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

BirdBodhisattva · Jul 9, 2021

Dear reader! Whether you are new here, archive-reading and whatnot, or you are already someone who has been with us for quite a while, I would like to say a few words that I believe are best kept close to mind.

-This is an MLP quest. And more importantly, none of us are gratuitously cruel. So good things will happen on this quest, and I hope that enough good things have already happened to prove that.
-This is also a horror quest, so bad things will happen. Bad things might happen to good characters if you are not able to protect them, and you most certainly will not be able to intervene if you lack the tools to do so.
-And finally, this is a quest in which you jostle with powers greater than yourself, with all that it entails.

Please, do keep those things in mind as you go forward. But ultimately, this is also a quest in which it is hoped we all have fun! So if any of the above points is not exactly your cup of tea, or somehow make the experience as a whole "not worth it", then this quest might not be for you. Which is fine! Individual tastes are a thing, so don't think any more about it if you don't want to read anymore. And regardless, I hope you have a lovely day!

Kaelor said:
PSA for whoever needs to hear it:

Readers should take their own mental health into consideration when voting and not subject themselves to triggering narrative elements like rape or constant mental torture of a friend just for the Greatest Good of a world that doesn't exist.

If those are fine for you or Regrettable is even more triggering, then GREAT! More power to you. But you aren't a bad or selfish person for picking the option that keeps the characters you've emotionally connected with safe. [REDACTED for spoiler warning]

This is a high intensity quest that doesn't hold back when it comes to horror and negative consequences. Take care of yourself.

(Quote slightly edited to avoid spoilers)

permeakra · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
normally I'd agree about this, but I'm willing to make an exception for the memories of a THOUSAND YEARS OF LOVECRAFTIAN TORTURE.

Well, I'm not.

Pittauro said:
I'll say that Harmony hasn't really done anything yet deserving of suspicion though.

It exists and is a power capable to shape the world. Given that, it already requires a cautious attitude, because, you know, the stakes.

It's not so much about intentions as about possibilities and probabilities. Let's say you have a good friend you have excellent relations with. Than he decides to run for a mayor. Would you care about how good he was for you or something else? Like, does he have connections to be a successful mayor and is he really motivated to be a mayor that is good for the town?

Here the situation is thousands times worse: you don't know what your 'buddy' (Harmony) wants and what it works for, but you know it is extremely powerful and brings closer a very bad possibility.

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

permeakra said:
Well, I'm not.

seeing as the memories of TWO DAYS of that torture was enough to remove two sanity points and have her react as we saw, the whole 1000 years would have completely destroyed her. I fail to understand how you can consider that better than what the elements did.

I am against the sealing of the rest of her memories, but again the weaker seal on them leaves me reasonable hope that it wasn't meant to be permanent.

permeakra said:
It exists and is a power capable to shape the world. Given that, it already requires a cautious attitude, because, you know, the stakes.

It's not so much about intentions as about possibilities and probabilities. Let's say you have a good friend you have excellent relations with. Than he decides to run for a mayor. Would you care about how good he was for you or something else? Like, does he have connections to be a successful mayor and is he really motivated to be a mayor that is good for the town?

Here the situation is thousands times worse: you don't know what your 'buddy' (Harmony) wants and what it works for, but you know it is extremely powerful and brings closer a very bad possibility.

cautioun is reasonable in this case, yes. Caution and suspicion are different things though.

Also by that logic the Master deserves the same level of caution, IF NOT MORE. After all the way he talks about Harmony, the Worms and his goal seems to imply that the best way he can think for us to hide from them is to basically remove all the good that Harmony did so that a less bright light will attract fewer monsters. Which is another way of saying that he wants to make Equestria a worst place to save it.

Maybe he has other plans/ideas, but if he does he hasn't shared them yet.

But really, maybe I am/we are overestimating him a bit. Maybe he doesn't really have a plan yet, and he's just improvising.

When in doubt, gather power (and information) after all. He seems to be doing that, and pretty well at that.

permeakra · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
cautioun is reasonable in this case, yes. Caution and suspicion are different things though.

... I honestly see no difference in case we consider figures of power.

Pittauro said:
Also by that logic the Master deserves the same level of caution, IF NOT MORE.

That goes without saying, how could someone even think otherwise? Seriously, CS establishes fairly well that high levels of occult lore correlate with antisocial behavior, even without existential treats involved.

