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

[ses]

Note that Axe+Mareinette can get a combined 5 Winter levels with the level 1 Noose on Axe and the level 4 cursed artifact on Mareinette, for a total of +75 to Winter hurdles. Mareinette will probably be spending her AP on heart lessons or possibly Smiles the turn after. It's very unlikely she rolls dice on turn 24. We could even go a step further and calibrate Cherenkolt as Forge/Winter for 7 total Winter levels as a +85 rather than use the Noose.

Seeing as Heart, Winter, and Grail seem like the most likely lores to be needed from the description...

Frick. I didn't want to be convinced on that. :/

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Frankly I think do Mareinette sacrament this turn and spend the rest on Summoning influences. Ax, Mareinette, Luna, Velvet, Feed an artifact to the Forge Name. While having Rarity and and Jade load up on an Edge and Lantern influence themselves.

That a grand total number of over 100+ to every stat. More if Velvet is rocking influences. All this would be more then enough for All In.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

You are Selene, and you…

You don't know what to do.

Crying won't help. Getting angry won't help. Panicking won't help.

Even though you truly, honestly want to do all those three things right now.

The Princess in you won't let you, of course. The alicorn that you are won't allow for anything other than action and decisiveness.

However, you are not just an alicorn. Not anymore.

So, both the filly and the alicorn inside of you came to a consensus, that "acting decisively" and "running to your mother" can both happen at the same time.

Perhaps in another Era you would have been embarrassed by the thought of "decisively running to your mother for help." But you remember enough to know that pride, and a refusal to ask for assistance, was what caused your downfall in your previous life. And you cannot, will not, squander this second chance you were given.

On top of that, you simply don't have the mind to worry about anything else other than this.

"Are you sure you are alright, mom?"

Click to shrink...

-you ask, as you try your best to stop one of your forelegs from nervously kicking under you.

You are currently sitting with your mother inside the tearoom. Out of necessity, you are currently in your filly form, even if you find it harder to control your body when you are like this.

Yesterday, the gigantic creature called "Smiles" arrived at the mansion, according to your little sister.

Tomorrow, your mother will be hosting more than half of the Bureau, and asked you to make an appearance.

But today, you two are here, alone. And you can do nothing but add the guilt of your mother's wounds to the back of your head as you talk to her.

"I am fine, Selene. But thank you for your concern," she answers. "Now, you said you wanted to tell me something important?"

Click to shrink...

A hundred different answers come to your mind. Part of you wants to lie due to your shame. Part of you wants to deflect her question, even though you were the one who asked to talk in private, and instead bring up something else.

And why in Equestria are your eyes burning?

"I…" you try to say.

But your eyes are burning and your throat is seizing up and why is your mom putting down her tea and looking at you like that?

"… I don't know what to do," you cough out.

And before you realize it, your mother's horn lights up, you are quickly brought between her forelegs, and you begin to tell her what happened.



- - -
- - -

Several days prior.

- - -
- - -



You are Selene, and tonight you will do something extremely important.

You will not go out in the middle of the night to prepare the things your mother asked of you. You will not burn the midnight candle to catch up with your homework, to change it from Silky's hoofwriting. And you will not take to the night sky, to patrol a city or to get to know the darker corners of Equestria a little bit better.

Tonight, you will do something far more important than that.

Tonight, you will stay home.

It is almost midnight. The moon is making its gracious way to the top of the skies, and you know for a fact that almost everypony in the estate is asleep.

So, you get to work.

A soft light appears on top of your forehead, and moments later it spreads to the rest of your body. Where there was once nothing, the tip of your horn appears within the glowing light, and the rest of your body follows.

As always, the transformation occurs in a flash. And less than a second later you are almost too big for your filly-sized bed, with your long forelegs pushing away your blankets and your added weight causing your bed to slightly creak in protest.

But you don't mind any of that. In fact, you are already used to it. So, without a second thought, you keep your horn lit up, and you silently float some of your furniture around to ensure that your door is jammed and that the window is blocked.

What you are going to do next takes focus, and nothing short of somepony physically shaking you will be enough to wake you up. So, you always make sure that no errant maid will be able to see you like this, even by accident.

Once your preparations are done, you… close your eyes.

You close your eyes, and then you focus.

Doing this is almost like falling asleep. Almost.

Except you are not the one who will be dreaming.



