#sso stable tour

[hustonnn]

STABLE TOUR

95 horses !!!!

Start with my bay collection (from left to right) (some horses named in russian)

Doom - my only one Arabian horse because I lowkey hate them but I felt bad for not owning one when they were supposed to be removed

Dragon Fighter - my OC Neyvil'

Gilded Rose (Позолоченая Роза) - second horse what I ever bought but I sold it one day and bought it again cause of nostalgia

Uno - named after Muse song

Danger Desire - horse of my SSO OC's husband Howard

Morning Comet (Утренняя Комета) - starter horse I love him 💚 wish we had more Jorvikian Warmbloods to buy

Pale Road - horse of my RDO OC Wild Brown - Red Cardinal aka Cardi aka Baryonyx aka Boris aka Boryia - named after themed playlist on spotify

Boulder Gate - just Baldur's Gate.

Furious Whirlwind (Буйный Вихрь) - first ever pony. Same story as Gilded Rose

10. Lucky Chace - kinda regret him 11. Thunder Hurricane - first "cool" horse, oldie 12. Iron Man - my fav MCU character :) 13. Night Butterfly (Ночная Бабочка) - bad joke, OC Penelope

14. Druid Bear - Halsin from BG3 !!! felt bad for killing him once so this is an apology. sorry bud 15. Zombie Apocalypse - Deacon Saint-John - main char from game Days Gone

16. Lady Pearl - my OC lady Lidorfya Pearl. wish it was a donkey 17. Brave Guardian - my OC Connor Birdhard 18. Marzipan - cutie 19. Sunrise Faith - @sshadovv 🧡 20. Harsh Autumn (Суровая Осень) - I dreamed of her when I was a kid :""" 21. Sweet Victory (Сладкая Победа) - we all ask ourselves was it worth it 22. Violet Bullet - my OC Valliet Bandolero 23. Almond Cookie (Миндальная Печенька) - was eating cookies lol. didn't like this breed that much tho :( 24. Eternal Love (Вечная Любовь) - my OC Lira

25. Spring Song - love/hate with coat 26. Fiery Sunset (Пламенный Закат) - RIP my fishy Toussaint 27. Glitter Gold - @sshadovv's OC Judy (she didn't like my choice of horse but I still bought it sorry love) 28. Red Deer - ARTHUR MORGAN I miss you old man (main char from Red Dead Redemption 2) 29. Tiger Horse - my OC Jaira Tagger

30. Porcelain Bride (Фарфоровая Невеста) - dreamed of this coat 31. Ghost Queen - my OC Samara 32. White Swallow (Белая Ласточка) - Ciri from The Witcher 33. Yellow Snow - "When the time of the White Frost comes, do not eat the yellow snow" iukuk 34. Bold Horse - bold horse. 35. Pale Princess - a rat. I hate her. my OC princess Fyrze 36. Grim - my OC Gustav Grim

37. Songbird - album Death of a Songbird by Luna Fawn Ripley 38. Singing Fishy (Певучая Рыбка) - my second fish Lubystok (Dandelion from The Witcher) 39. Moon Wisdom - my OC Ezer 40. Wingfeather - novel The Wingfeather Saga, author Andrew Peterson. I love books for children, relatable 41. Old Myth - main char of my favorite series on SSO. The horse's name was Aiden and the whole story was based on the game Beyond Two Souls what I love with my whole heart too. I regret not buying more old models, especially Andalusians because it's one of my favorite breeds 42. Winter Warrior - my OC Irma

43. Golden Feather (Золотое Перо) - my OC Mechanics Emperor 44. Rebellious Spirit (Непокорный Дух) - Spirit!!!!!! Looks like my Spirit plushie 45. Wizard - my OC Guypril 46. Hero Magic - it's Guypril too.. 47. Coyote - my RDO horse Kharciz (I don't know if I spelled it right) (Харциз)

48. Desert Ninja - my OC Wild, specifically from Black Desert AU 49. Wild Hat (Дикая Шляпка) - another Wild, but from Red Dead AU 50. Wildlord - another Wild........ because his full name is Willord 51. Dark Silver (Темное Серебро) - my OC Vampyr 52. Phantom Liberty - cyberpunk is a peak 53. Pirate Blood - I will never buy normal full black Friesian because I am ✨special✨ 54. Dark Maniac - my OC Zwyr (Beast) 55. Ghost Mystery - horse of my OC Apparel' - Parquet. Also it was name of my first "soul" horse irl 56. Sugar Father - hate the name, was my OC Shuga but I sold him

