Dear reader! Whether you are new here, archive-reading and whatnot, or you are already someone who has been with us for quite a while, I would like to say a few words that I believe are best kept close to mind.
-This is an MLP quest. And more importantly, none of us are gratuitously cruel. So good things will happen on this quest, and I hope that enough good things have already happened to prove that.
-This is also a horror quest, so bad things will happen. Bad things might happen to good characters if you are not able to protect them, and you most certainly will not be able to intervene if you lack the tools to do so.
-And finally, this is a quest in which you jostle with powers greater than yourself, with all that it entails.
Please, do keep those things in mind as you go forward. But ultimately, this is also a quest in which it is hoped we all have fun! So if any of the above points is not exactly your cup of tea, or somehow make the experience as a whole "not worth it", then this quest might not be for you. Which is fine! Individual tastes are a thing, so don't think any more about it if you don't want to read anymore. And regardless, I hope you have a lovely day!
Readers should take their own mental health into consideration when voting and not subject themselves to triggering narrative elements like rape or constant mental torture of a friend just for the Greatest Good of a world that doesn't exist.
If those are fine for you or Regrettable is even more triggering, then GREAT! More power to you. But you aren't a bad or selfish person for picking the option that keeps the characters you've emotionally connected with safe. [REDACTED for spoiler warning]
This is a high intensity quest that doesn't hold back when it comes to horror and negative consequences. Take care of yourself.
Ah. That… that makes sense. Thank you, Brit. That clears up my own misunderstanding. I suppose I should apologize for not take understanding what Byzantine and the others were trying to say earlier. Definitely a bit frustrating, but hardly a real issue.
We'll probably work on Forge anyways, just to have it be higher so we can teach Rarity- we might as well, right? So there's that, and beyond that, there's no real reason to be messing around with Forge.
Unless we decide that creating our own Lore artifacts or something ridiculous like that is a worthy goal. Forge+other Lores at 6, let's see what happens! I doubt it'll really work like expected or matter much.
Beyond that… I suppose it could help in forging a weapon for us to use with Edge…? Unless we find some kind of heirloom weapon that's better, it might be our best bet.
Then there's Edge itself… I hope Beidde has a decent Sacrament…
We'll probably work on Forge anyways, just to have it be higher so we can teach Rarity- we might as well, right? So there's that, and being that no real reason to be messing around with Forge.
We already have enough Forge to teach Rarity to level 3 but we don't have enough Grail, that is the real problem, since she is a Grail major and both lores need to level up together according to Bird's system.
Biedde most likely has a very useful Sacrament since his Blade in Canon makes cuts unable to stop bleeding until they are closed. And about Edge, we are currently at 2/4 so all we need is A Resolution(max Edge influence) from Biedde and then the Sacrament is the next action(and Edge 5 is the reward).
Actually, is it possible that Bird would let us do that in one turn? That would be awesome.
I finally went and looked through the Sacraments. We're going to summon a pair of Mares-in-the-light for Baldomare to take with her if we take her Lantern Sacrament, yes?
Actually... if we reach Grail 5, can we offer other people Sacraments? Or would that require Grail 6? Because if we can offer Sacraments, that makes getting our minions past 4 and up to 5 a MUCH easier task... and I do find the idea of us handing out Sacraments rather amusing. Especially given everything else going on... becoming Moth 6 would make us one of the only beings in the world who could offer a Moth Sacramant. Possibly THE only being left. That would be pretty funny...
as we've always only needed to reach one level to teach others, lvl 5 should be enough to grant sacrament to other people... but we were also told the upgrade from 4/2 to 5/3 is something special, with extra requirements. See below:
As for why we did our personal SH Sacrament over Baldomares, it came down to a few reasons. 1) Baldomares actions for the next couple of turns are actually really important and we couldn't really afford to delay any of them to go on our Sacrament expedition. 2) There is a large portion of the voter base who wanted to get Velvets Sacrament over Baldomares, as Velvets seems to be related to looking into different histories, while Baldomares seems to be related to finding things. So Velvets Sacrament sounded a lot more interesting than Baldomares despite the extra action it would take. Also, we have already sunk an action into our personal Sacrament so sunk-cost fallacy is going to kick in and we are way more likely to finish off our personal Sacrament over Baldomares now.
Okay, so... Twilight failed both rolls and got horrible side effects. Is it actually not possible to learn a Lore outside your affinities? It seems it might be possible... maybe just a bonus to Lore's you have an affinity with? Speaking of... does Velvet just have an affinity with every Lore, or no Lores? I'm not sure if I ever saw a Lore affinity on our own Sheet...
Reading through a few of the Lore things on our CH sheet, there's a few lines in Knock that seem interesting.
" It is not about simply opening something, no. The manner in which something is opened is also of equal importance. You have the impression that the reason as to why something is opened might be even more important, but, for now, you have learned the secret that allows you this much. "
I know we're going for Glory to save the world from the Worms and protect our family, so the WHY is fine, but I wonder if HOW we open Glory will impact anything else about it... then again, there's only the one method we know, and searching for another would be folly. I mean, it's not like we can borrow the magic of Discord and use his power ourself. We aren't Tirek, and I doubt we can figure out how Tirek does his thing in any quick amount of time... Unless there's something in the Lores that would allow for that? Something to consider if Discord is the only Outsider we can find. I HOPE not, but if he's the only one, then stealing his power to break the Gate might be easier than trying to kill him... I'm not sure.