- - -



You want to help your mother. You really do. But you also realize that there are things only you can do. Things that you can't even explain to her, but that you know are good for Equestria.

So, you were very happy when she said you could (and should) take as much time as you needed to follow these… these urges of yours. These instincts that you have, every now and then, that you should be doing this.

And once again, you are here, following these instincts.

Once again you are in the Dreamlands, this vast and labyrinthic and beautiful castle where Ponykind's hopes are conjoined.

And you are thankful that you have been able to dedicate as much time as you could to come here, for the last few months.

Sometimes, you will enter random dreams. To have conversations only you will ever remember, or to nudge ponies away from their fears and towards their hopes.

Sometimes, you just walk around the corridors. Feeling as if your very presence is like a breeze of fresh air to these halls that missed you so.

But most nights, you do this.

Most nights, you make a beeline to the Sun-marked door, that sits next to yours at the heart of this realm, and you visit the dreams of your dearest sister.

You do this most nights, and as often as you can, because there hasn't been a night yet where you came here and found her within a kind dream.



- - -



Celestia is your sister. That hasn't changed, even if you have.

You love her as much as you love Silky Stream. And even though you have not yet met her since the day you woke up, you still know that you two complete each other. More than the silly (if obvious) symbolism that Ponykind is aware of, that you two are like the sun and moon, you know… you know, deep inside of you, that you two are part of a set. You are meant to be together, and you need each other.

So, it always hurts you to visit her dreams.

Because again, her dreams are never kind.

Her dreams are always… similar. Or at least, her dreams always share similarities. At times, it may look like she is having the same dream as before, but you can always see the subtle differences.

Still, her dreams are always… about the same thing.

Most nights, she dreams of the Castle. Most nights, when you enter her dream, you are greeted by a great marble castle. A castle that is carved out of an entire mountain of white stone, guarded by moving sentinels of machinery and gold.

At the heart of the castle, chained to its throne, is the Monster. You know the Monster is trying to move when the ground shakes, and you know the Monster is thrashing when the horns sound and the guards rush to barricade the doors.

But other than that, there is nothing else to see. The surrounding gardens are kept safe through the sacrifice of its monarch, and the citizens of the distant cities never bother to visit.

In this dream, your dear sister is the Castle, and try as you might you never manage to communicate with her.

After the Castle, the second most common dream is of the Labyrinth.

In the Labyrinth, the Monster roams free, but cannot find the exit. And in the Labyrinth, your sister is the Treasure at its center.

But there lies the problem. At the beginning of the dream, you are at the exit, and the Monster starts next to the Treasure. You know that with a certainty only you can have. But whenever you enter the Labyrinth, you risk meeting the Monster, and you are deathly afraid that the Monster might follow your scent back to the exit if it finds you first.

You do not like it when your sister dreams of the Labyrinth. Because every time you see its cracked and twisting walls, you can't help but feel how exhausted Celestia is. To the point that she let go of the chains, and the only thing keeping the Monster trapped are the twisting turns of your sister's own confused mind.

There are other dreams that you have seen at least twice. The Dungeon, the Puzzle, the Caverns. You keep track of them, writing down everything you learn when you wake up, in hopes to find something that will help you make Celestia better.

Still, every time without fail, her dreams share the same similarities: the Monster is always trying to escape, and you should avoid it, and Celestia is always somewhere, and you desperately need to find a way to contact her.

But this night…

"This is certainly different," you say to yourself as soon as you enter your sister's dream.

Because as soon as you cross her dream door, you find yourself in a vast and open desert.

Your heart begins to hammer inside your chest as you try to assess your situation. After all, you know the Monster is in this dream somewhere. So, finding yourself in an open place is the opposite of reassuring.

What if the Monster sees you? You have no idea if it can cross, or even see, dream doors, but you certainly don't want to take any chances. So, you are immediately worried that you might be spotted, and that whatever happens next might negatively impact your sister.

However, as you look around you see…

"… nothing?" you wonder.

You look around once, twice, and sure enough there is only sand as far as the eye can see.

Truly, you are in the middle of a desert, with nothing but yourself and Celestia's dream door in sight.

"This is… unexpected," you say to yourself, a habit you picked up from your past life that you haven't bothered to fight against. "It will be easy to call this dream the Desert, but I wonder how it works…"

Well, you may not be in immediate danger, but you don't think you are safe either. You will not lower your guard. And what is more, your main goal remains the same. You must find your sister, or whatever represents her in this dream, and try to talk to her. Because you are absolutely sure that contacting her is the first step to fixing all of this.