57. Zombie Fairy - my OC Daffodil 58. Osprey - kinda fits to be my OC Zwyr but in reverse colors 59. Terrifying Hunter (Жуткий Охотник) - Geralt of Rivia (main char from The Witcher) 60. Silverhand - Johny Silverhand from Cyberpunk 2077 61. Wild - another Wild but bold sorry not sorry 62. Chaotic Soul (Хаотичный Дух) - hate this horses coat, but it was free so not complaining

63. Little Plum (Маленькая Сливка) - horse of my friend's (@sshadovv) OC Judy - Sguschenka (Condensed milk) 64. Jewel Seeker - my friend's (@sshadovv) OC Judy 65. Loveace - my OC Lovelace 66. Faith (Вера) - my OC Faithful 67. Giga King - my OC Nirehon, but name doesn't suit him anymore 68. Blind Eye - my OC Jack Brown 69. Broken Rebel - feel sad for his name but it sounds poetic.. 70. Crazy Brain - my OC Kris Cardi 71. Great Father - my OC Samson Douglas 72. Lost Star - song Take Me Home by Cade Crider

73. Heaven - just like the coat 74. Frost Shore - cute marks on head 75. Echo - reminds me of my horse from RDR Heparda 76. Silent Hill - my OC Ezer 77. Daydreamer - ME !!!! looks like my horse sona 78. Chocolate Milk - my horse from RDO Nesquik 79. Illusion Pumpkin - homestuck reference

80. Ballless - my OC Samson Douglas..... I'm so sorry man 81. Supernova Axiom (Суперновая Аксиома) - just a random name it sounds hilarious 82. Royal - my OC Royal. I know I am a genius 83. Shark Shy (Акулья Стесняшка) - my older sis give her name. Kinda reminds me of one of my fishes (Lubystok), but I bought this horse before I had her 84. Tiny Sparkle (Крошечная Искорка) - I remember how SSO gave us the opportunity to create our own magic horse. How happy I was as a child when the game showed exactly the same color as I made! Core memory

85. Scarlet Ode (Алая Ода) - bought it just because everyone ride it 86. Glory Power - like his pandorian vibe 87. Guiding Star (Путеводная Звезда) - RIP my fishy Toussaint again :( 88. Lovebird - I hated this horse but I became fond of them while I was doing quests in Hollow Woods 89. Tulip Petal - my OC Garreth

90. River Hoof - this is my favorite magic coat in the game 91. Willow Tree - song When I'm Gone by Shawn James. And this is my favorite tree 92. Gloom Wolf - same story short - hate it first but now seems cute after Hollow Woods 93. Obsidian Star - Yennefer of Vengerberg from The Witcher. Horse doesn't fit for 100% but I don't wanna buy Friesian for you darling 94. Raven Mane - such a common name for this horse :т 95. Butterfly Hurricane - my OC Huston and song Butterflies and Hurricanes by Muse - my favorite thing in the whole world

100th horse will be a Noriker, named after the band Big Time Rush - Rockstar. And tomorrow I will buy a robotic horse and call it Unicorn Attack

[gladewood]

starting the werewolf mood before next wednesday

[thecedarchronicle]

I played through the new beginning of the game and I have to say it's much better than I was afraid it was going to be. I like the angle of MC first discovering another side of Jorvik through the Moon Circle, it feels like a good introduction. Especially since it happens right after you create the first connection with the canonical soul steed!

Except - what's the deal with seeing the Soul Riders right out the gate? I understand wanting to introduce your new players to the main characters as soon as possible, and maybe I am put off since I'm already familiar with them, but it just seems way off. Why is Lisa taking complete beginner classes at Moorland when she's already learning under Herman at Jorvik Stables? Why are all five of them so keen on befriending this random kid? I'm glad they didn't introduce more NPCs to immediately abandon but it doesn't feel like the right fit. Also, am I missing something? Why is Maya the instructor? Isn't she a stable girl trying to save up to start taking riding classes?