I wonder if we could personally help Rarity learn some Knock? Help her more easily access the Mansus? She struggles with it, after all. Jade too. We'd probably rather focus that on Stormchaser though, huh?
EDIT: We also probably want our Forge Lore as high as possible. 6 or 7 ideally, since we're planning to destroy the Chains, the bonus on Forge only applies to destroying things. Even with the Blood of the Outsider, if there's a Roll, I think we want to be as prepped for that as possible.
Grogar's bell might not exist in the Quest and even if it does the barrier and the winds required Chrysalis, Cozy Glow and Tirek to recover it, and they barely made it, that is not even mentioning the bits for the expedition since Mount Everhoof is in the Frozen North(Crystal Empire territory) and the (small) possibility of draining Discord's magic ending up making his Blood lose its properties(and also the bigger and kinda confirmed question of Discord being in another History). And that is if RotT doesn't point us at something else instead.
My understanding is that Forge is both destruction and creation so we're not teaching Rarity creation Forge, it is just Forge. The bonus being used for destruction is most likely a mechanical choice so we don't end up building a bomb just because of a high Lore level bonus.
now that it has been mentioned, That sounds a lot like a high level expedition.
Sure, it took Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy to achieve that. Are you telling me you can't see Velvet and a Name or two accomplishing the same? keep in mind just Velvet + Axe is basically a universal + 70 roll (+50 Axe bonus, +20 from all of Velvet's lvl 4s, and then you add Axe's Knock/Edge when relevant).
As others have noted, Lore 6 books may be the most effective way for us to progress our Lores soon, and being able to understand them without struggle would be a massive boon to that end. Long term Lore-wise, Baldomare is our better option. The personal Sacrament would be useful in any other area of the Quest, but I'm not certain it'll be as much of a benefit as progressing more of our Lores more easily.
now that it has been mentioned, That sounds a lot like a high level expedition.
Sure, it took Chrysalis, Tirek and Cozy to achieve that. Are you telling me you can't see Velvet and a Name or two accomplishing the same? keep in mind just Velvet + Axe is basically a universal + 70 roll (+50 Axe bonus, +20 from all of Velvet's lvl 4s, and then you add Axe's Knock/Edge when relevant).
That's true, DoA as a Knock Name could be qualified to break the barrier and the bonuses from Velvet, DoA and other Names are ridiculous when they work together but that's still a large amount of bits we need to spend if we want to go with a full team.
We have seen only two level 6 books until now and we got the Lantern one as a gift, while the Grail tapestry(that according to the pony who bought it cost thousands of bits) was left to another History so the chance of us even finding another without RotT(which would be even more expensive) is pretty low and us buying it(if that was an option) would be even lower.
I agree that Baldomare should get any high level books, mostly to earn her friendship, but knowing Bird's writing the "something" that would happen with a level 6 or 7 book could be game changing.
And don't forget the max level influences we still got Lantern, Forge, Edge, Winter and Heart to go(wow, that is a subversion chain unbroken)
That's true, DoA as a Knock Name could be qualified to break the barrier and the bonuses from Velvet, DoA and other Names are ridiculous when they work together but that's still a large amount of bits we need to spend if we want to go with a full team.
eh, if we don't expect large scale combat Velvet+Axe/Mareinette is usually enough. We'd only need to bring others for specific obstacles requirin specific lores.
In a better History, where you had a teenage Selene, and you took her to a more reasonable Celestia, I can certainly see Velvet (as Alastor) and Celestia (as Lucifer) having a fight-out over Selene (as Charlie) like this:
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None of the above subjects are condoned, glorified or encouraged by the author, and their presence in this story is purely for narrative purposes.
If you do not wish to be exposed to any of the subjects cited above, you should STOP READING IMMEDIATELY.
- - -
- - -
- - -
You have lost something.
You do not know its name. You do not know its nature. You don't even know how it felt like, because not even a memory of it remains.
It is not as if you have a "hollow" feeling inside of you, now. It is not as if you have an empty space inside of you, which makes you realize that something was taken away. In fact, you don't even have it in you to care.
However…
However.
You lost something. Of that, you are absolutely certain.
Because it would be impossible to go through this experience, and not become less.
- - -
IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND-
You were washed away. Once that cascade of filthy blood crashed down upon you, you were dragged away like a leaf in a waterfall. The sticky ichor, stale from an entire era of stagnation, clung to your fur like mud. The dreadful fuel, volatile like liquid hate, burned everything it touched in its torrential wake.
It scorched everything. Spreading in all directions like the bastard son of a wildfire and a tsunami. But worst of all, it consumed everything with a blistering hate that was almost alive. Because the burning ichor was outpaced by the flames, and the flames were outpaced by the fang-shaped rancor that somehow radiated from the dirty fires.