So, with the familiar longing of finally hugging your dear sister once again, you spread your wings and prepare to fly. You can't think of a better way to gain ground in a dream like this, and taking to the air will certainly give you a better chance at locating any point of reference that might exist here.

But the moment you spread your wings and kick down with your hindlegs-

"Ack!!!"

-a terrible, searing pain jolts through your entire body.

You don't take flight. You barely even jump up. But the moment your four hoofs leave the ground, you feel like your entire body is burning, and the pain only stops after you crash and roll on the sand.

"What th-… argh! Stars above, what in Tartarus is this?!" the hissed, pained words escape your lips.

And only then do you think to look up. Towards the cloudless skies of this dream and the searing sun above.

"Oh… oh dear…"

And you immediately see it.

You immediately notice the Monster.

At the very top of the skies, glaring down at the endless desert, is a red and wrathful sun. Its oppressive light reaching every corner of this dream, and its disdain burning anything that dares to leave the sands where they are meant to grovel.

The symbolism is obvious.

In this dream, the Monster is the sun. And although it is trapped in the skies, it will do everything in its power to make your sister languish under its gaze.

"But this… but this means…" you say to yourself, even as you look down so the burning glare won't blind you.

Because if the Monster is up there, that means your sister must be down here. And if she is in a state where she can hear you, or maybe even talk back, then this might be your best chance yet to communicate with her.

You feel a thrill running through your body. You almost dare to feel excited. And what the hay, why not? You may not be allowed to fly in this dream, and you may have to search an entire desert, but who cares?

For your sister, you would wait for a thousand years, and you would search the entirety of Equestria.

After all, that is what she did for you.

With a gallop that is almost hopeful, you immediately run towards the desert. And you leverage every advantage you have to navigate this dream and find your dear sister.



- - -



You tricked time so it would move more slowly.

You quickened your pace so you could cover more ground.

You even pushed back against the glare of the sun, dotting the sky with clouds made out of hope whenever you could.

And in the end, you found her. You found your sister.

You found your Celestia.

She was at the very heart of the desert, in that place where the angry sun was at its zenith. And you found her in a depressed basin.

That place was meant to be an oasis, you could tell. But the trees had been burned away, and what little water remained was boiling at the bottom of the depression. Untouchable, undrinkable.

And if you had any doubts left that the Desert was a dream meant to subjugate and punish your sister, those doubts disappeared when you laid eyes on Celestia herself.

She was a pony, but only that. She had no wings on her back, no horn on her head, and no cutie mark on her flank. She was not an earth pony either. Instead, she was the bare minimum a pony could ever be while still being called such, a husk stripped down to its bare components.

It broke your heart to see her like that, lying weakly on the coarse sands, eyeing the boiling water as if wondering if it would be less painful to try and drink from it.

It broke your heart to see her like that, but you also couldn't help but smile at the notion that finally, finally, you would hear her voice once again.

You rushed towards her.

You yelled her name as you galloped down the basin.

And that was your mistake.

"Celestia! Sister dearest!"​

Your words reached her ears, your soul glowed towards the sky, to fill it with clouds and give you two a moment of privacy away from the Monster.

And the moment her ears twitched with life, the moment she oh so weakly got on her hoofs to turn towards you, the moment a smile started to form on her pained, wounded face...

"… L-… una…?"​

She smiled a broken smile, and she laughed a pained laugh, and tears began to form on her face.

"… so I can finally… rest…?"​

And only then you realized your sister, or at least the body she had in this dream, was made of the same sand that surrounded you. Only then you realized your sister was the desert, the entirety of the desert, the same way she was the Castle. And the Celestia before you was what little form she could give for her thoughts, or perhaps her focus.

But the moment your dearest sister saw you, she laughed. She laughed, and she couldn't help but try to take a step towards you, to meet you halfway on your gallop so you two could finally embrace each other.

However, the moment she tried to take one step, her hoof started crumbling away. First her hoof, and then her foreleg, and then the rest of her body.

You reached her just in time to hug her chest, yelling for all that to stop, as your sister weakly pressed her cheek against yours.

