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While on the subject of family, you ask Moondancer if she and her sister enjoyed their time at the Autumn Festival.
Moondancer: "We did! Thank you again for suggesting it. There's a lot we didn't get to do, so we'll definitely have to go back next year."
Moonflower: "Do ya do stuff together often?"
Moondancer: "We try to see each other at least once or twice a week, if she's free. Oh, did you know? She runs a café here in Canterlot. It gets busy this time of year, especially on rainy days, from what she's told me."
You mentally record the location of Dawn Break's café, The Break of Dawn, and say that you'll stop by next time you're looking for a place to eat in Canterlot.
Moondancer: "I'm sure she'd like that. Maybe you can tell her about your adventures; it'll give her some inspiration for that roleplaying game of hers..."
After chatting for a while, the conversation eventually cycles back to you and your quest. You decide to ask Honourshine if she would like to visit a sanguimancer and see if you can learn anything there.
Honourshine: "If you're interested, then I suppose we can go together."
You nod, and ask Moondancer if she knows where you can find a clinic.
Moondancer: "There's one not too far from here, actually."
The unicorn gives you directions to the nearest clinic, found just a few minutes' walk away. You thank her, and figure that you should get going soon.
Moondancer: "And I should get back to my research. I hope you find the answers you're looking for out there; it must be frustrating not knowing where you're from. I'll let you know if I learn anything."
You thank Moondancer again, and bid her farewell, before stepping out into the cool morning air. You leave the shade of the unicorn's home, and as you begin to walk along the cobblestone streets, bright sunshine begins to warm your coats.
Moonflower: "Hey, can I ask ya somethin'?"
You ask Moonflower what is on her mind.
Moonflower: "I noticed it before with Basket and his cousin, but now ya brought it up too. Are sunponies allergic to doin' best friend stuff with their relatives?"
You and Honourshine glance to each other, then back to Moonflower. You try to explain that culturally, most ponies tend to avoid it.
Moonflower: "Awww! But why?"
Honourshine: "... There's a historical reason for it. I believe it all started with the Legacy family. They were once a royal family here in Canterlot during the Celestial era's early days. They were powerful, and prouder still — so much so that they were unable to find anypony they considered worthy of marriage for their heirs.
In the end, the princess was wed to her brother prince, and they had many foals together. This was not uncommon at the time, but years later, the new generation of princes and princesses faced the same challenge. To preserve the purity of their bloodline, so to speak, they followed in their parents' hoofsteps, and married each other in turn.
After a while, it became family tradition. But with each new generation, the foals looked more and more similar to each other, until they grew so much alike that nopony could tell them apart. They also became less and less fertile, until they grew unable to have children without magical assistance.
The last generation of the Legacy family was described as cursed; each a clone of the other, in appearance and behaviour alike. Even their cutie marks were the same: the emblem of their House. It is said that they were so desperate to create offspring that they spent their every waking moment trying with one or another, to no avail.
The downfall of an entire royal bloodline gave everypony such a fright that unicorns quickly forbid marrying within their own families. Over time, the influence spread across all of Equestria, and beyond marriage alone — just in case any of it could accidentally bring about the curse."
Moonflower: "Whoa! I think I kinda get it now, but... no fun at all? That's a bummer."
Honourshine: "Some ponies are more superstitious than others. It depends on the family, I suppose."
Moonflower: "Ohhh... got'cha. Are ya superstitious, Honourshine?"
Honourshine: "..."





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(Not part of the command: So C'est Terrible was right on page 2023-05-15 about bat ponies having no problem, as he put it, "Keeping it in the family". Interesting because as I wrote in my command the small size of the Clans and the fact that they don't have much contact with outsiders or even other clans would increase the chance of the “curse” spreading. But maybe the Starfalls Clan is exceptionally small and things like Moonflower moving to another Clan are common enough to bring in fresh blood on a regular base. Our maybe the story about this Royal Family is just a fairy tale.)
I think everyone here is already ok with reading about fictional ponies making love, so… yeah. There is some natural self-selection (ideally with no hard feelings) when it comes to the people who read a certain work, particularly in quests/CYOAs.
Another thing: it's unclear if it works the same way, but there is a notion of the "coefficient of inbreeding" (COI), which goes down the more distant the pair is. We still don't know if we're fraternal twins (25% COI, same as siblings), or half-siblings (12.5% COI, same as cousins), or not related (0%). I think we can rule out being identical twins (we are different colors) and probably siblings (we are the same age?).
Watch the test show that we're not related, and this all be about nothing… 😆 Or if we're created by magic or something, it wouldn't matter either.
Off to the clinic while we chat.