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

[Lorrie]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey

 

[Venerable Ro]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey

 

[Alan975]

Decided to go with No prey, we can change it next turn anyway.

Click to shrink...

Yes, at the cost of a Velvet action. Good luck clawing that from the collectives cold dead hands.

 

[spiderhellian]

We should direct Ash to Copper

First, recall what this means: "The character picked here will be actively hunted whenever they enter the Mansus."

It's unlikely it kills them, these are the most elite of mortal practitioners in this day and age. But:

1) There are things in the Manaus we do not want Copper to find. She has a cadre and access to sacrifices, which means she has a pretty good shot at summoning. Importantly: in the Mansus, there is an Edge Name aligned with rebellion, and opposing a status quo backed by a scarred mare. That's a Name we really do not want Copper to find.

2) Copper is our foe. We have already invested resources in taking her down, and are investing considerable resources in preventing her from harming us. We will likely invest further resources in combatting her influence in the future. Even if we seek a truce, not a victory, we don't want Copper getting stronger. And one of the most important sources of power is exploring the Mansus.

 

[DelightedOne]

Yes, at the cost of a Velvet action. Good luck clawing that from the collectives cold dead hands.

Click to shrink...

I don't need to do anything, the murder spirit is so strong in this Quest a murder attempt(that wasn't really a murder attempt)was preferred to chasing after a victory.

There is also that small detail, the one where we get 2 mansus actions per actual action we invest so there would still be 1 action left for whatever people want to do in there.

 

[Greymere]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[SolemLupus]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey

 

[Cochimetl]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey
[] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

Edit: I am an indecisive fool.

 

[Witherbrine2671]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[HellFire666]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur
[X] [ASH-PREY] Windy Flakes

 

[Rafuki22]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[Turamarth]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[Darkday]

[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[Limabot]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey

I understand the arguments for using Ash now, but I would at least want to take one action finding out what exactly Windy and Copper are doing before doing something we may regret.

 

[Rafuki22]

I understand the arguments for using Ash now, but I would at least want to take one action finding out what exactly Windy and Copper are doing before doing something we may regret.

Click to shrink...

I think that not commiting to a course of action because of fear, and because of the possibility of having our cake and eat it too, is something that has screwed us in the past(like being on the fence with our loyalty to the master), maybe the result will be good, maybe the result will be bad, but i believe that we should be active, not pasive.

 

[Greymere]

In Which The Woods Shine Bright

You are Trainee Compass Rose, and tonight…

Tonight, you will take your first proper steps into the Dream.

You've been preparing for this all week; taking in the snippets of advice from your seniors, pouring over the Bureau's archives, even drawing the attention of your favored Lore this evening before you went to sleep.

Because tonight, you will be entering the Woods, that final step needed to become a proper agent of the Lunar Bureau. You have proven your mortal skills, you have proven your esoteric skills, and all that remains is to prove your ability to walk the Dream.

Though, admittedly… despite all your worries… all of your seniors have assured you that this is basically just… a formality. A social ritual to signify your graduation to a full agent. That the Woods, while certainly disorienting, are not dangerous.

Or, at least, they are not dangerous anymore.

Because ultimately, there lies the source of your anxiety. That if you look deep enough into the oldest section of the Bureau's archives, you can find records of how this place used to be: an ocean of burning, hateful ash frozen in time. An ocean of ash that would love nothing more than to devour you whole, save for the blessing of protection that covered the Bureau even in those early days.

But those days are long gone, and now the Woods are here instead, ever since the first Commissioner of the Bureau ascended to claim the highest throne of the Mansus. Or perhaps before. Or perhaps after. The details aren't exactly clear, but that's only to be expected when it comes to the Lorekeeper.

So for now, there's nothing left but to move forward, following the path of deep blue Mansus-stone from the Crossroads to that distant gleam surrounding the walls of the Mansus (though the Mansus has no walls), the pure light of Glory refracted into a prismatic display by the countless crystal trees of the Woods.