I'll be clear I don't want this to sound like I'm bashing on SSE. I really really like the new start of the game. I think it's a much gentler introduction and in general a way better tutorial. I actually feel like I know why the MC is here and what's going on, and as a result immediately feel way more grounded in the story. I just think their choice of characters did them a disservice.

I'm no professional writer, but I think it would have been really cool if Maya was the student learning with us. She could even be the person sharing the cabin with MC. Give MC and Maya a chance to bond as the "newbies" and become friends during the first day, and you immediately have a good reason as to why the MC would be invited into the Soul Riders' group.

Maybe the next day, after having a strange dream, Alex comes and visits Maya, and when you approach them to start the day, you overhear snippets of the conversation they didn't really intend for you to hear --- something about Dark Riders following Anne to France, and hopefully she's safe, or that Lisa just got back from tour, but she's not responding to any of Alex or Lisa's texts, asking Maya maybe Lisa's done with all the magic and danger?

Or maybe MC mentions something they see in their dream that Maya recognizes. MC overhears Maya mentioning it to Alex and realizes these two girls know way more than they let on, and later MC follows them to eavesdrop and gets the drop on the two of them + Linda saying some really incriminating stuff about the druids and Aideen, and once they realize MC is there, they finally give an explanation. It would give MC some more agency in the story, too. Instead of being told to "go here with me and you'll be given answers" MC decides to explore the underbelly of this place themselves.

Although. A really cool thing. Would be if you advanced along the main story to get to the druids and they admit to you that Fripp or whoever sensed a huge energy shift and realized someone of huge power had arrived on the island, and you find out that the entire first couple of days on Jorvik all five of them were just doing this huge undercover operation on you to figure out what your deal was. Because if I was a new player and wasn't familiar with SSO's brand of storytelling I would have been so suspicious of them the entire time.

[centeris2]

An article about Taina Malen, from Marketing at Star Stable Entertainment!

https://animationxpress.com/latest-news/star-stables-taina-malen-journey-building-a-gaming-community-for-girls/

(I sure hope this shows up in the tags)

Since it’s an article, not a video this time around, I’ll paste it here for folks to read easier, under the read more because it’s a rather long article, but highlights include:

Taina Malen, chief business developer officer and chief marketing officer, has been at SSE for 9(+) years

Not specifically stated, but I’m guessing she’s the reason JA and every single other real life musician was brought in to SSO, since JA showed up in 2014, 9 years ago. 

“they plan to expand on” their book publishing. hah. hahah. hahahahahah. Guess this was when they were trying to keep things quiet. 

They “explored” licensing with toy companies, but now the focus is on Android to expand their market soooo that toy deal we heard about is gone?

It is very much Girl centric, Girl Power, Girl Gamer, for Female Audiences, the Female Market, stuff.

Seems the average SSO player sticks around for 4 years, which is a lot longer than average games keep players around. Many players are still sticking around after 10 years. Yay longevity

They talk about Ride With Us. It’s... a lot of fancy nonsense.

SSE is currently working with Ferly and Cake Entertainment on an animation, so I guess Mistfall hasn’t died? But looking for financing and distribution (dear god Star Stable Streaming I can see it now)

SSE is working on a Live Action pitch. God I hope it’s just more of those silly live action commercials they did a super long time ago but I fear it’s not.

Give the actual article a read below, or with the link above!

The gaming industry has seen tremendous growth in recent years. While men have traditionally dominated the gaming industry, female pioneers have broken boundaries and paved the way for future generations of female gamers and leaders. One such leader is Taina Malen, the chief business development officer and chief marketing officer of Star Stable Entertainment. Malen’s contributions to the gaming industry serve as an inspiration to aspiring female gamers and leaders, highlighting the importance of diversity and inclusivity in the industry.

Talking to AnimationXpress, Malen, who has over 25 years of experience in the entertainment industry having previously held positions in CANAL+, Universal Pictures and Warner Bros, opens up about her journey and the industry.

“Throughout my career, I have had the opportunity to work with some amazing companies,” said Malen, who comes from a background in music, film, TV and pay TV. “I, along with some former colleagues, started an esports initiative called Esportal before joining Star Stable.” Esportal is still operational today. Interestingly, one of its owners was also a shareholder in Star Stable.

