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

[Zxzx24]

Hmm.

As far as Celestia being a problem goes @OurLadyOfWires ?

We know she is acting as a "bad end" for this quest. But we also know that Luna said she would handle it?

And I think you mentioned out of character we would be wise to let Luna... take care of things?

Has the situation evolved? Or should we be worried about trying to heal Celestia?

 

[Alan975]

hmm...
Dress seemed like the obvious choice until "All jokes aside"

Plan Forge Horns is a no go, from what I'm understanding?
Was never too keen on the arguments for its prioritization.

Galls out for a drink though, would be wonderful if we could -finally! - Commit to befriending Marinette. Do remember that leaving her behind -as in, not befriended- comes with a high risk of our daughter being eaten while we go for Glory.
Rules of hospitality only go so far when we snub her so.
So once again, get ready to schmooze or prep thy pyre.

Or we could get Cadanse to maybe play matchmaker between Pride and DoA? Kinda rooting for him by this point

 

[Lorrie]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

 

[Solace2117]

I really like the snippet from the dress option, but I think that's the option we can least afford to pick. I'd like to heal Shining Armor, but I think it's the most suspicious choice. Also to be perfectly honest I don't know that we can afford to spend an action on it next turn. We're already committed to a FO on Soft Sweeps next turn and we don't know what it'll be. We've got a lot we need to do the next couple turns and not a lot of wiggle room.

Also don't forget voting isn't open yet.

 

[DragonAbsol]

Our goal is to teach harmony. But can we say that Harmony does not learn itself? It has no mind, I think, but it has its own will, or something. Besides the obvious Cadence, who BECAME an Alicorn, and was not an outsider who was born into this world through a contract with Harmony, there are also us. Velvet linked her Cutie Mark, the manifestation of harmony that marks all ponies, with the principles of SECRET HISTORIES and MOTH, and I do not believe that this did absolutely nothing. And then there is Silky, who at the moment of Daughter-of-Axes' rampage, the moment when Knock was so strong that even unhealed wounds could begin to open, came and... talked. She talked to her like a real pony born in the current era of Harmony. And she made friends with Harmony and Knock. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but she made friends with Knock's Name, and this is the mark of their connection.

Click to shrink...

This, this is why I want to vote for the Mareinette, We have, through pivotal moments and cutie marks, introduced Harmony to several lores. To introduce Harmony to Grail though Love sounds like a great idea. We also give Candance her first taste of the Lores without dropping her into the deep end, AND help build our bond with both Mareinette and Candance.

I also see an ending opportunity where we combine Glory and Harmony by making Harmony PART of the Mansus in some way.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

What?

Luna has 3 lores she's better at than Axe. She probably wins in a straight up fight.

Click to shrink...

Not according to Selene she doesn't:

An overpowering sense of vertigo suddenly crashes into you, and you almost fall to the ground even though your four legs are firmly rooted under you. And you… you…

What in Equestria just happened?!

You look around you, turning your face this and that direction as you try to understand what the hay you just felt.

Because one moment, everything was fine. But for a split second, you… you felt that…

How do you even describe it?

It felt like a wave just crashed against you.

It felt like the very ground moved under your hoofs.

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.

But something did happen.

And more importantly…



You are no longer alone.



That sensation. That thing. That mind-numbing, world bending thing that just rushed through you. You can tell that it just landed, or perhaps burst out of the ground, somewhere nearby.

And just a few moments later, your eyes are immediately drawn to a small group of trees. A patch of woods that your explosive experiments have not yet accidentally damaged.

You look towards those trees. And sure enough, moments later you spot a figure walking out of it.

"Who's there?" you ask, your tone loud and clear, as you turn your entire body to face the newcomer.

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."



The moonlight shines down on the old, battered cloak she is wearing. Every now and then you can see a hint of the hoofs of her forelegs, as she walks. And the long and purple braid of her mane dangles slightly in time with her hoofsteps.

But her voice alone was more than enough for you to know who that is.

Not long ago, you would have called her Velvet Axe. Going by the name your sister gave her, and that the mare never seemed to object to.

But now? Now that you know what she is? Now that your mother told you of her true nature?

Now that she is glaring daggers at you, wearing a scowl on her face and keeping a distance from you that is clearly cautious?

Now you are not so sure how to call her.

In fact, you are not even sure why she is here. Or rather, you have a suspicion, but a good part of you hopes that you are very wrong.

Still, the mare glares at you. She walks in your direction, but she stops several hoofsteps away from you. And the way she glares at you makes it very clear she is not here just to talk.