"… been so… so… long…"​

And then, Celestia was gone. All that was left of her were the clumps of sand on your hoofs, damp from the liquid leaking from your eyes, and the pain you FELT she is going through, during the split second you were together.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!​

Moments later, the sun began to swell in the sky, the water in the oasis evaporated, and the sands began to heat up as if they were burning coals.

And there was nothing you could do but leave.



- - -



Selene was desperate, crying in your forelegs as if a dam had broken inside of her, and all you could do was calm her down.

Still, as the days passed, you heard no news from Princess Celestia. The Royal Castle did not crash down with raging fires, and Selene would later tell you that Celestia's dreams are still accessible.

However, the results of Celestia's… lapse in concentration, would become apparent soon after.



You must choose one option.

All options will have additional outcomes, narrative or otherwise, that are not directly stated. The "effects" listed under each option are simply the most relevant and direct ways each option will affect you.



[] One day the sun stopped moving, and everypony swore that it was looking directly at them. It is very hard to live a normal life when the sun no longer sets.
-All actions that involve the Lore of Lantern will receive a "+10 (Glare)" bonus.
-All actions that do not involve the Lore of Lantern will instead receive a "-10 (Glare)" malus.
-All actions that involve the Lore of Moth will receive a further "-10" penalty, to a total of "-20 (Glare)" malus.


[] Princess Celestia has spoken once more, at last. She decrees that her sister be found. Equestria moves to obey.
-Both your "Investigator" and "Constable" actions will be unavailable for Turn 23.
-From Turn 24 onwards, you will have to dedicate one of your Bureau actions (either "Investigator" or "Constable") to placate Princess Celestia.
-Due to your increased workload, your "Social" free action will no longer be available for the foreseeable future.


[] The Royal Apartment has become distressingly hot, to the point that even Princess Celestia's guards (ceremonial as they were) have been prohibited from approaching it. This has become the most crucial issue on Princess Cadance's agenda.
-You will gain the Fleeting Opportunity "Help Cadance." You will be allowed to dedicate as many Personal Actions (and Social Actions) to address it as you wish. You will not be informed of how many actions you "should" dedicate to it.
-If Cadance succeeds on her efforts, she will "disarm" the current crisis. If Cadance only succeeds "partway," this situation will be delayed for another turn and the Fleeting Opportunity will be offered once more.
-If Princess Cadance fails on her efforts, Princess Celestia will go one "step" down on her previously-rolled reaction scale.


[-] Princess Celestia has not responded to hails at her door for several weeks. The next time she was seen, ponies could swear she could look into their very soul.
-Princess Celestia will receive an extra "level up" on her Lantern Lore.
-Due to insufficient Moth Lore on your part, you may NOT pick this option.


[] Outsiders are forbidden from entering the House of the Sun. What did she do? What. Did. She. Do?
-Princess Celestia will have the Dream.
-This will only be possible due to a scandalous violation.
-This option will have additional negative consequences you cannot predict at this moment. (This is your "fair warning" for exceptional unpredictability.)





Regardless of the option you pick, Selene has informed you that Celestia will reach Lantern 3 by the beginning of Turn 23.

Twelve hours moratorium.

Spoiler: Selene's Rolls

[Soothe the night, breakpoints variable]

[Roll: 2]

[Winter-related Realization. Re-roll invoked.]

[Roll: 7]

"Celestia" results:

Spoiler: Soothe the Sun table

100: "Good morning, dear Sister." (The issue is resolved)

96-99: "I will be here tomorrow as well, when you fall asleep." (Celestia moves one step "up" her previously-rolled reaction scale.)

90-95: "The sweetest dreams, to calm that burning wrath." (Celestia progresses 3 points, vote for a positive opportunity.)

70-89: "A sweet dream, to cool that fiery rage." (Celestia progresses 2 points, Lore learning delayed for one turn.)

50-69: "Your flame may burn the tip of my feathers, but their ashes will still reach you." (Celestia progresses 1 point.)

30-49: "The very marble burns. Not today. Not tonight." (No effect.)

20-29: "Her resentfulness pierces the very air. I am not welcome here." (Celestia loses 1 point.)

10-19: "The guards turn their spears on me! Back! Back!" (Celestia loses 2 points, Selene risks taking a wound.)

2-9: "I messed up." (Celestia loses 3 points, vote for a negative outcome.)

1: "I regret this." (Celestia loses her battle.)

Full rules of Celestia's "progression" mechanic omitted.

Rolls from previous turns omitted.

Positive effects towards Equestria in general omitted.

