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

[ses]

3 ap is indeed a really big chunk of our remaining AP for "just" a Sacrament. It unlocks the SuninRags expedition at the Orchard though... which probably contains fabulous rewards at relatively accessible difficulty now that the Woods expedition sites are destroyed.

The Temple of the Wheel allowed a dungeon bypass with a Heart Sacrament (or RA). Keeping the pattern of things getting more punishing designed as you ascend and the Blank Plains still being pretty easy and the Orchard site being locked behind a Winter Sacrament i would guess its a pretty easy expedition to get the heirloom once you have access via sacrament: as opposed to the Ruined Church being very dangerous and difficult with no offered Sacrament bypass.


...now I'm worried about the Ruined Church having a "fuck you come back with a Sacrament" 3 wound/scrap risking checks into the expedition

 

[DelightedOne]

...now I'm worried about the Ruined Church having a "fuck you come back with a Sacrament" 3 wound/scrap risking checks into the expedition

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I... don't think that is a thing? If there is a Sacrament Barrier in the Church(there likely is) then we would just be unable to cross it.

But yeah, wounds and scraps being lost is a risk in the high parts of the Mansus as we have seen, but I doubt it would be as high as 3 Wounds on a single failure, as that is our entire health pool, unless it is a critical failure or something.

 

[ses]

I... don't think that is a thing? If there is a Sacrament Barrier in the Church(there likely is) then we would just be unable to cross it.

But yeah, wounds and scraps being lost is a risk in the high parts of the Mansus as we have seen, but I doubt it would be as high as 3 Wounds on a single failure, as that is our entire health pool, unless it is a critical failure or something.

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I mean, we do the first 3 checks of the expedition. Then get hit with "welcome to the halfway point. Here's a scrap of Grail lore. Come back with a Sacramen to continue." and we've risked three expedition checks at DC 100 for nothing.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

The Axe Looks in the Mirror

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NOW that we have finished 90% of the snake journey (with only one or two things left to be written), I am delighted to reread this story and see how much fits.

Now Spiderhillian has a habit (and this is not a criticism, quite on the opposite!) of writing stories that are just vague and non-committing enough to be perfectly canon. After all, writing a story that "Fluttershy met Comet Feet" is a hit or a miss (and in that case, a very rare hit), because declaring it canon necessarily involves two characters meeting and interacting in a certain way.

But a story about Axe? Being grumpy? Brooding, even? That is canon every time!

Of course, importantly, we now all know the snakemare a bit better and we can see just how right spiderhillian got this. I particularly liked the callback to a fairy tale, and what it potentially could be. Because Axe always wanted to be the Princess, but how does she feel about having ended up as the Prince?

I love it. So, again, thank you for sharing this! And I apologize for taking this long to reach the snekrament, when I could finally address this properly.

Also, completely unrelated, I now accept as truth the idea that Axe's room is right above Soft's. For the sake of ground-stomping noises and annoyance, if nothing else, even if the two rooms are definitely not touching according to the architect's blueprints.

Gotta keep tha wolf-freak on her toes, aye?

And more importantly we have to find Axe ASAP.

Silky Streams Cute-ceñeara is coming up and Axe was directly involved in getting her mark!

She cant miss that!

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Great point.

@OurLadyOfWires the answer is probably "we don't know", but I might as well ask: Do we have any idea if Axe, once the chains are removed/dealt with, would be able to come and go from The Mansus to the Wake on her own?

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You don't know.

But if I could give you a visual indicator, for those of us who played CS:
Axe's summons card, the one with her scowling portrait and a constant countdown for when her summoning expires, has abruptly burned to a crisp, and a countdown event has now appeared on your board. The countdown is titled "Scales and Nests", for whatever reason, and will finish its timer at the same time this season (turn) ends.

So, let that work itself out. We have plenty of other things (and coming votes) to worry about this turn.

Scheduled vote count started by OurLadyOfWires on Mar 10, 2025 at 5:08 AM, finished with 86 posts and 27 votes.

• ---

  23 people have voted

  [X] Plan mafia Uncles are Family too
  -[X] Uncle Steppes has come to visit! But every time you speak to him, you get the impression he is… unwell. Even though he hides it well from the fillies. Spend some more time with him, and see if you can help him.
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • ses
  • Witherbrine2671
  • Zxzx24
  • Solace2117
  • MisRAR1
  • ArticulateJargon
  • Talon Tiger Dino
  • Sintonir
  • Maer
  • dcoconeo
  • Potdl
  • AuthorTransient
  • Venerable Ro
  • Demilich
  • DelightedOne
  • Sveta08
  • Nevermort
  • spiderhellian
  • Limabot
  • Flaregamer82253
  • Arrkhon
  • Waela
  • IronHydra

  8 people have voted

  [X] Plan Half Light/Half Shadow
  -[X] Velvet Covers will... (Study Moth 5 Book and Lantern 4 Artifact) Priority on Artifact
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • DelightedOne
  • Pittauro
  • Greymere
  • spiderhellian
  • Limabot
  • Flaregamer82253
  • Anjaxis
  • Shaper47

  6 people have voted

  [X] Plan: To Find a Gate
  -[X] Perform the Reflection of the Tapestry: A permanent three-circle ritual site that our entire faction can utilize
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • Greymere
  • Pittauro
  • Sveta08
  • Limabot
  • Flaregamer82253
  • Anjaxis

  5 people have voted

  [X] Plan Ancient Darkness
  -[X] Velvet Covers will... (Study Moth 5 Book)
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • DelightedOne
  • Greymere
  • Nevermort
  • Anjaxis
  • Shaper47

