New World
It all started when I was in the living room, sitting on my couch as I was browsing through the tv channels looking for anything interesting to watch.
It continued like this for a while until I stumbled upon an odd channel with some otherworldly name, it was named "Gamer's Paradise". I never thought that there was a TV channel about gaming, that's what I thought.
Curiosity getting the better of me, I decided to see what's in the channel for myself. When I opened the channel, I was greeted by a huge red wheel, some stuff was written on the wheel including TV shows that I'm familiar with.
I decided to spin the wheel by pressing on the big button that says "Spin" as if it was begging for me to press it. The wheel took its sweet time and finally landed at one of those familiar shows.
When I saw the word that the wheel landed on, I was slightly intrigued, it looked like the wheel chose a show that was on the back of my memory for a while, yep, "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic".
Another button appeared that says "Enter". At first, I thought that it was a game but the second I pressed it, a white bright light engulfed the room, blinding me in the process.
The light soon died down and I was able to see myself… well, what I think of myself. I looked at the ground only to find myself on a strange yet familiar land.
I realized that I have claws, though not very big but eh, they were claws in my point of view. I saw how my entire body gained some sort of scales, I even felt a lot shorter than I am.
Lots of thoughts raced through my mind, but a familiar voice snapped me out of them. I saw something quite shocking. What stood in front of me was a lavender colored unicorn pony with one of the strangest mane colors ever seen on a pony.
I pinched myself thinking that I'm in a dream until something appeared in front of me.
*Welcome to Gamer's Paradise, thanks again for participating in our beta testing, you've been successfully transported into the popular show "My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic" as a side character called "Spike".*
Now I know where I'm, this was like those situations where someone would be transported into a famous TV show where they get to have Gamer's Interface. A powerful tool that can modify reality to your liking as long as you follow its rules.
Seeing that I'm now in the body of the small drake, I decided to actually do some changes here and there. Since Spike was someone who was naive and innocent, it would be quite a shame to change that personality by taking over his body.
Getting the gist of the Gamer's Paradise, I closed the welcome tab and everything went back to normal, where I was standing infront of who I guessed was "Twilight Sparkle".
"C'mon Spike! We have to check if everything's ready for Summer Sun Celebration,"
From this sentence alone, I knew exactly what episode I was at in the show. Episode one, where Twilight meets her friends for the first time.
"Right after you, Twilight!" I said as she started walking away from the carriage that brought us here.
I decided to play along, fearing that I might get busted the first second I landed into the world, Gamer's Paradise is something that I plan to not tell Twilight anytime soon.
"Okay, let's get this over with. Spike, what's first on the list?"
I took a notepad that has "Official, Summer Sun Celebration Checklist" and started reading it.
"Banquet Preparations: Sweet Apple Acres," I said to her as we started walking towards the location of the Apple's farm.
I was looking at the town of ponyville until a notification interrupted my special "Town Gazing" moments.
I opened the notification.
[ "Observation" has leveled up! "Observation" level is now 2!]
The notification said, Interesting, I get to have [Observe] as a passive skill, that's pretty exciting.I opened my stats to check for anything interesting about Spike.
—--------------
Spike level 6
Race: Dragon
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
STR (Strength): 15
AG (Agility): 13
INT (Intelligence): 21
WIS (Wisdom) : 17
VIT (Vitality): 11
END (Endurance): 17
LUCK: 15
Point(s): 0
—-------------
His stats were okay for someone as young as him but I have intentions of getting those stats higher if I want to be able to complete with stronger beings like the princesses.
One thing I noticed, was his endurance stats, I was slightly surprised that Spike got his endurance above average, looks like those scales been protecting him for a long time, but that would change as well.
I didn't give his intelligence stat any mind fully knowing that he is Twilight's helper, who is also a book worm (Egg Head).
We continued walking through the town as we finally made it to the Orchard where the Apple's family reside.
During the entire way to Sweet Apple Acres, I was using [Observation] on everyone– oh, since we are in a ponies-dominated world, the correct term should be "everypony". Anyways, I was using the skill on everypony I see and it was quite useful.