It burned the entirety of the Woods to the ground. It licked through everything, named or nameless, remembered or forgotten, new or old, without discrimination. It turned everything into bitter ash and sour dust.
It burned, and it burned, and it burned and it burned until nothing remained.
Nothing…
… except for you.
-IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND IT BURNS AND-
You were dragged down by the burning blood. You were dragged down, and you were drowned, and you were crushed, and your lungs were filled with fangs and then fire and then ash. Your body was torn and shoved and flung in every direction.
And yet, you live.
Because that is the nature of your kinship. And if He is not allowed to die, then neither are you.
So, you live. You were not awarded the sweet taste of death. You were not even given a moment of unconsciousness. You were forced to live through it, and burn through it, and suffer through it.
And now… now you think you understand it a little better.
However, you can't help but realize that… now that you think about it, you can't help but notice that…
Well, you realize that you are thinking.
And that is strange because…
Because until now, there was nothing but pain. You could not think, you could not see, you couldn't even tell if time was passing. Until now, there was only agony. There was only pain, and the hate you felt towards the pain.
But now…? Now you are… you. You are once again yourself.
But you know better, now. You know it is not over. You know it will never truly be over. But your connection to that mode of existence has been… paused, for now.
Your thoughts are fragmented. It hurts to think, and every idea that comes to you has to step over blistering charcoal. However, you have no choice but to think, so you try to recollect your thoughts as quickly as possible.
The first thing that comes to mind is that you are now permitted to die, once more.
The second thing that comes to your mind is that… after what you have just been through, maybe that wouldn't be such a bad idea.
But then, a third thing comes to your mind, then a fourth, then a fifth, until you finally remember what just happened and where you are and what you just did.
And you also realize that you can't breathe. Everything is dark, and you can't breathe, and regardless of whether this is a dream or not you are suffocating.
You begin to struggle. Everything is dark, and you feel like you are being pressed down. Every movement elicits a pain from within, as your broken dream-body refuses to move properly, as well as from without, as the something that is all around you tries to keep you in its grip.
Still, you eventually manage to break free.
You go up. You go towards the light you can't see. And eventually, you break out of the grainy waterline like a drowning pony who just escaped the grasping waters. Your whole body hurts, everything is heavy, and you are heaving from exhaustion and effort.
But finally, finally, you can see once again.
You really mean it when you say you were drowning. Because as you look around, you can see that… that you just crawled out of a small mountain of ash. A mountain of dirty ash, and mournful dust, that clings to your fur like a needy son. You are literally covered by it, and every last inch of your dream-body is caked in soot.
It isn't just your coat that is covered… your lungs want to cough, and your eyes want to forcefully tear up, and the insides of your ears prickle, and your tongue tastes something sour, and…
And dear heavens… and all around you, everywhere you look as far as your eyes can see… everything is ashes.
Your breath immediately gets stuck in your throat. You don't have words to describe it. You don't know how you could possibly explain what you are feeling right now. Because… because as you look around you, you can see that…
The Woods are gone.
You remember how the Woods looked like. You remember how that sea of trees looked like, from the Crossroads, and how they felt like an endless and forbidding wall that surrounded the Mansus. The first true trial a pony would face during the Climb. The first taste an aspirant would truly have, of a place that was dominated by the Lores.
You also remember how the Woods looked like from above. You recall how that endless ocean of treetops, with their swaying leaves of grey, seemed to envy you, as you looked down at it. You remember how it felt vast, and endless, and old, and most of all alive, and how you felt that it yearned to trade places with you, so that it could climb towards Glory as well.
You remember how… how every, single, night, for… for the last several months, you would see the Woods every night, every time you dreamed, whenever you made your way towards the Mansus.
So, you can't help but feel a strange sense of vertigo, or perhaps wrongness, as you realize that it is gone.
And instead of the Woods, you are now surrounded by ash. You are surrounded by hills and mountains of ash. By valleys and paths that seem to resemble some twisted attempt at topography. Everywhere you look, you see nothing but the dusty remains of cremated trees. Everywhere you look, you see nothing but the mocking carcass of what was once the Woods.
You wish you could tell how far this place goes. You wish you could say that… that maybe the damage is contained, or maybe this only affected a part of the Woods, or maybe the fires are still raging somewhere, and there is still a chance for this to be stopped.
But unfortunately, you can't even tell that much. Because everywhere you look, your vision is eventually blocked by another mountain of ash. Some of them are as low as hills, and are relatively close. Other are as tall as mountains, and you think they might reach as high as the Mansus that floats above you.
However, the one thing you can tell for certain is that… well, that this is what ponykind will have to face from now on. This is what awaits every dream adept, instead of the Woods, if they wish to Climb. This gargantuan, twisting desert of ash, with its winding mountains and treacherous valleys.
And for some reason, although you have no idea why, you feel like this is somehow worse than the Woods. You have no idea why you are thinking this. To be honest, you are simply too exhausted, and your dream-body is too hurt, for you to properly understand why. Still, you can't help but feel this way.
Although, now that you think about it, you realize that…
…
You realize you can also feel something else.
