Welcome to Part 2 of the CYOA where Anon gets brought to the horse world as a genie. He gets three wishes every three days, but they're at they're strongest when he's not the one making them. It's not clear what happens when you exceed that, but you should really avoid that.

Thread 1: >>42208915

At the end of last thread, we were shown hospitality by the Crow Queen and her schizo pagan LARP cult, and she is currently having her subjects write down single wishes to submit to her throne room. In the morning, she intends to engage with us diplomatically to make three wishes on behalf of her “kingdom.” Dandelion is currently being bathed, and Hopeful Athame is busy checking on her. That leaves you and Pyrite together in the guest quarters the queen has had prepared for the four of you. It’s not a penthouse, but it’s close to one. Much to the displeasure of his sister Dandelion, Pyrite was going to swear loyalty to the queen and stay here because there’s not a lot of places that will accept runaway slaves like them, but you gave him an offer. If you can find his mother and fix her problem, they might be able return to their old lives. Pyrite accepted the deal, but then realized something very important. They are still runaway slaves, and still legally the property of that gryphon up North, Mr Quicksilver. After finishing the wish-granting tomorrow and leaving, this will likely be the first issue you have to deal with. It is now pretty late at night, but not yet midnight. Hopeful and Dandelion have not yet returned. You can also call for room if you feel the need.

So what now?

>>42282188 (OP)
Snowpity!

>>42282194
true

>>42282188 (OP)
While the whole not-getting-caught thing is important, it also isn't something we're going to solve right now. It's something that gets solved by not getting caught.

Might have to burn a wish on color-swapping, or scent-alteration, but we just don't know what markers are used to track runaways down.

For instance, if they just have a scrying orb which shows them where their slave is, then it wouldn't really make a difference if we used disguises or even if we kept them inside the lamp. They probably don't, since they were using dogs, but the orb could still exist. It would be useful to have a valuable object like that kept someplace safe, while the dog-teams go look nearby wherever the slave was seen when the dog-team was originally dispatched. On failure, they could just return and re-check the orb, and then go hunting again.

We'll probably work on the assumption that something that infromationally-broken doesn't exist, but this somewhat implies that creating something like that should be magically-expensive in the future, and that we shouldn't really be able to do it without a whole lot of wish-juice and some extra limitations self-imposed.

We also, very obviously, have no say in where they and their mother decide to live later. That's not an issue of our information, which we don't have. It's just not our call. Best plan we have involves dragging the mother back to the drug-castle with her children, and maybe using a wish + the collective goodwill of the castle to banish the small family to another region, if needed. In an ideal world, we just fix the whole socio-political-economic paradime and then there's no problem.

But, eventually, you have to cross bridges when you come to them instead of planning everything ahead of time with no information. Worst case scenario is we fail and the colt ends up back in a slave camp. That's his risk, and it exists regardless. He's an outlaw, now, period, and in danger. Other than that, failure just means rejoining the cult and/or getting skinned by a monster someplace.

>>42282477
I want to ponder said orb

>>42282188 (OP)
Start reading through the history book that Hopeful hoofpicked for you.

>>42282477
>There are a lot of things on your mind about the future, but for now, you don't feel like thinking about things that far ahead. For now, you just want to focus on handling the present
>You can relate to Pyrite's situation a bit more now, not that your suffering comes within a mile of his

>>42282759
>As comfortable as the lamp is, you still haven't gotten used to it as a "home," so you decide to enjoy the current scenery while you can, and bring out the history book to read out in the open
>The chairs here are cushioned, and they seem sturdy enough to support someone of your weight
Pyrite: "What are you doing?"
Anon: "Well, I trust these ponies enough to return your sister and Hopeful in a good state, so I'm just gonna use this moment to catch up on what's going on in these lands."
Pyrite: "That's it? You're a genie and that's all you're doing?"
Anon: "Well, uhhh. Did your sister tell you about the three wish thing?"
Pyrite: "I don't remember. She kind of just dumped things on me."
Anon: "Basically, I get to grant three wishes, every three days. I used up those three before I got here, so I'm currently waiting for the clock to strike midnight before I can do anything wild."
Pyrite: "And that's all you can do?"
Anon: "Well, I seem to be fully capable of learning magic like a unicorn can, maybe even better. I'm still getting used to being able to do this. I wasn't a genie until a few days ago."
Pyrite: "Until a few days ago?"
Anon: "It's complicated. Hopeful would be better at explaining it. You want to read history with me?"
Pyrite: "Uck. I hate history."
>You shrug and return to your book
>You are such a Twilight-pilled individual

Anything particular you're looking for, or are you just gonna binge it until something happens of you get tired?

bump

>>42283297
Hate history? It’s like reading super badass stories except instead of being fake and gay it’s real shit that actually happened. History is the best. I could tell you a little bit about the history of where I come from if you want. You’re not some math autist, are you? What do you like then?

>>42283297
Some general history of this land and the surrounded area.

>>42283297
>hate history
Well, do you like stories?

>if no
... what?

>ok, yes
I got a story for you

ok so like, pack-man
it's got a little dude who sees ghosts, like what that guy earlier was on about when he was screaming about ghosts
He runs around collecting scraps of "pellets"
When he collects a particularly big "pellet" it chases away the ghosts like they were never there in the first place, but they come back
as he runs low on little pellets, the ghosts close in on him. On completely navigating the maze, rather than escape, he wakes up in another maze, just the same, and still chasing pellets and evading ghosts.

This can be turned into a ghost story with a very relevant message and an open-ended ending, if the kid likes ghost stories. We can ask him what he thinks about it, and learn about our speech talent level.

