Scene #3541: Twilight Puca?

Owner	Pose
Twilight Sparkle	After heading over to meet up with Staren, Twilight is experiencing FullDive for the first time. Right now she is still dazzled by how real things seem, even as she falls through the air toward the Puca city. She of course read up as much as she could in the short time she had to prepare, so just before she risks hitting anything, her wings spring to life and she glides down to a decent landing. Of course, she gets a few looks when she lands on all fours as a Puca. "Oh my! This is so amazing! Who would have thought that something generated by computers could look so real! I could easily believe I am in another place!" Twilight Puca says as she moves around. Then...she realizes people, both NPC and PC, are staring at her as she moves on her hands and knees. She quickly stands up straight, almost falls over, then steadies herself and tries to avoid eyecontact with anyone for a minute or two. She starts to look herself over after that. "Wow. I really look like a human. And these clothes are as if Rarity designed them." After inspecting herself, she starts to walk around the town. She is sure Staren will be here soon.
Staren	Staren's bedroom/office/rec room (Look, spaceships only have so much room so rooms have to be multifunction) has a couch Twilight can rest comfortably on as she tries out the FullDive helmet modified for ponies. "I'll see you on the other side!" he quips just as the helmet activates. The wings coming on automatically to slow the player's landing is part of the intro -- in the future, she'll have to use the assist controller or learn how to move the wings like muscles. There's probably the occasional smile and chuckle whenever someone spots a new player falling out of the sky, but someone starting to walk on all fours /is/ new. After a couple of minutes, Staren rides into the Puca new player starting area. He is riding... a giant corgi, which slows down from super-fast to a trot as Staren takes in The Carnival. He's never actually been here before! Staren... looks like himself, except that he's dressed like an anime fantasy character. If Twilight doesn't notice him after a moment or two, he starts calling her name.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight Sparkle looks nothing like herself. Her color scheme is much different, and she is..you know...human-looking. But, Staren is easy to spot on his giant corgi. When he rides up, a seemingly random person waves to Staren. "Staren! There you are! Oh my goodness, this place is...wow! And you are riding a giant dog!" Twilight starts toward Staren, but has a bit of trouble walking straight up and down. She has to hold her arms like she would if she were a pony. Held up and folded almost against her chest. She stumbles every now and then as her natural sense of balance and the game's humanoid design fight. "This feels so strange. I know I did this before, but...I guess the spell must have assisted in that instance." When she reaches Staren, Twilight smiles happily. "Does the avatar look alright? I didn't want to hold things up by making a custom avatar."
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom is back 'home' in the Carnival for now. She had been playing a ball game with some NPC children when she spotted the newcomer arriving, and quickly said her goodbyes as she ran to greet the new player. Now she arrives with a jingle of bells, playing a welcoming tune on her lyre as she looks over the newcomer. An odd stance... maybe there's a bug somewhere that's interfering with her balance, Annie thinks. But in any case, the smaller Puca approaches. "Hello," she says. "I'm Silverbloom!"
Staren	Staren's ears turn towards Twilight, followed by his head. He stares at her for a second. "Twilight?" It's slightly unnerving seeing her in a completely new body, but the way she moves and talks, she's already increasingly familiar. He smiles and hops off the giant corgi. "It looks fine!" He takes her hands to help her stand. "I mean, not that it matters..." He looks around. "FullDive technology just lets you control the body, it doesn't give you the normal instincts or sense of how to control it or anything. Other Cait Sith players find it /really/ freaky when people touch the tail, for instance, and few learn to control the ears and tail. Alicia Rue is famous for actually putting in the effort to learn, among other things." He deliberately swishes his tail and rotates his ears a couple of times. "But, you can learn it!" He steps closer to give her a reassuring hug, then steps back. He looks over at Annie and smiles, "Hey, hello Silver Bloom! Twilight finally decided to join ALO and check out this Christmas stuff!" The giant corgi just stands behind him in its idle animation, panting and looking around.
Annie Sandberg	As Staren introduces Twilight, Annie understands the difficulty a bit better. It was tough for her to get used to the new body herself, and she was already humanoid! Twilight presumably already knows what Silverbloom looks like, considering that they'd met on Silverbloom's first excursion through the warp gate, so the introduction turned out to be unnecessary. "It's good to have you here then, Miss Twilight- or should I call you by your Puca name?" Silverbloom says with a giggle. "Hey, maybe you could join my performing troupe. I've been trying to start one but haven't really had a lot of people want to join."