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

permeakra said:
... I honestly see no difference in case we consider figures of power.

it's subtle. I'd say that caution is more about being careful without assuming danger or bad faith, a "just in case" mentality because we don't know basically, while suspicion starts from a "I expect something bad from x" mentality, even if still with no certainty one way or the other.

permeakra said:
existential treats

...I'm sorry, I read this and I'm imagining some kind of super-biscuit.

In the end I agree that both Master and Harmony deserve caution, and the master itself ALSO deserves suspicion.

If I HAD to choose someone, as of right now, I'd probably trust the Alicorns more. Celestia did a decent job in the past 1000 years all things considered, and if her sin is ignorance THAT is something we can rectify. On the other hand the master's sin is... well, basically having an inhuman/asocial mentality, and there's really not a cure for that I think. At most we can offer alternative options to achieve his goals, and make them more advantageous to the cause, basically stearing him away from the worst choices.

permeakra · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
it's subtle. I'd say that caution is more about being careful without assuming danger or bad faith, a "just in case" mentality because we don't know basically, while suspicion starts from a "I expect something bad from x" mentality, even if still with no certainty one way or the other.

Ah.
It's CS. You should expect the worst. Than if you are right, you shall be prepared, and if you are wrong, you shall be pleasantly surprised.

Pittauro said:
In the end I agree that both Master and Harmony deserve caution, and the master itself ALSO deserves suspicion.

Imho, they both deserve suspicion and caution. And Celestia too.

Pittauro said:
Celestia did a decent job in the past 1000 years all things considered

What things considered? =). That's the point, the original series were very vague, this quest too is yet to reveal if Celly did a passable job.

Pittauro said:
On the other hand the master's sin is... well, basically having an inhuman/asocial mentality,

*rolling eyes* You're saying it like Celestia is a paragon of equinity. Master likely was at some point an equine (or similarly mortal) creature. Elder alicorns never were.

Bakkasama · Sep 29, 2020

I think I might have missed something somewhere. We are talking on the thread as if the goal from the start was dealing with the worms and the animosity against the alicorns was due to the Master thinking that they had to go due to Harmony attracting the worms.

While that seems to be one of the reasons, I don't think it is the only one. Didn't the recruiting pitch that got us to join the cult spoke about how the world was not as it should be? How it was weird that the Princesses controled the celestial bodies, the pegasus the weather and such? It seems fairly obvious that the Master is against the worms and don't want them to come to Equestria, but that sounds like it is just common sense.

The impression I originally got from Master was that he was opposed to how the Alicorns had changed the world and that the Alicorns were beings that were not supposed to be from Equestria so the fact that they found a way here meant that they had opened it to other beings comming in. So all the talk about how it would have been better for them to come clean to the princesses about what the worms are don't seem to fit, since while they have the same enemy that doesn't mean that their goals are the same; the Master probably wants to take down the Alicorns even if they were completely unrelated to the worms.

For the same reason, since the worms are attracted to the light of Harmony and said light grew stronger due to the princesses' actions and the master seems to be opposed to how they changed the world, doesn't that imply that the master thinks that Harmony is not originally from Equestria? As such, since they seem to resent the change brought by beings from outside reality, wouldn't they consider Harmony and the princesses an invading entity much like the worms?

I might have missed something in an update somewhere but I am not sure the Master thinks that Harmony is a better alternative and he might just want to get rid of both.

SpiritFluid · Sep 29, 2020

[X] You shake your head in denial. This, just now, was wrong: There are better ways to do this. YOU know better ways to do it. But it is undeniable that you do know no a lot, about almost everything else. Your cult has an established structure and is growing, and you have a position of power within in, but after tonight, you do not intent to stay forever.

Pushing the issue of worms into the dirt for a second which have come up to the surface under a storm of Hard Decisions and Justifications and This Is An Awkward Metaphor, I… frankly don't trust this Master a damn, and this entire Ritual Night has been nothing but example after example.

They co-opted us into a ritual to make us a horrifying insect creature skittering out of our home, and used vast cosmic power to do so just to make sure we'd be there, instead of any level of sane coordination to help with that.
They deliberately went screaming out of their way to make this ritual as traumatic as possible and then Oh Hey Turns Out Traumatizing The Demigod With The Face Of Her Sister Was A Deeply Bad Thing, who'd'a'thunk, that got them on their ass for a bit.
… And then they get up and roaring and going "WELL, AT LEAST I'M STILL RIGHT THAT EVERYTHING SUCKS AND THAT WE'RE THE BETTER WAY", appropos of… knowing of vast cosmic horror that we don't completely understand because it did something here that blindsided us?