>>42283823
>>42284536 Not even I know how to make that story have an encouraging message. It's too sisyphean
Anon: "You hate history, huh? Why's that? I always quite liked it."
Pyrite: "It's just a bunch of names and dates you have to remember."
>He spoke with a dismissive tone
Anon: "Sounds like whoever taught you history wasn't very good at it. I always found it interesting. It's like reading stories except all of it actually happened. Do you like stories?"
Pyrite: "It depends."
Anon: "On what?"
>It takes a few seconds for him to formulate a response
Pyrite: "I don't know how to describe what makes me different."
Anon: "That's fine. When I was your age, I didn't know what set me apart either. You'll figure yourself out some day."
>He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't seem to disagree
Anon: "Maybe later I can tell you a little bit about the history of where I'm from."
Pyrite: "I'll consider it."
>There's an awkward silence afterwards
>You have never really been that good at icebreaking with strangers
>As the furniture here was built for creatures with a different anatomy to you, this chair feels very short to you
>There's a couch nearby, which has a similar height issue, but it'll probably feel better
Anon: "Want to go to the couch and read with me?"
Pyrite: "Will you keep your distance?"
Anon: "Yes."
Pyrite: "Okay. Remember not to change that, though."
Anon: "Wasn't...planning to."
>You both go to the couch, which is triple-cushioned and leaves plenty of space to find a comforting position without touching

>>42283921
>You open the book's index and look for "Pannerskill"
>Going to the earliest mentions of the name, it seems that this is a pretty unimportant area, usually being mentioned in passing alongside other locations
>What you do find is that the area was first settled to float lumber downstream, then gold was found in the water (That explains the name. A kill in this context is a type of body of water, derived from the Dutch word "kille") and to quarry the region's iconic gold-veined marble, which a footnote explains isn't high enough in gold quantity to be gold ore
>The kill used to be the border between two kingdoms, who both wanted the whole kill to themselves
>This is why Fort Peerless was built, as a preparation for war
>War came when the ore vein was actually found, as neither side wanted the other to have time to respond
>Fort Peerless was besieged, but did not fall, and so many soldiers were lost in that failed attack that the retaliation from the East was able to successfully counter-invade, forcing a surrender
>The border was shifted westward, and Fort Peerless was converted to used mainly for logistics after a new fort was built further west to secure the new borders
>This arrangement lasted for 220 years until the Second Dragon War, in which prior nations were forcefully dissolved and borders were redrawn, after previous loyalties enabled a brutal rebellion that almost removed the dragons from their newfound authority

>>42284909
I'm so lucky that it just BARELY managed to fit into the character limit with the time limit I've been given

>>42284909
>derived from the Dutch word "kille"
Oh, shit, these ponies have the Dutch!?

>>42285148
Yes, and they also have Friesians

>>42284909
Yea, alright. Now we have to find out who the Equestrian Dutch are. Do they have hooves or do I hate them?

>>42284909
>encouraging sis if fin
oh, you don't!
Rather, it's not far from the "encouraging" part of the original story, which is either that infinite effort sustains itself through some trick of the mind and motivation in general, or that there is some base irrationality which creates hope even in a hopeless situation.

However, in this case in particular, the "ghosts" weren't there in the first place and were instead dragged along by the point-of-view character. The maze was formed by the desire for pellets in the first place. The horror of this scenario IS that the main character is trapped by a few irrationality in the same way in which sisyfist is aided by a few irrationality. Simply letting go ends up being the solution. The maze does not exist in the absense of the pursuit of pellets, because the maze IS that pursuit.

>history
>bad teacher
I do not have the time to read that part right now, which is unfortunate. Generally, these ARE dates and times which we don't even understand ourselves right now. They need to be turned into simple and understandable narratives with main characters, which is a process we can share a little by asking the kid the right questions.

Questions I can't come up with right now.

>>42286167
Which one of us is having a stroke?

>>42284909
Look up the language of the region.

>>42285519
>Now we have to find out who the Equestrian Dutch are. Do they have hooves or do I hate them?
They live below sea level and once dominated the sea, so they are most likely fish

>>42286167
>The book generally does have basic narratives and individuals that can be seen as "main characters"
>Unfortunately, I'm not going to detail the world to that level because I'm already burdened enough by writing one story. You, as the reader, just have to accept that it's there
>It interests you quite a bit, but Pyrite's expression is that of a confused and frustrated colt
Anon: "Is something wrong?"
Pyrite: "How do you read so fast? All these words you probably don't know and you don't even stop"
>Thinking back, your reading speed and comprehension were never labelled particularly above average
Anon: "I didn't think I read fast. The words I don't get, I figure maybe I'll understand it later and whatever I read earlier will make sense when I remember it."
Pyrite: "Huh."
>You open your mouth, ready to ask him if he struggled in school, but you're not sure if you should say something so potentially rude
Anon: "I can read it out loud for you. And no, I won't ask you to remember names or dates. No tests, just story."
Pyrite: "Alright."
>And that's what happens
>He does an okay job at following along if you take it slow
>Though the door you came in through, you hear hooves on old wood and female talking
>Above you, you hear something else
>It's the sound of a creaking door, followed by hooves on old wood and a feminine voice
>It sounds like the queen. Her penthouse must be right above you
>You can't pick up all of the words, but the tone is clearly that of exhaustion and frustration
>Through the walls, the snoring of Chase the dragon
>The door in the direction of the snoring has been boarded up, which either mean that room is condemned, or the dragon's den is right behind it
>Neither the ceiling nor door is a physical barrier to you as long as you don't go further than 10 meters, but physical barriers aren't the only potential issues involved in peeping

>>42286559
>Look up the language of the region.
Canadian French

>>42287018
Make sure there aren't any crows around and than eavesdrop on the queen

>>42287481
Not in the room. There are multiple windows that one could watch you through, but crows are very much daytime birds. The curtains are all open. You also don't know what's on the other side of the ceiling, so there's no guarantee you'll be out of sight

>>42287018
It isn't necessary to increase the detail as such. A setting is a character.

