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

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are Selene, and you have a problem.



"Silky Stream, would you please see me after class?"



You have a very big problem.



The bell rings, slightly startling you and indicating that another day of school has finally ended. All around you the other kids start packing up their things and joining together in groups as they make their way out of the classroom. You curl up slightly behind your desk, out of habit, trying to look as uninteresting as possible while the small crowd of children distances itself from you.

Nopony that you don't know has tried talking to you today, thankfully.

However, you can't help but notice that the one pony you do know is also not…

You feel yet another wave of worry wash over you as you look towards Silky Stream.

On any other day, on any other normal day that is, this would be the moment when Silky Stream would land on your desk.

Normally that would mark the beginning of a very excited (and one-sided) conversation of what the two of you ought to do with your free time after school. She would usually suggest all sorts of terrifying activities, things like introducing you to her friends or outright exploring the town, all while excitedly hopping up and down on your desk. Said "conversation" would only end when you managed to salvage all your notebooks and other school materials from underneath her hoofs, having to time your attempts at grabbing them every time she jumped.

Yes, that is how things were supposed to go.

But these last few days have not been exactly… normal.

You look towards Silky, feeling your lips purse with concern and trepidation as you watch her dejectedly get up from her chair and walk towards Ms. Cheerilee. This is the second time this week that she is called by your teacher after classes. And that… is the problem you are currently facing.

Well, Silky being called by your teacher is not exactly the problem, of course. Your problem is what is causing that.

Namely, the fact that you have not seen her smile at all these last few days.

She has been acting a lot less… like herself, ever since Mrs. Velvet had her accident.



You shudder slightly as you remember it, trying to do your best not to recall Mrs. Velvet's expression when you and Silky found her on the corridor.

You try not to remember how… accusing her gaze felt, wide-eyed and almost feral as it was, when she looked at you while Mr. Stormchaser tried to hold her back. It is something you won't tell anypony, not even Silky, but you are convinced that you somehow caused whatever ill happened to Mrs. Velvet.



You shake your head, pushing those thoughts aside. What happened that day doesn't matter. Not right now.

What matters right now is that you are watching you best frie-… is that you are watching your sister silently march towards Ms. Cheerilee, her eyes cast downwards to the point where she isn't even looking at where she is going.

And you know deep down that you have to do… you have to do something about that!

But that's the thing. That's the worst part about this whole situation. You don't know what you can do to make Silky feel better.

And not knowing what to do makes you feel all sorts of bad.

You feel bad because you know you know your sister is hurting. You feel bad because you know that, if the tables were turned, Silky would know what to do in order to help you. You feel bad because… because up until now your sister has always been there for you.

But now that she needs you help you are not there for her.

Another wave of… something, that feels a little bit like cold and a little bit like loneliness, washes over you as you see Ms. Cheerilee trying to talk to Silky.

The cold inside your chest grows into something almost painful. Watching your sister be that unresponsive doesn't just feel strange.

It feels wrong.

You have to do something about this.



- - -



"Great", you nervously mumble to yourself as you spy your surroundings from your hiding place behind a few bushes, "you got this far… Now what?"

You can't really say you have a plan. A plan usually implies the existence of steps and whatnots, or at least of an idea of how to get things done.

So no, you don't have a plan. You have a vague idea of what you want to do, but you really don't have the slightest clue of how you are supposed to do it.

But well, at least you got this far.

You are currently in a… in a very large garden? You are definitely inside a garden of sorts, like the one you have on your house but much, much bigger. All the trees look the same, or at least they look to be of the same species, but none of them have any fruits on them, so you are not sure what this place is supposed to be.

Getting here involved a lot of things. It involved leaving the schoolhouse without Silky, which made you feel a bit bad. Then it involved telling a lie to Soft Sweeps, saying that you would be heading home ahead of them while she waited for Silky, which also made you feel bad.

And then it involved you running away and hiding from Soft Sweeps once she insisted that the two of you should wait for Silky together, and that she couldn't let you go home alone.

Doing that last part made you feel extremely bad.

But once you managed to evade the flying mare, although you are still not exactly sure of how you managed it, you were then able to focus on your real objective.

Namely, looking for help. A very specific source of help.

Your "plan", if you can even call it a plan, is basically to ask Silky's friends for help.

It makes sense, really. Or at least it made sense when you first thought about it. You haven't lived with Silky for that long, truth be told, so there is a chance that her other friends know her better than you do. And even if they don't, you at least hope that they will be able to help you somehow.

However, doing that is a lot easier said than done!

Finding them was not particularly hard, with all the excited shouting they did every now and then. Following them without being noticed was also not hard either, much to your surprise. You managed to follow them all the way to this large fenced-off garden of sorts, until they entered the wooden house you are currently looking at.

But now you are being faced with a problem that you don't know how to solve.

"The hay am I supposed to do now? Just knock on their door and ask for help?" you say out loud, nervously eyeing the wooden house. "I mean, I don't even know their names, how is that ever going to work?"

You can almost picture it, a scene of yourself knocking on their door and being answered by the orange-ish pegasus girl. That moment is then followed by long stretches of awkward silence, until she slams the door close on your face.

Yeah… knocking on their door definitely won't work.

You don't… talk to other ponies. Now that you think about it you are not sure if you have talked to anypony at school besides Silky and Ms. Cheerilee, the latter out of necessity because she is your teacher.

Other ponies have tried talking to you, you vaguely recall. You think you can remember the first few weeks at school being filled with tense moments as you tried to vanish from the classroom as quickly as possible every time the bell rang. Sometimes you managed to do it, other times you didn't and you would be accosted by several kids you didn't know.

Eventually they gave up, of course, as soon as they realized how utterly boring you were.

The fact remains, however, that you still don't know how to do this whole… introducing yourself thing. You have no idea how Silky manages to do it so naturally, being able to get along with basically everypony, but…

Well, but Silky isn't here right now to help you, is she?

You take a deep breath, steeling yourself with what little courage you have. You can't stay like this anymore. You can't keep hiding behind Silky forever, or else you won't be able to help her when situations like this arise.

Yes, you don't know the first thing about talking to other ponies. Yes, you know that you are quiet, and boring, and that they will probably laugh at you or end up not liking you. With good reason, you are sure.

But they are still Silky's friends, aren't they? Even if they end up not liking you, they are still going to want to help her, right?

You surely hope so. And if helping your sister means that you have to knock on that door and… and talk to them, then that's what you are going to do, no matter how frightening that might sound.

With that, you raise your head and confidently march out of the bushes where you were hiding, making your way towards the wooden house.

You think you hear something as you get closer, the sound of the girls talking. You think you hear the two kids that went with you to that music show on Hearth's Warming Eve.

You can already imagine those same voices laughing at you, as soon as you knock on their door.

But no matter. You have to do this. You have to ask them for help. For Silky!

With that, you finally reach the front door of the wooden house, raising a hoof to knock on it. The voice of the five ponies talking inside of it so loud that you can almost make out their conversation.

And then you…

And then you…!

…



You can't do it.



- - -



You pace back and forth, your mind working as hard as it can as you try to figure out what you are supposed to do next.

You know that you have to help Silky, and you know that you can't do it on your own. But still, you can't just walk up to their front door and ask them for help.

It just won't work!

Like… it's not just a matter of whether "if" they will like you or not. No, you are sure that it's a matter of "when" they will realize that they don't like you. You have absolutely nothing to offer them! You don't talk much, you don't have any hobbies or abilities, you are not really good at anything.

It really makes you wonder how Silky manages to put up with you, now that you think about it.

Regardless, you are adamant about it. You absolutely will not knock on their wooden house and ask them for help.

That said, you haven't given up on asking for their help. You just gave up on doing it… directly.



"Alright girls, the Cutie Mark Crusaders club meeting is now in session! And today we are going t-"

"*Ahem*. Excuse me? Me and Silver Spoon already have our cutie marks?"

"We've been through this Diamond. Or what, you want her to say 'Cutie Mark Crusaders and annexes'?"

"The hay does annexes means?"



Your ears perk up as you hear the muffled conversation coming from underneath your hoofs, and you gently lower yourself so as to hear it better.

Thankfully, the roof of the wooden house, which you now know to be their "clubhouse" is somewhat thin. Thin enough for you to be able to hear them rather clearly.

But well… if only there was something useful for you to listen to. They have basically been arguing for the last few minutes, ever since you silently climbed your way here.



"And who put you in charge?"

"Nopony's in charge. This is a club! We are all friends!"

"Well, if nopony is in charge then I propose we change the club's name. I sure don't need to crusade for my cutie mark anymore."

"What? No way! The name stays the way it is!"

"Yeah, stop pushing for that. Besides, there's five of us here, won't we just out-vote you or something?"

"What? Why? It's the Cutie Mark Crusaders, isn't it? So obviously only ponies with cutie marks can vote. The three of you are more like… Cutie Mark Squires, or something."



You immediately start hearing the noise of ponies fighting.



"I'll show you squire!"

"Ouch! Not th-, not the mane!"

"Will you two please STOP!"



Until you hear a high-pitched shout.

The word "shout" doesn't really do it justice. You are outside of their clubhouse, on top of its roof, and you could feel a slight jab of pain as your ears rang for a few moments. So you have no idea of just how powerful that must have been to whoever was near its source.

The fighting did stop, though.



"It's always like this, every day. You two always end up fighting and we never get anywhere, so for once can we please focus on what really matters?"

You think you hear a mumbled response of sorts… you are not really sure, you ears are still ringing a little bit.

"Great. Now, does anypony have any idea of what the hay is wrong with Silky these last few days?"



Your eyes go slightly wide at that, a small shiver of excitement running through your back as you hear the five girls starting to discuss about that.

Great! Maybe they already plan on helping Silky! If that's the case then perhaps you won't even have to directly recruit their help.

But still… they probably know how to help Silky but have no idea of what her problem is. You, on the other hoof, know what her problem is, but don't know what to do about it. So how…?

How can you let them know what happened back at home… without talking to them?

Their voices are too low now, to the point where you can't hear them no matter how much you strain your ears. You get up on your hoofs and once again begin to silently pace around the roof of the clubhouse.

Maybe you could write a note and throw it into the clubhouse? You have parchment and ink on your saddle bag, although you left it in the bushes where you were previously hiding. But still, how would you deliver them the note? It's not like the wooden clubhouse has any chimneys, for obvious reasons.

Throwing the note through a window, perhaps? The place has a few glass windows, and if none of them are open you can just find a rock an-


*CREAK*


Your train of thought is immediately halted as you feel one of your hoofs sink through the wooden roof, realizing too late that the particular plank of wood where you just stepped was perhaps too thin for you.

The world immediately does a somersault around you as the rest of your body follows your forelegs into the impromptu hole.

Everything goes dark for a split second, as you fall on your back and feel the air being pushed out of your body. It takes you a few moments to realize that the sound you are hearing is, in fact, the surprised yelps of the girls whose reunion you have literally just crashed into.

And when your dizziness finally clears, you realize you are lying on the ground and looking up, a circle of five fillies standing around you with varying degrees of shock and surprise written on their faces.

"Is… isn't this Selene…?" the yellow one asks, the pink and white ones slowly nodding in response right after.

And you… you have no idea what to do now.



- - -



It was… far worse than you thought it would be.

You stuttered. A lot.

They laughed at you. A lot.

But you stuttered because you were nervous. However, they did listen you out. They helped you calm down even, and then they listened to everything you had to say.

And they laughed because…

Well, because you embarrassedly described, at length, how you had nervously stalked them all the way to their farm (Apple Bloom, the yellow one, told you it's an orchard, not a garden), proceeded to agonize for almost an hour about whether you should knock on their door or not, and then climbed the roof of their clubhouse.

So yes, you can understand why they laughed at that. Not at you, but at the situation as a whole.

And in the end, they… they did something that you did not, in all honesty, thought they would do.

They offered to help you.

And that is how you ended guiding the five of them all the way back to your house. Because you have no idea of how things might work out, but you dearly hope that this is the sort of problem that you can, quite literally, "throw friends at" until it goes away.

Besides, if the six of you don't manage to cheer Silky up, you honestly don't know what will.

"Wa-… hang on a… you live here?!"

Diamond Tiara's rather abrupt question snaps you out of your thoughts, just as you were about to cross the gates into the garden. You turn around to look at her, and you realize that she is rather… shocked?

They all are, for some reason. You realize that all five of them have stopped walking a few steps behind you and are currently looking wide-eyed at the house. Diamond and Silver seem particularly surprised for some reason.

"Of course I live here, why would I bring you all the way out of town if I didn't?" you ask, a slight tinge of nervousness coming to your voice.

Did you do something wrong, perhaps? Maybe you live too far from the city and they're thinking of how much they will have to walk back, or…?

You shake your head. It doesn't matter. You brought them this far, so you have to lead them all the way to Silky!

"C'mon you guys, we are here to talk to her, aren't we?" you say, with a lot less confidence than you hoped to.

But that seems to be enough to shake them out of… whatever it was that got to them. Although you did hear a few whispers as you made your way through the garden.

And finally, the six of you arrive at the front door of your house.

"So, uhm… we don't really have a plan?" you hear Scootaloo (that's her name, right…?) asking from behind you, "just go talk to her and hope everything works out?"

"I'm telling you, I still think the puppet show will be a better idea," Apple Bloom adds up to her doubt.

"Again with the puppet show?"

You hear Diamond Tiara starting to bicker with Apple Bloom, but you try your best to ignore them.

Instead, you take a deep breath and open the front door.

"Oh, hi Selene! Welcome back!"

And you see…

"S-Silky…? Mr. Stormchaser?"

You see Silky Stream hanging onto Mr. Stormchaser's back as he flies in place on the middle of the entrance hall.

And she seems… fine? She is definitely smiling, at least.

"Wait, hold on. Silky, is everyt-? ACK!"

You try to ask her if everything is alright, but you are interrupted as you are suddenly levitated by a surge of magic, your whole body glowing as you are pulled away from the ground.

"Selene!"

You are then immediately deposited right between Mrs. Velvet's forelegs, being brought into a tight hug shortly after.

"Selene!" she says once again, her voice equally relieved and scolding, "I'm so glad you're back! Is everything alright? Did something happen? Don't you ever do something like that again, but I'm so glad you're fine!"

She says all of that in as much time as it takes for the five other girls to file in through the half-open door.

And you only manage to get your bearings once again after Mrs. Velvet is finished hugging you. She doesn't let you go, of course, but at least you can now breathe once again.

"Oh, hi girls! What are you all doing here?" you hear Silky say, as she flies towards her friends.

"We uh… came to see you?"

"Yeah! You haven't exactly been… uh… these last few days…"

Great, you think as you hear them talk among themselves. Of course you are glad that Silky is fine… she is fine, right? Well, of course you are glad your sister is okay. But now you are stuck in an extremely awkward situation.

Namely, that you brought all her friends here to talk to her and… well, she doesn't need any talking-to anymore.

You look up at Mrs. Velvet, seeing that she is looking towards Silky and her friends, and towards you, with that thoughtful expression she usually has.

And for some reason, you can't help but think that she is wondering about the same thing you are.

"Oh!" Mrs. Velvet finally says out loud, perhaps too loudly, her tone of voice being able to cut through the talking girls, "Selene dear, that's a great idea."

You look up at Mrs. Velvet, not exactly sure of what she is talking about. But before you can ask her, she floats you away from her hug and towards Silky and her friends.

However, she continues to talk as if she was agreeing to something you had just told her.

"Yes, your friends can stay for a sleepover. Just make sure you tell mommy and daddy next time before you bring your friends over, alright?"

"What?"

You only have a moment to express your doubt, Mrs. Velvet giving you a mischievous wink, before Silky Stream tackles you with an excited scream.

And before you can understand exactly what is going on she is already dragging you away, guiding you and all of her friends towards her room.





Selene has for the very first time faced a challenge by herself! Things might have turned out far, far different from how she hoped they would, but in the end she did make some friends all on her own.

Selene's Edge is now level one!


Silky Stream, following her teacher's advice, had a good, long talk with her parents. She is, or at least you think she is, a lot better now.


Soft Sweeps once again lost track of one of Lady Velvet's daughters! She has been fired!

Soft Sweeps was given a mug of hot chocolate by Lady Velvet Covers, and was told to calm down and take the rest of the day off!

And yes, you did have somepony tell their parents where they would be staying the night. No worries about miscommunication or the likes.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Solid Foundations V3
-[X][Attention of the Laws] GRAIL, to help with bridging the gap between us and Stormchaser.
-[x][Work] A measured commitment (6 personal actions available)
-[x][Purchase Books] KNOCK 3, FORGE 1, MOTH 1
-[X][Selene] EDGE if the lesson with Comet Feet is successful, KNOCK otherwise
-[x][Servants] Search for Books in Manehattan
-[x] Read books: FORGE 2, KNOCK 2, KNOCK 3.
-[x] Reach out to Copper Secateur. You wish you'd caught up with her sooner, especially after that close call she had - how is she?
-[X] Reach out to Comet Feet. It is your duty to learn, and you've had a hard time locating books that can teach you about EDGE. Can he give you another lesson before he goes?
-[x] Reach out to Twilight. You did say you were looking forward to hearing her findings, after all.
-[X] Meeting with Stormchaser (write in)
-[X] Help Convince Stormchaser (his choice of a lesson in Lore, meeting Copper and Starry, or just simply time spent together)

- - -



You are Velvet Covers, and you are…

You are furious!

The letter floats in front of you, your mind straining for control as your emotions urge you to tear the offending piece of parchment in half.

The nerve… the gall!

You had read the letter three times with your hoofs, and then twice with your eyes. It wasn't a matter of whether you thought your hoofs were mistaken when you read it the first time, it was more that you didn't actually believe what you were reading.

To put it simply, the thing you have in front of you is a missive from the Needle family.

A legal missive.

The letter is for Rarity, of course, but it was sent to your address specifically because you are Rarity's middlepony on this whole transaction. But that's beyond the point.

What matters is that they…

Is that the cursed Needle family is…!

"Dame Rarity, the Needle family sends you its highest regards and thanks for…" you start reading again, this time out loud, as if the words would somehow change if you did it like this, "and the inspiring work on your latest additions to the Designs by Rarity line…"

You mumble your way through the letter, feeling your ire steadily rise as you reach the final parts of the missive.

"… and, regrettably, due to the recent difficulties in the transfer of funds, we must unfortunately inform you that we will not be able to…"

You un-float the scroll, watching as gravity takes hold of it and it falls towards your desk. Your hoofs are massaging your temples shortly after, as you try your best to parcel out the information before you.

That was a legal missive alright. As much as it was written with all the formalities of a noble letter, it was still filled with the technical terms… the technical excuses that, in the end, made it very clear that the Needles would be "withholding" Rarity's dues of the contract for as long as they legally could.

Which wouldn't be that long, you know. You went over Rarity's contract several times before giving it to your friend for her to sign, you know that they can only hold her payment for two months, at most, before you are able to force them to pay up, with interests.

But that's the thing about it. The contract has emergency clauses that allows the Needles to make this sort of move. And, your mind starts working a few moves ahead on the board, they just might interpret that the motion to force them to pay up must be forwarded by Rarity herself, without the interference of any middleponies.

Which means that this is either a power play from the Needles, an attempt at holding her bits for financial gain, an attempt to try and smoke out her true identity by forcing her to take part in a legal battle of sorts… or all of the above at the same time.

"But this… doesn't make sense," you say to yourself, as you continue to massage your temples.

Needle Pin, the mare with whom you struck out the deal of Rarity's patronage, seemed to be a smart mare. She had all the marks of an upstart businesspony who was trying to gain clout within her family. That was your read on her, and your uncle agreed on that.

And the Needles have a lot of talented designers working for them, which also means that they can do business without causing trouble to the parties involved. Yes, you know Rarity is talented, but…

"But if she is not as talented, or just as talented as their other contracted ponies… then pulling this sort of move doesn't make sense," you continue talking under your breath, once again floating the scroll towards your hoofs, "and if she really is a once-in-a-lifetime genius then… then taking this sort of risk is simply…"

You hoof-read your way through the scroll for what must be the tenth time. But this time you focus on a detail in particular.

The missive is not signed…

It is signed in the name of the Needle family, of course, and it was properly sealed and identified, so you know it's not a fake or a forgery.

But the missive is not signed by anypony in particular.

"And Needle Pin knows that this much…" you once again read over the amount of bits they are withholding from Rarity, "looks like a lot, for sure, but it's pocket change for family-sized business…"

They are holding a few hundred bits from Rarity, the full sum of her dues for the last three months of work that she sent to the Needles through your family. But you know that that is just her cut of the deal. The Needles and the Velvets no doubt made a lot more out of that.

Much like how you routinely control thousands of bits on the farm's ledgers, you know that the head of the Needle family is…

"No," you conclude, rolling the scroll and tucking it inside your topmost drawer, "definitely not a move from Needle Pin, definitely not even something their head knows about."

There is something very wrong about this whole ordeal, but something tells you that it's something the Needles as a whole wouldn't approve on. An internal problem of theirs, perhaps. Which means that it might not be something so hard to take care of, after all.

Maybe talking to Pin might be enough. Or at least you hope it will.

As if you weren't busy enough as things stand…

"Excuse me Ma'am? You have a visitor," your thoughts about how busy you are pop like a bubble, however, as Ponpon's head peeks in through your office's door, "may I let her in?"

You tilt your head slightly at that. There is a very short list of ponies who Ponpon would even interrupt your work to declare as "guests". Your family not being on that list, of course, since they have free reign to enter your office at their own risk.

Which means this must be important, at the very least.

And while the mare who is let in shortly after is one of the very few who you would see during your work hours, you can't help but let out a rather bittersweet smile at how… coincidental this was.

"Thank you Ponpon, I'll take it from here," you say, dismissing the maid shortly after, "and how are you, Rarity?"

The maid closes the door behind herself, leaving you alone with your friend. And with that, you take a good look at Rarity.

You and Rarity meet for a chat every week or so, so it's not like the two of you haven't seen each other in a long while. And your meetings are mostly you going to her boutique, since the place is now closed for business as she is dedicating herself fully to her new line of clothes.

So you can't help but raise an eyebrow at her sudden visit.

Furthermore, your raised eyebrow evolves into a fully confused expression as you notice that Rarity is…

Is Rarity actually trembling?

"Rarity… is… is anything the matter?" you ask, rather worried, as you notice that she…

She is not disheveled, by any means. Her mane is excellently well-kept, as usual, as is her coat. Her face, also, shows you that she has been sleeping well, much unlike how she was on the first weeks after she signed the contract with the Needles.

So why in the heavens is she… so quiet, and… and excited?

Why does she looks like is about to blow up?!

"Rarity, you are actually starting to worry m-"



"Velvet!!!"



A sharp and excited yelp from her causes your eyes to go wide open in surprise. A few moments later Rarity is heading towards y-… no, she is prancing towards you, as her horn glows with magic, ushering something to float out of her saddle bag.

"Velvet darling, this is… this is unbelievable! This is like a dream come true!" she says, words coming out of her mouth with uncontainable excitement, "oh darling, I just had to come over and tell you! As soon as I found out about it, I simply couldn't wait!!!"

You very nearly think she is going to climb on your desk, for a few moments, but she stops after "only" placing her forelegs on it. She does, however, nearly surrounds you with several…

Oh, these are…

"We made it darling! We made it!!!"

The things that Rarity is floating in front of you is nothing less than a small collection of fashion magazines, open on very specific pages.

Her eyes, as she says those words, are positively sparkling with glee.

"Crinas, Vanity Mare, Cosmare! All! Of! Them!!!"

And her happiness is as infectious as her smile, you are soon out of your chair, grabbing one of the magazines out of the air and poring over it with your eyes and hoofs.

"Holy heavens Rarity, it really is…" you say, your lips curling up into a smile as the shock starts washing over you, "you really are…! Rarity, you made it!!!"

"I know! I still can't believe it darling, but it's all here!"

You look, still incredulously, at the several fashion magazines. You know those names, you know those brands, they are all high-end magazines that you usually see in expensive spas or in bustling cities. All of them have at least one piece of the newly born Designs by Rarity on display.

It is breathtaking, really, to see something made by your friend being displayed in a magazine next to perfumes and other luxury items that costs at least three digits of bits.

And heavens… Crinas even has a small, one paragraph article talking about the sudden appearance of this new design line from the Needle family!

"Rarity I… dear me, I don't even know what to say," you admit, slightly lightheaded from the suddenness of it. "Congratulations are in order, of course, but…"

This is… seeing Rarity beaming like this is…

"What? Congratulations? Darling, I didn't come here for that. Quite on the contrary?" she says, although you can't really understand what she means by that.

"Huh…? Why? I mean, this is all y-"

But before you can even finish, Rarity has you in a tight, trembling hug. The sort of hug that gets you by surprise, and that you can tell is still infected by her slight urge to continue prancing out of joy.

"Velvet darling, I came to thank you," she says, somehow hugging you even tighter as she does.

And you are…

You are frozen solid by that.

Of course, you are beyond happy for your friend. She is good at what she does, great even, but you are sure that she would have been able to make it this far on her own, eventually.

And besides, you don't really think you deserve her thanks for this. She deserves this much, so helping her do this is a given, really. It's something that you are glad to be a part of.

"This is really a dream come true," she continues, completely ignoring the somersaults that your mind is doing, "but if I had never met you… well, they would continue being just dreams!"

And slowly, gently, her giddiness and happiness and plain honesty finally get the better of you, and you return her hug wholeheartedly.

"Don't think too much about it, Rarity," you say, putting your own forelegs around her, "you deserve all of this."

Yes, she deserves all of this, and a lot more.

And this is what friends are for, right? Friends are supposed to help each other, no matter what.

For a split second, while you think about that, your thoughts return to the scroll resting on your drawer, the annoying powerplay from somepony of the Needle family.

But, you think… that is also something you'll gladly take care of, if it helps Rarity.

"Anyways, enough hugging. We have to celebrate this!" you say, letting go of her and pulling her by the hoof away from your office, your work completely forgotten.

Yes, you are a noble aren't you? You are sure there is supposed to be something worth drinking on this house!





Rarity has dedicated herself to her work for a full season, and her name is now at least known in some circles! This is not fame, this is not influence, this is not power or clout. But surely, this is the first step.

It is now safe to say that Rarity no longer has to dedicate herself fully to her contract! Her Confidant actions can now be safely used for other things.

Every turn Rarity will "roll" for her job. Her roll will be a "degrees of success/failure" roll if she is ordered to do something else. Her roll will be a "roll for extra/critical success" if she is allowed to focus entirely on her work. These will compound for the growth of her fame and the quality of her work as the months go on. You will be warned (by her) if she feels like her work is starting to lose quality, and that she wants to dedicate herself for a full month.



Somepony, who surely doesn't know what they are doing, is trying to finagle their way into your contract with the Needles! This is surely not something that the Needles will approve of, if they find out, and it feels like the doings of a younger (and foolish) member of the family. You are sure that you will be able to sort everything out if you take the time to reach out to Needle Pin herself.

Rarity's payment is currently being withheld. She told you, after the two of you started drinking, that she insists on "giving you a share" of her earnings. You flatly refused at first, but she insisted that she should "at least pay off the investment you made on her". You can tell she doesn't plan on stopping as soon as she pays you back the 300 bits of investment, but… well, that's how things will go, you suppose.

Rarity should start giving you a slight increase of income… as soon as you resolve the current happenance with her contract, that is.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You have been awake for a while now, but you are still lazing on your bed.

Stormchaser isn't here with you, unfortunately, but perhaps… that is for the best.

You love him dearly, of course. That will never change. But as another month begins, you can't help but to worry about the several little things that you will have to plan for and work on during these coming weeks. And it's not just your responsibilities with work-related things, what has been really gnawing at your mind is your responsibilities to other ponies.

Stormchaser, obviously, being one of them.

You don't know why exactly, but you can't shake the thought that… that for some reason, you really should take care of which ponies you will be trusting with what.

After all, even though it was a few months ago now, the ugly fight you had with Stormchaser when you brought Selene home is still fresh in your mind…

It might just be, you think, that perhaps you… you simply can't tell some things to certain ponies.

Not because you don't trust them, but because…

You let out a sigh and force your body to move.

It may be a weekend for your daughters, but you have a lot to do…





- - -

- - -

- - -



WORDS FROM THE QM

A few things I would like to talk about before this voting turn starts proper.



-First of all, on knowledge.

Spoiler: First

I was already doing that personally, but since you now have your second Confidant, I believe it will be important to "keep track" of certain things. Specifically, what you tell to whom. It is important to keep in mind, when you think about what you are going to reveal to certain ponies, that one of the central themes of this quest is Knowledge. Both the price that one might be willing to pay in order to acquire it, as well as the effects that learning about said knowledge might have.

But of course, you are the most important and central part of this story, so this theme is a lot more intimately tied to and explored with you, personally. But… there is no reason why those around you would not react to certain things as well, is there?

-Second, about what just happened with Jade Whistle.

Spoiler: Second

To put it shortly and simply, Lore knowledge… Well, it's not that "learning about Lore affects the mind of a pony", it's more that "learning about Lore cannot be dissociated with changing your view of the world".

So let's check on some things… we have an Inner Circle who is, by Jade's words, "problematic". And everypony on the Inner Circle only has a single Lore to them. And also, once Jade Whistle started taking steps (shy as they might be) into becoming a more centered pony, she embraced a second Lore.

Anyone sees a theme here?

-Third. Confidants.

Spoiler: Third

Kindly keep in mind that acquiring Confidants is not a walk in the metaphorical park. Granted, all your confidants up until now required effort from you, and a lot of it, but I would also like to point out that…

Well, it might sound harsh for me to say it like this, so please don't think I'm being mean. But I must point out that "effort does no always equate to success".

That is to say, you were uniquely suited to fulfill Rarity's dreams (being a noble and whatnot) and you were on a very good place to get closer to Jade (being a particularly kind pony, and talking to her not long after the Ritual, which was a shocking experience). You might also be very well suited for Twilight, for example, since you are a scholar (and a mother figure).

So, by no means am I saying that you can ONLY become confidants with ponies who are "aligned" with you. Not. At. All. Please don't interpret it that way.
I AM saying, however, that you might have to work to find certain "angles" with certain ponies in order to get closer to them if you aren't particularly "suited" for it to begin with.

To put it plainly. It is somewhat simple to understand how one might get closer to Rarity, but has anyone here wondered how in the heavens you might get closer to the likes of Windy Flakes or Rainbow Dash? (Yes, with Dash there is the "Heal Scootaloo" plan. But think about it, so far the only "in" you have planned for her is to perform a supernatural Lore-fuelled ritual. Not exactly something riding on your strength of personality, you understand?)

Kindly let me know if this third point was rather… confusing, or too long. It is really something I hope that none of you misinterpret.

-Fourth. A few change of rules.

Spoiler: Fourth

From now on, failing to read a book will no longer "burn" it. You will have to, however, try again on the following turn. This will be especially important for harder books, since failing on them will be a possibility.

And really, considering how large your current bonuses are failing to read a low level book would only cause needless frustration. You can STILL fail, of course, but there is no reason for the book to be thrown away if you do.

Also, there is now a new level for Named Followers. A "Major 4, Minor 2" level before Exalt, since reaching Level 5 requires a Sacrament. (Reaching level 5 always required a Sacrament, but I now realized there is no reason for named followers to be stuck on Level 3 while they are working on that).

That said, voting.



- - -



"The Lies We Tell"

This is a list of relevant information you have currently told (or withheld from) those who are closest to you.

This is NOT an exhaustive list, and will mostly cover things that you have either directly decided to tell them, or that you have not told them because you think they will react badly if you decide to reveal to them without some prior "groundwork" being laid. Think of this as a helpful list, not an actual "binding" situation-report list you should all exhaustively come back to in order to check. I will let you know if you (Velvet) thinks somepony might react badly to certain things. (That said, I hope we don't stumble upon too many "you don't know" situations like with husband dear.)

And don't take this list too serious. This is more of a helpful reminder.

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Stormchaser

Stormchaser has explicitly told you not to involve him or Silky Stream in anything occult related.

You HAVE told Stormchaser about the following:
-That Selene is Princess Luna, and that due to a great tragedy that befell her she cannot currently bear the weight of her memories
-That you have been part of a… "group" for several years now, and hid that from him
-That said group is led by a learned and powerful master, whom you can't exactly fully trust
-That you have been studying about certain "unusual" magics, to which your recent breakdowns or changes in behavior can be traced back to
-That the Worms, or some great threat to Equestria, exists

You have NOT told Stormchaser about the following:
-The more unsettling details about your Master's nature, or at least what little you have interacted with them (your husband does not know that your Master is... well, he thinks they are a regular pony)
-The murders you believe your cult has committed
-The cult's actions about Princess Luna's ritual and eventual disappearance
-Details about the cult itself, and details about the Lores.

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Rarity

You HAVE told Rarity about the following:
-That Selene is Princess Luna
-That you are part of a Cult
-About the Lores, the Mansus and the Worms. Her depth and understanding of said pieces of information being her current level on the occult

You have NOT told Rarity about the following:
-The more unsettling details about your Master's nature, or at least what little you have interacted with them (your husband does not know that your Master is... well, he thinks they are a regular pony);
-The murders you believe your cult has committed
-The cult's actions about Princess Luna's ritual and eventual disappearance

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Jade Whistle

You are currently not keeping any secrets from Jade Whistle. (She brushed off the fact that your Master does not know about Selene, specifically because she very clearly stated she does not care much for the cult as of late).

This doesn't seem to be important enough, as of yet, to warrant its own informational threadmark.



- - -



Last turn's shopping list

Spoiler

These are the items that you had the option to purchase last turn. They must be bought with the resources you had available then, but if bought will be immediately available for use or study at this turn.

Last turn's available bits: 222

[] EDGE lvl 3, "a posthumous, and rather contentious, biography of the legendary pegasus called Flash Magnus," 30 bits.
[] KNOCK lvl 2, "a fairly recent, and short, book about dream interpretation. You know it is recent because it was dedicated to Princess Luna's return," 15 bits
[] WINTER lvl 2, "a book on the benefits of Meditation, and why you should try it," 15 bits

(Books not bought will be lost, other items will be available through the following turns, but have a chance of being sold to somepony else every turn)



- - -



POSSIBLE ACTIONS

Specify which action will be carried out by your ponyservants. They will apply ONLY your status bonus, as they will follow instructions or carry your name and influence, but they will not apply personal bonus (bonus given by Lore, personal items, personal Characteristics or of any other nature).

Spoiler: On Suspicion Level and Ponyservant actions

Some actions will be tagged with a suspicion level. These are the actions that can be carried out by your ponyservants, and the suspicion level refers to how well they would (or would not) take to your task. Tasks that involve high suspicion might be outright refused, carried out with the inevitable gossiping, or even sabotaged if your servants believe that what you asked them to do is wrong.

Keep in mind that suspicion level refers to what a servant would think if asked to perform such task, regardless of them performing them, being caught or not. If you choose to perform the task yourself, you will take the necessary steps to be as subtle as you can, but the task itself will still raise suspicion if you are caught.

[] Before this month starts, you will perform a ritual to draw the attention of [SPECIFY LORE] (This is a free action to summon "The Attention of the Laws")



[] How much will you dedicate yourself to your family's affairs this month? (You must pick one)

-[X] A sense of urgency: There has never been any need for this, not for this much at least. No more double-checking, no more zeal. There are far more important things to be done. (5 personal actions and 1 servant action. Does not cause suspicion. DEFAULT PICK)

-[] A measured commitment: Give everything a once-over, sign everything in stacks. The farmlands won't just crumble and burn if you miss a few numbers this month. (6 personal actions and 1 servant action. Might be noticed by those closest to you. Will not be noticed by the family head if you do not do this often.)

-[] A furious dedication: You will not be able to do what really matters if you dedicate so much of your time to such mortal affairs. Do as little as it is acceptable, then move on. (7 personal actions and 1 servant action. Will worry those closest to you. Will be noticed by the family head, although you cannot say to what extent.)

-[] A desperate obsession: Everything is falling down, everything depends on this. You will not even sit on your office this month. (8 personal actions and 1 servant action. It is guaranteed that you will be called out for this.)



This turn's available bits: 342 (minus items you decided to buy)

Monthly revenue: 120 bits/month



CONFIDANTS AND SUMMONS

Spoiler: Options of Focus

-The ponies and creatures listed below can be given a "focus" for this turn. Not mentioning them will incur in their "default picks" being selected. Be wary, also, to the "expiration date" of summons.
-The ponies and creatures listed below may be safely taken for a single one-turn (five days) Expedition without hampering their "focus". Taking them for a two-turn (6+ days) or greater Expedition will cause them to not execute their selected "focus".

Rarity (currently an Initiate, GRAIL Level 1, FORGE Level 0):

Current Health: 3

-[X] Focus on her work. She has a contract with high-end merchants and a noble family, after all. (DEFAULT PICK) (She will still work on her designs if this is not picked, but there will be a chance for this month to be a "failure" by her reckoning)
-[] Accompany you, and lend her hoof. (Pick HALF of your own personal actions, rounded DOWN, and Rarity will accompany you while you perform them, giving narrative advantages or mechanical buffs as needed)
-[] Act as your emissary. (Pick an EXTRA action from your own pool, Rarity will perform it to the best of her abilities, ALONE, and report to you later)
-[] The Bright Library has enough knowledge for her to learn on her own. Tell her to focus on her studies, so she may turn into a Disciple. BRIGHT LIBRARY INSUFFICIENTLY LEVELED
-[] Call her, you have a lot of things to tell her… and then a few introductions to make. (Induct her into the cult)
-[] Lead an Expedition. (Select her as the leader of an Expedition in which you will not take part, plan the other details of the expedition accordingly. You will still have to fund the Expedition yourself)
-[] Other (WRITE IN, in case you have a viable idea that I have not thought about. Certain ideas might even enter this list if they make sense)

Jade Whistle (currently a Disciple, LANTERN Level 3, HEART Level 1):

Current Health: 3
(You are personally worried that Jade might react badly if she fails on an action she attempts)

-[X] As per orders. She will go with the motions, as she usually does, and focus on her assignment given by the Master. (DEFAULT PICK) [She has currently made zero progress with her latest assignment]
-[] "You do you." Let her do whatever she wants for once. It might do her some good, both mentally and personally.
-[] Accompany you, and lend her hoof. (Pick HALF of your own personal actions, rounded DOWN, and Jade Whistle will accompany you while you perform them, giving narrative advantages or mechanical buffs as needed)
-[] Act as your emissary. (Pick an EXTRA action from your own pool, Jade Whistle will perform it to the best of her abilities, ALONE, and report to you later)
-[] The Bright Library has enough knowledge for her to learn on her own. Tell her to focus on her studies, so she may turn into an Seeker. (This will level her up, at the expense of her own focus action instead of an action of your own) BRIGHT LIBRARY INSUFFICIENTLY LEVELED
-[] Lead an Expedition. (Select her as the leader of an Expedition in which you will not take part, plan the other details of the expedition accordingly. You will still have to fund the Expedition yourself)
-[] Other (WRITE IN, in case you have a viable idea that I have not thought about. Certain ideas might even enter this list if they make sense)

Selene (MOTH 1; WINTER 2; EDGE 1; KNOCK 0):

As an alicorn, Selene has TWO actions.

-[X] Go play. (Selene will live a normal and happy life. This option costs one of her actions, it will always be picked, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.)
-[] What might be learned from a simple game of hide-and-seek? (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of MOTH)
-[] There is something that she must learn now… for everypony's sake. (Teach Selene the final lesson of WINTER)
-[] Life is an adventure, so go live it! (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of EDGE)
-[] There is always something more to be learned from our dreams. (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of KNOCK)

[] A fleeting opportunity (rumor mills spin, opportunities come and go. These actions will never be available again)

-[X] You have promised Twilight Sparkle that you would tutor her in certain things. And considering how the mare was the last time you saw her, you really think you shouldn't bail on her when it comes to this. (This action is NOT obligatory. It was merely marked with an X for your convenience.)

-[] You have promised Comet Feet that you would deliver a letter for him. Time to see what this is all about. Although deciphering the address will be a pain…

-[] Those damned Needles! Somepony sent you a letter saying that they will be withholding Rarity's dues of the contract for "reasons". You simply cannot allow this to stand!
--[] Take care of this yourself. It will be better this way.
--[] Ask your father for help. This involves family business, so it is surely something he can take into his own hoofs… however much he holds that against you, that is. (COSTS NO ACTIONS)
--[] Ask your uncle for help! If there is one thing you know about your uncle, it's that he is always willing to lend his family a hoof! [Available due to your recent rekindling with your uncle] (COSTS NO ACTIONS)



[] On what must be done (Ascending within the Mansus)

-[] There is no real trick to it, no grand preparation. You have reached the Blank Plains, now it is time to search for a path that leads upwards. (Mansus Hurdle CD 80, WINTER) (It is a single dice-roll to search for a way up. It applies DIPLOMACY to traverse the Blank Plains, SECRET HISTORIES Application Bonus to search, added to your WINTER Knowledge Bonus for its power.)



[] On the treasures that bits may buy (actions where you search for things to purchase)

-[] There are books that could be of use. You should start looking for them. All sub-choices not suspicious.
--[] In Ponyville, and its… great assortments of libraries? (no extra cost) (HEART, FORGE)
--[] In the great libraries of Canterlot… the ones that are open to public access, that is (20 bits in transportation) (applies "Royal Favor") (LANTERN, GRAIL, SECRET HISTORIES)
--[] In the many small bookshops that dot the side streets of Manehattan (35 bits in transportation) (MOTH, EDGE, KNOCK)

(Due to SECRET HISTORIES 3, now you have a better idea of what you are more likely to find in each city)

-[] The cult now has an appropriate place to meet, but you could still use a discrete location that is all your own. Scout for a suitable place, or other buildings that might be for sale. Not suspicious.

-[] Although you are personally judicious about such habits, you are still a noble. Searching for "peculiar items" to "add to your collection" is certainly not out of place… right? Not suspicious. Suspicion might arise if you later decide to buy the item, depending on its individual suspicion level.



[] Ponyville politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)

-[] There is somepony in charge of the "heavy lifting" within your cult, of course, but you could do with a few strong hoofs at your personal disposal. Go looking for such contacts. (Low chance for success in Ponyville, according to Comet Feet) Moderately suspicious.

-[] There are bound to be, among all of those large, strong earth ponies, some who wouldn't mind a way to make some extra bits on the side. Reach out to them. (Scout out for ponies willing to get their hoofs dirty among your own employees. Low chance of success in Ponyville, according to Comet Feet). Highly suspicious.

-[] You are the highest authority from your family in Ponyville, and have countless earth pony farmers working under you. The next logical step it to scout for those who would be loyal to you and your cult. (Scout out for cult candidates within your own employees). Highly suspicious.

-[]Copper Secateur may be in charge of finding suitable candidates, she even was the pony who first introduced you into the Wildhoof Club, but you could use followers of your own.

-[] You now have a better grasp of the merchants in Ponyville, having had several letters of introduction sent around in your name. But what would you like to do next?
--[] Meet a few of them in person, and ingrain them to your cause. (WRITE IN if you will try to win them as personally loyal to you, or if you will point them in the direction of the cult)
--[] They are bit handlers, and that means they are a source of income. "Borrow" a few bits from your family and do a few quick investments. Everything will be back to its place by the end of the month, and you will be a little richer for that. (Attempt to gain a few more bits on the side, using your family's fortune as a lever) Highly suspicious.
--[] They know somepony who knows somepony who knows somepony. Use that to your advantage. (Ask them to search for an artifact. Specift LORE and LEVEL, up to Level 3. It will be added to your available list, but will be more expensive than normal) Not suspicious.
--[] Something else. WRITE IN.

-[] They're not the Royal Guard, but they're still guards, and as much as they might not have that much work on their hoofs, they're still the go-to ponies in case something worrying happens. Find out how the guard is structured in Ponyville, that will be the first step in getting to know them better. Moderately suspicious.

-[] A pony needs not to be a faithful of your cult in order to be useful, said pony needs only know what to report to whom, and when to keep one's mouth shut. Ponyville has an underworld, small as it might be, and their eyes and ears could be useful. Attempt to contact them. Highly suspicious.

-[] There is a house near the outskirts of town. One who very nearly got burned to the ground. You know its sole owner will not step hoof in it for a long while, but you surely can put it to use, right? Highly suspicious (Your first turn there will be spent "cleaning up" the most alarming things of the house. Further cleaning will surely be needed, but after this first once-over its suspicion level will lower) [NEW]



[] Canterlot politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)

-[] Despite the current kerfuffle you have with your family, you are still a noble. Try and reach out to others like you. Expanding one's influence has to start somewhere after all.
--[] Reach out to your family, at least the ones you go along well with.
---[] Reach out to your mother, as much as it might be… complicated. (costs 20 bits in transportation)
---[] Attempt to locate your older brother, Velvet Wings, as much as it might be difficult. (attempt to locate him, at first, via correspondence)
---[] Go there yourself and try to talk to your younger brother, Velvet Pride, although getting caught will probably be bad. (costs 20 bits in transportation, involves invading your family's own mansion)

-[] Reach out to other minor nobles of Canterlot.

-[] Reach out to other higher nobles of Canterlot, although that might be more complicated.



[] On aiding the cult (options not related to your current task, but related to the cult or with interactions with its members)

-[] You are the Loremaster! You are supposed to help your Master teach the faithful in the cult all manners of eldritch knowledge. Get to writing a Manifest on a Lore! [SPECIFY LORE] (Will produce a "book" to be added to the Bright Library, said book will be of the same level as your current level on the chosen Lore)

-[] Help Comet Feet
--[] He is gone from Ponyville, and is currently working to further the cult's interests in Manehattan. Reach out to him. (Costs 35 bits in transportation. WRITE IN what you would like to do involving him.)

-[] Help Starry Dancer
--[] Now that you know her a bit better, you can always just spend time with her.
--[] One step further from getting into the good graces of Ponyville's Guard, she is now supposed to somehow get them even closer. She would surely benefit from your presence.

-[] Help Copper Secateur
--[] She is gone from Ponyville, and is currently working to further the cult's interests in Manehattan. Reach out to her. (Costs 35 bits in transportation. WRITE IN what you would like to do involving her.)

-[] Help Windy Flakes
--[] You realize you don't know very much about him at all. Time to remedy that.
--[] His business is all set up, and now he has to run it. And do you know who is good at running businesses? That's right, you are.
--[] Windy Flakes has messed with you, so now you will mess with him. (WRITE-IN HOW, specify if you will do it with good intentions [just to scare him] or with bad intentions [actually hinder him])



[] Set out on an Expedition.

-[] You don't have anywhere interesting to go, currently. Look for one. (Attempt to locate an interesting place to prepare an Expedition to. WRITE IN, if any specific theme is in mind.) Slightly Suspicious



[] On furthering your knowledge (actions directed at increasing your Lores, as explained in the Informational threadmark)

-[] The matters of [SPECIFY LORE] intrigues you, petition your cult's Master for a lesson (currently willing to teach all Lores up to level 4, gives a single scrap of Lore WITHOUT triggering a test)

-[]WRITE IN, to petition your Master for a question. (Mind you, however, that this will involve "trying" to talk to him, not a guaranteed audience, and he just might be very Moth about his answer.)

-[] There is something about this… thing, and you must learn what it is (pick two artifacts to learn from their Lore, and check it for hidden abilities).
--[] No artifacts available. (Unless if recently bought)

-[] It doesn't have to be just during a leisure weekend evening, you can fit a few minutes of reading even when walking between rooms if you really get into it! (Pick up to three books to attempt to learn a scrap of Lore. Consumes books).
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 1. "A small book that covers a particular kind of elegant dancing".
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 2. "A novel about a mare who fell in love with a drummer, the romantic parts all written in rhyming poetry".
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 3. "A study about yak culture. The part about their history and folklore is of little use. The chapters about their songs, however…".
--[] BOOK, FORGE Level 1. "A small handbook on camping, explaining the basics of how to build a tent and start a small fire".
--[] BOOK, MOTH Level 1. "A poetry book. Amateur work, really, but one of them talks about masks…,".
--[] Some other book (select a book you have bought this turn)



[] The Mansus is a place of contradictions. It exists, and yet it doesn't. It is frightening, and yet it calls to you. Only through exploring it will you learn its secrets. (PICK TWO OPTIONS)

Spoiler: On exploring the known Mansus

(Exploring a known part of the Mansus will yield the most varied of rewards, through a hidden roll of a dice. But beware that most rewards will be temporary, such as an Influence or a temporary buff. It is possible, however, to learn fragments of Lore as well, or to be rewarded nothing at all. Proceed at your own risk.)

-[] The Woods
--[] Explore the Woods, and its many whispers.
--[] There are other places connected to the Woods, but that are not in the Mansus proper. Look for them.

-[] The Blank Door
--[] Explore the Blank Plains, the first afterlife of ponykind.
--[] Visit the Lodge of the Sage Pony. You may not be able to talk to Baldomare, but you surely can listen very well.
--[] There are other parts connected to the Blank Plains. Look for them.

-[] You have studied the Lores, and are now more knowledgeable than before. It is time to climb even higher in the Mansus. (Mansus Hurdle CD 80, WINTER) (applies DIPLOMACY to traverse the Blank Plains, and SECRET HISTORIES Bonus to search, added to your WINTER Level) Already specified as current objective.



[] On the matters of house and heart (actions directed towards your own family, the part that you care for deeply as well as… the rest)

-[] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
--[] Just another pleasant day that you will spend with them. Perfect for cooling your head off.
--[] Alright, this might be a BIT on the cult-y side, but… why not start giving your family subtle hints of Lore here and there? You might catch their attention, or perhaps even their interest. (Stormchaser will surely see this as a major breach of trust)
--[] WRITE IN (other ways to spend time with your family, or anything else)

-[] You are on the good graces of Velvet Steppes, your uncle, although he feels like the pony who has his entire family on his good graces to begin with.
--[] Call him over! He hasn't met his own grandniece yet, after all, and better late than never when it comes to knowing him better.
--[] He is called the Facilitator. You have no idea why, but the effect is self-explanatory. Ask for his help regarding… (WRITE IN a favor you would like to ask, or COMBINE this action with another, to involve your uncle in it) (Your uncle is very good at making things easier)

-[] Bits are the engine of Equestria! You have been working your hooves off for years now, so it won't be seen as scandalous if you write a letter to your father requesting an increase in your share of the family's grants… right?

-[] You do know "your place" in the family, but bits are still important. A letter asking for a one-time gift will surely be better received than one asking for a permanent "raise", right?

-[] You really shouldn't, but needs must. Every single ledger from the farms east of Ponyville pass through you, it would be a simple matter to have some "administrative mistakes" make some bits disappear from the coffers and appear in your pockets.
--[] Have a servant do it, having an actual scapegoat is ideal if things go wrong. Highly suspicious.
--[] Do it yourself, it's better this way.
--[] Wait, right, the Wildhoof Club. Get in touch with Windy Flakes, and see how serious he was when he mentioned the whole "laundering bits" thing.



[] On those who surround you (actions directed at your contacts and friends)

-[] Go into town and try to meet somepony interesting.

-[] Sit down and work on a letter. Reach out to nobles who do not live in Canterlot. They, much like yourself, might not be deeply entangled on the webs of politics that surround the capital, but that just means they can also act with more freedom, right?

-[] Much to your own satisfaction, you now have a personal life outside of your maids, immediate family and business related meetings. You could choose to spend some time with… (SPECIFY if it will be "a social call" or "a step forward to converting said pony". SPECIFY if "you are willing to spend bits on this", for that little extra leverage)
--[] Teach Rarity yourself, and have her turn into an Disciple Insufficient personal levels
--[] Induct Rarity into the cult
--[] Teach Jade Whistle yourself, and have her turn into a Seeker Insufficient personal levels
--[] Twilight Sparkle, who leads the bearers of the Elements of Harmony
--[] Cheerilee, your daughter's schoolteacher
--[] Mayor Mare, the de-facto ruler of Ponyville
--[] Filthy Rich, a well-to-do and wealthy bussinespony
--[] WRITE IN (arrange to take your daughter to meet some of your younger acquaintances, or plan something else entirely)



[] You haven't forgotten about it, you just put it on hold until a more convenient time. (Purchases done here will arrive/be completed at the end of this turn.) (Does NOT cost an action)

-[] NO ARTIFACTS AVAILABLE



[] On invoking the Lores (see RITUALS for more information, as well as CD and cost. SPECIFY if you will offer SACRIFICE)

-[] "The Attention of the Laws" (specify Aspect)
-[] "The Forge's Redemption"
-[] "The Incision of the Heart"
-[] "The Path Through Nightmares" (specify target)
-[] "The End is Beautiful" (specify target)
-[] "The calling of Influence" (specify Aspect)
-[] "The Reflection of the Tapestry" (specify subject)

--[ ] To be performed your cult's gathering place, where it is discreet but the cult will know of your actions. (Jade Whistle's Cadre can currently aid with a +10 bonus)
--[ ] To be performed at your own home, where the cult will not know of your actions, but you probably will be discovered or leave traces of it.
--[ ] To be performed on another location (you do not yet know or own any such location)



[ ] Others WRITE IN (anything, but I will have to consider it, and it might make the voting period a bit longer)





Remember that non-Confidant contacts may be called for certain actions, with varying degrees of usefulness and success.

There will be at least 48 hours of voting.

Velvet Covers is devoted to taking care of Selene. Actions that may ultimately lead to said duty being threatened will be extremely difficult to pull off. QM will comment if anything like that is being voted on.

Kindly observe a SIX HOUR MORATORIUM before suggesting your plans.

And I hope I don't have to say that all actions are subject to writing-ins. Don't feel constrained by the abovementioned options, but keep in mind that they might be vetoed for in-character reasons.

Spoiler: For ease of planning

[] The Attention of the Laws [SPECIFY LORE]

[] Number of actions
-[] 5+1
-[] 6+1
-[] 7+1
-[] 8+1

[] Buy Books
-[] EDGE 3
-[] KNOCK 2
-[] WINTER 2

[] Rarity
-[X] Focus on her work.
-[] Accompany you.
-[] Act as your emissary.
-[] Have her level up on her own. Bright Library insufficient
-[] Induct into cult

[] Jade Whistle
-[] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[] You do you.
-[] Accompany you.
-[] Act as your emissary.
-[] Have her level up on her own. Bright Library insufficient

[] Selene
-[] Moth.
-[] Winter.
-[] Edge.
-[] Knock.

[] A fleeting opportunity
-[X] Tutoring Twilight
-[] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
-[] "Those damn Needles!"
--[] Do it yourself
--[] Ask your father
--[] Ask your uncle

[] Mission
-[] Go higher in the Mansus

[] Shopping
-[] Books
--[] In Ponyville.
--[] In Canterlot.
--[] In Manehattan.
-[] Search for a place to buy in Ponyville.
-[] Search for Artifact

[] Ponyville politics
-[] Look for muscle-for-hire in town.
-[] Look for muscle-for-hire among your employees.
-[] Scout for cult candidates among your employees.
-[] Scout for cult candidates in town.
-[] Merchants
--[] Interact
--[] Attempt to raise bits for yourself.
--[] Ask for specific Lore artifact.
--[] WRITE IN.
-[] Contact Guard and law enforcement.
-[] Contact underworld(?) of town.
-[] Start cleaning Jade's abandoned house.

[] Canterlot politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)
-[] Your family
--[] Contact your mother.
--[] Look for your older brother.
--[] Contact your younger brother.
-[] Reach out to other minor nobles.
-[] Reach out to higher nobles.

[] On aiding the cult
-[] Write a Manifest [SPECIFY LORE]
-[] Help Comet Feet
--[] Contact him.
-[] Help Starry Dancer
--[] Contact her.
--[] Help her with her task.
-[] Help Copper Secateur
--[] Contact her.
-[] Help Windy Flakes
--[] Contact him.
--[] Help him with his task.
--[] Get back at him.

[] Set out on an Expedition.
-[] Look for a place to go.

[] On furthering your knowledge
-[] Lesson from Master [SPECIFY LORE]
-[] Ask Master a question (risky)
-[] Study artifact (none availabe)
-[] Read book (write in which)

[] The Mansus (pick TWO)
-[] The Woods
--[] Explore.
--[] Look for other places connected to it.
-[] The Blank Door
--[] Explore.
--[] Visit Baldomare
--[] Look for other places connected to it.
-[] Go higher in the Mansus

[] Personal life
-[] Family
--[] Idle interaction
--[] Attempt to teach Lore.
--[] WRITE IN (other ways to spend time with your family, or anything else)
-[] Velvet Steppes.
--[] Call him over.
--[] Ask for help (Write in on what)
-[] Ask your father for a raise.
-[] Ask your father for a one-time boon of bits.
-[] Steal bits from your family
--[] Have a servant do it.
--[] Do it yourself.
--[] Do it through the Wildhoof Club

[] Contacts
-[] Try to meet someone new.
-[] Contact other lesser nobles away from Canterlot.
-[] Interact with Known Contact
--[] Level up Rarity Not enough personal levels
--[] Induct Rarity into the cult
--[] Level up Jade Whistle Not enough personal levels
--[] Twilight Sparkle
--[] Cheerilee
--[] Mayor Mare
--[] Filthy Rich
--[] WRITE IN

[] Buy previous artifact.
-[] None available

[] Rituals
-[] "The Attention of the Laws" (specify Aspect)
-[] "The Forge's Redemption"
-[] "The Incision of the Heart"
-[] "The Path Through Nightmares" (specify target)
-[] "The End is Beautiful" (specify target)
-[] "The calling of Influence" (specify Aspect)
-[] "The Reflection of the Tapestry" (specify subject)
--[] To be performed your cult's gathering place
--[] To be performed at your own home

[] Something else? (WRITE IN)

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -

You have bought three books. 60 bits have been deduced from your personal coffers.

Your current amount of bits is now 282.

- - -



There are several advantages to being a noble.

Granted, one can say that about anything. Much like how one can say that everything also has drawbacks. But you are not really about to start thinking about the philosophical implications of that particular thought process. Especially given how you are very intimate with the drawbacks of nobility.

Anyways, back to the matter at hand. There are many advantages to being a noble, even on a backwater town such as Ponyville, and one of them is that you will never really have trouble hosting guests.

Heavens, your estate is big enough to house a quite a large party (by noble standards, mind you) and then have enough rooms for several guests to stay the night after said party. Ponyville being a barely urbanized town means that free land is not exactly at a premium, and because of that the mansion you live in was built larger than most mansions in Canterlot.

Most of the noble estates in Canterlot are literally brushing flanks with each other due to the sheer number of nobles living on the upper districts, proximity to the royal castle being one of the many symbols of status on the capital. So, that means that several nobles elect to display their riches through "quality" instead of "size" when it comes to their homes. That said, your mansion is certainly not nearly as rich or posh as those found in the capital, not being made out of pure marble or having been carved out of the mountain as some of the more decadent among them are.

But again, your dear home certainly is just as large as the largest of the ones on the Capital.

So really, finding a large, comfortable, and ironically "out of the way" room in your house to host two choice guests was not a problem at all.

"Right this way please. Lady Velvet is already waiting for you," you hear somepony saying, the door being opened shortly after.

"Thank you," you hear a dispassionate voice answering, with a tone that makes it very clear that…

Well, she says it with her usual tone. You just hope the maid who is accompanying her isn't too unnerved by it.

"Hello Velvet Covers," but your thoughts about said maid are shoved to a corner of your mind moments later as Jade Whistle enters the room, closing the door behind herself.

"Jade! So good to see you," you answer with a smile, pointing a hoof at one of the chairs for her to sit down, "how have you been?"

The mare takes a long look around the room, and you are sure that you see… something reflect on her eyes as she does that.

But soon after she is walking towards you and sitting on the proffered (and very comfortable) chair.

"I've been fine," she says, easing herself onto the cushioned seat.

And you answer her with a pleased nod.

You have last seen Jade a few days ago… maybe a week ago at most, when she sent you the unnerving letter telling you to go to her house at midnight. You are quite glad that everything turned out fine in the end, of course, but you can't say that you calmed down and forgot about it as the days went by.

Still, you are already glad that she told you that much. Her being a mare of few words means that she really is fine if she says so. Well… at least it means she is "fine" by her own standards, but still…

Oh dear, you can feel yourself starting to worry again…

"I've been staying with a couple of friends," she continues. "They are nice, and the two of them are really into music. It's nice to stay somewhere that's not quiet."

You can't help but to smile at that. Both at the fact that she's volunteering that information, and the fact that it's actually good news.

"Really? That's wonderful! You have to introduce me to those two."

"I don't think I should…" she says after thinking for a few moments, to which you raise an eyebrow, "one of them works at the Club. Night shift on the dance floor. I think she'd be intimidated by you…"

"And I think you're giving me too much credit," you laugh, waving a hoof at her, causing her to merely shrugs.

Well, it's lovely to see her doing well. It really is. And in all honesty, checking on her was one of the reasons as to why you invited her in the first place.

But well… it was still only one of the reasons.

"So…" you continue, carefully picking your words. After all, what you are about to ask her has to do both with her wellbeing, of course, as well as with... the cult.

You know for a fact that she cares little about the cult, or at least that is what she told you. But you also know that she knows about Selene, and that she both didn't tell the Master about Selene as well as that…

Well, to tell the truth you are just a little confused about where Jade Whistle stands. The cult, and more specifically the Master, didn't exactly help her mental health to begin with, so you are not sure if she intents to leave the cult or not. Heavens, you are not even sure if it is safe to leave the cult, considering both what the Master… might or might not be, and the fact that they currently have access to a ritual that can simply end a pony's life.

And your Master is confusing enough that you don't know if Jade's resignation would be met with a shrug or if it would be answered with lethal force.

So, you really have to ask…

"Jade… what exactly do you plan on doing from here on?"

She is your friend, and you care for her dearly, so even if you are not able to help her you at least want to know what she plans on doing.

You see her tilt her head at that, and a few moments later she slowly turns her eyes upward.

And you can see that she understands the… gravity of your question. It makes you honestly relieved that she is giving it a good deal of thought, at least.

But in the end she simply takes a deep breath and-

"I'm… not really sure," is all she says, causing you to purse your lips.

But then, before you can even think of what to say next…

Jade Whistle looks at you. With an intensity in her eyes that you have never seen before.

"What about you Velvet Covers? What do you plan on doing from here on?" she asks.

Under any other circumstance you would have shrugged at her question. Not dismissively, of course, but in a way that would have suggested that her asking that question was only fair. After all, you did just ask her the same thing, so it stands to reason that she can do it as well.

But for some reason…

For some reason, the intensity in her eyes is telling you that whatever your answer is, it will be as important to her as her own answer would have been to you. Perhaps even more so. It is an intensity that is neither Lantern-touched nor accusingly inquisitive, but something far deeper and more meaningful. You can see in her eyes that…

You have no idea why you are thinking this, but for some reason you can't shake the impression that she might very well base her answer on yours.

Deep down, you know that you would be willing to help Jade on whichever path she chose to tread, whether if it was leaving the cult to live her own life or anything else. But you can't help but feel surprised that she…

That she seems to be willing to do the same for you.

"I…"

So you really can't be anything but utterly honest when answering her.

"I don't know either…" you say, as your thoughts slowly coalesce into ideas, and then into words, "not in the long run, that is. But I know what I have to do right now."

And then you meet her gaze with the same intensity.

This is exactly what you called her to talk about, after all.

"There are too many things we don't know. Or at least that I don't know. I don't know what the Master is, or what her plans are, or why in the heavens she seems to be so content in using us as paws for everything when she is… when she seems to be so powerful."

You see Jade gently ease herself further on her chair, but you can tell that the entirety of her attention is still on you.

"And then there is also the Mansus… she told us that we can reach for Glory, and that feels like something very… important, or at least rewarding to anypony that manages it. As well as the fact that she seems to be both at odds and willing to work with the alicorns and…" you let out a sigh, "well, there's simply too much I don't understand."

You bring up an exasperated hoof to your forehead, trying to ease the stress-related headache you can already feel rising before it actually starts to ache.

"But what I do know… is that I have to stay in the cult… At least for now. It feels like the only place where I will be able to learn anything, and if nothing else I still have to keep up appearances there so the Master won't find out about Selene…"

Jade raises an eyebrow at that. You wonder why she did that, and for a moment it seems like she is going to ask a question. But a second later she shakes her head, seemingly reaching a conclusion on her own.

You wait a few more moments, just in case she decides to ask whatever crossed her mind. But once you realize she won't really say anything you continue.

"And well… I think that's it. Truth be told, things aren't really bad as they currently stand. The crux of this whole matter is the Mansus, I think, since the Master seems to be somehow… related to it, and it might just be that we are the only group of ponies in the entirety of Equestria that knows about it…"

Because heavens forbid if a lot of ponies suddenly learn about it, you think. You don't even know what the Mansus is, or what Glory can do, but it would be beyond ugly if the place suddenly turns into a racecourse towards the supposed "prize" that rests at its top.

Or even worse, if the Mansus turns into a battlefield.

"So, I'm just glad that we can do things cautiously," you say, letting out a short sigh.

There are other things on your mind, of course. You are worried about Princess Celestia, and how things might turn out once you manage to help Selene… you are worried about what your Master's true intentions might really be. Heaven knows, you are worried about all the things that you know you don't know yet. After all, you know there is an entire depth to the Lores that you have only just begun to see the surface of.

But in all honesty, you can't really claim to have a plan, a long term plan, beyond "playing it by ear".

"For now I'll just do what the Master asked. I'll try to climb beyond the Blank Plains, and see what there is higher in the Mansus. And if things somehow turn ugly or strange or... dangerous, then I'll decide what to do when that moment comes," you finish.

And then you look back at Jade.

She continues to stay quiet for a few more moments, the seconds stretching by and maybe amounting to a full minute or two.

You know that not long ago you would have been uncomfortable in this silence. But now you feel… relief?

Yes. You feel relief.

Relief because this might be the first time you actually have somepony to talk about this sort of thing. To really talk about this sort of thing, that is. You trust Rarity, but you know that you can't trust Rarity with everything you know yet, for several reasons. And telling your husband even a fraction of what you told Jade was already… unpleasant.

And you also know that her silence means she is really thinking about it, so truth be told…

You are relieved because you feel like you are not quite alone in all this mess anymore.

"That's a good plan," she finally says, snapping you out of your thoughts. "I'll do the same, then," she finishes, rather simply.

You blink a few times, seeing her nod to herself at that.

"Beg your pardon Jade?" you ask, not really sure what she meant by that.

"I said I understand what you have in mind, and I will be doing the same thing."

You open your mouth for a split second, a question already forming on your lips before it can really take shape in your head. There are a lot of things you want to ask her, in fact, chiefest of them being "are you sure?"

It can't be that simple, after all. She has her own life to live! She can't just stick to you like that an-

But you shut your mouth before you can really articulate that question, as you realize that she is not done talking yet.

"But…" she starts, then stops. Clearly hesitating for some reason.

And you can see a hint of trepidation slowly creeping into her eyes. A minute hint of a feeling on her expression that… well, that knowing Jade it must mean that she is really, deeply bothered by what she is thinking about.

"But…" she repeats herself, closing her eyes for some reason as she speaks, "I don't really know how long things will stay this… calm? I think I get it, that you are wary of the Master because of how little we know, but…"

She stays quiet for a few more moments, until she opens her eyes once again as if she had given up on something.

"The Master is a monster, Velvet Covers. I also don't know what he is, but he is not a pony. Not anymore. But the last time I met him, when I gave him the ritual we devised together, he told me to prepare my cadre to…"

Jade then looks into your eyes, and you are not really sure of what kind of emotion you are seeing there.

She is still speaking with her same monotonous voice, her eyes still seem ever so slightly bored and expressionless. But now that you know her better, you can tell that there is the slightest hint of something in her eyes...

But before you can exactly tell what that something is, she continues to speak.

"He told me to prepare for his arrival. He said you will bring him a ritual that will allow us to summon things from the Mansus, and that he will be the first thing that will cross from there to here."

Your eyes go wide at that. You are not really sure if you are surprised, or if deep down you knew this would happen. But you can't help but take what Jade just said, at least with that degree of certainty, as a bit of a shock.

Silence descends upon the room, your mind starting to work frantically as you start thinking about the implications of all this.

If the Master wasn't lying to Jade, then this really means that she is… that she dwells in the Mansus, that is. It means that she really is not a pony. But that also means that as soon as you return from the Mansus, should you succeed, your Master will also be a lot more… active.



And you are so focused on your thoughts that you almost jump up in surprise when somepony knocks on the door.



You take a few seconds to calm down and breathe before you turn towards the door.

"Come on in," you say, watching as Ponpon enters shortly after.

"Afternoon ma'am, pardon the disturbance," she says with a slight bow, "your second guest has arrived. Shall I bring her here?"

Oh, that's right. It completely escaped you that Rarity was also on her way.

"Please do, Ponpon. Thank you," you say, turning towards Jade after the maid leaves. "And Jade, I called another friend over that I would like to introduce you to. But just so you know, she… doesn't know much."

"About…?" the mare asks monotonously.

"Well she…" you make a quick mental stock about everything you told Rarity so far.

She knows quite a lot, all things considered. But nothing really contentious.

"She has a thing for Grail and Forge, which I'm sure you'll notice. And she knows about Selene, as well as the fact that the cult exists but… Nothing really too deep on any of those subjects?" you try saying, hoping Jade will catch on to your meaning.

The mare nods at you, but…

Heavens… you did tell Jade to arrive at a certain time that was, intentionally, earlier than when you asked Rarity to come. But now you really wish you had given yourself a larger window so as to properly brief the mare about Rarity!

"This friend of yours," Jade starts speaking, "does she know abou-?"

"Velvet darling, it is so good to see you!" the door opens before she can finish her question, startling you, the white coated mare entering as soon as Ponpon opens the door for her, "oh I can't say how happy I was when I received your invitation for tea."

Part of you can't help but worry about what exactly Jade was about to ask. But you know it's too late for that now. So you get up from your seat with a smile, nodding towards Ponpon for her to bring you all something to drink, and get about introducing the two mares to each other.

And hopefully… this afternoon will just be one of idle conversation between you three.



- - -



In the end everything turned out fine.

Truth be told you didn't think there was a chance of things ending disastrously. You trust Rarity, and you are sure that you would have been able to make amends if you or Jade ended up saying something you shouldn't have. But still, you are glad things turned out fine because you know Rarity is simply not ready to learn some things right now. Not yet.

Heavens, there are things that you are still not ready to learn, and you know that. You can even recall certain things that you took years to come to terms with. It's not like you are sheltering her from certain things like she is some defenseless filly, but the fact of the matter is that you simply have no right to burden her with certain worries.

Besides, you also can't drag her into something without her knowing what she is getting into. And knowing what one is getting into is exactly the sort of thing that takes time.

Still, again, in the end everything turned out fine.

The three of you had a great afternoon, and you managed to extract a few words from Jade that might just pass for idle banter if you analyze it in a very lenient way.

Of course, you weren't able to drag her into a proper mare's talk… yet. But that is the goal you will be aiming for.

Yes, you can already see it happening... eventually. You and Rarity slowly cracking Jade's mute shell, and you and Jade slowly introducing Rarity to this and that secret about the Lores. All of that with the pleasant company of good tea!

Or at least that is what you hope to achieve, if the three of you manage to gather like this at least once a month like you suggested them.

But alas, Jade Whistle is gone now, having mumbled an excuse about her being late for something as soon as you and Rarity started telling her about your stay in Canterlot.


Specifically, when the two of you started talking about a certain captain of the Royal Guard.


"So," Rarity says with a knowing grin, "talking about stallions seems to be her limit then?"

"In her defense, she is rather of a… sheltered sort."

"Oh, I know darling. I mean, did you see her mane?" she asks, floating her cup of tea towards her, "no offense at all to her, darling. Quite on the contrary even. She is a mare in urgent need of a few days at a spa, and my name is not Rarity if I'm not the one who will drag her to one!"

You chuckle at that, seeing the light in Rarity's eyes as she had just met a pony who she can honestly help with her talents.

Now that you think about it, you don't really know how Jade usually acts around ponies whom she just met… but you think she took a liking for Rarity. That, and you can see clear as day that Rarity got along well with her.

It makes you feel a little warm at that, seeing your friends get along with each other as well.

"Well, talking about stallions may have gotten that reaction out of her because she is timid… or it might just be that she likes mares," Rarity says.

Causing your thoughts to completely derail inside your head. You also cough a little bit, not managing to be really elegant about that as you nearly choke on your tea.

"I-" *cough!* "beg your pardon Rarity?"

That also makes the "she took a liking for Rarity" that you had in your mind just now turn into something else entirely.

"Well darling, she did say she lives with two friends, didn't she?" she says matter-of-factly, "but I am pretty sure we are all past the age where we have roommates or housemates just to… share the rent."

You cough a few more times at that. Your cheeks would have flushed if you were a few good years younger (but not that many, thank you very much!), but you are past being flustered at that.

Instead, what surprised you is the fact that it's Rarity saying that sort of thing.

Maybe it's the Grail speaking…? Heavens, you don't know. But you are also not about to judge. Far from it even, you think, as you idly recall a certain happenance between the two of you inside a royal chariot in Canterlot…

"Well, I am sure it's not like that… I think…" you say, trying to recompose yourself.

And this time, Rarity is the one laughing.

"Oh, I'm just joking darling. Really, if anything I have the impression she acts, well… uhm…"

But for some reason, Rarity's smile slowly disappears from her face.

"She, well…" she continues to hesitate, causing you to raise an eyebrow even.

Until she finally sighs, her eyes going downwards towards her teacup.

"Velvet, I have to admit… I think I am actually a bit worried about that friend of yours."

Oh? Your eyebrow raises a bit further at that.

This is… unexpectedly observant from Rarity, if you are reading this correctly.

"I mean, I might be wrong but there seems to be something about her that feels… not tired, but perhaps strained is the word?" she seems to think for a few more moments, until her eyes slowly rise from her teacup and go towards your own. "I mean darling, I think I noticed something on her… on her nec-?"

"Rarity," you interrupt her. Although you do nod at her to confirm that what she is thinking about is correct. "Jade is a… very troubled pony, who only very recently has decided to… get her life back on track."

You say that slowly, allowing a few moments for your words to sink in, watching as her expression slowly turns more tense as she realizes what you are talking about.

But as soon as you see that she understands what you mean, you smile at her, gently breaking the serious mood that had quietly settled over the two of you.

"So right now, I think the best thing we can do for her is to be her friends, don't you think?" you say, giving her a short wink.

Just make sure to be extra attentive to her if you feel like she really needs it, you leave unspoken. But you are sure that Rarity caught on to that as well.

After all, she seems to have a better feel of how to go around ponies than you do, and you have no shame in admitting that.

"So that said, there is something else I'd like to talk about, if you don't mind" you say, letting your voice turn a tiny bit more business-like at that, causing Rarity's ears to perk up.

"For sure darling! What do you have in mind?"

"Well, I've made a few friends among the merchants of Ponyville, and I was wondering if you could… pay them a visit? They have all sorts of curios that they can get their hoofs on, and it crossed my mind that it might just help you to get inspiration for your own work as well if you were to peruse them."

And with that, the two of you start talking about what exactly you would like her to do.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You put down the… The…

You refuse to call it a book.

You put down the sorry excuse of a literal attempt that you have just read through, brow furrowed and lips nearly trembling at how infuriating this whole ordeal just was.

Really, from beginning to end this was nothing short than a train wreck!

It all begins when a boring attempt of a self-insert from the author, who you can't even bother to remember the name, meets the inaptly named (and apparently absolutely infallible) "Drumstick", a stallion who supposedly can do everything from building houses to fighting manticores. It bears mentioning, however, that said stallion is only ever seen actually playing a damned drum on the first chapter of the book.

What follows is far, far worse of course.

The author self-insert "main character" not only the proceeds to charm said stallion to the point of obsession, but she also turns out to be such a mixture of a dense and hard-to-get mare that you…

Well, that the only words you can really think about to describe her are those that you can't really say in front of your daughters!

The rhyming and poetry sections are also catastrophic, and you lost count of how many times the author used the words "day", "hay" and "stay" to formulate those abominations in the shape of verses.

"Poor pacing," you say to yourself, while glaring at the now closed book, "poor characters… all around poor writing! Heavens, I'll have to reread All for the want of a Horseshoe Nail now, if only to remember what a good romance is supposed to look like and…"

However, your words suddenly trail off as your mind absently reminds you about the book you had planned to read next.

"And…"

It most certainly was not your favorite romance, mind you. No, the other books you are supposed to read, and that you had especially set aside your time to do so, are a book about meditation, and a poetry book that you had bought on a whim.

"And..."

Which also reminds you that.

"And I was supposed to read this book in order to learn something, wasn't I…?" you say with a defeated tone, letting out yet another anguished groan. Your hoof finding its way towards your forehead not long after.

So infuriated you were by this sorry excuse of a book, it seems, that you forgot you weren't actually reading it because it had caught your fancy or anything else. And this is just yet another reason for you to be mad at the damned piece of literature.

Because now you know that not only it has wasted your time once, but that you will also be forced to read through it again as soon as you find the time to do it. This time paying even more attention to it.

And you most certainly are not looking forward to that.

Without opening your eyes, or even taking your hoof off from your forehead, you grudgingly float the offending book towards one of your drawers. And with a heavy sigh you pick up the next one on your list.

Hopefully, your bouts with the remaining two books will go a lot better…

Spoiler: Reading rolls

[Reading a Level 1 MOTH book, CD 60]

[Roll: 25 + 14 (Learning) + 5 (Well Read) + 15 (LANTERN bonus) + 10 (Level 1 book) = 69]


[Reading a Level 2 HEART book, CD 70]

[Roll: 13 + 14 (Learning) + 5 (Well Read) + 15 (LANTERN bonus) + 20 (Level 2 book) = 67]


[Reading a Level 2 WINTER book, CD 70]

[Roll: 37 + 14 (Learning) + 5 (Well Read) + 15 (LANTERN bonus) + 20 (Level 2 book) = 91]

You have written a Level 1 Manifest of MOTH, on the nature of masks and their purpose.

You have gained one scrap of WINTER Lore.

Your Winter Lore is now level 3!

QM is happy that you have finally gained two Confidants. Tea parties may now begin in their earnest!

It is also good that the rules have just been patched to not burn books that you fail at reading. That indeed would have made little sense.

Twilight Sparkle mentoring to follow.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -



You double check your saddle purse, making sure you have everything you need, and quite a few things you might not need at all. But just like five minutes ago, everything you had set aside is neatly organized in the (rather expensive looking) leather-bound container.

Copies of all the manuscripts you have written to date, a few other books for reference in case they were needed, and tea.

Tea is important. You do expect, after all, that your "student" will still be rather… distressed.

Today is the day you have promised to meet Twilight Sparkle in order to start giving her the "lessons" you promised her. You still recall her expression when you told her you would return in a few days, as it was clear that she hoped you would start helping her make sense of the things she learned… rather immediately, so to speak. But unfortunately, that just would not have been possible.

The most important reason for that was, basically, because Twilight was not in the right mind for pretty much anything. It took you quite a while just to calm her down enough so you could talk to her, so you knew that even with all the academic skill she has Twilight wasn't really in a state where she would be able to learn anything.

