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

[Rafuki22]

@OurLadyOfWires you didn't see this.

Christmas is in little over a week and here i'm thinking of Mari Lwyd as a nicer Mareinette that is an alcoholic instead of a cannibal.

Spoiler: Mari Lwyd by NatalieDeCorsair

@OurLadyOfWires do you like it?

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It's a bunch of superstition but if he did make a deal with DoA to get the power of which he then used to keep her cursed.

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Seems like a stretch.

 

[Limabot]

In my opinion, if the DoA was betrayed by anyone (and her paranoia isn't just a side effect of never having been a pony), it would have either been her Sisters or the Mother of Ants (personally leaning to the former).
For the Sisters argument, there is the odd (seemingly nostalgic) monologue from her about how sisters are always supposed to stand by each other and sleep together and the fact that the DoA seems to be a kind of Younger Sister (which are implied to be relatives of the MoA in CS).
For the Mother of Ants argument, there's the fact that the DoA left her service over some unspecified transgression of her patron and how the Younger Sisters in CS seem to have been collectively abandoned by the MoA as part of her ascension to Hourhood.

 

[Shaper47]

You know it's been 12 turns since turn 9, and each turn counts as a month.

Turn 9 had Hearth's Warming.

So if the pony year is the same human years with 12 months.

We have Hearth's Warming this turn.

 

[spiderhellian]

If anyone else is curious, it's another bitterly contested vote, you can almost feel the histories coming apart at their seams.

Spoiler: Tally Results

Vote Tally : Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience [Posts: 8832-8869]
##### NetTally 5.1.0

Task: 【NONE】
— Voters: 25

[X] You promise to let her help you.
No. of Votes: 23

Spoiler: Voters

[X] DelightedOne
[X] Anjaxis
[X] Arrkhon
[X] Cochimetl
[X] Flaregamer82253
[X] LieutenantSpirit
[X] Limabot
[X] Maer
[X] MisRAR1
[X] Nevermort
[X] Pittauro
[X] Pororurin
[X] Potdl
[X] Rafuki22
[X] Shaper47
[X] Sintonir
[X] Solace2117
[X] Steady Gaze
[X] Sveta08
[X] Talon Tiger Dino
[X] Turamarth
[X] Venerable Ro
[X] Void_510

[X] You promised to spend more time with her.
No. of Votes: 6

Spoiler: Voters

[X] des-pair-2
[X] DelightedOne
[X] Maer
[X] Pittauro
[X] Portec
[X] Void_510

---

Total No. of Voters: 25

 

[Sveta08]

Yeaaaaah.
yeah

 

[jelloloaf]

The Burning Fountain

Starry Dancer is living up to her name.

She is dancing, for those who are taking a moment too long to figure it out. There are no moments left to figure anything out. There are no moments left at all.

She is dancing. The Master is in danger. She can feel it. The river flows outward and on it there are fallen leaves. Fall comes before Winter. But, after Winter comes Heart. She needs to bridge the gap.

She is dancing. Copper doesn't understand. Nopony understands. They almost hear the words but they forget, unable to push through the wet. They are too weak and so the thunder song distorts them. But they are trying anyway, and so Starry tolerates that weakness.

She is dancing and watching her are the ponies she could convince of the importance, if not the reason for it. They stand around her as she is dancing because they do not understand, but they are trying to understand, so Starry keeps dancing so that they can learn the rhythm so that they can follow along and help her. If they help her then she will be able to do more than she could do alone. Friendship is power, they say.

She is dancing. The last few ponies filter into the room, instruments tightly clutched. Even if they do not understand the reason, they know the methods. It is more difficult to dance without music, and they cannot hear the same song as her. They are making a circle around her, because circles are a continuous shape with the least number of edges and she wants as little Edge as possible. They are lighting matches and lighting lamps and lighting incense that bleeds out smoke in great plumes of rosewood-ash. The light will help them see, hopefully. Otherwise, it is a waste of symbolism. She needs as much symbolism as she can get.