And the moment you cross that threshold, where stone becomes crystal, you realize why your seniors assured you that your worries were unfounded.

Because you can feel it.

Despite the too-vivid colors surrounding you, emanating from every leaf and piece of crystalline bark. Despite the overwhelmingly bright and dazzling nature of the Woods.

It feels a bit like a heartbeat, echoing out from the earth beneath your hooves, carried by roots that drink deep of a different light. It feels a bit like a blanket, lovingly crocheted and tucked around your sleeping form.

You think that, maybe, that the Woods love you.

-----

Once, the Woods were bright and vibrant, for ignorance was bliss.

Once, the Woods were darkened, when ponykind cursed itself with its own god.

Once, the Woods were destroyed, in an act of desperation that would forever carry the taste of regret.

Once, there was a seed, taken from a shining tree hidden in the Wake and planted in ash.

Now, the Woods are bright once more, not in ignorance but in hope.

-----

The Crystal Wood guards the walls of the Mansus. As any student of Histories knows, the Mansus has no walls.

Spoiler: 'sup

Have my first omake. Spawned from the random (and probably unfeasible ) thought of "yeah the last seed of the Woods was destroyed, but there's another super-magic tree out there isn't there? And what do trees have? Seeds! Or at least cuttings."

Or, in other words, what if we grew a new Woods from cuttings/a seed from the Tree of Harmony.

Also this is my first time doing non-ttRPG related creative writing in… a while? So hopefully it reads all right

 

[DelightedOne]

I think that not commiting to a course of action because of fear, and because of the possibility of having our cake and eat it too, is something that has screwed us in the past(like being on the fence with our loyalty to the master), maybe the result will be good, maybe the result will be bad, but i believe that we should be active, not pasive.

Click to shrink...

Considering that attacking without asking questions was what put us in this situation in the first place, reignited the occult war of the old Wake and gave us an Enemy... things might get worse.

 

[Sveta08]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] No prey

 

[spiderhellian]

In Which The Woods Shine Bright

Click to shrink...

Oh this is such a lovely idea! Great apocrypha.

 

[K4lepo]

Damn...what happened to Starry might be our biggest regret yet.

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[Venerable Ro]

@Venerable Ro A beautiful story! A wonderful dream. Precious and beautiful.

I doubt such... Gentleness, and such serene grace is what is heeded. But it is a beautiful dream none the less.

Click to shrink...

I'm glad you liked it! Gentleness though, yes and no.

It's been a thought in the back of my mind for a long while since we met this Wolf in the quest, He's the Edge/Winter Hour but he doesn't act like the Edge/Winter Hour. Not really, there's no nuance to him, there's no contest and no ending, just blood and rot and pointless ruin. This led me to the rather striking thought that The Intercalate itself was a Regrettable Action, and The Wolf was one of the primary consequences of that action.

Unintended consequences. Regrettable Actions are pretty much defined by them, the results are always worse than intended, and what could be worse than the Wolf himself?

Well, there can only be 30 hours, this is a certain law, and they obviously can't double up. There is only one purely Forge Hour for example. Therefore, by existing the Wolf superseded the possible ascension of any other Edge/Winter Hour, and wasted the domain in the process.

Then we had Soft Sweeps. That speech she gave to her totally-not-a-budding-cult, full of knife-Edged fury and Winter-cold comfort, that struck such a chord. The other two great Edge Hours both concern themselves with what one should fight for, and how, questions of ideology or scars. Soft focuses on why one should fight at all, the fundamental choice to fight the battle called life, "I will die someday, but today I will live". That's not gentle at all, it's just not rabid.


View: https://youtu.be/w1JJ5actiUM
(Yes I'm very fond of audiovisual storytelling, how did you know?)