Informational textbooks require objectivity to a high degree in order to be meaningful. That generally doesn't support the printing of a description of a river and two villages as being in a love triangle, for instance. The important bit is the ability to extract those personally resonant narratives from the base facts in a way that you can understand, categorize, and remember. Another example, I have no idea how many died in the holocaust, except that it as a bunch, and bad, because that's what matters as long as I am not personally attempting to account for those people in some way.

And that all amounts to (crude) basic general literacy. Literacy is done by the people, not the text they are reading.

In the case of a kid like this, that would be best served by getting him to ask questions and/or asking him to fill in the massive gaps in our own knowledge with his tiny perspective.

I'll assume that's close enough to what ended up happening. It's more than I can ask after not playing for a turn.

>spy on queen
The hoe knew we were here, kind of, while we were invisible. She has an awareness-net which stretches multiple miles and updates in real time. She's specialized in information and transportation.
We aren't spying on shit. If we want to hear her, we burst up through the floor and say hello, because there's no difference between trying to sneak or not trying to sneak.

She's probably just collecting wish suggestions, like she said she would, or dealing with the stress of realizing that personal power won't bring her safety or al way out of this mess.

>
Hey kid, do you hate dragons?

>>42287849
Anon: "Hey kid, do you hate dragons?"
Pyrite: "Kind of."

>>42287849
>You ask Pyrite to clarify certain things, and he doesn't really have much of an answer either
>He clearly wasn't very good at school

Bump

in the interest of moving the hell on, I'll support spying now.

If someone specifies how, I'll switch to agree with them. Otherwise, we use the little magic we know, light ourselves up like a tree, and float up in front of her window while singing.... something.

The only song that is popping up in my head is ragtime gall but I don't really want to choose that.

Time's up.

>>42289251
That’s stupid. Be reasonable! Obviously what we should do is remove an ear and pluck out or eyeball and slowly raise them through the roof until they’re just poking through the floor enough for us to see and hear what’s going on upstairs without being seen.

I mean, we could at least put an ear to the floor to get a better listen. Where are the girls anyway? I thought I heard them coming down the hall but we’ve been talking to this kid for a bit and no girls.

>>42289251
>>42289476
>It definitely seems pretty late, so you find the lack of Dandelion to be a little displeasing
>Maybe listening to the conversation upstairs will be worth some insight
>You close the curtains to block prying eyes
>Not trusting yourself to not be seen while phasing through, you inconspicuously float up to the ceiling and place your ear to it instead
The writer's mind: "What ear?"
Also the writer's mind: "What eyes or nose?
>The writer terminated that line of thought and kept writing the greentext
Meagan: "I'm going to kill somepony. I'm going to FUCKING kill somepony. "I wish to be taller!" "I wish my hair would come back!" "I wish to be made out of REGENERATING FUCKING CHOCOLATE!" I have to curate harder than I thought. Aaron's going to think we're a bunch of IDIOTS. But wait, Meagan. They ARE idiots. They're a bunch of idiots that made the mistake of thinking you're any better. Don't word it like that. I am Odin's chosen. YOU are Odin's CHOSEN! Hugin himself has entrusted you with this privilege. He clearly made a mistake, bitch. You couldn't even CHEAT your way into becoming an alicorn princess. Excuse me? I don't NEED to be one. I'm the full package, no matter what I look like. Not that I'm not beautiful, that is. Hehe. Whore. No. A whore doesn't save herself for this long. I am simply prepared. Yes, prepared. Name a stallion that doesn't want you. I'll wait... Any...second....Oh shit. Why are you arguing with yourself when you have such a big day tomorrow? I gotta shift gears. I need to...what was thing kids are saying? Lock on. I have to LOCK ON! Yes. You got this, queen! At least some of the wishes aren't bad. Ohohoho, like that one about less rocky soil! Yes, that one will benefit all of us! Bring Good Trip and Grey Market back? Hmmm... Oh, I miss them, but no. No, no, bringing back the dead never goes well. A...a water tower full of panacea? That's genius! No, no, he'd NEVER grant us something like that so easily! Think girl, think! You have to be strong, for Crowatia!"
>Listening to this is just depressing, but something about it makes it hard to stop listening
>You jolt in a panic when you hear the door open
>You launch yourself back down to the couch, hoping no pony saw what you were doing except Pyrite, who spent a second airborne after impact
>Oh, it's just Dandelion and Athame
>Wait a minute, they're back? Great!
>Hopeful seems a bit embarrassed
Hopeful: "Hahah, sorry about the wait."
>They both look so shiny
Hopeful: "I...uh...asked if I could get the same treatment as her... You weren't waiting for too long, right?"
>Dandelion walks right by, looking for the best bed to claim, disinterested in the conversation
>You look at Hopeful
>Somehow you make an expression that indicates "yes," in spite of how unlikely it is for you to say it
>She enters and closes the door, avoiding eye contact


This was a very long day. Is it time to simply go to sleep? And let tomorrow's problems be tomorrow?

>>42289850
Helo butifil, I luv you.

She does look damn cute with her mane down. I'd pet that mare so hard. I don't even care that there are foals in the room, I'd snuggle her right then and there. Maybe everyone should just get to bed though. It has been a long day after all, and maybe we shouldn't traumatize the children. Perhaps she needs help brushing that beautiful mane out before bed though? We could steal a cheeky ear scritch or two while we're at it.

