Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience

Limabot · 2025-02-21T07:02:22+0000

... In hindsight, the "Foggy Mirror" literally being the magic opaque mirror from Equestria Girls was both a pretty literal answer and a major twist at once.
Still, this should be a fun, relatively low stakes, part of the Quest (especially with what's coming up over the next few turns).

EDIT: It's also interesting (and sad) to see how hollow Velvet's life would be without Stormchaser or the Lores.

Zxzx24 · 2025-02-21T07:04:55+0000

OurLadyOfWires said:
"AE. DINNAE. FOKKEN. KNO!"

But this time, the mare interrupts you so suddenly that the mirror almost shakes.

But more than just that, you don't just feel anger in her voice. There is something more than just that, and it isn't all directed at you. To the point that you feel at the same time that you have just been slapped in the face, and that you are witnessing something like a dam breaking or a bridge cracking.

"Es tha' wot ye want me tae sae?! Tha' aem fokken useless?! Tha' they left me tae ROT? Ae dinnae kno! I dinnae know where they went! I dinnae kno wo' they were doin'! All ae kno is tha' SHE NEVER CAME BACK!"

The primary purpose of a mirror is to reflect. Her yelling into this one is fitting. Honestly.

OurLadyOfWires said:
And that makes you feel…

Like we would rather die that keep her separate from hee family?

OurLadyOfWires said:
Because this body… this life, it has to belong to somepony, right? You don't know if you completely hijacked your own body, or if this monkey-you is still somewhere inside your brain. But whatever the answer may be, you can tell that you still have memories inside of you.

So, you will dig for them. You will dig for them, and you will force your body to help you navigate this.

With that in mind, you close your eyes, and then you push into your own mind and-

[Training montage(?), breakpoints 50/60/80/100/120]

[Roll: 34 + 14 (Learning) + 40 (Secret Histories, level 4) + 40 (I Have Been Here Before) = 128]

[Final breakpoint reached, no re-rolls invoked]

You push, and then you push, and then you drag out everything you find.

Velvet coming in clutch. Alternate reality Explorer.

OurLadyOfWires said:
You remember all of that, and then you… you…

Dear heavens… no, dear God, you will need some time to parse through all of this.

Lucky for you, today seems to be a Sunday.

You let out a loud, unsightly groan. But nopo-… nobody is here to hear it. After all, it seems you have not married anyone called Stormchaser here, much to your concern.

It also seems that you are still a cripple here. You definitely will want to address that before the day is done.

But more importantly, you have to prepare for tomorrow. Because you think, you hope, that you already have a plan for how to do what Axe asked you.

However, there are several things you will have to do in order to accomplish that…

Hm that's not great.

OurLadyOfWires said:
After all, it seems you have not married anyone called Stormchaser here, much to your concern.

This is a catastrophe though.

@OurLadyOfWires something worth keeping in mind.

Spike isn't dead in this world either. (Probably)

I hope we get to see him. It will probably be indescribably awful for Velvet on several levels.

Tentative plan

Staying

Searching for Axe

Rarity and fluttershy

Stormchaser

We aren't the mare we used to be. But-

I think the best way to get many things done is to get help.

...could be convinced to swap Applejack for Stormchaser.

But only because part of me honestly thinks that Stormchaser is going to find us.

Edit:

If we want to go for twilight sparkle. We should pick her friends. And then pick her next turn.

Steady Gaze · 2025-02-21T07:16:39+0000

Alright… I did not realize the concept for this would be this awesome. Kind of wish we went for the 6x action plan or we could eat into next turn's actions. But actually, in principle I don't think there would be anything stopping us from coming back here besides our more real problems in our actual life…

OurLadyOfWires said:
you can return home and stop for this turn

…and yeah, this confirms that we can return for me.

OurLadyOfWires said:
But still… whenever you start paying attention to it, certain things just don't make sense. The farther away you try to look, or the more you explore certain details, the less things make sense.

What things, though? Something something "show don't tell".

I have seen zero errors in the past three updates btw.

I'm sure the author has thought about this, but what's the idea on displacing your mirror self versus there being another version of yourself that you can encounter? The latter seems to be what happens in Equestria Girls, but is the former what happened to us in this case? Maybe it's a Secret Histories thing?