  2 people have voted

  [X] Uncles and Memories of Light

  • DelightedOne
  • Arrkhon

  2 people have voted

  [X] Plan To Gaze upon the Breaking of Chains (to be their at her side so she is not alone)
  -[X] [MANSUS] The Shattered Stairways
  --[X] [MANSUS] Reach for the Valley of Keys, where the snakemare of the Mansus toils for her freedom.
  -[X] [MANSUS] The Wastes
  --[X] [MANSUS] Stalk the Ashen Wastes. The alternative is to be stalked.
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • Shaper47
  • IronHydra

  2 people have voted

  [X] Plan Edge Sacrament
  -[X] [MANSUS] The Shattered Stairways
  --[X] [MANSUS] Reach for the Valley of Keys, where the snakemare of the Mansus toils for her freedom.
  -[X] Learn of that bright Edge, that lives within us all
  --[X] Be blessed by that Wound, which never ceases to grow.
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • Shaper47
  • IronHydra

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan: To Find a Book
  -[X] Perform the Reflection of the Tapestry: Level 7 book
  -[X] You will NOT search for a book this turn. (No follower actions will be borrowed from Turn 22)

  • Greymere

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Half Light/Half Goodies
  -[X] Velvet Covers will... (Study Lantern 4 Artifact > Manehattan book )
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • spiderhellian

  1 people have voted

  [X] Plan Half Light/Half Shadow
  - [x] Velvet Covers will... (Study Moth 5 Book and Lantern 4 Artifact)
  -[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual.(Jade Whistle)

  • Sveta08

  1 people have voted

  [X] Uncles and Memories of Light
  -[X] Uncle Steppes has come to visit! But every time you speak to him, you get the impression he is… unwell. Even though he hides it well from the fillies. Spend some more time with him, and see if you can help him.
  -[X] You will NOT search for a book this turn. (No follower actions will be borrowed from Turn 22)

  • Waela

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Ah, good. The auto-tally works.

@OurLadyOfWires sorry if you already explained it, but are you fine with making a second sacrament action conditional on still having a reroll?

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Let's worry about that when we reach the planning phase of the next turn, shall we?



Anyways, I hope you are all doing well! And I'll go storyboard the rest of this turn... at some point.

 

[Pittauro]

I mean, we do the first 3 checks of the expedition. Then get hit with "welcome to the halfway point. Here's a scrap of Grail lore. Come back with a Sacramen to continue." and we've risked three expedition checks at DC 100 for nothing.

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unlikely to be "nothing".

Take the Blank Plains: We got access to Mare-summons there.

the Tower indicated the path forward for House of the Moon AND gave an SH scrap (admittedly useless to us) (and I don't remember if we got anything else, but I think not).

You don't know.

But if I could give you a visual indicator, for those of us who played CS:
Axe's summons card, the one with her scowling portrait and a constant countdown for when her summoning expires, has abruptly burned to a crisp, and a countdown event has now appeared on your board. The countdown is titled "Scales and Nests", for whatever reason, and will finish its timer at the same time this season (turn) ends.

So, let that work itself out. We have plenty of other things (and coming votes) to worry about this turn.

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more or less what I expected and hoped for. That SOMETHING would happen at the end of this turn (before next voting phase) to inform us of what changed in more detail.

Maybe she'll just come back. Maybe she'll meet us in the Mansus (we dream of it most nights and explore it each turn a bit) and she'll ask to be summoned.

In any case, we can't plan yet for what we don't know. AT BEST we could aim for a ritual location site to summon her (if we need to) and/or Mares-in-the-Light.

 

[ses]

Looking over the wording of the Sacrament... I'm pretty sure all the plans about "We need to have a reroll or we'll fail the Personal SH action" are missing the point. I'm pretty sure we get progress on the SH sacrament regardless of if we pass the SH check, and failing the SH check means "Roll a winter saving throw against Fascination". Or maybe worst case no-saving-throw if we roll badly enough on SH. I think we should take Baldomare's SH Influence on turn 23 and a winter influence from turn 22, possible a winter AOTL for extra and do both the upcoming Personal SH actions in one turn on turn 23 rather than waiting forever to finish our Personal SH. I really really want to get that Personal SH finished and I really don't want Baldomare's action to be constantly spent on SH influences just for one progress a turn.

-Perform, three times, an action dedicated to studying the memories and glimpses you have of other Histories. [Costs one action each]

The level of difficulty would just be wildly out of proportion to the other sacraments if it really was "land a DC 150 check or take a malus and no progress". Even the Personal Edge sacrament isn't that bad for someone going into it wearing a max level Name influence. I really don't think we're intended to prep to the point of "You must pass a DC 150 SH check and cannot risk failure" to finish the 3rd SH action.

That said having the fifth level for it will indeed be nice, so I'm happy to do Baldomare SH next turn.

 

[Pittauro]

It's certainly POSSIBLE that failing the action still has it count, but we won't know until we fail.

which we'd rather avoid doing, of course

Dealing with Fascinations and Dreads costs actions anyway and is inconvenient as it gives us maluses (and that's ignoring the NARRATIVE consequences).

as for this bit:

The level of difficulty would just be wildly out of proportion to the other sacraments if it really was "land a DC 150 check or take a malus and no progress". Even the Personal Edge sacrament isn't that bad for someone going into it wearing a max level Name influence. I really don't think we're intended to prep to the point of "You must pass a DC 150 SH check and cannot risk failure" to finish the 3rd SH action.

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DC 150 is an admittedly very pessimistic prediction. It's far more likely it's going to be something like 120 or 130 total by the end of it. Still, Not all Sacraments have the same level of risk, or the same consequences on failing.

Actually, your read of failing a Sacrament roll resulting in mental consequences sounds VERY likely for the Winter Sacrament in particular. we KNOW that EiB "can't fail", and the sacrament is effectively doing 3 such rituals and observing the results.

It's possible that failing might mean you learn nothing of value from the action, and so it doesn't count. But it's also possible you learn the "wrong" lesson and face dread instead.

 

[spiderhellian]

I love it. So, again, thank you for sharing this! And I apologize for taking this long to reach the snekrament, when I could finally address this properly.

