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

Come. On.

Why are we conflating not having recent knowledge with not having any knowledge.

WINDY IS HEARING THE WOLF. THAT'S WHAT HE WAS ENCOURAGED TO PURSUE.



THAT IS NOT THE KIND OF THING THAT ENDS IN ICE SCULPTURES!

However, it's possible that he failed to successfully do that, and went on to other things. I don't assume everyone's Eldritch endeavors automatically succeed. Though I suppose fucking up a wolf search would more likely result in horrible death than peaceably giving up.
 
let's not send her into Cadence's mind unless we get assurance that she won't tattle. Twilight, however, can't really tattle at the moment, so she should be safe. In the other hand, I'm not sure Luna really knows enough to help her right now. Not unless she can promise a ritual to fix Twilight's horn, but even secretly borrowing a reagent from Velvet that won't be easy.
Well, she has no relevant lores, the Forge cd is 100 and the Grail is 60. All-4 Selene has a +30 due to her general bonus so the cd goes to 70(Forge) and 30(Grail).

But if we do the Incision instead the 100(heart) and 60(Edge) cd turns into a 40 for heart(+30 from Luna and +30 from the Heartifact) and the Edge one auto-succeeds unless we roll a nat 1.

So if we can't heal her body, at least we can heal her mind, I doubt she doesn't has a debuff by now and I'm sure she would be willing to have Luna take some of her trauma away.
 
"What… What the HAY were you doing IN THERE?!"

"Fakoff wolf-freak."

"You get back here RIGHT THIS INSTANT, or so help me-"

"Ae do what ae wont! Sod off!"

The two voices drag on to the distance, followed by the sound of doors being slammed open, slammed shut, locked and forced open, as two mares draw their respective lines in the sand within the Velvet household.
…Oh. Oh.

This entire chapter was just Velvet Axe greeting her sisters. :V

(No, seriously, that last tidbit makes it very clear to me that these are just different shades of sibling interaction. She is one hundred percent a part of the family already, and just doesn't realize it.)
 
Oh, I misremembered.
"I need help with finding a door," she says.
[...]
And the way she says it… Velvet Axe immediately understands what she is asking of her. Not only that, she also understands why she is asking for that, as well as the implications that her help would have. Of course, she also realizes that she knows how to help the hatchling.
[...]
"I-I really need help and… because it's not fair that she…"

Humidity, forming up on her nose. The sound of something dry being swallowed. Temperature shifts that she can taste in the air, around her face and her neck and other places besides.

"I-Isn't there anything I can… anything at all?"
[...]
"Ae need ye to make me a promis'. But I need ye to pay attentin', because this is importan'. Can ye do tha'?"
[...]
"I swear it!" the hatchling answers, even if she is taken aback by the older mare's sudden intensity. "I won't let Silky go near her."
It's not about the Frangiclave. This is the deal Selene and Axe made.
 
Oh, I misremembered.

It's not about the Frangiclave. This is the deal Selene and Axe made.
Ah, yeah. Keep Silky away from Marinette. Also I forgot just how convinced she was that Velvet was a monster whose primary action was hurting her kids. Wonder if, now that she's seen the result of our efforts with Selene, she'll change her mind a little, since part of the pattern was "she's gonna kill her".
 
No wonder! Of course Ax won't respond to Velvet. The Key that only opens is the beginning step, but not the only step! Because relationships aren't stats. They are things! Living breathing moving things.

No, really? You mean people's opinions don't stay locked in stasis until we deign to interact with them again? Gosh, and here I thought this was a Bethesda game where ponies will stand on the side of the road for months until you turn up to do the next part of their friendship quest.

You know it still burns me that we managed to make such a fantastic impression on Mayor Mare, as a purely narrative side-effect of making decent choices, and then never, ever, capitalized on it. It was free, hopefully still is, in fact I'm definitely going to push for using a social action on her next turn just to see if that bridge is still there.

I still advocate for Windy-finding instead. Twilight is not as pressing a potential danger.

Luna has two actions, and trains automatically besides, hence her health going up just now in addition to her two realizations. Perhaps giving Twilight some help could give her valuable experience for eventually approaching Celestia.
 
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Luna has two actions, and trains automatically besides, hence her health going up just now in addition to her two realizations. Perhaps giving Twilight some help could give her valuable experience for eventually approaching Celestia.
Yes, that could work. She has 1 action we can use next turn without compromising her training.

