Turn 11 - Results, part 14
OurLadyOfWires
Uh-oh, better hide those FOALS!
- Joined
- Jan 7, 2024
- Messages
- 427
- Likes received
- 6,830
[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.
-[x] 7+1 actions
--[x] Stormchaser: Silence
--[x] Rarity: A cautious explanation
-[x] Confidant/Servant Actions
--[x] Rarity: Focus on her work
--[x] Selene: Moth Lesson
-[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] 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.
- - -
Hey.
You.
Yeah, you. The new one.
Did you know? Have you heard?
The Loremaster has written a new manifest.
She… she has?
Yes.
And… and we should read it?
Of course. They say it is one that speaks of hate and ambition. Of combat and strife. You should read it, and see if it speaks to you more deeply than the others.
I… I will, but… can I ask you something?
Maybe… why the hesitation to begin with?
Well, because… it's a question nopony has given me an answer to yet.
Or rather, it's a question nopony has given me a good answer to, yet.
Or rather, it's a question nopony has given me a good answer to, yet.
In that case, then it depends. What would you like to ask?
Who is… the Loremaster?
Why, everypony knows. The Loremaster is Lady Velvet Covers.
Yes, but who is Lady Velvet Covers?
Why, everypony knows… Lady Velvet Covers is the Loremaster.
…
Now, now, don't make that face. A clue, then.
From the very first line of the grey scroll, that you will find in the Club's library: You will begin to understand the answers only when you stop asking the questions.
Yes, I read that damn scroll. I read all the scrolls! But that doesn't mean that they make any sense or-!
It means you should be quiet, and just hear what everypony around you is saying.
You… you mean eavesdropping?
You can't say something is a secret if you are allowing it out of your mouth to begin with, can you?
…
Pff. Don't worry, you'll grow out of it. Just don't waste an advice freely given.
If you say so…
…
…
.
…
Hey.
Did you know?
The Loremaster has left us a new scroll, at the Bright Library.
…
Hey.
Have you heard?
Lady Velvet Covers has left us another hint.
…
Hey.
Are you in on it?
I heard
that she
has left us
a new riddle.
For us to search.
For us to solve.
For us to try and get closer to the truth.
…
But after all, who is the Cult's Loremaster?
...
The noblemare is surely a mask. A pawn that our Loremaster impersonates, just for the sake of wearing a face. What else could possibly make sense?
After all, the noblemare is almost never seen out of her mansion.
After all, the noblemare is almost never seen within the Club.
Lady Velvet Covers is not the Loremaster. I'm sure of it.
…
No, you are obviously wrong. Just ask around, talk to those who have been in the Club since the beginning.
The noblemare had been coming to the gatherings ever since then, when there were less knowledge and less followers. For years, perhaps. Way before the Master came to the Wake.
We have seen less and less of her because we lack the eyes to see. But her presence can be felt all around us.
Lady Velvet Covers is the Loremaster. I'm sure of it.
…
You lie.
You are both fools.
You are both lost.
Lady Velvet Covers is not the Loremaster. And neither of them, not the noblemare and not the Loremaster, are even real to begin with.
Have you ever asked about her cutie mark? Has anypony seen her cutie mark?
Can anypony even confirm, here and now, if this supposed noblemare, if this supposed Loremaster, is a pegasus? Or an earth pony, or a unicorn?
Can anypony even confirm that, instead, she is not something else entirely? Something with too may legs, hidden underneath a lofty dress?
I heard her cutie mark is a spider.…
Hey.
Did you know?
The Loremaster has left us a new scroll, at the Bright Library.
…
Hey.
Have you heard?
Lady Velvet Covers has left us another hint.
…
Hey.
Are you in on it?
I heard
that she
has left us
a new riddle.
For us to search.
For us to solve.
For us to try and get closer to the truth.
…
But after all, who is the Cult's Loremaster?
...
The noblemare is surely a mask. A pawn that our Loremaster impersonates, just for the sake of wearing a face. What else could possibly make sense?
After all, the noblemare is almost never seen out of her mansion.
