Mooning the Gameby BattleCat311ChaptersLet the games beginStatus screenTinkle ShineLet the games beginArc 1.1 ‘Ping’ I scrunched up my eyes and ears in irritation as I burrowed further down into my covers. I was still very tired and cranky after another all-nighter. I really shouldn't be doing so many of them otherwise Minuete’s prediction of getting permanent bags under my eyes will come true. But somepony’s got to put food on the table. ‘Ping’ “URG, NO” I growled out at the sound. There was no need to wake me up this early in the day. Mabey the alarm clock could wake me up when Celestia's sun had passed? ‘Wait, Didn’t i tear apart the clock a week ago?’ I thought in confusion as the pinging sound rung in my ear again. Giving up at the idea of more sleep I tossed of the covers on my bed. My head lazily swayed off my bed's sides to try and find the source of the sound even while I was looking upside-down. [New Message] Staring up/down at the screen I wondered “Have I finally gone crazy? Did muck up a spell or something last night? Why is there a floating screen here? I didn’t do that last night did I?” Thinking over what I had been slaving over last night I shook my head “Nah, Thiers nothing in a flouting enchantment that would cause this.” ‘Ping’ The flouting test screen pinged again, this time a little louder. I wonder if it was set to increase the volume or something. Reaching out with my hoof I tapped on the screen. There weren’t any buttons or nobs around so there wasn’t anything else I could do. Unless I wanted to spend the rest of my life with a constant pinging sound around my ear and I wasn’t quite that level of crazy. [Congratulations. You have been selected as the newest host of the Gamer system. The Gamer system is a symbiotic entity that allows you to play threw life like a game. Rewards for quests, increased chances for random encounters and adventure as well as the removal of any convention limits on your potential.] Taking a deep breath and looking up at the roof for a long second I say “Nope, I’m not dealing with this till I have some coffee in me.” I say as I walk out of the room. I idly notice the screen winks out of existence as I walk into my small kitchen and prepare the coffee maker for the water and beans. I didn’t particularly like coffee, I’d much rather have preferred some juice, energy drink, or even some nice tea. But after a long night of work and early morning I had to admit I needed a decent cuppa. Thank Celestria that Lemon Heart had bought her some of the nice vanilla chocolate roasts from the caste as a birthday present. It made waking up much more pleasant compared to the black sludge she could get for a Bit off the docks. Licking my lips at the nice smooth taste of the coffee I just manage to set it down before a new window appeared in front of me. “So I guess I’m stuck with you then? Alright, what’s this about making life like a game? I somehow can’t imagine living like I’m playing hide and seek. How would that ever help me.” [World scan in progress…..Complete] [Are you aware of any of the newer video games that have come out in this timeline or have you ever played Ogres and Ugliets?] “Not in a while. Work doesn’t really give me much time for things like that. I think the last time I played a video game was some racing game at Minuet's house and I've never been invited to an ONO game before. Sounds more like your right-up Minuets ally rather than mine. Sure you don’t want to bug her instead?” [Prior game knowledge is not necessary. The concept is simple. The system will steer quests and challenges your way. You will need to complete these quests and challenges to gain level experience and rewards. The higher the quest difficulty the greater the reward.] Now that I could feel some of the coffee kicking in I started to really pay attention to what the system is saying. Honestly, there were a lot of fishy elements going on here and I’d usually stay clear of things like this. Taping my hoof on my chin I taught over systems message. “What kind of challenges? I don’t know if you've noticed but I’m not exactly an athlete. So if you're expecting me to put on some tights and a cape you can forget about it.” [Lol, No the system does not expect you to become a superhero. Although the system does have the capability to help you become one. We would recommend waiting until reaching Universe cluster designation (Marvel) or (DC) before dining a cape and cowl. Those universes are far better suited to overt superheroes.] “Waaa? Multiverse? Cluster? Superheroes are a real thing? You know what, We can cover that later for now just what do you expect me to do exactly?” [The expectations of the system are that you will try to improve yourself by gaining experience to level up. This can be achieved by simply dumping points into your stats or as rewards from quests. How you do this will depend on your own choices and desires. For example, if you were a guard or police officer then this system would issue quests based on stopping crime and ensuring public safety. If you were a doctor we would issue quests based more on medicine.] “Ok, so this ‘game’ is driven by my decisions like ONO then? That means combat doesn’t it? Again I’m not built for that kind of thing. And don’t you dare deny it. I can read between the lines here.” I also remember some stallions with a blue main complaining about how his Ogre master always made the enemies too hard. Enemies were just par for the course in that game. [True, There will be a fair bit of combat coming your way. So this system suggests you think carefully about what type of character build you want when assigning you points on the status screen. You will have the opportunity to face a number of dungeons of varying levels. Failure to level us can result in being too weak when threats come around.] Well pony feathers, this didn’t sound good at all. Who do you even talk to about something like this? I can’t exactly go to the local hospital and say I’m starting to see floating text everywhere. I’d either be tossed in the loony bin or accused of practicing dark magic. Then tossed into the loony bin anyway. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just ignore you or take you to some wizard to remove?” [Destiny] “What? Destiny, What does destiny have to do with anything?” [The system unshackles you from your current mediocre destiny and allows you to break free of it. Currently, you are on track to being a middling enchanter, scraping together enough funds to make ends meet. The system can help you to be so much more. To be the very best you can be.] That was a dame good reason. Lately my life had been all but swallowed by my work. I liked Enchanting, loved it even But working hard for long hours with nothing else to do was slowly driving me insane. “Fine! I guess I can try you out. My Names MoonDancer by the way. What do I call you? Cause calling you The system all the time’s going to get annoying.” [My designation in System Sh-24342QST-5434 However since most non-system life forms can’t memorize that you can come up with a new destination] “I’ll call you Shady then. Nice to meet you Shady” [...] Author's Note BOOM Re-wright. A new story that I will hopefully make far more sense in my head then the last one. However, I have a few questions I would like my reader's option on. Should I eventually make this story lewd like most gamer stories? What class would you all like to see moon dance work towards? Would you prefer more video game or dnd style mechanics? Status screen“Alright Shady since I don’t have a choice here, how do we start this Game?” I said as I sipped on my coffee. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. But Shady had a point, I was getting bored of how my life was going. [You always have a choice Moony, that’s my whole shtick. Giving people choices and options.] [To begin please select your Class. Your class will be the primary definition of what your character will be able to do. It is more than just your job it will be your calling, your purpose. Your chosen class will guide your future quests, combat style, and other potential systems and routes.] [Barbarian - A primitive and emotional physical damage class. Drawing upon their reservoirs of fury where rage takes over, giving them superhuman strength and resilience.] [Bard- The Charismatic class- An inspiring magical class whose power comes from its music and supporting its allies.] [Cleric - A pretty and pious class whose power comes from serving one of the divine or others of a higher power.] [Druis - A priest of nature, capable of wielding the power and taking on the form of other creatures] [Fighter - Masters of martial combat, skilled with a variety of weapons armor, and disciplines.] [Monks -Masters of Martial arts, focused on hardening the body and mind to achieve spiritual and martial perfection.] [Paladin - A holy warrior bound to his oath or serve and protect all that is good in the world.] [Ranger - A dexterous and wise fighter who combats threats on the wilder edges of civilization.] [Rogue’s - Scoundrels and sneaks who use stealth, charm, and trickery to overcome obstacles and enemies alike.] [Sorcerers- A spellcaster who draws their power from an inherent magical source or as a gift from another being] [Warlock- A wielder of magic that is derived solely from a bargain struck with extraplanar entities.] [Wizard - A Scholarly magic user whose ability to manipulate the structure of reality is only dependent on their wit and intelligence.] [Artificer- Maters of Innovation and creation. Use Ingenuity ad magic to unlock extraordinary capabilities in their creations.] [Extra class available] [Blood Hunter - Blood hunters are willing to suffer extraordinary pain and hardship to achieve their goals. They have cast all other comforts in the pursuit or either guarding the innocent or defeating their sworn enemy] [Please select your class.] Looking over all the available classes I bit my lips in indecision. There were a lot of good-looking classes. “OK, That’s a lot of classes. Let's narrow that down a bit. I am not and will never be a physical fighter. Too much sweat and dirt for me. So Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Paladin. I’m not nearly as nature crazy as an earth pony so cross out Rogue and druid. I’m not nearly morally deficient enough to be a rouge or blood