I think if we want to take out all of our opponents the fast way, sending her to Windy is what we should do.
If we want to get rid of our other problems(Mareinette, Evil, Paranoia, Ash, Daybreaker, did I forget anything?) then Twilight first.
 
No, really? You mean people's opinions don't stay locked in stasis until we deign to interact with them again? Gosh, and here I thought this was a Bethesda game where ponies will stand on the side of the road for months until you turn up to do the next part of their friendship quest.




Luna has two actions, and trains automatically besides, hence her health going up just now in addition to her two realizations. Perhaps giving Twilight some help could give her valuable experience for eventually approaching Celestia.
Selene needs two more actions to train fully, so we can't do both Windy and Twilight without postponing Selene's development by a turn. It's one or the other, I'm afraid.
 
No, really? You mean people's opinions don't stay locked in stasis until we deign to interact with them again? Gosh, and here I thought this was a Bethesda game where ponies will stand on the side of the road for months until you turn up to do the next part of their friendship quest.
Oh, shush. I was being melodramatic.

I suppose a cleaner way to express it is, "I know that the other characters have their own relationships and aims and goals, but it isn't very often we end up seeing that effect aside from Velvet's perspective."

It made me laugh and smile in a good way.
 
Mhmm! As an aside, I... While I like the idea of interacting with Mayor Mare again, it might be a bit spooky to have the friendly head of the Not-secret police show up for purely social call.

That would probably Make her more nervous then if we showed up with request.
 
You know, I also forgot that Axe was a Monster Hunter before being bound. I wonder how she'll get along with Biedde in that case. If he were a Lionsmith Name I might be worried about them fighting, but as it is… they might have honestly fought together before. Especially when she still belonged to the Mother of Ants, since the Mother and the Colonel were Allie's at least when mortal and I don't remember any lore about them later becoming enemies of any kind.
 
Come. On.

Why are we conflating not having recent knowledge with not having any knowledge.

WINDY IS HEARING THE WOLF. THAT'S WHAT HE WAS ENCOURAGED TO PURSUE.



THAT IS NOT THE KIND OF THING THAT ENDS IN ICE SCULPTURES!

Endings are a Winter thing, not a Wolf thing.

Regrettable Actions/Events are the Wolfs thing.
 
...very near wanting to take aktions against Axe.
We won't, obviously.
But I think that Velvet should have some strong words if she learns about how calous she is with our little princess.
Working on a thing

To be entirely fair, she mostly seemed to be trying to make certain that Luna was, in fact, herself, and not some monster created by Velvet that could hurt Silky Stream. It was harsh, certainly, but i think Velvet would agree that Silky's safety is worth being certain. Hell, Selene's safety too, since it's worth remembering that Axe was actually concerned about her being abused by Velvet. She assumed the Selene she knew would be dead after we woke her up.

The DoA isn't a very good person, and when she tries to be she's rough as hell about it, but at the very least she would not hesitate to fight anybody for the safety of her friend. Not even Velvet.

Now, Velvet would definitely have some harsh words if she knew DoA thought she was a danger to her daughters in the first place…
 
Endings are a Winter thing, not a Wolf thing.

Regrettable Actions/Events are the Wolfs thing.
Nope, that is definitely the Wolf, we have that confirmed.
Windy Flakes thinks you know what his "little project" is. You don't. You just know it exists, or existed. Furthermore, you realize he has recently heard something, and that its whispers have substituted the song of his trusty gramophone.
It has his color and everything.
 
How long can you go without sleep? How much pain can you take? What is the color of your blood?

Of course, you only started answering those questions after you found a place that is far from your home. And you have already decided you will never tell these details to anypony. Not even Silky.

And especially not your mom.

Tartarus, she would flip if you told her what you have been doing.
so apparently she took one of the "body training" actions with her third one? not sure if +5 general or +health.

and yeah, Velvet would likely disapprove :V


-the world explodes around you. A magical blast of coming out of the tip of your horn, and spilling in every direction like a malformed ball of moonlight.

It feels like you just got hit in the face and chest by a hammer, and for a moment you go entirely deaf before your ears finally start ringing again.

You weren't thrown off your hoofs, thankfully, and your legs are still firmly pressed under you. But still…

"Ach… stars… damnit…!" you say out loud.

You almost had it. Or at least you think you almost had it. But still, you ended up with the same result as before.

Edge realization, moonbeam laser?