After all, the noblemare is almost never seen within the Club.
Lady Velvet Covers is not the Loremaster. I'm sure of it.
…
No, you are obviously wrong. Just ask around, talk to those who have been in the Club since the beginning.
The noblemare had been coming to the gatherings ever since then, when there were less knowledge and less followers. For years, perhaps. Way before the Master came to the Wake.
We have seen less and less of her because we lack the eyes to see. But her presence can be felt all around us.
Lady Velvet Covers is the Loremaster. I'm sure of it.
…
You lie.
You are both fools.
You are both lost.
Lady Velvet Covers is not the Loremaster. And neither of them, not the noblemare and not the Loremaster, are even real to begin with.
Have you ever asked about her cutie mark? Has anypony seen her cutie mark?
Can anypony even confirm, here and now, if this supposed noblemare, if this supposed Loremaster, is a pegasus? Or an earth pony, or a unicorn?
Can anypony even confirm that, instead, she is not something else entirely? Something with too may legs, hidden underneath a lofty dress?
No, it's a view of the Woods.
No! It is the Mansus itself.
I heard she has no cutie mark at all.
…
I heard there is no Loremaster to begin with.
…
But still, have you heard? Did you know?
They have found another riddle, buried in the black dirt of the Woods. Another secret, that may only be found by the worthy and deciphered by the knowledgeable.
They say that the riddle carries instructions, of how one might rise higher.
They say the riddle makes no sense, and that is what makes it so enticing.
They say the Master smiled amusedly, when asked about it, and refused to elaborate any further.
…
Some claim to have already solved it, and that they have entered the Loremaster's favor. That they had an audience with her, or him, or it, under the glare of the Mansus Moon by the bark of black trees. In the appointed time and at the appointed place, as instructed by the riddles.
And what few whispers could be coaxed out of them, by alcohol or bits or Grail, claim that they have been offered hints, in exchange of service. Tasks, in exchange of the Way into the House, and higher and higher still, should they prove worthy.
Personally, I think they are all lying.
I do not believe the Loremaster is real.
And yet, under the black dirt of the Woods, I have found a hint. An engrave piece of Mansus-stone with an enigma, the first breadcrumb of a path.
And unless I am sorely mistaken, I have deciphered it. And tonight I shall meet with her.
Personally, I think they are all lying.
I do not believe the Loremaster is real.
And yet, I very much hope to meet her tonight, and enter into her service. So that I may rise higher and higher still.
I heard there is no Loremaster to begin with.
…
But still, have you heard? Did you know?
They have found another riddle, buried in the black dirt of the Woods. Another secret, that may only be found by the worthy and deciphered by the knowledgeable.
They say that the riddle carries instructions, of how one might rise higher.
They say the riddle makes no sense, and that is what makes it so enticing.
They say the Master smiled amusedly, when asked about it, and refused to elaborate any further.
…
Some claim to have already solved it, and that they have entered the Loremaster's favor. That they had an audience with her, or him, or it, under the glare of the Mansus Moon by the bark of black trees. In the appointed time and at the appointed place, as instructed by the riddles.
And what few whispers could be coaxed out of them, by alcohol or bits or Grail, claim that they have been offered hints, in exchange of service. Tasks, in exchange of the Way into the House, and higher and higher still, should they prove worthy.
Personally, I think they are all lying.
I do not believe the Loremaster is real.
And yet, under the black dirt of the Woods, I have found a hint. An engrave piece of Mansus-stone with an enigma, the first breadcrumb of a path.
And unless I am sorely mistaken, I have deciphered it. And tonight I shall meet with her.
Personally, I think they are all lying.
I do not believe the Loremaster is real.
And yet, I very much hope to meet her tonight, and enter into her service. So that I may rise higher and higher still.
You have gained a small following in the Cult, a select group comprised by ponies who are among the better versed in their respective Lores. You will meet with them in the Woods, and they will follow you in exchange of certain lessons.
You have currently no reason to believe they any more loyal to you than they are to the Cult.