Another reason that was almost as important was, simply put, because you also had to prepare. You realized as soon as you returned home that day that you… are not really quite sure how you are supposed to teach the Lores to other ponies. Speaking from experience it took you years to learn from the Master, taking in tidbits of information over the course of months during the countless cult meetings you went to.

Part of it, you suppose, was due to the Master's elusive nature. But you can't help but think in retrospect that she was in fact gently "easing" you and the other cult members into properly accepting what she was trying to teach.

After all, several things that you now know to be facts can be quite… confusing to the mind of an unprepared pony. Twilight's most recent state can only attest to that.

So, you asked Twilight for a few days, just a few days, so you could return with a lesson that had been properly planned out.

A small part of you wants to think that it has been too long, that even those few days might have been too much for the young mare. Part of you wants to think that you should have checked on her sooner, or given her more attention, or brought her back to your house just so you could keep an eye on her. But you forcefully reel in that part of you, taking a deep breath in order to calm down.

Yes, you do just that.

Besides, you…

Well, it might feel a tiny little bit like cheating, but you checked.

And since you had no flashes of, say, a certain library treehouse up in flames or blown up by a magical explosion, you are confident that nothing extremely bad must have happened.

With those thoughts in mind, you make your way through the streets of Ponyville.



And you are quite thankful when you reach her library and find it unchanged, the sole exception being that the hole on its side is completely repaired now. You think you remember Rarity telling you that one of her friends had fixed it… her name was something Jack…?



Regardless, you make your way to the front door of the library, knocking on it as soon as you reach it.

Much to your surprise, however, somepony opens the door almost immediately.

Or rather, a dragon opens it.

"Oh, hello Spike," you look down at the purple dragon curiously, raising an eyebrow as you think about how little time it took for him to get the door, "this was… rather quick."

The door is barely open though, to the point where you can only see a sliver of the inside of the library, and only part of Spike's face.

But when you take a better look at the small dragon…

A shiver runs down your spine.



"Is it her, SPIKE? Is. It. HER?!"



You hear a shout, a strained and honestly frightening shout, coming from inside the library moments later. Your entire body stiffens at that, your whole mind going blank as all your idle thoughts grind to a halt and evaporate. That shout didn't just surprise you, it actually made you feel something very close to honest fear. Some primal and deep part of you telling you that whatever let out that shout is… very close to insanity.

And Spike also is… you finally notice that spike is trembling. In fact, he looks like he has been trembling for a while now.

"S-… Spike? What is…?" you say, or rather you try to say, in a low tone. But your words fail you as you realize you don't even know exactly what you want to ask him.

For his part, however, he only looks up to you.

And you see something genuine in his eyes.

You can tell that it is not exactly fear that you see in them. It is fear, in a way, but not for himself. And as you look into his eyes you remember in an instant about everything Rarity has ever told you about the small dragon. You remember how she, in her doting way and with her doting words, described to you how he was essentially like a small foal. Spike, you know, is probably no older than your own daughter or than Rarity's sister.

To put it simply then: Spike is a child.

But what you are seeing in his eyes right now is… is a deep sort of fear. It is a mixture of fear, worry and dread that has no right to be in the eyes of one so young, be them dragon or otherwise.

And the cause of that, you can tell in an instant, is obviously…

"Y-you're that miss from the other day, right…?" he whispers, voice so low that you can barely hear him. "Please… can you help Twil-?"



"OH Spike, what are you DOING with that door CLOSED? I can't SEE her like THAT!"



That same shout, that same voice, interrupts the small dragon, and shakes you out of the small shock you were in. But before you can properly think about anything else the door is grabbed by a purple gleam of telekinesis and is practically flung open.

And you…



"She's HERE Spike. See?! JUST like I told you!"



You stiffen up slightly at what you see.

The interior of the library, the main hall that is usually lined with cabinets filled with books, now looks like a… There is no other way to describe it. It looks like the interior of a classroom.

One straight out of a horror book, that is.

Truth be told, there is no one thing in particular that stands out, no single detail that immediately makes you balk or hesitate. But the whole atmosphere of the place just feels… wrong.

For starters, the place is really set up like a classroom. Blackboards, several of them, are placed around the area, most of them outright blocking the bookcases that are behind them. All of them, without exception, have an orderly collection of chalks next to them, of almost every color you can think of.

And then there is the… the "teacher's" desk? There is a large desk a few hoofsteps away from the door, one that could not be more stereotypical if it tried. You see a small collection of books by its side, a map of Equestria placed over it and even a… disturbingly shining apple waiting for you at said desk.

Something tells you that somepony has actually polished that apple, seeing how shiny it is. And it does not escape you that the desk is suspiciously aligned to the front door, to the point that the "teacher" would literally be in position to begin the class as soon as she so much entered the room.

A small chill runs down your spine. You think you have figured out why the place is so disturbing. Everything you see, everywhere you look, is organized… excessively organized. To the point where you can imagine a certain pony spending hours on end making sure that everything is in place, down to the smallest detail.

It doesn't help that your mental image of said preparations also includes Spike being forced to stand by the door during the whole morning, ready to open the door as soon as anypony knocked on it.


And of course, the mare herself is…


Right in the middle of the hall is Twilight Sparkle, sitting on a wooden chair and behind a wooden desk like a filly on her first day at school. A small saddle bag is hanging neatly behind her chair, filled to the brim with school supplies, that looks all the more unsettling because… well, because this is her house, and she could simply go up a flight of stairs and fetch any materials that she required should the need arise.

She also has a smile on her face that is all too wide to be either honest or healthy.

And you…

You swallow something dry as you take all of that in, your eyes making a full round through the hall before finally settling back on her.

"Hello Twi… light…?" you hesitate, not really sure of what in the heavens you are supposed to do.

"Good afternoon TEACHER!" is all she answers, her eyes expectantly glued on you to the point that you are sure you will be able to feel her stare should you turn your back to her.

Which only causes you to freeze even further. This is definitely not what you thought would be waiting for you.

You glance at Spike with a worried expression, but much to your dismay he only answers your gaze with one of downright fear of his own.

And at that, you can't help but…



[A Mentor must be always calm, breakpoints 30/70/100]

[Roll: 93 + 9 (Martial) + 15 (WINTER bonus) – 15 (Twilight's FASCINATION) = 102]

[You know what to do, and more importantly you know what to prioritize]



But return her stare with one of your own.

However, you don't return her stare with the same intensity. Quite on the contrary, even.

You return her bright and maddened stare with one of cold calm, and pity.

You can see it clearly, that light coming from behind her eyes, that smudged taint of obsession and… well, not of delirium. Not yet at least. You can see it in there, and you can see how that light is distorting the way she sees the world, and how in return she is distorting the world around her so as to conform with her view.

But… you can also see that this problem is much greater than Twilight Sparkle herself. You had a vague idea of just how much she was out of it, last time you met her. You even made sure to stay with her for a good while after you had promised her to give her lessons, just to make sure that she was better.

You had honestly, truthfully thought that she would be fine during the few days you were away. You knew that the ugly light behind her eyes was still there when you left, but you had no idea that waiting for you would have made her be like this.

Your eyes wander around the twisted classroom once again, and you let out a sigh as you analyze all of it with a more clinical gaze.

You wonder how it was like.

You wonder how it was like for her, the mare who is too smart for her own good, as she was trapped in the shiny confines of her own mind.

And also, you wonder how it was like for…

"Spike," you say. He almost jumps up as you suddenly talk to him, but he stands his ground and looks up at you regardless.

You wonder how it was like for him. A small twinge of guilt adds itself to what you are already feeling inside your chest, as you think about that.

After all, Rarity did tell you that he and Twilight have a very deep bond. He was also there when you visited Twilight a few months back, during that study session.

But you also remember that he was not here a few days ago, when you visited Twilight again. Or at least you didn't see him. You wonder for a moment where he might have been then...

Maybe he was hiding somewhere in the house, terrified of the way Twilight was acting? Maybe he was out, trying to call one of her friends to talk to her one more time?

You don't know. But you do know he has probably been with her during the entire thing… while she was like this. This whole ordeal must have been far more frightening to him that it is being disturbing to you.

So, you realize you owe fixing this mess to Spike as much as you owe it to Twilight.

"I'm sorry," you say to the small purple dragon. "And I promise I'll help Twilight," you finish.

And then you turn your attention back to the mare sitting at the center of the library.



- - -



The two of you look at Twilight Sparkle. You have no idea of what must be going through her mind, but at least her expression looks calm as she lays on her bed.

You can hear Spike fidgeting by your side. You can tell that he is a bit calmer now, although only slightly. But you don't blame him for that. He has probably seen her sleep too many times by now, hoping that she would wake up better only to be disappointed.

"I've already seen her like this…" Spike says hesitantly, "back when she studied at the castle. Well, not nearly this bad to be honest. But whenever Celestia gave her a special project, or when she was close to her exams, or when she had to… well, she'd also lose sleep and be less… normal."

He looks towards the ground as he talks, not really sure of what to say next. He nervously raises a clawed hand a few moments later, scratching against the scales of his cheeks more out of agitation than anything else.

"But never like this…" you hear him mumble.

The two of you have been like this for a while now, sitting on Twilight's room and watching her sleep.

Getting here wasn't exactly hard. You realized in an instant that you would not be able to talk reason into her. That, and well… you took your time to talk to her the last time you were here, and you left her thinking that she would be alright.

But it seems that she regressed back to her initial state, or got worse, not long after. So talking while she is in that state probably would not help.

Instead, you put on your best "teacher" voice, and asked her to "demonstrate" if she could perform a sleeping spell on herself. Moments later you were following Spike towards her room, and away from that twisted classroom, while you carried her with your magic.

Seeing that she is sleeping now, you are taking your time to talk to Spike himself.

In all honesty, he nearly frightened you the first time you saw him. After all he is still a dragon, no matter how small. Talking to Rarity did help you to at least think of him as "harmless", but you had not really stopped seeing him as a dragon.

But right now… you can only look at him as a frightened and lost colt.

"You have been with her for a long time now, haven't you?" you ask him.

And he gives you a despondent nod for an answer.

"She uh… she actually hatched me, miss…"

"Just call me Velvet, dear."

"Okay… well, I was told I was just an egg back at the School for Gifted Unicorns, and she hatched me during her entrance exam… must have been ten years ago, I think, but Twilight and her family are…"

You nod at that. They basically adopted the dragon, you can tell.

"Well, Twilight is like a sister to me."

"I think I understand…"

You wave your horn, making it glow for a few moments. Your saddle purse glows with the same light shortly after, and you gently bring out the tea you have brought with you.

You had originally brought the tea for Twilight, but she is sleeping right now. And you really think Spike needs a bit of calming down more than she does as things stand.

After all, comparing pains is not something you really think is possible… But Twilight is currently not herself, as she goes through all of this. Spike, on the other hoof, was forced to live through this whole experience while perfectly sane and lucid.

And that is, again, without mentioning how young he is.

"You care for her very much, don't you?" you ask, pouring the hot tea out of the magical container and offering him a cup.

"Yeah…" he says, accepting the tea but still looking downwards.

From his tone, you can very clearly tell that he left a big "she is everything I have" unsaid.

"And I'm sure she cares for you too," you say, seeing him give a small nod at that.



The two of you stay for a while like that.



- - -



You and Spike talked a little more, and you slowly tried to calm his nerves down.

He asked you why Twilight Sparkle was like that, and you answered him that this was just one of the dangers of studying magic.

You asked him to tell you a bit about Twilight, and you were treated to a heartwarming, even if weighted down by the current circumstances, description of the mare by one who sees himself as her little brother.

The two of you talked, and you think you did a good job at calming down his young heart.

But you know that you won't be able to help him by just talking. Nothing short of making Twilight better will be enough to actually fix this situation and you know that.

So, you asked him to wait outside while you set to work. You thought he would be a little more resistant to that, considering how much he cares for Twilight Sparkle. But it seems that he is already used to "unicorn magic stuff" as he put it, and you did tell him you would use a bit of magic. That, or perhaps he is just the kind of pony… the kind of dragon that can't stand still for long, seeing how he said he would go downstairs and start cleaning up the "classroom" while you worked.

Regardless, you take this as a sign of trust from him, if nothing else.

And that does makes you feel slightly conflicted, considering your involvement in Twilight Sparkle's situation…

Maybe he doesn't know that you are… partly to blame for Twilight's current predicament? You start piecing together the past events as you think about that. Maybe he was too young and naïve to connect the dots, being too innocent to think that you could possibly be to blame for this, seeing that you are here to help.

Or maybe it is because you told him you are close to Rarity.

Regardless, you must take care of Twilight now, for her own sake and for his.

And you do have a plan… unpleasant as it might be.

The thing that strikes you the most is the fact that… that you can feel, that you can see that Twilight has a problem. Not as a subjective malady that is affecting her mannerism and reason, but as something that you can truly see when you look into her eyes.

What disturbs you the most is that her affliction is a very real taint that is inside of her, slick with Glory and its allure. Perhaps it might even be said that this is an Influence, twisted and misused.

After all, you know that the Lores are as much knowledge as they are reality. You know they change your mind as you learn them, much like how they change the world when they are properly applied.

So, you think, Twilight's ailment is related to the Lores and caused by the Lores, and befell her by sheer virtue of the mare… studying in the incorrect manner, of all things. Perhaps there is a comparison to be made between her and a botanist that was poisoned while studying a new species of plant, but you have no time to entertain such thoughts.

No… you have work to do.

A grim work, at that.

For if her problem is the excess of light inside her mind… you will work to douse that light.

You will try to make this as painless as possible to her. But you also know that, by sheer principle, this will not be pleasant.

With steady hoofsteps you walk towards Twilight Sparkle, sitting next to her bed when you are close enough.

And with that, you start whispering the words into Twilight's sleeping ears.

You start whispering to her the same words, heavy with Moth and the long shadows that trees cast at night, that you would whisper while weaving a nightmare. Not exactly the same words that your Master whispered months ago, while hunting for a demigoddess, but they share the same principle. After all, at this range you have no need for Knock or a Ritual Circle.

You start whispering to her how her life might turn out if she continues to foster that opaque light behind her eyes. You whisper to her how her life will be like if Spike were to leave her, because of that.

You start whispering to her how things would be… if he were to die by her fault, by virtue of a twisted accident or otherwise, should she allow herself to be drawn deeper and deeper into the fascinating light of her derangement.



[Smothering the light]

[Roll: 88 + 13 (Magic) + 30 (MOTH, level 3) = 131]



…

When she wakes up, she doesn't scream or fumble about. She doesn't even move.

When Twilight Sparkle wakes up, she only opens her eyes.

Moments later, you see tears falling down through her cheeks, soaking the pillow under her head. But still, she doesn't move an inch.

And you patiently wait.

"Wh…" she tries to say something, but fails, her voice too heavy with emotion to convey anything.

So you patiently wait, as she tries to speak, again, and again, and again.

Until she finally manages to form something that is more than a syllable.

"What… happened to me…?" is all she asks.

And you finally allow yourself to move, gently bringing a hoof to her cheeks so as to dry her tears.

"Twilight, first of all I am sorry," you say, your voice calm but utterly honest. "I… can't promise that I will be able to shield you from everything, but I promise I will do everything I can."

She slowly turns to face you, and you can see in her expression that she is…

Sad.

Confused.

Shocked.

But to your absolute surprise… she is not scared.

That baffles you for a few moments, although you don't let it show on your face. But for some reason you... you think you know why that is.

Although you will have to check, you think, as you formulate your next words.

"Let me ask you something Twilight… do you know what the dangers of studying magic are?"

You know she does, you are sure of it. You are asking that partly to check how much she is really conscious and out of her shock… and to check if your suspicions are correct, as to why she is not… scared.

"Y-yeah…" she says, still chocking back tears, but slowly getting her bearings back. "Wounds… permanent transfigurations… irreparable damages… blown up horns…"

You nod towards her. Yes, the list of dangers is long, and that is one of the chief concerns to anypony who is teaching young unicorns: to hammer into them that magic is not a plaything. All sorts of terrible things can happen and sometimes, if a foal is especially talented or has a great predisposition to magic, it can happen when they are still incredibly young.

That sort of thing is also a great cause of fear to non-unicorn ponies who have unicorn foals… but that is beside the point.

No. What matters is that you think you know why Twilight seems so…

You dare not say that she is encouraged after this whole ordeal, but she does seem… less intimidated?

"That's right," you continue, "and much like how learning unicorn magic has its dangers, all of them centered around your horn… learning what I am going to teach you will also have its own sets of dangers. Some of them centered around your body, some of them affecting the very world around you… but many of them centered around your mind."

You see her nod at that, her expression a mixture of concentration at your words, and utter grief for very obvious reasons, considering what she just woke up from.

"And we just pulled you out from one of those dangers, Twilight… Again, I am very sorry that this happened to begin with, but if nothing else… well, I want you to promise me that you will not study or experiment on anything that I teach you on your own, alright?" you say, summoning up your most teacher-like voice with all the gentleness you can muster.

Thankfully, Twilight simply nods at that… and considering how much it seems that the mare likes to research on her own, you can't help but think that something good might have come out from all of this.

If nothing else, at least this fright will ensure that she won't go too deep into the Lores while away from your supervision…

But you will worry about that later. In all honesty, you think this was more than enough for today's "lesson". You are just glad that Twilight Sparkle is fine now, as you can't see even the slightest hint of that light in her eyes.

Actual learning can come much, much later.

"Well then," you say, finally letting a smile appear on your lips, "I think we have had quite enough for today. I'll see myself out."

Without another word you get up and head towards the door. As soon as you turn your back to her though, you hear the mare finally let out the repressed sobs she had been holding back, each growing louder than the last as you walk away from her.

But still, you keep walking. Partly to afford her a little dignity, as it seems she tried her best to hide from you just how frightened she was, but also because...

Because you feel… wrong. Perhaps the correct word would be "stained" or "dirty", but you definitely don't feel well.

You know what you did to Twilight Sparkle. You know exactly what you did to bring her to this point, and you know precisely what you whispered in her ears and into her dreams in order to pull her out of it.

You very much want to go back and hug her, you want to be there for her as she finishes waking up and the entirety of her memories come crashing down on her.

But you can't.

You can't do that because you are not Spike, and you know that the one she very dearly needs right is her little brother…

And you can't because you know how deep your hoofs are in all of this mess.

You don't have the right to console her. Not like this. Not after everything you have done.

Spike might never connect the dots of how exactly things played out. Twilight, on the other hoof, might be able to piece everything together, but you can already tell that ultimately she "understands" why things turned out like this, seeing how she immediately understood that learning about this is as dangerous as learning about unicorn magic.

She might understand this, and brush this whole experience off as she might a particularly bad attempt with a rather explosive spell. It can be that she has already forgiven you.

But you… you don't forgive yourself.

It might just be that you never will.

...

Well, you are just glad, from the bottom of your heart, that you managed to fix this whole mess without any sort of permanent damage.





Spike is too young for his bond to be tracked as anything other than an Acquaintance, but you can confidently tell that you are closer to him now.

Twilight Sparkle has been healed of her Fascination.

You tried to be as gentle as possible, but you still had to hurt her a little in order to save her from something far worse. She has already forgiven you, and immediately learned the lesson that these things you will teach her will be as dangerous as learning unicorn magic. It can also be said that this whole ordeal has been taken care of very well. But personally, you still…

Is this what being a mentor is supposed to feel like?

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Memories are… curious things.

They are experiences to put it simply. Flashes and images, smells and sounds that hinge inside your mind. But the interesting thing about them is that all of your memories, no matter how small, are also a part of you.

More than that, even. Your memories are what make you.

Like the countless stars that dot the night sky.

Like the numberless little things that comprise a house.

Each memory, each recollection, is like a single star. Every single memory is like a small object inside your house. They can be great and important, like the brightest star of a constellation or a pillar that supports an upper floor. Or they can be small and easily forgotten, like a pinprick star that disappears at the slightest hint of a fog, or a key to a room you have never bothered to lock.

Yes. Memories are curious things.

But what do they leave behind… when they are gone?

…

You remembered something. A memory from long, long ago. Although you can't exactly put a hoof on when, or why, it was that you recalled said memory.

Maybe it was after you returned home from Twilight Sparkle's library, after whispering to her a nightmare about a lonely death. Maybe it was on the morning that you read that article on the newspaper, about how no less than twenty-six royal guards perished after, according to the few survivors, clashing with almost just as many manticores as they had ponies in their search party, on the peaks of the Macintosh Hills.

Again, you are not sure exactly of why or when you remembered it, but it did come back to your mind the memory of...

The memory of a day when you were no older than a filly, and you were crying because you suddenly imagined how the world would be like if your older brother were to die.

That memory by itself feels almost like a dream. You can only recall flashes of it, at best, and the feeling that you were obviously sad. But you can't really put a hoof on when that happened, or what caused it.

Did you suddenly start crying because you were all too young, and had for the very first time in your life been introduced to the concept of "death"? Did that happen when you were so young that you still had a connection with your older brother, and that memory took place before your father began… distancing you from him?

You don't know. You don't remember that much.

But that memory, that sudden remembrance, did make you wonder… how did that experience affect you? What did that memory leave behind, in the depths of your mind, even after you had forgotten about it?

It wasn't "nothing". The answer could not possibly be nothing.

Because memories… well, it is not that memories are "never truly gone", but…



You take a deep breath, trying to focus your thoughts.

You can feel your body relax as the cold air fills your lungs, and you hold your breath for a few moments longer before exhaling.

The droplets of rain, as well, are unusually soothing as they hit your entire body. You remember Stormchaser telling you that there would be a violent storm this night.

And he was not lying, you think, smiling at the thought of your husband.



Right, you think, back to the matter at hand…

Memories.

You can't say that memories are never truly gone. Everything ends, everything is gone one day, but then… what do memories leave behind?

Is it perhaps the thing called "experience"? Do memories, especially those you make during your childhood, eventually coalesce into habits and instincts?

But then what about, say, the similarities that a foal has to their parents? A pony's memories are what makes them, of course, but their memories only make their own "self". There are other things that are inherited, you know, by blood and by magic. Things that serve as a foundation, so to speak, and that…

No, this is wrong. What you are thinking about is not incorrect, of course, but this is not the path that will lead you to the answer you seek.

"Memories…" you say to yourself, the thunderstorm raging around you with such strength that you can hardly hear your own voice, "it is not that they leave something behind, but…"

Ah…

You think you understand it, now. Or at least a part of it.

It is not that they leave something behind. They are gone, after all, so they cannot leave any remnants.

However, they do leave an… an empty space?

"Yes…" you say, smiling as the cold wind of the storm caresses you, "I think that's right…"

They leave a trace behind, so to speak, that is the empty space where they once existed. A vestige that can only be outlined by the shape it has hollowed out.

Like a… like a hoofstep left on fresh snow, by a pony who passed by that place long, long ago.

Yes… it might be that some day even that… that echo, that empty space, will vanish. It might be that some day the tracks left behind will be truly and completely covered by the falling snow, and all of it will be well and truly forgotten.

But you know for a fact that… it takes much more than a lifetime for that to happen.

And that memory will always affect the pony that made it, no matter how old the memory is, or how old the pony gets. Or even if it has been consciously forgotten.

Even if said pony has died, something will still linger. Even if it only is the empty space left by their death.

You nod to yourself, slowly, sagely, your soaked mane dripping down small rivers as you move, but you don't really mind that. That, or the cold.

You can barely feel it.

But still, if memories, or perhaps their echoes, can linger for longer than a pony might live… then what about death?

Thinking about death was what started you on all of this, you think. You are not sure if it was Spike's death, or the death of the guards…

Or if it is the unavoidable fact that one day you, your husband and even your beloved daughter will die.

But it surely was death that made you ponder all of this. So, what about death?

Or rather… what is death, even?

You look around you, gazing at your surroundings as the thunderous storm falls as far as your eyes can see.

You look down, gazing at the lifeless body over which you are standing, its unmoving face staring back at you with its closed eyelids.

You sit down at the cold and soaked dirt ground of Ponyville's only cemetery, gazing at the grave you dug out and the casket you forced open.

And you ponder about what all of this really means.

Is this really all there is to it? Is becoming a lifeless corpse all there is to life?

Are ponies merely their bodies and their minds, and perhaps their spirits?

You know about the Blank Plains, you know what death feels like, and you know what death means… or at least what it used to mean long, long ago. But right here, right now, in this world… if you were to drop dead where you stand, what would that really mean?

Is this what… your Master is referring to when he says the world is crooked? After all, you have already gazed upon the ancient afterlife of ponykind… and it is empty.

Could it be that your Master meant something as deep as this…? Could her usual discourse have this layer of depth, from which she purposefully sheltered you with your own ignorance?

Could it be that now… in this world… "death" is nothing more than the cessation of your bodily functions? After all, you can't say you would truly be dead if you found yourself at the Blank Plains after dying but…

But will you actually go there? Will anypony?

You…

You don't know.



Not yet.



You take a deep breath, the coolness of your body soothing your calm mind. You lack the knowledge to answer those questions, for now. But some day, perhaps, you will know enough.

But what you do know, what you can say with absolute certainty, is that the pony you are looking at… is not dead. The corpse you are staring at, the one whose grave you dug out and whose coffin you forced open with magic, is not dead.

His spirit might have already left him, his mortal coil might have already stopped functioning long ago, but he is not dead yet.

He might not be alive, that is for sure, but he is not dead.

Because you can still feel… that echo, in him. You can still feel that his memories, an entire life's worth of memories, have left a track on the fresh snow that has not yet been completely covered.

There is still something in there. Something that you can put to use, in a way.

With that in mind, you set about your task.



- - -



These things… they are not his memories. They are the things that his memories left behind. They are like echoes, fading in the wind. They are like hoofsteps, imprints left in the mud that will soon disappear. They are like all those things, but they are not memories.

To call upon them is not enough to truly revive him, for they are less than even the shadow that he had in life. They are not even enough to form the silhouette of his personality. They are so faint that even a loved one would not be able to recognize that this… thing might once have been who he was in life. When it comes to mannerism, at least.

But these echoes… they are more than enough to remind him, or rather his body, of what a pony is supposed to be like.

They are enough to remind him of how one is to walk with four legs. They are enough for him… for it to understand speech and orders and will.

They are enough… to fulfill your needs.

It was not a ritual, the thing you did. It was not even something that you might call a spell. No, it was as simple as allowing gravity to run its course. It was as easy as calling forth a tendril of the Woods, and allowing it to take place in his heart and flourish among his organs.

The only thing you had to do, in fact, was preserve those echoes of memories, so that the Wood-boughs might understand what vessel they are inhabiting, and how they are supposed to move their new body.

It was a lot like… like making a puppet, so to speak. You merely held the echoes together long enough for the vessel to be filled, and the rest happened on its own.

It took you a few hours, but… it was actually not that long of a process.



The thing that is shaped like a pony is surprisingly lithe and silent, also, and it obeys you without the slightest hint of hesitation. You are sure you will be able to put it to good use.



With that in mind, you finally arrive at the gates of your mansion. A few choice words directed at your servant has it going towards the nearby hills where it will hide. It will hear your call, later, when you choose to summon it once again.

But you will not worry about that now. After all, you think as you calmly walk through the garden, you have just arrived home.

And you almost reach the front doors when they practically burst open.

"Velvet?! By Celestia, what are you doing out here?!"

Your husband practically runs towards you, the thunderous storm battering at him as soon as he steps out of the mansion. But still he makes his way to you, opening a wing so as to cover you as soon as he reaches you.

"I've been looking for you all over the house, what are you…" he asks, his face twisted with worry and fear as he all but pushes you away from the storm and into the house.

His words freeze, however, as soon as he hugs you with one of his wings.

Your husband's body is pleasantly warm, you note. But that must mean that you, in comparison, are not so much.

"Sweetheart you… you're freezing! Wha… Why?!" he asks, as the two of you finally make it into the mansion.

The comparative silence when he closes the door behind you, as the thunderstorm is finally muted away, is also pleasant.

You take a few more moments to enjoy all of this, both his warmth and the silence, before you start talking.

"Don't worry dear," you say calmly, "I just had something on my mind, so I went out for a walk on the garden."

There is no need for him to know that your thoughts eventually led you far away from the estate's gardens. But there is also no need to lie to your dear husband, you think.

"Velvet dear it… we had a scheduled storm for the entire night!" he says, his voice loud out of sheer worry, "I… I told you so. I always send you the weather forecast and…!"

You can't help but to smile at that, an honest and calm smile that for some reason gives him pause. You can see the confusion that is building up within his mind and you…

You really just want him to calm down.

You are fine. Everything is fine.

Why is he worried, even?

Thinking about that, you simply turn towards him, still under his wings, and embrace him with your forelegs.

"Don't worry dear. I just went out for a walk."

"Sweetheart, you are…" you feel him hesitate at that, "you are… freezing. You almost feel like a corpse and…"

"Don't worry dear," you say, as your husband voice hesitates more and more. "Everything is alright… I promise."

You don't feel tired. You don't feel cold.

It might be that your body is tired and cold, but you are not your body, and you know these things will pass.

After all, your body is just a corpse that is still moving, isn't it? And what really matters, the thing that really is Velvet Covers, is much, much more than just your corpse.

Right?

"But Velvet, I… I woke up and I couldn't find you and… and I'm worried for you and…"

"Hush, Stormy…" you gently whisper into his ear, hearing him try and fail to say something, anything. His confusion now all too great for him to be able to make sense of any of this.

So you keep him in your embrace, patiently waiting for him to calm down. You love him too much to just leave him like this, after all, and he deserves far better than all this tension and confusion he is feeling.

"I'm still here… isn't this what really matters?"

You finally feel him sag at that, the rigidness in his body slowly disappearing as he…

As he finally calms down?

As he finally gives up?

You don't really mind which of those two it was. What really matters right now is that he is finally calming down, and that he is finally hugging you back.

Yes. You might not know what death really is, you might now know how death currently works in this world. Perhaps you might never know, even after you die. But right now, you are alive. Right now, you are still making memories.

And right now, that is all that matters.

"Now, why don't we go back to sleep?" you ask, as you finally let go of your hug and gently pull him so he will follow after you.

You notice the worried glance he gives you, as he cautiously follows you upstairs. You can sense the fear about him as you calmly lead the two of you to your bedroom.

But you know that his worries will pass, and that his fear will fade.

Everything does.





You have meditated on the nature of death and stillness, of memories and of what is left behind when a pony dies. You have learned how to call upon some of those remnants, as they have been left behind and thus belong to nopony anymore.

You have learned how to summon a Flourishing Risen from a dead body, conserving the echo of its likeness to ponykind with the cold of Winter, and allowing a piece of the Woods to flourish within the corpse through virtue of Moth. These servants are lithe and silent, until they finally take root and stop moving.

You have learned how to summon a Torn Risen from a dead body, conserving the echo of its likeness to ponykind with the cold of Winter, and imbuing its shattered bones with the memory of strife and movement. These servants are silent and deadly, with sharp bone-fragments protruding from their hoofs and bodies, until they crumble and fall apart.

Physical discomforts no longer affect you, and you are unnaturally resistant to cold.

This means, mechanically, that you will no longer receive a "- 10 (Wounded)" or a "- 20 (Dehydrated)" debuff, if you happen to be affected by them.

However, you most definitely can STILL be wounded, burned and the likes. Conservation of the body is still up to Heart.

You merely no longer mind being just a bit… corpse-like.

You no longer mind standing perfectly still, in a graveyard, for hours. In the dead of night. During a thunderous storm.

You also no longer mind being silent.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You have summoned a Flourishing Risen!

A "Bestiary" entry will be added at the "Known Rituals, and Lore Invocations" Informational threadmark.

Flourishing (and Torn) Risen, exceptionally, last only TWO months, and CANNOT have their summoning period renewed or reset like other summons.

The Flourishing Risen, as a summon, has a "Minion" level bond of obedience, and will begin acting this month (turn), and will disappear at the end of the next month (turn).

That said, vote for his action this month.


Flourishing Risen (summoned minion, WINTER Level 2, MOTH Level 2):

Current Health: 1
General bonus: +5
[MONSTROUS APPEARANCE]: Cannot be used for Social Actions.
[UNINTELLIGENT]: Will perform badly at Actions that require academic knowledge. (This creature is still cunning, and will not walk into traps or act foolishly)

-[X] Stick to the shadows. (DEFAULT PICK) (The Flourishing Risen will stalk you, but otherwise will not act. By doing so it will be close by to jump to your defense if you suddenly find yourself in danger.)
-[] Stalk. (WRITE IN WHOM) (The Flourishing Risen will stalk a target of your choice, but otherwise will not act. It will jump to your target's defense should they suddenly find themselves in danger.)
-[] Accompany you, and lend her hoof. (Pick HALF of your own personal actions, rounded DOWN. The Flourishing Risen will help you in those actions to the best of its abilities)
-[] Act as your emissary. (Pick an EXTRA action from your own pool. The Flourishing Risen will perform it, ALONE, and report to you later)
-[] Lead an Expedition. UNINTELLIGENT summons cannot be trusted with leading an expedition.
-[] Other (WRITE IN, in case you have a viable idea that I have not thought about. Certain ideas might even enter this list if they make sense)



Please note that the general rules and details of summoned creatures is very likely to see a lot of changes as the Quest progresses. QM is not perfect!

As a final note, this minion is incapable of speech. But you will NOT have trouble in receiving a report from it if you send it to do something.

And lets have a two hours moratorium, because there might be questions about this new thing.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -



You wake up the following day feeling surprisingly refreshed.

And that gets you thinking about… all of this.

This feeling that you have, this calmness that still accompanies you, you can't help but to meditate on it after you wake up.

It is not apathy, you realize. Apathy is a lack of feelings, so to speak. Like a numbness of sorts, an incapacity to feel either because a pony is too jaded or too hollow to care. You have already seen apathy, perhaps in your mother or perhaps in Jade Whistle when you first met her.

You have already felt apathy. For a long time, even. Years stuck in your room and bound to a bed come to mind and…

Well, you know apathy. And this thing you are feeling right now is most certainly not that.

You can't describe it as any way other than that you feel… calm? You feel something very close to calmness. But still, something tells you that this tranquility is an aftereffect of this whole ordeal, not its cause.

And the cause is…

"Ah," you say to yourself, still under the covers of your bed. "The cause is… it's certainty."

Yes… this thing that you have in your mind, this feeling that is permeating you, it is the thing called certainty. You realize that what is happening is that you are now certain of a very specific thing. And how could you not be? After all, now you know…

You know that everything will end.

You know that everypony will die.

You might not know what happens next, not anymore at least. You don't have that level of certainty… yet. But now you are certain are certain that... not that "this is all there is to life", since you don't know what comes after, but that "this is how things will happen".

Sure, everypony knows that everypony will eventually die. This is something that one realizes when they are as young as foals. But… how to explain it, you wonder?

It is not just that you merely know. The difference is that you understand it now.

It's like… learning magic or understanding a complex formula. All ponies know they will die, much like how all ponies know that unicorns can do magic, or how all ponies know that an apple will fall from a tree. But knowing how… or rather, understanding how a magic truly works, or comprehending how and why the apple will fall… That is what has happened to you. You have come to comprehend the formula.

The only difference is that you have understood a formula of life. Not "the" formula of life, of course, but "a" formula. Or, at least, the general strokes of it. Particularly, the inevitability that all lives will converge to the same point.

And that point is cessation.

More importantly however, is that the difference that this makes to you is…

"Curious," you say to yourself, as you slowly start to work your way from underneath the blankets of your bed.

It is curious, you think, because nothing has changed. Not the world, not your body, not your mind. There is no great wall around your thoughts now, keeping certain feelings away. No subtle change in your life, like you experienced before when you got a little deeper on a certain Lore.

No change, that is, but one. And perhaps this might be the subtlest form of change that there is.

The only thing that is different now… is how you view things.

You are still yourself. You can feel it. You still love your family very much, you still care for your friends and loved ones. You can tell that everything is still in their proper places.

But you can also tell that now you have the…

"The what?" you muse out loud, as you gently get off your bed and look around your room, "the… choice?"

You roll that word around your head for a few moments, and it feels…

Accurate.

Yes, you can tell that now you have… something akin to an option.

You don't dream anymore. Every time you fall asleep you feel this strange… option, so to speak. It feels a little bit like being before a large lake or a bathtub, and you have the option to slip into it or not. Every time you fall asleep, now, you have the option to allow yourself to fall into the Mansus.

Much like how it is with doors, now. Every time you touch a door you have the option to simply push it and open it in a brutish fashion… or you can choose to open it as doors are truly meant to be open.

And now you can tell that you have… another option available to you.

You have the choice not to… worry?

No, that doesn't feel right.

You still worry, you still love, you recall wanting your husband not to feel so scared or confused yesterday. You know that you still care.

But rather, you can now choose not to…

"Not to suffer…" you whisper softly to nopony in particular.

And having that option, you know, makes a whole world of difference.

The world will still move around you. Far too many things will still be painful. But now that you know… that you truly know that everything will end, you feel that you can weather it far, far better than you would before.

Suffering can be a great motivator, of course, and already you realize that always hiding yourself behind this "choice" will be neither to your benefit, nor comfortable for those around you. After all, you know pain and tribulations more often than not can help a pony grow… if not in excess, of course…

But at least, now you have the choice.



With that in mind, you make your way out of your room. You have a lot to do.

And added to those things, you soon realize, is the fact that your husband is nowhere to be seen. He was not there when you woke up and, as you search for him around the house, you realize none of the servants know where he went.

And you choose to…

"Oh dear," you say, already feeling a pang of tension appearing inside your chest.

Yes. You choose to worry about this.



- - -



Your husband eventually came back, later on that same day, and you made sure to…

Well, it makes you sound bad when you think that you "didn't do anything", but that's the course of action that you decided to take. But it really is a matter of wording. It is not like you didn't do anything, but rather you made sure not to give him any more reasons to be worried.

Namely, for the several following days you did your utmost best to let your family's routine, the usual calm motion that your lives used to have (until very recently, that is…) settle back into place once again.

Stormchaser's next work trip is scheduled only for a few weeks from now, so you figured that the best way to have your dear husband calm down is to not give him anything else to worry about. And for that to happen, there is really nothing better than to have one normal day after the other. Wake up, have breakfast with your daughters, get to work on your office, spend some quality time with him between your bouts of work until your girls return, so on, so on.

In fact, recently you have been working a lot less, and a lot more efficiently… because of reasons. So, all things considered, you have been spending a lot more time with him than you used to the past few years.

So really, other than planning something completely out of the ordinary like a trip or something, you have been doing your best to show your husband that everything is alright. The… rather unfortunate breakdown you had last month, and the scare from a few days back, were simply points out of the curve. Or at least that's what you have been working to subtly show him, by means of making it clear that your lives have not been affected by it.

And also, of course, you elected this more passive route because… Well, he made it very clear that he does not want to talk about certain things. And these "things" would have surely be brought into focus if you had decided on a more direct route to address the issue of his… recent worrying.

You just hope that it is working of course. Stormchaser certainly looks calmer now, and definitely less stressed than he was after he returned home a few days back. But it's not like you can read him that well.

Well… in your defense, though, you have been catching glimpses from… some recent memories of yours. Of course, it is hard to understand context from quick flashes of image, but you do notice that there has been an "uptick", so to speak, of more idyllic situations from your fellow Velvet Covers…

So… you hope everything is progressing well between you and your husband?

"Excuse me ma'am," your thoughts are interrupted by a knock on your door, followed by Ponpon entering shortly after, "we have received some mail that I think you would like to read."

You shake your head a little bit, pushing your recent worries away for a few moments.

You also make sure that the… "switch", as you have come to call it, is neatly stuck in a corner of your mind. Far, far away from you. Not being affected by certain things is certainly a very useful skill to have, but you are not about to use that mindset to worry less about your husband's mental health if you can avoid it, thank you very much.

After double checking that everything is in its proper place inside your head, you turn your attention to Ponpon. You think the mare said something as she entered, but you are not quite sure what it was.

"Yes Ponpon, what is it?" you ask, blinking a few times to make sure your eyes are open.

"Mail, ma'am," she patiently says, walking towards you and placing an envelope over your desk, "from the main house."

"Oh?"

You feel your heart skip for a moment, and this time you welcome your… calmness.

Correspondence from the main house usually comes in bundles, together with the administrative answers to your reports and general instructions of how the farmlands are expected to operate on the coming season. That is to say your father's usual letters, which revolves around his criticism towards you in general, also come in these bundles.

Letters from the main house that are delivered outside of these bundles are usually… not so great news. Things that warrant the use of a courier, most often. Urgent matters or actual threats from your father because of something that came up.

You have received very few of those, and all of them were followed by bad tidings.

Your mind dives into the calm like you might have dived into a cool lake during a hot day.

And suddenly… you realize after taking a deep breath that not even your father seems to be that important.

Who knows, this might even be a letter telling you that he has passed away? Details and set dates for a funeral, perhaps?

"I see. Let's see what this is about," you say with a calm voice, gently floating the letter towards you with a flick of your horn.

But as you read the name on the letter you…

"Wait. This was written by uncle Steppes?"

You gently poke your head out of that cool lake of calmness.

"Yes, ma'am. That's what's written on the envelope," Ponpon says, stifling a laughter of sorts.

You tilt your head at that, looking at the letter and then looking at Ponpon, who for some reason you can't help but think is acting rather smug.

You drag your now soaked mind-body out of the figurative lake of calm and proceed to rip the envelope open with your magic.

"But I…" you start saying, confusion clear in your voice, "I wrote him just three days ago… about that problem with the Needles and whatnot and…"

You float the letter itself out of the envelope as your mind tries to work out how the hay he was able to answer so quickly. Your letter must have reached him yesterday morning, you think. But for his answer to have reached you today must have meant not only that he wrote back on the spot, but also that he had it delivered by pegasus courier.

And… well, if you think about it like that it is physically possible for him to have answered so quickly. Sure. But what really baffles you then is…

"Why in the heavens would he ever bother to write back so quickly?" you ask Ponpon.

You mostly wrote him about idle things, after all. You did mention the whole Needle affair, as well as the fact that it would be lovely if you two could settle on a date for him to come over, but still that was just an introductory letter of sorts. You haven't spoken to your uncle in years before meeting him in Canterlot, so you really thought that it would be best to just start calmly exchanging letters with him.

"And…" you start saying on again, but your words get stuck in your throat as soon as you begin reading the letter. And that is because…

Well, because calling it a "letter" would be beyond generous, for starters.

After all, no matter how many times you read it over, or how much your hoof-reading confirms it. The "letter" you are holding is only eight words long.

And you have no idea what in the heavens you are supposed to make of it.

You re-read it, again and again, just to make sure your senses are not fooling you.

You mean to say I have TWO grandnieces?!?!

-Velvet Steppes​

What… what in the heavens is this supposed to mean?

Sure, it is signed by your uncle… but still, you can't make heads or tails of why he would send this!

"Ponpon," you speak up, making your confusion clear while your eyes are still on the letter. Maybe there were more letters attached and they got lost? Or haven't even arrived yet? Or perhaps… "Are you quite sure this i-?"



"COVERS!"



But you are interrupted, and you nearly jump out of your chair, as the doors to your office are slammed open with a shout.

Revealing the fiery-eyed figure of your uncle.

"I cannot… And I repeat, I can NOT believe," he says, practically powerwalking towards you, covering the entire length of your office in but a few seconds, "that you didn't mention before that I have two… TWO grandnieces!" he says, practically stepping on your desk with his forelegs.

And you are…

You are shocked.

Wide-eyed, back pressed against your chair, mouth agape shocked.

"U… Unc… Uncle Steppes?" you finally manage to say, but only after quite a few seconds pass by in silence.

Ponpon starts outright giggling at that, not being able to contain the laugher she had apparently been holding in.

"Of course it's uncle Steppes. Who else would it be, kiddo?" he says, at last dropping the intensity on his eyes in favor of a large and warm smile. "And let me tell you, I loved what you did to the place! Must have been decades since I've been to this mansion, but I can tell it's a lot different than what I recall," he says idly.

With that, he takes his hoofs of your table, a smirk on his face as he starts taking a good look around your office. Giving you a few seconds of reprieve as your mind tries to simply… accept what you are seeing.

Until it finally does.

"Uncle Steppes!" you say, as your mind finishes jutting itself from its shock, and you practically jump out of your chair, ignoring the protests of your leg while you make your way towards him.

"Covers!" he shouts back, raising his forelegs with a laugh and bringing you into a hug as soon as you are within his reach.

You see him giving Ponpon a wink, which she replies with a nod as she makes her way to the door and excuses herself. Figures, you think, that your uncle of all ponies would have been able to sweet talk whatever servant received him on the door into not letting you know he had arrived unannounced, just so he could surprise you like this.

"Uncle, you should have written first! I'm so glad you came," you say, your voice honest as you hug him back, "but we could have had something set up for you."

"Ah, no need to spoil me kiddo. I'm getting too old for fancy things, so you wouldn't have won me over with a posh dinner or anything," he says with a smile, letting you go from his hug, but only so he could look you over from snout to tail.

You can't help but laugh a little at that behavior of his. He really makes you feel like a filly, and a part of you even expects him to say how much you've grown, or something like that, like he did every time he visited you when you were younger.

"Besides, you can't expect me not to come galloping when you send me a letter that all but confirms I have two fillies to fawn over here in Ponyville. Really Covers, there are rumors going around back at the main house that you adopted, but nothing your father bothered to confirm or deny."

"Oh, really?" you ask, rather surprised. But you still allow yourself a bit of approval at the fact that your father seems absolutely uninterested in Selene, "why, I thought you knew about it as soon as it happened a few months back."

"You give me way too much credit, dear. But that won't stop me from spoiling them rotten!" He says, a small blaze threatening to appear on his eyes.

You let out another short laugher at how serious he sounds about it. You know your uncle has a good head on his shoulders, of course, but you'd still better make sure to tell him about things like Silky's sweet tooth or Selene's… "amnesia" (as the official story goes, at least) before you introduce them properly.

"Anyhow," you say, waving for him to follow you out of the office, "I'm sure you sweet talked Ponpon into telling you that much, but the girls are at school. But I also don't think you've seen Stormchaser since our wedding, so shall we go look for him?"

"Of course! The boy is as good as a nephew, after all. Yes, let's do that!"



- - -



Your husband, naturally, was as confused as you were. Perhaps even a bit more so.

And you were were almost sure that your uncle was going to do the same thing to Stormchaser that he did to you, with all the shock and awe followed by a tackling hug that made him feel he had a fourth of his age. But once again you were reminded that you uncle seems to know exactly how to treat each situation depending on the pony in question. That is to say, he politely introduced himself to your husband as if he had never met him before, and as if he was mistakenly sure he had written beforehand to you that he would come by to visit.

Part of you wanted to say he had played the "age" card too much, to the point that he sounded like a completely different pony than what he usually is like on the first few minutes he talked to Stormchaser. Or rather, you would have thought he overdid it a little bit, if not for the fact that your husband was completely comfortable with him by the time the three of you had headed down to the main hall to wait for your daughters.

You… really could learn a thing or two from him. Especially how you almost missed how he seamlessly backed down from his "old stallion" persona into his usual self, as your husband quickly grew more relaxed with his presence.

"So, Covers here tells me this adopted filly of yours has a memory issue?"

"Yes, but thankfully that doesn't seem to trouble her too much. She's really sweet, even if a bit on the shy side, but she's also polite to a fault. That, and she has been opening up to us as time goes by," your husband answers, an easy smile on his face as he talks about his younger daughter.

It really is heartwarming, you think, that the two of you don't even consider her to be adopted at this point.

But still…

"Well, you can say that dear," you interject, causing the two stallions to look at you, "but she hasn't quite opened up to us enough yet."

You see Stormchaser chuckle at that, and your uncle raise an eyebrow.

"I sense a story. Anything you'd like to get out of your chest kiddo?" he asks.

But as much as your uncle might be asking that to you, you can see that he is directing that question towards Stormchaser.

Your husband notices that as well, of course, and his chuckle turns into a short bout of laugher as he begins to answer.

And you just roll your eyes, waving a hoof for him to go ahead. This is a conversation the two of you have already had several times already, but you can tell that Steppes will side with him anyways so you might as well just get it done with.

"It's just Velvet being silly, really," your husband says, and you allow yourself to frown at that. "The thing is that Selene has been with us for only two months, and she-"

"Not only two months," you interrupt him, "she has been with us for over two months already."

"Only two short months," he continues, completely unperturbed, "but after we put the two of them to bed, there hasn't been a single night so far where she haven't complained that Selene has not yet called us 'mother' or 'father'," he finishes.

And as you expected, he practically butchered the facts from all their relevant details.

"That's 'mommy' and 'daddy' for you, Mr. Stormchaser. And I'll have you know that her crossing that particular barrier will be a very important landmark for her childhood, thank you very much," you say.

And was it not for years of etiquette training, you are sure you would have stuck out your tongue for this fool of a husband you have.

That he thinks you are being silly about this… the nerve he has!

But, as you expected, you uncle also joined your foolish husband's smug grin with an amused expression of his own.

You are slowly convincing yourself that perhaps they do need a piece of your mind. However, before you can really entertain the thought-

"Excuse me, ma'am? The girls are landing on the garden now with Soft Sweeps."

Ponpon interrupts the three of you, and you all look towards the front door.

"Ah. Finally!" your uncle says excitedly, not even bothering to hide his enthusiasm.

And you can't help but give him an amused side-glance at that.

"Oh, don't give me that look Covers. I'm sure you're going to be just like this when you become a grandmother as well," he says, waving a hoof at you. "You already strike me as a mother-owl type, so I'm sure you'll just turn into a grandmother-owl when the time comes," he finishes with a light-hearted scoff.

Several things cross your mind as you hear that. One of them is that you agree with him, of course. Another is that he is objectively wrong in saying that. After all Silky will be your little filly forever, and she definitely will never grow up, get married or have foals.

But leaving your definitely-not-delusions aside, you decide to comment on something else entirely that has crossed your mind as you saw his excited behavior.

"I'm not giving you 'that look', uncle", you calmly say, "it just crossed my mind that… well, if you had written ahead, we would have been able to get them all dolled up for when you arrived," you whisper, "and you wouldn't believe how cute they were this last Hearth's Warming on their little dresses," you finish saying.

Or rather, you finish teasing him.

And you can see that actually makes him pause for a few seconds.

"Huh…" he finally says, after thinking for a few moments, "well… I still don't regret surprising you."

But before anypony can say anything else, the front door opens, and the three of you turn your full attention towards it.



"Mooommy! Daaddyyy! We're hooo…me?"



Silky comes in first, shouting loud enough that you would have been able to hear her even if you were all the way in your office with the door closed. She always does that, every day when she comes back from school, and that is usually your signal that you should leave your office for a few hours.

That, and that the estate was about to get a lot noisier than it was during the morning.

Her usual shout-routine, however, is interrupted when she realizes that the two of you are already on the main hall.

Of course, that would usually not be enough to stop her on her tracks. If anything, under normal circumstances, seeing you or Stormchaser on the main hall would simply make her turn into a small zipping projectile. A hugging arrow that had been let loose from a bow drawn to its full extension.

But these are not normal circumstances, of course. After all, there is a guest here with the two of you. It is also clear that this is an important guest, seeing how well dressed he is and how he is standing between you and her father.

And she is clearly surprised by that.

To the point that her shout stopped halfway through its usual course, much like how she stopped walking as she was halfway through the door.

"Silky, what… did something happen?" a second and equally young voice comes from the outside, still blocked by the door and the currently confused filly that is obstructing it.

"Girls, can we get moving?" says a third voice, one that is obviously from a grown-up mare.

And moments later, said grown-up mare pushes more of the door open, allowing you three to see the three newcomers.

Of course, that reveals Selene and Soft Sweeps, who are standing behind Silky.

"Silky Stream, Selene," you speak up, "I'd like to introduce you two to your granduncle Velvet Steppes. He came all the way from Canterlot to visit us and will be staying with us for a few days."

And just like that, you can see everypony's immediate reaction to your words.

Soft Sweeps, much to your surprise, seems slightly taken aback at that. She hides it almost instantly, but you couldn't help but notice how her eyes went wide for a few moments, and… Right… this does remind you that she still has her problems with nobles in general. But you are sure your uncle will also be able to win her over. If they even interact at all, that is.

Selene, on the other hoof, immediately moves to hide behind Silk-… No, you give a small nod of approval as you see that Selene almost moves to hide behind Silky, but deliberately forces herself to stay where she is. And that is good, you think to yourself. She used to be practically mute on the first few weeks she was living with your family, and then she defaulted to basically hiding behind Silky when anything happened, as soon as the two of them started getting closer. So, it does your heart a lot of good to see more progress from her!

And as for Silky Stream herself, well…



Tip-tap-tip-tap



Silky immediately begins to slowly, almost gently, trot in place. The noise of her hoofs clicking against the floor echoing on the silent hall.

Her lips also begin to steadily move upwards, forming a growing smile, as she take turns between looking at you, her father, and the recently introduced guest standing between the two of you.

You… really should have seen this coming, now that you think about it.

Your daughter has never been introduced to your side of the family, to put it simply. That, and she was way too young the last time you visited Stormchaser's relatives. All of that, of course, added to the fact that she was somewhat… sheltered (and looking back, you really do agree with Stormchaser) before she started going to school earlier this year.

She was already excited when you started encouraging her to get closer to Soft Sweeps. And she was beyond excited when Selene became her adopted sister.

So, it stands to reason that she would be rather… happy, at being presented to somepony that basically equates to "more family".



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap



Maybe a bit too excited, you think, as her trotting increases in speed, and her smile grows wider and wider.

"Uhm, Silky are y-…?" you are about to say something in order to address the situation.

When you notice another sound of something hitting against the floor. Another set of hoofs, slowly starting to click against the ground.

This time, coming from somewhere right by your side.



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap
Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop



Wait, what?

You shake your head, not really believing what you are hearing. Sure enough, right by the door you see Silky trotting in place, her excitement slowly building up.

But when you look to your side you see-



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap
Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop



"Uncle Steppes, are you… What in the heavens are you doing?"



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap
Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop



You look over him and towards your husband, trying to make sure that you are not seeing things. But sure enough, Stormchaser is looking at Velvet Steppes as well, equally befuddled by the fact that…

Well, that your decades-older-than-you uncle is…



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap
Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop



That he is trotting in place like a foal! That he is doing exactly what your daughter is doing, all the way down to how he is smiling!

"U-… uncle Steppes? Are you even listening to me?"

"Sweetheart… I think we have a problem?"



Tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-tap-tip-taptiptaptip
Clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clop-clip-clopclipclopclipclop



Oh heavens, it's getting faster! You quickly look between your daughter and your uncle, and it seems…

It almost seems like they are somehow communicating like that? Everypony else is in utter silence. Either shocked like you and your husband or, like in Selene's case, downright scared at what the hay is going on.

But you know deep down that there is nothing you can do anymore. Like a magical circle that has gone haywire, or the boiler of a machine that is about to reach critical levels, you know that… you should have known that the moment you put your uncle and your daughter on the same room, your fate was sealed.



Taptiptaptiptaptiptap-!
Clipclopclipclopclipclopclip-!



And then it happe-


"I'M YOUR GRANDNIECE!"
"I'M YOUR GRANDUNCLE!"


Something explodes, and your daughter is upon Steppes, tackling him into a cannonball of a hug before you can even blink. Part of you even expects a window to have cracked somewhere in the house due to the shockwave from both her takeoff and their subsequent collision. Heavens, you have actually lost a bit of your balance by sheer virtue of… some force that hit you. But whether if it was because of the displaced air, or because of the mental blow of confusion you are feeling from all of this, you are not really sure.

And you can only barely keep up with what happens next.


"You really came from Canterlot?!"
"Of course I did! And you… you already can fly?!"
"Mhm! I can do all sorts of tricks in the air too! Oh, how is it like in Canterlot?!"
"Oh it's great! Everything there is wide, and gleaming, and I brought gifts from there too!"
"Gifts?! Wow! Mom, dad, did you hear it! Uncle Steppes brought gifts for us!"
"Yes I did! Speaking of which, mom, how DARE you have hidden her from me all this time?!"
"I wasn't hidden, I was living here and-!"


By the heavens…

"Velvet sweetheart, is this… really happening?" you hear the confused voice of your husband ask from somewhere nearby.

To which you can only nod for an answer, your eyes still glued to the frightening display of familiarity between the two of them.

At some point, by Silky's suggestion of course, poor Selene was also floated towards that indescribable hug-tornado while she tried to sneak away. A flick of Steppe's horn making all her struggles be for naught as she was gently deposited into her sister's embrace.

But as you witness all of that, you can't really help but think about a few things.

To say that your daughter and your uncle look alike… to say that they feel alike is an understatement. To the point that you are not really sure if a resemblance like this would have happened if your uncle had a daughter of his own.

Actually, as you see the two of them go at it, it crosses your mind that… well, it seems that you have found out from whom Silky inherited all her good mood and energy…?

In fact, your mind even goes one step further as you think about that. Why, considering how your daughter seems to know her way around being social, and how you have been suspecting she might get a cutie mark for something related to diplomacy or negotiation soon… it might just be that she really has a lot more in common with your uncle than you first thought of.

Well, if nothing else you can at least trust that he will be a good influence on her. You just hope he doesn't spoil her too much…

Although you have no idea how you will stop him if he decides to do so.

"C'mere, let me show you my and Selene's room! It's upstairs!"

Heavens… this will be a long week.





- - -

- - -

- - -





It was a long week.

But really, it was the sort of thing you needed.

You know that this was the sort of thing that is precious exactly because they only happen every so often, and not all the time. But still, it was a week that you will treasure.

Heavens, it came to the point that your daughter cried, with real and honest sadness, when your uncle said his goodbyes as he entered the carriage that would take him to the station. And your daughter is definitely not the kind of filly that cries often.

"Now, I know you love your surprises," you say, as the carriage starts building speed towards Ponyville, "but I will really appreciate it if you write ahead. Telling Silky that you will visit beforehand will be good to teach her patience, and that way she won't start building up unreasonable expectations that… well, that she will open her closet one day and you will be in there or something."

Velvet Steppes laughs at that. But for all his levity, you can see that he is looking out the window towards your estate fondly.

You know he enjoyed this last week just as much.

"You are a lucky mare Covers, I'll tell you that," he says.

With a tone of voice that… that is neither covered with his usual charm, nor coated with his wits or wiles. No. He says that with a deep and profound honesty.

And you agree with him.

The rest of the trip towards the station happens quietly, although neither of you feel uncomfortable at that.

You only speak up when you are almost reaching the station.

"Oh, I almost forgot. About that whole Needle situation, I was hoping to give you a few more details before you head back to Canterlot? I'm not sure if I covered enough of it on the letters, or if you would like to ask any details about it or something."

"Hmm? Oh, that trouble with the Needles and Rarity's contract? Don't worry kiddo, I already took care of it."

"You… wait, you what?"

"Yeah, as soon as I got your letter. Didn't take much trouble, really, easy stuff. And I wasn't about to visit my TWO grandnieces before taking care of that, was I?"

"But uncle you… you got here just a few days after I sent the letter… How in the heavens did you take care of it in such a short time? Actually, what was the problem to begin with? What caused the Needles to want to do all that an-?"

"Don't you mind those little details, niece," he says, waving you a dismissive hoof, "just expect the Needles to send you a letter soon. And don't worry, this is what family is for right? If anything happens again just make sure to write your old uncle about it, and I'll see what I can do to help," he says as the carriage pulls to a stop.

And before you can ask anything else, he is already opening the door and making his way outside.

But right as he is about to close the door behind himself, leaving you alone in the carriage, he turns around and gives you a knowing wink.







Velvet Steppes has visited your family!

Although he might not always be there, he made it clear that you can ask him for help if anything comes up. You may now ask Velvet Steppes to help you with one action per turn! Results will vary, and this is NOT an extra Action Point (unless it is specifically said he can take care of it by himself), but he is still there for you.

Letter delivering to follow.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are a fireplace.

The hour is late, and almost everypony is asleep. However, something most curious has happened.

And that curious thing is that somepony has filled you with logs and lit you. Despite how dark it is outside the walls of the estate, and despite how high the moon is judging by the faint light coming in from the windows, somepony has lit you, and filled the hall with your light and warmth.

To make matters even more curious, it was not one of the many servants of the estate that did this. No. All the servants are either asleep in their quarters or, for those who live nearby, have excused themselves back to their own homes. Yes, this situation is all the rarer because your flames have not been brought into existence by a servant. Quite on the contrary, actually.

You were lit by one of the few masters that live in this house. One of the better dressed ponies who every now and then walk by you, and who huddles around you and your warmth on the colder seasons of the year.

Although you must admit… you don't quite recognize this one.

He dresses the part, he acts the part, and he even has a horn on his forehead like the highmost master of the estate boasts. But you can't really say you have seen this one before… But still, he is sitting close to your warmth and light, on one of the larger and more flammable couches of the hall, and is currently smoking from a cigar that tasted sweet when he lit it on your ambers.

There is a content smile on his face, but he seems to be waiting for something. Of course he is, otherwise he would have dozed off and fallen asleep by now.

You can say that with certainty because you know how a pony looks like when he is near you for your comfort and warmth. And this one, you can tell at a glance, is not.

"You can come closer if you like," the master pony says, taking a long drag from his cigar as he speaks, "or don't. It is your house after all. Doesn't make much sense that a guest would have to invite his host for anything, if you think about it."

With those words, another pony walks into your light. And this one you can say that you know a little bit better. He is a pony of import within these walls, one who has wings on his back and servants at his disposal. Although for some reason he seems rather strange... His expression, you notice, is marred with shadows under his eyes. Deep and dark shadows that not even your light can banish.

But apart from coming a little bit into your light, just enough so you can dimly illuminate part of his face, he doesn't do anything else.

And neither does the smoking pony. He seems content with waiting and slowly working his way through his cigar, and so both of them remain silent for a good while.

Until the older one finally speaks up.

"You know… I might have my back turned to you right now," he says, stopping to breathe out a small puff of sweet smoke, "and it might just be that I wouldn't be able to see you that well even if I turned around, with how dark it is and how old I am. But I know that look you have on your face."

The winged one seems to grow a fraction more tense at that, but still he does not move or say anything.

"I've already seen it far too many times, and on ponies who can hide it far better than you, also. So really," he continues, waving a hoof towards another one of the couches, "you can sit down if you want. Or you can go stay awake somewhere else, since we both know you won't be sleeping anytime soon. Not like that at least."

A sigh, so low and short that it could almost pass for a current of wind sneaking in through an open window, escapes the lips of the winged pony. But finally he walks closer towards your light and sits down on a place where your warmth can actually reach him.

Something snaps within the confines of your fire, but the two ponies don't seem to mind.

After all, the younger pony seems to be in deep thought, as if wondering if he should say something that is weighting him down. And the older pony, for his part, seems to be content in patiently waiting for him to decide whether if he will speak up or not.

"How much…" he finally begins to talk. Slowly. Hesitantly. But still he finally begins to put into words what seems to be troubling him so much. "How much do you… know Velvet Covers?"

Those words have everything in them for that to be a simple question, you know. But for some reason the horned pony seems to be giving it a great deal of thought, as if there was some hidden depth to it, or some added weight that he should consider before answering.

"Probably more than you," he finally says. "And certainly more than I'd like to talk about."

That, you can tell, is a hollow answer. In fact, it is so evasive and elusive that he might not even have answered the question at all.

But for some reason, the younger pony… nods. His expression grows bleaker, as if he both understands something and has confirmed another thing. However, the older pony continues to talk before he can say anything else.

"Actually, let me check something first… Did Covers ever tell you how she got her… limp?"

Another simple question, one asked while talking slowly for some reason, and still while savoring his particularly sweet cigar. It is a simple question. One that warrants a simple answer. A yes or a no, or maybe something just a tiny little bit more elaborated at most.

Or at least, it was supposed to be a simple question. So why did the winged pony's expression become so… hollow, when he heard it?

"Only once…" is all he answers.

To which the older pony nods.

"Well. Then you know she wasn't supposed to be nearly half as willful or bright as she currently is. And I have to say, you have my thanks for that, lad."

The old pony takes a deep drag from his cigar, as if wanting to choke down something ugly and heavy that is starting to form inside of him. Some ugly memory that he would prefer to forget, or some old chill that he would very much like to warm up with the sweet smoke he is breathing in.

"Never thought she would be able to make a turnaround like this in her life, and it doesn't take much to see that that's all on you," he continues. "Well, on you and your daughter, but I know she wouldn't have had Silky to begin with if you hadn't dug her out of… that."

The winged pony nods idly at that. But you can tell from the way he is looking into your fire that his mind is… not exactly focused on what the older pony is saying right now.

"But I can also tell it's not all sunshine and roses… It never is, right? And you wouldn't be here right now or losing sleep if it was… So, what's bothering you?"

"I…" he starts to answer, but then hesitates. The older pony doesn't seem to mind, and patiently waits while slowly working his way through his cigar.

You fire is a lot less bright when the winged pony finally speaks once again.

"It's… the thing is that she… I don't know how to describe it, but I can tell that something is changing in her," he says, his voice surprisingly strained for some reason. "And it's not that she is just…"

But he pauses again. This time because there are simply too many things on his mind. There are too many things that he wants to say, and there are not enough words for him to express them.

"Look, she just feels different now. Not long ago I used to worry about her all the time… she would stress herself too much, she would get worked up over little things. I felt like she would be blown away if a strong wind or something came by while she was walking. But now…"

The older stallion narrows his eyes at that, but still, he continues to listen patiently.

"Listen, there's nothing I'd want more than to see her let go of all of that… I love her, and I want to see her happy, and have another foal with her, and finally reach the day where she will be at peace. I want her to be able to look at the present without worries, and at the future with optimism, and at the past without…"

He lets out a long sigh, his body slouching against the couch as if he was suddenly very tired.

"But she is… changing. In a way that I don't understand how or why and…"

He sags once again. But after a few short moments he finally takes a deep breath, and he faces the older stallion with an extremely serious expression.

"Listen, I know this might sound… maybe indelicate, or perhaps too intrusive, but I have to ask. Is there any history of… anything strange running on your side of the family?"

The older pony raises an eyebrow at that, rolling the cigar on his lips as he looks back at the other pony.

"Strange…? What sort of strange are you asking about, exactly?"

"I… to be honest, I don't know myself… I'll… please, I'm only asking you this because Velvet doesn't talk about your family at all, so there is really nopony else who I can ask, but… I just don't know. Most of the time she is perfectly fine, but some days she… some days I can't help but think that she might have a mental illness or something. She has told me things, Steppes, things that make no sense… and I could tell that she honestly believed what she was saying, about Selene and other stranger subjects. She's already had episodes and fits, some of them just a few weeks ago, and… and she..."

It might be because of the trembling light of the flames but... it is very clear that the shadow of the winged pony is shaking as he speaks those next words.

"And a few days back, for the first time… she scared me. All these years, Steppes, for longer than Silky has been alive I've always been afraid for my wife, that something might happen to her or that she would simply collapse or give up but… But a few days back she did something that… Velvet did something that made me feel afraid of her."

You are unused to expressions of fear and sorrow. Ponies usually gather around you and near your flames on festive occasions, or on cold nights when they can huddle close together and sleep within each other's embraces. So, you are used to happy expressions, to faces filled with contentment and calm.

But this night, there is a cold air surrounding these two ponies that your light simply cannot warm up, and they are wearing expressions that you have never seen before.

The older pony nods as the younger finishes speaking, and he realizes that his companion won't be saying anything else for a long while after that.

So, the horned pony begins to talk, and the winged one listens to him with tension clear on his face.

The two of them continue to talk, even as the light of the moon slowly makes its way back towards the horizon, beyond the glass windows of the estate. They continue to talk even after the fires in your belly have burned down to faint embers.

They continue to talk, and you hear many things that you know will never be spoken of again.

But you think nothing of it. After all, you are only a fireplace.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -



"Alright," you say to yourself, opening the map of Ponyville on top of your office's desk, "I think I have postponed this for long enough."

You have been justifiably busy these last few weeks, of course, but you are still surprised to see how quickly time flew. Why, it seems almost like it was yesterday when you visited Twilight Sparkle and… well, you don't really want to think about that experience in particular.

Curious, to think that you are a lot less comfortable with the thing with Twilight than you are about the graveyard night and…

Anyways, you mentally interrupt yourself, you have indeed been quite busy up until now. Scheduling a get-together between you, Rarity and Jade, followed the pleasantly unexpected interruption in your work schedule caused by your uncle's visit, as well as all other sorts of small things did eat through a few weeks in the blink of an eye.

So, you'd better get this done before a full month passes by. You did promise him you would do it, after all.

Specifically, you are determined to tackle the favor you owe Comet Feet. The one about delivering that short letter of his.

And since the pegasus rather unhelpfully wrote down the delivery address in aerial instructions, rather than the normal way, you will have to start by decoding where exactly you are supposed to go to begin with.

"Now, I think I recall that aerial instructions always use the tallest building on the map as a point of reference," you mumble to yourself as you look over the cartographic representation of Ponyville.

There is no written law about it, not as far as you know, but it is customary for the building that contains the "governing seat" of a city to also be the tallest. This is an old consensus, of course, but one that still holds true in many cities. Canterlot is one of them, of course, seeing how unlikely it is that anypony will ever be capable of building something taller than the Royal Castle, be them nobles or otherwise. Smaller towns also usually have this happen, since the Town Hall is built with the combined effort (or taxes) of its pool of citizens. And Ponyville is not an exception.

But now that you think about it, larger and more bustling cities have been building those "skyscrapers" for almost a few decades now, so you wonder how exactly they keep track of that… It has probably become a competition by now, among entrepreneurs and nobles who have more bits than what they know to do with. After all, being the owner of the tallest skyscraper in a city, and officially becoming that city's "point of reference" for aerial traffic, is probably yet another symbol of status for the rich and powerful to joust for…

Well, that is not really something that you ever hope to be involved with really. On to more important matters, you think, as you float Comet Feet's letter towards you and start reading its instructions.

The thing is somewhat straightforward at first, and you are thankful for that. It begins on the central point of Ponyville's Town Hall and follows a few other points of reference on something close to a straight line, pointed to the southeast of the town.

It is somewhat annoying that the distances between each point are measured in flight time instead of meters or kilometers, and you assume that to be Comet Feet's personal flight speed instead of some base pegasus measure. But that is a problem you can quickly resolve as soon as you confirm that the first "checkpoint of the letter is one of the public parks close to the center of the town.

After that, things get a little easier. Use the next checkpoint as the point of reference, check what direction you are supposed to go head, convert the travel time into distance, and then see if that will land you anywhere that could be seen as a new point of reference.

You do all of that on your map, of course, while still at home. Part of you can see how this sort of navigational… address… instruction… thing could be usable by pegasi. But really, the better part of you still think this is just an unnecessary overcomplication. After all, he could just have given you an address and be done with.

However…

"Huh…"

The final route of the aerial instruction leads… out of Ponyville?

"Well, this can't be right," you say to yourself, as you check the instructions and once again start from the beginning. But eventually, it leads the same way.

You tilt your head at that, eyeing the map as if expecting it to somehow explain to you what exactly went wrong. The map, however, remains mute, and you really don't feel like getting a headache from hoof-reading it. So instead, you try to think about it rationally.

Maybe Comet Feet's calligraphy is just dreadful, and you misread an "east" where it should be "west" on one of the lines? Or maybe he thought your estate is taller than the Town Hall and wrote the references using that as a starting point?

No, it can't be that… You don't even bother to check. And that is because all the steps of the instruction make sense. They start on the Town Hall, and all of them lead to a following park or some sort of very clear point of reference. They all make sense, that is, until the last point reaches the end of the city, and the final instruction very clearly zips out of Ponyville, away from the borders of the map and towards…

Hang on a moment… You were going to say that it was sending you towards the Everfree Forest, but now that you think about it these instructions are sending you… to his hiding stop?

You summon another map from your cabinet, having it float towards you with a flick of your horn. This map is larger, and has the areas surrounding Ponyville. And soon enough, you confirm that…

"No, it's not that either," you say to yourself, floating a ruler towards the map and measuring the relative distance on the map.

Nope, he's definitely not sending you back to his hiding spot. The instructions very clearly tell you to stop before you could reach it. That is, the direction fits, but the distance doesn't match.

Which means his letter… is basically telling you to go to the middle of nowhere if you want to deliver it.

Not exactly the middle of nowhere, it does send you to the middle of a road. But it's not one of the main roads that lead in and out of Ponyville, it's one of the less used roads.

So you can't say that it's the middle of nowhere… but it sure is a road that leads to nowhere in particular.

"What in the heavens was Comet Feet thinking? Is this a bad joke from him? Not only there's nothing there, but it's barely a few minutes of flight from his own… hiding place?" you say out loud.

You are not even mad at him, you are really just confused. And the "letter", although it's more of a note without an envelope, doesn't help you either. Its contents being so short that you think it might actually be a code or something.

With that in mind you…

Don't really know what to do, actually.

"I think… I'll leave this mystery to another day," you mumble to yourself, your confusion at this whole thing slowly turning into hesitation as you think about giving up. Maybe this is his way of telling you to stop annoying him? Maybe the next time you ask him for something he will just ask you with an annoyed grump if you delivered his letter already?

Well if that is the case, you think, you should just go to the letters address and bury it in the middle of the road. You can't just go to Comet Feet the next time you meet him and tell him you fai-…

"Wait," you yank yourself out of your idle thinking as you… remember something.

You haven't been to Comet Feet's place more than a few times, and it is a bit of a long trek to get there. But you think you remember passing by a… cottage of sorts? A bit out of the way and covered in overgrowth, but you think you recall…

You try to rummage through your memories for it, but eventually you give up and…

"I really don't like doing this…" you say, taking a deep breath.

You close your eyes, more out of habit than anything else, and you focus. Not on your memories, but on your memories. And sure enough, you remember it. You remember being there, in front of the cottage and under the glaring sun, just a few seconds ago.

The sensation of vertigo as realize you are not where you were just a few moments ago is as unpleasant as ever, but at least you confirmed your suspicions.

Yes, it does seem like the letter's address is pointing that way… and if there is another you there checking it out, then it might just be the place you are looking for.

"Well then. Time to go for a walk."



- - -



Is this… really the place?

You took the usual route that would lead you to Comet Feet's hideout, following the little-used south-eastern road out of Ponyville. You watched as houses became more and more scarce, and as the trees became thicker and more numerous on both sides of the dirt road.

Until, when you are around two-third of the way to Comet Feet's place, you finally see a river making its way out of the nearby forest. A few minutes later you come upon a small stone bridge on the side of the road, so covered in moss and green that it almost looks like it has grown into place instead of having been built.

And beyond the small bridge, you see the wooden cottage.

You must admit you never really paid much attention to it the last few times you came this way. The cottage itself is somewhat far from the road, but even at this distance you can see that it is rather plain and underwhelming.

Still, it seems to be the place where you are supposed to deliver Comet Feet's letter, so you make your way there.

However, as you get closer, you can't help but notice a certain… feeling, that the place seems to have.

How can you describe it…?

You always thought living this far away from town would feel lonely, or perhaps even oppressive and intimidating. After all, being this far from a city doesn't only mean that you are alone, far away from other ponies, but it also means that other non-pony creatures will be a lot nearer you.

And you say that with no small amount of justifiable worry because… well, one doesn't need to read that many books to know that Equestria, especially those places not yet tamed by ponykind, is not exactly the definition of "safe". It also bears mentioning that monstrous fauna (and flora) are not the only things that a pony must be wary of, seeing how this is a world where both "magic" and "diseases" exist, and those two words banding together is a very real (and well documented) possibility.

All of that, of course, is also at least twice as possible and worrying when you are this close you are to the Everfree Forest.

But as you approach the small cottage, you notice that the place doesn't exude that aura of tension and grit you thought it would have. Quite on the contrary, even.

Much to your surprise, the only thing you feel is…

Simplicity? Or perhaps peace?

Tranquility, you think, might be the best way to describe it.

From a distance you had seen that the place is covered in green and plants. You thought at first that this was a camouflage of sorts, as if the inhabitant of this place had purposefully grown said vegetation on their roof for it to seem less conspicuous to the feral population of the nearby forest.

But as you take a better look you can't help but feel… differently, about it. Why, you can even see that there a few flowers growing on said roof!

You also begin to notice the… animal houses, surrounding the cottage. Small wooden animal houses.

A peculiarly large number of them, you must add.

Heavens, there is a lot of them.

Almost everywhere you look you see the lair of one small critter or another. There are small wooden perches jutting from the sides of the cottage, and all of them are occupied by two or three nests. Nearby and around the cottage, as well, you spy several holes, each of them no doubt occupied by a whole family of critters.

The entire place, it seems, is a small community for all kinds of animals. And you can tell that this is by design, after all several of the bird nests, and quite a few of the critter-holes, have tiny wooden roofs built over them or on their entrances.

And again, the entire place feels… calm. Purposefully secluded, perhaps, like a small sanctuary of sorts.

You know that Comet Feet is not an adequate base for any kind of comparison. He lives, if you can call that "living", in an abandoned shack on the middle of the woods, far away from the nearest town. Sure, that pegasus is a point out of the curve, but you half expected that whoever you were delivering the letter to would at least be a little bit like him. When you realized you would be coming to this secluded cottage, you thought this would feel like invading the personal space of a hardened survivalist.

Instead, you find… this.

It still feels like invading somepony's personal space, but for completely different reasons.

Walking up the tiny elevation upon which the cottage is built, you approach the wooden door at its front and give it a few knocks with your hoof.

And then you wait.


…


And wait.


And… you knock again?


"Hello?" you speak up, "is anypony home?"

It will be… quite inconvenient if there is nopony here today. But if that is the case, how can you go about contacting them? Again, you still feel like you have to do it yourself. He did ask you to deliver it after all.

But still, if there is nopony here today… what are you supposed to do then?

You don't see any mailboxes, for starters. Well, you do see one, but it is clear that it has been repurposed for another specific use long ago, judging by the small bird nest you can see protruding from it.

So not only you have to deliver it yourself, but you have to give it by hoof to whoever lives here.

You let out a short sigh. This simple task just gained another unnecessary layer of complication.

"Hellooo? I, uh… have a letter to deliver? Mail from our mutual friend?" you try raising your voice again, knocking on the door as you do.

Maybe you could come back another day? That seems to be the only option now that you think about it. But then it becomes a matter of "when". If whoever lives in here is not home today, how can you know when they will be back?

Trial and error seems to be the only answer to that, and you really don't relish the idea of coming here every other day just to check if there is somepony home.

You could go for the easiest option of course, but… well, first of all you don't want to add "breaking and entering" to your list of go-to actions every time you face a situation like this. Secondly, and perhaps more importantly, you also very much don't want to do this to a pony who seems to know Comet Feet enough for him to write them a letter, short as it may be.

But in that case, what in the heavens are you supposed t-?



"…"



Your thoughts grind to a halt, although you are thankful for that, as you see the front door being opened from the inside.

Or rather… you see the front door beginning to be opened. It does so slowly, only fractionally, and then it stops.