…
No, you literally feel something. You are sure of it. This is not just some stray thought that came to your mind, this is not some trick that your tired brain is pulling on you. You can definitely feel something, and that sensation is coming from somewhere nearby.
And now that you think about it, you also realize you have no idea how to leave this place. You have no idea how to leave, and you have no idea how to Wake.
So, you decide to follow this strange sensation.
Hopefully, it will take you somewhere… better.
Although, you can't help but think that anywhere would be better than this place. So, on second thought, you just feel that this sensation will take you somewhere else.
- - -
It didn't take long for you to find it.
In fact, it only took you a few minutes. Or rather, given how time works differently here, you figure that it only took you a short while to get here.
You could have arrived here a little faster, if you really wanted to. However, you decided to take the longer way. You decided to walk around the hills, rather than climb them. And you did that for two reasons. One, because your legs are simply too tired for you to climb anything. And two… well, you don't really want to go anywhere that might give you a vantage point.
You don't really want to… confirm, with your own eyes, how far the fires truly reached.
After all, even though something inside of you tells you that the fires reached everything, and that the Woods are entirely gone, you don't… really… want to…
Well, you made your way around the hills, and you took the long way.
But again, you finally got here.
You feel a small wave of relief as you make your way around the last hill, and your eyes finally see something familiar.
In fact, you feel more than just relief. You actually feel a little glad. Because you aren't just looking at a familiar thing, you also realize that you are looking at a familiar pony.
Because the thing that you felt, that pulsing sensation that swept over you like a patient lighthouse, was nopony other than Baldomare herself.
And not just that, the Name-mare is completely untouched by the filthy ashes because she is sitting upon Mansus-stone. Baldomare, you realize, is sitting on the steps of the first staircase. She is sitting on that impossibly tall set of stairs that would take a pony from the Woods towards the Mansus.
She is, quite literally, waiting at the end of the first trial an adept would ever face.
And of course, she seems entirely unsurprised as she turns her face to look at you.
Several things come to your mind at the same time. After all, you can't help but realize this is the first time you are actually looking at Baldomare in the Mansus. That is, looking at her without the mind-dulling fog of the Blank Plains covering your senses. And you feel your mind freezing for a moment as you realize how bright she is, and how transparent your thoughts are to her.
You also realize that her expression is not judgmental, but that you can't feel any warmth from her either. Because she looked at you, just now, and apparently she saw everything she needed to see. After that, she does not give you any more attention than she is giving to the surrounding scenery.
And realizing that doesn't make you feel good. But it also doesn't make you feel bad either. It is not that she resents you, or that she is judging you. She just doesn't care.She already understands everything so there is no need for her to pay attention to you anymore.
She doesn't hate you, you know that for sure. She doesn't hate you, even though she knows far more than you do, and even though she can see everything around you with a clarity that you will never be able to understand. Despite all that, she still doesn't hate you.
And yet, she doesn't love you either.
Which does make you feel a little… lonely. Because you felt relieved when you saw her familiar face. But now, well, you don't feel as relieved as you felt before.
Still, you have nowhere else to go but towards her. Because you don't want to wander in this miserable desert of ash anymore. And you know how to Wake from the Blank Plains.
So, you make your way towards Baldomare, and the stairs.
And you practically collapse in front of her, just as you were about to reach the steps of Mansus-stone.
Your legs are too heavy, and you are too hurt and tired to continue. So, you fall down on the filthy ash, a few steps away from Baldomare. Heaving as you try to catch your breath.
After a few moments, you feel her gaze fall upon you once more. And you swear you can hear the sound of glass, or perhaps of horseshoes made out of glass, as she climbs down a few more steps towards you.
Still, she doesn't do anything else. She certainly doesn't move to touch you, or perhaps pick you up. And you don't really blame her for that.
Because you know that you are filthy. You know that the ashes that cover you are more than just dirty. And despite your exhaustion, you can understand why she doesn't try to get any closer to you than she already is.
However, she does reach out to you in… another way.
After all, she is a Name of Lantern, a pony made out of light and knowledge. So, even though she refuses to touch your body, you can still feel the consoling hoof she is placing on your shoulder when she reaches out to you with her voice.
"I always hated the Woods."
That is the first thing she tells you. Those are the first words that reach you. And her tone is so clear that it doesn't even hurt to understand her words.
In fact, there is something about her words that… you can't really explain it, but nothing about her words hurt.
Because everything else hurts. Everything else hurts so much that you almost couldn't notice it anymore. Moving hurts. Looking around you hurts. Thinking hurts.
But Baldomare's words, for some reason, don't hurt at all. As if your mind was a fragmented cluster of islands, but her words were forming bridges between them. As if your thoughts were the sharp remains of a shattered window, and her words were like glue that was patiently putting them back together.
Oh… oh heavens… it's not just that. Because now that you found something that doesn't hurt, now that you found this tiny oasis of sanity in the shape of her words… now you can see how truly broken you are.
You know none of this is real. You know this is just a dream, and that the thing you are looking at is just your dream body.
However… well, you are not doing well. Your dream-body, or perhaps your mind, or perhaps your soul… This vessel that you inhabit while in the Mansus is… definitely not well.
It is a small miracle that you managed to drag yourself here, you think.