In terms of what paths we should choose, if I recall correctly, the QM has suggested Sunset Shimmer exists, and that for sure qualifies as the most interesting path to me, although it's not clear how best to find her — she seemed to have connections to the Mane 6 but idk.. But in terms of the rest…

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] Alright, WHERE is Stormchaser? (Look for your dear beloved)

Meeting this world's Stormchaser to me is kind of pointless; it just seems all our reasons for doing so are sentimental. Not that that's bad, but we have limited time here. Unless we can romance and recruit him very quickly to do our bidding.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] They are young and impressionable. Thankfully, you are a responsible adult. (Hang out with Rarity and Fluttershy, your real-life confidantes)

It seemed Rarity was eager to meet us in this world too. I have a feeling we could "recruit" Rarity and Fluttershy very quickly since they're grouped together and they're our confidantes in the other world.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)

Interesting that Twilight isn't at Crystal Prep like in the series but at Canterlot High School here. Anyways, I guess the reward is maybe some science path? Or starting this Twilight on the lores? Or an angle for helping our world's Twilight?

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] "Is there anything on your mind, Miss Jack?" (Approach Applejack)

I… don't see what Applejack might have that we need.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] "To be honest? I think your job is better than mine." (Approach Cheerilee. She is here… somewhere)

Getting allies on the faculty I guess? Meeting the CMCs?

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] "Yes, it's about your daughter. What class I teach her? Well…" (Approach the Rich parents)

Seems pointless; can't think of a good potential reward.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.

Unpredictable, but in a good way? This is where the QM would stick something they don't know where else to put.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] This place has a library. Go take a look.

Try to get lore knowledge? But we can get lore knowledge in our own world though.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] What is this "cellphone" all the kids are talking about? Why do you have one? And what is this "Internet" thing?

Very unpredictable but potentially it would become useful in later actions/other paths.

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)

Yes, this is a must-do.

So my shortlist would be:
-[] They are young and impressionable. Thankfully, you are a responsible adult. (Hang out with Rarity and Fluttershy, your real-life confidantes)
-[] What is this "cellphone" all the kids are talking about? Why do you have one? And what is this "Internet" thing?
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)

but other serious contenders for me are:
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.

des-pair-2 · 2025-02-21T07:33:01+0000

I can agree with everyone else, this was really unexpected. In a good way.

We have Grail and SH Influence. We should try to do actions that use these Lores.

OurLadyOfWires said:
But don't worry. If you successfully finish the search, you will not be forced to immediately leave. Instead, you can continue to explore this world until you run out of your four plan-actions.

@OurLadyOfWires Even after we finish the search and leave, could we still return here to explore this world? Just in case there is still something worth returning for.

Venerable Ro · 2025-02-21T07:52:18+0000

Alright, mad plan time. We've got to find the Bacon Horse.

Iustus Vitea · 2025-02-21T08:24:45+0000

Sooooooooooo can we visit on our own time later @OurLadyOfWires or is Axe the only one able to send and retrieve us even with us having the Sacrament? And will Axe only send us for her task and we have no option to ask her later? Also, can we bring people from here through to our world? And the most important question; what's gonna happen to the Velvet here when we leave?

Shaper47 · 2025-02-21T08:39:42+0000

We have to pick the library option. It's in character with our trait and who knows what useful knowledge we'll discover. Especially given our Secret Histories.

I want to pick the cellphone if only for the realization of the greatness of humanity.

And of course we need to do our job.

DelightedOne · 2025-02-21T09:22:55+0000

Oh, the Mirror. I wonder what is behind it?

OurLadyOfWires said:
"Es tha' wot ye want me tae sae?! Tha' aem fokken useless?! Tha' they left me tae ROT? Ae dinnae kno! I dinnae know where they went! I dinnae kno wo' they were doin'! All ae kno is tha' SHE NEVER CAME BACK!"

Poor Daughter of Axes, left alone in a broken World.

OurLadyOfWires said:
Because why in all of Equestria is there a monkey… a simian, looking back at you from the mirror?

EQUESTRIA GIRLS TIME?

That is actually kinda obvious and exactly what I expected.

Wait, does that mean the Hours ran away to the human world?