You feel tense, the muscles of your legs coiling inside of you, as your body makes it very clear that…

… that this could very well turn into a fight-or-flight situation.



"Now, are ye just a freak… or are ye also a monster?"



You can feel a certain poison in her words. A mixture of revulsion, or disgust, or maybe even hate.

To which your heart begins to hammer inside your chest. Because you remember Axe. By the stars, you remember being fine with Axe. The memories almost flash inside your mind, as your body tenses up. But still, you distinctly recall how you suspected her at first, and how the two of you slowly found a common ground of sorts, until you trusted her enough to ask for her help.

You were… the two of you were in good terms, or at least as much of a good term as one can be with a mare like her.

So why…

Why does she look like she doesn't even recognize you, as she speaks to you?

"Are you threatening me?" you ask, although you can tell how dry your throat is as you say those words. In fact, part of you thinks you should just leave, and fly away as fast as you can. Because you are tired, you have no idea why this is happening, and you definitely don't want to make this situation any worse than it already is.

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?

However, before you can make a decision.

!!!​

The air splits, as if something has just sliced the atmosphere around you in two.

Because with a fluid and dangerous motion, the Daughter-of-Axes reaches into her cloak, and draws out the instrument that is her namesake.

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.

"Yer asking if aem' threatenin' ye? Well, tha' depends entirely on how ye answers me next few questions."

You are in danger.

This is dangerous.

You are in danger.

A rush of adrenaline courses through your body, and in an instant your exhaustion is forgotten. Your throat feels dry, and you think your hoofs are digging into the ground, but other than that your mind is clear.

No, it's not that your mind just became clear. You simply threw away all of the small concerns you were carrying in your brain. It's just that you stopped paying attention to anything that isn't related to surviving the next few seconds.

Because you could die here.

You might die here.

You will die here, depending, according to her own words, on how you answer her questions.

And as you look at the snakemare's eyes, you feel like you are staring at a predator. A very large predator. It might not make any sense, but you feel like there is something very long and very large all around you. As if a great slithering body was just outside your view. Surrounding you. Constricting against the very hills that are around this quiet and grassy plain.

"Firs' question," she says.

You swallow something dry.

"Hav' we ever met before?" she asks.

And for a moment you feel… confused. But only for a moment.

Partly because you don't have it in you to feel anything but stress and tension right now.

But also because you…

"Yes?" you say, but you repeat yourself as soon as you realize how dangerous your doubtful tone is in this situation. "I mean, yes. We have met before. I know who you are."

The mare continues to glare at you for a few more moments, before doing some strange noise you can't identify.

"If ye sae so… Secon'. If ye sae we met befor', then how much do ye remember o' that time?"

Your heart is still hammering inside your chest, so much so that it is also painful.

However, a thrilled, adrenaline-rushed part of your mind thinks you understand where she is going with this. And perhaps why she is here.

"I remember everything," you say, trying to make your words as clear as possible. Because you know she won't let you speak for too long, so you must make sure she doesn't misunderstand anything you say. "I remember everything ever since I woke up as a filly. I remember it because I lived it."

You say that, and the snakemare's glare… narrows. Or at least her eyes narrow, as if she is scrutinizing something about you that you can't quite name.

You even swear you see a forked tongue sniff the air a few times, coming out of her mouth.

But just when you think she is about to back down-

-the very air around you grows heavier, and the ground under the antlers of her axe doesn't so much crack as it opens, and in that moment you understand that even though she is locked and chained and looking at you from behind the bars of a prison her fangs are still more than enough to pierce cleanly through you-

-because she may be a creature of poisons and locks and openings and paths, and her keys might not be as sharp as blades, but she is still long enough to constrict and crush the mountain that is your life-

-and most importantly, having her body destroyed here and now would mean nothing to her, while it would mean death to something like you-



"Third. If ye really remember tha' time, than ye remember we made a deal. Does. Tha'. Deal. Still. Stands?"



Your body freezes. Every muscle you have goes rigid from the sheer weight of her eyes. And that small but attuned part of your mind realizes that, this whole time, you never had any chance to escape. You never had any chance to fly away, because this whole time she was already in the ground under your hoofs and waiting to pounce at you from the skies and behind every keyhole you have ever seen in your life.

Your body freezes. But your mind does not. And you know exactly what "deal" she is talking about.

"… yes," you say, although it takes effort to even force the word out of your lungs.

The snakemare holds your gaze for several moments longer, as if trying to wring any lies out of you with her glare.

