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

[Kaelor]

At long last, the story continues! The day is finally here!

"TODAY IS THE DAY A PRINCESS GETS MARRIED!"

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Considering the number of unspeakable acts Velvet committed to make sure this wedding happened, we've gone beyond declaration or even decree.

At this point, it's a threat.

 

[jelloloaf]

Making Ponykind happy is tempting, but that doesn't actually provide any tangible benefits.

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While mechanically true, I feel like you're glossing over some narrative implications. We've already had this sort of thing before in the quest; we call ourselves a good person, but when given the opportunity, will we actually make the selfless decision? All of the other choices are purely to our benefit - if we want the moral high ground, helping everyone else instead is the best option.

 

[Greymere]

Alright, I'm going to argue for picking option #2 (Midday Dew) real quick.

Firstly, as I've already mentioned, this seems to be our chance to get an "in" on laundering the Lores in a way that isn't extremely risky, complicated, or both. If Midday Dew "discovers" the Lores, there will (by necessity) be a gap in time between ponies beginning to learn and study the Lores, and Equestria finding out about the Path Through Nightmares. Since, as a reminder, the two-aspect circle was located on the back of the Blank Door, and even if it is written down in a book somewhere in the Canterlot archives... well you still need to know to look for it, and searching that deep into the archives will take time. It also means that Equestria and Celestia will be finding out about the Lores in a way that is (or at least appears to be) entirely disconnected from Velvet. And it's not like Velvet hasn't already shown herself to be able to be subtle about leading ponies into the Lores; hell, we initiated Rarity into Grail basically on accident, and we know... a lot more now.

Secondly, this isn't just (possibly) an opportunity for Velvet to guide Dew into the Lores. This is an opportunity to get Dew in on the Velvet Conspiracy(tm). Which is to say, convince him to help us hide the whole "our Lore levels are way way higher than they should be" thing. After all, we're being explicitly told that he is vulnerable, pliable, and willing to make compromises to keep Equestria safe. If that means keeping quiet on how Commissioner Velvet Covers seems unusually knowledgable on these matters and making excuse for why she seems to be learning so quickly to the point of outpacing everyone else... well, that's really a small price to pay in exchange for the knowledge on how to protect ponykind, isn't it Midday Dew? (says Grail 4 Velvet with an Incarnadescence)

Third, having metaphorical leverage over Dew when he starts to delve into the Lores likely means that we could push him into getting the Bureau involved re: learning the Lores sooner than we would if we followed any of the tentative "plant Lore bait somewhere" plans that have been thrown around so far. After all, even if the Crown begins to study the Lores in earnest, that doesn't help us much (and in fact puts us in more danger) if the Bureau doesn't also get to learn the tasty Lore bits.

Edit: And, just to point out this doesn't just benefit ourselves (re: not dying), it does also benefit Equestria as a whole if Eclipse & the Bureau can get access to the Lores, considering that the cult splinters are still out there, Lore knowledge is going to spread outside of our control regardless and likely result in even more splinters popping up, and that there are still a plethora of big bad threats in Equestria that will show up at some point. The soonest (hypothetically) being Sombra. And Equestria doesn't have a (functional) Elements of Harmony anymore (which is our fault, but still). Plus, getting the Lores into Eclipse and the Bureau is pretty much Step 1 of being able to heal Shining Armor and Twilight's horns.

 

[Calico J]

I'm glad the ceremony went well, just for Cadence's sake.

Personally I would have to agree that a way to introduce Midday to Lore could be really valuable. And the phrase "As he was the very first scientist to be woken up, screaming, by what would later be known as "the innovator's curse"." makes it sound like this will be an ongoing problem.

 

[Shaper47]

[] A self-invited guest

Victory condition help.

[] A disturbed guest

What a good son we have.

 

[BritBiscuit]

While mechanically true, I feel like you're glossing over some narrative implications. We've already had this sort of thing before in the quest; we call ourselves a good person, but when given the opportunity, will we actually make the selfless decision? All of the other choices are purely to our benefit - if we want the moral high ground, helping everyone else instead is the best option.

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Also even on more use oriented views, ponykind having their spirits lifted makes them less scared and makes life safer for everyone including Stormchaser and our Daughters (even if only slightly) because the paranoia and fear about the constant disasters and change in Celestia could make crime more likely and drive more people to seek out safety, possibly in the Cult or offshoots from some more talented adepts that split when the place burnt down or the Inner circle collapsed.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

While mechanically true, I feel like you're glossing over some narrative implications. We've already had this sort of thing before in the quest; we call ourselves a good person, but when given the opportunity, will we actually make the selfless decision? All of the other choices are purely to our benefit - if we want the moral high ground, helping everyone else instead is the best option.