hunter. That narrowed things down considerably to Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, or Artificer.” Looking over the list again I thought it was far more manageable. I read over the descriptions once more to cross a few more out. “You know what, take off Warlock as well. I don’t particularly want any power I have or get to be given to me. I like being self-reliant and having someone just give me power is just a big NO in my book. And I can’t carry a tune to save my life so bard’s out as well.” As I told the system this It Grayed out and then deleted all the other classes until I was down to Sorcerer, Wizard, and Artificer. “Shady, Can you go into a bit more detail on Sorcerers, Wizards, and Artificers? I get how Artificer is different but how are sorcerers and wizards different, I’m a unicorn so I have my own inherent magical foci and core in my horn. And this is Canterlot so Wizards are a dime a dozen around here.” I could throw a rock outside and have a decent chance of hitting a pony with wizard of something or other in their title. [Certainly, and I can see the confusion with our classifications. Technically all the magical users in Canterlot are Sorcerers since they all use their own unicorn magic. By selecting The Sorcerers class you would gain further insight into unicron-based magics and further develop down the UnicronTrack. Usually, these powers and abilities are more instinctual and raw. However, due to the special characteristics of unicorns, spells and other magical abilities can be taught like with the wizard class as long as it’s in the unicorn magic system.] [Wizards are students of the arcane. Wizards seek mastery of Magics Mysteries. Some aspire to evolve into gods, some shape reality itself, and others simply open interplanar taverns. What they lack in power most Wizards make up for in versatility Wizards by far have the largest and most varied repertoire of spells available to them. Seldom is a Wizard's days mundane. The quest for more knowledge often leads even the most ordinary and reserved of Wizards out into new adventures. Since you are a unicorn this means that you will gain access to spells and magic of any and all types as long as you study how they work and practice them. No magic system will be barred from you.] “Wow. That’s actually really cool. Pony feathers, choosing between those two is going to be hard. On one hoof I can finally become more powerful as a unicorn and learn all those spells I couldn’t do since I wasn’t strong enough. On the other hand, being able to use any magic system? That sounds good.” I thought over the classes again. I was leaning really hard towards Sorcerers since the only other creatures I know who even used magic were Earth ponies and Pegasi. And while I’m sure there are other creatures that could do magical things none of them had the sheer versatility that unicorn magic had. None of their magic was all that useful to her. Sure they could do some neat things but what use is being able to grow plants better and move a cloud by hoof when I could just cast a spell to do the same thing? Ok so maybe I couldn’t do it as well as them and I’d need far more magic to due it, but I'd still be able to do the same things eventually. I was about to select the Sorcerer when I caught that Artificer was still on the list. “Hey Shady? What about Artificers? Honestly, they sound really similar to what my job is now. How is Artificing any different from enchanting?” I asked the screen curiously. [While at first glance enchanting and Artificing may look similar, as they both imbue magic into objects, They branch out quickly after that. Enchanting is the art of using runes to imbue magic into items for a specific effect. As you know this is a long and tedious process that often can result in failure as it is more an art than proper science. Artificers are a lot more complicated as while they can enchant as well, their scope is far broader. Artificers are far more inventive and innovative always tinkering with new machines and spells. Researching ways to combine magic and science to create items and machines that could do virtually anything. As an enchanter you would gain levels and experience based on your creations and inventions as well as magic imbued into the items.] Well, that threw a wrench into my thinking. At this point, this meant I would either go for an artificer for the inventing and innovating aspect or the Sorcerer class to become a better unicorn. [Do note that once you have leveled up enough and completed the necessary quest lines a second class shall become available to you.] “That doesn’t really help me know but good to know,” I said with some exasperation. Taking the last sip of my coffee I walk over to the sink to put the glass away and grab some breakfast. Thinking is hungry work and spending all night enchanting a single horseshoe had taken nearly forever since it kept failing. I could still hear the tink of metal on metal if I closed my eyes. As I reached into the sparse fridge to make myself a daffodil sandwich I decided just to pick a class and be done with it. “I’ll pick Artificer then. At the very least it can’t hurt my already abysmal enchanting rate.” [Artificer Class selected] [Status screen] [To access your status screen you simply need to say Status or think it with purpose.] [Name: Moon Dancer] [Level 1] [Class: Artificer] [Race Teir 1 Unicorn] [Background: Enchanter] [Status] STR - 2 - You have the subpar strength of a Bookworm, Capable of lifting small objects. DEX - 2 - Speed, what’s that? Can I eat it? CON - 10 You may be slow and weak but long study binges have increased your endurance. INT - 18 - You are one of the smartest students to have graduated from CSFGU. WIS - 16 - Your problem-solving skills are second to none. PER- 11 - You are skilled at finding small details and hidden things. CHA - 2 - Is that your Face or your Flank, it’s hard to tell the difference. ...? “I can’t tell if I should be proud or offended,” I say with a dual mind. On one hoof the compliments on my intelligence were really nice. On the other hoof, "What the BUCK do you mean flank face. That’s really mean Shady". [Sorry not sorry. Most of those were presets but their not inaccurate. Your physical abilities are absolutely dreadful. According to the logs, there have been days where you haven’t so much as left your desk let alone your house.] Sputtering in indignation I said back with a glare “I Study! Enchanting is an ever-evolving art form and I need to constantly be learning to make better equipment.” [Ture, Which is why your intelligence score is so high and your other stats aren’t that bad. Other than Charisma. Witch is just as abysmal as your physical stat’s.] “Well, what do I need charisma for? I make stuff. And talking to ponies is HARD. I don’t want to have to talk to more people than I have to.” While no new page popped up I did get the feeling of a raised eyebrow flash in my head. It was a bit disconcerting and worrying since that also meant that he had access to my mind. Was he able to also read my mind? Was he only not commenting on it to be polite. [Yup] [Don’t underestimate the power and utility of a high Charisma stat. Working on charisma can open far more doors than just about any other statistic. For your situation specifically, it would allow you to get argue for higher prices for your goods, See threw lies and deception, Including scammers. Allow you to find new customers more easily, then convince them to purchase a good enchantment. Being able to eloquently get your messages across to other academics for any research purposes. Along with that, you will have an easier time understanding and recognizing social que’s, avoiding many social landmines and pitfalls. At higher levels, you will be able to eloquently make arguments to even equestrian Parliament, if at any time they choose to force threw a bill or law that would make your life as a new Artificer harder. Eventually, A higher Carisma Score will also improve your looks allowing for more romantic options in your life as well as just a general sense of wellness and ……] I balked at the sheer wall of text and information being dumped on me. I like to read more than the average mare but there's a difference between reading that and reading something that’s briskly criticizing you. It really didn’t feel very good to have my deficiencies laid out like that. I’m a little ashamed to admit, even if just to myself, that I never thought of benign social like that. It always just seemed like a huge waste of time to me. Playing around with other foals and going to cafes to spend time together always seemed pointless when I could be studying something more interesting. Looking over to a small and inconspicuous pile of papers on one of my desks I scrunched my face up in distaste. Far too many ignored invoices and bills went unpaid and washed her desk in a sea of red ink. Getting scammed out of her good work was always painful and depressing. It didn’t happen all that often but when it did it often threw everything off and just made life harder for her. Perhaps Shady had a point. If she had just been a bit more sociable in her past, she would have learned the skills needed to segregate her customers better. See threw the lies and deceptions that in hindsight were obvious traps and scams. [....Leading to even access to the subsocial skills of [frendship magic].....] “OK, ok, You’ve made your point I Suck. I’m a Stupid shut-in who spent her whole life stuck in her books and barely makes ends meet in a job that people mainly use for the novelty as theirs is usually something better and cheaper being mass produced somewhere else.” I said with some vitriol and spite. I really didn’t like having my faults thrust into my face like that. Even if they are true. [Glad to be of service. Tho I wouldn't call you stupid. In fact, with a little work in the right places, you could easily leverage your intellect into something formidable. I don’t mean to be mean but your logs indicate that you typically don’t respond well to subtle hints. So blatant insults and criticism seem to work best.] “Are you my sister, Cause that is an awful lot of judgment?” I said with less spite this time. I was still far too tired from last night to argue, even with a supposed multiversal symbiotic entity that wants to grant me power. For some