The wooden door, you see, has only been open a tiny sliver. Enough only for a single eye to peek at you.

Which that somepony has just opened the door and is now staring at you. And doing nothing else. They have not talked to you, they have not greeted you, they have not even said if you are welcome here or not. Whoever that pony is, they are only… staring at you.

You… don't know how to feel about this.

"Uh… my apologies?" you stumble on your words for a few moments, trying to understand what you are supposed to do about… this. "And good afternoon…?" you try tentatively.

But the pony looking at you from the other side remains silent.

The interior of the house is totally dark, perhaps intentionally. But still, you take a deep breath and blink a few times as if you were steeling yourself to speak. You actually are doing just that, to be honest, but you also do your best to take a look at whoever is on the other side of this door during the few instants you have with your eyes closed.

And you see… a long pink mane. You think it might be a mare on the other side, but that's all you can make of it.

"Well… good afternoon," you say again, trying to put a smile on your face, "my name is Velvet Covers, and I live here in Ponyville. May I ask your name?"

You try to appear as amicable as possible as you speak, looking at that single eye that is peeking at you through the door.

However, as you do that you notice something rather… strange.

Extremely strange, even.

And this strange thing you are feeling is coming from the door right in front of you.

You can still feel that the door is denying you passage. However, you don't see a chain or any kind of lock running through the small gap from which the mare is peeking at you. Quite on the contrary, you can tell that the door is unlocked, and yet… it still is denying you passage.

No, you realize, it is not the door itself that is barring you. It's the pony behind it. As if…

As if the only way you could possibly make your way in there would be… well, through violence, to put it simply.

As if it was absolutely impossible for you to cross that door. Freely, at least. Because that mare, whoever she is, will not permit your entry. You even go as far as to think that even if you were to look for it in every other History you wouldn't find a single Velvet Covers who was able to enter thi-

Wait, you snap out of your thoughts and focus back on the mare once again. You might be hearing things, but did she just… answer you?

You think, although you only think, you heard her say something. Was it a whisper? Was she mumbling to herself perhaps…?

"I'm very sorry, but did you just say something?" you try asking, your calm beginning to strain under the… sheer awkwardness of this whole situation.

After all, the pony on the other side of the door is… she has not opened the door any further, she has not said anything, she is only looking at you. Silently looking at you, you must add.

Actually, she is not even making eye contact anymore! Her single eye is now squarely pointed at your hoof, and you…

And you…!

"All… right…?" you say, as you honestly have no idea what you could say next that would make this any less awkward. "Well, I… came here on behalf of a pony I believe we both know?"

You give up.

It might be for the best that you just get this done with.

"Here, he asked me to deliver you this," you finish, floating the small letter out of your saddle-purse and towards her.

Although the mare doesn't move to grab it either. Even as you float it in front of her. So, you… awkwardly float it into her house and… drop it on the floor near the spot where you hope her hoofs are…

Heavens, how can you feel so dumb in a simple letter-delivery errant?!

"So… I think I will be going now?" you try one last time, but every word you say just makes you feel more and more inadequate. She doesn't want you here, you know that. You can feel that. As a matter of fact, you can tell that you are not even supposed to be here.

Actually, you shouldn't even have agreed to do this favor to begin with!

"Well then good afternoon have a nice day andgoodbye!" you blurt out, turning around before you even finish speaking, walking away in a pace that might very well be a trot.

You keep walking, away from that strange cottage and that strange mute mare. You keep trotting and you don't look back until you are past the small bridge. Only after you have crossed the river that you hesitantly turn back to look at the cottage, and you are honestly thankful that you can see the door is closed shut. No more of that silent eye looking at you, you think. No more of that… awkwardness.

With that, you let out a long and drawn-out sigh of relief, as it finally dawns on you just how unnerved you feel. In fact, the sensation is so strong that opting out of it really feels like a tantalizing option.

"By the… what in the heavens is wrong with that pony?" you ask out loud.

She was just there… staring at you… and it was enough to make you feel like this!

"I mean, not even the first time I went to Jade's house I felt like this… at least she had invited me inside and talked to me back then," you mumble out loud, still trying to ground yourself from the experience.

You take another deep breath, giving the cottage one last look, and then you turn around once again. You are glad that this is over, and if this was a ploy from Comet Feet to have you not ask him for favors in the future then it might have worked.

Really, you honestly hope that you never have to come back here again.

With that in mind, you begin making your way back home.



"waaait..."



Although… you get a shiver down your spine as you walk.



"waaait..."



Another shiver. This almost feels like a horror story that you read when you were younger. You almost feel as if you will see that single eye staring at you from the cottage, if you look back again.

With that in mind, you hasten your pace, feeling your heart beat a little more heavily as you imagine… as you feel the mare's stare against your back.



"waaait..."



Until you realize that you might be hearing something.

Or rather, somepony.

"Waaaait!"

You halt on your tracks.

Is that a… is that a whisper you are hearing?

"Waaaait!"

It most definitely is a whisper.

But there is something wrong about it… it sounds like when a pony is…

Well, the term "shouting through whispers" is an oxymoron, but it is the only way you can really describe what you are hearing. Or what you think you are hearing.

You turn around, looking back at the path that leads to the cottage.

And much to your surprise, standing in front of the door… of the now open door, that is, you see a pegasus mare. Her coat is pale-yellow and her long mane is pink, but sure enough she is-

"Waaaaaaait!"

Well, you see her calling out to you. You can see it, but you almost can't hear it.

You can see her breathe in and you can see her move her mouth but… you really have to strain your ears to pick up even the faintest hint of what might be her voice.

Really, if the wind was any stronger today you are sure you would not have heard her at all.

But now that you have noticed her, you have… something of a problem.

You have already delivered Comet Feet's letter… and you very much know that the mare will definitely be… hard to talk to.

However, she is calling you, and you very clearly noticed her calling you.

Heavens… and now that she noticed that you noticed her, not only did she stop calling out for you, but you can tell at a glance just how uncomfortable she is with all this.

She very clearly doesn't want you to go there talk to her, and you most definitely are not looking forward to it.

But… it would be even more rude to walk away regardless. And you are admittedly curious as to how in the heavens Comet Feet ever came to meet a pony like… that.

So, you take a deep breath, and slowly make your way towards the pegasus mare.



- - -



You thought Selene was quiet.

You thought Jade Whistle was quiet.

You thought you were quiet, on the early years of your marriage.

Oh, how wrong you were.

The mare's name is Fluttershy, and goading that much information out of her was already a Rockhoofian effort of will and patience from you. Your "conversation" with her basically went on the lines of you asking something, and then having to politely ask her to "speak just a little bit louder" at least three times before you could begin to make out her answer.

That is… until you made an off-hoof comment about her house and said that she really seemed to like animals.

The tiny smile you got from her at that, you must admit, took you by surprise.



"So, Comet Feet… our mutual friend. Where exactly do you know him from?"

The boundaries, you can see, are very clear. As much as you are finally managing to have her speak in something louder than a whisper, the mare still seems to be a lot more comfortable talking to you from the other side of her cottage's door. The door is halfway open, of course, and you can see her fully.

But still, you can very much tell that the door is… It is halfway open, it is unlocked, but it is still denying you passage.

A barrier between you and her, you can tell. Something to distance you from her. The two of you might be talking, but she is still "inside" her own house, and you are "outside".

Curious, you think… both that this sort of thing is possible, with even your Knock-sense telling you that there is something between you and her, as well as the fact that she seems to need… distance, so to speak.

"I, uhm… well, the animals around the forest were acting up a few months ago… some of them were even fleeing from that part of the forest. So, I went there to check, and… well…"

But despite all that, and the fact that the mare clearly has severe difficulties socializing… you actually find her quite agreeable.

You can see that she is a very gentle mare. In a delicate way, of course. The kind of way that makes you worried about her, as if she could break at any moment. But still, she seems to have a very kind heart.

"So uhm… well, he seemed a bit malnourished, all alone in that abandoned shack… He reminded me of a wolf I treated once and…"

Perhaps her heart is too kind, you think as you hear her tale… but at least she is finally talking about something.

"But what about you…?" she asks, "how did you met him?"

Oh, right. It makes sense that she would ask that.

"Book club," you answer with a smile.

And you can see the mare's expression grow slightly incredulous at that.



However, you couldn't get anything more from her after that. Not because she went quiet again, thankfully, but instead because… well, you heard the sound of several animals coming from inside her cottage, and she quickly excused herself and closed her door.

With that, you also took your leave. But still, however short your chat with that "Fluttershy" was, you can't help but wonder why exactly she kept in touch with Comet Feet.

Or rather, why he kept in touch with her.

Comet Feet strikes you as a no-nonsense kind of stallion, sure. But from the few interactions you had with him, even though you only talked to him for extended periods of time while he was teaching you about Edge, he still seemed to be very… peculiar.

The words "short-tempered" or "brutish" don't really make the stallion justice. You know he is also disciplined, or at least very focused. He did, after all, make a hermit out of himself at the Master's order, and followed through with his training until he reached a barrier of sorts.

However… that doesn't give any explanation as to why he would have bothered to keep in touch with that Fluttershy mare. What little she told you paints a picture that she visited him every other day to make sure he was eating well.

But that's the thing. Maybe… just maybe, Fluttershy was patient enough to not get intimidated by the stallion. However, that still doesn't explain why he kept in touch with her. Or at least, why he bothered to write her a letter saying that he would be leaving.

That's what stands out the most. He bothered to, in a certain way, say his goodbyes. You won't go as far as to say he "cared", but he at least acknowledged her enough for that much.

And that… much like everything else about Comet Feet so far, surprises you greatly.

So, you think, since after this whole time you haven't really been able to learn much about Comet Feet… it might be that this Fluttershy mare, quiet as she may be, might still be able to give you a little more insight on Comet Feet himself.

If you decide to keep in touch with her, of course.





You are now Acquaintances with Fluttershy!

General information about her (Element Bearer Status. General Fluttershy-levels of shyness, etc.) will be discovered via Rarity before the end of this month.

However, you are still (obviously) very much not intimate with her.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Property of Selene​

DO NOT READ​

SILKY I'M SERIOUS, DON'T

I know you wouldn't. Now I feel bad for having written that...​

Dear diary.

Should I call you dear? Silky said that I should start this by writing those words, so I did.

But now that I think about it, am I supposed to write that only this once or... every time?

Well, writing that every time feels like a hassle. So I won't.

Besides, I really hope I won't be writing in you very often…

But still, Silky got all excited about me having a dream diary so I don't really think I have a choice. She gets waaay too into things every time she has an idea, and I know better by now than to try to go against it. So if she thinks writing this down will help me "sort them out" then I might as well and give it a try.

And I HAVE been having a lot of weird dreams lately… Well, if anything, I hope writing them down will at least make them go away.

Also, I really wish Mrs. Velvet had not given me this specific diary… Silver Spoon and Silky said it's cute, sure, but why did it have to be one with stars and moons on the cover?

I really don't like the moon… because reasons...

Actually, now that I think about it, I don't think I've told that to anypony but Silky... And besides, you are a gift from Mrs. Velvet so it doesn't feel right to complain… and I'm sure she picked it at random.

Well. That said, I still hope I don't pick you up that often. With luck this is just some crazy dream wave I'm having, and soon things will go back to normal.

I really wish I was were an unicorn. Magic already looks cool by itself, but it is also all sorts of useful.

Sweetie is the only unicorn in our group, and she is still learning it. But watching her float things around really strikes home just how easier life must be for unicorns.

Still, there is one thing in particular that I really wish I had a horn for, even if weren't capable of doing other sorts of magic.

And that thing is... I reeeeally wish I had an easy source of LIGHT.

This is the THIRD time. The THIRD night I had a dream, but couldn't write it down on you because it was too dark in my room. THIRD night I woke in the middle of the night and couldn't do anything about it, except for going back to sleep and "hoping I would remember them" when it was morning and things were a little brighter.

And can you guess what happened AGAIN?

Exactly. This is the third day I wake up having completely forgotten what the hay I had dreamed about.

The only thing I can remember is that they were weird. But that won't do me any GOOD if I can't write them DOWN!

And I can't write them down if I don't have any light!

…

Well… there is a solution for that… sort of…

It sure beats hiding a box of matches in my room, but… well, I'll look for another solution first.

Moonlight it is…

Didn't have any dreams tonight. Just doing this as a test.

I asked Ms. Cheerilee if she knew about any other options. She did mention that larger cities have this elec… ilekt…? They have this stuff that can make light without fire. She started explaining how worked, but it was too complicated. Then she basically told me that magic is the easier solution.

And on the magic thing… well, there are glowing crystals and the likes but…

I really don't want Mrs. Velvet or Mr. Stormchaser to give me anything else. They've already done too much for me.

Oh, and I'm also glad I managed to ask Ms. Cheerilee all that stuff without Silky nearby, or I'm sure that she and her big mouth would have "accidentally" let her parents know about it.

I never know how to react when they give me gifts… I just kind of... I dunno.

Does that make me look ungrateful? I really hope not… I really really hope they know that...

Well. Test completed. Much as I don't really like the moon peeking down at me, it seems I can write just fine. So unless it's raining I'm pretty sure I'll be able to do this any other night.

Good night.

…

It really feels like the moon is watching me… but that doesn't make any sense?

Silky

Candy

Bat?



I think that's it... it was a mess. The dream, that is.

It is now... late. Moon's shining down on me enough for me to be able to write, but it really is late. I woke up after this weird dream, but I could tell that I was forgetting the details as soon as I opened my eyes. So I wrote down those... uh, "topics"? "Central points"? Well, I wrote them down so I wouldn't immediately forget the... theme, of the dream. Those words are the things that stuck to me.

And I can kinda tell it worked, because I can still remember the dream.

Most of it, at least.

Silky was in this… place. It sure wasn't here at home, but I didn't recognize where she was. She was holding a wooden bat with her mouth, and she was hitting this large stuffed pony with it… Candy was coming out whenever she hit it and…

I know what a piñata is, but it didn't feel like a piñata?

It didn't… "feel" like a piñata? Why the hay did I word it like that?

Well, it looked more like a stuffed toy. A stuffed toy that was also alive, although I don't know how or why and…

It's just a dumb dream, why do I even care?

But…

I think she also had a… cutie mark?

Well. That's it. Good night.



Note: I mentioned it to the girls today after school, and they told me about this "cute-ceañera" party when a foal gains their cutie-mark. It fits the bill.

Except for the part about the… living stuffed piñata…

Silky, Apple, Sweetie and Scoot also spent the rest of the afternoon hounding me and asking what her cutie mark was like. But I told them, it was just a dream!

I wonder what my cutie mark will be…

Garden?

Water?



This one made less sense. It was about Silky again but… weirder?

She was in this garden? I don't know…

It was a pretty large garden, and I think that… there was something about the flowers? It felt like every flower had something special about them. As if they were all unique, and there was this pretty fountain that kept them watered and…

…

It really doesn't make sense, and I'm starting to forget it…

I'm calling it quits for this one.

...

Really, I swear it's not just the moon. The STARS also...

Course

Loops

Scream



Another dream about Silky. This one was actually funny.

I feel bad, but I still think it was funny.

Silky was on the clouds… but not on the CLOUDS clouds. She was on a cloud-like place like that city Mr. Stormchaser showed me pictures of once.

And that cloud-place was shaped like this… GIANT obstacle course. It was an enormous stadium, and it was packed with ponies watching, and in the middle of the stadium there was this obstacle course.

Silky was in a line with other pegasuses pegasi, and everypony was waiting for their turn to fly through the obstacle course.

Silky was being Silky at first. Trotting in place, cheering, being impatient while waiting for her turn. But as her turn got closer and closer she got less and less excited. And finally when it was her turn to go she froze, eyes wide open and all.

Then the ponies behind her grabbed her by the hoofs and threw her, when she refused to go. And she fell down screaming "I don't want a cutie-mark on flyiiiiing!"

…

I feel bad for laughing, but it really WAS funny to watch.

…

I hope nopony reads this.

It was Mr. Stormchaser this time…

I... I don't know what to say about this one...

He was in this… place?

I am not really sure how to... describe it. He was on the roof of our house. Except it didn't LOOK like the roof of our house.

I... I don't know how to write this. It wasn't just the roof either. I somehow KNEW he was on the roof of our house, but its appearance was different.

And that... everything was like that. I knew he was here, and he knew he was here, but everywhere I looked... everything LOOKED different.

It's like... the feeling is... everything around him was... unfamiliar.

…

Everywhere he looked. His entire life. The whole WORLD... felt unfamiliar. Even though he knew he was looking at the same things as always.

And also...

He was on the roof of the house, and he was really worried. Like, he didn't just look worried, I could FEEL he was worried. He was looking towards somewhere far away, and there was this big… storm that was coming.

And Mr. Stormchaser was… he was afraid? He was afraid because he was going to have to fly into that storm. And he knew it would be frightening and hard and…

But would he have to fly into the storm...?

The whole dream was that. Mr. Stormchaser was looking at the storm and it was getting closer and closer, but I woke up before anything else happen.

But why…? Why did Mr. Stormchaser feel like that? Why would he have to fly into that storm?

Why did it feel like… everything around Mr. Stormchaser felt different? Why did everything feel unfamiliar to HIM? As if he couldn't recognize anything he looked that, even though he knew that…

This is boggling my head… I better stop.

But still, I…

I feel like I…

I know it doesn't make sense. It was my dream, but I still feel like I… saw something I wasn't supposed to? Something personal?

This doesn't make sense…

I dreamed about Soft Sweeps tonight.

A rare repr... reprival...? reprievea- change from the usual torrent of Silky dreams. But I'm only writing this because that's what made it unusual.

Soft was with these… other foals. I didn't recognize any of them, but she was picking them up and flying around with them on this large city.

She looked really happy.

I woke up happy.

I hope I stay happy like this the rest of the day.



NOTE: I did. Today was nice. I hope I have dreams like this more often.

I know I usually write here during the night but… I asked Soft earlier today about her family, and she told me she has a few siblings. She didn't have a picture to show me but… it matched. The number of foals, their races, even the color of their coats…

They MATCHED

I… had to stop asking her questions. The details I was starting to ask were getting weirdly specific, but…

It doesn't make sen

I think I'm writing those words waaay too often here...

I'm… having this idea that…

Well, I couldn't sleep tonight.

I know I could go to Silky's room. I know we PROMISED we'd tell each other everything but…

This is the first time I'm not mad at the moon. It still feels like she's looking at me, but at least it's some kind of company.

...

But I can't talk about this with Silky… not YET.

Not while it doesn't make sense.

Still, I'm…

I think I'm starting to notice a… pattern?

I've been having a lot more dreams recently. Almost every night. Ever since I got this diary.

I know it's not your fault, don't worry.

Still, it's a looooot more dreams than normal and… there's this thing about them?

Almost every time it's a dream about Silky. I didn't record all of them because… there wasn't a reason to.

Now I wish I had.

Anyways. It's always about Silky, except when it isn't. I reread the other dreams, and…

I need to think about this some more…

Silky.

Silky...

Silky again.

Water balloon fight.

I think… I have an idea.

I'll need to test this.

MR. STORM

CHAIRS

DINING HALL



IT WORKED!

I…

Mr. Stormchaser was in the dining hall, and there were these… chairs?

He was sitting down, and it was morning. Everything looked like it usually does when we are having breakfast.

Except it wasn't…?

Silky was sitting next to me, eating normally. But Mr. Stormchaser was really quiet. He wasn't eating, and he was looking towards… Mrs. Velvet chair and...

Well, Mrs. Velvet was there, but she... She wasn't THERE there. She was, but she wasn't and…

How can I explain…

Mrs. Velvet's chair was there, but it was turned with its back to us. Mrs. Velvet had her back turned to us, and for some reason Mr. Stormchaser looked really… upset about it. Not upset "mad", but upset "scared"?

Silky didn't seem to bother. It didn't even look like she noticed.

But I knew, and Mr. Stormchaser knew, that the pony who was sitting with her back to us… wasn't Mrs. Velvet?

It was. Mrs. Velvet was sitting on her chair with her back to us. But I... couldn't see her expression?

It's actually kinda scary now that I think back to it but... Mr. Stormchaser somehow knew that WASN'T Mrs. Velvet...?

It doesn't make sense. These dreams never make sense.



BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY

IT WORKED



Silky always hugs me before we go to bed. But this night I snuck out of bed after it was dark and went to their room!

It was really scary… and I hope they didn't think it was weird… but I poked Mr. Stormchaser while he was asleep!

He woke up, and I had to… ramble an excuse about water and…

Well, that doesn't matter. Because it… it worked!

This idea didn't make sense when I thought about it… it still doesn't make sense, but I think I got it!

And that is because I had a dream about Mr. Stormchaser!

Is this a… cutie-mark thing? Is this an earth pony thing? I'll ask Ponpon and Ms. Cheerilee about it, but maybe I have a talent for dreams?? I'm not an unicorn so it's not magic, but still!

I have dreams about the last ponies I… touch before sleeping?

Now that I think about it this way, that sounds dumb… I really hope this is not my special talent…

Yeap. That settles it.

The last three nights were all dreams about Silky, and yesterday Soft stayed the night here so I snuck up to her while she was sleeping and gave her a poke.

She didn't wake up when I did it, thankfully.

But I just woke up from a dream about Soft! And that's proof that I was right!

So… I… well, I didn't immediately get a cutie-mark about this as soon as I finished this test, so that's a relief. It doesn't seem to be anything relating to cutie-marks...

But Ms. Cheerilee and Ponpon didn't know about this being an earth pony thing either when I asked them a few days back.

So I'll just write it off as… random magical stuff?

Regardless, I don't think I'll be writing here anymore. So this is my last entry!

It was nice, I think.

And huh… in the end, writing down about all of this DID help. It put things into perspective, for starters, and helped me backtrack and check some things to help me get a better look at the whole picture.

So I guess Silky was right about this after all.

Those weren't my dreams.



Silky was running down a hallway, and there was this… shadow running after her.

I couldn't do anything. I shouted and she didn't hear me. I tried to run towards her but I couldn't reach her.

The shadow got her in the end…

And I woke up to the sound of Silky screaming.

Those weren't my dreams.

I ran to her room. Mr. Stormchaser got there first, no idea how he got there so fast. But Silky was crying, and she told him she had a nightmare.

Those weren't my dreams.

She described her what her nightmare was like. It was the same one I just woke up from.

I… I'm going back to bed.

And… I don't think I'll tell Silky about this. Not yet.

…

I'm a bit scared?

This feels wrong?

I just woke up from a dream about Silky and…

Who am I kidding?

I just woke up from SILKY'S dream, but… I don't…

It doesn't feel right?

I read back on those other nights and… Mr. Stormchaser's dreams? Soft Sweep's dreams?

I… I'm sure that Silky will say that she doesn't mind, if I tell her all this… but it still feels like I'm entering places where I am not supposed to enter? Like I'm intruding on other ponies' privacy? Again, I can see Silky being thrilled about it, even, saying that we should try doing stuff on her dreams but…

I feel bad about not having told her this yet. We did promise. But still…

I feel a bit… ashamed of being able to do this? I don't want her to find out about this because…

Thisisstupidandifeelstupidand

There has to be a way. There has to!

I can… somehow look into the dreams of other ponies, right? Well, then there has to be a way for me to get back into my OWN dreams.

Yes, that's what I'm gonna do! And I'll write here about my progress, you just wait!

You have just been promoted! From dream diary to science-experiment-stuff diary!

...

Tiara might be right... I maaay be spending way too much time with the CMC...

My first idea was that it was really "touch-based", so I tried avoiding that before going to bed.

However, not being tackled hugged touched by anypony is harder than it sounds when Silky is around…

My solution was to simply stay awake.

I thought there might be a "timer" to this, of sorts. Like, "the last pony you touched in the three hours before you slept is the one whose dreams you will see" or something. But I stayed awake for most of the night and… well, still saw Silky's dream.

Which is weird. I can "pick" whose dreams I will see by touching them before sleeping... but I can't "not" have it work?

Ms. Cheerilee was also a bit mad that I dosed off during class.

Well, that's one idea down… maybe it's... based on "focus"? Maybe touching them makes me THINK it will work, so it does?

I'll... well, I guess it's worth a try.

Mirrors don't seem to work either. I tried looking at myself on a mirror, mentalizing myself and stuff. I even touched the mirror to see if that counted as "tagging" myself for the dream-seeing… but no luck. Instead, I was treated to dream about a… very confusing Cutie Mark Crusader meeting… Pretty sure it was Silky's, as usual.

Oh, and also, I think most ponies don't remember what they dream about. I asked Silky today if she had any weird dreams, but she said she didn't have any. And I'm sure she would have mentioned THAT if she remembered what she dreamed about...

Interesting. But still not a step in the direction I want to go…

I… think I have an idea.

It doesn't make sense, of course. But there is not a single thing about this whole mess that makes sense, so why not?

It has to do… with the moon.

I don't LIKE the moon. I always feel like it's looking at me. I try to keep these entries as short as possible because I'm writing under the moonlight, with the windows open. But every time I'm done I close the shutters as tightly as I can, because I don't want it to watch me while I sleep.

But what if…?

I must be going crazy…

Because one, I know it won't work. And two, I don't even know if I'll be able to SLEEP like that and…

I'll just go to bed. I'm not thinking straight.

I'm going to give it a try… I HAVE to.

It's not right for me to keep watching Silky's dreams like this…

Here goes nothing…

- - -

- - -

- - -





You are Stormchaser, and you are-



"!!!!!"



You are awake and you are jumping out of your bed, before you can even understand what is going on. Wings flapping as they throw you towards the hallway faster than you can think about it.

You think you hear your wife gasp in surprise at that, but you couldn't care less. You are moving out of instinct, your wings carrying you with an urgency that you can't explain, with how your mind is still half-dazed from being woken up so suddenly.

But you know deep down that... you don't have to understand what is going. You don't need to understand. Every fiber of your being is telling you that you just have to get there as soon as it is physically possible, and that's exactly what you are doing.

As you reach the middle of the corridor, your mind finally wakes up enough for you to understand what is going on. And that only makes you flap your wings all the harder. Conscious effort adding strength to your instinctive reaction.

You hear screaming. You woke up to the sound of your daughter screaming, and your body reacted faster than your mind did. Because you can tell that...

This is not a normal filly-like scream, this is not some yelp of surprise, or the reaction to some scary prank gone terribly wrong.

No.

This is a bloodcurdling scream. The kind of scream that only real pain, or a broken bone, or something far worse can bring forth. The kind of scream that makes terrifying possibilities flash in your mind, and every last hair of your coat stand on its end.

You stop in front of Silky's door for half an instant, before you realize the source of the sound is coming from a bit further down the corridor. The spine-chilling shout is coming from the door right next to this one, you realize, and you have your hind turned to it a moment later. The kick you give, fueled by adrenaline and several other stronger things, is enough to force it out of its hinges and open downwards instead of sideways.

You step over the door and storm into Selene's room without giving it a second thought.



"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH"



And you run towards her before your next heartbeat.

"Selene! Selene can you hear me? What happened?!"

She is… you have no idea why, but she was sleeping on the floor. Her window is wide open and she was sleeping in front of it, the moonlight shining down on her while she was bundled on a small pile of pillows and under that favorite blanket of hers.

"Selene?!"

Thank Celestia for the moonlight, you think, because at least you can check on her more easily. You are afraid to touch her for a few moments, thinking that she might be hurt somewhere. But thankfully, you soon realize that's not the case.

Your hoofs around her a moment later, and you lift her up towards you. Selene's body is... frighteningly rigid. Almost as if every last muscle in her small body is locked in place. That, and her eyes are closed shut, almost forcefully, all the while she continues to scream for the life of her. So you hug her with your forelegs, and then with your wings, as you try your damned best to wake her up as gently as possible.

"Selene! Selene, shh, shhh, it's all right dear, it's all right, just listen to my voice," you try saying into her ear, as you shake her as softly as you are able to.

A few seconds later her screams turn… less loud. And you feel the slightest tinge of relief as you feel her body slump a tiny bit in your embrace.

She starts to cry against your chest. You never thought you would feel relief at hearing your daughter cry, but… listening to her cry is…

Anything. Anything is better than how she was screaming just now.

"Shh… shh… it's all right… I'm here, you're safe…"

"Selen-?! Storm dear, what happened?!" your wife bursts into the room, a glowing magic at the tip of her horn making the entire room look as bright as it would during the day.

You look towards her, shaking your head to say that you also have no clue. But you know she can tell from your expression that, if nothing else, at least Selene is unharmed.

Physically, at least.

You then feel her starting to hug you back, and between her crying and hiccups it almost sounds like she is trying to say something.


"Th-…! They-!... Mr. Storm… Chaser-… d-don't let them g-… get m-me…!"


You gently unfurl your wings from around Selene as your wife approaches the two of you, at least so she can take a better look at her.

"It's all right dear, nopony's gonna get you…" you continue, as you gently rock her in your arms.

The way she is hugging you is… almost painful. She is shaking, and the grip she has on you is stronger than you think would be possible for a pony her age.

"Don't worry love, mommy and daddy are here now," your wife joins in, slowly patting her back with a hoof as she talks.


"N-no!... the w-worms… they s-saw me and…!"


You see a shadow move by the door, and you turn your head slightly to see the silhouette of your other daughter. She is looking at the three of you, you can tell, her eyes wide open in fear.



It takes you and your wife a long, long time to calm Selene down.



Ever since that night, Selene has been sleeping in Silky's room a lot more often, with you and Velvet finding them together on Silky's bed almost every morning when you go wake them up.

Under normal circumstances, this would be a habit that you would discourage. They are past that age, after all. But…

But every time you see Selene's expression as she hugs her sister, even while asleep… and every time you remember her… scream, that night…

Well, you can't really blame her for being like this.





The quality of Selene's sleep has… decreased.

The dreams begin.

Selene's KNOCK Lore is now level 1.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -



These last few weeks you have tried as much as possible to stay at home and live a normal life.

One of the good things that came from that is that you got a lot of work done when it comes to the farmland, solving a few issues that had been slowly accumulating over the past few months. So, you are confident that even your father's accountants won't be able find any holes in your work to report to him. Which is good, since the fewer annoying letters you receive the better.

But quite frankly, the best thing about all of this was being able to spend time with your family and settle down in your routine. Your uncle's surprise visit was also a blessing of sorts, for everypony involved, and you can confidently tell that everypony seems to be in high spirits even several days after his departure.

Of course, there are always things to worry about. Selene has been having a few nightmares as of late, although nothing nearly as ugly as that one time, and you think your husband has been a little more cautious about life in general.



But still… well, you prefer to keep a positive view on things, if you can.



That being said, you didn't completely forget about the… other things that you have your eyes on. Admittedly, you didn't make an effort to keep track of how they progressed, but they haven't left your mind completely.

However, news of how everything went still reached you, eventually. Much to your delight.

Rarity visited you a few days ago, telling you that the merchants she talked to finally got in touch back with her. She told you they have found a curious item that, quoting her, she is "pretty sure has something to it".

Jade Whistle, as well, was kind enough to send you a letter. It was short, and you could tell how much of an effort it was for her to write it, but she still went out of her way to tell you that she succeeded in training her cadre to a higher level of standard.

You were happy to receive a letter from her, of course, but you must admit you are rather… conflicted about it. It is good to hear that she succeeded, of course. But still…

The thing is that her wording was not nuanced enough for you to understand if this was a warning from her, considering what said cadre will be used for very soon according to her, or if she really just wrote to tell you of her success out of her own sense of achievement.

Well, either way the two of you talked about it the last time you met, and you agreed that keeping up appearances in the cult is the best course of action right now. So… you will stick to being glad that Jade Whistle managed to do what she set out to do.

And finally, your own servants.

You got your usual report on their book-searching errant. But there was a rather unusual note added to it.

Specifically, they made a point of reporting that the owner of one of the bookstores they visited was exceedingly friendly to them after they mentioned they were there at your behest.

Of course, this kind of special treatment is not completely unheard of. They were running errands for a noble, so every now and then this sort of thing is expected to happen. In larger cities, that is.

This is not something that usually happens in small towns, and this is definitely not something that has ever happened in Ponyville. Your servants, understandably, had no idea why they got that response from the storeowner.

Although you, personally, have some suspicions.

Still, they got the job done, and that is all that really matters.



[Final shopping list]

-ARTIFACT, SECRET HISTORIES Level 3: "An old hardcover book, curiously titled 'A Brief Summary of Everything'. The thing is obviously enchanted, seeing how every time one opens a page its contents are completely random. However, the merchants have dismissed its contents as fabulous and non-real when they found excerpts of history books detailing events that never happened. But you… you know better." (Appraised cost: 200 bits. Merchant's fee: 50 bits. TOTAL COST: 250 bits.)

-BOOK, FORGE Level 3, "A real guide to beginner's level blacksmithing. The bookstore owner almost seemed excited in having this reach your hoofs via your servants." Costing 30 bits.

-BOOK, KNOCK Level 1, "Surprisingly, an image booklet featuring several pieces of abstract art. Surprisingly, there may be something of interest in here." Costing 7 bits.

-BOOK, EXPEDITION MAP (reveals 1 location), "A small hitchhiker's guide to several destinations. At least one of them, you hope, has to be interesting." Costing 7 bits

Spoiler: Rolls

[Ponyville Book Hunt – Servant Action]

[Roll: 24 + 12 (Learning) + 6 (Cult influence: Small) = 42]


[Jade Whistle – Cadre advancement, cd ???]

[Roll: 58 + 10 (Learning) + 6 (Cult influence: Small) = 74]

[Success]


[Rarity – Artifact search]

[Roll unnecessary]

[Artifact automatically unsuspicious due to origin]

- - -



You also receive… another report, so to speak.

You woke up in the middle of the night, a few minutes ago, when a cold breeze suddenly hit you.

It is important to note, however, that said breeze hit you while you were still on your bed.

Under the sheets.

Cuddled up to your husband.

Needless to say, you immediately knew what was going on.

Disentangling yourself from that warm and comfortable mess was, unfortunately, easy. You did that, and you promised yourself you would be back before Stormchaser ever had the chance to wake up. Then you headed to the outside of your house.


And here you are now, looking at the source of that cold wind.


The thing that was once a living pony… the reanimated body that is now your servant, is staring at you with its empty sockets. It is standing behind one of the many trees of the garden, underneath its shadow, and in a particular spot you are almost sure cannot be seen from any of the many windows of your estate.

Even you have to admit that the thing is effectively hidden in plain sight. You could only find it because you knew exactly where it was, and you can only see it right now because you have your eyes closed.

Frankly, you are not sure that you would have been able to spot it if you were not paying attention.

You approach it slowly, while you take a better look at its unnaturally still body.

Curious…

There are subtle changes to it that you can see, now that you are a little closer. The first, and most obvious, is that it is wearing a ragged cape around its body. You are sure you did not instruct it to do this, in particular, so this shows you that it was capable of some degree of independent thinking in order to obey your orders for it "not to be seen".

Of course, the Risen is far too gaunt for anypony to be fooled if they were to take a good look at it. But maybe, and just maybe it would be able to pass near some ponies without being noticed, if nopony was paying attention.

What little you can see of its face and neck, however, has clear signs of… changes. You can see the bulge of Wood-roots under its dry coat, and several spots where the roots have downright dug its way out of the body.

You know it will not last long, now. A little bit over a month at most.

But most curious of all is that…

"…"

The Risen is looking at you meaningfully, although it has no eyes to speak of and no expression for you to read. But still, you can tell that there is something about it… almost as if it was feeling anticipation for something.


Very curious…


To be quite honest, you had no idea of what to immediately do with the Risen, after you animated it. Sure, there are several things you want to see done, but when you stopped to think about it none of them could be trusted to a servant whose capabilities you did not yet have a good grasp on.

You know a lot about this creature, of course. You know it can understand language, you know it grasps the most basic notions of common sense, as well as several other things.

However, you also knew back then, as you know now, that a Risen is not exactly… intelligent.

So, a test was required.

You gave it several instructions, just to make sure it would not do anything downright foolish or dangerous. And then, you gave it an order.

Something for you to test how imaginative this Risen, and maybe Risens as a whole, could be. Something that played to its strengths.

And most importantly, something that you would not feel bad about even if the creature were to fail.

In an almost poetic way, seeing how this creature was born of Winter, you ordered the Risen to go mess with Windy Flakes.

Well, that was several days ago, but now you have another problem on this test of yours. The Risen is back, yes, but now you have no idea what exactly you are supposed to make of it.

It is back, but what does this means? Did it succeed? Did it fail? You have no idea.

And it is not like the Risen is about to report to you how its doings went, for the very simple reason that it is incapable of speech… Quite frankly, you were expecting to gauge the Risen's success based on Windy's reaction on the next cult meeting.

And yet, as you look at the Risen, you can't help but to think that it is… expecting you to do something. Waiting, almost, for you to do… whatever it is.

You tilt you head, slightly, as you continue to stare at it. And you can't help but notice that your breathing is getting… slower… calmer…

The Risen is not moving, and it continues to look at you with its pale lack of expression. However, you can't shake the feeling that…

You take another step towards it, and then you finally feel... you finally understand what this strange impression is.

The Risen's head… the Risen's mind. There is something in there, now. Something that you most certainly didn't put there when you animated it. Whatever it is, it's not part of the Wood-roots that are taking hold of its body and feeding on its decaying organs. No…

This new thing, it is… an idea?

No, not that. It is something simpler. Something paler. Something that its dead mind can hold, much as it might burden it.

It is… a memory. One almost too faint for the living, but that is still almost too heavy for one who is dead. Too filled with colors, as faded as they might be, and too filled with noises, as much as they might be soft as whispers.

But even that is too much. The Risen desires to part with this cumbersome memory.

And with a slight bow of its head, utterly noiseless and nearly imperceptible, it offers that memory to you.

You understand now. So you take a deep breath, then you exhale, your breath coming out fogged and cold.

And then… you pluck that fresh, cold memory from the Risen's mind. As if you were taking a bite out of a fruit.

You taste it, and you remember.

Spoiler: A memory

You are, and that is all that matters right now.

You were ordered to wait, so that is what you do.

Wait…

Wait…

Wait…

The moon is in sky. The shadows are deep. The wind is blowing like a faint whisper.

You are called.

Move.

Out of the sparce forest, down from the low hill. Towards the tall house with tall walls. Towards where you are called.

Towards your master.

You find it, near the edge of the forest. You find it, and your master is how you remember it to be. Its eyes flutter with the sound of wings buzzing at night. Its breath is cold enough to call you from beyond. Its mind is open and unlocked. Its thoughts are in many places at once.

Its hoofs glow… softly, with a light you vaguely desire.

It is your master, and it speaks to you.

Several orders. A single assignment. You listen intently.

You must not be seen, it was ordered.

You must not invite any to the Blank Door, it was ordered.

You must conclude your assignment, it was ordered.

Into the night you go.

…

Wait…

The sun rises, but that indicates it is not yet time.

Wait…

The moon, once again.

Forward. Towards your assignment.

You move, for moving is easy. This body remembers how to move, with so few limbs and so little strength. The roots run deep under your skin, feeding on your insides and giving you power. But still, your strength is brittle at best.

But moving is not enough. You must think.

Moving will not be enough to complete your assignment. You must also remember.

You remember…

Ponies stay inside their houses while it is dark, you remember.

Ponies might think it frightening to see a lone figure walking alone at night, you remember.

Ponies are scared of things that move after being dead, you remember.

You move, with more purpose now.

You stick to the shadows.

Follow Moth's path. Avoid the open streets. Allow shadows to hug you. Do not be touched by any light but the moon's.

Like that, more properly now, you move.

You move until you reach the city.

The lights grow stronger as you approach. From streetlamps lit with fire and oil YOU REMEMBER THEIR LIGHT. From the open windows of homes YOU REMEMBER THEIR WARMTH.

You circle around the lights, wary of them.

You are within the boundaries of civilization, but you remember you are no longer a part of it.

You may have been a part of it until very recently, but your body was taken from it. You belong to the Woods now.

You belong to your master now.

You set to work.

…

You have located the Winter-touched one. The one who has offended your master.

He works inside a place kissed by many blessings, one that you dare not enter.

There is also no need to enter. Your assignment is to take place at his home.

So, you set about discovering where it is that he sleeps.

Wait…

Follow.

Hide.

Wait…

Follow.

Hide.

Wait…

Follow.

Hide.

Even at night, the city is filled with light and movement, and you must not be seen, for it was ordered. So, you follow him a little bit, every night.

You feel no urgency. You feel no hunger or thirst. You feel nothing at all.

So, each night you quietly stalk to the last place you saw him and follow him a bit further still. You follow him until you can no longer follow without being spotted by other passersby.

You repeat that again, and again, and again. Each night arriving closer and closer to where it must be that he sleeps.

And eventually, you find it.

Simple. Inconspicuous. Out of the way. Three moons you wait in a faraway place, in order to be sure. And three more moons you do nothing more than quietly stalk to that place every morning, wait to confirm that he indeed leaves through the front door, then quietly go back into hiding.

And for three moons, indeed, he leaves that place as the sun goes up.

It is confirmed, then. This place is either his home, or he sleeps here regularly enough for it not to matter. Regardless, you have your mark now.

You wait the following moon, and you set out.

Entering is a simple matter. Your tongue is already root-touched enough for it to easily fiddle with the lock.

You silently stalk through the rooms and corridors as soon as you enter, sniffing for the warmth of life. A few knocks here and there, loud enough to scare but strange enough to not sound like an intruder, also causes no reactions.

You are alone.

So, you set to work.

…

Your master desired chaos and confusion, so that is what you do.

Drawers on the kitchen have their contents swapped. Pictures find their way to other frames, and frames are then turned towards the walls.

A hammer and a few nails that you find ensure that the entirety of his living room is perfectly set upside down on the ceiling.

Assignment was to rearrange furniture. This seems reasonable.

You move to the second floor, in order to continue, and you feel…

…

You feel?

…

Unexpected…

There is something here.

You move to the last door of the corridor.

There is something here.

You had checked this place for life, but you had not entered each individual room in your search, so you did not notice before.

There is something here.

You silently open the door, and you see what it is.

Right there, on the center of the room, perfectly motionless, you see-



…



…



…



It is Winter.

It is stillness.

It is beauty.

You do not feel, for you are no longer one of the living. But you understand that the thing you are looking at is indeed sublime.



…

However…

…

Something is missing.

You can see it for what it truly is, and as such you can also see how it is lacking.

It is an attempt. It is a risk. It is a step.

But ultimately, it is incomplete.

You see it, and you feel all of that at the same time. Even though it is no longer your wont to feel.

You can feel that this beautiful thing…

It is utterly, wholly, undeniably incomplete.

It lacks… permanence. Its stillness is a false stillness. It is too unresistant to its own ending.

You look at it, and even now you can tell that it is slowly fading away. Becoming less and less, smaller and smaller.

You look at it, and you see all of that.

And the thing…

It looks back at you, as well, at the same time you are looking at it.



And in seeing you… the thing is inspired.



As if your presence in that room has introduced something which was missing. As if your mere entrance has been like that of a key entering a lock.

It sees you, and it understands that it is missing.

And it takes from you.

You cannot stop it. You have no choice. The power of choice was taken from you when you died. You have lost the ability to stop others from taking away from you, because there is nothing that truly belongs to you anymore.

So, you can do nothing but watch, as something that is not yours is taken from you.

You are less, and that thing… it is more now.

Not yet complete.

Not yet perfect.

But it is more than it was before. And in that, it has taken yet another step.

You leave the room. Silently. Hastily. You leave the room before it takes so much from you that you waste away and become no more.

You leave the room even as the thing drinks greedily from you. You leave the room even as the thing becomes more, and flakes of snow begin to form out of thin air, falling gently towards the ground.

You leave the house even as the thing silently covers itself, and the room, and the corridor whose door you left opened, in pure white snow.

You leave all of that behind, and you make your way back to your master.

You blink in confusion, as the memory softly finishes settling itself in your mind.

It was… it wasn't images. It was ideas, and thoughts, and colors and… and you remember all of it as if they were your own memories. But still…

Still, you have no idea of what it is that you just saw.

"Oh dear…" you say to yourself, your mind starting to work faster and faster as you try to understand what exactly you have just witnessed.

You order the Risen away with a wave of your hoof, and you quickly make your way back into your house. After all, you ought to return to your room before your husband wakes up, but you have no doubts that you will not be sleeping anymore.

You have… a lot to think of.





Windy Flakes is working on something. And whatever it is, it is beautiful.

Your minion had something taken from it. Your Flourishing Risen's Winter value has decreased from "2" to "1".

Minions will always be able to deliver you some sort of report. Usually, they will not warrant a scene, but this being the first time (and having a relevant discovery) made it an exception.

The Risen's memories and descriptions stand as they are. He has no living eyes for you to see through, so there are no visual descriptions to be given. Only memories and impressions.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Cooling Down plus family and rituals, SH artifact edition
-[X] The Attention of the Laws [Secret Histories] for the Mansus Ascension
-[X] Number of actions
--[X] 5+1
-[X] Buy Books
--[X] EDGE 3
--[X] KNOCK 2
--[X] WINTER 2
-[X] Rarity
--[X] Act as your emissary.
---[X]Ask for specific Lore artifact. (Secret History 3)
-[X] Jade Whistle
--[X] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[X] Selene
--[X] Knock.
-[X] A fleeting opportunity
--[X] Tutoring Twilight
--[X] Deliver Comet Feet's letter
--[X] "Those damn Needles!"
---[X] Ask your uncle
-[X] Personal life
--[X] Family
---[X] Invite and introduce Uncle Steppes to everyone, have a nice family gathering.
-[X] On furthering your knowledge
--[X] Read book (write in which)
---[X] Winter 2, Heart 2, Moth 1
-[X] Mission
--[X] Go higher in the Mansus
--[X] If next Door is not reached, attempt again, if full success has been achieved explore past it else explore past the Blank Door
-[X] Shopping
--[X] Books
---[X] In Ponyville. (servant action)

- - -



Arriving here was…

You honestly don't want to think it was "simple". But it certainly was not complicated either.

You used to avoid entering the Mansus while your husband was at home, since the only way you knew how to do it was by cutting a lock of your mane and performing other specific acts. However, now you can come here more easily than you can dream.

In fact, you don't think you have dreamed ever since… a certain occurrence.


Regardless.


Waking up on the crossroads was as simple as falling asleep. Crossing the crossroads and making your way towards the Woods was also unchallenging. Perhaps it was even easier than usual due to the fact that you were preoccupied with other thoughts, and following the winding blue-stone trails with a confused mind allowed you to pick the paths that were more attuned with the Woods you wished to reach.

But this simplicity, this ease and familiarity you experienced while making your way here is exactly what is troubling you.

Even the Woods itself seemed less oppressive. You dare say it even felt rather… inviting. And that is rather distressing because you can't help but recall how, less than a year ago, your mind would wander and lose itself if you allowed your concentration to wane even in the slightest. You can't help but remember how your senses would twist and bend, as you heard the buzzing of wings and the howling of the wind and the echoes of things long forgotten.

You can still lose yourself in the Woods, of course, but now you understand the allure of that. Now you can do it through an act of will, and not by chance. You cannot claim that you have mastered the Woods, for that would be utterly foolish and naïve of you, but you think you have… Not understood it, but reached an understanding with it.

You can almost picture yourself spending more of your nighttime there, wandering through its shadows and learning more about it. Discovering its lost secrets at the same time the Woods itself learned more about you and the memories you would have thought long forgotten.

A part of you wonders… if perhaps that is what your Master…

You shake your head, banishing those distractions. Now is not the time for that. You have reached through the Woods and forced your way through its jealous grasp, as it tried with its roots and branches and winds to stop you from making your way closer to Glory.

You have forced your way through the Woods, and made your way up the dark blue staircase of Mansus-stone.

And now… you once again stand before the Blank Door.

How long has it been since you were last here? Months? Almost half a year? You are not entirely sure, you didn't check before going to bed.

But you certainly remember how it was like to cross it… how it felt like.

Or rather, you recall how it didn't feel like. How you didn't feel anything at all, the last time you entered through it.

The Blank Plains, the endless stretch of calm and inviting grassland that is beyond the open arch of the Blank Door, is the first afterlife of Ponykind. Of that you have no doubt. You have already thought at length about it, pondering about its apparent state and whatnot, although you have not yet been able to discuss about it with anypony. But you are not here to contemplate the implications surrounding the Blank Plains itself.

Quite on the contrary, you are here to cross it.

And therein lies your problem.

You can see them, from where you stand. Throughout the Blank Plains there are several staircases, made out of the same Mansus-stone as the ground you are standing on right now. They all shoot upwards and away from your sight, most of them being so tall that you cannot see where they really lead to. One of them, you hope, will take you further up in the Mansus.

However, you know that the moment you step through the Blank Door you will completely lose interest in this objective of yours.

You acutely remember how it was the last time you were there. You still remember how not even thoughts about your family were able to draw the slightest response from you. And you most definitely recall how you only left the Blank Plains because Baldomare quite literally grabbed you by the hoof and brought you back to its entrance.

You also remember how distraught you felt once you woke up… and you really hope you didn't scare your daughter too much back then.

So, that said, what exactly are you supposed to do? If the very premise of entering the Blank Plains dictates that you will no longer be interested in your ultimate objective, then how are you supposed to navigate it in the first place?

You thought about that for the longest time, and you concluded that…

You don't know.

Although, once you concluded that… you soon realized were not nearly as frustrated or irritated as you thought you would be. In fact, you were not frustrated at all. And that, you know, is because you know a lot more than you did before…

You are different than how you were before.

You have no illusions about your ignorance. You realize that you know next to nothing about the Mansus. But still, according to your Master countless other ponies in ages past faced the same trials you are facing today, and they somehow succeeded.

So, you have no better option, and perhaps no other choice, but to… try.

After all, is that not what you have been doing this entire time? Throughout all the years you have been on the cult, ever since you learned how to traverse into the Mansus, is that not how things have been for you?

The first time you reached the crossroads you had no idea what to do, and it was the slow progress of trial and error that eventually allowed you to reach the Woods.

Once you arrived at the Woods, also, you would get lost at the slightest distraction. But you eventually reached the staircases that lead to the Blank Door.

It stands to reason, then, that you will only ever learn about the Blank Plains if you… walk through it. If you allow yourself to become what you must become, and learn what you must learn.

And who knows? It just might be that the upper levels of the Mansus are inimical to life to begin with, and that this process of passage through the Blank Doors is not only necessary, but indispensable.

Whatever the answer might be, you realize that there is nothing you can do but…

"This…" you allow a small smile to appear on your face, as you softly whisper to yourself, "is a very roundabout way to say you just don't have a plan, Velvet."

And perhaps that, too, is fitting, considering the nature of the Master who has taught you so far.

Without another thought, you step through the Blank Doors, closing your eyes as you allow the faint mists under its arch to divest you of everything.

All your fears, all your hopes, all your aspirations. Your horn, your cutie mark, your magic. They are all gently taken from you.

You are now nothing but a blank pony, peacefully walking towards the well-deserved rest of the afterlife.



- - -



You are still… yourself.

This is the curious thing about it. You can still think.

And if nothing else, you still remember your name. You still remember your life, and your family, and everything you know and love back in the Wake.

You still remember you love them. You still remember what you are here for.



The thing is that you simply don't care.



Why would you even bother to try crossing these plains begin with? To fulfill some assignment? To obey an order? You have already done enough for the Master. You have already succeeded enough times, and pleased him with enough results. And in this place, you can truly appreciate certain things. In this place, you realize that such paltry motivations are like dust on the wind. There is nothing he can offer you as a reward that is truly precious, in the grand scheme of things. Much like how you realize that... there is no need to fear any reprisal in case you fail.

After all, everypony dies in the end. So what is there to gain? What is there to fear?

But far more importantly... why would you ever want to reach for anywhere beyond the Blank Plains to begin with? This place is quite literally the end of the road. No matter what you do in life, no matter how much you achieve, you will eventually return here and never leave again.

It will all be for nothing, in the end. It will all be wasted effort. You do not need to do anything anymore, because going anywhere beyond here is just a wasted journey.

There is no need to go further up in the Mansus. There is no point in doing so to begin with.

In fact, it can even be said that you would not have come this far to begin with was it not for your Master's orders.

So, without doubt you have no desire of your own to…

…

To…

…

Desire…

Desire?

Huh... "desire"...



[To scale the Mansus is to reject peace, CD 80]

[Roll: 10 + 13 (Diplomacy) + 30 (WINTER Level 3) + 30 (SECRET HISTORIES bonus, doubled) = 83]

DESIRE!

You feel a…

No, you don't feel anything.

But you think you… you think you have an idea?

And that idea is about… your own desire.

Yes…

Yes.

You understand now. Not everything, of course, but you think you understand one thing in particular about the Blank Plains.

This is the place where ponies come, or used to in ages past, after they died. This is the final destination, where goals and wants are put to rest, where mortal aspiration are forgotten in favor of a final and restful oblivion.

And all of those things, all those goals and wants and aspirations and wills… they all come from the Wake. All ponies are borne in the Wake, everything a pony might ever desire also comes from the Wake. And thus, when their lives end, all these things that are surrendered unto the Blank Door so that said pony may finally proceed to their earned rest... all those things that are taken from them are things that come from the Wake.

However… there is one thing beyond the Blank Plains. One final desire that is not born in the Wake, that does not exist in the Wake, that cannot be attained in the Wake and as such... cannot be yielded unto the Blank Door.

And that desire is Glory.

The Woods grow around the walls of the Mansus. And all of its leaves in all of its branches in all of its trees, they are all turned towards Glory. Forever reaching for something it can never achieve.

And following its example, every last practitioner of the occult, every single student of the Lores, they all without exception scale the Mansus for one single and final purpose.

And that purpose is to attain Glory.

You do not know if the Blank Plains were intentionally placed here, between the Woods and the Entrance. You do not know if this is a test, to weed out the ponies who ultimately did not wish for the one and only prize that exists in the Mansus.

But you do know, now, that it serves that function regardless. This place is, first and foremost, the afterlife of Ponykind. But it still serves to turn back those who would not understand exactly what scaling the Mansus entails.

For there is nothing else within the Mansus. There is no other goal, and no other purpose to be had in the Mansus, but to scale higher and higher. Everything within the Mansus is but a means to that end, but a path towards Glory.

Perhaps that is why the Mansus is so filled with staircases, after all… there is nothing to do in here but climb.

Yes… it is so very clear now.

You will never find your way upwards in the Mansus if you do not truly desire it yourself.

It is YOU who must want to scale the Mansus. It is YOU who must desire what lays at its very top.

It is YOU and nopony else, not your Master nor anypony who might stand behind you or in your way, that must desire to reach it.

To reach GLORY.

TO REACH GLORY.



TO. REACH. GLORY.



- - -



There is no sky above the Blank Plains.

You know that Glory is supposed to be above you, but for some reason its light seems to come from a horizon of sorts. As if Glory is a sun that is about to set, its light dim and faint on the far distance. Too covered in the Winter fog of this peaceful place for it to truly shine.

Of course, you know Glory is at the very top of the Mansus, even though you are sure you can see it on the horizon. But that, you also realize, is because this is not a place in which your perspective of where things seem to be is entirely relevant.

In fact, as if to further drive that point home, the Blank Plains even have a "ceiling", of sorts.

Every time your eyes briefly look towards the distance, towards the setting sun-like light of Glory on the horizon, you can see it. You see the massive and and chaotic crisscross of staircases and rooms without walls, all of them connected and disconnected at the same time. You know that to be the place where you want to go next.

However, whenever you look up all you can see is the massive underside of yet another floor.

That "ceiling" is distant, of course. It seems to be as distant to you as the sky might be distant from the ground in the Wake. But still, you can see that the many staircases present in the Blank Plains all lead upwards, towards that higher floor.

Perhaps somepony who knew less would try to walk towards the horizon. Towards the setting sun that is the Glory. But you know better, and you know that even though it might not feel like you are making any progress, the way towards your objective lies upwards.

What is more important, however, is that now… if nothing else…

You really want to reach for Glory.


There are several staircases in the Blank Plains. But now that you can properly guide your body, even if only through suggestions and whispers instead of actual deliberate movement, finding the correct staircase is… trivial.


And eventually you find it.

You recognize it almost at a glance.

It is the steepest of stairs. Its dark-blue stone bleached almost white by the glare of Glory. Its steps made of Mansus-stone are slightly… almost imperceptibly marked and depressed, by the hoofs of the countless adepts who came before you, and perhaps even some who will come after you. You cannot see where this stair truly leads, as it goes so high that it nearly fades out of sight. But you know this to be the correct one.

You will your body to climb it.

Was it not for the absolute calm given to you by the Blank Plains, you have no doubt that you would be feeling like a prisoner. A mind trapped inside a body that interprets your commands only as vague suggestions.

But you are immune to such frustrations. So there is nothing to dull your determination as you slowly make your way up the stairs, one step at a time.

And finally… you reach it

...

It is a door, this time. A proper gate, one that bars progress and that demands a price for it to open.

But you know, you immediately understand without knowing how, that this gate marks the end of the Blank Plains, and the beginning of what comes next. You know that your voice, and your thoughts, and your horn, and everything else is waiting for you behind that door. You need only cross it in order to get them back, and to continue scaling further.

However, you also know that this being a proper door, a true door, it requires for a price to be paid for passage to be allowed.

And that price is…



[Understanding the Branding Door, cd 80]

[Roll: 90 + 14 (Learning) + 30 (KNOCK Level 3) + 15 (LANTERN bonus) = 149]



That price… is…

Spoiler: A Dream from Long Ago

"Over here, son. Watch your step, and make sure your clothes are covering your entire body. The cold is dangerous enough, but more dangerous are the things that can smell uncovered coat."

"Yes father."

"Alright… slowly now. Through these bushes… Over there. Do you see it? Beyond the dark forest, towards the horizon. We are lucky the fog is faint today, so if you look hard enough you can almost see a good deal of it."

"I… wait... I can see it and… father, what is that?!"

"Quiet. Keep your voice low…!"

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Right, I think we are clear… Now, to answer your question. That, my son, is the Mansus."

"The Mansus? The one the elders tell us about at the gatherings?"

"That very same, son… That right there, is the House Without Walls… That, is where the gods live."

"Gods?"

"Yes. They are called Hours, and it is their wills and wants that govern the very laws of this world."

"They… then the stories of the elders are…?"

"Yes, they are not just stories. And you are not a foal anymore, so it is time you learned about the truth that you have been prepared for by those very same stories. Everything you heard, about the Gods, and their Named servants, and those who live Long lives. All of that is true. It has always been true."

"Then on the top of that… of the Mansus, is that the light they always speak of?"

"Indeed. It is called Glory, and the Hours govern the laws of the world exactly because they have gotten closer to Glory than anypony else. They bathe in it, and perhaps they even are connected to it. And through it they can make their will into reality like a pony might form specific shapes with their shadows, as they block the light of a strong fire with their bodies."

"…"

"…"

"Then father… the other things the elders speak of… about exploring the Mansus and climbing up towards… are those stories true as well?"

"They are, my son. They all are."

"I… I…"

"Peace, son, I will tell you more on the way back. For now, it is best we make our way down from this mountain. But before we get back home, there is one final thing you must know of."

"I… yes father?"

"You know how some of us, your older brother being one of them, have those marks upon their flanks, right?"

"Yes…"

"It is obvious they are not natural. It would make no sense for there to be such elaborate… well, art, appearing on our furs or on our bodies."

"The elders always told us they were… painted there. That very few have those because they are a symbol of status, but…"

"Well, yes. Partly so. Those marks upon their flanks, my son, are called Brands. And they are a symbol and mark that its bearer has truly made their way into the Mansus. You are no longer a foal, my son, so learn this well: you must treat the Branded with respect."

"Yes father… I will."

The memory... A memory... one that is not yours, but somehow feels incredibly familiar, flashes through your mind.

And you understand now.

The Branding Door. The Door of Want. The First True Gate. It has many names, but its purpose was only ever one.

And that purpose was, and still is, to bar the entrance of those who are dead. Be it dead in body, as befits those who are called to the Blank Door, or dead in spirit, those unable to make the climb by their own will.

Only the worthy may pass it. Only those who truly live may pass.

And those ponies will be given, as reward and as marking, a Brand. It is only by mastering the Lores that anypony may ever get this far. And as such, it is by those very same Lores that a pony is to be marked, and be counted among the Branded.

Long ago… there were no cutie marks.

No cutie marks, except for the ones who were earned.

Except for those who were given by the Branding Door.

Except for those on the flanks of the Branded.



And by reaching this far, you have earned yours. Understanding that, you make your way towards the Branding door and allow its searing kiss to touch your flank, forever marking you as one who has entered the House of the Sun.





A Brand is how the first true cutie marks were called. They were earned by right, not given freely.

A pony can only ever receive one Brand, on the very first time they cross the Branding Door. A pony who is counted among the "Branded" will immediately recognize others who are the same.

However, due to the crooked state of the world, your cutie mark will not be altered when you wake up. Although you will still recognize (and be recognized) by other Branded immediately.

A Brand is always attuned to a Lore, showing which one you favor the most and what Lore has allowed you to reach into the Mansus. Ponies whose Brands are attuned to the same Lore will, if nothing else, know they share something in common.

What Brand, then, will be marked upon your flank?



[] You will be changed by a Brand of MOTH

[] Your flank will shine with a Brand of LANTERN

[] You shall enter the Mansus by virtue of a Brand of KNOCK

[] This was always meant to be your fate, as proven by your Brand of SECRET HISTORIES

[] Hark: a Brand of WINTER

[] You shall not be Branded. Not today… perhaps you will never be.


(Picking a Brand will add it as a TRAIT on your Character Sheet. You will also receive TWO SCRAPS OF LORE for the Lore you are Branded)


You have reached the Branding Door, the first gate that must be passed by all who reach for Glory. You have gained one scrap of KNOCK Lore.

You have seen something… something from long ago. Your mind, dulled by the Blank Plains, cannot truly understand how deep that must have been, but you know it was something ancient and precious. You have gained one scrap of SECRET HISTORIES Lore.

It is also clear to you that if you pass the Branding Door you will surely learn the secrets required for summoning creatures of the Mansus into the Wake. The only way to avoid learning that is to not cross the Branding Door at all.

Kindly observe two hours of moratorium, for its own sake.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] This was always meant to be your fate, as proven by your Brand of SECRET HISTORIES

- - -



The Branding Door stands before you. It is closed shut, and you cannot see what lies behind it. It is perfectly still and forbidding, warding against all who have dared to come this far.

And that is good and proper, you understand now. For this gate, this Door to the truest sense of the word, is the first true partition that denies passage towards… towards the realm of gods.

Towards the realm of the gods.

Ponykind has no gods. Ponies have no true religion. The word "god" is one that is well understood, of course. It is a word that describes a being who commands absolute power. But that's the thing about it. For ponies, that word is merely a word.

The fact of the matter is that the ideas of worship and religion have never really ingrained themselves into pony society.

You know what religion is, of course. Some races throughout the known world have beliefs of their own, so the idea of devotion and adoration as a facet of culture is not entirely strange to you. Although it is definitely foreign. Things like yak ancestor worship and the equivalent in other races are a curiosity you have already read about several times, and that has been studied at length by pony scholars.

But that is the thing about it. The idea of religion… the idea of gods was always something that happened to other races. Always something that ultimately did not belong to your kind. Your species know about its history, your people has its own traditions, and for a thousand years Princess Celestia was all a pony ever had to look for if they searched for something above them. Be it for moral guidance or true rulership.

But now, as you look upon the Branding Door… as you understand the Branding Door…

Now, as your mind is gently touched by those memories from a distant past, one that has been forgotten by the world but that still echoes in here…

You understand.

You know.



Ponykind has gods.



PONYKIND. HAS. GODS.



Your body takes a step towards the Branding Door.

But how…? How?! How could this have been forgotten? The memories in your mind, from a pony of long, long ago… The very existence of this place, of the Mansus! How could the entirety of ponykind grow ignorant to such a thing? Even worse, for how long has this remained forgotten to begin with?

Another step towards the Branding Door.

This, just now… You are… Trapped as you might be inside your blank body, your mind is surely spinning with all of this. The Mansus has been with ponykind ever since the beginning. Perhaps for even longer than that. And yet… And yet…!

Another step towards the Branding Door.

This... this forgetfulness... this species-wide amnesia, for lack of a better word. It was more than simple abandonment. Loss of knowledge of this level is on a degree that far exceeds what the ravages of time are capable of. No… This place, the Mansus, it has not been merely forgotten.

And another.

It has been made a secret.

And another.

What you are doing here is far more than remembering what was lost… it is far more than mere rediscovering the truth about… about your very species.

Another. The Door is right before your snout now.

You are unraveling History itself… You are being branded by a History that was made secret.

The Branding Door opens, and you see the light of Glory.



- - -



You were reborn.

It was a lesser birth. A Branding birth. One that is common to all those who ever truly make it into the House.

But it was a birth nonetheless.

And like every pony who was ever born, the first way you introduced yourself to the world was with a scream.



!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Your hindleg, your flank, your very cutie mark. As soon as you step a hoof through the Branding Door your side is seared with burning pain.

It is the pain of an intrusion, the agony of fire burning through fur and coat and muscles.

Your mind goes blank. It is too much, way too much for your mind to handle all at once. The moment you stepped through the Branding Door you were no longer a blank pony, and this searing pain burns into you as if to mock you for rejecting the Blank Plain's gift of peace.

As if to tell you that there is only conflict from here onwards.

As if to tell you that there are only two fates from here on: to ascend, or to fail.

You scream in agony towards the skies, your mind going blank and your vision going black.

And you can feel it. You have no idea how, but you can feel it. You can feel the cutie mark upon your flank run like wax and move as if it is alive.

The purple book snaps close, scaring away the things that fly around it, and then it opens with the same violent intensity. It runs through its pages one by one, as if a strong wind is blowing upon it.

But the pages… the silver-like blank pages that fill the book that has been marked upon your flank your entire life... there are words appearing on them. The book upon your cutie mark is being written on.

And on its pages, you can feel it being recorded there. You can feel every letter of every word like a kiss of fire upon your coat, and you somehow know what is being recorded there... It is the entire history of ponykind. The entirety of everything that has ever happened ever since your species came to be. The methods through which the first daring occultists scaled the Mansus, the birth names of all the ponies who ever reached Glory, and every last fact that occurred until the Mansus was forgotten.

Nothing is omitted. The entirety of the History that was somehow made secret is being recorded there. All the way until you were borne, and you grew up, and you laid to sleep on your bed to make your way to the Branding Door.

And after the final words are written, the page is turned, showing a blank and immaculately silver page. It is, you know, the page your life is currently at. The page upon which your future will be written.

Only after the blank page is presented, and only after the final winged thing makes its way back to its original position, are you freed from your agony.

You are sprawled on the floor, exhausted. At some point your legs must have failed you, as your lungs could do nothing else but scream. Your vision is slowly turning back to normal, the blackness that threatened to overcome you retreating, and you are gulping for air.


You… you stay like that for a while, lying on the cold floor of the Mansus, as you slowly pick up the pieces of your own mind.


And slowly, achingly slowly, you try to understand what just happened.


You are a Branded now. That much you realize almost instinctively. You also know that a lot of… things… memories, information, Histories, have been crammed into your mind.

No, not crammed… They have passed through you, flown through your like a great river might flow under a bridge. Their violent passage is what has Branded your cutie mark but… but you cannot remember any of what you have seen.

Part of you wishes you could remember, but something tells you that… if the mere presence of that much has already marked you irreversibly… then trying to hold on to it, or even comprehend a fraction of it, would simply obliterate you.

And also…

You slowly angle your neck, moving to look at your cutie mark. The idea of moving your body through your own will after just leaving the Blank Plains is still somewhat strange to you, but you try it regardless.

Your cutie mark, you see, is unchanged. It is almost agonizing, you think. Your cutie mark is an image, and as such you know that the book drawn upon it can never move from its position, open as it is displaying a blank and silver page.

And yet you know that the pages before that one now contain… everything.

You take another deep breath, tentatively moving a hoof towards your forehead so as to massage the pain away. You refuse the possibility of simply ignoring it, for now, and you note almost absent-mindedly that your horn is exactly where it should be.

Another deep breath. Your faculties are slowly returning to you.

"Right…" you say to yourself, your voice low as a whisper as you partly expected not to be able to speak, "time to…"

You force your legs to stand up, the movement jerking and trembling. Your mind has just been taken to the extremes, you know. A moment ago your were on the Blank Plains, where you could not even feel the weight of your own body. And right after that you were… you felt agony. Burning and incandescent agony.

And now that both of those are gone, your body feels so averagely normal that it almost feels like you are wearing somepony else's skin.

But breath after breath, movement after movement, you timidly ease yourself back into being Velvet Covers.

Shaking your head one final time, you turn back to the Branding Door, intent on taking a better look at the portal you have so dispassionately stepped through as a blank pony.

The Branding Door is a large double gate, its height perhaps three times your own. It is made of some sort of metal, although any shine it might have had one day is now dulled with age.

And on its surface, you see…

"Wait…"

You thought it was just ornamental symbols, but as you step towards it to take a closer look you realize there are several markings upon the Branding Door. And they are shaped in a roughly circular pattern in a way that is too purposeful to be merely a decoration.

You eye them curiously, noticing how they each have a significance that… that you can't exactly explain, but that you understand the purpose of. It is as if… you feel like a primitive pony who is looking at a book or at a mural. You can understand that those complex markings have the purpose of conveying a message, you can roughly understand their purpose as symbols, but you can't read them.

However, you most surely can... memorize them

In fact, it is surprisingly easy.

They are seven symbols forming the rough circle, one leading to the other. An eighth is written at the center of the configuration, in a way that the symbol would be cut in half should the gates of the Branding Door be opened. The entire thing is surrounded by a large circle that, upon closer inspection, seems like a very large collection of glyphs.

Individually, none of that makes sense to you. But as the entirety of the design dawns upon you, you cautiously take a few steps back so as to gaze upon the entirety of the Branding Door.

Yes… you can see it clearly now. Seven Lores in a circle, within a cycle of sorts. Knock at its center. The world around it.

This… is a portal. This, you realize, is at the same time a real portal and the drawing of a portal. The instructions on how to create portals, and the actual portal that allows passage into the Mansus.

Or… out towards the Wake.

You…

You take a deep breath. You can already tell that this is starting to become too much.

You don't know what to think. You don't know how to react.

This is too much. Too much at once, too much at the same time.

So you hold in your breath and...

...

You will yourself into calmness, taking refuge within the cold lake you now have in your mind as you try to process everything that has just happened.

You have just stepped into the Mansus…

You have discovered that ponykind has gods… gods. That your species is not alone, fumbling in a world where the otherwise static sun is moved by the will of a… creature. Your species has gods, and despite all the other races in Equestria these were the gods that willed laws into being on the world.

You also have just been Branded. Something older and larger than anything you have ever seen or felt has changed you irrevocably, with the sheer weight of its passage.

You…

You are…

"Calm…" you say to yourself… "calm down, Velvet Covers…"

You are calm…

Yes…

You are calm.



- - -



There is still time before you need to wake.

You remember that, before, every time you reached a new places you would feel an urge to wake and map the path towards it. It was like that when you first reached the Woods, then the Dreamlands, then the Blank Door. But for some reason, this time you do not feel it.

You can tell that you very much wish to wake up. You very much want this to be over with, so you can properly process everything you have just been through and discovered.

But those are your emotions talking. And for all that they might be acting like strong gusts of wind within your mind, right now you are submerged in your lake of calm. You cannot be touched by the growing storm of stress that is accumulating within you, at least not unless you wish to. And right now, you know, you ought to spend your time wisely.

There will be a time to be stressed.

There will be a time for crying.

But for now, you must learn more.

You turn your back to the Branding Door, and you continue ascending the stairs.



[Second Mansus action]

[Exploring what lies beyond the Branding Door, breakpoints 80/???]

[Roll: 92 + 15 (Learning, SH doubled) + 30 (KNOCK Level 3) = 137]

[You have discovered a new location]

[You have also noticed…]



Staircases.

Everywhere you look you see staircases.

Some of them are floating, not connected to anything at all, but most of them lead somewhere, and they are in every direction you look. They lead to doors, and alleyways, and closed-off rooms without roofs, and bridges and everything else you can think of, some of them are even upside-down in relation to the others. The only way you can describe what you see, confusing as it might sound, is that you are inside a gigantic castle without walls.

And also, for some reason you can't see very well towards the distance. You recall how you could see the "underside" of the floor that was above you, when you looked up while in the Blank Plains. But here…. The entire place has this strange dream-like quality to it.

As if, despite you knowing you are inside the Mansus, this place stretches forever in all directions.

"Maybe I can see it, if I just look..." you say to yourself, as an idea occurs you.

You walk towards the side of the path you are on and you look downwards, and then you look upwards. But curiously, you realize that you can't see the Blank Plains below you, and you are not sure if you can see any other "floor" over you. The maze of staircases just seems to go on… forever, in all directions, until everything in the far distance is covered by a… strange sense of unreality that you cannot put a color or a name on.

In fact, you tentatively lean on the edge of the path by the Branding Door and you... you realize that there is nothing behind it. Truly, and perhaps literally, the symbol upon the Door must indeed be a portal that has transported you from the Blank Plains to here.

And another thing is that… the Glory, as well… although you can tell that it is over your head, it also seems to be able to shine on every step of every stair, not allowing a single place to be covered by shadows. Although you can clearly see that some of the stairs are above others, and should be blocking the light of Glory and…

And…!

And you take another deep breath…

Do not look directly towards Glory.

Do not think about it as if you were on the Wake.

These stairs are passages. These bridges are roads.

You will not learn anything about this place if you attempt to bind it to the laws of your own logic.

So, whispering to yourself the secret word that windows speak when they are opened, you pick one of the stairs connected to your path and follow through it.



[Rolling discovered location]



Despite the maddening configuration of this place. Despite how much you feel like you are on a three-dimensional and far more complex version of the crossroads. You realize that this place is not, in fact, like the one that surrounds the Woods.

On the crossroads, you have nothing but the steps of Mansus-stone, forming paths and ways that seem to go on forever.

But here… here the staircases are…

They are all, each and every one of them, unique.

Some of them have ornaments about them, others are engraved like works of art. Some are dull, with nothing but minor style changes.

But you notice something very curious as you turn your attention to the stairs.

Some of them… some of them have marks on them.

And these marks you are beginning to notice are not the proper engravements that some of the stairs boast. These are not strokes wrought by some ancient will or artifice. Quite on the contrary, these are simple and crude marks. Almost as if the stairs have been vandalized by a passing pony.

Almost as if another adept had… left something behind, as a marker or an attempt to map this place.

And the more you distance yourself from the Branding Door, the more frequent they become.

You cannot understand what language they are written in, if it is even a language at all, but you notice that some of them seem to follow certain trends. Repeated symbols, a slight familiarity in how they might have been carved, things like that.

So, you pick one of them at random and follow it.

Directions, arrows, unintelligible phrases, Lore symbols. You continue following them as they become more common and cohesive, and you think you are getting a picture of where they might lead you. It looks like… a castle made of blades? A staircase made of knives?

You keep following the symbols, trying your best to memorize the ways you are taking.



Until you chance upon… something else.



You are going on the direction pointed by the last marked arrow, the one you found on a floating bridge a little ways behind. You think you are supposed to keep moving forward, but you notice an adjoining stair connected to the path you are currently walking on.

And on that staircase you see…

A crack.

The Mansus-stone of the staircase has a crack on it.

You very nearly missed it, your mind telling you that a crack on the stairways is not exactly something strange. After all, you are following marks that were left behind, marks that were surely cut into the Mansus-stone by Lore practitioners that came before you. It stands to reason, then, that somehow marring the Mansus-stone of the staircases is not impossible.

And hence, a crack on a staircase is not supposed to be strange to you.

But all the markings you have seen so far have been small things. Their shapes suggesting the strikes of a chisel or some occult Forge instrument that chipped away small pieces of the structure of the Mansus. Just enough to form an intelligible sign, just enough for the outlines of a crude drawing.

However, what you are seeing now is a… crack. It's a fracture. A hair-thin fracture that mars the entirety of the staircase. Starting on the very first step right before you and going on continuously all the way to its top and out of your view.

You tentatively look towards the path you are supposed to follow, according to the marks, and then towards the strangely marred staircase.

You frown for a few moments, as you wonder what you ought to do next.

But ultimately, you do not know for how long you will be following the marks towards the... sharp place. This thing, on the other hoof, you can begin investigating immediately.

So, you decide to make a small detour and take a better look at the curiously fractured stair.

...

You follow it, making your way up its steps, and you confirm that, curiously, the fracture is… continuous. It is one single, and apparently very long, fracture. But it does not end at the top of the stairs, instead it continues through the floating causeway that is connected to it, and seems to go on and on even beyond that.

You begin to follow the fracture, curiously wondering what might have been its source.

You continue following it, until you find another fracture. This one came from another path, and it "joined" with the fracture you had been following, as if they had originated from the same source and at some point split into two directions.

You continue following them to their source. But you soon realize that... a sense of dread is steadily creeping up through your back. One that you… can't push away, despite the things you know about calm and stillness.

This is… even on this state you can tell. Even knowing so little about this place you can tell.

This is wrong.

This is wrong.

You keep following the cracks, and you see how several of its other branches are rejoin to the one you are following the further you ascend. Whatever must have caused this much cracking, you think, must have been... substantial.

You worry only deepens when the cracks grow not only in quantity, but in size.

Up until now, you have only been following a hairline cracks. Well, several hairline cracks, seeing how they have not joined up for a while now, and you have been following a small web of fissures. A web that, sometimes, even covers the entirety of the path or stair you are on, side to side.

However, now the cracks are also... larger. No longer hairline-thin, no longer even small. They are becoming... worryingly large, the higher you go and the further you follow them.

This is very wrong.

You continue following the trail of… of damage, of wear and disrepair, and you start to notice that even the adjoining stairs that you cannot reach, the ones you can see all around you, are also somewhat fractured. The chinks and fractures, also, are now sometimes... holes.

And then you…

And then you come upon…



"Oh… oh my stars…"



You were so busy looking at the damage, you were so distracted by the state of the paths around you, that you only notice it when you are almost upon it.

You are walking on a bridge, its Mansus-stone surface punished and marred with damage that gives it the appearance of a ruin.

But the middle of the bridge is…

It is simply not there.

You… you don't believe your eyes. The cracks and fissures and gaps seem to be concentrated here, but a few hoofsteps in front of you the bridge is simply…

Broken.

It is not there.

It has fallen down.

You… you feel a strange wind coming from it, from that large extension of empty space where the bridge should be. You feel a wind as if you were on the edge of a ravine. You feel that strange breeze caress your mane and you... and the creeping chill that had been crawling up from your back finally reaches the level of...

Your body is tense.

It shouldn't be.

You have learned how to will it not to be.

But your body is tense.

You slowly approach the end of the broken bridge... a trepidation you cannot explain building up inside you with every step you take.

You know that... you know that you truly wish not to see. You know that for all you know about Winter, your very self is screaming at you not to do it.

But you have to.