Or maybe, you never really had a choice.
Still, there you can't get up anymore. Not yet. Not in this state. So, there is nothing you can do but wait as… well, as Baldomare shares her thoughts with you.
You can do nothing but wait, and hope, that her thoughts are enough to mend the damage you can now see.
"I always hated the Woods, and I think it was mutual. But it only makes sense, I suppose. I wanted to understand everything, and the Woods… well, its nature was to understand nothing at all, wasn't it?"
You stink. Your sense of smell returns to you, or perhaps if repaired, and you finally realize how much you stink.
It's the ash, you know. It's all this dust that infiltrated you all the way to the depths of your lungs. It stinks of sulfur, and of rot, and of the cremated bodies of all the things that once inhabited the Woods.
It stinks, and it is covering you from tail to snout.
And you hate it.
"However, for all that I hated the Woods, I never really resented it. After all, as the old saying went, in the forests of the first continent, our ancestors cursed themselves with their own god… Tell me, Velvet, do you know what that means? Or rather, do you know what that meant?"
Something inside of you snaps back into place, and you realize you can move your neck once again.
No, that's not exactly it. You could move before, and you certainly moved when you… made your way here. However, something just happened, and you can now move your neck in a way that isn't wrong.
So, despite your body's protests, you slowly move your face towards Baldomare, so you can at least face her as she speaks.
After all, she just asked you a question. You wouldn't be able to answer it even if you tried, of course. But still…
Well, you don't want to stay face-down, looking at all this dirty ash.
"You don't? Well, I am not surprised. It's a bit of an old saying, I suppose. And the meaning behind it is… well, I suppose it's a bit like being able to speak Vak nowadays. But I think I can explain it to you. So let me see… Ah, I know. Velvet, do you happen to know what an appendix is?"
Something else snaps inside of you, close to your stomach, but this time it is met by a sharpstab of resistance. And you don't feel like you regained anything that you lost. So, you stay where you are.
Although you try to at least tilt your head. To show her that you don't understand what she is asking, if nothing else.
Because an appendix… isn't that… isn't that a part of a book? You remember that word, from when you were… back in college, maybe?
It feels like a lifetime ago.
Still, maybe she can see it in your expression, or maybe she caught it from your fragmented thoughts. But you watch as Baldomare shakes her head in response.
"No, no, that's not it. Well, I figured you wouldn't know. You see, there are some animals… mostly omnivores, who veered too much into a diet of flesh and forgot how to eat certain plants. But still, some of those animals have this organ called an appendix. It is a… shriveled and useless cecum. An organ that is as good as a memory, or a dusty heirloom, that they still carry within them nonetheless."
To your surprise, you watch as Baldomare chuckles. As if she had just remembered a joke of sorts.
And her words, together with all her implications, cause a few more connections to form in your head. You think you can understand what she is saying a bit better.
But that only makes the biting responses, that come from the corners of your mind, more painful.
"It sounds funny, doesn't it? That a creature can have an organ that serves no purpose? Well, I've known a few ponies with brains that could be described that way. But still, that is not what I want to say."
She says that, and then she looks around her.
However, to your surprise, she doesn't have a neutral expression, as she gazes upon the endless fields of ash. She doesn't have a neutral expression, and she doesn't look disgusted either. Instead, her expression is almost nostalgic.
As if she could see something that you no longer can, all around you. As if the memories she has of the now-gone Woods are, somehow, even stronger than your own.
Well, it would be folly for you to say otherwise. After all, she has already explored more of the Mansus than you ever will, and has already reached higher than you ever could. So, for all that she said she hated the Woods… well, you have already learned that rivalry can also give way to companionship.
"So, to put it simply, that is what the Woods are, Velvet… well, actually, it is more accurate to say that is what the Woods were. Because long, long ago, they served an important function. Long ago, they were the bounds around the Mansus. That strange, not-place between the Wake and the house of the Sun. After all, back then, you could see the Mansus in the distant horizon, even while awake. And back then, the Woods could be reached by hoof as much as they could be braved in dreams."
Another snap, another jolt, and you feel that your front legs won't crumble into dust if you try to move them again.
So, you try to sit up. You try to raise yourself towards a posture that is less pathetic.
Even if only so you can look at Baldomare's expression better.
Because her expression is not neutral.
But it is also no longer nostalgic.
"But the Woods were more than just that, Velvet. They were more than just some distant boundary… Before that time, before even my time… the Woods were real. They were the forests of the first continent, when our kind was little more than animals. They were made of vibrant colors, under a glorious sun. And they became this dark, forbidding and shadowy place… when we made them that way."
You finally manage to sit up, somewhat. You finally manage to look at Baldomare with eyes that are less fogged and dull with pain.
And as you finally manage to piece together what she just told you, your expression is nothing but confused.
"In the forests of the first continent, our ancestors cursed themselves with their own god. But what is a god, Velvet? All Hours are gods, but not all gods are Hours. And a god, in truth, is a way to explain the world. A god, Velvet, is the name that we give to the things we don't understand, so that they might make sense. Something to explain why the rain falls, or why the harvest grows, or why thunder crashes during a storm."