When Malen joined Star Stable, it was still a small team of 14 people. Her role was to set up marketing disciplines, customer service and brand extensions such as music, publishing and animation. “Over the past nine years, the company has expanded to over 200 employees,” she said. “Throughout this journey, the mission was to build a platform for girls in tech and gaming, and this has remained a constant. The vision that ‘every girl is a hero’ has guided everything the company does, including the development of the game Star Stable Online.”

The company’s core product is its game, but it is into book publishing as well. It has 15 titles in 14 languages at present, which it plans to expand on. The team sees this as a great way to expand its brand by promoting its characters outside of the game. They also create their own music, with some of their characters being artists in the game. They have collaborated with female singer-songwriters and artists to bring their game characters to life. Malen’s interest in music began early on when as a youth, she went on tour with Europe, the legendary Swedish rock-band, which taught her about the industry and broadened her network. She has studied journalism and is passionate about communication and writing. She believes that entertainment is all about “emotion and connecting with people,” and loves working with creative individuals.

Along with that, the company has explored licensing opportunities with Just Play as their master toy, and collaborated with H&M in the Nordics to connect with brands that focus on female audiences. This year, they plan to expand onto new platforms such as Android as they continue to seek out ways to get their product into the market.

“The primary target of our game is girls, and we pride ourselves on being the world’s leading horse game,” she shared. “While horses are a crucial aspect of the game, it’s not just about collecting and riding them. Our game is full of magic, mystery and even evil forces that players can work to overcome and make Jorvik Island a better place.”

There is a lot of text in the game, so it’s essential for players to be able to read. Their core players are typically between the age group of 8-18 with 14 being the average age . “As young girls aspire to be like older girls, our player base spans a wide range of ages, making it challenging to target a specific age group. Our players tend to stay with us for around four years and more, with some of our oldest players staying for 10, which is quite a long time in the gaming industry. Overall, our game offers an exciting experience with weekly updates that keep our players engaged for an extended period.”

When the company began 11 years ago, the concept of a “girl gamer” was non-existent. They aimed to create a brand that focused on producing quality entertainment for girls who did not associate themselves with traditional video games that involved first-person shooting. Despite the industry’s slow start, it has become more receptive to female gamers in recent years. Although there is more entertainment available now that appeals to any gender, there is still room for improvement when it comes to creating content specifically for girls.  

“There are a lot of men making the games and products. Women developers are quite scarce,” Malen said. “However, at the company where I work, we have more than 50 per cent women across the board, including younger generations. In general, I feel that the gaming industry has been male-oriented since the beginning and it still is. Based on my experience in the entertainment industry, I would argue that this is changing in the country where I am, but I’m not certain if this trend applies to the rest of the world.”

Malen shared that their new marketing initiative called ‘Ride With Us’ acts as a brand platform for the business. The platform’s purpose is to give customers a way to connect with the business regardless of their interests, age, or stage of life. The first campaign under this encourages everyone to take part in the community of the brand, highlighting the fact that despite differences in appearance and behaviour, there is still something that unites individuals.

[youtube link to Ride With Us video]

To inspire more women to join the gaming community, she added, “The most important thing is to stay true to yourself and believe in what you want to do. If you have faith in yourself and trust your instincts, I think you can accomplish anything. I believe that as long as I stay true to my values, whether they are personal or professional, and trust my intuition, I can overcome any obstacle. If more women stand their ground and get the chance to be heard, the world will be a better place.”

Star Stable is currently working with Cake Entertainment and Ferly on their long form animation, the script for which is ready. They are looking for the final piece of financing and distribution before launching the production. Additionally, they have finalised a live action concept that they will soon start to pitch to companies around the world. Aimed at a young adult audience, they plan to produce this project with someone, yet to be seen.

[windforestsso]

Valley of the Hidden Dinosaur audio tour

[galloperthompson]

3 weeks of Halloween instead of the usual 2? And Galloper origin story? Right after including Galloper in the birthday art and having him attend the party? Star stable you spoil me...

What’s the catch

[clara-diamondsong]

If y’all really wanna see a dumpster fire of a horse game, Equestriad World Tour took a look at all the SSO discourse and said “alright I’m gonna speed run this shit”

[sirigreenhaven]

How about we start this third iteration of my Star Stable blog off with a barn tour? Haven’t done one of these in a while.

