be okay in that sort of generic Hakuna Matata sort of way.

He brought a hoof up to his face, rubbing it slowly as he took it in. “Huh…that’s something, ain't it?”

“It’s always a little more visceral the first time. You only really notice it if you haven't done it before, or if you’ve been slacking off for a really long time and get back to it, but if you do it regularly, the pathways your magic takes through your body will become more developed and reliable. Regular meditation has a whole host of benefits outside of spellcasting as well. It promotes a focused, calm mind, and helps to sharpen your senses over time. Go ahead, check your status.”

Nito nodded and did so, opening his window privately and taking a look to see he had a few notifications

The requirements have been met (Intelligence of 5 or higher, Wisdom of 5 or higher, Successfully meditate for the first time.), You have obtained the Accolade: Mysticism Initiate

You have Acquired the Skill: Meditation: Lv 6/70 (matched to lowest of Intelligence or Wisdom)

You have Obtained the Attribute: Blessing of Tranquility (Mental/Arcane Skills/Stats are increased by an amount dependant on the level of the Meditation Skill for 12 hours after 1 hour of uninterrupted Meditation. [Current Bonus:~5%] )

You are influenced by the Staus Effect: Tranquil (Duration: 11 Hours, 56 Minutes)

His eyes widened at this, a bit of excitement welling up in the colt “O-oh wow! That’s..thats really cool! Thank you, Mister Jackpot!” he said a bit giddy. He considered hugging them, but he was worried that might be seen as a bit odd. And refrained.

Jackpot stood up, skating himself off a bit and freeing a small puff of dust from his hindquarters as he gave the colt a kind look. “I want you to do that for at least an hour, twice a day. Once when you wake up before you eat breakfast, and once in the evening before you go to sleep. And never try to reach out to your magic when you are angry either. Just trust me. I’ll explain in greater detail once you are a bit more well versed with theory and such.”

Nito nodded, standing up as well and bouncing from one hoof to the other a bit, enjoying his invigorated state. “Alright, so what else are we going to do?”

Jackpot smirked at this, raising an eyebrow as he pointed to the clock nearby. “My colt, that’s all for today, you’ve already been here for a few hours. What’s next is I get you a snack and send you on your way.”

He was already trotting off to the kitchen area. There was a cozy little wood stove next to a fresh barrel of water and a cabinet that when it was opened, revealed itself to be enchanted to remain cold on the inside like a refrigerator. He pulled out a pre-prepared plate of apples with peanut butter on them and set it down on the table. “Now, you go ahead and eat up and see yourself home. You did a very good job today, Nito, you should be very proud of yourself,” he said with a kind warmth as he patted the little one on the head and trotted back towards the living area.

The colt quite happily dug into the healthy little snack, beaming slightly at the praise. The sting of that afternoon a few days past was almost forgotten, save for the lingering specter of his curse, and as far as he was concerned for the moment, everything was coming up ~~Milhouse~~ Incognito!

Author's Note

Another one hot off the presses for the lot of you. After wrapping up that fat commission I decided a bit of fun wouldn't hurt, and I hope you all enjoy ^^

Chapter Five

Incognito sat in a chair, squirming uncomfortably under the gaze of his mother. She tapped her hoof against the ground softly as she looked him up and down, seeming slightly concerned. “‘Nito, son, please. I’m not angry, I’m just concerned. Could you please tell me what happened?”

His mother’s tone was firm but held a hint of pleading to it, her worry quite apparent. After all, it wasn’t every day you came home to your foal sporting a brand new curse. The disapproval of the system was no light matter after all.

The colt gave a small sigh and rubbed at his head slowly, eyes closed. He had been dreading this all through dinner, and she had decided to strike right before bed of all times, the awful luck of it!

“The filly I was playing with. She was…she was getting bullied, and I thought about stopping it, but I…I decided it wasn’t worth getting involved and tried to walk away. I felt really bad about it but the filly that was bullying her looked like she was pretty mean, and I didn’t want to risk it. But then…”

He groaned softly as he remembered it, the recollection causing his ears to redden slightly with shame. “I got the notification, and I couldn’t move. I was…so upset with the situation. W-with myself, I felt like such a loser, like I-I…” His breath hitched a bit as he brought a hoof to his mouth, biting it lightly.

His mother clicked her tongue softly and reached up to gently stroke his mane. “Hey now, it’s okay. Just take a breath and keep going when you’re ready.”