Until-

…

-the air finally starts to grow lighter. And the sensation that you were being glared at by a snake the size of the horizon slowly fades away, until you can barely remember it was ever there.

And the wave of relief you feel coursing through you is so strong you almost feel lightheaded.

"Good… good… jus' a lil' freak then, aye…" you think you hear her say to herself.

But you don't… dear stars your body feels heavy… still, you don't really have it in you to answer her, or even say anything at all. You just stand there, breathing in heaves as too many parts of your body cry for oxygen at the same time.

"Aye then, ae'll take yer word fer et," she says, nodding to herself.

And before you realize it, Axe is walking towards you.

You are still so disoriented that you don't even believe it for a moment. But sure enough, after you blink two or three times, you confirm to yourself that Axe is walking towards you, rather than away. Her great axe is nowhere to be seen, and she only has a practiced scowl on her face.

But much, much more importantly, you don't feel like you are staring down at a monster hunter who is judging whether you are a target or not.

"Wha… what are you doing?" you ask, shaking your head as you try to regain your balance.

Still, you manage to recompose yourself only when Axe is standing right in front of you. And you look at the mare just in time to see her parsing through a keychain, that she took from somewhere inside her cloak.

"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.

"I… what? No, what do you mean? What exactly are you planning to do?" you ask, even more confused by her answer.

But instead of answering you, the mare just…

Your eyes go wide in surprise as she quite literally grabs your face with her hoofs, and unceremoniously yanks your head downwards. Until your horn is practically aiming at her chest.

"Jus' shut up an' let me work'," she says, rolling her eyes as she does. "Becos' a deal is a deal. Ye take care of yer hatchlin' sissah, and ae'll help ye with yer mind doors."

You barely have time to comprehend her words through her accent, let alone understand what she means by that.

And before you can even object to how she is still gripping your head-



KA-CLICK



-she jams the key she is holding in her mouth straight into your forehead. Right above the base of your horn. And then she turns it.

You feel pain, for a split second, as the sharp tip of the key digs through your skin. And then you feel a strange sense of invasion as the key goes even deeper than that, as if it was somehow extending past your skull and all the way into your brain or your mind or your soul.

But finally, you feel as if a set of rusted gears were suddenly twisted into their proper places, as the turn of the key does something inside of you.

Axe lets you go right after that. And much to your surprise you… she just did something in your mind, but you don't even feel disoriented. If anything, you just feel better.

You even rub the place on your forehead where she stabbed you with her key. But you don't see even a drop of blood on your hoof. Your coat isn't even prickled or damaged.

"Did… did you just help me…?" you ask, more than a little confused, as you once again turn your attention to the mare.

But as you look at her once more, you are faced with the back of her cloak, as she unceremoniously makes her way back to the patch of woods where she came from.

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

"Fak off!"

But she only gives you that one answer.

And after she is out of your sight, you feel the world shift under your hoofs once again, as the weight of a great snake slithers away to another part of this world.

Leaving you alone once more.

Click to shrink...

And this was Luna on the cusp of Edge 3, with Axe being heavily restricted and chained. Mareinette is far less hampered, and social manipulation is one of her strengths.
And to be clear, I am saying Names are greater in terms of metaphysical weight class and overall power, not that a Name trumps an Alicorn in every use case (pretty sure Selene beats Axe at anything Social, after all).


Unrelated, but for those saying that Mareinette will eat Silky while we are doing All-In, don't be silly; she wants Velvet to eat Silky, and that can't happen if she herself gobbles up the fully!

 

[Alan975]

she wants Velvet to eat Silky, and that can't happen if she herself gobbles up the fully!

Click to shrink...

Currently, that seems to be so.

She wants to know Velvet, she wants Velvet to know her.

To share the wonderful insights of Grail and the potential pleasure of Velvets most regrettable act.

She wants a friend, someone that would understand.


If we go all in without her however, do you expect her not to retaliate?

Or maybe she'd go at it in the other direction, because who just got a mark that could point to them being an excellent cultist?



Perhaps she'd raised Silky as her own, be it for slaughter or revenge.

 

[ses]

And then there is Silky, who at the moment of Daughter-of-Axes' rampage, the moment when Knock was so strong that even unhealed wounds could begin to open, came and... talked. She talked to her like a real pony born in the current era of Harmony. And she made friends with Harmony and Knock. Maybe I'm exaggerating, but she made friends with Knock's Name, and this is the mark of their connection.

Click to shrink...