She is dancing. The name of the sound. Hooves against brick. Hooves are made of keratin, like hair. Bricks are made of clay, like the earth. When the bricks crack beneath her hooves she is burying her hair in the earth. But the bricks are fired, and so this will also draw attention instead of just opportunity. She wants to draw attention, so that she can take a burden in place of another. A burden shared is a burden halved, and a wolf halved is what she is drawing the attention of. The opposite of a half is a whole and she is taking the hole and putting it in the walls of the House. It is symbolic. It is also working. The air ripples with ecstatic vibrations, waves crashing to the shore. Now they will no longer keep their hooves weighed to the earth like ore. They will hear and they will learn and they will follow and they will help and they will dance.

She is dancing and they are starting to dance as well. A well is a hole in the earth through which water is drawn. They have drawn a circle in the earth and it is filling with water. They are the water, and as they flow circularly they will enact the river. It is symbolic. The musicians start to play their instruments and the sound suffuses the air like dense fog, so thick that even the greatest water-hunger could be sated if only she would take a bite—no. No. Too far. Thirst is of the Grail, but the dance must be of the Heart if it is to have any effect at all. The Grail will subvert the Heart and so it must be removed. She tells Copper to leave and there is much shouting and begging and telling her of how she will not survive this please Starry don't do this please but she is of the Heart and she will not be denied. She sees that there are tears in Copper's eyes and she tells herself that these are a lie because they are easier to ignore that way. They fall to the ground like spring rain. It is symbolic.

She is dancing and the ponies crowd close around her and they are dancing too, the floor echoing under their hooves and their instruments quivering and their voices all raised and swept up together into a tremendous gyre. In the eye of them all is Starry and she is there dancing with her hooves lively and quick, and then rearing up and stretching her wings wide, haloed from behind like an eclipsing moon. She bows to the east and then to the south and then to the east again and she throws back her head and lets her lungs pump their breath reversed into a great joyous shout and she is dearly loved by all. The chorus sings out that she never sleeps. They say she'll never die. And as she is dancing they can see her blood there dancing with her, veins swelling with tidal force. It rolls and pulses and ebbs and flows and keeps up a constant accompaniment as she closes her eyes and closes her eyes again and swings along the room's edges and takes up one of the timbrels and spins about and makes a circle, two circles, three, dancing and playing and breathing together all at once. Her hooves are light and nimble. She never sleeps, the music cries out. It says she'll never die. And around the lamps the shadows are all dancing and they can see the spark burning in her eyes even through the veils drawn over them and they can see how it whirls about her head and sets it aflame from within and they can see how the inside and the outside reflect each other across her skull. They can see how the fire blooms upon her and drops its petals to all her limbs and chars her skin to sand and boils her blood to tar and sears her hair to smoke and they can see how throughout it all Starry keeps dancing. She dances aboveground and then below, and she is dearly loved. She does not sleep because she is still dancing, dancing. And the dancing, it tells them all that she will never die.

---

And, long after that day, in small hush-gathered circles, there are still ponies who speak of a mare who saw her stage go up in smoke and chose to keep dancing anyway because she was a dancer, and she knew that if she did not dance then she was nothing. And they say that she was burnt in a great ravenous pyre that gnawed and gnawed and gnawed until there was nothing left of her but the flavor of her bones. And they say that if somepony would to sift through the ashes to find those few barren stalks that are still warm to the touch and lie them down in still water, then it would be almost possible to see the slightest ripples emerge as they keep on shivering back and forth forever.

And they say all this because she will never die.

---

Spoiler: Author's Note

I've been thinking about Starry lately. We know that she loved the Master, so it seems reasonable that she would have stayed loyal during the schism. We know that she was with Copper in Manehattan when she predicted that the Master was gone, so it seems reasonable that they would work together there. We know that she is like a 'damn Moth prophet,' so it seems reasonable that she would see what Velvet was doing. We know that there are fates worse than death, because the Wolf experiences them continually. We know that it wants to share.