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Honestly, acting like we have the moral high ground is kind of a self-delusion at this point. Making all the other ponies happy is just a band-aid fix at this point. There are too many other problems boiling under the surface for it to last. Choosing that option is effectively choosing Harmony's option--something we royally screwed up after what happened with Twilight. If we really want to fix things, our best option is to reach The Glory as fast as possible. If we linger, that just means something else might come up that will force us to pick another Regrettable action.

There are so many things that can go wrong. Cadance taking our understanding of the lores the wrong way. Our ongoing cult war. Everything about Celestia.

We have a goal, so let's pursue it. We can be nice when possible, but not when it causes us to lose out on an explicit step forward.

 

[The Radiance's Follower]

I think this is objectively the best choice. This may as well be the first of many landmarks that will serve to soften the paranoia caused by a regrettable event.

[] A host of guests

This is also good. We can reach the Glory faster.
[] A self-invited guest

 

[Starlit Horizon]

Well, this is a rather nice day. To be honest, Velvet needed it at least as much as Cadance did.

Never the less, our options. The first one, with Fair Trial is... Nice, but I can't say that it is nice enough. While it is an "in", it is a distinctly impersonal "in", because while Fair Trial is grateful, it isn't really Velvet Covers who has helped her. At best, it is "Commissioner Velvet Covers", at worst, "the Lunar Bureau". Don't get me wrong, it is not bad, and it is an in - with time, it will develop in genuine relationship, but it is just that - nothing more. Hopefully - hopefully - we will get other chances to get an in, even if it will happen slightly later.

The second option is better. Unlike with Fair Trial, Midday does connect with "Velvet Covers", or at worst with a "Loremaster". Like it says, he is pliable and vulnerable, and getting an in with the Eclipse would be rather useful. We wouldn't even need to smuggle the lores, not directly - let him "discover" them. Unlike us, he - hopefully! - doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. He'll be fine with a little more scrutiny.

The third option doesn't seem that appealing to me. Yes, it is directly working to "win", rather than "not to lose", but it doesn't give us anything critical. Yes, it accelerates the timeline, but we do know that Discord is an outsider - the Master called him one back in the beginning of the quest. While it seems appealing, I, frankly speaking, do not consider us to be ready to deal with him yet. Sure, not having to do research is nice, and frees some AP - and we are in permanent AP hell - but it is just that. For now, I think I'll pass this option. For once, it is not just knowledge we need, but power. Possibly power of friendship (aka having your friends punch your enemies in the face), but power still.

The Royal option is really appealing to me, for that simple reason that it does something - even if we don't know how much - about our main problem. Really, consider it: the Cult is dead. The Master is dead. Starry has walked into the dark and not being a problem yet - I don't think we can ignore her, but we don't need to race against her either, not yet. Windy is concerning, we will need to check on him, but there's a limit on how quickly he can recover losses. Copper is a problem, but we are distinctly at advantage against her (we have 3+ Names against her 1, and we have Alicorns to give us implicit protection). Our biggest problem is not getting vaporised by the Angry Sun Horse, really. Also, well. This is from SV:

SNIP
We have Cadance's wedding, the Bureau, and you were about to be introduced to your little "arm's race" with Celestia.
I mean, you want to expose her to the Lores, but as her Lantern grows she will inevitably notice that you are very deep in the Lores. How is that not a recipe to disaster?
Wait, no, stop. This is all near-future spoiler. I shouldn't blab about this if I'm not writing about it.
SNIP

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Doing something to defuse it, or even possibly move a little towards defusing it is the most prudent course of action, I think. While winning is crucial, so is not losing (even if we shouldn't overdo it). Plus, it seems it does something else for Cadance, and that is even better. She and Luna will be our primary defenders, it seems.

Finally, option number 5. It's fine, I guess? But I think even partial success is good enough - the wedding should help even if we don't choose this option, both at calming the ponies and calming Cadance. So, it's fine, but pass - I don't think we should overcommit. We have way too many problems for that.

 

[Venerable Ro]

Making Ponykind happy is tempting, but that doesn't actually provide any tangible benefits.

