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

[DelightedOne]

Velvet being scary under Edge Influence... Check

Velvet losing focus when her family calls... Check

Selene getting a Cutie Mark... wait, what? Does that mean her cover is blown?

The Bureau ponies are really terrified of Velvet and she still doesn't get it, that might cause trouble later on. A bit excessive to get all that information, but when dealing with shapeshifters knowing everyone is the bare minimum.

Oh, she is gonna arrest everyone, that makes more sense.

Now back home we have... What the fuck just happened? Did Velvet in another History really just had a Wolf breakdown over Selene growing up and dying when she knows she is immortal as an Alicorn and will probably have her daughter bury her instead... we really need to get her to face her trauma, that is just ridiculous.

And hey, more proof Soft is not in her Father's business. She is terrified of Wolf cultist Velvet and considering how she started a ritual to kill a child I am too.

Wait, Selene's Cutie Mark is different from Luna's? She choose that? That actually makes sense since Harmony changed Cadance's Cutie Mark, but I'm curious if this is a fabrication or what she would have if she wasn't born an Alicorn.

Yes! Cute-ceañera, yes! An excuse to meet Pinkie Pie, please QM, Selene deserves the best and Pinkie would be perfect for it and she also canonically does Cute-ceañeras.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

And yet, even though you realize there are more than ten strong, competent, and even dangerous mares and stallions sitting in front of the Commissioner, you also know they are all currently cowered… perhaps even suppressed as she speaks those words.

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Ah… that nice reminder that social bonuses don't just come from Grail. Put a bunch of soldiers in a room with someone who could swing +70 combat, and you're gonna get some very interesting reactions.

Must be the one weak spo-… no, she doesn't have those. Must be her one button, that I hope never gets pressed."

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Man, Velvet's reputation getting unfairly inflated is always a meme. It's not even because of the Influence, because they were intimidated long before we got it!

 

[Rafuki22]

Then you just need to do something about that, don't you?

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*Breaths deeply* Ok, would a Winter Sacrament help in keeping this under control or make things worse?

 

[DelightedOne]

The Wolf one would make it worse, the Heart one could help but Elements of Harmony seem to be the only real solution to the problem itself.

 

[Sveta08]

Yes! Cute-ceañera, yes! An excuse to meet Pinkie Pie, please QM, Selene deserves the best and Pinkie would be perfect for it and she also canonically does Cute-ceañeras.

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On one hand, That would be wonderful!

On the other, I do not want to have to have Velvet explain why Pinkie put so many candles on that cake!

Poor Lunar Bureau.
And just after she started to stop stressing them out.

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Also, unfortunately, called it.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

On one hand, That would be wonderful!

On the other, I do not want to have to have Velvet explain why Pinkie put so many candles on that cake!

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Eh, most of the important people know already. Anyone else can just be told it's a private in-joke for the family.

 

[Venerable Ro]

In which The Colonel runs the Bureau for a little while.

Also in which Velvet casually overrides said Hour's influence on a dime because her family is more important than anything, and she has no hesitations or regrets on that matter.

Huh, at the very start of this I thought Raven had had the Wolf-dream, I'd started thinking my way around socializing our primary secretary and everything, suborning our Bureau from the top down and all that eh? Alas, no eldritch enlightenment for Raven just yet, but let us put a pin in that thought no? she'd certainly be a very helpful pony...

 

[Shaper47]

[Velvet Covers has learned the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]

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Yes another way to deal with Copper!

[Velvet Covers has forgotten the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]

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Maybe we should get Baldomare to remind us of it.

*Breaths deeply* Ok, would a Winter Sacrament help in keeping this under control or make things worse?

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Probably help keep it under control if go for Wolf Sacrament. It's like an influence, higher lore in that area means greater control.

 

[Sveta08]

Oh.
And before I forget.
Don't think I didn't notice Trusty Cloud only has one eye.

 

[Rafuki22]

Probably help keep it under control if go for Wolf Sacrament.

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That would be a regrettable action...so i'll take my chances with the normal winter sacrament, or the...which lores subverted winter and edge again?

 

[BritBiscuit]

That would be a regrettable action...so i'll take my chances with the normal winter sacrament, or the...which lores subverted winter and edge again?

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Edge is subverted by Winter and Winter is subverted by Heart

Conflict ends in death, death is defeated by that which refuses to die.

 

[Venerable Ro]

That would be a regrettable action...so i'll take my chances with the normal winter sacrament, or the...which lores subverted winter and edge again?

