No, no. We've been over this, though not for a while so i forgive you for forgetting. Pinkie Pie is the Party-in-Splendour, awaiting us at the top of the Mansus with a congratulatory cake.
(Glory is the candle on the cake)
Glory would be more the flame on top of the candle.
which would make candle = mansus, and cake = reality?
or maybe the cake is the mansus, and the candle is just the tricuspid?
Is there any point to getting the physical elements? What I gathered from this convo is that unless you're a once in a century prodigy or a prophesied hero you get nothing out of having them other than getting a cool desk ornament.
They're one of the very few physical links to Harmony besides the alicorns (which *gestures at the Daybreaker Issue*) and the Tree of Harmony (have literally zero idea that it exists IC), so I feel like it would help at least somewhat in understanding what Harmony even is. Not even necessarily because I expect us to completely switch tracks to focus on Harmony victory barring some sudden collective change of heart, but like. Even if we're going for the Glory victory, I would still like to learn what Harmony's nature and origin is.
I personally believe that there's still value in researching Harmony stuff and House of the Moon stuff even while committed to glory ending (either because we can gain powers and valuable knowledge from them, or because it's not guaranteed reaching the Glory is quest end, as I can still see it making us a Long but then having us continue), but even so, I also am the first to acknowledge that
right now we have no real reason to aim at the elements of harmony.
At the very least, they're USELESS to us until we have all the bearers on our side. Twilight most important of all, and before even considering doing anything in regard to her I want either Selene to visit her dreams or Cadance to tell us anything about her.
IF we got a chance at them, then maybe. But dedicating APs to them
right now is pointless. If we were to try and "steal" anything from the Castle, I'd much rather try and steal the mirror. And even that is too risky to be worth it.
Hopefully between "Memory of Light" and Selene reaching her full powers we'll get more information on Harmony, what it is, what it does, and what it can do for us.
Author's Note: Apparently, some people were not entirely sure that the two "teenagers" yelling at each other at the end of the last update were, in fact, Soft and Axe. The wording has been changed to rectify that.
And yes, that is definitely something important enough to warrant its own note, at the very top of the following update
it seemed so OBVIOUS to me!
You are Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. But you are called "Princess Cadance" by most ponies, and just "Cadance" by the ones that really matter.
And right now, you are…
CADANCE! FINALLY!
...so, honeymoon shenanigans?
Twilight?
let's see...
--------------------------------------------------
Hello! My name is CADANCE.
And my HUBBY works here.
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...well, that IS vital information!
You know, make it clear to all the
hussies scarlet mares very proper mares working for the bureau that he is off limit.
You know, just in case
the wedding to end all weddings wasn't clear enough!
You are here because today is a "Bring your family to work today".
And you are here because you are Shining Armor's family.
You are his wife.
Because the two of you are married now!
oh, right.
I had already forgotten that.
...
Selene will meet Cadance for the first time. I wonder if anything will come out of it.
To which Shining answers with a small sigh, as he looks at your identification badge one last time. But still, less than a moment later he gives you a smile, clearly showing he can't keep the façade of being upset anymore. And then he waves for you to follow him.
What we did with the Leash is STILL wrong... but it's easy to ignore when we see what came out of it.
I'm reminded of a quote from madoka magica, actually.
"Junko: That sort of thing happens all the time. You get drunk on your own "correctness," and the more stubborn you get, the further happiness flies away from you. It's a bitter pill to swallow.
Madoka: I wonder if there's any way I can help...
Junko: Even good advice from others won't bring any clear solutions to someone in that frame of mind. ...Even so, you want to find a solution? Then go ahead and screw up. If she's being too correct, then somebody should make mistakes for her.
Madoka: I should screw up...?
