How long have you been here? In this numb yet peaceful void? You can't remember. There hadn't been any desire to leave, and you truthfully can't be sure how aware you were up until this point. For something has intruded into your nihilistic sanctuary: First vibrations, followed by distant voices. Many voices, a cacophony of sobbing and yelling as a chill washed through your being. And for the first time in your existence, you wake up.
You open your eyes.
You see a world, or at least a fraction of it. A mass of land blanketed in snow and ice. Yet despite looking down from a great height, you perceive different places in great, overwhelming details.
"So cold...so hungry..."
"Help us! Please, anyone?!"
"No, no! Get away! We don't have anything, just leave us alone!"
"Mommy? Daddy? Come on, we have to go!...Mom? Dad?"
"I can't believe we're actually eating this..."
"When will this end?"
"What did we do to deserve this?"
"If she doesn't give it up willingly, we won't have a choice..."
"No one is going to save us!"
Creatures freezing, starving, dying, killing, and praying for help; you feel as if you're drowning in their sorrows as information rushed into your mind from some unknown abyss…ponies, griffins, hippogriffs, kirins, windigos, disharmony, snow, ice, magic, frozen, death, salvation, protection.
Help.
"You could use some help yourself."
The voice isn't something you hear so much as feel. Your very essence jumps. Instead of moving, it is your perception that changes. Upon the land you now witness great figures of colors dominating the land scape in a brilliant yet strange lightshow: A vibrant pale-purple beyond the southern horizon, a clashing of pulsing and passionate pink with pure darkness in the coldest north, twins of silver and gold in the mainland, a green fire in the south and a decadent black and green shadow creeping in the in the west. All these and many more, but which spoke to you?
"Up here."
You freeze. You can't be sure if you look up or if He makes you look up. In the end, you stare upwards and take in the terrifying form of a great serpent made of...a thousand impossible things jump to mind. The shadow of wind, the rain of cotton candy, the singing of tea, the fluidity of glass, the breath of a pineapple. It was everything that could and couldn't be. It was...
"Chaos, and no need for flattery," He answered with a grin that you could smell somehow as he circled closer to you. "Don't fret little Godling. You're young, new, and confused. As boring as sense and rules are, I thought something like you could use a little help," he informed playfully. You're uncertain, but in no place to refuse. "You're a Godling, a very young god. Maybe you were just born out of the needs of those frail mortals below or maybe you used to be a mortal yourself? That's not important," he explained with a dismissive wave that felt like polka dots. "A new age is coming about, little one, brought on by the desperation of mortals seeking protection. We're all vying for their attention and worship," Chaos elaborated with a chuckle as you suddenly felt worried. "Oh, don't fret. I'm already out of everyone's league; I have no need or desire to swat a child. No, actually, I'm going to give you some advice."
Advice?
Chaos gave a nod that felt like a wave of monkeys. "You see that land down there?" he prompted, motioning to the vast landscape with a tall mountain at the center. You answered yes, hoping he could sense your reply. He did. "Don't come there. The Sun and Moon sisters, I, and some other Godling are already aiming for this, among the others. Too many big fish."
Peering down, you could indeed see a tiny glimmer of prismatic light in the midst of the land. But what were you to do then?
"You're young and, no offense, weak. You don't even have an avatar to take on. But don't worry, that can change with time and a gaggle of worshippers. All you need to do is find some survivors and help them escape this frozen nightmare. They're all so desperate for help that they'll latch onto to anyone that delivers," Chaos explained with dark mirth. His eyes glowed eerily as you felt more, clearer information flood your mind. "That should give you a head start on your options and what to do. Just be careful who you pick and don't wait too long. Winter is leaving."
With that, Chaos left, descending as an unseen twister of change, leaving you to decide your own fate.
Throughout the land, your perception changed once more. This time, by your own will. Now you looked up survivors of twelves races and saw the advantages of each:
The powerful races could be the easiest choices to make, strong in one form of power or another:
The militant Pegasi ruling over weather with a long experience in warfare.
