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

[Shaper47]

It seems like people here don't want Biedde's Sacrament...

This must mean everyone is planning on getting the wolf Sacrament.

Unless your thinking of being sacramentless in which case shame on you.

 

[spiderhellian]

It seems like people here don't want Biedde's Sacrament...

This must mean everyone is planning on getting the wolf Sacrament.

Unless your thinking of being sacramentless in which case shame on you.

Click to shrink...

I prioritize DoA/SH sacrament this turn! Edge can come with a follower AotL next, hopefully.

 

[DelightedOne]

It seems like people here don't want Biedde's Sacrament...

This must mean everyone is planning on getting the wolf Sacrament.

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How did you come to that conclusion? We might be saving the Sacrament that might get us to 1 health for when we can risk doing it instead of the same turn as a Sacrament we know nothing about.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

It seems like people here don't want Biedde's Sacrament...

This must mean everyone is planning on getting the wolf Sacrament.

Unless your thinking of being sacramentless in which case shame on you.

Click to shrink...

We don't need to get Biedde's Sacrament this turn. Given how hilariously powerful he is in a fight, we shouldn't go for his Sacrament until we have the room to stock up multiple Edge AotLs.

We also don't have to get the Wolf's Sacrament this turn either.

We can, in fact, focus on one Sacrament at a time, like sensible people.

We could also vote for a Grail Sacrament on a social heavy turn like sensible people, and vote for Biedde doing something more useful than digging a cell. I mean seriously, even if you want a prisoner to Sacrament all you need is someone to guard the hapless mortal for a turn. Do you really think someone is going to successfully escape from the likes of Biedde or whatever? A cell is for long-term storage nobody here is even planning to bother with.

 

[Xoden]

The one that nobody wanted to do?

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Doesn't look too morally off-putting when measuring up against other Sacraments. I guess any objections to it were likely based on harder and currently unfulfillable prerequisites (three Minions to perform, while we have only one now, Rarity, and no clear prospects to acquire more), making it far less accessible than the Mareinette's Dinner option.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

I still hold to hope that the FR and the recovery of memory will do something to make our personal Sacraments a little less troubling.

 

[spiderhellian]

we shouldn't go for his Sacrament until we have the room to stock up multiple Edge AotLs.

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FWIW I think we only need one extra beyond our own, the value drops off after that.

even if you want a prisoner to Sacrament all you need is someone to guard the hapless mortal for a turn

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Not having a prison makes guarding a prisoner take two follower actions, and be notably riskier.

 

[Shaper47]

I prioritize DoA/SH sacrament this turn! Edge can come with a follower AotL next, hopefully.

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Which is good even if it means we're probably putting off Forge's Redemption till next turn.

Your reasoning is valid.

Probably going to be using Lantern Aotl next turn though so probably the one after however.

How did you come to that conclusion? We might be saving the Sacrament that might get us to 1 health for when we can risk doing it instead of the same turn as a Sacrament we know nothing about.

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DoA's Sacrament costs time not blood.

I came to that conclusion because I thought people wanted to do Forge's Redemption this turn.

Skip Forge's Redemption though and we have 5 AP for Knock/SH Sacraments and 2 AP for Fleeting actions.

 

[DelightedOne]

DoA's Sacrament costs time not blood.

I came to that solution because I thought people wanted to do Forge's Redemption this turn.

Skip Forge's Redemption though and we have 5 AP for Knock/SH Sacraments and 2 AP for Fleeting actions.

Click to shrink...

But we could get wounded, it's not about the cost of the action but what could happen when dealing with the unknown. Better safe than sorry.

Depending on what plan wins we might not be in a position for a SH Sacrament so Redemption might still happen.

Ugh, that is why I hate planning something that depends on a open vote, everything gets so hard to manage.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

FWIW I think we only need one extra beyond our own, the value drops off after that.

Not having a prison makes guarding a prisoner take two follower actions, and be notably riskier.

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Ah. My bad, I should have brushed up on the prisoner rules. Granted, I intend on Baldomare Lantern and not-cannibal Grail ideally, so I had little reason to bother. I really want Velvet, DoA, and Baldomare to go on the Baldonare trip. Just think, we can potentially increase the number of Velvet daughters and Baldomare nieces with the same action!

Which is good even if it means we're probably putting off Forge's Redemption till next turn.

Your reasoning is valid.