This Master has a very irrational grudge that they focus on more than a broader cosmological threat, and even if Luna, Celestia, and Cadance are making Equestria a more appetizing meals for cosmic horrors, the Master's plan right now doesn't seem to be one that's ironing stuff out enough to be a viable alternative. Not if it entails traumatiIng people into horrofying memories rhat make them destroy half a castle in a bout of PTSD that would have gone even worse if not for a sheer singular instance of raw panic.

Stay in the Cult, imho, because it has the resources and vague organizational strength to help us get ahead and deal with the issue, but only as that means, not through higher inherent loyalty or some misguided ideal of "means justify the end"

PrimalShadow · Sep 29, 2020

GhostKaiju said:
They deliberately went screaming out of their way to make this ritual as traumatic as possible

What makes you say that?

I mean, it was certainly traumatic, no argument there - but that seems largely due to the subject of the nightmares, not any special effort on the Master's part. In what way did the Master intentionally make the ritual "as traumatic as possible"?

GhostKaiju said:
Oh Hey Turns Out Traumatizing The Demigod With The Face Of Her Sister Was A Deeply Bad Thing, who'd'a'thunk, that got them on their ass for a bit.

Pretty sure that wasn't on the Master. That was all the Worm chewing on Luna's soul. It is not the Master's fault that it chose Celestia's face for that extra trauma.

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

permeakra said:
Ah.
It's CS. You should expect the worst. Than if you are right, you shall be prepared, and if you are wrong, you shall be pleasantly surprised.

1) fair enough. It's not an unreasonable attitude here, though I'll remark that the ONE thing the Alicorn sisters ever did that is REALLY questionable was the whole Nightmare Moon thing, and that was quite literally not their fault, or at the very least their sin was one of ignorance.

We can at least partially rectify that one if/when we end up going to their side/talk to them

permeakra said:
*rolling eyes* You're saying it like Celestia is a paragon of equinity. Master likely was at some point an equine (or similarly mortal) creature. Elder alicorns never were.

2) Celestia definitely IS a paragon of Equinity (and Luna too, really, outside of the Nightmare Moon accident), at least as much as the rest of the bearers are, if not more. She's been a benevolent ruler for more than a thousand years, and her people have been happy all that time.

She makes mistakes, sure, but who doesn't? We have quite literally zero reasons to believe her to be malicious in any way.

She's ignorant at worst, and that can be fixed.

And while At least the alicorn sisters are possibly from outside the world, they've still grown up as mortal, with mortal memories and (apparently) mortal minds/mindsets.

And to be fair we ONLY have the word of our Master on them being "alien". He hasn't offered proof or a reason why he believes this, just like he has no reason or proof for Harmony being a power coming from outside.

Would Twilight and Cadance also be aliens from the outside? Cadance at least should be around already after all, and canonically she was a pegasus at birth.

...actually... @BirdBodhisattva did the master ever say anything about Cadance? She IS, after all, another Alicorn, known to be born as a pegasus, and if she was originally an outsider that means she entered the world recently.

Ericwinter · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
Would Twilight and Cadance also be aliens from the outside? Cadance at least should be around already after all, and canonically she was a pegasus at birth.

...actually... @BirdBodhisattva did the master ever say anything about Cadance? She IS, after all, another Alicorn, known to be born as a pegasus, and if she was originally an outsider that means she entered the world recently.

We were first introduced to the cult during celebrations for Cadence's ascension. It's literally the first scene in the quest.

Retrueno · Sep 29, 2020

I just realized that the title of the quest is:

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

With Esquestria, instead of Equestria. Is there any reason for this or is just a typo?

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

GhostKaiju said:
They co-opted us into a ritual to make us a horrifying insect creature skittering out of our home, and used vast cosmic power to do so just to make sure we'd be there, instead of any level of sane coordination to help with that.

that actually wasn't part of the ritual. He used an influence on us, possibly out of enthusiasm/impatience.

Most of us aren't even that bothered about it, as in the end it gave us free Moth Lore and any side-effect was only temporary. It's nothing we wouldn't have agreed to normally.