>>42286286
(You)

>>42289850
Well, make her taller!
(Don't maker her taller)

The regenerating chocolate pony would actually be a better military asset than an allicorn
because they are food
and immortal, probably a true immortal.

>panacea
Ok maybe I'm dumb, but why WOULDN'T we do that, other than panacea probably being an incredibly magically expensive object the likes of which we can probably produce like a teacup of?
I mean, she's probably just wrong and we would do that if we could. Seems like a universal good, for more panacea to exist.
She has a wrong idea. We withhold wishes when they may cause harm or when we can't quite grant them, probably.

>after impact
... we have impact?
There's junk in our trunk!
the writer terminated that line of that line of line of

>Cute samre are cute
yep

>let tomorrows problems
... what's the alternative?
Stay up, float through the walls, reach into each individual brain, and fix the wiring?

I guess we could try to make the brightest light we possibly can in the smallest space. That could burn two minutes.

Actually, a lot has happened, and we don't really have everyone's opinions on it.
I suspect they don't have much to say, but it is still valuable to ask what is in their minds. Maybe dandelion's opinions on this place shifted after shew as bribed with some warm water, in which case she deserves the lightest possible teasing, once she admits it.

Kids also kind of hate bed, generally. That may not apply right now. Life before we met probably tuckered them out and taught them the value of rest, somewhat. We can come up with an hour long distraction if we need one, I'm sure.

>>42290547
I have returned from the shower, renewed

So, tomorrow will hit, eventually, around noon. I'm sure something will go off the rails in the meantime, but lets pretend that plans can exist in this world.

She's going to collect us, and probably her village, and she's going to read off some group of papers. That means we will, probably, be on a stage. That's fairly important for the effectiveness of our powers, so we can force that to happen just by asking, if needed. At that time, we can use the stage to our advantage. In a moment where the attention is on us, we address dandelion. We point out that she never actually wished for her brother back, and imply she ought give us our "magic words". She wishes for her brother. We say "GRANTED" and we clap our hands while releasing a big light and/or sound if we can. We might want to hop in our lamp and practice for a bit at some point, but we don't actually have to get that good in order to sell this charade.

Do NOT intend to grant a wish when we say that. At some point, we may lose a wish in this process. If we do, we need to notice the moment when our wish-counter tics down... however we personally perceive our wish-counter.

Then, having demonstrated the wish-granting process to a waiting crowd with middling showmanship, we turn to the crow mare and ask "so, you wish to earn a wish?" If she says yes, We clap our hands again and release the light, pause, and then say they should exercise caution, and reveal we didn't grant that wish.

Now everyone knows
1. we may grant a wish nobody even wished for, but they wanted
2. we may just not grant a wish, and this can benefit the wisher.

>>42290547
>>42290738
Anon: "Oh, uh, hello. Welcome back. We were wondering how you were doing."
Hopeful: "Don't worry. I won't tell on you."
>Dandelion looks like a different pony now
Anon: "You look fantastic, Dandelion."
Dandelion, blushing: "Hehe, thank you. I really needed that. Didn't I?"
Hopeful: "It's all thanks to you, Anon."
Anon: "What? Me? No."
Hopeful: "It's really late, kids. I think we should all get a good night's rest."
>Pyrite is laying down very relaxed on the couch, indifferent. The brownie must have kicked in
>Dandelion goes over to her brother to show off her new look
>As happy as she is to show it off, Pyrite doesn't seem to care, which is a bit disappointing to her, but she's experienced worse
Hopeful: "Ahhh, how many beds does this room have?"
Anon: "I checked earlier. Two double beds in one bedroom and two double beds in another. Kind of surprised the queen didn't ask to keep me to herself all night, given how she is around me."
>Hopeful looks displeased to be reminded
Hopeful: "And it's a good thing she didn't. Ah, whatever. At least I and Dandelion feel much better right now."
>Speaking of which, Dandelion is already tugging Pyrite off the couch, with the intent of putting him in bed like she's his mom
Anon: "Do you know where the beds are?"
Dandelion: "The door is open. I see them right now."
>Pyrite says something unintelligible, but probably negative
Anon: "So yeah. I did overhear some things the queen had to say about the submissions."
Hopeful: "Yeah?"
Anon: "She seems pretty frustrated about them. A lot of wishes seem like they're either selfish, like being taller, or ridiculous, like being made out of regenerating chocolate or a water tower full of panacea. Do I even have that kind of power? How much does it even take to make panacea?"
Hopeful: "Well, the fact that being a doctor pays so well should tell you how hard it is to get panacea. As for having power..."
>Hopeful thinks to herself
Hopeful: "Well, in theory, if it were the wish of everyone here....."
Anon: "It would scale off of them?"
Hopeful: "Precisely."
Anon: "Interesting. Very interesting. I could probably pull off some insane feats. Add some theatrics, and they might think I'm a full-on god."


I was going to type out the theatrics >>42290738 was planning and then have them go to sleep, but I have to go right now and I'll have to finish that part later. Unfortunate that I'm not going to end it on meaningful action prompts, but I have to keep the thread from dying. While I'm gone, could the anon behind that post explain the intent behind this plan, to make sure I'm not getting the intended goals behind it wrong? I'd also like to know if you want to share beds with Hopeful Athame or not.

>>42291232
We're in a cult, and the cult worships opiates.

Even if we weren't, it can't be expected that everyone understand everything the same way after simply being told what is happening in plain language. That's far worse when they are getting their information from a mix of rumors, hallucinations, and assumptions based on the order to submit a wish. Even if they all have a general idea of who we are, how we work, and what we're doing, that doesn't make us important to them on a personal and emotional level, and it still can't be expected that they understand exactly how we're different from a regular genie.