The thread has simply not managed to come to terms with the fact that Silky's major affinity is Grail.


And all this "Mareinette wants to make Velvet eat Silky" should be read in the exact same tone as "The Master wants to douse the lights!"

 

[Sveta08]

What a terrible day for my net to have not been responsive.
Either way, will say more when I can think this through. But, my gut response is to go with the Silky path.

 

[Shaper47]

We made a promise to Cadence that we'd start bringing her on board and introducing her to the truth.

Having her befriend a Name and get a loose introduction to the lores does that.

Showing her our flank and enlightening her to FR does that.

Going to Silky does not do that.

Given that the entire thing starts with having them get back together instead of being separated, yeah. Let's not keep Cadance at an arms length.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Currently, that seems to be so.

She wants to know Velvet, she wants Velvet to know her.

To share the wonderful insights of Grail and the potential pleasure of Velvets most regrettable act.

She wants a friend, someone that would understand.


If we go all in without her however, do you expect her not to retaliate?

Click to shrink...

Yes, because she would have no reason to retaliate against us. She doesn't know that Velvet figured out a way to ascend where all others have failed. The only Name that does is Baldomare. And once All-In occurs, Velvet will either be a Long, and thus still theoretically available to indulge in a delicious bit of progeny digestion, or an Hour, and thus not worth pissing off when there are countless other foals to feast on.

The thread has simply not managed to come to terms with the fact that Silky's major affinity is Grail.


And all this "Mareinette wants to make Velvet eat Silky" should be read in the exact same tone as "The Master wants to douse the lights!"

Click to shrink...

I guess you could assume she was lying to Axe about that. I don't know why she would, though. I could be misremembering that exchange though.

 

[Sveta08]

A'righty. I've had a drink, had a think, now I'll have a go at it. I'll start with my total evaluation, out of seven.
Silky Path: 4/7
Friends Path: 2/7
Flank Path: 1/7

Now, as to the why's. Unfortunately, this requires some background knowledge and a whole heaping help of subtext (my favorite flavor!) so bear that in mind. If you approach everything I say with "But it didn't say that specifically" I will have to grab the book and badger you about narrative themes, allegory as a whole, symbolism, narrative parallels, implications just generally, and retroactive causality. A lot of words that likely both sides will ignore. Needless to say, I very much do not want to do that.



So.

Let's work in the negative. That's the easiest way to explain it. Why do I not want the Friends Path?
Three reasons! Harmony is learning very quickly, Celestia is very dangerous, and Mareinette is very friendly. Let's look at each of those specifically.



Harmony! Not the harmony path, but Harmony! The thingy that is a force that might be kinda sapient, but for all intensive purposes is an active force at a Narrative and Mechanical level. I say it is learning very quickly. Which, isn't quite accurate, but it is learning quickly due to exposure and the different... Let me be specific.
Harmony (the force) is aware (ish) of the world, but isn't quite (as much of) a passive actor like Glory. Namely, Harmony has been rapidly bumping up against the edges of it's known space, and we keep giving it introductory courses and in depth details about the lore as things go on. As, just like Names aren't Hours, but are "living" things embodied by a lore, Alicorns are the same concept, backwards, to Harmony. They are a living person embodied of (an aspect? a fragment? expressions of a power?) of Harmony. Harmony acts through the Alicorns, and through them, learns.

The Alicorns, as evidence of the whole Luna worm possessed thing, were blindingly ignorant about the Lores, the concepts it dealt with, and the Manus as a whole. The Dreamlands were only vaguely understood. And even then, it was "Luna's Domain" and called it a day. I don't think Harmony (maybe) was wholly ignorant about the Worms or Lore, Forge most specifically, but that's a whole other kettle of fish. But the point is, Harmony acts through, learns from, and in some way has embodied itself in the Alicorns. And because of that, Harmony is learning about the lores very quickly. But very specifically, mostly from Velvet.

Luna. Selene. She was taught Edge, Winter, Moth, Knock.
Celestia. She hungers for Lantern bright.
Cadence. We stand here near to offer Heart and Grail, Forge and Secret History depending on the path.

To be fair! The damage is done.
What? You think Silky's Cutiemark was a coincidence, or just Silky being super awesome? Ha! No. You think it is a coincidence that the very turn that Velvet goes to explain to Luna about the lot of Lores, a more formal introduction to them all, Harmony is able to successfully identify Silky and her cutie mark, and what it means? No no no. No. We had Velvet speak to Luna, as it had to happen. And Harmony heard, even if it is not immersed.