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Edge is subverted by Winter, and Winter is subverted by Heart. So all we have to do is get a Heart sacrament and locate an appropriately powerful artifact.

Surely that will be easy and there won't be any unexpected problems?

 

[BritBiscuit]

Im going to put an explanation of the subversion of the Lores here for those who may have just joined the quest from QQ and don't know the terms of cult sim.

Spoiler: Subversion Guide Image

Moth (lack of understanding) is consumed by the Lantern's flame (knowledge/understanding), Lantern's oil (Knowledge) is used to fuel the Forge (Creation/destruction), The Forge creates the Edge's blades (Conflict), The Edge brings the Winter to those in the spring of their life (Conflict inevitably causes endings and is ended in turn), The Winter is endured by those whos Heart pumps warm blood through their veins (Endings cannot end that which cannot be ended), The blood of Heart fills the Grail to be sipped upon (Unceasing just means that Unceasing desires become self destructive obsessions), The Grail holds nothing a Moth could want (Desires of a being of confusion cannot be understood or consistent enough to exploit).

(Edit: due to the feedback of Venerable Ro and Pittauro making a good arguement for a different interpretation of Grail to Moth subversion I will put that interpretation in this edit so its all in one post, full credit to them. Drunkeness leads to Confusion.)

Knock is the principle of barriers and the opening of passages, the thresholds that divide and distinguish other lores are broken down by it.

Well I think I put the subversion into easily understood metaphors and rock paper scissors but I may have stretched them a bit and made it confusing, please give feedback on if the info is clear enough.

 

[Greymere]

...you know, I don't really think a Heart/Edge Wolf-Divided would be any less existentially horrifying

I mean, he's already about eternal agony and hate and all that! Surely adding in the Lore of persistence and perpetuity would make this concept better

 

[Pittauro]

reading before bed... I wonder if I'll get esquestria dreams...

And that is because, ever since this week started, the Commissioner has been…



… well, let's go with the word focused. Because you don't truly know the correct way to say it better.

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ah.

That explains it. I was wondering WHY she was reacting like that.

Silly me, forgetting Velvet's Resolution

But still, the fact remains that ever since the week began, the Commissioner has been almost unrecognizable. The kind and gentle mare, who would come to the Secretariat every now and then to ask for something, or to just chat with all of you and the Deputy, is nowhere to be seen. The cautious and patient mare, who would usually ask for everypony's opinion before making a decision, is now gone.

And ever since the news arrived that the investigators caught a whiff of the shapeshifters, she has been focused to the point that she is frightening. Every word out of her mouth an order. Every moment of silence a gathering storm, and every decision final.

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Makes sense. After all, she's not allowed to hesitate at all.

"But the problem is that… well, the mountaineer guild of the city has been awfully protective of their maps and trails. And for all that the mayor of the city isn't causing any problems, he is also refusing to help and…"

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...and we have royal authority, and if they won't help we can just seize their maps or threaten to arrest them for obstruction of justice.

"Is… is the Commissioner going to Blueblood them?" somepony asks, the tension in his voice very clear. He asks that to the room at large, to nopony in particular.

He asks that question because, in all honesty, that is the question in everypony's mind. Even your own.

And of course, nopony answers him.

Nopony answers him because, deep down, everypony thinks this will be worse than it was with the Bluebloods.

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I love how "blueblood" has already become a verb!

"You know, I always thought this kind of thing was easier to do if we had actual ponies going around and asking questions. Do you think we should advise the Commissioner to, I don't know, ask a team of investigators to do this instead?" Memoir asks.

And on one hoof, you agree with her.

But on the other hoof…

"… do you want to go there and tell her that?" you ask.

And the mare quickly goes silent.

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And finally, "priority one" letters are, according to the Commissioner's own words, "stop whatever I am doing and make me read it" letters.

There are only three senders that fall under this priority: Princess Celestia's office, Princess Cadance's office, and…

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presumably her family's?

"But this… think of the long term, ma'am. If we do this to all these ponies, there will be nopony else to run the city. Everypony else will realize that-"

"They will realize what should already be obvious, and what Princess Celestia has already made very clear. To hinder the Bureau is to offend Princess Luna, and there shall be none of that under Equestria's sun."

"… but…"

"Discipline requires victims, Deputy. And why are you standing there doing nothing, Raven Inkwell?"​

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merciless.

That said, she's not wrong.

I mean, Celestia basically gave a very short list of orders, and put a very short list of ponies in charge.