Probably going to be using Lantern Aotl next turn though so probably the one after however.



DoA's Sacrament costs time not blood.

I came to that solution because I thought people wanted to do Forge's Redemption this turn.

Skip Forge's Redemption though and we have 5 AP for Knock/SH Sacraments and 2 AP for Fleeting actions.

Click to shrink...

...why would we put off the Forge's Redemption? We have an over 99% chance of pulling it off this turn.

 

[spiderhellian]

Ugh, that is why I hate planning something that depends on a open vote, everything gets so hard to manage.

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Are you talking about Velvet actions here? Or what?

why would we put off the Forge's Redemption? We have an over 99% chance of pulling it off this turn.

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I hope we take the 97% lol and don't spend 35 (!) bits on 2% chance of success. But that's an argument for another time.

 

[Shaper47]

...why would we put off the Forge's Redemption? We have an over 99% chance of pulling it off this turn.

Click to shrink...

We need 5 AP for Sacraments.

Free social for Family.

Given how the winning plans are ignoring Cadance the Friends Fleeting opportunity is very very likely.

That leaves 1 AP free, and a lot of people seem to want to spend it on training Selene.

So it's either don't train Selene this turn or don't perform Forge's Redemption this turn.

Or maybe don't do either and study Moth book with a Lantern Aotl.

 

[DelightedOne]

Are you talking about Velvet actions here? Or what?

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Just Velvet's actions. I just want to know what is going to happen so I can have a Velvet Phase plan ready instead of waiting or at least know what I'm going to vote for.

 

[Bakkasama]

We need 5 AP for Sacraments.

Free social for Family.

Given how the winning plans are ignoring Cadance the Friends Fleeting opportunity is very very likely.

That leaves 1 AP free, and a lot of people seem to want to spend it on training Selene.

So it's either don't train Selene this turn or don't perform Forge's Redemption this turn.

Or maybe don't do either and study Moth book with a Lantern Aotl.

Click to shrink...

We don't need 5 AP for Sacraments though? People are just aiming for the DoA one, with the SH one being "well, if we finish Knock without spending all actions we might as well advance the SH one". So they are likely spending 4 AP in sacraments, 1 in FR and 2 on FO, with the free social on Selene.

 

[Shaper47]

People are just aiming for the DoA one, with the SH one being "well, if we finish Knock without spending all actions we might as well advance the SH one". So they are likely spending 4 AP in sacraments, 1 in FR and 2 on FO, with the free social on Selene.

Click to shrink...

Now that's just silly.

We can literally do Forge's Redemption or train Selene anytime any turn.

While doing our SH Sacrament without an SH influence is just a pointless risk given we've got a SH influence right there for DoA's Sacrament.

 

[Bakkasama]

Now that's just silly.

We can literally do Forge's Redemption or train Selene anytime any turn.

While doing our SH Sacrament without an SH influence is just a pointless risk given we've got a SH influence right there for DoA's Sacrament.

Click to shrink...

We have no idea what is on the other side of the foggy mirror, so it is not like wanting to have extra health before doing either of those sacraments is crazy either.

 

[Shaper47]

We have no idea what is on the other side of the foggy mirror, so it is not like wanting to have extra health before doing either of those sacraments is crazy either.

Click to shrink...

Then we'll just train Selene next turn.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

Then we'll just train Selene next turn.

Click to shrink...

People don't want to risk doing two possibly dangerous Sacraments in a turn. That's all.

 

[Maer]

Ashen Weaver


You are Ashen Weaver, a simple Stallion, and somepony who recently found himself walking home after a late shift in a factory. It was hard work, but you knew it was good work. It was also ending soon- the way your boss looked at you, you could tell that your time there would soon be over. You had already been looking for a new place to work when the explosion hit, and you screamed and looked up along with most of the city, watching the building begin to collapse. It had been so fast, and you were so close... Papers flew out, chaos reigned, and a paper got caught on your face as you ran, screaming and wildly racing around to try and escape. You were several blocks away before you had the presence of mind to pull the paper from your face and look back.

The building had sent dust into the sky, darkening the streets and blinding you. You shivered, mentally praying that nopony had been hurt. Though the paper in your hoof caught your attention again, and you read the words. Something about Moths and craving Lanterns... and a trick to getting into a place called 'The Mansus'. It sounded like a legend, some silly childhood myth like saying Nightmare Moons name into a reflection of the moon three times. Great fun, but ultimately harmless. You tucked it into your bag, focusing on the building again. What... what had CAUSED that? It couldn't have been an error in the structure, could it? Most construction ponies had something of a sixth sense for things like that...