One of the most important things about the Wolf for me is that it is quite fundamentally hopeless, it cannot be anything other than what it is, it cannot change itself and it cannot change the world around it save by making everything else more like itself. The only thing Soft did, the only thing she could do, was give it the option, show it the option really, of making a choice.

And the only reason she could do that was because she so perfectly expressed/understood/exemplified what the Wolf's Lores could be. Which in turn was only because she had a little bit of the wolf inside her, enough to know what pain is, and enough of Velvet's love to know what hope is. She understood the Wolf's position, she had to, it was only way she could have supplanted Despair with Choice. It's the Lithomachy all over again, one power giving way to another.

Freedom, really, it's about freedom. And what's more freeing than a choice?

 

[Rafuki22]

Considering that attacking without asking questions was what put us in this situation in the first place, reignited the occult war of the old Wake and gave us an Enemy... things might get worse.

Click to shrink...

Do you want to deal with hypotheticals? There is no guarantee that not atacking Copper would have helped, specially if Lady Luck decided for us to roll low.

 

[Greymere]

Current state of the votes

Spoiler: Tally

Vote Tally : Esquestria: The House of the Sun - A pony cultist experience | Page 92 | Questionable Questing [Posts: 2812-2841]
##### NetTally 5.0.6

Task: PRIDE
— Voters: 21

[X][PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
No. of Votes: 21

Spoiler: Voters

[X] angelsadvocate666
[x] Alan975
[X] Cochimetl
[X] DelightedOne
[x] des-pair-2
[X] Greymere
[X] Gyldir
[X] HellFire666
[X] Iustus Vitea
[X] K4lepo
[X] LieutenantSpirit
[X] Limabot
[X] Lorrie
[x] Nevermort
[X] Rafuki22
[X] SolemLupus
[X] spiderhellian
[X] Sveta08
[X] Turamarth
[X] Venerable Ro
[X] Witherbrine2671

---

Task: ASH-GUARD
— Voters: 21

[X][ASH-GUARD] Stalk.
No. of Votes: 13

Spoiler: Voters

[x] des-pair-2
[X] Cochimetl
[X] Greymere
[X] K4lepo
[X] LieutenantSpirit
[X] Limabot
[X] Lorrie
[x] Nevermort
[X] SolemLupus
[X] Sveta08
[X] Turamarth
[X] Venerable Ro
[X] Witherbrine2671

[X][ASH-GUARD] Feast!
No. of Votes: 11

Spoiler: Voters

[X] Iustus Vitea
[x] Alan975
[X] Darkday
[X] DelightedOne
[X] Greymere
[X] Gyldir
[X] HellFire666
[X] K4lepo
[X] Rafuki22
[X] spiderhellian
[X] Turamarth

---

Task: ASH-PREY
— Voters: 21

[X][ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur
No. of Votes: 13

Spoiler: Voters

[X] Iustus Vitea
[x] Alan975
[X] Darkday
[x] des-pair-2
[X] Greymere
[x] Gyldir
[X] HellFire666
[X] K4lepo
[X] Rafuki22
[X] SolemLupus
[X] spiderhellian
[X] Turamarth
[X] Witherbrine2671

[X][ASH-PREY] No prey
No. of Votes: 8

Spoiler: Voters

[X] DelightedOne
[X] Cochimetl
[X] LieutenantSpirit
[X] Limabot
[X] Lorrie
[x] Nevermort
[X] Sveta08
[X] Venerable Ro

[X][ASH-PREY] Windy Flakes
No. of Votes: 2

Spoiler: Voters

[X] spiderhellian
[X] HellFire666

---

Total No. of Voters: 22

 

[Venerable Ro]

Honestly I don't really want Ash attacking Copper or Windy or anyone else, since I doubt it'll result in an outright death and even if it did it would be a Wolf-death that would somehow make the situation worse. Nothing good can come of the Wolf.

That said, I would be very interested to know if Ash could report the comings and goings of persons of interest to us, who dreams, when they dream, where they wander, ect. He would know, he couldn't miss them if he wanted to, and wouldn't it be nice if we had an early warning for new Dreamers?