You have gained one "cultist minions" action. These actions can be used similarly to Servant Actions, but are immune to "suspicion", and apply Lore bonuses based on the Cult's current Lore levels.
- - -
- - -
- - -
You are Lady Velvet Covers.
And you think that you are better rested now.
It is hard to believe that all of that happened in so little time. You crossed the Branding Door, saw the interior of the Mansus, aided in summoning the Master, then went off to Canterlot with Twilight Sparkle to have a very unfortunate encounter with nopony less than the Princess of the Moon herself.
All of that, mind you, must have happened in a span of four or five days.
That was a horribly hectic beginning of a month, as far as they go.
Still, you allowed time to pass, and so it did.
For starters, the eclipse is finally gone. At midday of the seventh day the moon was set, in a rather dramatic way, and the entirety of the Pony Kingdom had one last day of celebrations before things came back to normal. Everypony knew that to be good news, the return of the day/night cycle indicating that things were finally back to normal, but the newspapers of the following days confirmed what everypony already suspected: Princess Celestia had recuperated herself, and made one last public appearance before she started giving some of her more public Royal Duties to her younger sister.
Privately, you took that those news with a grain of salt. There were precious little details of what exactly that meant, but you can't help but think about how little Princess Celestia has been seen ever since the eclipse was ended.
Or rather, you wonder if Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were ever again seen together and at the same time, after that last public appearance when the eclipse was done.
Still, there is precious little you can do about that right now.
On more private matters, you eventually got a letter from your father. It arrived by pegasus courier, and it was waiting for you when you and your husband returned home from taking your daughters to town.
You are still not sure how you feel about it, but in very few words he made it abundantly clear that you are not to leave Ponyville any longer, and that he will be cutting your payment. You can tell that "locking you" in Ponyville is what he truly cares for, as you are sure he simply doesn't want you to cause him any more trouble. But cutting your payment, you gather, he did just to spite you.
However, as much as that might be… demeaning to you, you are still relieved that he has decided he simply does not want to think about you any longer.
Why, he even wrote that on the letter: "I hope you will not give me any more reasons to even think about you".
Although you have no doubt that he will really turn on you if you are not careful. Right now, this feels like he is running damage control, and has decided to simply lock you away while he deals with more important problems. But if you disturb him after he is done with said damage control… well, then he will be able to turn his full attention to you.
Something for you to keep in mind, you suppose.
Still, after all of that (or rather, after that capital lettered "All Of That") you've had a blessedly uneventful few weeks. Which is a given, because your sanity might have started slipping if everything kept happening in a frenetic pace like that.
You are nearing the end of the month now. Your husband has left for a work trip a few days ago, your daughters have once again settled down on their school routine after the impromptu holiday, and you had plenty of time to work on a side project of yours with the Cult.
Why, a few ponies have even started solving your riddles already! To the point that you now have a tiny following within the Cult. And although you haven't been able to address them at length as of yet, you are sure that the ones who reached you have the greatest mastery of the lessons you and your Master have been giving in the Cult.
You are also sure that they are all level-headed ponies, and that the little game you set up to meet them will have no negative ramifications whatsoever.
With that in mind, you walk down the street towards the Wildhoof Club, appreciating the sensation of the afternoon sun on your coat as you do.
Ironically, you still don't feel you are that well informed when it comes to Ponyville itself. Sure, you talk to Rarity frequently, but you can tell that the two of you use those opportunities more to unwind from your respective work-lives than anything else. So yes, you do hear about this and that on how Ponyville is going, but you still don't feel like you have in-depth knowledge of how your idyllic little town is doing.
And that thought came to you specifically because you are now face to face with the approaching building of the Club. For starters, it must have been weeks since you last came here, since you asked Jade to deliver the manuscript on the last book you studied. But it also strikes you how much the Club has changed.
Although that is the thing about it, that's the catch. You can tell that the Club changed, that the building looks slightly different, but you can't put your hoof on what is different about it. Maybe they just changed the colors of some of the letters, maybe they expanded the building. You can't tell for sure.