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I'm glad it was enjoyed — and that it fit with the snekrament, which certainly delivered after all the anticipation!

Now Spiderhillian has a habit (and this is not a criticism, quite on the opposite!) of writing stories that are just vague and non-committing enough to be perfectly canon.

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Ahhh, dancing around core questions and giving tantalizing hints but not a clear-cut answer, where ever could I have learned this from…

 

[AuthorTransient]

Being vague is a lifesaving skill of authors. Have you ever heard of the maxim of quality and the maxim of quantity...?

 

[ses]

I've been playing a lot more Cultist Simulator the past couple of weeks and I've learned to love the Church of the Bright Edge. My board currently has literally a dozen notoriety cards and I have stopped caring because Victor, Rose, and Eldridge are my friends and murder is okay.

This message brought to you by losing to Damning Evidence twice from trying to rely on Moth summons to destroy evidence rather than just eliminating the problem. How the heck do I keep failing 5 times in a row at the moth-summon dieroll.

Related to current events.

@OurLadyOfWires I just got Leathy from an expedition and did an absolute spit-take on seeing the description and recognizing it from the Master's summoning. I didn't realize the scene was meant to be a whimsical rhyme between "now we begin" and "forget your skin". Totally changes how I see it. I also didn't realize it was from canon CS, lmao.

EDIT:

And so, to help her you will…



[] Tell her a small secret of Lantern, to help her shine the light.

[Blindness]​

[] Give her a pep talk of Grail, to encourage her further.

[Blood]​

[] Teach her the patience of Winter, so she learns how to pace herself.

[Ice]​

[] Tell her that she should follow her heart, and speak about whatever comes to mind. You believe in her, so you are sure that whatever she feels inspired to do will be better than anything you suggest.

[???]​

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Oh hey I finally figured out what the invisitext on this decision means! It's from creating a Wolf cult in the Exile DLC! Wow that's obscure.

Ok so all 4 options were "Softy starts a Wolf cult", but it's a choice of secondary Lore for the cult, and I'm guessing that ??? was Softy managing to turn the grief counseling group into a Wolf/Heart cult about never letting go of the agony forever. I think all the arguments in discussion that occurred after the wolf cult reveal talking about heart subversions and such were off base. After all Lantern has fuckall to do with the Wolf's base principles but it can be used in a completely bog-standard wolf cult in canon CS, and was available here as an option. Softy's cult being a Wolf/Heart cult is still a Wolf cult start to finish, and Heart is no different than Lantern or Grail in this case with regard to being non-standard principles for a Wolf cult.

 

[Zxzx24]

It still seems fundamentally opposed.

The Wolf divided has three nature's. He unmaketh, her unmaketh, and he unmaketh.

But heart is about continuing.

 

[DelightedOne]

The heart choice was also the best one according to what we know, the others make it sound like the Wolf cult wouldn't be as tame as it is for a Wolf cult.

The perpetuation of agony feels like it is opposed to the Wolf, but considering the cult is waiting for something to happen *cough*MotherofWolvesAnti-victory*cough* it seems their brand of agony fits the Wolf's. It is just one that lasts a bit more than usual before meeting its End.

But it is intriguing to imagine Soft Sweeps usurping her Father and taking Agony to make something better for ponies, like what Velvet did to bring her back to life.

 

[Shaper47]

It still seems fundamentally opposed.

The Wolf divided has three nature's. He unmaketh, her unmaketh, and he unmaketh.

But heart is about continuing.

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Agony does not end.

But really who says the Wolf-Divided is the one holding the principle of Agony in the Wake?

I personally suspect it's a Flint to Forge type deal with a bit of Wheel to Theigh-Skin going on.

 

[Zxzx24]

One could certainly argue that the wolf divided embodies unceasing agony.

Being among the most stubborn and continuous of Hours.

He seems to desire greatly that he stop being.

Can an hour embody a concept it despises? One that spites it's very being?

 

[Greymere]

Can an hour embody a concept it despises? One that spites it's very being?

Click to shrink...

If any Hour could, the local god of Hating Everything Ever does seem like the most likely candidate.

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

I've been playing a lot more Cultist Simulator the past couple of weeks and I've learned to love the Church of the Bright Edge. My board currently has literally a dozen notoriety cards and I have stopped caring because Victor, Rose, and Eldridge are my friends and murder is okay.

This message brought to you by losing to Damning Evidence twice from trying to rely on Moth summons to destroy evidence rather than just eliminating the problem. How the heck do I keep failing 5 times in a row at the moth-summon dieroll.

Related to current events.

@OurLadyOfWires I just got Leathy from an expedition and did an absolute spit-take on seeing the description and recognizing it from the Master's summoning. I didn't realize the scene was meant to be a whimsical rhyme between "now we begin" and "forget your skin". Totally changes how I see it. I also didn't realize it was from canon CS, lmao.

EDIT:



Oh hey I finally figured out what the invisitext on this decision means! It's from creating a Wolf cult in the Exile DLC! Wow that's obscure.

Ok so all 4 options were "Softy starts a Wolf cult", but it's a choice of secondary Lore for the cult, and I'm guessing that ??? was Softy managing to turn the grief counseling group into a Wolf/Heart cult about never letting go of the agony forever. I think all the arguments in discussion that occurred after the wolf cult reveal talking about heart subversions and such were off base. After all Lantern has fuckall to do with the Wolf's base principles but it can be used in a completely bog-standard wolf cult in canon CS, and was available here as an option. Softy's cult being a Wolf/Heart cult is still a Wolf cult start to finish, and Heart is no different than Lantern or Grail in this case with regard to being non-standard principles for a Wolf cult.

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How delightful!

Yes, I took (and take) a lot of things from the canon game. In fact, I will probably play BoH to expand my knowledge at some point. But snakes having sisters, Leathy, and other things besides certainly came from it.