She says that, Baldomare says those words, and as you think of the saying she mentioned… something inside of you clicks.
Something inside of you clicks, and you think you understand what she is telling you.
"When we lived in the Woods as simple, primitive denizens, the Woods were bright and welcoming because we did not fear it. We did not understand enough to fear it. But when we cursed ourselves with our own gods… when we started trying to understand things. That is when we stepped up from mere sentience to true sapience. And that is also when the Woods changed. Because the world belongs to Ponykind, Velvet. Never doubt that. So, when we… when stopped embracing the unknown, and finally began to fear it, that is when the unknown world stopped being bright and welcoming, and when it became dark and foreboding. That… was when the Woods became as we knew it."
Her words, you can tell, are sewing back together the torn patchwork that is your mind. And given her nature, Baldomare can't help but make you understand what she means, as she touches you with her mind.
So, you understand what she means. You understand the meaning behind her words.
Because from what she just told you, the Woods… well, the Woods were always there. But in that distant, faraway Era that preceded even hers, the Woods were different. The Woods were different because ponies were different. And the world was as simple and as welcoming as your kind thought it was.
However, when ponies finally understood enough to… to understand the very concept of the unknown, then the Woods changed. The unknown world around them became a threat. The shadows of the night became the potential lair of predators, and the things that ponies did not understand became a cause for fear rather than astonished wonder.
So, when ponies finally learned to be afraid of the dark, the Woods came to embody exactly that. And everything that was unknown, everything that did not yet have a name or a form, became a denizen of the Woods.
And that is why… the nature of the Woods, and the nature of Moth, is to understand nothing. Because once something is understood, once something is known and named, it steps out of the unknown. Once something becomes known, it steps out of the Woods.
"So, like I said, I never really resented the Woods. Because even though I hated it, it was still a part of us. It was a part of our world. Of our very history as a species. Because when Ponykind became afraid of the dark, that wasn't something that crippled our ancestors. In fact, the opposite happened. Our fear of the dark was what gave us the drive to fight against it. It motivated ponies to name things so we could understand them. It inspired us to master the flames, and everything that came after. It is written in the very Lores, Velvet. The unknown of Moth is tamed by the knowledge of Lantern. The light of Lantern inspires us towards the creations of Forge. Ignorance, which becomes knowledge, which becomes innovation. And so on."
Baldomare says that, and you think that… you think you finally understand.
You think you understand where she is going. You think you understand what the purpose of the Woods is… or what it was.
And for a moment, you are filled with revulsion over what you did. Well, right now your mind is filled with negative things, but for a moment the feeling of revulsion comes to the fore.
However, you can't help but remember something else Baldomare said. Because despite everything she just told you, she also mentioned that the Woods were like… an old organ. Something that was still there, but that was no longer needed.
Although, for all that you think you just remembered that, maybe it was Baldomare who guided your thoughts there. The same way she is now closing the last few gaping holes in your mind, or perhaps in your soul.
And maybe as if to confirm your suspicions, the Name-mare gives you a small nod before she says her next words.
"So, you must be wondering… what did we lose today? How will this impact the world? Well… I don't think this will impact the Wake at all, Velvet. This place… it was an appendix. An old and shriveled thing that we, as a species, outgrew Eras ago. Something we had little need for, even in my time. In fact, I think the only thing that will change is that, from now on, no foal will ever be afraid of the dark again."
You hear that, and you feel a sigh of relief forming inside your parched, dust coated throat.
However, before you can express any kind of comfort towards her words, Baldomare raises a hoof to stop you.
And whatever expression she had on her face once again turns neutral.
Because, as she finishes fixing the harm you did to yourself, you are suddenly reminded of something else about Baldomare.
So, for all that good Baldomare was considerate towards you, and for all that she told you the things she knew you needed to hear… You also understand that she is bound to tell you everything else.
Because Baldomare is, above all else, a creature made out of knowledge.
And knowledge is never kind.
"Or that is what I would say, if the Woods had turned into dust all by themselves thanks to nothing but the passage of time. But that's not what happened, was it? Of course it wasn't. After all… you brought the Wolf into this."
She says that, and you begin to hear something.
You begin to hear something, coming from somewhere behind you.
There is something coming your way. Something that you wouldn't be able to see even if you were to turn around and look for it.
Something that is leaving pawprints on the dirty ash, as it stalks and then treks and then rushes towards you.
"So, one final question for you, Velvet. One that I think you already know the answer to, but that I won't tell you just in case. Ever since we became a civilization, we had a spark inside of us. A will to create, and invent, and grow, which was motivated by our fear of the dark. We mastered the light of progress, so to speak, to fight the darkness of the Woods. Don't worry, Velvet, your actions today did not snuff out that light. But… if the light of Ponykind is no longer pushing back against the darkness of the Woods… then what fear exactly will the light of progress be fighting against? What sort of fear will fill the mind of our scientists? What nightmares will curse our inventors, to shake them out of their beds and towards their workshops?"
It is getting closer.
You want to move. You need to move. But your legs might as well be made of lead right now, and now that Baldomare let go of your bruised mind, your very thoughts feel sluggish.