In stories, genies are dickhead lawer gods, tricksters often full of malice or karmic balanced curses paired with their blessings. Often, that's reasonable of them, given that they are imprisoned and only allowed freedom in order to work.

So, in order,
1. we exercise a greater degree of free will than might be expected (our actions are not being compelled by magic constraints)
2. it is very very good to get us to like you, basically better than getting a wish granted (filly didn't even have to wish for shit, we just did it)
3. wish-granting has an associated etiquette, and it is good manners to abide by that etiquette as best as you can (I now remember, you never actually wished)
4. failure to perfectly hold oneself to that etiquette results in nothing more than a simple request to fix it (plz wish for brother, despite already having him)
5. A show of magic appears to seal the already-done deal, and so the audience has a specific example of what a wish is, instead of a distant and abstract idea. This makes it real, and showcases the exact reason everyone should be paying attention , while still keeping their expectations manageable (simple flash of light)

Having accomplished all of these, the audience should be pretty much on the tip of their docks with greed and hope, which needs to be tempered immediately.
So, we offer a trick. Offering a trick on its own is highly dangerous. Being seen as untrustworthy and powerful is a painful combination, and very familiar around these parts.
1. if you unthinkingly wish for an ill-conceived wish, all your fresh hopes will vanish in a flash (preforming the same gesture in both cases is what lets the audience understand what just could have happened. There is no way for them to catch on fast enough unless they JUST saw us grant a wish that way.
2. we like them enough to save them from their own carelessness, and so any misgivings we have and any stalling we do should be tolerated and is useful and good
3. you're not so fucking smart yourself, crow mare, and shouldn't necessarily discount their wishes when they are trying their best (cause of the chocolate one, and kind of the assumption about what wishes we'll "let her have")
And that should get everyone there to start cooking their brains looking for some way to make this work for them. Best case scenario, a right and proper brainstorming.

>>42291232
>I'd also like to know if you want to share beds with Hopeful Athame or not.
Does a bear shit in the woods?

>>42291339
And even without everyone taking the encouragement and stepping forward to explain their silly-sounding wishes or improve the wishes of others, the key component which makes a wish powerful is unity of desire. They can't just be there. They have to feel.

Thus, the balance of fear and hope, in order to juice these slobs for all they are worth.

>also
Personally I still have a massive tendency away from individual objects of power/war and towards task-aids which are only useful if she can organize her city to actually do some coordinated work, because that's the first step towards being able to be an alicorn without self-destructing. It would also further incentivize people to actually value whatever it is they gain from us, but that's for after we hear their wishes.

Personal investment in the form of effort BEFORE the wish occurs would also massively increase the amount of wish-juice we're getting out of them, if things can be done in that order, which depends on the wish.

>>42291349
RIGHT
also trying to run an experiment on the wish-magic itself, by making a show of "granting" an already granted wish, and intending to do nothing.

I considered doing an even more complicated experiment, but decided against it.

>do NOT use this next part of this post in the story
1. wish for magic speaker set which only functions in the service of other wishes OR the presentation of other wishes
2. wait until we're going to grant the brother-retrieval wish
3. SAY we are granting the brother-retrieval wish
4. INSTEAD, grant a secret personal wish that our current wish would grant all the effects of the prior speaker-wish, and would retroactively offer a refund on the prior wish
The effect would be the visual effects of granting a wish, while not losing a wish and not changing anything physically in the world. Just switch a current wish for an already granted one. It would also give us the speakers early, while still only using up one wish.

It's certainly a secondary experiment
one I am NOT saying to do at this time.

b

>>42291232
>>42290738
>>42291339
>>42291342
Hopeful: "Are you going to turn megalomaniac right now?"
Anon: "No. This is definitely to our advantage. The more they respect us, even if it's for reasons that might not be true, the better."
Hopeful: "That is fair."
>She watches you pull faces and make hand and arm motions in confusion
Hopeful: "What are you doing?"
Anon: "I'm thinking about something."
Hopeful: "You can share it with me."
Anon: "Alright. When she's meeting with me tomorrow, do you think it's going to be in private, or public?
Hopeful: "I don't know, but given how compliant she's been with you, I imagine she would switch plans the moment you tell her to. Everything that I've seen happen here today has already felt very...impromptu."
Anon: "Perfect. If I can get it to be in front of everypony...
>You pause for a bit
>She tilts her head
Anon: "Bear with me. Dandy never wished for her brother back, right? On-stage, I'm thinking about bringing attention to that. I'm going to imply she ought to give us our "magic words," and she's gonna "WISH FOR...""
>You make air quotes with your dexterously superior fingers
Anon: "...her brother. I'm not actually gonna be granting it, though. I say I create a flash of light, and YOU teleport him in."
Hopeful: "I'm not sure what that achieves, exactly."
Anon: "That won't count as an actual wish being granted, right?"
Hopeful: "You need to cast the spell to grant it, to the best of my memory."
Anon: "Perfect. Anyway, this will all make sense soon. I'm going to ask the queen: "So, you wish to earn a wish?" If she says YES, I'll clap my hands again, make some light, PAUSE, and then...I'm gonna say "you should exercise caution," and reveal I didn't grant that wish."
Hopeful: "I still don't quite follow."
Anon: "Simple. What this is to tell them is that I may grant a wish nopony wished for, but that they wanted. It also tells them I might just not grant it, which could be good for them."
Hopeful: "Ummm....okay? I guess that wasn't obvious?"
Anon: "These ponies don't seem as bright as you. Would you expect them to know the details as well as you do?"
Hopeful: "Well, when you put it that way...It does display your degree of free will in granting wishes."
Anon: That's right. I basically want to tell them:
-It's better to get us to like them than it is to get your wish granted.
-There's an etiquette to abide by, and they better abide by it if they want anything done.
After this..."