 

[Greymere]

[Soothe the night, breakpoints variable]

[Roll: 2]

[Winter-related Realization. Re-roll invoked.]

[Roll: 7]

Click to shrink...

Damn. That was some real fucking bad luck there. At least it isn't Daybreaker unleashed.

I think either throwing every spare AP we have at Cadance or losing our social action + committing to "searching" for Luna every turn are our only real options here. But of course, throwing every spare AP we have at Cadance means delaying Smiles and. Well.

Selene has to roll very well to delay Celestia's Lore progression. And at the current pace, we've got until Turn 25 even with our Moth Sacrament.

 

[ses]

[] The Royal Apartment has become distressingly hot, to the point that even Princess Celestia's guards (ceremonial as they were) have been prohibited from approaching it. This has become the most crucial issue on Princess Cadance's agenda.
-You will gain the Fleeting Opportunity "Help Cadance." You will be allowed to dedicate as many Personal Actions (and Social Actions) to address it as you wish. You will not be informed of how many actions you "should" dedicate to it.
-If Cadance succeeds on her efforts, she will "disarm" the current crisis. If Cadance only succeeds "partway," this situation will be delayed for another turn and the Fleeting Opportunity will be offered once more.
-If Princess Cadance fails on her efforts, Princess Celestia will go one "step" down on her previously-rolled reaction scale.

Click to shrink...

We can dedicate 4 Velvet AP to this if we want... and we introduced Cadance to the perfect Lores to help with this, even if she hasn't leveled them yet. She probably will from this experience.

Damn. That was some real fucking bad luck there. At least it isn't Daybreaker unleashed.

I think either throwing every spare AP we have at Cadance or losing our social action + committing to "searching" for Luna every turn are our only real options here. But out course, throwing every spare AP we have at Cadance means delaying Smiles and. Well.

Selene has to roll very well to delay Celestia's Lore progression.

Click to shrink...

She rolls 1d100 with advantage every turn, correct? Because obviously this is always where her Winter reroll will go. Gonna have to do the math on this but Celestia seems very disarmable.

 

[Greymere]

She rolls 1d100 with advantage every turn, correct? Because obviously this is always where her Winter reroll will go. Gonna have to do the math on this but Celestia seems very disarmable.

Click to shrink...

The question isn't if she's disarmable. It's if Selene can do it quickly enough to prevent us from going up in flames.

 

[Arrkhon]

[Soothe the night, breakpoints variable]

[Roll: 2]

[Winter-related Realization. Re-roll invoked.]

[Roll: 7]

Click to shrink...

Nice rolls Luna, you are making us proud

[] One day the sun stopped moving, and everypony swore that it was looking directly at them. It is very hard to live a normal life when the sun no longer sets.

Click to shrink...

This one could have funny effects on changelings
[] Princess Celestia has spoken once more, at last. She decrees that her sister be found. Equestria moves to obey.
I believe in gambling, she won't mess up the meeting rolls! Especially if we get Mareinette to stick a Grail influence on her!

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

Well we could have Selene summons a winter influence to make their rolls better.

 

[Shaper47]

Sigh, I know I said it was a bad idea but I don't enjoy being proven right.

 

[Rafuki22]

Especially if we get Mareinette to stick a Grail influence on her!

Click to shrink...

I don't think that Grail plays a part in this.

 

[Greymere]

Actually, Cadance option likely wouldn't delay Smiles as much as I thought it would initially. If we lose our social AP and our constables next turn, then we effectively can only take one Smiles action anyway if we're purifying the reagent. So committing everything (ex. Sacrament AP) to Cadance for the turn really only loses us 5 points of progress, which is easily recoverable.

Edit: Sorry Mayor Mare, but keeping Daybreaker locked up is just a wee bit more important!

 

[Arrkhon]

Sigh, I know I said it was a bad idea but I don't enjoy being proven right.

Click to shrink...

It was a great idea and it's a proof that it's a correct path that both gives us more time and can stop this clock entirely

 

[Sintonir]

Uh oh
...sooo, how many personal and social actions do we really need next turn?

 

[DelightedOne]

Sol Vindictus? Fuck!

"… I don't know what to do," you cough out.

Click to shrink...

Of course you don't dear. But that is why we: "The voices in your mother's head" are here.

But seriously, I expected this.