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On the contrary, it provides immense benefit by advancing Cadance in a lore that we can't quite approach, namely her Harmonic domain of Love which we were detecting faint traces of throughout the wedding. We've invested a lot of time and effort into getting as far into her good graces as we could feasibly or even unfeasibly hope to, time to start building on that foundation. Alicorns embody their principles, and hypothetically, may wax and wane with those principles as they're expressed in the world. Therefore, a surfeit of love can only be to Cadance's benefit, and right now her benefit is ours.

 

[BritBiscuit]

Well, this is a rather nice day. To be honest, Velvet needed it at least as much as Cadance did.

Never the less, our options. The first one, with Fair Trial is... Nice, but I can't say that it is nice enough. While it is an "in", it is a distinctly impersonal "in", because while Fair Trial is grateful, it isn't really Velvet Covers who has helped her. At best, it is "Commissioner Velvet Covers", at worst, "the Lunar Bureau". Don't get me wrong, it is not bad, and it is an in - with time, it will develop in genuine relationship, but it is just that - nothing more. Hopefully - hopefully - we will get other chances to get an in, even if it will happen slightly later.

The second option is better. Unlike with Fair Trial, Midday does connect with "Velvet Covers", or at worst with a "Loremaster". Like it says, he is pliable and vulnerable, and getting an in with the Eclipse would be rather useful. We wouldn't even need to smuggle the lores, not directly - let him "discover" them. Unlike us, he - hopefully! - doesn't have any skeletons in his closet. He'll be fine with a little more scrutiny.

The third option doesn't seem that appealing to me. Yes, it is directly working to "win", rather than "not to lose", but it doesn't give us anything critical. Yes, it accelerates the timeline, but we do know that Discord is an outsider - the Master called him one back in the beginning of the quest. While it seems appealing, I, frankly speaking, do not consider us to be ready to deal with him yet. Sure, not having to do research is nice, and frees some AP - and we are in permanent AP hell - but it is just that. For now, I think I'll pass this option. For once, it is not just knowledge we need, but power. Possibly power of friendship (aka having your friends punch your enemies in the face), but power still.

The Royal option is really appealing to me, for that simple reason that it does something - even if we don't know how much - about our main problem. Really, consider it: the Cult is dead. The Master is dead. Starry has walked into the dark and not being a problem yet - I don't think we can ignore her, but we don't need to race against her either, not yet. Windy is concerning, we will need to check on him, but there's a limit on how quickly he can recover losses. Copper is a problem, we are distinctly at advantage against her (we have 3+ Names against her 1, and we have Alicorns to give us implicit protection). Our biggest problem is not getting vaporised by the Angry Sun Horse, really. Also, well. This is from SV:

Doing something to defuse it, or even possibly move a little towards defusing it is the most prudent course of action, I think. While winning is crucial, so is not losing (even if we shouldn't overdo it). Plus, it seems it does something else for Cadance, and that is even better. She and Luna will be our primary defenders, it seems.

Finally, option number 5. It's fine, I guess? But I think even partial success is good enough - the wedding should help even if we don't choose this option, both at calming the ponies and calming Cadance. So, it's fine, but pass - I don't think we should overcommit. We have way too many problems for that.

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This is all kinda my thoughts exactly, to further expand on the Royal option, Celestia gets a day or even just an hour where she can see someone who she has a good enough relationship with to trust with major things (and also in has in the past called her Auntie of all things so close bond there) fufil a major life/relationship goal of theirs and just have something to take her mind of Luna and those damned bugs for a bit. It also helps Candance feel like Celestia still cares about her even in her current state and considering we are good friends she might even invite us into her room (after the honeymoon of course) to show off to a friend what Auntie Celestia got her.

 

[Starlit Horizon]

Also, on unrelated note. I don't believe it was noted yet:

-Learn how to summon Flourishing Risen and Torn Risen from dead bodies;

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It seems like we do lose our Moth/Winter Risen. It's not like we used it a lot, and it would become only more inconvenient, but still.

Kind of expected, but still.

 

[BritBiscuit]

Just do the really sensible and not at all totally insane dangerous thing of replacing the roots in the Flourishing Risen with Wolves or ash/blood for a spicy new zombie type. (Althought that might just be Soft Sweeps).