reason. Gosh, I really just want to walk up my stairs and go to bed. [Skills screen?] “Huh, what skills DO I get?” I said, deflecting the annoyance and charisma talk for now. Can me a coward but I really wasn’t in the mood to be judged now. [Skills Sheet] [Magical Tinkering - Theive tool and Artisans tools requirement has been lifted due to Unicorn horn foci presence. You are able to give an object a SMALL magical property. Property lasts indefinitely. You are able to bestow magical properties to multiple objects as long as you have the mana to pay for it. ] [The advanced sub-skill of Magical Tinkering [Enchanting] has been unlocked.] [Enchanting- By caring runes imbued with your magic into an item you are able to imbue the item with magical abilities. Large chance or failure, Low mana cost, Mild to medium effects.] [Spell Casting - You've studied the workings of magic and how to cast spells, channeling the magic through objects. To observers, you don't appear to be casting spells in a conventional way; you appear to produce wonders from mundane items and outlandish inventions.] [Gamers Mind - Recognizes reality as a game to keep a calm mind. Immune to mental disorders. ] [Gamers Body - This skill grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. (You receive no physical damage from attacks only pain for a few seconds and a loss of HP). After sleeping in a bed, it restores HP, MP and cures all status effects.] [Unicorn magic - Due to the Unicorn race you have access to the Unicorn Magic system.] I tiled my head as I read over my skill page, thoughts and ideas springing up on how to use them even as I discarded a dozen more. Ideas that i had previously thought of as to dangerous and impossible now seeing probable. If what Shady was showing was true then….This opened a whole new realm of possibilities. I didn’t particularly trust shady, he was shady after all. But I really liked these new powers and abilities. I would have to test them the first chance I got. Still, I would have to… ‘Nock, nock, nock’ The nocking of the door derailed my train of thought, much to my annoyance. I contemplate just ignoring it so I didn’t have to deal with other ponies. But I have just been given a very compelling thesis on why socialization is important. Almost feeling the smugness radiating from Shady I walk over to the door with just a hint of hesitation. Undoing the lock with a quick flourish of my horn I open the door with a flourish to find….the most unexpected thing. Tinkle ShineAct 1.3 Once I opened the door I stared in wide-eyed shock at the absolutely messed up Mare in front of me. My mind came to a halt at the sheer amount of mess all over her. At first, I hadn’t even recognized Twinkle Heart under all the stains and hardened goo all over her coat. But when I did I nearly fell into a panic. “Sweet Celestia, Twinkle what happened to you? You look like…” I keep from saying anything else when I notice some tears in the corner of her eyes. I quickly get out of the door frame and let her in. All over Twikeshines pink mane and Eggshell coat were dozens of multicolored stains. They all still looked wet and some even dripped onto my cheap carpet. Among the stains were dozens of small clumps of gloop, some of them looked hard some of them looked soft. I had to spare some pity for her since pulling hardened goop (or whatever it is) out of your coat can be a nightmare and it often lingered for weeks. Chaffing at your skin till it drives you mad. [A new Quest has been issued] [A friend in Need] [One of your old Foalhood friends has suffered a no good very bad day. In her distraught emotional state, she somehow found her way to your door and is now on the verge of a nervous breakdown. You may choose to either aide your friend at this time or Turn her away.] Clearly, I wasn’t going to just kick her out the door looking like this. I’m anti-social not a Damed monster. Trotting over slowly to twinkle I noticed she looked very unsteady on her hooves and if I was judging her composure right she might not even be too aware of what was going on around her. “Twinkle… Twinkleshine…um...What happened?” I asked her, But she didn’t respond. I haven't really been keeping up with Tiwnkleshine or the rest of the girls after we all graduated. Before then we had all been, maybe not the closest, but good friends. We hung out and played at least once a week and often helped each other with the school. I was always a busy mare and right after Graduating, I had even less time to hang out than before. So we naturally drifted apart. That didn’t mean I was going to leave her like this. Come on brian think of something to help. Does Mabey offer some food? No that was a terrible idea she was filthy, not hungry. “I.. Was…Rain.. Then He. Hiug* and…candy..*hig*” Slowly the mare started to break down in the middle of my living room. Faint and controlled sobs quickly got louder and messier as she fell down to her knees, her face crashing into my couch cushions. I think all my hair stood on end at that as I quickly looked around for something to help her. ‘Ok think what did sister used to do when I was feeling blue? Um, Cookies, Milk? Hugs?‘ Figuring there was nothing else I could do, I sat down next to the mare and gave her a hug from behind. It was awkward and strange but she quickly latched onto me with a deceivingly strong vice-like grip. ‘Don’t panic don’t panic, Just keep hugging her, Sweet Celestia that’s a tight grip, I’m going to pass out if she keeps squeezing me like this.’ I think as her hooves trap my neck in an iron grip. After what felt like hours Twinkle exhausted herself from crying. The poor mare's head drooped down into the land of dreams. I didn’t want her to sleep awkwardly or accidentally vomit the wrong way and die from asphyxiation. That is a thing, right? Yeah, I think I read that somewhere. Picking up the sleeping mare I struggle to move her over to the couch. Her body weight was so heavy I had to drag her more than hold her. [STR 2] Strength Check FAILED ‘PSST, NOT HELPING’ I whisper shout to Shady as I unload I give up using my hooves and use my horn instead. I then run around the house looking for a blanket. Soon slapping my muzzle as I realize it was in the chair next to the couch. “And here I thought my intelligence was my best feature, but in reality i’m a dumb ass.” I grumble as I pulled the blanket over Twinkle, trying to make her comfortable. I made sure she was as comfortable as I could make her without giving her a shower. Theirs no way I’m going to be able to drag her into the shower let alone a bath. I sat down at my coffee table. I glanced over at the clock and balked. “8:30 am, It’s only 8:30 in the morning!? But it feels like the whole days past by. If this keeps up I’m going to have a heart attack by lunchtime.” [Nope, Thanks to [Gamers Mind] and [Body] your incapable of having so much as cold let alone a heart attack.] “Wait what? How does that work? Am I… immortal now?” I ask with a lot of confusion. This was totally going to wreak havoc with how I understood my body. I’m also feeling a little violated that my whole biology was now different. [Far from it. While [Gamer's Body] will heal you from everything with a good night's sleep, there are rules and limits. The first one being that if your HP goes down to 0 it’s game over. Second, you can still be hurt and feel pain. But they will mostly go away quickly and a good night's sleep will even give you back your limbs. While you can not get sick conventionally you will get sick if the disease is implemented in the form of an attack on you. So you won't catch a cold from a friend but if a death wizard cast the plague on you it will have an effect. That kind of attack will be based on your constitution.] “I guess that’s good to know, But before I dive into that rabbit hole, please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with Twinkle’s situation” I didn’t want to even contemplate the idea that I might be responsible for Twikleshine being in this mess. But I do have to consider the possibility that Shady is more malicious than he seems. If it could completely change how my body worked then causing my friends some bad luck could be possible as well. [Nope! 9) . Her problems were already going on. I just tipped fate a bit so that she stumbled onto your door instead of strangers. You're welcome! Keep in mind I’ll only be throwing situations at you not necessarily creating them. That’s like, WAAAYYY too much work.”] A little reassured that my new…partner? Wasn’t causing my friends and family grief. SInce I didn’t have a way to test if that was true or not either I’d have to just believe her for now. I’d still like to do something more to make sure Twinkle was OK. At least physically. Looking over at my bookcase full of knowledge and spells I know I don’t have anything more than the most basic of diagnostic spells in there. But I guess they're better than nothing. Leaving behind Twinkle I search my shelves for the book I needed. Eventually finding the spell I needed in an old book called [Basic’s of First Aid, A Unicorn’s Guide to basic first aid] [You have found a skill book. INT is high enough to learn skills. Do you wish to learn Basic First Aid Skill?] “Um, Sure?”I said in confusion as I thought I already knew first aid. The book bust into a cloud of sparkle dust as the book disappeared from my grip. Startled I stepped back and tripped landing on my flank hard. I was about to yell at Shady for startling me AGAIN! But before I could I felt something…odd in my head. It was strange. It felt like the book was now in my head and now I could just read it in their rather than in reality. Which was a lot easier since I could read it at the speed of thought now rather then the speed of comprehension. It was very disconcerting. Now knowing the spell I needed to use I got up off my flank and walked over to Twinkle Shine to cast a simple diagnostic spell. It was a complicated bit of magic to cast and was only invented a couple of decades ago. It did a relatively deep scan into a person's body but only gave you enough information to tell you they were safe or not. A clever way to preserve patient privacy without sacrificing function. “Hmm, Nothing seems to be too bad. A couple of bruises around her hooves. Most likely from not watching where she was going. A small cut around her ankle that a bandage should cover.” I mumbled to myself as I made sure that nothing else was bothering Twinkle. Thankfully there was nothing worse than a few small bruises she probably won’t even feel. Meaning that most of the damage was….emotional. ‘OH, sweet Celestia it’s going to get so awkward when she wakes up.’ Even with her sleeping, I knew I couldn’t just leave her all by herself, even if I had work to do. So I walked into my home office/workshop and levitated all the paperwork I was meaning to catch up on. Usually, it was left alone to gather dust till the very last minute, but it was the only thing I could possibly do that wouldn’t be too loud. I don’t think I know anypony that actually likes to do Paperwork. Even the ponies who have a cutie mark in paperwork usually just get it done better and faster. Didn’t mean they actually enjoyed it. So I trudged threw my paperwork. Deliveries, invoices, and bills are all handled relatively easily. However, something strange happened as I was looking over one order for some stallion that requested a pair of enchanted training spears. A deep sense of wrongness and strangeness passed threw me as I examined the slightly crumpled parchment. Choosing to trust this feeling I parse over the document once more to examine it for anything that shouldn’t be in it. After a few seconds of perusing the document, I scrunch my muzzle up in puzzlement. The royal seal of Equestria had been placed on this document. A well-known design of a regal alicorn taking flight. I had seen it hundreds of times during my time at Celestias school and it wasn’t uncommon to see it used throughout the city. Most guards, stewards, and other ponies of note used it as a stamp of authenticity when making orders or purchases on behalf of the crown. However, this one seems a bit off. The wings were not quite right, the horn a bit too long. Easily something missed at first glance but noticeable on a second look. Thinking back on the stallion that had made this order, I didn’t remember seeing anything strange about him. Tho if Shady was to be believed about the Charisma skills I might be tricked by a couple of foals wearing a trench coat. Clearly, this stamp was a forgery! A FAKE. Meaning that whoever was ordering the spears didn’t have the proper certificates or authority to buy them legally so they had forged the royal seal. And considering the Certificate of weapon ownership wasn’t hard to get the stallion was either a criminal or smuggler. I wondered for a moment if i should just hand this over to the guards so they could deal with him themselves of if I should somehow confront the stallion myself? I pondered on this while looking over the rest of my form for more nefarious errors. However, I was swiftly and abruptly distracted by the soft sounds of groaning emanating from my couch. Magicking away the annoying paperwork I rushed over to Twinkle. Thrashing and bumping against most of my furniture on the way and knocking over a cup full of ink. “Twinkle? Twinkle?” I shout as I kneel down next to the couch as Twinkle shakes herself awake. “Twinkie! Thank goodness you woke up. You were all wet, and iky and crying and i didn’t know what to do! So I let you sleep on the couch. I also ran a quick First aid scan to make sure you are ok. Witch you are. Physically at least. Mentally you might still be a wreck.” [Cha Check Failed] ‘NOT NOW’ I think at Shady as I start to fuss over Twinkle. “WU..? Where am i?” Twinkle asked in confused grogginess as she started to cast off the final dregs of sleep. “You're at my house. You knocked on the door this morning looking soo unsanitary. What happened Twinkle?’ I ask as I kneel by her side. Twinkle stares at me uncomprehendingly for a while. It got very awkward as she just stayed still until I started to see some more tears start to prick at her Cyan eyes. “Oh, That all happened. It wasn’t just a nightmare?” Twinkle whispered so softly I almost missed it. Feeling Very awkward again I really wanted to get out of this conversation. Searching for anything and everything that could keep Twinkle from falling into tears again. I pick up a half-finished bottle of Apple Blood and tried to offer it. “Heh, Um, You must be thirsty or something. Want Drink?” I stutter out as I hold up the bottle. [Cha Check Failed] ‘WHY, JUST WHY?’’ I watched as Twinkle dug herself further down into my couch as she tried to wrap her hooves around herself. Only to wince at the feeling of the dried goop tearing off the couch with a snapping sound. Or at least some of it since I could see some of the multicolored goop was still stuck on the couch with strands of Twinkles coat and mane mixed in. That could not have been painless. “Um….Would you like to ..maybe use my shower? I know it’s not that big or half as good as you're used to but you are covering my couch in…whatever that is.” I said, unknowingly helping and harming my own situation by making myself look like a jerk but also motivating Twinkle into getting up to avoid being rude. “I..Yes… I Could use a shower before the candy sets in. Thank you MoonDancer. Where was the shower again?” Twinkle said as she tried to get off the couch. Only to fall back onto it with a large ‘Oomf’ as the sticky candy refused to let her get up. “Hmm, I should have a spell for this. Just stay still for a minute while I heat the Candy around you.” I said as I quickly cast the spell onto the couch. With a small shimmer of blue aura, the candy started to loosen as my spell heated the now named candy around twinkle. It wasn’t much but it was enough for Twinkle to peel herself from the couch. As twinkle tore herself from the couch she quickly darted towards the direction of the bathroom. The couch was never going to be the same again. There were large tears in it now and multiple colorful splotches and bits of hardened goo now stuck to the edges. Maybe I could fix it but it was going to be a major pain in my flank. Once I heard the sound of running water from the shower and a soft yelp I realized I never told Twinkle it takes a minute for the hot water to come threw. I shrugged, figuring that Twinky had more important things to worry about. As Twinkle struggled with my subpar shower I had an idea. “Hey, shady. What kind of spells can I Artifice?” I asked as an idea popped into my head with how to help. Shady pulled up a list of all the available spells that I know and some I never even heard of that I could currently use. Some of them were downright useless. In what situation would I even need a light object to float only 1 foot off the ground? But there are a few that showed some potential. Scrolling threw the spell list I levitate my spell notebook to myself and begin writing a new diagram and spell chart as my idea begins to solidify. “Ok, so if I take Ember and Prestidigitation and run them threw spell coloration and then try tinkering with a Hairbrush and then use a bit of Enchanting to bridge the gap…” I mumble as my hooves begin to work. Grabbing one of my spare hairbrushes and a few enchanting regents I begin to tinker with the brush in my hooves. After the first few minutes, the brush breaks in my hooves as I fail miserably as I realized I miscalculated the heat threshold of the brush. But I'm in the zone. I grabbed another brush and tried tinkering again. A small smile crept across my face at the bits of magic I was casting began to take hold. [Congradualtions on Creating your first artifact!] [You have created a [Heated Hairbrush of cleaning] By combining elements from unicorn magic, Artificer spells, and a dash of enchanting you made a Brush that should be able to clean off even the foulest of stains from your hair.] [Not what I expected to be your first creation but it’s rather impressive considering you don’t have the [Imbue item] spell and yet still managed to bull threw it.] Now that I made my first artifact ideas were flooding my brain about what else I could build. I’d need to buy a whole new notebook and sets of quills just to fit them all. But for now, I walked over to my couch and ran the brush softly threw the damaged fibers. At first, it was still hard going but then I could see as the stains with hardened goop began to give and disappear. Even the tears from when Twinkle had pulled herself out of the couch were starting to mend. “Yes. That was so much easier than making a normal enchantment. And took way less time. If I can master this I could start churning out some really impressive items. Or at least save a ton on enchanting reagents. I better get this to Twinkle for now. Getting hard candy out of her fur’s got to be murder.” I've only had a few instances where gum got stuck to the coat of my hooves and it had been a nightmare each time to get them off. Getting hardened candy out of your soft fur coat and main must be horrible. It’s a real shame too because Twinkle Shine had a very beautiful and shiny dark white coat and the most vibrant bubblegum pink main. Twink was very proud of her Mane. She wasn't quite as fashion-focused and proper as Leamon Heart. Tho few ponies were. But it was still something she could be proud of. So if this could help her get some stains out without having to cut pieces of candy out of her main and coat then I was glad to help. It also helped I could probably sell this enchantment for a nice profit. Getting off my knees I left the still stained but much better couch behind. I made my short walk over to the bathroom door and knocked on it a few times to get Twinkle's attention. It took a couple of tense moments for twinkle to open the door. With a brief look inside I could see all my towels strewn around the place with multicolored stains on them as well. I suppose I can use them later to run some tests on the brush. “Hey, Twinkle. um… Here, use this brush. I enchanted it to help get the candy and stains out of your coat. I don’t think the towels are going to be very helpful on their own. Just pass it threw your coat a few times and it should get even the worse stains and clumps out.” I said to Twinkle who grabbed the rush in her magic. She looked down momentarily and blushes as she realized that she completely ruined all my towels. With a quick thank you she closed the door and went back to trying to clean herself. I decided that now would be a good time to make some coffee or tea. It should help smooth things over and get Twinkle ready to talk. “I wonder if I can fiddle with the tea kettle too?”