To act against them right now? AFTER BLUEBLOOD?

Foolishness. Fair Trial, Velvet and Cadance are basically unopposable in their roles.

And the only thing you can do is answer the question she just asked you.

No other options come to your mind. No other alternative could even come to you, other than the unthinkable alternative of disobedience.

There is only the Commissioner's word, and her word is final.

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This influence is making for a really entertaining situation, and we haven't even met Comet yet!

"Yes, yes, that. Very well. Do whatever you think is best. And give me a report next week," she says, as she passes by your side and leaves through the open door. "Oh, and Inkwell? Could you have a carriage ready for me? Have it wait on the Royal Castle. One of my daughters just got her cutie mark! So I am going back home right now."

She says that, and then she is gone. Walking down the corridor, with a happy skip on her hoofs, until she disappears down the stairs.

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...uh

that would do it, yeah.

Not even Edge will stop her from partying with her daughters!

"Tartarus if I know, but thank Celestia for this. I could feel my mane turning gray during this last meeting! Deputy, please, in Celestia's own good name give my team a mission so we can leave. I do NOT want to be here for the next report."

"M-mine as well! Send me away as well!"

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please send us to fight criminals and monsters, it's better than dealing with our boss!

Your week so far was… normal? Yes, the last three days you spent working on the Bureau were utterly normal, and you have nothing out of the ordinary to tell about it whatsoever.

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cough cough...

And of course, the fact that it was Selene who "gained" her cutie mark yesterday has its own implications. You know that she, well, can take certain liberties with her filly body. And you realize that, in truth, this was a decision she made rather than the happy realization of a filly.

Of course you know all of that. You are an intelligent mare.

But.

You.

Don't.

Care!



Because your filly just got her cutie mark!

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... well, at least it helps to sell the "Selene is our daughter for real" story?

I kinda expected her to not take SELENE's mark as seriously though.

Because of course, when a foal gets her cutie mark there is one thing that absolutely must happen. It will happen as soon as your husband arrives, but Ponpon can absolutely start organizing it immediately!

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look! Another chance for us to NOT meet Pinkie, I'm sure!

But something inside of you practically freezes as you-

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...last time we got a "not-threadmarked" update in a numbered series, I think it was with Soft's multiple possible picks, where Baldomare got to see all the different Velvets who made different choices in her kind-of-mental-simulation.

I wonder what we'll have here. Maybe a consequence of our SH sacrament-in-progress?

the result of an hesitation that will never happen due to the influence?

But you can barely hear her. You can barely hear anything at all.

The only thing your ears can truly understand right now, is the constant, mocking, almost droning thing that the fillies are saying from behind this door. Over and over again.

"Seleeeene has a boooyfriend! Seleeeene has a boooyfriend!"​

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...

Fucking Worms, Velvet, I was actually worried there

I was expecting them having met Mareinette or something!

Yes, you know what to do next.

It is obvious, isn't it?

More than merely obvious, this is the only logical conclusion that you can reach. That anypony could possibly reach.

After all, your beautiful, precious, growing little filly just got her cutie mark yesterday. So of course she would already have a boyfriend today.

She got her boyfriend today. And tomorrow she will be married. And the day after she will be old. And after that you will be burying her bones in her final place of rest.

That is how the world works, isn't it? That is how time works, right?

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...I was half expecting a "I'll have to kill him" realization, not a mortality speech!

Is this when we realize we want her to become immortal?

...though hey, Velvet, remember, we're talking about 1000+ years old Luna. I'm pretty sure she can live for a looooong time still!

Silky, on the other hand...

Well, if that is the case… if that is how time, and the world, words…

Then you just need to do something about that, don't you?

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[Velvet Covers has learned the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]

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THE FUCK?!

"Do not worry," you say.

After that, you hug her.

And with that, your good little Softy calms down! Like the good filly she is.

Of course, she tries to struggle every now and then, but your hug will keep her safe. Even more so because you don't need your body to hug her, and you are using things that are far more suitable for that!

But still, your precious daughter is crying… hmm… what to do…

Well, what else? You make your way towards her-

"Fear not. All will end soon."

-and you plant a light kiss on her forehead!

She mumbles something under her breath. You can't hear her, because the hug also covers her mouth. But you are sure she is thanking you for being such a good mother!

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...see above.

[Velvet Covers has forgotten the Rite of Apoplectic Hate]

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wait, I wanna see what that does first! BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRD YOU TEASE!!!