Spoiler: Vague References (Optional)

There are many accounts of this History. As the Bird tells us, "she died, in agony, when the Woods burned, as she foolishly tried to save the only thing she had ever loved." As the Worm tells us, "always dying, never dead." And, as the House of Lapsang tells us, "remember our ancestors, when Bird and Worm were one." Perhaps it is an enigma that will never be solved.

 

[Shaper47]

Alas for the burning of the Woods was done by surprise and betrayal so there could be no warning, no time to prepare a ritual, no way to save even a single seed.

Alas for the Wolf-Divided's hatred and Burning Blood is almost infinite, and certainly beyond any puny mortals efforts.

Alas for no more is Moth the lore of the Woods.

 

[jelloloaf]

Alas for the burning of the Woods was done by surprise and betrayal so there could be no warning, no time to prepare a ritual, no way to save even a single seed.

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This was not a ritual. There were no effects, save for an unnecessary death.

Alas for the Wolf-Divided's hatred and Burning Blood is almost infinite, and certainly beyond any puny mortals efforts.

Click to shrink...

I've not meant to imply that the Wolf was somehow overcome. Were there any parts that were unclear about this?

Thank you for your comments.

 

[Maer]

A single seed WAS saved, remember? A dead seed. A charred and burned corpse of a seed. One that lay with Starry's charred and burned, dead corpse.

But whole. Given the correct rites and rituals, it could be restored, potentially, but that is for another History- another time. If ever the Wolf permits it to be found again…

 

[Venerable Ro]

We have Hearth's Warming this turn.

Click to shrink...

Then we'll have to go shopping.

---

A Gift For The Mare Who Can Find Anything
​

You are Velvet Covers, and you are, oh what is the term?

Vexed.

Yes, that's the word, you are most profoundly vexed. Confound all ascetic, mortality-discarding, "oh I've read that already" Lantern Names! You've gotten all of your Hearth's Warming shopping done, for your family, your friends, and even your various Guests, except for Baldomare. And she knows it too!

Oh yes, even if "Good" Baldomare hasn't said a word you can tell she knows what a frustration she's being, the smugness is unremitting. You don't ask much, all you need for a proper Hearth's Warming gift is something that the recipient will appreciate, and just as importantly something that will surprise them. You're generally an expert gift-giver, if you do say so yourself, and the unexpected surprise of a well-chosen present is the best part!

Unfortunately, all of that becomes rather difficult when the mare you're trying to get a present for is the Name of surprise-spoiling Lantern.

Perhaps a walk will clear your head, it is very early yet but the weather teams have scheduled a very mild winter. You let Stormchaser know you're going into town and you set off down the road.

.
.
.

You are Velvet Covers and the brume this morning is quite remarkable. You can barely see your hoof in front of your face as you cross the bridge on your way into town. Though you see a few lights on in the various shops it appears that no one is up and about yet, the fog is so thick as to render the place nearly unrecognizable. The post office though you can tell, is clearly open, perhaps they've received the latest catalogues?

The bell on the post office door chimes sharply as you open it, a few curling tendrils of the ever-present brume wisping in with you as you trot up to the desk. Behind the desk, the figure sorting mail into a series of cubbyholes stills at the sound of your hooves before turning to face you.

The Postmistress regards you with a raised eyebrow, saying nothing. You resist the urge to fidget, wondering if you've somehow gotten something on your muzzle or if your dress is askew. You know you haven't, but dear Celestia this mare could give PonPon a run for her money! Just before the silence becomes truly awkward she relents.

"Can I help you with something?"

"Ah! Yes! That is, yes I was wondering if the newest catalogues have come in yet? The holidays are just around the corner you know and I have been having the worst time finding a gift for a friend of mine..." You ramble somewhat aimlessly for a moment or two, you're not quite certain why you're so distracted today but the mare patiently weathers your dithering before gesturing with one hand to a rack along the wall.

"The new forms from T.R.N. Limited have arrived, the catalogues themselves stay here but I can post an order for you if you wish to browse."