And it is getting closer.
You want to speak up. To scream. To ask or beg for her help, even though you know she will not do anything. Because even if you were able to lift a single foreleg right now, you know she would never touch your filthy, ash-covered hoof to pull you towards safety.
Perhaps, because she knows you are not truly in danger.
Even though you both know it will hurt anyways.
"Well, it won't be the gentle darkness that will spur us onwards. Not anymore. But… what do you think will take its place? And why do you think that, whatever it is, it will have oh so many teeth?"
You make one final, desperate effort to move towards the safety of the Mansus-stone. But the only thing your exhausted body manages to do is trip forward, falling face-first into the bitter ash.
And the last thing you see is the answer to Baldomare's question as it jumps towards you wi-
- - -
You are drowning.
That is the first thing you realize. You are drowning. You are literally drowning in cold water, and there is a pair of hoofs holding you by the shoulders, keeping your body under the waterline.
You are not entirely sure of what happens next. For a moment, your horn is flaring up, you are screaming and kicking, and after a few moments you heave yourself out of the water.
Your thoughts are all over the places. Because even though none of it was real, the memories of everything that just happened are still fresh in your mind. With all the pain and the bitterness and the agonyandthefilthandtheashand-
"Mrs. Velvet! It's alright! Everything is alright, so please calm down!"
But suddenly, all those thoughts come to a halt, and you feel a familiar pair of forelegs surrounding you. For a fraction of a moment, you think you are being attacked. But only until another part of your mind, one that holds a greater sway over you, takes over and tells you that you know this feeling.
You are being hugged. You are being hugged by a pony that you love.
And slowly, terribly slowly, everything begins to fall back into place.
The first thing that comes back to your is your sense of touch. Because if that hug was the first thing you noticed, then the things around that hug came next. So, you realize that you are heaving in panic, but only because those forelegs are wrapped around your chest. Then, you realize you are shaking and crying, but only because her face is pressed against yours.
And then you realize that… that you are cold, and that you are wet, and that you are tired…
But you also realize that you are not in pain.
"Shh, shh, that's it, Mrs. Velvet, everything is alright… I promise…"
Yes, you are not in pain… You can see more than just red and black, and you are not covered in viscous fire, and you are not in the aftermath of something you will regret for the rest of your life.
None of that matters right now.
All that matters is that you are here, and that she is here with you.
"S-soft…?" you say, your words coming out in a wet croak. But you can't say anything else, because soon after your sobs catch up to you, and your lungs seize as even more tears begin to fall from your eyes.
"Yes, I'm here, you're fine, everything is fine," she says.
You are too confused to even register that her voice is actually relieved. You are too dazed to even notice that she sounds scared, and that she clearly had no idea of what she was doing until now. But that she is thankful that it worked, nonetheless.
You are too… your thoughts are… your mind is still reeling too much for you to think about any of that. So, instead, you just raise your shaking forelegs and hug her back.
It takes you a few moments, maybe even a full minute, to realize that your hoofs are… covered in wet ash. It takes you even longer to realize that you are, well, inside the bathroom of the guest room where you barricaded yourself, and that the bathtub right next to you is half-full of steaming water, and covered in ashes.
And it takes you even longer for you to calm down, and for Soft Sweeps to finally tell you that… well, she doesn't tell you why she came here, or how she found you. But she tells you that she found you covered in steaming ash, and that it was all she could do to try and help you. Neither of you got hurt or burned, somehow, but she still tells you that the water turned into steam the moment it touched you, and that you evaporated more than half of the cold bathtub before you finally began to show signs of conscience.
…
In the end, you decide not to dwell on it.
You are safe, now. Your daughter helped you, or maybe even saved you. And for all that neither of you understand exactly what just happened, you are both glad that you are safe.
And given everything that just happened, you think that is the best you could possibly ask for.
So, you go back to her room, the two of you spend hours washing away the burning smell from your body, and you get ready just in time for the morning of the coming wedding.
And in the end, after you are over the shock, you realize that… that nopony noticed anything at all. Your husband did not suspect anything, no guards noticed your movements, and even Rarity couldn't smell a single whiff of burning ash about you.
The only ponies who will ever know what happened will be you and one of your daughters.
The rest of Ponykind will only ever be able to… suspect.
But that is a price you are willing to pay.
And more importantly, right now you have a friend to marry.
A Royal Wedding, filled with Love and untainted by any evil, to follow.
Did I just find this 1 min after being posted? Yes I did.
Looks like we got our wolf due after all. I was waiting for this chapter to drop to see how bad bringing the wolf in will make the world and I wasn't disappointed. The wolf at the end of the day is the easy way out. We see a situation we don't want to deal with and how simple the wolf would make dealing with it.
Let's just hope there is a way to fix this once we reach the Glory.
In a better History, where you had a teenage Selene, and you took her to a more reasonable Celestia, I can certainly see Velvet (as Alastor) and Celestia (as Lucifer) having a fight-out over Selene (as Charlie) like this:
Sounds fake, Velvet is too good of a Moth-er to be so insensitive. She might think it, I'll grant, but as someone who has actually had multiple sets of parents it's really fucking shitty when said parents act like that.
