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

[BirdBodhisattva]

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!

Spoiler: Or if you'd rather hear it from someone else

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.

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(Quote slightly edited to avoid spoilers)

 

[Ericwinter]

Moth got us in.

Were not that skilled at winter.

I think the blue was just it acknowledging the ponies sheer chutzpah in this case.

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...It was a stewardship roll to take control—the stat linked to Winter—and the word marked in blue is us telling everybody to be quiet. Which is then followed up by a description of everybody falling silent "as if a sudden cold breeze had hit them". If that's not Winter, I don't know what is. Just cause we're not as skilled doesn't mean it can't have an effect.

 

[chocolote12]

Blue is Winter. It seemed pretty obvious to me that we were drawing on that Lore somewhat (Winter to End the noise, not to do the paperwork, but I guess it does increase our stewardship by a single point).

 

[PrimalShadow]

...It was a stewardship roll to take control—the stat linked to Winter—and the word marked in blue is us telling everybody to be quiet. Which is then followed up by a description of everybody falling silent "as if a sudden cold breeze had hit them". If that's not Winter, I don't know what is. Just cause we're not as skilled doesn't mean it can't have an effect.

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Blue is Winter. It seemed pretty obvious to me that we were drawing on that Lore somewhat (Winter to End the noise, not to do the paperwork).

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I think that was a standard Stewardship roll; not any sort of Winter roll.

I mean, it was still a Winter roll in the sense Stewardship gets a +1 stat bonus from our Winter lore, but it was not in and of itself a Winter roll - which we know because it didn't give us either the +10 or +20 bonus we would get from in on such a roll.

 

[zxzx24]

Then. I'm not clear on the "secrets" thing? Since I've never played cultist simulator.

Wheres the line between using your dexterity and experience with locks to pick a gate, and using knock lore to do it?

I assumed at an arbitrary eldritchness threshold our actions would simply become blatantly unnatural and alarming.

 

[chocolote12]

Wheres the line between using your dexterity and experience with locks to pick a gate, and using knock lore to do it?

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They're the same thing. But just like a child loses to an adult in chess at a certain rate, and a novice adult loses to a professional adult in the same game at the same rate as between an adult and a child, the difference between a normal person unlocking a lock and us unlocking a lock is very large.

Or, to put that another way, Locksmiths learn these secrets naturally. They're extensions of the natural world, more or less.

I think that was a standard Stewardship roll; not any sort of Winter roll.

I mean, it was still a Winter roll in the sense Stewardship gets a +1 stat bonus from our Winter lore, but it was not in and of itself a Winter roll - which we know because it didn't give us either the +10 or +20 bonus we would get from in on such a roll.

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Blue means we used Winter, narratively. Winter Lore wasn't called for, but we did use the base Winter stat, and Winter was used in the story. We're talking about the story, not the mechanics, though it did also have a minor mechanical effect (+1 to stewardship).

 

[zxzx24]

So the lores start from the abstract and drill down, and the natural world starts from the bottom and drills up?

Or am I misunderstanding?

 

[Dream Logic]

Then. I'm not clear on the "secrets" thing? Since I've never played cultist simulator.

Wheres the line between using your dexterity and experience with locks to pick a gate, and using knock lore to do it?

I assumed at an arbitrary eldritchness threshold our actions would simply become blatantly unnatural and alarming.

Click to shrink...

There's not much of a difference really. If you know the lore then you'd just kind of automatically use it when applicable. Edge is as much At least at our point of knowledge where we understand that the nine hours underlie pretty much everything.

It only really becomes meaningfully distinct during rituals or when you're so far into the lore that it starts leaving more obvious marks upon you.

For Velvet there's no real difference between being good at Stealth because Moth and being good at Stealth because she has practical experience. They're the same thing as far as the universe is concerned.

 

[Lord Warlock]

We are pretty awesome, hopefully the attention we get is mostly good.

 

[Pittauro]

But sometimes, not faking anything is the best form of fakery.

You confidently trot in the direction of the two guards, with the same focused (and perhaps slightly bored) expression you would wear while working, and the two guards simply nod at you and open the door so you can go in.

"The reunion is already underway, ma'am," one of them even volunteers politely.



Its rather ironic, you muse. There technically "was" an attack against the capital by an unknown enemy, as the stories go, although you know the fact of the matter is a lot more complicated than that. But technically, going by that version of the story, you "are" an agent of said unknown enemy.