That realization also reminds you of the fact that… well, the last time you were here, you entered through the Woods. Together with your Master.
Which reminds you of how utterly terrified everypony looked during the ritual… and how Jade seemed scared on the first time she saw you, right after that, and…
Heavens, you just hope you are not met with too many weirded-out gazes as soon as you enter the place.
"In fact," you say to yourself as you approach the front doors, "I think I prefer not to find out."
With that thought, you slightly alter your stride as you walk into the Wildhoof Club.
And nopony really turns to look at you as you make your way through the entrance hall, and towards the door that leads to the backrooms.
- - -
At least this part of the Club is still as you remember it.
The small administrative part of the Club is still very tame and unassuming. The sort of place that any Club member could enter to speak to the staff if they wanted to, with no locked doors or barred passages to speak of. Although you do notice that there less empty rooms here than before, which means that more space has been occupied with offices and staff. Which in turn tells you that the Club has at least been growing as a business.
Good news, you suppose. For the Club and for the Cult both.
You pass by the sub-offices without much thought, walking towards the door at the end of the corridor.
And soon enough, you start hearing the sound of a gramophone, the soft tune of its music being muffled by a closed door.
Curious, you think. Now that you know a little bit more about Winter, you wonder if Windy keeps that thing playing because the music is nostalgic to him and reminds him of something from his past… or if he simply enjoys the sensation of when the music ends.
Well, that just goes to show how little you know about the stallion. You do believe you have a healthy relationship with him, even if it is mostly work (or rather, cult) related. But still, you don't really know much about him as a pony, do you?
Time to amend that, you suppose.
Oh, and to apologize for what you did to his living room. For the longest time you truly hoped that your minion did not really "rearrange" his furniture, and that the message it gave you was just some garbled Moth-interpretation of how much it had messed the place around.
But the more you thought about it, the more you really came to believe that your minion really did… find a hammer and nails, and methodically put every last piece of furniture he had on the ceiling of his living room.
Heavens, you hope that talking to him about that won't turn into a disaster.
Much to your surprise, the door to his office opens before you reach it. And out comes walking Windy Flakes himself, together with an earth pony mare who has an extremely happy smile on her face.
"Oh? Well, good afternoon Windy. Were you about to leave somewhere? I was hoping we could chat for a while," you say.
The mare jumps up in surprise as soon as she hears you, and you think you feel a tinge of Moth about her as she first looks at you with a frightened expression, then moves slightly behind Windy as if trying to hide from you.
The unicorn stallion, for his part, simply looks at you as soon as he notices you, although you can tell that his eyes did go slightly wide for a moment.
"I…! Windy, sh-…!" the mare gasps for a few moments, her eyes alternating between you and the stallion, "wait, so she's-…? Why is…?!"
"Now, dear, let's not be uncourteous," Windy Flakes say, putting a placating hoof on the nervous mare's shoulder.
And for some reason you can feel… a slight layer of frost about his words, almost as if some cold dust, or perhaps a chilly breeze, was gently settling around him.
The mare, whoever she is, seems to calm down slightly with his gesture. Or at least she stops talking in fits and starts.
"And Lady Velvet," he says, turning to you, although you can feel that even the strange chilliness seems to be avoiding getting closer to you, "what a great honor to have you here! How can I be of service?"
You tilt your head at that, doing your best not to show on your face how unnerved you are by the fact that…
That you are making Windy Flakes uncomfortable.
You are not happy with that mare's reaction, of course, but things might be getting out of control if Windy is acting this defensive.
"I just wanted to chat? We haven't had the chance in quite a while, and I was hoping we could talk about a few things," you say, putting on your most pleasant and inoffensive smile.
Heavens, you even sprinkle a bit of Grail on your expression to see if it helps. You don't want to be known around the cult as a monster or somepony scary.
The Cult already has Comet Feet to fill in that sort of role!
"I'd be charmed to," he says, perhaps too quickly, turning to face the mare that is all but hiding behind him. "I'll see you later Goldy? And tell the staff not to disturb us, if you don't mind?"