Miss Cherilee has certainly been stepping up on her homework assignments, ever since more foals have been moving into the city and joining your classroom… You even think you heard that they will separate you all into grades? Maybe get another teacher?
oh, right, small village schools often have a single class for all grades. I kinda forgot about that.

It felt like the whole word was being twisted, forcibly bent into a straight line as something very large slithered through it.

But it only lasted for a moment.

In fact, for all that the sensation was almost dizzying, now that you think about it you barely noticed it was there. Or rather, you only noticed because you had the means to notice it. You only realized it happened because a part of you, a very small part, already learned about this kind of thing.

You think that, if you didn't know about it, you wouldn't have noticed it at all. You think that if anypony else was here, they wouldn't even have realized something just happened.
Axe summon?

You think you know who it is. Because that thing you just felt, it wasn't magic. It was something else. However, as the newcomer steps out of the tree line and into the moonlight, you can also tell it isn't your mother.

Which only leaves…



"Ae knew ye were a lil' freak… bu' ae had no idea 'ow right ae was."
I wonder just WHAT she knew.

Also, do all of our Names just want to appear as far away from the summoning circle as possible?!

Baldomare (first, I don't remember the second) and Axe (second) did it, Mareinette did it...

Now that she is glaring daggers at you, wearing a scowl on her face and keeping a distance from you that is clearly cautious?
I wonder just what she thinks we did to Selene, really.

"Now, are ye just a freak… or are ye also a monster?"
...well, at least she's talking?

Kinda rude though. just as usual, really.

You should fly away, go back home, or maybe just rush to Canterlot to try and find your mother. After all, she told you she had recently summoned the snakemare. So she has to know what is going on, right?
ah, no, I thought this was right after the summon, but apparently she just went to check on Selene while Velvet is away...

The great, double-bladed and antler-topped axe digs deep into the ground, as she rests her hoof on its hilt. And the way she glares at you is almost painful now, as a rousing air starts to blow around her.
for those who don't know, "rousing air" is the name of the tier 2 edge influence. +20 to edge rolls, which obviously includes combat.

Because you could die here.

You might die here.

You will die here, depending on, according to her own words, how you answer her questions.
I wonder... after all, IF she really killed Selene, then Velvet would make it her life's purpose to make her as miserable as possible.

Unsummon her. stop anyone from ever reaching the Desert of Keys again. Lead a wolf there, even


but seriously, Names are holding back when acting for us.

Even with the small fragment of themselves they have in the Wake. I'm seriously starting to expect that as we progress in their "friendship quests" they might unlock more traits (and/or give us more actions)

-and most importantly, having her body destroyed here and now would mean nothing to her, while it would mean death to something like you-
well, it WOULD mean going fully back in her prison...

"Third. If ye really remember tha' time, than ye remember we made a deal. Does. Tha'. Deal. Still. Stands?"
...ok, I'm still seriously annoyed at her threatening Selene, but at least she's doing it out of worry for Silky.

"Fokken obvious, innit?" she says, her tone more annoyed than anything else. "Yer keeping tae yer part o' the deal, so ae'm keeping tae mine."

She says that as she picks one particular key from the heavy keychain, plucking it out from the ring that was holding it and holding it between her teeth.
...is she... unlocking Selene's full memories?

I wonder what would have happened if Selene didn't remember. If we used Incision, or childhood's end...

you know, with AXE, the Knock 6 Edge 3 Name, just having been summoned (and potentially Biedde too), taking Knock AND Edge training actions was plenty inspired.

"W-wait! I… well, thank you?" you say to the retreating mare.

"Fak off!"
...was she just being a Tsundere? Would she have actually killed Selene if she didn't remember?

I have so many a few questions!

You let out a small sigh of relief, glad that you avoided a small crisis. Because sure, Soft cares about you, and you also care for her very much! But one of the ways she expresses that is, well, by taking care of you. And sometimes she can be quite, uhm, zea-… zai… zealot about it?
yeah, I can see that 😂

BANG



"Ack!"


-and you almost scream in surprise as your bed jumps up from the floor for a second.

"Me… me fokken 'ead! Tha's gonna smart fer longer than ae want et to…"
...Axe, you know you're NOT the monster under the bed, right?!

"It really is you!" you say, not being able to contain your excitement.

"W-wait, hol'on! Lemme first- OOF!"

And you are already hugging her, literally slamming against her chest, on the next moment. Rubbing your face against her cloak and feeling the braids of her mane against your cheek as you do.