So, you find it somewhat amusing that you managed to sneak into a command tent of the Royal Guard under these circumstances. It even crosses your mind that if that attack had been the opening move of a war, and if you were an assassin, then you would be able to cause all sorts of trouble from here on.

And you are only slightly worried that these thoughts crossed your mind so suddenly. Ponies are, after all. peaceful and trusting creatures, so you wonder just how strange this thought just now was supposed to have been. You shake your head to dismiss those thoughts, knowing that you have far more important things to focus on, and step into the large tent.

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This is pretty worrying, even if it's STILL old news.

Put it simply, Equestria is REALLY vulnerable from intrigue-focused enemies...as long as they can look like ponies.

So the Changelings, and possibly the Worms if they can infect normal ponies and use them as pawns.

Maybe once we have Luna's ear we can start doing something about this. She's clearly the intrigue/martial sister, and that's shown in how Equestria became so soft after she was banished.

And you see chaos.

"Sir, another train just arrived. The headcount should be coming in shortly."

"I'm telling you, we don't need just a headcount, it needs to be specific! For the third time, how many pegasus do we have in this camp?!"

"Captain! There has been a problem with the train bringing supplies from Cantelot, we wont be able to-"

"Sir, somepony is already gathering the volunteers, they are waiting for you to-!"

"Captain, please you have to-!"

You see chaos.

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...I wonder if we'll manage to free Discord sooner than anticipated by accident. All this chaos...

On the far end of the table you see him, a unicorn stallion in armor, his helmet forgotten next to him on the table as he passes a nervous hoof over his forehead.

That is probably the "captain" everypony is shouting for.

And he desperately is in need of assistance.



[Aiding in the ponyhunt, breakpoints 35/70/105]

[Roll: 96 + 10 (Stewardship) = 106]

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...Go Velvet GO!

We're going to make friends in high place here, I know it!

Starting from Shining Armor!

"Captain Chalkhoof, my Lady," he answers, and you merely give him a grave nod for an answer.

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..ah, ok, not shining armor.

I suppose he's not the only captain.

Still, a captain can be a valuable contact.

You see one of them bringing a chair and placing it next to the captain, and you head there before even being invited to, the captain himself looking much less lost as he starts telling you the details of the situation while float an apparently ownerless set of ink and paper in your direction.

"And have some guards watch the path between the train station and the civilian camp proper. I don't want anypony losing their way between those two places and ending up here by accident!" you shout at nopony in particular as you start taking notes of what the captain is saying.

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how to bluff yourself into a position of power.

It was wonderful 👏

After a long week, most of which was spent getting the camp into an efficient semblance of order so that proper searches may begin, you finally say your farewells to captain Chalkhoof. He seems almost distraught when he realizes you are leaving, but after a few deep breaths he gives you a confident nod.

"Thank you, Lady Velvet. You can trust us to take it from here."

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I wonder how he'd react if he knew the truth... Though it will probably come up at some point once he makes a report to Canterlot.

I wonder, will we maybe be called by the Princess of one of his superiors at some point? That could be interesting.

Equestria being a kingdom, "noble adherence" can be seen as "organization", while "commonpony adherence" can be seen as "available workforce". The search efforts have muscle and means, but from what you hear of noble gossip it seems to be extremely lacking in organization.

Your aid to the searching camp has been efficient enough to attract somepony's attention.

Social shenanigans to follow.

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interesting times coming

 

[RebelYell]

Suddenly a single guard's pony broke out in a cold sweat hair standing on end, despite being surrounded by his fellow guard's and soon to be search parties for Princess Luna, all he could think at that moment was he erred in some way and made a powerful enemy...

 

[PrimalShadow]

You let out a theatrically annoyed sight

Click to shrink...

sight -> sigh

 

[them8]

Suddenly a single guard's pony broke out in a cold sweat hair standing on end, despite being surrounded by his fellow guard's and soon to be search parties for Princess Luna, all he could think at that moment was he erred in some way and made a powerful enemy...

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I mean I think he is really to small time to actually be an enemy... sometimes annoying bugs get away just by being to small to see.

 

[RebelYell]

It's his instinct, he knows somehow he messed up but not how or why

 

[NMS]

Yes, there are royal guards herding the volunteers into lines, but you aren't just any old volunteer.

You are in a travelling dress, and you have a fully uniformed maid by your side. That is bound to get you to places more easily.



[The application of influence, breakpoints 40/80]

[Roll: 6 + 11 (Diplomacy) + 5 (GRAIL bonus) = 22]

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I'll admit, this bit made me chuckle.