You creep towards the ravine, the gaping cliff at the edge broken down bridge, and you look down.

And you see-



[Resisting Dread]

[Roll: 68 + 9 (Martial) + 15 (WINTER Level 3) = 92]

[Success]



You see…

By all the heavens...

You have no idea when you got this high. You have no idea that you had followed the cracks and fissures for so long, and ascended so much through the stairs of this place.

But as you look down through the end of the broken bridge you see…

The inside of this place… the endless maze of stairs and paths and ways…

They are broken!

Countless stairs, countless rooms, countless floors, countless paths. You see that many of them, far more than you can count, are broken. Interrupted and shattered, blocked off by virtue of their steps having been sheered out of existence.

A sudden gust of sheer terror flows through you, spearing up from that violated ravine and blowing against your face for a few instants as you stare down. You immediately jump back as you realize that the wind you are felling is not natural… Of course, nothing in the Mansus is natural like in the Wake, but you can immediately feel... you can immediately taste that it was no wind.


It was an echo.


It was a reverberation of something, straight from the past. Something old, something ancient.

It was a wind of dread and pain and loss. The cry made by the destruction of something that should not have been destroyed.

But worst of all...

But worst of all...

The worst part of it is that you somehow know… you can't say if it was that dread-wind that told you, or if you somehow simply understand it now.

But somehow you know that…

That a terrible crime has been committed in the Mansus.

And you are looking at its effects and consequences.

However, you also know that this... that this means much more than just what it sounds like.

Because the Mansus... the Mansus is not only a place or a house or an eldritch realm in a parallel dimension you access through your dreams. It is also a statement, a reflex, a metaphysical analogy of the beings that inhabit its halls and of the Glory that crowns it.

So the fact that the Mansus is damaged… the fact that it is damaged to this extent... It also means that…

That it did not repair itself. That it allowed itself to remain like this. That it could not help but stay like this, once the damage had been wrought.

That there was no will or want to have its old order restored…

That there was nothing and nopony to restore it…

There is nopony to restore it.



That the House… is empty. But for the Glory at its peak, and what scraps were left behind to wander through its halls.



That the gods of Ponykind, the very same you only just discovered to have existed… are gone.



You…

You decide to turn back.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You feel numb.

You are calm, but only because you have no other option.

You could feel it, while it happened. This has been… everything has been just too much. Too much in too short a span of time. You could feel your stress and shock rising, even as you forced yourself to remain calm. Then at some point you felt the storm of your thoughts, and downright panic, battering against the recluse that you have inside your mind.

And then you felt… stillness.

Perhaps you would have fainted under normal circumstances. Perhaps this is how it feels like to have your emotions overwhelmed to the point of shock, while your rational faculties remain… somewhat unmolested.

But still, you feel numb.

And you dare not remove yourself from the state of calm you are in. This, at least, is better than to faint. Or worse, have an episode like you had not long ago.



You made your way out of that place… the Shattered Stairways, as you have come to think of them as.

You made your way back through the Branding Door, then the Blank Plains, then the Blank Door.

You have returned to your normal self after that brief moment of peace within the Blank Plains.

And now you are on the stairs that lead back down to the Woods.

You… you just want to Wake.

The dark embrace of the Woods almost feels like a welcoming hug, as you walk down the stairs and through the black sea of treetops and insect wing-like leaves. You are quickly surrounded by the buzzing of lost things and the whispers of distant winds and the echoes of stray thoughts, and all of this subtle and gentle confusion feels like a relief.

Losing yourself here feels almost… tempting. Of course, you know you do not want to forget what you just learned, and all that you have just been through. But you also don't really want to hold on to it either right now.

You can feel that you... you have been wounded. You have learned to defend yourself, to make a small fortress within your mind, but you were still battered and bruised. You may have locked your emotions out, but those emotions are still yours, and you are in shock.

You need time… you just need time, and peace, and quiet, and you definitely need t-



Snap



All the hairs on your body stand on their ends, against your will and against your calm.

You think you would have curled up, if not for your abject numbness. You might have simply sat down and hugged yourself if you weren't so unnaturally calm. And despite everything you have learned about Winter, a part of you is truly worrying that you might be about to break.

Because you just heard a twig snap.

And slowly, but unavoidably, the winds and the buzzing and the shearing of scissors begins to grow stronger and stronger.

Until the darkness completely covers everything around you, leaving you blind even though your eyes are closed shut.

You don't know what to do.

And then you hear a soft chuckle.



"Little… little… Velvet…"



But much to your surprise, the voice does not come from everywhere at once. No… It comes from a single point, right in front of you.

It comes from a single place, and from a very real mouth. One that seems to be almost at your eye level.

It comes from…

Right... there?



"The very first Branded in… so, so long. The very first Branded of this broken age and this crooked world. You deserve praise, little Velvet."



You can vaguely make out a figure, moving towards you… and you think it might be a pony.

Covered by a cloak from head to tail, walking almost as if covered in shadows.

But... but for the first time you can see it... you can see him.

Or rather, you are being allowed to see.



"Although your choice of Brand is somewhat… Well, it is surely a nostalgic sight to behold, but it is not nearly as beautiful as your eyes."



The figure moves close enough for you to almost make out their face. It is a stallion, a cloaked stallion.

It is…

"Master…?" you say, your voice almost weak from everything you have been through. But still, you can't help but to ask.

And the figure smiles at that.



"My faith in you is rewarded, little Velvet," he says softly, "you are slowly becoming a thing of true beauty. Already you smell of secrets, of lies told and truths left untold. You timidly begin to dance the dance of chaos and confusion. You are…"



The figure unhoods itself.



"Ready for what comes next."



Your eyes go wide open at what you see, your composure and calmness finally shattered.

For a moment… for a tiny moment, you really thought that pony was your Master.

But as it moves its hood down you can see that…



"Little Velvet, I am pleased by your progress, so I offer you a lesson. And a gift."



The cloaked figure, he is…

He is a pony.

Right before you stands a stallion. A living breathing stallion, wearing a cloak with its hood put down. This stallion is one that you almost think you recognize as being somepony from the cult, a face that is disturbingly familiar. To the point where you can almost place a name on him.

But he is…

A chill runs down your spine.

He is…



"This one, however, has... erred greatly. But that does not mean he is to be left without purpose… No, he is my gift unto you."



And your Master's voice… it is coming from that pony's mouth.

But everything else about him is wrong.

His mouth open and closes almost mechanically whenever your Master speaks, to the point where you can almost hear the faint "clack, clack, clack" of his teeth painfully hitting each other.

His posture, as well, is wrong. He stands as if he is being controlled by strings, he walks as if he is being moved by something that only vaguely cares about how a pony ought to move.



"You must learn how to commit certain acts, little Velvet. You must learn how to bear greater secrets and to cross certain barriers… And the ritual to summon me into the Wake must not fail. So, a gift: you shall have the privilege of carrying out the ritual, and this little puppet shall have the honor of assisting you with its life. You will learn the power that exists in blood, and you shall grow for it."



And the eyes… By the heavens, his eyes… They are wide open, and darting around in panic, and filled with what you can only describe as mortal fear.

In fact, the stallion… your fellow cultist starts to weep at those last words of the Master. You can see that he is painfully conscious, and that he is listening to every word your Master is speaking, and perhaps can even feel everything that is happening with his body.

You…

This is…

Your mind is blank.

You can't think straight.

You are trying to think about how you might be able to get away from this, at least so you can think a little better about it.

You are trying not to think about how that pony… about how that cultist could have been you, or anypony else you know in the cult.

You are trying to…


You need more time!


"Master, I…" you freeze. Your panic is long dead, from what you saw in the Shattered Stairways, so you are not freezing due to panic.

You are freezing because your reason, also, has finally failed you. Your mind is too full, your stress is too high. Your brain simply does not know what to do anymore.

"Master… allow me to say that… This is a great honor," you say, trying to weave pleasant words with what little Grail occurs to you right now.

Your feelings have failed you, your rationality has failed you. The Lores are the only thing you can fall back to now.

"And I feel truly blessed by your attention, but… might I be allowed to wake and make my way to the cult, then? The third circle must be drawn, and preparations must be made for the ritual," you say, trying to sound as the very least as flattered as you can.

Yes, this has to work. Please. You will tell him you will wake, and then you will have time. Then you will be in your house, with your husband, and you will finally be near something that makes sense.

But upon hearing your words, the… the puppet cultist only smiles at that. A wide smile, one that is clearly painful by how his tears begin to flow more freely.

And for all his lack of control or care over the rest of his facial expression, you can tell this is an… amused smile. That your Master is amused by you, and is showing it through... this pony.

"Fear not, little Velvet," the terrified stallion opens and closes his mouth, his voice the sickening mimicry of your Master's ventriloquism, "there are ways and secrets that you are not yet ready for, but that I can guide you through regardless. Even as we speak the cult already gathers, and I will take you to the cult, through the Woods and through the paths. And even though your body sleeps in the Wake, you shall appear before your fellow advisors walking by my side, and we will begin the work immediately."

You…

You don't know what to say.

"Unless… you do not wish for this boon," he says, his voice almost sounding like he is coddling you, for some reason you can't understand. "It will be a little disappointing, for sure, but we can still have Jade Whistle perform it in your stead… She was on a straight path towards Winter, not long ago. But even though she has diverged towards Heart, surely she will have enough in her to obey mine order and perform the Ritual herself. Although surely she will have to use the sacrifice herself, as her knowledge is lacking to call upon the intensity of Moth required."

You…



[] You accept his "gift". Remaining in your Master's good grace is paramount. You will perform the ritual, using the sacrifice he has offered. (You will commit a murder and take a life, as it is required to use a sacrifice. Your Master guarantees the Ritual will succeed if you do it as he instructs.)

[] You will perform the summoning, but politely refuse the "gift". This will show you are still loyal. That is, personally loyal to him. And he might see your refusal to take a life as merely something he still needs to "teach out of you". (You will attempt the ritual yourself, but the lack of a sacrifice will make your success unsure. You might fail, and then he will surely call upon Jade to use the sacrifice. This may be slightly disappointing to your Master.)

[] You will refuse his "gift". This will disappoint him, but you… you want part in this. (He will call upon Jade to perform the summoning. The Ritual might fail even then, but this will force Jade to take a life herself regardless of the result.)





A lot of things have happened.

There is no way to "wriggle" your way out of the summoning. Anything else you might suggest to the Master, to gain time or otherwise, will just result in a net loss of his opinion towards you, and you will still not be able to convince him not to drag you along to the Ritual.

Kindly observe a six hours moratorium.

Spoiler: A helpful list of horrifying things

A lot has happened. Here follows a helpful list of horrifying things you have just discovered:

-The Mansus has been forgotten by Ponykind at some point in ancient history.

-Ponykind has real and living gods, in the figure of the Hours.

-There is a way towards the Ascend of Knives.

-A terrible crime has been committed within the Mansus.

-The Mansus has suffered extensive damage due to the commitment of a terrible crime. You do not yet know the extension of said damage.

-Ponykind had real and living gods.

-There are no active Hours within the Mansus.

-The Master has offered you a gift.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] You will perform the summoning, but politely refuse the "gift". This will show you are still loyal. That is, personally loyal to him. And he might see your refusal to take a life as merely something he still needs to "teach out of you". (You will attempt the ritual yourself, but the lack of a sacrifice will make your success unsure. You might fail, and then he will surely call upon Jade to use the sacrifice. This may be slightly disappointing to your Master.)

- - -



You…

You don't know.

You are too tired to rationally think about it. You are consciously aware that your mind is in tatters, and the only think holding it together is the fact that you are willing all those fractured little pieces not to move.

But you just can't think. For the life of you, you can't think of what you are supposed to do. Of how you are supposed to answer this.

You certainly don't want to kill anypony. And you absolutely do not want to see Jade being forced to do anything like that.

But you can't think well enough even to form words. Your mind is still reeling at everything you have just seen in the Mansus and at… at everything. Period.

You can't think, so you resort to the Lores. If nothing else, at least you can use them to shape your next words and follow through with them on your next action.

However, even your options when it comes to that are limited. Perhaps good when compared to the regular cult-goers, but far too limited before something like the Master.

Not a moment ago you have seen that your Grail was not enough to sweet talk her into letting you Wake.

Your Knock is not nearly enough, you are sure, to try to make your way out of here.

Your Winter is already doing everything it can.

None of the others… none of them would have no use right now.

None of them… save Moth.

Yes…

Yes.

The Master wishes to be summoned above all else. She clearly wishes to test you, of course, to see just how far you are willing to go in her name. But she is presenting this path, her desired path, as the only one that guarantees that you will succeed in the coming ritual.

So why don't you surprise her, then?



"I am honored by your gift, Master…" you say, you whisper, almost tantalizingly. "But… there is another option."



The pony moves at that. He is forced to shake his head in a jerk, and only a few moments later do you realize it is the equivalent of a curious tilt.

You have no idea how painful that movement was.

But at least… At the very least, you hope it indicates your Master is interested. If not intrigued.

And a few seconds later you can feel it. Like a mountain of feathers slowly starting to pile around you, like a minute weight being added to your back little by little. You can feel her… attention, her scrutiny, falling down on you.

And slowly, agonizingly slowly, you can tell that her attention is turning into… interest.

A pleased interest.

As if she just had her own "gift" to you countered by the offer of… learning a secret you have been keeping.

A gift from your own.

One that she is oh so very tempted to accept.

That she is very much pondering if she should. If she truly wants to.

If it might be worth it, compared to the alternative.

The seconds stretch longer and longer, but you dare not speak. You keep the Grail on your lips in the form of a pleasant smile, and the Winter in your mind suppressing the panicked scream that your heart is begging you to release.

You stay. Perfectly. Still.

Suddenly, a gust of wind flows through the darkness around you, blowing at your mane and causing a small storm of leaves to fall from the top of the black trees.

And you think you hear a chuckle coming from somewhere.

"Follow," is all your Master says, her voice still coming from the unfortunate pony, who then turns around and heads deeper into the Woods.

But for all you hear the pony's hoofsteps slowly going away, you can't help but feel that there are still eyes upon you. Several eyes, in fact.

So many eyes…

And since you do not feel like you have any other option, you follow the receding hoofsteps, knowing that your Master is somehow far closer than the sounds might suggest.

At least, you think, the eyes seem amused…



- - -



You don't know what happened.

You don't know what is happening.

You just followed the hoofsteps.

At some points, the Master would say something. A word, or an instruction, or the lyrics of a foal's lullaby you used to sing to your daughter years ago. But you can't exactly remember what it was.

You just followed the hoofsteps of that poor puppeteered pony.

You didn't notice when your vision faded away.

You didn't notice when you stopped feeling the black dirt of the Woods underneath your hoofs.

You didn't notice when your thoughts simply… stopped.

You just followed the hoofsteps.

Until there were no more hoofsteps to follow.



And your body jerked as if you had just woken up from a dream.



You immediately stop walking, your eyes darting around as you try to understand what just happened.

You are still within the Woods. But something feels… off.

You can still feel the dark roots under your hoofs. The tall and forbidding trees still stretch in every direction. But something feels extremely off.

As if this place is the Woods, but the "wrong" Woods… if such a thing is even possible.

You shake your head, memories from a few moments ago coming to you and…

Actually a thought crosses your mind. Are these memories really from but a few moments ago?

How long were you like this? How long have you been following the hoofsteps, without thinking about anything else?

How long were you lost in the Woods, following the path left by your Master?

And speaking of which, where is the Master to begin with?!

You feel no traces of her, and you can't see the pony she had on her grip anywhere.

Did she… did the Master abandon you? Is this perhaps what it feels like to be inside your own mind, as she puppeteers your body?!

Could it be that… could that have been this much of a test, and you just failed so spectacularl-?



"Is the cult assembled?"



A voice. Her voice. You hear it coming from somewhere far away. You can't rightly feel relief as you are, but at least things are not as dire as you thought they might be.

You immediately begin to walk towards the voice.

And as you begin to hear more voices, you think you understand what exactly is going on.



"Yes Master!" you hear Starry Dancer's excited voice. "The whole cult, as you called for. Comet and Copper were already on their way for this meeting, and they arrived on the last train of this night… well, of yesterday's night."

"That is good, my little one, for tonight's reunion is of great importance indeed. All of our faithful must be present for it… But I see few of you, where are the others?"

"This room is large, Master, but it is not… large enough, for all of us," you then hear the somewhat careful voice of Windy Flakes. "The rest of our cult is gathered upstairs on the main hall of the building."

You then hear… something. A faint sound that reminds you of leaves rustling against each other, or perhaps the distant noise of insects chittering.

Or… the sound of something very, very unnatural nodding its head.

"Indeed… and yet this place is not filled to capacity, is it? There is still room to spare, so these others that stand behind you have been chosen. What, then, might have been the criteria? What has afforded them such privilege?"

The Master's voice sounds playful, for some reason. Almost teasing.

As if she is taking joy with that little question of hers.

Like a mentor, perhaps, asking an easy question for the pleasure of hearing its answer.

"They are the ones who saw the alicorn's nightmare until the end… and who know about the Worms," comes the answer, from Jade's monotonous voice.

Another wind flows around you, and you swear you can make out the hint of a hoarse chuckle just on the edge of your hearing.



But also, as you hear her voice, you notice what is off about this place.

You only notice it because you have gotten used to Jade Whistle's voice, otherwise you are not so sure you would have realized it.

This place, this part of the Woods, it feels wrong because… it feels like you are dreaming.

That confuses you, at first, but you slowly begin to understand why you are having this inverted sensation, of sorts.

When you are in the Woods, when you are in the Mansus, you… you know that you are dreaming. But that knowledge is a conscious one, a willful understanding that you have reached that place by falling asleep. Sometimes the Mansus does feel like a dream, but never with the true out-of-body sensation you used to have in regular dreams… before you stopped dreaming altogether, that is.

But being here right now you feel exactly that. An otherworldly sensation as if you were only halfway here.

This place, you know, is somehow connected to the Woods. But now, you are only halfway within the Woods.

Because at the same time, you are only halfway within the Wake.

You are still yourself. You still have a body. A tentative touch against the dark bark of a tree reveals you are still very much physical. And something, somehow, tells you that if you reach the place where the cult is gathered, you will be very much capable of touching other ponies, or the floor, or the walls of that underground club room.

However, you are not truly and completely here.

And you realize that precisely because of how Jade Whistle's voice sounds. Because her voice, and everypony's voice in fact, has this… echoy, dream-like hint about it. As if you are only partially listening to it, or as if there was some sort of transparent bubble or barrier between you and them.

But you can still hear them. So, you continue making your way towards them.



"Very well then. We are assembled. Let us commence our gathering, my followers. Tell me of your doings," the Master says.

"Master, excuse me…"

But curiously, you hear Jade Whistle talking. She speaks immediately, almost as soon as it is possible to do so without actually interrupting the Master.

And her voice, you can tell, sounds… worried.

"But Velvet Covers is not yet here, Master. She… she has not arrived."

She sounds very worried.

"That is of no concern right now. Commence," the Master repeats herself.

"Master, is she… did… did something happen to Velvet Covers?" but Jade asks again, and you think you almost hear a tinge of fear in her voice.

Her question, you can also tell, is directed not only at the Master, but also at anypony who might be willing to answer.

However, the silence that follows from the Master is one that you know all too well. It is the silence that will not deign to speak any further, no matter what.

And Jade, as well as everypony else, seems to notice that.

Comet Feet begins to talk not long after.

"Me and Copper had luck, so far," you hear his gruff voice coming from the decreasing distance, "there was an… unfortunate fire in the city, and a lot of ponies with useful skills were suddenly interested in laying low during the following investigation."

"Yes," Copper says right after, "they were rather… of the alarming sort. But I was able to weed out those who would actually be interested in what we were talking about, rather than just be in it out of curiosity or opportunity. Some of them will even come to Ponyville soon. Skipping town, as they said. But most of them will keep in touch with us after we return to the city."

You think you feel… something in the air. Some reaction from the Master. But another pony soon continues from where Copper left off.

Rather excitedly, you must notice.

"Oh, my turn! I… I made some friends with the local guards! Real friends, that is. Windy helped me sweet talk them into it and… well, they seem to be really nice. And, and I think they won't mind talking about a few things if it's nothing major, so we got some ponies we know in the town's guard!"

"Yes, Master. What she said. A few guards from Ponyville are starting to frequent our club. I'll make sure the waitresses who know a bit more about Grail are the ones who keep serving them, and offering them a discount 'for their services' seems to do wonders. Apart from that, the cult as a front has been doing well. Oh, and I would like to speak to my fellow advisors once our meeting is over. If you do not mind it, Master. I would like to warn them about the… occurrence, that I told you about recently."

Windy Flake's voice seems calm, as usual. So, you wonder what this occurrence might have bee-…

Wait. You remember it now. The thing you had the Risen do in his house…

And the thing you found there, whatever it was.

Now that you think about it, Windy Flakes seems worryingly calm. Although you think you can attribute that to Winter.

Curious…

"The Cadre has been further trained," you hear Jade Whistle, her voice heavy as if she were afraid of even talking. "They are ready… Master."



"Excellent…"



And when your Master says that, you are finally close enough to see your fellow cultists.

You make your way through a tall set of bushes. You say "make" your way and not "force" your way because curiously… you do not feel them as you walk. Not because you pass through them as if you did not have a body, but rather because their leaves and branches soundlessly shy away from you just as they are about to touch you.

You think you feel the very tip of one or two leaves caress your coat, but nothing more.

But as soon as you cross that threshold, you find yourself within the cult meeting room.

And within the Mansus.

You have seen this place before, and it is exactly how it looked like in every other cult meeting. The trees of the Woods surround you, and you all stand within a large clearing. This time, however, things are not totally dark, as the tall and dark trees seem to be allowing for a small gap through their thick foliage, the light of the moon shining down on the very center of the clearing.

That light, also, is enough for you to see the vaguest hints of the ponies in attendance, even when you open your eyes.

You see all the other five members of the Inner Circle closer to the center of the clearing. Curiously, though, you also see a small crowd of ponies, no more than twenty, on the very edge of the tree line.

Everything looks the same as the last meetings, but something about it feels different this time.

And that thing, you know… is you.



SNAP



You step on a branch, one that you were sure was not there before, and it splits cleanly in half under your hoof. The sudden noise breaking the silence that was hanging in the air.

All the other ponies, you saw, were looking up and around them as you arrived. Probably trying to keep track of the directions from which the Master's voice came from.

But now, they are all looking at you.

Most of them are wide-eyed in surprise. Comet Feet looks almost alarmed, and you can see the slightest hint of his wings opening minutely for a split second. Windy Flakes, if anything, looks curious.

You see Jade Whistle all but exhaling in relief, her tense posture relaxing slightly.

The other ponies as well, including the small crowd of chosen that dots the darker places around the gathering, also seem to be…

"Very good indeed…" you Master's voice continues, totally unphased by their sudden surprise.

You hear her voice coming from somewhere nearby.

And then you feel…

Right behind you, you feel…

You feel…



Something.



Everypony's eyes grow wider.

Some of the chosen crowd take a step back. Comet Feet's wings slam shut, almost defensively. Windy Flake's calm is finally broken. Jade Whistle, you think, might be shivering.

Everypony's breath is frozen. The entirety of the Woods seems to have frozen. There is no sound of scissors shearing, no noise of the winged things flying around, no whispers from the echoes of hoofsteps against black dirt.

Nothing but wide-eyed and shocked… dread.



Because of the thing that everypony is looking at, standing right behind you.



There is nothing behind you, you know. There will be nothing behind you if you look back. There is nothing there. The eyes of everypony gathered around the clearing are pointed at absolutely nothing.

There is nothing behind you.

Except for something massive and great and cunning and dark and very very very old.

Nopony can see anything, you know. They can't see anything except for the thing that all of their senses except their eyes are screaming to be there.

And although you know there is nothing there, you swear you feel… something gently rest on your shoulder. It is, you know, a friendly nudge from a mentor. A sign of favor from a teacher. Nothing but a gesture of commendation.

But knowing that doesn't stop all the hairs on your coat to stand on their ends, of course, nor does it stop a shiver from running down your spine.



"Velvet Covers also has something to report. Something of great importance… You may begin."



With those words, the presence fades back into the darkness. And slowly, agonizingly slowly, all the eyes go from the empty space behind you to the shoulder where that thing touched you.

And then to your face.

Under the gaze of the small wide-eyed crowd of shocked ponies, you start walking towards the center of the clearing.



- - -



You asked Jade Whistle to help you, drawing the First and Second Circles, while you worked on the much larger Third.

She did so, wordlessly.

You asked for a dead body, freshly dug from the cemetery. A small gust of wind coming from nowhere at all silencing any questions even before they could be spoken.

The corpse was provided. Brought by Comet Feet and a few other pegasi from the crowd of chosen, for expediency.

You did… something, letting out a breath of Winter and mourning and noiseless sound, and soon enough your own Risen arrived from the Wake-entrance of that place. It arrived even while you worked on the dead body, making a second servant rise wearing the drapes of a corpse.

Everypony watched, in utter silence. Their silence joined with Jade Whistle's Cadre as they were finally summoned from their waiting place outside. There were a few gasps, perhaps, as they assumed their place around the circle, but those were of little consequence.

And then… you began.



[Summoning Ritual]



[Lantern Roll: 47 + 13 (Magic) + 30 (LANTERN Level 3) + 15 (Cadre) = 105]

[Success]



A pinch of Lantern, that is all you need. A touch of light. Not to illuminate, but to draw. To allure… To seduce.

For that, you arrange the several candles in front of you, as you stand at the center of the circle and beneath the moonlight. Everything is done by hoof, so the light of your own horn does not disrupt the delicate dance of shadows you shall orchestrate. No, not even the small spark of a single horn must be allowed. Even that would be too much.

Even the smallest match would be too much for your needs. But it is good that you don't need one.

Because you will light the candles with nothing but your words.

You speak the words, the promise of Glory and the delights of light, into the centermost candle… and it springs to light.

But the other candles… those you leave unlit. For they are not meant to be lit, they are meant to taunt.

Come closer unto the light if you wish for more, is what they say. Come and light them yourself if you so much wish to be consumed.

At that, a single pony of the cadre raises the mirror she has on her hoofs. She raises it before her face, which must remain unseen, and takes a single step forward. What little light reaches the mirrors, then, is directed inwards, towards an auspicious place of the First Circle, and there it will remain pointed for the rest of the ritual.

And you feel a small shudder come from the dark forest around you, as it drinks from the almost imperceptible shadows cast by that single flame. As it begins more and more to lust for the light you just lit.

This, you know… has gotten its attention.

But more is required.



[Knock Roll: 22 +13 (Magic) + 30 (KNOCK Level 3) + 18 (Cadre) = 83]

[Success]



You then begin to speak the words.

The old words. The universal words. The words that are common to every language, in every phrase that was ever meant to invite a guest into your home. The words that form the root of every term present in the vocabulary of locksmiths. The word that are present in the prayer of oracles, as they beg the future to be revealed.

The words whispered by the scales of serpents, whenever they slither.

The words echo through the trees around you, competing for supremacy with the lustful winds that are now blowing. The forest wishes for the light, and in that wish it has whispered a gale into being, and that gale has driven the many forgotten things into a frightful and buzzing action.

You think that even some of the chosen crowd has stepped out of the shadows of the forest, afraid that something might appear from behind them and snatch them away. Something that has no name, and that might wish to feast upon or love them, or perhaps both.

You know their fears are correct, but you care not for their worries. Your eyes are elsewhere, right now.

A single turn of your head, a single commanding glare towards the cadre around you.

Five knives are raised in unison. Five knives begin to draw blood, making seven cuts each.

Less would have been formally acceptable, but not more. And you feel somewhat blessed, at that, for you can tell that you very nearly would have needed more.

However, as the final cut is made the echo of your words finally win over the cacophony of the Woods.

And slowly… like an eye being woken or like a pony's coat being ripped, you feel something unlocking.

You feel something opening, above and around you.

But more is required.



[Moth Roll: 90 + 13 (Magic) + 30 (MOTH Level 3) + 40 (Sacrifice) + 16 (Cadre) = 189]

[Success]



You focus your attention on the two Risen before you, and you begin.

You focus on them, and nothing else.

You focus on THEM, and NOTHING else.

You do not notice anything else.

You cannot notice anything else.

There is only them, now, and the Ritual.

You do not notice when the noise of the Woods around you increases threefold. Slowly but unceasingly, like an avalanche. With the shearing of scissors giving way to the moving of roots giving way to the trembling of the earth giving way to the screams of things that no longer exist giving way to the memory of the hunt giving way to-

You do not notice when the light of the moon is blocked by something horrifyingly large and old, or when the terrified cries of living ponies are added into the cacophony taking place around you. You do not notice when manes are sheared in panic, their former owners standing on the Third Circle hoping that no attention will be drawn to them as they perform their part in the Ritual.

You do not notice when it was that your body changed so much. You do not notice when you became a dead body that is looking back at something that is no longer a unicorn mare. A mare that the darkness is, mercifully, blocking from your sight.

But you cannot look away from her. For there is nothing but her, and the Ritual.

"The tongue," the unicorn mare says, looking towards you. And with a movement that can only be described as a compulsion, you excise from your body that which she demanded.

"The eye," the unicorn mare says, looking towards your other dead-self. And with the same movement, you do to your eyes what your dead-twin did to his tongue.

"And now we begin," the mare intones as she, you, and your dead-twin form a triangle at the center of the circle, the deafening noise around you reaching a crescendo as she speaks.



"Forget your name!" she cries towards the darkness.



And for a single and perfect moment, the entire cacophony of the Woods unites to shout back at her, at the same time.



"Forget your skin!"



You and your dead-twin leap towards the fire of the candle.

And with unnatural speed and violence, it consumes the two of you.



[All three rolls successful]

[Ritual successful]



You jolt back into waking as the two Risen violently catch on fire. Everything around you, everypony and the entirety of the Woods, seem to be in uproar. There are noises and tremors and shouts and other things coming from everywhere at once.

There is too much going on for you to even try to understand, and you are too busy quickly backing away from the sudden and violent fire.

But you can see now, as your mind begins to settle back into itself. The two Risen are perfectly still, each with but a single hoof stretched towards the candle at the very center of the circle. Both of them touching the flame with their hoofs. But for some reason that much contact was enough, and for some reason the entirety of their dead and dried bodies are burning in flames.

And as the fire begins to turn them into dust… something happens.

You want to say that you are feeling a terrible presence of Moth, coming down from above. But there is just so much of it around you already that this new presence does not increase its pressure, only its volume.

As the two Risen have their mortal remains turned into ashes, the… the Woods-remains within them, the roots and boughs and everything else that was subsisting on their innards, seem to come to life. Like a pair of dark plants growing in the blink of an eye, they soon form a pair of small trees, which in turn entwine and meld over the light of the candle.

And suddenly, a final and violent gust of wind roars through the clearing. Causing everything, be it the flames or the ponies or the Woods itself, to go silent.

Everything is silent now. Everything is still. And there is no longer a single source of light but the one candle underneath the entwined trunks of the Woods-trees that sprouted from the burned Risen. The candle itself left miraculously untouched by the roaring wind.

The two trees, now fused into one, then begin grow even more.

It grows, then it twists, then it grows, then it twists. It repeats that movement until it starts to form a shape.

It is vaguely pony-like, that shape, although one taller than the tallest pony you have ever seen. It forms a vaguely pony-shaped outline…

And then it begins to shrink.

Not a gentle shrinking, as if some unicorn magic had been used upon it, but a violent one. The loud noise of trees being felled sounds out every time the pony-thing diminishes in size. It shrinks in a twisting way as if a great and terrible creature were forcefully crushing it under its weight, although it somehow retains its proportions during the whole process.

And finally, when it has something closer to the size of a regular pony, you see it for what it truly is…

It is a puppet. A wooden puppet made of dark wood.

…

And finally…

All the… weight.

All the pressure.

All the force that is around you, surrounding you as if you were submerged under water…

It finally begins to fade.

Or rather, it finally begins to move.

It begins to focus on a single point.

All of that might, formed by the uproar of the woods, and the shearing of manes, and the cries of terror, and the forgetting of self… all of that is focused into a single point, right above that wooden puppet.

Everypony stands utterly still, as that mass of nameless concentration gazes upon its chosen vessel.

You think you hear something, coming from far away. A click of a tongue, perhaps. A pondering hum, maybe.

And then only a single drop, a fraction of that terrible concentration, falls upon the puppet.

The remaining of that terrible mass then fades away, almost like an afterthought.

And the puppet begins to move.



- - -



It was crude and rough at first, that Wood-wrought puppet.

But when you blinked, it suddenly looked a lot more well-finished, perhaps like something you might have found in a toy shop.

That made no sense because you know you didn't blink. You do not need to blink, with your eyes closed.

Except that you did blink, and the puppet changed.

And then you blinked again, this time the puppet looking like something wrought like a work of art. A statue made of wood, something fitting to adorn a museum or the halls of a noblepony.

And again, and this time there was no longer any puppet to speak of. Instead, you saw a pony that… had something wrong about him.

Until you blinked a final time, and you saw nothing but an aged mare made of flesh and bones, a cloak of fine silk wrapped around her old body.

All of that happened in the span of a moment.

But once it was finished, you, and all the others present, did the only thing you could think of.

You all bowed.



"Rise," she says, you Master's voice coming as that of an aged mare and nothing else.

You cannot hear the Woods around you, you cannot feel her presence coming from anywhere else… you cannot feel her presence at all, in fact.

But still, all of you rise at the command of the withered pony standing in the middle of the circle.

"Now, let me repeat myself. You are all, every last one of you, deserving of praise," she says, calmly, slowly making her way towards the edge of the circle so as to address everypony at the same time.

It does not escape you, however, that she stops right by your side.

"We have advanced in bounds and leaps these last few months. For years each of you slowly learned how to stand up, and to see the world around you for what it truly is. But now that you are all on your hooves, you are all but galloping in your efforts," she says, an aged smile on her lips.

It disturbs you how she… how she sounds almost grandmotherly as she speaks. Not with a false smile, or with unwarranted kindness. But with honesty on her praise.

Making it clear that you are all truly deserving of what she is saying. That these are not lies or lip service of any kind.

"However, before I share with you your next duties, and before I address the rest of our gathered cult outside, there is something that I must enlighten you all about."

Her rasped voice stops for a few moments, and she turns towards the darkness of the Woods. She turns to the same direction you came from.

Everypony's gaze follows hers, with that.

And a few moments later, with jerking movements and tears streaming out of his eyes… the stallion she had offered you as sacrifice walks out of the darkness.

Everypony watches, wordlessly, as the clearly controlled pony is taken to the center of the circle, the once again present moonlight of the Mansus shining down upon him.

"Now, before we begin," the Master says once again, "let it be known that this one has made a terrible mistake. I will enlighten you all as to what it was, now. Comet Feet?"

The stallion hesitates for but a moment, but still he reacts almost instantly. Like a blade that was drawn only slightly out of its scabbard, as a very clear threat, he opens his wings minutely and stares at the Master.

A blade drawn, waiting for orders. The gleam of several sharp things hidden between the feathers of the underside of his wings reflecting the light of the moon.



"Hurt him."



This time, the stallion does not hesitate at all. With a single beat of his wings, he advances in an arc towards the pony at the center of the circle. Only gaining enough altitude to have a landing to speak of.

But that landing is more than enough. Nopony present can doubt that.

The sound of something cracking, something that is not meant to crack, echoes through the silent clearing.

And the pony starts screaming, right after that. As if the Master had released her control over him the second Comet Feet had impacted his vicious hoofs on his back.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!"

"Hurt him more," the Master says, simply.

The pegasus looks towards the Master for another moment, as if checking if she was sure of that order. The wounded pony is now underneath his hoofs, sprawled on the floor, and there is clearly no way that he will be able to escape.

But still, seeing that the Master remained silent, Comet Feet raises a hindleg, and sharply steps down on the middle of one of the cultist's leg.

It snaps like a twig.


"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHH!!! ST-HOHOP, PLEEEAEASEE!!!"


You do not know how the other cultists are reacting. You cannot even look at them. You cannot look away at the thing taking place at the center of the circle.

You are shocked. Everypony is shocked. And even under the faint moonlight you can already tell that there are dark blotches forming underneath the pony's coat, as well as leaking out of his mouth and forming a tiny puddle underneath his screaming mouth.

The Master, however, seems unperturbed.

"Tut, tut, tut…" and with a calm tone, almost doting, the Master herself walks towards the center of the circle.

Comet Feet seems unsure how to react, but he jumps off from the crippled pony as soon as the Master patiently shakes a dismissive hoof towards him.

"A lesson, then. On Edge," she says, as she assumes Comet's position over the pony.

She takes care not to step on him, but you know that is not because of kindness.

"That which you did, Comet, was a wound," she says, softly stepping on the shattered part of the leg Comet Feet had just broken.

That movement, of course, draws even more screams and pleads from the pony.

"What we need, here," she says, "is pain."

And then she does… something.

The back of a hoof to the side of the chest, at the place where foreleg meets thorax.

The sound of something small breaking, the shock of a nerve being pierced by the sharp end of a broken bone.

The screaming of the pony becomes deafening.

But to everypony's absolute surprise…



Something else also happens.



The crippled pony's body is suddenly engulfed in flames. A green and painfully glaring blaze covers its body for a slip second even while it screams.

The pony's screams of pain then become monstrous. They become howls, and hisses, and other things that could never come out of a pony's throat.

And his shape, also, has…

The Master gives it a light knock on the back of its head, and it stops screaming.

"This, my followers… is a little bug. I saw their species flutter within the Woods when the world was right, and I saw them cursed with their Grail-thirst as reparation for terrible things," she says, walking off from the now unconscious thing so you can all see it better.

It is a pony… it is shaped like a pony, but completely dark. Its coat, if it even has one, seems to be covered in strands that are too small and too thin. A single and pitiful horn protrudes from its forehead, and a pair of wings from its back.

And the only way you can describe it is… that it looks like an insect. A hard carapace-like thing seems to cover parts of its body, and disturbing hole-like flaws mar its legs.

But most disturbing of all are the thing's eyes… they are a pale blue, and they look exactly like that of a large bug.

"But I believe nowadays these creatures are called 'changelings'," you Master finishes simply.

She looks down at the creature for a few more moments, and you are not sure if what you see on her expression is pity, disgust, or perhaps something else.

"And before I address our waiting cult… there are a few things you, in particular, must know…" she says, turning back towards you all as she speaks. "These creatures are shapeshifters, as you have seen, and they have been within our ranks for some time now, having been recruited as normal ponies. Now, I had no issues with allowing them, at first, letting them flutter around and see things while thinking they had us fooled. I had no problem with that, and it was even somewhat amusing. However…"

She then looks down at the unconscious creature, slightly shaking her head as she speaks.

"They started trying to subvert out cult… Sow dissent and disobedience, meddle with our followers… They were even trying to convince some of you that revealing our existence to certain parties was not an utterly foolish idea…"

For all her old and wizened appearance… Her eyes are far from kind, right now, as she says those words and looks towards all of you, one at a time.

"And there is more… I had a little chat with this one, while he was my guest within the Woods, and he told me many interesting things… His shameful excuse of a species, his 'hive' as he called it, had sent drones like him towards every city in Equestria when the moon alicorn disappeared. They are up to something, although he didn't know what. But whatever it is, I think they will make their move sooner rather than later."

She then gives a light kick to its insect wings, watching as it twitches at the sudden movement.

"And knowing their small and unoriginal brains, I have come to a conclusion… Their species brought something with them, long ago, when they were exiled. They brought something to help them hide, made out of Mansus-stone and made to uphold the laws of that hallowed place even while so far away from it. Like a final trinket, stolen from the place they were being expelled from. Like a hearth, to remind them of the warmth of home… It is a thing of warding... A thing that most surely would be able to hide them even from our sights and our rituals."

Slowly, almost carefully, the Master then steps on one of its transparent wings, grinding it against the floor and making small tears through its length.

"So I have every reason to believe that these… creatures, got to the alicorn before we did. And that they have her, in their misbegotten hive and near their misbegotten throne. That, surely, is why our scrying ritual has failed, and why they might be moving their pieces so brazenly."

Shaking her head at the creature, she then returns her attention to you.

"That said, I will make myself abundantly clear on this. You, all of you, are not to reveal the existence of these things to any creature. Under the pain of my displeasure. There are a few more of them among our ranks, waiting outside disguised as our faithful, and they shall be culled tonight. And with this, whatever hive they were reporting to will suddenly lose contact with their informants, and we will be able to be the first to strike against them. But this must be a secret war, less other parties learn of the stolen alicorn's location and competes with us for said prize."

She then begins to address you, one by one.

"Jade Whistle, we shall conduct several rituals soon. Remain close by with your followers and be ready."

"Comet Feet and Copper Secateur, you have until our next meeting to gain as much influence over that city as possible. Depending on your success we shall either expand there, or we shall get whatever candidates are suitable for Edge and bring them back here. I very much prefer the former, but gathering fighters will become paramount soon enough."

"Windy Flakes and Starry, we must own the guards of this city. Use whatever wile you need, greed or otherwise, but I would not have them turned against us. They must be owned, or they must be dulled."

"And Velvet Covers…" you almost think you hear a smile on her voice, "so much to do, and so little time… Lantern is required, for our followers to be able to recognize these creatures for what they truly are. The second intensity is the very minimum, but the third is preferable, so teach our followers such secrets. And also… we can now summon creatures to aid us, but we know none that may be summoned. Explore the House and find them, so that we may bind them to our cause."

As she says that, for some reason she begins to walk towards you.

"Those are your orders," she says through a smile, to you and everypony else, "see to them."

And as soon as she reaches you, she lightly touches your forehead.

And the wrongness of this place, the wrongness of the Woods around you and everypony in it, becomes greater and greater.

Everything starts to grow blurred, in fact.

Your hearing, also, begins to grow more and more confused.

"Comet Feet, bring the body. The rest of you, follow, but speak not. And Comet, kill anypony that tries to flee. The ones who do not flee, but that I point at, you may capture alive… Is the White Room ready, Windy Flakes?"

"Yes, Master. I have finished it a few days ago."

"Then we shall give it its first guests."

And with the fading sound of everypony walking away, you fall asleep.

You think you see Jade Whistle looking towards you, fear written on her face, as you fall towards the ground.

But before you hit the floor, you wake up in your room.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You open your eyes.

Everything is slightly dark and… and very blurred.

You notice your eyes are open, but… you don't want to close them.

Not because you prefer to have them open as they are, but rather because you don't want to move.

You don't want to do anything right now.

You don't want to do anything anymore.



"Velvet?! Sweetheart, thank goodness you are awake."



You realize your husband was the large blur standing on top of you, looking down at you. But you can barely feel him as he hugs you.

You don't want to feel anything anymore.

You can't feel anything anymore.

Your mind is…

You realize you are crying.



"It's alright sweetheart, don't worry. It was just a bad dream. You're awake now."



Words are being whispered into your ears, but you don't understand them.

You need to stop.

You just need to stop.

Stopping is what you need.

Less than cessation than the cold of, more than simple sleep. You need to stop, and wait for the scattered pieces of your mind to slowly recompose themselves.

You need to…



"Don't worry love, it's alright. I'm here. This'll pass… we can stay here for however long you want…"



Are you speaking?

Are you whispering?

Are you mumbling?

You don't know.

You don't know if it would be good or bad whether if you were or not.

You forgot what good or bad might be.

Ponykind has gods. Is that good or bad?

Those gods have been dead for a long, long time. Is that good or bad?

The Mansus is empty and broken. Is that good or bad?

Your Master… a single drop of the thing that your Master is, now walks the Wake. Is that good or bad?

The changelings…



"Here, love. Something happened while you were asleep. The girls came by all excited but you didn't wake up, and I sent them away. But I think you are going to like this."



You think you feel your husband has stopped hugging you.

If there is anything bad in this world, it's that.

At least that much you still know.

But what is he…?



"Look Velvet, see? It's wonderful news! All of Equestria will be celebrating, and we can put all of that mess behind us."



What?

No.

No, no, no, no no no no nononononononono.

What is that?

Why is that?

Why did your husband open the windows?

Why is the sun blotched out by something dark?

Why is there an eclipse hanging in the skies?



"I remember you told me, when you came back from helping the search in Canterlot. It was also on the newspaper during these last few months. This was going to be the signal, right? An eclipse! It's… it's beautiful, actually. And now all of Equestria knows that Princess Luna has finally been found. Finally!"



Nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono.

This is bad.

You can't remember why.

You can't remember what this means.

But this is bad.

This is bad.

This is BAD.

Your husband can do nothing but worriedly rush towards you when you finally cover your eyes and begin to weep even harder.





It is natural, then, that the board be considered set when both queens are placed.

Spoiler: Afterword

This has been a writing marathon. Voting post will follow shortly, but in due time.

Updates on numbers, capabilities and statistics will also follow shortly.

And yes, all the Ritual numbers were correct. Even the unequal Cadre bonuses.

What you must focus on, in the meantime, is as follows:
-Next post will be the voting post.
-"The Lies We Tell" will need to be discussed upon. You will vote for what, exactly, you will tell Rarity and Stormchaser (seeing how nothing needs to be told to Jade Whistle)
-Or rather, what lies you will tell them. Telling Rarity the whole truth will immediately prompt a "heroic necessity" reaction from her. And the only way for her to convince the rest of the Mane 6 into action is by revealing Selene's identity, which she will do without second thought. By doing that, you will break your promise to Selene's parents as well as directly and immediately betray your Master. As well as some other things you might be well aware of.
-Next post will also be the "Turn Action" voting post. So planning for your future actions (write-in heavy as it might be) is also advisable.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

How long have you been like this?

How many days have you stayed in bed?

For far too long, you suppose.

You… you will go spend some time with your family. Then you'll think about what comes next.



- - -



You have recuperated from your recent… everything. Or at least you have recuperated as well as you ever will.

Your HEART and WINTER Lore levels were high enough for you not to lose an Action resting. Naturally, you will use your quick recuperation to downplay just how bad you were as much as you are able to for your family.

Some things will happen only a few days from now, like meeting Rarity and Jade Whistle and generally getting a feeling of what is going on. But since you would have changed or adapted your plans as you learned about the current situation, said information will be summed here for the sake of this month's planned voting:

(And for the record, I believe the only thing that would worry you would be the social situation of Jade's mental health. She was shaken, but you will reassure her as much as you can when you meet her. You can decide her action, whether to let her to her own devices or give her a task, based on this.)

Spoiler: Happenances and information

-The Mansus is broken, and its halls are empty. There is nothing there, save the things that were left behind and the mournful wind that runs through its broken paths. You have seen it with your own eyes. Gained one scrap of WINTER Lore.
-You may have just, for the very first time, actually surprised your Master. And after that, she took you through a path of the Woods… that lead you into the Wake. You don't really remember any of that, but you remember the confusion you felt, and the echo of how Woods and Wake used to touch when the world was right. Gained one scrap of MOTH Lore.
-You have summoned a terrible intensity of Moth, and the Woods rejoiced in cacophonous splendor around you. Gained one scrap of MOTH Lore.
-You have invited… something, into the Wake, for the very first time. The performance of such rituals do not come to pass without something being learned.. Gained one scrap of KNOCK Lore.
-There is a threat nearby. One that can wear the skin of other ponies, and that is as monstrous as it is ancient. Nowhere is safe. Unless you make it so. Gained one scrap of EDGE Lore.
-Character Sheet has been updated.
-Known Rituals and Invocations has been updated.
-Wildhoof Club status has been updated. (Especially, the Master has raised all cult Lore levels to 1 as its base. The cult also now has prisoners, and one dead body, at its disposal)
-Ponyville's "Unsuited for Combat" debuff has been partially decreased by Comet's and Copper's efforts in Manehattan.
-You have gained a bit of a reputation within the cult.
-As a note, you are the only one who can interact with the cult's Lore. Nopony else may write manifests, and nopony else may study something in your stead.
-Whatever your uncle did, he also convinced the Needles to pay upfront everything they were holding from Rarity's dues. Exceptionally this turn, you will receive a lot more bits than usual from her, since she will also give you the retroactive share she thinks she owes you.

A final point of great importance is that exploring the Mansus will now be slightly more time-consuming. Reaching certain places may require more than one turn, and you may be required to pass Hurdles, the failure of which will stymie progress.

It is also impossible to search for the next Door without first exploring TWO locations within the Shattered Stairways.



Voting will follow.





- - -

- - -

- - -





"The Lies We Tell"

This not an exhaustive list. More of a helpful reminder.

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Stormchaser

Stormchaser has explicitly told you not to involve him or Silky Stream in anything occult related.

You HAVE told Stormchaser about the following:
-That Selene is Princess Luna, and that due to a great tragedy that befell her she cannot currently bear the weight of her memories
-That you have been part of a… "group" for several years now, and hid that from him
-That said group is led by a learned and powerful master, whom you can't exactly fully trust
-That you have been studying about certain "unusual" magics, to which your recent breakdowns or changes in behavior can be traced back to
-That the Worms, or some great threat to Equestria, exists

You have NOT told Stormchaser about the following:
-The more unsettling details about your Master's nature, or at least what little you have interacted with them (your husband does not know that your Master is... well, he thinks they are a regular pony)
-The murders you believe your cult has committed
-The cult's actions about Princess Luna's ritual and eventual disappearance
-Details about the cult itself, and details about the Lores.

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Rarity

You HAVE told Rarity about the following:
-That Selene is Princess Luna
-That you are part of a Cult
-About the Lores, the Mansus and the Worms. Her depth and understanding of said pieces of information being her current level on the occult

You have NOT told Rarity about the following:
-The more unsettling details about your Master's nature, or at least what little you have interacted with them (your husband does not know that your Master is... well, he thinks they are a regular pony);
-The murders you believe your cult has committed
-The cult's actions about Princess Luna's ritual and eventual disappearance

Spoiler: The Lies We Tell: Jade Whistle

You are currently not keeping any secrets from Jade Whistle. (She brushed off the fact that your Master does not know about Selene, specifically because she very clearly stated she does not care much for the cult as of late).

- - -



Last turn's shopping list

Spoiler

These are the items that you had the option to purchase last turn. They must be bought with the resources you had available then, but if bought will be immediately available for use or study at this turn.

Last turn's available bits: 282


[] (ARTIFACT) SECRET HISTORIES lvl 3: "An old hardcover book, curiously titled 'A Brief Summary of Everything'. The thing is obviously enchanted, seeing how every time one opens a page its contents are completely random. However, the merchants have dismissed its contents as fabulous and non-real when they found excerpts of history books detailing events that never happened. But you… you know better." 250 bits
[] FORGE lvl 3, "A real guide to beginner's level blacksmithing. The bookstore owner almost seemed excited in having this reach your hoofs via your servants." 30 bits
[] KNOCK lvl 1, "Surprisingly, an image booklet featuring several pieces of abstract art. Surprisingly, there may be something of interest in here." 7 bits
[] EXPEDITION MAP (1 location), "A small hitchhiker's guide to several destinations. At least one of them, you hope, has to be interesting." 7 bits



(Books not bought will be lost, other items will be available through the following turns, but have a chance of being sold to somepony else every turn)



- - -



POSSIBLE ACTIONS

Specify which action will be carried out by your ponyservants. They will apply ONLY your status bonus, as they will follow instructions or carry your name and influence, but they will not apply personal bonus (bonus given by Lore, personal items, personal Characteristics or of any other nature).

Spoiler: On Suspicion Level and Ponyservant actions

Some actions will be tagged with a suspicion level. These are the actions that can be carried out by your ponyservants, and the suspicion level refers to how well they would (or would not) take to your task. Tasks that involve high suspicion might be outright refused, carried out with the inevitable gossiping, or even sabotaged if your servants believe that what you asked them to do is wrong.



Keep in mind that suspicion level refers to what a servant would think if asked to perform such task, regardless of them performing them, being caught or not. If you choose to perform the task yourself, you will take the necessary steps to be as subtle as you can, but the task itself will still raise suspicion if you are caught.

[] Before this month starts, you will perform a ritual to draw the attention of [SPECIFY LORE] (This is a free action to summon "The Attention of the Laws")



[] Before this month starts, you will write uncle Steppes! [SPECIFY ACTION]
(Pick an action and ask if he can help. He may not be able to help, depending on the context, but there is no way of knowing beforehand. Do not pick this option if you don't want to ask his help this month.)
(Uncle Steppes is not a tool. Treating him like one would be rude.)



[] How much will you dedicate yourself to your family's affairs this month? (You must pick one)

-[X] A sense of urgency: There has never been any need for this, not for this much at least. No more double-checking, no more zeal. There are far more important things to be done. (5 personal actions and 1 servant action. Does not cause suspicion. DEFAULT PICK)

-[] A measured commitment: Give everything a once-over, sign everything in stacks. The farmlands won't just crumble and burn if you miss a few numbers this month. (6 personal actions and 1 servant action. Might be noticed by those closest to you. Will not be noticed by the family head if you do not do this often.)

-[] A furious dedication: You will not be able to do what really matters if you dedicate so much of your time to such mortal affairs. Do as little as it is acceptable, then move on. (7 personal actions and 1 servant action. Will worry those closest to you. Will be noticed by the family head, although you cannot say to what extent.)

-[] A desperate obsession: Everything is falling down, everything depends on this. You will not even sit on your office this month. (8 personal actions and 1 servant action. It is guaranteed that you will be called out for this.)



This turn's available bits: 513 (minus items you decided to buy)

Monthly revenue: 120 bits/month
Rarity's dividends: 111 bits (exceptionally, the payment that was "withheld" the last few months)



CONFIDANTS AND SUMMONS

Spoiler: Options of Focus

-The ponies and creatures listed below can be given a "focus" for this turn. Not mentioning them will incur in their "default picks" being selected. Be wary, also, to the "expiration date" of summons.
-The ponies and creatures listed below may be safely taken for a single one-turn (five days) Expedition without hampering their "focus". Taking them for a two-turn (6+ days) or greater Expedition will cause them to not execute their selected "focus".



Rarity (currently an Initiate, GRAIL Level 1, FORGE Level 0):

Current Health: 3

-[X] Focus on her work. She has a contract with high-end merchants and a noble family, after all. (DEFAULT PICK) (She will still work on her designs if this is not picked, but there will be a chance for this month to be a "failure" by her reckoning)
-[] Accompany you, and lend her hoof. (Pick HALF of your own personal actions, rounded DOWN, and Rarity will accompany you while you perform them, giving narrative advantages or mechanical buffs as needed)
-[] Act as your emissary. (Pick an EXTRA action from your own pool, Rarity will perform it to the best of her abilities, ALONE, and report to you later)
-[] The Bright Library has enough knowledge for her to learn on her own. Tell her to focus on her studies, so she may turn into a Disciple. BRIGHT LIBRARY INSUFFICIENTLY LEVELED
-[] Call her, you have a lot of things to tell her… and then a few introductions to make. (Induct her into the cult)
-[] Lead an Expedition. (Select her as the leader of an Expedition in which you will not take part, plan the other details of the expedition accordingly. You will still have to fund the Expedition yourself)
-[] Other (WRITE IN, in case you have a viable idea that I have not thought about. Certain ideas might even enter this list if they make sense)



Jade Whistle (currently a Disciple, LANTERN Level 3, HEART Level 1):

Current Health: 3

(You are personally worried that Jade might react badly if she fails on an action she attempts)

-[X] As per orders. She will go with the motions, as she usually does, and focus on her assignment given by the Master. (DEFAULT PICK)
-[] "You do you." Let her do whatever she wants for once. It might do her some good, both mentally and personally.
-[] Accompany you, and lend her hoof. (Pick HALF of your own personal actions, rounded DOWN, and Jade Whistle will accompany you while you perform them, giving narrative advantages or mechanical buffs as needed)
-[] Act as your emissary. (Pick an EXTRA action from your own pool, Jade Whistle will perform it to the best of her abilities, ALONE, and report to you later)
-[] The Bright Library has enough knowledge for her to learn on her own. Tell her to focus on her studies, so she may turn into an Seeker. (This will level her up, at the expense of her own focus action instead of an action of your own) BRIGHT LIBRARY INSUFFICIENTLY LEVELED
-[] Lead an Expedition. (Select her as the leader of an Expedition in which you will not take part, plan the other details of the expedition accordingly. You will still have to fund the Expedition yourself)
-[] Jade mentioned she has a... feeling, about Selene. She'd like to investigate it, if that's alright. (Available due to Selene's Knock) [NEW]
-[] Other (WRITE IN, in case you have a viable idea that I have not thought about. Certain ideas might even enter this list if they make sense)



Selene (MOTH 1; WINTER 2; EDGE 1; KNOCK 1):

As an alicorn, Selene has TWO actions.

-[X] Go play. (Selene will live a normal and happy life. This option costs one of her actions, it will always be picked, and there is nothing you can do to stop it.)
-[] What might be learned from a simple game of hide-and-seek? (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of MOTH)
-[] There is something that she must learn now… for everypony's sake. (Teach Selene the final lesson of WINTER)
-[] Life is an adventure, so go live it! (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of EDGE)
-[] There is always something more to be learned from our dreams. (Subtly teach Selene a lesson of KNOCK)

[] The Lies We Tell.

-[] Stormchaser: You told him Selene is Princess Luna. But lo and behold, the entirety of Equestria knows the Princess of the Moon has returned. What do you tell him?
--[X] Silence is the best answer. Leave him to his thoughts, and don't bring up the subject unless he does. Something makes you think he won't. (This option will be picked by default if no others are voted for)
--[] Not telling him anything will just make you look crazy. Tell him… something. Selene IS Luna, but perhaps she is just a part of her psyche. Her body has returned to Canterlot. But her mind, or a part of herself, is still living with your family.
--[] Something else. (WRITE IN)

-[] Rarity: You told her Selene is Princess Luna. But anypony who looks towards the eclipsed sun hanging in the skies knows better. What do you tell her?
--[X] Tell her you were wrong. Selene is not Luna and that's the end of it. You have taught her a bit of Lore for her to have seen some of its practical uses, so she will know you are not insane. Although… well, she will also know you were wrong about Selene. (This option will be picked by default if no others are voted for)
--[] Tell her you are still sure Selene is Luna, but that you have no idea what just happened. You will try to paint this "Luna" more as a mystery than as something dangerous, and you will tell her you ought to wait and observe. (Rarity will, basically, be wary of what is happening, and the matter will not be put to rest. Things may spiral out of control.)
--[] Something else. (WRITE IN)
(Options regarding this will only ever appear when something changes in the status quo of your relationships)



[] A fleeting opportunity (rumor mills spin, opportunities come and go. These actions will never be available again)

-[] The Princess of the Moon has returned! And everypony but you is ecstatic over the news. A week-long holiday has been decreed, and celebrations are being held on every last city of the kingdom. But the real action, and the greatest of crowds, will surely gather at the capital to try and get a glimpse at the returned Princess. Go there yourself and get a feeling of how things are going. (All options costs 20 bits in transportation)
--[] Meld into the crowd and take a look around the city as a whole. Mingle with the nobility. Politics have not exactly been smooth under Princess Cadance's, and although the absolute majority of ponykind is happy with the return of an alicorn, somepony is definitely not. (Go about it subtly. Nopony needs to know you are there, and you don't need to make a target out of yourself when shapeshifters are involved.)
--[] *Ahem*, excuse me? Those were "my" search parties that found the Princess. Yes, deary, you can let me pass. Yes, these are Princess Cadance's guards. By the by, is she around? (You made quite a name for yourself during the search efforts. Use it. This will focus your time and efforts within the Royal District, and perhaps the castle itself, but that's exactly what you want to look into.)

-[] Twilight Sparkle will be heading to Canterlot shortly, to meet with her returned tutor. Accompany her. (Picking this option will count as a replacement for "tutoring" her. You will not make any progress on her education, but you will spend enough time with her to have kept your promise this month. COSTS 20 BITS for your own transportation)

-[] You have promised Twilight Sparkle that you would tutor her in certain things. And considering how the mare was the last time you saw her, you really think you shouldn't bail on her when it comes to this.

-[] The Master walks the Wake. The entire cult whispers and sneak awed glances. Some of those glances are directed at you. Strike while the iron is hot and try to get a following of your own.



[] On what must be done
(There are too many paths towards fulfilling your Master's orders. They will not be listed here. Exploring higher reaches of the Mansus will be of great use, and you must teach the cult the secrets of Lantern)



[] On the treasures that bits may buy (actions where you search for things to purchase)

-[] There are books that could be of use. You should start looking for them. All sub-choices not suspicious.
--[] In Ponyville, and its… great assortments of libraries? (no extra cost) (HEART, FORGE)
--[] In the great libraries of Canterlot… the ones that are open to public access, that is (20 bits in transportation) (applies "Royal Favor") (LANTERN, GRAIL, SECRET HISTORIES)
--[] In the many small bookshops that dot the side streets of Manehattan (35 bits in transportation) (MOTH, EDGE, KNOCK)

(Due to SECRET HISTORIES 3, now you have a better idea of what you are more likely to find in each city)

-[] The cult now has an appropriate place to meet, but you could still use a discrete location that is all your own. Scout for a suitable place, or other buildings that might be for sale. Not suspicious.

-[] Although you are personally judicious about such habits, you are still a noble. Searching for "peculiar items" to "add to your collection" is certainly not out of place… right? Not suspicious. Suspicion might arise if you later decide to buy the item, depending on its individual suspicion level.



[] Ponyville politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)

-[] You now have a better grasp of the merchants in Ponyville, having had several letters of introduction sent around in your name. But what would you like to do next?
--[] Meet a few of them, and ingrain them to your cause. (WRITE IN if you will try to win them as personally loyal to you, or if you will point them in the direction of the cult)
--[] They are bit handlers, and that means they are a source of income. "Borrow" a few bits from your family and do a few quick investments. Everything will be back to its place by the end of the month, and you will be a little richer for that. (Attempt to gain a few more bits on the side, using your family's fortune as a lever) Highly suspicious.
--[] They know somepony who knows somepony who knows somepony. Use that to your advantage. (Ask them to search for an artifact. Specift LORE and LEVEL, up to Level 3. It will be added to your available list, but will be more expensive than normal) Not suspicious.
--[] Something else. WRITE IN.

-[] They're not the Royal Guard, but they're still guards, and as much as they might not have that much work on their hoofs, they're still the go-to ponies in case something worrying happens. Try to ingrain yourself with them. Moderately suspicious.
--[] Starry Dancer, as you were told, already made great progress in this front. Ask for her help, or offer to help her in this regard.
--[] Windy Flakes, it seems, is patroning them with the Windhoof Club. Talking to them there, and with him present, will probably be a lot easier.
--[] Do it yourself.

-[] A pony needs not to be a faithful of your cult in order to be useful, said pony needs only know what to report to whom, and when to keep one's mouth shut. Ponyville has an underworld, small as it might be, and their eyes and ears could be useful. Attempt to contact them. Highly suspicious.

-[] There is a house near the outskirts of town. One which very nearly got burned to the ground. You know its sole owner will not step hoof in it for a long while, but you surely can put it to use, right? Highly suspicious (Your first turn there will be spent "cleaning up" the most alarming things of the house. Further cleaning will surely be needed, but after this first once-over its suspicion level will lower)



[] Manehattan politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)

-[] There are two members of the Inner Circle there, and it seems their influence is beginning to spread. Go there, and make sure some of that influence can be traced back to you. (Manehattan might soon have a cult cell founded within it, if the Master decides not to consolidate in Ponyville. Make sure you are known and respected over there, in case that really comes to pass. COSTS 35 BITS in transportation)



[] Canterlot politics (furthering your influence in this town specifically)

-[] Reach out to your family, at least the ones you go along well with.
--[] Reach out to your mother, as much as it might be… complicated. (costs 20 bits in transportation)
--[] Attempt to locate your older brother, Velvet Wings, as much as it might be difficult. (attempt to locate him, at first, via correspondence)
--[] Go there yourself and try to talk to your younger brother, Velvet Pride, although getting caught will probably be bad. (costs 20 bits in transportation, involves invading your family's own mansion)

-[] Reach out to other minor nobles of Canterlot.

-[] Reach out to other higher nobles of Canterlot, although that might be more complicated.



[] On aiding the cult (options not related to your current task, but related to the cult or with interactions with its members)

-[] You are the Loremaster! You are supposed to help your Master teach the faithful in the cult all manners of eldritch knowledge. Get to writing a Manifest on a Lore! [SPECIFY LORE] (Will produce a "book" to be added to the Bright Library, said book will be of the same level as your current level on the chosen Lore)

-[] Help Comet Feet
--[] He is gone from Ponyville, and is currently working to further the cult's interests in Manehattan. Reach out to him. (Costs 35 bits in transportation. WRITE IN what you would like to do involving him.)

-[] Help Starry Dancer
--[] Now that you know her a bit better, you can always just spend time with her.
--[] One step further from getting into the good graces of Ponyville's Guard, she is now supposed to somehow get them even closer. She would surely benefit from your presence.

-[] Help Copper Secateur
--[] She is gone from Ponyville, and is currently working to further the cult's interests in Manehattan. Reach out to her. (Costs 35 bits in transportation. WRITE IN what you would like to do involving her.)

-[] Help Windy Flakes
--[] You realize you don't know very much about him at all. Time to remedy that.
--[] His business is all set up, and now he has to run it. And do you know who is good at running businesses? That's right, you are.
--[] You uh… would like to have a chat with him. (WRITE IN how exactly you would like to talk about the, uh… prank. More specifically, what you think you saw in his house)



[] Set out on an Expedition.

-[] You don't have anywhere interesting to go, currently. Look for one. (Attempt to locate an interesting place to prepare an Expedition to. WRITE IN, if any specific theme is in mind.) Slightly Suspicious



[] On furthering your knowledge (actions directed at increasing your Lores, as explained in the Informational threadmark)

-[] The matters of [SPECIFY LORE] intrigues you, petition your cult's Master for a lesson (currently willing to teach all Lores up to level 4, gives a single scrap of Lore WITHOUT triggering a test)

-[] Petition your Master for something. (WRITE IN WHAT. She walks the Wake, so talking to her is now less complicated. She may, however, ask for something in return for a boon. She may also react in an entirely unexpected way).

-[] There is something about this… thing, and you must learn what it is (pick two artifacts to learn from their Lore, and check it for hidden abilities).
--[] No artifacts available. (Unless if recently bought)

-[] It doesn't have to be just during a leisure weekend evening, you can fit a few minutes of reading even when walking between rooms if you really get into it! (Pick up to three books to attempt to learn a scrap of Lore. Consumes books).
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 1. "A small book that covers a particular kind of elegant dancing".
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 2. "A novel about a mare who fell in love with a drummer, the romantic parts all written in rhyming poetry".
--[] BOOK, HEART Level 3. "A study about yak culture. The part about their history and folklore is of little use. The chapters about their songs, however…".
--[] BOOK, FORGE Level 1. "A small handbook on camping, explaining the basics of how to build a tent and start a small fire".
--[] BOOK, EDGE Level 3. "A posthumous, and rather contentious, biography of the legendary pegasus called Flash Magnus".
--[] BOOK, KNOCK Level 2. "A fairly recent, and short, book about dream interpretation. You know it is recent because it was dedicated to Princess Luna's return".
--[] Some other book (select a book you have bought this turn)



[] The Mansus is a place of contradictions. It exists, and yet it doesn't. It is frightening, and yet it calls to you. Only through exploring it will you learn its secrets. (PICK TWO OPTIONS)

Spoiler: On exploring the known Mansus

(Exploring a known part of the Mansus will yield the most varied of rewards, through a hidden roll of a dice. But beware that most rewards will be temporary, such as an Influence or a temporary buff. It is possible, however, to learn fragments of Lore as well, or to be rewarded nothing at all. Proceed at your own risk.)

-[] The Woods

--[] Explore the Woods, and its many whispers.
--[] There are other places connected to the Woods, but that are not in the Mansus proper. Look for them.

-[] The Blank Door
--[] Explore the Blank Plains, the first afterlife of ponykind.
--[] Visit the Lodge of the Sage Pony. You may not be able to talk to Baldomare, but you surely can listen very well.
--[] There are other parts connected to the Blank Plains. Look for them.

-[] The Shattered Stairways
--[] Some markings point to a… a place of sharpness? A castle of knives? (0/2 progress made)
--[] There are other markings to be followed within this maddening labyrinth of stairs. Follow them.
--[] This… this is the way upwards. (You may only search for the next Door after completely exploring TWO places within the Shattered Stairways)



[] On the matters of house and heart (actions directed towards your own family, the part that you care for deeply as well as… the rest)

-[] Of course you love your family very much, but you could always spend a bit more time with them.
--[] Just another pleasant day that you will spend with them. Perfect for cooling your head off.
--[] Alright, this might be a BIT on the cult-y side, but… why not start giving your family subtle hints of Lore here and there? You might catch their attention, or perhaps even their interest. (Stormchaser will surely see this as a major breach of trust)
--[] WRITE IN (other ways to spend time with your family, or anything else)

-[] Bits are the engine of Equestria! You have been working your hooves off for years now, so it won't be seen as scandalous if you write a letter to your father requesting an increase in your share of the family's grants… right?

-[] You do know "your place" in the family, but bits are still important. A letter asking for a one-time gift will surely be better received than one asking for a permanent "raise", right?

-[] You really shouldn't, but needs must. Every single ledger from the farms east of Ponyville pass through you, it would be a simple matter to have some "administrative mistakes" make some bits disappear from the coffers and appear in your pockets.
--[] Have a servant do it, having an actual scapegoat is ideal if things go wrong. Highly suspicious.
--[] Do it yourself, it's better this way.
--[] Wait, right, the Wildhoof Club. Get in touch with Windy Flakes, and see how serious he was when he mentioned the whole "laundering bits" thing.



[] On those who surround you (actions directed at your contacts and friends)

-[] Go into town and try to meet somepony interesting.

-[] Sit down and work on a letter. Reach out to nobles who do not live in Canterlot. They, much like yourself, might not be deeply entangled on the webs of politics that surround the capital, but that just means they can also act with more freedom, right?

-[] Much to your own satisfaction, you now have a personal life outside of your maids, immediate family and business related meetings. You could choose to spend some time with… (SPECIFY if it will be "a social call" or "a step forward to converting said pony". SPECIFY if "you are willing to spend bits on this", for that little extra leverage)
--[] Teach Rarity yourself, and have her turn into an Disciple Insufficient personal levels
--[] Induct Rarity into the cult
--[] Teach Jade Whistle yourself, and have her turn into a Seeker Insufficient personal levels
--[] Twilight Sparkle, who leads the bearers of the Elements of Harmony
--[] Cheerilee, your daughter's schoolteacher
--[] Mayor Mare, the de-facto ruler of Ponyville
--[] Filthy Rich, a well-to-do and wealthy bussinespony
--[] Fluttershy, the recluse mare who lives on the outskirts of Ponyville
--[] WRITE IN (arrange to take your daughter to meet some of your younger acquaintances, or plan something else entirely)



[] You haven't forgotten about it, you just put it on hold until a more convenient time. (Purchases done here will arrive/be completed at the end of this turn.) (Does NOT cost an action)

-[] NO ARTIFACTS AVAILABLE



[] On invoking the Lores (see RITUALS for more information, as well as CD and cost. SPECIFY if you will offer SACRIFICE)

Spoiler: The White Room, and the cult's cupboards

-3 live changelings stored in the White Room

-1 changeling body stored in the White Room

-NO ARTIFACTS at the Bright Library

-[] It's grim work, but needs must.
--[] Acquire a dead body from the local cemetery.
--[] Acquire a live pony.

-[] "The proper things, in the proper manner, in the proper order. God help us all." (Perform a Ritual)
--[] "The Attention of the Laws" (specify Aspect)
--[] "The Forge's Redemption"
--[] "The Incision of the Heart"
--[] "The Path Through Nightmares" (specify target)
--[] "The End is Beautiful" (specify target)
--[] "The calling of Influence" (specify Aspect)
--[] "The Reflection of the Tapestry" (specify subject)
--[] Invoke a Risen (SPECIFY dead body used as source. ONE Risen is a FREE ACTION) [NEW]
--[] Invoke Baldomare [NEW]

--[ ] To be performed at your cult's gathering place, where it is discreet. But the cult will know of your actions.
--[ ] To be performed at your own home, where the cult will not know of your actions, but you probably will be discovered or leave traces of it. (Disallows the use of the cult's Cadre and possessions)
--[ ] To be performed on another location (you do not yet know or own any such location)



[ ] Others WRITE IN (anything, but I will have to consider it, and it might make the voting period a bit longer)





Some options that have never even been considered by the thread have been removed. They can always be re-suggested as write-ins (searching for paid muscle and whatnot).

Remember that write-ins for anything may be suggested. I'll do my best to answer if they are reasonable in a timely manner.

There will be at least 48 hours of voting.

Velvet Covers is devoted to taking care of Selene. Actions that may ultimately lead to said duty being threatened will be extremely difficult to pull off. QM will comment if anything like that is being voted on.

Kindly observe a SIX HOUR MORATORIUM before voting.

And I'll just throw this here: "Remember everypony, including the Mane 6, are mortals, and that everything can end badly. Don't try to manipulate them into being a plot gun by thinking they are immune to the dice."

Spoiler: For ease of planning

[] The Attention of the Laws [SPECIFY LORE]

[] Uncle Steppes! [SPECIFY ACTION]

[] Number of actions
-[] 5+1
-[] 6+1
-[] 7+1
-[] 8+1

[] Buy
-[] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
-[] FORGE 3
-[] KNOCK 1
-[] EXPEDITION 1

[] Rarity
-[] Focus on her work.
-[] Accompany you.
-[] Act as your emissary.
-[] Have her level up on her own. Bright Library insufficient
-[] Induct into cult

[] Jade Whistle
-[] As per orders. (Perform her cult assignment)
-[] You do you.
-[] Accompany you.
-[] Act as your emissary.
-[] Have her level up on her own. Bright Library insufficient
-[] Investigate Selene

[] Selene
-[] Moth.
-[] Winter.
-[] Edge.
-[] Knock.

[] Lies
-[] Stormchaser
--[] Silence
--[] A partial explanation
-[] Rarity
--[] Lie
--[] A cautious explanation

[] A fleeting opportunity
-[] Go to Canterlot
--[] Covertly
--[] Openly, to the Castle
-[] Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[] Tutor Twilight
-[] Gather followers

[] Mission

[] Shopping
-[] Books
--[] In Ponyville.
--[] In Canterlot.
--[] In Manehattan.
-[] Search for a place to buy in Ponyville.
-[] Search for Artifact

[] Ponyville politics
-[] Merchants
--[] Interact
--[] Attempt to raise bits for yourself.
--[] Ask for specific Lore artifact. [SPECIFY]
-[] Contact Guard and law enforcement.
--[] With Starry Dancer
--[] With Windy Flakes
--[] Alone
-[] Contact underworld(?) of town.
-[] Start cleaning Jade's abandoned house.

[] Manehattan politics
-[] Go there

[] Canterlot politics
-[] Your family
--[] Contact your mother.
--[] Look for your older brother.
--[] Contact your younger brother.
-[] Reach out to other minor nobles.
-[] Reach out to higher nobles.

[] On aiding the cult
-[] Write a Manifest [SPECIFY LORE]
-[] Help Comet Feet
--[] Contact him.
-[] Help Starry Dancer
--[] Contact her.
--[] Help her with her task.
-[] Help Copper Secateur
--[] Contact her.
-[] Help Windy Flakes
--[] Contact him.
--[] Help him with his task.
--[] Talk about his... thing [Specify how]

[] Set out on an Expedition.
-[] Look for a place to go.

[] On furthering your knowledge
-[] Lesson from Master [SPECIFY LORE]
-[] Petition your Master for something
-[] Study artifact (none availabe)
-[] Read book (write in which)

[] The Mansus (pick TWO)
-[] The Woods
--[] Explore.
--[] Look for other places connected to it.
-[] The Blank Door
--[] Explore.
--[] Visit Baldomare
--[] Look for other places connected to it.
-[] The Shattered Stairways
--[] Ascent of Knives (0/2)
--[] Look for somewhere else

[] Personal life
-[] Family
--[] Idle interaction
--[] Attempt to teach Lore.
--[] WRITE IN (other ways to spend time with your family, or anything else)
-[] Ask your father for a raise.
-[] Ask your father for a one-time boon of bits.
-[] Steal bits from your family
--[] Have a servant do it.
--[] Do it yourself.
--[] Do it through the Wildhoof Club

[] Contacts
-[] Try to meet someone new.
-[] Contact other lesser nobles away from Canterlot.
-[] Interact with Known Contact
--[] Level up Rarity Not enough personal levels
--[] Induct Rarity into the cult
--[] Level up Jade Whistle Not enough personal levels
--[] Twilight Sparkle
--[] Cheerilee
--[] Mayor Mare
--[] Filthy Rich
--[] Fluttershy
--[] WRITE IN

[] Buy previous artifact.
-[] None available

[] Occultism
-[] Grim work
--[] Acquire a dead body
--[] Acquire a live pony
-[] Rituals
--[] "The Attention of the Laws" (specify Aspect)
--[] "The Forge's Redemption"
--[] "The Incision of the Heart"
--[] "The Path Through Nightmares" (specify target)
--[] "The End is Beautiful" (specify target)
--[] "The calling of Influence" (specify Aspect)
--[] "The Reflection of the Tapestry" (specify subject)
--[] Invoke Risen (specify which body)
--[] Invoke Baldomare

---[] To be performed your cult's gathering place
---[] To be performed at your own home

[] Something else? (WRITE IN)

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -



"Are you sure you don't need anything else sweetheart?"

"I'm sure, Stormy. Don't worry."

"Alright, I'll… well, I'll be nearby if anything, so…"

"You will end up leaving nothing for Ponpon to do if you keep pampering me like this, dear," you say, giving him a charming smile. Or at least the closest thing to one you can manage with how tired you have been feeling.

But to your relief, that makes a small smile appear on his worried face. And with that, he finally closes the door, leaving you alone.

You are willing to bet half the farmlands that he is still on the other side of the door, trying to listen for anything that he should worry about. With that in mind, you do your utmost best not to groan in exhaustion.

However, it can't be said that you eased into your couch so much as you have sagged into its soft embrace like a deflating baloon.

And now that you are finally alone, and that there is nothing you can really do but wait, you turn your thoughts to the last few hours and days.


All in all, you are… better.


You are exhausted, you are confused, and a particularly large part of your mind still wants to double over and start sobbing at… at everything. But still, you are better. And truth be told you got better a lot sooner than you thought you were capable of. A lot sooner than you had any right to, in fact.

But still, even though your... "latest situation" lasted for less than a single day, your husband was obviously distraught during the whole thing. Or at least you think he was. That is, because you don't quite remember what happened before you got back the least of your mental faculties, and because he is still obviously worried for very good reasons.

And about what happened... It took you more or less a whole day to get better. It felt like it was a lot longer, and the fact that the eclipse has not moved from the top of the sky does not exactly help with keeping track of time.

Still, from what you gathered, you have spent the entirety of the last day basically in a catatonic state. And you managed to... do something about yourself when it was somewhere around the morning of today. Again, the eclipse makes it a bit hard to tell.