-as you...

You...

You shake your head.

What… what were you doing again?

Did… did anything just happen?

Ehh, probably not.

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yep, nothing of any importance whatsoever happened at all!

Did you rub your cheek against her flank a few times? Even if you did, nopony is here to stop you!

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that would sound so weird out of context...

Yes. Your young, innocent daughter still has much to learn.

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very much NOT young.

definitely still innocent and daughter though.

What? What do you mean? Nothing else happened. Nothing at all! You had a boring week at work, and then you came back to your daughters.

If you REALLY think you missed something, maybe go back HERE and manually scroll down. And make sure you turn "Reader Mode" off while doing it.

"But if something is not threadmarked, did it really happen? Probably not. I think not... I hope not."

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Yes! Cute-ceañera, yes! An excuse to meet Pinkie Pie, please QM, Selene deserves the best and Pinkie would be perfect for it and she also canonically does Cute-ceañeras.

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I think you mean another chance to NOT meet Pinkie!

*Breaths deeply* Ok, would a Winter Sacrament help in keeping this under control or make things worse?

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My first guess on making this better is removing the scar, discovering the source of Velvet's mental trauma and suppressed memories, and hope that actually makes a difference.

Admittedly Winter Sacrament MIGHT help... but it's very much a "might", not a "will". It's not yet exactly clear how Sacraments affect Velvet mentally.

Well I think I put the subversion into easily understood metaphores and rock paper scissors but I may have stretched them a bit and made it confusing, please give feedback on if the info is clear enough.

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it's clear enough, though your description of grail into moth doesn't quite convince me, and maybe Knock too, but I don't remember the explanation for that one.

Book of Hours apparently introduces new principles too (and for some reason actually sort of removes/replaces SH from the official list), so I suppose the subversion would become more complex there, but that's irrelevant to this quest.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Well I think I put the subversion into easily understood metaphores and rock paper scissors but I may have stretched them a bit and made it confusing, please give feedback on if the info is clear enough.

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Perhaps it might be slightly more accurate to say that "drunkenness leads to confusion"?

 

[BritBiscuit]

...you know, I don't really think a Heart/Edge Wolf-Divided would be any less existentially horrifying

I mean, he's already about eternal agony and hate and all that! Surely adding in the Lore of persistence and perpetuity would make this concept better

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To be fair to change its Lore is to fundamentaly change its being.
To get rid of its Winter would probably make it no longer desire death for itself and others, a Heart/Edge would possibly be a Hour of persitence. Fighting the pain to stubbornly cling to life rather than its pain making it fight the world to make it all end.

 

[Venerable Ro]

To be fair to change its Lore is to fundamentaly change its being.
To get rid of its Winter would probably make it no longer desire death for itself and others, a Heart/Edge would possibly be a Hour of persitence. Fighting the pain to stubbornly cling to life rather than its pain making it fight the world to make it all end.

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It really is a fascinating topic, even moreso when viewed through its Regrettable warping. Managed to get a whole omake out of it even!

 

[DelightedOne]

...you know, I don't really think a Heart/Edge Wolf-Divided would be any less existentially horrifying

I mean, he's already about eternal agony and hate and all that! Surely adding in the Lore of persistence and perpetuity would make this concept better

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It is also used to heal... and the Wolf is a giant fucking Wound so it could be the perpetually healing wound instead of the continously growing wound, it is better not much but still better.

 

[Quaxotia]

wait, I wanna see what that does first! BIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRD YOU TEASE!!!

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It's dead simple, it's the shotgun toting parent's I just want to talk to him but as a ritual RA

 

[Greymere]

To be fair to change its Lore is to fundamentaly change its being.
To get rid of its Winter would probably make it no longer desire death for itself and others, a Heart/Edge would possibly be a Hour of persitence. Fighting the pain to stubbornly cling to life rather than its pain making it fight the world to make it all end.

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Or, alternatively, it becomes Worms 2.0.

You will suffer. Forever. And the Wolf would make sure that it would never, ever end.

 

[BritBiscuit]

Or, alternatively, it becomes Worms 2.0.

You will suffer. Forever. And the Wolf would make sure that it would never, ever end.

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Actually that brings up a point that idk if its been touched on. Do the Worms have a Lore affinity? I know the Watch-Worms in Cult Sim are Winter 12 but is that just due to them being the dead remnants of a powerful being or the Worms being Winter themselves?
They are from Nowhere and are made from beings feasting and breeding inside the dead Hours, do they have traces of their Hour-Corpse-Parent's affinities where all Worms could have any Lore? Or is it that due to being from Nowhere they are akin to Outsiders and are entirely alien to this universe and have powers entirely seperate from the Mansus' Lores?

