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!
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.
I mean, maybe not phrase it like that (not in the least because we don't actually know he's a mafia boss), but a "hey can you help with more security for the mansion? got scared because monster attack" might work?
Steppes almost certainly thinks we're more frail and vulnerable than we actually are, which would likely work in our favor.
Explaining that might be awkward though. Maybe if Stormchaser vouched for our legitimacy?
Anyways, I had a dumb thought. Supposedly, a Name has fallen into enemy hands. The Master is a Name, an enemy, and probably count as being in their own hands. Or maybe they went and got a job with Celestia so they can Moth their way close enough to kill her, and that's why they've been missing all turn.
Definitely up for confronting Comet with the dust. Even if he didn't do it personally he was the conduit for it. And he knows it. If we can catalyze him to gaining a Lantern secondary… well, it will help him remember who is he and why he chose this path.
I still don't see where people are getting a name has fallen into someone else's hands from. Unless I missed something in that conversation it was about the risk of having names around under someone else's control, and a hint that we were going to lose Baldomare this turn.
I still don't see where people are getting a name has fallen into someone else's hands from. Unless I missed something in that conversation it was about the risk of having names around under someone else's control, and a hint that we were going to lose Baldomare this turn.
So that's something she should strive to do. Conversely it is also bad if a Name ends up in the clutches of another party. Especially given how she's choosing to cut herself off from her first employer.
Although that's technically a Was that they haven't seen yet.
Semantics. They'll learn about it before the end of the turn. Anyhow, my second advice is… hmm… Pinkie, is there anything you figure she ought to know?
Unless it's saying that we haven't seen Velvet choosing betrayal—which we obviously have—that can only mean that a Name has fallen into somebody else's clutches. it doesn't say "losing a Name is bad, and has already happened", it says "someone else getting a Name is bad, and has already happened".
Unless it's saying that we haven't seen Velvet choosing betrayal—which we obviously have—that can only mean that a Name has fallen into somebody else's clutches. it doesn't say "losing a Name is bad, and has already happened", it says "someone else getting a Name is bad, and has already happened".
Unless it's saying that we haven't seen Velvet choosing betrayal—which we obviously have—that can only mean that a Name has fallen into somebody else's clutches. it doesn't say "losing a Name is bad, and has already happened", it says "someone else getting a Name is bad, and has already happened".
I wouldn't really consider that to be "in the clutches of another party" though? Sure, it's a danger that they could end up there, but it's not at all a certainty, and so really shouldn't count as a Was, technically or not. It's also not something that had happened at the time.
But I suppose we can ask @BirdBodhisattva to clarify. Hours don't have an obligation to be definitionally accurate, after all.
Maybe? I remember when Bird combined the first Fluttershy social with the Influence calling for Comet, so it's possible. Just not sure how likely.
Speaking of the fruit though, I do have to wonder what the memory actually is. The Master thought it worth having a Name for the hive assault. An appropriate gift to wield, however temporarily, another being in the highest bracket of power still available. To burn away the shadows around the Changelings and their home. It's probably going to be one hell of a memory.
Oh man, an artifact of that level would be so handy right now. Could give us a scrap, pump up our confidantes' usefulness, do some weird esoteric things, etc, etc, what were we thinking turning that down?
Hmm… random thought, but we don't know how to summon the Master. That got Mothed away or whatever. So I have to wonder, is there a way to learn that knowledge still? Maybe they're somewhere in the depths of the Woods, perhaps behind a Sacrament or something. Maybe the fruit will have it. Or maybe we just can't manage it at all.
Not like it matters anyways. They're already present, and a Name can ignore the bindings if they really want to. But it's still an interesting thought.
I think its something we should mention at the council meeting along with not having a summon for the last hour we met, it actually relates to our current task of seaching for summons because we'd want to know if you can get an hour summons or not. It lets us ask the important question of if the Master is an hour or not. We tell the Master that we've found a lead on a really powerful being in the manus behind a winter sacrament required level wall who we think/guess is an hour/the sun-in-rags only the last hour we met the the manus (best hour) we didn't get a summon for, you know just like we didn't get a summon for you.
We did have the option of getting the royal guards as our protectors who would have been much better and we said no thanks.
Besides I don't think they would actually be that good, a trained violent pony has a score of 10-14 martial and maybe around a plus 5 bonus to personal combat. That's not actually very good compared to what the cult can bring.
Let's not say anything about the Garden of Mirrors and Sun-in-Rags. Otherwise, the cult will figure out the Mares-in-the-Light, and we really don't want them summoning those all over the place. We still have the Daughter-of-Axes, the Tower, and passing the Tribal Door to talk about if we want the Master to think we haven't been slacking on Mansus-climbing.
