Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience

[Rafuki22]

...what, was she guessing we "changed" ourselves and our old self became sort of a separate being?

Click to shrink...

If that line refered to the MOTH Sacrament and they are sacrifices...maybe it would involve sacrificing her relationship with a confidant and the "ugly" parts of herself, pushing the ugly parts into the confidant, transforming them into another Velvet, an unwanted Velvet.

The OG Velvet having everything Velvet considers positive and the sacrifice having everything Velvet considers negative.

After all, we can't just throw trash into the air or ground, we need a specific type of trash can to throw them in, just like you throw plastic and glass in their respective containers.

 

[Paintmaster]

We didn't Leash Filthy Rich and we didn't replace the original Twilight. Velvet still has a hint of morality left. It's not much, but at least it's there.

Click to shrink...

True, but lets not forget the other information we were provided.

Twilight's current status is a problem, a problem that if left to fester will ruin everything Velvet has built up to this point. And given that it was Baldomare that said that I'd take it under advisement. We need to do something as damage control if or when that issue arises.

 

[Rafuki22]

Twilight's current status is a problem, a problem that if left to fester will ruin everything Velvet has built up to this point.

Click to shrink...

Is it a problem? QM alredy told is how he didn't have plans for Twilight to interact with Velvet ever again, didn't he?

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Is it a problem? QM alredy told is how he didn't have plans for Twilight to interact with Velvet ever again, didn't he?

Click to shrink...

If a GM gives you a chance to remove a problem and you don't take, don't be surprised when the GM hits you with it later. Also it only Velvet that will not do anything about Twilight, Twilight is free to try kill and oppose Velvet. I figure about 70% of facing down Wolf Twilight in the final mission at best.

 

[Limabot]

True, but lets not forget the other information we were provided.

Twilight's current status is a problem, a problem that if left to fester will ruin everything Velvet has built up to this point. And given that it was Baldomare that said that I'd take it under advisement. We need to do something as damage control if or when that issue arises.

Click to shrink...

I interpreted this as less Twilight's status being an active threat to Velvet so much as how Omake Velvet let her self-image be tied into the idea of being a "protector" to the point that she felt forced to get a new Twilight so she wouldn't have to be reminded of her own fallibility.

 

[Paintmaster]

If a GM gives you a chance to remove a problem and you don't take, don't be surprised when the GM hits you with it later. Also it only Velvet that will not do anything about Twilight, Twilight is free to try kill and oppose Velvet. I figure about 70% of facing down Wolf Twilight in the final mission at best.

Click to shrink...

Its not so much an issue of what Twilight does (though that does have the potential to be ruinous on its own), but the fact that she is directly tied to multiple major players that, if they bothered paying attention to her in the slightest or if Twilight calls their attention to herself, would ruin Velvet by proxy.

 

[DelightedOne]

Is it a problem? QM alredy told is how he didn't have plans for Twilight to interact with Velvet ever again, didn't he?

Click to shrink...

Probably not, considering this came as a clarification:

And this whole talk about masquerades and obsessions is probably Baldomare being allegorical, or speaking in riddles. She does that from time to time.

But what would have happened is exactly what I told you guys during the voting period.

Bringing Twilight, or refusing to do so, would educate me on what Velvet is or isn't willing to do. The rest would just be the dominos falling on their proper places, according to what you guys wanted.

Click to shrink...

So probably not having Twilight expose everything(according to one of my theories as long as we don't take another RA the Wolf cult shouldn't be "ready" for her) and more have that be some internal Velvet thing.

 

[Cochimetl]

True, but lets not forget the other information we were provided.

Twilight's current status is a problem, a problem that if left to fester will ruin everything Velvet has built up to this point. And given that it was Baldomare that said that I'd take it under advisement. We need to do something as damage control if or when that issue arises.

Click to shrink...

Worse than that, she was evidence of her failure. Living proof that our summoner couldn't protect somepony she took under her wings. She was… a crack on our summoner's mask. And that crack would only widen and grow, if left unattended, until it snapped her mask in half.

Click to shrink...

I think the mask in question is Velvet's self-image, not something external.

 

[ses]

The Burning Fountain

Click to shrink...

Just read this omake. Extremely impressive, huge Unsong vibes if that was intentional. Desperate improvised kabbalism to try and protect the Woods that could have been taken right from that story.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Tally
[X] Return home, with Diary and Frangiclave, and fulfill your bargain with the Daughter-of-Axes. (End the dream, and redistribute your remaining action points.)

Coming back through the mirror is not nearly as unpleasant as you thought it would be.

