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

[Venerable Ro]

(Need to play Book of Hours increases)

Thank you for sharing it! Baldomare's smugness, even if only mentioned, was delightful and made me laugh. And the whole atmosphere in town was excellent!

Click to shrink...

You really do man, it's a wonderful game/story that does a fascinating job of expanding on the established setting in a million different ways.

Not to mention the fact that the omake draws heavily on game mechanics, thus I'm bereaved to think of all the little nuances that you missed by ignorance!

You're very welcome in any case, I'm glad you got a chuckle out of the Name of Smug.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

I think I already told someone before, but I DO have BoH posibility-plans for this quest.

However, I am very careful and methodical, and we are currently in a place where that isn't relevant.

Now let me go answer my private messages.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

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
-[X] Perform the Forge's Redemption
--[X] Sacrifice Forge 3 reagent
--[X] At Jade's old house
-[X] Sacrament: Through the Foggy Mirror (4x)

[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)

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] You promise to let her help you.

You are Velvet Covers.

And today, the meaning of that name is going to… change.

Yes, for better or for worse, today is a day that will end in change.

You are currently in Jade Whistle's house. Although, given the repairs and redecorating that your servants have done here (even if by mistake) you don't really feel like you are in that old and abandoned home of hers.

Still, you can't help but think that this place looks a lot better now. You can't help but think that this change, radical as it may have been, was for the better.

Fitting, you suppose, that this is the place where you decided to do this.

Because just like this house, you are about to… make a few redecorations on your own life. On your own body. And although nothing you can do will ever change the past, you can still decide how you want your future to look like.

You can't undo your past or your memories, the same way you can't make Jade step a hoof inside this house. However, you definitely can leave some things behind as you move forward.

"Time to get this done," you say to yourself.

And then you get to work.

You are here to perform a ritual. A ritual that you have never done before but that, maddeningly, feels practiced and familiar. And as you begin running through your preparations one last time, you once again feel that strange sensation that you are doing something that is self-evident, to the point that your hoofs might as well be moving on their own.

You try not to think about the implications of this. You try not to think about how frightening it is, that this Mansus-given information has affected you so deeply you don't even question it.

You try not to think that, perhaps, you may have even lost the ability to question this.

Still, you run through your preparations one last time, and you make sure you have absolutely everything you need for this to work.

As always, you are in the living room of Jade's old house, which (after having all the furniture pushed away) is just large enough to accommodate the ritual circle. The outer limits of the Forge-circle, with its fiery sigils and blocky runes, is just a hoofstep away from the farthest wall. But still, it fits. And the inner Grail-circle, nestled like a lover, will probably not leave too many stains on the floor once you are done with it.

You give yourself one last encouraging nod, and then you make your way to the center of the circle.

You make sure to carry everything with your hoofs. After all, it is foolish to light up your horn while invoking these kinds of magiks. Still, you can't help but notice that you… don't really have that many items with you.

You are carrying with you a cup, and a hammer. And that is all you will ever need for this.

So, you gently lay them on the ground next to you, and then… you lie down on the ground.

"On second thought, I should have taken my dress off out of the circle," you say to yourself, as you awkwardly undo the bindings of your dress with your mouth. Unaided by the usual flicker of your horn.

You are lying down on the very center of the bright-red circle of Grail. Laying on your side, on the hard ground, so that your right flank is turned to the ceiling. And as you slowly work your way through the several knots you have in place, that make sure your skirt is always covering your flank, you can't help but think how strange this scene would be, if there was anypony else here with you.

Still, you eventually get it done.

And you finally reveal your flank to the world.

Your right hindleg is… a mess. It is a familiar mess, but it is still something unsightly and, quite frankly, disgusting. There is nothing visceral to see like exposed flesh or a bleeding wound, but still, it is clearly something that would cause a normal pony to gasp in shock if they ever saw it.

For starters, you have no cutie mark there to speak of. In fact, you almost don't have a flank to begin with. The coat on that part of your body is hard and devoid of fur, but not at all like a smooth scar. Instead, your hard flank is cratered and flawed by the absence of certain muscles, like the trunk of a sickly tree that was cut by an axe or perhaps struck by lightning.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that you have a crater on your flank. In fact, as your eyes travel down from your flank and towards your hindleg, you even spot the familiar place where there is a hole through your skin. One that wouldn't look out of place on the shapeshifting creatures that have been stalking Equestria, or perhaps in some other kind of unnatural monster.

Unfortunately for you, this is a familiar sight. But still, like always, you can't help but think that you are looking at a thing, or an object, rather than a part of your own body. A cratered and crippled piece of gnarled wood that looks like a flank, connected to a bone-thin and weak twig that looks like a hindleg. Two pieces of unkept rubbish that, for some reason, are attached to your body.

Two parts of you that can't really move that well, that made you learn how to simply avoid certain kinds of action, and that feel numb to the touch even when you pinch them.

Thankfully, the damage is somewhat "contained" to your flank and the upper portion of your hindleg. And the lower portion of your right hindleg, all the way to your hoof, looks perfectly normal.

Granted, that only makes the dissonance between the upper and lower part of your hindleg more jarring. But still, it at least allowed you to wear a skirt, without fear that somepony would see how wrong you are if they ever noticed a gnarled hoof or something.

…

But even that, you think, will change today.

Today, you will get rid of this ugliness. You will get rid of this problem, and this weight, and the ever-presence of this pain that is always just slightly tugging at your muscles.

Today, you will change this.

And the only thing that comes to your mind is that, in all honesty, you wish this day had come sooner.



[Ritual – The Forge's Redemption]



The first thing you do is say the words. The correct words. The words that will kickstart this process.

However, unlike you would do in most other rituals, you are not saying these words out to the world. You are speaking them out loud, of course, but you are not proclaiming them to the walls or to the circle or to whatever powers you are trying to invoke.