You thank The Postmistress for her help, and it's honestly a relief when that piercing gaze returns to meticulously sorting the mail. Trotting over to the catalogue display you find the one belonging to "T.R.N. Limited" without much difficulty. Somewhat disappointingly the company proves to be some sort of wholesale grocer specializing in exotic foodstuffs, (and, arsenic? Surely that is a typo...) with a particular focus on spirits. Humph, as if you needed any help acquiring alcohol considering your home's proximity to Equestria's finest vineyards. On the other hoof...

[On the vineyards of Equestria and Beyond, breakpoints ???]

[Roll: 59 11 +14 (Learning)+20 (Secret Histories) =93]

[Velvet Covers has invoked a re-roll]

[Your Memory Is Very Foggy Today]

Armagnac? That's an uncommon offering to find even in a Canterlot specialty shop, let alone a post office order form. For that matter you are quite certain of your familiarity with the various Prench distilleries that produce the stuff, and you've never heard of "d'Ys". You'd dismiss it as a cheap imitation intended to prey on ignorant rural townsponies but, glancing back at The Postmistress, you somehow feel that nothing fraudulent would ever be permitted here.

Returning to the counter with the catalogue lightly gripped in your magic you wait patiently as The Postmistress transmits an outbound message over the telegraph on the countertop. Her speed and accuracy is impressive, to your knowledge telegraphs are a very new Equestrian invention yet her hand is steady and unhesitating. In only a few moments the message is sent and The Postmistress's attention is once again focused on you.

"Well then? Do you have an order for me?"

"Yes, I would like to put in an order for a case of the Armagnac d'Ys", you gesture to the entry in question on the catalogue as you place it on the countertop along with an appropriate amount of bits.

The Postmistress raises an eyebrow, but she fills out, signs and seals the order, and places it in the place that stamped orders are properly placed.

"Wait three days."

Somehow you don't doubt that the form will absolutely be delivered, and that in precisely three days your order will arrive. With that you take your leave, the day isn't getting any younger and Silky will be waking up soon. As you step out of the door back into the morning fog you vaguely hear The Postmistress mutter something that sounds like...

"Numa."

---

The idea's been rattling around in my head for a while, especially since I saw a particular character illustration. I hope to write the followup at some point, but for the moment we'll stop here.

 

[jelloloaf]

A Gift For The Mare Who Can Find Anything

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Great omake!

a few curling tendrils of the ever-present brume wisping in with you as you trot up to the desk.

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The Numa effect you use is really cool, how do you get it to do that?

 

[Venerable Ro]

The Numa effect you use is really cool, how do you get it to do that?

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I used the endlessly helpful text colorizer that someone here showed off a while back. It lets you create colored gradients in texts between two or three different colors, so long as you have the BBcode for them or are willing to manually select them in one of those drop-down gradient maps. So I just picked a lavender, jade, and violet color that looked close enough to the Numa colors and called it good. It's the same site I used when I wrote that omake with Soft Sweeps and The Wolf.

You do have to toggle the QQ text box into "BB code" in order to copy/paste the resultant mess of color code into your text, that can get fiddly.

 

[Maer]

@OurLadyOfWires
I despise that I am beginning to understand your fascination with your namesake.

The way my friend's character was born had her involved in the ritual the ended in their conception. The sheer narrative IMPLICATIONS are immense, and her being sent back to the Mansus by plot reasons is the only reason they survived childhood.

But they are avoiding EVERYTHING involving her, and I feel like I'm losing my mind.

 

[spiderhellian]

But they are avoiding EVERYTHING involving her, and I feel like I'm losing my mind.

Click to shrink...

Would you say...

And oh, how that causes you to THIRST.

 

[Maer]

Yes. X3

Just... to be fair to them, they got 1 HP away from death, and only survived because they nat 100'd their way into a VERY effective Combatant of a Minion who came in at the last second and bailed them out, so they're freaking out about combat effectiveness. But watching them run around in panic when the next combat is either their choice, or guaranteed to be several turns away is... chaos.