GhostKaiju said:
They deliberately went screaming out of their way to make this ritual as traumatic as possible and then Oh Hey Turns Out Traumatizing The Demigod With The Face Of Her Sister Was A Deeply Bad Thing, who'd'a'thunk, that got them on their ass for a bit.

to be fair he didn't know WHAT was in her sealed memories, and the fact the Nightmare tortured her while wearing the face of his sister is something he couldn't have know.

GhostKaiju said:
This Master has a very irrational grudge that they focus on more than a broader cosmological threat, and even if Luna, Celestia, and Cadance are making Equestria a more appetizing meals for cosmic horrors, the Master's plan right now doesn't seem to be one that's ironing stuff out enough to be a viable alternative. Not if it entails traumatiIng people into horrofying memories rhat make them destroy half a castle in a bout of PTSD that would have gone even worse if not for a sheer singular instance of raw panic.

the master sure DOES seem to have an irrational grudge, or at the very least a grudge that's NOT only based on the Alicorns attracting more Worms.

He also doesn't really have a plan, or at least not one that we know of. What did he do until now?

1)He's building his own cult/faction for the future

2)He had us find out about Luna's current status AND the ritual needed to contact her. A curious thing is that he needed US to find the ritual. Is he unable to go beyond the Blank Door? Did he fear he wouldn't be able to find the strenght to go back?

3)He used the ritual to gather information (with 32 deaths and a somewhat crazy Luna as unwanted side-effects, not that they bothered him that much).

Now, I'm all in favour of "When in doubt, gather power", but that shows that he is quite certainly NOT sure about what's the best way to proceed.

He's gathering assets and knowledge, but he likely has no plan.

Our next goal is telling: he wants us to learn about Harmony. What it is, what are it's goals.

Questions, always questions, never answers.

Now, part of it is probably because he's a MOTH cultist, but it's easy to see that he likely doesn't know as much as he pretends to know.

All of this to say, @GhostKaiju , that while I agree with you that we shouldn't trust him blindly, You're sort of making him to be worse than he actually is.

I'll keep to the old adage: " Never ascribe to malice, that which can be explained by stupidity". I think he's less competent that he's trying to paint himself as. He knows things, USEFULL things even, but he's possibly blinded by own arrogance.

Retrueno said:
I just realized that the title of the quest is:

With Esquestria, instead of Equestria. Is there any reason for this or is just a typo?

typo

jakjjjj · Sep 29, 2020

[X] You shake your head in denial. This, just now, was wrong: There are better ways to do this. YOU know better ways to do it. But it is undeniable that you do know no a lot, about almost everything else. Your cult has an established structure and is growing, and you have a position of power within in, but after tonight, you do not intent to stay forever.

Honestly, this quest has been quite a interesting ride so far that I don't really mind if the other option wins. My preference is for this however. Eventually obtaining independence from the master in the future, but see the sense in staying for now.

SpiritFluid · Sep 29, 2020

PrimalShadow said:
What makes you say that?

Pittauro said:
that actually wasn't part of the ritual. He used an influence on us, possibly out of enthusiasm/impatience.

Mm. Okay, I seemed to have misinterpreted the fake dream Celestia (Or at least the specifics of which ones of it was us) as our actions/'avatar', but with some hindsight, that is … unlikely, which is what cornerstoned my "they went out of their way to break down Luna to degrees that overstated our goals" (which is still partially what happened, but I misjudged some stuff around it). So, yeah, jumped the gun on that attributing to active malice. The general thread of "go deeper" just made me link it more directly than was probably intended.

But yeah, like Pitt says, the Master doesn't seem the best guide to stay by, arcane understanding or not. Again, not actively leave (Because that makes us a target, I imagine), but,

Lord Warlock · Sep 29, 2020

Bakkasama said:
The impression I originally got from Master was that he was opposed to how the Alicorns had changed the world and that the Alicorns were beings that were not supposed to be from Equestria so the fact that they found a way here meant that they had opened it to other beings comming in. So all the talk about how it would have been better for them to come clean to the princesses about what the worms are don't seem to fit, since while they have the same enemy that doesn't mean that their goals are the same; the Master probably wants to take down the Alicorns even if they were completely unrelated to the worms.