You do not like it when your sister dreams of the Labyrinth. Because every time you see its cracked and twisting walls, you can't help but feel how exhausted Celestia is. To the point that she let go of the chains, and the only thing keeping the Monster trapped are the twisting turns of your sister's own confused mind.

There are other dreams that you have seen at least twice. The Dungeon, the Puzzle, the Caverns. You keep track of them, writing down everything you learn when you wake up, in hopes to find something that will help you make Celestia better.

Click to shrink...

Interesting. Celestia is keeping Daybreaker stuck by presenting different challenges that change.

I predict that Selene will need to beat some challenge in one of those settings to get rid of Daybreaker.

And once again fuck. She let go of the chains.

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Click to shrink...

Forge? Or regular Daybreaker color?

Doesn't matter. There is drama close by!

[] One day the sun stopped moving, and everypony swore that it was looking directly at them. It is very hard to live a normal life when the sun no longer sets.

Click to shrink...

Nope.

Vote options? Let's take a look.

[] Princess Celestia has spoken once more, at last. She decrees that her sister be found. Equestria moves to obey.

Click to shrink...

Possibly yes.

[] The Royal Apartment has become distressingly hot, to the point that even Princess Celestia's guards (ceremonial as they were) have been prohibited from approaching it. This has become the most crucial issue on Princess Cadance's agenda.

Click to shrink...

Maybe? But most likely no.

[] Outsiders are forbidden from entering the House of the Sun. What did she do? What. Did. She. Do?

Click to shrink...

I have no idea.

[Roll: 2]

[Winter-related Realization. Re-roll invoked.]

[Roll: 7]

Click to shrink...

...

How? How did this happen?

100: "Good morning, dear Sister." (The issue is resolved)
96-99: "I will be here tomorrow as well, when you fall asleep." (Celestia moves one step "up" her previously-rolled reaction scale.)
80-95: "The sweetest dreams, to calm that burning wrath." (Celestia progresses 3 points, vote for a positive opportunity.)
70-89: "A sweet dream, to cool that fiery rage." (Celestia progresses 2 points, Lore learning delayed for one turn.)
50-69: "Your flame may burn the tip of my feathers, but their ashes will still reach you." (Celestia progresses 1 point.)
30-49: "The very marble burns. Not today. Not tonight." (No effect.)
20-29: "Her resentfulness pierces the very air. I am not welcome here." (Celestia loses 1 point.)
10-19: "The guards turn their spears on me! Back! Back!" (Celestia loses 2 points, Selene risks taking a wound.)
2-9: "I messed up." (Celestia loses 3 points, vote for a negative outcome.)
1: "I regret this." (Celestia loses her battle.)
Full rules of Celestia's "progression" mechanic omitted.

Rolls from previous turns omitted.

Positive effects towards Equestria in general omitted

Click to shrink...

Okay first things first.

Soothing the Night is how we get rid of Daybreaker.

Selene failed horribly this turn.

We are going to suffer!

That is all I can see. Let's keep on this path for our own good.

Sigh, I know I said it was a bad idea but I don't enjoy being proven right.

Click to shrink...

Not a bad idea. Bad roll.

And hey, we got our answer to how to get rid of Daybreaker.

 

[Shaper47]

-You will gain the Fleeting Opportunity "Help Cadance." You will be allowed to dedicate as many Personal Actions (and Social Actions) to address it as you wish. You will not be informed of how many actions you "should" dedicate to it.

Click to shrink...

Hmm...

@OurLadyOfWires Can we have Mareinette give Cadence a Grail Influence to help Cadance here? Or send Mareinette to assist?

 

[spiderhellian]

Lord, those rolls, that's an oof right there.

This is a Horror Quest in full force!

 

[Arrkhon]

7 or higher: "The Paragon of Harmony walks upon Equestria. None shall find her wanting."

6: "The morning sun comes, and the horrors of the night flee from its bright gaze."

5: "Bowed, but unbroken. Shaken, but still determined. The sun's light was warmer, before, but its light is still there."

4: "The clouds are too heavy, too numerous. The sun is still there, but we cannot reach it, and it can no longer reach us."

3: "Will the sun ever rise again? It might have forsaken us. It might just not care anymore."

2: "The sun blazes with wrath. Her will shall no longer be denied."

1: "Dawnbreaker has come. If the Moon will not rise, then the Sun will never set."

0 or lower: "The Sun was divided, and this is its wound."

Click to shrink...