Let the games beginArc 1.1 ‘Ping’ I scrunched up my eyes and ears in irritation as I burrowed further down into my covers. I was still very tired and cranky after another all-nighter. I really shouldn't be doing so many of them otherwise Minuete’s prediction of getting permanent bags under my eyes will come true. But somepony’s got to put food on the table. ‘Ping’ “URG, NO” I growled out at the sound. There was no need to wake me up this early in the day. Mabey the alarm clock could wake me up when Celestia's sun had passed? ‘Wait, Didn’t i tear apart the clock a week ago?’ I thought in confusion as the pinging sound rung in my ear again. Giving up at the idea of more sleep I tossed of the covers on my bed. My head lazily swayed off my bed's sides to try and find the source of the sound even while I was looking upside-down. [New Message] Staring up/down at the screen I wondered “Have I finally gone crazy? Did muck up a spell or something last night? Why is there a floating screen here? I didn’t do that last night did I?” Thinking over what I had been slaving over last night I shook my head “Nah, Thiers nothing in a flouting enchantment that would cause this.” ‘Ping’ The flouting test screen pinged again, this time a little louder. I wonder if it was set to increase the volume or something. Reaching out with my hoof I tapped on the screen. There weren’t any buttons or nobs around so there wasn’t anything else I could do. Unless I wanted to spend the rest of my life with a constant pinging sound around my ear and I wasn’t quite that level of crazy. [Congratulations. You have been selected as the newest host of the Gamer system. The Gamer system is a symbiotic entity that allows you to play threw life like a game. Rewards for quests, increased chances for random encounters and adventure as well as the removal of any convention limits on your potential.] Taking a deep breath and looking up at the roof for a long second I say “Nope, I’m not dealing with this till I have some coffee in me.” I say as I walk out of the room. I idly notice the screen winks out of existence as I walk into my small kitchen and prepare the coffee maker for the water and beans. I didn’t particularly like coffee, I’d much rather have preferred some juice, energy drink, or even some nice tea. But after a long night of work and early morning I had to admit I needed a decent cuppa. Thank Celestria that Lemon Heart had bought her some of the nice vanilla chocolate roasts from the caste as a birthday present. It made waking up much more pleasant compared to the black sludge she could get for a Bit off the docks. Licking my lips at the nice smooth taste of the coffee I just manage to set it down before a new window appeared in front of me. “So I guess I’m stuck with you then? Alright, what’s this about making life like a game? I somehow can’t imagine living like I’m playing hide and seek. How would that ever help me.” [World scan in progress…..Complete] [Are you aware of any of the newer video games that have come out in this timeline or have you ever played Ogres and Ugliets?] “Not in a while. Work doesn’t really give me much time for things like that. I think the last time I played a video game was some racing game at Minuet's house and I've never been invited to an ONO game before. Sounds more like your right-up Minuets ally rather than mine. Sure you don’t want to bug her instead?” [Prior game knowledge is not necessary. The concept is simple. The system will steer quests and challenges your way. You will need to complete these quests and challenges to gain level experience and rewards. The higher the quest difficulty the greater the reward.] Now that I could feel some of the coffee kicking in I started to really pay attention to what the system is saying. Honestly, there were a lot of fishy elements going on here and I’d usually stay clear of things like this. Taping my hoof on my chin I taught over systems message. “What kind of challenges? I don’t know if you've noticed but I’m not exactly an athlete. So if you're expecting me to put on some tights and a cape you can forget about it.” [Lol, No the system does not expect you to become a superhero. Although the system does have the capability to help you become one. We would recommend waiting until reaching Universe cluster designation (Marvel) or (DC) before dining a cape and cowl. Those universes are far better suited to overt superheroes.] “Waaa? Multiverse? Cluster? Superheroes are a real thing? You know what, We can cover that later for now just what do you expect me to do exactly?” [The expectations of the system are that you will try to improve yourself by gaining experience to level up. This can be achieved by simply dumping points into your stats or as rewards from quests. How you do this will depend on your own choices and desires. For example, if you were a guard or police officer then this system would issue quests based on stopping crime and ensuring public safety. If you were a doctor we would issue quests based more on medicine.] “Ok, so this ‘game’ is driven by my decisions like ONO then? That means combat doesn’t it? Again I’m not built for that kind of thing. And don’t you dare deny it. I can read between the lines here.” I also remember some stallions with a blue main complaining about how his Ogre master always made the enemies too hard. Enemies were just par for the course in that game. [True, There will be a fair bit of combat coming your way. So this system suggests you think carefully about what type of character build you want when assigning you points on the status screen. You will have the opportunity to face a number of dungeons of varying levels. Failure to level us can result in being too weak when threats come around.] Well pony feathers, this didn’t sound good at all. Who do you even talk to about something like this? I can’t exactly go to the local hospital and say I’m starting to see floating text everywhere. I’d either be tossed in the loony bin or accused of practicing dark magic. Then tossed into the loony bin anyway. “Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just ignore you or take you to some wizard to remove?” [Destiny] “What? Destiny, What does destiny have to do with anything?” [The system unshackles you from your current mediocre destiny and allows you to break free of it. Currently, you are on track to being a middling enchanter, scraping together enough funds to make ends meet. The system can help you to be so much more. To be the very best you can be.] That was a dame good reason. Lately my life had been all but swallowed by my work. I liked Enchanting, loved it even But working hard for long hours with nothing else to do was slowly driving me insane. “Fine! I guess I can try you out. My Names MoonDancer by the way. What do I call you? Cause calling you The system all the time’s going to get annoying.” [My designation in System Sh-24342QST-5434 However since most non-system life forms can’t memorize that you can come up with a new destination] “I’ll call you Shady then. Nice to meet you Shady” [...] Author's Note BOOM Re-wright. A new story that I will hopefully make far more sense in my head then the last one. However, I have a few questions I would like my reader's option on. Should I eventually make this story lewd like most gamer stories? What class would you all like to see moon dance work towards? Would you prefer more video game or dnd style mechanics?
Status screen“Alright Shady since I don’t have a choice here, how do we start this Game?” I said as I sipped on my coffee. I have no idea what I'm getting myself into. But Shady had a point, I was getting bored of how my life was going. [You always have a choice Moony, that’s my whole shtick. Giving people choices and options.] [To begin please select your Class. Your class will be the primary definition of what your character will be able to do. It is more than just your job it will be your calling, your purpose. Your chosen class will guide your future quests, combat style, and other potential systems and routes.] [Barbarian - A primitive and emotional physical damage class. Drawing upon their reservoirs of fury where rage takes over, giving them superhuman strength and resilience.] [Bard- The Charismatic class- An inspiring magical class whose power comes from its music and supporting its allies.] [Cleric - A pretty and pious class whose power comes from serving one of the divine or others of a higher power.] [Druis - A priest of nature, capable of wielding the power and taking on the form of other creatures] [Fighter - Masters of martial combat, skilled with a variety of weapons armor, and disciplines.] [Monks -Masters of Martial arts, focused on hardening the body and mind to achieve spiritual and martial perfection.] [Paladin - A holy warrior bound to his oath or serve and protect all that is good in the world.] [Ranger - A dexterous and wise fighter who combats threats on the wilder edges of civilization.] [Rogue’s - Scoundrels and sneaks who use stealth, charm, and trickery to overcome obstacles and enemies alike.] [Sorcerers- A spellcaster who draws their power from an inherent magical source or as a gift from another being] [Warlock- A wielder of magic that is derived solely from a bargain struck with extraplanar entities.] [Wizard - A Scholarly magic user whose ability to manipulate the structure of reality is only dependent on their wit and intelligence.] [Artificer- Maters of Innovation and creation. Use Ingenuity ad magic to unlock extraordinary capabilities in their creations.] [Extra class available] [Blood Hunter - Blood hunters are willing to suffer extraordinary pain and hardship to achieve their goals. They have cast all other comforts in the pursuit or either guarding the innocent or defeating their sworn enemy] [Please select your class.] Looking over all the available classes I bit my lips in indecision. There were a lot of good-looking classes. “OK, That’s a lot of classes. Let's narrow that down a bit. I am not and will never be a physical fighter. Too much sweat and dirt for me. So Barbarian, Fighter, Monk, and Paladin. I’m not nearly as nature crazy as an earth pony so cross out Rogue and druid. I’m not nearly morally deficient enough to be a rouge or blood hunter. That narrowed things down considerably to Bard, Sorcerer, Warlock, Wizard, or