 

[Venerable Ro]

This is all kinda my thoughts exactly, to further expand on the Royal option, Celestia gets a day or even just an hour where she can see someone who she has a good enough relationship with to trust with major things (and also in has in the past called her Auntie of all things so close bond there) fufil a major life/relationship goal of theirs and just have something to take her mind of Luna and those damned bugs for a bit. It also helps Candance feel like Celestia still cares about her even in her current state and considering we are good friends she might even invite us into her room (after the honeymoon of course) to show off to a friend what Auntie Celestia got her.

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True, but it's also stated that she only turned up long enough to hand over the box, and she wasn't very expressive. If she actually stayed to enjoy herself or spend some time with Cadance it'd be different, but I don't feel like this is a strong enough argument considering what we see. I do wish to remind all and sundry that Luna's return is quite imminent, for better or for worse Celestia is soon to have her sister back anyway so I don't think she needs a distraction with, what, 18-something hours left on the clock?

Not to belabor the point, but I also note that when Luna comes back (assuming she remembers us fondly, which I should certainly hope she does) then the conversation will almost certainly be a three way debate between Celestia, Luna, and Cadance over possible responses. I'd really like Cadance to be at her highest possible apex to deal with Celestia in that moment, because it's a conversation that we won't be able to directly influence but Cadance will. Perhaps the alicorn of Love will be a good influence?

 

[BritBiscuit]

True, but it's also stated that she only turned up long enough to hand over the box, and she wasn't very expressive. If she actually stayed to enjoy herself or spend some time with Cadance it'd be different, but I don't feel like this is a strong enough argument considering what we see. I do wish to remind all and sundry that Luna's return is quite imminent, for better or for worse Celestia is soon to have her sister back anyway so I don't think she needs a distraction with, what, 18-something hours left on the clock?

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Even if she didn't seem to enjoy it, it is pretty important for people under great stress and emotional anguish to have some semblance of normalicy and departure from being left to stew in negative thoughts, even her showing up at all is an important sign that she is Trying, sometimes in therapy or even life in general reaching out to others even if it hurts or seems to not improve things is an important step (especially if you are a walking nuke).

Edit: also for the second point disarming Celestia so that the debate even happens is important cuz if shes angry enough we get wiped of the planet without anyone having time to react and calm her down.

 

[angelsadvocate666]

I'll note that Baldomare's reveal isn't just about Discord being an Outsider or an anchor in Histories, or whatever. It's that he is there, in Canterlot. That he is still around, and that, presumably, Celestia knows where he is, since he was in her gardens once. He is also within relatively easy reach. We won't have to go to the ends of the earth looking for an Outsider, and is probably still incapacitated, but might not be for long. Which means we won't have to fight him, if we get to him fast enough.

And we've been warned that aiming for Glory as fast as possible is pretty dang important.

Not that I'm saying it's definitely the best option. Personally I kinda prefer getting that in with Midday Dew. But it's something to note.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

For me the options are Sun Horse or Love Horse. Sun Horse because anything that might inject even a sliver of positivity into her head is a godsend for the turn Luna miraculously returns. Anything to bring her guard down just a little to reduce the sudden UNBRIDLED SCRUTINY OF THE SUN.

Love Horse because we've kiiiiiiiiiiiiiiind of been punching ponykind repeatedly in the face, they really need a breather. And we can always use more supernatural oomph pouring into our dearest friends, but that is a crass motivation that no one needs to dwell on too much.

 

[spiderhellian]

Also considering Discord was moved only recently in the update we found out about him, do you guys think that when Celestia went out to search for Luna she moved Discord to a Vault (like with the mirror) considering she would be away from the capital for what would possibly be the first time in a 1000 years and something clearly has the power and will to attack alicorns so Discord might be in a Vault or even in Eclipse rn.

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Yeah — I feel the chaos of the event and its aftermath must have raised Celestia's suspicions? And we saw that it had just recently been 'moved', which seems in her remit.

That thought was why I wrote that Apocrypha, but it wasn't canonical, so there must be something we're missing…

I'll admit I'm a little worried going up against Discord for Outsider blood, not least because I doubt we can wring it from a stone statue. But it's a suitable final boss as well.

 

[BritBiscuit]

To be fair a good fight for someone who was part of a moth (chaos,confusion) cult would be a chaos god.

 

[DelightedOne]

[] A host of guests is definitely going to be my choice here cause I doubt the Princess of Love overflowing with her aura on her wedding day won't have positive effects on the world. The other reason is that I want to give the Harmony option more weight than the Glory one.