"I missed you so much! And I'm so glad you're back! Oh, but you're staying this time, right? Are you going to be in your old room? Oh, and what did you do while you were away? And can you take the crusaders on an adventure again? Please, please please?!"
Truly, at this point the way to Axe's heart is by... well, convincing her we're NOT going to eat Silky, I suppose?

"Ae'd hav' told ye, if ye dinnae kno… et's a fokked up secret tae keep, between sissers…" she says, but her tone is so low you realize she is talking to herself.
That's true...

now that I think about it, there was a mention of her being the last surviving one out of all of her sisters I think?

"Just dinnae forget," she suddenly says. But there is something about her tone of voice that makes you perk up your ears in attention. Because the way she is saying this… she isn't just talking to you, you know. She is also talking to herself. "Dinnae ever forget. Yer sissers. Et's tha two of ye agains that world, aye? No matter wot happens, ye'll always hav' each other. No matter how many times ye shed, always come back to the nest."
...ok, now I'm wondering if there's ANOTHER Daughter of Axe somewhere. a sister trapped somewhere else, and maybe rescuing her is part 2 of Axe's "friendship questline".

"Ah, Axe, I almost forgot!" you say, immediately turning your back to her and going back to your closer.
I was wondering when she would give her back her doll!

"Ye… yer a good hatchlin', ye know that?" she says.
Silky is truly doing miracles here...

"Ah, and et's Pasharka. Passs-harka. Not Patcharka. Ye drag out tha ess," she says, opening the door and making her way outside. "An'… an' thank ye," she finishes, mumbling those last two words in such a low tone that you can barely hear her, right before she closes the door behind herself.

But hear her you did.

And you have a smile on your face as you finish your morning routine, and you make your way downstairs for breakfast.

...I wonder, in the end, how much of Axe's "friendship" if we get there will be due to actually helping her, and how much due to our little (and not so little) fillies...

"Fakoff wolf-freak."
ok, that's kinda uncalled for!

Selene is on the fast track to advance on her training. Her character file has been updated. (Edge Realization, Knock Realization, +1 Health). However, her newly learned skills will only be available at the beginning of the next turn.

nice, let's see!

[EDGE SKILL]: Selene may use "No holds barred" in combat, which gives her a flat +30 bonus, but causes her to attack all ponies within range (regardless if they are friends or enemies) and to cause severe damage to her surroundings.

useful.

Particularly if we sent her on expeditions with combat all on her own (at max training that's 30+20+30= +80 combat bonus! Actually comparable to Celestia, which I think was +90... but without rerolls.)





[KNOCK SKILL]: Selene may once again dream-walk with confidence. She may also contact almost any character, even if she does not know her location or if they do not want to be contacted. However, she may not impersonate Velvet Covers, or anypony else, when doing so.

...yep, this confirms it.

Her Realizations are MUCH more powerful than ours!

They're combining with her alicorn powers and further boosting them. Truly, Alicorns were MEANT to learn the lores. With them, they might very well end up the equals of Names... which is convincing me more and more they're supposed to be the Name-equivalent of Harmony-the-Hour.

mh... Ok, how do we want to use this?

Part of me is tempted to have Selene meet Copper, you know?

Or she could contact Cadance and secure her for our side.

how else could we use this though... Could she search for "changelings" and try to deduce their position from their dreams? Maybe she could try to get "noble sponsors" by promising to restore their noble titles after Celestia "calms down"?

eh, all of these idea kinda suck (except maybe Cadence). Maybe I can think of something better later.

She cannot impersonate other ponies in dreams... but could she stay hidden? What about taking "Selene's" form?

And we're still missing Winter's power, of course. Now I'm really curious to see what it will be like, considering just how strong edge and knock are (and moth is pretty good too, hey!)

Silky Stream has succeeded in her "Hold on to this!" action. "A Doll – Pasharka" has been removed from her inventory. Further actions down the Snake Path have become available.
oh oh OH?!

As I said, I think Silky will end up doing MORE than us to secure Axe's cooperation long term!

I wonder if lore lessons are helping her in this, even as she doesn't have actual lore scores.
 
Also, do all of our Names just want to appear as far away from the summoning circle as possible?!

Baldomare (first, I don't remember the second) and Axe (second) did it, Mareinette did it...
The second had Baldomare stepping straight out of a mirror into the circle. So that was fine.
useful.