But namely, Harmony is learning quickly. And the quicker it learns, the more it deepens its understanding, the more... unknowns are going to creep in. I don't mean Worms, I mean unknowns. Things we aren't, and can't, be aware of. How Harmony will toy with these, how it might incorporate them, or change with them. Or change them. The faster it learns, the deeper it can go. So while the door is already open, and things will advance regardless, that doesn't mean we have to rush in past what is already inevitable. Time is valuable after all, cutting ours short is... a decision I don't recommend.



Celestia is very dangerous! I don't think I have to explain near so much about this one, but I will say enough.
Cadence, by sheer virtue of being aware of Velvet knowing Luna and all that, is already a risk. At risk. Our risk. All of those things rolled into a nasty bundle of pink feathers and fur. Cadence becoming more aware of the Lores as a whole, but not able to hide herself... is thus, dangerous! This is dangerous whether it is a repairing thing for Shining, or just an intro primer to the lores. Dangerous.

However! Like with the Harmony learning problem, this is also an inevitable problem. Celestia will learn, and Cadence will request and learn more, and become more competent. I simply do not know whether Harmony's flow is reciprocal or not, and how fast it will be. Either way, showing her the Lores will be... big. Good, yes, big, also yes, and with many many both forseen and unforseen consequences.

In addition! It is additional stress for Cadence. "There is a secret whole other world of magical mystic nonesense that I am a pseudo-expert at, and it can pose all sorts of new and exicting problems for you, good luck being the de-facto ruler of a country right now." It is innevitable that will happen, but it does not need to be rushed into it right now. We have to ask and identify when and where and how and if that is the most important thing to happen right now. I say... maybe.



Marrienette! ... She gets her own post after this. She's... she's something else.



Either way. For the Friends path, I worry about Celestia, and Harmony, and Mareinette. For the Flank path, I worry very much about Celestia, and Forge most especially. No, I don't want to get into the Forge worries more than this, so I just refer you to the Forge Book we rolled a 100 on, Celestia's affinitys for lores, and the gift that Celestia would have given Cadence at the wedding. You can figure the rest out.

Simply put, I like all of these paths, but I fear, deeply deeply fear, the Flank path will accelerate the Doomsday Clock that is Celestia's Lantern. I am moderatly worried for the same reason for the Friends path.




Silky? That path? I see it as a very simple answer to a very complicated problem.
Cadence has a million things she is worried about, and thinks she needs to focus on, and feelings of failure. Velvet sees that now, offers some comfort, that it doesn't have to be done alone, and makes a very specific point. That she has things to tell Cadence, but that right now? Adding more worries to the pile is not what is needed. One more burden upon her back, one more reason to push forward. Go reread that.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Here's a thought to consider; as the Name of Grail Mareinette is devoted to sensation in all of its manifold expressions, the more intense the better. She is ultimately an addict, if a high-functioning one. Always chasing the high and willing to do anything to get that fix.

Her Heart aspect is precisely no help at all, the last thing obsession needs is perpetuation.

But, all that said and done, there is potentially a unique opportunity here in the option to expose her to Cadance, who unlike Sun and Moon embodies a very visceral conceptual Principle.

Love, that burning-brightly impulse impetus and inspiration, that question and answer all in one, that strange magic. Grail is full of craving and short on satisfaction, Love abounds the more it is given away.

It's entirely possible that between Cadance and Mareinette "corruption" might not go the way one might expect. Might not Love tame the savage beast?

Heh, Cadance is reckoned to be an expert in all matters of the Heart...

 

[Sveta08]

Okay. So Mareinette. Why am I worried about Mareinette?

Simple answer, is I'm not.
No, she's not going to eat Silky. No, she's not going to eat Flurry. No, it is not because she looks at the local school like a buffet. Stop worrying about the things you know, and worry about the things you know but don't think about.


Everybody wants something.
Everybody wants something.
Mareinette knows this. Goodness gracious does she know this. People don't seem to remember how much she knows this.



So I want you to ask yourself, for just one moment. What does Cadence want. What would Mareinette see that Cadence wants.

She wants friends. She wants an escape for a time. To not have to think to be the ruler and to just be Cadence. She wants to be able to give people the answers they are looking for. Wants to be the reasuring pillar they want for her to be. And to be the giddy recently married mare she is. To have friends and laugh and drink and not have to be perfect Princess Cadence.

I believe, Mareinette can help with that. Every bit of that. As a friend, as an advisor, as a companion. As a Mother, once.