It didn't really matter. It wasn't your business... so why were you walking back? No, not walking... running. You got there along with a dozen other ponies, more and more gathering as you all started working together. You didn't need to speak, didn't need to ask what was going on. You KNEW why you were here. The unicorns worked on trying to lift the rocks, helping the earth ponies even if their magic wasn't strong enough for the larger rocks. You had managed to get some short way into things when the Lunar Bureau people showed up, and efforts stopped, fear and paranoia gripping you all. The efforts to see if anyone was inside that rubble were... well, old habits were hard to forget. Especially after the last tragedy... after so much death and pain... people knew the pain. They didn't want that for others if they could help it. But... that memory was instinct, and once that instinct broke, it was hard to summon the will to see the ponies around you as PONIES again, instead of possible monsters disguising themselves.

You'd nearly felt that weave between ponies you'd felt all your life, up until just before that wonderful wedding... The world felt so much darker, but it made moments like these stand out as so much brighter. Despite the vile cruelty of the world, suffocating hopes, dreams, and love, ponies refused. To be a pony was to dream of the future, to hope and dream and love. To shine brightly with all you had. The so-called Elements of Harmony were merely a reflection of that. The efforts Ponies had made, the dream of a brighter future... this world may have had no light of its own, but ponies had been bringing light to it for thousands of years, or more! And you were determined not to stop.

You turned, beginning to stubbornly struggle against the rubble, ignoring the Lunies as they did their jobs and tried to figure out what had happened. They went from pony to pony, gathering more and more, but at the same time, you worked and slowly... slowly... the ponies around you made their choices and began to work again as well. Either you'd save some ponies, or you'd help the bureau, you didn't care. What mattered was... this. This connection, to the ponies around you, burning inside you like a flame, a blazing light of connection, loyalty, and generosity. You would NOT give up on those values, those sparks of dreams and hope for the future to become better than it was right now. You were a PONY. That meant something!

Piece by piece, pony by pony, the tattered wed of connection, unity, and purpose began to weave back together between ponies. You could feel it... you were no Unicorn, and while an earthpony you may be... you had a connection to living things. You could feel this tapestry as easily as you could the life in the earth, the plants, the weave and pattern of the fabrics you wore... you were whole. And you were not going to give in and give up. You could do this, and you WOULD do this.

By the end of the night, you were bloody from scrapes and scratches, exhausted, and had been questioned extensively. You'd given them the scrap of paper you'd had, and described the experience... but you never stopped working. When they asked why, after it was done... you just looked at them. After all, did you really have to explain? This was who you were. You were Ashen Weaver. You remembered what was forgotten in your woven patterns, and you brought peace and community where you could. You were an earth pony. It was in your blood to build and care for those fragile things... the delicate life that so weakly grew in the fertile soils of Equestrian soil. This weave, this bond between ponies, it was delicate, fragile, and oh-so broken... but it was vital. It was important. It was a light that would never dim or go out, and it was so wonderful and frighteningly weak.

You didn't know anyone else who could feel it, not like you could. How could you not take up the duty? Who else WAS there? No. No you had work to do supporting your community, building the weave thread by thread as you always had before, and carefully guiding the growth of those wonderful strands. You knew the world was dark and you may not have the power of Celestia to burn away and shelter ponies from the darkness, or Luna's gift to soothe those lost in it's embrace and destroy it's monsters, but you had this. The weave, pattern, connection... you had something. So you would use what you could to save this world. Every last light mattered, every last hope and dream was vital. When they asked why, all you could wonder, as you answered them, was... how no one else could see that.

Finally, you were sent home, the city's own construction ponies arriving to take over with a far more professional and efficient setup than you ragtag bunch of barely-held-together volunteers. So you left, exhausted and wondering how the world had grown so very dark... and as you slipped into your home, you remembered that cute little ritual. So you tried it, smiling to yourself and remembering your foalhood as you carefully snipped your own mane in the mirror... but you had noticed secrets in the paper, enough to recognize and remember the ritual, and some lingering feeling of something more... so, as you lay down and fell asleep, you did not dream of fabric and thread and weaving as you normally did... no. You dreamt of Ash, of pain, and of the sharp teeth in the darkness. And when you awoke, you felt... dimmer than before, and you had forgotten that odd secret, and the ritual attached. By choice, not by force- not that it would stop those teeth from biting you in your sleep again, now they had your scent... Sucking in a breath, you refused that path, the dim brilliance and Glory of it, dragging yourself out of bed through sheer determination. Your light would recover, and you would help heal those lights that belonged to every other pony around you.