There is no pain. No blackout period. No feeling that something inside of you got twisted in all the wrong directions. The trip is instantaneous, or at least you aren't aware of the passage of time while it happens. But still, one moment you are a naked, strange simian standing in front of a foggy mirror, clutching the few items you absolutely want to bring back with you. And on the next moment you are, well, yourself.

It feels like you were just drenched with cold water. A sudden wave of sensation rushing through your body as you suddenly "remember" you have four legs, and no hands, and a tail and a horn. But still, even that is not exactly bad, and you aren't left with any ghostly sensations of the old body you just had.

Furthermore, your thoughts also feel… strange. Because even though you know you did not just wake up, the memories of the place you just left already feel like a dream. The people you spoke to already feel distant, maybe even surreal, and even the thought of using the word "people" already feels alien to you.

Yes, you are finally back to the real world.

You shake your head once, twice, allowing your memories and your thoughts to slowly reassert themselves.

And finally, you realize where you are.

You are inside Axe's room, because where else would you be? You are also properly clothed, wearing the same dress you had before departing on this strange journey. You took precautions before coming back, making sure you only had a few possessions with you before stepping through the mirror, to avoid any chance of accidentally "stealing" something from your dream-self. However, those precautions seem to have been unnecessary, and you don't think you brought over any unwelcome things from that other world.

Although, thankfully, you did bring back everything you wanted to bring. Even if those items are now on the ground, as they fell from the grip you no longer possessed after returning.

Yes, they are all here. The book you retrieved from that enshrined tomb, surrounded by snakes and loved ones. The key that could not be locked away, thrumming with power despite its minuscule size. The medallion that showed you the way. And also the other thing you brought with you.

But that last item is not important right now. In fact, you don't even bother to check if it is broken or damaged, delicate as it is.

And that is because…



"…"



You are in Axe's room. And naturally, the mare herself is right there.

Of course she is here. Of course she would be waiting for you. You needed her to open the way back, for starters. But also, you told her that you… well, that you had found what she asked you to look for. You figured that just telling her that would be the quickest way to get her to open the way back, without her usual abrasiveness.

So, of course Axe is right here with you. She is standing just a few paces away from the mirror, looking at you with her usual scowl.

Except that…

You blink a few more times, realizing that your thoughts are still heavy and sluggish. Because for all that your real-life memories are coming to the fore, this process isn't being as fast as you hoped it would be.

Because you just realized that Axe is… she is not scowling at you. She isn't even looking at you to begin with.

In fact, she is not scowling at all. You just imagined that.

She looks… you have never seen her with that expression before.

But she looks surprised. Perhaps even shocked. Her eyes wide open as she looks towards the ground, in the direction of the items that fell on the floor as soon as you returned.

Or rather, she is looking at one of the items you brought back.

And it isn't the key.



"Ye saed… ye saed ye found her…"



She isn't looking at the key, and she isn't speaking to you. And as she moves towards the book you brought back with you, the thick diary that you brought back from the shrine, you can tell that Axe isn't thinking about anything other than…



"But if ye found her… why isn't she 'ere an'…"



There is a glint of familiarity in her eyes. Familiarity, and something else. Something deeper and heavier, that is slowly coming to the forefront of her mind. Still, for now, the one thing you see in her face is familiarity.

She knows this diary. She immediately recognized its cover, or perhaps its shape, or perhaps the undecipherable hoofwriting etched to its side.

The air grows denser, as she makes her way towards the book. The air grows denser, and denser, and denser still. To the point that the diary flings itself open the moment Axe reaches for it.

The diary opens before her hoof ever touches it, and the snakemare immediately begins to flick through its pages. She isn't really reading from it, or at least she is not bothering with the bulk of its contents. She is barely giving each page a glance before turning to the next, and even that movement is turning more frantic the more she does it.

Maybe the scribbled icons on the top of each entry are dates. Or maybe she is just skipping the parts that were already penned down before she parted ways with the writer.

Still, page after page, entry after entry, the mare continues to skip over the long life that is memorialized in the diary. Jumping through the intricate drawings of maps without anything more than a glance, and glazing through tales that probably took place over the span of months, or perhaps even years.

Until, finally, she reaches the last page. The final entry of the diary, written in smooth cursive and with rich ink.

Throughout this entire time, Axe's expression had been… surprised. She looked surprised, and then shocked, and at times she would even shake her head as if she was trying to deny something. Or as if she refused to believe something she was seeing.

But when she reaches the very last page of the diary, and when she reads through its lines once, then twice, then three times, her expression finally turns into something else.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You are Silky Stream.