The mighty Dragons with mighty forms and fiery breath leave them needless of most other weapons.
The greedy Griffins are competitive and fierce, both with their money and in battle.
The proud Yaks, possessing some of the greatest physical might in the world, not to mention they survived this winter with the least casualties.
Yet the more advanced and otherwise prosperous ones are not to be overlooked:
The vain Unicorns gifted with a powerful innate access to the arcane and stockpiled in gems.
The sturdy Diamond Dogs whose ability to hunt and scour for resources is rarely bested.
The solitary Hippogriffs, who can go theoretically anywhere thanks to their mystic pearl.
The cursed Kirins, who possess lost treasures of bygone ages.
Though there was something to be said for the more populous of these creatures:
The staunch Earth Ponies, natural born experts of farming the land and build strong homes.
The clever Changelings, the masters of hiding from and infiltrating their enemies.
The wise Deer, who live in perfect unison with nature, wielding and healing it.
The fragile Breezies, whose most unique magic allows them to dwell in realms hidden from most.
But when considering who to save, it isn't just about the species, but the location; this great winter has forced pockets of races to scatter across all lands in search of survival. While it would certainly be advantageous to pick a race's homeland to get the largest bulk of survivors, benefits might be found for starting in each land.
Pegasta, the current Cloud-fortress of the Pegasi.
The Dragonlands, the ancient nesting grounds of the Dragons.
Griffinstone, a relatively young nation at this point.
Yakiyak, the homeland of the Yaks, which is more and more abandoned by the year.
Unicornia, the seat of power of the High Kings and Queens of Unicorns.
The Crystal Empire, a realm that has played host to many mixing of species, allegedly carved by the ancient Diamond Dogs of the Old World.
Mount Aris, a spot of land stabbing from the sea that has been a natural home to the hippogriffs.
Kirin Grove: Not even the Kirin themselves know how long they've lived here.
Terratha, the largest of all Earth Ponies cities, who held out the longest in this storm with their excellent management of stockpiled food.
The Badlands, a dry realm that was often a homeland to monsters and criminals, now where the winter hit the least- which isn't saying much in the end.
The Everfree, a mystical, perhaps even sentient forest of many unique creatures that only a few, such as the Deer, have the ability to find coexistence within.
Mount Canter, a center point of magic in these lands, long used by the Breezies to boost their magic and access their hidden homes with ease.
No matter how much you might want to save more, you can only pick one creature and start in only one location.
Species:
A. Pegasus
B. Dragons
C. Yaks
D. Griffins
E. Unicorn
F. Diamond Dogs
G. Hippogriffs
H. Kirin
I. Earth Pony
J. Changelings
K. Deer
L. Breezies
Starting Location:
A. Pegasta(Cloudsdale)
B. The Dragonlands
C. Griffinstone
D. Yakiyak(North of Yakistan)
E. Unicornia(East of Vanhoover)
F. The Crystal Empire
G. Mount Aris
H. Kirin Grove(South of Dragonlands)
I. Terratha(Near Neighgra Falls)
J. The Badlands(Changelings)
K. Everfree(Deer)
L. Mount Canter(Breezies)
H, H.The kirin in their secluded home.
What is frost and snow next to brilliant fire? The burning-brightly ones have little to fear from wendigo-chill, though they've as much a need to eat as any other.
H. Kirin
H. Kirin Grove(South of Dragonlands)
[H] Kirin
[F] The Crystal Empire
the location is important
will they make friends with the other inhabitants of this great upheaval? or put them out of those lands to make it their own?
this would change history quite a bit
The Crystal Empire, might be fun for these guys, or not if they have to deal with Sombra; Nirik problems
The Badlands(Changelings), cause I'd love for them to make friends with Kirin or vise-versa, or if emotions runs high the firework show
Unicornia(East of Vanhoover), to see the reaction to the Kirin
Kirin Grove(South of Dragonlands), the Safe bet, but a bit uninspired if Kirin is chosen, but plays to their strengths, careful about the River of Silence~
[H] Kirin
[H] Kirin Grove
9856033
Thought this was a good way to show ones vote
[A] Pegasus
[F] The Crystal Empire
My reasoning is i want to see some Pegasi which grow into more Nordic sociaty. Beside as Godling we came to this world in winter like no other.It is fitting to pick a colder region in my mind.