It bears mentioning, though, that so far you have only really managed to do that much. You have only been able to "do something about yourself". You have a vague impression that you are supposed to worry about whether you have suffered any sort of mental damage from all this. But really, worrying about yourself feels so trivial when compared to everything that just happened that you can't really bring yourself to care about such a small factor.

But still, you basically had to let go of your mind. Of the grip you had on your mind, that is. You are not sure if that was a conscious decision, or if you simply strained yourself too much, but as soon as you saw that eclipse and realized all it entailed, you let go of your calmness.

Things got… confusing, after that. But the fact that when you got back to your senses you had nothing but a splitting headache and a burning sensation on your eyes, you think that you were just catatonic for the most of it.

"Just" catatonic… you purse your lips slightly at that thought.

When you came back to your senses earlier today, you were being held by your husband. You could tell that he was sweating cold, and you could all but feel that the entire house was worried… mournfully worried, almost. And yet, you can only think of it as being "just" catatonic…

You suppress a sigh, still thinking that your husband might be listening on your from outside the room.

Well, you are absolutely sure that you don't love your family any less, but… but your world is growing faster than you are being able to handle. And a part of you fears that, as much as it pains you, your family might be beginning to become a comparatively smaller thing in your list of priorities.

You take a deep breath, centering your thoughts.



Calm down, Velvet…



Still, after waking up, or after coming to your senses, you slowly got your hoofs around the situation. You gently prodded yourself, only partially, back into your Winter-learned calmness. You didn't overdo it, of course, doing only enough for you to be able to think about what to do next. And then you slowly sung, inside your thoughts of course, the Heart-mantras that you knew would help your tired body move.

And then you put on your best show of waking up between your husband's forelegs, as if you had been asleep through the entire thing, and pretended that you had no recollection of anything having happened at all.

It hurt a little bit to see him play into that. You could see, in his eyes, the mixture of a little bit of relief and a mountain of worry over the fact that you… that you basically woke up in shock, lay motionless and sobbing for an entire day, and then woke up the next morning without any memory of that. It hurt you a little bit to see him play into that. But still, he did so nonetheless.

Stormchaser has not mentioned a single thing about the entirety of the last day. If you didn't know any better, you would have thought you simply woke up a little tired, perhaps a little sick, and he has been especially attentive and caring for you because of that.

And quite frankly… you are not sure how things might have played out any better.



And that is exactly what is making your heart ache.



The fact that…



That you woke up in shock, after learning about the ragged state of ponykind's past and the torn state of the Mansus.

That you summoned a… thing from the Woods, that now walks Ponyville wearing the body of an old mare.

That you have learned that there are shapeshifting monsters secretly infiltrating your city, and perhaps even your home.

That your husband has every reason to believe he should be worried about your mental health.

That the only reason you are even functioning at all is because you are directly applying long-forgotten esoteric knowledge in order to be able to think and move properly.

And the fact that all of that constitutes the "best possible outcome" you can currently think of, given the circumstances.

…

Heavens…

You feel tired.

But at least… you can keep up appearances. That, if nothing else, is enough to allay a few of your worries. You are being able to pretend to your husband that nothing happened, you were able to hug your daughters and tell them you are just feeling a little sick, and you think that only Stormchaser and Ponpon (as you suspect the latter was quickly brought into this whole play by your husband) actually knows about what exactly happened yesterday.

Well… you'll take what you can get. At least until you can think properly again.

A knock comes to the door, and you heave with the effort to sit up in a more presentable way.

"Sweetheart? Your friend is at the front gate," you see your husband peek in through the half-opened door a few moments later.

You can tell he is doing his best not to ask one last time if you don't want him to tell the visit that you are currently indisposed. He was quite insistent, in the gentlest way possible, that he didn't think you should have visitors for a few days.

But this is not something you can rightly postpone.

"That's wonderful dear. Could you please ask Ponpon to bring us some tea? Oh, and tell her to bring three teacups please."

You watch as he nods and takes his leave once again.

A few minutes later, the door opens once again.

This time, revealing a face that is neither your husband's nor of one of the maids'.

"Hello, Velvet Covers."

"Good afternoon, Jade."

The mare closes the door after she enters, and you…

You...



You immediately realize that something is wrong.



Not with the mare herself. A thought ponderously crosses your head that she might be one of those changelings, and your calm mind slowly brings up the idea that you might be in danger. But moments later you see the Lantern in her eyes, and those thoughts are put to rest.

No, something is wrong because…

Jade feels different.

She has not moved from where she is standing, by the door.

Her Lantern-touched eyes are looking straight at you, brighter than you have ever seen them before.

And you think… you think she looks scared.

"Jade? Is everything alright?" you ask tentatively, straightening up a little more on your seat despite the protests of your body.

You see one of her forelegs shudder slightly at your question. And you know a reaction like that is as good as a flinch, coming from her.

Not knowing exactly what to do, you continue sitting where you are, watching as the mare slowly gathers herself and begins to speak.

"Are you…?" she starts asking, and then stops.

You watch as she takes a deep breath, the fear in her face becoming shockingly apparent as she does so. Until she finally gathers the courage to continue talking.

"Are you… really Velvet Covers?" is all she says.

You tilt your head slightly at that. You know… you somehow know that she can see you are not a changeling. Maybe it's because you know her well enough, maybe it is because you are confident that you simply feel different now, whether because of your Brand or because of what you have learned. But you are sure she is not asking that because she fears for her own, or perhaps your, safety.

But then, why is she asking tha-…?

...

Oooohhh.

Yes. You understand it now.

And you can't help but to feel... bad for having been this inattentive.

You let out a sigh.

And with an effort that is almost physically painful, you stand up and walk towards Jade.

Until you are right in front of her.

"Of course I am me," you say, as kindly as you can.

You realize she can probably tell just how tired you are. But there is nothing you can really do about it.

And slowly, gently, you see her expression change. Minutely, of course, in the subtle ways that she manages to convey her feelings without much moving her face.

You watch as her fear turns into trepidation, and then concern, until it finally settles at relief.

And with an urgency you almost can't follow with your eyes, her forelegs are quickly surrounding you in a hug.

Your eyes go wide open at that. This is a surprise, in all honesty, and you are lost for words for a few moments.

"I thought… when you appeared at the cult like that… I thought you weren't…" Jade tries to say, her voice stammering in a way that makes you realize she is trembling slightly.

But this confirms what you thought this was about.

"Master doesn't think like a pony…" she says, her forelegs hugging you more tightly at that, "I thought you had turned like… that you became like him…"

You return her hug, slowly passing a hoof on her back as you do it.

"Thought I… had lost my friend and…"

"There, there Jade. Don't worry," you say over her shaking body and her trembling words, "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."



The two of you stay like that for a while. You are particularly thankful that nopony knocked on the door to interrupt that.



And if nothing else, that also struck you like a bucket of cold water.

You really want to curl into a ball and cry. You really want to feel sorry for yourself and drown in self-pity. You really, really want to say this is too much for a single pony to handle, and that nopony could ever blame you if you gave up.

But… as much as it might be painful, you know you can't.

Because somepony has to carry this burden. Somepony must learn what you are learning and do what you are doing. And you sure as hell don't want that pony to be your husband, or your daughter when she grows up, or Jade, or anypony else.

No… it has to be you.

The fact that you are worrying everypony around you, the fact that you are worrying your husband and your daughters and your friends, only means that you are not being strong enough.

You have to do better… for their sake.

Because if you don't, either one of them will have to, or the Worms will one day…

...

You decide… not to tell Jade about what you found out about the Mansus.

Not yet, at least. Too much has happened to her in her life, already, and you don't need to burden her with the past, before she is ready.



- - -



"To tell the truth… I don't know what is going on."

Rarity slowly nods at that, the three of you sitting around a small table filled with small delicacies. Three teacups being slowly emptied as you talk.

Well, as you and Rarity talk. Jade has been silent this whole time, but unlike last month you won't try to drag her into the conversation. Not until the tea has calmed her down more properly, at least.

"I am still absolutely sure about Selene, though," you say, and Jade gives the two of you a slow nod as if to drive the point home. "She is still Luna, and she still very much needs to be taken care of. But the Princess Luna that has been found… She could be the body, while Selene is a deeper piece of her. She could… I don't know, be a Princess Luna from another History and…"

You let your words trail off as Rarity purses her lips. She has already learned about the Lores for her to understand what you are saying, but you know some ideas are harder to wrap one's head around than others.

"Well… I can't say I'm comfortable with that, Velvet," Rarity says thoughtfully, taking a small sip from her teacup as she thinks, "but… if this whole thing with having found Princess Luna was something downright wrong, I'm sure Princess Celestia, of all ponies, would have noticed…"

You can tell just how uneasy Rarity is with the situation, but also that she is trying to convince herself of what she is saying.

So, you decide to help her with that… it is what you had in mind, after all. You know Rarity is too good to not do anything if she even suspects that ponies might be in real danger, so you have to make sure she comes to the conclusion that nothing is immediately wrong...

For her own sake, you think.

You hope.

"Yes, I'm sure Celestia has her own ways of confirming that the pony she found is… well, at least part of Princess Luna," you say, watching the mare's expression slightly relax at that, "she is an alicorn, after all."

Jade remains quiet during the whole ordeal, but you talked this over with her beforehand and she agreed. It is better this way.

You can see Rarity digesting your words for a few more moments, before her posture finally relaxes, minutely, and she nods to herself in agreement.

"And darling, changing the subject a little bit… far from me to say anything about you, but is everything alright? You look rather, uh…"

You take another sip from your teacup, thankful that Rarity feels at least comfortable enough to talk about something else. If anything, this feels like her putting the matter to rest for now, so you will gladly follow her lead on that.

"Oh, I just woke up feeling a bit sick, that's all. Work, family other things… they sometimes can just swamp you like that. But let me tell you, Stormchaser has been an absolute sugarcube this whole day," you say, laughing innocently a little bit, "I think he wouldn't mind carrying me on his back the entire day if I asked him to."

You see Rarity roll her eyes at that. "Stallions," she says with a chuckle.

And with that, the two of you slowly delve down into the comfortable realm of gossiping, both of you exchanging a knowing glance that makes it very clear that Jade will not be kept out of it for long.



- - -



It is technically evening.

From what you understand, although the news have not mentioned any official announcements on the matter, the eclipse will be maintained during the entire week.

Princess Luna has only been found around forty hours ago. But although news of her return traveled, and were further confirmed by pegasi messengers, very quickly, official Royal statements were being a bit slower on the uptake.

To sum things up, the official messengers only said that "Princess Luna was found" and that the week-long holiday had been officially decreed. Details about anything else were not provided, and the spontaneous festivities that happened overtook any remaining semblance of order. At least in Ponyville.

Although, knowing how ponies operate, you would not be surprised if things have been like that in every other city and village.

That said, everypony only vaguely assumes that the eclipse will remain for as long as the festivities do. Not having a day and night cycle can do quite a number on a pony's internal clock, of course, but if anything that is only helping convince the more hardworking ponies that this is a time for unwinding and taking it easy on more things.

And personally, there is nothing you want more than to follow suit.

But...

Well, Rarity told you in passing that Twilight Sparkle is heading out to Canterlot to see her previously absent mentor. Tomorrow, mind you. And that is not something you can let go by without getting involved with, for several reasons.

You have not taught Twilight nearly enough for her to be able to say anything worrying to Celestia, of course, but her recent… "problem", that you very narrowly managed to rescue her from, could sound quite bad if talked about in certain ways. And you would very much like to be there, if Twilight does not mind it of course, at least to make sure that the story isn't worded like "this unsettling noblemare from Ponyville told me some things that made me go a bit insane for a few weeks."

Plus, you would like to meet Princess Celestia yourself. For several reasons.

Specifically because…

Uh...

Several reasons. Too many for you to even bother counting.

So, as much as you would like to laze about and go to sleep early today, you unfortunately can't.

After all, a certain book has reached your hoofs a few days ago, and you plan to see if you can learn anything about it that might be useful, before setting out to Canterlot tomorrow. Which means you only have today to study it, and see what it really is about.



[You have purchased a book and an artifact. 280 bits have been deduced from your personal coffers.]



Thankfully, it really just looks like an old grimoire of sorts. An old and large hardcover book, and nothing else. Because of that you managed to convince your husband that you would just be doing some light reading on the balcony connected to your room.

And telling him that you would be counting on him to carry you to your bed, if you happened to fall asleep on the cushioned couch while reading, did the trick to convince him that you would really not be doing anything taxing.

Well… you hope this won't be taxing. At least, you will make sure to go over the book with your eyes, and see its strange properties for yourself, before even trying to touch it. After all, you still recall the headache you had when hoof-reading an image about snake anatomy, and you absolutely don't want a repeat on that seeing how your mind is still timidly recovering bit by bit.

Still, you have to give it a try.

So, sitting on the cushioned seat of the balcony and overlooking the farmlands of your family, the whole scenery illuminated by the curiously dark glow of the eclipse hanging overhead, you gently float the hardcover book in front of you.

And you open the first page.



[Artifact study, cd 80]

[Roll-



"Excuse me… Mrs. Velvet? Can I come in…?"

What little concentration you were mustering inside your mind evaporates as you hear Selene's voice coming from the half-open glass door of the balcony.

And you frown at that. Extremely disappointed at what just happened.

You don't frown at your daughter, of course. You frown at the way she asked the question.

Why, you frown at the fact she even asked said question to begin with!

Your own daughter? Calling you "Mrs. Velvet"? Asking if she can come in?!

Unacceptable. Ridiculous even!

Your horn is glowing the next moment, and without a second thought you grab hold of the filly with your levitating magic.

You hear something that might have been a yelp of surprise, but you pay it no heed. And soon enough, Selene is deposited between your forelegs.

"I'm pretty sure I already told you, that you don't need to mind that sort of thing. Mommy will tell you if she can't talk to you right now, if that ever happens," you say, as you gently ease her into the couch you are sitting, keeping her between your forelegs and your chest.

Still, for all she has not yet called you "mother" or anything, you do agree with Stormchaser about many other things…

Specifically, how Selene has slowly, at her own pace, opened up to you all.

"I know…" she says, slowly setting the back of her head against you.

And you smile at that. This is the sort of closeness that you are sure wasn't there not long ago.

Although you realize that Silky's… "usual way" of showing affection probably helped Selene a lot with that, you think suppressing a laugh.

"Well, is there anything I can do for you?" you ask, idly laying the large book down on the nearby table.

"Uhm… well… Mrs. Velvet, is… is everything alright with you?" she asks, after mulling over her words for quite a while.

You make a show of thinking for a while, letting out a loud "Hmmm?" after a few moments.

"Well, mommy did wake up a little tired today, but I don't think it's anything anypony should be worried about… But why do you ask?"

You feel her fidgeting a little bit, and although you can only see the top of her head you can tell she has a little bit of a nervous expression on her face.

And her silence drags out for a little longer than you think even she might be comfortable with.

You can tell she has... something on her mind. But really, you are far more worried with her knowing that she can trust you than knowing that she must trust you.

So, you decide to help her with that.

"You know, you can tell me anything you want," you say with a soft tone, gently passing a hoof on her mane for good measure, "including nothing." You see her ears perk up slightly at that, somewhat confused. "Of course, I'd love to know if there's anything bothering you, but mommy will always be right here. So, even if there's something troubling you, you can still tell me about it tomorrow, or the day after, if you want to think about it for a little longer. But you can tell me anything, no matter what or when, and I'll always do my best to help you."

You feel Selene settle down slightly at that, and she thinks for a few more moments before taking a deep breath.

"All… alright…" she says, with a tone that you can't quite understand.

Specifically, you are not sure if she is felling better about something, or if she is feeling bad about whatever it is that's on her mind.

But before you can think of what to say, Selene turns towards you, looking up from where she is sitting on your figurative lap.

"But… uhm… you too Mrs. Velvet," she says, looking into your eyes.

And much to your surprise, she seems to have a determined look on her face.

"Beg your pardon, dear?" you ask, only slightly confused.

"You… you too," she repeats herself. "If, uhm… if there's anything you need help with, if there's anything you want to tell somepony… Even if you don't want to tell me today, or tomorrow, you can tell me anything as well, and I… I promise I'll do my best to help you too."

You are… surprised at that... all of that.

You are surprised at the the honesty you see in her eyes. Even if it is obscured by her shyness, or by her nervousness, or by the fact that she knows that she is still just a filly that can't really do much.

However, despite all that, you can still see… perhaps even a bit of Princess Luna in there, somewhere.

Slowly waking up.

But above all else, you see your daughter, doing her best to be there for you.

"Thank you dear," you say, bringing her into a hug, your words carrying more emotion than you thought they would. "It's a promise then, from both of us."

If her words caught you by surprise, then your hug caught her in the same way.

But slowly, you feel her small forelegs wrap around your neck.

And you allow that moment to drag on for a little longer…

"Now, want to read this strange book mommy just bought?"

But not too long. After all, you know Selene is still on the shy side.

"Ah, yes… what's it about?"

"Well, if the cover is to be believed then it's about everything," you say, giving her a wry smile.

And with that, you float the book towards the two of you, opening it in a way that you can both read.



[Artifact Study, cd 80]

[Roll: 59 + 14 (Learning) + 30 (Level 3 source) + 5 (Well Read) + 15 (LANTERN Level 3) – 10 (Entertaining a filly) + 10 (Exceptional mothering skills) = 123]

[Success. Hoof-reading was not required.]



The two of you read through the curious book, skipping pages and watching as its contents change without rhyme or reason. Still, you are both enraptured by its novel contents.

At some point, also, Silky and Stormchaser joined you, and the four of you spent a good while at the balcony as a family. Trying to guess what the book would show you next, or playfully discussing about whatever apparently made-up thing was written on it.

You only stop when both your daughters start to yawn, and when you realize you are also exhausted. By then, you let your husband take the two sleepy fillies to their room, and calmly head to bed for your own rest.

For all the terrible things that have been happening recently, you... you are honestly glad that you have not lost sight of what is really important.

And as you watch your husband quietly enter the room, your vision beginning to fade to black even through your closed eyelids, you promise yourself never to forget that you are doing this for them.

Spoiler: Information about the Artifact

The book is, indeed, about everything. Every time you opened it an excerpt of a different subject would be displayed, as if you had randomly opened another book. Pages about magical studies, botany, the middle of a story of some comic book, and even a specific page that caused you to slam the book shut before Selene and Silky even realized what they were looking at. The most curious part, however, is that you feel no "regular" unicorn magic from it. There are no signs of any "clairvoyance" coating the pages, causing another book from somewhere far away to have its contents revealed on it, and you are almost certain that some of the things you read are theories, or history excerpts, that do not actually exist.

With that in mind, you tried to influence what the book would show you next through… certain methods you know.

And you had, perhaps, a little bit of success.

There is a method to the book's madness. And although you can tell that some of its "results" are truly random, you think you caught the reflex, or perhaps the aftereffect, of something greater being portrayed on its pages.

And what is more, you might have stirred the effects of said greater thing here and there.



Artifact effect: [Gives a variable bonus (from +5 to +15) for any rolls that involve "research" or "study", of any subject.]

You have gained one scrap of Secret Histories.

SECRET HISTORIES is now level four!

You have furthered your knowledge of the Lores. Both on the subject of the Secret Histories, as well as how they interact with the world.

You have reached a Confident Certainty, and understood that your knowledge will not increase any further unless you achieve a Sacrament.

Spoiler: Information on Sacraments

In order to reach the next level, you will require FOUR Level 4 scraps of Lore, as well as a Sacrament. (Yes. Four. The "fifth" that would need by logical progression is the Sacrament itself).

Sacraments may be achieved in two ways. You can either perform a specific action, the details of which you will discover upon reaching level 4 with said Lore, or by being "invited in by one who is very great on said Lore".

You may only achieve a single Sacrament per Lore. The first Sacrament you achieve will be your "locked choice" for said Lore.

It is important to note that the direction you advance in said Lore will be tied to the nature of the Sacrament itself. It is, after all, a Sacrament.

Specific rules and conditions for Sacraments will be revealed on a per-case basis.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -



You caught up with the mare just as she was about to board the train.

"Oh, Velvet Covers? What a coincidence!" she said, one hoof already stepping on the inside of the railroad car. "Are you going to Canterlot too?"

And you remember how you smiled at her question.

You smiled because, when she asked you that, you recalled how your morning went. How hectic everything leading up to this "coincidence" was.

You recalled how you woke up abominably early, dearly regretting your decision of following up on Rarity's gossip. You recalled how you had to, slowly and gently, ease your husband into the idea that yes, you were going to Canterlot, and no, he couldn't come with you because somepony had to stay with your daughters.

Of course, you had told him you would be going the day before. But you could tell that he was hoping you would simply oversleep or change your mind.

You recalled how he finally (but still with poorly concealed worry) agreed to your trip when you told him that Ponpon would be coming with you. As well as how you pretended not to notice that he spent quite a long time talking to her, out of your hearing range, while you finished packing a small saddle purse for your travel.

And finally, you recalled how the two of you were heading to Twilight Sparkle's library-home when you had a flash of memory that you met her on the train station, boarding the very first early morning train to Canterlot.

Needless to say, that put quite a dent on your timetable. There had been no time to write ahead, so you were hoping to catch the mare while she was still on her home. But suddenly learning that she was already on the station changed your plans to the point where you and Ponpon almost had to run to arrive on time.

But anyway.

You recalled all of that, as you put a smile on your face and answered Twilight's question.

"Ah yes, I'm heading to Canterlot as well. Indeed, this is quite a coincidence," you said.

Drawing her attention away from the fact that Ponpon was slightly out of breath as she walked towards you, carrying in her mouth a pair of tickets that she was almost unable to buy due to the time.

"Quite a coincidence indeed," you said, following Twilight into the train.

And privately, you reminded yourself that coincidences do not exist.



- - -



You hear a whistling noise coming from the distance. And a small but steadily growing vibration takes hold of everything around you. This is, you know, the telltale sign that the train is beginning to move.

However…

Something strikes you as odd.

Yes, there is this very physical vibration coming from all around you as the train gains speed. But still, you think you can also feel… something else?

You can tell that your head is still slightly dazed. You feel like your mind is in a state equivalent to how your leg used to feel whenever you walked too much. "Stiff" being the only way you can describe it, if saying that your mind feels stiff even makes sense…

However, despite the acute knowledge that you are not as sharp as you could be, you can still feel… something.

You are inside a passenger cabin of the train, the compartment that would usually seat six ponies being occupied by you and Twilight Sparkle. Well, you can definitely tell that something feels off, and it's definitely not you. So it stands to reason that this odd feeling you have must be because of...

"So, Canterlot?" you speak up, catching Twilight's attention. She is sitting opposite to you inside the cabin, and is currently rummaging through the saddle-bag she has next to her. But she pauses for a few moments to look at you as you speak. "Ponyville has been up on its forelegs in festivities, and it hasn't even been three days since the big news. How do you think Canterlot is going to be when we arrive?"

"I don't know…" she answers, once again diving into her saddle-bag. Unsurprisingly, she fishes out a book not long after, "to be honest, I don't really want to know. I just hope I'll be able to make a beeline towards the Royal Castle and that that will be it."

You raise an eyebrow at that.

Sure, the young mare has, like many times before, just said she is going to do something absurd as if it was completely normal. You know Twilight doesn't have a drop of malice in her, but you are still caught off guard every now and then whenever she mentions casually things like…

Well, when she casually mentions that she has mastered a ridiculously complex spell. Or about how she had read this and that in a book whose only copy is currently inside the Royal Archives. Or some off-hoof comment about her education under Princess Celestia's wing.

And right now, once again, she just mentioned that she "hopes to" walk into the Royal Castle. A place that even you, being a noble, could only enter after a good amount of effort… and luck.

Again, you know Twilight doesn't say these things out of malice. But still, and you hope you are not being mean by thinking this, you can't help but worry that the young mare might be just a bit too clueless for her own good.

It is good for her to be innocent, of course. But it really wouldn't hurt for her to realize even in part that she is a once-in-a-generation prodigy.

However, as much as you might worry about Twilight Sparkle's social skills in general, you still can't brush off a much more nagging and immediate feeling. That same feeling you had just now, that has been hanging over you ever since you sat down with her inside this cabin.

You can't help but shake the idea that Twilight seems…

Nervous?

"Yes, I'm not really fond of crowds either," you say, moments before she buries herself in her book.

Yes… you think you can see it. The way she looked towards you just now. The way she is holding the book with her hoofs, instead of floating it with her horn. The slight… tension, that you can see in her lips.

Well, to be fair it makes sense for her to be like this.

After all, these last few months have not been kind. They have not been kind to Twilight Sparkle, and they have not been kind to ponies as a whole.

Today was the first day you actually left your home, ever since the eclipse started. And thinking back on it, thinking back on how Ponyville looked and felt while you walked towards the train station, you think you can understand it better now.

Well, saying you can "understand it better" is a little bit unfair. You had realized it before, you had noticed it these last few months. But this morning you were able to see it with stark clarity.



That is to say, today you could confirm with your own eyes just hoy much Ponykind had been affected by Princess Celestia's absence.



It was slow, at first. Princess Luna disappearance was already worrying by itself, especially because her disappearance occurred after a mysterious attack at the Royal Castle. But still, although ponies were concerned about it, it could not be said in all honesty that ponies were deeply affected by it.

How could they be? Princess Luna had only returned a few months prior, and her presence had not really been felt to begin with. She had not taken any royal duties in that short period of time, and she didn't even had the chance to make enough public appearances for ponies to get used to her.

Heavens, you have no idea how things might have looked like from a commoner's perspective, but you know for a fact that many nobles refused to aid in the search efforts to begin with.

Their reasons to act like that, or their excuses for not being able to help, might have been as numerous as the stars. But the fact remains that Luna's disappearance simply did not raise much of an uproar among the nobility.

And why should it have raised an uproar, really? After all, Princess Luna's disappearance didn't just maintain the status quo, it actually restored it to its previous setting. With Princess Luna out of the picture every piece on the board went back to the positions they were but a few months earlier.

That is, of course, until Princess Celestia left.

And in hindsight, you can imagine how much of a shock that must have been in Canterlot, at first.

After all, Princess Celestia left.

She left.

For the first time in a thousand years the Sun Goddess was not there. For the first time in a period longer than most history books are able to cover, the ruler of Ponykind had vacated the throne. Of course, Princess Cadance took over her duties immediately. But for all that she might be an alicorn, Princess Cadance is still…

For heavens sake, she is younger than you are. And knowing that the pony sitting on the throne today is literally a thousand years younger than the one who was there yesterday is not exactly comforting news. Alicorn or not.

And really, that was just on the "political" realm. That was just what you heard from your uncle Steppes when he visited you a few weeks ago, or what you heard being gossiped around by the servants who you had sent to other cities for errands.

That was just the effect of the immediate shock caused by Celestia's decision to search for Luna herself.



What really caught your eyes was the weight that slowly settled over Ponykind in the following months. It was… heavier.

Much, much heavier.




It was like a splinter, a thorn slowly nesting itself under your hoof. Like a dirty secret that everypony knew, but that nopony wanted to talk about.

Slowly, achingly slowly, everypony realized that Princess Celestia was gone. What began as worried gossips on the higher districts of Canterlot slowly trickled down to the surrounding cities, and then to the farther reaches of the Pony Kingdom through hushed whispers and dawning realizations.

Slowly, everypony realized that Ponykind was alone.

It took a few months. But eventually, even the quiet and faraway town where you live started to feel strange. Nopony was acting differently, but only because nopony wanted to be the first to admit it. Still, whenever the sun took a few more hours than normal to set, hanging ominously over the horizon even as the clocks began to insist it was nighttime, everypony seemed to make a point of not talking about it. Of pretending that everything was fine.

That's… how these last few months have been.

You only noticed it in passing, with how you live far away from everything. You only noticed it when you made a point of observing your servants, or during the few times you made your way to Ponyville. But still, that's how these last few months have been for ponies as a whole.

Luna's return is not being faced just with happiness. It is being faced with relief, as if some long and painful agony has finally been soothed.

Because for most ponies, or perhaps for everypony but you, that is exactly what Celestia's absence was like.

…

Well, that's how things have been to ponies in general.

But for Twilight Sparkle? The young mare who has practically been raised by Princess Celestia, and who sees her as a mentor and idol? You can confidently say that these last few months have been horrible from her. And that is without mentioning the "incident" regarding your lessons.

So yes, you can see why Twilight Sparkle is nervous. Worried, even.

"I'm not fond of crowds either," you repeat yourself, keeping a calm smile on your face, "but I'm afraid I'll be forced to brave them. I mean, it will be worth it, right? After all, I cannot go to Canterlot and not give a few libraries and bookstores a visit."

You watch as she slowly lowers the book she has on her hoofs, ears perking up timidly at a few choice words you just spoke.

"Hm, that sounds… actually, what exactly are you going to Canterlot for, Velvet?" she asks curiously. And you watch as the book she is holding, the surest indicator of how interested she is in talking, remains steadily half-forgotten in her hoofs.

"Well, a few things," you say, "most of my family is in Canterlot, so I'm going to catch up with some of them."

Some of them being your uncle and nopony else, of course.

"And then I'll also try to find a few books to add to my collection."

Although you really have no idea of what you are going to look for, with "I'll know it when I see it" being your chiefest method of searching for interesting books.

"But I also want to…"

You quickly ponder what is the best way to phrase that you want to check on Princess Celestia. Of course, that is the sort of thing Twilight would have been able to say without second thought.

But you are definitely not Twilight. And even if the mare didn't think it was strange to hear that phrase, you would still feel awkward for saying it to begin with. Saying you are "worried" and "for a Princess" is not exactly a phrase that makes sense to most ponies.

"Well, I helped a little bit with the search efforts, on the first few months. And I know a few ponies in the Royal Guard. So I'm hoping they will allow me into the Royal District, at least so I can ask around how things went these last few months… The newspaper can be quite lacking in details, so to speak."

You see Twilight nod at that, and you allow yourself a smile as you watch her put down the book she is holding.

Although… you still have that nagging sensation. You can still see it, her worry, written in the furrow of her brow and on the way she is looking at the floor for longer than she normally would.

And it makes sense. You just told her what you are planning to do in Canterlot, so the obvious response in a conversation among friends is for her to say what she is planning herself.

But her "plans", meeting up with her long-absent idol/mentor, is exactly what has been causing her to agonize these last few… months.

You can see her face slowly crumbling back into a stricken expression, a hoof reflexively going towards the book she has next to her.

Goodness gracious. You recall the conversation you had with Spike not long ago, about Twilight. The young dragon does not have it easy.

"And now that I think about it," you say, snapping the mare out of whatever spiraling thoughts she was having, "I really don't want to overstep any boundaries, but… Do you think you could help me? I mean, I haven't stepped a hoof in Canterlot for several months now, and I can picture myself being barred at the gates of the Royal District, seeing how forgettable I am," you say with an embarrassed smile.

"You? Forgettable?" she asks, letting out a short laugh.

You know she doesn't mean anything bad by that, but you are still not sure of what exactly she is laughing about.

"But sure! I'd actually appreciate being with a friend when I go to the castle," she says with an honest smile, and you think her words are even a little tinged with relief as she realizes what she is saying.

But still, she laughs a little bit again.

"Although Velvet, if you think you are 'forgettable' then I might as well have an anonymity spell cast on me," she says with a short giggle. "I mean, I have been in Ponyville for almost a year now. If the guards forgot about you, then I bet nopony but Shining will remember about me once I arrive there."

You laugh with her at that, feeling somewhat relieved that Twilight is finally relaxing and-


!!!


When suddenly, you hear the sound of glass breaking, your eyes going wide open in shock as your brain makes a connection that sends a jolt down through your body.

And before you can even understand what exactly just happened, your mind begins to slowly replay Twilight's last few words inside your head.

No... She doesn't know… she can't know…

Actually yes. Yes, she can know him. What mare in good conscience wouldn't know him.

But still, it doesn't make sense.

It makes sense for Twilight Sparkle to casually namedrop Princess Celestia. She is her pupil, after all.

It does not make sense for her to namedrop…

"Twi… Twilight Sparkle…" you say, unfreezing your suddenly wide-eyed expression with conscious effort.

"Uh, Velvet is… is everything alright?" she asks, looking at you with apprehension written on her face.

"Yesyeseverythingisfinebutmoreimportantly!..." you take a deep breath, shaking your head as you repeat Twilight's last few phrases inside your head, just to make sure. "More importantly… what was this pony's name you just mentioned?"

She tilts her head at that, growing more and more confused.

"Whose… name…? I don't think I mentioned anypony's name or-"

"You did," you cut her off mid-sentence, your words so sharp that Twilight slightly jumps up in surprise. "You just mentioned a pony on the Royal Guard… who was it…? No. More importantly. Why did you mention… him, specifically?"

You can see her growing honestly nervous at your tone of voice.

But frankly, right now you don't care.

Because it's one thing for the once-in-a-lifetime prodigy mare to casually mention how she was tutored by an immortal demigoddess.

But it is another thing entirely for her to mention…

For her to casually mention...!

"Y-you…you mean Shining Armor?"

For her to mention him!

"He is…" the intensity of your gaze causes Twilight Sparkle to recoil away from you, as if some sort of pressure coming from your eyes is physically pushing her away. She presses her back against the cushioned seat of the cabin, knowing (without understanding why) that there is no correct answer for the question she was asked.

"He is my brother!" she continues, "w-why do you ask?!"



!!!



That same sound, again.

You hear the sound of glass breaking.

Something inside your mind has broken.

It can't be…

It can't be.

Before you consciously realize it, you are already on top of Twilight Sparkle. Your hoofs on her shoulder and your eyes so close to hers that your horns are almost touching.

"You mean to tell me that Captain Shining Armor," you say, your words dripping with something that is neither venom nor incredulity, but still a close relative to both. "Shining. McHunk. Armor. Is your older brother? And you haven't told me? Or Rarity? Or anypony?!"

"W-what did you just call my broth-?"

"Answer the question."

"Y-yes!" the young mare shouts, almost in panic, the grip of your hoofs on her shoulders ruffling her purple coat. Her eyes running around as if looking for an escape route, or perhaps for an answer that would restore a semblance of sense to this whole situation. "Yes he is! But he went away to the Guard Academy when I was young, so I only had Cadance to foal-sit for me when I was sm-"



"WHAT?!"



You hear, inside your head, the sound of something falling on the floor and shattering. And you know that no amount of Winter will be able to pick up the pieces of what just broke.

You...

You need to take a deep breath.



- - -



The Mansus is broken.

The gods of Ponykind are dead.

Twilight Sparkle is the younger sister of Shining Grail Armor, and was foal-sitted by an immortal demigoddess.

…

If you ever meet Twilight's parents, you will have to shake their hoofs. Heavens, it will not surprise you if it turns out that Twilight has a younger brother who is a naturally born alicorn.

Those two, whoever they are, know how to cook.

"Uhm… Velvet? Is everything alright?" you hear Twilight ask tentatively. Her voice genuinely worried.

"Everything is fine Twilight… I just… need some time to think."

Everything is fine, you repeat inside your head.

Of course everything is fine.

You might be curled up into a ball on your seat, your hoofs covering your closed eyes, but everything is definitely fine.

There is absolutely nothing for her, or you, to worry about.

"But again," you say, taking care for your voice not to crack under the ridiculousness of this… of this mare, "is there anything else you forgot to tell me, Twilight?" you ask.

Is there anything else you should know, that could possibly make the diplomatic diamond sitting opposite to you inside this train cart any more valuable?

Is there anything else that she "didn't mention because it didn't seem important", that would help drive home just how socially innocent this all-too-young mare is?

"No…?" she says, and you can tell from her tone of voice that she is really wondering if she should walk up to you and put a hoof on your shoulder, or if she should go to the cabin next door and call for Ponpon.

"Excellent," you say, focusing on taking deep and steady breaths. "Simply perfect. So go… read your book. I think I'll take a nap while we head to Canterlot."

You say that, not moving an inch from your safe and not-at-all-worrisome curled up position.

But for all of Twilight's… Twilight-ness, you know she still has a good heart. In fact, she stares at you worriedly for several minutes, before she finally, and hesitantly, floats her book towards her. And you know that she is still giving you a few worried glances every now and then even while she reads.

However, you can't really bring yourself to care about that right now.

You just…

The Mansus is broken.

The gods of Ponykind are dead.

Twilight Sparkle is the younger sister of Shining Armor, and was foal-sitted by an immortal demigoddess.

You just need to take a deep breath, and process all of this.





You have learned just how utterly hopeless Twilight Sparkle is when it comes to social life a few more details about Twilight Sparkle's life!

Despite the levity of the situation, you really did you best to entertain Twilight, or at least keep her mind off from whatever is worrying her. You can tell that Twilight Sparkle is very, very worried.

And speaking of your own mental health, you are improving. You had another good night of sleep, and you were capable of feeling frustration and regret (at your foolish choice of waking up so early) when you woke up. So that's a good indication as any that your faculties, emotional and otherwise, are coming back to you. Yes, considering what you have been through you are recovering a lot faster than any human pony would have the right to. Yes, that is up for you to decide if it is good or bad.

Canterlot arrival to follow.

40 bits have been deduced from your personal coffers (Ponpon will act as your servant in Canterlot).

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -



Something wakes you up.

Consciousness comes to you like the sudden opening of a curtain. As if you were in room that was dark a few moments ago, but now is alive with vibrant colors. That, you know, is the effect of your mind slipping away from unconsciousness and beginning to accept the images you can see even through your closed eyelids.

You blink a few times, still slightly dazed. Not understanding why exactly the room seems to be better lit when your eyes are shut.

Until everything comes back to you, and you shake your head.

"Goodness… really dozed off for a few moments, it seems," you mumble to yourself.

Twilight's eyes peek at you over the book she is reading.

It is a bit of an endearing sight, you think. The way she looks like she was truly and honestly engrossed in her reading until a few moments ago. That, and the way she seems to be, even if accidentally or perhaps unconsciously, hiding herself behind the book.

Wait. Why in the heavens are you thinking that sort of…? You must still be waking up.

"More than a few moments," she says, and you catch her doing the absolutely adorable movement of flipping the book sideways and mentally calculating just how much time has passed based on how far in the book she is and-

Oh, for heaven's sake… Twilight is not your daughter, Velvet! No matter how young she looks or sounds. Get a grip of yourself!

"We've been going up the mountain for a while now, so we must be arriving soon," she finishes, nodding towards the window.

"Ah, I see," you answer, looking out through the window and taking in the rather dull scenery of the rocky wall-like side of the mountain, any interesting detail being blurred by how fast the train is moving.

Unbidden, your memory starts conjuring obscure trivia about the several tunnels that have been dug in and through the mountain, but you shake them away with a wave of your hoof. That sort of thing is not exactly important right now, you think.

"In fact…" Twilight continues, putting her book down, "I think you woke up because we might be decelerating. I read a book once, about how bodies function while we are asleep, and our subconscious can pick up and filter small details even when we are unconscious. Things like low sounds that wouldn't be enough to wake us up, but that we would still worry about if we heard while awake. So it might be that your body felt a minute change in how the train is vibrating and…"

As if on cue, the carriage tilts slightly even before she finishes speaking. It's almost an imperceptible shift, but it drives home the point that the train had been ascending this whole time and has finally reached the level it was meant to arrive at.

And you give Twilight Sparkle an impressed nod, which she answers with a satisfied grin, as a high-pitched whistle comes from somewhere in the distance. Moments later, the rhythmic sound of the train's machinery slowly starts to change its tempo, and you feel your body being pushed forward as the carriage begins to lose speed.

The entire process takes a few more minutes. But eventually the mountainous scenery beyond the window is replaced by the view of a rapidly approaching city. The marble-white and gold-lined buildings of Canterlot covered in the unusual orange caused by the eclipse.

You feel, and see, the train make a few gentle curves, losing speed all the while until its brakes are finally engaged with more seriousness and the train station itself comes into your view.

Curiously, this brings you back memories of the last time you came to Canterlot, a few months ago. You were with Rarity, and you recall how she looked out through the window back then. Literally wide-eyed and awed by the sight of the pony capital city.

Twilight, you know, is the exact opposite of Rarity in that regard. After all, you know she was born and raised in Canterlot. Heavens, she was educated from a young age in the School for Gifted Unicorns, so you realize that if anything it must be the idyllic and slow-paced life of Ponyville that might have struck her as odd, when she first moved there.

So, for all that Rarity's reaction had been amusing to watch, you know that your current companion won't put up anything even close to the show that Rarity did the last time you came here.



Or at least… that is what you were thinking. Until the passenger carriages finish parking by the disembarkation platforms, and the train finally comes to a complete stop.

And the two of you take a good, long look at the inside of the train station.



"Oh dear," you say out loud, your brows furrowing slightly as you begin to take the scene before you.

"What… in Equestria…?" Twilight says, her eyes slowly going wide as she sees the same thing you are looking at.

Well, Twilight Sparkle might be already used to Canterlot, and all its pomp and sophistication. Much like yourself, really.

But neither of you had expected to see…

To see this.

The floor level of the passenger carriage is somewhat higher than the train station's ground, so the two of you have a bit of a height advantage while looking out from the window of the cabin you are in.



And what you see is a veritable sea of ponies.



The train station itself is a building that can be described as "cavernous", its ceiling built like a tall arch and the several train platforms connected by pedestrian passageways that go high over the rails.

However, even the enormous size of Canterlot's train station seems to be straining to accommodate all the ponies you are seeing.

There is, for lack of a better word, a literal crowd standing before your eyes, to the point where you can't so much make out individual ponies instead of a shifting mass of manes and the occasional luggage being carried on somepony's back. You don't really have much experience when it comes to head counting, and the largest number of ponies you have ever seen in one place must have been the few hundred you helped organize the first time you volunteered to help with the search efforts.

But still, just by going with your rather pitiful approximations you think there must be a few thousand ponies in here.

At the very least.

"We… probably arrived at the same time as the trains from the larger cities?" you say, eyeing the increasingly uncomfortable Twilight Sparkle, her eyes still glued to the multitude of ponies outside.

Yes. Now that you think about it, you can see that all those ponies are slowly making their way to the several exits that dot the station. Every now and then you a pegasus takes to the skies, the empty space they left on the crowd disappearing moments later, but a part of you immediately wonders if that is a good idea. Simply because there might not be a place for them to land on the streets outside the train station.

You tear your gaze away from the dreadful sight outside the window and look at Twilight, watching as she slowly purses her lips. Her expression turning into one of annoyance, and then determination.

And much to your surprise she then lets out a heavy snort, perhaps even something that might have been a short neigh.

"Well, we just have to make it to the castle," she says, crossing her forelegs with a scowl as if the thing you are seeing outside is nothing but a particularly troublesome question in an exam.

Thank the heavens, you think, that at least she is not the crowd-shy sort.

But still, no matter how determined she is, navigating Canterlot will be… problematic, or at the very least exhausting, if what you are seeing is any indication of just how many ponies have come to the capital.

A knock comes to your cabin door before you can say anything else, and the two of you turn as Ponpon makes her way in, fully dressed in her maid uniform.

"Excuse me, ma'am," she says, eyeing you, then Twilight, and finally the open window. "Well, first of all good morning, again, and I hope you slept well. Secondly, I'd like to remind you that we haven't written ahead to the main house…" her eyes go to the window for a few moments. "Not that it would have helped, that is. After all, I don't think a carriage would have been of much use even if we had asked for one ahead of time."

You nod at her. That is quite the gentle way of saying that you will have to negotiate your way to the castle, unless you have a better idea.

Which you don't.

"I see… Lucky us we didn't exactly bring any luggage apart from our saddles," you answer, with a bit of a sigh. "Still, nothing for us to do but get to it. And Ponpon, much as I'd love to keep our visit under wraps, I'm not sure we will be able to get in contact with uncle Steppes unless we get in touch with the main house. So could you give our family's manor a visit once me and Twilight get to the castle?"

"Of course, ma'am," she says with a nod. "Anything I should keep close to my chest?"

"Not really, we don't have anything to hide. Although, I very much rather me and Twilight arrive at the castle before father can 'invite' me for a chat," you say, to which Ponpon answers with an understanding nod.

And Twilight, understandably, gives you a curious look.

"Family stuff. I'll tell you about it later," you say with a mischievous wink.

And with that said and done, the three of you make your way out of the cabin, going towards the chaotic crowd of ponies who, like yourselves, have come to Canterlot thanks to the return of the Royal Sisters.



- - -



Canterlot is a very large city. But for all its size, it is a place that Princess Celestia herself goes to great pains to make sure it is an organized and well-thought-out place.

For starters, Canterlot has none of the bursting urbanization that is seen in larger cities. It does not have a skyline jagged by increasingly taller skyscrapers, or streets that were not expanded to accommodate a growing population. No, Canterlot was built to be better than that.

The city itself is divided in districts, each of them carved out of the mountainside whenever a carefully planned expansion project is approved by the Princess of the Sun herself. The aesthetics of the place is impeccable, and the whole city is organized in such a manner that even a pony who has never set foot in Canterlot can navigate it almost intuitively. Residential zones flow seamlessly towards the commercial districts, and the meltwater river that flows through the entire city is kept so clean that one would be hard pressed to believe that Canterlot has a small industrial complex of its own.

But of course, nothing else would have been accepted. After all, Canterlot is the capital of Ponykind. And more importantly, Canterlot is the proud home of Princess Celestia, the immortal and benevolent ruler of Equestria, whose very horn has moved the sun and moon for a thousand years, and whose reign has seen ponies grow in peace and prosperity.

Personally, you know Canterlot has its fair share of ugly parts. But most of them are on the more social side, like the intrigues of nobility or other equally unpleasant things. After all, ponies are not above committing crimes, among other things.

However, Canterlot is still a place that is so beautiful it is almost stunning.



And all of that, the fact you know about all those little details of organization and perfection, only makes it more… glaring that…

That Canterlot is a mess right now.

There really is no other way to describe it.



It is an organized mess. A method-to-the-madness mess. But still a mess all the same.

The crowd at the train station had been nothing but a prelude. To the point where you have to reevaluate your words once the three of you step into the streets.

What you saw inside the station was not a sea of ponies. It was a lake, at most, a steady river slowly draining away towards the outside.

On the other hoof, what you see in the streets… this is a sea of ponies. An ocean of them, even.

Canterlot is packed.

The sidewalks cannot be reasonably navigated, and the few carriages you see are moving almost at a crawl as they slowly make their way through the passersby. Still, due to the fact that you are literally inside a moving mass of ponies, the three of you have no choice but to trudge your way forward and try your best not to get separated.

You don't even have to look at Ponpon. Without any visible cue the two of you flank Twilight, shielding the young mare from the worst of the shoulder-pressing and crowd-pushing as you make your way through the streets.

It gets slightly better after a few minutes, but only slightly. In a way that you finally have some breathing room and personal space, but you still have to dance your way around groups of ponies as if you were on a noble party of sorts.

And as that drowning crowd finally begins to disperse by sheer virtue of having started to spread out over more streets, you finally manage to get a better look at the city itself.

Well, things are somewhat how you expected them to be.

Much like Ponyville, Canterlot is celebration, to the point that at some moments you actually make your way through parties being held on the streets. Real, literal parties. And as you make your way through the commercial district you start noticing more and more details, like the commemorative banners, and the stalls, and even a few signs indicating that an avenue has been entirely closed off so festive parades can sing their way through it. You pass through rains of confetti and under the shadow of dozens of flying pegasi, and you even see a few posters saying that the Wonderbolts will be flying around the city in impromptu shows at certain hours.



However, for all the cheers and laughs and everything else around you, you begin to notice something… worrying.



Canterlot, and all of Ponykind really, is celebrating and commemorating. Everypony around you, you know, is sharing in that sensation of relief. Some ponies even having traveled from faraway cities just to be closer to the cause of such joy.

And that by itself makes sense, in a pony kind of way. After all, Princess Luna has been found and Princess Celestia has returned, so what is there not to celebrate? And how could ponies be said to be truly celebrating something if not by throwing a country-wide week-long party?

However, you can't help but feel like there is a…

A certain tension in the air.

And as the three of you make your way out of the worst of the crowd, you finally begin to hear specific words and whispers from nearby ponies. What was once a constant hum and buzz of activities coming from all around you, interrupted by the sudden cheer or singing, finally begins to settle down into something that might have been constant background conversation in a noble party.

Exactly the sort of thing that you grew up learning how to pay attention to.



To the point where you think you hear…



"Hang on. Ponpon, Twilight, hold on for just a second. I think that…" you say out loud, urging the two other mares to slow down.

Ponpon stops walking immediately, but Twilight seems to take a few moments to snap out of whatever she was thinking about.

"Hm? Velvet, did something happen? We are still a bit far away from the castle and…" she says, trailing off when she gets a better look at your expression. "What, did something happen?"

You look at Twilight, realizing that she was probably oblivious to everything but her ironclad determination to get to the Royal Castle as soon as possible while the three of you were moving. But then you look at Ponpon, and at a glance you can tell that she is catching up to what you have in mind.

"Well, nothing happened Twilight," you say, turning to look around you, your ears perking up as you try to make out… "Not with me, at least… Say, don't you two think there is something strange going on?"

A small part of your mind quickly jumps at the idea that it might be the changelings, but you can't see anything unusual or worrying as you glance around. Granted, from what you understand you might be better at identifying things through touch, but you still can't feel anything alien or threatening around you.

No, the thing that is peeving you is much more… simple.

"Strange? I don't see anything," Twilight says, glancing at the flags and other festive props fixed at the nearby buildings.

You watch as her eyes move to a nearby park, where a growing group of ponies seems to be getting into singing a song.

"No, I don't mean…" you say, tapping a hoof against the floor, slightly annoyed that even you don't know exactly what it is that is bothering you. "It's… can't you feel that there is something strange about this whole thing? Like, everypony is smiling but… they seem worried?"

Ponpon seems to think for a few moments, until she looks at the two of you and simply says.

"Ma'am, miss Twilight, could you two wait here for a few moments?"

Before simply walking off into the crowd.



- - -



Ponpon dissolved into the crowd, and you assume that what followed was a little bit of eavesdropping, coupled perhaps with a few innocent questions being asked here and there.

Regardless of what she did, Ponpon returned a few minutes later. Which you were thankful for, seeing how Twilight seemed to grow more and more impatient every time a cheer erupted from somewhere in the distance.

Truth be told, you were also getting slightly nervous as well. But more because the more you paid attention to it, the more you were convincing yourself that for some reason the cheers sounded like they were being forced.

Still, when Ponpon finally did return her expression was… serious. She was serious and tense like you felt everypony else around you ought to be, if not for the fake smiles everypony was wearing for some reason.

"Ma'am, we should really get to the Royal Castle," was all she said.

And as the three of you walked, she slowly told you what she found out, and why the mood in the capital seems to be so… strained, even at street level.

Apparently, for all that Princess Luna had been found two days ago, it seems that she and Princess Celestia kept to themselves during that first day, staying inside the Royal Castle and away from everypony's sight. For reasons that everypony understood, of course. After all, more than being rulers they were first and foremost sisters to each other, and nopony could be said to have been more affected by this whole ordeal than Princess Celestia herself.

However, a royal announcement soon came from the inner sanctums of the Royal Castle, stating that they would make a public appearance yesterday.

That, you understand, is the sort of news that would have taken a few days to spread to other cities via newspaper and correspondence. But seeing how tightly packed Canterlot is, every last pony in the capital must have heard about it in under an hour, by sheer virtue of word-of-mouth and the fact that those were the news everypony had been waiting for.

And so it happened that yesterday, around the time the sun would usually set, began a grand parade of the Royal Guard, with the Two Sisters being carried on a grand chariot at the heart of the parade. The procession started from the gates of the castle, out through the Royal District, and went all the way to the largest plaza located in the middle of Canterlot.

Naturally, everypony was watching. Watching, and cheering, and everything else, until the Princesses arrived at the plaza, and Princess Celestia began what would have been a grand speech about her sister's return.



From what Ponpon heard, that was the part where Princess Celestia fainted.



What followed was… you would have expected chaos to follow, or perhaps an uproar, but from what your maid said the entire city immediately descended into what could only be described as muted horror.

Of course, Princess Luna quickly took the reins of the situation, saying her sister was beyond tired, and that quite frankly everypony deserved a rest after these last few months. She also declared that she would take the rulership of Equestria into her own hoofs while her sister recuperated, and that there was no cause to worry.

But still.



Still…



Well, after Ponpon was done telling you that it took quite a bit of convincing for Twilight Sparkle not to run and leave the two of you behind.

You can understand the mare's reaction, of course, you can understand her worry. You can understand everypony's worry. Princess Celestia, the invincible bulwark of Ponykind, the demigoddess who rules the sun, has fainted in front of the whole capital. And since nopony knows anything beyond that, gossiping goes everywhere from saying that Princess Celestia simply needs to rest, to saying that she is on the brink of death and is secretly being desperately cared for behind the closed doors of the castle.

What makes it worse, also, is that following that disaster the entire Royal District was sealed. Gates that stood open for centuries now being held shut by the Royal Guard. Passage in and out of the Royal District is being allowed only to very few ponies, and nopony really knows how things are going in the Royal Castle itself, located in the middle of said district.

However, for all that you understand Twilight Sparkle's worries, and for all that you understand the worries of the general population…

They don't know what you know.

They don't know… exactly what all of this means.



With that in mind, the three of you make your way to the Royal District as fast as your hoofs can carry you.





- - -

- - -

- - -





You look up to the sky, towards the unmoving eclipse.

A glance at a nearby clock tells you it's evening, but it's hard to say with how the sun and moon have remained unmoving for the last few days.

Still, you can do nothing now but… wait.



A few hours back, you and Twilight arrived at the marble bridges that lead to the Royal District. And indeed, just like how Ponpon told you, the gilded gates were closed shut, and two stallions of the Royal Guard were standing impassively behind its bars.

Thank the heavens you were with Twilight. You think they might have let you through if you convinced them that you had Princess Cadance's blessings, but that was a big "if", and it would involve convincing them to call somepony from her personal guard to vouch for you.

Twilight's presence completely bypassed that problem.

However, once you arrived at the Royal Castle itself…

Well, the Royal District is not exactly empty, but it is very clear that only the upper crust of nobility is currently being allowed in. Everypony you saw on your way to and inside the Royal Castle were either the excessively well dressed members of Canterlot's elite, or public servants whose work was too important to stop even during a holiday enforced by royal decree.

Anyways. Twilight got the two of you into the Royal District, and a bit of smooth talking from you, leveraging everything you could think of from your own small notoriety to Twilight's status as Celestia's pupil, managed to get you two inside the Royal Castle itself.

However…



"Miss Twilight, please. I'm… Princess Luna said it herself. Nopony can go into the inner sanctum. I-… listen, she isn't even letting the maids in. And Princess Cadance only made her way through this door because nopony is crazy enough to tell her otherwise, but we still got scolded for that."



However, in the end the two of you were not allowed to enter the wing of the castle that houses the Princesses' personal quarters.

Of course, under normal circumstances you would never have even dreamed that you would have been allowed this far to begin with. But still, Twilight is… quite an exception to pretty much any rule you can think of. She even told the poor guard, repeatedly, that she had already been there several times in the past.

But still, for all that she tried for the better part of an hour, you eventually had to very gently tell her that maybe the two of you should wait until tomorrow, or the day after that, while Celestia recuperates.

However...


Twilight Sparkle is… upset. There are no other words that can properly describe that.


After that, the two of you were escorted by a very apologetic-looking guard to a pair of guest rooms on one of the wings of the castle.

And now… there is nothing you can do but wait.

You have already sent word that Ponpon is accompanying you, so she shouldn't have trouble making her way into the district once she finishes her errant in your family's home, but right now there is nothing to do but…

"Well, I'd better go make Twilight company," you say out loud, "heavens knows, she might start banging her head against the wall if she stays waiting for too long by herself."

With that in mind you leave your assigned room, and go give your young friend some much needed company.





Your current situation will only change in two days' time. Which means that for all Twilight might be stressing herself, there is not much you can do but wait.

The THREE options with the most votes will be how you are going to wait. Vote for as many as you wish for.

[] You have ingrained yourself with the Royal Guard during the search efforts. Go to… wherever it is that they work, and check things out.

[] The inner reaches of the Royal Castle might be blocked by worried-looking Royal Guards, but the rest of the castle is not. And servants, you have come to learn, like to gossip quite a bit. Go for a walk in the castle and see if you can pick anything up.

[] The Woods grow around the walls of th… wait… Gardens, right. The Gardens grow around the walls of the castle, and they are huge. The Royal Gardens are also a place you have not visited yet, seeing how tense and work-related your last visit was. Go explore it.

[] The Throne Room is where Princess Celestia has held court for a thousand years, and currently it is Cadance who is sitting upon that most august of seats. Even entering that place requires you to mark an appointment several days in advance, so you won't be able to get even a glimpse of Cadance. However, you are sure you can get close enough to eavesdrop on the high nobles who no doubt crowd the place. (This is an eavesdropping on nobles option, not a meet Cadance option).

[] Yes, the Royal Castle is fine and all, but there is an entirety of a Royal District to explore! Go for a stroll and see if you chance upon anything interesting.

[] For all the pains you went through to get inside the Royal District, you are suddenly not very interested in it. Go for a stroll in Canterlot at large.

(The following options are available due to your high Lore levels)

[] You are here to find out what the deal is with this Princess Luna, and this is exactly what you are going to do. Sneak into the inner parts of the castle. (You might get in trouble if caught)

[] Yes, the alicorns have returned and all that. But more importantly, you have free time inside the Royal Castle. And the Royal guard's numbers have… regrettably dwindled. That means you are inside the most ancient building known to Ponykind, with little to no oversight being directed at you. Go to the older and deeper reaches of the castle, and try to find something interesting.

[] Many ponies have died, in the search for the Princess of the Moon. Go to the place where their sacrifice shall be celebrated.





Canterlot is divided in "districts". The Royal Castle is at the very center of the Royal District, and entrance to the inner parts of the Royal Castle is being barred. Around the Royal castle are several landmark-buildings. The Royal Library, the School for Gifted Unicorns, so on so on. It is also important to note that the Royal District itself is barred off to anypony who is not "important", so to speak, so you won't see nearly as much movement in there while this whole thing is going on.

Princess Cadance is still holding court and officially ruling the kingdom, despite the return of the Two Sisters. From what you hear, she is spending her whole day holding court, and otherwise keeping the hordes of high nobles that are assailing from doing anything… well, unadvisable.

For the record, this "free time exploring the Royal District" is a result of your own action to "openly go to the royal castle". Being there with Twilight in two days will be the result of "accompanying Twilight".

Voting to "try and meet somepony in particular" (Cadance, Shining, etc) is not an option. Outside the Royal District is too crowded and chaotic to try and find anypony in a short timeframe, and inside the Royal District everypony is too busy to meet with you in short notice. And Twilight will basically stay in her quarters pacing back and forth nervously, so using her as an important pony magnet isn't a good idea right now (you will do your best to keep her company, so don't worry about that).

And, again, about specifically asking Twilight to talk to Cadance or her brother, that is not doable right now. Even under the argument that "having her do something might help her be less stressed". The Royal District is currently in a state of "nervous silence" in which everypony is too busy to be bothered directly, so even if she tried asking around she would ultimately not succeed. Besides, this voting refers to your two-days wait specifically.

However, for the record it is possible to meet Cadance and/or Shining, but they are hidden among the options above and can only be met "by coincidence" (laughs in SH). Enjoy the meta discussion to try and find one/both of them.

Voting is to be done by approval. Vote for as many options as you want, and the three top options will be the winners.

Kindly observe a two hours moratorium.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You finish putting on your dress with a practiced motion, both your forelegs and your horn working in unison as you gently work your way through the long sleeves. Once you are done with that part, you pat yourself with your hoofs to make sure everything is at its proper place, at the same time you magically tie the several extra knots and laces you have on the underside of your skirt.

This is the sort of thing you do every morning. It is almost like a ritual, of sorts. Something that helps your body understand that you are done waking up. In fact, you have so much practice in doing this that you don't even have to think about it, your mind sometimes wandering to faraway places as you quietly go about this part of your day.

Although this morning, in particular, your mind isn't thinking about something distant. Quite on the contrary, you are mulling over something, or rather somepony, who is quite literally occupying the room right next to yours.



To tell the truth you are… a little worried about Twilight.



There was nothing else the two of you could do yesterday, after she was barred from seeing Princess Celestia. You were taken to a wing of the castle destined for guests, and you were told by a very apologetic-looking guard that they would let you know if there were any news regarding the Princess. But after that you and Twilight were basically left alone.

You did your best to keep her company, of course, recognizing a pile of nerves when you see one. But for her part, Twilight Sparkle…

Well, let's just say that you have already seen ponies stress-eating. But that yesterday was the first time you saw somepony stress-reading.

Eventually, and at great pains, you managed to get her to put her books down, and got her to eat something. Although you were only able to do that because you reminded her that not eating properly could cause a pony's mental capacities to shrink. And she wouldn't want to be "dull and tired" if a guard arrived to tell them that Princess Celestia was suddenly feeling better, right?

After that, you made her promise that she would try to get some sleep.

Although you are sure that…

"Well," you say with a sigh, turning sideways and giving yourself a final once-over in the mirror, "let's go check on her, shall we?"

With that, you make your way out of your guest room, heading towards Twilight's.

You gently open the door, looking into the orange-tinted darkness of the room, and you see…

"Thank goodness," you say to yourself with honest relief, gently stepping into the room and closing the door behind you.

You see Twilight Sparkle fast asleep. She is surrounded by books, she is half-sitting on her bed, and only one of her hindlegs is covered by the sheets.

But at least she is asleep.

You can tell at a glance what has happened, from how the books are lying haphazardly around her. She probably tried to sleep, as she promised you, with the key word being "tried". And judging by how her bed is untidy she probably did a lot of tossing around while she fought her insomnia. But then she gave up, you imagine, picking up a book to read under the glow of her horn, and then picking up the next once she was done with that one.

And there are... a lot of books laying around her, on her bed.

But again, thank goodness that at least she eventually fell asleep. You were honestly worried that, perhaps, you would find the young mare wide awake, and much worse for wear.


However…


Your relief immediately gives way to another feeling as you take a better look at her. You close your eyes to see better through the faint darkness of the room, and you immediately purse your lips at what you are seeing.

"Well, she may be asleep and all. But this right here... this simply won't do!" you whisper to yourself, silently walking towards the young mare as your face slowly turns into a scowl.

And that is because…

Why, she is never going to wake up well rested with her posture like this!



[Tucking her in, cd irrelevant]

[Roll: Auto-success]



You immediately get to work.

A soft, almost lightless flick of magic comes from your horn, and several things happen at once.

The curtains of the window gently unwrap themselves further. They were already closed, of course, but they were not closed properly. With a wave of your horn, however, they finally extend themselves so as to block the stray rays of orange gloom that were still sneaking in, covering the room in complete darkness.

The books that are strewn around Twilight, also, begin to float away, piling up in a neat stack on the floor and clearing much-needed room at the bed itself.

With those little details out of the way, you sit down by her bed and focus your attention on the mare herself.

This, you know, will take a little more doing.

You know you have a light hoof, and you are confident of your skills. You know, for example, that you could take Silky out of her bed and carry her on your back around the whole mansion without waking her up.

But that's the thing, you know the filly called Silky Stream. You have years of experience to add to your skills, when dealing with her in particular.

And it is important to note that you do not have said experience when it comes to the mare filly called Twilight Sparkle.

So, this will take a lighter touch than usual, and a bit more care at that.

Sitting on the ground by the bed, you gently raise the hoofs of your forelegs, slowly bringing them together until they are touching.

And then you... gently rub them against each other, hearing the almost mute sound of metal scraping on metal as you grind your horseshoes against each other.


That noise, you know, will be your undoing.


But the problem is not the noise itself, of course, the problem is that your horseshoes are capable of making noises in the first place. You know you can be silent, but the problem is much simpler and deeper than that.

You know you can be silent, but as you have just demonstrated... your horseshoes cannot.

The simple fact that your horseshoes can scrape against each other means that they are…

That they are…

Improper.

You can't properly tuck in a filly if you are touching her with physical horseshoes. You might as well burn your mother-of-the-year certificate if you are going to do something like that!

No, this needs…

A gentler touch…

You keep rubbing your horseshoes against each other, and then you begin to whisper to them.



"…"



You whisper to your horseshoes the noiseless-words... the wind-words. The un-words that eyes see when they look into the shadows and the non-words that crosses the mind of a pony who is lost.

You whisper those words, until you can no longer feel the substance of your horseshoes, and until they no longer scrape against each other.

You whisper those words until they are no longer horseshoes.

...



Now you can tuck in the filly called Twilight Sparkle.



The process is quick, but you are no less careful because of it. A gentle hoof to the back, to make her lie down sideways. A soft touch near the neck, so her head comes to rest exactly at the waiting pillow. The lightest flicker of magic, taking care to conceal the light of your horn, to bring up the sheets and cover her. You are done in but a few moments, but what was once a poorly sleeping pony (who would probably wake up with her back hurting) is now a properly tucked in and happy filly.

Or at least that is what you think at first. But as you look at Twilight Sparkle you realize that something... something still feels... wrong?

Something doesn't feel right. Yes, she is properly covered up and ready to rest, but…

But some instinct of yours tells you that she is not yet tucked in.

You scan her from horn to tail, trying to figure out exactly what is wrong, trying to understand why exactly you still don't feel that... that sensation of comfort that she is supposed to have and...

And then you see it. Right there. A slight movement from her forelegs, and unconscious searching grasp, barely missed with how you have already covered her.

Of course, how could you have been so blind? You would have clicked your tongue in annoyance at your ineptness, if you didn't know that much noise might wake Twilight up.

Taking care not to make a sound, you reach for one of the books on the pile next to her bed, grabbing it with a hoof. Once you have it in your grasp, you slowly use a foreleg to gently lift the covers.

And then you slowly... slide the book into Twilight's waiting forelegs, watching a smile appear on her face as she unconsciously hugs the book.

You nod to yourself in approval as her body language finally sags into restful sleep, and you silently stalk out of her room as if you had never been there.



This, you know, was a completely valid and mature use of your skills, you think to yourself as you close the door to her guest room behind yourself.



A quick mental calculation tells you that she should only wake up around noon, which means you have the entire morning free to do as you will.

With that in mind you head out into the castle, thinking to yourself what exactly you are going to do with your time.

First of all, you decide, you are going to find Ponpon, and the two of you are going to have a pleasant breakfast.





You are doing your best to make sure Twilight is alright.

You may or may not have ruffled her mane affectionately. But if you did that, you were able to check with your Lantern-touch that she is not a changeling.

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Many ponies have died, in the search for the Princess of the Moon. Go to the place where their sacrifice shall be celebrated.

[X] Yes, the alicorns have returned and all that. But more importantly, you have free time inside the Royal Castle. And the Royal guard's numbers have… regrettably dwindled. That means you are inside the most ancient building known to Ponykind, with little to no oversight being directed at you. Go to the older and deeper reaches of the castle, and try to find something interesting.

[X] The Woods grow around the walls of th… wait… Gardens, right. The Gardens grow around the walls of the castle, and they are huge. The Royal Gardens are also a place you have not visited yet, seeing how tense and work-related your last visit was. Go explore it.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Many ponies have died, in the search for the Princess of the Moon. Go to the place where their sacrifice shall be celebrated.

[X] Yes, the alicorns have returned and all that. But more importantly, you have free time inside the Royal Castle. And the Royal guard's numbers have… regrettably dwindled. That means you are inside the most ancient building known to Ponykind, with little to no oversight being directed at you. Go to the older and deeper reaches of the castle, and try to find something interesting.

[X] The Woods grow around the walls of th… wait… Gardens, right. The Gardens grow around the walls of the castle, and they are huge. The Royal Gardens are also a place you have not visited yet, seeing how tense and work-related your last visit was. Go explore it.

- - -



"Will you be needing anything else, ma'am?"

"Not at all, Ponpon. Thank you."

With that, Ponpon gives you a short bow and excuses herself, making her way towards the entrance of the large hall shortly after. She is heading back to your family's mansion to follow up on her search for your uncle's current whereabouts, but she told you she should be back by noon.

You are really thankful for her, you think as you watch her leave. Having somepony you can trust to act on your behalf, so you won't have to step a hoof on your family's home, really is a blessing.

Although with that out of the way you realize… that you don't have anything else to do now.

Well, you actually have something to do. The problem is that said thing is "waiting". Or that's the official story, at least. After all, much like several other thousand ponies you came to Canterlot to see with your own eyes how the Two Sisters are doing. And just like everypony else in Canterlot (or, if news have spread quickly enough, perhaps in all of Equestria) you are now nervously waiting for Princess Celestia to recuperate herself from the most recent occurrence.

However, there is a stark difference between you and everypony else that makes your current "waiting" far more tense than anypony else's. The difference being that you know of a tiny little detail, that nopony else knows, about Princess Celestia's current predicament.

Namely that she… well… you are waiting like everypony else because you don't know what will happen next. But you have the dubious privilege of knowing for a fact that, whatever happens next, it will not be good.

Not for ponykind at least.

Which makes things... rather stressful for you, you must admit. And for all that you have been doing your best to make sure Twilight is doing alright, your own mind hasn't been exactly a peaceful place to be in ever since you heard the news of Princess Celestia's fainting.

You spent a lot of time wondering what you should do about this whole situation, while you were trying to sleep yesterday. After all, you have to admit that you are currently in a very privileged position. "Princess Luna" has returned but a few days ago, and although you have no idea if Princess Celestia's fainting was caused by her or not, you are probably the only pony in Canterlot who is both inside the Royal Castle, and who knows that Princess Celestia is in actual danger.

But then, you also wondered if you should do anything about it. After all…

Well, the changelings already had agents in Ponyville for quite a while, with some of them having even infiltrated the cult. Which means, and you admit you felt something tighten in your chest when you thought about it, that they might know about you and your family. Furthermore, this also means that this latest "move" involving the reappearance of Princess Luna, could have been planned for quite a while now.

Then there is also the fact that the Master was very specific when she said that she does not want anypony outside the cult to learn about the changelings. With obvious implications that disobedience will be punished.

And also, even if you decided to do something about it… well, the only ponies you could think about that might be able to help you in any relevant way were Shining Armor and Princess Cadance. However, even if you were able to talk to them in such short notice, and in private, there would still be the matter of convincing them that you were telling the truth. And the only reasonable argument you were able to come up with was to tell them about Selene. And that...

Well, that is something that you are not ready to do yet. Or rather, that Selene is not yet ready to do.

So, despite being in the "right place", and maybe at the "right time", you... you concluded that you didn't quite like your chances of being the "right pony".

In the end, your options were too dubious or risky. And quite frankly, the only thing you could think to do apart from "nothing" or "asking for help" was to take matters into your own hoofs. Namely, trying to do something to ruin the disguise of "Princess Luna" by yourself.

But of course, you immediately concluded that sort of plan was…

No. You immediately concluded that sort of thinking is a bad idea. Or at the very least a risk.

The whole thing... this whole problem, it all boils down to the fact that you simply...



Heavens… you feel like this is not the first time, nor will it be the last, that you are banging your head against this particular wall.



You concluded that the problem, as always, is that you simply don't know enough. The Master has been playing this game with the changelings for at least a few months now, while you and the rest of the cult have only been introduced to it now. So, who knows what else she might have prepared and not told you about? After all, for all that you might think the Master favors you, she clearly has no problems in keeping secrets.

In fact, has she not praised you recently because you have been keeping secrets of your own? Seeing her do that, you can't help but think that taking any harsh actions this soon, while you are still effectively blind, will result in you walking into a trap. You might not, of course. It could happen that you take a risk and everything turns out fine.

But that's the thing, if something like that happened it would be because of luck. Sheer. Dumb. Luck.

You let out a sigh, as you recall the same thing that you thought about yesterday, while you rolled on your own bed trying to sleep. You sigh as you think about something that has... been bothering you for a while now, truth be told.

And that thing is that... As much as it might grate at you, you have to admit that you are still not an actor in this grand stage.

Your Master is an actor. She is an ancient creature you do not yet understand, who knows much about things long forgotten, and who has a small but growing cult at her back.

Princess Celestia, of course, is an actor. She might be in danger right now, perhaps even mortal danger, but she is still one of the lynchpins in this whole situation. She is an alicorn, for heavens sake, who has ruled Equestria for the past thousand years and who your Master is actively wary of in all of her actions.

The damned changelings are actors. And even though you have only just discovered about them, you realize they have enough resources to pull off… whatever they just pulled of, with this whole "Princess Luna" reappearing.

You, on the other hoof…

...



You are not an actor.



You very much wish to add a "not yet" to that. But truth be told you are barely grasping at straws as things stand.

Sure, you have promised yourself months ago that you would not be just a pawn under your Master's hoof, after what you saw during the ritual inside Princess Luna's memories. You have also discussed this whole predicament with Jade, and both of you agreed that staying in the cult is currently the best course of action.

But still, you don't know yet exactly… how to leave said predicament. How can you possibly stop being just another mare in the crowd, and become somepony who… who at least wouldn't be swept away at a whim of your Master? Or who could actually do something against monstrous creatures like the changelings, or other dangers like that?

How can you possibly hope to compete and… and do what you want to do? Do what you have to do?

What in the heavens can you possible do to turn into somepony who can…?


Who can take care of everypony around you?


You let out another sigh, feeling the calmness of Winter gently tempt you. Feeling the promised stillness of the lake inside your head call for you, as your worries begin to pile on your back. But you push that option away, inviting as it may be.

This is something you have to worry about, as painful as it might be.

Because this is the whole crux of the matter, isn't it? At the end of the day you just want to… to make sure everypony you care for is alright.

Heavens, even Selene… You didn't take her in because she is Princess Luna. You aren't raising her in some… mad bid for power and influence, or whatever else. You are doing this because it's the right thing to do. And for all that somepony might say otherwise, if they knew about her, you… Deep down, you actually see her as your own daughter… you actually love her, and care for her.

It might be that Selene will turn back into an alicorn, in the future. It might be that she turns back into Princess Luna, and becomes a powerful "actor" like your Master or Princess Celestia.

But if you are really, really being honest with yourself... you know that you are taking care of Selene because she is your daughter. And you know that... well, that even if she turns back into Princess Luna... if she somehow continues being Selene, then you will still do your damned best to keep taking care of her.

However, the fact remains that you are not that pony yet. You are not yet a pony who can stand against problems that are this large. You are not yet a pony who has a say in what is going on.

You are not yet a pony... who can take care of the ones you really care for.

You are not that pony yet. You are not even close to becoming that pony. You still know too little about everything, and you still feel like you are being thrown around by the wind every time something happens.

And that is why you have to...



That is why you have to…!



…



You take a deep breath.

…

And then… you take another deep breath.

You realize that you may have been getting too worried about this.

Of course, not thinking about it won't make this problem magically go away. But worrying about it also won't be of any help.

So you will do things like you have been doing this whole time... you will take things one at a time. And right now you are here to figure out exactly what is going on with Princess Celestia, so that is what you will focus on doing.

"And on this exact moment," you say out loud, repeating to yourself what you have told Twilight multiple times already, "there is nothing you can do but wait."

And unless you are willing to try and sneak into the Princesses' inner sanctum (which you are definitely not willing to) then you really should just busy yourself with something to pass the time.

With that in mind, you make your way out of the hall and towards the courtyards of the castle.

Surely, there must be something in here that will take your mind off things, right?



- - -



Your last stay here in the Royal Castle was, at the very least, extremely business oriented.

From what you remember, you basically holed yourself in the hall that was being used by the search effort, and only after several sleepless nights did you agree to grudgingly allow Ponpon to take you to and from the room that had been assigned to you.

Well, you are probably misremembering a few details of how it went. But the visual image you have of your stay here is basically from the corridors that took you to and from the living quarters. That, and endless piles of papers and scrolls brought to you by the Royal Guards.

Which means that although you were a guest of the Royal Castle for maybe two weeks, you haven't really explored much of it.

But given the current circumstances, and how the alternative is to nervously pace back and forth inside your room like Twilight, you can't help but think that now might be a good time to rectify that. Even if it's just for the sake of not letting yourself grow more nervous about what is going on.

Because you are most certainly not nervous, and you absolutely don't need to retreat to your Winter safe space pool-of-calm that you have inside your head.



You. Absolutely. Don't.



With that in mind you allow your hoofs to idly take you through the large halls and wide corridors that make up the Royal Castle. And this time, since you are not floating a last-moment missive about supply shipments in front of your head, you actually manage to appreciate the scenery around you.

The Royal Castle is gorgeous. Saying that it is well kept and clean is an understatement, but good maintenance is really just the cherry on top of the cake. The more you look around, the more you can tell of how much love and dedication was put into the construction of the place. Every wall is decorated, many of the higher windows are lined with mosaics, and even the baseboards are chiseled or embroidered with flowing golden lines as if they were works of art.

Everywhere you look is beautiful. And it also takes you a few moments to realize it, but the castle is also very large.

No, not in the sense that the place is huge. That much is obvious. The Royal Castle is so large that the other buildings of the Royal Districts might as well be considered annexes of the castle itself. But you don't mean that the castle is large like that.

It might be silly of you to only notice it now, but what you mean to say is that the Royal Castle is… spacious. Every door, every corridor, even the windows, now that you take a better look, seem to have been built with a giant's frame in mind.

And that is rather obvious in hindsight. After all, the Royal Castle is Princess Celestia's residence, and although you have only seen her up close once it is no secret that she is quite large.

Still, realizing this little detail about the castle is rather… humbling. You are not sure why but it… it somehow drives home the point that the Royal Castle is Princess Celestia's home. That it is the place where she lives, and where her ponies serve.

As if… you are not really sure why you are even thinking about this. But it is as if... as if everywhere else Princess Celestia goes she is a colossus, an awe-striking demigoddess who makes her presence felt due to her sheer bearing and size.

But here in the Royal Castle, on the other hoof, she is not large. No, here in the Royal Castle she is perfectly normal for everything around her, and it is everypony else who is small when compared to her.

You idly wonder if this helps her feel like she is at home. If this helps her feel more at ease, and not like a giant among her tiny subjects.

You hope it does.

Your thoughts are somewhere along those lines, when you realize your hoofs are no longer walking on the marble floor of the castle.



"Oh?" you say out loud, snapping out of your thoughts. Your eyes quickly looking around you as you try to understand exactly where your stroll has taken you.



Looking back you can see the taller towers of the Royal Castle from where you are, and that in turn makes you realize that you are currently out of the castle. You also see that you are walking on grass, and looking around you can see that you have walked into a garden.

"As a matter of fact," you mutter to yourself as you take in the scenery around you, your eyes slowly growing wider as you come to a realization "this place... it has to be the Royal Garden."

The Royal Castle has several small gardens, dotting open courtyards and some of the balconies that line up the larger halls. But this place… well, there really is no way you could compare those small patios with this.

A great multicolored view stands before you, with flowers of every shape and trees of every size arrayed in neat patterns in almost every direction. There is however absolutely nothing chaotic about the scenery. Every last tree seems to have been trimmed or otherwise cared for, and even the wildly-colored flowers, their petals in full bloom, have all been placed in aesthetically pleasant places.