And right now, everything is fine. It is already late in the evening, you are finishing your homework for tomorrow's classes, and you can't think of a single strange thing that happened today.

Your dad is away for work, your mom is still on her trip, Selene left for the night and Soft… well, Soft already told you goodnight, but you know she will come back right before your bedtime to make sure you brushed your teeth and all that.

Still, everything is fine, everything is normal, and you are just about to finish another day.

Everything is fine…



… until it isn't.



You don't… you don't know how to describe it. But something, something, rushes through you. Like a cold wind, or the strange sensation of your fur standing on its end.

This sensation, you can tell, is scary. You don't feel scared, and you don't feel afraid, but this feeling by itself is scary. Like the thrill you fell after diving from a cloud, and you look down to see the ground rushing towards you faster than you are used to.

It feels like that. It's scary like that. But it also feels like something you have never felt before.

But more than just that… this sensation…

…it is getting stronger.

A soft click comes from somewhere nearby, and your mind was so focused that you jump up in surprise even from that. Still, after you shake your head, you look to your side and realize your window is now unlocked. It is unlocked, and the wind from the outside is slowly pushing it open.

You try to calm your breath, and half a moment later you realize your writing pen just fell down from your mouth, spilling ink on your homework. Still, for some reason, even that doesn't feel as important as it should be.

Because this strange sensation is still getting stronger and stronger. The very air around you seems to be getting heavier, and the beating of your heart is getting faster and faster even though you are just sitting on your chair.

And moments later, although you can only almost hear your heart hammering inside your chest, you suddenly realize you can definitely hear other noises coming from all around you.

The walls are creaking.

You swear the chair you are sitting on is about to disassemble itself.

And even a few parts of your body, the places where you once scraped your knees or hit your flank when you crashed against a tree, start to ache as if your scratches wanted to re-open themselves.

You jump out of your chair, landing on the floor a moment later. For less than a second, you felt a rush of fear as your mind swore to you that the floor would break open if you stepped on it wrong. Still, your hoofs land on the floor just fine, and you are left with nothing but another wave of confusion as the very world keeps getting heavy around you.

A sense of vertigo hits you, for a second, as your mind insists the angles of the walls are wrong.

The door to your room bursts open.

You hear a hissing sound coming from somewhere far away.

A-and… and you…!

You are breathing fast. Your heart is racing.

But despite all that, you aren't scared.

For some reason, you don't feel afraid.

You are plenty surprised by what is going on, for sure. You are surprised, and you can tell that some parts of your body are already shaking.

But you aren't afraid, because there is another feeling inside of you that is right now far stronger than your fear.

You aren't afraid, because you are worried.

Because for some reason, for some reason you can't explain, you know what is going on.

So, you don't think. You don't think, you don't try to calm down, you don't even give yourself time to take a deep breath. You just move. You move, and you let your hoofs take you where you need to go.

You rush out of your room, through your open door.

You flap your tiny wings as you zip down the corridor.

You do your best to ignore this aching sensation that the very air in front of you is about to turn into a hole that takes somewhere else.

And when you finally reach the guest room you were racing towards, you find-


"Silky?! Silky, get out of here, now!"
"Mom?!"


-you find your mother.

And you also find Axe.

You are inside Axe's room. Your hoofs brought you here, and your wings rushed you through her open door.

And you have… you have no idea of what is going on.

Because your mom is saying something. Your mom is trying to tell you something, and she looks very, very worried. But you can't really hear her, not anymore. There is something wrong with your ears, and after you heard one last popping sound, like the one you hear when you fly too high, you couldn't really make out her words anymore. Maybe because there are too many holes in the air, now, and your mom's words are falling right through them, or maybe it's because of something else.

Still, you have no idea of what is going on. Because everything in front of you, everything around you, is in utter chaos.

Your mom is standing on a half-finished circle, that you think is meant to kick guests away.

The curtains, and the covers on Axe's bed, and every other piece of cloth in sight is currently unthreading itself, as if each individual strand was a snake that was trying to get free from its sisters.

The very walls around you look like they are twisting. And for all that you know this is just your mind getting confused, you also feel like there is a piece of truth to what you can see with your eyes.

And you swear that the very gums under your teeth will start to bleed if you stay here for even a second longer.

However, despite all that, despite all the chaos going on around you, your mind is focused on a single thing.

Because even though everything around you seems to be rending itself open, your eyes have not yet strayed from one point of the room.

You are still looking at Axe, who is sitting on the very center of the room, looking down at what looks like an open notebook.

You are still looking at Axe, because not only she looks like she is completely absorbed by what she is reading, but also…

…she is crying.