 

[Greymere]

Actually that brings up a point that idk if its been touched on. Do the Worms have a Lore affinity? I know the Watch-Worms in Cult Sim are Winter 12 but is that just due to them being the dead remnants of a powerful being or the Worms being Winter themselves.
They are from Nowhere and are made from beings feasting and breeding inside the dead Hours, do they have traces of their Hour-Corpse-Parent's affinities where all Worms could have any Lore? Or is it that due to being from Nowhere they are akin to Outsiders and are entirely alien to this universe and have powers entirely seperate from the Mansus' Lores?

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So I'll preface this by saying I'm mainly talking about the canon SHverse, not quest canon, as I suspect the origin of Worms is quite different here considering the absence of lore from BoH.

I don't think being from Nowhere automatically means you have no affinities. The Gods-From-Nowhere seem to have their own affinities, and iirc somewhere it is mentioned that Moth and Winter are the "closest" to the Worms. Possibly because they're former Carapace Cross that fucked themselves up by hybridizing with dead Hour-flesh. I think, in the games, they're generally associated with Winter when it comes up? But that may just be because Nowhere in general is apparently very Winter-associated.

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

The way you deal with the Wolf is to simply become powerful enough to kill the Wolf. All else is simply irreverent.

 

[Greymere]

The way you deal with the Wolf is to simply become powerful enough to kill the Wolf. All else is simply irreverent.

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Nah, according to BoH, the way you deal with the Wolf is either by locking it up in an imperishable prison or being an incarnated Name (of an unborn Hour) powerful enough to take on the Sun's wound yourself and survive

 

[Calico J]

Velvet Covers, ladies and gentlemen; some parents clean their shotgun when their daughter's boyfriend shows up, she begins the Rite of Apoplectic Hate.

 

[Venerable Ro]

She KNOWS about Selene now, and we're probably going to go clean with her soon about more stuff too. It's hardly unreasonable of us to ask for money needed for "special magic rituals".

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Simple, we invite her to observe as we use the Forge's Redemption ritual to heal our Wound, and let her know that we should be able to heal Shining's horn in the same fashion. That'll get us some funding.

 

[Alan975]

Also in which Velvet casually overrides said Hour's influence on a dime because her family is more important than anything, and she has no hesitations or regrets on that matter.

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I think I get it.
The Blade can not cut that which does not exist.
The it cuts whenever she hesitates, when she doubts her actions or convictions.

But there if there's one word that does not describe Velvets dedication to Family, then it's hesitance.

On that front, she is immune.

Im going to put an explanation of the subversion of the Lores here

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Is it just me? Orare the arrowsin the wrongdirection.

It's accurateto the illustrations, but with everything that is right and holy when it comes to visual communication, those should be turned around.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Edit: Ah yes, would you mind terribly threadmarking that one very helpful post about the proper "canon" color codes for the Lores? It's a bit of a journey to dig back up manually every time I (Or I presume anyone else) want to do something clever.

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(@OurLadyOfWires Yes please — Ideally in the Index category otherwise it'll get drowned out by apocrypha in not long. A lot easier to get it out of a list of 8 and not a list of what will hopefully one day be hundreds!)

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Sure.



Other than that, I didn't see any pings or anything. So, I'll focus on writing what comes next.

Hope you are all doing well! And good night to us all.

 

[spiderhellian]

But as she reads through the letter, line after line, something impossible begins to happen with the Commissioner's expression.

It begins to soften.

The forelegs that were over her desk fall down to the side. The harsh eyes become less judgmental, perhaps even gentler. And as impossible as it might sound, her judging scowl turns neutral. No, it turns into a smile.

You feel like you are looking at a great mountainside, who is currently going through an avalanche. Like you are looking at the snowy top of Mount Canterlot itself, as it gradually thaws out to reveal the lush green of grass.

And the heavy atmosphere of the office, so thick that the ponies in here could barely breath, starts to fade away. Disappearing as if it has almost never been there, like a bad dream or the cold of a foggy morning.

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Damn this was lovely to see after that intense start to the chapter.

Harmony 2, The Colonel 0!

Don't think I didn't notice Trusty Cloud only has one eye.

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You always drop lines like this and I'm so curious what you mean by it!