The more you look, the more your eyes grow wider, and you think your mouth might be hanging open at what you are seeing.

This place… this garden, you can see at a glance that it is at the same time vibrant and peaceful. Both invigorating and soothing. A place that is lovingly kept by ponies who have been born to tend for plants and flora, and who have been tasked with creating such a place for nopony less than Princess Celestia.

And a part of you realizes that you can feel all of this without even having stepped a hoof into it yet.

You almost feel like the garden is inviting you. Asking you to walk into it and let your troubles slip away from you as you bask in its embrace. You see a pathway lined with yellow-leafed trees to your right, that you know will take you towards a groove filled with singing birds. You spy a few stone-cut steps to your left, that go over a small river of purple flowers, and you know that if you follow it you will find a sitting bench in a spot where the breeze is always gentle.

You can hear the sound of a running water, somewhere in the distance.

This, you know, is the Royal Garden, and you immediately feel its calming presence making its way into you.

And without knowing how, you realize that even worrying about which direction you should choose would already put you at odds with the spirit of this place. So, you simply let your hoofs guide you, as you wander into its lovingly kept paths.



…



You are not sure how much time has passed, and the eclipse really doesn't help when it comes to timekeeping. The perpetual orange gloom also, you privately think, somewhat mars the beauty of the Royal Garden.

This is definitely a place you should visit after this whole ordeal is over, you make a mental note.

Still, as much as these gardens are breathtaking, and as much as you might be able to tell how much love and dedication is put into maintaining and caring for it…


You can't help but feel that there is... something more about it.


Call it an inkling, or perhaps an intuition. But as you walk through the petal covered grass, and as you pass by the bushes trimmed to be shaped like ponies, you can't help but shake the feeling that...

The feeling that...

The maddening feeling that there is something nearby.

But the thing is... no matter how hard you try you can't put your hoof on what this sensation is, exactly. Sometimes you feel like you catch a whiff of something, but you immediately lose it in the perfumed sense of the flowers around you. Other times you think you catch a glimpse of something on the edge of your vision, but then you turn around and see that it was just a shadow or a bird or some other perfectly normal thing.

Still.

Slowly.

Achingly slowly.

The serene and calm mantle that this place has put over you begins to feel… cumbersome. Like it is some sort of veil that is stopping you from seeing something else, something that you want to see but can't.

And slowly, your calm and content stroll turns into a nervous walk, which then turns into a distressed trot. Eyes that were once appreciating the beauty of nature now looking around in search for something that... that isn't there.

You have no idea how you know this. You have no idea why you know this. But the more time you spend here, the more you realize that there is something very, very wrong with the Royal Garden.

Eventually, you give up on your peaceful stroll, and begin to search in earnest for the source of this wrongness.

...

But no matter how long you look for it, you simply can't find it. You make your way around the Royal Garden twice, but for all your efforts you simply can't find anything that seems to be out of place. Heavens, you can't even figure out what exactly is the nature of this discomfort you are feeling. This feels maddeningly close to how it was like when you discovered a new sense, due to the Lores, but it feels... deeper.

Still, you practically turned the Royal Garden upside down in your search.

You made your way back to the entrance, then through the tree-lined walkway, then through the sculpture garden, then through what came after that. You even dared to take a few hoofsteps into the hedge maze, but soon realized that you could actually get lost in there, at least for an hour or so.

"But still…" you mumble under your breath, looking around at the now familiar sight of the lavish vegetation, "I searched this whole place over and I can't find out what is…"

Your words trail off as you think them over….

But then.

"Ah..."



Then it clicks.



"There… there is nothing wrong with the Royal Gardens…" you say to yourself, slowly, building up your thought process as you speak.

It makes no sense, you know. Not logically.

But then again, you realize that this inkling you have, this maddening sensation of wrongness, was not caused by something logical to begin with.

You look around, this time searching for… for what you know will be there.

Or rather… as you look around for what you realize was there.

"There is nothing wrong here," you repeat to yourself when you find what you are looking for, heading on its direction without a second thought.

Your hoofs, guided by your odd sensation, take you once again to the sculpture garden. Here you see in display several statues of ponies long gone, relevant nobles and figures from the past that were deemed worthy of being remembered.

And as you look around you notice… exactly what you thought you would notice.

There is… really no way you could describe it.

Because there are no words that can describe something that no longer exists.

"There is nothing wrong here, because it... it no longer is here," you whisper to yourself as this... visceral, wrong and nonexistent feeling grows stronger and stronger.

There are no words to describe what you are feeling.

But "was", perhaps, is the closest approximation that pony language is capable of.

Because...

Because this place was relevant, in the past.
Because this sculpture garden was special, not long ago.
Because it... it was here, and the weight of its presence for the centuries that it remained here carried out its inevitable effect.

You feel like… like you have walked into a wall, a wall that you somehow know was a door.

You feel like this place… this particular corner of the sculpture garden… like it was…

Like it was…

You step into a certain spot of grass, and your mind immediately twists and turns, a sudden bout of nausea and vertigo almost threatening to make you fall over.

The sensation is gone on the next moment, almost as if it had never existed. But you don't dare move your hoof, looking down at the patch of grass where you just stepped on.


"What… what in the heavens happened here?!" you say to yourself, your breath somewhat ragged from the echo of nausea that came over you.


However... you already know the answer for that. You have no idea why, but you do.

The answer was written on the pages of your cutie mark when you were Branded, even if you do not remember it.

You already know the answer. And when you look around you, noticing the odd placement of the other sculptures nearby, you further confirm your certainty.

This place, this patch of grass where you are stepping on right now, in strangely empty. This entire section of the Royal Gardens is dedicated to the display of sculptures, and everywhere you look you can see that they are lined up in symmetrical rows.

This spot, however, is empty.

And that is because…



It was here.



There is nothing here.



But there was.



There was a statue here, until very recently. A heavy statue. An important statue. A statue that you would not find anywhere else in Equestria and...

No…

More than that. This sensation you have… this sensation of was, means much more than that.

The statue that was here… it wasn't merely unique in all of Equestria.

It was unique… in all of the Histories.

And it had been in this garden, on this unassuming patch of grass, for centuries, before being taken somewhere else a few months ago. But its weight, and all the time it spent here, took its toll on this place.

This… this sculpture garden… it was a point of convergence. This corner of the garden where you are standing at... it was...


It was a place where the Histories used to meet.


But it no longer is, and all that is left is this maddening sensation of waking up from a dream or finding out that an open door is now just a mirror.

All that is left… is this maddening sensation…

Of was.

Of a past that no longer is. Of something that you barely just missed.

Of a secret, hidden in the Histories.





You have discovered a place where the Histories used to meet, but… not anymore. You have no idea what to make of it.

You have found out that in the sculpture garden within the Royal Gardens there used to be a… something that was unique in all of the Histories. Or perhaps, more frighteningly, something that existed at the same time in all of the Histories. Perhaps that is why it drew all the Histories into itself, and that spot, like a large planet might attract the moons into its orbit.

More to follow.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Many ponies have died, in the search for the Princess of the Moon. Go to the place where their sacrifice shall be celebrated.

[X] Yes, the alicorns have returned and all that. But more importantly, you have free time inside the Royal Castle. And the Royal guard's numbers have… regrettably dwindled. That means you are inside the most ancient building known to Ponykind, with little to no oversight being directed at you. Go to the older and deeper reaches of the castle, and try to find something interesting.

[X] The Woods grow around the walls of th… wait… Gardens, right. The Gardens grow around the walls of the castle, and they are huge. The Royal Gardens are also a place you have not visited yet, seeing how tense and work-related your last visit was. Go explore it.

- - -

You are Cadance, and that is all that matters.

That... is what you have been telling yourself, whenever you feel like things are becoming too much.

To some, you are a Princess. Not even "Princess Cadance", mind you, but A Princess. As in "nothing less than a mighty" Princess. An infallible icon meant to rule over ponykind. A shining beacon of stability and purpose. A figure who will always be seated on a throne, crowned by horn, wearing wings upon your back as if they were a cape, and bearing a sturdy body that is immune to sickness and weariness both.

An alicorn. A creature who will never be wrong, and who will always know what to do.

A figure that all your years learning under auntie Celestia… has made you understand that doesn't really exist.

To others, however, you are Mi Amore Cadenza. The brash and inexperienced ruler who has been trying, and failing, to fill Princess Celestia's all-too-big horseshoes during her absence. And the fact that you have been doing a poor job is not just your opinion, of course. After all, it has not escaped your attention that there were no "factions" within the nobility prior to your stepping in, but that as the months passed the higher crust of Canterlot has very clearly polarized between those who support the Crown and… Well, it suffices to say that holding court these past few months has been a very taxing experience.

It doesn't help, of course, that you have been doing nothing else almost every day for months now. Added to the fact that you didn't just have to simply keep the nobles in check, or merely stop them from jostling at each other like it usually happens during peaceful times. No, you also had to try to get them to cooperate so as to help on the searches for auntie Luna.

You have been doing that until very recently, and it can be said that you are still dealing with several different windfalls caused by said period of turmoil. After all, auntie Luna had still been missing until less than a week ago, with no indications that she would be found anytime soon.

And also, and also…

You let out a long sigh.

You are Cadance. Other ponies might think you are other things, and those other things might or might not be accurate or true.

But to your Shining Armor, you are Cadance. And that is all that matters.



However…



Even thinking that there might be a "however" already makes you feel something deep and painful inside of you. There aren't supposed to be any "howevers". Not with him.

You love him… more than that. You Love him, and you Chose him. And you can tell when you look into his eyes, as surely as you know that auntie Celestia feels reinvigorated whenever she raises the Sun, that he loves you back almost as much as it is possible.



However…



Lately you have started to wonder about… certain things. A doubt of sorts has appeared, somewhere inside of you, like a thorn within your chest that grows slightly more painful with each passing day, and that you feel pricking against your heart with every heartbeat.

It's an ugly doubt, a weighty and sharp thing that you very much wish you could pull out from within yourself. Something that feels at the same time like a stain and like a slowly growing sickness. The sort of thing that you have not felt ever since you became an alicorn.

But still, for all its ugliness, and for all that you might hate it… it is still there. It's still there, and it's still growing. Which must surely mean that…

That there is reason for this doubt. That the source of this turmoil is rooted deep within you. It is rooted deep within you, and perhaps it might even be a part of you.

Even if it's something you don't know how to face.

Even if it's something you don't want to face.

Even if it's all of that at the same time… this creeping doubt is still something that has been tormenting you for quite a while now. And for all that you are worried that Shining might realize something is tormenting you, this is exactly the kind of problem that you feel that you shouldn't talk to him about.

Because…



Well, because the problem is… yourself.



Are you really just Cadance?

And for all that it might weight down on you, you can't talk about this to Shining… you can't talk about this to anypony. Because everypony believes that you are…

That you are a Princess.

That you are Mi Amore Cadenza.

That you are Cadance.



But who in Equestria are any of those ponies?



Who in Equestria are YOU?!



You remember a… a night that was particularly bad, a few months back. Not long after you took to the throne, and auntie Celestia's ever-confident presence was suddenly replaced by distant and haggardly written letters, secretly sent to you through teleportation.

Meeting with Shining in secret became a lot easier, with how everypony was in uproar. Although your days became ten times more stressful in exchange for that small blessing.

But still, you remember a night when you two were together, and you felt like everything was falling apart. And you really, really needed him to be there for you.

And of course, you thank all of Equestria, he was there for you. He acted like the cornerstone you needed then, and he helped you muster a strength you didn't know you had.

However, the things he said about you… the Cadance he described you back there… are you really that Cadance? Are you really the kind, good-natured pony he believes you to be? One who is doing the best she can given her circumstances? He knows your faults, and he knows you are not perfect. But still, are you as strong and… and as good as he thinks you are?



You know you want to be.

But are you?



You let out another sigh.

"Well, I sure don't feel like I am everything he says… when I'm here," you say to yourself, your voice low but still louder than a whisper.

You purse your lips, grimacing for a few moments as you stand up from sitting on your hinds. Sitting on a throne the whole day surely isn't helping, but the pain you are feeling right now makes you realize that perhaps you have been sitting here for quite a while as well.

Although you still don't feel like leaving yet…

You are currently alone, inside a covered and out of the way balcony. A place that is the closest thing you can get to privacy without placing yourself behind a closed door. The place is almost completely empty, and that is likely to remain unchanged due to the fact that the view from here is, quite frankly, lackluster. At least when compared to other balconies or more luxurious towers spread around the castle.

Well, the place is almost completely empty. There is one, rather large, object in particular on the very center of this place.

And of course, you are here right now because this… is the object that has made all these doubts and all these thorny weights appear inside of you in the first place.

For the umpteenth time, your eyes once again fall upon the tall memorial that is in front of you.

The memorial itself is shaped like a pillar, of sorts. It stands just a little taller than a regular stallion, and you are honestly thankful for that…

Because…

Well, the memorial itself is a pillar, but it is very clearly comprised of four "sections", carefully placed one on top of the other. Each section of the pillar represents one of the search parties, with the full names and cutie marks of all the royal guards who perished during the searches carefully and precisely engraved on each of them.

You commissioned the memorial by Royal Decree after the very first search party returned, having taken its dreadful toll. And of course, nopony missed the fact that… that the memorial had already been commissioned far, far before Princess Luna had ever returned… as well as the fact that it would be possible to stack more and more sections and search parties on top of each other indefinitely.

By Equestria, you dreaded that you might have been able to make a small shrine, with several pillars as tall as auntie Celestia, with how grim and hopelessly the searches had been going…

You thought that, eventually, you would run out of names to put on there, and…

You shake your head, banishing the thought before it could even fully form inside your head. Auntie Luna was found, and that is what matters. Everything can finally go back to the way it was, and very soon nopony will need you to sit on that cold throne anymore.

Yes, that's exactly right, you try to think to yourself.

Nopony will need you to have all the answers anymore.

Nopony will need to die anymore.

And nopony will need to know that… that you have been coming here in secret almost every day, after you dismiss the last of the petitioning nobles and...

And nopony…

Nopony will need to know just how much… how unconfident you have been about this

And… and how lost and…



"Excuse me?"



A voice comes from right behind you, snapping you out of your thoughts and causing several other things to happen inside your head at the same time.

You are honestly surprised, for starters. Nopony is supposed to know you are here, not even Shining. You haven't told anypony about your visits to this place and… by Equestria, even the number of nobles who know about the memorial isn't that large. But still, the only two ponies who know you are here are your two most trusted guards.

The two of them who are also dutifully guarding both ends of the only corridor that leads to this balcony. With strict orders not to let anypony pass.

But more importantly, you realize a few good seconds later that you are still frozen on the spot you are standing. Your body not being able to move, because…

Because you are also… to be honest, you are also a little bit…

You are also angry.

Is it that hard for you to be allowed some time for yourself?

Can't you even have a few moments to think anymore?!

Every. Single. Damned. Day. You have to listen to the squabbling and bickering of the wealthy and self-righteous elite of Equestria, and now they are going to hound you even after you leave the court?!



"I… I am really sorry, my Princess, it's just that-"



The voice coming from behind you, you think it's a mare, continues to speak. Stammering as she tries to justify her disturbing you, with whatever petty reason she must have to be hounding you.

But you are much, much faster than her. And angrier too, obviously.

"It's just that what?" you say, turning around and snapping at her before she can even finish her sentence. "That whatever you have to say is too important to wait for tomorrow's audience? That we should expand the number of public servants who should be recalled during a royally-decreed holiday just so your family will be less inconvenienced?!"

The words come out of your mouth with a volume, and an intensity, that surprises even you.

But you don't stop. As a matter of fact, you don't want to stop.

"Or that you think that I should stay at your beck and call just because your family feels entitled to-"

Until you finally take a better look at the mare standing before you, your words getting stuck inside your throat as you finally recognize her.

You… you know her.

You know her. Her face and the color of her coat and… a name quickly comes back to your mind, followed by everything else.

Yes, you remember her, from all those months ago. You remember that she… she actually helped you. You recall how you heard that some mare from a small noble house was getting things done when it came to the searches, and how the talking eventually grew so much that you decided to check who that mare was yourself. You also remember how surprised you were by how agreeable she turned out to be, when you finally managed to talk to her. Especially considering how most ponies described her as an iron-hoofed taskmaster who…

By Equestria, you remember that you honestly… you honestly enjoyed talking to her. You remember how she made you feel, even if only during that one conversation, that you really were… that you were just yourself while you talked to her. You weren't an awe-striking alicorn, you weren't some nopony who accidentally landed on the throne during a crisis. No, you were a… a living, breathing mare, who had feelings, and… and didn't have to carry the weight of the world on her shoulders and…

And you feel…

You feel horrible all of a sudden, about the fact that you lashed out on her just now.

Most of all, however, you feel terrible because… because of the frightened expression she has on her face. You remember her eyes being nothing but kind, and maybe even a little mischievous, as she… as the two of you gossiped late into the night. With nothing on your minds but relief at the small reprieve you had been able to afford each other, even though you two had just met back then. But now her eyes are…

Of course her eyes are look scared. How could she not be frightened? You take a look at yourself, your own face growing shocked with realization as you notice how you must look like to her. Wings wide open, hoof raised as if you are about to stomp on the ground. You even disperse a mote of energy that was gathering at the base of your horn, and you dearly hope that it didn't actually glow during your short burst of anger.

"I-I'm terribly sorry, my Princess. I'll leave right away and-"

"Wait!" you stop the mare as she begins to walk backwards in a clearly retreating manner, "wait I… I apologize. I thought you were…" you trail off, not entirely sure of how to continue.

But the mare seems to hear something in your tone, and she hesitantly stops her retreat, eyeing you as if unsure of what to do next.

The only problem, though, is that you don't know what to do either. And even that, small as it may be, grates at you. And that grating, as always, reminds you that…

That you are supposed to know what to do.

That you are expected to know what to do.

After all, aren't you the Princess of L-?

"Well, whatever you thought, it really was rude of me to just interrupt you, my Princess," she says, haltingly, looking at you as if afraid you might lash out again. To the point where you wonder for how long, exactly, you have been quiet.

Although, unsure as she might be, she still offers you a smile as she says that. Or as close as she can manage to a smile, given the spot you put her in.

And faced with that smile you…

You…



You…!



Is she smiling because she is uncomfortable? Is she smiling because she is scared of you? Is it because she feels like she is obligated to be courteous to you just because you are a Princess?

Does she think you are the unreliable Mi Amore Cadenza, who managed to upheaval the harmony that Celestia had been able to maintain in the noble court for centuries?

Does she think you are a "kind, caring, natural leader" who will somehow, impossibly, manage to work everything out in the end?

Did you… did you just unfairly lash out at the only pony who doesn't… who doesn't have any scary, ridiculous expectations of you?!



You feel that thorn of doubt, rhythmically pricking against your heart. You feel it painfully stabbing against you every time your heart beats, and thanks to that you realize your heartrate has suddenly become very, very fast.



And how could it not? After all, you might just have messed this up as well. You might not know what you are supposed to do, but you are sure that Cadance would not lash out at a pony… at a genuinely good pony such as this mare, like you just did.

"Please. No, I…" you say, or you try to say, as several ideas clash inside your mind faster than your words can follow.

Until you give up, if only for a few moments, and retreat to one of the oldest tricks auntie Celestia taught you. You take a deep breath, holding it in for a few moments before exhaling, and then you try again from the beginning.

"I'm sorry, Velvet Covers. That was extremely rude of me… And please, just call me Cadance," you say, your voice shaking a little bit.

And you can tell that the mare relaxes, somewhat, at your words. Although only a little bit. In fact, only her body language does so, and you can see that her expression is growing rather… complicated.

Complicated in a way you can't really put a hoof on.

You see, a few moments ago she was clearly surprised and scared. Now she seems to be… analyzing you? Well, not in an invasive way, but you can tell that she is very conflicted about something…

And that she is looking at you very carefully…

But above all else, you can see that glint of honesty slowly coming back to her eyes. So, whatever it is that she is thinking about, you know that she doesn't mean you any ill.

You take another deep breath. Slow and in control, Cadance, like auntie Celestia taught you throughout all these years.

"It's just that I have… a bit on my mind, as of late," you say, although privately you admit you are understating things a bit. Still, you don't want to make her worry about you or anything. "Although I have to ask, how did you get in here? I'm pretty sure I told my guard not to let anypony through," you say, trying to change the subject.

"Well," she says, her smile growing slightly flustered, "I can tell you that they let me pass because they know me… or I can tell you that I snuck in here without them noticing. Whichever story will put the least amount of ponies in trouble, if you don't mind."

And you can't help but chuckle a bit at that.

But still, her eyes continue on you. Worryingly analytical, but not marred with the cold weight of logic you had seen on several other nobles' eyes as they looked at you. No, her eyes remind you a little bit of auntie Celestia's, for some reason

And a few moments later, you see her eyes pass over you and go to the intricately carved pillar that is behind you. To the dozens of carefully engraved names and cutie marks, written over the names of the locations where they fell, and the dates of the search parties' departures.

You can see from her expression that she knows what that is. Maybe because she heard it from somepony in the castle through gossip. Maybe because she recognizes some of the names.

With that, the complicated expression she has on her face only grows deeper, as her eyes once again go back to meeting yours. Her brow furrowing as if she had just decided on something.

"May I sit here with you, Cadance?" she asks. Curiously, her voice sounding both firm and gentle at the same time.

Much to your surprise, you realize you are nodding at her before you can say anything else.



- - -



"The fifth and final part has already been commissioned. It will have a magical crystal on top of it, shaped like the moon, and it's supposed to look like… as if everypony who has their names on the memorial, everypony whose names made it grow a little bit taller, helped to finally reach it," you said, seeing her nod to herself as she looked at the memorial, visualizing what you had just told her.

You thought you would just stay there, sitting next to each other.

You thought you two would just share each other's company, perhaps until the silence grew too long or too heavy to bear.

But there was… there was something about that mare. The way she looked at the memorial and… the way the memorial seemed to look back at her, somehow, that...

You can't really describe how it felt like. Not without sounding insane, at least. But there was something about the whole situation that just made you want to talk.

But not talk in the sense that you wanted to say something, or because the silence was becoming unbearable. Quite on the contrary, you two spoke almost in whispers, as if unwilling to disturb the silence.

However, there was something in the air, around that mare and the memorial, that just made you want to…

To remember.

"I… this might be too late, Cadance, and perhaps I owe these words to far more ponies than yourself but… But I would like to apologize…" the mare said, at some point, as the two of you talked. "The searches made by the Royal Guard… all these names… they were my idea. They are my fault."

And you immediately rebuked her.

"I'm afraid they are not your fault, Velvet. You just gave the idea, but it was an idea anypony could have come up with, eventually… So no, this is not your fault. These names… these deaths, they are all on my hoofs."

She then turned towards you with a complicated expression, but you also knew the thoughts that were going through her mind. So, you shook your head before she could even put them into words.

"I appreciate your kindness, Velvet. I really do. But this is what it means to be in charge… or how the guards like to say, to be in command. I had absolute authority over the Guard, while Princess Celestia was away. I could have forbidden each and every one of the searches, but on the contrary I authorized every single one of them… Even though I knew the risks. Even though everypony knew the risks. The final decision was mine, and I alone took it… And say, had the tables been turned, and you were against the idea of the searches, you wouldn't have been able to do anything if I had still given the order."

By Equestria… you really could have prohibited every last one of those names from forming the search parties. You had that power… you even used that power, but…

But only to prohibit your Shining Armor from leading the search parties himself. As much as that caused the two of you to go into quite a few ugly arguments and…

And…

Is this who you really are? A mare who, when things really come down to it, cares about nopony but herself?

You might be the Alicorn of Love, but… all those names on the memorial. All those fifty-seven names written in front of you, and the fifteen other names that were still being engraved, were also ponies just like your Shining. They also loved. They were also somepony's family.

Can it really be said that Cadance is the Alicorn of Love, if she only cares about her own loved one?

"So please, Velvet. Don't say I'm a selfless pony. Don't say I couldn't have known, or that I didn't have any other options…"

Auntie Celestia certainly did realize she had other options. Maybe that is why, you think, she went to search for her sister with her own two hoofs.

Or at least, nopony would have died if you also had… if you hadn't…

"Don't say… it's not my fault."

…

The two of you stayed like that for a long while, the orange light of the eclipse not letting you know if it had been a few minutes or a few hours. And you and Velvet Covers talked a lot. So much, in fact, that looking back at it you are not really sure if that entire conversation was real or not. Whether if parts of it was just an elaborate dream, induced by stress and exhaustion, or not.

But whether if it was a dream or not, whether if you two really talked or not, you think that perhaps… you needed something like that. It most certainly did not solve all your problems, but… but you can tell that you really took some things to heart.

Maybe you talked to her about your doubts. About how you are not sure if you are the Cadance you see reflected in Shining's eyes, or if you are really an immortal alicorn who is meant to rule, or if you are just some hillbilly pegasus with a complicated name who somehow managed to land where you currently are.

Maybe you told her that… that you think auntie Luna has been acting… rather strange, ever since her return. Although you can't exactly say why you think that might be.

Or maybe you two talked about something completely unrelated.

But whatever you two talked about… you are absolutely sure that…

That you will remember it.

You are absolutely sure that…

That by some cold weight that she had about her, a coldness that you somehow knew was not unkind… by that curious thing she had about her, you will remember the conversation you shared with her.

You will remember it, you are sure, for longer than the memorial before you will last.





[] WRITE IN what you spoke with Velvet Covers about.





It is acceptable to suggest "general intentions" of what you talked about. As in "Cadance has come to believe she can trust Velvet Covers", or "Cadance and Velvet Covers have bonded, and perhaps formed a friendship".

It is acceptable to suggest a "written-in argument". As in an in-character quote Velvet would say, word for word. However, kindly keep it at one or two paragraphs at most, for convenience's sake.

DO NOT expect the winning vote to be word-of-god. A winning vote that the you became friends with Velvet Covers will not mean an ironclad Confidante status. A winning vote that she convinced you to break up with Shining Armor and elope with her will be… respected by the QM, but obviously with a twist. Think of this as a "Cadance will remember this" moment, but don't expect a follow-up update on your vote. It will, however, be important, and will further define what a very important pony thinks about Velvet Covers.

It is not acceptable for Velvet Covers to "come clean" about changelings or the cult, mainly because she is unsure of what would come next. Be it her Master's violent rebuttal, or something else (but you are Cadance, so you don't know about any of that).

It is acceptable, however, for Velvet Covers to "foster your doubts about auntie Luna's strange behavior".

Kindly observe a twelve hours moratorium. This could grow in complexity.

(And for the record, to make things clear, voting will close when the next update is posted. Specifically because this winning vote will not interfere with your next Castle-exploring)

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Many ponies have died, in the search for the Princess of the Moon. Go to the place where their sacrifice shall be celebrated.

[X] Yes, the alicorns have returned and all that. But more importantly, you have free time inside the Royal Castle. And the Royal guard's numbers have… regrettably dwindled. That means you are inside the most ancient building known to Ponykind, with little to no oversight being directed at you. Go to the older and deeper reaches of the castle, and try to find something interesting.

[X] The Woods grow around the walls of th… wait… Gardens, right. The Gardens grow around the walls of the castle, and they are huge. The Royal Gardens are also a place you have not visited yet, seeing how tense and work-related your last visit was. Go explore it.

- - -

[X] You talked a lot about many things, important and not, but it was one thing in particular that gained her your respect and friendship: "In the end, Cadance, we're all doing the best we can with what we have, and limited by what we know. Sometime that doesn't feel like enough, but all we can do is try and do better. Sometimes we regret our choices, even while we think it was really the only choice we could have ever made. And sometimes, it helps to have a friend to talk to, someone that will listen and give some advice without judging you for your weaknesses. they can give you strength when you find yourself with none of your own."

Princess Cadance will remember this.

- - -

That was honestly unexpected.

You truly wish that there was something more you could do for Cadance. But you can tell that her problem is far more complex than your talk, as long as it might have been, could have possibly covered.

To tell the truth, you even identified yourself with her, a little. There is a mare, underneath all of those problems, who is doing her absolute best given the circumstances. A mare who at times thinks that she is way out of her depth, but who truly believes that she has to keep going regardless. As much as it might be confusing, or frightening, or even painful at times.

Heavens, even the words you left her with were words that you have told yourself several times already.

And you could tell from her expression that they struck her.

However, there is also the other part to her situation.

The part that no matter how much you think of her as a simple mare that is trying her best, she is still an alicorn. You would have thought that it would be easy to see past her, that it would be easy to just think of her as a pegasus with horns or a unicorn with wings.

Oh, how wrong you were.

Cadance might be a pony, underneath all of that. Celestia as well, as you have well seen, might have been a pony who was borne like anypony else. But the fact remains that they are still alicorns. They are still Princesses.

And you don't mean that just in the sense that they are powerful, or that they might live a very long time (or perhaps forever) or any of that.

No, as much as you might think of Cadance as a mare, she is still… she is still relevant.

You don't exactly have the words to describe it. It really is more of a gut feeling than anything else. But still, you know that even if you met a terribly powerful unicorn, perhaps some figure of myth and legend, they would still not have that same weight about them that the Princesses have.

There is the fact that you know, that you have seen in Luna's mind, that at least the Two Sisters came from outside of this world.

There is the fact that you know that they, perhaps Cadance included, made a covenant with Harmony, whatever that might mean.

There is the fact that she is called the Princess of Love. And for all that it might be a cute title, and there is little information surrounding it, you can tell that it's not a label that she bears just for show. Much like how Princess Celestia and Luna are the Princesses of the Sun and Moon, and it is all but confirmed that they have a connection to those things.

Heavens, you… even the way you found her, a few hours ago. You didn't just wander around the castle at random and stumbled upon Cadance as she had a very personal moment by sheer chance.

No.

You felt her.

It might have been your awareness of Winter, it might have been because of your Brand, or perhaps a mixture of everything.

But you found Cadance because you could feel her mourning. Because you could feel her sadness. And you followed that feeling like you might have a scent.

Something that you very much doubt would have happened if it was anypony else.

"Still," you mutter to yourself, as you walk past one of her two guards, his back still turned towards you, and trot back towards the castle at large. "I really hope I helped her, even if just a bit."

Because after all, even though they might be special, or perhaps "destined" to do more due to their nature, they still can't carry the world on their backs.

And the hug she gave you, as you two exchanged your goodbyes, still feels warm against your coat.

So, you know that she is still a pony with feelings, who you can very much help. Even if just with the small things.

"Uh… excuse me. Miss? Did you just come from that corridor?!" you hear the confused guard who you just walked by call out for you.

Oh, right. You completely forgot you snuck past him on your way in!



- - -



It is very late. Or perhaps very early, depending on how you look at it.

You started to think that was the case when you realized you had not passed by a castle servant, or another wandering noble, in quite a while. But you confirmed it once you checked on a clock in one of the more public areas.

Your talk with Cadance took a lot longer than you realized. To the point where you even wonder if she will sleep at all. After all, there will be ponies who will be waking up in a few more hours.

It's this damn eclipse, you think idly. You can see the symbolism of it, of course, but you really think that keeping it for an entire week is being too much. Of course, maybe it's because the whole situation has been stressful, but nowadays you can't think of the constant orange light as anything but gloomy.

"Still, this might be a good opportunity to do something I had in mind for a while," you say to yourself, as you look around to see if there is anypony nearby.

And of course, you confirm that you are alone.



Which makes this the ideal moment to check on something.



You had a thought the last time you had been to the castle, all those months ago.

You had a thought that many other ponies like yourself have wondered about. Something that has been well documented in some books, even, in various degrees of accuracy and speculation.

You wondered to yourself just how old Canterlot is. Or rather, how old the Royal Castle itself is.

Pony history is a rather complicated thing. It is well documented, of course, but not exactly in a cohesive manner.

You see, the problem is that until a few centuries ago there wasn't much of a concerned effort to record pony history in a unified and objective manner. Of course, Princess Celestia has been a patron of education and culture for as long as anypony remembers, but the fact remains that only the last eight or nine centuries of pony history is actually documented in a scientific manner.

That is, only the last few centuries have enough books, accounts, and trusted sources about them for everypony to be able to agree that "yes, that is indeed what happened".

The centuries before those, on the other hoof, also have their accounts, books and sources. But many of them have problems like not using the Pony Kingdom's calendar, which makes it hard to pinpoint when they were written, or not being dated at all. Other sources of information from those long-past centuries come from texts written by isolated scholars, or from communities which had not yet been brought into Princess Celestia's fold, which brings another set of complications to the table.

So, to put it simply, the first few decades (or perhaps even centuries) of Princess Celestia's reign are even to this day the subject of debate and confusion. To the point that events that should have been of extreme importance, such as Princess Luna's imprisonment, have been thought to be legends and myths.

To be honest, nopony really knows what other bits and pieces of knowledge is missing from ponykind's collective memories. Nopony can say for sure what the world was like before Princess Celestia's rule, apart from what can be gleamed from unreliable texts and myths.

And although Princess Celestia is a benevolent and wise ruler, she is surprisingly unhelpful when it comes to clearing up those mysteries. Much to the dismay of the more studious ponies.

Of course, the fact that you know that history is full of inconsistencies to begin with makes this whole affair even more convoluted than it normally would be.



Anyhow, back to the matter at hand. The Royal Castle.



It is well accepted that centuries ago, when Princess Celestia became the ruler of ponykind, there were several communities of ponies scattered throughout Equestria. Details of that period are hazy at best, with oral tradition being often the best source of information regarding said communities, but still it is also widely accepted that Canterlot was founded so as to serve as a ruling seat for the Princess' reign.

The fact that Canterlot is very close to the center of the known mainland, also, lends good sense to those assumptions.

Still, there are all sorts of mysteries and blank spots when it comes to said founding. For starters, trains would only be invented much, much later, so it makes little sense for contemporary scholars as to why Princess Celestia would build the Royal Castle on the top high face of a mountain.

You have already heard your fair share of speculations, so you won't dwell on those. Instead, you are much more interested in what you can find with your own two eyes than anything else you might have heard throughout your years at the university.

So, you set out to the deeper reaches of the castle.

After all, it is late in the night, or perhaps early in the morning. And you have nothing to keep you company but the gloomy light of the eclipse.

The fact that the castle is also much emptier than it should be, thanks to the engraved names before which you and Cadance had your long talk, is also something that you decide not to think too much about.



- - -



You look down at the wooden ground beneath your hoofs, double-checking for the third time that you are indeed seeing what you think you are seeing, and not that you have gone insane on the last five minutes.

This is…

Well. Truth be told, this is what you had hoped to find. But having found it, you still have that feeling of disbelief about you.

And now that you think about it, you are not sure you would have found it if you had looked for it in a more mundane manner. Or to be more specific, you are not sure you would have found this if you did not have the Brand you carry upon your flank.

Although you are not sure how you might explain that particular thought of yours.

Still, you are in a rather curious place.

The Royal Castle is old, of course. Perhaps it might even be more accurate to call it ancient. But it is still the very current and in-use residence of Princess Celestia. Which means that your initial plans to "go somewhere on the deeper levels" in order to find a glimpse of something older and half-forgotten didn't exactly go as planned.

Specifically because the Royal Castle does not have any "deeper levels". Not in the way you were imagining there would be, at least.

Everywhere you went, even the underground passageways that lead to the other buildings of the Royal District, looks like they have been cared for or renovated not long ago. You don't know much of architecture, but you think those places have all seen an architect's hoof no more than a century ago.

Which meant that you couldn't even find an old place to investigate in the Royal Castle to begin with.

That is, until you had a flash of inspiration. One that you can't tell if you should attribute to luck, or a stray thought, or an itch you felt on your cutie mark for less than a second.

But still, you decided to stop skulking around the castle as if you were looking for something old.

And you started going about it as if you were looking for something secret.



That is how you got here.



You are currently in a small and empty cellar. One underneath the servant's wing of the castle, and that by the markings on the walls you believe was used to store coal, perhaps for the servant's own uses seeing how far you are from the more important parts of the castle.

Still, you are in a small and empty cellar. The place is pitch dark, it was locked behind a door that you know had not been opened in years, and you had to sneak by three puffy-eyed maids who had clearly just woken up just to get here.

But still, you know that you found what you were looking for.

And that is because…

Because the floor, the old, wooden, coal marked floor on which you are standing, is denying you passage.

You wouldn't have noticed it. It would have been impossible to notice it, without your Knock-sense at least. But somehow, you are absolutely sure that… that there is something down here, underneath the floor.

You simply know, by the itching on your cutie mark and the whispers of the not-floor that there is a lot more underneath this cellar than its simple appearance lets on. A lot more underneath this castle, perhaps, and that you just might have found a door to it.

However, you resist the urge to check on it now. You resist the urge to give the ground that gentlest tap that would open it. You don't have time for this, at least not right now.

You also think that you will need to bring a lot more rope, and perhaps a few more helping hoofs, if you are to take a peek into someplace as old and forgotten as whatever might be underneath this cellar.





You have located an Expedition Site of unknown details: "Beneath the Royal Castle".

More to follow.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Sneaking out of the servant's wing was, much to your surprise, somewhat challenging.

You thought it would be a simple matter. That you would only need to flutter a little bit here and there until you were safely at a place where your presence was socially acceptable. After all, heavens forbid a noble such as yourself from being seen at this time of the morning exiting the servant's wing of the castle.

That would be absolutely scandalous, and the kind of gossip-fuel that no amount of isolation would ever be able to wash off, no matter if you were to be spotted by a servant, a guard, or even a higher noble. After all, regardless of their social standing, everypony in the Royal Castle likes to talk.

However, despite (or perhaps because of) the ample motivation you had not to be noticed, it was still a feat easier said than done. Perhaps it was because those were maids of the Royal Castle, who you assume are more observant than the servants of your own estate. Perhaps it is because you don't quite know as much Moth as you believe that you do.

But regardless, sneaking out of the servant's wing took you a bit longer than you had anticipated.

Still, as soon as you managed to extricate yourself into the more public areas of the castle, you immediately headed towards the place where you and Twilight are staying.

After all, you are still worried about her.



But you can say that you are especially worried because yesterday was rather tense, so to speak.



Of course, you knew for a fact that Twilight yesterday had slept well. You quite literally had a hoof in it, after all. However, whatever good spirits the young mare had upon waking up were slowly, but surely, eroded as the day went by.

Needless to say you tried your best to be a soothing presence. And you can say without any presumptuousness that you understand when you ought to try and say something, and when it is better to just offer silent companionship. After all, you have seen enough stressed out and unhinged ponies to know how to deal with them. Heavens, you have been one such pony, for many years of your life.

But still, despite your best efforts, you knew… actually, you still know, that the only thing that will truly help Twilight Sparkle settle down is for this whole situation regarding Princess Celestia to be solved.

And well, Twilight proved your point a little bit, regarding her mental state that is, when she lashed out at you yesterday.

You could tell that she didn't mean it, of course. You have the maturity to understand what she is going through. But still, that was the moment when you realized you should give her a little more space. So you left for a walk.

Said walk eventually led you to Cadance, then to the cellar under the servant's wing.

And here you are right now, in the morning of the following day. Walking as fast as you can, without actually running, towards where Twilight Sparkle is.

She is probably awake by now, seeing how long you took to stealthily leave the servant's wing. And as much as you know the two of you might have left yesterday on an awkward note, you still very much want to at least check on her. Even if only to see how she is doing after a night's sleep.

If she even slept at all, that is. You can clearly imagine her nervously chewing her books, and then her hoofs, as she tossed around her bed this past night.

And with thoughts like those coursing through your mind, you continue to make your way towards the guests' quarters.



Only to nearly bump into Ponpon, who seems to be in as much of a rush as you are, as the two of you turn around a corner while going in opposite directions.



"There you are ma'am!" she says without skipping a beat, as soon as she realizes it is you, "I've been looking for you all over!"

"Ponpon? Why are you… wait, what is going on?" you ask, your words changing mid-sentence as you take a better look at your maid's face.

Because it doesn't take long for you to realize that Ponpon is clearly distressed. There really is no other way to describe it. She has the well-schooled expression of an experienced maid, of course, but said features are also lined with the furrowed brow and slightly pursed lips. The sort of thing that would let anypony know that she is a good maid, but one who happens to be in a hurry.

And you have only ever seen Ponpon in a hurry when something had gone very, very wrong.

"Miss Twilight lost the last of her patience, ma'am. That's what's going on," the maid says in a rushed tone.

She doesn't need to say anything else, and neither do you. You give her an understanding nod, and without thinking twice Ponpon immediately turns around towards the way she came from.

And to all hell with appearances and conduct, you think. This morning the Royal Castle will be treated to a sight of a noble and her maid galloping through its halls. The only thing that truly worries you about all this being the fact that, much as you feared and expected, Ponpon's path takes the two of you unerringly towards the entrance to the Princesses' personal wing of the Royal Castle.



- - -



You arrive right on time.

Right on time, that is, to see the beginning of a disaster.



"I don't CARE about this. Can't you see how strange this whole thing is?!"

"Miss Twilight, please!"



You hear Twilight Sparkle before you actually see her, but moments later you catch a glimpse of the purple of her mane, and your eyes quickly focus on her as you take in the scene as a whole.



"I am her pupil! She trusts me!"

"Listen miss, we understand. But we have our orders t-"



Twilight Sparkle is standing before the great doors that lead to the Princesses' private part of the Royal Castle. There are two royal guards in front of her, and several others forming something akin to a circle around her.

Not a close or intimidating circle, though. You can clearly see that they are giving her a wide berth.

But that, and the fact that everypony bar Twilight seems to have an extremely uncomfortable expression on their faces, shows you that nopony has any clue on how to handle this situation.



"No! You DON'T understand. And I'm going to see her right now, even if you don't let me!"



You heart suddenly starts hammering inside your chest, however, when you hear Twilight Sparkle shouting those last words.

Because you can see that right after that her horn quickly begins to glow as it gathers more and more magical energy.

You and Ponpon are galloping towards her while all of that happens. But the maid quickly stomps into a halt, eyes open in panic, as soon as she sees the telltale sign of magic.

You, on the other hoof, continue racing towards Twilight. You will not reach her in time, seeing how you have only just gotten past the wide circle of guards that is surrounding her.

But you just got close enough to recognize that she is about to do a teleportation spell. Clearly, you think, to force her way into the Princesses' quarters. Perhaps even into Princess Celestia's very presence, as you wouldn't put it past Twilight to have visited the place before and know exactly where she is supposed to teleport to.

Still there is less than a second to go before the spell finishes its configuration, and you can already see parts of it expanding from the young mare's horn, starting to engulf her whole body in a brilliant sphere of bright purple.

And with that, you quickly decide to-



What will you do?



[] Twilight, no!
(She is about to do something very stupid. And as much as she might get mad at you later, you can't allow her to go any further. Not when you know the truth of what is happening in the Royal Castle. Try to stop her spell from casting, even if it means locking figuratively locking horns with her and trying to compete with the bearer of the Element of Magic.)

[] Twilight, yes!
(She is about to do something very stupid, and you are going with her. Try to link yourself with her spell, and tag along to wherever she is going.)

[] Twilight, what?!
(You are surrounded by royal guards, within the Royal Castle, as you watch a unicorn try to break into the Princesses' personal quarters. Just like Ponpon, watching with a shocked expression as the events unfold before you is exactly what a normal mare like you is expected to do. You will not do anything, and this will certainly draw the least amount of attention to yourself.)





You could not get any more details out of the situation with how quickly things are happening. Consider yourself in a tunnel-vision of sorts, and that you can't reliably say if there are more ponies around you or watching from the sides, or if there are any details you are missing.

Kindly observe a two hours moratorium, for discussion's sake.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Spoiler: Winning Vote

Twilight, yes!

- - -

You only have a split second to decide.

But it really isn't a decision at all.

Everything clicks inside your head, faster than you would normally be able to think.

You are the only pony who knows it, but the Princess Luna that is within that part of the castle is a fake. That, and the only ponies allowed in there so far have been the guards who returned with her and "earned her trust".

Changelings, all of them. Changelings, or worse. After all, your Master might have said that they were driven away from the Mansus, but you have a dreadful inkling that despite said banishment they are still able to use what they learned there.

So, if not changelings, spirits they might have summoned. And if not spirits, monsters. Who knows, perhaps the one impersonating Princess Luna is an order of magnitude above them. Perhaps it is not even a changeling at all.

Those ideas flash through your mind faster than you can parcel them, as you watch Twilight Sparkle's horn light up before you.

But you still reach the obvious conclusion in the blink of an eye.

You reach the only conclusion that really matters: The moment Twilight sets hoof inside that place, she will be in danger.


And as soon as you reach that certainty, your horn finishes casting the spell. The one you had been unconsciously weaving this whole time.

A bright lightning flashes from your forehead, heading unerringly towards the complex spell that Twilight is placing around herself.



[Link up, cd 40/60/80/100/120]

[Roll: 41 + 13 (Magic) + 5 (Gifted) = 59]

[Minimum required success, -10 passed over to Twilight's roll]



[Twilight's desperate measures, cd ??/???/???]

[Roll: 95 + 16 (Magic) + 10 (Very Gifted) + 10 (The Sun's Pupil) – 10 (Unexpected Passenger) = 121]



For a split second, you feel like a foal. For a split second you feel like a pony who is still learning to write, and who just opened a book of classical literature.

For a fraction of a moment, you catch a glimpse of how deep exactly is the chasm between you and Twilight Sparkle, when it comes both to raw talent and dedication to the arts of magic. You always fancied yourself as competent when it came to spellcasting, even if you didn't make it into the School of Gifted Unicorns when you were younger.

However, as soon as you focus your magic into your horn, and start harmonizing yourself into Twilight's spell in order to link your essence to it, you understand how utterly pedestrian your abilities are when compared to hers.

Even this much participation from you already feels like meddling. Even while you are simply trying to connect yourself to her spell, you feel like you have damaged something. As if you just entered a house by breaking one of its doors, or you vandalized a brilliant formula that was written in a blackboard.

But still, the house is so well-built, and the formula so genius, that your meddling is not even felt.

Just like the foal you feel like, Twilight's spell picks you up, transforming your body into magical light and carrying you into its core moments before its configuration closes itself into a circular loop.

And the next second, your surroundings turn into something completely different.



- - -



You land on your belly, legs sprawled all around you and wobbling like soft hay.

Although, even if you might not want to admit it, you are acutely aware that this sickness you are feeling is your own fault. You know for a fact that Twilight's spell landed you neatly on your hoofs, less than an inch from the ground and perfectly balanced.

You fell on the floor moments later because your mind was immediately overtaken by vertigo.

Teleportation, you have just learned, feels extremely wrong.



"Oh no… oh no, oh no, oh no, she's not here... She's not here!"



But you have more pressing matters to take care of than your own physical discomfort.

Mercifully, your nausea seeps away from your head as quickly as it appeared, and you manage to get up on your four hoofs moments later.

You find yourself inside a pitch-dark room. You wonder for a few moments if the teleportation spell accidentally shrunk you in size or messed with your body, because everything around you is enormous, the whole room being scaled for a pony at least twice your size, furniture and all.

You can see Twilight nearby, the glow of her horn lighting her surroundings as she searches the place, despite it being clear that the room has not been used in quite a while.

The combination of those two things makes you understand that this must be Princess Celestia's room. And you can tell by Twilight's distraught expression exactly how she feels about this place being empty and dark.

"Princess Celestia, can you hear me?!" she shouts out, breaking the silence of the room, and of probably several other rooms next to this one.

Your heart immediately leaps inside your chest as she does that.

"Twilight!" you say, whispering as loudly as possible as you run towards the young mare, who is still searching the empty room despite there being nopony here.

"Velvet?! What are y-?" she says with a yelp as soon as you put a hoof on her shoulder, her tone still far too loud for comfort, but you interrupt her before she can finish speaking.

"Twilight please, I need you to listen to me very carefully," you say, your tone urgent, trying to be as gentle as possible with the hoof you are keeping over her mouth, despite the obvious contradiction in that.

But still, you need her to listen to you, and you need her to be quite.

Part of you knows that you can't tell her exactly what is going on, your fear for your Master's retribution still starkly clear inside your mind. The idea that you should bring her into the know flaring inside your mind only for a split second, and even then, only for expediency's sake with how much the gears inside your mind are spinning right now.

But you know you can't. You have to take care of Twilight, but not in a way that might endanger your family.

However, you still have to stress to her exactly how delicate the situation in which the two of you are happens to be.

And seeing how wide-eyed and tense she is, this will be a lot harder than you initially thought.



[Deep breaths, Twilight, cd ??/??/???]

[Roll: 28 + 13 (Diplomacy) + 10 (GRAIL bonus) = 51]



"Twilight, listen to me, first of all, I am here to help you" you say, your tone a lot shakier than you would have wanted, but something tells you that you have a lot less time than you wish you would have.

But still, she slowly grows less tense as she looks at you.

And you thank the heavens for that. It makes you glad to know that despite the whole situation, and despite how much pressure she has been putting on herself these last few days, she at least trusts you to be by her side.

"However, you continue, your voice hushed and urgent, "we just broke into a place we aren't supposed to be, and if we are found they will at best kick us out, and at worst actually put us into real trouble."

You let those words sink in, praying to whatever might listen that she actually takes some of that to heart.

And something does seem to get through to her, even if only partially. Or at least you think it did, because as the seconds go by you can see her ears getting slightly lower, and you see her bite her lips at that.

You carefully bring down the hoof you had covering her mouth, and much to your relief she chooses to whisper when she answers you.

"But this situation doesn't make sense, Velvet. Why aren't they letting anypony see Princess Celestia…? Why aren't they letting me see Princess Celestia?" she asks, her words weighted down by something deep inside of her.

You can tell how much grief she must be feeling. You can tell from her pained expression that she is all but panicking right now. Heavens, considering how she just forcibly teleported into here this might actually count as some sort of panicked state. Even if it is a methodical, Twilight-y one.

Still, for all that you wish you could do something to ease her, even if only a little bit, the hammering inside your chest tells you that there simply isn't time for that.

"That's exactly the point. Listen, I promise you I'll help you get to the Princess, but we have to be careful. And we can't get caught," you say, looking into her eyes.

Feeling a slight twist inside your chest as you see the young mare look back into yours, her thoughts racing and all but bursting out of her head.

Until she gives you a nod. A fearful and doubtful nod.

But a nod nonetheless.



[Bare minimum success. Twilight Sparkle will follow, but will do so hesitantly. -10 to rolls that involve subtlety while she is with you.]



You slowly take your other hoof off her shoulders, giving her the best encouraging smile that you can.

You have to calm her down. You have to protect her, even if she doesn't fully understand just how dangerous your situation is.

Even if deep down you are terrified.

You understand what Twilight is thinking. Even if only unconsciously, you know that she thinks that ultimately there will be no great complication in all of this. After all, her brother is a captain of the Royal Guard, and her teacher is the most important pony in all of the kingdom. You know that her stress comes solely because of her worries for Celestia's wellbeing, and maybe an inkling of suspicion that some things don't quite make sense right now.

But deep down, even if she hasn't rationally thought that far ahead, she thinks that the worst that is waiting for her in case this whole thing goes south is a slap to the foreleg. Maybe a severe scolding, or at the very worst some sort of loss of favor in her teacher's eyes.

She doesn't know that there are monstrous, potentially murderous, shapeshifting creatures lurking around the castle, posing as guards and maids and who knows what else.

She doesn't know that the two of you might be captured, or killed, in order to be replaced if things turn out sufficiently bad.

She doesn't know any of that.

But you know.

And that makes a world of difference.

So although you wish you had done better, your smile still comes out far less confident that you would have wanted.

Well, at least you remembered to keep your eyes open during this whole conversation. It would have been disastrously uncanny of you if you had forgotten to do that.

"Okay…" she finally says, and you can tell that she is doing her best not to sag or curl up while she speaks, "what do we do nex-?"

A click comes from the large double-door on the other side of the room, both yours and Twilight's ears immediately perking up at that. The two of you turn towards the sound a moment later, and you almost hurt your neck with how fast your movement was.



"You sure you heard something from here?"

"Just open the damn door. She told us to check what the racket on the entrance was, but we're still on guard duty. A quick check won't hurt."



Two voices, a stallion and a mare, barely audible from behind the thick wooden doors.

Your mind barely has any time to interpret what they just said before you hear the sound of a key being twisted inside a lock. The acute knowledge that the doors are no longer denying you passage hitting you at the same time.

You freeze for a second. Until you realize Twilight also froze on the spot right by your side, and that you have to do something about it for her sake.



[First check, cd ??]

[Roll: 85 + 12 (Intrigue) + 15 (MOTH bonus) – 10 (Hesitant Twilight) = 102]



You have a foreleg around Twilight before the key finishes turning, yanking her from where she is stands and pulling her towards you, as you drag her away from the direction that the door will give sight to once it opens. A soft tap of a hind-hoof, that you make almost without conscious thought, opens the door of the giant-sized wardrobe that is now behind the two of you.

You push yourself and Twilight into the waiting wardrobe just as the large doors to the room open, and you all but hug Twilight to keep her from moving from where you are.

The two of you might be inside a wardrobe, but the place is almost a walk-in room on its own, designed with Princess Celestia's size in mind. You quickly wonder if you should head further into the place, perhaps to hide amidst the large dresses that are hanging next to you, but you decide against it.

It would be too risky, now that you can hear the sound of hoofs walking into the room.

You hold your breath, willing your heart to beat more slowly as you hear the sound of two ponies walking around the room, clearly checking the area in search for something.

A set of hoofsteps starts coming closer to the wardrobe.

The foreleg you have around Twilight begins to shake.



"Hey, check this out," the closest voice says, and you swear that whoever said that is looking in your direction.

"Hmm?"

"…"

"…"



You hear them whisper something, and you can't hear their hoofsteps anymore. But you know it's because the two are purposefully being quiet now.

They're closing in on the two of you.

You can almost feel them getting closer and closer, and-



"IT'S AN EMERGENCY!"



A third voice, shouting from somewhere outside the room, almost makes you and Twilight jump up in surprise.

You can also hear the two voices yell in surprise.



"You two, come quick! Captain Shining's sister has just-"

"What in TARTARUS' PITS are you doing in here?"

"Yeah, what is your problem?! Princess Luna explicitly said who can and can't get inside this wing of the castle!"

"I know, but listen to me! Somepony got past us, and she's clearly trying to get to the Princesses!"



The commotion happens almost too quickly for you to follow.

You recognize the newcomer's voice as being the pony who was, very apologetically, barring Twilight's entrance a few minutes ago.

You can also tell how tense is, how the whole situation seems to have become more heavy, as he hesitantly walks towards the two others who were already inside the room.



"Oh for… You, go tell our captain about this. Go. And YOU, go tell YOUR unit to stay put outside the entrance. Unless our captain says so, WE are going to take care of this. Besides, if you couldn't even keep some pony outside I doubt you'd be of much help to search for her and…"



You hear the trio making its way out of Princess Celestia's room moments later, their voices getting lower and lower as they gain distance from you.

And you risk taking a single peek out of the wardrobe's half-opened door before they completely leave the room.



[The nature of your pursuers]

[Roll: 69 + 12 (Intrigue) + 30 (LANTERN Level 3) = 111]



A shiver runs down your spine as you confirm exactly what you had suspected.

For a split second, you see the back of three ponies as they rush towards the door.

One of them, the one you recognize, is absolutely normal. A royal guard stallion with grey coat that contrasts with the gold of his armor. Her is large, as royal guards normally are, and you can barely discern the colors of his cutie mark as her turns towards the corridor after leaving the room.

But it only occurs to describe him as "normal" because, in comparison, the two ponies are…

Well, because the two others are not.

They are not even ponies to begin with.

It is a strange sight, one that is even stranger because you know that your understanding of Lantern is much more attuned to your sense of touch than to your sight. It is a view you can somehow only describe as if you were stepping on mud, or as if you were trying to understand what a clay statue's shape is by feeling it with your hoofs while blindfolded.

You can see them, the mare and the stallion royal guards, wearing the golden armor much like the other one. You can see them, but you can also see so much more.

You see the green not-glow coming from their eyes, even though they have their backs turned to you.

You see how they keep their bodies changed. How they do so because they constantly lie to the world around them, until it convinces the very air that their false shape is the truth.

You see many things, as if two transparent images were being juxtaposed one over the other.

But you definitely don't see two simple royal guards.

Mercifully, they close the doors to the room behind themselves, after they leave.

And you hear the clicking sound of a key being turned, the door once again telling you that it is a thing that denies passage.



You sag, your hinds hitting the floor as you let out a long sight.



"Sorry about that," you mumble, finally realizing that you still have a foreleg around Twilight and letting go of her.

She just shakes her head, clearly as tense as you are, relighting her horn moments later. The two of you allowing for a few quiet moments to pass as you take deep breaths.

Twilight's mettle returns to her far more quickly than your own. You can still feel your heart hammering inside your chest, and you consciously push away the allure of using Winter to calm yourself down, not sure if it would make you less alert than you absolutely want to be. But still, you are still trying to regain your wits when the younger mare stands up and walks out of the large wardrobe.

"I… I had no idea there was this much tension going on within the Royal Guard," she says worriedly, her expression still nervous.

You very much agree with her. And even if she does not know the half of it, it's still good that she noticed the tone used by the "guards". If anything, you can tell this encouraged her not to be discovered while you are here.

You try to follow suit, standing up and heading towards her. Although the two of you are still talking in whispers, and you still make sure to keep an eye on the locked door.

"Well, I can tell that you brought us straight into the Princess' room," you say, quickly looking around and soaking in a few more details of the place.

It's clean and well kept, as one would expect, and you can tell that even the bedsheets have been dutifully changed frequently. But you have no doubts that this place has not been used by its intended occupant in quite a long while.

"But there's no sign of her here. Heavens, even the door was locked by the looks of it," you continue. "Any idea of where she might be?"

Twilight thinks for a few moments.

"Well, it would make sense for her to be in her sister's room, then. But…" she trails off before she finishes her thought. And you think you know why.

But, you think, Twilight most likely has no idea where said room is. It could be nearby, the Two Sisters choosing to have their rooms near each other's, but it could also be in some farther part of the castle wing, or even up in a tower for the same argument of the Princesses' preference.

Besides, the two of them are fliers. You hardly think a bit of distance would make that much difference for them. The years you spent with your husband and daughter have taught you that pegasi have a rather twisted sense of distance, with how fast they can cover ground.

And then there is the added problem that this entire part of the Royal Castle was literally blown up a few months back. Now that you think of it, it's a bit of a surprise that Princess Celestia's room was in the same place, for Twilight to know where she should teleport to. That, or she visited the Princess months ago, before she left in her earnest for the searches.

But regardless, the fact remains that you have no idea how much this place has changed during renovations. And that even if Twilight might have been here in the past, the whole place might also be utterly unfamiliar to her now.

To you, it makes no difference of course. This place is completely new to you regardless.

"It makes sense," you say, echoing her thoughts, "but then if we are to find it, we will either have to do it through sheer luck, or... we might be able to gleam something from the guard's behavior, perhaps?" you finish, although you have no idea how to make your 'idea' work, or even if its a good plan to begin with.

But Twilight nods at that, for some reason slightly more confident than she was a few moments ago.

It makes you a bit happy to see that she is feeling somewhat more brave, thanks to you.

Still, if only she knew how you are feeling right now…



- - -



Being inside a locked room, one that the guards probably think had already been searched, gave you a few more moments to talk things through. Although the two of you silently agreed that it would be best if you were done as quickly as possible.

Still, you had something approaching a plan.

Her teleportation spell was too loud to be used stealthily, so the two of you would have to stalk by the corridors on hoof.

Hopefully, the two of you thought, the mysterious tension between the royal guards meant that there would be few ponies searching for you. That is, unless the "captain" they mentioned decided to call for help from guards tat were outside Princess Luna's trust. Of course, even if that was not the case yet it was still something that could happen at any moment. So it would be best if you started to move while your number of pursuers was still small.

But anyways, your plan was crude and simple, mostly because you lacked information to do anything better. The two of you would try to sneak around the corridors searching for a sign of Princess Luna's room, and Twilight would teleport the two of you back to Princess Celestia's locked room if you were spotted.



And you two would pray to the heavens that this place would remain a reliable hiding spot during the execution of said plan.



With nothing else to decide on, you and Twilight head to the locked door that will lead you out of Princess Celestia's room.

"One last thing," you say, as you raise your hoof towards the door. "I can unlock this without a problem, but I'll have to lock it back with magic once we're outside. So wait for a few seconds while I'm doing it," you say.

You see the question forming inside her head, about how the hay you can do that thing with your hoof, but she swallows it down a few moments later.

Something you will tell her about another time, you hope.

But for now, you lightly tap the door with your hoof, the lock of its internal mechanism coming open with a soft click.

And the two of you head out into the corridor.



[Skulking through the corridors, cd ??/???]

[Roll: 37 + 12 (Intrigue) + 15 (MOTH bonus) – 10 (Hesitant Twilight) = 54]



You close the door behind you as soon as you leave the Princess' room, lighting up your horn and fiddling with the lock as quickly as you can.

There is no way to "go back" when it comes to applying Knock. This is a principle of opening, and of bridging that which is isolated, so you cannot "go the opposite way" in order to lock a door any more than you can turn a cloud of smoke back into a log of timber after it has been burned.

So what you are doing is, quite frankly, fiddling with the lock through magical means. Your unusually extensive knowledge about locks is being helpful, of course, but there are no mysteries being applied right now.

Still, less than ten seconds after you lit up your horn, the door locks itself with an audible ticking sound.

You turn to Twilight, exchanging a glance as you try to mutually give each other courage. She had mentioned that she knew an invisibility spell, but was fearful that the unicorn guards might notice it. You didn't challenge her fears, but for entirely different reasons.

But this still means, in the end, that you two will be out in the open while you go about the castle wing.

However, the two of you only take five steps away from Princess Celestia's room when two figures turn around a corner and come into your sight.

…

And of course, you come into their view, much like they came into yours.

You and Twilight Sparkle, and the pair of not-guards, stare at each other dumbfounded for perhaps three full seconds.

…

This time, it is Twilight that snaps you out of your petrified stance.

"Run!" the young mare says, yanking you by the foreleg. You body follows after her before you can think about anything else.



"GET THEM!"



And the two guards, mud-covered in lies and shadows in a way that your eyes can't comprehend nearly as well as your hoofs, follow right after you.



[Evading pursuit!, cd 75]

[Roll: 50 + 12 (Intrigue) + 15 (MOTH bonus) = 77]



Being spotted immediately after leaving your "hiding place" threw all your plans down the drain.

The two of you ran, because there was nothing else you could do.

And when the two guards following you began shouting for help, you and Twilight immediately and wordlessly agreed that there was no point in being cautious any longer. Not for the time being, at least.

Twilight's horn lit up, her eyes closing in concentration for a few seconds as the two of you galloped down a hallway, and moments later her horn erupted with a wave of magic. It was a simple cantrip, done under pressure and while she was running nonetheless. But for all that it was a cantrip, Twilight still managed to multiply it into a hundred different versions of itself and fire them in every direction at the same time.

What resulted, as she intended, was chaos.

Doors that were flanking you on both sides of the hallways burst open, miniature globes of light appeared all around you, erupting in loud fireworks seconds later. The very carpet underneath your hoofs came to life, turning into a tall wave that went towards the two guards that were closing in on you.

None of those things did more than slow down your pursuers for a few moments, and you were acutely aware that the cacophony around you was attracting all sorts of attention. But still, those precious few moments started piling up, and the two of you soon managed to turn a corner a few seconds ahead of them, breaking from the guard's line of sight for a tiny bit longer than they could afford.



You took it from there.



Your heart was hammering inside your chest, and your leg was calmly telling you that it could start to hurt if you wanted it to. But you ignored all of that, instead pushing yourself and Twilight into one of the nearby rooms.

You had absolutely no idea if it would work, but you could only trust yourself.

The secret, you knew, was to treat it like a dance. Like a chaotic dance that you forgot you performed once, long ago, with nothing but the bark of black trees around you as witness.

You blasted a wave of telekinesis at the door to your left, loudly slamming it shut.

You pushed yourself and Twilight to an open door to your right, making sure to keep it open.

And the two guards appeared before you moments later, having turned around the corner seconds after you and Twilight did. But they immediately lunged at the closed door, crashing into the room that was behind it without a second thought, both of them instinctively sure that you had closed the door behind yourselves in order to create yet another obstacle in their way.

They would have noticed you and Twilight, wide-eyed and nearly panicking, had either of them turned their faces only a little bit in your direction.

But they didn't.

You didn't stop moving either, knowing that the dance was not over until your two pursuers were well and truly lost. With that in mind, you took Twilight's hoof and pulled her after you, the two of you backtracking through the way you came while the cacophony of Twilight's spells masked the sound of your frantic galloping.



It is hard to believe that all of that happened in the span of a few minutes.

Yet here you are now, hidden inside another room. One, of course, that is far away from where your pursuit took place. You and Twilight still heaving from the exertion you have just been through, sitting down on the floor with your backs lying against each other's.

"You… you alright?" you ask between deep breaths, your eyes glued to the closed door next to you and your ears perked up in attention, despite the slight ringing you think you can hear.

"I… I think so," she answers hesitantly, as shaken as you are.

The two of you grow deathly silent as you hear the sound of loud talking in the distance, instructions being shouted and horseshoes galloping in different directions.

But Twilight, and much later yourself, slowly begin to ease back down when you realize none of them are coming your way.

"They caught up to each other," she says, her voice still quivering slightly, "they probably talked. We can't go back to Princess Celestia's room anymore."

"I… it seems so," you agree with her.

As much as you hate to admit it, there is no other way to go now but forwards.

Because despite all of this, you can still see that Twilight is adamant in seeing this through. And by all the heavens you know you won't abandon her here.



- - -



[A second attempt, cd ??/???]

[Roll: 90 + 12 (Intrigue) + 15 (MOTH bonus) – 10 (Hesitant Twilight) – 10 (Guards on high alert) = 97]



You think you did it.

It was nerve wracking, and more than once you came from a hair's breadth of being spotted.

But you think you did it.

You and Twilight hesitantly peek out of the small reading room. The place must have been a small storage of books and scrolls that, for whatever reason, eventually saw enough use to justify having more furniture and even a table moved into it.

But you are not really sure. You can only make educated guesses about what several rooms inside a castle this large are used for, but right now you really don't care.

The two of you look out through the door, looking for any of the guards that are searching for you.

And once both of you are satisfied that the coast is clear, your eyes immediately go towards a particular door at the far end of a corridor.

It is a large double door, made out of rich wood and died in a dark-blue like the midnight sky. A great crescent moon, made out of white jewels and marble, is artfully laid on its surface.

And furthermore, the two of you swear that at least one guard passes around this area every few minutes.

That has to be the door to Princess Luna's room. It simply has to. Which means Princess Celestia is probably behind that door.

Of course, you have a much greater problem which Twilight is unaware of. Specifically, you don't know what comes next. Sure, the two of you can sneak up towards that room and make your way in, but what then? There is a very great chance that the false Luna is in there, and if push comes to shove, well…

"Twilight, can I ask you to promise me something?" you whisper to her.

And the mare immediately turns towards you, sensing how dreadfully serious your tone is.

The two of you are nervous beyond your wits, and you can tell that Twilight is all but holding herself to not run or teleport into that room. But still, she looks at you with as close to an encouraging expression as she can.

"I think so… what is it?"

"If we happen to find Princess Celestia in there, and if things start to get strange… then please, teleport us out of there."

She purses her lips at that, the innate belief that nothing can truly go wrong if you find Princess Celestia clashing with just how serious you sound right now.

"Please," you say, and maybe you strike something inside of her, because a few seconds later…

"Alright, Velvet. I promise."

"Thank you, Twilight."

You know that this is as close to a lifeline as you will be able to get, and at least you have a promise from her that she will get out of here with you if things really turn out wrong.

Still, you realize that... really isn't much.

But with that said, the two of you look out through the door one last time, and as soon as you confirm none of the guards are nearby, you two start going towards Princess Luna's room.

There is nothing else you can do now. There is nothing any guard can do, even if they spot you. Not before you make it to the great moon-engraved door, and right now that is all that matters.



So, the two of you run.



As silently as you can, as quickly as you can. You and Twilight Sparkle gallop down the hallway towards the place where, hopefully, her mentor is. And you can practically see your friend going faster and faster as she gets closer to her dear teacher than she has ever been in a long, long while.

Twenty meters.

Fifteen meters.

Ten meters.

Five meters.

Twilight's horn lights up, the lavish metal doorknob lighting up as well as her magic begins to exert control over it.



And before either of you can even think to react, a brilliantly green magical barrier manifests around the door, coiling around the light of Twilight's magic over the doorknob like a violently territorial snake.

The next moment, the barrier expands. Or rather, it explodes, you and Twilight not being thrown farther away only because you are not that close to the barrier when it erupts.



[The fortress of the body, breakpoints 50/65/80]

[Roll: 47 + 9 (Martial) + 10 (HEART bonus) + 10 (Distance from blast) = 76]

[Second breakpoint passed. You are only disoriented]



[Rolling Twilight's resistance]



You hit the ground hard, even rolling once as the force of the explosion washes over you. It wouldn't have been enough to truly wound you, even if you were right next to it, but it was still the sort of spell that mixes a blasting noise and a brilliant flash in order to knock a pony out of their hoofs.

And in that, it worked very well. You hear an ear-splitting... something, ringing inside your ears for a few seconds, and the thought of getting up on your hoofs doesn't occur to you for quite a while as you lay down on the ground with your eyes closed.

You only remember where you are, and what you are doing, when Twilight Sparkle's voice reaches you, her words hitting you like a bucket of cold water.

That is, when you hear her voice, and a second one answering her.



"Princess Luna? What… why? What is going on?!"

"So you are the little ponies who have been causing all this racket in my castle."



A chill runs down your spine, and you force yourself to get up. Your legs answering to your plight all too ponderously, as if you had too much to drink after a long day.

But still, you know you have to.

After all, Twilight has no idea of who, or rather what, she is talking to.

You even try to say something, but your tongue is being as helpful as the rest of your body is.



"I… we… please, Princess. I came here because I need to speak to Princess Cel-!"

"QUIET."



You finally get three of your four hoofs under you, and you manage to raise your head high enough to see what is going on.

Twilight Sparkle is standing a few steps from you. She seems to be completely fine, and maybe the blast didn't hit her quite as strongly as it did to you.

But standing right in front of her is…



[The Enemy, cd ?????]

[Roll: ??? + 12 (Intrigue) + 30 (LANTERN Level 3) – 15 (Disoriented) – 30 (???????) – 20 (??????) = ???]

[Lantern insufficient to know result]



Standing right in front of her, the moon-marked door firmly closed behind her, is Princess Luna.

The realization hits you like a train.

That pony right there is Princess Luna. You have never been so certain of anything in your life.

And it is not just because of her appearance, or her presence, or the tone of her voice, or her bearing, or the way everypony is relieved she has finally been found. No. It is something much deeper than that.

She is Princess Luna because that is how things are meant to be.

That is the great secret, the big lie. The only truth that exists is that she is Princess Luna, which means that everything that goes against that statement is immediately false.

Except that…

Except that...



"You, the TWO of you, have very much overstepped your boundaries," Princess Luna, and nopony else, speaks. "GUARDS! Come here at ONCE!"

"No, wait! Please, Princess, I can explain!"



Except that you know your Selene is waiting for you back at home. And you know that she has a great and heavy destiny waiting ahead of her, one that you will try your utmost best to help her face.

And you know, for all that you still have no idea how, that you promised her parents you would do what is best for her.

That certainty, the certainty that you have met and that you care for the true Princess Luna, is the only thing that is stopping you from thinking that you have somehow gone insane at some point.

Because every other sense in your body, every other voice in your head, is utterly and completely certain that the alicorn standing before you is Princess Luna.

And with that, you finally get enough of your bearings to be able to get a better grasp of the situation.



"I ordered you to be QUIET."



Which makes you realize just how bad things look.

Twilight Sparkle is all but shaking where she stands, as Princess Luna towers before her with. The alicorn's pose is the very definition of regal, for all that her expression is irate, with her wings outstretched and her horn held high.

You also turn around just in time to see four guards galloping towards you, having heard the Princess' call.

All of them have that clay-like feeling to them. All of them have that not-light of green coming from their eyes, the one only you can see.

But their shapeshifting presence serves you as another reminder of what exactly is lording over you and Twilight Sparkle, reminding you that you have not gone crazy when it comes to what you know about Selene. But it also makes you realize just how utterly outclassed you must be, if you can see so easily through her guards but can't help but doubt yourself when you look at the Princess herself.

It also bears mentioning that even if their shapeshifting might be "inferior" to whatever Princess Luna is doing, they are still four very large creatures.

And as soon as they reach the two of you, they block off any chance you have of escape. Their postures shifting as they clearly prepare to pounce at the two of you on a moment's notice.



"Please, Princess Luna," she tries pleading again, "we just came here to-"

"You came here for nothing! And I already have in mind exactly what shall become of the two of you," the alicorn answers, a chill running through your spine as you realize exactly what she means by that, the four guards preparing to jump almost automatically.

"Twilight," you say under your breath, your head still spinning slightly from the blast as you summon the effort to talk. Or heavens, as you try to even take a few steps closer to your friend, dizzy as you feel. "I think now would be a very good time to-"



"Twili!"



But another voice interrupts the three of you. And all of you, including the guards that are blocking your path, turn around as another group of ponies approach you.

"Twili, I… I couldn't believe it when they said it. What in Equestria are you doing here?!"

A wave of relief washes over your spinning mind as you see captain Shining Armor, and a group of royal guards, quickly making their way towards you.

And the mood shift around you, on everypony but Twilight, is also almost instantaneous. You very nearly collapse on your hinds from relief, as you realize that at least the appearance of more ponies means that you are no longer alone with Twilight, surrounded by five murderous creatures and no witnesses to speak of.

The changeling guards, as well, also relax their pose. Although you can tell that they are all annoyed, or outright aggressive, towards the newcomer guards. And it stands to reason, seeing how you can tell all the newcomers are actual ponies.

However, what worries you the most is the shift in expression on Princess Luna's face.

Because you can very clearly tell that the gears inside her head are shifting, with new thoughts of how to deal with you two coming to the fore.

"Princess Luna, I…" Twilight continues, almost oblivious to her approaching brother. Almost totally oblivious to the situation as a whole, in fact.

The young mare is still single-mindedly focused on getting past the door that is so close to her, in order to see her dear mentor.

"Please, Princess. Don't you remember me?" she continues. "I… I helped save you. And Princess Celestia… I am her pupil! I just came here to see her, Princess. Please!"

And the transition in Princess Luna's tone is so seamless that you wouldn't have believed she was shouting at you moments ago, if you hadn't been the one she was shouting at.

However, for all that she does not sound irate anymore, her tone is still severe. But instead of anger, it carries the absolute tone of authority and reason.

"Twilight Sparkle, put yourself in your place!" she snaps back.

And Twilight flinches at that, almost as if she has just been slapped.

But Princess Luna takes that almost in stride. In fact, you almost think that the alicorn relished the young unicorn's reaction, a ghost of a smile appearing on her face for less than a moment.

"Do you truly think you are that relevant? Are you really so arrogant that you think of yourself as being so important?!" she continues, taking a step forward towards Twilight.

The young mare, her expression between shocked and terrified, takes a step back.

"I have been nursing my dear sister personally these last few days, and we have known of your presence ever since you first made that… that racket by the entrance to our domain, when you arrived. Did you truly think we did not know? Stop thinking of yourself so highly, Twilight Sparkle. You haven't been admitted into here because we didn't wish to see you. Because my sister did not wish to see you!"

Princess Luna's words finally cause Twilight to trip backwards, landing on her hinds with a rather painful sound. But she doesn't even seem to notice it.

Her expression, you can tell, it utterly shocked from Princess Luna's words, her face going through several motions in the span of a few seconds. Going from disbelief, to fear, to...

To hurt.

"Wh… what…? No. Princess Luna, there must be a misunderstanding, I…" and her voice… you feel a tinge of pain inside your chest as you hear Twilight's voice. "I a-am her, her p-pupil and-... her f-faithful studen-!"

"You are not her pupil, small one. You are a pupil. A passing interest that she deigned to train, like dozens before you. You are not the first, you will not be the last, and that certainly does not make you special."

Your mind is still spinning as you hear her. You know that you are not yet entirely aware of everything around you.

But you can tell, without the slightest shade of doubt, just how horribly wounded Twilight's expression is right now.

You almost think that the mare might be moments away from crying.

And you are so focused on her that you don't even notice captain Shining Armor walking by you, placing himself between his sister and Princess Luna.

"My Princess," he quickly says with a short bow, "I am so sorry. Please, my sister here has been distraught at your sister's condition. If you would just allow me to-"

"You are more than sorry, captain Shining Armor," she says, interrupting the stallion before he can finish speaking, "you are also incompetent. And the fact that a member of your family is the one who is doing… is the one who is breaking into my domain, then it reflects poorly on you."

"Princess, please. I can guarantee you that my sister jus-"

"You will guarantee me that she will be removed from here. And I will discuss at length with my sister about whether or not you are even worth your rank, when she wakes. In fact, if a pony like yourself has managed to climb this high in the Royal Guard, then it might be time for me to make some more radical changes to how things are done in here."

Shining Armor is speechless at that. You can't see his expression, but you can tell he is more tense than he initially was. And he is either shocked from what he just heard, or he has realized that trying to reasonably talk to the Princess will simply not work.

Princess Luna's face, also, makes it abundantly clear that she is all but daring him, or anypony, to try to say anything else.

"Now away with you. All of you!" she says, stomping a hoof on the ground for emphasis. "And if anypony else even thinks of pulling a little stunt like this, I will have them thrown into the dungeons!"

Shining Armor simply gives her a half-bow at that, and you immediately follow suit. But Princess Luna does not even bother to acknowledge any of that, turning her back to all of you and heading back into the large moon-crested door behind her.

Everypony is speechless at what just happened. Well, at least you and the royal guards are. The four of Princess Luna's own guards have chosen to simply watch all of that, with poorly hidden satisfaction on their faces.

But you don't really care for any of that right now. Not for the speechless guards, not for the smug not-guards, not even for the possibly shocked Shining Armor. The only think you have in your mind right now is to try your best not to trip, your mind still spinning inside your head, as you walk towards Twilight.

And that is because...

Well, because it didn't escape you that the young mare has been utterly still this whole time.

You finally get close enough to Twilight that you can see her face behind her mane, and you don't even think twice before you put your forelegs around her, bringing her into a hug as soon as possible.

And only now, that you have her face this close to yours, do you realize she is actually saying something. That she is saying something under her breath, that perhaps only she can hear.

"Twili, c'mon… we can talk later," Shining Armor catches up to it a moment later, also walking up to his sister and putting a hoof on her shoulder, "let's just get out of here for now."

"Yes, come with us Twilight," you say to her ear, as softly as you can.

But you are not even sure if she is listening.

You are not even sure if she will be able to move, with how rigid her body is.

The only thing she can do, it seems, is whisper something to herself.