OurLadyOfWires said:
[Training montage(?), breakpoints 50/60/80/100/120]

[Roll: 34 + 14 (Learning) + 40 (Secret Histories, level 4) + 40 (I Have Been Here Before) = 128]

[Final breakpoint reached, no re-rolls invoked]

Huh, the SH Influence was useful in an unexpected way, thank goodness the re-roll is safe(we might need it). Velvet getting the best possible result again is so expected I'm not even shocked.

OurLadyOfWires said:
You are Professor Velvet Covers, a faculty member of Canterlot High School in charge of teaching history.

So fitting.

Okay, finished reading it. I want the Twilight route(for obvious reasons), the Key and...I actually don't care about the rest.

AuthorTransient · 2025-02-21T11:34:37+0000

I think looking for Stormchaser will not only be a good cover for our changes, but will also leave this Covers in a better place. That's not really a top priority, though.

Should be something like: 1, the mission, 2, Twilight Sparkle, 3, exploration and loreseeking, then 4, Stormchaser?

Pittauro · 2025-02-21T11:36:59+0000

OurLadyOfWires said:
And slowly, you realize that it isn't really your body that is hurting. It's something that's inside your body. Something that is inside you, and outside you, and covering you like a cape and steering you like the captain of a ship.

It is your essence that is hurting. Your very soul, even.

...Didn't the memory say that if it hurts then we were NOT ready?!

then again, maybe it was the trip that hurt, not the Sacrament.

OurLadyOfWires said:
You look around you and see… well, you can only see that it is too dark for you to see anything. You blink, but only a deeper darkness greets you. You don't yet remember why that is worrying, but you get the feeling that this is wrong.

That IS a bit worrying. The only other time that happened... when we switched with a different Velvet, and when she was Dancing With Death.

OurLadyOfWires said:
"It dinnae matter, does it?" her answer, annoyed as ever, comes through the clouded mirror. "Now, wot ae need ye tae do es-"

"No, Axe, you don't understand. I… this is kind of important?" you say, feeling the snakemare's annoyance grow, even though you cannot truly see her. "I really need to know where I am. I mean, what if this place is dangerous?"

IT DEFINITELY MATTERS!

OurLadyOfWires said:
"AE. DINNAE. FOKKEN. KNO!"

...well, why couldn't you say so from the start?!

OurLadyOfWires said:
But more than just that, you don't just feel anger in her voice. There is something more than just that, and it isn't all directed at you. To the point that you feel at the same time that you have just been slapped in the face, and that you are witnessing something like a dam breaking or a bridge cracking.

"Es tha' wot ye want me tae sae?! Tha' aem fokken useless?! Tha' they left me tae ROT? Ae dinnae kno! I dinnae know where they went! I dinnae kno wo' they were doin'! All ae kno is tha' SHE NEVER CAME BACK!"

...oh.

well, yeah, we KINDA wanted you to tell us. But I get it, so the errand is "finding out what happened to her sisters who fled to a different reality"?

...I'm now wondering... could they be the Sirens?

OurLadyOfWires said:
You cannot see her, through the mirror. You have no idea what her expression looks like. But it would not surprise you if the young mare is…

...

...

young?

I suppose emotionally speaking...

OurLadyOfWires said:
You let out a long, sad sigh. You don't really know what to make of this. You don't really know how to feel. After all, this whole time, Axe has been belligerent at best, and intentionally unpleasant at worst. This whole time, you thought of her as an unruly teenager who somehow had too much power in her hooves.

But the way she spoke to you just now, the way her tone felt, you… well, you can't help but think of her as only a teenager, without any of the other negative aspects attached to it. A lonely, confused, abandoned teenager who has been trapped by herself for longer than the Princesses walked Equestria.

And that makes you feel…

...Like adopting her, maybe?

OurLadyOfWires said:
Because why in all of Equestria is there a monkey… a simian, looking back at you from the mirror?

♫ You are my Equestria Girls... ♫

OurLadyOfWires said:
"How am I supposed to walk with just two legs? And what are these horrible little things on my forelegs? And why the hay are these on my chest?!"

You have no tail. You have no fur on your body to protect you from the elements. And your mane is all wrong.

You are… this is… this is horrible! A disaster!!!

hey, a bit of respect!