So… given Bird gave my one comment about helping Comet being a path to getting Fluttershy Confidante an insightful rating—which makes sense, since that would be our third highly effective social action with her, which was what it took for Jade—I have to wonder; what do we think her minor affinity will be? I'm thinking either Heart or Moth, maybe Edge given how she can be pretty intimidating if pushed too far?
Also on the topic of Elements and Lores… have we ever considered that Applejack might be Lantern aspected? It kinda seems to fit with her whole Honesty thing.
I'll just skip past any arguments involving morality (because I don't think you'll care) and just say that if Hills does die, we're not the ones who get put in charge. Pride does, and we know literally nothing about him or how that would affect us.
Besides I don't think they would actually be that good, a trained violent pony has a score of 10-14 martial and maybe around a plus 5 bonus to personal combat. That's not actually very good compared to what the cult can bring.
If we're talking (relatively) mundane force, the cult has jack-shit going for it in that department. It's highest level Edge adept are at level 0. If DoA boosts Edge, they'll be at Level 1. That's not actually that huge of an advantage.
For, say, Windigos? That's what DoA and the Mares are for.
Also on the topic of Elements and Lores… have we ever considered that Applejack might be Lantern aspected? It kinda seems to fit with her whole Honesty thing.
I was thinking more secret histories for her. She does have that traditional family farm deal, the town and ponies might change but the farm is constant.
Why? It's not like it can give him Sacrament or meaning in the place of the Wolf. Plus, then the cult would find out about the Mares, and we lose our advantage in terms of martial deterrence.
Why? It's not like it can give him Sacrament or meaning in the place of the Wolf. Plus, then the cult would find out about the Mares, and we lose our advantage in terms of martial deterrence.
Hmm… interesting thought, but neither of those are ponies, so a Windigo would only get +20 base. Add the Edge, and they've got a +45. Mares only get that if they can pull a basic +30 in the combat, and DoA has that at minimum but can probably pull higher whenever she wants.
Why? It's not like it can give him Sacrament or meaning in the place of the Wolf. Plus, then the cult would find out about the Mares, and we lose our advantage in terms of martial deterrence.
I mean, that makes him have to get the Sacrament rather than us giving it to him, which means we still have nothing to recruit him, but it might set him on a different path if we're lucky.
About Sacraments though, I do look forward to what our Moth Sacrament will be, and the Master's offer as well.
[X] plan DENY BALDOMARE TO CULT, SHE'S OURS! (conditional version) (and Windy instead of Rarity) -[X] (Book) Forge 3 (30 bits)
-[X] (Moth Fruit) Give it to Baldomare If we reach Moth or Winter or Edge 4, eat it otherwise -[X] (Rarity) Emissary: (Fleeting Opportunity) Dissociate from Loremaster's fame
-[X] (Jade Whistle) Research Selene (Knock 2)
-[X] (Baldomare) Secret Histories Influence
-[X] (Selene) In order: Winter > Moth > Edge if levels are the same, if one of these reaches lvl 4 go with that one. -[X] Attention of the Laws: Grail, use on the first valid target of the following: Stormchaser, Fluttershy, Soft Sweeps
-[X] Hintseekers: Track down other members of the Expedition
-[X] (Fleeting Opportunity) Stormchaser
-[X] (Fleeting Opportunity) Fluttershy
-[X] (Fleeting Opportunity) Soft Sweeps
-[X] (Fleeting Opportunity) Windy Flakes (WRITE IN OBJECTIVE)
--[X] Subtly check Windy's opinions and loyalty to the cult in view of the current events.
-[X] Mansus exploration x3 (7 exploration actions) (3 actions remaining)
--[X] Take actions in order, repeating failed actions until we succeed or run out of actions
--[X] If we acquire a Wound or a Malus, skip to the Blank Plains step
--[X] Search out a new location in the Shattered Stairs
--[X] Fully explore the new location
--[X] Seek out the next Door and study it
--[X] Cross the Door, but don't spend an action on the other side
--[X] Search for new locations in the Blank Plains until locations are exhausted
--[X] Search for new locations in the Woods until locations are exhausted
- - -
The monarch SPOKE.
And from every corner of the Mansus His words were heard, his utterance a decree that reshaped the House itself. For the light of the Glory was His word, and His words were the light of the Glory.
It was as it had once been, long ago, and as it was always meant to be.
Magnificent.
Splendorous.
… IRRESISTIBLE.
And as those words spread, the Mansus itself erupted into a frenzy of activity. As if all in the House had been collectively holding their breath, for an entire Era, waiting for that moment alone.
None were left unmoved. None could avoid, or resist, enacting their own agendas.
And from your bosom, one such shadow erupted.