Well we have a direct quest about recruitment that seem to run counter to that ideal, my take on it is that it seems more that the while the allicorns are strange outsiders who are doing unnatural stuff to our world they are still benevolent in nature, they are not doing this with evil intend and as such the goal should be to stop them or teach them not kill them, sure they are being from beyond the veil pushing their world order on us, but it is done trying to help us, never to hurt, and as such some amount of understanding must be shown.

Whether the Master agrees with the later point isn't really an issue because we are not blind followers we are here to save ponykind and our family and friends all the other ideological stuff doesn't really concern me.

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

GhostKaiju said:
Mm. Okay, I seemed to have misinterpreted the fake dream Celestia as our actions/'avatar', but with some hindsight, that is … unlikely. So, yeah, jumped the gun on that attributing to active malice. The general thread of "go deeper" just made me link it more directly than was probably there.

But yeah, like Pitt says, the Master doesn't seem the best guide to stay by, arcane understanding or not. Again, not actively leave, but,

to be more precise, We WERE Celestia right up to the moment we opened that door.

After that it was all memories/flashbacks, so it was respectively Past Celestia and Past Nightmare.

THe Master's mistake was accidental: he made it so that, whenever Luna woke up, she'd wake up in a situation really close to the one she relived in her tortures, but he had really no way to know the NIghtmare would torture her like that.

and, of course, it's possible that if he approached (or had US approach) Luna in another way we might have prepared her for that, for example establishing safewords for when she woke up (though she might have been too out of it to understand it anyway). She wanted to remember anyway, so a more diplomatic approach could have worked. He either didn't think of it, or didn't consider it a good idea. Probably the second one, after all at the time he thought they might be somehow on the Worm's side. (which we now know for certain they aren't)

Lord Warlock said:
Well we have a direct quest about recruitment that seem to run counter to that ideal, my take on it is that it seems more that the while the allicorns are strange outsiders who are doing unnatural stuff to our world they are still benevolent in nature, they are not doing this with evil intend and as such the goal should be to stop them or teach them not kill them, sure they are being from beyond the veil pushing their world order on us, but it is done trying to help us, never to hurt, and as such some amount of understanding must be shown.

Whether the Master agrees with the later point isn't really an issue because we are not blind followers we are here to save ponykind and our family and friends all the other ideological stuff doesn't really concern me.

I'll also add that we don't really have PROOF that they're really outsiders. We have only the Master's word on it.

PrimalShadow · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
to be more precise, We WERE Celestia right up to the moment we opened that door.

After that it was all memories/flashbacks, so it was respectively Past Celestia and Past Nightmare.

Note quite! There is a scene after Luna opens the door that also has us as Celestia, where it shows Luna being drowned under a tide of dark memories while "Celestia" disincorporates into Moths to watch; that is us as well.

But other than that scene, yeah, everything after Luna opens the door is memories of the Nightmare pretending to be Celestia to make Luna's torment extra-special.

Pittauro said:
And to be fair we ONLY have the word of our Master on them being "alien".

Pittauro said:
I'll also add that we don't really have PROOF that they're really outsiders. We have only the Master's word on it.

We actually have Luna's memories to go on, too.

BirdBodhisattva said:
You feel as it drinks from your panic, and bathes in your fear. You feel as it exults in your essence, for your essence is far greater than that of regular ponies whose dream-doors it greedily lusted for.

After all, you were never a pony to begin with.

You are much greater. You are a creature of order, your flesh borne into this world by choice, obeying its laws of entrance by birth, and of departure by death. Your soul smells of the outside, of the void between the lights, of the very thing it eternally aches to consume with never-ending thirst. It drinks deep from your mind's memories, then your body's sensations, then the very cornerstone of your soul. It sees the purpose for which you entered the world, and the light that invited you inside, and the mission that you accepted, and the covenant that you have made with it. It licks greedily the marrow of your very being as it sees in there the echo of that thing, that music that grows with every light-borne thought of mortals, that nascent beacon in the never-ending darkness.

It sees the light of Harmony, the shining core of this world, reflected in your essence, it sees the marks of the pact you made with it.

And oh, how it causes the creature to want.

So I think we can take Master at his word about the being Outsiders, at least - though other things he says on that subject might be suspect.

The Game · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
I'll also add that we don't really have PROOF that they're really outsiders. We have only the Master's word on it.

But we do have proof of it though. Firsthand proof, as a matter of fact.