OurLadyOfWires said:
[Training montage(?), breakpoints 50/60/80/100/120]

[Roll: 34 + 14 (Learning) + 40 (Secret Histories, level 4) + 40 (I Have Been Here Before) = 128]

[Final breakpoint reached, no re-rolls invoked]

...well, at least we won't go around "galloping" like Twilight did in the movie.

And hey, turns out the influence helped a lot! We even still have the reroll if we want to go for Personal Sacrament after this!!!

OurLadyOfWires said:
You push, and then you push, and then you drag out everything you find.

And just like that, you remember the basics of common sense, such as how to operate your body and walk on two sun-damned legs.

And then you remember the basic details of your own life, such as your name, and where you live, and what your job is.

And then you remember a swathe of other, equally important things. Such as the ponies… the people that surround you, and the little things that you would need to navigate this life without calling any unwanted attention.

And then you remember about the Lores, and how to properly use them here.

And then you realize… something else, that you might want to keep your eyes open for.

so, the tiers seem to be

50 common sense
60 this body's life's basics
80 other people and general knowledge
100 how to use the lores. So we might have been without them if it wasn't for this.
120 and... I imagine this is about the Frangiclave?

OurLadyOfWires said:
It also seems that you are still a cripple here. You definitely will want to address that before the day is done.

so we'll just redo the ritual in here? I suppose we can use local Velvet's resources for it. She might have problems explaining it away though.

OurLadyOfWires said:
You are Professor Velvet Covers, a faculty member of Canterlot High School in charge of teaching history.

...convenient. At least we're not a student. That gives us much more freedom and "authority".

I wonder if we'll notice something "strange" about the local Celestia and Luna. They are, presumably, normal humans here.

OurLadyOfWires said:
But still… whenever you start paying attention to it, certain things just don't make sense. The farther away you try to look, or the more you explore certain details, the less things make sense.

it quite literally works on child/teenager logic.

I mean, imagine if EQG was in the real world. how did nobody find out about all the magic accidents? Why wasn't the government involved?

OurLadyOfWires said:
And what you discovered is that "Professor Velvet Covers" is… an extremely boring and sad woman.

No, really, you mean it. You don't mean to be rude to yourself, but there is no other way to say it.

...harsh.

OurLadyOfWires said:
"Excuse me, miss?" a student, not anyone you can recognize yet, raises her hand as she speaks. Her dark hair and thick glasses make you think she is the resident know-it-all of your class, but you will have to wait and see. "We are supposed to have History with Professor Covers right now. Are you a substitute teacher?"

...I wonder how local Velvet will react to everyone noticing she can actually be really hot when she tries.

OurLadyOfWires said:
Or rather, you act.

It is a simple movement. One that every mare knows, and that probably every woman in this world already tried at some point. It is a simple movement, but one that is as effective as it is natural.

You simple move a hand to the back of your neck, towards your hair, and then you remove a pin that was holding your hair in place, and then you gently shake your head to let your long hair down.

And the smell of your perfume, sweet and smooth and covered with the overpowering influence that surrounds your chest like a ruby necklace, immediately fills the room.

...she's right now the ideal of the hot teacher given form

OurLadyOfWires said:
And all your students, with one exception, are filled with delight as you call their names.

...one exception?

I wonder, is it the local popular girl we just upstaged maybe?

OurLadyOfWires said:
But the young lady who almost jumped out of her desk, her face filled with excitement, was definitely Rarity.

Different dimension, same old Rarity

OurLadyOfWires said:
And you watched as she… you watched as the person who is definitely Twilight Sparkle angrily write several notes on her book.

And for a moment, the only thing you could think of is that…

Here, she doesn't hate you.

Here, she has not lost everything.

Here, she is fine.

Of course, she is gone with the wind the moment the bell rings. She doesn't stay behind with the crowd of teenagers who are suspiciously dragging their feet for an excuse to stay in the classroom with you for a little longer. And she certainly doesn't approach you like Rarity does.

Such a bittersweet view it must be...

OurLadyOfWires said:
How this will work:

You currently have four (4) plan actions set aside for this Sacrament. So, with every "cycle" you have the choice to either spend one action to stay here for a bit longer (and pick THREE of the available choices), or you can return home and stop for this turn.