Her expression looks blank, or maybe locked between anger and disbelief. And she is simply sitting on her hind and looking down towards the open page of the notebook.

You start making your way towards her, even though the distance between you and her seems larger than the size of this room. Still, despite the weight of the air and how strange your joints feel, you start making your way towards her regardless.

However, before you can take a single step towards her, you realize you are floating. You have no idea of when that happened, but at some point your mother appeared right next to you. Her horn is glowing, you can feel the familiar glow of her magic around you, and for all that you can't hear what she is saying you are sure that she is about to carry you out of this room.



"I need to talk to her!"



But you tell her those words. Or rather, you try your best to shout those words towards her. You have no idea if you succeeded, because everything around you is so twisted that you might as well have said nothing at all. Your left ear can hear nothing but a ringing noise, and your right ear swears you just heard your own voice, as an echo, coming from somewhere very far away.

Still, you flap your wings, you struggle against your mother's magic, and you try your damned best to make her understand that this is important and she has to trust you.

And somehow, at some point, while she is galloping down the impossibly large distance between the beginning of the doorframe and the corridor, she looks you in the eye while she carries you with her magic.

She looks you in the eye, and she sees something there.

And she believes you.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You are Velvet Covers.

And you are worried.

You are worried sick.

Because you don't have the words to describe what just happened. You don't think those words even exist, not in the modern pony language.

The only way you can even start to explain what happened is by saying that every last angle in your house was twisted in different ways. The angles were bent, the very air was poisoned with invisible holes, and most of the things inside Axe's room simply broke, as nails popped out of their sockets and metal joints disassembled themselves so smoothly they looked like they were oiled.

You… well, you think you know what happened, and whatever event that was, it was definitely centered around Axe. As if the snakemare had been a localized sun, one that radiated geometrical wrongness instead of heat.

Still, none of that matters. None of that really matters. And despite the unknown damage this caused to your house, you don't really care about that right now.

What you are really worried about right now, and the reason you are currently pacing back and forth in front of Axe's closed door is…



…well, it's because your daughter is still in there.



And you can't help but hate yourself for how stupid you were.

Are you insane? Did you hit your head? Is your mind perhaps still numbed from the travel through the mirror? You don't know. You have no idea!

But still, why in tartarus would you ever, ever, EVER do what you just did?

What the hay was going on inside your head, that made you think it was a good idea to throw your own precious daughter towards Axe, when you were trying to run away from what you could only describe as a spatial black hole?

Because make no mistake, you were terrified, and you were pretty sure you were in danger. Whatever Axe was doing, it was absolutely warping the geometry of her room. And when Silky arrived and interrupted your attempts at banishing Axe, you could swear that you were actually getting farther away from the door, even as you tried to run towards it with your daughter on your magical grip.

What were you thinking?

No, really.

WHAT.

WERE.

YOU.

THINKING?!

Still, there is nothing you can do right now but wait.

It has been… maybe twenty minutes since this whole fiasco started.

Axe's door is firmly locked right in front of you, and the fact that nopony has come to the second floor yet makes you think the rest of the house probably did not feel what just happened.

And there is nothing you can do but pace back and forth in front of Axe's door (and you did try to open it several times now) and hope that… whatever your daughter had in her mind worked out.

Well, you can't feel anything strange anymore. So at least Axe's tantrum seems to have stopped.

However, you can't smell your daughter (or Axe) either. The closed door is somehow blocking your senses, and you can't sense anything at all coming from behind it.

…

Until finally…

Something happens.

You feel like something just snapped into place, or like a bubble just popped inside your head. And suddenly, you can smell Silky Stream again.

"Silky, is everything alright?!" you say, immediately rushing in through the now-unlocked door.

And to your surprise you find… well, just your daughter. And thank the heavens for that.

Still, you rush into Axe's room, not caring for the fact that the door feels utterly mundane now. And the only pony you can see in there is your filly.

Completely fine. Completely unharmed. With an expression that is… slightly complicated.

But still, she is fine.

And that sight alone is more than enough to take several weights off your back.

"I'm fine mom, but Axe…" she trails off, with a tone that is far too heavy for a filly her age.

Still, you make your way to your daughter, you make absolutely sure that she is not hurt, and then you take stock of the situation.

And you can see that Axe is… gone.

Axe is gone.

The medallion, the diary and the key are gone.

There are a few signs of damage here and there. Mundane damage, caused by an angry hoof striking against the floor or a wall or a piece of furniture, rather than caused by any eldritch means.

And also, Silky is holding something on her hoofs that…

"… mom, can I ask you for a favor?" she asks, just as you finish looking around the room and realizing what must have happened.