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight is surprised when Silverbloom runs up to her. With her arms still held up like a canine trying to walk on all fours, Twilight smiles brightly. "Hello Silverbloom! What a surprise to see you!" Twilight pauses after that. "Well, I suppose it isn't a complete surprise. This is the Puca hometown." Twilight looks at Silverbloom, then hmms. "Haven't I met you before? You're the avatar of someone I know..." she says, then looks over as Staren speaks to her and takes her hands. Twilight actually blushes a bit at the unusual sensations. "Oh my...I...suppose this is what humans feel like when they hold hands." Twilight smiles warmly to Staren, then gives his hands a squeeze. She leans in after that and whispers, "Oh, and here, I am known as Brightsong."
Staren	Staren smiles warmly back, looking into her eyes... he blinks and nods at the name. "Brightsong. Got it. I didn't bother with a different name... I've never been good at coming up with names. Um... I guess you'd better practice standing and walking a bit..." He releases one hand, then the other.
Twilight Sparkle	Twilight goes back to holding her arms up like a cat or dog might as Staren releases her, then notices the other two are not standing in that posture. She slowly lowers her arms down to her sides, spreading her stance a bit as if she is afraid she will fall. Not knowing what else to do with her hands since she doesn't usually have spare limbs when standing, Twilight holds them behind her back. Which results in her almost tipping forward as her pony balance tries to reassert itself. Her arms come forward quickly and she lands on all fours again, looking somewhat like a frog thanks to her now much longer legs. "Guh..." Twilight grunts in annoyance, then giggles. "Now I know what it is like for someone to visit Equestria." Twilight, or Brightsong as she has named herself, looks over at Annie while she sits there in a frog-stance, then finally just sits down and stretches her legs out. "Hmm. That could be fun. A singing troupe. Are you hoping to put on performances for others?" she asks as she sits there, wiggling her feet and moving her legs back and forth to try and get used to them, while doing the same with her arms and hands, and especially her fingers. "It is no wonder humans did not evolve magic. With technology and digits like these, they would have little need for magic."
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom giggles again. "Yeah... I think you're thinking of Annie," she says, before Brightsong goes back to trying to work out her body. "You're getting there!" she says encouragingly before Brightsong addresses her troupe idea. "Yeah! Not just singing, but maybe dance and acting too," she says. "Maybe if we get enough people we could even do a whole play or a musical!"
Staren	Staren watches somewhat awkwardly as Twilight struggles with a bipedal body. Maybe she just needs some more time to get used to it. "I'm not sure it's a question of evolution... In worlds where magic exists, if it's at all possible for humans to learn to control it, they usually do. Although... I suppose it is generally not on the scale of a third of the species having natural telekinetic ability. Other shapes can learn to use tools, as ponies show. But... hands are quite useful, yes." He crouches down beside her and holds out a hand, wiggling his fingers. "You'll get the hang of fingers. Once you do, you'll be able to fing as well as any human, I'm sure!" He smiles at the joke.
Twilight Sparkle	"Annie!" Brightsong says happily as Silverbloom identifies herself. "I guess it has been a while since we talked! Sorry about that. The Multiverse keeps me pretty busy." Brightsong says, then carefully makes her way back to standing up. "Ah, so more of a traveling performance troupe then? I am surprised you can't find many to join you. But, I suppose if you are looking for elites to join your troupe you would run into the problem of availability. Still, it sounds fun. I would be happy to give it a try." Brightsong manages to stand straight up this time, but keeps her arms at her sides and her hands held out a bit to balance herself. "You would think humans would have an easy time standing with their relatively large feet." she says to herself, then blinks. "Fing?" She giggles. "I am not sure 'fing' is a recognized word." she says. Now that she has the hang of standing, she tries walking around again. She is obviously a bit uncomfortable walking with her arms held at her sides, but only because it feels so unnatural to her. "So, Staren and Silverbloom, what does one do first when one arrives in Alfheim?"
