Now, about this...
insert "Velvet has A LOT to lose" speech here
Completely fair. Losing such an integral part of her identity AND reputation CAN certainly be hard to bear.
We probably won't have to worry too much about it. Our father would likely try and take advantage of our actions, maybe by hamming up how "charitable" his family is, that they'd adopt an amnesiac filly (while, at the same time, making VERY certain she'll never be able to actually inherit anything too valuable), or alternatively he could simply play it off as the well-meaning but very unwise action of a rebel daughter.
I don't think Selene, by itself, would be enough to justify REALLY banishing us from the family, especially when you take into account Cadance's favour and Rarity's deal. As long as we don't make it too much of an obvious/big deal, he'll probably try to ignore it (and add a few more insults in his letters)
It is a beautiful view. Nopony could ever deny that.
You are standing on a balcony over the garden of a large estate, with several acres of farmlands stretching farther towards the distance. Green hills can be seen even further away, as well as a gentle river weaving a path between them until it makes its way out of your sight.
HALF A DOOR. HALF A PATH. HALF A BRIDGE.
The sky is perfectly blue and devoid of any clouds, and the sun is shining upon all of Equestria. It is, to the very definition of the word, a perfect day.
HALF A FATE. HALF AN OATH. HALF A SOUL.
But you could not care less about any of that.
HALF A DREAM. HALF A WILL. HALF A GOD.
Because your eyes are focused on one thing, and one thing alone.
IT IS SHAPED LIKE A FILLY, BUT IT IS NOT.
And that one thing is-
IT IS SHAPED LIKE A GODDESS, BUT IT IS NOT.
That one thing is-
A HALF-REMEMBERED KISS TO THE FOREHEAD. A HALF-FORGOTTEN SCREAM OF PAIN.
That thing is-
THE CERTAINTY THAT ONE BECAME TWO.
That thing-
A REPETITION OF THAT MOST ABOMINABLE OF FATES.
That-
IT CAME FROM THE OUTSIDE. PERFECT. COMPLETE. ALONE.
IT WAS ALLOWED ENTRANCE, SHELTER FROM THE DARKNESS. ON ONE CONDITION.
HALF A DOOR CANNOT BE OPENED. HALF A PATH CANNOT BE TREAD. HALF A BRIDGE LEADS NOWHERE.
BUT THE DOOR, AND THE PATH, AND THE BRIDGE, IF MADE WHOLE ONCE AGAIN, MAY STILL LEAD BACK TO THE THING THAT DIVIDED IT.
And that one thing is the filly that Velvet Covers said is Selene.
mh.. interesting. Not sure what to make of it
A few random guesses
1)Maybe Celestia and Luna were actually the Witch-and-Sister, and the Sister-and-Witch, before entering the world and becoming what they are?
yeah, I don't think that's likely either
2)Maybe they're surviving Gods-from-Stone?
Honestly, this probably has nothing to do with that, and it's just a reference to how this... being, is currently Half-Luna and Half-Selene. Half-Mortal and Half-God.
You are in a park, under a tree. Exactly where you are supposed to be.
Although you are not in that park, or under that tree. You have been making sure to avoid those sorts of places.
good.
No. You are in the park where you have been coming to sleep these last few days, ever since you left Velvet Cover's house. There is nothing familiar about this place and, as you intended, you have no memories attached to the scenery before you.
...she went homeless.
I suppose she didn't really have a choice. she needed to leave our home, and she COULDN'T go back to hers...
And the cult was obviously no-good, at least until she decided what to do...
Selene, the adorable filly that was hiding behind Velvet Cover's adorable daughter, is Princess Luna. You could tell that at a glance, much like how anypony who knows the slightest thing about Lantern would be able to see. The… things that have been coming to your mind every time you sleep only further confirms it.
She's overestimating the average lanter user A LOT.
She got a nat100 after all!
..unless she's right, and most lantern users would have noticed, and the nat100 allowed her to notice something
more.
But I don't think that's the case.
You think there is a magic spell for that… there probably is. Unicorns aren't exactly fond of following rules with their magic. And even if there isn't a spell for that, Princess Luna is an alicorn, so if anypony can do that it's her.
yeah, unicorn magic doesn't really seem to follow any rule beyond "most ponies can't do it, but someone, somewhere, somewhen, can").