Instead, you are whispering them. You are lying down on your side, with your numb flank exposed to the air, and you are whispering those words to yourself with your eyes closed. Almost as if you are trying to lull yourself into sleep.

You are saying those words to yourself, because the most important part of this ritual is that… you need to want this. You need to want this to happen.

You must want to change.

You must want.

So, you whisper them. The enticements, and the encouragements, and the old prayers that ponies used long ago not only to invite the future, but to invoke it.

You whisper those words, until you feel something flicker inside your heart.



[Grail roll: 50 + 13 (Magic) + 40 (GRAIL, Level 4) = 103]

[Success]



It is a flicker, then a spark, then a flame.

And then, it feels like a dam just broke inside of you, and that feeling spreads to everywhere else.

You feel like running. You feel like running, and kicking the air, and clawing at your own coat until your blood sprays out of your arteries. You want to cut this useless leg off and swallow it down, and you also want to use it to its absolute limit just to spite it.

You can feel every strand of your fur, and every parcel of your being, brimming with energy. With the sheer need to do something.

And most important of all, you can feel your body is ready to do whatever it takes to fulfill this aching necessity. You can feel that your blood and your bones and every last cell of your body is willing to bend and break and make way for what comes next. You can sense that, for this very short period of time, the laws of biology and physiology have given way to laws that are older than greater. And that your body, more than just a vessel that you inhabit, is now a machine that you can manipulate.

But this need is also so strong, so overpowering, that you can barely think straight. You don't have it in you to contemplate the greater implications of this. In fact, you barely have the willpower to do the next step.

Still, you reach out for the cup that is next to you. You reach out to it with a shaking hoof, and you down its content almost immediately. You don't put much thought into it, and you don't even realize you must have spilled half of it on the floor given how you forgot to even sit up.

But you drink it nonetheless.

The substance that you just drank, you know, is absolutely vile. It is liquid, but only barely, and under any other circumstance it would be as good as poison. This is the mixture you have prepared over the last few days, which is a crude combination of iron and calcium, metals and minerals, and other things besides that make up a pony's body on the most primitive of ways. Kept in liquid form by pure alchemy, and made edible only because your stomach forgot what kinds of things it should and shouldn't be able digest right now.

However, as much as this concoction might have been literal poison to anypony else, under any other circumstance, to your volatile and lush body this mixture is nothing less than building materials.

Because you will not only repair a portion of your body. The damage to your hindleg is so great that you will have to rebuild parts of it from scratch. And this foul ichor your just drank, that somehow share the same chemistry as dissolved muscles and sinew, will provide what you need.

And now that your body is ready, it is finally time to do the work.

You let go of the cup, and the sound of it hitting the floor barely registers on your overwhelmed senses.

You pick up the second and last item your brought with you, the hammer, and you clench it with your mouth.

You place the face of the hammer, that heavy and solid piece of metal, on the very center of your ruined flank.

You lift the hammer.

And then, you bring it down on your own flesh and bones, with as much strength and urgency as your thrilled body can muster.



[Forge roll: 55 + 13 (Magic) + 40 (FORGE, Level 4) + 30 (FORGE Reagent) = 138]

[Success]

WHAM​

And the hammer rings out as if it just struck solid metal. You don't feel anything at all on the point of impact, except for the faintest heat of forgework. And your flank is… entirely unmarred by the blow.

No, your flank is not unmarred. You can see it, right there where the hammer struck, that your flank is a little bent now. Like a piece of iron that has just begun to receive the attention of a smith. Like a clump of clay that just had the shape of a hoof pushed into it.

You see all of that, and you also feel a reaction coming from your own body. And the same way you just struck your body from the outside, you can feel the very matter that makes up your body pushing back from within. Your own body turning into a furnace, as it transforms the poisonous materials inside your stomach into useful building blocks for what you are about to create.

Your heart is pumping inside your chest. Your veins are on rushing with energy. Your entire being is thrilled.

And now that this cautious and experimental blow is done, you begin to work in earnest.

Because you know that this ritual allows for twenty, and exactly twenty, hammer blows with which you may reshape your body.

So, you better make the next nineteen count.

WHAM

WHAM

WHAM​

You strike at your flank. Muscles are bent like copper, bones are melted down like steel, and you reform all of them with the rhythmic and exacting blows of your hammer.

WHAM

WHAM

WHAM​

Your flank grows hot. Hot, hotter, and hotter still, until it is glowing red from the heat. The very ground underneath you begins to char, slightly, and steam arises from your body in place of sweat. But you carry on, reattaching nerves that had been misfiring for decades, and correcting joints that you didn't even realize were wrong.

WHAM

WHAM

WHAM​

You work, and you work, and you work, letting the blows of your hammer go even deeper than you expected. Because for all that your wound had left a broken crater on your flank, it had also hurt you inwardly. So, you let the heat of your work reach those other parts of yourself that you always knew were wrong, but couldn't exactly see by how much. The muscles of your tail, the third half of your digestion, your ability to create foals. You melt away the rust that had attached to them, and you allow them to flourish like they always should have.

WHAM​

Until finally, you notice… something.

…

Something that you have never noticed before. Something that you didn't even realize was there.

Something that, in all honesty, shouldn't be there.

Because although your flank is now healthy and pristine, and your cutie mark is glowing from the heat of your work, you can tell that… your work is not done yet.

Your body is fine, yes. It is more than fine. Your body is finally whole.

However, there is something else here. Something nestled over the bones of your flank, or perhaps right underneath your cutie mark, that you can't really name. That you can't really touch.

It is paper-thin, and so faint that it might as well not even exist. It is something that you wouldn't be able to reach even if you were to cut up your flank once again, be it with a sword or with a scalpel.

