reading before bed... I wonder if I'll get esquestria dreams...
And that is because, ever since this week started, the Commissioner has been…
… well, let's go with the word focused. Because you don't truly know the correct way to say it better.
ah.
That explains it. I was wondering WHY she was reacting like that.
Silly me, forgetting Velvet's
Resolution
But still, the fact remains that ever since the week began, the Commissioner has been almost unrecognizable. The kind and gentle mare, who would come to the Secretariat every now and then to ask for something, or to just chat with all of you and the Deputy, is nowhere to be seen. The cautious and patient mare, who would usually ask for everypony's opinion before making a decision, is now gone.
And ever since the news arrived that the investigators caught a whiff of the shapeshifters, she has been focused to the point that she is frightening. Every word out of her mouth an order. Every moment of silence a gathering storm, and every decision final.
Makes sense. After all, she's
not allowed to hesitate at all.
"But the problem is that… well, the mountaineer guild of the city has been awfully protective of their maps and trails. And for all that the mayor of the city isn't causing any problems, he is also refusing to help and…"
...
and we have royal authority, and if they won't help we can just seize their maps or threaten to arrest them for obstruction of justice.
"Is… is the Commissioner going to Blueblood them?" somepony asks, the tension in his voice very clear. He asks that to the room at large, to nopony in particular.
He asks that question because, in all honesty, that is the question in everypony's mind. Even your own.
And of course, nopony answers him.
Nopony answers him because, deep down, everypony thinks this will be worse than it was with the Bluebloods.
I love how "blueblood" has already become a verb!
"You know, I always thought this kind of thing was easier to do if we had actual ponies going around and asking questions. Do you think we should advise the Commissioner to, I don't know, ask a team of investigators to do this instead?" Memoir asks.
And on one hoof, you agree with her.
But on the other hoof…
"… do you want to go there and tell her that?" you ask.
And the mare quickly goes silent.
And finally, "priority one" letters are, according to the Commissioner's own words, "stop whatever I am doing and make me read it" letters.
There are only three senders that fall under this priority: Princess Celestia's office, Princess Cadance's office, and…
presumably her family's?
"But this… think of the long term, ma'am. If we do this to all these ponies, there will be nopony else to run the city. Everypony else will realize that-"
"They will realize what should already be obvious, and what Princess Celestia has already made very clear. To hinder the Bureau is to offend Princess Luna, and there shall be none of that under Equestria's sun."
"… but…"
"Discipline requires victims, Deputy. And why are you standing there doing nothing, Raven Inkwell?"
merciless.
That said,
she's not wrong.
I mean, Celestia basically gave a very short list of orders, and put a very short list of ponies in charge.
To act against them right now? AFTER BLUEBLOOD?
Foolishness. Fair Trial, Velvet and Cadance are basically unopposable in their roles.
And the only thing you can do is answer the question she just asked you.
No other options come to your mind. No other alternative could even come to you, other than the unthinkable alternative of disobedience.
There is only the Commissioner's word, and her word is final.
This influence is making for a really entertaining situation, and we haven't even met Comet yet!
"Yes, yes, that. Very well. Do whatever you think is best. And give me a report next week," she says, as she passes by your side and leaves through the open door. "Oh, and Inkwell? Could you have a carriage ready for me? Have it wait on the Royal Castle. One of my daughters just got her cutie mark! So I am going back home right now."
She says that, and then she is gone. Walking down the corridor, with a happy skip on her hoofs, until she disappears down the stairs.
...uh
that would do it, yeah.
Not even Edge will stop her from
partying with her daughters!
"Tartarus if I know, but thank Celestia for this. I could feel my mane turning gray during this last meeting! Deputy, please, in Celestia's own good name give my team a mission so we can leave. I do NOT want to be here for the next report."
"M-mine as well! Send me away as well!"
please send us to fight criminals and monsters, it's better than dealing with our boss!
Your week so far was… normal? Yes, the last three days you spent working on the Bureau were utterly normal, and you have nothing out of the ordinary to tell about it whatsoever.
cough cough...
And of course, the fact that it was Selene who "gained" her cutie mark yesterday has its own implications. You know that she, well, can take certain liberties with her filly body. And you realize that, in truth, this was a decision she made rather than the happy realization of a filly.
Of course you know all of that. You are an intelligent mare.
But.
You.
Don't.
Care!
Because your filly just got her cutie mark!
... well, at least it helps to sell the "Selene is our daughter for real" story?