Velvet Covers found her, and she is hiding her in her house. The Master surely knows, of course, and all of this is probably being done under his orders. Although you have no idea as to why he ordered Velvet Covers to lie about her progress to the rest of the Inner Circle.
He even went to the trouble of having you perform your ritual to search for the Princess, just to see it fizzle and fail. Which means both that your Master is committed to keeping that façade, as well as the fact that he didn't realize that you know about the filly Princess.
However, no matter how many times you analyze this particular piece of knowledge, your mind still circles back to the same conclusion.
..this
isn't an unreasonable conclusion, and I can even imagine us convincing the master of this with a high enough roll and enough diplo/grail bonuses...
in this case, I imagine she might feel betrayed about us hiding it from her, or letting her spend so much time and effort on a useless ritual?
But you don't care about that. You don't care for the fact that he got what he wanted, as always. You don't care for the fact that for some reason he is forcing Velvet Covers to lie about it. You don't even care for the fact that you have been given a superfluous assignment, and that you wasted your time devising a ritual that was ultimately not needed.
..ok, maybe not that.
Like how you don't care about being given a useless assignment. After all, what else would you have done with your free time anyways? It's not like you have been doing anything productive since ever.
Ehi, the cadre was certainly useful, and we have
plans for the ritual you developed!
It wasn't useless!
Let's face it. You are probably the only one who didn't know. This whole lie, even, is probably something that the Master is doing for your benefit, much like how he seems to take special care with Starry Dancer. After all, you are the one with the least achievements, you are the one who is least useful.
You probably only have a spot on the Inner Circle because you were the first member, more of a token membership than anything else.
But apart from that you know you are useless.
You can't even scale the Mansus properly or train your helpers quickly enough.
she's so wrong!
nobody knows. She's not useless. her cadre prepairing the free ritual each turn, + the bonus on the more complex ones... they're ALL useful!
Still, if you want to feel more useful.. well, we could always let you research any lantern book we find...
yes, I know, THat's not what this is about! I just want to expand the Bright Library faster!
About not being able to scale the Mansus.. obviously it's the need to go beyond the Blank Door first.
I wonder, though it's probably not the healthier approach.. would the mind-healing ritual help her with that?
"Hello Octavia Melody," you say, looking at her from snout to tail and taking in all the details, glaring or subtle, that have changed from the last time you saw her, "it has been a while."
ah. That would make the Unicorn Vynil Scratch.
So, the music couple entered the stage.
Rather overprotectively, you note. Or perhaps… dotingly.
Which gives you a small tingling sensation that maybe they are not just two friends sharing a house…
Congratulations, Jade! You're not
completely hopeless yet!
by the way, here's the couple on the 100th episode (basically a fanservice episode all about background characters).
It's basically 99.9% of their speaking lines in the whole show. The comics probably would have a bit more, but those are usually not-canon anyway.
You even think that they tried to do… something. You think that you remember them banging and knocking at your door, day after day, after your parents left. You think you remember the knocking growing less insistent as the weeks, then months, passed by.
But you think… that Octavia was the very last one to give up on knocking.
You think… that she promised that no matter how long it took for you to come out from that house, the two of you would still be-
mh.. this reminds me a bit of Tempest Shadow from the movie.
It's nice to see that her friends
tried. And, admittedly, you can't help someone that doesn't want to be helped, so I don't fault them for giving up in the end.
For some reason, thought, they look… Well, Octavia Melody looks extremely distressed at… something, and she is looking at you intently for some reason. The white unicorn, as well, looks equally worried, and perhaps downcast or sad, her previous annoyance nowhere to be seen.
You have no idea why they suddenly got like that, or why they are looking at you so apologetically.
You also have no idea why your eyes are burning up.
...well, crying is probably a good sign here, as distressing as it will be for the couple.
To which Octavia's eyes only grow wider in surprise.
"My help? Wh-… Why? With what?"
Because the two of you were best friends.
Because she doesn't know how much you have been wasting your life these last few years.