It is something that has always been there, ever since you were little. Ever since your flank was ruined.

It is… a memory.

But it is not your memory.

It is a memory that belongs to Velvet Covers.

But it is not your memory.

It is… your wound. Your very own wound. As if all the work you had done so far had no effect. After all, how can you say that you are healed when your wound is still right there?

This is not your memory, and it is not your wound.

But this is still an echo of Velvet Covers' wound.

And your flank, the pristine spot where your cutie mark exists, is still connected to it.

…

Because… because this wound, your wound, isn't just yours. It is something that you all share. Something that has always connected you.

…

And the only way you will be truly rid of it is if you shatter this connection.

So, you do the only thing that you can.

You rest the face of the hammer against your red-hot flank.

And then you raise your hammer.

Spoiler: There was once...

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

In fact, she loved him so much that she always wanted to impress him.

However, she was also aware of her own limitations. She was her father's daughter, after all. So, she didn't want to impress him with small gifts and tokens, drawings or well-wishes. No.

She wanted to make him proud. She wanted to prove to him that she was everything he wanted in a daughter, and more.

So, even at a young age, she always tried to outdo herself. Prove that she was better. Show that she was stronger.

Until one day, her eagerness outmatched her sense.

And while her family was visiting the Royal Zoo, she snuck out of where she should be, and into a place she shouldn't have gone.

There, she found a beast that was more than a match to a grown pony, and certainly lethal to a young filly like herself. And her flank was rent open by-

WHAM​

The images… the memories… the connection, finally snaps. It stops the moment the hammer hits your red-hot flank.

For a moment, you could feel it. You could see it. For a moment, those were your memories. But not anymore.

Not anymore.

You feel like you just broke a chain, that had been weighing you down your entire life. You feel like you just cut a thread on a spiderweb, that had you trapped for as long as you can remember.

You didn't break the source of those memories, no. In fact, you can tell that even now they are not truly gone. You almost feel like you can still touch them, if you really wanted to.

But that's the thing about it. They are no longer seared into your flesh. They are no longer dragging you down.

Because with a single blow of your hammer, you built a gate where there was once a road. You built a dam where there was once a river.

And the wound-like thing you have right underneath your cutie mark feels… thinner, now. Softer. Less real.

But it is still there.

You raise your hammer once again.

Spoiler: There was once...

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

But that… may have been the root of her problems.

Because she had always been a quiet filly. A well-behaved filly. A filly that, in truth, was perfect in every way. That had the full attention of her father as he raised and shaped into the heir he had always wanted.

In fact, she was so perfect that… no further heirs would be needed by the household.

She was so perfect that she made her mother irrelevant. And then resentful. And finally, wrathful.

And after years of being ignored, and of no longer being needed, and of not even existing as far as everypony else was concerned, the mother finally took things into her own hoofs.

So, the mother took that perfect little filly, and then went to the highest window of their tall mansion.

The filly didn't even cry out in fear, as she fell to her death. Because ultimately, she did not die. But her body was-

WHAM​

Another link broken. Another barrier built, to shield you from the weight.

You feel like you just closed a window, finally cutting off a chill that had been seeping into your body for as long as you can remember.

And then, you raise your hammer once again.

Spoiler: There was once...

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

In fact, she loved him so much that she couldn't say no to him.

She never asked for anything, she never complained, and she never stopped trying her best.

Even when she should have.

Because you see, she was not really a healthy filly. There was something wrong with her, something about her blood that was sick, that nopony was really aware of.

Well, nopony but herself. She could feel it, she could feel the pain a bit stronger every single day, bit by bit.

But she never asked for anything, and she never complained. She just loved her daddy, and didn't want to disappoint him, so she just kept on going.

Even when the etiquette lessons became painful.

Even as the dancing lessons grew more and more agonizing.

She just. Kept. Going.

Because it is normal for this to hurt, right? Of course it is. Of course her daddy knows that it hurts. So, she just has to stay quiet and keep doing it.

Of course it is normal to hurt when she walks.

Of course it is normal to hurt when she breathes.

The pain just means she is not working hard enough. Doubly so when her weak body means she is falling behind.

So, she kept pushing. She would not stop.

And since she would not stop, her body did. Because one day-

WHAM​

And you raise your hammer once again.

Spoiler: There was once...

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

And he also loved her back.

But maybe that was the problem.

Because you see, he loved her a little bit too much-

WHAM​

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers-

WHAM​

There was once a little filly named Velvet Cov-

WHAM​

There was once a little filly named Velvet C-

WHAM​

There was once a little filly named Velv-

WHAM​

Again, and again, and again, you seal the entrances, you shore the gaps. And for all that you cannot truly feel your soul, you can tell that it is becoming somewhat lighter. Freer. Less encumbered.

However, you also realize something else.

After all, if you look at a wound for too long, and if you take pains to slowly close it, then you will inevitably learn a little more about its shape. And as you learn more and more about your wound, you will inevitably come to realize what caused it.

So, as you close up the pains, and the traumas, and the sheer cacophony that had been ringing inside your ear your entire life, you slowly begin to notice… what is left.

As you measure, reshape and close this wound that you have on your very soul, you finally manage to reach… its root.

You can't say that you are remembering this just now. Because for some reason, you know that you never truly forgot about this. However, now that you are finally looking at it from this particular angle, and with the particular knowledge you have gathered, you think you finally… understand.

As you raise the hammer for the twentieth and final time, you finally… remember.



You remember that…



There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

She wasn't the perfect daughter, but she wasn't a bad daughter either. She just tried her best, as much as a filly could, even if she sometimes got things wrong.

But still, she loved her daddy, her daddy loved her back, and that was all that mattered to her.

However, she wasn't just a filly, she was also a noble. Which meant she always had the very best at her disposal, be it education or gifts. But that also meant she always had the heaviest expectations on her small back.