I managed to get it around level 5 which gave more clearer description of everything I use the skill on. I decided to use the skill on the unicorn infront of me.
[ Celestia's Star Student ]
Twilight Sparkle (Lvl 15)
Hm, her level was fine, actually, way more better than Spike's, I mean it's a bit unfair to Spike since he is a baby dragon and she is a fully-grown unicorn.
My [ Observation ] skill leveled up again, sweet.
I Opened my stats again to investigate more into this system.
Gamer's Mind (Lvl Max): Allows the user to think calmly and logically during tight situations, super effective against any mental attacks or psychological effects.
Ooooh, that was what I needed, a mind that instantly calms me down no matter what. This is beneficial, I continued looking through the stats.
Gamer's Body (Lvl Max): A body that allows the user to live the real world like a game, sleeping restores both HP and MP, immune to hunger.
So sleeping restore HP and Mana eh? Interesting, though, I don't think I would have the need to sleep in this body.
Observation (Lvl 5): The ability to observe and get accurate descriptions of Creatures and buildings.
If I train this skill, then it would be super overpowered to have the ability to know everyone without even needing to ask them. How scary, such an a ability like this should not even exist, but who am I to complain?
After walking for a while, we heard a cowboy shout from a distance, a mare bucked an apple tree which made the apples fall to the ground.
I quickly used [ Observation ] on her.
[ Element Of Honesty ]
Applejack (Lvl 16)
She was one level ahead of Twilight, I mean she had been bucking trees for a good portion of her life which makes sense. And I'm going to bet that her Strength, Endurance and Agility stat were way higher than Twilight's, heh… the perks of being an earth pony.
Applejack noticed us looking at her and came up to us.
"Howdy there, sugarcube. Who are ya?" Applejack questioned as Twilight replied to her:
"Good afternoon. My name is Twilight Spar–"
She was rudely interrupted by Applejack who shook her hoofs vigorously. I zoned out of their conversation as I began looking at the sky.
I knew what was going to happen at the first episode, the return of Nightmare Moon, there is no way I could beat her, especially with those stats that spike have.
Ponies like her and Celestia got to atleast have a couple of hundreds levels, Princess Celestia, the older alicorn, even though she has a higher level than Luna (based on my calculations) she lost against her younger sister which meant that sometimes level doesn't matter if you are skilled enough.
Speaking of sisters, the only reason why her return is happening is because of Celestia's hesitation to kill her. There is nothing wrong with not wanting to kill your siblings but sometimes, as a ruler of a kingdom like Equestria, you have to make the necessary sacrifices.
Leaders who base their actions on emotions are the ones that usually suck the most. Aside, from Celestia's negatives, her living a long life as an alicorn was beneficial. I'm quite sure that her Wisdom stat is off the charts right now due to living a long life.
Ponies like her are something I can benefit from, I could use her as Wisdom stat grind. I wouldn't care if I was just using her, afterall. She put Twilight through alot of stress.
I mean, what type of a princess who leave their kingdom duty to their star student? Celestia for sure.
Normally, I wouldn't care for Twilight but now, since I'm in Spike's body, completely taking over his life. I decided to not act as a stranger around Twilight, because that would raise suspicion.
I don't want Twilight to find some sort of exorcism spell and just kick me outta here, sure the Gamer's Body won't let it happen but it's better to be safe than sorry.
Applejack introduced us to her family which was my chance to use [ Observation ] on every member of the apple family, and surprisingly, I got two levels at that, which made my [ Observation ] on level 7 now, quite an improvement but not enough.
After the long introduction, the Apple family invited both me and Twilight for lunch, I didn't need to eat but I pretended to eat so I wouldn't raise suspicion, especially around Twilight.
After the lunch, I sneakily took a piece of Apple Pie. Now I decided to test something if it's working, I closed my eyes and imagined the word "Inventory" Surprisingly, everything froze in time as the Inventory tab popped up.