I am one of those heartless players who sells old horses when I get new ones that are similar but more realistic, so when I post old screenshots and share old videos, you’ll see horses who aren’t here anymore.

I did, however, keep two gen1 horses, a 1.5, and a gen2 horse for nostalgia’s sake.

First up, though, here’s the drafts:

Sunflower - Clydesdale gelding Luckylily - Irish Cob mare (Lucky for short) Moonbeam - Norwegian Fjord gelding

The ponies:

Blueboy - Connemara gelding Stormcloud - Jorvik Pony mare Rainbow - Chincoteague mare (and yes, I was delighted when I realized that “Rain” and “bow” were separate on the name option lists. I’ve been naming bay pinto mares “Rainbow” ever since Barbie Riding Club)

Ahem... the sport horses!

(gosh, they look pretty together)

Antihero - Lusitano stallion Daystar - Thoroughbred gelding Skywalker - Andalusian stallion (nicknamed Ben) Nightfall - Marwari stallion Thunderbird - Quarterhorse gelding

The oldies:

Darkstar - Gen1 Jorvik Pony stallion  Dragonchild - Gen1 Norwegian Fjord stallion Westwind - Gen1.5 Appaloosa mare Spirit - Gen2 Mustang stallion

and finally, the mystical bunch:

Brightmoon - Tellina mare Starfire - genderfluid Umbra (sometimes they feel like a she to me, sometimes a he) Firelight - Pepita stallion Braveheart - North Swedish Rune Runner mare Stargazer - Jorvik Warmblood stallion and love of my virtual horse life

There, now you’ve been introduced.

[hazelnorthpeak]

Before

After

ALRIGHT.

SO.

This feels like Aideen got tired of this Silverglade texture pack and changed it to something else.

And added some new sound mods.

And bees. 

I suppose I’m looking at it from a Minecraft perspective. And usually when I change a texture pack it takes a little bit to get used to the new one, but eventually I’ll come to love it. As with the Silverglade update.

[siennawaterbrooke]

to the place i belong

[ginnyzero]

Completely Harmless Ch. 63

Completely Harmless An SSO SilverGlade Re-imagining Story (Or Fix it Fan Salt fic) By Ginny O.

When Lily and her friends wanted to buy horses and were directed to the Silverglade Manor and its myriad of problems, they didn’t expect to start a revolution. They were just a bunch a stable girls. Completely harmless. Right?

A/N: Things are only canon if I say they’re canon. Pre-Saving the Moorland Stables compliant for the most part. Posted in its entirety on my website. Posted in 2000 to 4000 word bits here. Rated T for Swearing Word Count 177,577

Chapter Sixty-Three Rescue Time (but First Needling Mr. Sands)

Lily took another slice of lasagna. “This is actually decent lasagna.”

Mr. Sands’ brow twitched.

“Did you get the recipe from Catherine?” Lily asked.

Alex and Justin left. Justin giving a tour guide type of spiel. Lily figured he wouldn’t s how Alex anyplace sensitive. Which was fine. They didn’t need to see anything sensitive.

Mr. Sands stared at Lily.

She continued to eat. “When are you going to tell that poor boy that you killed his mother’s friends?”

“He wouldn’t exist if I hadn’t.” Mr. Sands frowned. “His father hid his heritage from him.”

“Hmm, I’m not sure how telling anyone that your grandmother is the Baroness of your district but we can’t associate with her because your grandfather, her ex-husband is an immortal alien who wants to take over the world is going to go over well.” Lily licked the fork suggestively. “I mean, there are May December romances, and then there’s you.”

Sabine and Jessica snickered.

“You know quite a bit more than you should.”

“What can I say? I have a face that people trust.” Lily shrugged and continued to eat. “You smile. You nod. You let them talk. People love to talk about themselves. The Baroness though, she was a tougher nut to crack. She doesn’t do talk. She does actions. Deeds. So, was it something you did or didn’t do that tore you two apart?”

Mr. Sands snorted. “Don’t be foolish enough to think I had any feelings towards her. She was a means to an end, no more. She didn’t have what I needed.”

“Hmm, it’s interesting to me that you were able to contain Anne, but not Lisa.” Lily stuck the fork into the lasagna.

“Oh, they fought,” Jessica said.