Staren	Staren giggles back, "That's the joke, Twilight. ...Hmm. I'm not so sure it's about foot size. I mean, rabbits and kangaroos have bigger feet, compared to their bodies, but they're best at hopping. Actually, if you think about it... Everything from the knee and hock down is analogous to a hand or foot. It's just that ponies walk on the tips of their toes!" He lifts up his heels briefly for emphasis. "I suppose the foot structure and flexibility of the ankle joint allow for better movement on uneven surfaces and more possible stances and ways to shift your weight." Staren hmms. "Well... you can get some starter quests from the NPCs to talk to someone or find some item, but really... this game is largely about combat. I mean, that's part of the novelty of a FullDive game. Obviously, humanity has had violent games for decades... but they were controlled by pressing buttons and such. Here, you actually swing a sword, providing much more flexibility in the moves you can do. So, the novelty hasn't worn off yet. I imagine we will see other uses for FullDive in time, but..." Staren shrugs. "So, you can pick a weapon and learn to fight... If you'd rather not strike blows so directly, there are bows, crossbows, and of course magic. You'll want to use magic anyway -- as a Puca, you can learn advanced sound magic that noone else can -- but, if you don't want to use weapons, you can certainly rely on it comepletely, and stand in the back of the party throwing spells. Or supporting your allies with buff spells and healing, if you don't want to focus much on damage. ...What sounds good to you?"
Annie Sandberg	"Well, Miss Kagura was interested," Silverbloom says. "But I still think we need more," she says. "Two people aren't much of a band even." She lets Staren do the complicated explanation, before showing off her staff. "Here's what I have right now. It helps with some of the magic when it's tough to use an instrument... and if I need to, I guess I can hit things with it. But I prefer to use my lyre."
Twilight Sparkle	Brightsong considers her options as Staren and Annie talk about them. "It is good to rely on your friends, and I guess it is just a game, even if it is a seemingly very -real- game." The pony turned Puca holds a hand up to her mouth and rests her fingers on her lips as she considers. "Are there no weapons that serve as both melee offense and musical instrument? That would seem the most efficient way to handle things, albeit impractical if this were a real world." She looks to Silverbloom after that. "Kagura? I am not sure I know her. But, I agree. Two people does not a band make. But, we could do duets. Those usually go over well with audiences, right?"
Staren	Staren blinks. "Um... I don't know, unless you're going to be playing the instrument in combat they don't need to be the same... Uhh... I guess ask around?" He stares into space for a moment. "Some Puca use flute-wands, that enhance the power of your spells."
Annie Sandberg	"I do songs all the time for fights," Silverbloom points out. "You can help make your friends better at fighting or make things tougher for the enemies. Or you can just play battle music to get everyone excited!" She grins. "I guess having an instrument that worked as a weapon would be useful... Why didn't I think of that?"
Twilight Sparkle	Brightsong giggles a bit as Silverbloom corrects Staren. "Do you think there is someone in the game who can make such a thing?" Brightsong asks as she goes about getting her starter equipment. For now, she goes with a basic sword, much like a gladius, and a lyre like the one Silverbloom is using. She also goes with light armor and a few other skills soon to be determined. Obviously she has to have musical instrument as a skill, but what else? "So, what was all that about a quest that you and Kirito were talking about, Staren?"
Staren	Staren shrugs. "If anyone can, Theo can. He's the Gatecrashers' craftsman. For now, maybe... just get a regular weapon or instrument, and some armor, and we'll head out and practice fighting and sound magic?" Staren dismisses his pet. "Oh... um, I have a mysterious quest with no description, I thought it was part of the winter event but none of the other Gatecrashers I've talked to so far have it." Staren's moving his hand in front of him, obviously manipulating his menu. "'A Storm in Winterland'. Here, let's see if I can share it..." he walks Twilight through the process of getting into a party with him and Silverbloom.
Tomoe	Tomoe is a bit late in arriving and the Salamnder seems curious for a moment as to what's happening he just there and butts her way into the party meny. "So what's this abouy you guys heading off and leaving me behind?"
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom looks interested in this mystery quest. "That sounds like fun. I definitely want to check it out," she says, agreeing to join the party. She looks toward Tomoe with a wave as she arrives. "Oh, hi! I'm sure you could join us," she says. "It's going to be fun!"