Particularly if we sent her on expeditions with combat all on her own (at max training that's 30+20+30= +80 combat bonus! Actually comparable to Celestia, which I think was +90... but without rerolls.)
Celestia had +80 before going "no holds barred", but her rolls in that particular fight was at +90 total because she used the NHB +30, and then had a -20 from exhaustion due to burning power on healing some wounds first.

Normally Celestia has a +110 with NHB. Although now I'm wondering why Selene needed a Realization to use it…
 
does cadanse or twilight have reason to murder? even more reason to murder a princess spesifically? Was mentioning them as aformentioned therapy and/or secret comunication
MAYBE, and that's a big maybe, AFTER her training is complete.

Let's bring her to all-4 and general +30 first.

Let's see her full toolset with the winter realization.

THEN we can make plans.

...Does anyone remember what chapter it was that DoA made that pact with the Crusaders of the Brand?
I think it was an omake, technically? as in, it's not part of the main updates.

I... actually never read their brand adventures. For some reason It didn't get my attention when it came out and then I forgot!

Oh I am so pro-scouting Windy with Luna. I don't need to know his exact situation, I just need to know if his brain is on Wolf now or not. Because for all we know Culting Solo has proven too difficult for him and he took up a career ice sculpting or something else that tickles his fancy for beautiful things ending.

Also hold up a second. How the fuck did Soft Sweeps crack open doors Locked by a damn Knock Name?
wolf, obviously.

also good point, checking on Windy should be safe enough. I'd still first have her finish her training though. But we should have a free action for her next turn, so maybe? Unless we want to, say, have her search for the Outsider instead. or guard the house, or something else.

We could even use BOTH actions, if we want, and leave her to train only with Diligent, doing the last of the set AND the all-4 action on turn 21.

However, it's possible that he failed to successfully do that, and went on to other things. I don't assume everyone's Eldritch endeavors automatically succeed. Though I suppose fucking up a wolf search would more likely result in horrible death than peaceably giving up.
We should assume he'll try until he succeeds, really.

whatever the success would look like.

Luna has two actions, and trains automatically besides, hence her health going up just now in addition to her two realizations. Perhaps giving Twilight some help could give her valuable experience for eventually approaching Celestia.
Please, if we're going to risk having Selene approach Twilight, at least let's finish her training first. Winter will definitely help, and we have no idea what Cadance ended up doing with Twilight either!

Normally Celestia has a +110 with NHB. Although now I'm wondering why Selene needed a Realization to use it…
To be fair Celestia has a thousand years of life experience more than Luna.

It's not unreasonable to imagine she got stronger with time, while Luna is using the Lores as a shortcut to her full power, sort of.

Or, maybe, it's better to say that Luna is CONSCIOUSLY learning about the Lores, while Celestia subconsciously relies on her affinities instead?
 
...is she... unlocking Selene's full memories?

I wonder what would have happened if Selene didn't remember. If we used Incision, or childhood's end...
Don't even think about the bad endings, we got the best and that is it.

Hmm, you actually made me think about something. Her Knock gave her dreamwalking back, Edge unlocked her No holds barred(Celestia has it too so I will assume it is an Alicorn thing), does that mean Winter will give her full memories back? It would make sense since Winter deals heavily with memories and her Winter lessons were supposed to prepare her mind to handle stuff.

Wait, maybe that is how we get Alicornae Luna, she finishes her training(maybe all-4 too?) and we get the equivalent of a demigoddess who rolled a Nat 100 on a recovery roll.

Although now I'm wondering why Selene needed a Realization to use it…
Worm damage, her being younger than Celestia, becoming Selene making her lesser in a way only the lores or the Elements could help with?
 
Don't even think about the bad endings, we got the best and that is it.

Hmm, you actually made me think about something. Her Knock gave her dreamwalking back, Edge unlocked her No holds barred(Celestia has it too so I will assume it is an Alicorn thing), does that mean Winter will give her full memories back? It would make sense since Winter deals heavily with memories and her Winter lessons were supposed to prepare her mind to handle stuff.

Wait, maybe that is how we get Alicornae Luna, she finishes her training(maybe all-4 too?) and we get the equivalent of a demigoddess who rolled a Nat 100 on a recovery roll.
probably not Alicornae. Or, at least, nothing more than what we've been told, which is Moth/Edge/Winter/Knock 4, Health 7, General +30.