Sabine smirked. “But not enough.”

“You don’t need a Dark Rider,” Lily mused. “So, why keep Anne imprisoned?”

“Elise is not my recruit.”

“Oh, contingency plans.” Lily nodded. The name Elise sounded familiar but she couldn’t place it off the top of her head. “Clever enough.” She finished her slice and set down her plate. “I’ll go catch up with Justin and Alex. They might need minding. And I’m the one they think is the flirt.” Lily pushed her hair back over her shoulder strutting from the room.

She found Alex and Justin pretty easily.

“Hanging out here all day sounds like a bore,” Alex said as they wandered around a large room.

“There are plans to be set in motion,” Justin said. “And it’s not that bad.”

“No place to ride. No elbow room. Everyone on top of each other.”

“Sounds kinky,” Lily spoke up.

Alex jumped. “Don’t do that, Lils.”

Lily checked her phone.

Alex strode away from Justin. “Wait, wait, wait. At least you know what you’re waiting for I suppose.” She jerked her head to one side.

Lily waited to make sure Justin had his eyes on Alex before looking where Alex had indicated. A book rested on a book stand.

“The day is important. All the generals agree that to do it early would only bring disaster. The Keepers are too fixated on their prophecy to be paying attention. And without the other Soul Riders, they can’t stop us even if they wanted to.”

Lily walked towards the book slowly.

“They’re down to one now,” Alex said and shifted her weight. She moved towards Justin. “We’re going to be together, no matter what, baby.”

“You and me against the world,” Justin said.

Alex rested her hands on his chest. “That’s right.”

Justin frowned and turned his head to look for Lily.

Alex put a hand on his cheek and turned his head back to look at her. “Justin, look at me. I’d burn the world for you. You used to feel the same. It’s still in her.” She rubbed a circle on his chest.

Lily snagged the book and stuck it in the back of her pants under her trench coat. “Do I need to tell you two to get a room?” She leaned against the stand.

Alex flushed. “Are any of these generals hot so we can get Lily her own May December romance?”

“Only one person can rule the world, Alex,” Lily said. “And it’s going to be me.”

“Yes, yes, all hail the Queen.”

“I keep moving up in the world,” Lily murmured.

“Empress even. We can be the Empress’ advisors.” Alex grinned. “Ruling sounds so tedious anyways. You need a champion. I take champion.”

Lily snorted.

Justin rolled his eyes. “Garnok is going to rule. Not us.”

“I guess I better figure out a way to kill Garnok,” Lily said dryly.

“Come on, you have to be here for one reason or another. Show me.” Alex took Justin’s hand and tugged him away.

“Fine, there’s a control room. I can show you that,” Justin said. “It’s just a bunch of screens and drones though. There probably isn’t anything very interesting going on.”

“But it will kill time,” Alex said.

“Ugh, don’t talk about killing time,” Lily groaned. “You want the entire world to fall out of whack.”

Alex winked at her and urged Justin forward.

--

Evergray polished the keystone with a rag. “Keystones truly are a thing of wonder. You wouldn’t think a thing of such humble origins would be able to part the veil of space and time.”

Linda double checked the tuning of the harp like Lily had shown her. It was mostly nerves. She turned her head.

Horse hooves clopped against the stone of the path echoing into the Dale.

But not one set of hooves, multiple.

Elizabeth Sunbeam, Rhiannon, Avalon and a host of druids in robes and hoods swept into the Dale on horses of all colors.

“What is going on here?” Elizabeth asked.

Avalon cleared his throat. “I told you to leave, brother.”

“Tsk, as if I listen very well,” Evergray said and coughed.

“Linda,” Elizabeth scolded. “I thought better of you. Evergray isn’t to be trusted. He’s a thief.”

Linda stood up holding the harp in her arms. “He’s been more honest than you have been.” She lifted her chin.

“What is that?” Rhiannon nodded at the stone in Evergray’s arms.

“You don’t know.” Evergray shook his head. “Twenty years and all the new recruits are base ignorant. This never would have happened while I was chief archivist.”

“Evergray, you have violated the terms of your exile,” Elizabeth said. “You were warned what would happen if you ever returned. We have come to take you into custody.”

“I see how you are, Elizabeth.” Evergray turned his head and coughed. He looked back at her. “You’ve come full circle then.”