[K] Deer
[K] Everfree
Druid deer, dont get to see too many stories with that.
F: Diamond Dogs
F: Crystal Empire
The Dogs have a great chance of survival since they're omnivores (I assume) and can easily burrow to avoid colder temperatures. Also, If we start collecting gems and diamonds early, we can gain a monopoly on the emerald economy. Who knows, maybe we can even find crystal magic?
Sorry to say, I can't add to this. If you didn't have 29 other stories you should care about finishing first, then I probably would have.
9856108
Your lose than.
9856108
I get what you're saying, but having a new story doesn't mean he'll NEVER get back to the other ones. This fic is short, weekly updates after all. Why knows, if you give it a try, you may really like it! I wanna see his other fics updated to, but CYOA fics are AMAZINGLY fun as well
[H] Kirin
[H] Kirin Grove
F. Diamond Dogs + F Crystal Empire. The pups need some love. Not even represented in the friendship school? C'mon, give these guys a little love.
9856145
Used to think the same myself. But I've since stopped believing that will ever be the case. CYOA stories were never my thing anyway.
9856244
As much as I acknowledge that I earned that reputation, it still annoys me to have it pointed out. And I am better these days. I use to just keep posting new stories all the time. I at least made it a rule to get five updates out before publishing anything new.
(H)=Kirin.
(F)=Crystal Empire
I would hope the Crystal Kirin end up fighting Sombra and getting caught outside when it vanishes
H. Kirin
H. Kirin Grove(South of Dragonlands)
H and H
As the rest of the lands freeze in their hatred
We burn
As the rest of the creatures are frozen in despair
We rage
As the rest of the world's children die
We fight
All will burn before us
And eternal winter will make way for summer
J. Changelings. J. Badlands.
I can NOT wait to see how this turns out! this seems to be a super cool idea!
A and A, mainly due to my own species.
H, H. The Kirin in their secluded home.
I really want to see what we can do with the Kirins and this description really caught my attention:
The 'curse' is their fiery rage form I would gather, which by itself opens interesting paths since we could be a very kind god that if provoked far enough could turn into an alter ego that's fury incarnate, but the lost treasures sound even more interesting. And where else would they store said treasures but their ancient grove?
As much as it feels a little bandwagony, I'm gonna have to go with H, the Kirins, in F, the Crystal Empire. While having the Kirins in their anscestral home would make a good starting point, it's way more interesting to try out the crystal empire.
Also, fire-dragon-ponies vs Sombra has the potential to be one heck of an awesome fight.
Btw, this sounds like a great CYOA story prompt! Good luck!
H. H.
I would love to see a Kirin empire
I like the direction things are going with the kirin, but I have to cast my vote in another direction.
B, B.
I like dragons, sue me.
Perhaps if the goldling becomes a Kirin god, he becomes some kind of giant Jade serpent/Chinese dragon
J Changelings
J Badlands
Alright, I was going to vote for the Breezies because I am curious to so how that would go, but these two comments won me. So I vote the same.
9856022
9856336
This is inspired by Black and White game right? God, I love that game both 1 and 2 I always regret they never did do 3.
I vote Yakiyak.
Yak suborn and strong but because they most north they probably at the verge ether of starving or abandoning they ancestral home In my opinion easiest to convert.
Lets go B: Dragons and K: Everfree
HH (Kirin in the Perilous Peaks)
Let's not have need for the Stream of Silence anymore.
J F
Dark Changeling God here we come!
We demand ye sacrifice the love of lesser creatures for both magic and a hearty meal! We demand ye spread our emerald fires light from nation to nation until all feel it and pray to it even in deception.