You are already nodding your head that yes, you will do anything she asks you. But as you look down towards your daughter again, you realize she is holding a… a ragdoll. One of her older toys, a small pony-shaped doll made out of cotton.

Or rather, it was a ragdoll. The doll seems to be torn in half, as if angrily ripped apart in a fit of rage.

"Can you… do you know anypony who could fix it? I think… I think she'd appreciate it, if she ever decides to…" your daughter trails off.

And for all that she has a frown on her face, you can tell that there is a lot more going on inside her head right now.

"Silky?" you ask, letting the unspoken question hang in the air.

Is she alright?

Would she like to talk about it?

Is there anything you can do to help?

Your daughter isn't looking you in the eye, she is still looking down at the torn doll. And you don't… you don't really know what she is thinking about right now.

Because part of her looks like she is trying to hold back tears. While another part of her looks like she has already accepted there was nothing else she could do.

Her lips are pursed into a thin line, and for all that she is just a filly she looks more confused and concerned than most grown ponies you have met in your life have ever been.

"Silky," you say again, lighting up your horn and gently taking the doll from her. You will get it fixed for her, you promise. But you are more worried about your daughter than anything else right now.

Still, she keeps looking down for several more seconds before she lets out a long, complicated sigh.

"Mom… do you think Axe will be alright?" she asks.

And you… are not really sure how to answer her.

Because you… well, you might not know the details. You might not have had the facts spelled out to you. But you know what just happened.

You know why Axe asked you to go to that dream-like world. You know who wrote that diary. You know what the implications are, of the items you brought back. And for all that you and Axe never liked each other, you understand what all of that means.

And now that Axe is gone, having taken the diary and the key with herself, you understand what she will probably do next.

So, even though you have no idea of what kind of conversation Silky just had with her, and even though you don't know what your daughter must have seen just now, you probably still have more context than she does.

And yet… you don't know how to answer her question.

That is, until you notice something. And your eyes immediately go wide in surprise.

"I think… I think you did well, Silky. I think that, whatever you told Axe, it was exactly what she needed to hear," you say.

But your daughter is so worried, and maybe even so sad, that she doesn't even notice the certainty in your voice.

Instead, she just meekly makes her way towards you, and does the familiar motion of resting her face against the fluff of your chest.

You can feel her tremble, just a little bit. But still, again, not enough for you to really know what is going on inside her mind.

"I don't know… she was… she had a sister, mom. She had a family. And she told me that they… she told me her sister… Axe sounded so alone, mom. She was so sad. I don't think that what I told her really…"

She trails off, and you can't help but put a hoof on her head to gently stroke her mane.

However, you can't help but feel your emotions welling inside of you. To the point that your hoof is almost shaking as you hold your daughter.

"Silky dear. You did great with Axe. Whatever you told her, she took it to heart. And whatever you advised her to do, even if it takes her a while, she will eventually do it. I promise," you say.

And finally, something about your voice makes your daughter tilt her head. After all, even though you have encouraged and supported your daughter her whole life, something about your tone feels different, and she noticed it.

"Uhm… mom? Why… how can you be so sure?" she asks, looking up towards you, hints of curiosity and doubt appearing here and there even through her concerned expression.

And you give her the only answer you can. You give her the obvious answer. The self-evident answer.

You show your daughter that, whatever happened just now and whatever it was that she did, was the best-case scenario.

You lift your other hoof, the one that is not currently wrapped around your daughter, and you softly poke her flank, right on the center of the mark that is now painted on it.





[Beyond the foggy mirror: Expedition successfully completed]

Final tally of actions:

You have located a Frangiclave, "the key that only opens".

You have located "Pasharka's Memoir".

You have gained the skill "Lapdog".

You have not achieved, or decided to capitalize on, anything else, and you returned to the real world. You have ONE action point that may be redistributed to other actions.

You have given the Frangiclave and "Pasharka's Memoir" to the Daughter-of-Axes.

The Daughter-of-Axes has left. She is gone.



Silky Stream has gained her cutie mark: A key, a scroll, a seven-colored colored laurel wreath, all before the backdrop of a faded house-like triangle. Cutie mark interpreters will see all the signs of a diplomat, or a negotiator. And yet, those in the know will see the other signs hidden in plain sight.

This is the first cutie mark ever that makes a clear reference to the Lores. You wonder what this means.

More to follow. Soon.

 

[Shaper47]

Actually for our last AP.

Why don't we visit the Daughter of Axes in the Mansus?