Elizabeth flushed. “I don’t know what you mean.” She straightened on her horse.

“If you didn’t, you wouldn’t be so mad. Come, now, we haven’t actually answered your questions.”

More horse hooves echoed in the Dale, this time, they were alone.

A grey dapple horse with a white mane appeared at the end of the Dale.

The druids murmured and moved aside.

“Concorde,” they whispered and murmured to each other.

Concorde trotted between them. He lowered his head to Linda. “Soul Rider,” he murmured.

Linda pressed her forehead against his. “You’re safe and alive.”

“What do you need me to do?” Concorde asked.

“Make room, make room,” Evergray said. “I believe this is our cue.”

Linda quietly explained to Concorde the plan.

--

Alex had managed to wheedle Justin back to the horses.

“It’s time,” Lily said.

“Justin, baby, your lips look super chapped.” Alex grabbed his chin.

Justin tried to move his head. “They’re fine.”

“No. They’re definitely chapped. Can’t kiss you with chapped lips,” she said. She took out the chap stick and popped the lid off with one hand. “Hold still.”

Justin’s eyes widened and he leaned back. “Alex.”

She smeared it onto his lips before he could say anything else or get away.

Justin stilled and stared ahead barely blinking.

Lily reached into her saddlebag. “Catch,” she said and tossed potions at her.

Alex caught them and opened the first one over Saga’s rump. “There, there, boy, you’ll be yourself in no time.” She hurried over to the other horses.

Lily juggled the other three potions. She poured them over the backs.

“Last one,” Alex said.

Lily tossed it to her.

Alex poured it over the back of the horse.

Lily went for the halters. “Ten minutes, and counting,” she said.

Justin blinked and rubbed his eyes. “What happened? Where am I?” He looked around. “What’s wrong with Saga?”

“Saga’s going to be all right, give her a few minutes,” Alex darted over to him.

He stared at her. “Are you wearing lip stick?”

She flung her arms around his neck. “That’s my Justin,” she said tears in her eyes. “You aren’t going to do this to me ever again. No more mind control from evil grandfathers. You hear me Justin Moorland. I can’t go through this again.”

He wrapped his arms around her. “It’s all so fuzzy. Except there was lots of lasagna.”

Alex laughed and hiccupped. “Of course you remember the lasagna.”

“Tasted like mom’s,” Justin mumbled.

“Justin, I need you to help Lily get the horses to the gate.” Alex cupped his face. “Can you do that?”

“Sure,” Justin said. He rubbed his face. “I’m just, there’s this fog.”

Alex handed him the chap stick. “Apply if you think you need more.”

Justin looked at it. “For the record, my lips aren’t chapped.” His hand closed over it.

“Sure they aren’t.” Alex kissed his cheek. She went to Lily’s saddlebags and grabbed her tools and the keystone.

“Five minutes,” Lily said.

“On it.” Alex jogged off.

“Help me get them saddled. They probably won’t fight you.”

Justin nodded.

Together they saddled the horses who tried to move away, but the further time went, the less they fought.

Justin tightened the last girth as the first spell broke over the horses.

They tossed their heads and locked their legs.

“Easy, easy,” Lily said. “We’re going to get all of you out of here. Come on.” She grabbed the reins of Nimbus and two of the others.

Nimbus took charge.

Justin took the other horses including Saga.

Alex had the gate mechanism ripped open and was fitting the keystone inside fitting the wires to it.

Lily took the book out of her pants back and put it in her saddlebag.

Alex flipped switches.

Justin’s brow furrowed.

Alex pushed the lever up. The entire rig hummed. Purple energy swirled around.

“Stop!” Jessica shouted. “They’ve opened the gate!”

Lily got on her horse.

Alex selected a horse at random and mounted.

Justin got on Saga.

“Run!” Lily shouted and Nimbus vaulted forward jumping through the portal and running flat out, the two horses behind him.

Justin urged Saga forward. The other horse followed him.

Alex gave the running Dark Riders the finger and her horse, not willing to be left behind even if the way ahead was pink energy ran after the others.

They ran as fast as they could down the winding floating stone road, jumping the gaps and through the other portal.

Alex jumped through the portal into Pandoria. It fizzled and snapped shut behind her almost taking her horse’s tail.

