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.
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.
"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!
"AE. DINNAE. FOKKEN. KNO!"
...well, why couldn't you say so from the start?!
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?
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...
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?
Because why in all of Equestria is there a monkey… a simian, looking back at you from the mirror?
♫ You are my Equestria Girls... ♫
"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!
[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!!!
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?
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.
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.
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?
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.
"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.
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
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?
But the young lady who almost jumped out of her desk, her face filled with excitement, was definitely Rarity.
Different dimension, same old Rarity
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...
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?
-[] 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.
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.
Among the myriad of theories I had THIS was never one of them.
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.
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.
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!