Junko: Yep! Tell a really bad lie. Run away in the face of something scary. She may not understand what you're trying to do at first, but there are times when you realize in hindsight that a mistake was the right thing to do... During those times when you're just stuck for an answer, making a mistake is one method of unsticking yourself. Madoka, you've grown up to be a good kid. You don't tell lies, and you don't do bad things. You're a girl who works hard at what she thinks is right. You get an "A" as a child. So before you become an adult, you have to start practicing falling down. You see, we adults have our pride and responsibilities, so it becomes harder and harder to make mistakes."
It's very much not a perfect fit, and even in that anime it doesn't quite work as well as poor Junko likely hoped... but arguably we did "a mistake, a bad thing" for Cadance, and it kinda made things
better for both her and Shining...
well, enough of trying to rationalize our use of the Leash, moving on!
"As if. How could I ever not come?" you say, hugging her back just as tightly. "I mean, what if one of those secretaries starts eyeing my Shining Armor?"
that's what I said!
"Right, right, as if anypony didn't get the memo after the greatest wedding in history."
That's ALSO what I said!
"Well, me and Shining decided that we should wait… until things calm down a little, you know. Everything has been so hectic that we both agreed that, well, it just isn't a good time right now."
You say that, and Velvet gives you an understanding nod, as the two of you look at a group of foals that is currently gathered around one of the flying chariots.
This conversation would so much more awkward if we...
allowed the Master...
They have been there for a while, and for obvious reasons. Flying chariots are more than just rare, they are almost exclusively used by the Crown. And knowing that, Velvet arranged for a flying chariot to be available for families to ride in, for today. One of the chariots that doesn't have any covers on it, where the passengers can really see the sights and feel the wind on their faces. And of course, there are more than enough Bureau pegasi who volunteered to fly it around.
So, it is no surprise that a small crowd of fillies and colts is currently waiting for their turn. Especially the non-pegasus ones.
that's such a cute image!
Great idea Velvet!
"There, there, I'm sure it will happen sooner than we think," she says, patting your shoulder as she does. "And Silky will have a little cousin to fawn over in no time."
aw, Velvet is at this point nearly Family for Cadance... heartwarming, but that only makes the
secrets so much heavier...
I hope we can introduce her to Selene soon. The GROWN UP Selene, I mean. We're so
close to fix everything with Cadance... We can even repair Shining's horn! And Twilight's!
We can't bring back Shining's parents and Spike, but we can still make things
better than they are!
"I that right…? Speaking of which, I am sorry they couldn't come."
"And here is the Director's office," she says, with a particular expression you can't quite name.
my daughter is my boss is at least 1000 years (and a few centuries) older than I am!
Coming to you on Questionable Questing!
"Velvet, why don't we-"
"Actually, Cadance, I lied."
...
are we going to introduce her to Selene now? and WHAT KIND OF INTRODUCTION?!
"Cadance, first of all I want you to know that I trust you," she says. "I really mean it, and I am not lying about this. And what I want you to know is that… I trust you even with the things that are most important to me."
...Are we showing Selene as LUNA?!
She says that, and on the other side of the room, the great executive chair on the far side of the room, behind the large wooden desk, begins to slowly spin. You didn't even notice before that the executive chair had its back turned to you. But now, it is slowly turning towards you, as if somepony is sitting on it.
And once the chair finally turns to face the two of you…
"Selene? Selene! It is so lovely to see you!" A smile appears on your face as you say that. Because sure enough, one of Velvet's daughters, the little earth pony she had adopted and that she loves so dearly, is sitting on the chair.
ITSHAPPENINGITSHAPPENINGITSHAPPENING!
...also damn, Velvet really enjoys her dramatics! Even here and now!
"Cadance, I have been meaning to speak with you for a while, but I wasn't sure if I should," Selene says.
IT'S HAPPENING!
And then she pushes with her tiny foreleg, gathering just enough strength to make the large executive chair spin once again.
The chair starts spinning in a circle. And one moment, it has its back turned to you again. And in the next, its front is once again facing you.
But when the chair finishes its single rotation, the pony who is sitting on the chair… the pony who should be sitting on the chair…
Selene is gone. The filly is nowhere to be seen.