And just so you know, this isn't just going to be a "side story" that will not impact Velvet Covers' life back in Equestria. On the contrary. Some of the available choices will give you little to no reward, while some of the available choices are entire "routes" that, if followed to the end, will give you interesting choices in the end. And ultimately, there is DoA's request on the backdrop which must be furthered by doing the search.

To make it clear, you will only progress DoA's task by picking the last option to "Get. It. Done."

But don't worry. If you successfully finish the search, you will not be forced to immediately leave. Instead, you can continue to explore this world until you run out of your four plan-actions.

Uh. We might actually want to stay here for all 4 actions. What ESSENTIAL actions did we have back home to take? We did FO friends and Family, was there anything else we really can't afford to miss out on?

OurLadyOfWires said:
-[] Alright, WHERE is Stormchaser? (Look for your dear beloved)
-[] They are young and impressionable. Thankfully, you are a responsible adult. (Hang out with Rarity and Fluttershy, your real-life confidantes)
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] "Is there anything on your mind, Miss Jack?" (Approach Applejack)
-[] "To be honest? I think your job is better than mine." (Approach Cheerilee. She is here… somewhere)
-[] "Yes, it's about your daughter. What class I teach her? Well…" (Approach the Rich parents)
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.
-[] This place has a library. Go take a look.
-[] What is this "cellphone" all the kids are talking about? Why do you have one? And what is this "Internet" thing?
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)

ok, so...
First, a couple reminders: We have an SH and Grail Influence right now.

This means we're just SIGNIFICANTLY better than usual at social stuff, AND at "finding stuff".

SH in particular helps in finding lore books of high level... I could see us finding lore books or lore knowledge around if we try. That said, it's not essential.

And hey, maybe we can ask Axe to let us come back in the future, if we find there's potential for good loot here.

In any case... Axe search each turn is a no brainer. Fluttershy and Rarity also seem like obvious picks as we know them best so we can get the most out of them. Cellphone/Internet or explore also have a lot of potential, especially thanks to SH influence.

Really, it feels like EVERY SINGLE ACTION will be boosted by either SH or Grail. I think we picked the PERFECT influences for this!

Only thing missing might be Lantern to better absorb knowledge, maybe.

I'd say Stormchaser can wait. The storylines I want to ideally finish before leaving are

-[] Alright, WHERE is Stormchaser? (Look for your dear beloved)
-[] They are young and impressionable. Thankfully, you are a responsible adult. (Hang out with Rarity and Fluttershy, your real-life confidantes)
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.
-[] This place has a library. Go take a look.
-[] What is this "cellphone" all the kids are talking about? Why do you have one? And what is this "Internet" thing?
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)

We have up to a max of 12 picks in 4 turns, basically. We'll see if they're going to be enough. Grail and SH will definitely help a lot.

AuthorTransient said:
EDIT: I want to say... one for Internet, one for exploration, and one for Axe's contract? I was expecting something like a lonely frozen mountain, not Equestria Girls.

spiderhellian said:
Among the myriad of theories I had THIS was never one of them.

OurLadyOfWires said:
I am pretty sure at least one person predicted this, but unfortunately I didn't bookmark that comment when it was said way back then.

I'm not really surprised. This being EQG world seemed fairly likely. I wasn't SURE it would be that, but I gave it better than even odds, really.

Steady Gaze said:
Alright… I did not realize the concept for this would be this awesome. Kind of wish we went for the 6x action plan or we could eat into next turn's actions. But actually, in principle I don't think there would be anything stopping us from coming back here besides our more real problems in our actual life…

6x wasn't really viable. We MIGHT have been able and willing to drop forge ritual, but FO friends and family? definitely not.

des-pair-2 said:
We have Grail and SH Influence. We should try to do actions that use these Lores.

Isn't that literally ALL of them?

SH to find stuff (Internet, exploration, Library, Stormchaser), Grail for literally all the other social actions. We have the best influences for the job!

Random Anon · 2025-02-21T11:38:32+0000

I'm actually pretty interested on what happens with phones (Forge?), library and dream (120 threshold or some new goodie?). Though they are probably not that interesting or useful, or not all of them. Maybe just one or two of them?
Is it too crazy to just not go for Axe in the first turn?

DelightedOne · 2025-02-21T11:46:20+0000

Pittauro said:
What ESSENTIAL actions did we have back home to take? We did FO friends and Family, was there anything else we really can't afford to miss out on?