Because you don't know, but you don't want this anymore.
...that must be such a shock to Octavia.
Just imagine: You had a friend, up to mid teens. Then she basically stops answering and existing, no matter how hard you try to help.
And then, more than a decade later, she's back, and you just
don't know what to do!
And all of this is happening in what's basically the land of friendship, where friendship is close to a religious value!
"No problem Whistle," she answers, and you feel the hold on your hoof growing tighter, "we can continue from where we left off."
..Octavia's a good pony here.
Hopefully she can help Jade...
WHAT! 
Well. Most of everything. Call it an abridged version of things.
But you did tell her all that matters.
...ok, that's better.
That is to say…. You didn't go into details about the cult itself, but you did tell her about how you finally managed to get out of that house, and that it all started when you met …
"Jade?! By the heavens, I'm so glad you are alright," you hear her voice coming from behind you, and you don't have to turn around to know that she is practically running towards you, much as it might hurt her leg.
You also don't have to turn around to know that she stopped a few meters away from you, hesitating for some reason. She is probably worried.
It makes sense for her to be worried. After all, you didn't exactly say a lot when you left her house. That, and she usually worries a lot.
..did we find her by chance?
And yeah, we worry a lot. We have good reasons to, most of the time.
well, let's see how this goes...
"Hello Velvet Covers," you say without moving, knowing that she can hear you just fine even though you are not facing her. "I think I did tell you to come here at midnight in my letter," you say.
ah, post-discussion with Octavia. Well, hopefuly it went well.
"I'm sorry for asking you to come here so late at night. But I really wanted you to…" you tilt your head minutely for a few moments, wondering how you should word what you have in mind, "I really wanted you to be here for me," you say.
No other way to put it, really.
You are not really good with words, you are not really good with a lot of things, but you do hope that you said it in a way that she could understand.
that works.
"I really like to collect things," you say, knowing that if you try and pick your words the two of you might stay here until midnight. "Cutie mark and all… so it was really hard to follow through when I promised myself I'd only pack a single saddle bag," you say, poking a hoof at the bag you have at your side.
..I feel like she's about to burn the house down.
selfishly, I hope she doesn't. I'd REALLY rather renovate it and sell it instead.
...also selfishly, I'm kinda hoping that, if we burn it down, we're going to gain Forge lore for it. 😅
Indeed, there are not many things in it at all. Your brother's favorite toy, the one picture that you have of him that isn't crumpled or torn, a few of your personal belongings, Velvet Cover's letters for you, a few bits that you had in the house.
And a box of matches.
I knew it, SHE'S GOING TO BURN DOWN THE HOUSE!
...I get it, this will help her.. I'm just selfish and pragmatic, and I kinda hoped we could get some money out of it. Even if for her and not for us...
On the other end, It's very sweet of her to have our letters as some of her most precious treasures.
"I'm going to burn the house down, obviously," you answer, walking towards it.
I knew it!
I know want a pragmatic Velvet going "wait, let me sell it instead! you're going to need the bits"!
And NOT just for the bits, it would also be funny and break the mood!
ok, I REALLY need to let go of that "renovate house idea".
It's not narratively fitting, and it's obviously not Velvet's or Jade's first, or even second or third, concern.
well, time to make that pyromaniac omake a reality!
[] To destroy that which will not change.
You see something click inside of her. She then looks at you with those kind, caring eyes of her, seeing that you are… seeing that you are okay right now. Then she looks at the house, remembering everything you told her. And finally, she looks at the match you are holding. A spark flicks from her horn a moment later, lighting the match, and she nods you the blessings that only a true friend can give. The house is ablaze moments later, the two of you running together into the shadows of the night. You think you can hear something as you run away, the sound of you and your brother playing. You think the two of you sound happy.
(Jade Whistle will strive to destroy that which will not change, adopting FORGE as her secondary Lore. Velvet Covers will gain one scrap of FORGE Lore for having witnessed such change. Jade Whistle's house, the place she knows to be her tomb, will be destroyed.)
[] To become unceasing.