Also, I don't really remember if anyone realized the invisitext from Softy's options were from the extremely hard-to-setup Wolf Cult in the DLC. I don't remember if that was mentioned, and if it was I don't think people paid a lot of attention to it.
But still, beware false conclusions! Because why the hay would anyone think "???" means Heart? Jeez...

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well! And please let me know if I missed anything. I just came here to fire an update, and I saw this ping on this page, but I haven't really caught up to the thread yet.

Cheers

 

[OurLadyOfWires]

Spoiler: Winning Plan

Tally that altered current vote

[X] Plan Prudent KISSing
-[X] (AotL) Lantern
-[X] (Forge) Forge 3 reagent
-[X] (Knock) Explore the Summit
-[X] (Winter) Invoke a Risen
-[X] (Social) Teach Selene
-[X] Fleeting Opportunity: Family
-[X] Fleeting Opportunity: Friends (but Cadance remains to be spoken to)
-[X] Perform the Forge's Redemption
--[X] Sacrifice Forge 3 reagent
--[X] At Jade's old house
-[X] Sacrament: Through the Foggy Mirror (4x) (only 3 actions consumed)
-[X] Uncle Steppes has come to visit! But every time you speak to him, you get the impression he is… unwell. Even though he hides it well from the fillies. Spend some more time with him, and see if you can help him.

[X] Plan Spreading Ourselves Thin Always Gets Us Punished
-[X] Do not leash anypony.
-[X][DETECTIVES] Follow Up: Changelings
-[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][JADE] Research "A Memory of Light" (Current progress 0/100, uses Learning and LANTERN)
-[X] (Baldomare-Gift) Edge 6 book
-[X][BALDOMARE] Channel an Influence. (Secret Histories)
-[X][AXE] Ask for a Knock lesson.
-[X][MAREINETTE] Channel an Influence. (Grail)
-[X][SELENE] Soothe the night. (Her Winter realization. Unknown effects, if any.)
-[X][RARITY] Take a Commission.
-[X] Needs must. Ask somepony to procure you a dead body from the local cemetery.
-[X] Three extra Velvet actions! (Costs 9 follower actions)
-[X] Something Else (lend Heartifact to Comet)
-[X] You will have a follower perform a RotT ritual, to search for a Level 7 book. (Jade Whistle action BORROWED from Turn 22)

You are Commissioner Velvet Covers, and your carriage is just about to land in Canterlot for another week at the Lunar Bureau.

As far as everypony is concerned, your bodyguards included, you just took a week off. You have no idea how time truly works inside that strange dream you just returned from. But still, for all that you remember spending several days there, or maybe even an entire month, you returned home to find out that less than ten days have passed.

You "left" at the beginning of the last weekend, you "stayed incommunicable" for the entirety of the business week, letting Shining Armor run the show, and you returned to reality just at the end of the second weekend, ready to take your chariot back to Canterlot on the following morning.

Of course, there is the small problem that everypony will assume you are returning from a vacation-week, even though you are actually more tired than before you left. And you do not look forward to having to chew through whatever backlog of decisions you will be bombarded with, as soon as you arrive at your office.

Still, you don't think you wasted your time either. And even though you are worried about how a Name just cut off her bindings and disappeared, you don't think you made an enemy out of the Daughter-of-Axes when everything is said and done. So, for all that the Mansus and the Lores are important, now is the time for you to focus back on the Wake.

And speaking of the Wake, your precious daughter finally got her cutie mark! That makes for three out of three daughters who are now better equipped to face their futures. Plus, this also makes for a wonderful conversation topic whenever you get asked how your vacations went.

Not for the first time, a small smile appears on your face as your thoughts slowly shift towards your family. Of how you can't wait to see them this coming weekend, the inevitable cute-ceñeara that you will all plan together, and everything else.

Eventually, your thoughts are cut short by your carriage door being opened. As always, without a shudder or a sound, your flyers once again broke through the clouds above and landed you on the patio of the Royal Castle.

So, just like that, another week begins at the Lunar Bureau.



- - -



Shining Armor is learning, and that makes you glad.

Of course, you don't mean to sound arrogant when you say that a former captain of the Royal Guard is "learning" to do anything. You know how competent he is, and you are aware that Cadance didn't fall in love with him just for his looks.

Speaking of Cadance, you definitely need to figure out how to…

Well, that's not something you should focus on right now. Going back to your first thought, Shining Armor is definitely learning, and that makes you glad.

"The Manehattan raids are proceeding apace, Commissioner. We have already captured some of the higher-ups of the gang, and most of the low-level members are eager to rat out on other members once they realize how serious this is," Shining Armor says, reading from a report as he sits in front of your desk. "We still haven't located three of the so called lieutenants, and the alleged leader herself is still on the run. But if they're in Manehattan, we are confident we'll find them."

You nod at him, not looking up as you read from the list of prisoners the Bureau has collected so far. All of them either awaiting transport from Manehattan or already secured in the underground section.

"It certainly helps that Manehattan is an island," you say, only half-listening as your Deputy says something in agreement. "Keeping the airspace around an entire city is always a problem, and there's a chance local law enforcement might be bribed into letting somepony be smuggled out through the air. But only having to inspect the trains to make sure none of them escape through land is certainly a perk."

"Yes. We don't have enough ponies to keep an entire city on lockdown, so there is indeed a chance some of them run away if they can pull the strings of the local constables. But at least the governor is being cooperative," he says.

To which you answer with a vague he'd better.

But more importantly, you are very satisfied with the fact that… well, that you have no notes. You have nothing to say about any of this. Shining Armor has everything under control, and you are sure that even if you had been here last week, no part of this operation would have turned out any differently.

Because, simply put, he knows what he is doing. He was a captain of the Royal Guard, and everypony under him is either a former guard or an experienced constable. They didn't need you here to micromanage them, and you probably would have slowed them down if they had to run everything through you.