Justin stared around. “Where are we?”

Lily moved into view, Nimbus’ wings pressed tight over her legs. His horn gleamed in the odd light. “Welcome to Pandoria.”

--

The Soul Horses moved into their positions at the bases of the statues. They looked upwards. Magic swirled around them and they became more than what they were. Starshine’s grey mane and tail turned electric blue, a crystal horn jutted from his head. The end of it gleamed with pink light.

At the base of his statue, magenta light filled the carvings making them grow brighter.

Meteor was no longer just red. He was the red of the Harvest Moon and scattered with crater markings with moving clouds. His mane and tail white gold and glowing. His beard curled under his chin.

The magenta light swelled in the carvings of the Moon Soul Horse Statue and lit up the Dale.

Tin Can stomped his hooves. They turned cloven, like a deer rather than a horse. Lightning swirled around his bronze body and crackled in his golden mane and tail jumping off in jagged sparks and spears.

The lightning jumped from him to his statue. It turned pink and crept up every leg and around the body lighting up the carvings.

Concorde spread his glowing white wings. His coat had turned silver with lighter white gold spots. A feather fell from his wings, drifted down and fell at the base of the statue. A rainbow flared around it and then it turned pink and disappeared. The carvings glowed pink.

Linda carefully shifted the keystone into place.

Magenta light swelled at the base of the broken statue and raced up the carvings of the stairs to the gate. Pink light swirled around like a galaxy, small at first but growing until it stabilized into a door.

Elizabeth’s voice sharpened. “Is that the Harp of Aideen?”

Linda cradled the harp in her arms. She moved to the base of the stairs and plucked the strings. And with the music, she sent her heart after it.

FOR THE ACCOMPANYING IMAGES PLEASE DO NOT REMOVE MY WATERMARK AND CONTACT INFORMATION. THANK YOU. I get it. Some of you might get excited and want to see this stuff in the game, especially the clothes, tack, and pets. However, the only way I want to see this in the game is if I get paid for it. If I see it in the game and I’m not paid for it, there will be hell to pay. You think I’m salty. I’d be angry. Personally, I’m not going to send this info to SSO. If you do, leave my contact information there! Don’t give them any excuses to steal.

Now, I’ll know you haven’t read this note if you leave me comments about how ‘salty’ I am about the game and if I hate it so much I should do something else. I am doing something else. It’s called Mystic Riders MMORPG Project. Mystic Riders however is a very baby phase game. You can check out our plans on the game dev blog. (Skills, Factions, Professions, Crafting, Mini-Games, 25+ horse breeds!) If you know anyone who would be interested and has money or contacts about game making, direct them to the blog.

[heretic-altias]

You guys wanna see how far I’ve come in sso? This is the oldest video on my channel, a Stable tour dated May 15, 2015. I was level 12 at the time, just a month after starting the game. Fair warning the video is pretty bad though XD

Also old stable nostalgia blast XD, why is it already nostalgic to see it

[centeris2]

music coming to SSO next year

Found a new article woo: https://www.unt.se/kultur-noje/trio-spelar-pa-bror-hjorths-hus-5429646.aspx

(here is the google translation, article originally Swedish)

The Swedish-Finnish trio Folk'Avant plays at Bror Hjorth's house on Friday 18 October.

Trio's base is folk music from both the Swedish and Finnish traditions. On that basis they have found their own style where they like to mix modern noises and rhythms.

The group, which was formed in 2014, consists of Anna Wikenius (vocals), Maija Kauhanen (Kantele / vocals) and Anna Rubinsztein (violin / vocals). The latter has its roots in Uppsala.

Behind him, the trio has the debut album "Gryningsland", a number of scholarships and awards plus festival plays in European countries. The play at Bror Hjorth's house is the first of five concerts during the trio's fall tour. The plan is to release another album next year. Next year they are also involved with music for the computer game "Star Stable".

Here is Folk’Avant’s website: http://www.folkavant.com/

an excerpt from their website: 

In 2019 the trio was asked to write music for Star Stable, a computer game set in the nordic landscape and the music continues to reach new audiences at home and abroad.

Their Facebook || Spotify || Youtube || Soundcloud

[windforestsso]

Moorland audio tour dialog

[windforestsso]

Valedale Audio tour