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

Voting is open for the next 1 day, 21 hours
Reader mode
I...

...

I have a likely useless request, but probably won't cost us anything and could be monumentally helpful if that's the case.

Can we give Cadence a Wrong Key, to protect herself and Celestia?

I... I am still dubious about Windy Flakes. But more specifically, I'm worried about The Path Through Nightmares. Or, perhaps, other rituals he has discovered.
If Windy is still out there, and heeding Wolf Words, then... Who would be easier to attack and cause the most agony?

The only other known Lore welder? Or the brilliant shining sun, ignorant of your ways?

We have two keys now, and they expire next turn. Offering one to Cadence costs us little if we ourselves aren't attacked this turn. We will have one to protect us.

Can I ask that of us?
@OurLadyOfWires Would you permit that?
 
Earth-Destroyer said:
where their any prisoners from Manehatten. They where lore involved so the sole authority of the Burure.
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The thread already decided to give them up to that other mares power grab.

Earth-Destroyer said:
We need to go after windy this turn, we need prisoners already.
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I was originally planning on having Selene dream search him but changed to having her smooth the nights after she asked to do that.

Sveta08 said:
Can we give Cadence a Wrong Key, to protect herself and Celestia?
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...

You remember Celestia has lantern 2 right now right?

So she'll realize it's a lore object hanging around and probably investigate just how Cadence got such a thing.

Sounds like bad end bait.

Besides Alicorn base stats make it not much of a danger.
 
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Shaper47 said:
The thread already decided to give them up to that other mares power grab.
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For this first bit, I remember it was mainly a gesture of good will to Fair Trial (since she does seem genuinely interested in ensuring Equestria's legal system keeps standing) and out of a belief that having Celestia's new departments work together would help with her mood a bit (since having them fight over jurisdiction like that in what's supposed to be a test to see if Equestria can function without her micromanaging everything would probably make the temptation to become a tyrant all the more stronger).
 
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Pittauro said:
if Mareinette's prices are the same as last time
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They definitely won't be, right. They get higher each rebinding, I'm pretty sure this was explicitly stated.

It's very fair and well explored, on the moral dimension of it all. I need to think about it some more.

But I think I'm going to leave that discussion for later — we make the choice to commit now, and we handle the details in the turn planning (prison vs no prison, kinda) or next turn's rebinding (do we go with the Sacrament or wait a turn).
 
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Alan975 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we haven't gotten any descriptions of how the names actually look? Besides cloaks, scales and age ranges.
So what's the general idea here, how do y'all imagine them? I need the inspiration

Thinking about Rare things
Also never finished some things, cuz it didn't feel 'correct'
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We usually get physical descriptions for the Names both when we first meet them in the Mansus and when we first summon them, though I remember that Velvet Axe specifically also got a rather... flowery description from when Velvet's brother first saw her.
 
Quick jump in.

Earth-Destroyer said:
@OurLadyOfWires

Just to be clear if we capture some Changelings by way of the Bureau can use the for Mareinette grail sacrament? And for our personal Lantern.
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No.

Zxzx24 said:
If we really have our trusted subordinate right there. Is there really a reason not to heal him?

I trust you have a reason at least. I would just like to confirm.

@OurLadyOfWires
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The biggest reason is that you just don't have enough time.

No, really. Shining Armor is a rather public figure (being the first pony to ever marry a Princess kind of does that), he is constantly surrounded by keen-eyed detectives (and again, your "Cult" is two detectives in a trench coat, you can't yet narratively trust the whole Bureau to play along), you are juggling some very important things (you just almost died, Celestia, and your lust for Glory), and finally... in the grand scheme of things, Shining Armor is not your Family.

Heck, you (Velvet Covers) love Cadance, and I love Cadance. And I daresay several readers (in the "royal you" sense) also love Cadance. But you are not about to risk dropping one of your plates just because you can't wait one or two more months to heal a stallion that, for all that you can tell, is currently happy, untraumatized, and adjusted pretty well to losing a horn.

By the way, I mean this in the best way possible. I'm just in a rush, and can't use softer language. But this isn't an attack or anything. These things just take time. And the fact that I'm not letting you spend actions on it mean that it is happening, but that you need to let it happen at Velvet's pace.

Sveta08 said:
We have two keys now, and they expire next turn. Offering one to Cadence costs us little if we ourselves aren't attacked this turn. We will have one to protect us.

Can I ask that of us?
@OurLadyOfWires Would you permit that?
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Cadance is sufficiently inside your "faction" for a ritual attack against her to trigger your alarms and prompt a reaction from you. And Celestia is too isolated for even Cadance to be able to use a Wrong Key to protect her. So both of your concerns are, in their own ways, not applicable.