You had too...
--------

I need to work on making these longer next time. Not even 2,000 words... I'm just failing at my own standards... Regardless. Tada!
Another Omake.
I'm done for a while.

Again. I have been told that this is actually a good one! So hooray!

 

[Shaper47]

People don't want to risk doing two possibly dangerous Sacraments in a turn. That's all.

Click to shrink...

We've been given information that DoA's Sacrament cost time not blood though and doing the SH Sacrament with SH influence makes it much less dangerous. So that doesn't really seem logical.

 

[Sveta08]

It's done.
Went faster than I expected, though I will be touching it up over the next day or four.
Not gonna release it until after the Velvet Actions are decided, because... well...

It won't help. And it would just make things more difficult all around.

But, yeah. Now I can focus on the vote for Follower actions again. Woo.
But as things are, seems things are still staying the course with Lightcatcher v2, so happy there.

 

[Shaper47]

Egh this Plan "We Can Be More + Edge (no Prison)" is the kind of half fast not at all thought out mess I really don't like.

Seriously, if the unneeded and dangerous option of having Selene set out worm bait was replaced with an extra Edge Aotl it would be set up for our Edge Sacrament.

As it is now it's a bunch of half fast measures.

Clearly we are not nearly ready to go for the All In endgame anytime soon with the way people here want to waste action.

Still at least it's better then that Lightchaser marlaky. Like seriously who has a Lantern influence on in a turn where we're not going to be studying anything and an SH influence would help with finding the Frangiclave. It's like they Plan to ditch DoA.

[X] Plan We Can Be More

[X] Plan We Can Be More + Edge (no Prison)

[X] Plan: Knock, SH and Edge Sacrament with extra Aotl (Jade on light)
[X] Plan: Knock and SH Sacraments with Friendship
[X] Plan: Knock, SH and Edge Sacrament with extra Aotl
[X] Plan: Knock, SH and Edge Sacrament
[X] Plan: Knock, SH and Wolf Sacrament
[X] Plan Stacking up Influences and Raiding with SH influence

[x] Plan Bakkasama

 

[Bakkasama]

[x] Plan Bakkasama
-[x] [DETECTIVES] The dangers in the dark come from outside of Ponykind as well. Listen to the rumors. Study the myths. Look for the threats from without. (Search for Expedition Sites for your later consideration. Additionally, keep an ear on the ground for other "foreign" threats)
-[x] [CONSTABLES] (FOLLOW UP) Your detectives have given you a very long list, of ponies and places involved in the attempt against your life. Round them up and put them all in jail, before this trail goes cold.
-[x] [COMMISSIONER] The Lunar Bureau is not the only recently-minted institution in Equestria. Try to contact the others.
--[x] Eclipse(?), and Midday Dew.
-[x] Leash Filthy Rich (gain one follower action)
-[x] Three extra Velvet actions! (Costs 9 follower actions)
-[x] [RARITY] Focus on her work. (Guarantees she will "succeed" on her career roll)
-[x] [BALDOMARE] Channel an Influence. (SH)
-[x] [BALDOMARE] Prolong her stay. (Edge 6 book)
-[x] [MAREINETTE] You need her to talk to… (Spoiled Rich)
-[x] [AXE] Ask for a Knock lesson.
-[x] [JADE] Research "A Memory of Light" (Current progress 0/100, uses Learning and LANTERN)
-[x] [SELENE] Soothe the night. (Her Winter realization. Unknown effects, if any.)
-[x] Needs must. Ask somepony to procure you a dead body from the local cemetery.

[X] Plan Spreading Ourselves Thin Always Gets Us Punished

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

[X] Plan Lightcatcher V2

 

[spiderhellian]

@Maer
These were good omake! You should give yourself more credit And there's no need to hide them in spoilers!

You are Velvet Covers.

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I love how similar this felt to this history at the start, and how far it has diverged by the end. Really striking. And it is such a lovely image of Velvet with all the cult as friends. Starry especially.