One day, when she was old enough, her daddy told her what the next step in her life would be. She would study on the very best school, that only admitted the most gifted unicorns, and she would become a great lady that would one day lead her family.

But of course, even though she was a noble, she still had to prove herself. So, she was given the best magic tutors that bits could buy, and was told to study her hardest for the upcoming admission exam.

And study she did. Through days and nights, along months, she did her best to learn how to use her little horn to conjure magics that even adults might have struggled with.

However, again, she was not a perfect daughter. She was not a bad daughter, but she was not perfect either.

And when the day of the admission exam came… she failed.

Granted, her father had applied her for the exam just when she reached the minimum age allowed. So of course his daughter had failed. But still, the disappointment stung, and she was told that she would try again on the next year.

So, she continued her studies, she tried again on the next year… and then she failed.

She failed, and she failed, the love of her daddy growing dimmer and colder with each passing year. Until she was too old to apply, and the daddy she loved so much was no longer able to speak to her without a harsh frown on his face.

And just like that she was… adrift. She didn't even have a cutie mark, but already she felt like she didn't belong anywhere.

After all, she was unfit to be a noble lady like her daddy wanted. She couldn't pass the exam like he told her to. So what good was she?

Well, "not very good" was the obvious answer. She was not very good. Perhaps even bad. Maybe even worse.

Still, she would not let herself be defeated so easily.

Because if she wasn't able to pass that exam, then she just had to do something even more impressive than that! And for all that she was just a filly, she already knew some magic, even though she didn't even have a cutie mark yet.

So, as she started sneaking into parts of the library she shouldn't, and as she started reading books she wasn't supposed to, she began to wonder what she could do to impress absolutely everypony and her daddy.

Well, the answer was obvious.

She just needed to create a spell that would give her cutie mark.

And then, History tumbled down as it usually does. Marred with coincidences and confluences and false ends that are just beginnings.

She found a book that was just old enough to have a certain kind of knowledge. The echo of an echo of something far older, but still present nonetheless.

She mispronounced certain words in just the right way, for her to speak something else entirely, in a long-dead language, with just the right tone.

Coincidence upon coincidence, accident upon accident, sewing with a thread so thin it might as well not exist.

And then she did the proper things, in the proper manner, in the proper order.

She did something so impressive, and so old, that not even the sages of her Era would know how to appreciate: she created a connection with herself. With all her other selves.

But of course, doing the bare minimum of a ritual is not without its dangers. She succeeded, in a way, but she also failed catastrophically in another. And just like a rope that had suddenly been tugged, her other selves who were now chained to that connection also suffered the consequence of her actions. All of them would eventually, and one way or the other, suffer a similar fate as that of the pillar they were now chained to.

And her cutie mark burst joyfully from her flank, in a shower of blood and meat and bones and-

WHAM​

…

"…"

And just like that, you finally fix a mistake that you have made long, long ago.

You wonder if, on that day, you became that filly.

You wonder if, on that day, that filly became you.

But whatever the answer may be, you realize now that it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter if all those events were orchestrated by powers older and greater than you can possibly imagine. It doesn't matter if that was all the highest and cruelest of coincidences.

It doesn't matter, because all of that… belongs to the past now.

And you are now focused on your future.

You pass a hoof over your flank, feeling how it is still warm to the touch. But more importantly, it is now perfect and unmarred, just like your left flank. Furthermore, your eyes stay on your right cutie mark for the longest moment. Because now that you think about it, you have never seen your right cutie mark before. Not while you were awake, at least.

And then you… stand up.

Your body feels light, your limbs feel healthy, and for the first time since you can remember you don't really feel any pain. Anywhere at all.

So, you stand up, and you just… head out. Towards the door, and the outside, and back to your home.

"I promised Stormy I'd show him this," you say.

And you only realize you forgot your dress in Jade's house when you are halfway towards the estate.



[All two rolls successful]

[Ritual successful]





You have performed a ritual. 20 bits have been removed from your inventory.

You have created, and consumed, a Level 3 Forge reagent. 45 bits have been removed from your inventory.

At long last, you have divested yourself from the maluses you had picked at the very beginning of the quest. Thanks to this, and through this, you have now gained a deeper understanding of what it means to be a Branded.

Your Brand is now better understood. As a pony Branded by the Secret Histories, you have realized that you may benefit from both (personal and invitation) Sacrament options of Secret Histories. You assume, perhaps correctly, that ponies Branded in other Lores may do the same for their own affinities.

Velvet Covers is no longer "Scarred", your health has been updated to 3/3.

Spoiler: Author's Note

Author's note: You will continue to wear dresses, more out of habit than anything, and you won't "parade" your healed limb around. In fact, you even snuck into your house to dress up before sneaking back out and returning through the front door. Still, you will no longer be liable for keeping your scar hidden.

Furthermore, I'll start working on an "administrative update" that will focus on getting some things in order, and maybe opening a vote for the coming week.

 

[Witherbrine2671]

This is some damn good writing, seriously. I also can't wait to see what the Secret Histories Sacrament has in store.

 

[Greymere]

Welcome back Bird!

Firstly: woohoo! We're no longer made out of tissue paper! And of course, our luck being what it is, we didn't even end up needing the Forge reagent

Secondly:

Your Brand is now better understood. As a pony Branded by the Secret Histories, you have realized that you may benefit from both (personal and invitation) Sacrament options of Secret Histories. You assume, perhaps correctly, that ponies Branded in other Lores may do the same for their own affinities.

Click to shrink...

YESSSSSS! WE GET BOTH! No longer must we waffle over whether to do our personal Sacrament or Baldomare's invitation! We can just do whichever is most convenient to do first and do the other one later!