She smiles, plain and simply. A smile that tells you that she finally understands you, perhaps better than you understand yourself. "You don't need to do this," she says calmly, her tone both gentle and patient, "you don't need to completely let go of them." She then floats the box of matches back into your bag, "you just need to stop holding on too tightly," she finishes saying, taking you by the hoof and gently pulling you with her, towards the night. And you think, deep down, that she just stopped you from doing something you would eventually have regretted. You think, deep down, that you feel something pulse inside your chest, right next to your heart. Something faint and steady, that might be like what you felt every time you hugged your brother against your chest.
(Jade Whistle will strive to become unceasing, adopting HEART as her secondary Lore. Velvet Covers will gain one scrap of HEART Lore for having saved one who was about to cease. Jade Whistle will not lose her love for collecting things.)
...I'm conflicted. I'm not sure what I like the most, narratively.
Well, let's think of this mechanically, then. Narrative is honestly more important, but I'll consider it better later.
..mechanically it's actually really easy. The scrap we get from Heart is basically (nearly) useless, as it brings us to lvl 2 and removes the extra scrap we'd get from studying the heart 3 book.
so, mechanically speaking, the Forge scrap is simply worth more.
narratively, there's a pretty big difference before basically burning your past as to get the will to move on (which actually reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist, and how the two brothers there burned their old home so they WOULDN'T have a place to go back to, as a sign of commitment to their goal), and instead accepting that you don't need to give up your past to get a future.
..I think, narratively, I'd slightly prefer Heart. Then again, maybe Jade actually REALLY needs a strong cut to separate her from her past...
...I can't choose right now. I'll read the various arguments and come back to it later.
Regardless of your choice, you can tell that Jade Whistle is not "better". But you are glad she decided to take the first step, and you promise yourself that you will be there when she takes the second.
Regardless of your choice, Jade Whistle is now personally loyal to you. Her action pool will be added to your list of Confidants come next turn.
Regardless of your choice, Jade Whistle will not set hoof anywhere near that place for a long, long time.
yay, a new confidant! We get our own ritual support/R&D, probably indirect access to her cadre, maybe she can study Lantern and Forge/Heart books for us to aid us with the Bright Library, she can help us teach Twilight (and Twilight might actually help her. Friendship IS kind of her thing, even if she's still a beginner at it..)
Also with HER as a confidant, we know actually have a pretty decently sized team for personal expeditions: Velvet, Rarity, Jade, and possibly even Twilight, ALL without including the cult itself!
Jade Whistle has done more than seen something in Selene. She might be onto something, but she will need time to figure it out. Dedicated time, that is.
And on a lesser note, Jade Whistle would have adopted WINTER as her secondary Lore if you had taken her down the Minion route.
Kindly observe a two hours moratorium.
and thank Harmony and the Hours that we didn't go that route. I very much would prefer Jade to be her own pony. Preferably while also being loyal to us, obviously.
In the end all worked out pretty well... except now we kinda have to explain to her that no, we're not actually hiding Selene on the Master's orders 😅.
Well, I already have a pretty long list of actions I want to use her for... help with rituals, access to her cadre, introducing her to Twilight, Expeditions, Bright Library help if we find her lore's books, hearing more about the history of the cult (she was there from the beginning!), her opinion of the Master and the other cultists...
I really enjoyed seeing Jade open to someone else, and seeing her trail of thought. I'm a bit annoyed at the "burning the house", but that's my inner min-maxer/munchkin talking.
I honestly am not sure what's the better choice for Jade. For us... well, Heart scrap is mostly useless, but Forge is already Rarity's thing.
Admittedly, her having a lore in common with Rarity might actually help them bond somehow.
Then again, we can probably introduce them to each other and possibly make them become friends (all three of them, Rarity, Jade and Twilight), and Jade not having Forge probably won't hurt that much.
On the OTHER other hand... well, Twilight has Lanter. Jade has Lantern, and possibly forge. Rarity has Grail and Forge.
There's kind of a chain there. maybe Jade would be able to better explain forge to Twilight, as they share a main affinity? (presumably. We technically don't know if twilight is main or secondary Lantern, or even if she breaks the rules and has more primary/secondary affinities).
...well, I'll stop here, go to eat, and later read all the arguments written until now.