Not really? There is the Uncle Steppes FO, possible scrying for one of the many things we need, SH Sacrament, maybe challenging Biedde for his Sacrament now we have 3 Health, studying Artifacts and/or Books, Spoiled Social for Moth Sacrament. But I think that was it.

spiderhellian · 2025-02-21T11:55:40+0000

Pittauro said:
What ESSENTIAL actions did we have back home to take?

If we keep our SH reroll through this, it would be really really really nice to get a SH Sacrament action in. Saving us the Baldomare action down the road…

Steady Gaze said:
Seems pointless; can't think of a good potential reward.

I'm thinking more which options offer interesting hooks than which offer benefits I can imagines. I trust Bird to come up with things we wouldn't expect!

Pittauro said:
We MIGHT have been able and willing to drop forge ritual, but FO friends and family? definitely not.

…Given the nature of the mechanics here, whee we can return at any time and get the AP refunded, I think mechanically there was only downside to committing the actions. I agree we probably wouldn't have dropped anything. But who knows, maybe the Frangiclave will be one AP off. We could have had the flexibility to make the decision down the line, we cut ourselves off from that.

Random Anon said:
Is it too crazy to just not go for Axe in the first turn?

YES IT IS SAVING THE SNAKE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

Iustus Vitea · 2025-02-21T11:59:53+0000

spiderhellian said:
I'm thinking more which options offer interesting hooks than which offer benefits I can imagines. I trust Bird to come up with things we wouldn't expect!

I mean Bird did emit some of these options don't go anywhere and others lead to entire hidden routes soooooooooooooo.

Random Anon · 2025-02-21T12:24:22+0000

spiderhellian said:
YES IT IS SAVING THE SNAKE IS NON-NEGOTIABLE.

The thing is, yes, we're saving the snake no matter what. We're dedicating 2+ actions to it. That's why, maybe expanding our net a bit in our first turn to see what's interesting and what's not may be useful?

spiderhellian · 2025-02-21T12:28:32+0000

Random Anon said:
The thing is, yes, we're saving the snake no matter what. We're dedicating 2+ actions to it. That's why, maybe expanding our net a bit in our first turn to see what's interesting and what's not may be useful?

We do not know what challenges lay ahead! We do not know how hard this will be! We do not know that 3 actions is enough, and 4 is more than we need!

…we just don't. It's a bet, maybe a good one. But I don't want to gamble with the snake.

Pittauro · 2025-02-21T12:42:31+0000

Random Anon said:
I'm actually pretty interested on what happens with phones (Forge?), library and dream (120 threshold or some new goodie?). Though they are probably not that interesting or useful, or not all of them. Maybe just one or two of them?
Is it too crazy to just not go for Axe in the first turn?

yes. why would we not? If we finish Axe earlier we can just stay and do other stuff.

spiderhellian said:
We do not know what challenges lay ahead! We do not know how hard this will be! We do not know that 3 actions is enough, and 4 is more than we need!

…we just don't. It's a bet, maybe a good one. But I don't want to gamble with the snake.

This.

For all we know we'll get lucky and Axe will be done in one action. Then again, maybe it will take 4.

We've been explicitly told that we won't progress on her errand UNLESS we take her action, so that's what we should do. And then we can decide to do anything else for as long as we decide to stay here.

Greymere · 2025-02-21T13:09:33+0000

Pittauro said:
Uh. We might actually want to stay here for all 4 actions. What ESSENTIAL actions did we have back home to take? We did FO friends and Family, was there anything else we really can't afford to miss out on?

Nothing essential per se, but I would really like to study our Lantern 4 artifact if we can finish up early bcuz it brings Luna online as a very good scryer, which will be useful for finding stuff to prepare for All In.

Pittauro · 2025-02-21T14:39:21+0000

Greymere said:
Nothing essential per se, but I would really like to study our Lantern 4 artifact if we can finish up early bcuz it brings Luna online as a very good scryer, which will be useful for finding stuff to prepare for All In.

that's true, but the question is if the extra actions we can take by going back earlier (study books/artifacts, potentially get the SH Sacrament or at least make progress on it, Uncle Steppes FO...) are better than what's effectively a turn of delay in exchange for... well, mistery box rewards.