"No, you… you are lying, and… I… Princess Celestia, she…" you think you hear her say, her voice a low whimper, her eyes still aimed at the large moon-crested door, so close to her yet firmly locked.

The guards that were accompanying Shining Armor quickly take their cue and leave, and all but one of Princess Luna's guards shadow you until you leave the deeper parts of the Princesses' personal quarters.

But still, it takes you and Shining a lot of time, and quite a bit of effort, to take Twilight all the way back to her room.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are Lady Velvet Covers.

Spoiler: Wake up

You open your eyes. Slowly. Reluctantly. Mostly because your mind already knows, even though you are not yet fully awake, that as soon as you wake up things will continue from where they left off yesterday.

And yesterday was not a good day.

You still have no idea of the ramifications that will come from your extremely contentious encounter with Princess Luna. Heavens, you didn't even have the time to think about that in any real depth. Are you in some kind of trouble? Or rather, how deep is the trouble you and Twilight got into? After all, you know very well that breaking and entering into a guarded place, and then being scolded by a Princess, is not the sort of thing that one does without repercussions.

Heavens. Again, you and Twilight broke into a guarded area. A closed-off area of the Royal Castle, of all places. By all right the two of you should be in jail, or worse. However, you two "only" got the very worst talking-to possible, and then were sent on your way.

But you know that won't be the end of it. The royal guards that were with Shining Armor, who saw the whole thing, will talk. The fake guards that are serving Princess Luna might also talk. In fact, you will not be surprised at all if by the end of this morning the whole castle already knows what happened, and that the noble houses, your father included, will know about it by tonight.

Still, that is not something you have thought about at length. Not yet, at least. That was not something you had the time to think about, yesterday.

And that is because you had something very important to take care of, as soon as that whole thing was over. Or to be more specific, you had a pony to take care of.

After you left the Princesses' section of the castle, you and Shining Armor took Twilight Sparkle to the room where she is staying. And that was basically where the three of you spent most of the rest of the day.

Twilight was… your heart starts to ache just from remembering it, but the best way you can describe it is that she was unresponsive for nearly two hours, after what Princess Luna told her. Then she started to shiver. Then she turned unresponsive again. She was not exactly catatonic, but it still took a lot of coaxing just to get a few words out of her, and even then she only said the most disheartening "I'm fine" you have ever heard in your life.

But you also have to give it to Shining, though. You have no idea if Princess Luna's words about him, and the outright threat to his job and rank, were true or not, but the stallion didn't seem to care. Well, you could tell he was distressed, and you have an inkling that he simply locked away his thoughts about that whole situation for another time. But yesterday, while he was with you and Twilight, it was clear to you that his sister was the sole thing he was worried about at that moment.

You concluded then and there that he is a very good big brother. He only left the room when another captain, who knocked at Twilight's door with a very worried "we need to talk" expression, asked if he could have a moment with the stallion.

And even then, he only left after making you promise that you would take care of Twilight Sparkle.

Which you did, of course. You stayed with your friend until the last bells of the night rang, and you only left her because you truly believed she would also need some time alone.

And after that, you…



"Oh, who am I kidding…?" you murmur to yourself, idly noticing how dry your throat feels as you speak. "I'm already wide awake."



For all that you woke up less than a minute ago, your mind is already galloping at full speed. So you sit up, still on your bed, acutely aware that if you don't start doing something you will think yourself to exhaustion.

Looking around you, you slowly begin to take stock of your situation as you mentally prepare to start your day.

You glance at the door, catching the faint impression that it is still locked. Then you look at the dress you were wearing yesterday, strewn on the floor, the thought that you simply left it there before collapsing on your bed vaguely crossing your mind.

Well, you were exhausted after yesterday. And you brought a few more dresses as a matter of course. So it doesn't even bother you even if that dress is no longer usable until it gets cleaned up properly.

You shake your head, noticing how ragged your mane is. That will take some brushing to fix, you think to yourself.

A sigh escapes your lips, the movement causing your still-numb limbs to grow twice as heavy. You know you should wake up, but you also know you don't have to. And that sigh, you can tell, is one last attempt at resistance from your reeling mind, hoping against hope that you will allow yourself just a little more rest.

You decide to…

Spoiler: Get out of bed

You get out of bed with as much enthusiasm as you knew you would have, which is not much.

However, it also happens that you know these kinds of days well. You are acquaintance to days when things simply do not look up, or when you see that the path ahead is still going downhill and looks like it will continue to do so for a long, long while.

But the fact that you know days like this is exactly the reason why you know that the only thing you can do, or rather the best thing you can do, is keep moving forward.

You know that is easier said than done, of course. Much, much easier said than done. But it also happens that you have already been inside a rut that you couldn't escape alone. So at the very least you can tell that, right now, you are definitely not in a situation like that. This current predicament of yours is definitely something you can forge your way through.

And besides, you know Twilight got hit a lot worse than you by this whole situation. You may have taken a blow to your reputation, you may have some sort of punishment or repercussion coming your way, and it may be that things might still take a turn for the worse. But the thing is that you can almost certainly deal with it, whatever comes your way. Mentally, at least.

Twilight, on the other hoof, very clearly cannot. She has neither the age nor the life experience to reasonably be able to. So you know you have to be the stronger pony on this situation. For her sake, if nopony else's.

You steel yourself with as much self-pep talk as you can, while you float a brush towards you and start working on the disaster that is currently posing as your mane. Part of you regrets not having Rarity here with you, seeing how you are sure she would be able to solve almost all the problems you are currently facing, be it Twilight or mane-related.

But unfortunately, she is not. So, you will have to make do with the mirror you have in your room.

The brush, glowing with the same light of your horn, eventually settles into a tempo of sorts, rhythmically flowing through your mane as you set about your task. It bumps into fewer knots than you feared it would, and soon enough the mare who is looking back at you from inside the mirror is one who might pass for presentable, depending on the situation.

Although you are not done with the brush when you hear a knock coming from the door.

"Excuse me ma'am? It's me," Ponpon's voice comes from outside the room.

More out of habit than anything else, you quickly float the dress that is strewn on the floor towards you, clumsily covering your right hindleg with it. Just in case there is somepony else with Ponpon, that is. And moments later you send a flicker of telekinesis towards the door, unlocking it with a soft click.

"Come on in, Ponpon," you speak up, the door being opened right after.

"Good morning ma'am. It is good to see you up and awake," she says, looking at the room as she closes the door behind herself.

You normally fancy yourself as a clean and organized mare. But after what happened yesterday, you don't really feel bad about your room being somewhat untidy right now.

And from Ponpon's expression, she seems to agree.

"How was Miss Twilight yesterday?" she asks meaningfully. Ponpon was with you and Shining Armor for some time, while you were with Twilight, so she is well aware of what happened. Or at least about the general details regarding it.

"She was as fine as she could possibly be when I left her. Which is to say… not quite well," you answer, still combing your mane. "But there was nothing else I could do, and I figure she needed space."

You sigh, turning your head slightly so you can look at Ponpon's face through the mirror's reflection.

"Speaking of which, how bad is it?" you ask her, and you don't even need to specify what you are talking about.

Although, watching the usually straight-to-the-point Ponpon purse her lips and think about her words before she says them is certainly not a good indicator, as things go.

"It's bad, ma'am," she finally says. "It was already quite a commotion yesterday, when you and Miss Twilight disappeared into the Princesses' quarters. But the fact that the two of you stayed in there for such a long time, and that the guards went into an uproar, only made it worse and… Well, it's the talk of the castle, ma'am. I've already been accosted by several of the castle's maids, asking for tidbits of information. And even a few nobles have already tried to talk to me," she says with a tired expression.

You grimace at that.

Gossiping and intrigues really are the ugliest things about nobility, in your opinion. Things that you have been sheltered from, thanks to your isolation in Ponyville. And despite the rather distasteful events that led you to said isolation, you must admit that being cut off from those aspects of the noble life has been a blessing of sorts, these last few years.

For the longest time, you had the peace of anonymity. With nopony but your family even knowing you existed. And that was great, in the case of your husband and daughter, and horrible, in your father's case.

But you can't help but feel that your idyllic days as an unknown noblemare, sheltered away in a backwater town, might be slipping away from you.

"Thank you Ponpon," is all you can answer. You don't want to dismiss her, seeing how you are surprisingly thankful for her company as you slowly wake up, but you don't know what else you can say either.

But thank the heavens, the maid seems to pick up on that. Or it might just be that she also just wants to be in the company of a friend, with how complicated everything is out there. Whatever it is, she simply sits down and keeps you company for a little while longer.

"Oh," she eventually speaks up as if she just remembered something, "some bit of news, ma'am. I got an answer from the main house yesterday. Lord Steppes is here in Canterlot, and I believe he will be staying for a while longer, so it might be possible to meet him."

Your eyes go slightly wider at that, with perhaps a tiny spark flaring within them for a few moments.

That is certainly good news, to hear that uncle Steppes is nearby. Even if "nearby" equates him being at your family's mansion, and all the other things that entails.

But still, at least seeing him while you are here has become a possibility, slim as it may be.

"Which brings me to my next question, ma'am," Ponpon continues, taking your slight smile as a good indication, "what do you plan on doing today? I understand if you prefer to stay with Miss Twilight, but…"

Ponpon leaves a very large "but that might not be the best idea right now" unsaid, and she knows you well enough to see that you picked up on it.

"But," she continues, her silence not lasting for longer than a moment, "it might also be good if you busy yourself with other things, even if just for a few hours. I do recall that you intended on shopping while here, for books and whatnots."

You ponder on her words for a few moments. Both of you know that she is trying to convince you to unwind, even if only a little bit, by doing something else for a while. Something away from the Royal Castle, preferably, and all the gossiping that has already spread through it like a wildfire.

And you very much appreciate her gesture, of course. You really are thankful that, despite your status and her job, the two of you still see each other as friends.

However, the fact remains that Twilight is the one who needs somepony to be there for her, right now. You have your own problems, and you will certainly have to deal with your own windfall from what happened. But still…

"What is more, ma'am, I'm sure Miss Twilight is not even awake at this time. And Canterlot has plenty of clock towers and bells, so even with the eclipse I don't think we will lose track of time," she presses on, a confident smile forming on her face as she lightly taps a hoof on the floor for emphasis. "I am sure we will be back before midday. And a walk around the capital could very well give us a fresh perspective to deal with this whole situation."

"Alright, fine. You make a good point," you say with soft laugh, to which Ponpon's smile fully comes into being. "It might be a good idea to get ourselves centered before… well, before anything else happens, really."

You had planned to call Twilight when you went for your book-hunting, as you have no doubts that the young mare has a talent for that sort of thing. But you don't really see that happening anymore. Not today, at least, and perhaps not for quite a while, even as a cheering-up activity for her.

And for all that you might chastise yourself for not doing anything about her first and foremost, you can't really see yourself being able to enter Twilight's room anytime soon either.

So, if there is nothing you can do here then…

"But we'll come back to the Royal Castle before midday," you say, more to yourself than to Ponpon, "and no carriages or anything. I quite enjoy walking, and I really don't want to go anywhere near our family's mansion anytime soon."

Heaven knows, your father will probably get in touch with you sooner rather than later. And going to his estate just to procure a carriage would definitely make that event tend towards the "sooner" part of it.

"I quite agree, ma'am," she says nonchalantly. "But you haven't had breakfast yet either, and that might take you a short while. I know, why don't I go ahead and see if I can get a hold of Lord Steppes while you get ready?"

Now, that was a valid question. Truth be told you don't really see yourself staying here in Canterlot for more than a day, due to this whole conundrum. In fact, the only reason you are not in a train heading for Ponyville right now is because of Twilight, and something tells you the young unicorn won't be staying long either.

So, if you are going to meet with your uncle Steppes, today is probably the only day that will be possible.

And it will indeed take you a short while to get ready, while Ponpon already seems to be ready to go. So why not have her go ahead, without you, to your family's mansion, and see if she can get a hold of your uncle?

"Now that you mention it, Ponpon…"

You think about it for a few more moments, and decide that…

Spoiler: You will go out with uncle Steppes!

- - -



You eventually decided that there was absolutely no reason not to meet up with your uncle. Or at least to check if he was available today.

Of course, you know he is a very busy stallion, despite the fact that you still have no idea what exactly he does for the family. But still, the two of you agreed that it wouldn't hurt to at least try to see if he is available this morning.

Or, to be more accurate, the two of you agreed that it wouldn't hurt for Ponpon to go see if he is available this morning. Heaven knows you are not stepping a single hoof at your family's place if you can avoid it.

And if your uncle happens to be unreachable today, then there was nothing you could do about it.

With that in mind, you continue walking down the streets of the noble part of Canterlot.

The city itself is still as excited as ever. You have not yet passed through any parades or celebrations, and you assume the posh and imposing energy radiating from the several mansions around you is playing a part in keeping this part of the city organized. But you can still feel it, in the air and all around you. You can almost taste it, the mood that is covering the whole city like a blanket. This mixture of mute excitement and unspoken tension caused by Princess Luna's return and Princess Celestia's subsequent fainting.

You have also noticed that even this part of Canterlot is also much more packed than it would usually be. Looking around as you walk you can see all sorts of ponies that clearly hail from different cities. And you can tell at a glance that many of them are simply sightseeing.

You suppose it makes sense. Canterlot's noble district isn't exactly a tourist attraction, seeing how there is nothing to do here in particular. But since the city is full to bursting with ponies, many of them must be taking the opportunity to also get to know the capital itself. And for all that there isn't anything to do here, the mansions and the district itself are beautiful, with how the noble families constantly try to out-do each other in their displays of wealth.

And that, you think idly, is yet another part of the noble life you feel somewhat disconnected to. This whole competition and this need to display wealth that you see around you. Really, you can understand living in a nice house, or having a nice garden. But some of the things you have seen, even on your short walk here, can only be described as downright decadent.

You continue walking, letting your mind leisurely jump from thought to thought as you go down the white-stoned sidewalks of Canterlot's upper crust. Feeling yourself slowly unwind as you let the gentle breeze flow past you.

For all that the eclipse might not make for a pleasant view, as you would much rather it be a sunny day, you have to admit that Ponpon really had it right when she suggested this. The Royal Castle cannot truly be described as an oppressive place, but now that you are out in the streets you notice that it did have a rather heavy atmosphere to it, with how everything is alicorn-sized and pompous to the standards of royalty.

It probably isn't the Princesses' fault, you think, seeing how the vast majority of the castle's population are the high nobility who are there for one reason or another. But still, now that you are taking a breather outside that place you can teel that there was definitely something weighting you down while you were there.

Of course, yesterday's fiasco certainly helped with that.

Something snaps you out of your thoughts, causing you to stop on your tracks. The random thoughts you had in your head suddenly screeching to a halt and tripping all over each other for a single and very confusing moment.

You shake your head, trying to remember what in the heavens you were thinking about, and trying to understand what happened.

Something. You noticed something. A voice? A movement on the corner of your eye, perhaps?

You look around, taking stock of where you are for a few seconds.

Well, you are still inside the noble district, which is only obvious since it would have taken you twice the time you have been walking, at full gallop, to actually leave it. And you are in a place you recognize, so you didn't just wander randomly and somehow got lost.

Yes, you are a few minutes away from your home, near the spot where you agreed to meet with Ponpon after she was done trying to reach your uncle.

And also, and also…

"Strange," you say to yourself, still looking around you while trying to understand exactly what just happened, "there doesn't seem to be anything unusual."

So why did you just have that… that sudden snap a few moments ago?

You almost decide to ignore it, and continue walking, when your eyes fall on a group of ponies.

And once again you are struck by that curious sensation. Because somehow, for some reason, you swear that you recognize one of them, although you have no idea why.

Curious, you start observing them a little more carefully. Wracking your brain as you try to remember where you might have seen them before.

The group of ponies you are looking at is made of five stallions. One unicorn, three earth ponies and a pegasus. Two of the earth ponies, mind you, are quite large. Maybe as large as Comet Feet, although you can't tell for sure.

But what is more, they have this… feeling, about them. A strange mixture of posture and mannerism, something that you can't quite put a hoof on, that certainly indicates they are not from Canterlot. Or at least, you think, that they most certainly don't come to this part of Canterlot often. You narrow your eyes slightly as you try to focus.

Maybe they are from the cult? Some passersby or a group of recent converts you haven't heard about yet? But if they are, then what are they doing all the way here in Canterlot? They wouldn't be together like this if it wasn't cult business, and you very much hope you would have heard about this if it is cult business.

It doesn't help that you can't see any cutie marks. In fact, it doesn't help that you can't see much of their bodies at all, truth be told. The three earth ponies and the pegasus are wearing wha you can only describe as a trench coat, and the unicorn is neatly dressed in a suit.

But that makes a few more bells jingle inside your head.

They just look too… too inconspicuous, you think. That is, they look intentionally inconspicuous.

The four larger stallions don't exactly look out of place. The trench coat-wearing stallions even seem to have gone to a few lengths to be presentable, with how you can see they all wear neatly kept shirts with ties underneath their clothing. But the way they are standing, the way they are looking around as they talk to each other… it doesn't make them stick out in a crowd, but now that you have noticed them it's as if you can't see anything else.

The unicorn is fine, you think. He almost gives you the idea of a young son of some noble house, accompanied by his four…

Four…

See? That's the problem. Those four stallions absolutely don't look like regular servants, no matter how you try to put it. Maybe they can blend well enough with their surroundings if you just give them a quick once-over. But now that you are looking at them more intently, all those little things you noticed seem to be piling up, making them appear even more glaringly out of place. Heavens, the two larger ones even feel a bit dangerous, now that you look more closely, with how they seem to be frowning and-



And one of them, the largest of the three earth ponies, suddenly looks your way, and his permanent frown immediately turns into a scowl.



A slight chill runs down your spine as the two of you immediately read each other's expression, almost as if you are reading each other's thoughts. He could tell at a glance that you have been staring at his group for way too long, and you can tell at a glance that he is not at all amused by it.

The large earth pony immediately beings walking in your direction, and you realize a few moments later that your hoofs are frozen on the spot.

You aren't in danger. You shouldn't be in danger. No here. Not in the middle of Canterlot's noble district. That is what the rational part of your brain is trying to tell you, at least.

But as you watch a stallion who is probably twice your weight walk towards you, with an expression that very clearly says he is not pleased with your curiosity, your body can't help but completely ignore that rational part of you. In fact, your body can't help but ignore absolutely everything you are trying to tell it.

You think you wouldn't be able to run away even if you wanted to, as something inside you simply turns into stone when a normal pony's instincts would tell them to flee.

And you can already tell how things are going to happen. The very large and dangerous looking pony will ask you if you have any problems, you will promptly answer him that you do not, and then he will politely suggest you to be on your way. A suggestion to which you will acquiesce without thinking twice.

The stallion finally comes up to you, standing a single step away from where you are. Close enough for you to appreciate just how tall he is, with how you have to look slightly up to be able to face him.

His voice, also, is a lot harsher than you expected.



"Do you have any probl-?"

"Oi! You hoof-head! The hay you think you're doing?!"



But his almost prophetic words are suddenly interrupted, by an angry and commanding voice that comes from the group of stallions. And to your surprise, the one who just shouted at him was the suit-wearing unicorn, who is now coming towards the two of you.

A part of you wants to say that you know him from somewhere, that he is the one that you recognized a few minutes ago.. But your mind is still too frozen to care about anything but the trench coat-wearing mass of horsepower that is still standing menacingly in front of you.

"Lady here was staring at us, sir," the stallion turns towards the unicorn, "I was just-"

"Just what? We ain't in Manehattan or Baltimare you oaf. If a lady wants to stare at you, then she can stare all she wants!" the unicorn cuts him off, forcing him back with nothing but a glare.

Literally forcing him back, mind you. You see the much taller earth pony visibly shirk under the unicorn's gaze.

And then he turns to face you, taking a better look at you for the first time.

"My apologies, Miss, my partner here doesn't know his manners, but I assure you that…"

But the unicorn trails off, his mouth going slightly wider as he looks at you from mane to hoof.

And much to your growing worry, the unicorn stays frozen like that for quite a few seconds. To the point that even the stallion next to him realizes something is off, the other three ponies who were a few steps away coming towards you to see what is going on.

"Uhm… sir? S'something wrong?" the large earth pony asks, the harshness he had in his voice a few moments ago completely gone, as the pony you assume to be his superior seems to have gone mute because of… something.

But he snaps out of it before you can say anything.

"Of course something is wrong, you huge cart pusher!" he says, turning to the earth pony so quickly that the larger stallion almost jumps up in surprise. "You have a donkey brain under that pony head of yours? You the kind of pony who can't even recognize their own cutie mark?! This lady you just talked to is the boss' niece!"

The large earth pony's face goes white when he hears that, the hairs on his coat standing up and his ears coming down in what you can only describe as fear. The three other stallions, who are standing behind the unicorn, also seem to be very thankful that they are not the ones being yelled at. But they also back off slightly, as if feeling some kind of sympathetic pain for their larger friend.

And you, quite frankly, are just as surprised by what the unicorn just said.



- - -



"Ah am really sorry, Mrs. Boss Lady, I really didn't mean no-"

"Of course you didn't mean anything, you huge slab! Now go not mean anything over there, before you really do something you'll be sorry for."

It really was a curious experience, to watch such a young unicorn scold a pony who has almost twice his (and your!) body mass. And it was almost funny, watching the earth stallion desperately trying to apologize again and again, only to be cut off by the unicorn before he could finish any of his sentences.

Although you were still too frightened to actually laugh during any of that.

By the time the unicorn is done, the large earth pony, whom you learned is called Heavy Trot, has almost sunk to the floor in shame, his ears low and his posture all but curled up. But at least he has enough in him to dejectedly walk towards the other three stallions, after being dismissed by a harsh wave of the unicorn's hoof.

Then the young unicorn turns towards you. And the way his voice, and everything else about him, immediately turns much more pleasant as he addresses you is almost shocking.

Wait… not shocking, you correct yourself. It is actually familiar, the way he talks and the pleasant smile he has on his face. And for a moment, you almost think you are looking at a younger, less experienced version of your uncle.

"I am truly sorry you had to see that, Lady Velvet. Please, let me apologize for that big blunder of his. He's not used to being in this sort of place, you see."

Yes, this is definitely it. This is what you thought you had recognized from a distance. The similarity in mannerism between this unicorn and your uncle is striking, you think. To the point where you even relax a little bit as you talk to him.

"There… well, there really is no problem," you say, trying to calm your slightly fast heart with your own words. "Although he did surprise me for a few moments."

You watch the unicorn throw a glare at the four other stallions, Heavy Trot in particular almost hiding behind his companions at that. But moments later his expression is once again as polite and pleasant as it was before.

"And I'm terribly sorry for asking this," you continue, "but from what you said, I gather that you work for my uncle? It's just that I swear I remember you from somewhere, but I can't quite place a hoof on it."

"Oh, it's no problem at all that you don't remember me, Lady Covers," he says with a polite nod, "my name is Vellum, and me and the boys do work for Lord Steppes. And you must recognize me because I did have the honor of meeting you, but only in passing. I was at your estate last month on an errant, on the second day of Lord Steppe's visit. What happened was that he went straight to your mansion in Ponyville, when he got your letter, so he had me fetch his luggage and deliver it there."

With that, your memory finally clicks. Yes, it's no wonder you couldn't remember the young unicorn. You only saw him once, for a few moments, when he came with your uncle's things as he said. And Vellum only stayed for a few hours while he took care of some things with Ponpon.

"But don't even bother with the name, my Lady. Lord Steppes also only calls me 'boy'," he says with an unexpectedly satisfied smile and a short bow. "And I'm at your service, whatever you choose to call me."

Oh? You raise an eyebrow at that.

You know for a fact that your uncle is single, and for all that you have talked to him for hours and hours, trying to get details out of his personal life is as hard as trying to put a thread through a needle without magic, as Rarity would say it.

So you are quite surprised, or at least curious, that you just met somepony who seems to be close to your uncle.

Close enough for him to call Vellum "boy", at least.

The unicorn lacks the usual, brown-tinged coat of your family, but for a few moments your mind can't help but come up with a few more wild (and rather scandalous) ideas about your uncle's life. But you suppress them after a few moments. You dear uncle is definitely not that sort of stallion.

"Charmed to make your acquaintance, Vellum. This time properly, that is," you say, curbing your stray thoughts, "and it really is a coincidence for us to meet like this, then. What are you doing here at this hour?" you ask him, honestly curious.

After all, it really strikes you as somewhat strange, to see five of your uncle's employees… they are his employees, right? Well, it is strange to see five of them here, this early in the morning. In fact, it feels even stranger when you see that, not counting Vellum himself, the four other stallions are all on the "workhorse" side of things, with how large they are.

But Vellum's answer…



"Ah. Well, Lady Covers, the things is that… uhm… ahahahaha. You see, what we ARE doing here is that we…"



The unicorn doesn't really answer your question, he doesn't answer anything at all. The smooth and polite voice he had but a few seconds ago turning into a stammer, and his calmness immediately shattering for… some reason.

You have no idea why, but you have the impression that something on your question has just made him extremely uncomfortable.

But what in the heavens did you do wrong? You just asked him what he is doing here.

"Vellum? Is everything alright?" you ask, your raised eyebrow turning into a concerned furrowed brow as you watch the unicorn begin to sweat.

"Nothing's wrong, Lady Velvet. Nothing at all! We are definitely not doing anything suspic-. I mean, there's nothing wrong! We were just standing here and were having a nice chat, right boys!?" he says looking back at the four other stallions with a strangely pleading expression, almost as if he is hoping they will help him with something.

But for some reason, the other stallions seem equally hesitant to speak, shaking their heads and waving their hoofs as if the didn't want any attention to be directed at them.

"I ain't lying to the boss' niece."
"Yeah, me neither. S'already scary enough that she's this close in the first place."

Seeing that no help is forthcoming, Vellum simply looks back at you, a cracked smile appearing on his face as if hoping you would be satisfied with what he just said.

But of course… you are not.

Because he didn't tell you anything at all.

And because you are a bit worried for him, with how much he seems to be scared of something.

"So…" you begin to say, slowly, "you were just here with your friends?"

Vellum nods, the movement jerky and hesitant.

You bite down the next obvious question of "why?", and decide that perhaps you should try to guide this conversation more directly.

"And the five of you work for my uncle, right?"

Once again he nods, and you have the impression that he started to breathe faster.

"And since you are all here… together… I take it you were going to do something for my uncle?"

Vellum's eyes go wide at that, as if you had just come to a conclusion you were not supposed to reach. Or rather, as if you had just realized something he was not supposed to let you realize.

Which doesn't make any sense, really. They just work for your uncle, why would that have any strange implications to it?

More importantly, why would his employees think that his own niece shouldn't have dealings with their business? You and him are both nobles from the same family, and that basically equates to working on the same company, or something.

But before he can answer you, you hear the sound of an approaching coming from behind you. And you think you hear Vellum mutter something about "Celestia" and "have mercy" as you turn around to see what is going on.



However, the thing that you see actually surprises you for a few moments.



There are no less than three carriages are coming down the street, each of them pulled by a pair of stallions almost as large as Heavy Trot. The number of carriages is somewhat unusual, but not completely unheard of. But what really makes you curious is the fact that none of the carriages are marked.

And that is basically because carriages are not exactly cheap things. Of course, a regular old chariot can be something cheap from a noble's point of view. But that is the gist of it: if a carriage is cheap by a noble's standards, then it is not up to noble standards to begin with. After all a carriage, like almost all other material possessions a noble has, is but another tool to show off power and influence to the other noble families.

So, naturally, a good carriage will always be engraved or marked with a family's symbol.

The three carriages you are looking at, however, are unmarked. They are sufficiently lavish to go around the noble district just fine. And in fact, just like the four stallions that are accompanying Vellum, the carriages seem to walk on that fine line of "acceptable but not eye-catching". But still, it strikes you as odd that you can't see any family crests on them.

And again, why the hay are there three of them?

The three carriages come to a neat halt by the sidewalk. And without further prompt, or almost as if they were running from something, the four larger stallions immediately go towards the third carriage, entering it without a word and closing the door once they are in.

Although Heavy Trot does send you one last apologetic (and maybe fearful) glance.

Vellum, on the other hoof, freezes for a few more seconds. His gaze alternating between looking at you, and then at the centermost, and largest, carriage.

But after a few moments, he finally seems to gather himself enough to go towards the middle carriage.

And you follow right after him, curiously standing by his side as he walks up to the door and opens it.



"Good morning boss. We, uh…"



You have to admit that the interior of the carriage is far, far different than what you expected.

You can only see half of its interior, and unfortunately you can't see the pony to whom Vellum is talking to.

But what you can see is a trio of ponies, sitting on the side of the carriage that is within your view. Two of them are pegasi, also veering to the "large" size of things and wearing the same trench coat attires you have seen before. And between them, flanked by the two pegasi, is a scrawny looking unicorn who is wearing glasses. The unicorn seems unphased by his surroundings, most of his face hidden behind a large book that you are almost certain is some kind of ledger.

The sweet smell of cigars, also, hits you as soon as Vellum opens the doors.



"No 'uh's, Boy. Either think before you speak or stay quiet, or else other ponies might not take you seriously when you talk."



And your uncle's voice, unmistakable despite the strangeness of the situation, comes right after.

You immediately smile at that, the happiness of meeting your uncle here on coincidence making you forget about just how unusual this whole thing is.

"Right. I apologize. But the thing is, boss, we happened by Lady Velvet Covers while we were waiting here," Vellum says.

You hear somepony puffing a cigar.

"Well, then you and the boys better have treated her right. Now get in, we have places to be."

"Well, about that, boss…" Vellum says, visibly cringing as he gather his courage to say his next words. "She's still here, boss," he says, and you take those words as your cue to walk around Vellum so you can come into your uncle's view.

Of course, this also lets you see the other side of the carriage's interior.

Which means you can now see your uncle, wearing a neat suit and smoking a cigar, flanked on his seat by two stallions who are somehow larger than Comet Feet.

But if your uncle had a serious expression on his face, as he smoked his cigar, then it disappeared as soon as he saw you.

"Covers!"

The next moment, all he has on his face is a great and honest smile.

"Niece! By Celestia, it's good to see you! I heard from your maid yesterday that you were in town, but I didn't think we'd be able to meet," he says, all but jumping up from his seat and exiting the carriage, covering you in a hug before you can say anything.

And if the ponies who are with him think there is anything strange in how he is acting, then they are making a very good job at now showing it.

"Uncle Steppes, it's uh… strange to see you here," you answer, putting a foreleg around him as well.

While Vellum very carefully walks by the two of you, closing the carriage's door and blocking your view of its odd passengers.

"Strange? Me being here? Our family's mansion is just a few minutes down that way, kiddo. Nothing strange of me being here," your uncle says, letting go of you and, as usual, looking you from horn to tail as if you were still a growing filly. "You, on the other hoof, I wouldn't expect to find here. Anything the matter?"

"I was…" you bite down your words for a few moments, not exactly sure how much your uncle might know about yesterday's occurrence. It wouldn't surprise you in the slightest if he already knew about what happened with Princess Luna, seeing how fast gossip tends to gallop. But still, you'd rather not talk about it. "Well, Ponpon convinced me to take the morning off, as it happens. Go for a walk, unwind and all that. And we both thought it would be nice to check in on you. Just to see if you were free to join us."

Your uncle's smile somehow grows more genuine at that.

"I'm always free for you, Covers. So of course I'd love to join you two! Did you have anything in mind or-?"

"Uhm… uncle Steppes?" you gently interrupt him, causing him to tilt his head for a few moments.

Of course you are glad you met your uncle, and of course you are happy that he is available to join you. But there is still a, uhm… a tiny little detail you would like to address, before continuing this.

"I'd love it if you could join us, but…" you continue, "aren't you doing something right now?" you say.

Your question, however, just causes him to tilt his head further.

And realizing he has no idea what you are talking about, you helpfully point a hoof at the three carriages waiting by the street, and the nervous-looking Vellum who is standing a few paces from you two.

"In fact, what exactly are you doing? If you don't mind me asking, that is. But Vellum seemed awful nervous when I asked him that."

Velvet Steppes looks at the carriages, and then at you, narrowing his eyes as if he was really wondering what you are talking about. Until his eyes finally grow wide again, a soft "Oh!" escaping his lips as if he realized something.

"Oh, right. That! Nothing important kiddo, don't worry." You see him glance at Vellum for a few moments, as if wondering why the young unicorn is so nervous to begin with, "I was just going to a friend's mansion to play some golf. You know, old pony's sport, nothing too exciting."

You let out a soft "huh" at that, and Vellum visibly sags in relief, for… some reason.

"But since you're here, I know just what we can do for this morning outing of yours. Vellum," he says, turning to the waiting unicorn, "tell the boys we are done for today. We'll go golfing tomorrow. Something much more important just came up."

Vellum nods without a second thought, and quickly makes his way towards the first carriage. No doubt so he can tell its puller to take it away.

And although you admittedly don't put too much thought into it, you decide to…

Spoiler: Wait! Let's go golfing!

"Wait, uncle! That's not right," you say. Or rather, the words come out of your mouth before you can really think about them.

Vellum freezes when he hears you say that, although you still can't understand why the unicorn is so nervous.

And in a much more normal reaction, your uncle simply raises an eyebrow as you continue speaking.

"You already had your plans for golfing and all. It doesn't feel right for you to throw everything to the wind just because I showed up," you say.

And you mean it. Your uncle is his own pony, and no doubt this morning golf he planned with his friend must be important to him. You can't just take that away from him and have him change your plans just because you showed up!

"Ah, it really isn't much of a hassle, kiddo. In fact, they might even be thankful I don't show up today," your uncle says with a chuckle. "That friend of mine is really bad at golf," he adds with a wry smile.

"I insist, uncle. And besides, I've never seen anypony play golf before. And if you don't mind me watching from the sides then it might even be a fun experience," you retort, trying your best not to sound forceful. But you really would feel bad if you were to change your uncle's plans like that.

You see his lips curl up slightly at that, as if something about this situation was amusing to him, and you hold his gaze as he thinks about the situation.

"Boss," Vellum chirps up from the side, his voice shaking as if he was extremely fearful of something. "We, uh… it's golf, boss. We can't possibly take the Lady t-"

"Hush Vellum," but your uncle cuts him off before he can finish, "you should know better than to think I can refuse my niece. And by Celestia, don't even let me get started on my grandnieces!"

You laugh for a few moments as you remember the utterly baffling day when your uncle and your daughter first met. And before Vellum can say anything else, your uncle makes his way to his carriage, opening the door and addressing the ponies in it.

"Give us the carriage. My niece and Vellum are coming with me."

The ponies who are in the carriage move to obey without a word. The unicorn walks down of the carriage floating a pile of ledgers, and the four other stallions make their way out right after. Two of them being so huge that they actually have to negotiate their way through the door and you watch as the two ponies who were seated next to your uncle.

But all of that hassle just makes you appreciate just how large the thing is, once you and your uncle enter it.



- - -



"Uncle Steppes, I have to ask… did you hear anything about-"

"None of that, kiddo. If you're gonna ask me anything with a face like that, then at least wait until we have something to drink! But that is if… you are old enough to drink, right?"

"Oh, stop with that silliness, you."

"Wait, you are?! By the princesses, Covers, you look younger than Vellum here. Are you hiding wings under that dress of yours?"

As usual, being with your uncle is a balm to your soul. You will have to thank Ponpon later, for insisting on this.

The carriage had been moving for less than a few moments, and already the windows were open. Velvet Steppes got rid of his cigar right after, the sweet aroma of the smokes was slowly but surely being replaced by fresh air from the outside. And the two of you were talking, and laughing, as quickly as the carriage gained speed.

You were so distracted that you even forgot to ask why the hay he needs three carriages filled with his employees just to go golfing.

It just didn't seem important to ask.

Eventually, the carriage comes to a halt, one of the doors being opened from the outside by a trench coat wearing stallion soon after.

You don't quite recognize where you are, with how you can't see the Royal Castle from here. But you believe that you are still on the noble district, somewhere on the outskirts.

Well, it makes sense for you to be far from the center of the district. From what you have heard, you assume golfing takes up quite a lot of space. The sort of space that would be prohibitively expensive to own near the center of the noble district, no matter how powerful a noble is.

You follow your uncle as he makes his way out of the carriage, the two of you heading towards the large gates of the mansion that is before you.

Curiously, the gates are unlocked as one of your uncle's stallions pushes it open. But Velvet Steppes doesn't seem to find it strange, simply entering and making his way through the front gardens as if it was natural, so you decide to do the same.

Although it also strikes you as odd that you don't see any servants… in fact, you don't see anypony at all. Looking behind you, you can see that maybe a dozen other ponies have disembarked from the carriages, all of them wearing those similar trench coats, and all of them are following behind you and your uncle as you make your way through the front passage.

It can't be that a group this large would go unnoticed.

"Uncle steppes," you ask, watching your uncle's ears perk up, "could it be that there is nopony home? I mean, this place is quite large even for Canterlot's standards, but I don't see anypony here."

"Oh, don't worry kiddo," your uncle answers with a smile. "I wrote ahead telling him I'd come today. He must have given his ponies a day off or something. He's odd like that, but you'll get what I mean once I introduce you to him."

You nod at that. It is indeed rather strange, not to have any servants in your home when you know somepony is coming to visit you.

But your uncle did bring a lot of ponies for his own part, so maybe it's an old arrangement they have.

Whoever it is you are visiting, they must surely be an old friend of your uncle's.

The two of you make your way past the garden, and your uncle opens the front door, which was also unlocked. And soon you are introduced to the owner of this mansion.



- - -



It turned out that you very much liked golfing.



"Princesses' love, Steppes. Please listen to me! I promise you, I'll have it by next mon-!"
"Whatever you are talking about, my old friend! Here, let me introduce you to my beautiful niece before you say anything in front of her that you might regret."



And Black Kettle, the middle-aged stallion that owns this mansion, was indeed as weird as your uncle said he was. The whole time you were with him he seemed to be extremely nervous and fidgety.



"Delighted to meet you, Mr. Kettle."
"The p-pleasure is mine, Lady Velvet."
"Great! Now that we are done with the introductions. Vellum, why don't you take Kettle here for a walk. Let him show you and the boys where he keep the drinks, then come join us at the golf course."
"Alicorn's mercy, Steppes. Please, I-"
"Here, Covers. Right this way. I'm sure Kettle will join us before I'm done teaching you how to set up the course."



You also never heard of any noble family named "Kettle", but there are plenty of families you never heard about.

But anyways, as you were saying, golfing is indeed fun.

Even more fun when it's your uncle who is teaching you.

The two of you talked for quite a while, as he slowly taught you how to play. The rules about not using magic made sense, but it really took you quite a few swings before you managed to hit the ball without scraping a good portion of grass.

Still, the first time you did it, and you saw the ball zipping towards the distant flag-hole, was thrilling!



"Ah, there you are boy. I'm surprised Kettle hasn't joined us yet. Anything holding him up?"
"He uh… volunteered, to talk to our bookkeeper about something, boss. He wanted some… advice, about finances and stuff. He'll be here in a few minutes. I also sent one of the carriages to pick up Ponpon, sir."
"Good lad. Are the boys playing nice?"
"Yes sir. Everypony is keeping their hoofs under their legs."
"Excellent! And grab a bat from over there, will you? Velvet here is taking to golf like a fish takes to water, and I want to check if it's because I'm that good of a teacher, or if it's just because she's being brilliant as usual."
"Humpf! None of that, uncle. I can barely hit the ball as it is, and I swear you have one of your pegasus hiding in the trees, with how much the wind seems to send your balls exactly where you want them!"



Eventually, Black Kettle did join you for the rest of your match, but his grip on the golf clubs was as shaky as his voice whenever he said something.

He really was an odd fellow. But at some point, your uncle pulled him away from you and spoke to him in private, and eventually the stallion calmed down.

Or at least that's what it looked like. After all, he did stop shaking.

All in all, it was an extremely pleasant morning. Ponpon arrived less than an hour later, and you were having so much fun that you almost didn't have it in you to deny your uncle's suggestion that you stay the afternoon.

But in the end, you had to leave.

Although you did have one final, pleasant surprise as you were making your way out.



"Wait a minute… This thing right here… Mr. Kettle, where did you buy this?"
"Oh, uh… this? This is nothing, Lady Velvet. Nothing that you should think much of. Just an old rag I bought on a whim and…"
"No, no, no. Mr. Kettle you don't understand, this tapestry here…? This thing is ancient. It's ancient and… by the heavens! Please Mr. kettle, do you remember from whom you bought this? Or at least where?!"
"Hmm? Did something catch your eye there, kiddo?"
"Nothing, Lord Steppes? Lady Velvet didn't-"
"This tapestry here, uncle! I, well… I read a lot about antiques, and I think this here is the real deal!"
"Is it now…? Well, it really looks old… and is this thing on the center supposed to be a broken grail? Or is it a large cup…? Uh. Regardless. Kettle, my friend, my niece is usually right when it comes to these sorts of things. So tell me, have you been making any bad financial decisions again? Spending your hard-earned bits on things that you weren't supposed to?"
"By Celestia, Steppes, please. I swear that-… You can't possibly… that thing cost thousands of bits and it-!"



You are not sure what exactly your uncle and Black Kettle talked about after that, you were honestly… entrapped by the tapestry you had chanced upon, hanging one of the mansion's halls on display.

But when you snapped out of your trance, Mr. Kettle said he was going to give it to you as a farewell gift! Much to your uncle's delight.

Really, the two of them must be really good friends, seeing how nice Black Kettle was with you!

All in all, you didn't regret following Ponpon's suggestion in the slightest.



[] Black Kettle, your uncle's good friend, has gifted you an antique tapestry after a delightful visit you paid him. (Gain book: "The Grail, Bleeding". GRAIL, level 6 Book. Codified, must be deciphered before being studied.)

Spoiler: Follow your uncle's idea

You decide to follow your uncle, and as soon as the three carriages are gone, he very quickly tells Vellum to go fetch Ponpon, assuming she is still looking for your uncle in your family's house, and tell him to meet the two of you on a certain address.



- - -



"Would you care for some wine, niece?"

"Uncle, I just had breakfast less than two hours ago."

"Is that a yes, then?"

You roll your eyes, conceding to him with a chuckle as he floats the bottle towards your empty glass.

And your glass is empty no longer.

"Really, uncle Steppes, I had no idea this kind of place existed. And even if I did, I never would have guessed they would be doing this so early in the morning."

"Well, that's because you have been isolated on that lovely house of yours for too long," he says with a smile. "But considering the company you have, I don't blame you in the slightest. Also, it so happens that you got lucky. This usually only happens three times a week, but seeing how packed the city is there has been an increase in interesting goods circulating Canterlot."

You are about to ask what exactly he means by that, but before you have the chance a mare walks up to the stage and clears her throat.

As if on cue, the low chatter that had been permeating the room immediately falls silent, and everypony's attention is suddenly focused on the mare.

"I bid you all a good morning, and thank you for your continuous patronage and interest. Welcome to the Orion Flame's Auction House, and allow me to display today's first item."

As she says that, a pair of stallions walks up to the stage, carrying a large and intricately carved vase between them.



- - -



You didn't think that taking part in an auction was this interesting.

But it started to make a little bit of sense, once your uncle started explaining it to you.

"Think of it as gambling, dear. A mixture of dueling, poker and chariot racing," was how he chose to say.

Because as it turned out, despite the curios in display that were being auctioned, everypony's attention was actually focused on the crowd of nobles participating.

"Now, you have to keep in mind that it's all about power, and that there are several ways to display it. See that necklace that's on display just now? It is obviously old, and very well made, and the ponies of Orion Flame's really put in the effort to trace back its origin and attest to its authenticity. But what really matters is: who exactly is interested in it?"

He then brought your attention to the two ponies that were currently out-bidding each other for the necklace, despite how the several tables were the nobles were sitting were poorly lit.

But after a few moments you notice what your uncle meant with his question.

Of the two bidders, one of them had a smug grin on his face, every time he offered a larger sum for the necklace. And the other bidder… was sitting next to a mare.

"Oh…"

"Exactly. That mare is his wife, and everypony knows Lady Sprout has a thing for jewels. And I can guarantee you that the bastard over there that keeps outbidding Mr. Sprout is doing it just for the kicks of it. Power plays, kiddo. That necklace has already reached three times its original value, just because one of the sides is willing to pay that exorbitant amount, and the other side knows it, and is forcing the price up just to mess with them."

Oh…

You and your uncle continue talking in hushed whispers, but as he tells you more and more details, about the nobles around you and other things, you slowly start to understand what is going on.

Just like he mentioned it, this is a game. Very few ponies are interested in the objects being auctioned as much as they are interested in winning over whatever prize they decide to fight for.

And… maybe you don't even need to win a bid for it to count as a victory, you think, as an idea comes to your mind.

"But uncle, what if Mr. Sprout decides he's had enough, and pulls off from the bid?" you ask.

To which your uncle replies to you with an honestly proud smile.

"Atta girl. You sure are quick," he says, floating his glass in a half-toast. "And answering your question. If Mr. Sprout does that, then his enemy will leave with a useless necklace, several hundred bits less on his pocket, and most importantly with the sour taste of defeat on his mouth."

You slowly nod at your uncle, understanding what he meant by that.



- - -



The games, if you could even call them that, continued for quite a while.

And you have to admit it was quite thrilling, once you got into it. Although to be fair, it was also mind-boggling just how many bits were being thrown around over trinkets and curios of little value. Hundreds of bits going down the drain to purchase antiques of little worth, their prices inflated thanks to the petty squabbles of nobles and their ideas of what fun is.

Which makes you realize this auction house is… quite smart about this, considering they are the ones hosting this show, and certainly receive the alicorn's share of the revenues.

However, not everything on display was exactly unimpressive.

"Next up," the mare speaks up, cutting through the crowd's constant whispering, "is an antique book. Hardcover, in excellent conditions, discovered by a group of explorers out on the far east. We could not pinpoint exactly what language it is written in, but our specialists have been able to confirm it is not a forgery, and that it is at least several centuries old."

Your eyes go wide as the book, the large and ancient tome, is put on the central pedestal.

Because you can see, on its cover.

"Hm? Something caught your eye, kiddo?"

You see that symbol. The same symbol you saw scribbled on certain paths of the Shattered Stairways, high up in the Mansus. The same symbol that you simply know is relevant and important, even if you do not know why.

"Ohh… I see. That book caught your fancy, didn't it?"

"I… uncle, that book…"

Because you see on its cover the symbol of a Sun, split in two.

"The starting bid," the mare says, her voice clear and sharp, "is three hundred bits."

You instinctively frown upon hearing that, the starting bid already being enough to dash your hopes of ever acquiring that book.

But your uncle picks up on that as well, and he gives you a charming smile.

"Don't worry kiddo. Just watch and learn. Uncle is going to teach you how to win a bidding match. My treat for you," he says.

And before you can even think to respond, his horn lights up with magic, floating the small sign towards the host, indicating he would like to place a bid.



[] Your uncle, in a display of wealth and guile that far surpasses your own, has kindly gifted you an immeasurably old book. (Gain book: "The Sun, Divided". LANTERN, level 6 Book. Codified, must be deciphered before being studied.)

Spoiler: You will go out alone

You let out a sigh, a tired and long sigh that Ponpon immediately understands the meaning of.

"Let's go out for a bit," you say, both to yourself and to Ponpon, "but I really don't feel like meeting uncle Steppes right now."

You are very fond of your uncle, and you are almost sure that you would cheer up a little bit more if you met him. Provided that you were lucky enough for him to be free, that is.

But still, for all that you would be happy so spend some time with him, you don't really want to see him face to face.

Maybe what you are feeling is… embarrassment?

You are not quite sure if that is the correct word. But what you do know is that you have just messed up, and you don't really want to mar an encounter with a pony you like very much with this cloud you have hanging over you.

"Let's go out for a walk, just the two of us," you say, looking up towards Ponpon.

And although you are not sure of what her expression means, a strange mixture of apprehension, support and worry, she eventually nods back at you. Accepting that at least she will be able to get you out of the Royal Castle.

"Of course, ma'am. Now, shall I go get you some breakfast?"



- - -



Getting out of the Royal Castle unnoticed was not exactly easy. Mainly because had to avoid using your… "more advanced" tricks, since Ponpon was right there with you. But still, at least nopony came up to you to say or ask anything about yesterday.

Although you could still hear some whispering as you walked through the castle, about Princess Luna and other things. But none of them were being directed at you, so you assume they were just regular gossiping.

Well, being the "regular gossip" of the nobility is never something good to begin with. But at this point being talked about is probably unavoidable. At least you had the benefit of them not knowing you were there, or else they would certainly try to approach you.

But you made it to the very edges of the Royal District without a hitch, and you only had to break your anonymous stride and talk to the guards because the gates to the district were still being kept closed.

And eventually, the two of you left the surrounding noble district, and made it to Canterlot at large.

The city is still as lively as it was when you arrived, with all sorts of ponies from all walks of life joining together in the spontaneous festivities that have spread throughout the whole kingdom.

It is an uplifting scene by its very nature, to see so many ponies gathering for the sake of celebrating something joyous. A cultural turning point where everypony acknowledges that something great has just happened, and that even better things are looming on the horizon.

Or at least, that's how you think you should be feeling about what you see.

But to be frank, right now you can't see Canterlot as anything but a gigantic mess.

"Is everything alright, ma'am?" Ponpon asks, glancing sideways at you as the two of you stand before the raucous… noisome… mass of pony bodies that is blocking the street.

"Yes Ponpon, everything is alright," you tell her, you lie to her, hoping that you would somehow start believing in it if you said it out loud. "Everything is alright, and this is certainly what we wanted to do."

You watch your maid purse her lips at that, and you feel a slight jab of guilt as you realize she might have taken that as if this was her fault, for suggesting this idea.

"Don't worry, Ponpon. Let's just… go look for a bookstore. Or a library. Or anywhere we can talk and breathe without…" you bite down your tongue, realizing that you would just make things worse if you kept talking.

This is not Ponpon's fault. This is nopony's fault, you think to yourself. You're just feeling a bit down, and you're starting to let it get over to your head.

You take a deep breath, finally realizing just how worked up and stressed you really are. And you try to be rational about it. Maybe this is really what you wanted all along, maybe this is just how you really feel about all of this, your feelings coming to the fore now that you are away from the oppressive atmosphere of the Royal Castle, and now that you don't have anypony you need to take care of.

Maybe this is exactly what Ponpon had in mind, and for all that you really don't want to lash out on her, your trusty maid might have predicted even that.

Still, that's not how you want things to work.

You know what it's like to be stressed. You've already been stressed plenty of times thanks to your work and other things. But you're not about to lash out at your friend just so you can cool down a little bit faster.

You're not that kind of pony.

"Say, Ponpon," you say, after another deep breath. "I think we will cover more ground if we go our separate ways. Let's meet up back at the entrance of the Royal District, but for now let's just search for those books I told you about on our own."

"Are you sure, ma'am? I really don't mind coming with you," she asks, and you know exactly what she means with that.

Really, bless Ponpon for existing.

"Quite sure, Ponpon. And who knows, we might even bump into each other while we make our way around here."

You see Ponpon looking at you for a few more seconds, wondering how she should answer that. No doubt trying to see if this is really a good idea, or if perhaps you are a little less balanced than you appear.

But in the end, she gives you a slow nod, still checking to see if you won't perhaps change your mind at the last moment.

"Alright then. Have a good morning, ma'am. I'll meet up with you shortly."

"Thank you Ponpon," you say, as you watch your maid turn around and head towards a nearby street.

And for your own part, you really just want to get away from all this mess…

You decide that you will…

Spoiler: Look for a quiet place

…

…

…

You blink, the movement slow and alien to you. As if you had just realized you were awake instead of dreaming, and that you had a body that was your own.

As if you had just realized you are, in fact, alive and breathing.

You blink, your mind slowly beginning to move like a watermill that had laid abandoned for several years.

You take a deep breath.

And finally, you realize you have no idea where you are.

That thought frightens you only slightly, with some rational part of you saying that something very strange has happened. However, you are not immediately afraid because you understand, somehow, that what happened was merely "strange", not "wrong" or "dangerous".

You just… went out for a walk.

To a very quiet place, perhaps. To a place outside your body, perhaps. But whatever happened, was with your consent. Even if you don't remember it.

You breathe out, slowly getting your bearings as you do so.

Looking around, you realize you are in… some sort of…

You are in some sort of art gallery?

A large gallery-like corridor, wide and lit with oil lamps, stretches in both directions. And you can see several statues, and other works of art, on display, each of them with a neatly kept plaque next to them, indicating their name and whatever other relevant information is available.

You take in all of that over the course of a few moments, looking at the nearby art pieces, taking in the still air of the gallery, idly noticing that there is no window or natural light coming from anywhere but the oil lamps.

You take in all of this new scenery, and then you once again turn to the one thing you recognize on this place. The one pony you know, that you have known for a while now, even though you two just met.

You turn your eyes back to Miss Neighnia.

And your mind goes back to the conversation you had with her.

She is a painting, you are sure of that. Miss Neighnia is a painting, and nothing more. A painting of a dark-coated mare, her short mane the color of ivory and her eyes the color of snow. She is standing by the side of a small tombstone, covered in flowers.

She is a painting, and yet you remember everything she told you.

You don't remember a voice, or a tone, or even a conversation. You just remember how the two of you talked, just now. The same way you remember gossiping with Rarity a few days back, without recalling exactly the words you two exchanged.

Still, for all that you don't remember it in detail, it was a very pleasant conversation.

To the point where you can even say you are feeling a little better about yourself.

She didn't give you a pep talk. Not exactly. But she did tell you about waiting, and about the joys that lie at the end of the road called patience. She did tell you, even if only shortly, about the beauty of a very particular sunset, which happened only once. She did remind you that beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder, and how you ought to try to behold things differently, then, if you can.

And you have an inkling of what actually happened. Call it a hunch.

But you think… that you feel a little better because maybe, and just maybe, what happened between the two of you was a trade. An exchange of sorts. And that she gave you the memories you have, with her, and in return you left her a treasure of your own mind.

However, you know with utmost certainty that Miss Neighnia, in her absolute kindness, took from you only the treasures that were weighting you down the most.

Because even thought nothing deserves to be forgotten, there is no harm in passing your burdens on to somepony else.

The evening bells toll in the distance, from the city that surrounds this place. So you offer her a small curtsy and make your leave, for the art gallery will soon close.



[] You have met the ever delightful Miss Neighnia. And despite her being a motionless and inanimate painting, and nothing else, you very much wish to meet her again. (This may be picked for free, in exchange of a DREAD malus)

Spoiler: Look for an empty place

- - -


You have been walking for a while now.

It has been a pleasant stroll, and for all that the eclipse's permanent glow can be quite gloomy at times, the dark-orange hue that it lends to everything around you actually made things prettier for a change. It made the marble-white of the streets look more somber, it made Canterlot look just a little less happy.

And that is saying something, for a pony town. For ponykind's capital, above all else.

But that suits you just fine. You don't really feel all that happy.

Still, you have been walking for a long time now.

You are sure it is still morning, despite there being no moving sun to lend any credit to that. However, you are certain of it.

You know it is still morning because you have not heard a single bell toll, ever since you and Ponpon went separate ways.

You know it is still morning because you have not really heard anything at all. Despite the permanent festivities, you have not passed by a single crowd, or a single pony. Not even a stray bird or gust of wind has broken the peace under the eclipse's gaze.

You know it is still morning, because…

Time has not really passed.

You don't know how you know this. You do not truly care about why you know this. But you know.

You know that you have walked a very, very long distance, but that no time at all has passed.

It is an implicit thing. The same feeling of certainty, you suppose, that you husband feels whenever he sees something important, or that Rarity feels whenever she creates a dress. It is an innate understanding that simply makes sense, about how time is a river that runs in one direction, and that this whole time you have been walking across that river, and not going with or against its current.

A deep kind of knowledge. One given to you by your cutie mark.



No… By your Brand.



You have been walking for a long while now.



You are still in Canterlot, but there is something wrong about it. And you know it is not in the ground or in the air or in the world.

The only wrong thing here, you know, is yourself.

You are not supposed to be here.

But not in the sense that you are prohibited, or that your presence here is a crime. But you are not supposed to be here by some baser principle, one of logic and impossibility. Much like how an earth pony is not supposed to be seen walking on clouds, or how a newborn foal will never be seen with a cutie mark on their flank.

And yet, here you are.

After a while walking through the streets, you arrive at a park, of sorts. A large and circular place of fountains and trees, lined with sitting benches or white and gold that surround a statue of an alicorn. You see a pony, sitting on one of the benches. A unicorn mare. The very first pony you have seen in a long, long time.

You walk towards her, consciously ignoring the fact that you have no idea who the alicorn depicted by the statue is supposed to be.

You stop a few meters from her, when she notices your presence, and the two of you stare at each other for a while.

The mare is wearing a long dress, the hem of her skirt almost touching the floor. Her bearing is elegant, although you can very clearly see a fire in her eyes as she analyses you back. Her mane is well kept and she looks surprisingly young, and you think you see a hint of a necklace around her neck.

And despite the fact that her skirt is completely covering her flank, you know of her cutie mark. You know that it is a book, an open book surrounded by winged creatures that worship flames. And you know that said book is about to be burned in the name of change, the first spark for the first flame that will feed the fires of a forge. The igniting blaze that will light a great crucible, the heat of which will reforge and reshape the world itself.

Although you also understand that is the deeper meaning of her cutie mark. Because if anypony were to look at it, they would see nothing but an open book, surrounded by butterflies.

A cutie mark, you must say, exactly like your own.

Looking at her is like looking at a mirror.

"A book that has the entirety of history written in it?" she asks, a smile appearing on her face, "how very much like us."

"Yours is far more inspiring. I have the impression that you get far more things done than I do," you say, smiling back at Lady Velvet Covers.

To which she laughs, making you wonder for a few moments if that's how you really sound like. Not that you dislike it, mind you, it just feels weird.

"Well, you can say that, but I figure you are the only one of two who can pull this stunt, between all of us."

You think for a few moments, then you concede her the point with a nod, moving to sit by her side.

And the two of you stay like that for a little while.

Until your curiosity gets the better of you.

"That statue," you say, "I don't recognize it," you say, although it worries you a little bit to see her expression darken a little bit.

"Well, I don't recognize the eclipse either. So I suppose this is a mixture of both of our places," she says.

And you immediately understand that, much like yourself, she doesn't exactly want to talk about it.

"But I think both of us have a few more interesting things to talk about," she says, regaining her good mood after a few moments. "They say only a single pony can keep a secret, otherwise it's not a secret anymore, right? Then let me tell you a few secrets I know. Because I think it might just count as me talking to myself."

She then begins to tell you about the secrets that exists in mixtures, and the many different ways in which different things can be brought together. About how they may be simply fused like two metals in a furnace, or how they may be guided into creating something completely new and different, like when two ponies have an offspring of their blood.

And in return, you tell her some secrets of your own, about cause and effect, and about how a life, much like a book, is nothing but a sequence of random words and occurrences, that only make sense when they are in the proper order.

It is night when you return to where you came from.



[] You have met yourself, from another History, and you have learned many secrets of Forge. Gain three scraps of FORGE Lore. (This may be picked for free, in exchange of a FASCINATION malus)

Spoiler: Just five more minutes...

To Tartarus with is.

You let your sigh draw out for a few more moments, your eyes closing without conscious thought as you slowly let yourself fall sideways towards the bed. Your head hits the waiting pillow, and soon enough you float yet another one to cover your head.

Darkness will not come to you, not while you have your eyes closed, but at least you can make your view as bland and uninteresting as possible until unconsciousness reaches you.

And it really doesn't take much time at all for that to happen.



- - -



You wake up to a completely different scenario.

Not the Mansus. You resisted the urge to escape there in your not-dreams, knowing full well that you've had enough excitement yesterday to last you a long time.

Instead, you wake up to the sight of a clean room. The dress that was on the floor a few moments ago is nowhere to be seen, and everywhere you look you can see the telltale signs of Ponpon's hoofwork. There is even a tray with some breakfast on it, covered by one of those fancy glass domes, placed on the nearby table.

Bless Ponpon, you think, as you languidly make your way out of your bed.

You sneak a glance at the door, seeing that it is still locked. But you figure that Ponpon, through the castle's servants, probably managed to get herself a spare key to your room. It's probably pretty standard practice for them, now that you think about it, and…

And you realize your mind must still be only half-awake, with how engaged you were on that particular train of thought.

But at least you feel well-rested. To the point where you think that staying in bed any longer might become physically painful.

Floating the breakfast tray towards you, you idly start nibbling on its contents as you head for the nearest mirror and start working on your mane.

It's a slow process, one that you don't put much effort into making any faster. And that is both because your mind is still sluggish, as well as because, to be honest, the solitude is being quite welcome right now. At least being alone gives you time to think.

"Alright, Velvet… So…" you mumble to yourself, looking back at the half-closed eyes of your reflection.

So…

Princess Luna has returned. She has returned and is currently taking care of her sister. It also seems that she is working with changelings, but you very much believe that she is in control of the situation given that yesterday she-

"Not," you interrupt yourself, stressing that single word as much as it is possible. "Not like this, Velvet… don't think like this."

You take a deep breath and try again, your mind slowly growing sharper as you continue taming your mane with the help of a brush.

So.

Princess Luna… Selene, your daughter, is back at your home. And you have factual evidence, born from a promise between two mothers, that she is all there is to Princess Luna.

Right. That is a good start.

You have also discovered a few days ago that there have been "changelings", monsters that you still know little about, slowly infiltrating Ponyville, and that they have been doing so for a few months now. You also surmise from what you heard your Master say that they came from the Mansus, or were somehow exiled form it.

Yes, all of that seems to add up.

And yesterday, you have confirmed that there are changelings in the Royal Castle. And that Princess Luna is back, and is currently taking care of her sister seeing how sh-

You let out a groan, shaking your head. You have confirmed that something with close ties to the changelings is also in the castle.

"Heavens… I can't even think about Princess… about her, without getting derailed," you say, taking a deep breath.

Even thinking about her feels like getting lost. But in a way that your knowledge of Moth can't control, and that your Lantern can't even notice is there.

This… is very dangerous. Knowing there are creatures out there who can control your thoughts, your very perceptions of the world this deeply, is very dangerous.

It might be a good idea to distance yourself form the Royal Castle, even. To not return here unless absolutely necessary, as you have been doing, and just stick to what you know. Because if nothing else, it seems you can at least notice regular changelings with less trouble.

But their… leader? Well, it might be a good idea to put whatever is guiding them on the same level you put your Master, at the very least.

"Although if you think about it, finding out about all of this is really what I came to Canterlot for," you say to yourself, turning your face sideways to get a better view of your mane. "Well. That, and accompanying Twilight. Although that second part… could have gone better?" you say, unsure if you believe your own words.

And your mane looks good, but it could do with a little more care.

"So. Damage control."

You think back to how things happened, after you and Shining took Twilight Sparkle away and…

And to be honest, you'd rather not think about it.

It won't help you. Not now. Not like this. Your heart goes out to Twilight, and you know that Princess Luna's words about her sister struck the young mare in a very deep and personal level. But if you are going to plan what to do from here onwards, then you need to be calm.

So, you focus for a few moments, reaching for that still lake you have inside of you, that Winter-place where things matter just a little less than they should, and where you are perhaps just a little calmer than you should be.

You find that place in your mind, that is now always there, patiently waiting, and you dive into it.

…

Yes.

Now you can think properly.

"Again. Damage control," you say to yourself, your voice just a tinge lower, and in a tone that could also be saying how well-kept your coat is.

Not a dismissive tone. Not exactly. But not one laid with emotions either.

First of all, you muse, you and Twilight Sparkle just committed a crime, and were implicitly acquitted from it by Princess Luna herself.

And there is no way you could dance around it, mind you. There is no way to sugarcoat it or try to spin that story in another way. You and Twilight committed a crime, and that's it. The two of you teleported into that place, evaded two guards in a chaotic chase, and then laid low for more than an hour as you wormed your way towards the Princesses.

The only reason you are not in a jail cell is, again, because of the Princess' implicit forgiveness. But her dismissal only acquits you from the legal part of things. By all other accounts, what the two of you did was still the very definition of the word "scandal".

Ergo: damage control. How exactly can this scandal harm you?

As if on cue, the image of your father immediately comes to mind. You know he has no love for you, but you also never really caused him any trouble. His harsh letters and criticism usually relating to more personal or administrative concerns, and despite their frequency you don't really think your father puts much energy into them.

That being said, this will be the first time you will really be the focus of his attention, you suppose, so this will be the first time you will see how he reacts to that. And what you did was no teenager-level trouble, like trying to elope with some stallion you just met, but a full-blown Crown-level offense.

Whatever his reaction will be, you can immediately tell it will not be pleasant. And a short list of how he can affect or punish you comes to mind.

He can order you to stay put in Ponyville permanently, which wouldn't be much of a punishment at all. He could hit you financially, since the bits you receive monthly is, for lack of a better term, an allowance. Or he can try to make you suffer in a more personal way.

The only way you can really see him going for that final option is by doing something related to your daughters. Forcing you to move back to Canterlot, and taking them with you, comes to mind. And at the very worst you think he could try to do something legal towards Selene like taking her custody, since you have technically adopted her only a few months ago.

The edges of your calm-lake become very sharp at that thought. But you bottle those ideas for later. You know the rituals to use if it really comes to that, and you will have to consider the aftereffects very carefully if you are really forced to protect your family.

Next is your husband. Gossip will surely reach him. In a day, if you and Twilight appear on the newspaper, or in a month through word-of-mouth. Still, regardless of how long it takes you know it will inevitably reach him, but you think you can deal with him well enough.

Stormchaser, if nopony else, will listen to your side of things. You trust him when it comes to that.

Rarity… is not up to consideration. She is your best friend, and she knows about Selene, so you know she will stick with you on this. Even more so as soon as she learns that what those things happened because you decided to go with Twilight. Heavens, she might understand how this whole thing affected Twilight better than you do. To the point that, not for the first time, you wish she were here.

Who else, who else…

Your thoughts idly pass by Princess Luna, but she is a factor you can't really predict. Not right now.

And Princess Cadance comes to your mind a few seconds later.

Of course she does. She is an alicorn, after all. One of the only two active alicorns, seeing how Princess Celestia is still being kept away from the public eye.

However, she is also an alicorn who went out of her way to publicly show favor towards you. Even if the only time that happened was when some of her guards were ordered to escort you, a few months back. But still, you have no doubt that caused a few rumors to go around. Especially because you used said escort to go to a noble party, where gossips spread like wildfire.

And on a more personal note, you really like Cadance as a pony, and you hope that she thinks of you at least as an agreeable mare. If nothing else, the two of you are kindred when it comes to the idea of having a family.

But again, she is also a Princess. Which means your actions will reach her, and she will be forced to at least emit an opinion about what happened. Even if her opinion comes in the form of silence.

Still, you conclude that Princess Cadance, much like Princess Luna, is a factor you can't rightly predict as things currently stand. And for all the rapport you might have built with her, the fact that she is a Princess makes it better if you avoid her altogether, seeing how the best course of action appears to be avoiding any kind of attention at all.

And on that note, you conclude, leaving Canterlot as soon as possible feels like the smartest thing you can do right now. Something you should do before your father has any chance to summon you, and before anything else happens that might pile into the scandal you are currently at the center of.



You idly notice your breath is rather chilly, and you pass a hoof over the mirror's surface to clear the slight hint of fog that appeared there.



"Still, I don't believe I will be able to move Twilight anytime soon… not today, at least," you say, nibbling at the now-cold croissant you just floated from the breakfast Ponpon left you.

Which leaves you "stuck" here in Canterlot at least for today, or until Twilight feels well enough for her to be able to talk.

Leaving Twilight here and going back to Ponyville by yourself is not worth it, as things currently stands.

But since factoring Twilight Sparkle into all of this means that you can't leave Canterlot, you are stuck with another question: what should you do right now? There is nopony in Canterlot with whom you must speak urgently, to give them your side of the story before rumors reach them. You absolutely will not volunteer a visit to your father, and Cadance is both out of your social reach, as well as a pony you are not sure you would want to talk to even if you had a chance.

So what do you do right now, after you are done with your mane?

"I could spend the whole day locked in here, of course," you say to yourself. You would certainly have the patience to do so. "Even if it feels like an awful waste."

But still…

Well, you could take some time to go around Canterlot itself, you think. Physically distancing yourself from the noble part of town while the uproar is fresh sounds like a good idea. And you did plan to search for books while you were here, before yesterday happened, so that might be floating two stones with a single spell. Especially considering how confident you are that you can get out of the Royal Castle rather inconspicuously.

Or you could simply try forcing the issue with Twilight. Ideally, you feel the right thing to do is to wait for her to come out of her room on her own terms. After all she's a grown mare, much as you might think otherwise most of the time, so she should at least be able to compartmentalize her grief to some extent, right? At least enough for you to be able to convince her to board a train.

But apart from those things… you can't really think of much else you could do. Well, of course you can, but things like exploring the underground of the Royal Castle, or other things like that, are not subtle or risk free, and you really don't want to take any risks right now.

"That settles it, then. Staying here, talking to Twilight or just going away from the castle. Any of those will do," you muse idle, putting your brush down and giving yourself a final once-over in front of the fogged mirror.

Reasonably satisfied with what you see, you turn around and head for your bag, floating a dress towards you while you gently ease yourself out of your mental Winter-lake.

And you slowly begin to come back to your feelings, calmly dressing yourself in your emotions just like how you are putting your clothes around your body.

"…"



The first thing that hits you is the cold.



A shiver runs down your spine as the cold fabric of your dress hugs you with its chilly embrace, and you look around as you slowly take in your surroundings.

Your breath, you realize, is coming out as fog.

The surface of the mirror… the edges of the windows… there is a layer of frost covering them.

But what strikes you the most is your own thoughts, as you trace back to them.

And very slowly, you recall how you just pondered on murdering a pony in cold blood. It doesn't matter if it was your father, or how much you dislike him or not. What matters is that you have just casually considered murder.

And also… the way you thought about your friends? You take a deep, ice-pained breath as you remind yourself that the other ponies you just thought about are ponies you love and care for, not objects or names that you can coldly consider on a list.

You shake your head, feeling the faint beat of your heart in your chest as you try to come to terms with the thoughts you just had. This, you know, is a part of yourself. A cold, calm, patient and rational part of yourself, given focus by the utter understanding that nothing really matters.

And for all that you will not say you are afraid of it, you still know that just because it is a part of you it does not mean it is something entirely good. It doesn't mean that it is evil, of course, but still.

It simply… is.

This is the first time you went this deep into your Winter-calm, but you feel a small bout of relief over the fact that you haven't been using this skill of yours as a crutch. As useful as it might be…

You shiver slightly, both because of the cold and because of other things beside. A flick of magic sees the windows opened, with comparatively warm air gushing into the room.

Although you know that it will take a long time for the air in this room to become agreeable again. So, if nothing else, staying in here and doing nothing for the rest of the day is no longer an option.

You quickly decide that you will…

Spoiler: Try to talk to Twilight

You will talk to Twilight. Or at least, you will try to.

Of course, you know it won't be simple. You remember how she was yesterday, you recall how it took you and her brother hours just to get a few words out of her. The only way you can describe it is that Twilight has locked herself inside her own head, but what worries you is that you don't know if she is just numbly sitting at a corner of her own mind or if she is setting fire to the whole place while nopony is looking.

Heavens, you really had no idea just how connected she was to Princess Celestia. You knew she was dedicated, you knew she was worried, and the whole break-and-enter teleportation thing did show you just how unhinged the mare was. But Princess Luna's words… well, they might as well have physically harmed Twilight, with how she was yesterday.

Besides, for all that you thought it better to leave her for the night, you don't think she was able to sleep.

You can't just leave her like that.

You check on yourself one last time, making sure that your skirt is adjusted and that everything else is in order. Moments later you are out of your room, locking the door behind you.

Much to your relief, you don't see anypony nearby as you quickly make your way to Twilight Sparkle's room. Her door, as you expected, is locked, but you really just want to check in on her, so you simply put an ear against it and try to listen.

You don't hear anything. Which is not as good as, say, hearing her talking to her brother, but it is also not as bad as listening to somepony sobbing quietly. But silence could also mean that she is sleeping, or reading, or that she is numbly sitting on her be like she was for the most of yesterday.

And although you don't want to be pessimistic… you really think that last option is the most likely.

"Twilight? Is everything alright?" you say in a gentle tone, raising your voice slightly so you can be heard through the closed door. "Have you eaten anything today? Did you manage to sleep a bit?"

You keep your ear pressed against the door, straining to hear something. Anything. A mumbled response, the sound of somepony shifting on their bed, even a book being put down. Anything would do.

But you don't hear… anything.

A chill runs through your spine?

"Twilight, can you hear me? It's me, Velvet," you say, doing your best to keep the worried edge you are feeling out of your voice, "I'm sorry to bother you, but I just wanted to check if you need anything."

You wait for a few moments, the side of your face almost hurting a little with how pressed you are against the door.

But still, nothing.

You can hear your heart beating against your chest.

"Twilight?" you try one last time, as your thoughts begin to race faster and faster.

She is just sleeping, you tell herself. She is sleeping and you are going to wake up if you keep that racket. And you should let her sleep. Quit being a worrywart and go do something else with your time. The two of you will surely have a chance to talk later today.

And what are you afraid of, even? Twilight is a smart girl, she wouldn't do anything stupid. She wasn't that affected by what she was told about Princess Celestia, right?

She was just affected enough to worry for several days, without sleeping much, and then work herself up to the point where she broke into a guarded area. But that's normal, right?

She wouldn't do anything even more stupid than that.

She's a smart mare.

…



And so was Jade Whistle.



You nearly slam your hoof against the door, the loud impact drowning out the soft click of the lock coming open, and you are inside her room moments later.

"Twilight?!"

You look around, heart hammering inside your chest as you look for Twilight. The fact that you first looked up towards the ceiling not helping you calm down in the slightest.

But the seconds go by as you slowly realize that… the room is empty.

Twilight Sparkle is not here. You run that phrase several times inside your head before your heart begins to slow down.

Twilight isn't here, everything is alright. She just… she just wants to stay alone for a while. She didn't do anything stupid.

And if she is not here, you think as your pulse slows down, it means that she wants to be left alone.

Probably.

…

Hopefully…

…

You decide to…

Spoiler: Give up

You decide to respect Twilight's bid for privacy, wherever she may be.

Helping other ponies is fine. And doing something that they might not like at first because "you know better" can also sometimes be fine, if done with extreme care and maturity. But trampling over the barrier that is a locked door and invading somepony else's privacy is as far as you are willing to go.

The fact that Twilight is not here, also, shows you that she simply doesn't want to be around other ponies for the time being. That she really needs to be by herself, wherever she may be.

In the end, you can only trust her, and hope that she comes back alright.

Funny, you think. Twilight is a grown mare, but for some reason she still pushes at a few of your motherly instincts. But this situation you are in right now, this powerlessness to help her that you feel… You wonder if this is also a lesson you have to learn, about limits you can't reach and problems you simply can't solve.

If this really is a lesson, then you hope you will take it to heart. After all, one day your own daughter will be all grown up. And very soon, sooner than you dare to think of, she will also face problems that you will not be able to do anything about. When that day comes, you will only be able to trust her to solve her own problems by herself.

Well… you trust Twilight, and you dearly hope the young prodigy comes back feeling a little bit better.

Thought this will still be a long day of waiting and worrying.



[-] There is nothing left in this strand, and nothing more will come from today. You wonder if things could have gone differently.

Spoiler: Look for her nearby

"Hopefully," you quietly repeat to yourself.

Hopefully, Twilight just wants to be left alone. Hopefully, her being alone will be good for her. After all, her not being here means that she at least got out of bed and moved on her own, if nothing else.

But still, if she went out of her room then it wouldn't be strange if you accidentally bumped into her, right? It wouldn't be invasive or overbearing of you if you just happened by her.

Barging into her locked room was certainly impolite of you, but since she wasn't here she will never find out about it. But since she is not here, it means you can talk to her in a more casual way. As long as you can find her, of course.

Lucky you, you think, you have several tools at your disposal when it comes to finding things.

You take another deep breath, looking around her room one last time in case you missed her, before you leave her room and lock her door with a bout of magic.

And then off you go, searching the Royal Castle for Twilight Sparkle.



- - -



You don't much enjoy doing… this, whatever it is.

Are you looking at other Histories? Are you looking at other worlds? Is there even any difference between those two things?

Regardless of the answer to those questions, you don't much like doing this, looking through other Velvet's eyes, gazing at worlds that are uncannily similar yet wildly different from your own. It gives you a bit of a headache, but most of all it makes you unnerved. And that is because you only see flashes, images from a few seconds ago that belong to a memory that is not yours. Faces of ponies you have never met, stairways of places you have never been…

However, for all that you find doing it uncomfortable it still works most of the time.

"Most of the time being the key term here," you say to yourself, your tone clearly annoyed. "Wherever Twilight is, I still haven't even caught a glimpse of it so far."

You have been walking around the Royal Castle for a while now. And you have been subtle about it, to the point that nopony tried to talk to you so far.

And it's not being that hard, to be honest. Being inconspicuous and "hiding in plain sight" is much easier than it is to "completely hide" you presence. Being in a public space has the perk that you can get away with just having other ponies' eyes glaze over you without them really paying attention.

Not paying much attention to passersby is natural, you are just enhancing that naturalness when it comes to you.

Still, for all that Moth has availed you thus far, you haven't had much luck when it comes to locating Twilight.

Of course, you have already tried the obvious places.

You recall how she mentioned she knew Princess Cadance years ago, although you have no idea how their relationship is nowadays. But still, you went as close to the Audience Chamber as you could without being noticed, even catching a distant glimpse of the Princess of Love herself, but you saw no signs of Twilight.

You also tried looking for Shining Armor, although you didn't dare to enter the barracks of the Royal Guard. Still, you didn't pick up anything from the conversation of a few passing guards that would suggest an update from yesterday's occurrence. Which in turn makes you believe that none of them saw the passing figure of one of the captain's younger sister.

And right now you are in the castle's library. On its public section, of course, but still you see no sign of your friend.

"She couldn't have gone back to Ponyville on her own," you say to yourself, as you walk between the tall and imposing bookshelves, "her bags were still back in her room."

You also muse over the possibility that maybe she was attacked by changelings, during the night. But once again you discard the idea. So far you have no reason to believe that the changelings know that you, or anypony, can see through their illusions. So if Twilight had been taken, you believe you would have "met" her in her room, possibly posing that she was feeling better, and that the two of you should go back to Ponyville.

No, you are confident that she is out there… somewhere. Call it intuition, but you can almost feel it.

Still, the fact remains that she wants to be left alone. And if she is not in any of the more public areas, then continuing to look for her will be like barging into her locked room all over again.

You are thinking about that, when a sudden thought occurs to you…

Spoiler: Give up

You think that… it might be better if you stop here.

If you had found Twilight inside her room, then you would have a single problem. That being that you just wouldn't know what to say, and that there would be nothing you could do but offer her your company, for al it might have been worth it.