I'm currently following >>42291339's concept because the idea is interesting and thought-out, but in it, I'm currently stuck on the "offer a trick" part. I might be misinterpreting or missing something, but the anon in question, assuming they're also >>42290738, doesn't really explain what that trick is. The "pretend to grant a wish, then decline a different wish" is a trick, but the post seems to put the "offer a trick" part after that part is complete. If we stick to that plan, could someone please fill in the gap or correct me?

My posts may have been too retarded to warrant a response from our good ol’ time waster lately, but I’m still following this shit. I’m not about to let this slide of page 10.

>>42292860
> we turn to the crow mare and ask "so, you wish to earn a wish?" If she says yes, We clap our hands again and release the light, pause, and then say they should exercise caution, and reveal we didn't grant that wish.

>So, you WISH to earn a wish?
>yes

That's the trick part.
They agree, because it's extremely doubtful that they would see through this trick in the moment, after we already got everyone swept up in our show. If we were a traditional genie, we would say "granted, you've got two wishes left" and they would go "noooo, I'm a goofy goober fuuuuck"

If she DOES see through the trick, that's not as good, but also works. In that case we may have to explicitly draw attention to what just happened by praising her. If this happens, the audience will instead look to her as the only person who is needed to handle the challenge we represent, and so they will all almost definitely act as bystanders. This should not provide as much wish-juice as the version of events where they are personally invested in the wish itself. Putting their hopes on their leader is not as direct as putting their hopes on success.

We also don't have to explicitly tell them there is an etiquette, because we just made dandelion ACT OUT that etiquette, which is far more powerful. Even if they think of it in other terms, or don't really get it, their future behavior and expectations will still be formed by the event they just watched.

>teleport brother
Not needed, but also fine and maybe helpful.

So, the events are
>show benevolence using danilion/brother
>so trickery using the pretend-wish
>let the ponies/crow pony present their wishes for consideration, however they intend to do that. By that point, it should be a new turn.

>>42292860
>-There's an etiquette to abide by, and they better abide by it if they want anything done.

>show character failing to abide by the etiquette and getting things done anyway
>reach this conclusion
but I nit-pick, here

>>42293498
Which posts were those? You've all had good reasons for making the replies you've given.

>>42294278
Not gonna point them out cause that would be gay. I just haven’t got a ton of (You)s in the last week so I figured I was being disregarded as an incoherent retard who had nothing to really contribute towards the story. Admittedly I haven’t been the one typing up these essay posts recently, so maybe there was just no need to reply. Regardless, I’m gonna keep posting my shit and bumping the thread. Make with the story frenchie! please and thanks, I’ve really been enjoying this one

>>42294450
I was a bit scared to reply to the essay posts in the last thread. Either the criticisms were so strong or I'm so stubborn that I basically told myself not to take things too seriously and just absorb it and keep writing. I haven't been skipping them. For all I know, I'm being self-conscious about the wrong things.

>>42292860
>>42293786
1/2
Hopeful: "After that, what, exactly?"
Anon: "Well, by "declining" the "wish for more wishes" should show that I'm not that tricky, manipulative wordplay lawyer type of genie. If she sees through the trick, that could also work. The audience will have faith in her in how she approaches the wishing. If you're not following, let's get them as pumped up possible to get them all wishing for it at once."
Hopeful: "It's an interesting plan. Interesting for sure. They seem like they'll all buy it, but why not simply tell the audience to wish along with the queen?"
Anon: "Does wanting have any impact on a wish's power?"
Hopeful: "There's no universal formula for how much so, but it has been determined to be a primary factor. You've still only done the spell 3 times, and this is no criticism of you, you know only...what, half a dozen spells."
Anon: "I know I have that constraint. This is all the more reasons to go through with this."
Hopeful: "You're very rational. I will cooperate with your plan. It might take some rehearsal though."
>She turns to look to the sounds emanating from the bathroom
>Dandelion left the door open. Hopeful can see a mildly irritated Pyrite have his hair brushed by a filly who found a hairbrush there
Hopeful: "I don't think those two are in a rehearsal mood."
Anon: "We have until noon tomorrow to have this all figured out. It's late. Bed?"
>Hopeful nods
>You turn to the kids in the bathroom
Anon: "Are you about to go to bed?"
Dandelion: "Yes. I just...need to get...rid of all these knots."
Pyrite: "Ow! Take it easy!"
Dandelion: "YOU take it easy."
Anon: "His hair is going to be messed up again by sleeping. Maybe you can deal with that tomorrow."
Pyrite: "Yeah, sis. It can wait until tomorrow."
>Dandelion hmphs at you both and drags Pyrite to the bedroom
>You turn back to Hopeful Athame
Anon: "Well, now that that's over, let's get ourselves to bed"
>Hopeful smiles and nods
>You want to give those kids their privacy, and your id commands you to snuggle with amre. You'll be taking the opposite bedroom
>Hopeful removes her saddlebags, full of who knows what, and slides them under the bed, as if she doesn't trust the maids not steal anything
>She gets herself tucked in, but you slide yourself into the same bed unprompted
Hopeful: "Ohohoho, you have a bed made for just yourself, and you still want to share a bed with a mare past her prime?"
Anon: "Don't be hard on yourself. You're a very lovely mare. I couldn't care less how old you are."
Hopeful: "Well, back in college, I'd say I was much more popular with the stallions than I am now. You don't consider that "used up," do you?"