How about Deer in the Crystal Empire
H and H.
Interested to see a Kirin story particularly as I am yet to reach that part in the show.
9856336
9856748
Kirin poetry, yes?
H, F
I would be interested to see what kind of effect the Kirin have on the crystal heart, and what kind of effect the crystal heart would have on the Kirin.
The cheerful and loving Kirin would match up well with the heart, but what about the enraged Nirik?
And what would happen to them when the heart activates, would it just make them crystal Kirin/Nirik? Would they eventually become like a sub-race of Crystal Kirin? Perhaps even something to do with fire rubies?
I'm very interested to see where we and the author could go with this.
H, F. Kirins powered up by the crystal heart (crystal kirins) for the win!!!!!
F: Diamond Dogs
F: Crystal Empire
*barks eternally*
Current Tally:
Race:
Changling 3
Deer 3
Diamond Dog 3
Dragon 2
Kirin 16
Pegasus 2
Yaks 1
Location:
Everfree 2
Kirin Grove (South of Dragonlands) 12
Pegasta(Cloudsdale) 1
The Badlands 2
The Crystal Empire 11
The Dragonlands 1
Yakiyak 1
please note I counted those that followed the prompted voting format.
its up to the author if non-formatted votes are still counted.
98 57551
……?(double checks Fimfiction vote) Ah, I see the problem: I believe you mistyped as Grove has 11, not 19. And you missed one set votes for Kirins(16) and the Crystal Empire(11)
Of course, this is only the Fimfiction half of the results. QQ doesn't really have any votes, but Fanfiction has over a dozen voters now.
9857576
sorry I was just going over fim votes, ones followed the format
I didn't know Fanfiction was also chipping in too x3
this sounds like a job for straw poll~
9857586
Its fine, I appreciate the effort, and welcome you doing this in the future: gives everyone an idea of how things are going without revealing the final count.
9857597
you're welcome~ x3
though you should let everyone know to follow the format
cause it makes counting votes more difficult if they don't~
oh and here~ https://strawpoll.com/
just incase I'm not around or too busy to help
[J] Changelings or a mix of species
[F] The Crystal Empire
In Crystal Empire is a mix of species, right?
Then why not use a mix of what is there?
Every species can already be there but Breezies
Crystal Empire should be the best place if you can make it independent from other nations so you will have all the resources you will need without trade
In defending it you have the cold temperature on your side
Remember Napoleon and Nazi Germany attack on Russia?
9857843
I think this how it works
the group the Godling will encounter will be
A, Lost from the main migration
or
B, Splintering off for some reason ( banishment, no confidence in leader, wishing to start something new )
so
as an example: The Deer move to Yakistan, Yaks are there, but there is still a group of Deer in the Everfree, ( though that group might be less successful now missing a chunk of population ).
author will correct me if I'm wrong~ spoilers should be used regardless
I'd like to vote for J(Changelings) J(The Badlands), by the way you have griffins and yaks in one order on the races and their lands in a different order so if someone votes for CD Yaks and Yakiyak or DC Griffins and Griffinstone that's why.
9858063
It's in alphabetic order by name~ but yeah I could fix that next time
Current Tally:
Race:
A. Pegasus 2
B. Dragon 2
D. Yaks 1
F. Diamond Dog 3
H. Kirin 16
J. Changling 5
K. Deer 3
Location:
A. Pegasta(Cloudsdale) 1
B. The Dragonlands 1
D. Yakiyak 1
F. The Crystal Empire 12
H. Kirin Grove (South of Dragonlands) 12
J. The Badlands 3
K. Everfree 2
9858063 there~ x3
Double L but I'm not sure it matters
9958702
Sorry, no. Unless it says otherwise, you can only vote on the polls in the latest chapters
*Yawn* Well, that was a nice... nap? How the heck did I get here?!
*reviews starting memories*
Ah, I see. Some of my other "aspects" must have awakened before me. I'll have to carefully review the series of decisions and events before I weigh in on future choices...
J