 

[Venerable Ro]

Your Brand is now better understood. As a pony Branded by the Secret Histories, you have realized that you may benefit from both (personal and invitation) Sacrament options of Secret Histories. You assume, perhaps correctly, that ponies Branded in other Lores may do the same for their own affinities.

Click to shrink...

Well hot dog! How about that. Now can we go on an idyllic walk?

Gorgeous chapter, I loved every moment of it.

 

[Greymere]

Also, just to point out: getting Baldomare's SH Sacrament first, and therefore reaching Secret Histories 5, means we'd be making the rolls for our personal Sacrament with a higher bonus! Which would be pretty nice considering the DC started at 110 and is only going to get more difficult

 

[DelightedOne]

Yes, for better or for worse, today is a day that will end in change.

Click to shrink...

Oh my Glob yes, give me the Velvet lore.

[Grail roll: 50 + 13 (Magic) + 40 (GRAIL, Level 4) = 103]

[Success]

Click to shrink...

Grail roll succedeed, good.

[Forge roll: 55 + 13 (Magic) + 40 (FORGE, Level 4) + 30 (FORGE Reagent) = 138]

[Success]

Click to shrink...

You know, I'm starting to get frustrated about these high dc rolls we make reagents for that end up not actually needing the reagents to succeed(waste of bits).

Oh, we are seeing multiple versions of what happened, that is fitting considering her Brand.

Wait, there is also a "main" version...

She just needed to create a spell that would give her cutie mark.

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Called it. I knew she must have done some magic to get herself crippled trying to impress her father.

She did something so impressive, and so old, that not even the sages of her Era would know how to appreciate: she created a connection with herself. With all her other selves.

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... SHE DID A LORE RITUAL AS A FILLY AND PARTIALLY SUCCEDEED?!?!?!

Wtf, "Velvet Covers luck is bullshit" has been going on since she was a kid?

Your Brand is now better understood. As a pony Branded by the Secret Histories, you have realized that you may benefit from both (personal and invitation) Sacrament options of Secret Histories. You assume, perhaps correctly, that ponies Branded in other Lores may do the same for their own affinities.

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*SCREAMS* Bird, you didn't. You let us take two Sacraments for Secret Histories.

Okay, this changes everything. If we can get 2 we can get Baldomare's first and then work on Velvet's if we don't have spare actions this turn.

 

[Greymere]

... SHE DID A LORE RITUAL AS A FILLY AND PARTIALLY SUCCEDEED?!?!?!

Wtf, "Velvet Covers luck is bullshit" has been going on since she was a kid?

Click to shrink...

Not only did she manage to perform a Lore ritual as a child with no Lore knowledge and succeed-with-consequences, she got her cutie mark from it!

Like I know we had brought up the possibility before about lying that our cutie mark/talent is why we're so good at the Lores but like... that's apparently actually true?

...

...

Oh my god.

The reason Velvet has an affinity with all of the Lores is because SH-Velvet connected herself to all the other Velvets.

The reason our Lore is so bullshit is because Velvet Nat100'd a Lore ritual as a child.

Edit: Oh and, because kid-Velvet's luck wasn't bullshit enough, she did it on accident. The book didn't even have the actual ritual in it!

 

[DelightedOne]

Not only did she manage to perform a Lore ritual as a child with no Lore knowledge and succeed-with-consequences, she got her cutie mark from it!

Like I know we had brought up the possibility before about lying that our cutie mark/talent is why we're so good at the Lores but like... that's apparently actually true?

Click to shrink...

The irony of the Loremaster's Special Talent being the Lores is not lost to us.

Maybe we can use that as an actual excuse to the Sunhorse now we know it is true?

 

[Greymere]

The irony of the Loremaster's Special Talent being the Lores is not lost to us.

Maybe we can use that as an actual excuse to the Sunhorse now we know it is true?

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Wouldn't that be a weird conversation to have?

"Hey so this new magic system we're discovering? Yeah, turns out I accidentally performed a ritual using it as a filly which subconsciously linked me to all the alternative versions of myself and gave me my cutie mark! Also it kind of exploded my leg, but I'm totally better now."

 

[Solace2117]

Your Brand is now better understood. As a pony Branded by the Secret Histories, you have realized that you may benefit from both (personal and invitation) Sacrament options of Secret Histories. You assume, perhaps correctly, that ponies Branded in other Lores may do the same for their own affinities.

Click to shrink...

Update was fantastic. Of course Velvet would have somehow cast a lore ritual decades before she even knew what they were and the views into other histories are haunting and beautiful as always.
Never mind all that though cause WE CAN GET TWO SH SACRAMENTS. Like everyone else I'm super excited about this, cause while I preferred the personal one this always seemed like the one that people wanted both, myself included, and the cost was one we could pay without sacrificing more then we were willing to.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

The reason Velvet has an affinity with all of the Lores is because SH-Velvet connected herself to all the other Velvets.

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It is almost as if someone had planned these plot points in advance, innit?

 

[Shaper47]

I honestly let out an "oh my =o" when I saw this.

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Well narratively it works by call the attention of higher powers of the lores.

Narratively Comet called upon influence/attention towards the Colonel part of edge.

So for Velvet there was only one power that really fit her for calling their attention.

Thank you for sharing this! This was an awesome telling of the combat.

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Thanks!

Still not 'What of' but I'm proud of it.

Been kinda busy but I'll try for another omake soon.

It's pretty much Hearths Warming still in quest time afterall.

 

[Greymere]

@OurLadyOfWires I think these were the only somewhat-important pings I made while you were busy, pretty much both on the same topic (finding a Level 7 book). Obviously the revelation that we can get both SH Sacraments will probably shift schedules around, but the general question of "could we look for a Level 7 book in the Royal Library and if so, how risky would it be" I think is still relevant.