THIGH-BORN DAPPLE-KING rose from your shadows, wings fluttering towards the skies even as the heavens were colored in fire. The deep dark of your unknown reaches erupting in shrieking cheers as he flew towards his fate.
Your shadows cheered, even as the entirety of the Mansus screamed in panic. Or, perhaps, your shadows cheered because their nature was to be the opposite of that panic. But that matters not.
For you did not cheer, nor did you panic or cry. You only watched.
You only watched, with yearn and wanting, as he rose higher and higher.
And he fluttered through the cold plains, where the dead themselves stopped their march to witness what happened above.
For even the dead felt what came to pass.
And he fluttered through the maze of stairs, as its butterfly-net of criss-crossing paths broke and bent, for the first time ever aiding rather than hindering passage.
For there would no longer be a need to sort the worthy.
And he fluttered through the very heart of the House, as its cobwebs of passages ceased to be, their purposes fulfilled.
For there would no longer be a need for the Climb.
And he fluttered through the higher reaches, as they toppled and fell towards down below, their denizens rejoicing and mourning over what had happened.
For their time was coming to an end.
Higher and higher he flew. And you watched, as his eyes grew wider and brighter, and his wings dappled not with the blotches of black ink, but with flaming holed opened by the falling shards.
Higher and higher he flew, until he reached that which he had always desired.
Into the night circle he flew, until the fire consumed him.
And that sight was seared into your memory forever.
VINE-CROWNED MOTH-KING gained what he had always desired.
He tasted, and bathed, and drowned in the ultimate light of the king's Glorious crown.
And its touch obliterated him.
His burnt carcass fell down from the skies of the House like a gleaming star made of black onyx.
When his fall finally struck your face, what remained of him disintegrated into ash. And for all that the howling winds eagerly picked at them, and the other things took pieces of his remains for themselves, it was you who retained the greatest memento.
For the pitch-black shape of his silhouette, that charred imprint from when his scorched body gleefully hit you, was branded into your surface forever.
He was the first to go, when it happened. Although he certainly would not be the last.
It would be a long, long time before the raucous panic of the House finally settled, and the last piece of stone fell and was laid to rest.
But did he really wish for that? Was that need to reach for the Light, that famished lust, truly his? Or was he just enacting his own nature, being helpless to resist the allure even as his wings moved against his will and he flew higher and higher?
You had always wondered that. You had always wondered what was the true nature, that dwelled inside his chaotic mind.
And as his ashen remains washed over your roots, you finally learned the answer to that question.
For it was from those ashes that you acquired the gift of thought.
Or who knows, maybe you just inherited his. It would not have been the first time that life stirred from ashes, nor the first time the MOTH claimed life by stealing the skin of another.
IN
GI
RUM
IMUS
NOC
TE
ET
CON
SUMI
MUR
IG
NI
SNIP
SNIP
SNI-ou open your eyes. And although you have no idea of when you closed them, you don't really feel like you have just woken up either.
In fact, you don't even feel like any time at all has passed. Your hoof is still raised, near your mouth. Your pose is still exactly as it was, just a second ago, as you finished raising the fruit to take the first bite from it.
And as you look down, you can even see that the fruit is still on your hoof.
However, you can see the fruit for what it truly is, now.
Because upon your hoof, you have nothing but a small pile of ashes. In your mouth, as well, there is nothing but ashes, from the mouthful that you have just taken a bite of.
Still, you are not surprised.
You had thought that you would be surprised. You had thought that, after you had taken a bite from the fruit, you would collapse, and perhaps wake up where you are several hours later. You had thought, perhaps, that something about you, a part of your body or your mind or your soul, would even have been changed by the experience. Or that the fruit would have no effect until you went to sleep, after eating it, and that you would have been dragged kicking and screaming into some ancient pit of dreams.
But no, none of that happened.
You have just… relived a memory, that was not yours.
You have just… realized certain things, and can now see them for what they truly are.
And that is why you are not surprised by the true nature of the fruit, the hoof-full of ashes that you are holding, and neither you are disturbed by the dry lump of ashes inside your mouth.
The taste, you realize, is even slightly pleasant. Perhaps nostalgic.
And if nothing else, the ashes are certainly softer than splinters.
Maybe you finished the fruit, taking in bite after bite from the pile of ashes as your unfocused eyes kept gazing at the horizon, your mind thinking about nothing at all.
Maybe you discarded the fruit, burying the ashes in a discrete part of the garden where they would never be found, until a certain curious flower came out form the soil.
Maybe you did something else entirely.
You don't really remember.
For your mind is still full of memories that are not your own.
You have consumed the book "A Memory of the Woods". You have gained two scraps of MOTHLore.