"Well, it won't be the gentle darkness that will spur us onwards. Not anymore. But… what do you think will take its place? And why do you think that, whatever it is, it will have oh so many teeth?"
We fear the dark because it is the unknown. Because even if, in reality, there is nothing bad there, we don't know for sure, and our imaginations too often run wild with what might be.
Ponies don't need to fear the dark anymore, because they know what is in it. And they're far too busy being afraid of that.
Honestly, this feels almost like a natural progression to the various tragedies that have occured. Ponies have seen what their world hides, and will now fight that, instead of unknown, imagined dangers.
Fitting, given the changelings. Which I suppose is how this works. How this always works. It's going to be hard to say, even, if what we did in the woods was the cause, or if it was merely the effect, and the cause happened when the Changelings attacked.
Fitting, given the changelings. Which I suppose is how this works. How this always works. It's going to be hard to say, even, if what we did in the woods was the cause, or if it was merely the effect, and the cause happened when the Changelings attacked.
What a caring Mother and doting younger brother Velvet and ASH are, making sure ponies will be able to fully appreciate Selene's night sky without fear of the dark. What a great early rebirthday gift!
We fear the dark because it is the unknown. Because even if, in reality, there is nothing bad there, we don't know for sure, and our imaginations too often run wild with what might be.
Ponies don't need to fear the dark anymore, because they know what is in it. And they're far too busy being afraid of that.
This update went through a few iterations. Mostly because Baldomare was being too verbose (more verbose than she was in this final version, even). Because even though I tried my best to explain this concept, I realize a few people might not catch it, and it's my job as a writer to minimize that number of people.
However, what you said here was part of my drafts. It is very much this idea that I tried to convey. That before, ponies were afraid of the dark because of the unknown, but now they are afraid of the dark because of what they know is there.
So aye, thank you kindly for pointing it out with those words. That is indeed what I had in mind, and I am glad you voiced it.
Thank you kindly! But given how that segment was joinedwordstoinvokeafeelingofpanic, the mismatched coloring in the middle of a word was intentional, to add to a feeling of progressing panic.
Still, thank you for mentioning it! I am very much not immune to making mistakes.
The personal aftermath reminds me a lot of the shattering of the door. But perhaps easier, a little. And I wonder if it'll continue to get easier with each further stain.
Hmmm... I've been wondering about this, a little. How bizarre, when ponies aren't at all the dominant race on the planet in the way humans are. How peculiar, when as Starlit Horizon noticed we don't have the same level of evidence for the Lithomachy.
An interesting thing for Baldomare to have reiterated.
What sort of fear will fill the mind of our scientists? What nightmares will curse our inventors, to shake them out of their beds and towards their workshops?
I'm reminded that Eclipse is going to become an interesting place, sooner rather than later. Would really like to use our Director social there next turn.
Man, it is nice that Softy is who she is. Every tidbit we get of her makes me more curious what Softy!Quest would be like. (Hoping we never find out? )
The personal aftermath reminds me a lot of the shattering of the door. But perhaps easier, a little. And I wonder if it'll continue to get easier with each further stain.
This is one of my favourite lines from CS. Love your interpretation here, Bird.
Does Baldomare hold the Lantern Heirloom?
Hmmm... I've been wondering about this, a little. How bizarre, when ponies aren't at all the dominant race on the planet in the way humans are. How peculiar, when as Starlit Horizon noticed we don't have the same level of evidence for the Lithomachy.
An interesting thing for Baldomare to have reiterated.
I'm reminded that Eclipse is going to become an interesting place, sooner rather than later. Would really like to use our Director social there next turn.
Man, it is nice that Softy is who she is. Every tidbit we get of her makes me more curious what Softy!Quest would be like. (Hoping we never find out? )
The personal aftermath reminds me a lot of the shattering of the door. But perhaps easier, a little. And I wonder if it'll continue to get easier with each further stain.
Consider the following: I have seven, and precisely seven, Regrettable Actions to "transform" the world into however the Mother of Wolves is supposed to be, if you ever go for it. (Or six, if you don't count Evil). So I won't say it will get easier, and I won't say that each "fallout" will necessarily be worse than the last. However, I have a fixed number of brushstrokes for this particular painting.
So yeah, I will take great care with each of them, if you guys ever decide to give me more paint
Man it really is crazy sometimes to think that we could have just... Played out the Quest without encountering the Wolf. There are worlds where the dice go different in the shattered stairways, not all that unlikely I imagine, and then there we are.
(There are Velvets where that's true, even! They probably don't think well of us.)
He's just such a fascinating (and IMO awfully compelling, for all senses of the word awfully) part of both the quest as game and the quest as narrative.
You could say the same thing about Selene, I know, but that was the kind of roll the world changes due to. This feels like it could have been a pretty ordinary course of things, we wouldn't even have really known, that just elides such a major piece of both the IC narrative and the OOC experience.
I think it's just impossible for the Lantern Name to speak and not subvert Moth in that speech. I do believe the same thing happened when she was talking about Moth when she subverted and destroyed the Moldywarp's stone.