@OurLadyOfWires hey Bird, quick question: in the credit options, we can send somepony (I assume we can't credit Velvet's actions) out to search for a Level 7 book via non-RotT means. Is that something we can just do/write-in under normal circumstances?

Because trying to come up with possible schedules if we wanted to fit in both scrying a Moth artifact and finding Baldomare's Level 7 book next turn, I had a thought: since we're probably going to want Baldomare to channel a SH Influence for us next turn to get our personal Sacrament finished, we could maybe look for a Level 7 book via the power of Lots of Effective SH Lore (I think it'd be a +93 - 95 w/ Influence and AotL?) while Jade or Selene, if we manage to successfully get around to studying the Lantern artifact, scry for a Moth artifact with a Level 4 Lantern reagent.

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Unrelated to the current "talking to a brick wall", but I had an idea regarding the Level 7 book. Possibly a terrible idea. But.

I wonder if we could find a Level 7 book in the Royal Library. There's probably some really old stuff in there, right?

We'd have to sneak in, and I assume stealing a book from the Royal Library would probably end up being an expedition. And it would probably go terribly if it went wrong.

But on the other hand, we have quite a lot of Moth between Velvet, Selene, and Biedde (total of +55 after Selene teaching, which would go up to +105 w/ DoA's expedition bonus, or +40/+90 w/o Biedde), and we could always call a Moth Influence just to be sure.

Is that a possibility, @OurLadyOfWires?

Edit: Also the reason I am assuming stealing rather than, say, us just getting permission from Cadance to go in and find and take one at our leisure is that I kiiind of assume we wouldn't be allowed to just. Permanently take books out of the Royal Library. But if we can, that would be much easier, especially since we're probably going to be carrying around another max SH Influence next turn anyway, for SH Sacrament purposes. (pretty please?)

Click to shrink...

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

Absolutely incredible update. After a short time away, you've come back swinging (and with a hammer this time around!)

It is almost as if someone had planned these plot points in advance, innit?

Click to shrink...

Masterful work. The Branded revelation certainly changes things. I think one of my favorite parts of this quest is the slow trickle of information and how, so often, the learning of new details and mechanics can so radically change plans.

 

[Greased]

We really are ourselves where ever we go. I wonder if our connection made swapping with ourselves easier.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are Commissioner Velvet Covers.

And right now, you are learning a few harsh truths. Although, unlike how it happens most of the time, you aren't getting them from Baldomare. Still, these are unpleasant realities nonetheless.

The first thing you are learning is that, unfortunately, you are a public figure.

The second thing is that newspapers make a living of publishing scandalous headlines about public figures.

"Goodness gracious... I wonder if Cadance has to worry about these things," you say to yourself, tutting every now and then, as you read through the newspaper you have on your office desk. "I should ask her about this. Well, after we're done talking about more important things."

You say that because, on the one hoof, you have not yet met Cadance ever since you returned to Canterlot. Not because you don't want to, quite on the contrary, but you quite literally haven't had the time yet. She is, after all, a very busy mare. Still, you have not yet met Cadance and you are sure she wants to catch up with you after the whole "you almost died" incident.

But on the other hoof, the second important-thing you need to tell her is that... well, you want to show her your flank! In the most wholesome way possible of course. But still, you now have proof that you can even heal something like your leg, and she has a husband who lost a horn. You absolutely would like to see her reaction to that, and then see how you can progress from that point onward. After all, introducing Cadance to the Lores, or at least making her aware of their existence, is high on your priorities list.

Regardless, and back to the topic on hoof, you are still reading a newspaper that is making some scandalous claims about you.

"But really, where do they even get the imagination to create these things? The sheer leaps of logic this article requires is..."

Because yes, the Lunar Bureau has recently arrested a very important daughter of the Greenhoof family.

And yes, the Greenhoof family is the greatest and most notorious earth pony family in Equestria.

And yes, your own family happens to have a few hoofs in the agricultural business.

But to string those three points together? And make some... gobbledygook claim that you are orchestrating these events to help your family? That you are... you narrow your eyes as you read one of the lines, "clearly using the Lunar Bureau to advance her own nepotistic interests"?

You aren't even angry. Well, maybe a little angry. But you are more shocked than anything else.

Furthermore, a chill runs down your spine as you remember how you very recently told Mayor Mare that Ponyville should become a farming town... you honestly hope this story dies down before anypony catches wind of that.

"Well, Shining said this kind of thing is a part of the job," you say to yourself, lighting up your horn and tossing the newspaper on the nearby trash. "Besides, I have more important things to do."

And with that, you focus on the other report you have sitting on your desk.

Specifically, you open the latest inventory from your evidence department. Going to the last few pages where certain items, the ones collected during the latest investigation in Manehattan, are listed.

Because there are certain items here that you would like the Bureau to focus on, and a few items you would rather the Bureau completely forgets about.

...

Time to decide how you will play this.



[Decide how you will manage the evidence that the Bureau has. Be it the evidence that incriminates you, or the ones that you planted.]

Spoiler: Important notes

All the evidence you have, know about or planted is freely accessible by your investigators so everypony can perform their jobs better. To be clear, that doesn't mean evidence can be easily stolen or misplaced. But still, you can safely assume the items listed below can (and will) eventually be seen, touched or studied by a few competent ponies. Especially given how they were found in Manehattan, and your Constables are about to crack down on that place.

So, unless you put your hoof on any one of these scales, there is a chance that any one of these items will be analyzed, ignored, or focused on by ponies of the Bureau. And if that happens, one way or the other, whatever they find out or conclude might spread through word of mouth and reports.

But before any of that happens, you can influence it yourself.

Of course, none of these options guarantee any kind of success, and they can always backfire. Like everything else in this quest.