You were Velvet Covers

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Enjoyed this too! The terror of coming back to the history and the Woods are still burned…

By choice, not by force- not that it would stop those teeth from biting you in your sleep again, now they had your scent... Sucking in a breath, you refused that path, the dim brilliance and Glory of it, dragging yourself out of bed through sheer determination. Your light would recover, and you would help heal those lights that belonged to every other pony around you.

You had too...

Click to shrink...

And this was a nice depiction of the after-effects of Ash hunting. Ashen Weaver is an interesting character, tragic that he's forgotten about the Mansus, it would be fun to see more of him.

Lunies as they did their jobs

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This is a great line too, definitely feels like authentic slang!

 

[spiderhellian]

Egh this Plan "We Can Be More + Edge (no Prison)" is the kind of half fast not at all thought out mess I really don't like.

Seriously, if the unneeded and dangerous option of having Selene set out worm bait was replaced with an extra Edge Aotl it would be set up for our Edge Sacrament.

Click to shrink...

Y'know, this is a valid point. We've got a 72% chance of success (57% with 0 wounds)... maybe we should take it.

It's only 77% (59% 0 wounds) with another AotL... ie not much better.

 

[Maer]

@Maer
These were good omake! You should give yourself more credit And there's no need to hide them in spoilers!

Click to shrink...

1. Thank you! It isn't 'hiding them' in spoilers so much as I was nervous about placing a wall of text there in the middle of a discussion. I wanted to be respectful. Everyone's discussions have always been productive and fun to read, and I didn't want to interrupt that.

2. Thank you! That's what I was aiming for and I'm really relieved it came across like I hoped. I'm also glad you enjoyed seeing the Cult as a group rather than a fallen arcology.

3. Thank you! I don't think I did as well as I could have in displaying that horror, but this was a very distant look, more an overview than riding in the passenger seat. So it makes sense.

4. Thank you! If you're honestly interested, I can write more about him. The Mansus is in his head, even if he's forgotten it. The nightmares won't stop now they've started. There are a dozen ways he can get back into it. Including just choosing not to forget anymore. Forgetting was a choice for him, after all, not the natural effect of time passing. I'm glad you like him, though.

5. Thank You! Other thoughts were 'Bureau' which felt too clinical, and 'Moonies' which felt too… distant? The connection was there, but felt wrong. I also considered 'Blues', but that's the cops, so it wasn't quite right. Lunies got both because of instinctive fear and paranoia leading people to dismiss and distrust them, as well as evolving from their actual name in both a reasonable and mocking way. Felt appropriate for Manehatten.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

We've been given information that DoA's Sacrament cost time not blood though and doing the SH Sacrament with SH influence makes it much less dangerous. So that doesn't really seem logical.

Click to shrink...

We've been told that the DoA doesn't expect it to be dangerous. She doesn't know about our self-assigned bonus objective to seek out her Key. That's where the potential danger comes in.

 

[Shaper47]

We've been told that the DoA doesn't expect it to be dangerous. She doesn't know about our self-assigned bonus objective to seek out her Key. That's where the potential danger comes in.

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I still consider that if she says she doesn't expect it to be dangerous then it holding the Frangiclave is unrelated to any danger level.

In the unlikely event it does turn out that there are dangers to attempting to grab the Frangiclave wouldn't we have an in turn vote though? So it shouldn't influence any current plans.

 

[Talon Tiger Dino]

I still consider that if she says she doesn't expect it to be dangerous then it holding the Frangiclave is unrelated to any danger level.

In the unlikely event it does turn out that there are dangers to attempting to grab the Frangiclave wouldn't we have an in turn vote though? So it shouldn't influence any current plans.

Click to shrink...

If we are stocked up on, say, Edge AotLs, then the choice becomes bail on DoA or let the AotLs go to waste. Far better to invest Follower Actions that will benefit us regardless of what accosts us in getting that key.

Like a Grail Influence, since all the FOs people want are social. And maybe we'll have to talk to people on the other side of the mirror! And if we crush the DoA Sacrament and want to use our freshly reclaimed AP on our SH Sacrament, it would probably help with Alt Velvet negotiations! To say nothing of further FOs people want to take! Spoiled's one servant AP cannot compare to that. Especially since we can't Moth Sacrament instantly anyways, we have to read a certain book first.