Alan975 said:
Correct me if I'm wrong, but we haven't gotten any descriptions of how the names actually look? Besides cloaks, scales and age ranges.
So what's the general idea here, how do y'all imagine them? I need the inspiration
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This is awesome! I'll address this latter, sadly don't have time right now for a longer message.



In a rush, just wanted to step in. Laters.


EDIT:

Also
Adhoc vote count started by OurLadyOfWires on Apr 28, 2025 at 9:38 PM, finished with 168 posts and 23 votes.
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Ahahahahahaha, so much for educating QM.
 
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Greymere said:
Pacifying Celestia should also remove the doom timer which is why we're trying to crunch so many Sacraments in such a short period of time (i.e. being as prepared as possible in case of emergency All In)
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keep in mind we don't KNOW that Sooth the Night will lead to fixing Celestia, or EVEN to gaining more time.

It's possible. Maybe even probably. But right now what we saw is that Selene can keep track of the Lantern countdown and see if she's getting worse.

Sveta08 said:
Can we give Cadence a Wrong Key, to protect herself and Celestia?
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It depends, is there a risk Celestia might notice it?

If so, then no, we can't.

To be fair, we're likely to notice if she's targeted, AND she's an Alicorn and would most likely survive even an EiB, and... why exactly would Windy, the only cultist left we know of, target HER instead of US?

Celestia would definitely survive it too.

If Windy wanted to make troubles... A giant "flesh golem" made from 7 sacrifices would likely make the most sense.

You know, this nice guy:

OurLadyOfWires said:
"This thing has no body to speak of. It does not even have a shape. However, the end result of its summoning is there for all to see. Blood-soaked ash leaks out of the corpses' wounds, and its movements are more alien the more bodies are used in its construction. And even though it has no will of its own, it can still hate as fiercely as any other echo of the dying breath of the Woods. It is best not to dwell on what happens to the essence of the ponies used in its sacrifice."

Ash-Ghoul

Summoning requirements: WINTER 50, KNOCK 50, EDGE 50

Summoning cost: 25 bits.

Summoning details:
-At least one living pony MUST be sacrificed to summon this creature. Ponies sacrificed in this ritual do NOT count towards the maximum number of sacrifices of a circle, but they do NOT give any bonus to this ritual (to a maximum of seven ponies).
-Due to your understanding of this creature's home, you have complete knowledge of its status file without having to summon it.
-This creature has no "Specific Bonus". Or rather, the specific action it would be good at is not useful to most summoners.

Health: ?/? (Minimum of 3)
General bonus: ?? (5x sacrifice)
Aspects: EDGE ?, WINTER ?
[ABOMINATION]: Ash-Ghoul's health and Lore levels are equal to the number of ponies sacrificed in its summoning ritual. (Although its health will always be at least 3). And its General bonus is equal to five times the number of ponies sacrificed.
[I STAB AT THEE]: A character who deals the killing blow to at least one Ash-Ghoul must, at the end of combat, roll (CD: 100 + 10x sacrificed ponies / using Martial + Winter) to resist gaining a stack of Dread. (But the same character killing multiple Ash-Ghouls will only risk gaining at most one Dread per combat sequence).

[The Dead Will No Longer Be Dead]: Summoning this creature does not require a ritual circle.

[MONSTROUS APPEARANCE]: Cannot be used for Social Actions.
[UNINTELLIGENT]: Will perform badly at Actions that require academic knowledge. (This creature is still cunning, and will not walk into traps or act foolishly)
[BURNING FUEL]: This creature must consume dead bodies (the same number of bodies currently applying its bonuses) every turn, or it will be immediately unsummoned.
[FADING FUEL]: At the end of every turn, this creature "loses" one of its bodies from the number of bodies used to summon it, for all relevant aspects.
[SPENT FUEL]: Ash-Ghouls may not be used as sacrifice in other rituals.
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ah, sorry, "ash zombie" is more appropriate than flesh golem.

At its peak it can reach +80 in combat, probably rerolling every 2 rolls. Beats anything we know of short of Biedde and Celestia basically.

OurLadyOfWires said:
Cadance is sufficiently inside your "faction" for a ritual attack against her to trigger your alarms and prompt a reaction from you. And Celestia is too isolated for even Cadance to be able to use a Wrong Key to protect her. So both of your concerns are, in their own ways, not applicable.
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good to know.

[X] Rare Fabric

[X] Rare Silk

[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.
 
I agree that Rare Item is too depersonalizing. This is a Name, a full character!

I feel that Rare Fabric or Rare Silk leans too strongly into the Rarity joke. Which is a fun joke, but not the only dimension to this character.

I also like @Greymere 's Cherenkov homage.

What about:

[X] Rare Light

[X] Rare Glow

[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.
 
spiderhellian said:
I agree that Rare Item is too depersonalizing. This is a Name, a full character!
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It being depersonalizing is kind of the point? That's where we stand right now, so that character development can happen in the future. And the resemblance is supposed to be "unintentional" IC, so the other variants don't really work without the whole Item angle.
 