But now? Well, if you somehow find where she is then you will be walking up to a mare who very clearly wants to be left alone. And for all that she might "need, but not want" somepony to be there for her, you get the feeling that you are stepping over the line where finding her would do more good than harm.

It might be better if you stop here. You have already ruled out your most worrying suspicions. And even if nopony will acknowledge, you have your own peace of mind over the fact that you did try your best to find and help your friend.

But heavens, there is a time and place for everything, and everypony has their own pace. That is something you know from firsthoof experience. After all, for all that you might love Stormchaser you do remember how uncomfortable you were with him at first. And he taught you through his actions that patience, and love, are the right tools to employ on this sort of situation.

You decide you will give Twilight Sparkle space. You will be here when she returns, and you will help her if she needs it.



[-] There is nothing left in this strand, and nothing more will come from today. You wonder if things could have gone differently.

Spoiler: A flash of inspiration

- - -



Walking here was a little bit like reliving an old memory.

It was also a stark reminder that not all memories are good, mind you. A painful poke against your ribs reminding you that, as much as you might act otherwise, your life did not begin the day your daughter was born.

However, even if it might be unpleasant, you still hope you will find Twilight here.

The School for Gifted Unicorns looms ahead of you, the dull-white of its mansion-like entrance contrasting against the purple walls of its side wings. A trio of towers juts from its structure, one of them with astrological instruments poking out of its several windows, and a large and golden sun-shaped symbol hangs over its front door.

Of course, that symbol being here is only natural seeing how this school was founded by Princess Celestia herself.

You feel something inside your chest tighten as you look at the place. And as much as the rational part of your mind might be trying to convince you that this place is not as large as you remember, the School for Gifted Unicorns still feels as imposing as it did all those years ago.

Yes… you remember them, all the admission exams you took. Or rather, all the admission exams you failed. And for all that you might not care for your parent's disappointment on an intellectual level, sharply remembering how their unimpressed expressions looked like after each failure still hurts.

You take a deep breath, slightly dipping the edges of your hoofs on your lake of calmness before you begin walking towards the entrance.

Unsurprisingly, there is a notice on the front door. A sign explaining that there will be no classes during the holidays, with a set date for when activities will be picked up again.

However, you can also see that the door is not locked.

You highly doubt that immediately means Twilight is in here, seeing how easily she can teleport. And you are not sure if a school almost exclusively dedicated to teaching magic would have a… an anti-magic bubble set around it, or whatever.

Or would they? Having something to stop foals from casting magic inside a magic school sounds counter-intuitive. But you would also need something to stop them from accidentally casting dangerous spells, wouldn't you?

Heavens, you really need to read up on how anti-magic works, if that is even a field of study to begin with.

Still, you don't think an unlocked front door is an indication that Twilight is here, simply because you don't think they would leave an important place like this without somepony taking care of it. Even during a holiday.

This is, after all, a school founded by Princess Celestia herself.

"Excuse me, is anypony here?" you say out loud, slightly opening the doors and knocking on them.

A slight wave of vertigo comes over you for a few seconds as you step into the entrance hall, and you grimace for a few moments at that. By Tartarus, you remember this place.

But you bring your expression back under control as soon as you hear somepony approaching.

"I'll be with you in a moment," an aged voice comes from one of the adjoining corridors, its owner coming into view a few seconds later. "Ah, good evening Miss. We're not having any classes for a few more days, but can I help you with anything?"

"Ah yes, I saw the sign by the door," you answer, giving the stallion a smile.

He is an old stallion, although you can't exactly tell if he is a teacher or just a janitor who volunteered to come by during the holidays. Still, you can see him eye you curiously, looking first at your horn, and then at your dress with an understanding expression that says "you're too old to be a student anyways".

"And pardon my intrusion," you say, pressing on the fact that you feel he has not decided fully on what to think about you yet. "I am Lady Covers, and I'm here just for the nostalgia. I am not sure how unusual this is, but I haven't been here in years, so… would it be much of a problem if I just took a look around?"

You see, or rather you feel, that the old pony softens slightly at that, and your mind jumps at the chance presented to you. You are not sure if he is just old, and understands well the feeling of nostalgia, or if you pushed at some deeper and more personal part of him. But still, you do your best to sound as young and hopeful as you can, and you weave the words you feel he will savor the most.

"It's just that…" you press on. Not lying, but not telling the truth either. Not telling him your family name, in case he heard any recent gossip, but not outright saying that you were never a student here either. "I have a lot of memories here. It feels like I was just here yesterday, but I know it was a bit longer ago, and…"

And after a few moments, you see the old stallion taking in a deep breath, followed by a heavy sigh. The kind of sigh, you know, that usually precedes a pony doing something they are not exactly allowed to do.

"Well, young Miss. I'm not much for walking up and down stairs nowadays, if you don't mind me not accompanying you. But I don't see any harm in an old student taking a look-see at the place either," he says. "For the good old days, and all that."

To which you reply with the most innocently thankful smile you can make.



- - -



You tried to go about it as quickly as possible.

However, you would be lying if you said that you did not dally just a little bit as you looked around.

And now that you are done, the correct word to describe how you feel is "bittersweet".

It was a curious experience, to walk down the halls of a school you could never enter. To look at the classrooms of an institution your parents so furiously tried to get you into, but ultimately failed.

The place is beautiful, of course. Its halls and its corridors and its libraries, everywhere you look has a certain charm to it. Everything also looks expensive, and you passed by more than one laboratory that was lined up with equipment that very much lives up to its Crown-born patronage. Which in turn makes you think about its staff, and how the teachers who work here must be some of the very best in Equestria.

But ultimately, what strikes you the most is the bittersweet sensation of "what if". Several of the classrooms have desks and chairs that are foal-sized, and you can clearly see how those grow larger in the classrooms of the higher floors. After all, the School for Gifted Unicorns has a course that begins when ponies are still very small, some of the students being admitted even before they acquire their cutie marks.

Still, as you walked down those corridors and looked into the empty classrooms, you could… you could almost picture yourself, as a young filly, studying in one of those. Studying, and learning, and growing, and changing classrooms and chair sizes as the years passed. Until you finally graduated from the most prominent magic school in the kingdom, receiving the approval of a family that did not think you were a failure.

…

Of course, you know that was just wishful thinking from you, and you know it would not have been as simple as that. But still…

"Well," you say to yourself, looking out through one of the windows, your voice hoarser than you would like to admit, "in the end you never made it, Velvet..."

You let those words echo through the empty classroom, and it strikes you just how much you have to fight down the sigh that is building up inside your chest.

After all, it would be so easy to add a 'not in this History' to that phrase. It would be so easy to turn your efforts into looking for a when or a where in which things turned out different for you, even if it turned out to be a fool's errant.

But you wrestle that urge. You already have too much to take care of, and wishing that things were different in your life would be a disservice to all the good things you have.

So… you force yourself to focus on the present once again.

"And Twilight is not here," you say, shaking your head slightly as you once again turn your thoughts towards looking for your friend.

However, as you look out through the window and towards the Royal Castle, one final idea comes to you. And idea borne from your reminiscing of your own life, and from thinking about how things could have happened differently. How things might have gone in another direction that you could very easily think was "better"… if you were in a particularly bad spot.

One last hunch of where she might have run to.

But if your idea turns out to be correct, and if Twilight really is in the mental state that she would need to be in order to think what you are thinking, then it really might be for the best that you don't go look for her.

Still, the choice is yours.

Spoiler: Give up

In the end, it is better if you don't. You won't be able to do anything if she really is there.

What you really should do, on the other hoof, is get ready for when she comes back. After all, the next time you see her Twilight will have just returned from a very dark place.



[-] There is nothing left in this strand, and nothing more will come from today. You wonder if things could have gone differently.

Spoiler: One last place...

- - -



She is here.

The door before you is locked, the long stairways that brought you here have clearly not been disturbed by anypony but the cleaning maids for months now and you know for a fact that will continue to be the case for many years to come.

Even finding this place had been difficult. Straightforward, but still difficult. Like trying to force the sand inside an hourglass to go up with magic, or like trying to pull up a rock from a strong river. Finding your way here was akin to a manual and repetitive task, of repeatedly finding the direction you had to go and following it until you hit the next corner or hallway, where you would then have to find what new direction you should go once again.

But this elusiveness makes sense, now that you are here. This is an important place, a place that almost everypony who works in the castle knows about. And yet, it is a place almost nopony thinks about or has much care for. This is a place that serves a purpose, but since it is not currently serving its purpose then it is a place which lies forgotten and overlooked. Just another empty tower in the Royal Castle, just another tool waiting for a Princess' attention to be once again deemed relevant.

Twilight only mentioned this place once, and in passing. Still, you are absolutely sure that she is here.

And that certainty makes a knot you have in your chest grow slightly tighter.

But you have come this far, and you are not about to give up now.



Click.



With a tap of your hoof, you unlock the large double doors, and make your way in.

You find yourself inside a great circular room, the orange light of the eclipse casting long shadows everywhere you look. There is a little bit of everything here, but everywhere you look you see some form of utensil that would fit a scholar or a researcher. High shelves stacked to the brim with books both old and new, enough chemistry tools to fit a small laboratory, telescopes and constellation charts by one of the larger windows, even some sort of half-assembled machine lies on one of the far sides of this place.

You also see adjoining doors, and you can only guess to where they might take. But apart form that, you can clearly see that this is a sage's dream, with mountains of study material all around , covering every possible subject. A place that you have no doubt would be able to keep several studious ponies busy for decades, or perhaps even longer than that.

And at the very center of the room, you see her.

You see Twilight Sparkle, just sitting there on the ground with her back turned to you. But although you cannot see her face, you have a good idea of what her expression looks like.

And even though she surprises you by speaking up before you do, her voice is…

Well, her voice is more than enough to confirm what you are thinking about what sort of look she must have on her face.

"Oh, it's you…" she says, even though she has not turned around to look at you, "I thought it would be you, with how the door unlocked without magic and…"

She trails off, and you grimace at that, unsure of what exactly you should do. Of what you even can do, to begin with.

And that is simply because Twilight sounds…

Dispirited.

Hollow.

Hopeless.

Lost.

You can tell she is looking around, facing each of the bookshelves and each of the learning utensils one at a time. But although you know she has lived in this place for many years, you can tell that she… doesn't really recognize any of the things she is looking at.

You know this place was left untouched, that the contents of this room must be exactly like how she left them, when she moved to Ponyville.

But still, she clearly… doesn't… know this place anymore.

"Yes, Twilight. It's me," you say, half of you scolding yourself for breaking the silence, while the other half admonishes you for letting silence build up to begin with.

You say that, but you have no idea what to say next.

There is nothing to be said. You shouldn't even have come here.

You being here won't make this any quicker for here, your presence won't make this any less painful for her. If anything, it will only remind her that, despite everything that happened, there is still an entire world out there, and it keeps on going regardless of how much she is suffering.

And you know that, you understand that, because you realized exactly what she was thinking when she decided to come here.

"Velvet…" she says, and you can hear that her voice is trembling, "do you know where we are right now? Do you know what they call this place?"

You feel a knot inside your chest growing tighter and tighter as you see her mane fluttering slightly. As you see her whole body shaking as she asks that question.

You don't have it in you to answer her, so you just shake your head, even though she can't see it.

"This place," she says, and you can hear her swallowing something dry, "is called the Apprentice's Tower. And I know that sounds obvious… I know it's something everypony knows… but still, I only found out that is what it's called today."

She says that, and then she turns around to face you.

"Isn't that funny?" she asks with a smile.

And you can feel your heart break a little bit as you look at her.

Twilight Sparkle has a smile on her face. It is not an insane smile, it is not a smile with too many teeth or something that would make you worry for her sanity. It's something much worse than that.

It's a calm smile, a rational and hollow smile of a pony who just realized the punchline of a joke.

Her cheeks, also, are damp with tears, and her eyes are red from crying. But curiously, you can see that she is not crying right now.

Perhaps because she has already cried all she possibly could.

"For the longest time… for years, even. I thought of this place as my home, I thought this place was called Twilight's Tower, or something like that. After all, this place was all mine, and I spent every… I was here all the time. I only ever left when I had something more interesting to learn somewhere else."

Her tone is so low that she might as well be talking in whispers. But still, you don't dare get any closer to her.

And that is because… her eyes are so hollow and her smile so faint that you think she will crumble into dust if you take even a single step towards her.

"Princess Celestia said it herself, even. That this place was all mine to do anything I wanted. That is, to study anything I wanted," she continued, turning her gaze towards the surrounding bookshelves. "And I remember how happy I was… this place was a like an amusement park, like twenty different libraries mashed together in a single place. And I thought Princess Celestia had prepared all of this for me, Velvet…"

Twilight lets out a dry cough, her chest shuddering so much with the motion that you have no doubt that it was actually painful for her.

It takes you a few moments to realize that was a chuckle.

"That's the thing, Velvet. I just realized that she didn't. This place… all of these books, on all of these subjects, and all of these tools… they are all leftovers. They are all the interests of her previous students, things that were left behind and that piled on top of each other as the years and decades passed. They were all left here for the next occupant of this place to pick up, because this is what this place is for. This is the Apprentice's Tower."

You watch as Twilight looks towards a particular table, lined with books and scrolls. And for some reason, you understand that particular spot to be her own "addition" to this place, the contribution that her own interest produced as she spent years studying here under the Princess' tutelage.

"But in the end… that's what I was the whole time. Exactly what Princess Luna said. My whole life, I was just a passing interest, one more student in a long line of ponies who caught Princess Celestia's eyes…"

A single tear comes out of her eyes, slowly making its way down the fur of her cheek as she says those words.

"And when she said I was her faithful student… I can see that she meant I was a faithful student. Not her faithful student, or the faithful student… Just another pastime she decided to take under her wing and…"

The young mare suddenly shivers, as if a cough or a hiccup came up to her, interrupting whatever she was going to say next.

And with that, her whole demeanor changes. As if she just realized where she was, as if she was suddenly afraid of what was happening, Twilight's eyes suddenly shoot wide open. Her breathing becomes ragged as she looks around herself, and her horn lights up as she starts walking backwards, away from you.

"Twilight, wait!" is all you can say, running towards her after the split second it takes you to realize what she is about to do.

But before you even finish speaking those words, the light of her horn flashes a brilliant light purple, and then she is gone with the soft puff of a teleportation spell.

Leaving you alone, with nothing to keep you company, but the memory of Twilight's frightened expression.

And no matter how much you think about it, you can't describe it in any other way but as the expression of a pony who can no longer recognize anything around her. Not even herself.



[-] There is nothing left in this strand, and nothing more will come from today. You wonder if things could have gone differently.

Spoiler: Go out for a walk

You decide that leaving the Royal Castle, and gaining some distance from the noble part of Canterlot altogether, is in order. And you decide that it is best you do it as soon as possible, before your motherly instincts regain their senses and start telling you that you should go check on Twilight.

Of course, you are going to check on her. But deep down you know that is something you should only do much later. Or at least not right. Because if she has not left her own room yet, then it means that she still wants to be by herself.

And who knows, you plan on going out to buy books, right? Maybe talking to her later tonight with a heap of recently bought books might help a little bit.

Even though you would have much preferred if she came with you during said book-hunt…

With that in mind, you go out through the door, making sure to lock it after you leave. A quick look around tells you that there is nopony nearby, and you resist the urge to go towards the door to Twilight's own room when your eyes pass over it.

You take a few deep breaths, shaking your body here and there in order to shed away the Winter chill that still clings to you. Then you begin to slowly work your thoughts in the direction they need to go, for what you are about to do next.

You run your memory through the spiraling paths of the Woods, and how it felt like to walk between its dark trees not knowing if the things that caressed your side was a leaf or your mane or something with insect-like wings. You focus on those images until you are no longer exactly sure of why you are doing this in the first place. Until you can't really remember why is it that you want to get out of the Royal Castle without being noticed. Although you still want to do it anyways, just because you can.

Just because it is a whim of yours.

You don't really notice how long this process takes, but a small part of you idly mentions that it is much, much smoother than it was before.

Maybe you are getting better at this.

And being pulled by your stray thoughts, you begin walking through the halls and corridors of the castle.

You are going to the main entrance of the castle, of course. Or at least you know you will get there eventually. But still, you decide to take a long and winding path, because why not. The longest shortcut is still a shortcut. And several times you walk by the castle's main entrance, but decide not to leave yet for one reason or another.

You'll get to it eventually, but it doesn't have to be right now.

You keep fluttering here and there, listening to the idle chatter of servants and the bored sigh of guards, until you chance upon a pony that you vaguely remember you know.

Something tells you she is an old friend of yours, probably. She is wearing a rather nice maid uniform, and you can see that she is talking to a trio of ponies.

You narrow your eyes as you walk towards the group. You are not being completely silent about it, but that is because you don't need to. After all, they aren't any more likely to notice you than they are likely to realize that they are breathing without putting any thought into it, or that their tongues are currently inside their mouths. And besides, being too silent would create the sort of vacuum that, paradoxically, is easy to notice. Or at least that is easier to notice than a pony who you don't much care about.

You get close enough that you are able to hear their conversation. Not that you have any interest in it, mind you. But still, the mare's voice almost rings a bell…

You keep listening to them until a name finally clicks inside your mind. Of course, the maid-dressed one is Ponpon.

But who the hay are these three ponies she is talking to?

Eh, you don't really care.

But more importantly, the stary thought hits you, you suddenly find yourself wondering if you should tell Ponpon about your outing. You can get out of the Royal Castle without anypony noticing just fine, but it occurs to you that she might be worried, if she happens to go in your room and realize you are not that. And also, Ponpon is surely going to make for good company if she comes with you on your little book hunt.


Yes, you think, the hunt. Your eyes are merry with hunger for the books to come!


You are close enough to her that she will probably notice if you take but a single step forward. Well, she won't have any choice but to notice you if you take said step, seeing how you will be standing between her and the pony she is talking to if you do that.

Really, you could bite Ponpon's mane from where you stand, if you had the mind to it. How the hay haven't they seen you yet?

Spoiler: At least tell Ponpon

"So Ponpon I'm going out t-"


"AHH!"
"What the HAY!"
"Celestia's throne, where did she-?!"


You give them a moment so they can recompose themselves. Surprisingly, despite it being three noble guards and a maid, Ponpon was the only one who did not scream, or jump, or take to the air with their pegasus wings in the case of one of the guards.

Although you do see that her eyes are wide open, and that her coat seems to be on its end. That, and she briefly takes a hoof to her chest as she takes a deep breath.

Well, you figure you have given them enough time now.

"As I was saying," you continue, as the trio of guards slowly get their senses back, and Ponpon politely turns to face you, "I'm going out for a bit of shopping. Figure it's best to look for books now, before we go back home. Would you happen to be free to join me, Ponpon?"

Ponpon looks at you with a slightly confused expression, one that you figure means "why wouldn't I, I work for you" or something like that.

Which you suppose makes sense. But still, you felt like asking her anyways.

"I… well… sure? I mean, yes ma'am, I would love to join you," she says.

And you answer her with a delighted nod.

"Perfect! Let us be on our way then. I haven't heard any of the afternoon bells yet, so I'm not sure how late it is, but I still think I overslept and time's-a-wasting!"

"Actually, ma'am," Ponpon interrupts you, taking hold of your hoof as if you were about to walk away from her.

Well, you were, but that is beyond the point.

"There has been a…" she continues, rather hesitantly, until she shakes her head and begins talking more straightforwardly. "These three ponies, ma'am. They are of the Royal Guard, and they would like to talk to you. That is, they are of Princess Cadance's Royal Guard. May I please ask you that you listen to them for a little while?"

Oh?

You raise an eyebrow at that. This is certainly unexpected.

So unexpected, in fact, that you even… decide it might be better to give them more of your attention.

You look at the three guards, watching as they look at each other hesitantly, wondering if they would remember this conversation even happened if you were to walk away right now.

They probably would, but not in any detail.

Still, these are Princess Cadance's guards… not at all what you were expecting, if you had caught word that somepony form the Guard was looking at you. And definitely not something that looks like it will end with you being thrown in a jail cell.

So, you decide to hear them… You decide to be a little more "here" than "there", as you hear them.

You take a deep breath, exhaling slowly.

And the buzzing stops.

Suddenly, the guards, and Ponpon, seem a lot more at ease.

As if you had just walked up to them and politely introduced yourself.

As if nothing strange had just happened.

"Ah, Lady Velvet Covers!" one of them said as he takes off his helmet, the other two following suit, "it is fortunate that we bumped into you're here. We were just talking to Miss Ponpon, may we please have a moment of your time?"

"But of course," you say, suppressing a slight and whimsical chuckle at the repeated question.

"My Lady, we are in service to Princess Cadance," he says, proudly puffing his chest and the emblazoned pink-and-violet colors of his armor, "and earlier today she has given us express orders present ourselves to you, should you be of mind to accept our services while you are in Canterlot."

"Oh?" you say, honestly surprised, "indeed?"

You say that, and then you exchange a glance with Ponpon.

A meaningful glance, one loaded with a question that she immediately understands. One that asks if, in her previous talk with these three guards, she went to the lengths to check if this was really what you think it is about.

And Ponpon looks back at you, giving you a single nod.

Yes, this means exactly what you think it means.

Which makes a soft warmth to appear inside your chest. A small mixture of happiness and relief, and perhaps the faint hope that, somehow, it might just be that somepony here in Canterlot has your back.

"Well," you say, turning back to the guards, "if that is our Princess' will, then there is no way I could deny it."

"I am delighted to hear that, Lady Velvet Covers. So, how may we serve you today?"



- - -



The five of you step into the crowded streets of Canterlot. Utterly unnoticed by the mass of ponies that is slowly beginning to surround you.

The five of you are on hoof, and you very politely asked the guards if they could eschew their armor for the rest of the day. As long as it wasn't disrespectful, of course. But they did agree to your request, saying with few words that they understood your desire for anonymity.

And Ponpon, you think, quite enjoyed their company.

But still, the five of you make your way through the busy streets, as you merrily tell them of what exactly you will be doing this afternoon.



[Book hunt – Canterlot]

[Roll: 49 + 15 (Learning, SH doubled) + 40 (SECRET HISTORIES bonus, doubled) + 20 (Favoured in Canterlot) (bonus suppressed) = 104]

[Re-Roll: 100 + 15 (Learning, SH doubled) + 40 (SECRET HISTORIES bonus, doubled) + 20 (Favoured in Canterlot) (bonus suppressed) = 155]

[First roll result discarded. Re-roll result picked.]

[Commencing the First Great Book Hunt]



But suddenly, you hear something shatter. You hear the sound of ripping, as if a large piece of cloth had just been divided in two, then into four, then into smaller and smaller parts. You hear the sound of glass hitting the floor, what was a single reflection turning into a kaleidoscope as shards fall in every direction.

But for some reason, you know that to be good.



[] After a pleasant evening with Ponpon and a few of Cadance's guards, you have found the following books: GRAIL 5 (120 bits), GRAIL 4 (60 bits) SECRET HISTORIES 3 (30 bits). (These books will be available for purchase like normal, and not buying them will cause them to be lost) (This may be picked for free, in exchange of a FASCINATION malus)



And considering how much of a good time Ponpon had being pampered by those guards, and the coincidental nature of the books you found, you idly wonder if your trusty maid has ever been in a relationship before…

Spoiler: Don't tell anypony

You resist the urge to nibble at Ponpon's mane, but ultimately decide not to disturb her.

You also decide that you should really start walking around with scissors. Biting her mane would have hurt her, but cutting away a lock for later definitely wouldn't have hurt your good friend in the slightest.

Anyways, out the Royal Castle you go, and into the streets of the Royal District. From there, you make your way to the full-to-bursting streets of Canterlot, and go have an afternoon of fun among the nervously-celebrating masses present in the capital.

The strained smiles and raucous dancing almost makes you feel like you are home.



Oh, right, you also found some books, between your bouts of fluttering and dancing.



[Success level: 155]



[] You have found the following books: SECRET HISTORIES 5 (120 bits), HEART 4 (60 bits) WINTER 3 (30 bits). (These books will be available for purchase like normal, and not buying them will cause them to be lost) (This may be picked for free, in exchange of a FASCINATION malus)

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Plan The Sun and It's Heat
-[X] Your uncle, in a display of wealth and guile that far surpasses your own, has kindly gifted you an immeasurably old book. (Gain book: "The Sun, Divided".
LANTERN, level 6 Book. Codified, must be deciphered before being studied.)
-[X] You have met yourself, from another History, and you have learned many secrets of Forge. Gain three scraps of
FORGE Lore. (Fascination)

- - -

You will allow yourself to feel pleased.

Granted, your problems still exist, and you won't say that you feel like a filly who just received a Hearth's Warming gift that you have been wanting for a long time. Not exactly, at least.

But still, you have a smile on your face as you and Ponpon talk.

"You do realize this thing is too large for our saddle-bags, don't you ma'am?"

Yes, you retain your smile on your face even as Ponpon tries to rain on your parade with the cold, harsh waters of logic and common sense.

"Yes, Ponpon, I do realize. Especially since this book is almost as heavy as Silky," you say, as you float down the book onto your bed, "but there is an old saying about looking inside a gifted dog's mouth which I think applies quite well here. But jokes aside, we can just cover or wrap this in something so it's not damaged, and I can float it just fine."

"That's what I had in mind as well… I'll go look for something to wrap it with. Won't be the weirdest request somepony ever did to the castle's staff."

Less than an hour later, the two of you are finishing the last touches of your now-packaged gift. The large tome being encased in a neat layer of leather, tied with several knots for an extra measure of safety.

Ponpon mentioned the castle staff actually offered her a bundle of silk to get the job done, which made you raise your eyebrows as much as she did. After all, you know you are a guest in the Royal Castle but realizing you can be offered that sort of thing on demand…? Silk, to bind a book for safe carrying?

Well, your uncle just took you to an auction house that, apparently, is a few noble's idea of "fun". So maybe you really are out of touch with how excessive the higher crust of Canterlot is…

Regardless, you are glad Ponpon got her hoofs on leather. It really adds to the feeling of "grimoire of ancient knowledge" to the package you are looking at.

"Right," Ponpon says as she finishes tying the last knot. You were going to do it with magic, but Ponpon somehow managed to do it faster and more securely with her mouth than you would have been able to with your horn. "All safe for travel."

You nod towards her, your mind shifting gears slightly as you wonder if you should say your next words.

"Yes, it's good we got that out of the way," you say, pursing your lips slightly.

But eventually, the thoughts you had been pushing away the entire day come back to you.

And Ponpon doesn't look at all surprised with what you say next.

"Well then, shall we go check on Twilight?"



- - -



"She did what?!"

The stallion nearly jumps up in surprise, eyes going wide in fear at the suddenness of your tone.

"I, uh… my Lady, I just said that the guest who was here… she just-!"

"Calm down, you're not in trouble," Ponpon says, gently putting herself between you and the ponyservant, sending you a worried glance before turning back to him, "now, are you absolutely sure of what you just said?"

The ponyservant nods, although still sending you a few fearful glances every now and then.

And can't help but let out a groan as he confirms his story.

"I-it's as I said, the guest who was in this room has already left. I was just told to clean up the room and get the chores done."

"But was it really her?" you ask, walking towards the ponyservant without really noticing that he gave a step back for every one you did towards him. "Young-looking unicorn? Purple coat? Dark mane with a single streak? Did she really leave?"

"I-I wouldn't know my Lady! I was just given the key to the room a-and-"

You let out a loud groan, looking around the room as if hoping you could somehow prove him wrong. But still you don't see hair or horn of Twilight, nor any sign that she has been here recently. Her saddle-bag is gone, the piles of books she brought with her are nowhere to be seen, and although you would love to think she simply asked to move to another room or something, it doesn't make any sense not to think she simply left.

Wait, isn't Twilight from Canterlot? Maybe she went to her parent's home or something? Shining Armor, also, must definitely live somewhere nearby, right? Perhaps she just went somewhere familiar to…

Oh, who are you kidding? As much as you'd love to think Twilight went to one of those places, somewhere she has family or somepony to look out for her, you just know she didn't.

Because none of those places would be familiar to her, would they?

She moved out from her parent's as soon as she got a cutie mark. She lived in a boarding school almost her entire life. And these last few days, not to say months, her greatest concern had been Princess Cel-

"Ma'am? Lady Velvet?"

You snap out of your thoughts to the feeling of Ponpon's hoof lightly shaking your shoulder.

You blink a few times, looking first at the still-frightened stallion that was cleaning the room, then to your own maid.

She looks worried. But of course she is, Twilight just up and disappeared!

"Lets…" you say, pausing for a few seconds and letting out a sigh, "go grab your things, Ponpon. I think Twilight went back to Ponyville without us."

Ponpon looks at you for a few more seconds, before hesitantly nodding and following you out of the room.



- - -



You step out of the nearly-empty train, and onto Ponyville's train station. You and Ponpon made to Ponyville as soon as you were able to, but the train ride is still a few hours long, and trains that go to Ponyville aren't nearly as frequent as those heading to the more populous cities.

Which means that, despite the eclipse's unmoving gloom, you figure it is early in the morning.

You think you slept during the trip. You think you slept, and that you had a dream about… something. About going somewhere and talking to somepony. Which is a given, seeing how you haven't dreamt in months now. But that is a mystery you will leave for another day. Right now, you have other things in your mind.

Ponpon seems slightly unsure when you ask her to go back to your estate without you, but she agrees to it once you assure her that you will only take a detour to Twilight's library-home to put your mind at ease. She also insists that she takes both your saddle-bag and the large grimoire with her. Which you refuse at first, since carrying everything without magic would be ridiculous, until you watch her balance everything on her back without any real effort.

Right… Earth ponies, she reminds you with a wink, are indeed made of sterner stuff.

Regardless, you and Ponpon make your way through the empty streets of Ponyville, as you figure the festivities must only be taking place during regular day-hours now, until you reach the point where your paths must split.

And you make your way towards Twilight's house.



You'd be lying if you said your pace didn't quicken a little bit, once you were out of Ponpon's sight.



The large and hollowed-out tree that makes Ponyville's library finally comes to your view. And to tell the truth, you are not sure what you were hoping you would see, although you still hoped to see something.

And you do see something. More specifically, you can see candlelight coming from the windows of the topmost room.

Which means, your mind makes the leap without needing any further encouragement, that Twilight must indeed be here. It means that she is here and that she is awake.

You hope it isn't too much of an intrusion, knocking on her door at this hour. Of course, the eclipse has been muddling things a bit and the thought of what time it is hasn't really been much in anypony's mind this past week.

But she still ran away from Canterlot. And for all that your mind has been inventing all sorts of worrying ideas regarding that, you still know she ran from Canterlot without telling you. So, you understand that coming all the way here might be the exact opposite of what she might want you to do.

"But you won't be able to think about anything else," you say to yourself as you walk up to her door, "you won't be able to worry about anything else, unless you at least check on her."

And with that, you knock on her door.

…

You make sure not to unlock it, and you can tell that you aren't really knocking all that hard. Almost as if you are afraid of what might happen if she answers it.

Does she want to be left alone? Will she lash out at you? Are you making some sort of mistake? You don't know… but you sure hope that-



Your heart freezes for a moment, as you hear the sound of a key being turned, the door quickly being opened right after.



"Thank goodness it's you!" is all he says, one of his clawed hands reaching for your hoof and all but dragging you inside.



"Please, I… I need your help. I don't know what to say anymore, she won't listen to me! I-I tried everything, but I don't know what to do anymore but I have to do something and-!"

It's Spike. The small purple dragon answered the door, and then yanked you into the library with so much strength that it almost hurt you.

But you can't blame him for that. In fact, you can't even think about anything for a few moments.

"a-and she's just sitting there and-… P-please, you have to do something! The thing you did last time, or j-just talk to her! I-… I'll do anything for you Velvet, just help her and-!"

Spike… you can't describe it in any other way.

Spike is in panic. He is stuttering as he says all that, and he is crying, and he is scared.

And he is still holding onto your foreleg, his claws shaking, like a colt who suddenly realized he was lost and didn't know what to do.

You put your other hoof on his shoulder, gently prodding him to look at you, and you are shocked how even doing that much seems to scare him.

But at least he has quieted down, even if only for a few moments.

"Spike, shh, shh, it's alright, I'm here," you gently say, as the young dragon looks at you glazed, tear-filled eyes. "It's alright, calm down. I'm going to help you Spike. I promise I will."

The grip he has on your foreleg tightens. But slowly, he gives you a jerking and confusing nod.

His eyes very much tell you that he trusts you. And for all the tightness you feel in your chest, you wonder just how much of an impression you left on him the last time you were here.

The two of you did… talk quite a lot. And if you are reading this right, then the circumstances were similar, much to your dread.

"Now Spike, please, I need you to tell me exactly what happened. I promise I'm here for you."

The young dragon, the all too young dragon, tries to speak, but only manages to let out a few hiccups for a few moments.

A thought occurs to you that he might actually draw blood, with how strongly he is holding onto you. But that is the last thing you are worried about right now.

Because a few moments later, he manages to tell you what happened.

"S-she… she got home last night and… I t-think it was night. Didn't remember to check clock and… Well…"

You take a deep breath, and slowly sit down on the floor. Unconsciously, the young dragon follows suit, his shaking legs all but giving up under him as he tries to breathe in like you are.

"It's alright, just tell me what happened," you prod him gently.

"There's… there's this thing I can do, with my breath. I can breathe magic fire, a-and they taught me how to transport things to Princess Celestia when I was really young, with my breath. T-Twilight used t-to do it all the time, to send the P-Princess her reports and…"

And his breath fails him for a few moments, tears once again falling down his scaly cheeks as he looks you in the eye again.

"And Twi was desperate. S-she came home and she asked me t-to… All these months, while the Princess was away, she kept writing her reports. She made me send them all to the Princess, saying s-something was wrong, and that she had to get through to Princess Celestia and… and we stayed the up the whole night, w-with her giving me reports and me transporting them…"

As he said that, Spike's expression slowly went from confusion to fear, as if what he was about to say was the cause of everything that happened. His tone making it all too clear that he was terrified, and had no idea what to do.

"B-but… Princess Celestia wrote back."

A chill runs down your spine when he says that. And slowly, terribly slowly, you nod at Spike.

"I'll… I'll go talk to her, Spike. I promise," you say.

To which he finally lets go of your foreleg.

He follows behind you as you walk up the stairs of the entrance hall, making your way to the half-opened door that is on the very top. You know that to be Twilght and Spike's room in this place, and you can see that the faint glow of candlelight coming from there.

Spike follows you up until the point where you reach the door, but the young dragon freezes as soon as you move to open it.

You enter Twilight's room alone.



"Twi… Twilight?"



The mare has her back to you. She is sitting in front of a study desk, but she doesn't react to your words at all.

All around her, you can see heaps and heaps of scrolls. Most of them bound and unopened, but some of them are not, and you can see parts of their content. You have no idea what they are about, but you can see Twilight's neat hoof-writing on all of them.

You realize that some of them are torn and shredded.

Spike didn't mention that Twilight's "mail" had been returned, but you think you can picture how it happened. After all, despite everything you can't imagine Twilight would have damaged her own letters like this.

The ones that are ripped in half… must have been returned like this.

"Twilight? It's me, Velvet," you try again, slowly walking towards the mare.

But still, she doesn't seem to move an inch. You move all the way until you are standing right beside her, and still she hasn't moved at all.



Up until the point you can finally see her face.



Her eyes are wide open, red from crying and still leaking tears. Her expression is distraught and shocked, as if she couldn't believe what she is looking at.

And you follow her gaze, the knot inside your chest growing tighter and tighter, until you see what she is looking at so intently.

There is an open letter, on her study desk. An unbound scroll that she seems to be reading again and again and again, the several candles laid on her desk not allowing a single shadow to touch it.

You purse your lips, and before you can stop yourself you begin to read the letter.

Twilight Sparkle.​

Despite all these years you have been learning under me, and despite the fact that you have proven time and again to have several abilities and talents, it always weighted down on my mind how you are utterly lacking in some very important skills.
That said, I am very disappointed in you.
More than that, even. I must say here and now that you have failed.
I sent you to Ponyville, or more precisely I sent you far away from me, so you could grow. So, you could come out of your little shell and realize the potential I for some reason thought you have. But instead, you insisted on clinging to me.
This is not what I need from you, Twilight Sparkle. That was not what I expected, and it goes to show how much you failed on this test by the simple fact you didn't realize it was a test to begin with.
Part of me wants to believe I am somehow to blame for this. But no matter how hard I think about it, it really comes down to you being a poor candidate to beg-

​

You look away, almost as if you have just been slapped. Your heart hammering inside your chest as you realize just how much…

Just how much this must have… for Twilight, and…

Despite your best efforts, your eyes still skim to the very end of the letter, where you can clearly see the words "I will search for a new student", right over what you think is Princess Celestia's own signature.

You… you don't know what to think. You don't know what to say.

And when you look back up, you realize Twilight is looking at you.



"This…"



And she is trying to say something.

But her voice is so hoarse… so broken.



"Velvet, this… this is wrong, right? T-there… there is something very wrong, right? This is a l-lie… Right?"



With those words, her shocked expression finally begins to crumble, her hoof shaking as she passes it over the letters written on the scroll.



"P-Princess Celestia… she didn't mean any of this… R-r… Right?"



Spike glances in through the crack of the half-open door.

Twilight looks at you, her expression on the tipping point of despairing.

And you tell her that…



[] Twilight, I… I am so sorry. But I think Princess Celestia really means what she said, and… I am so, so sorry. (This will break her heart.)

[] Hang on to hope, Twilight. There has to be something very, very wrong with this. All of this. (She will not give up on her dear mentor, no matter what.)





I will only say this once. Think very, very carefully of what you will do.

Kindly observe a two hours moratorium.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Spoiler: Winning Vote

[X] Hang on to hope, Twilight. There has to be something very, very wrong with this. All of this. (She will not give up on her dear mentor, no matter what.)

- - -

"Of course she didn't mean it," you say, after perhaps a few too many seconds of hesitation. But still, you say it nonetheless.

Are you telling her a lie? Of course not. You might not know exactly what is going on in the Royal Castle, or how it is that Princess Luna is back. But you know about the changelings.

You know about the changelings and you know about Selene. And most importantly, you can clearly see that Princess Celestia's "absence" has all the signs that she is, in reality, being intentionally kept away from the public's eye. So even though you don't have any evidence or proof, you know that the contents of that letter are not true. You understand that they can't be true, even if that means that instead the whole world has gone mad.

However, there is also another side to your answer. Because even if you knew that letter was completely truthful, even if you somehow knew that Princess Celestia truly and honestly meant what she wrote... you still wouldn't have been able to say anything else to Twilight.

And that is because saying anything else… would have destroyed her. Because that letter, every last word and every last drop of ink contained in it, is nothing less than the end of the mare called Twilight Sparkle.

So you say those words, bringing Twilight into an embrace.

"I don't know what happened, Twilight. But we both know, deep down, that she would never say any of that."



And the young mare doesn't lean into you so much as she collapses towards into you.



"B-but she… Princess Luna, she s-said th-…! The l-letter! And…" she tries to say something, anything. Again and again she tries to say several things at once. But all that comes out of her mouth are half-sentences, broken down by sobs and choked by tears.

And you keep holding her, gently rubbing her back as she soaks your chest with tear and finally let loose the all the weeks… the months, the years that she had locked inside her chest. All her stresses and fears, all the weight of expectation that she had on her shoulders while she was a pupil under Princess Celestia's wings.

This letter, this night, is not just about the period Princess Celestia had been absent. It is not just about the last few days that led to your harsh meeting with Princess Luna, nor is it just about the letter laid in front of Twilight.

No, this night is about everything Twilight ever knew. About everything she ever was. About who she is. Because for as long as she remembers, for as long as she had a cutie mark, the sole purpose of Twilight Sparkle's life was to study. To study, and to improve herself, and to learn, and to become better, and to be better, and to make Celestia proud.

And that… All of that. All the books she read, all the papers she wrote, all the nights she spent awake, all the times she chose not to visit her parents just to study a little bit more... All the time she slowly drifted apart form her brother, and everypony else she knew while growing up. All of that is being shattered, judged as being a waste of time and effort, by the single letter that lies over her study desk.

"Princess Luna said those things, yes. But still, we know that isn't true. It just isn't, Twilight. You have to believe me on that."

Or rather, all of that might be shattered. All of that will be shattered, if you let go of Twilight right now. If you let go of the hug you are giving her, and give her any other answer than a firm denial to each and every one of her claims.

So, you know you can't tell her anything else.

If you do, it will destroy her. It will uproot her entire life and leave her drifting without a ground under her hoofs or a sky over her head.

Heavens… it might even take from her the very meaning for her existence.

"It isn't true, because we both know you are a genius. You are the brightest pony I've ever met. And no matter what that letter, or the Princesses, or even yourself say, I am sure that there isn't a single pony in all of Equestria who would have done half as much if they had been chosen as Princess Celestia's pupil."

"B-but she-… She said it, and Cel-lestia… wrote and-!"

"And that is wrong, Twilight. You know in your heart that it is wrong."

So you keep saying those words. You keep saying them, and you keep holding Twilight, and you keep denying every single attempt that she makes to claim otherwise. You do it again, and again, and again, and again. Until your body is aching from holding her for so long, and the only argument you can make is the sound of your heartbeat, as you keep Twilight's face tightly held against your chest.

You stay with her, holding onto the life she was about to let go. Sheltering her from the storm that would have unmade her. Refusing to let her cease.



Until you finally start to convince her.



Maybe this is a test. Maybe this is a ruse. Maybe this is something that she did in order to protect you. Maybe this is the first time you are supposed to disagree with her. Maybe. Maybe. Maybe!

Maybe there is something wrong. With that letter, or with the Princesses, or with the world. But still, no matter what happens, she absolutely cannot let go of who she is or what she believes in.

It's not what Princess Celestia would have wanted her to do.

And although that might sound like a contradiction, to hold onto her faith in her beloved mentor during all this, you tell her to do just that. You tell her that she is who she is today because of everything she learned from Celestia. So, she would only ever truly fail if she gave up on the everything she learned, everything she became, on the long path that brought her here.

In the end, she promises you she will try, and in return you promise you will help her.

And she does not seem to object when you take the letter with you, as you exit her room.



- - -



"Spike, are you sure you don't want me to stay over?" you ask the small dragon, as the two of you stand before the door that will lead you out of the library. "I don't mind staying here for the rest of the morning or-"

But he interrupts you.

Or rather, he stops you from speaking out of sheer surprise, by closing the distance between the two of you and giving you a tight hug.

You think he is going to say something, but he just stays like that for a little while. Still, you can feel the sheer relief... the honest gratitude, that is almost radiating out of him as he hugs you.

Until he lets go of you, and simply looks you in the eye with those innocent, emerald-green eyes of his. The expression on his face telling you, without the need for words, that he absolutely did not know what to do until you showed up, but that he thanks all the heavens that you came.

And you feel utterly foolish that you were ever afraid of him when you met him. Spike, you can see now, is the most honest, loyal little brother you have ever met. And he will take care of Twilight, now. He will pick it up from here, now that you gave him this miracle. You are sure of it.

"Alright…" you say with a tired sigh, a small part of your worries draining away from you as you look at Twilight's little protector.

And as if on cue, your body seems to understand that you are done here today, your aching muscles suddenly starting to protest the fact that you are still here. That, and your eyes start burning up as if you warn you that you might also start crying if you look stay here with Spike any longer.

Dear heavens, you are exhausted. What time is it, even? If it wasn't for the eclipse you think the sun might have already appeared on the horizon. You have no idea how much time has passed, but you must have been here for hours now.

"Alright," you repeat, "but please Spike. Promise me one thing. If anything happens, anything at all, you call for somepony right away. Call for Rarity, or one of Twilight's friends. Or call me, even though I live a bit far from here. But if anything happens with you or Twilight and you don't know what to do, just call somepony, and I promise we will help."

"I… I will! I promise!" he says, somehow managing to sound cheerful, despite how terrified he was not long ago.

And with that, you give him one final nod, your horn lighting up as you move to open the door.

"And, uhm… Velvet?" he speaks up, making you pause and look back at him for a few moments. "Thank you… really. I don't know what I would have done if it wasn't for…"

You see him take a deep breath, the conflicting emotions of relief and fear clashing with too much intensity inside his all-too-young head for a few seconds.

But eventually, one emotion comes out on top, and that emotion is gratitude for what you did.

"Well… I, I owe you my life, Velvet!" he says, earnestly. Unabashedly saying just how much Twilight means to him, and how happy he is that she… is a little bit better, now.

"You don't owe me anything, Spike," you say, lightly patting his head with a hoof. "Twilight means a lot to both of us, and I promise I will take care of you two as much as I can."

The young dragon gives you a beaming smile, that you answer with a tired one of your own.

And although you very much want to stay just a little bit longer, to make sure that Twilight really is as okay as she told you she is, you eventually make your way out of the library, taking the long road that will lead you back to your own home.



- - -



For a moment, you thought you would not feel that good when you returned home.

For a long and dreadful moment, one that has been dragging on for a quite a while, you thought you would be too weighted down by your worries, and your fears, and the shame of what happened in Canterlot. You thought it would weight you down so much that not even your home would be able to make you feel better.


But you are so very glad that you were wrong.


It turns out that you weren't in Twilight's home for as long as you thought. You are definitely exhausted, and it did feel like you were there for hours. And who knows, maybe you are right about that, and time itself decided to pass a little slower while you were holding the young mare.

But the fact remains that, at least for the rest of the world, not that much time has passed, and it is still morning.

Everypony in your home is still asleep.

So, you make your way towards your room. You don't even bother to look for Ponpon, to tell her you arrived. She is probably asleep as well, you think.

Although, even if she were awake you still wouldn't really to look for her. You can't find it in you to really care for little things like that, right now.

No. Right now, there is only one thing that you want to do. There is only one pony that you truly want to see. One pony with whom you truly want to be with.

You sneak into your room, silently closing the door behind you and noiselessly walking towards your bed.

And there you see him.

Stormchaser is asleep on his side of the bed, his eyes closed and his body relaxed as if he didn't have a single care in the world. And you can feel it, as soon as you lay your eyes on him. You can feel how his peaceful expression, his mere presence, is somehow telling you that everything is alright. You can feel that just by looking at him... you know that everything will be alright.

Everything will be alright, as long as you are here with him.

You don't even bother to climb onto the bed with him. You just sit down on the floor by his side of the bed, and lay your head next to his.

And when you close your eyes, everything actually goes dark.

This… this is what you really needed. This is the only thing you will ever need.

He is the only one you will ever need.

And as long as you can come back to this place, as long as you can come back to him, then you know that you have not yet truly lost. As long as you have your husband, and everything he gave you, then you know that the shadows that weight you down have not truly drowned you yet.

...

It might be that you slept, or perhaps Stormchaser simply woke up. You are not sure. But at some point the two of you open your eyes, slowly and at the same time, and you do nothing but stare at each other.

You don't really know when he put a wing around you, you only know that you feel warm. You also don't know who started smiling first.

But for a good while, the two of you simply stay like that, smiling sweetly at each other. All your fears, your worries and your troubles utterly failing to reach you while you are there.

And when he asks you a simple question-


"Good morning sweetheart… how have you been?"


-you answer him. Plain and simply, you open your heart to him. Without fear or concern, you simply tell him everything that happened.

You tell him about your worries for Twilight, and how you followed her into a guarded part of the castle, and everything after that. You tell him of what might be coming your way, of the fact that you will be soon hearing from your father, and that it might not be just that.

You tell him all of that, and he listens.

And when you are done, he simply gives you a slow, thoughtful nod.

Then he plants a soft kiss on your lips, and welcomes you back home.

And you know that, whatever happens, he will be right there by your side.





The Velvet always answers "No", but we can shelter in that "No" like beasts in the crook of a tree. You have sheltered Twilight Sparkle during a life-rending storm, and have refused to let her go. You have gained one scrap of HEART Lore.

Something happened, not long ago. And that something caused one to become two, then four, then many. You do not yet remember exactly what else happened, but you can feel that "else" coming to you like the bright warmth of a sunrise against a waking face. Gain one scrap of SECRET HISTORIES Lore.

Your uncle has gifted you something. Gain one book (LANTERN 6, encoded).

Forge Scraps, and their adjoined Fascination, will be rewarded before the end of the turn. But not yet.

You told Stormchaser what happened. You told him about everything except the changelings. But still, you kept no secrets when it came to the gravity of what exactly you did when you followed Twilight's teleportation spell, and the very real trouble you have gotten yourself into.

And privately, you think he is relieved that you had no reservations towards him (that he knows of…). And that the coming problem with your father, that both of you agree will certainly crash upon you soon, is something that he both understands and can help you with.

Now we can continue with the turn.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

Technically, you do sleep a little bit.

Technically.

Just a little bit.



Your husband pulls you up towards the bed, and you close your eyes while surrounded by warmth and comfort. And you think that despite whatever happened to your mind, you actually are about to have a dream, even though your brain is still in the middle of shutting itself down. Still, you have a weird half-feeling that you can see some flash of light, or whatever.

But you don't have time focus on that dream, if it even is a dream to begin with.

Because as soon as your mind gratefully dozes off to sleep, and your entire world spirals into darkness while you are softly cuddled against your husband chest-



*BLAM*

"DAD! MOM IS BACK!"



A sound. A shockwave. A force of nature slams your door open.

You can feel your heartrate spike at the sudden burst of adrenaline and surprise. And even though your face is pressed against your husband's chest, and you are under three different bedsheets, you can still somehow see with your mind's eye how Silky Stream rammed herself into your room with the intensity of a cannonball.

Heavens, for a split second you almost think she made a hole through the door.



"DAD! MOM IS BACK!"

"Silky, dear, I really think we should both let your mom sleep just a little-"



But you know your husband's efforts, however valiant, are as pitiful as throwing a feather against a coming hurricane.

Because without breaking her door-breaking momentum, and with a precision that begets the unnatural, the localized storm that just invaded your room immediately alters its course. In the split-second she had since she entered your room, Silky has somehow already recognized the sheet-covered silhouette on the bed as being you. And before your body had the time to un-freeze from the sudden shock of surprise, she has already landed on top of you.

And for every word she speaks after that, you can feel the cushioned weight of her hoofs jumping on top of your bedsheet-covered self.



"MOM! YOU. ARE. BACK!!!"



Of course, you know you brought this upon yourself. And even your husband understands that your fates, both yours and his, have already been sealed for the rest of the day.

After all, you did promise that you would all go out together for the eclipse's celebration as soon as you returned home.

And silly Velvet Covers just had to return home at the beginning of the morning, after spending the whole previous night awake, didn't she?

"Good morning sweetheart…" you say dejectedly, your voice muffled as you savor the last seconds you will have hugging your husband's chest.

"GOOD. MORNING. MOMMY!"

"I, uh… Mr. Stormchaser, I swear I tried to stop her, but she…" you also hear Selene's demure voice coming from somewhere, probably from the maybe-damaged door.

"It's alright Selene. Me and your mother will go downstairs for breakfast in a few moments," Stormchaser answers.

And secretly, in a way that only your husband will ever hear, you let out a low and tired groan. And he pats a supportive hoof on your back.

Whoever said mothering is always picnics and roses?

You also really need to teach your daughter patience, one of these days…



- - -



Thankfully, you did manage to finagle a short nap before you left. And you can't really give yourself any credit for that, it was all on your husband this time.

He didn't give you any signs or cues to follow, and you only realized what he had done much, much later after he woke you up asking if you slept well. But still, as soon as Silky had given you her enthusiastic "welcome back", Stormchaser scooped her and Selene with his wings and hauled them off downstairs for breakfast, saying that you would follow after them in a few minutes.

You didn't even hear him lock the door when he left, and you have no idea how neither of the two fillies noticed the sleight of hoof he pulled off to do that. You were already several notches beyond unconscious before they even made their way out of the room.

Still, you had the very definition of a power nap. And although you were disoriented for several seconds when he woke you up later, your body still managed to recover some much-needed energy.

What is more, he also got your daughters dressed up and ready to go while you were out of it. Of course, he must have done it just to squeeze as much time as possible for you before Silky realized you were still asleep. But still, seeing your cute daughters all dolled-up is always a balm to your soul.



And before long, you were all crossing the outskirts of the town and making your way into Ponyville proper.



You like Ponyville. You appreciate the sense of closeness that everypony seems to have for each other. You admire how a burgeoning town such as this has managed to maintain its idyllic aesthetic and way of life. And most of all, you enjoy how peaceful this place is.

Of course, the more "urbanized" cities have their own charm, with its skyscrapers, and its fancy stores, and how everything is available to you in one way or another. But what makes it charming is also what makes it overbearing, at times, with how everything seems to move so quickly within those hoof-made mazes of concrete and stone.

You wonder how Princess Luna's return is being celebrated on those places…

Well, you think, it doesn't really matter. You are sure that, no matter what the alternatives are, you will always prefer what you have here right now.

You will always prefer the happy spectacle that is happening right in front of your eyes.

Although, a part of your mind whispers, slightly distressed, Stormchaser is letting Silky go a bit too high on that thing and…

"Mrs. Velvet, is everything alright?"

Selene's voice snaps you out of your thoughts, and you look down to the filly that is sitting by your side.

"I'm sorry dear, what was that?" you ask.

To which she answers with a furrowed brow. As if you somehow had just answered her, and your answer only made her worried about something.

The two of you are sitting on a bench, in one of the several parks that dot Ponyville. The whole town is still up in festivities, to the point where most of the city feels like an amusement park of sorts. The delightful kind of amusement park, mind you. Not the chaotic, shoulder-brushing, filled-to-the-brim fiesta that was Canterlot.

But anyways. To that effect, from what you understand, the spontaneous celebratory nature of ponies made it that the largest and most elaborated ideas gravitated towards the parks of the town. For example, you heard the Apple family set up an entire obstacle course on one of the nearby parks.

And on this particular park where you are, there is an entire maze of cloud arrayed in the air, the thing becoming more and more complex the higher it went. You and Selene are just watching, your youngest daughter emphatically refusing to try her hoof into that thing, even though she has her enchanted horseshoes on.

But Silky, Stormchaser, and even Soft Sweeps who showed up to work despite the holidays, are having a blast inside the cloud maze.

"I asked if something is wrong," Selene repeats herself, looking up at you with a complicated expression, "I mean… well, you…"

But she trails off, looking down embarrassedly as soon as your eyes meet.

Of course, you have an encouraging hoof on her back one moment later, and you make sure to look up again towards the cloud maze while you talk to her.

"Of course everything is fine, love. Why wouldn't it be?"

And just like you hoped, you spy Selene giving you a few cursory looks from the corner of your eye, now that she thinks you are not looking.

You can tell that she is worried for you. In fact, you can tell that she has been worrying about you for a while now, as you remember how she asked you the same thing the last day you were home before leaving for Canterlot. But still, you can tell that she is a bit unsure on what to do about it.

So, you give her time, calmly looking up at the cloud maze as Storm and Soft try to push Silky through a wind-tunnel that her wings are too small to force her way through alone.

"It's just that…" until Selene finally speaks up again, although you resist the urge to steal a glance at her. "You haven't been sleeping well?" she says.

And for all that she worded that like a question, you can tell that she is clearly making an affirmation.

So she can tell these sorts of things? Interesting…

But ultimately, you think, burgeoning possibly-alicorn related skills are less important to you than a distressed daughter. So, you focus on addressing what really matters.

"Well, mommy has been a bit tired these last few days, that is true. But it's not because of anything worrying," you say, in your usual gentle tone.

However, you can tell that her reaction is… rather fidgety.

No, more than that. You keep glancing at her only from the corner of your eye, still pretending to be looking up at the cloud maze. But you can see it, from the way Selene looked straight at you for a few moments, then glanced back at the ground.

Your daughter… she is downright uncomfortable.

Uncomfortable with you.

"You are lying, aren't you?" she asks, clearly downtrodden, before you can think of anything else to say.

And despite your best efforts, you are so surprised by her words that you actually turn to look at her.



But her reaction to that is far stronger than you expected.



You know Selene is on the shy side of things, but during the split second your eyes meet, she is not just shy, or surprised or sheepish.

No. You can see in her eyes that she is afraid. It only lasts a single moment, but in that moment you see her eyes grow wide in fear. The rest of her body, also, reacts the same way. But not like a filly who had been caught doing something she shouldn't, or who just said something that would get her in trouble.

You see terror in her eyes. As if she was not looking at you, but at… something else. And for a moment, she is not sitting next to you in bench. Instead, she is alone, somewhere very far away and dark.

That thing over her eyes, that shadow of something else, lasts only for a second.

But the echo of fear remains, and you immediately understand that she equated that fear to what she just told you.

"I… I didn't mean it like that!" she quickly tries to say, her eyes fixed to the ground and her ears down. Her forelegs gluing to her chest as she hugs herself.

Heavens, she even tries to inch away from you, hesitantly working her way out from the foreleg you have around so she can-



"Scoop!" you playfully say, not even giving yourself time to finish that thought. Gently surrounding her with a halo of magic and floating her even closer to you.



You have no idea of what you just saw, or what just happened. But for a split second your daughter was afraid of something, and now she might also be afraid of you. And that is utterly unacceptable!

You watch as Selene flails awkwardly for a few seconds, the sudden irrational fear she just felt being replaced by the very real surprise of suddenly not having the bench under her hoofs, before you deposit her between your chest and your forelegs.

You don't hug her, you don't pull her towards you or force her into anything. You just put her there, and wordlessly make it clear that she can just walk away if she wants to.

And for a moment, she even looks up at you. Her expression clearly confused as she tries to parcel what must have been a second-long rollercoaster of emotions. She even looks at your horn, as if trying to check if it is lit up so as to grab her again if she tries to make a run for it.

But you just stay there, calmly smiling at her, as she… very clearly tries to and gives up on the attempt to understand what just happened. Almost a minute later, much to your delight, she simply leans her head against your chest.

You can see from her body language just how awkward she is feeling right now. And for your own part you make a mental note to… watch out for this sort of thing, in the future. But for now, you think you just completely sidestepped a small crisis, and you see no reason to press her regarding anything that just happened.

Not with how uncomfortable she is feeling.

"Now, Selene, as mommy was saying," you continue as if nothing had happened, "I have been a bit tired, but I don't think it's because of anything in particular."

You hear her say something under her breath. Maybe it was just a sigh or a frown.

And you can tell just by that, that she will keep worrying about you as things currently stand.

"But," you say, and you see her ears perk up at that, "well, sometimes other ponies have problems that they don't even notice. Even if that problem is obvious to other ponies around him. There's even a saying about that, that a pegasus should always remember the weight of his wings, or someday he will be carrying the world on their backs and think it to be normal."

You probably misremembered exactly how that saying is supposed to be like. But you can see that Selene understood you.

"That's why we keep our loved ones close," you continue. "Because if something like that happens, and we notice that somepony we love is carrying a weight without realizing it, then we can work out how to help them. And they can do the same to us, of course."

You see Selene slowly nod at that, but she doesn't say anything.

However, you can see that she is thinking about something. Perhaps thinking a little more deeply than a filly ought to, but you decide not to disturb her.

The two of you just stay like that, with you looking up at the cloud maze, until Selene looks up to you.

"Uhm… Mrs. Velvet," she says, calling your attention, "I… I'm sorry for the question but… Uhm… Is it okay to lie to somepony you care for?"

You tilt your head slightly, raising an amused eyebrow at your daughter and watching her blush slightly.

"I-I haven't been doing anything wrong!" she says defensively, fidgeting for a few moments, "it's just that… well…"

She takes a deep breath, but you can see that she is more embarrassed than anything else. And after a few moments, she continues to talk.

"Remember that thing, from a few days back…? That question I didn't know how to ask you?"

You give her a nod, urging her to keep going.

"Well… I… please don't tell this to Silky but… the thing is that the two of us made a promise, to each other. We promised we'd always take care of each other and… well, that we'd always tell everything to each other."

You bite down a smile, although a very large part of you just wants to tackle Selene in a hug. The sheer innocence and embarrassment coming from her, as she hesitantly says those words, is almost too much for you to bear.

"But the thing is, I… well, there's something I don't want to tell her. Because telling her will…" she hesitates, not exactly knowing how to put it into words.

But you understand it immediately.

Selene is starting to face… certain problems. She has not yet had anything happen to her, nightmare or otherwise, that was as bad as that one time. Still, you know with a spine-chilling certainty that "not yet" is the key word here.

So, Selene knows, even if she doesn't realize it yet, that there is something going on. Something that Silky won't be able to help her with.

And more than that, you think she understands, even if only subconsciously, that pulling Silky into all of this will only cause her sister to suffer. At best, because Silky will feel helpless about it, but at worst…

"Mrs. Velvet, is it okay to lie to somepony you care for…" she words her question slowly, almost as if unsure if this is how she wants to phrase it, "if it is to protect them?"

She asks that, and she looks straight into your eyes.

And despite all your thoughts, despite your common sense telling you what you should answer, despite your opinions as a mother suggesting you exact how you should address this situation… Despite all of that, you simply look back at Selene.

You wonder what expression you have on your face, right now.

"Selene, listen to me," you say, lightly putting your hoofs on her shoulders.

Because somehow, during this short conversation, the two of you know.

It is not something that you can describe with words, but the two of you simply know.

She can see it, even if she does not understand what she is seeing. But she can see your worries, and the weights you are carrying, and the struggles you are going through as you desperately try to live a normal life with your family, at the same time you are working on threading the needle about… something.

And you can also see, in her eyes, everything that she avoids thinking about. All the strange little things that have been happening to her, or that she has been noticing. All the moments she just stops and wonder if she is living inside a dream, or if she is a dream. With the utter knowledge that she is not in trouble, but that there is still something very, very strange happening.

You look at her, and for a very long second it is almost as if you are seeing two juxtaposed images. At the same time seeing your beloved daughter, as well as a filly with a horn and wings and half the weight of the world on her back.

The two of you share that moment.

And then it is gone.

"Selene," you continue, her eyes still locked onto your own, "there isn't a right answer to that question. It depends, and it will always depend. On what problem your loved ones have, or on what problem you are trying to hide from them. It depends on how much you trust yourself, to be able to solve things without any help, and how much you think it will hurt them to see you hurting if you fail. I won't tell you that no, it is not okay. But I also can't tell you that it is alright to do that."

You say those words, and then you look up at the cloud maze, at the trio of pegasi playing in the clouds under the soft glow of the eclipse.

Your gaze goes to Stormchaser first, and then to Silky and Soft Sweeps. And you know that Selene's gaze followed your own, even if she first looked at her sister, and then at her father.

And you see her nod, at you and at your answer, because she understood what you meant to say. Even if that nod was not a conscious movement of hers.

"But I can tell you something, Selene, with absolute certainty," you say, folding your forelegs around her in a hug, as the two of you look up at your family. "It is always worth it, to do whatever you can to protect the ones you love."

She nods once again, this time just a little bit more consciously.

And the two of you stay like that, until your winged family finally finishes the maze and make its way down to you two.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are Selene, and although it is already late at night you are wide awake.

You are still awake, despite the late hour, because you are thinking about something.

Something that you have been mulling over your head for a few days now.



"It is okay to lie to somepony you care for."

That is what Mrs. Velvet told you.



She didn't tell you exactly that, of course. She used prettier words, and made it sound a lot more complicated than it needed to be. But you could see it, in her eyes. You could see it clearly, then and there, that Mrs. Velvet is perfectly willing to lie to the ponies she cares for, if it's for their own good. And since Mrs. Velvet is willing to do it, and you know she is a pony you can trust, then it must mean that it really is okay.

You also understood that you should only do that if you have a very good reason, and if you are absolutely sure that you can take care of things.

But still, you caught the true meaning of her words.

And you… agree with her.

...

You really like Mrs. Velvet, but sometimes she scares you a little bit.

You understand Mr. Stormchaser, or at least you think you do. He is a very caring stallion, and somehow you know you can trust him as a matter of fact. You think there is a word to describe that kind of pony, something you heard Sweetie say once when she was talking about Apple Bloom's sister... it must have been "dependable", or something like that. But regardless, you like Mr. Stormchaser, and although you have never done anything to deserve it you somehow know he will always be there for you.

You also understand Silky. Maybe a bit too well, even. But in all honesty, you wouldn't have it any other way. She is your sister, you are her sister, and that's that.

Mrs. Velvet, on the other hoof, is a bit different…

You know that she cares for you. That she really, really cares for you. It almost makes you uncomfortable sometimes, when you see how her expression looks like when she looks at Mr. Stormchaser, then at Silky, and how her expression continues to carry that same doting smile when she looks at you right after. It makes you uncomfortable because, just like with Mr. Stormchaser, you don't know what you did to deserve that from her. But that's not what you find so strange about Mrs. Velvet.

No, the thing is that she… You are not sure how to describe it, but she just feels different, somehow.

Mr. Stormchaser feels like how you think a father should feel, just like how Silky feels like a sister ought to. But Mrs. Velvet… you can't really tell?

You feel safe when she hugs you, and it's really nice when she puts you between her forelegs and her chest. You really like how she hums a song while she brushes your mane, and how she doesn't mind when you and Silky interrupt her work, and a lot of other things.

But that's what feels so strange about her.

Sometimes… most of the time, actually, she really makes you feel like you are a just a little filly. She really makes you feel like you are a real daughter, and not just a nopony whose parents abandoned her and who somehow got really, really, really lucky.

However, there are times when...

There are times when Mrs. Velvet just feels different.

It happens when she says some things, every now and then, that just click inside your head, even if they don't make any sense. It happens when she gives you a few nods and winks when you don't know what to do, as if she was giving you a hint to a puzzle you didn't even know you were trying to solve. And when those things happen, she somehow feels like a... like an old friend, instead of a mom.

She feels different, when she does those things…



You feel different, when she does those things.



But in the end… you still trust her. She may feel strange, sometimes. She may be a bit scary, sometimes. You somehow know she doesn't dream, and that is an entirely different package of weirdness that you haven't even touched yet. But still, whether if she feels like a mom or like a friend, you still like her either way.

You still care for her.

"Even if it's impossible to care for her as much as she cares for me," you whisper to yourself with a chuckle.

That said, you know that she... that she might lie to you. But then again, she just told you that it's okay to lie to somepony you love, if you have a really good reason.

And you trust Mrs. Velvet. So if she is lying to you, then you know it's for your own good, and that she must have a very, very good reason for that.

You just hope that someday you get to know what the lies were about.



"…"



You hear a noise coming from somewhere, outside your room. You almost missed it, and the noise was so low that you could have thought it was just the wind outside the house.

But you know better. You have been hearing that noise almost every night, these past few weeks, and you have already gone out of your room more than once to investigate it. You know what it really was.

And this time, you are going to do something about it.

You jump out of your bed, not needing any light to make your way towards your wardrobe for the things you need.

A few minutes later you have your scarf around your neck, and you put on your special horseshoes just for good measure. Then, you silently sneak your way out of your room.

To be honest, you have no idea of what you are doing, but… this feels like the right thing to do, for several little reasons that you can't quite put your hoof on.

Also, you really want to help Mrs. Velvet. And you might not understand her enough to know what you can do for her directly.

But there is nothing stopping you from helping her indirectly, is there?



- - -



You lied a little bit.

You told Mr. Stormchaser that you couldn't sleep, even though you were sure you would pass out from tiredness if you went back to bed.



Mr. Stormchaser lied a little bit.

He told you he just got up to drink some water, even though you know he has been doing this, this whole thing of wondering around the house at night, for a long time now.



Was it wrong, that you two lied to each other?

Was it right?

You don't really know.

What you do know is that you care for him, and that he cares for you. Maybe if things were a little better, maybe if life wasn't so complicated, you two would have been able to talk to each other, without lies or reservations. Maybe then, he would have been able to tell you, or Mrs. Velvet, or somepony, what has really been keeping him awake.

But life is not that simple, and things are not that easy. So, you two lied to each other. But thanks to that lie you could get close him. Thanks to the fact that you two were pretending everything was okay, you could walk up to him.

And thanks to that, you could give him a really long hug. And then you could put a smile on his face when you asked him if he could take you for a fly through the night sky.

Maybe this is the secret Mrs. Velvet tried to teach you. You know you can't help Mr. Stormchaser with what is really bothering him. But if you do this, if you pretend to believe in his tired smile when he says everything is alright, then you can at least give him a few moments when he doesn't have to think about what really troubles him. Then you can at least give him a few moments when he is just a dad, carrying his daughter on his back through the night skies.



You think you get it, now… the importance of lies.



And you know you can't talk with Silky about this. You know she wouldn't understand, and that she would say you should never lie to somepony who trusts you. You also understand that she is right.

But the real secret is exactly in the contradiction. Silky Stream would be right, if she told you that you should never lie to somepony who trusts you. But you also know it is alright to lie, to protect somepony you care for.

You and Mr. Stormchaser flew through the night for quite a while, then you settled down over a few clouds so you could look at the moon. Neither of you said anything, but when you two went back home, and when he tucked you into your bed, you made sure to give him one last, extra-long hug. And you think you saw a smile on his face before he left your room.



…



…



…



But you know you can do more than just that.

After all you want to help Mrs. Velvet, and you know that also helping Mr. Stormchaser will be like hitting two birds with one stone.



So, when you wake up in Mr. Stormchaser's dream after falling asleep, you start snooping around. You still have no idea how any of this works, but you somehow know that you will be able to do a lot more in here. That you will be able to find out a lot more, both about Mr. Stormchaser and his problems, if you look for those things in here.



You weren't lying when you told Mr. Stormchaser you wanted him to take you for a fly. And of course you liked doing it.



But that whole time, you really just needed an excuse to give him a hug.



You hope this is the kind of lie that is okay to do, since you're doing it for somepony you care for.

And really, you can't do this with Mrs. Velvet because for some reason she doesn't dream. So it really is her fault that you have to be so roundabout about this!





Selene's MOTH Lore is now level 2.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Current plan

[X] Plan Seeking Illumination
-[x] 7+1 actions
-[x] The Lies We Tell
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Jade: Investigate Selene
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
--[x] Servants: Canterlot book search
-[X] Uncle Steppes: We are going to be making the rounds in Canterlot given the occasion. Perhaps he can help out somehow?
-[x] Attention of the Laws: Secret Histories towards book search
-[X] Buy
--[X] (ARTIFACT) SH 3
--[X] FORGE 3
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Openly go to the Royal Castle
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Accompany Twilight to Canterlot
-[x] A fleeting opportunity: Gather followers
-[X] Talk to Windy Flakes
--[X] Let him know that you arranged a prank for him; you haven't interacted too tightly so far, but given some of his earlier actions you thought it would amuse him.
--[X] Explain that you weren't originally expecting to be able to aid his... project... at the same time, but you are glad things worked out well. Ask if it is something he is willing to talk about; you aren't really clear on the details yourself, but perhaps you can help?
-[x] Study
--[x] SH 3 Artifact
--[x] Edge 3 Book
-[X] Book Shopping in Canterlot
--[X] Invite Twilight to join you
-[x] Family idle interaction
--[x] With Selene.

- - -

[Reading a book, CD 70]

[Roll: 82 + 14 (Learning) + 5 (Well read) + 15 (LANTERN bonus) + 7 (Artifact) = 123]

[Gained one scrap of EDGE Lore. Level 3 Essay added to the Bright Library.]



"Excuse me ma'am? You have a visitor," Ponpon says, causing you to look up from the book you are holding on your hoofs.

You blink a few times, struggling to come to terms with the scenery around you as you push yourself out of your own mind. The book you are reading, a supposed biography of an ancient pegasus, is extremely interesting. But to be honest you have never had such an intense experience with your hoof-reading as the one you just had.

Everything inside your head was just so… bright.

"Ma'am?"

You shake your head, looking towards Ponpon as you realize, from her tone, that she must have said something before. What was it again…?

Oh, right, a visitor.

"Yes, Ponpon, thank you for letting me know. Who is it, by the way?" you ask, trying your best not to show just how out of it you were for a few moments.

Ponpon answers you by opening the door to your study just a little more, revealing the familiar face of a pony who is standing next to your maid.

"Hello Velvet Covers."

"Jade!" you say, getting off your chair and walking towards her with a smile on your face, "It's so good to see you."

She gives you an uninterested nod, but you know her too well to take it at just face value.

"I'm also happy to be here," she says, with such a bland tone that Ponpon can't help but give her a dubious sidelong glance.

But her answer only makes your smile grow wider. After all, to this day you have not heard Jade Whistle tell a single lie.



- - -



"So… what is your take on all of this?" you ask.

You and Jade are in your garden, sitting on comfortable chairs in what must be one of the more secluded parts of your estate. You haven't been in this particular spot in quite a while, maybe even years, but it still as well kept and gardened as you remember it.

Jade is holding on to a teacup as she thinks, looking at her tea with as much absent interest as she usually looks at everything else.

Still, you give her time to think.

"I am not sure," she finally says. "I know you met Princess Luna and all, but there's a few things that just don't add up. And I'm not just talking about Selene."

"Oh? Did I miss something?"

"Not really," she says, looking up at you, "but this past week the Master had us perform a scrying ritual again, looking for Princess Luna. And it fizzled, again. I got worried that maybe there's something wrong with the ritual to begin with, but Master just told us not to worry…"

She blows at her teacup before taking a sip.

"Master also told us to get ready for other rituals, scrying or otherwise, so he must be confident it works anyways. But still, that means that the Princess Luna that returned to Canterlot… well, that there's something wrong with her, at the very least. And again," she finishes, looking behind her and towards your estate, "there's still Selene to begin with."

You nod at that. It is interesting to know what the Master has been up to after coming to the Wake, even if Jade only knows bits and pieces about it, but this new information about the attempted scrying really makes you think about certain things in a new light.

Specifically, the fact that it feels wrong to think that the Princess Luna you saw in the castle has anything strange to her. But at the same time, now you can't help but think that certainty is strange to begin with.

You feel a bit of a headache coming your way, with how you are trying to Moth your mind into accepting both things at the same time, so you decide to think about that later.

"Well, thank you for letting me know about that, Jade," you say, drinking from your own tea to keep your headache at bay.

She just nods at you, her expression as bored as ever.

"I've also been researching something, about Selene. From that strange dream I've been having that I told you about. And there's something I'd like to check, if you don't mind."

"Oh?" your ears perk up at that, "well it's still morning so she and Silky are in school right now."

"It's ok. I actually came here this early because of that," she says, and for some reason she pauses for a few moments.

And you get the impression that, for all that her expression has not changed in the slightest, she is actually struggling to say something. So you stay quiet as she looks back down at her teacup.

"And this might sound a bit awkward, but…" your eyes go wide as she mumbles something under her breath, "could I… take a look at her room?"

You tilt your head. It takes you a few moments to realize why she is so flustered to be asking something like that, but you let out a soft "ah" once it dawns at you.

"Of course Jade," you say, getting up from your cushioned seat and walking back towards the entrance of your mansion, "right this way. I'm sure she won't mind us taking a peek in there."

And you make a point of pretending you don't notice how long Jade takes to put down her teacup, or how she takes a deep breath before following after you.

…

Up the stairways on the entrance hall, down through the corridor that stretches to your right, and eventually you arrive at the door to Selene's room with Jade Whistle in tow.

"Here we are," you say with a hoof on the doorknob, turning back to face her.

But to your surprise, Jade is still a few paces behind you, staring intently in a very specific direction. In fact, it is quite clear that she did not even hear you just now, with how focused she looks.

She snaps out of it a few moments later, but before you can say anything else she looks at you, and points at the direction she was looking at.

"Is this where Selene usually sleeps?" she asks.

And you look at her quizzically.

Because she is pointing at (and she was looking at, just now) the door that leads to Silky's room.

"Well… technically it is?" you say, partly unsure and partly curious about what she just said. After all, Selene has been sleeping in Silky's room a lot more frequently these last few weeks.

But she had been in her own room for far longer before that, and… well, and more importantly how could Jade even tell that?

"Oh, it's your other daughter's…" she says, her monotonous voice clearly dispirited, "do you think she would mind if I…?"

"Of course she wouldn't," you interrupt her, before she forces herself to finish the question. "As a matter of fact, knowing Silky, she'd practically drag you here given half the chance."

Brushing away your friend's hesitation, you walk towards her and open the door to Silky's room. You think you can see Jade flinching on the corner of your vision, but seeing how hard it must have been for her to even get this far you do your best to pretend you didn't notice it.

"Here," you say, walking into your daughter's room, "I have to say I'm still curious of what… well, of what you saw here. But come on in."

Jade Whistle looks into the room, her face going uncharacteristically tense for a few moments, as if she was approaching some creature that might bite her if she got too close. Still, after a few seconds she eventually steps in.

But the moment she walks through the door, and her expression relaxes back to its bored tone once again, Jade Whistle doesn't even bother to look around as you thought she would. Instead, she walks straight towards Silky's bed, her eyes fixed on it as if she could see through it.

And she crawls underneath it before you can even say anything, dragging a small wooden chest from its underside with her mouth.

"Oh?" you say, looking at the chest, your eyes curiously darting between Jade's concentrated expression and the chest itself for a few moments.

"In here," Jade says, pursing her lips but not moving to open the chest, as if unsure of what to do next. But why is she hesitating now? You can tell that the chest is unlocked and-…

Oh, right. Silly Velvet.

"It's alright Jade," you say, lighting up your horn and opening the chest with your magic.

Although you too purse your lips when you see the contents of the small chest.

"Actually," you say, "I'd rather if we didn't look into that. That's a diary I bought for Selene. It's interesting that you could… that you could see it? But I don't want us to look into something that private." You're not sure if you should say Jade has sensed her diary or if she saw it from behind the walls, with how her Lantern-gift seems to work through her eyes while yours work through your hoofs.

But still, regardless of that, you really do mean what you just said. You are sure that neither of your daughters would have minded if you showed Jade their rooms, but looking into Selene's diary is clearly a line you will not cross.

"This is her what? Oh, right, there's a diary here. Sorry, I didn't even notice it."

But much to your surprise, Jade says those words. And then she proceeds to carefully, almost reverently, take Selene's diary in her hoofs and place it on Silky's bed.

"This is what I'd like to take a look at," she says, pointing a hoof at what was underneath the diary.

And you see, neatly folded at the bottom of the chest, the crocheted blankets that you brought back from that strange house, when you found Selene all those months ago.

Your eyes go slightly wide at that. You have already tried studying those blankets, but although you could tell they are somewhat special you couldn't really grasp why.

But it seems Jade might have a far better shot at it than you, which makes sense in hindsight.

Wordlessly, you nod at your friend, and she carefully takes the blankets from inside the chest and begins to unfold it, slowly going over its knitted surface as if she is reading a book.

She stays like that for quite a while, and you almost worry your daughters might return from school before she is done. But eventually, Jade nods to herself, and carefully folds the blankets and returns them to their rightful place with the diary.

When she turns to speak to you, you can somehow tell that she feels sad about what she is about to tell you.





Velvet, I… I really, really trust you, and I know you will know what to do with what I'm about to tell you. But unless you absolutely have to, please… don't do it. Please.

You have learned the Rite of Childhood's End.

Jade Whistle also says there are more things that she is missing, and asks you to let her know if you feel Selene is any more "awake" than she currently is. (Jade will have more chances to research Selene as your daughter's KNOCK level increases.)