Actually going back to study books and artifacts is not THAT good of an option, as we currently have grail and SH influences online, and studying would instead heavily benefit from Lantern influence (the DCs are fairly high there after all).

Grail and SH mean that the options here in the foggy mirror are more tempting (they seem to be all about "finding stuff" or "socialing people"), and if we go back the obvious picks end up being Steppes FO (grail), or SH Sacrament (SH, obviously, with a side of Grail potentially being useful if we end up with the Grail Velvet)

I imagine we'll get an idea of how good the potential rewards here are, as I imagine we'll finish at least ONE of those mini-questlines before we leave, and that will give us an idea or two

Talon Tiger Dino · 2025-02-21T14:41:38+0000

Well, this is interesting. Remember that we think the Frangiclave is somewhere about here too, so we'll need to think about what might lead to locating and acquiring it. I definitely think we should Explore and try to further Snek Saving, but don't know what to do with our third action.

Earth-Destroyer · 2025-02-21T14:44:36+0000

I say we do setup this turn get Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Internet and Stormchaser actions. Then we should be well established to move next turn with proper support.

Rafuki22 · 2025-02-21T14:54:39+0000

Pittauro said:
I wonder, is it the local popular girl we just upstaged maybe?

That would be Sunset right? Wonder if she will confront us?

Talon Tiger Dino · 2025-02-21T14:55:47+0000

Earth-Destroyer said:
I say we do setup this turn get Rarity, Fluttershy, Twilight, Internet and Stormchaser actions. Then we should be well established to move next turn with proper support.

Can't do all that in one EG turn, it's pick 3 not pick 4.

Bakkasama · 2025-02-21T15:01:38+0000

Clearly we must take advantage of our Grail and SH influences in order to interact with Teilight and point out an incosistency in history books to her.

Talon Tiger Dino · 2025-02-21T15:09:57+0000

[] Plan Prodding the Dream for Parallels
-[] "Is there anything on your mind, Miss Jack?" (Approach Applejack)
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)

I've decided that we don't need to find this Velvet's Stormchaser for her, we've already massively improved her life by fixing her leg. Instead, I wish to explore this place with our massive SH, work towards Snake Saving, and get to know Applejack a bit better by proxy, since we actually don't know her too well back in Equestria proper. Sure, the exact problems facing human and horse may be different, but the behavioral and mental patterns should match up! ~~Tell me how to make you a Confidante back in Ponyville, we need a Forgepony damn it~~

Limabot · 2025-02-21T15:10:30+0000

It just occurred to me that Jade, Comet, and any of the other cult members weren't mentioned as being part of the school (as far as we know). I wonder what happened to them in this world.

DelightedOne · 2025-02-21T15:20:09+0000

[] Plan Paying our debts, Confidante version
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)
-[] They are young and impressionable. Thankfully, you are a responsible adult. (Hang out with Rarity and Fluttershy, your real-life confidantes)

[] Plan Paying our debts, Book version
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)
-[] This place has a library. Go take a look.

[] Plan Paying our debts, Exploration version
-[] "Miss Sparkle? See me after class." (Approach Twilight Sparkle)
-[] You are here for a reason. Get. It. Done. (Further your search for Axe's… contact)
-[] This feels like a dream. Treat it like one. Explore this strange place.

I made 3 versions because I couldn't decide which third option I wanted.

Talon Tiger Dino · 2025-02-21T15:41:31+0000

Bah, leave this Twilight be. She's basically a completely different person compared to one back at Equestria at this point, little of use can be gleaned.
Unless you want to glean science from her.

Limabot · 2025-02-21T15:48:26+0000

I do think we should take a Twilight action eventually, but I think Spiderhellian's suggestion of talking to some of the other students first is a good approach.

DelightedOne · 2025-02-21T16:03:15+0000

Talon Tiger Dino said:
Bah, leave this Twilight be. She's basically a completely different person compared to one back at Equestria at this point, little of use can be gleaned.
Unless you want to glean science from her.

I'm hoping that talking to one Twilight will give Velvet the push she needs to talk with our Twilight.

Bird said that Velvet refuses to go to Twilight and try to help her after everything that happened so that seems like the best(and only) way to make her start considering it.

The part about them being different is true, but the similarities exist and a good student of Histories knows how to recognize the patterns and use them to achieve their goals.

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