"Are you sure you don't want an all-hoofs meeting?" Shining Armor asks, and you only sense the slightest bit of dread coming from him at the idea you might change your mind on this.

"Not when all our hoofs are half a country away in Manehattan," you say, "or spread all over Equestria following the leads we have on the changelings. No, this is more than fine Shining."

You say that, and the stallion lets out a relieved sigh that is so subtle you almost don't notice it.

Still, this is good. You knew this would be a slow process, but you think everypony, and even the Bureau as a whole, is finally finding a balance of sorts.

There might be ponies in the Bureau who overestimate you, thinking you know exactly what to do because you were appointed by Princess Celestia herself. There might be ponies who think of you more as the Bureau's moral compass. And who knows, there might be ponies here who think you are just a clueless civilian who stumbled her way into her current job.

You don't really think any of those ponies would be… entirely wrong. But more importantly, you don't really care what they think in their heart of hearts.

Because as long as the Lunar Bureau keeps working the way it currently is, as a well-oiled machine that is stamping out the dangers in Equestria, you will do your best to keep things the way they are.

"Well, that's enough for me, Deputy. I am quite satisfied with how things are progressing. And I really mean it when I say that you are all doing a wonderful job," you say towards the stallion, who gives you an honest smile. "Now, since none of you need me for anything right now, I'll go try and make myself useful. Tell the Secretariat I'll be back later this afternoon, will you?"

"Yes ma'am, but… may I ask what you will be doing?" he asks, not even bothering to hide his curiosity as you get up from your seat and make your way out.

And you don't blame him. It is rather rare for you to leave the Bureau, or even your office, at this time.

"I wish I could say I am going to visit a friend," you answer, narrowing your eyes as you wonder how you feel about this yourself. "But I have a feeling he will prefer to keep things professional."

You tarry for a few more seconds, with your horn lit up with magic as you hold the door open for yourself. Taking Shining Armor's question as an opportunity to truly wonder what exactly you hope to achieve with this visit.

But in the end, you just shrug. Whatever happens will happen, and a visit like this is long overdue by now. So, there is nothing you can do but try it and see what happens.

"But to answer your questions more directly, I will be visiting that stallion who is in charge of giving us Candle Dust."

And after that, you are on your way.



- - -



Meeting Midday Dew, the earth pony stallion who is in charge of "Eclipse" (although you don't know for sure if he is either in charge of it, or if that is the real name of said institution), turns out to be… harder than you expected.

What you hoped would be a single afternoon dedicated to speaking with the stallion turns into several days' worth of bureaucracy. Of letters being sent back and forth between your Secretariat and, well, the guards stationed on the outermost door of his department.

Because despite your position as the Commissioner of the Lunar Bureau, you weren't even able to pass through the first door. The first time you tried to meet with Midday, you retraced the steps you took with Princess Celestia to reach that underground part of the Royal Castle, but you were quite literally blocked from going any further. By guards who had been directly ordered not to let anypony in. Not even you.

And since trying to sneak in felt like a horrible idea, you had to resort to more mundane methods. Which involved sending letters to "Eclipse" asking if you could visit their workplace, and then sending letters asking what it would take to even get an answer from them, until you finally resigned yourself to sending Midday Dew an open invitation and hoping he showed up.

It feels only slightly strange, to think that Midday Dew is allowed to go and do whatever he pleases, like he did when he first visited the Bureau to give you a sample of Candle Dust. But that you can't do something like that towards him, supposedly by Princess Celestia's own instructions.

Still, eventually, your efforts bear fruit. And one evening, one of your secretaries knock on your door to inform you that Midday Dew is waiting outside to speak to you.

Naturally, you stop everything you are doing to meet him.

"Midday Dew," you say, as your secretary closes the door behind the stallion.

"Velvet Covers," he answers, as he takes a seat in your office.

But for a few moments, none of you say anything else.

Because the stallion looks… different.

The last time you saw him, you remember him being thin and skittish. He also looked anxious, or perhaps unused to being around other ponies, because you distinctly remember how nervous he was when he was surrounded by yourself and your agents.

Your opinion of him was that he was a very self-conscious pony, with not a lot of confidence in himself. And for all that you didn't think he was anti-social, you could definitely see him more at ease while alone with a book, or perhaps inside a lab, than in a conversation with somepony else.

But now? Now he looks… different.

He looks a little thinner, if that's even possible. There are dark circles under his eyes. And for all that he looks tired, you can see that there is a painful resolution on his face that is giving him energy.

He reminds you of a few ponies you have met, who lost everything in the Catastrophe. But he also reminds you of a few ponies Soft Sweeps told you about, who somehow manage to keep going despite the weight on their backs.

He looks haunted. And for all that he is looking you in the eye right now, you can tell that his thoughts are elsewhere.

However, there is one thing about him that stands out more than anything else. There is one thing about him that you noticed instantly, and that almost knocked your breath out of you. The reason why the two of you area just looking at each other, in total silence, as if waiting for the other party to say something.

And that thing is… you notice that Midday Dew…

… he smells like ashes.

No, that's not quite right.



He smells like Ash.



"Thank you for making the time, Midday Dew. I understand you are a very busy pony, so I appreciate you coming all the way here," you say, trying your best to keep your face straight and regain your composure.

"Don't mention it. But what did you want to talk about again?" he asks, his expression serious, but you can tell that his thoughts are still being pulled in several other directions.

Still, you understand. You completely understand.

After all, why would he bother to pay attention to a small conversation with you, when he is thinking about… about the Mansus, and the Climb, and Glory? Why would he care about something as dull and normal as the Wake, when he could be dreaming about so much more?

Yes, you recognize that expression. You have seen this aloofness in other ponies, long ago when you were still a part of the Cult. You remember seeing it in ponies who wanted nothing more than to sleep again, and Dream, and wander through the Crossroads and the Woods as they fought to make their way towards the light above.