I kinda expected her to not take SELENE's mark as seriously though.
Because of course, when a foal gets her cutie mark there is one thing that absolutely must happen. It will happen as soon as your husband arrives, but Ponpon can absolutely start organizing it immediately!
look! Another chance for us to
NOT meet Pinkie, I'm sure!
But something inside of you practically freezes as you-
...last time we got a "not-threadmarked" update in a numbered series, I think it was with Soft's multiple possible picks, where Baldomare got to see all the different Velvets who made different choices in her kind-of-mental-simulation.
I wonder what we'll have here. Maybe a consequence of our SH sacrament-in-progress?
the result of an hesitation that will never happen due to the influence?
But you can barely hear her. You can barely hear anything at all.
The only thing your ears can truly understand right now, is the constant, mocking, almost
droning thing that the fillies are saying from behind this door. Over and over again.
"Seleeeene has a boooyfriend! Seleeeene has a boooyfriend!"
...
Fucking Worms, Velvet, I was actually worried there 
I was expecting them having met Mareinette or something!
Yes, you know what to do next.
It is obvious, isn't it?
More than merely obvious, this is the only logical conclusion that you can reach. That anypony could possibly reach.
After all, your beautiful, precious, growing little filly just got her cutie mark yesterday. So of course she would already have a boyfriend today.
She got her boyfriend today. And tomorrow she will be married. And the day after she will be old. And after that you will be burying her bones in her final place of rest.
That is how the world works, isn't it? That is how time works, right?
...I was half expecting a "I'll have to kill him" realization, not a mortality speech!
Is this when we realize we want her to become immortal?
...though hey, Velvet, remember, we're talking about
1000+ years old Luna. I'm pretty sure she can live for a looooong time still!
Silky, on the other hand...
Well, if that is the case… if that is how time, and the world, words…
Then you just need to do something about that, don't you?
[Velvet Covers has learned the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]
THE FUCK?!
"Do not worry," you say.
After that, you hug her.
And with that, your good little Softy calms down! Like the good filly she is.
Of course, she tries to struggle every now and then, but your hug will keep her safe. Even more so because you don't need your body to hug her, and you are using things that are far more suitable for that!
But still, your precious daughter is crying… hmm… what to do…
Well, what else? You make your way towards her-
"Fear not. All will end soon."
-and you plant a light kiss on her forehead!
She mumbles something under her breath. You can't hear her, because the hug also covers her mouth. But you are sure she is thanking you for being such a good mother!
...see above.
[Velvet Covers has forgotten the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]
wait, I wanna see what that does first! BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRD YOU TEASE!!!
-as you...
You...
You shake your head.
What… what were you doing again?
Did… did anything just happen?
Ehh, probably not.
yep, nothing of any importance whatsoever happened at all!
Did you rub your cheek against her flank a few times? Even if you did, nopony is here to stop you!
that would sound so
weird out of context..
.
Yes. Your young, innocent daughter still has much to learn.
very much NOT young.
definitely still innocent and daughter though.
What? What do you mean? Nothing else happened. Nothing at all! You had a boring week at work, and then you came back to your daughters.
If you REALLY think you missed something, maybe go back HERE and manually scroll down. And make sure you turn "Reader Mode" off while doing it.
"But if something is not threadmarked, did it really happen? Probably not. I think not... I hope not."
Yes! Cute-ceañera, yes! An excuse to meet Pinkie Pie, please QM, Selene deserves the best and Pinkie would be perfect for it and she also canonically does Cute-ceañeras.
I think you mean another chance to
NOT meet Pinkie!
*Breaths deeply* Ok, would a Winter Sacrament help in keeping this under control or make things worse?
My first guess on making this better is removing the scar, discovering the source of Velvet's mental trauma and suppressed memories, and hope that actually makes a difference.
Admittedly Winter Sacrament MIGHT help... but it's very much a "might", not a "will". It's not yet exactly clear how Sacraments affect Velvet mentally.
Well I think I put the subversion into easily understood metaphores and rock paper scissors but I may have stretched them a bit and made it confusing, please give feedback on if the info is clear enough.
it's clear enough, though your description of grail into moth doesn't quite convince me, and maybe Knock too, but I don't remember the explanation for that one.
Book of Hours apparently introduces new principles too (and for some reason actually sort of removes/replaces SH from the official list), so I suppose the subversion would become more complex there, but that's irrelevant to this quest.