The mare gives him a nervous nod, and practically dashes down the corridor as soon as she gets past you.
By the stars, that poor mare… If she is anything for you to go by, then you do not like the image you currently have in this place.
"Right this way, my Lady," the stallion says, as if trying call your attention so you would not look at the fleeing mare.
With a sigh, you follow him into his office.
- - -
["I'm a mare, not a monster!" breakpoints, 30/50/80]
[Roll: 58 + 13 (Diplomacy) + 5 (Beautiful) + 10 (GRAIL bonus) = 86]
You had a long chat with Windy Flakes.
More than that, even, you feel like you salvaged something that you almost lost, regarding your relationship with him.
"Windy, I've known you for years now. By the heavens, I bought ice cream for my daughter from you almost every month. And until today, you've never once called me 'Lady' without that smug grin of yours!"
"Yes, Lady Velvet, you might be right… but the thing is that…"
But eventually, and much to your relief, he started coming to terms with what you were saying. And you think the gramophone's music got slightly louder, and that his office grew slightly less cold as you two talked.
His smug grin is not back. Not quite yet at least. But at least he no longer sounds like an intentionally-pleasant clerk as he speaks to you.
"Velvet, you have to understand that ponies talk. And that they haven't been doing much but talking ever since the Master came to us in the flesh."
"Well, I thought that might be the case, but I still didn't expect them to react like that. At least if that mare that was with you is anything to go by."
"What? Why the hay would you ever think they wouldn't… Oh…" Windy's brows furrow for a moment as he looks at you.
And you raise an eyebrow at that. His expression almost makes it look like he is worried about you.
"Velvet, I won't make any assumptions on what you think about our Master… but I think we both agree that she is rather erratic, right?" he says very carefully, as if gently testing the waters on a particularly delicate subject.
And you completely understand his caution. After all, your Master is a rather… unpredictable subject.
Still, you give him a slow nod.
"Well, Velvet. I don't presume to understand our dear Master's ins and outs, but let me just say that for all that we might meet her every so often when the six of us meet, the regular cult member sees even less of her. And even though she now has a physical body, very little has changed in regard to that."
"Oh?" you say before you can stop yourself.
"Yes. 'Oh'," he retorts with a frown. "There is no doubt that Master knows a lot, and that she can teach a lot. But for reasons that I simply cannot grasp she simply doesn't. Sometimes I think this is all just a game for her, and sometimes I think this is her way of saying that certain things are just that simple and easy. But still, well… Nopony has ever seen the Master, in the Woods, and most ponies in the cult only ever heard whispers from her. Important whispers, enlightening and teaching whispers, but whispers nonetheless."
"I honestly thought she would be more active… or at least more present now. Not that she isn't," you quickly say, almost as if fearing that somepony might be eavesdropping on you, "but still…"
"Exactly. She isn't even staying in the Club, even though we had a room ready for her arrival. We don't even know what she has been up to, although everypony says that she has appearing more frequently in dreams and what not. But most importantly…"
He says that, and he taps a hoof against his table in an almost dramatic fashion.
"Despite all of that everypony saw, or at least everypony eventually heard of, how you came walking out of the Woods… with her."
Ah… yes, now that Windy puts it like that, it does make a lot of sense.
And really, the only pony from the cult you have spoken to in the meantime is Jade. And as much as you consider Jade to be one of your closest friends, you really can't expect to hear much about these sorts of things, cult-gossips or otherwise, from her.
"Then you brought in two… zombie things out from a horror novel. Then you summoned the Master. Then the Master proceeded to out a group of shapeshifting monsters in our midst."
Right, the changelings. You have been so worried about the ones in the capital that you almost didn't think about the ones here in Ponyville at all.
"I… see…" you say, causing Windy to shoot you another worried look.
And you think he sees something in you that actually gives him pause.
To the point where he stops talking for a while, as if he is reconsidering something.
