Velvet Covers is a good and kind mare. But she is also adopting the mentality of "has to be me, somepony else might get it wrong".
the sad thing is
she's right.
She's the ones who knows the MOST about these kind of things, so by definition she's the only one with a "decent" understanding of all the problems and threats.
Well, the only one with an interest in keeping Equestria in one piece. The only one who knows more than us is the Master (and the Names we summon, I suppose, but they hardly count).
Our past choices poisoned the well with the crown. If we had gone to Celestia with Selene in tow, MAYBE we could have tried with a more honest approach.
MAYBE, if Celestia had reacted better to the Crysalis reveal, it might also have been an option. Risky, but at least possible.
Right now we sadly have no choice, because
not only Velvet and family might die if we reveal the wrong thing to the wrong people... but if Velvet dies, there's no telling what the cult will do in the long term.
-[] You are planning to leave the cult, and cults are usually not friendly to that idea. But safety in numbers is a thing. Spread dissent within the cult. Try to get more ponies to leave, when things really get rough, and scout the terrain for cultists that might be interested in following somepony else. (Less effective the less you know about what happened in the expedition, especially with how you managed to calm the cult and the town down).
...you know, with our future position as head of the lunar bureau, it would be nice to also have a secret cult on the side. We can even scout crown agents this way.
Risky and hard to do, but... well, we KNOW about Windigos and what happened on the expedition. We COULD probably convert a decent number of ponies to our side if we truly wanted to.
We'll see what Fleeting moment actions we'll have. It might be too late, but we COULD still try and recruit the hintchasers for example.
mh... if we're still going for grail influence, we could organize a meeting in person with the hintchasers through our current method of "wood hints", and the try to convince them to defect with a mix of good arguments and sheer force of Grail.
We should get Comet, we have Jade, we can potentially get the Hintchasers this way... maybe we could try to convince Jade's cadre too.
Something to consider for next turn. And then, through these two groups, we could spread more doubts and dissent before we actually leave.
The Master isn't dumb. Even if they didn't know for certain that Velvet was wavering or in fact broken, that we planned to leave, this is a punishment. Oh, it's dressed up fancy, but they know more than anybody how the Mansus works and occultists think. Calling us off the climb here and now would be agony to them. But what has Velvet done, to deserve such punishment? What could it be hoped to accomplished, tugging on our leash when we're so close? To keep Velvet from doing what she does best and getting shit done?
Easy. Nothing. I honestly suspect that the Master doesn't actually expect us to listen. Because all together? Those orders look like they're meant to create tension. Rewarding Copper and punishing Velvet? Pointing Comet at his own Allies? Pressing all of Jade's buttons, and sending the last two to seek new horizons?
I suspect that this is the Master's attempt to make us rebel. To push us, further and faster. To tip us over the edge.
Possibly. He gave orders that
might lead each councilor to establish their own separate faction with their own separate goals.
Goals that, in and of themselves, would likely not be against his ultimate objectives.
still, it's also possible that he expects Velvet to burn half of her time on those manuscripts, and then use the remaining half on the mansus climb.
She didn't say "do not climb". She said "Do not climb
on my orders".
And that makes sense, because any conventional cultist would want to climb no matter what, so
why order them to? Order them to do something else, and they'll climb in their own free time!
What, family? friends? A job? Why would those matter?
- Moth way. Tell Jade to betray cult. Maybe order her to burn/steal manuscripts from the Bright Library on her way out. Ask her to leave a goodbye note where she tells of her knowledge of how Windigos where used and how she refuse to summon more of them. Perhaps send DoA along with her so she is not alone/protected. If we all go to Manehatten they can simply stay there for a time. Blame us not completing manuscripts work on Jade actions. Optionally take action to ask Master for a gift. Beg him not to issue kill order on Jade. Tell him that you send DoA to take back Jade alive. Then ask him for a way to remove memories as a way to have Jade join cult again. If she learned too much we just need to help her forget, right? Then if we acquire such spell/artifact we can use it as failsafe for both Twilight (if others methods don't work) and for Jade (if we decide to return Jade to cult, we will remove her memories about betrayal, so we don't need to rely on her acting).
I am fine with that as long as we ourselves do not fully commit toward dropping cult next turn. Have Jade steal/burn library, then during next cult meeting claim that we were unable to fulfill our obligations due to Jade betrayal and ask for personal task of catching her as our responsibility.
Absolutely not! We explicitly avoided ever lying in the Master's presence, at most omitting details. This is too close to lying for comfort!
