Alright, this quest convinced me to make an account. Nice writing, BirdBodhisattva! Your writing is out of this world, reminds me of the painful nature of choices and its consequences, as well as the Buddhism teaching that existence is pain and we should all seek to escape it. Having said all that, existence may be painful, but suffering is optional. I should really have written this earlier, but before that I still believed that the Wolf option wouldn't win. Here's a short snippet of how that choice might turn out.
Your name is Velvet Covers, and you are in pain.
You wish this pain was physical, because if it was, the wound could be mended. But it is not.
Shining Armor... no, the Master, is standing there patiently, waiting for your choice. A choice that you cannot make. A choice that you wish you could not make. A choice that you wish you weren't the one to make. You thought you had finally escaped from the consequences of your actions. You had saved Twilight Sparkle. You had left the cult. You had saved Comet Feet. You had made Princess Cadance happy. And Selene went to play, one last time.
Wasn't this enough? Have you not tried your best to be a caring mother and a faithful friend? Have you not tried your best to make up for your own mistakes? You cannot, you will not let Shining Armor watch from within his own skin as a stranger meets with his wife. The very thought makes you want to retch. And to have your friend, Mi Amor Cadenza, not only do the deed with an enemy unknowingly, but to have her child twisted without her knowledge or consent? But to banish the Master would be to kill Shining Armor - you can't do that either. She would be heartbroken. Both of them. And you know just how well He loves that sweet stench. And you might not be able to pull off that same trick again, or even be there for them when, if that time comes. But more than that, to make an enemy of Her means that your family is at risk. And already They have caused suffering, even when He wasn't considering Themself an enemy.
And you know you are selfish. You know very well that you are very, very selfish. That deep down, you are a very selfish mare. You know, deep down, that you could allow yourself to be possessed, and thus save everyone else... despite the chance of losing yourself, or worse - hurting your children...
Something sharp pricks at your eyes, and your vision is blurry. You still wish you didn't have to make a choice at all, or that you could have more time to think... more time, damn it all!
The skin of Shining Armor opens his mouth. "Well?"
In the end, it wasn't a choice at all. "I can take Shining's place. As Head of the Lunar Bureau, I will have more freedom to move. And I already know the Lores. Surely," you bow your head in an act of subserviance, "I would be able to serve much better than he."
She chuckles. "Oh, Velvet Covers. You truly are... my most loyal servant."
Like a moth emerging from a coccoon, She sheds his skin. You hold your tongue, because you are only going to have one shot at this. As She reaches forward, to cup your face, to carress you... until you can feel Her slipping inside of you.
Then, you open your mouth and speak: "NO."
It is a betrayal of everything you have stood for. When you had wounded the Tribal Door, and when Baldomare had told you of the consequences of your actions, some small part of you had resolved never to use the Wolf again, no matter how tempting it seemed. Because you knew... because you knew you would always regret it.
It is a betrayal of some part of you. No, it is a betrayal of you. This is what you are willing to live with. This is a choice you are willing to live with, to damn how many Glory-forsaken innocent ponies to the suffering of the Wolf, just so you can run away just a little bit further and try to outrun your own karma.
And this is also a Betrayal of Moth. You had managed to hoodwink the Master, the manifestation of one of the fundamental principles, Moth itself.
He howls in delight and hatred as He manifests, a Wound into the world and a Stain on your soul, ripping and tearing and ripping and tearing. The Master howls too, as She begins to succumb to His ministrations. "No! No! Velvet Covers! Help ME!"
You can't. It is all you can do to stand there in silent horror and delight, as all your problems resolves itself in one fell swoop. The Wolf divides Itself and the Master and the Master tries to escape, to change Her form, but the Wolf divides that too, and the Master turns into a giant and the Wolf divides Her into an ant, and the Master tries to fight back, but even this is futile as the Wolf further divides and evolves into love and hatred and Wings.
They fight. They struggle. They devour each other.
Until the only thing left is the Wolf.
You stare as He licks Its chops. As He turns Its gaze into your eyes, full of love and hatred and suffering and revolution and Betrayal. Then, Its back bursts into macabre Wings, made of pony flesh and tendons and Moth wings, and it crashes through the window and out of sight. There is one last Howl, and then all is silent, save for the whispering wind.
"Why?"
"Oh, Velvet. What have you done?"
"Hmm... what?" You turn your head back to see Shining Covers, slowly stirring awake from where he had fallen onto the bed. "Velvet? What are you doing in my room?" He yawns. "I feel like I just woke up from a long dream."
As you don't answer, his expression turns into one of concern and confusion. "Velvet? Mother?"
It is all you can do, as you slide down the wall to collapse into a heap, to sob and laugh and laugh and laugh.
You have taken a REGRETTABLE -
NOPE! More to follow, such as possible methods to "lawyer or finagle" a way out of this.