 

[Venerable Ro]

Silky Stream has gained her cutie mark: A key, a scroll, a seven-colored colored laurel wreath, all before the backdrop of a faded house-like triangle. Cutie mark interpreters will see all the signs of a diplomat, or a negotiator. And yet, those in the know will see the other signs hidden in plain sight.

This is the first cutie mark ever that makes a clear reference to the Lores. You wonder what this means.

Click to shrink...

By The Glory! By Seven Keys and Seven Doors, by Silver Dream and Golden Wake! By Thunder and Wheel!

By my burning heart, what a Mark.

What a beautiful, wonderful Mark for a beautifully loving daughter.

---

I am doubly glad we didn't try to steal Twilight, I would not suffer any chance of this being turned awry by interference.

 

[ses]

I'm confused why we lost our memory when the diary said that having the Silver Key would allow her to go through the mirror without shedding. We have the Silver Key now dont we?

That aside, my heart broke into pieces for Axe and I wanted to cry and hug her so bad

 

[steampvnc1880]

Lapdog=laptop. Got it.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

Lapdog: "You are sure it was called that, although it bears no resemblance to a dog at all. Still, this miraculous device, too intricate to be used by anypony but a unicorn, will aid you greatly." (You may produce TWO Lore Manuscripts instead of one, of one level below your current level on the selected Lores. Costs one Forge 1 reagent to use

Click to shrink...

I would guess that this is a laptop, but it's clearly called a Lapdog and calling it anything else would simply be wrong.

 

[Limabot]

I hope we can resummon Axe next turn or something. It would really suck if the best Expedition Name was gone for the rest of the Quest.

Edit: Also, does Silky's Cutie Mark mean that she'll have the same Lore omnicompetence as Velvet when she grows up.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Author's Note: NOW you guys understand why I wanted Axe's Sacrament for Knock? Anyways, moving on.



- - -



You currently have ONE action point to spend. You may not "edit" or alter your current plan, but you may pick an additional action for Velvet Covers to do, to add to your ongoing plan.

Furthermore, due to reasons that were previously explained, you may "borrow" the action of ONE of your followers, from Turn 22, to search for a Level 7 book this turn.


Consequently:
-Vote in plans.
-Your plans will only contain two picks. One pick is Velvet's action, the other is whether you wish to search for a Level 7 book or not.
-A book search action may only happen in the form of either using RotT, or searching for a high-level expedition. No other avenues for searching for a level 7 book exists that you can pursue right now.

Your current turn plan is:

Spoiler: Winning Plan

[X] Plan Prudent KISSing
-[X] (AotL) Lantern
-[X] (Forge) Forge 3 reagent
-[X] (Knock) Explore the Summit
-[X] (Winter) Invoke a Risen
-[X] (Social) Teach Selene
-[X] Fleeting Opportunity: Family
-[X] Fleeting Opportunity: Friends (but Cadance remains to be spoken to)
-[X] Perform the Forge's Redemption
--[X] Sacrifice Forge 3 reagent
--[X] At Jade's old house
-[X] Sacrament: Through the Foggy Mirror (4x) (only 3 actions consumed)

[X] Plan Spreading Ourselves Thin Always Gets Us Punished
-[X] Do not leash anypony.
-[X][DETECTIVES] Follow Up: Changelings
-[X][CONSTABLES] (FOLLOW UP) Your detectives have given you a very long list, of ponies and places involved in the attempt against your life. Round them up and put them all in jail, before this trail goes cold.
-[X][COMMISSIONER] The Lunar Bureau is not the only recently-minted institution in Equestria. Try to contact the others.
--[X] Eclipse(?), and Midday Dew.
-[X][JADE] Research "A Memory of Light" (Current progress 0/100, uses Learning and LANTERN)
-[X] (Baldomare-Gift) Edge 6 book
-[X][BALDOMARE] Channel an Influence. (Secret Histories)
-[X][AXE] Ask for a Knock lesson.
-[X][MAREINETTE] Channel an Influence. (Grail)
-[X][SELENE] Soothe the night. (Her Winter realization. Unknown effects, if any.)
-[X][RARITY] Take a Commission.
-[X] Needs must. Ask somepony to procure you a dead body from the local cemetery.
-[X] Three extra Velvet actions! (Costs 9 follower actions)
-[X] Something Else (lend Heartifact to Comet)

Velvet's action:
-[] Velvet Covers will... (WRITE IN Velvet's action)

Book-searching action:
-[] You will NOT search for a book this turn. (No follower actions will be borrowed from Turn 22)
-[] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual. (WRITE IN what follower)
-[] You will have a follower search for a high-level expedition, that will hopefully have a suitable book. (WRITE IN what follower)

Spoiler: But why?