>>42294506
2/2
Anon: "Not at all."
>You grab her from behind and pull her into yourself
>She giggles
Hopeful: "A-anon. You can't already be inside of me~"
Anon: "Wait, what?"
>You realize that you weren't being fully corporeal, and that she is partially clipped through your chest and stomach
Anon: "Guess you were being literal. What does this feel like to you, by the way?"
Hopeful: "It kind of tickles."
Anon: "Is that a good thing?"
Hopeful: "I don't mind it at all."
>She relaxes, you accept that and stay that way
>You both go to sleep
>In your dream, you see a donkey in a court jester's attire, strumming away at an instrument and reciting some sort of poetry
>The music is beautiful and chilling, and his tone is playful and taunting
>What he says at the moment sounds profound and mind-melting, but as you wake up to the vocalization of crows announcing the Sun's return, it all starts escaping you, fast
>Hopeful has not moved an inch, all night, but she turns her head to face you

>>42294557
『Tickle Platinium』

>>42294557
... I guess I sleep normally?
You need more rest or no, tarnished one?

>mare is done with nap time
Well then anon gets his way, I suppose.

I do want to get a peek at the kids before we make enough noise to rouse them. If they aren't awake, then we leave them in there and see how the commune starts its morning. Probably, someone's frying an egg someplace.

>knots
Well she's just gonna keep doing that the same way if we do nothing which will just be unpleasant.
Shit needs something to oil the hair up, or wet it, at least. I know from recent experience that a bar of soap and water is technically enough to get your hair lubricated. Don't cry for me, I'm just too lazy to drive to the store.
The results of that would be sub-par, but better than trying this while dry.

So, goals

1. get up(+), or don't, based on mare
2. leave kids alone if asleep
3. a short trip around to see people and grab grub
4. time to wake up the kids with treats
5. "ok so here's how you DON'T pull out his hair and piss him off"

Easily, there can be enough detail to interrupt any part of this. The turn does not have to cover that much time. Could even stop before we exit the room. It's whatever.

>10

>>42295017
>Hopeful turns over to face you
Hopeful: "Did you sleep well?"
Anon: "Seems like it. Do you have paper and a writing utensil?"
Hopeful: "Mmmmm. I think I do. Let me check."
>She lazily shifts to look under the bed, and magically pulls her bag out
Hopeful: "A dream you don't want to forget?"
Anon: "Yep."
>She locates a spiral notepad and a pencil that has lost all of its eraser through overuse
>At some point she even peeled the metal off to get more eraser out of it, but even that's gone now
Anon: "Thanks, my little pony."
>You try to scribble down whatever that donkey was telling you, but it's so loose and disconnected right now
>You're just getting disjointed sentences that aren't always complete, but it still feels like there's some meaning to it all that you're not picking up on
>Hopeful doesn't really think much of it
Anon: "Oh well. Time to go check on those kids, I guess"
Hopeful: "Okay, have fun then..."
>Hopeful returns to her restful state
>Something drives you to rub her mane and put your face in her hair before getting out of bed
>It smelled pretty good
>The way you worded "time to check on them" didn't really imply who it would be to do it, but it seems like Hopeful has decided it's for you to do
>You do just that
>Not only are they asleep, but they're asleep in the same bed, under the same sheets
>Dandelion is holding tightly onto Pyrite, Pyrite is looking away
>You're not going to disrupt this
>You kind of want to get Hopeful in here to look at it because of how cute you find it, but you decide against it
>You don't really know how mornings in this place work
>You feel these poners should get fed
>You never did call for room service

An issue that I thought I could handwave away has reared its ugly head. I remember in the last thread, there was a whole discussion about why Anon shouldn't carry his own lamp, but right now, all the other ponies in your party are asleep or in the process of going back to sleep. If (you)'d rather go out than call for room service, then it sounds like this conflict is back if you want to depart on your own.

>>42295941
Think we should get Hopeful up after all and go look if the breakfast is ready

>>42294557
Check on the filly, I bet dandelion is already up taking care of pyrite.
We should practice our trick before anyone knocks on our door.
Because the queen may invite we all head down for breakfast. We don’t want to be rude, but that’ll leave us no time for the rehearsal.

>>42295941
Damn that's cute. I wonder if he had a bad dream from that brownie or something? You know, I'm willing to bet he's not as tough as wants us tho think he is. He's still just a young kid, after all. And Dandelion is obviously a real sweetheart. She really cares about her little brother. I bet they're happy to be back together and in a place where they can feel secure. I'm glad they could have at least one night together in a safe place. I'm sure they could use it. And maybe we should think about not letting the kid take drugs anymore, idk just putting it out there.

Well, I don't suppose we have to get up to do anything right away, right? We could just tell Hopeful the kids are all cuddled up asleep and settle back into bed with her. Snuggle up until she decides we all need to wake up. It's not like we need to eat or anything. That's a problem for her and the kids. Basically, mom made dad check on the children and he did. Now if she wants to actually get them out of bed, that's her problem. We can turn it back around on her like she did to us earlier. It's simple relationship politics. I say get back in there are snuggle that mare.

Is there a clock up in this place? We should check the time on our way back. I suppose if we decide we have to play the responsible adult we could ring the bell and have room service come in. Maybe they can even bring food? I kinda don't want to wake the kids tho, and desu I'd probably just stay in bed and cuddle cute mares all day if I could.

>>42295941

Thank you for the input, but for future reference, do we tolerate Anon picking up his own lamp from now on or not?

>>42296751
Anon is not constrained by the will of others to abide by the fine-grain text of the contract of the genie code.

Anon is not constrained by the will of others regarding the current location of his lamp.

It just makes narrative sense.