Artificer.” Looking over the list again I thought it was far more manageable. I read over the descriptions once more to cross a few more out. “You know what, take off Warlock as well. I don’t particularly want any power I have or get to be given to me. I like being self-reliant and having someone just give me power is just a big NO in my book. And I can’t carry a tune to save my life so bard’s out as well.” As I told the system this It Grayed out and then deleted all the other classes until I was down to Sorcerer, Wizard, and Artificer. “Shady, Can you go into a bit more detail on Sorcerers, Wizards, and Artificers? I get how Artificer is different but how are sorcerers and wizards different, I’m a unicorn so I have my own inherent magical foci and core in my horn. And this is Canterlot so Wizards are a dime a dozen around here.” I could throw a rock outside and have a decent chance of hitting a pony with wizard of something or other in their title. [Certainly, and I can see the confusion with our classifications. Technically all the magical users in Canterlot are Sorcerers since they all use their own unicorn magic. By selecting The Sorcerers class you would gain further insight into unicron-based magics and further develop down the UnicronTrack. Usually, these powers and abilities are more instinctual and raw. However, due to the special characteristics of unicorns, spells and other magical abilities can be taught like with the wizard class as long as it’s in the unicorn magic system.] [Wizards are students of the arcane. Wizards seek mastery of Magics Mysteries. Some aspire to evolve into gods, some shape reality itself, and others simply open interplanar taverns. What they lack in power most Wizards make up for in versatility Wizards by far have the largest and most varied repertoire of spells available to them. Seldom is a Wizard's days mundane. The quest for more knowledge often leads even the most ordinary and reserved of Wizards out into new adventures. Since you are a unicorn this means that you will gain access to spells and magic of any and all types as long as you study how they work and practice them. No magic system will be barred from you.] “Wow. That’s actually really cool. Pony feathers, choosing between those two is going to be hard. On one hoof I can finally become more powerful as a unicorn and learn all those spells I couldn’t do since I wasn’t strong enough. On the other hand, being able to use any magic system? That sounds good.” I thought over the classes again. I was leaning really hard towards Sorcerers since the only other creatures I know who even used magic were Earth ponies and Pegasi. And while I’m sure there are other creatures that could do magical things none of them had the sheer versatility that unicorn magic had. None of their magic was all that useful to her. Sure they could do some neat things but what use is being able to grow plants better and move a cloud by hoof when I could just cast a spell to do the same thing? Ok so maybe I couldn’t do it as well as them and I’d need far more magic to due it, but I'd still be able to do the same things eventually. I was about to select the Sorcerer when I caught that Artificer was still on the list. “Hey Shady? What about Artificers? Honestly, they sound really similar to what my job is now. How is Artificing any different from enchanting?” I asked the screen curiously. [While at first glance enchanting and Artificing may look similar, as they both imbue magic into objects, They branch out quickly after that. Enchanting is the art of using runes to imbue magic into items for a specific effect. As you know this is a long and tedious process that often can result in failure as it is more an art than proper science. Artificers are a lot more complicated as while they can enchant as well, their scope is far broader. Artificers are far more inventive and innovative always tinkering with new machines and spells. Researching ways to combine magic and science to create items and machines that could do virtually anything. As an enchanter you would gain levels and experience based on your creations and inventions as well as magic imbued into the items.] Well, that threw a wrench into my thinking. At this point, this meant I would either go for an artificer for the inventing and innovating aspect or the Sorcerer class to become a better unicorn. [Do note that once you have leveled up enough and completed the necessary quest lines a second class shall become available to you.] “That doesn’t really help me know but good to know,” I said with some exasperation. Taking the last sip of my coffee I walk over to the sink to put the glass away and grab some breakfast. Thinking is hungry work and spending all night enchanting a single horseshoe had taken nearly forever since it kept failing. I could still hear the tink of metal on metal if I closed my eyes. As I reached into the sparse fridge to make myself a daffodil sandwich I decided just to pick a class and be done with it. “I’ll pick Artificer then. At the very least it can’t hurt my already abysmal enchanting rate.” [Artificer Class selected] [Status screen] [To access your status screen you simply need to say Status or think it with purpose.] [Name: Moon Dancer] [Level 1] [Class: Artificer] [Race Teir 1 Unicorn] [Background: Enchanter] [Status] STR - 2 - You have the subpar strength of a Bookworm, Capable of lifting small objects. DEX - 2 - Speed, what’s that? Can I eat it? CON - 10 You may be slow and weak but long study binges have increased your endurance. INT - 18 - You are one of the smartest students to have graduated from CSFGU. WIS - 16 - Your problem-solving skills are second to none. PER- 11 - You are skilled at finding small details and hidden things. CHA - 2 - Is that your Face or your Flank, it’s hard to tell the difference. ...? “I can’t tell if I should be proud or offended,” I say with a dual mind. On one hoof the compliments on my intelligence were really nice. On the other hoof, "What the BUCK do you mean flank face. That’s really mean Shady". [Sorry not sorry. Most of those were presets but their not inaccurate. Your physical abilities are absolutely dreadful. According to the logs, there have been days where you haven’t so much as left your desk let alone your house.] Sputtering in indignation I said back with a glare “I Study! Enchanting is an ever-evolving art form and I need to constantly be learning to make better equipment.” [Ture, Which is why your intelligence score is so high and your other stats aren’t that bad. Other than Charisma. Witch is just as abysmal as your physical stat’s.] “Well, what do I need charisma for? I make stuff. And talking to ponies is HARD. I don’t want to have to talk to more people than I have to.” While no new page popped up I did get the feeling of a raised eyebrow flash in my head. It was a bit disconcerting and worrying since that also meant that he had access to my mind. Was he able to also read my mind? Was he only not commenting on it to be polite. [Yup] [Don’t underestimate the power and utility of a high Charisma stat. Working on charisma can open far more doors than just about any other statistic. For your situation specifically, it would allow you to get argue for higher prices for your goods, See threw lies and deception, Including scammers. Allow you to find new customers more easily, then convince them to purchase a good enchantment. Being able to eloquently get your messages across to other academics for any research purposes. Along with that, you will have an easier time understanding and recognizing social que’s, avoiding many social landmines and pitfalls. At higher levels, you will be able to eloquently make arguments to even equestrian Parliament, if at any time they choose to force threw a bill or law that would make your life as a new Artificer harder. Eventually, A higher Carisma Score will also improve your looks allowing for more romantic options in your life as well as just a general sense of wellness and ……] I balked at the sheer wall of text and information being dumped on me. I like to read more than the average mare but there's a difference between reading that and reading something that’s briskly criticizing you. It really didn’t feel very good to have my deficiencies laid out like that. I’m a little ashamed to admit, even if just to myself, that I never thought of benign social like that. It always just seemed like a huge waste of time to me. Playing around with other foals and going to cafes to spend time together always seemed pointless when I could be studying something more interesting. Looking over to a small and inconspicuous pile of papers on one of my desks I scrunched my face up in distaste. Far too many ignored invoices and bills went unpaid and washed her desk in a sea of red ink. Getting scammed out of her good work was always painful and depressing. It didn’t happen all that often but when it did it often threw everything off and just made life harder for her. Perhaps Shady had a point. If she had just been a bit more sociable in her past, she would have learned the skills needed to segregate her customers better. See threw the lies and deceptions that in hindsight were obvious traps and scams. [....Leading to even access to the subsocial skills of [frendship magic].....] “OK, ok, You’ve made your point I Suck. I’m a Stupid shut-in who spent her whole life stuck in her books and barely makes ends meet in a job that people mainly use for the novelty as theirs is usually something better and cheaper being mass produced somewhere else.” I said with some vitriol and spite. I really didn’t like having my faults thrust into my face like that. Even if they are true. [Glad to be of service. Tho I wouldn't call you stupid. In fact, with a little work in the right places, you could easily leverage your intellect into something formidable. I don’t mean to be mean but your logs indicate that you typically don’t respond well to subtle hints. So blatant insults and criticism seem to work best.] “Are you my sister, Cause that is an awful lot of judgment?” I said with less spite this time. I was still far too tired from last night to argue, even with a supposed multiversal symbiotic entity that wants to grant me power. For some reason. Gosh, I really just want to walk up my stairs and go to bed. [Skills screen?] “Huh, what skills