BirdBodhisattva said:
After all, you were never a pony to begin with.

You are much greater. You are a creature of order, your flesh borne into this world by choice, obeying its laws of entrance by birth, and of departure by death. Your soul smells of the outside, of the void between the lights, of the very thing it eternally aches to consume with never-ending thirst.

Edit: Moth'd

jakjjjj · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
I'll also add that we don't really have PROOF that they're really outsiders. We have only the Master's word on it.

PrimalShadow said:
SNIP

It's not complete proof that they are outsiders I'd say, but it is proof that the light of harmony uplifted their souls in some way to become greater than your typical pony. This was also information that was obtained from being tortured mentally, so who knows. It might be a matter of whether or not their souls were Equestrian originally and were bonded in some manner with harmony, or outsider completely. More information about that would help us be assured whether it is one or the other.

PrimalShadow · Sep 29, 2020

jakjjjj said:
It's not complete proof that they are outsiders I'd say, but it is proof that the light of harmony uplifted their souls in some way to become greater than your typical pony. This was also information that was obtained from being tortured mentally, so who knows. It might be a matter of whether or not their souls were Equestrian originally and were bonded in some manner with harmony, or outsider completely. More information about that would help us be assured whether it is one or the other.

I dunno.

It sees the purpose for which you entered the world, and the light that invited you inside, and the mission that you accepted, and the covenant that you have made with it.

This says that Luna entered the world for a purpose, and was invited inside; and that implies that at some point she existed as something that was OUTSIDE the world, able to make agreements and be invited in.

Your soul smells of the outside, of the void between the lights

And this at least suggests that the soul is the part that used to be outside.

To me this paints a picture of Luna/Celestia being some sort of foreign being reincarnated into Equestria, and whose souls clearly mark them as such.

That said, I agree that we don't really have much information about what that means, and that further info would be helpful.

Pittauro · Sep 29, 2020

PrimalShadow said:
Note quite! There is a scene after Luna opens the door that also has us as Celestia, where it shows Luna being drowned under a tide of dark memories while "Celestia" disincorporates into Moths to watch; that is us as well.

nitpicking. Once we opened the door the Master left, so it was no longer relevant!

PrimalShadow said:
This says that Luna entered the world for a purpose, and was invited inside; and that implies that at some point she existed as something that was OUTSIDE the world, able to make agreements and be invited in.
And this at least suggests that the soul is the part that used to be outside.

To me this paints a picture of Luna/Celestia being some sort of foreign being reincarnated into Equestria, and whose souls clearly mark them as such.

That is the master talking/thinking though. We still have no proof that he's right.

well, beside the "never a pony to begin with" bit. But that doesn't necessarily implies "outsider", and it was a line taken right when the worm was starting to gain influence

PrimalShadow · Sep 29, 2020

Pittauro said:
That is the master talking/thinking though.

Hmm. I guess you are reading italics as the Master inserting thoughts for Luna?

I hadn't read it that way, but I can see how that might makes sense; and if you do, the matter becomes more muddy, yes.

Bakkasama · Sep 29, 2020

PrimalShadow said:
And this at least suggests that the soul is the part that used to be outside.

To me this paints a picture of Luna/Celestia being some sort of foreign being reincarnated into Equestria, and whose souls clearly mark them as such.

That said, I agree that we don't really have much information about what that means, and that further info would be helpful.

We got hit by a truck and reincarnated as winged unicorn princesses?! The Light Novel.

Celestia: We are going to bring an age of enlightment to ponykind! With Science!
Luna: Sister, look, look! I can throw energy beams from my horn!
Celestia: Change of plans! We are going to bring an age of enlightment to ponykind! With Magic!
Luna: Celestia, look, look! I can make the moon dance on the sky!
Celestia: Wait, what?
Luna: Why are the natives bowing?
Celestia: Change of plans! We are going to bring a new age to ponykind! With Monarchy!

BirdBodhisattva · Sep 29, 2020

This is not a self-bump, this is not a bait. Just fact statement:

Adhoc vote count started by BirdBodhisattva on Sep 29, 2020 at 4:27 PM, finished with 252 posts and 81 votes.