There are also some other things on my mind:
-Like Cadance wanting to share her happiness with all of Equestria right after the Catastrophe and Paranoia's birth being a Harmony move. She can feel the things that roam across the world and said her goal is to make things better, considering her intuition(probably just Harmony) knew about Twilight not wanting us near her this seems like Harmony wanting to counter the Wolves.

-She wants this. She literally told us she wanted to spread Love across Equestria and with everything else that Velvet has done giving her that would be the Platinum trophy of the event.

-Strengthening Harmony after the lights got a little doused by everything that happened since that is the only way we have to deal with the CS mood.

 

[Darkday]

We have been given one key piece of advice this quest. We must play to win not to avoid losing. Only an uninvited guest gets us any closer to winning and so I feel that is the most important option. Though the ability to get an in for getting official attention on the laws on our terms is also very useful. Options 4 and 5 are nice but I'm not sure we have the liberty to use a rair and very useful opportunity on something nice considering. Glory is our best opportunity to win and getting a chance to get to get a start on the laws officially is very useful for building up and those are more important than the other options at this point (as far as I can tell at least).

 

[Starlit Horizon]

I think that we shouldn't overthink things either. Cadance is not kindness. She is not resolve. She isn't even joy. She is love, and while having everyone in good spirits definitely wouldn't hurt, it isn't directly connected to her. Plus, I think there might be an overestimation of the connections between Alicorns and their domains. After all, if it was that important, eternal eclipse of (false) Luna's return would make zero sense. Not to say that there isn't any (there might be), but I don't believe option 5 should be seen as "strengthen Cadance". After all, it's effect is "Cadance's objective of "uplifting the spirits of ponykind" will be completely fulfilled."

Option 4, however, does have "And perhaps something more besides" clause.

Not to say that option 4 is a power up for Cadance (although it is a possibility, and maybe "defuse Celestia" is just us misreading the option), but it looks more like a power up, both socially and magically.

Again, i don't believe it is, because looking at what Celestia is saying -

"Cadance, I can see that you… No, it doesn't matter. This is my gift to you."

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- I would say that "Celestia isn't a boiler about to explode" is rather natural read (but having Celestia ready to listen is rather important at any diplomancy attempt), but mystery box clause.

 

[Ars_Longa_Vita_Brevis]

I'd forgotten how much I both adore this this quest and how much it makes me want to pretend I don't exist and everything will be alright, good God. [] A self in invited guest

 

[Venerable Ro]

Personally I'm not much in favor of going looking for Discord at this exact moment, since given our luck he'll turn out to be a Name of the Seven-Coiled or The Wheel or something wildly inconvenient like that. You can't get blood from a stone, this is a well-known fact, and we simply don't have any ability to restrain Discord if he decided to be uncooperative, certainly we don't have a way to survive him if he decided to be outright hostile to an unknown adept seeking his blood. I'm personally of the opinion that there's either a weakness or a bargaining chip to find, knowing Bird, probably both.

But, back to the matter at hand. Celestia's mental health is important, and goodness knows that we've intervened successfully a few times, and failed a few other times. We are, not exactly flawless when it comes to trying to help ponies. Either way, Cadance is better positioned to reach out to her, and running hot with a max-level Love influence she will reach out. Indeed, the option states that the whole nation gets caught up in the fervor, which arguably could have a good effect on Celestia, things going well and all that.

Come to think of it, I also had a further thought. Since we've aimed Cadance at Twilight (and I'm not sure she's handled that yet) we could also be arming her for that encounter as well. Delegation is the name of the game, positioning people ponies to handle things that need doing and we ourselves cannot do.

 

[BritBiscuit]

I would say that the 'something more besides' could be giving Candance the knowledge that Celestia does still care, enough to take time, no matter how small to show up on her big day, she may not have officiated the wedding, she may not have been there for long but she still made the effort to show up. And to Candance a pony who is filled with self doubt about her competence and her relationships to the point that she sticks to more formal addresses when talking to Celestia, that can mean alot.

 

[Iustus Vitea]

I feel either the Dew option or the Baldomare ones are the only ones we can aim for. The former helps us launder Lores, improves our chances of avoiding detection and could get us infrastructure.

As for the Baldomare option, while it is suboptimal, because the Outsider is fucking Discord, we still need it to move forward in our objective. Accomplishing which will entirely negate any other concerns like Ponykind morale which while having narrative benefits I fail to see how it helps in actually getting to the Glory.