Further, the lamp is still relevant. It's basically our weak point. We're a lich and it's our phylactery. We're a Nintendo boss and it's our giant eyeball. We're achilles, and it's our heel. We're a deathstar and it's our port.

Better hurry up with whatever good we want to do in this world. Maybe we should use some kind of transportation method which serves as a visual metaphor for how reckless, haphazard, and paradoxical we are. (like what we're going to do)

>but more important than any of that and more important than following the precedent we've set so far
So, uh, would it be fun? Would it be fun to always need to find someone or something to drag our lamp around, or to use a wish on an RC car with a remote?
Cause it could be.
And your opinion on that is what should really make the difference here.

>>42296751
On one hand, having the Player Character unable to move more than 10 meters on their own does limit the possibilities to just... do stuff on our own.
But needing loyal companions to carry us is very Friendship themed! And having such high control over our weak-spot might be seen as too powerful.

If we still want to keep some of the limitations, a suggestion could be giving/training up the ability to telekinetically move our lamp with our magic. You could make this magic have a very slow movement speed, and maybe have it be noisy and/or very visible if one wants to give it more cons. This would enable us to actually do things on our own, both for fun and in a pinch. But all the cons would make sure it's more of a "no other choice" thing, and not just full, free, levitating movement.
Maybe Anon could learn to overcome all the cons with even more training. Or not, depending on how people feel.

>>42296111
>You find a clock, but it seems to have not been powered for some time
>11:30, which does not line up with how low the Sun is and how orange the horizon's glow is. It's probably somewhere between 6 and 8 AM
>Back home, you used to stay in bed until 11 AM on some days, so following your habits, you get back in bed with Hopeful
>If nopony but you is getting out of bed, they probably aren't hungry
Hopeful: "Are they still asleep?"
Anon: "Yes."
>She makes a relaxed groan
>You return to your previous position with her
>Outside of the window, two crows watch you
>picrel
>They do not concern you
>You lose track of time, but at some point Hopeful springs up and pulls a watch locket from her bag
>Her eyes widen, and she leaves the bed
>You're feeling kind of groggy, so you don't really respond much
Anon: "...What?..."
Hopeful: "What do you think it is? !t's already 9:30 AM and we're wanted at NOON!
Anon: "Three hours?"
Hopeful: "Two and a half hours. Now get up or you're not going to have time for anything!"
>This level of autistic time management? She really is just edgy S1 Twilight
Anon: "Do they have breakfast here?"
>She teleports to the door, quickly and efficiently
Hopeful: "Maybe? By this point, we probably missed it."
>She opens it to a maid running with a piece of toast in her mouth
Hopeful: "Hey, bitch. There a breakfast bar?"
>Hopeful seems to be quite the different pony in the morning. At least she did what you were thinking about doing for you
Hopeful: "Oh yeah, you."
>You come over and recognize the maid as Polish, and she recognizes both of you
>She seems very nervous while responding, clearly able to remember the brick you threw at her
Polish: "We...The commun-The communal dinner thing last night was an exception. We don't...usually do that. But...mhmhm, I can...get you something as our esteemed guests?"
>Her ears flick, her tail flicks, and she scrapes at the ground

>>42296751
I’m fine with things as they are. It adds a whole new element to the story that I think makes it more interesting. It’s not just a game of us an individual anymore, it’s us and our party. We are totally reliant of them and it can make for some interesting and even dire situations. That said, everything I just said. You’re the one running the show, so if that’s all gonna be a tremendous pain in the ass you don’t want to deal with or it’s just not the direction you’re looking to go, then don’t do it.

I mean if we can manipulate physical objects at all idk why we couldn’t pick up the lamp, I guess. But then angain isn’t it supposed to be kind of a prison that we are bound to pretty much exactly to keep us from just wondering off and doing whatever we please? I’m not real clear on my genie lore.

>>42297408
Damn gurl! Alright, maybe we should be the one to get up and get things rolling in the morning from now on, lol.

Let’s be nice to the poor thing. Kindly ask the sweet young mare if she could supply us and the children with breakfast. Maybe she’d like to share her wish?

>>42297408
No no, half the point is to understand how the basic economics of calories works here.
We must know how the common pony affords the energy to keep their legs moving, and what they do with their time.

>the lamp as a weak point
... wait a minute
for most genies, the lamp is not a weak point. It's a shackle, a prison. A genie, by default, isn't even trapped in a lamp and forced to grant wishes. That' just something which most genies that interact with humans have gone through, because that's the only reason they are putting up with a human in the first place.

Every other genie would be praying that someone destroys their lamp and frees them forever, so that they can stop being the wish-genies which you find in fantasy stories and return to being classical-genies, which are basically just powerful spirits.

Compared to our namesakes, we're just a parlor-trickster. We're like if someone tried to make a genie by sticking together all the random magical shit they had on hand with some plaster and duck tape.

>>42297457
>We're like if someone tried to make a genie by sticking together all the random magical shit they had on hand with some plaster and duck tape
>Well...

>>42297483
that was the point, yes

(bump)

I kind of suck at updating this story at a pace that keeps the CYOA on the catalogue and posting at times people are going to actually see it, don't I? At least me complaining about my own choices counts towards keeping it up.

>>42297408
Don't scare the maid qt, let us ask her nicely
30min to groom the filly, 2hour for breakfast and rehearsal. We got this.

>>42298729
Anon, no. Do not groom the filly. Besides, she just got a bath last night. A few minutes to brush her mane should be plenty. Hopeful too. If anyone is gonna need some time to be made presentable it’s Pyrite.

>>42297408
Is there time for the boy to have a quick bath? Even just a rinse in some cold water? He might not be particularly happy about it, but it would clean him up some and maybe help him sober up a bit. He’d definitely be wide awake after too.