He took a moment to collect himself and continued once he had regained his footing mentally. “My reaction to the notification got me noticed anyway, and she hid behind me. The filly who was bothering her decided that she didn’t want to bother and left, and I felt really bad, so I decided to hang out with her and try to help her cheer up. She…she told me I’m her best friend, her only friend.” he said softly as his hoof slid down to grip at the edge of the chair now instead. “I didn’t want to say no, but it made me feel guilty. I don’t deserve to be her friend…”

“And what exactly makes you say that?” Slipcase said a bit more firmly, tilting her head a bit as she looked down at her son.

“W-well, I let her get hit and didn’t do anything about it.”

“Maybe so, but that doesn’t mean that the kindness you showed her or your concern for her was any less genuine, right?” She said gently, her tone softening a bit as she tried to reassure her son. “Here, let’s try to look at this analytically. What is the purpose of a curse.”

Incognito took a few deep breaths and thought, he always did feel a bit calmer when he was thinking things through and was happy to go along with it. “A curse is the system’s way of indicating disapproval.”

His mother nodded, giving him a little smile. “That’s right. Now, the system disapproved of how you handled the situation initially. That’s how you got that curse. But what you did after that was the right thing to do. You made sure she was okay and made sure she knew she wasn’t alone. You could have doubled down and just left the poor thing to find for herself to stay uninvolved, but you immediately took the first available chance to try to correct your mistake.”

Incognito nodded at this, rubbing at his chin with his hoof, the other still squeezing at the edge of the chair. “I mean, I guess, but it was still wrong of me to not do anything, or else I wouldn’t have gotten a curse.”

“About that. I think the way the condition on your curse was worded was very interesting.” Slipcase said, leaning in a bit. ”‘Allow your fear of suffering to overshadow your resolve to act when presented with an innocent in danger’, now what does that tell you, ‘Nito?“

“I..hmm…” he scratched at his head now, going a bit deeper into thought. “I wanted to act, but decided not to because I didn’t want to get hurt?”

“That’s right! It’s not that you didn’t want to help her, you were just too scared,” She said, stamping a hoof on the floor firmly. “So the best way to help you get past this is to make you less scared.”

“That…that makes a lot of sense actually,” he said, seeming a bit more upbeat now that a solution was beginning to peek its head out from the clouds of uncertainty. He faltered for a moment and gave a little frown, however. “But how are we going to do that?”

“Well, you know how you’ve been really working hard lately on learning how to use your magic?” she asked, smiling a bit wider as she spoke.

This certainly got his attention, he smiled again, his ears perking up and pointing alertly forward as he gave a quick little nod “Mhm! Magic is really cool, and Dad’s been helping me learn in his free time.”

“I know, and he’s doing a great job. But with running the library he usually doesn’t have a lot of time to do it. You two usually only get time to practice together in the evenings, or when he closes early, sooooo…” Slipcase’s grin split into a fullblown smile. “How would you feel about getting a magic tutor hm?”

His face brightened immediately at the suggestion, his little head bobbing up and down so fast it was a wonder nothing rattled in the process. “That would be so cool! Do you mean it Mom?” he asked, his prior worry lost at the childish excitement he felt in that moment.

She quickly nodded in return, chuckling softly. “Your father and I had been discussing it and saving money for some time now. We were going to surprise you with it after your first day of school next week, but this seems like a more appropriate time. We managed to find a unicorn with a cutie mark in magic who moved into town recently. We brought up the prospect of tutoring and he said he would be would be willing to reach you. His daughter is a unicorn as well, so you’ll even have somepony to practice with!”
His eyes lit up a bit more at this. Getting to learn magic from a real, properly marked mage, and even maybe getting to make another new friend? Maybe this whole situation wasn’t quite so bad after all! “That sounds great, Mom. Yes! I’d love to learn how to do magic.” he said quite eagerly, slipping out of his chair to go and hug his mother tightly.

“I love you Mom,” he said, leaning in and nuzzling against the floof of her chest as her foreleg came up to wrap around him and pull him close.

“And I love you son. Don’t worry, we’ll have you walking around with your head held high and not a worry in the world in no time!” She said, gently patting his head and tussling his hair before pulling back. And looking him over. “Now, go and brush your teeth and get ready for bed, your tutor will be here tomorrow morning for your first lesson, and you need to get a good night’s sleep after working your horn so hard today.”

“Yes ma’am!” he said quickly, trotting his way down the hall to the bathroom with a bit more hitch in his giddyup, much to Slipcase’s satisfaction. She giggled softly and turned to head upstairs. It was about time for her to be getting to bed too. Buckram would make sure Incognito went to bed if she turned in a bit early, he always was the reliable sort when it came to looking after the little one. That’s a bit part of what she found attractive about him, to be honest.