 

[Dream Logic]

So the lores start from the abstract and drill down, and the natural world starts from the bottom and drills up?

Or am I misunderstanding?

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Best way I can put it is that understanding the lore let's you understand the subject and become naturally better at it. At first this is stuff like Velvet thinking to pick a lock by channeling knock or how she naturally just doesn't make sound unless she wants to because she understands Moth.

As one becomes more learned and especially if they begin to embody an Hour though it becomes things like our Master speaking from everywhere at once or Forge literally turning your skin metallic or a Winter disciple being unable to die because their ending is not yet due.

Each step along the path brings you further from the supposed mundane world. Theoretically there isn't really a difference between using a lockpick or Knock to open a door, but it's the understanding of how and why that matters.

 

[x0Nothing0x]

That first roll wasn't to good but those next two rolls knocked it out of the park.

have to wonder what Ponpon thought when she want to go help with our luggage only to find we somehow have taken over the camp and are now organizing everything in that short amount of time.

 

[Ericwinter]

That first roll wasn't to good but those next two rolls knocked it out of the park.

have to wonder what Ponpon thought when she want to go help with our luggage only to find we somehow have taken over the camp and are now organizing everything in that short amount of time.

Click to shrink...

Probably that she was right to be worried.

 

[jason1stlegion]

@BirdBoddhisattva Do we get stat bonuses from feats? Like, for instance, spending a week using Stewardship to organize the Royal Camp which is getting volunteers from all across Equestria?

Also, a good chapter, as always.

 

[Bakkasama]

@BirdBoddhisattva Do we get stat bonuses from feats? Like, for instance, spending a week using Stewardship to organize the Royal Camp which is getting volunteers from all across Equestria?

Also, a good chapter, as always.

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I doubt it. We already got somepony's attention as a reward for it.

 

[zxzx24]

Princess Celestia will remember this*

 

[Ericwinter]

Princess Celestia will remember this*

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Nah, it's probably Shining Armor or something, I doubt Celestia is put together enough to notice anything except the large sweeps of the search. Granted, given the state of literally everything else this might count, but I'd expect we will have to go through at least a couple other people if we want to get to her.

 

[Ekzentric Lohner]

"The reunion is already underway, ma'am," one of them even volunteers politely.

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I'm a bit confused here. What "reunion" is he talking about? If this is just the camp setup organizational meeting, it'd make more sense to just use the word "meeting".

Your aid to the searching camp has been efficient enough to attract somepony's attention.

Click to shrink...

If we're asked why we did this, all we have to do is point out that we are a) employed as a higher-level manager who coordinates the efforts of all the people doing the actual work (or at least the funding for those efforts) as our regular job and b) we're minor nobility and therefor aware that...

[Noble adherence: 27. Even now, they see this only as a chance to turn on each other.]

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... the rest of the nobility, who should theoretically be able to do the same job, will actually be useless due to infighting.


I'm not sure if it's been brought up before, but this may lead to us discovering that we're related to Twilight Sparkle. If the person who noticed our efforts is her brother, Shining Armor, then he may ask if we're related to his mother, Twilight Velvet. Or he may just know - between dating a princess and working in a mid-to-high-level job in the city with probably the highest density of nobles in Equestria, he might have picked up enough about the major and minor noble families by now to know the significance of the Velvet name.

 

[x0Nothing0x]

random dumb question but what would have happened if the nobles rolled a 1?

would they just be even more useless or would they have actually have found a way to hinder the search instead of just slow it down?

 

[Ericwinter]

I'm not sure if it's been brought up before, but this may lead to us discovering that we're related to Twilight Sparkle. If the person who noticed our efforts is her brother, Shining Armor, then he may ask if we're related to his mother, Twilight Velvet. Or he may just know - between dating a princess and working in a mid-to-high-level job in the city with probably the highest density of nobles in Equestria, he might have picked up enough about the major and minor noble families by now to know the significance of the Velvet name.

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Are they actually nobles? I thought that was just a fanfiction think some people liked to do.

 

[NexusEye]

Are they actually nobles? I thought that was just a fanfiction think some people liked to do.

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There's Blueblood and he implies the existence of other nobles but as far as I can find in a quick search there are no other appearances of Equestrian nobility except for a Duke and Duchess of Maretonia, which participated in the Equestria Games. Maretonia could be part of Equestria proper or some smaller polity that's allowed to participate in the Games.