If there's more, we don't know about it yet. But hey, we might be able to work on her Sacraments too... either "personal" ones, or from Names.

Biedde and Axe can share Edge and Knock. If we get Neighnia on our side that's winter.

as for Moth... no idea. Maybe Biedde will know of a way, even if he can't or won't offer sacrament for it directly?

or...

...uh. @OurLadyOfWires would it be possible to try to scry for "A being or item capable of granting Moth (or any other lore) Sacrament"?



oh, in regard to winter realization... To keep to Luna's powers, I'd expect it to be the power to calm "nightmares", or to heal through therapeutic dreams, or something like that.

Basically the complementary power to her Knock Realization in many ways.
 
I believe Bird did say relatively recently that the way to get a non-personal Sacrament is literally someone having the "One Who is Very Great" trait. Artifacts aren't likely to work, and we killed the Moth Name.

So obviously the correct solution is for Velvet to get the trait and her own Moth Sacrament then pass it on. Which actually has an interesting parallel to how Moth was the first lesson she taught Selene.
 
In which the Mother Desires New
The Mother Desires

Some Notes on the Consequences of Metallurgy, Pt 1.
Description: A thick notebook, filled to the brim with an ancient philosopher's notes. Most of them are meaningless and not worth the time it takes to read them, but your attention is caught by a description of the time he spent a week actually working in a forge ("My first peregrination beyond these walls in a decade!").

At least the few pages where the blacksmith he attended snatched this book out of his hands, and wrote them herself, might prove interesting.

Study Start Text
You've made metal into a dagger, and you think that's all you've made? No. A dagger makes a killer. A killer kills a king. A dead king means a decade's war.

You've made metal into a hoe? You've made a farm, and a life, and a family.

Study End Text
The few lines that follow the Blacksmith's text are perhaps the only lines of value the philosopher offered.

Every tool you make, makes the world around it. And every change you make changes the world around it. When you make something, you do not know all you will change.

The Deepest Desire
Description: Some crafty voyeur once dug a small tunnel, that reached under a nearby pleasure-house. Amazingly, her secret was never discovered during her lifetime, and you are the first to know it in at least an era. Perhaps she was bored or perhaps she sought blackmail, but for whatever reason she spent some of her time in that tunnel recording the conversations going on around her in this journal. At times, her pen ink flowed particularly freely, leaving splotches the size of wine-stains.

Study Start Text
Yes, dearest, I know you think you've known it all. All the pleasures. And trust me, I saw you when you first came in -- I know you've suffered your share of torments too.

But if you say all your desires have been fulfilled, yes, I will call you a liar. Again and again and again. And yes I will do it in front of your friends, because they should know the truth.

Oh, come now, I didn't mean that to hurt you. But even if you do not know what it is you desire, I promise you that there is one you have never known.

Yes, dearest, I could teach you about it. It will take a number of months, and a little time off work, but you can learn.

Study End Text
I will offer you this warning, dearest. This is not a desire that can be sated, not really. You can suppress it -- you know how to lock a piece of yourself away, don't you? -- but it will remain a desire all the same. You will never leave it, and it will never leave you.

And perhaps one day, when your willpower is weak, or your strings are snapped, or the weight of the world becomes a little too much -- you will indulge.

A Tragedy, in One Act
Description: There was once a playwright who killed himself, and then wrote a play. You know this, down to the very order of those events, because you can feel the grief and disgust seeped into this tome even all these eras afterwards.

You can also smell the blood, which the author used as ink.

Study Start Text
I SAW IT I SAW THEM I OPEN AND I GO

Study End Text
Stage right: ENTER THE DAUGHTERS.

One: The stairs are broken!

Another: This place is wounded, yes. What did you think that meant?

Another: It is a lot easier to slither, than to walk.

Stage left: ARISE, THE MOTHER

The Mother: My Children. My Daughters. I have been looking for you.

THE MOTHER encircles THE DAUGHTERS.

THE MOTHER devours THE DAUGHTERS.

Off-stage: Screaming.

EXEUNT.

After this chapter, I had a grim thought about what Axe's mother might have done. What kind of "bad things of old" she wished "had been buried away and forgotten". What kind of thing forced her to swear herself to another, after her mother "did what she did".

What if the Mother of Ants ate all those Great Hooded Princesses, those snakemares who were her children, in that moment where long-held desires were finally unleashed?