And an alicorn is sitting in her place. An alicorn, much like yourself, or perhaps slightly larger. An alicorn who was born as such, and not transformed into one like you.
Mother and Daughter are so alike, enjoying their dramatics and spectacle!
And then you wake up, with your face buried on your husband's chest, and the certainty that this is the morning of the day where you will visit your husband's workplace for a family event.
I was suspecting a dream near the end, but then I have to wonder... was that the REAL Velvet? Did Selene bring Velvet with her in the dream?
You are not angry. You don't feel betrayed. And to be honest, you don't even have it in your to feel surprised, for some maddening reason.
Instead, you just feel dazed. Ever since you woke up, your mind has been dazed. And the only thing you can think about is that you need to discover if that was just a dream or not.
Cadance lost her ability to even!
"But more importantly… you look like you slept well."
She says that, as she look into your eyes with a knowing expression, and your own eyes go wide with surprise.
No, not surprise. Your eyes go wide with understanding.
Because you can immediately tell from her tone of voice… the same part of your mind that learned you can trust her is also whispering to you that…
That she knows. She knows, and she knows that you know.
"Tell me, Cadance, did you have a pleasant dream?" she asks.
And before you realize it, a smile is slowly appearing on your face.
More than just that, a wave of something rushes through you. Coming from inside your chest and flowing through every part of your body.
Like a garden receiving the first rain of spring. Like a home being warmed by the first rays of dawn. Like the single greatest piece of good news you have received in a long, long time, surpassed only by the day Shining Armor proposed to you. You can feel that this thing coursing through you is…
Hope.
well, yeah. Luna being back is a big reason to
hope.
I wonder how much we're telling her...
She says that, and she finishes by giving you a mischievous wink.
"But Selene in particular has been looking forward to this all week."
Velvet, you're such a Troll!
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has joined Velvet Cover's faction. She is not considered a "Confidante" for mechanical effects, and will not immediately translate into actions points/favor requests. But your relationship is just as strong, if not more. And her role to play is much greater.
YES!
Sure, no Confidante and actions
yet, but
there's so much potential here!
Issues of Lore revelations, and other things besides, will be tackled at a later stage. For now, you have only revealed to her that Selene was Luna all along. Your bond is strong enough for you to trust her with that, and for her to side with you moving forward.
"Problems" that were attached to Princess Cadance, such as her knowing about your scar, are no longer in effect. And Velvet Covers will safely assume that, if worst comes to pass, Cadance will side with her instead of Princess Celestia.
WE CAN HEAL THE SCAR!
FUCKING FINALLY!
well, we have something to do next turn it seems!
You have further ingrained yourself with the Lunar Bureau. And, very technically, you have revealed the existence of Princess Luna to the very highest echelon of the Bureau (your Deputy). But more importantly, you have learned that your Constables to not appreciate being used as a support to your Detectives, and they will feel a lot more useful if they perform dedicated actions that reflect their abilities. However, your efforts to ingrain yourself with the Bureau are making more progress than your casual use of their skills is mining their trust in you.
More to follow.
ok, so Shining is in the know, and we should stop using the constables to give us extra actions... which, fair enough. I think the plan was to use them for changeling hunt next turn?
(Remember when people were saying the relationship-boost from being Cadance's maid of honor wouldn't be worth it?)
And you know what this means, guys?
We have Forge 4.
We have Grail 4.
There is now no one who would cause issues if our scar disappeared.
We can do the Forge's Redemption.
FUCKING FINALLY!
"The Forge's Redemption"
-CD: GRAIL 60, FORGE 100
-Cost: 20 bits on simple materials.
ONLY 20 BITS!
It's even cheaper than I remembered!
we roll +53 with rerolls. We could honestly risk it even without reagents, but make a tier 3 reagents for Forge and we get to heal ourselves for 65 bits with very good odds (at least >90% I think).