To put it very briefly.
I revealed that Baldomare would need a Level 7 book to further her personal quest AFTER the voting period for the Followers' Actions had passed. Consequently, QM "robbed" you guys from the opportunity of having a follower search for a book this turn, since you were unaware of its importance while planning your Followers' Phase.

This is an opportunity to "borrow" an action from Turn 22 to do it this turn, and you should pick it if you feel that you WOULD have liked to do said search this turn.

If you do not feel strongly about this, you can simply pick not to borrow a follower action now, and continue with this turn normally.

Twelve hours moratorium. Ask whatever questions you would like. Suggest write-ins as needed. As a rule, any option offered on a regular turn vote is a legal action, and you do not need to ask if it can be picked.

And I hope you are all doing well.

 

[ses]

@OurLadyOfWires I know you said "Patience. Soon" but I've been waiting for so long now and I thought we'd get it once we returned to reality. The need to know our Knock sacrament is tearing at my sanity, which yes yes yuk it up it's very on-brand but I NEED IT

 

[Steady Gaze]

"But again, the more time I spend here, the more I see our summoner reflecting the habits of our time. Maybe it was inevitable? Or maybe these are just the timeless habits of those who dabble on the Lores? Who knows. There probably isn't a difference."

Click to shrink...

Delayed reaction, but if I may be contrarian (with all the reactions of relief to the "In which obsession becomes a virtue" extra) for a moment: the ponies of the previous age were ponies, just like us. To be charting a different course than they has me wonder if we truly know better, or if we're missing things that were obvious to them?

One of her older tows, a small pony-shaped doll made out of cotton.

Click to shrink...

@OurLadyOfWires toys. I also could've sworn there was one typo in the extra but it disappeared from my quotes.

Silky Stream has gained her cutie mark: A key, a scroll, a seven-colored colored laurel wreath, all before the backdrop of a faded house-like triangle. Cutie mark interpreters will see all the signs of a diplomat, or a negotiator. And yet, those in the know will see the other signs hidden in plain sight.

This is the first cutie mark ever that makes a clear reference to the Lores. You wonder what this means.

Click to shrink...

Perhaps I flatter myself, but methinks this was remembered!

You know, part of me wishes there would be a timeskip or something, so we could see the effects of Silky's "education" of absorbing info from all the "honored guests" she's surrounded by when she grows up. If Velvet is overpowered, how OP do you think Silky will be if she's educated in the lores (passively or actively) from such an early age?

Click to shrink...

Not to mention fan theories on the heritability of cutie mark talents. Again, this is actually huge. And Velvet is saying she doesn't recall any historical examples? Silky's special talent is very likely being able to learn all the lores and not being forced to specialize, like us. I now kind of have an omake idea where Silky employs every single lore subconsciously when counseling the Daughter of Axes.

 

[Sveta08]

Actually for our last AP.

Why don't we visit the Daughter of Axes in the Mansus?

Click to shrink...

No

Not yet

What would we say that Silky did not say? What would we do that has not been done?
What Ax needs right now is time.

We will visit her this coming month. I have no doubt people will agree with that.
But she needs time. Not Velvet trying desperately trying to .... insert herself into this right now.

 

[Shaper47]

@OurLadyOfWires What does Velvet think about visiting Axe with her action this turn?

 

[Solace2117]

Delayed reaction, but if I may be contrarian (with all the reactions of relief to the "In which obsession becomes a virtue" extra) for a moment: the ponies of the previous age were ponies, just like us. To be charting a different course than they has me wonder if we truly know better, or if we're missing things that were obvious to them

Click to shrink...

I don't think the habits Baldomare was talking about were necessarily good or really had anything to do with their ability to reach Glory. Not that they are inherently bad, but it's more a commenting on the fact that Adapts tended to develop certain idiosyncrasies as they grew deeper in the lores. For some this probably helped them grow further, for others it led to getting distracted by whatever obsession they developed. Considering how few reached Glory it was probably more the later.

As to the update, Silky comes in clutch again. Really feel for Axe. Hope Velvet can form more of a connection with her after this, really like how she's developed as a character. She really needs more support and it would be good for our daughter too considering all that's happened. Seeing what we got with the "lapdog", disappointed we didn't explore the library, but oh well. Excited that Silky got her cutie mark and intrigued by what it having lore connections could mean.

Not sure about the vote yet. I'll probably let it sit for a bit before deciding.

 

[Sintonir]

Actually for our last AP.

Why don't we visit the Daughter of Axes in the Mansus?