For reference

 

[Rafuki22]

@OurLadyOfWires i assume that a Winter Influence wouldn't help Selene with Soothing the Night? Or it would?

 

[Limabot]

Okay, this outcome is not great, but it is encouraging that even an average roll helps Celestia's condition improve (even if not by much), and it does mean that having Selene continue working on Night-Soothing (albiet preferably with more Winter Help) is worth it.

 

[ses]

Okay, on the subject of our options and Math....

Celestia levels Lantern every turn unless Selene soothes her with "A sweet dream"
We can only afford one more levelup... which means Selene MUST get a good outcome on her Soothe the Night roll next turn in order to let us have enough time to All-In even if we bumrush Name Befriendings. Otherwise we have to kick off the boogaloo with only Axe and Mareinette and Baldomare. No Smiles or Cherenkolt.

Our odds on Soothing the Night are actually pretty decent due to Selene's reroll... but we know for a fact that Selene rolled badly last turn because Celestia leveled Lantern and we weren't given a positive vote. Which means we're not fixing this issue with "Progress" points. We need to just roll a 96+ using the winter reroll to fix the issue.

52%+ for a Sweet Dream or better every turn she Soothes the Night. 2% chance of fixing the problem entirely. 10% chance of being out of the Daybreaker danger zone, which frankly is close enough to fixing the problem entirely I dont understand the distinction.

I want to say THE THREAD FUCKED UP by not voting for Royal Guest when they had the chance. We should have just invested in finding the Outsider ourselves. Selene's odds on fixing Daybreaker were frankly great despite the rolls that actually happened.



So what are our options?

Glare, Bureau, Mansus, or Cadance?

Cadance means we're giving up on bumrushing Smiles entirely, but has the best chance of fixing this issue with only a turn of damage control.
Glare lets us split the difference, as we can work on Smiles while rolling the dice on Selene's Soothe the Night next turn.
Mansus or Bureau seems like we MUST commit to bumrushing All In because we're doing yet another Magical Mansus Reform Service. Again. Or crippling our long term eco.


Bureau costs us over 2 Velvet AP next turn and quickly adding up from there... we should just take Cadance instead of Bureau unless we really want to commit to bumrushing Glory and are afraid of Mansus consequences. It'll be net-negative on AP compared to Cadance for all but the most extremespeed Glory plans.

 

[Greymere]

Alright so. AP.

We have two actions, potentially three, which are absolutely critical and can't be delayed. 1) Grail Sacrament, 2) Moth Sacrament, and 3) Purifying a Forge 6 reagent. We will be doing at least the first stage of Cover Your Bases for +1 AP, because of course we are.

That leaves two spare AP, and one social AP. If we commit to doing our SH Sacrament, that leaves us with two total AP that we could fling at Cadance, but Constables can balance that out leaving us back at three total. If we eat up Smiles's, Jade's, and presumably Filthy Rich's AP, we can add one more AP for a total action count of:

4 AP (Base) + 2 AP (Cover Your Bases x2) + 1 AP (Constables) -> 7 AP + Social

- Grail Sacrament
- Moth Sacrament
- Secret Histories Sacrament
- Purify Forge 6 reagent
- Help Cadance (x4; 3 AP + Social)

Edit: @ses what's the math on Selene rolling well enough to halt Lore progression with a +30 Winter Influence?

Edit 2: Wait, fuck, nevermind. If Winter applied, she wouldn't have been able to roll single digits.

 

[ses]

Alright so. AP.

We have two actions, potentially three, which are absolutely critical and can't be delayed. 1) Grail Sacrament, 2) Moth Sacrament, and 3) Purifying a Forge 6 reagent. We will be doing at least the first stage of Cover Your Bases for +1 AP, because of course we are.

That leaves two spare AP, and one social AP. If we commit to doing our SH Sacrament, that leaves us with two total AP that we could fling at Cadance, but Constables can balance that out leaving us back at three total. If we eat up Smiles's, Jade's, and presumably Filthy Rich's AP, we can add one more AP for a total action count of:

4 AP (Base) + 2 AP (Cover Your Bases x2) + 1 AP (Constables) -> 7 AP + Social

- Grail Sacrament
- Moth Sacrament
- Secret Histories Sacrament
- Purify Forge 6 reagent
- Help Cadance (x4; 3 AP + Social)

Click to shrink...