[X][ASH-PREY] Peculiar Rumor

 

[DelightedOne]

Do you want to deal with hypotheticals? There is no guarantee that not atacking Copper would have helped, specially if Lady Luck decided for us to roll low.

Click to shrink...

Uh... It would, because then she wouldn't have become our Enemy officially and we may have had the chance to tell her the Master tried to make us kill her but we didn't fall for it because she was our "friend"(one less reason to hate Velvet, one more reason to hate the Master) which would shake her worldview a little so we could start making her see Velvet as more than a rival.

What is that about a roll? Our Wrong Keys have been doing very well in defending us(since they can't fail) and if things do not fail spetacularly with Comet this turn we may have a permanent guard in the future.

 

[Greymere]

Uh... It would, because then she wouldn't have become our Enemy officially and we may have had the chance to tell her the Master tried to make us kill her but we didn't fall for it because she was our "friend"(one less reason to hate Velvet, one more reason to hate the Master) which would shake her worldview a little so we could start making her see Velvet as more than a rival.

Click to shrink...

She'd still be actively trying to kill us, which isn't really conductive to "wanting to be not-enemies" on the player end. And tbh, considering Copper is already biased to just completely fucking hate our guts, I don't really see her taking "but I didn't actually try and kill you back" in a friendly way. If she was a purely rational actor, maybe, but as Bird had to keep reminding us when the topic of telling Celestia about the cult came up, people are not rational actors. She'd probably take it as, like "oh you just weren't worth my time because you're so beneath me" or something like that, considering she seemed to be under the impression that we looked down on the other advisors even when we were on the same side and mostly just stumbling ass-backward into Situations. And that was before we: killed some of her people, stole Twilight from her, (accidentally) misled her into thinking the Royal Guard were after the cult, betrayed her by not only leaving but defecting to the Crown when she (thought) she was in genuine danger (from the Crown), intentionally incited more panic and caused Windy to also leave and burn down the Wildhoof Club while he was at it, "stole" Baldomare from her, and "stole" DoA from her.

Point is, she has a lot of reasons to not like us beyond the PtN(s) and go "okay but I want to screw you over anyway".

Edit: oh and, of course, our current job is literally an existential threat to her cult, seeing as part of our official mission statement is investigating the Luna Attack.

Edit 2: Like seriously, if this was Copper Quest, Velvet Covers would be That One Fucking Character. We'd be frothing at the mouth for her hogging all the Names except Neighnia alone.

 

[Lorrie]

We'd be frothing at the mouth for her hogging all the Names except Neighnia alone.

Click to shrink...

We should nab Neighnia.

 

[Anjaxis]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

 

[Bakkasama]

[X] [PRIDE] You will tell him a little bit, but also that he should ask her the rest himself. (Reveal to Pride what action Axe will take this turn only)
[X] [ASH-GUARD] Feast!
[X] [ASH-PREY] Copper Secateur

I was considering Stalk instead of Feast because the more dangerous the wastes are, the less incentive ponies have to try to cross it; I cannimagine that a lot of ponies would risk some discomfort in exchange of power and being part of something. That said, there is no guarantee that ponies that would be against us would be the ones targeted and even if they are, they just risk the debuff rather than the guarantee hit of Feast

So basically: the more gruesome options are probably better to discourage Mansus exploration since less ponies would be willing to risk them even though they are less likely to happen, while the less risky options will proc more often.

Like, a lasting debuff or a wound are better since they mean that the pony in question have to spend resources to get rid of them and are likely a bigger malus, but they are also less likely to hit the specific ponies that would roll against us (enforcers, cadre, etc).

So it is a choice between making all the other cultists slightly less effective for sure due to a small malus to roll and making some cultists less effective due to a bigger malus and have them and their allies spend bits in either medicine or rituals to get rid of them.