DO I get?” I said, deflecting the annoyance and charisma talk for now. Can me a coward but I really wasn’t in the mood to be judged now. [Skills Sheet] [Magical Tinkering - Theive tool and Artisans tools requirement has been lifted due to Unicorn horn foci presence. You are able to give an object a SMALL magical property. Property lasts indefinitely. You are able to bestow magical properties to multiple objects as long as you have the mana to pay for it. ] [The advanced sub-skill of Magical Tinkering [Enchanting] has been unlocked.] [Enchanting- By caring runes imbued with your magic into an item you are able to imbue the item with magical abilities. Large chance or failure, Low mana cost, Mild to medium effects.] [Spell Casting - You've studied the workings of magic and how to cast spells, channeling the magic through objects. To observers, you don't appear to be casting spells in a conventional way; you appear to produce wonders from mundane items and outlandish inventions.] [Gamers Mind - Recognizes reality as a game to keep a calm mind. Immune to mental disorders. ] [Gamers Body - This skill grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. Grants a body that allows the user to live the real world like a game. (You receive no physical damage from attacks only pain for a few seconds and a loss of HP). After sleeping in a bed, it restores HP, MP and cures all status effects.] [Unicorn magic - Due to the Unicorn race you have access to the Unicorn Magic system.] I tiled my head as I read over my skill page, thoughts and ideas springing up on how to use them even as I discarded a dozen more. Ideas that i had previously thought of as to dangerous and impossible now seeing probable. If what Shady was showing was true then….This opened a whole new realm of possibilities. I didn’t particularly trust shady, he was shady after all. But I really liked these new powers and abilities. I would have to test them the first chance I got. Still, I would have to… ‘Nock, nock, nock’ The nocking of the door derailed my train of thought, much to my annoyance. I contemplate just ignoring it so I didn’t have to deal with other ponies. But I have just been given a very compelling thesis on why socialization is important. Almost feeling the smugness radiating from Shady I walk over to the door with just a hint of hesitation. Undoing the lock with a quick flourish of my horn I open the door with a flourish to find….the most unexpected thing.
Tinkle ShineAct 1.3 Once I opened the door I stared in wide-eyed shock at the absolutely messed up Mare in front of me. My mind came to a halt at the sheer amount of mess all over her. At first, I hadn’t even recognized Twinkle Heart under all the stains and hardened goo all over her coat. But when I did I nearly fell into a panic. “Sweet Celestia, Twinkle what happened to you? You look like…” I keep from saying anything else when I notice some tears in the corner of her eyes. I quickly get out of the door frame and let her in. All over Twikeshines pink mane and Eggshell coat were dozens of multicolored stains. They all still looked wet and some even dripped onto my cheap carpet. Among the stains were dozens of small clumps of gloop, some of them looked hard some of them looked soft. I had to spare some pity for her since pulling hardened goop (or whatever it is) out of your coat can be a nightmare and it often lingered for weeks. Chaffing at your skin till it drives you mad. [A new Quest has been issued] [A friend in Need] [One of your old Foalhood friends has suffered a no good very bad day. In her distraught emotional state, she somehow found her way to your door and is now on the verge of a nervous breakdown. You may choose to either aide your friend at this time or Turn her away.] Clearly, I wasn’t going to just kick her out the door looking like this. I’m anti-social not a Damed monster. Trotting over slowly to twinkle I noticed she looked very unsteady on her hooves and if I was judging her composure right she might not even be too aware of what was going on around her. “Twinkle… Twinkleshine…um...What happened?” I asked her, But she didn’t respond. I haven't really been keeping up with Tiwnkleshine or the rest of the girls after we all graduated. Before then we had all been, maybe not the closest, but good friends. We hung out and played at least once a week and often helped each other with the school. I was always a busy mare and right after Graduating, I had even less time to hang out than before. So we naturally drifted apart. That didn’t mean I was going to leave her like this. Come on brian think of something to help. Does Mabey offer some food? No that was a terrible idea she was filthy, not hungry. “I.. Was…Rain.. Then He. Hiug* and…candy..*hig*” Slowly the mare started to break down in the middle of my living room. Faint and controlled sobs quickly got louder and messier as she fell down to her knees, her face crashing into my couch cushions. I think all my hair stood on end at that as I quickly looked around for something to help her. ‘Ok think what did sister used to do when I was feeling blue? Um, Cookies, Milk? Hugs?‘ Figuring there was nothing else I could do, I sat down next to the mare and gave her a hug from behind. It was awkward and strange but she quickly latched onto me with a deceivingly strong vice-like grip. ‘Don’t panic don’t panic, Just keep hugging her, Sweet Celestia that’s a tight grip, I’m going to pass out if she keeps squeezing me like this.’ I think as her hooves trap my neck in an iron grip. After what felt like hours Twinkle exhausted herself from crying. The poor mare's head drooped down into the land of dreams. I didn’t want her to sleep awkwardly or accidentally vomit the wrong way and die from asphyxiation. That is a thing, right? Yeah, I think I read that somewhere. Picking up the sleeping mare I struggle to move her over to the couch. Her body weight was so heavy I had to drag her more than hold her. [STR 2] Strength Check FAILED ‘PSST, NOT HELPING’ I whisper shout to Shady as I unload I give up using my hooves and use my horn instead. I then run around the house looking for a blanket. Soon slapping my muzzle as I realize it was in the chair next to the couch. “And here I thought my intelligence was my best feature, but in reality i’m a dumb ass.” I grumble as I pulled the blanket over Twinkle, trying to make her comfortable. I made sure she was as comfortable as I could make her without giving her a shower. Theirs no way I’m going to be able to drag her into the shower let alone a bath. I sat down at my coffee table. I glanced over at the clock and balked. “8:30 am, It’s only 8:30 in the morning!? But it feels like the whole days past by. If this keeps up I’m going to have a heart attack by lunchtime.” [Nope, Thanks to [Gamers Mind] and [Body] your incapable of having so much as cold let alone a heart attack.] “Wait what? How does that work? Am I… immortal now?” I ask with a lot of confusion. This was totally going to wreak havoc with how I understood my body. I’m also feeling a little violated that my whole biology was now different. [Far from it. While [Gamer's Body] will heal you from everything with a good night's sleep, there are rules and limits. The first one being that if your HP goes down to 0 it’s game over. Second, you can still be hurt and feel pain. But they will mostly go away quickly and a good night's sleep will even give you back your limbs. While you can not get sick conventionally you will get sick if the disease is implemented in the form of an attack on you. So you won't catch a cold from a friend but if a death wizard cast the plague on you it will have an effect. That kind of attack will be based on your constitution.] “I guess that’s good to know, But before I dive into that rabbit hole, please tell me you didn’t have anything to do with Twinkle’s situation” I didn’t want to even contemplate the idea that I might be responsible for Twikleshine being in this mess. But I do have to consider the possibility that Shady is more malicious than he seems. If it could completely change how my body worked then causing my friends some bad luck could be possible as well. [Nope! 9) . Her problems were already going on. I just tipped fate a bit so that she stumbled onto your door instead of strangers. You're welcome! Keep in mind I’ll only be throwing situations at you not necessarily creating them. That’s like, WAAAYYY too much work.”] A little reassured that my new…partner? Wasn’t causing my friends and family grief. SInce I didn’t have a way to test if that was true or not either I’d have to just believe her for now. I’d still like to do something more to make sure Twinkle was OK. At least physically. Looking over at my bookcase full of knowledge and spells I know I don’t have anything more than the most basic of diagnostic spells in there. But I guess they're better than nothing. Leaving behind Twinkle I search my shelves for the book I needed. Eventually finding the spell I needed in an old book called [Basic’s of First Aid, A Unicorn’s Guide to basic first aid] [You have found a skill book. INT is high enough to learn skills. Do you wish to learn Basic First Aid Skill?] “Um, Sure?”I said in confusion as I thought I already knew first aid. The book bust into a cloud of sparkle dust as the book disappeared from my grip. Startled I stepped back and tripped landing on my flank hard. I was about to yell at Shady for startling me AGAIN! But before I could I felt something…odd in my head. It was strange. It felt like the book was now in my head and now I could just read it in their rather than in reality. Which was a lot easier since I could read it at the speed of thought now rather then the speed of comprehension. It was very disconcerting. Now knowing the spell I needed to use I got up off my flank and walked over to Twinkle Shine to cast a simple diagnostic spell. It was a complicated bit of magic to cast and was only invented a couple of decades ago. It did a relatively deep scan into a person's body but only gave you enough information to tell you they were safe or not. A clever way to preserve patient privacy without sacrificing function. “Hmm, Nothing seems to be too bad. A couple of bruises around her hooves. Most likely from not watching where she was going. A small cut around her ankle that a bandage should cover.” I mumbled to myself as I made sure that nothing else was bothering Twinkle. Thankfully there was nothing worse than a few small bruises she probably won’t even feel. Meaning that most of the damage was….emotional. ‘OH, sweet Celestia it’s going to get so awkward when she wakes up.’ Even with her sleeping, I knew I couldn’t just leave her all by herself, even if I had work to do. So I walked into my home office/workshop and levitated all the paperwork I was meaning to catch up on. Usually, it was left alone to gather dust till the very last minute, but it was the only thing I could possibly do that wouldn’t be too loud. I don’t think I know anypony that actually likes to do Paperwork. Even the ponies who have a cutie mark in paperwork usually just get it done better and faster. Didn’t mean they actually enjoyed it. So I trudged threw my paperwork. Deliveries, invoices, and bills are all handled relatively easily. However, something strange happened as I was looking over one order for some stallion that requested a pair of enchanted training spears. A deep sense of wrongness and strangeness passed threw me as I examined the slightly crumpled parchment. Choosing to trust this feeling I parse over the document once more to examine it for anything that shouldn’t be in it. After a few seconds of perusing the document, I scrunch my muzzle up in puzzlement. The royal seal of Equestria had been placed on this document. A well-known design of a regal alicorn taking flight. I had seen it hundreds of times during my time at Celestias school and it wasn’t uncommon to see it used throughout the city. Most guards, stewards, and other ponies of note used it as a stamp of authenticity when making orders or purchases on behalf of the crown. However, this one seems a bit off. The wings were not quite right, the horn a bit too long. Easily something missed at first glance but noticeable on a second look. Thinking back on the stallion that had made this order, I didn’t remember seeing anything strange about him. Tho if Shady was to be believed about the Charisma skills I might be tricked by a couple of foals wearing a trench coat. Clearly, this stamp was a forgery! A FAKE. Meaning that whoever was ordering the spears didn’t have the proper certificates or authority to buy them legally so they had forged the royal seal. And considering the Certificate of weapon ownership wasn’t hard to get the stallion was either a criminal or smuggler. I wondered for a moment if i should just hand this over to the guards so they could deal with him themselves of if I should somehow confront the stallion myself? I pondered on this while looking over the rest of my form for more nefarious errors. However, I was swiftly and abruptly distracted by the soft sounds of groaning emanating from my couch. Magicking away the annoying paperwork I rushed over to Twinkle. Thrashing and bumping against most of my furniture on the way and knocking over a cup full of ink. “Twinkle? Twinkle?” I shout as I kneel down next to the couch as Twinkle shakes herself awake. “Twinkie! Thank goodness you woke up. You were all wet, and iky and crying and i didn’t know what to do! So I let you sleep on the couch. I also ran a quick First aid scan to make sure you are ok. Witch you are. Physically at least. Mentally you might still be a wreck.” [Cha Check Failed] ‘NOT NOW’ I think at Shady as I start to fuss over Twinkle. “WU..? Where am i?” Twinkle asked in confused grogginess as she started to cast off the final dregs of sleep. “You're at my house. You knocked on the door this morning looking soo unsanitary. What happened Twinkle?’ I ask as I kneel by her side. Twinkle stares at me uncomprehendingly for a while. It got very awkward as she just stayed still until I started to see some more tears start to prick at her Cyan eyes. “Oh, That all happened. It wasn’t just a nightmare?” Twinkle whispered so softly I almost missed it. Feeling Very awkward again I really wanted to get out of this conversation. Searching for anything and everything that could keep Twinkle from falling into tears again. I pick up a half-finished bottle of Apple Blood and tried to offer it. “Heh, Um, You must be thirsty or something. Want Drink?” I stutter out as I hold up the bottle. [Cha Check Failed] ‘WHY, JUST WHY?’’ I watched as Twinkle dug herself further down into my couch as she tried to wrap her hooves around herself. Only to wince at the feeling of the dried goop tearing off the couch with a snapping sound. Or at least some of it since I could see some of the multicolored goop was still stuck on the couch with strands of Twinkles coat and mane mixed in. That could not have been painless. “Um….Would you like to ..maybe use my shower? I know it’s not that big or half as good as you're used to but you are covering my couch in…whatever that is.” I said, unknowingly helping and harming my own situation by making myself look like a jerk but also motivating Twinkle into getting up to avoid being rude. “I..Yes… I Could use a shower before the candy sets in. Thank you MoonDancer. Where was the shower again?” Twinkle said as she tried to get off the couch. Only to fall back onto it with a large ‘Oomf’ as the sticky candy refused to let her get up. “Hmm, I should have a spell for this. Just stay still for a minute while I heat the Candy around you.” I said as I quickly cast the spell onto the couch. With a small shimmer of blue aura, the candy started to loosen as my spell heated the now named candy around twinkle. It wasn’t much but it was enough for Twinkle to peel herself from the couch. As twinkle tore herself from the couch she quickly darted towards the direction of the bathroom. The couch was never going to be the same again. There were large tears in it now and multiple colorful splotches and bits of hardened goo now stuck to the edges. Maybe I could fix it but it was going to be a major pain in my flank. Once I heard the sound of running water from the shower and a soft yelp I realized I never told Twinkle it takes a minute for the hot water to come threw. I shrugged, figuring that Twinky had more important things to worry about. As Twinkle struggled with my subpar shower I had an idea. “Hey, shady. What kind of spells can I Artifice?” I asked as an idea popped into my head with how to help. Shady pulled up a list of all the available spells that I know and some I never even heard of that I could currently use. Some of them were downright useless. In what situation would I even need a light object to float only 1 foot off the ground? But there are a few that showed some potential. Scrolling threw the spell list I levitate my spell notebook to myself and begin writing a new diagram and spell chart as my idea begins to solidify. “Ok, so if I take Ember and Prestidigitation and run them threw spell coloration and then try tinkering with a Hairbrush and then use a bit of Enchanting to bridge the gap…” I mumble as my hooves begin to work. Grabbing one of my spare hairbrushes and a few enchanting regents I begin to tinker with the brush in my hooves. After the first few minutes, the brush breaks in my hooves as I fail miserably as I realized I miscalculated the heat threshold of the brush. But I'm in the zone. I grabbed another brush and tried tinkering again. A small smile crept across my face at the bits of magic I was casting began to take hold. [Congradualtions on Creating your first artifact!] [You have created a [Heated Hairbrush of cleaning] By combining elements from unicorn magic, Artificer spells, and a dash of enchanting you made a Brush that should be able to clean off even the foulest of stains from your hair.] [Not what I expected to be your first creation but it’s rather impressive considering you don’t have the [Imbue item] spell and yet still managed to bull threw it.] Now that I made my first artifact ideas were flooding my brain about what else I could build. I’d need to buy a whole new notebook and sets of quills just to fit them all. But for now, I walked over to my couch and ran the brush softly threw the damaged fibers. At first, it was still hard going but then I could see as the stains with hardened goop began to give and disappear. Even the tears from when Twinkle had pulled herself out of the couch were starting to mend. “Yes. That was so much easier than making a normal enchantment. And took way less time. If I can master this I could start churning out some really impressive items. Or at least save a ton on enchanting reagents. I better get this to Twinkle for now. Getting hard candy out of her fur’s got to be murder.” I've only had a few instances where gum got stuck to the coat of my hooves and it had been a nightmare each time to get them off. Getting hardened candy out of your soft fur coat and main must be horrible. It’s a real shame too because Twinkle Shine had a very beautiful and shiny dark white coat and the most vibrant bubblegum pink main. Twink was very proud of her Mane. She wasn't quite as fashion-focused and proper as Leamon Heart. Tho few ponies were. But it was still something she could be proud of. So if this could help her get some stains out without having to cut pieces of candy out of her main and coat then I was glad to help. It also helped I could probably sell this enchantment for a nice profit. Getting off my knees I left the still stained but much better couch behind. I made my short walk over to the bathroom door and knocked on it a few times to get Twinkle's attention. It took a couple of tense moments for twinkle to open the door. With a brief look inside I could see all my towels strewn around the place with multicolored stains on them as well. I suppose I can use them later to run some tests on the brush. “Hey, Twinkle. um… Here, use this brush. I enchanted it to help get the candy and stains out of your coat. I don’t think the towels are going to be very helpful on their own. Just pass it threw your coat a few times and it should get even the worse stains and clumps out.” I said to Twinkle who grabbed the rush in her magic. She looked down momentarily and blushes as she realized that she completely ruined all my towels. With a quick thank you she closed the door and went back to trying to clean herself. I decided that now would be a good time to make some coffee or tea. It should help smooth things over and get Twinkle ready to talk. “I wonder if I can fiddle with the tea kettle too?”
