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- If there's a way to tell whether two ponies are related [...].
- If "soulmates" are real and more information about them.
- Is erasing things from history possible? Is there a way to tell it's been done?
- Causes of, symptoms of, and cures for amnesia.
[...]
Given how many questions we have... asking Princess Twilight would probably be fastest [...].
You realize that there is much you don't know about, from ancestry tracing to psychology, and several schools of magic besides. You suggest returning to Ponyville to ask Twilight Sparkle the countless questions you've been setting aside until now.
Honourshine: "The Princess? Don't you think she has better things to do, what with being the leader of a new guild and all?"
You argue that while she may be busy, she is one of the most knowledgeable ponies you know of.
Honourshine: "And where do you think all that knowledge came from? Speaking of which, didn't you mention this town having a library?"
You nod, and tell Honourshine that Hoofington's library is just down the road.
Honourshine: "Hm. So you live next to a library, and you would rather walk all the way over to the next town, and ask somepony an evening's worth of questions, all without first attempting to do any of the research yourself?"
There it is: the unsweetened smart cookie you remember, chiding you for neglecting your studies again. But to be fair, you figure that she has a point; Twilight Sparkle would likely recommend you a few books anyway, just like she did once before.
... Not that you've read much of those, either, now that you think about it. Between your contract work and a lot of socializing, you had to return the books before you could finish any of them. Although, you do remember Spike telling you that the Princess had generously gifted the Hoofington library with brand new copies, just in case.
Either way, you agree to visit the local library together. With enough luck, you'll be able to answer some of the questions you have before your next adventure inevitably raises more.
Honourshine: "I thought as much. Lead the way, Blaze."
You step outside into the sunshine together, and circle around the house to let Moonflower know where you're going. Then, you continue eastward to the end of the road, and enter the library.
As expected on such a fine day, the building is completely deserted, save for Plume reading at his desk. You and Honourshine begin to browse the tables, where you find a few books relevant to your interests:
- The first one that catches your eye is strangely titled A-Ni-Ma by Trotting Translations Co., a book of Kirinese origin on the subject of souls as written by local monks.
- The second book you find is On the Subject of Memories by Sage Alabaster Light, a research on memories enlightened by the consultation of a primordial being.
- The third book, Time is of the Essence by Max Clockwork, attempts to explain the fundamental workings of time in simple terms. It is the thickest tome you've ever seen in your life.
- The fourth book, The Basics of Divination by Scholar Vigilance, introduces advanced spellcasters to the divination school of magic, which includes magic detection, identification, and scrying spells, among others.
- Lastly, you find Of Dogs and Diamonds by Green Shroud, which studies the physical characteristics, diet, and behaviour of diamond dogs, as well as the differences between each pack found in Equestria.
Enter a comment
...or not. Well, since there are two of us, we can pursue unblocking our memories (On the Subject of Memories), while Honourshine dispassionately judges whether we're soulmates (A-Ni-Ma).
This Kirin-written book may be relevant to current questions AND the coming quest; feed two birds with one hoof!
And research on memories could provide enlightenment on those gaps in our collective recollections.
Make "mental bookmarks" for other tomes of interest, like the divination information (...and that Diamond Dog reference guide).
After checking Honourshine's opinions, set your selections and get to gathering intel!
...Some awkward indecisiveness/perfectionism means I often make at least a few edits before satisfied with text posts. Though will try to make sure any final changes to command comments happen well b4 the turn ends.)
It's hard for us to read books because of the way we experience time... a cool way to explain our impatience with them. I was wishing for the short answers, or some kind of reading time lapse where we only spend a turn plus an afternoon but get the info distilled. No shortcuts, huh? I guess we can be thankful for the opportunity to engage with Honourshine on her own turf.
Now for the books...
1. A Ni Ma seems to be a pun on "anima" in English but using pinyin. So it seems Kirin will be Chinese-inspired. There is a possible reading in Mandarin ε……δ½ εοΌwhich translates to "Ah... you?" Potentially fitting, if an unusual title. This is for finding out if soulmates are real (if they aren't, they might not even be mentioned). It could also incidentally tell us about Kirin culture.
That's no big deal. Happed before with Tattle Tail and my suggestion to ask her to lie about us having lost the ring.
By the way, I doubt we have time to finish one book, let alone five anytime soon. So prioritzing is a good idea. Insteading of trying to read five books at once we should focus on the ones we need right now. Which would probably something about the Kirn Empire, since we're heading there tomorrow.
The Diamond Dog book, on the other hand, is very low on my priorty list. The only reason we're intersted in the book is because Blazer has failed at seducing them. Don't think we should "waste" time reading a book to maybe increase our Charims role just in case we happen to run into more DD to seduce. Now if we know that we're heading towards a place inhabitated by them, it would be a different matter. Because then it would be valuable information besides courtship rituals.
It would actually be pretty awesome if we read enough that it's reflected in Trailblazer's personality. With that kind of persistence, we might actually make progress studying magic! Although the adventure part of the story might suffer for a bit.
I'm in agreement about the Diamond Dog book, but it is pretty fun to have as an option regardless. π
3. Might tell us if being erased from history is possible. Lucky Honourshine is here to help us if it gets too convoluted.
4. Twilight told us that we need to practice basic spells first, so we'll be unable to perform what we learn directly. Still, the sheer power intrigues me the most. I wonder how big this learning gap is. Maybe our cutie mark (exploring) will help with this?
5. No explanation needed. π Not really top of my mind though.
We'll need to sift through a lot of info to find direct answers to our questions. It's all too real. π
#3 and #4 might actually be up Moonflower's alley, even if the approach is much different than she's used to.
- Unlocking our memories somehow seems the most straightforward, if everything we need is still in our heads. It might involve meditating really hard? Or magical brain self-surgery π.
- Attempting to find traces of time manipulation somehow seems like it would be more difficult. No idea how it would work.
- Identifying if we are soulmates seems like it might result in having to consider subjective criteria.
- Scrying for info on the grizzled unicorn and confronting him is powerful, but there is a long road of magical strengthening before we can do that.
- Revisiting Foalshire and its environs is unlikely to yield results, given what Honourshine told us previously.
- The genetic test idea would be easy to do, but since we didn't uncover any relevant books, I'm assuming for now that the QM vetoed it for being too easy. (Or we need to look harder?)