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[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.
[X] Cherenkolt
 
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While I would love for Mareinette to get closer with Cadance I have a suspicion that we will drag our legs with befriending her if we send her off
[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.

[X] Forged Name
 
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So I feel like we still go for Personal Forge if we take the Biedde duel and fail this turn, or if we delay Biedde duel, but do we take the Workshop if we get lucky and win the duel this turn? The main reason for Personal Forge is that it might give us access to a buff potion that provides personal combat that stacks with AotL.

If Steppe's gift involves bits and we win the duel do we consider the workshop?
 
OurLadyOfWires said:
Cadance is sufficiently inside your "faction" for a ritual attack against her to trigger your alarms and prompt a reaction from you. And Celestia is too isolated for even Cadance to be able to use a Wrong Key to protect her. So both of your concerns are, in their own ways, not applicable.
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Well. Glad to know one half of it is covered. Dreading the other half, but so be it.

And to explain...
Pittauro said:
why exactly would Windy, the only cultist left we know of, target HER instead of US?
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Take your pick of reasons.

The Wolfest is because Celestia is the Sun. A dead sun would terrify the work and drown it out, but killing her is likely beyond his capabilities. Or at least, further than could be reasonably hoped for quickly. If he wants to spread the understanding that All Things End, that all things must end, and the dread of it, what better way than Celestia herself? Immortal Princess of The Sun, all eyes are on her. And strained to the point of breaking, impatient with all as they are, what better target than she to cause the greatest harm?

An Ash Ghoul will kill people and terrify because it is an unknowable monster.
A Celestia without mercy, with want of suffering, and with hate borne in her chest will create far greater, far stronger. Far more spread deviation, even if the bodies don't pile up. We see that already.


The Opportunistic answer, is because she's an easier target. Velvet knows the Lores. How much, Windy doesn't know. But she knows, and knows how few people should know the Lores. She would be able to guess targets much faster, and cause more direct harm much more quickly. At least, harm that Windy might not want.


The Glory Seeking answer, is because Celestia is Velvets one and only boss. Velvet may have protections that Celestia doesn't, and may be on the lookout for attacks. If Celestia is doing badly, and is angry, or spiteful, or hateful, or agonized, due to sheer proximity of having to deal with them, harming Celestia means Velvet can't put her all into seeking Glory.

Hopefully that makes sense.


Edit: Oh! Yes, I also should vote.
[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.
[X] Cherenkolt
[X] Morning Star

I like Morning Star because my brain automatically says it's misspelled as Mourning Star, which fits
 
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[X] (MAREINETTE) Mareinette is her own mare, and Cadance could use some company. Don't do anything, and see how things turn out.
 
[X] (MAREINETTE) Mareinette is her own mare, and Cadance could use some company. Don't do anything, and see how things turn out.

[X] Cherenkolt
[X] Rare Glow

I can't believe so many people don't want to see Mareinette playing Princess more.
 
[X] Cherenkolt
[X] Morning Star

Don't feel overly strongly about the Mareinette vote.
As to next future plans do people want the lantern influence just to make sure we succeed the study actions cause we could do Baldomare's sacrament and still study the artifacts.
 
I think I found a strong contender for Rare Item as a name for this colt.

Behold!

[] Forged Name

It gives just as much of a "I couldn't be arsed to name it" vibe! It is pun! It is just as memeable given ponies' likely reactions to it! And it still sounds like a possible pony name! Just think of the rumors it would sparkle!
 
Given persuasive arguments and my love for puns I'll be voting for two new names

[X] Cherenkolt
[X] Forged Name

Also Mare vote so it's still tallied

[X] (MAREINETTE) You introduced her to Cadance, yes, but you are still very interested in her endeavors.
 
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Shaper47 said:
Don't have enough lantern scraps for her Sacrament.

Besides two lantern Aotls is enough to succeed on our study actions.
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Two AotLs might be enough if you want to spend two studies on the Moth book, but what if we also want a bunch of artifacts studied so we can dump them for bits on the open market?
 
If we end up doing 3 study actions that's a total of +280 to dice rolls across the entire turn plus whatever aid we give to Tall Tale. So bare minimum +320 I'd think if we only roll Lantern once during the expedition. Possibly +360 (no scope) if Lantern is rolled for the Detective action we're aiding as well. That would easily end up beating the Turn 14 SH Influence for the best Name influence we've ever done in the quest.

And it sets us up for potential turn 24 Lantern sacrament with scraps as gravy.
 
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Speaking of Tall Tale, if Velvet were to stumble upon a Worthy Opponent such as the head of the hive, would we go for it over Biedde's Sacrament?
 
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