I'm loving every second, but the bemusement of recognizing how similar my own reactions were to my friends when placed in a similar situation is... a bit comedic. I imagine Bird was in a similar situation? Just... watching and wondering what we were doing while trying to remember that we didn't know everything.

The trait they're panicking over is whether OLoW 'knows of them' or not. Which... they apparently assumed meant that she'd be an enemy? Which... is a leap to make. An interesting one. I...

I'm just baffled by the parallels going on despite how they are completely different from us, and have a different setting and stats than us. XD

 

[Sveta08]

But they are avoiding EVERYTHING involving her, and I feel like I'm losing my mind

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Now now.
We are letting her play with the Riches!

 

[Maer]

Now now.
We are letting her play with the Riches!

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I mean, yes? Here. I was talking about the version of this Quest I'm running in a Harry-Potter setting for my friends, and their own insistence on avoiding everything related to The Mansus other than Lore itself. It's only been 4-5 turns, so I can't really say much, but if they reach 10 or so without even trying to visit the Mansus, I'm gonna have to finagle a way to push them into it. I mean, come turn 24~ish they'll have a Name specifically mentioned as 'hunting' them beginning to search the Wake for them, so there's that, but... yeah. I just...

Yeah...

Here, though, we've been slowly forced into those interactions. I'm just in the early stages of 'WHY WON'T YOU TOUCH THE SHINY???' in my own Quest, so I'm feeling it. They haven't even reached the Woods yet, much less the Red Church... They saw her name in a trait they could pick, and decided they didn't like the implications. And I'm just... Laughing. ,>w<,

 

[spiderhellian]

and their own insistence on avoiding everything related to The Mansus other than Lore itself.

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Hah iirc this was deeply true of this quest as well. Bird had to give it to us as a free action to make it happen, and I think you can count the number of AP we've devoted on one hand.

Once is accident, twice seems like enemy action. I wonder what it is that makes the Manaus fairly unappealing.

I guess it's explicitly dangerous with very opaque rewards? With little ability to influence those rewards, and where it's not obvious how to ameliorate those dangers?

Which is tough in comparison to actions whose benefit is obvious and where the tools required are too.

 

[Greymere]

Once is accident, twice seems like enemy action. I wonder what it is that makes the Manaus fairly unappealing.

I guess it's explicitly dangerous with very opaque rewards? With little ability to influence those rewards, and where it's not obvious how to ameliorate those dangers?

Which is tough in comparison to actions whose benefit is obvious and where the tools required are too.

Click to shrink...

I can't speak for Maer's game (obv) but for this quest I think a lot of it boiled down to the fact that at the lower levels we had easier ways to get Lore scraps via books, since we started the game with a large income relative to how much low-level books cost combined with our Servant AP meaning that we could send them out in book hunts without cutting into our own AP.

Then later on, the reason was AP and bit hell. Now it's a mix of AP hell (hello Sacraments) and risk (grumble grumble Church stole our Heart scraps).

 

[Maer]

Hah iirc this was deeply true of this quest as well. Bird had to give it to us as a free action to make it happen, and I think you can count the number of AP we've devoted on one hand.

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See, I expected that: I gave them an option for a trait that gives them access to both the dream realm AND the Mansus as a free action every turn, in the hopes it would circumvent that. It's free, right? They paid for it, and have been eagerly using it, and…

No. They've been choosing to delve into random dreams and hope for Lore that way rather than visit the Mansus. TwT

As for the rest… I'm gonna have to make Lore scraps cap at 2 outside their Family Library or expensive books. Probably the only way to get them interested in the Mansus itself…

 

[Flaregamer82253]

I think there was only 1 time that we went really hard on Mansus exploration (that being Turn 14). I'm not familiar with the mindset of that turn other than it was the one we knew we'd be leaving the Cult soonish and knew we needed power, but it was probably one of the most fruitful turns we had in making actual Main Quest (the 4 endings) progress between getting through the Tribal Door, finding the Tower, and finding the DoA.