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure it is possible to find Axe before she wants to be found. We gave her the key, she can be anywhere in Mansus.
And if she does want to be found, she will likely find Velvet on her next visit to Mansus.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Well, the Laptop is kind of a bust for us; Velvet lacks a cult to power level with manuscripts.

But I think that Cutie Mark is proof that Harmony is getting clued in on the Lores, because it's Harmony that makes those things. I mean hell, not only are two of its Alicorns diving into that Eldritch ocean, it just made direct contact with a Mare under several full power Influences just earlier in the day! Something tells me the latter part was not the intended way to get Harmony to poke the Lores though. Alicorn bridging yes; personally walking up to it from the holes of a dream while dripping with Mansus might, no.

 

[Sveta08]

I want to sleep. But I can't. Not yet.

Our Lady, this is... brilliant. Beautiful. Painful. Painfully numbingly clear. I love it. I love...
The tragedy that we knew was going to happen. The pain how it warped the world. That A Serpent Cried. That the world is... changed from it.
I want to shake your hand and laud praises and smile and laugh and just... tell you that it makes me smile like few other things.
So I will.

This is the first cutie mark ever that makes a clear reference to the Lores. You wonder what this means.

Click to shrink...

I want to sleep. But I can't.

I know what... no. Hubris. I believe I know where to start understanding this.
I could point to the why of their being now two Alicorns exposed to the lores. One reborn in it, the other staring blindingly, unflinchingly into the Sun. But that's not important.
Draw parallels between the space and how it may have related to Harmony and it's invasion. About how it crashed in and the world was moved by it. But that's not important.
We know what's important, but I am worried we wouldn't remember it.


Silky Streams has a Cutie Mark.
Every Cutie Mark has a Door.

We are going to the Dreamlands next turn.

 

[ses]

The whole trip was a bust outside of Frangiclave-get. Laptop is kinda useless and we apparently failed to unlock anything from poking at Harmony. Oh well. I don't think we should spend our action on Studying until we have a Lantern influence. So that leaves Steppes FO or working on our SH Sacrament. I think we'll probably ask Baldomare for another SH Influence next turn on account of doing her sacrament so we can do both SH sacraments then? I kinda want to do a ritual to Calling of the Influence: either Lantern or SH next turn so that we can free up Baldomare actions as well as have both of those influences at the same time. That leaves Steppes FO.

Can someone explain to me the rules on CotI rituals? It's Magic+Lore+Sacrifice, just trying to hit a high breakpoint on the single aspect being called, correct? Despite it being listed under 2 aspect circles? How do assistants work? I'm a little unclear on ritual rules since we don't have a cult to provide a Cadre bonus and I can't find a good answer on how the assistant slot works. We could possibly summon a MitL to assist us with CotI: Lantern to avoid spending Baldomare actions on it.

 

[Greymere]

I think we'll probably ask Baldomare for another SH Influence next turn on account of doing her sacrament so we can do both SH sacraments then?

Click to shrink...

If we're doing Baldomare's Sacrament next turn, we can't ask her for an Influence, because offering us Sacrament takes her AP (and also an AP from Velvet).

Can someone explain to me the rules on CotI rituals? It's Magic+Lore+Sacrifice, just trying to hit a high breakpoint on the single aspect being called, correct? Despite it being listed under 2 aspect circles? How do assistants work? I'm a little unclear on ritual rules since we don't have a cult to provide a Cadre bonus and I can't find a good answer on how the assistant slot works. We could possibly summon a MitL to assist us with CotI: Lantern to avoid spending Baldomare actions on it.

Click to shrink...

Ritual assistants aren't a thing. The only ways we have to increase our ritual rolls beyond our current power is using a higher-level artifact and/or using a sacrifice.

 

[ses]

If we're doing Baldomare's Sacrament next turn, we can't ask her for an Influence, because offering us Sacrament takes her AP (and also an AP from Velvet).


Ritual assistants aren't a thing. The only ways we have to increase our ritual rolls beyond our current power is using a higher-level artifact and/or using a sacrifice.

Click to shrink...

Okay so there's no way to use the slot for Cadre bonus unless you have a cult then? I can't find the writeup on how cadres work anywhere.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Well there is a cadre bonus for those who have a cadre, those might be the assistants they are referring too.

Edit: Thoroughly Mothed on the matter

 

[Greymere]

Okay so there's no way to use the slot for Cadre bonus unless you have a cult then? I can't find the writeup on how cadres work anywhere.

Click to shrink...

Because it is/was a piece of cult infrastructure. There's no inherent "cadre/assistant slot" in rituals circles, and we don't have any organizational infrastructure to build a cadre from.