And of course, you also understand why… or rather, what is the cause of the horror you see lurking under his eyebrows.

Because again, you can tell that he is performing the Climb. You can tell that he has seen Glory. You immediately confirm why and how Princess Celestia gained that glint of Lantern in her eyes. The same way you can tell Midday Dew smells of ashes and Ash and that his dreams and his nightmares and the visions that keep him awake have been hounding him like a ravenous wolf.

…

This meeting… is not going as you planned. In fact, you don't even know where to take it from here.

You were hoping to have a pleasant conversation with an overly-nervous scientist. Somepony that you might be able to impress with your knowledge, or that could have come to trust you if you used the right words.

But now? Now you are not so sure.

Still, he came all the way here, so you might as well make the best of it.

So, you begin to talk to him.



[Roll omitted. Intrigue and "Beautiful" applied. No Lores used.]



You start by making some small conversation, about this and that.

And then you tell him about your work.

And then you try to get him to tell you about his work.

And when that fails, you accept that he will not tell you anything that you really want to know. Not even a hint. Not even a slip of the tongue that could help you confirm something you already suspect.

But you do notice something interesting in his tone. You realize, from how his voice shakes whenever you say this or that, he is avoiding certain subjects because he is afraid of them… and also because he wants to protect you. You, and everypony else. As if he realizes that whatever he knows is so dangerous that it should not be shared with anypony outside of his own circle.

And when everything is said and done, you thank him for his time and wish him a pleasant evening. Making sure to tell him that you hope you can stay in touch, and that your door will always be open.

The bespectacled stallion is out of your door less than a minute later, and you are left with nothing but the quiet realization that…

…

… that Princess Celestia probably knows about the Mansus.

And that she has an entire team of dedicated ponies, of cutie-marked scientists exploring it.

And that, given the state of the Mansus, you have opinions about what that might mean.

Maybe that is why… yes, maybe that is why you did what you did. Maybe that is why you said a few choice words to Midday Dew, during your conversation, that you know will have some effect.



But what did you tell him?



[] You gave him your blessings.
"Safe passage through the Wastes may only exist with the Mother's consent. But this one, and this one alone, seems to carry her mark."

[] You gave him some advice.
"The trickiest part is saying something that sounds innocent enough not to implicate you, but that will still click with him when the time comes."

[] You gave him nothing.
"Success defines worthiness. If he wishes to Climb, let him."

[] You gave him a warning.
"You are known to be trustworthy. So, even if he thinks you are a laypony, any discouragement coming from you ought to carry some weight. You think. You hope."

[] You gave him an ultimatum.
"He will think his conversation with you was a dream, but that does not matter to you. The next time he steps upon the ashes will be his last."



- - -



It is true that you are just a noblemare, with a background in farming and general administration.

It is true that you are thin, and delicate, and that anypony can get to your good side if they start a conversation talking about foals.

And it is definitely true that you are one of the last ponies you would ever expect to get the position you did.

But you are still the Commissioner of the Lunar Bureau.

So, when you tell your agents you want something done, it gets done.

And this is no exception.

"Right this way, Commissioner," a large and burly earth pony in full gear, one of your team-leaders, asks you to follow him the moment your carriage lands.

It is still early in the morning, to the point that the sun is still almost touching the horizon. However, you are no longer in Canterlot. Instead, you have just landed in Manehattan, after being rushed here right after you finished having your breakfast.

And the reason you were brought here is obvious. In fact, this is all happening under your orders.

"We raided this place a few hours ago, while it was still dark," he says, as he guides you through a cordon of agents. Walking past investigators, specialists, and all manners of ponies who have the badge of the Lunar Bureau around their necks. "We met some resistance, but none of our ponies got hurt. And all the gang members have already been sent to the holding pen to be shipped back to HQ."

At first, he took you into a place that looked like an abandoned building. A run-down two-storied place that could have been an abandoned shop, or maybe even a house, that is currently being turned inside out by your agents. You can see signs of fighting here and there, but you trust your team-leader when he says everything went smoothly.

However, his steps quickly take you two down a set of stairs, and then through a makeshift hole that, apparently, leads to a sealed-off part of Manehattan's sewage. An underground safe house, isolated from the rest of the poorly mapped sewers of Manehattan, that the Gardeners criminal gang must have had at their disposal for a long time now.

"Now, before we go in Commissioner, I need to warn you about what is down there," he says, as you are about to reach the bottom of the makeshift hole. "Me and my team made sure there is nopony down there, but we came back up as soon as we could. Forensics, also, haven't been down there yet. We just pulled the breaks as soon as we realized what we were looking at, and had a runner call you."

You nod to the large stallion as he says that. But for all that you know he is a brave pony, you can't help but feel a hint of trepidation in his voice.

"And we realized that thing down there matched the warnings you gave us because… well, we didn't need any of our unicorns to realize that thing was cursed. So please, be careful, and stay close to me."

You nod to the constable. And with that, the two of you finish making your way to the underground safehouse.

The smell is unpleasant, or perhaps stale, but it is far better than you were expecting. You assume they took pains to seal off any tunnels or pipes that could take to the rest of the sewer system, and that they even tried to clean this place to make it inhabitable.

Still, once your hoofs touch the damp ground of the sewers, and you have a proper look around you, you immediately recognize what he was talking about.

Because right there, at the very center of the room, surrounded by a sheen of ice and kept within a carefully-drawn circle, you can see…

"Little…"

"Little…"

"Velvet."​

Your blood freezes inside your veins, as you hear the unmistakable tone of that voice. Of her voice.

Right in front of you, at the very center of the safehouse, is the unmistakable form of a Windigo jar. It is a pony-tall jar made out of marble-white material, tightly locked with chains that have been clearly forced and strained. As if something inside the jar has tried again and again to burst out of its lid, and was forced back by the now-twisted locks on its top.