A lot of things about the Mansus (in this quest's mechanics) make sense once you've started exploring it more significantly though. We don't take advantage of it much ourselves in this quest, but we generally know where we could go if we wanted to attempt high level scraps or influences in most of the lores. Getting to that point takes some effort though. It doesn't pay dividends immediately and does come with risks.

Velvet Covers was built from character creation under the idea of "rich scholar." Early game here was spent gathering broad spectrum lore levels from books, trying to create that mane 6 + Jade base, and finding Luna. We had some wins and losses, but we tried to play to the strengths and opportunities we found. It just so happens that we also have this tendency to play close and sneaky with the BIG players, which often puts us under heavy scrutiny and uncertain time limits.

I actually really empathize with OurLadyOfWires here too, because the amount of times "they're doing THAT? Here? Now?" must have run in the brain has to be numerous. The information disconnect is incredibly fun though.

 

[Shaper47]

The way I understood it was that exploration of the Mansus is more efficient by having higher lore levels.

So by focusing on growing Velvet's lore she could just breeze though the lore checks instead of having to turn back and try again over and over.

It only really started paying off at level 4 but it does save AP in the long run.

 

[Zxzx24]

We should also spend some time with our family.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

We should also spend some time with our family.

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We just did.

 

[Zxzx24]

We could always do more!

 

[Greymere]

We should also spend some time with our family.

Click to shrink...

*looks at pile of Sacraments*

*looks at Name befriending*

*looks at Celestia Lantern doomclock*

*looks at All In prepwork*

You know, for some mysterious reason I don't think that's going to happen.

 

[Zxzx24]

Oh I know. We are quite the busy bee.

More a position for old times sake than something truly practical.

 

[Nevermort]

*looks at pile of Sacraments*

*looks at Name befriending*

*looks at Celestia Lantern doomclock*

*looks at All In prepwork*

You know, for some mysterious reason I don't think that's going to happen.

Click to shrink...

Well, if it becomes too much we can always go into hiding. Celestia can't meet us if we travel beyond Equestria borders, like Knock Velvet from alt reality had done. Or we can relocate to secret base and plan world domination from there.
In fact it makes some sense to consider back up measures in case All in fails. Velvet can escape using Edge artifact but if Celestia is pissed or Discord breaks free would be useful to have some routes prepared for family to escape and location to hide in.

 

[DelightedOne]

In fact it makes some sense to consider back up measures in case All in fails.

Click to shrink...

I think the only back up measure there would be in case All In fails is Soft Sweeps Quest.

 

[Flaregamer82253]

Well, if it becomes too much we can always go into hiding. Celestia can't meet us if we travel beyond Equestria borders, like Knock Velvet from alt reality had done. Or we can relocate to secret base and plan world domination from there.
In fact it makes some sense to consider back up measures in case All in fails. Velvet can escape using Edge artifact but if Celestia is pissed or Discord breaks free would be useful to have some routes prepared for family to escape and location to hide in.

Click to shrink...

Well this does bring up the question of "what starts to happen if the Doom Clock hits 0?"

I'll start by saying this is not a pretty result.

First, I think we have to accept it is likely that Celestia will eventually discover the "Pathway through Nightmares" ritual and put 2 and 2 together. All she needs is someone to make it to the Blank Plains. And then she is starting to actively hunt lore users.

So worst case scenario happens and Celestia kills Velvet. Beyond the fact that this alone may be enough to turn her into full Daybreaker, it probably won't end there. At minimum, I suspect that Stormchaser would also die in this scenario since he has lore levels too. Frankly, I'm not even sure if Silky would be safe from the Celestial Inquisition. Frankly the only ones that I think get out of this are Selene and Soft Sweeps, and I can see what they do going a hundred different ways.

Just my usual worst-case catastrophizing

I'm becoming very certain about wanting to send Ash against Midday Dew with our free Mansus action next turn though. Anything to slow this clock down.