…It's probably totally wrong, isn't it, doesn't really explain the sisterhood piece. Oh well :V
 
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I didn't make the exact changes you suggested, but only because I thought another phrasing would be more poetic.
I commend you; that's what being creative is about rather than rigid application of rules. 💪🧠😎

And sometimes she can be quite, uhm, zea-… zai… zealot about it?
Of course it should be zealous, but I suppose it's an intentional cute mistake. 😇

And can you take the crusaders on an adventure again?
I was gonna be surprised about The Crusaders of the Brand (part 1, part 2) being canon, but then I saw it's a "What Of" extra, so that makes sense.

Silky Stream has succeeded in her "Hold on to this!" action. "A Doll – Pasharka" has been removed from her inventory. Further actions down the Snake Path have become available.
Silky. Honey. What are you doing?
I'm not sure what level of simulation this game has, but if Silky has her own turn and actions, that would be very cute! At the very least I kind of assume the other cult leaders have actions and resources.

I think someone suggested before seeing if she can help Twilight at all via dreams?
Please, if we're going to risk having Selene approach Twilight, at least let's finish her training first. Winter will definitely help, and we have no idea what Cadance ended up doing with Twilight either!
Dream therapy time (eventually, when Luna is ready)!!

Actually, I'm surprised no one has suggested (seriously, or not seriously) deploying Mareinette's skills on Twilight. (Granted, I don't read every post and it may have been before I joined.) Part of the reason we can't help Twilight is that she hates us and is poised discover critical info/kompromat about our involvement in the cult. If those issues were magically gone/buried… fixing her horn would certainly indebt her to us. But perhaps the means are too dubious. I don't know if we even used Mareinette for a single social action because of the creep/ick factor and the potential to get screwed by her Old Intelligence/autonomous decision making.
 
"What… What the HAY were you doing IN THERE?!"

"Fakoff wolf-freak."

"You get back here RIGHT THIS INSTANT, or so help me-"

"Ae do what ae wont! Sod off!"

The two voices drag on to the distance, followed by the sound of doors being slammed open, slammed shut, locked and forced open, as two mares draw their respective lines in the sand within the Velvet household.
I can't tell if this is Velvet or Soft Sweeps speaking. Kinda hoping its the latter cause a Snake and Wolf being bickering siblings sounds funny to me.
 
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let's not send her into Cadence's mind unless we get assurance that she won't tattle. Twilight, however, can't really tattle at the moment, so she should be safe. In the other hand, I'm not sure Luna really knows enough to help her right now. Not unless she can promise a ritual to fix Twilight's horn, but even secretly borrowing a reagent from Velvet that won't be easy.

Or she could contact Cadance and secure her for our side.
To prepare for Luna talking to Cadence we could have a social between Velvet and Cadence, starting out with pleasantries and talking about being married, or a family evening (you know, boardgames n stuff) with Cadence getting to enjoy the family atmosphere.

And as the evening gets later and its just the two of them, talk about Celestia and carefully talk about her state of mind, and how she can't take big surprises atm, how its best to deal with things before they reach her, etc.
And if her responses look good, we can send Luna to talk to her the turn after, explicitly mentioning that she tried visiting Celestias dream and saw that she is too unstable to talk to, that revealing Lunas return would have catastrophic consequences.
 
Pretty fitting that in the turn where Luna trains in Edge and Knock, the Name with the aspects of Edge and Knock arrives whilst she trains, also lovely view into the relationships Axe has with the sisters.

Wonder what Velvet's brother will think when he hears through the maid grapevine of Velvet Axe's sleeping habits of underneath beds, clearly he needs to buy a bunk bed as it is sleeping under a bed but on a soft mattress, that'll win her heart guarenteed!
 
You know, the whole bit with DoA showing off how big and bad she is as an eldritch abomination really makes me wonder what Biedde will be like. Because he was mortal once, and unlike Baldomare he didn't become something that was more Light than Flesh. His Eldritch nature is going to be interesting to see, because I do expect it to be a little more In depth than the first thought of "knifey knife mckniferson."

Even when we approached each of them in the Mansus, we didn't really perceive the full weights of their existence. I'm not sure we could, not until Velvet becomes a Name or greater herself.

Actually, I wonder what Velvet would look like as a Name, too. Baldomare has some weird SH stuff going on, but I think I remember her being a Lantern primary? Brand-wise, anyways. Makes me wonder what a Name whose primary lore and nature is derived from SH would look like. Especially if she gets, like, Edge or Moth as a secondary.
 

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