The very air seems colder around it. Colder, and also ticklish, as if your fur is about to catch on fire and you just haven't realized it yet.

But more importantly…

Worst of all…

There is a voice coming from inside that jar.

And you recognize it.

"Did you think you would get rid of me so easily? Did you think I was done with you? Oh no, quite on the contrary. I lived, Little Velvet. I lived, and I live, and I will live forevermore."​

Your body is screaming at you to take a step back, and then another, and then to just turn around and RUN.

Because it makes sense. Of course it makes sense. After all, you burned the Woods, but why would that ever be enough to kill her? Why would that ever be enough to kill your former Master?

Oh, no. She is still alive. You just fed her to a creature that hates and hates and hates. You just gave her a new home, and a new form, and a new purpose. And she hates you for it.

So, of course, she would also manifest in the spawns of that thing. Of course she would live on, in the Windigos and the nightmares and all the bad things that stalk this world.

She lives, even if she hates it, and now she has come back for you.

"Even if the bark of my body turned to ashes. Even if I was forced to change form by fire and hate. I live. I LIVE. And I will spend the rest of my existence hunting you and hating you aND STALKING YOU AND MAKING SURE YOU NEVER AGAIN HAVE A MOMENT OF-"​

"Commissioner? Ma'am? Are you still with me?"

You snap out of your thoughts, and the words that were battering your mind fade away into a distant echo.

You take a deep breath, shaking your head as you try to understand what just happened, and you… and you…

You force yourself to calm down, as you think back to what just happened. And sure enough, you realize there was something, something, trying to push itself into your mind. That the sheer hatred of the jar in front of you is so strong, so all-consuming, that it was… that it was telling you things.

And you almost believed it.

Still, a moment later, you ground yourself, and you realize your Bureau agent is still standing next to you, giving you a worried side glance as if waiting for something to happen.

However, you can also tell that this, all of this, must have happened in less than a moment. At most, you must look like you just got distracted for a few seconds. Or that you were just focusing on your thoughts for a moment. But nothing more than that.

Or at least, you don't think your agent noticed anything too worrying about your expression just now. Which in turn means that, whatever just happened, happened inside your head.

"Thank Celestia… you looked a bit out of it for a moment, but you didn't react nearly as bad as some of my ponies. But as I was saying… I think you can feel it as well?" he asks, giving a hesitant wave of the hoof towards the jar. "We checked with each other, and we all said the same thing. Everypony hears something different. We all heard something that… well, something personal, and bad. We think its curse is related to some mental magic spell."

"I… see… you said some of your agents reacted badly," you say, making a point of looking away from the jar. "Anything I should be worried about?"

"No ma'am," he quickly answers. "Well, we might want to get screened for mental spells later. But… well, the unicorns in forensics that peeked at it said this kind of thing might have a worse effect on ponies who have more… baggage, so to speak."

You nod at him, and you definitely agree. It wouldn't surprise you if, well, if something like this jar had the ability to whisper your worst fears inside your head. It would certainly match the appetites of the creature you know is inside of it.

And that thought, in turn, makes you realize that… well, you taught your former cult how to summon these. But you have never really ever seen one in the Wake.

A slight shiver runs down your spine, at the thought of it.

"And what is more, Commissioner. Between you and me… well, the think is all chained up, and we have seen it shake a few times now, and it whispers. Me and the boys are sure there is something inside of it. Still, we called you as soon as we could, and we didn't touch anything else."

"Yes, I see. Good job. This is exactly the kind of thing the evidence we found was warning about."

"Yes ma'am. So, what do we do with this thing? What are your orders?"



Your Constables have located one Windigo Jar, while scouring Manehattan for the Gardeners. And per your orders, they have brought you here as soon as possible.

What are your orders?



[] Open it.
-Velvet Covers and a team of 6 (six) Lunar Bureau Constables will fight against a Windigo. You will first move the jar to a safer place, and make preparations to ensure the creature cannot easily escape during combat, and that it will have no choice but fight to the death.
-Pros: Success will greatly improve your standing with the Lunar Bureau, and will deal with this issue.
-Cons: Combat is always dangerous.


[] Banish it.
-Velvet Covers will undo the summoning of the sealed Windigo. This will happen without any risk of failure.
-Pros: You will deal with this issue.
-Cons: You will order everypony to leave, and when they return they will find you, alone, with a now-empty cursed jar. Such a sight, surely, will be extremely suspicious. Especially since you will not give anypony any explanations.


[] Take it back.
-Velvet Covers will order the sealed jar returned to the Lunar Bureau.
-Pros: You will at least remove this dangerous artifact from Manehattan.
-Cons: You will have to decide, later, how and when to renew its bindings. Furthermore, this very dangerous item will now be in the Lunar Bureau. And finally, Eclipse might catch wind of this.





Twelve hours moratorium. Vote by approval. The two options (one for each category) with the most votes will win their respective decisions.

QM does not consider these two options to be sufficiently "connected" for this to warrant a plan.

Each option will have additional effects, and the "pros and cons" are just a quick summary of what you can expect to gain and risk from each option. Still, they are not a final and total list of what each option entails, so keep that in mind.

And finally, I hope you are all doing well.

 

[Alan975]

Really not liking how she trails off there when thinking about Cadence, stinks of something rooting around in the noggin.

As for Dew and the jar, some form sabotage and banishment sound best at the moment

 

[Greymere]

Okay, did a quick skim through the update to check if there's anything super important, bcuz it's very late where I am and I'm tired and I'll read in full detail later, and I see that we found a Windigo jar. @OurLadyOfWires how does the "outnumbered" penalty scale (iirc from the Twilight Jailbreak, that's a thing), if we're going 7 vs. 1? Since as far as I can tell, Windigos don't have anything that excempts them from that sort of thing.

 

[Shaper47]

[] You gave him an ultimatum.

Definitely the best option here.

[] Banish it.

Definitely the worst option here. Way too sus.