"Although," he eventually says with a sigh, "I have to admit that… well, maybe we shouldn't get too ahead of ourselves. I don't know what the Master is, but the rest of us are all still ponies. And for all that we can't help but see things differently as we learn the things she teaches us… I don't know where I'm going with this, but I'm just glad to know that you're still just a mare."
Surprisingly, you feel a bit of warmth coming from him as he says that, and you can't help but give him a small smile.
"Yes, I wholeheartedly agree. We are still just ponies, and we really should look to help each other in all of this… Speaking of which, Windy," you say, your tone somewhat low as you try breaching a subject you are not sure how to talk about, "could we maybe… put that little prank war of ours to rest now? I don't think either of us will have time to continue that, now that the Master is around."
Windy looks taken aback for a moment, until his mouth opens in a soft "Ah" as he seems to remember something.
"Oh, that? By Celestia, of course! I'm just relieved to know that the… thing you did wasn't a threat. Goldy has been more freaked out than normal ever since that day," he says.
But then he looks at you questioningly.
"That wasn't a threat, right?" he asks, his tone a lot more meaningful than it was a few moments ago.
"Of course not, Windy," you say, "if anything, I'm just glad I could also help with that project of yours. Or at least it felt like I helped. To be quite honest, I'm not really sure on the details, but would you like to talk about it?"
Windy's eyes go wide open at that, and for a moment you almost think he has somehow frozen.
You are not sure if Windy Flakes is scared of you. But less than an hour ago you have learned how Windy looks like when he is tense, and he is most certainly tense and nervous right now.
But you watch as he slowly recomposes himself, almost as if he was reviewing what you just told him, word by word, trying to make sure that he really understood what you just said.
His reaction… worries you, but less than a minute passes before he opens his mouth again, his expression a lot calmer.
"You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to," you say. "Going into your home was a bit too much from my part, and I apologize. And finding your project was certainly a consequence from that."
"Yes, don't worry," he says, perhaps too quickly, "but more importantly… you didn't… mind it?"
His reaction is rather strange. And normally, you would even find it rather worrying.
However, for some reason, you think you can feel a certain… anxiousness from him?
But not in a sense that he is disturbed that you saw his project to begin with, but more that he is… nervous? About what you thought of it?
Almost as if he was an artist…? And a piece that he is working on had been seen and…?
Oh. It suddenly dawns on you.
You have no idea of what his project is, exactly. But you do remember what your Risen felt.
It felt that the thing was beautiful, and that it was incomplete.
"Of course I didn't mind it. Although again, I'm not really sure on the details," you say, "but I could tell that it was something very beautiful. Even if it is still a work in progress," you finish with a pleasant tone, using the words you learned throughout your life that every artist would like to hear.
And Windy Flakes smiles at that, a relieved smile of a creator whose work had not been found wanting.
Curious, you think. Windy might not told you much with words, but he did tell you a lot through his reaction. You never would have thought that he was an artistic sort, and yet here you are.
"And I'd be happy to help you. If you don't mind it, of course," you say.
To which his posture once again completely relaxes, and he gives you an honest nod.
"Of course! I'll think about it Velvet."
With that, you ask him how the Club has been, and your conversation slowly shifts towards the ever-heavy weight of paperwork.
Your monthly funds have been cut. Currently, your only income are the dividends given to your by Rarity. You do not expect your father to go back on his decision anytime soon, if at all.
Your father has also commanded you not to set hoof outside of Ponyville, and you have no illusions that some of the servants in your house might secretly be informants.
It seems you have quite a reputation within the Cult. A frightening reputation, that is, one that your Master's incongruous absence (for all that she has a body now) only seems to exacerbate. But at least Windy Flakes has come back to his senses regarding you, although you are not sure how helpful the insufferable unicorn will be when it comes to clearing your name with the rest of the cult.
And speaking of the stallion, you think you have taken a few steps forward in your relationship with Windy Flakes. He seems to be awfully defensive about that "project" of his, but much to your surprise the normally unsettlingly-cold pony appears to be quite passionate about whatever he is working with. You might be able to discover more about it, if you talk to him more or follow through with the offer you made him.