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- Asheler
38 people have voted
[X] You shake your head in denial. This, just now, was wrong: There are better ways to do this. YOU know better ways to do it. But it is undeniable that you do know no a lot, about almost everything else. Your cult has an established structure and is growing, and you have a position of power within in, but after tonight, you do not intent to stay forever.
- Captainwolf
- mcclay
- zxzx24
- theretrodragon
- them8
- DocMatoi
- Aria the Mage
- massdefect76
- LotusPocus
- bobbananaville
- force200
- Ericwinter
- Genderite
- Tempest Warden
- Blackgutter
- NeonSantos
- Olgol2
- Empere
- Rakuhn
- Retrueno
- Erumpet
- azereath
- kalugin
- Ahriman
- HAHAHAHAH-*KAFF*
- GardenerBriareus
- SpiritFluid
- jakjjjj
- Starlit Horizon
- Doctor Elsewhere
- SuperSonicSound
- PrimalShadow
- CedeTheBees
- Artemis1992
- inirlan
- Candymancer
- Timothy
- Pittauro
7 people have voted
[X] You realize that you had a smile on your face: Princess Luna is weak, but she still bears immense power. She is like a spoiled child, unaware of what she could do if she had the will to, so perhaps the term "Princess" really is fitting, after all. You will take her power, or you will take her, and then you will take what comes next. Everything between here and there will become means to those ends.
- SteelWriter77
- Himiko
- Kittu
- Zalkon
- newgman
- Artemis1992
- Asheler
6 people have voted
[X] You realize just how right your Master is: Your Master is right, and it is a blessing that you have met Copper Secateur and, through her, been induced into the cult. You must defend Equestria, no matter the cost, and only by furthering your cult will that be possible.
5 people have voted
[x] You loudly decry your master. A moment too late, a second after his presence is gone, but you are heard by everypony else: What you did tonight was wrong, and your Master either knew of the consequences, or he is not wise enough to be worth following. But regardless of what he is, you will actively oppose him.
2 people have voted
[X] You left. You broke. You galloped away, screaming, and you arrived home limping, your leg cramped with debilitating pain. No more of this. No more.: You do not want to have anything to do with this anymore. The ritual was too wrong, the memories of Princess Luna too vivid. The worms were too frightening.
- PrimalShadow
- inirlan
1 people have voted
[x] You loudly decry your master. A moment too late, a second after his presence is gone, but you are heard by everypony else:
- Pittauro

Voting will be closed in 25 (ish, typing this might take a few off) minutes, and ties will be decided by the dice.

On other matters:

Pittauro said:
...actually... @BirdBodhisattva did the master ever say anything about Cadance?

Your Master mostly refers to them as "alicorns", like an elderly person might repeat an old lyngo, or like a foreigner might use a broad word. Velvet doesn't really remember much specific preaching towards Cadence, more about "alicorns" as a whole. And said talking was sometimes accompanied, although with less frequency, about remarks of other outsiders such as Discord, Tyrek and others (plural).

And I will rectify something because I believe the seeds of an idea have just been sown, so I will lightly remark on it.
The italic fonts on the text were not intended as specifically "The Master is saying this". As in, do not interpret that whenever you see italic, Velvet/Luna was hearing/feeling the Master.

You will notice a "Correct" on the first or second instance of the dream, where Luna thinks she doesn't want to wake up or else she will miss her chance. That one indeed was intended as the Master's subtle influence, but all else really wasn't necessarily so.

That is NOT to say, for example, that the whole dream sequence wasn't an illusion, or that any single other part was fabricated, not fabricated, trustworthy or not.
This rectification is specifically to avoid misinterpretation caused by writing artifices, so you know exactly what Velvet saw, or was made to see.

On all other matters, and all the other ideas raised and discussed, I will offer no remark unless directly asked.

EDIT: "wasn't necessarily so", on that second paragraph. Not stating anything else was or wasnt either.

SuperSonicSound · Sep 29, 2020

[X] You shake your head in denial. This, just now, was wrong: There are better ways to do this. YOU know better ways to do it. But it is undeniable that you do know no a lot, about almost everything else. Your cult has an established structure and is growing, and you have a position of power within in, but after tonight, you do not intent to stay forever.

Changing vote.

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

A bodhisattva, by definition, must die to move on.

There is always a greater fool

Spooky, and Gay

Definitely not a Skaven Infiltrator

Spooky, and Gay

There is always a greater fool

A bodhisattva, by definition, must die to move on.

Shadowmancer of the Shadow Cabal