 

[spiderhellian]

I think we should open it! Seems like a fun time.

God it was spooky to see the Master back.

@OurLadyOfWires Do we know the combat bonus on our constables

 

[ses]

Holy shit Windigos understand the concept of bluff checks for the sake of psychological torment. Impressive. It fucking got me good.

Really really regretting the thread's choice to choose Copper for Ash's target when it was so obvious she was going to get name-bombed anyway. It's so expensive to spend a whole mansus action to change him and we really need to sic him on Celestia.

Also I will once more state that GOD I wish we had A Resolution right now.

 

[Shaper47]

If we deal with Dew then '[] Take it back' is maybe ok.

Maybe?

Definitely not if Dew is still around though.

 

[LieutenantSpirit]

I don't remember what vote won for how we would handle the Lores in the Bureau, but I do think we were encouraging them? It's worth keeping in mind for how we choose to react to Midday Dew.

 

[Greymere]

I may be able to answer my own question actually. Going back to look at the Twilight expedition, DoA got into a 1 v. 4 fight with the guards and we saw this roll:

[Axe's first roll: 57 + 45 (Personal Combat) – 15 (outnumbered: 3) = 87]

Click to shrink...

Which implies that for every 1 extra opponent, the outnumbered individual takes a -5 penalty. So in a 7 vs. 1 fight, the Windigo should be taking a -30 penalty, bringing its combat bonus down from +55 (very bad) to +25 (bad, but manageable). We've got a +29, our agents probably have like +15, and there's seven of us.

I'm not going to try and figure out actual math fight now, because I really need to go to bed, but just eyeballing it success seems plausible enough if we want to go for combat.

 

[ses]

I think we should open it! Seems like a fun time.

God it was spooky to see the Master back.

@OurLadyOfWires Do we know the combat bonus on our constables

Click to shrink...

Agreed! Plus we've got 3 Wrong Keys on us.

Velvet rolls +29 without any Edge influence (grumble grumble Biedde graverobbing grumble) against a Windigo's +55 minus thirty for outnumbered by six, for a total of +25, and both have [A Confident Certainty] rerolls. If we get wounded (pretty unlikely it survives long enough to wound us) we can just bust out a wrong key. I don't think there's any infosec risks to that: it's just a unicorn doing unicorn magic stuff.

 

[Greymere]

Agreed! Plus we've got 3 Wrong Keys on us.

Click to shrink...

...

Oh yeah.

We do have those, don't we?

Yeah we can totally take the Windigo, no problem. More reputation with the Lunar Bureau, let's goooo.

 

[ses]

...

Oh yeah.

We do have those, don't we?

Yeah we can totally take the Windigo, no problem. More reputation with the Lunar Bureau, let's goooo.

Click to shrink...

Too much Edge, my brain is screaming "I WANNA FIGHT A WINDIGO" to the exclusion of all else.

63% chance we win with no wounds and no wrong keys spent, assuming the Constables are rolling +10 martial, which is probably an underestimate. I assume Velvet probably starts busting out keys if she takes a wound. GOD I love not being [Scarred] anymore.

AAAAArgh I don't wannt get wounded and risk our Edge Sacrament next turn.... but I wanna fight a Windigo! I wanna fight a Windigo with a bunch of cop buddies at our side as brothers in arms! I want the legend of the Scary Commissioner to grow!

 

[DelightedOne]

So I guess this is the Canterlot update?

We rounded up the cultists and it seems Copper didn't make them as loyal as she should but that is expected considering she only had about six months to set it up.

Now let's see what Midday Dew is up to...

Uh oh. He is not doing well. It is so cute he wants to protect Velvet when she is the danger to the World.

[Roll omitted. Intrigue and "Beautiful" applied. No Lores used.]

Click to shrink...

. I like knowing the rolls. No lores basically guarantees we are not getting anything that good though.

And when that fails, you accept that he will not tell you anything that you really want to know. Not even a hint. Not even a slip of the tongue that could help you confirm something you already suspect.

Click to shrink...

Aaaaaand I was right.

Oh what is this? So interesting.

[] You gave him your blessings.

Click to shrink...

Acceptable and maybe we could bribe him with keeping his people safe in the future.

[] You gave him some advice.

Click to shrink...

Risky but generous. We are unlikely to benefit from this directly but Eclipse could do without killing themselves by accident.

[] You gave him nothing.

Click to shrink...

Probably the safest option to be honest. But not doing anything means not getting anything.

[] You gave him a warning.

Click to shrink...

Not risky exactly but he is already terrified and I'm not sure he needs to be even more scared.

[] You gave him an ultimatum.

Click to shrink...

Can we please not be evil for ONE turn. This is getting tiring.

"Little…"

"Little…"

"Velvet."

Click to shrink...

FUCK NO. We wolfed you, YOU ARE DEAD, DON'T COME BACK.

You force yourself to calm down, as you think back to what just happened. And sure enough, you realize there was something, something, trying to push itself into your mind. That the sheer hatred of the jar in front of you is so strong, so all-consuming, that it was… that it was telling you things.

And you almost believed it.

Click to shrink...

Phew, just mind fuckery. And hey we found the jars, guess all that is left is desummoning them. Good thing we asked the Bureau to call us immediately if they found it.

[] Open it.

Click to shrink...

The most immediately dangerous option but also the one that gets rid of the problem. Are we brave(or maybe even dumb) enough to do this?

[] Banish it.

Click to shrink...

Suspicious as fuck but also the safest option for everypony we brought with us. Can we really risk it though?

[] Take it back.

Click to shrink...

Or we can take the bomb of evil back with us. But who knows when it will go off?

 

[Earth-Destroyer]

I don't remember what vote won for how we would handle the Lores in the Bureau, but I do think we were encouraging them? It's worth keeping in mind for how we choose to react to Midday Dew.

Click to shrink...

We did not, chose to let them discover the lores over the next few turns.