Her last thoughts as she slipped under the covers and drifted off were of how lucky she was to have such a wonderful family, which slowly transitioned to sweet dreams and soft snores.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day, Nito was up early, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. He trotted happily over to the bathroom and got ready for the day, brushing his teeth, combing his mane and tails, even making sure to grab a freshly ironed ascot and affixing it just so. Taking special care to make sure he was looking his best.

He made his way down the stairs, humming a little song he could not quite remember the name of from the top of his head. His Father was already downstairs at his desk, sipping a large mug of coffee reading “#1 dad” in crude Ponish lettering. The stallion smiled at his son, setting the paper down. “Excited to meet your teacher, sport?” he asked, taking another swig from his mug.

“Mhm!” Incognito said as he made his way into the kitchen and prepared some breakfast for himself. Something properly good and sugary to make sure he had plenty of calories to burn so he wouldn’t get too fatigued from casting would do the trick.

He settled on a bowl of Frosted Fragments, quickly devouring them and washing his bowl, putting it on the drying rack before going to sit with his father.

His dad waited for him to get comfortable before speaking to him again “So sport, I heard you and Mom had a little talk last night.”

Incognito gave a small guilty expression and moved to speak before his father cut him off. “I just want you to know that I’m proud of you for being so ready to try to improve. It’s important to make sure not to let stuff like that keep you down, ya know?” he said gently as he flipped pages in his paper with a soft ruffle. “What really shows you what a pony is made of is how they act when things don’t go their way, and I gotta say, you’re not doing half bad in that respect, squirt.”

The colt’s mouth clicked shut at this, mollified at his father’s words and nodding sheepishly. “T-thanks Dad, that means a lot…” he said, rubbing at the back of his head.

“Glad I could pep you up a little bit, now make sure to give em the ol’ Razzle Dazzle for me, huh?” he said half-jokingly before turning his attention back to his coffee and paper more fully with a small yawn.

The colt was indeed, feeling a bit more pepped up than before. His dad must really mean it if he was willing to talk before he finished his coffee!

His thoughts on his father’s morning habits were cut short by the sound of knocking on the library entrance.

“Come in!” Buckram called out with a somewhat tired, cheerful tone, sitting up a bit straighter.

The door flew open, and a small blast of glitter riddled blue smoke erupted from the doorway as a powerful, exuberant, sophisticated voice echoed through the building “Ladies and gentlecolts, fest your eyes on…”

A blue-coated unicorn stallion with a nearly white light blue mane emerged from the smoke as it slowly cleared. He sported a rather stand-out purple tuxedo with yellow trim and an impressive top hat. It was nearly as impressive as the dramatic pose the stallion struck upon his reveal! “Jackpot, The Magnificent!” he boomed vivaciously with a hoof pressed to his chest, a small poof of confetti erupting from behind him and gradually fluttering to the ground along with the glitter.

Incognito clapped excitedly, hooves clopping together from his seated position. Buckram’s eye twitched slightly at the sight of the (g)litter scattered in front of his previously pristine, clean entryway, but he moved past it quickly, clearing his throat. “Ahem, ah! Mister Showcase, thank you for coming. That was…quite the entrance.”

The blue stallion nodded, giving a small smirk as he trotted into the library proper. “But of course! A proper magician always puts his best hoof forward, I’d say. Is this the colt?” he asked as he gave an inquiring look Incognito’s way.

The colt smiled and slipped out of his seat, walking over. He pushed his glasses up with his hoof and extended it, offering a greeting to the magician. My name is Incognito, but some ponies call me Nito for short. Do you really do magic for a living?”

“Why of course my dear colt!” he said smoothly, reaching over and firmly shaking the colt’s hoof. “I typically work in the Las Pegasus area, but my darling daughter will be enrolling in Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns next semester, and I thought that some time out in the country would do us some good. We will be here for a few months or so, plenty of time for us to make sure you know all the basics and then some!”

The colt’s eyes practically sparkled at the sound of the confident stallion’s assurances. “Wow, that sounds really cool, she must be really smart.”

Jackpot gave a little wink and nod. “Why don’t you see for yourself,” he said before taking a deep breath and turning back towards the door and calling out. “Alright, honey, come on out and say hello to my new student!”

The door creaked and opened again, and the sound of hoofbeats sounded from behind Jackpot, getting closer. “Coming father!” A familiar sounding voice called out.

From behind the blue stallion emerged a similarly colored little unicorn fully, wearing an admittedly adorable star-spangled wizard’s hat. “Initiate, you will bask in the glory of the great and powerful Tri-”

Both of the young foals stood there for a moment, shellshocked before simultaneously pointing and yelling.

“YOU!”