You're forgetting we have a Risen+Servants, so it'd be Comet+Filthy+someone else's AP (Smiles or a summoned MITL's probably?) for our 2nd Velvet AP if we wanted to do Cadance.

 

[spiderhellian]

Are we really sure Purification is necessary? As opposed to doing the Level 6 Reagent Expedition next turn, and putting off Cherenkolt befriending by 1 turn? Expeditions are strong and good and useful...

 

[Shaper47]

Celestia levels Lantern every turn unless Selene soothes her with "A sweet dream"

Click to shrink...

Errr, where are you pulling this from?

Sure a 70 or higher from Selene delays Celestia's Lore learning for one turn but that doesn't necessarily mean that Celestia raises it one higher every turn.

Higher level of lores are harder to raise.

So I can see raising the lower level by one every turn but the higher levels logically will take increasing amounts of time to learn. Especially without a teacher.

So what are our options?

Glare, Bureau, Mansus, or Cadance?

Click to shrink...

Mareinette is great at social actions and can step into our hooves so we could just throw Mareinette to Cadence for this social problem.

 

[DelightedOne]

Glare, Bureau, Mansus, or Cadance?

Click to shrink...

Okay, okay. My hands are shaking but I can say some narrative stuff about this.

Glare is Daybreaker bait.

One day the sun stopped moving, and everypony swore that it was looking directly at them. It is very hard to live a normal life when the sun no longer sets.

Click to shrink...

1: "Dawnbreaker has come. If the Moon will not rise, then the Sun will never set."

Click to shrink...

Bureau means making Selene and Celestia meet. Not sure if that is a good idea.

Friendship is magic and poor comunication killed their relationship before with very similar parallels so... Maybe?

Mansus sounds like the worst option. Let's not, pretty please.

Cadance? Possibly, yes. That is the only issue we can help solve and also works on "friendship is magic".

 

[Greymere]

You're forgetting we have a Risen+Servants, so it'd be Comet+Filthy+someone else's AP (Smiles or a summoned MITL's probably?) for our 2nd Velvet AP if we wanted to do Cadance.

Click to shrink...

...I forgot about our Servants okay. Probably Smiles then, Jade can study that Moth 3 artifact. Or contribute Smiles progress.

Are we really sure Purification is necessary? As opposed to doing the Level 6 Reagent Expedition next turn, and putting off Cherenkolt befriending by 1 turn? Expeditions are strong and good and useful...

Click to shrink...

Unless Selene rolls really well on her dream roll next turn? We have a hard limit of All In at the end of T24, because Celestia will hit Lantern 5 on T25 at this rate (somehow), and her Lantern = our Moth is our lose condition. We really, genuinely CANNOT afford to delay the reagent if we want Cherenkolt on the field when we go All In.

 

[Rafuki22]

[] The Royal Apartment has become distressingly hot, to the point that even Princess Celestia's guards (ceremonial as they were) have been prohibited from approaching it. This has become the most crucial issue on Princess Cadance's agenda.
-You will gain the Fleeting Opportunity "Help Cadance." You will be allowed to dedicate as many Personal Actions (and Social Actions) to address it as you wish. You will not be informed of how many actions you "should" dedicate to it.
-If Cadance succeeds on her efforts, she will "disarm" the current crisis. If Cadance only succeeds "partway," this situation will be delayed for another turn and the Fleeting Opportunity will be offered once more.
-If Princess Cadance fails on her efforts, Princess Celestia will go one "step" down on her previously-rolled reaction scale.

Yeah, this is the only one who explicitly has a "win" condition, even if the consequences are also shown.

 

[DelightedOne]

Jade can study that Moth 3 artifact.

Click to shrink...

Ahem.

-[] [JADE] Research "A Memory of the Path" (Current progress 0/200, uses Learning and KNOCK)

Click to shrink...

Please remember the back up victory in case Velvet dies at All-In.

The Wolf fans will have a field day if we don't.

 

[Rafuki22]

Mareinette is great at social actions and can step into our hooves so we could just throw Mareinette to Cadence for this social problem.

Click to shrink...

Not sure if she will be allowed to help, but i wish she could.

 

[Shaper47]

You know a Winter heirloom from the previous Hour of the Sun could probably really assist Selene in making the Alicorn of the Sun calmer

@OurLadyOfWires Does Velvet think Sun Winter Heirloom would help Selene's deam actuon calm Celestia