Edit: Also with both Cadance and Shining Armor seemingly in line to be introduced to the Lores, we might be able to offer Forge's Redemption to Twilight earlier than we thought. Or well, Mareinette/Cadance/Shining Armor/Luna can offer it on our behalf and we can perform it. I'd be inclined to go with Selene, I think? With the whole dreamwalking thing being able to bypass "doesn't want to communicate" and Twilight not feeling very communicative right now (understatement of the century).
Well, it's not immediately obvious that Velvet healing her scar is the same as healing a broken horn... and we
still don't know what conditions Twilight is in.
But yes... The moment it's safe to do, we can heal both Shining and Twilight. Problem is, it will probably have to wait, assuming Celestia knows of both Shining's and Twilight's broken horns. Unless we can come up with an excuse, like it having been the "magic of love" instead of the lores?
We'd have to rely on Cadance being able to lie to Celestia though. I think most ponies would eat it up, the Alicorns are already known to be demigods and OBVIOUSLY the demigoddess of love can heal her
loved ones, it makes sense!
actually, what were Cadance's lores...
Princess Mi Amore Cadenza:
-Lores: [GRAIL] [WINTER] [HEART]
Shame, no Forge. and we don't have an artifact to let her use... though hey, maybe we'll find one on the expedition.
you know, I take it back. I no longer have even the barest shread of regret about killing the Master.
He asked for it!
But yeah, good to know that Cadence is on side now. Honestly, we've been busy enough that telling her about the scar probably didn't actually cost us anything, since I doubt we would have fixed it by now anyways. But now we just need some money and we'll have Velvet finally looking less fragile.
ritual is just 20 bits, so it's just a matter of it if we have the AP (we
should) and if we want to use a reagent (and what level).
We have, I think, close to 75% chance even without reagents. with 45 bits we'd roll +83 on the dc 100 (still with reroll), and probably have something like 90 to 95% actual chance of success.
- She is in on Selene's secret and has hope this is the way things get better, since she seems to be the Alicorn that is more in tune with her intuition(Harmonious intuition, maybe?) I feel that may be true. All of this also looks like an end of season final battle, so Daybreaker may be coming no matter what we do.
Best case scenario is that we manage to somehow restore Twilight, de-depress her, assemble the elements and use them on Celestia.
Second best case... maybe we can somehow craft a ritual Selene can use from the Dreamrealm on Celestia's dream, or something like that.
If not... well, we now have two alicorns on our side, and I imagine we'll likely teach Cadance the lores soon. If we can get her to all 4 that would help a fair bit.
She's not a "combat" alicorn, in that she doesn't have Edge... but hey, Grail is worth a LOT for a ruler! And Realizations to strengthen her natural abilities as Alicorn would help a lot too...
And we can finally get what should have happened at the early game: A character without Maluses(except for the Murderer thing) and her backstory.
TECHNICALLY speaking, Velvet's family is still (partially) a malus, but we turned nearly all of our starting maluses into strengths or at least neutral factors at this point.
After all Both Stormchaser and Silky have been plenty useful too. Just look at what they did with Comet and Axe and Selene!
Well, I dunno about "better than ever" considering everything that's happened (it's not like restoring her horn will bring Spike and her parents back), but hopefully out of the "cripplingly depressed" stage and on to the road to recovery, yes.
Sadly resurrection is one of the very few things that's near impossible in CS
and MLP. only the Hours really ever come back from death, and that's because to them death is...
different.
Though a part of me wonders... where do souls go here? They're not going beyond the Blank Door. Are they going beyond the Crossroads, in a different direction?
DId Harmony create a new afterlife?
Do they go
Nowhere?
We can still assume there's no way to bring the dead back to life, not really...
but we DID meet some long dead ponies once. It's not out of the question we could end up in a situation where Twilight and Shining could meet Spike, Twilight Velvet and Night Light one last time...
that MIGHT be within Harmony's power.
It did it once before, after all.
