What Could Have Been...

[Red Charge]

Alright ponies, I've noticed that some of you are not at all aware of YOUR influence on the plotlines. So I figured I'd post this here corner to show you how it would have worked out, if it had been different! Starting with the first plotline...

What Could Have Been: The Eclipse Crisis

What could have been if the Cult had won the Spider Abomination mission?


Had the Cult of Eclipse won the Spider Abomination mission, the Equestrian Army in the final confrontation would have been held back miles away from the pyramid, which would have mean less cult casualties and would have been detrimental to all strike teams due to spiderling reinforcements and of course, the need for an extra Strike Team (Codenamed Sunbird) to take down the Spider Abomination itself.

If the Strike Team Sunbird would have failed, the spider abomination could have been used to help immobilize Eclipse during the final confrontation.

What Could Have Been if Equestria would have foiled the first ritual?

If Equestria would have succeeded in foiling the First Control Ritual, Eclipse's power upon arrival would be far greater, possibly causing many casualties to both the cult and Equestria, probably killing more than one Champion (i.e. Red Charge, Watermark/White Fire, Ranger, Shining Armor etc...)

What Could Have Been if Strike Team Phoenix succeeded?

Had Strike Team Phoenix succeeded in downing the Golem, Watermark's powers would have greatly weakened, removing the maze hazard from Team Moonbird's path. However, due to Watermark's weakened state, he would not have been able to contribute in the immobilizing and defeat of Eclipse, which could have cost both Equestria and the Cult many casualties.

What Could Have Been if Team Moonbird had succeeded in foiling the Final Ritual?

Had Strike Team Moonbird succeeded, it would have likely cost Red Charge's life and possibly Watermark's in Eclipse's arrival, leaving Luna and the Equestrian army to face the monster on their own, possibly losing many good ponies during the process, perhaps even failing and having to retreat.

What Could Have Been if Red Charge died in the Final Ritual?

Had Red Charge died in the Final Ritual, there would be no peace between the Cult and Equestria and the land would become a war zone. If they survived, Watermark and Percheron would have split views on how the rest of the conflict should be managed, leading to Percheron's departure from Equestria, returning under the fearsome mantle of the new Blackmane with a fearsome new force (Which will be detailed later, keep an eye out!)

Watermark in the meanwhile, would assume the identity of Frost Bite, and draw in Windigos to create an army of ice minions under his control to aid the cult in the conflict, which would be to Equestria's detriment in the upcoming plotline.

What Could Have Been if Princess Luna died in the Final Ritual?

Had the Equestrian and Cult forces been weakened enough (Red Charge died, Watermark's Golem defeated, and White Fire defeated in the final ritual), Princess Luna herself would be left with no choice but to give her life for her people, re-uniting the people under her sacrifice. Besides the national mourning, Equestria would become far less safe, which would be to its detriment in the upcoming plotline, it would also cause the creation of the Lunar Disciples extremist military group, which would be in conflict with the main Equestrian Rule under the regency of the Razorwing Family.

That's more or less the main points of the first plotline that could have happened, depending on the results of player actions. Luckily the forces were balanced out and we reached what was almost the best possible ending with very little casualties! Pat yourselves on the back!

What Could Be : Side Plots

Here are some predictions to what might happen if certain quest-lines are completed.

Equiterian Ruins - Equestria gains great knowledge of Equiterian magic, tech and organization, allowing it to create and collect powerful artifacts and arming it with vast knowledge to help fight the rising tide of monsters threatening it. Besides bounties of artifacts and skills granted to ponies involved, special new training schools (Battlemage and Praetorian) would open up, allowing adventurer ponies to further prepare themselves for more risky endeavors!

Feral Caves - (Questline currently halted because of no public interest) Finding the source of the undead could help Equestria identify possible Necropolis bases, or identify freelance Necromancers within its borders and take them out. Knowledge of the undead is highly rewarded by Equestrian Government and would likely gain the ponies involved many artifacts and riches. More in depth knowledge of undead would also grant bonuses when fighting the undead, making them less dangerous and perhaps paving the way to the downfall of the Necropolis.