Also with Baldomare's AP being in hot demand who knows how long it'll take us to get a scry off with her and what if it returns Canterlot anyways? It's best, I feel, to grab it now.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

I've already shared my perspective on why we should pick the Baldomare option, but not being immediately deleted by Celestia when she finds out is also a helpful step when it comes to reaching The Glory.

The only other option that might be helpful is Midday Dew's option, as that "in" will be extremely useful when it comes to laundering the lores and, therefore, expanding our reach.

The three options I'll likely be voting for are:
[] A self-invited guest
[] A Royal guest
[] A disturbed guest

 

[Greymere]

I feel like people are overestimating the effect of the Celestia option on the chances of us not getting sunblasted. Celestia is fucking pissed, to the point where she has pretty much entirely given up on ponykind and is just giving them enough rope to hang themselves with on the slim, slim chance that they'll prove that her thousand years of ruling alone wasn't for nothing. Celestia feeling slightly less homicidal isn't going to save us if she finds out we were directly involved in Luna's attack.

There's also the fact that the choice... does not actually list that as being an effect. Sure, maybe you could infer that from "Celestia showed up at all", but from that same logic I can infer that the Baldomare option is going to cause us problems down the line because there is a Name interacting with Bureau agents (who we want to learn the Lores and will absolutely encounter her later) prior to the Lores being laundered. Which I doubt, since Bird explicitly said all options are either good or not-bad, and sneaking in such a massive landmine in feels like it would definitely render that kind of thing not-not-bad. So I'm reluctant to choose an option based on an effect which is 100% pure assumption.

 

[Sveta08]

Ah, the first time in a vote I can speak and see and witness it change.
Let's stop looking at what our options do, and what our options are.


Justice is attacked. The Designated chosen by The Sun to govern themselves was threatened. They were nearly harmed and nearly killed on The Day of Boundless Love.
This is an unacceptable choice. It proves The Sun right and just. Without the Tribal Door to unite, nor The Wood to look into, the people are fraying. Quicker and quicker without a Compassionate Sun.
This is unacceptable.

The first awoke Accursed. Our ever dutiful and ever eager to be praised son has begun his work. Those who would seek to protect, who would built the tools of the future have begun to see. But that's not what this is. The Toolmaker to The Sun has awoken, heels nipped by Our Son. He fears and knows know what he fears.
This is an inevitable choice. He will wake one day with or without our guidance. He will remember the ash and the taste of blood and the eyes that hunt him ever and always. He will begin his work with or without our guidance.
But more than that... it shows we are industrious. We, the Sword of The Sun against what were once her own people, are moving in our own way. It shows it in a way The Sun can see. Seeking entry into the place she did not permit us go.
This... is dangerous.

Baldomare is... ah, sorry. Baldomare is moving. She reveals a secret that is known and unknown, clarifies what is seen and can be found.
She shows up a path towards Glory
This is acceptable, but still dangerous. I can't say more without the mare herself showing up and giving me what-for.

The Sun arrives. The Sun witnesses the Dawn of Love, and sees its' Heart. From the Old to the Young, a gift given that cannot be found again.
This is not Mercy. It is not Grace. It is not Tenderness. But it is recognition. And it is enough for a moment to turn The Sun. The only path ahead to change what is.
This.... is acceptable. I would argue even this is the correct path.

The People witness the Dawn of Love. The heart is much comforted and the people can breath and smile, knowing there is A Princess in these times.
This is Unacceptable.
Not because the Joy of The People is a problem. But because The Sun did not arrive.
Who are they who would relish a joy between One who Lives Long Lives and a Mortal? Who are they to rejoice as the world has improved while The Moon is still missing from the sky? Who are they to so freely forget the Sister of The Sun who was stolen away? Who are they to let themselves breath a sigh of relief?
This is what people want. This, is unacceptable to The Sun.


So then... my thoughts are pretty clear.
If Celestia herself does not show up, then Celestia herself didn't show up. I do not see any way the situation with The Sun improves unless she does.
And the last, absolute last thing we need, is Celestia proven right that Ponykind will kill itself without her judgement (Fair Trial's assassination attempt) or Ponykind as a whole celebrating while she still seethes and mourns. (A Multitude of Guests)

 

[Lorrie]

Yeah, as some have already stated we should really work on reaching Glory, we've been warned by Bird multiple times that we should focus on achieving it.
Only other option I'd agree with would be getting an in towards laundering our Lores.