Twilight Sparkle	Having made her choices as far as equipment and skills, Brightsong (aka Twilight Sparkle) heads out of town with Staren and the others. "But, before we can do that, I should get some fighting practice in." Brightsong says as Tomoe arries. She smiles and waves to Tomoe, then looks to Staren. "So, shall we get going?" she asks. With a bit of effort (or button pressing), Brightsong deploys her wings, ready to try flying.
Staren	Staren smiles. "Ooh! See how quickly you've gone from barely being able to walk, and now to flying! I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, but it's hard to describe, you just kinda have to... try things until you get it. I found it easiest to just practice with flying straight forward for short distances first. Let me see if shield spells will reduce any harm from crashing..." Rings of words appear around him as he casts two spells in succession -- one a sort of wind barrier that slows impacts, the other a general damage barrier, dark-aligned.
Twilight Sparkle	Brightsong does well enough with flying, but nearly crashes several times. She has to use the controls without being able to see them. Which anyone who is new to a system knows is not easy. Especially when one is using magic and not fingers. "So, don't I have spells or songs or something that can help us in battle?" she asks as they fly along.
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom nods. "Yep. Just the simplest ones though," she explains. "But if you keep playing, you'll get better ones."
Staren	""You're doing pretty well!" Staren smiles, "Unless that's just the wind shield keeping you from actually crashing. Umm... Check your magic in the menu. As a Puka, you should have some basic Sound-Elemental words. You'll gain more from using sound magic and sometimes from NPCs. Each word makes up part of a spell, like targeting or effect... More powerful words have more syllables. You just hold a hand out like I did and start saying words to use them. There's also, y'know, actually playing music for effects, but that's a Puka exclusive thing, so Silverbloom would have to explain it."
Twilight Sparkle	Brightsong nods to Staren and Annie, then looks around for Tomoe. "Did Tomoe come with us?" she asks as she follows after Staren and Silverbloom. She continues to wobble and sink and float randomly, but stays in the air. "So, I have to practice these spells just like my real spells..." she says as she flies along. She then looks over at Silverbloom. "Do you know any spells you could teach me?"
Staren	"Well, I imagine it's a bit simpler. All you have to remember are the words and what they do -- but maybe it is about as complex, I've never experienced unicorn magic. I'd like to try it some day, if I ever figure out how." Staren exposits. He shakes his head, "Unfortunately, players can't teach eachother Words of Power. You get the basic ones for each element by choosing to spend a skill slot on that element from the menu, and you unlock more as you raise your magic skill, and some rare and powerful Words are gained from quests. Spells are just combinations of Words that add up to what you want to do. I suppose we /can/ teach you what some good spells are given the Words available to you, though. Like, the basic healing spell is" he says something in what sounds like fake Norse "if you have Water Magic. I've only used Wind, Illusion, Darkness, Fire, and Water, though. Silver Bloom would have to teach you the Sound ones, and any other elements she happens to know. But remember before you just go and learn all the magics, you only get 12 skill slots, and there are eight elements. It's probably best to pick one-to-three to specialize in, and maybe a couple more to dabble in. If you want to do everything, Wind is a good all-around element to learn."
Tomoe	Tomoe is still ther she's just been tailing along without saying much. She does smirk fo ra moment as she follows along. "Still here don't have much to say honestly for a moment. It would unblance things if you could learn and have everything set at once you know."
Annie Sandberg	Silverbloom nods. "Yeah. That's why you have to practice so you get better! And then you can learn the better stuff."
Twilight Sparkle	Brightsong nods as the others explain. "I suppose it would." she says as they fly. She smiles despite the challenge that learning a new magic system presents. "I am not sure I will have much time to invest between the Multiverse and my own studies, but it is good to have my character set up if I ever need to go adventuring here or other digital worlds." Brightsong smiles to Tomoe as she speaks up and offers her a wave, then looks to Silverbloom. "Practice is one skill in which I am already quite high level." she says, then giggles a bit. "But, I will still appreciate any help my friends have to offer. As for elements...obviously I have to have Sound magic. Wind sounds good, and water is a likely choice. But, before I do all that, I should get the basics down."
Annie Sandberg	"I haven't really thought much about the other elements really, I've been too busy focusing on music!" Silverbloom says. "But I should definitely learn some illusion spells. At the very least, they'd be great for special effects!"