Golem Maker's Dungeon - (Can be connected to another questline, but is also its own individual questline, which needs to be PLAYER INITIATED) With the Golem Maker's craft now available to Equestria, golems could be made to bolster its defenses, making Equestria that much safer. The creation of the coveted magic infused metal used in the creation of the Rust Phoenix would be known to Equestrian smiths, allowing for extremely beneficial prototype armor for ponies involved.

The Ancient Palace (Everfree) - (Can be connected to another questline, but is also its own individual questline, which needs to be PLAYER INITIATED) Revealing what this mysterious palace holds and what treasures are buried within it could shed light on Equestrian history as well as have massive rewards. Or it may not.

Dragon Diplomacy - (Can be connected to another questline, but is also its own individual questline, which needs to be PLAYER INITIATED) Attempt to create a dialogue with the Dragon Council by obtaining an elder dragon sponsor could improve Dragon/Equestrian relations and gain their knowledge and co-operation (COMPLETING THIS QUEST INDIVIDUALLY OR WITHIN ITS RESPECTED QUESTLINE UNLOCKS DRAGON CHARACTERS)

That's all for now folks! READ CAREFULLY. Also - COMMENT PLEASE.

[Deleted]

Wow, this is really cool! It's amazing how much impact we actually have.

[Deleted]

Woah. I'm sorry I rarely get involved in the plots, but this was a pretty interesting read.[/size]

[Red Charge]

This is only the begining! There's many more stuff waiting for you. And of course don't forget you can make your own quests (with approval)!

[Mortar Retort]

I love how despite our attempts, the fact we failed proved to be better for the Equestrians and Cult in the end. I really tried on Team Phoenix within the context of my character – suppose it was good we were such screw-ups. Ya for team fail!

Ok, I know this has been mentioned before somewhere, but if Luna had died why couldn’t Celestia return?

Anywho, I think I’ll see if I can come up with a character to start the golem quest. Sounds interesting.

Bravo Red, was a fun plot!

[Nightsong]

Wow Red, as far as your concerned, I'll know not to be so black and white with these plots. Then again, when there is black and white, there is always a silver lining. From what I red, the lining was how defeating the enemy was not always the best solution. In any case, sometime in the future I'll have to join in on one of these plots. For Equestria!

[shuteye]

I'm reading this and, specifically, I'm reading the 'Dragon Diplomacy' part, and I'm wondering what exactly are the relations between the Dragons and the Equestrians? Are they stable enough for, say, a desperate dragon parent to hire a highly recommended pony babysitter and/or an important dragon with sleep issues to turn to a pony illusionist in an attempt to get a good night's rest?

[Red Charge]

Dragons and Ponies hate each other. Ponies categorize dragons as animals, which dragons loathe, and the last wars they were in reduced the dragons numbers by a lot. Right now there's a lot of tension between the Dragon Council and Equestria.

[shuteye]

Hmm *grasps at a straw* With the Dragons and Ponies hate each other I assume thats more of a general thing, like how democrats hate republicans but on an individual basis they're fine?

Bleh, more specific question: If Shut Eye were traveling between places in Equestria and found a grumpy young dragon he could help with his powers, would that work for getting this plot rollin'?

[Red Charge]

Nope, they're not cool with dragons on individual basis either. If you remember, they beat up a bunch of teen dragons, drove out a dragon who was trying to sleep and stole gems from a dragon in Everfree Forest. If a dragon sees a pony, he'll either try to devour them or drive them away. No to get to the Dragon Council, one needs an elder dragon sponsor. A list of which will be granted when applying for the quest in Canterlot

[Selenia]

In other words, it's good that I caused my team to fail miserably during the final ritual. Better for the greater good, but it still sucks to watch a thread lock without completing your objective, no matter how much better it is that you failed.

[Shadestride Scythe]

Red Charge... you inspire me.

Now let'us burn the lands~ xD

[Whisper]

Hmmm... Whisper might be a decent candidate for the Dragon quest, if it hadn't been initiated/completed yet. I haven't seen it anywhere, anyway...