Finally, and just so you know, at first I wanted to be more clear and descriptive about the options. At first, I was going to say that "this options is suspicious", or "this option might open you to certain risks". However, all the options carry some sort of risk or caveat to them, so the warnings just became redundant. The bottom line is that you can't know what the future holds. So, as always, you can only decide what you want to do, and try your best for it to work out. Furthermore, you have recently gained a lot of respect from the Bureau, thanks to the blackmail material Mareinette found for you. So, if nothing else, you might have some reputation to spare even if something goes south.

You have planted a very basic and broad "primer" about the Lores. Shall you put your hoof on this particular scale?

[] (Lore-Champion) Ask for this evidence to be brought to your desk. Pretend to read it, and that you are interested in it. Make a point of telling everypony that "it works".
(Attempt to promote the Lore primer you planted to the Bureau at large. Suspicious, perhaps even risky, but the most aggressive way to spread the Lores into the Bureau)

[] (Lore-Promote) Ask for this evidence to be brought to you, and show some interest in it. But be subtle about it. Your agents are sharp, so you are sure they will notice whatever hints you drop.
(Attempt to promote the Lore primer, but to a lesser degree. You will actively try to spread the Lores into the Bureau, but as cautiously as possible, and in a way that, hopefully, can't really be tracked back to you)

[] (Lore-Neutral) Ignore this piece of evidence. If that catches anypony's eyes, you will be glad for it. If not, it is what it is. But you know, from personal experience, that the Lores tend to attract those suitable for it.
(You will not do anything about this piece of evidence. And given how many adepts were introduced to the Lores by "stumbling" upon a forgotten book that discusses it, perhaps this might be the most natural way for this to go)

[] (Lore-Suppress) A short missive labeling the Primer as containing "black magic" will see it moved to the same section where you can store cursed items. Nopony will ever stumble on that if it is there.
(Maybe planting this evidence was a bad idea. You will get rid of it, and the Bureau will be none the wiser)



You have planted a very urgent warning about Windigos in Manehattan. Shall you put your hoof on this particular scale?

[] (Windigos-Alert) "This is serious, even if it potentially false. I want to be informed immediately if you find anything approaching this description in Manehattan."
(Should the Constables find any windigo jars during their action in Manehattan, you will be brought to the scene to intervene)

[] (Windigos-Cautious) "This sounds like a bomb. Treat it like a bomb."
(Your Constables will treat any windigo jars they find like a particularly dangerous and cursed artifact. Specifically, they will attempt to return it safely to the Lunar Bureau. But alone, and without your presence)

[] (Windigos-Ignore) "Ravings of a madpony, whoever wrote it. Just follow procedure."
(Maybe planting this evidence was a bad idea. The Bureau will simply act as if it never existed)



The Bureau has located several Lore-writings, which can one way or the other be traced back to you. Shall you put your hoof on this particular scale?

[] (Evidence-Burn) You are the Commissioner. If you want something on your desk, you get it. And if it disappears after that, nopony but a Princess would be allowed to question it.
(Get rid of it, in a ultimate and final way. Of course, at least one pony, the one in charge of keeping the evidence safe, will notice)

[] (Evidence-Downplay) Yes, they are the best detectives in Equestria. But they can't chase anything if you keep their leashes on. If this ever catches anypony's attention, you will be there to downplay it.
(Do not touch the evidence, but keep a close eye on it. If anypony ever becomes suspicious about it, or tries to follow this trail, you will actively try to intervene)

[] (Evidence-Ignore) You will just pretend this problem doesn't exist.
(You will forget about this evidence, and hope nopony ever catches wind of it. There is a cartload of other things they might focus on and investigate, so you will just hope this is not one of them)





Biedde has brought you a body, and you have used a body. You have created one Shattered Risen, that will expire at the end of Turn 22.

One day, it just snapped in half. Crumbled into black dust the same color of the metal it was made of. And for all that you feel haunted by losing an asset like this, you are also thankful you did not need it to begin with. One of your Wrong Keys (set to expire at the end of Turn 20) has been destroyed.

This map had an expiration date. That date has passed. The "Safe Ritual Spot" Baldomare had found for you has decayed, and has been removed from your inventory.

Finally, vote in plans, twenty-four hour moratorium so people catch wind that there has been an update. I was going to offer the "Book search" vote as well, but it wouldn't connect well with the plan. So, we can do it later. But I still wanted to write this because I like having a definite threadmarked post where I declare that an item was added (or removed) from your inventory.

Good week to us all.

 

[Shaper47]

you narrow your eyes as you read one of the lines, "clearly using the Lunar Bureau to advance her own nepotistic interests"?

Click to shrink...

And here a was thinking of an omake where Covers points her brother and uncle at the town meeting so they know about the potential for investment in farming. Along with a heads up that they won't need to worry about the Greenhoof competition.

[] (Evidence-Downplay) Yes, they are the best detectives in Equestria. But they can't chase anything if you keep their leashes on. If this ever catches anypony's attention, you will be there to downplay it.
(Do not touch the evidence, but keep a close eye on it. If anypony ever becomes suspicious about it, or tries to follow this trail, you will actively try to intervene

Click to shrink...

Seems best to me given our influence.

 

[Steady Gaze]

Okay, my mind went crazy with a possible Twilight recovery so here is the thing.

Click to shrink...

And to be abundantly honest, I truly share the sentiment.

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please

Spoiler: Mention of child abuse

My genuine reaction:

There was once a little filly named Velvet Covers, who loved her daddy very much.

Click to shrink...

So wait… there was no child abuse?? Well, at least, no physical abuse involved in getting our scar? This was the only line we got of our backstory when Mareinette cured our fear trait, so I thought this was heavily implying that our dad gave us the scar by beating or stabbing us. Well, that shows what I know of foreshadowing!