Looks like I get to have inventory, now I won't have to worry about getting my super cursed demon sword stolen, I added the piece of pie in the inventory to use it for later.
I closed the inventory and followed Twilight out of the orchard.
"Alright, looks like we will check that off," I said as I took the notepad and crossed Applejack's duty of the list.
"What's next on the list, Spike?" Twilight questioned as she looked back at me.
"There's supposed to be a pegasus that clears the weather around here," I said as I exactly knew what was going to happen after the next sentence that comes out of Twilight's mouth.
"Well, she is not doing any good job clearing those clouds is she?" Just as she said that my senses started tingling as I quickly sidestepped from the way.
A rainbow blur managed to crush into Twilight, completely taking her off guard. I saw my notifications and saw a certain skill had leveled up.
[ Instincts had leveled up! Instincts level is now level 2! ]
Instincts huh? I decided to open the skill tab as I looked for the newly discovered skill, and there it was.
Instincts (Lvl 2): Allows the user to sense danger 0.1 seconds before it happens, completely useful during combat.
A smile made its way towards my face, this is what I needed the most. A skill that can be trained and can make you dodge almost any attack. What's even more amazing is the fact that I'm a dragon now, which buffs the skill's effects, which means that I can sense the danger 1 whole second before it happens.
With, this. I decided to train this skill after the whole events of episode one. But for now, I'll need something to be protecting me. Afterall, this time, Spike won't sit around while the mane 6 do all the work.
This time, even though I know I can't win against Nightmare Moon, I can always outsmart her. Her Anger at her own sister would be what I needed to outsmart her. Her own hatred and jealousy will play a big part in her down fall.
I stared at the mare who crushed at top speed into Twilight. Honestly, I'm surprised that none of them got injuries from this, guess that's how cartoon logic works.
I used [ Observation ] on the mare as it started scanning her.
[ Element Of Loyalty ]
Rainbow Dash (Lvl 16)
Huh, she's neck to neck with Applejack, I guess that's not surprising seeing how both of them represent different types of energy exerting, Applejack got the strength while Rainbow Dash got the speed. If those two were to fuse together, then they would create the ultimate pony.
But this is not Dragon ball nor Steven universe or any show that introduced the concept of fusion so that thought was thrown out of the window.
Seeing how Twilight was covered in mud I did little snicker which made her send me a glare.
"Ah… great… now I'm covered in mud," Twilight muttered which made Rainbow Dash laugh nervously at what she did.
"Hold on, let me you clean you up," Rainbow Dash said as she flew to the sky to the clouds and grabbed one of the clouds that was enjoying it's existence.
She brought the cloud over Twilight and jumped on it which caused the rain to pour down the poor covered-in-mud mare.
The rain washed away the mud, well it did more than that. Twilight stood there with a water drenched mane with an unamused look.
"Oops, I guess I overdid it a little bit," She said nervously.
Deciding that this conversation wasn't worth my time I decided to hit escape and look for something that will help me with the fight against Nightmare Moon.
"Hey, Twilight. Can I use the bathroom real quick?" I asked the drenched in water mare who turned to me.
Honestly, I didn't even need the bathroom. I just wanted to be left alone with my thoughts for a while until I come up with a strategy against Nightmare Moon.
"Okay, but don't be late," She said as she went back to her business with Rainbow Dash.
Finally, I'm left alone with my thoughts. I walked past a shop that sells mirrors for some reason, that's when an idea popped into my head.
I could include those mirrors in my plan to take down the evil alicorn, alright, now all I need is something to pay for those mirrors.
...
Looks like we will have to change the plan.
I began walking around Ponyville until I heard a desperate scream, I immediately began tracking down the origin of the sound and found a burning house, I saw two ponies standing infront of the burning house while embracing eachother.
"Someone please help us! My Daughter is inside!" Cried the stallion, while embracing a mare who I thought was his wife.
[ A New Quest Had Appeared! ]
Seeing this, I smiled as I quickly opened the notification to see what was my quest.
{ Quest: Save the filly from the burning house.