And I also know, Mareinette wants something.

Friends. Not in the way that maybe Harmony would describe them. But... something older. Call it, a Sisterhood, if you will. Allies who won't die on you from the trials of old age. Who can be depended upon, and relied on. Whom through the bonding, would grow greater, and higher.

I believe, Cadence can help with that. Every bit of that.



I think, the two of them meeting would go incredibly well. That it would be increddibly benifitial for the both of them. I believe Mareinette might even offer Velvet a kindness for introducing them to such a friend.

I believe it would be good.
But even I can't possibly imagine the ways things would change. Chase eachother like the Sun and Moon, or stand as hands, left and right to the same end.
I cannot imagine how things would go. Well, yes, but the way it goes past there?

I cannot begin to imagine.

 

[Shaper47]

Keeping secrets from Cadence, breaking her trust in us.

Is that really what we want to do?

 

[Zxzx24]

Giving mareinette more friends herself isn't a bad idea.

 

[Venerable Ro]

And I also know, Mareinette wants something.

Click to shrink...

View: https://youtu.be/2YEUKEEs3R8?feature=shared

 

[Alan975]

It might not be a good idea, but Freinds is starting to sound to juicy to pass up on

 

[ses]

You know if Cadance Quest voters saw this update in the middle of the panicking they'd probably inaccurately try to pin the necklace as the Siren necklace from Rainbow Rocks. I think that's funny what misunderstandings would come in that comment thread.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Funny thought:

What if Mareinette regularly performs invisible social rolls to determine the precise effectiveness and nature of her [Our Lady Of Wires] trait, it always works but not always to the same degree of effectiveness.

What if the very first social roll Mareinette attempted in the game was a critical failure, and an attempt to break ground with the new summoner by complimenting her child (parents love talking about their children right?) just got completely screwed up and gave her a horrible malus to dealing with us.

What if we are Mareinette's Twilight Sparkle?

Edit: Ah, voting begins. Well time to put action to words.

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

 

[Nevermort]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

I may still change my mind, but for now I don't feel like spending actions on Forge Redemption when we already promised one action to Soft and need to prepare for end game.

[x] Turns out, she just needed some happy company!

 

[Arrkhon]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

 

[Shaper47]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

[X] Turns out, she just needed you to take off your dress.

 

[spiderhellian]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.
[X] Turns out, she just needed you to take off your dress

 

[Rafuki22]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

 

[ses]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

I may still change my mind, but for now I don't feel like spending actions on Forge Redemption when we already promised one action to Soft and need to prepare for end game.

Click to shrink...

I don't want to spend an action next turn either, but I do want to do it before endgame.

I'm thinking Calling of Influence(Lantern), Study Books, Study Artifacts, Soft's Request, Baldomare SH Sacrament next turn with 1x Cover Your Bases. We actually have a very good chance of oneshotting the Moth book with an Influence plus an Attention and those buffs matter a LOT more against study rolls with -50 penalties like that ancient book has. Plus like, 5 study rolls in a turn means a lantern influence will get a workout and pay for itself in actions. Especially since we're likely to get studyables other than the Level 7 book from Jade's scrying on an expedition so there's likely to be a third study action on Turn 23.

And then the two of them pass out. Joining the purple unicorn in sleeping away what looks like several bottles' worth of alcohol.

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@OurLadyOfWires Berry Punch is an earth pony unless this is meant to not be a recognizable character? Purple with grape cutie mark seems unlikely to just happen to be a unicorn.

 

[Potdl]

[X] Turns out, she just needed more friends.

 

[Biowolf]

[X] Turns out, she just needed you to take off your dress.

Idk I know ppl like Mareianette, but I don't. She's unhinged beyond normal Named status and there are safer and better ways to introduce Cadence into the lores. Also we can finally fix Shining next turn!
IMO there is a reason Mare was found like halfway up the tower and is a grail monster. Let monsters monster but lets introduce Cadence to Axe or Baldomare first. Cadence needs to start her journey but we are repeatedly shown rushing into the deep end of the Lores is a disaster.
Baby Steps.

Also Shining Armor+Cadence+Velvet+Stormy is the best group.

 

[Limabot]

[X] Turns out, she just needed you to take off your dress.
[X] Turns out, she just needed some happy company!

Mainly, even if Mareinette doesn't want to (personally) do anything to Cadance's child, I still don't trust her general mindset to be healthy for Cadance to be around for extended periods of time.

 

[Anjaxis]

[X] Turns out, she just needed you to take off your dress.