I noticed no (grammatical) errors in the most recent couple of updates.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

@OurLadyOfWires I think these were the only somewhat-important pings I made while you were busy, pretty much both on the same topic (finding a Level 7 book). Obviously the revelation that we can get both SH Sacraments will probably shift schedules around, but the general question of "could we look for a Level 7 book in the Royal Library and if so, how risky would it be" I think is still relevant.

Click to shrink...

So, to answer the two questions you quoted.

I can almost guarantee a Level 7 book will be in an expedition. That is, a dangerous and faraway expedition. So I'm not too hot about looking in the Royal Library.

And just to be clear, asking a character to search for said book "Without using RotT" translates to the action of "Searching for an expedition", but with a focus on legends and expeditions sites that relate to some old kind of book.
To make a very crude example, asking Baldomare to search for a Level 7 book without using RotT would make her do a very serious and real research about the last known location of (for an IRL example) the tablet where the ten commandments of christianity were written. Stuff like that. Search for "place with old book" with the practical/mechanical outcome of delivering you an expedition site.

So wait… there was no child abuse??

Click to shrink...

I mean, if you think the other Velvets don't count

 

[Limabot]

please

Spoiler: Mention of child abuse

My genuine reaction:

So wait… there was no child abuse?? Well, at least, no physical abuse involved in getting our scar? This was the only line we got of our backstory when Mareinette cured our fear trait, so I thought this was heavily implying that our dad gave us the scar by beating or stabbing us. Well, that shows what I know of foreshadowing!

I noticed no (grammatical) errors in the most recent couple of updates.

Click to shrink...

To be fair, even in the cases where Velvet's father didn't directly cause her injury (like the Heart or Grail ones), his high expectations and pressure upon her were the primary factors that drove either Velvet or those around her to make the risky decisions that ultimately cost her leg.

 

[spiderhellian]

It's delightful to have you back, Bird, and an absolute banger of an update to drop with it!

The culmination of a decision taken in the Quest's, what, second update? A mystery scarcely unravelled for literal years.

What an answer! And what a delivery!

The scene-setting was great, another glimpse at how lore-steeped Velvet is. I also appreciated the juxtaposition of the ritual's simplicity (a cup, a hammer) with its profound implications — very fitting for this one-circle ritual. Enjoyed the imagery of both wound and the hammering as well.

And then the reveal! A glimpse at other Velvets, and an answer to a question I hadn't even thought I ask, an explanation to a phenomenon I wasn't even wondering about. This just felt perfect.

… Man, between mothering Wolves and her original sin forging a chain and ensuring a wound, SH!Velvet really is the evil Velvet. Oh well, we're rooting for her anyways

---

And you finally reveal your flank to the world.

Your right hindleg is… a mess. It is a familiar mess, but it is still something unsightly and, quite frankly, disgusting. There is nothing visceral to see like exposed flesh or a bleeding wound, but still, it is clearly something that would cause a normal pony to gasp in shock if they ever saw it.

For starters, you have no cutie mark there to speak of. In fact, you almost don't have a flank to begin with. The coat on that part of your body is hard and devoid of fur, but not at all like a smooth scar. Instead, your hard flank is cratered and flawed by the absence of certain muscles, like the trunk of a sickly tree that was cut by an axe or perhaps struck by lightning.

It wouldn't be wrong to say that you have a crater on your flank. In fact, as your eyes travel down from your flank and towards your hindleg, you even spot the familiar place where there is a hole through your skin. One that wouldn't look out of place on the shapeshifting creatures that have been stalking Equestria, or perhaps in some other kind of unnatural monster.

Click to shrink...

Man, this was disturbing. Deeply grotesque. No wonder the wound had the impact it did, honestly, I'm almost impressed Rarity wasn't more stunned when we first showed it to her.

Because… because this wound, your wound, isn't just yours. It is something that you all share. Something that has always connected you.

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Oh man. Oh mannnnnn. I love how perfectly this fits, poor other Velvets.

There, she found a beast that was more than a match to a grown pony, and certainly lethal to a young filly like herself. And her flank was rent open by-

Click to shrink...

…So when I was first reading the chapter, my night mode was on so I kinda missed the the coloured text. Which made me very surprised! I was thinking huh, I guess this works, a little bit of an anti-climax, I guess things are simple sometimes?

Hahahaha I'm glad it didn't turn out that way.

Because if she wasn't able to pass that exam, then she just had to do something even more impressive than that! And for all that she was just a filly, she already knew some magic, even though she didn't even have a cutie mark yet.

Click to shrink...

Taking on the impossible to achieve the impossible… and, alas, failing, like so many do. A perfect encapsulation of the way the quest blends cultist simulator and MLP.

And then she did the proper things, in the proper manner, in the proper order.

Click to shrink...

Velvet and being precocious at the lores, name a more iconic duo.

And just like a rope that had suddenly been tugged, her other selves who were now chained to that connection also suffered the consequence of her actions. All of them would eventually, and one way or the other, suffer a similar fate as that of the pillar they were now chained to.

And her cutie mark burst joyfully from her flank, in a shower of blood and meat and bones and-

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Y'know, given the way that Cutie Marks are Harmony-aspected, I wonder if this had consequences on that side of things as well…

You could make the argument this wound is why Laughter and Joy and Honesty and all the rest have been a little more absent from Vwlvet's life than most of Equestria.

your ability to create foals

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Gives a whole new meaning to what Silky is to Velvet. And what her other daughters are too.

"I promised Stormy I'd show him this," you say.

And you only realize you forgot your dress in Jade's house when you are halfway towards the estate.

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……I also really hope it doesn't give a whole new meaning to this, but I'm not going to worry about it

---

And after all that, a vote! Dilemmas! Reaping what we have sown! Uncertain consequences!

Oh yeah, we're back.

 

[Zxzx24]

Begin the RITES OF AWAKENING