Rewards:
45 Exp
34 Bits}
Decent rewards, with that much Exp I can finally level up and get myself some points. Without any hesitation, I entered the burning building as I began looking around for the filly.
Normally, I would be panicked if it wasn't for the Gamer's Mind to calm me down, I started to hear that the cries of help were becoming louder indicating that I was getting closer.
I walked up the stairs and towards what I assumed to be her bedroom, looks like the door is locked which explains why she wasn't able to get out.
My strength was average so trying to bust down the door right now is currently futile, I need to think of something else. Another genius idea made its way to my head as I pulled out my claws.
You have to use anything you have if you want to survive this harsh world, this mindset not only helped me with life but now it's helping me with life threatening situations.
Successfully opening the locked door as a notification appeared again.
[ Lockpicking mastery had leveled up! ]
I ignored the notification and went inside the bedroom. Skills like this can be useful at times but those times are rare so I don't have to rush with leveling it up anytime soon.
I saw the filly hiding under her bed while covering her face. Smart, she knows how to protect herself from the harmful gas, I can tell that this filly is more handy than what meets the eye.
I quickly ran over to her and pulled her out of her bed as she looked at me with teary eyes.
I may be cruel, selfish or greedy but there is one thing that I don't want to see. Children dying, they do not deserve to die when their life just started.
It's like being spawn killed in a competitive multiplayer game, you hate it but you got to cope with it. But this, is a dire situation and this filly needs my absolute help, I refuse to leave her like this.
"P-please… help me.." She sobbed as I picked her up and started running down the stairs towards the exit.
Some parts of the roof fell infront of us blocking the exit, fucking cliché, looks like I'll have to put more points in luck when I finish with this quest.
The filly began whimpering in fear while I stood there, with a calm mindset as I began looking through my surroundings. There it is, an open window. Now's my chance.
I rushed through the window while holding the filly on my hands, I jumped out of the house and landed next to the worried parents.
I set the filly down as she quickly ran to her parents and embraced them in a tight comforting hug.
[ Quest Completed! ]
The notification said as I opened it, finally getting to level up for the first time. 2 levels, interesting.. I expected to be level 7 but level 8 will do the job much better.
—--------------
Spike level 8
Race: Dragon
HP: 100/100
MP: 50/50
STR (Strength): 15
AG (Agility): 13
INT (Intelligence): 21
WIS (Wisdom) : 17
VIT (Vitality): 11
END (Endurance): 17
LUCK: 15
Point(s): 10
—-------------
10 points huh? That would mean that everytime I level up once I get 5 points, which is a decent number for starters. Without any hesitation I decided to put all of my points on luck.
Now I have 25 on luck, this could be used to my advantage when fighting Nightmare Moon, increasing my chances of winning even more.
I started walking back to where Twilight, but a sudden thought interrupted my mind. Where… was… pinkie? At the first episode, she was the first pony that Twilight had seen ever since she landed on ponyville.
This doesn't make any sense.. did my presence really changed some stuff here? If so, then this might be troublesome for me. Pinkie Pie and Discord, those two I need to beware of.
Both of them are known to be a fourth wall breakers, though pinkie breaks it more often than Discord, but yet. I still have to be cautious around him.
He may be a bit silly and goofy but he hides such a fearsome magic, too bad that he uses it only for Chaos. And then we got the pink colored pony who looks like the type of pony that would give you diabetes and shrug it off as a joke.
Her "Pinkie Sense" can also be my downfall, even though she thinks of it as nothing more than a hunch, there are some intelligent individuals that would soon caught up on what's going on.
That's right, Twilight. I need to act exactly like Spike and not arouse any suspicion. But the real question is: Did I really change the storyline by just appearing here? I mean Pinkie was everywhere in ponyville, and even if she was preparing the surprise party for Twilight you might run into her while she is looking for preparations.
Something on my mind is telling me that is also hiding from me until the surprise party time.
[ By guessing the most likely scenario, your Intelligence has increased. ]
You are not slick, system. You could've just told me that I was right instead. I continued my way back to Twilight with the previous plan set in mind.