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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
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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.
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(Quote slightly edited to avoid spoilers)
 
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Not realizing that we have Luna can be forgiven, but really Master, to claim that we do not seek the light at the peak of the Manaus? That is an insult. We are greed, we are intellect, we are lust, and we are hunger, Glory will be ours. We simply desire to rise on a well grounded pillar, a thorough and deep understanding of the lores, we seek not the blazing flash of a foalish young master, we are quite content to grow broad as well as tall oh old monster, when we grasp Glory it will be with a firm and able hoof from which it cannot escape.
 
NMS said:
Perhaps, but...



... because we hid Luna the Master believes there is only one path to success now. And it's possibly the worst possible one.
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We will know what he intends when Baldomare returns to us. With a turn or two to gain support among the advisors and Cult (especially with Starry locked away), we can likely turn the Cult against that path, though this carries great risks against someone as connected to the Woods surrounding the Mansus as the Master is.

Ultrackius said:
Once Luna awakens the master will be forced to drop this plan more or less, since she'll be de facto allied with the cult, and too good of a resource to just kill off

this is why we should have given her to the cult in the first place

[] Slaughter the Royal Guard.

seems like the least bad option, but anything but unleashing the children into the city is acceptable
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IC it's what Chrysalis would do.

OOC it gives us political leverage for the cult, avoids losing characters we care about, allows us to prevent changeling predation in the future (though that's less of a concern with the subverted Stone), and doesn't make it significantly more impossible (relative to the other options) to integrate Changelings into our hopeful future utopia.

Also OOC it provides significant conflict for Velvet without losing any personal connections, helping the quality of this part-horror story.

w34v3r said:
Not realizing that we have Luna can be forgiven, but really Master, to claim that we do not seek the light at the peak of the Manaus? That is an insult. We are greed, we are intellect, we are lust, and we are hunger, Glory will be ours. We simply desire to rise on a well grounded pillar, a thorough and deep understanding of the lores, we seek not the blazing flash of a foalish young master, we are quite content to grow broad as well as tall oh old monster, when we grasp Glory it will be with a firm and able hoof from which it cannot escape.
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This is an interesting point, as well. Why does the Master believe we are slacking? Is he truly unaware of the uses of multiple Lores?

(I'm leaning towards yes, or he wouldn't have become what he is now. But the possibility that they are useless beyond mental stability and rituals should not be discarded).


EDIT:
Now that I check, we're 6 turns away from Selene becoming Luna if we succeed in all our teaching checks. 5 if we put the ritual at the same turn as the last lesson, assuming that's possible.

Also, Bird's latest horror-fest is gilded already? That was fast!
 
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Ok. So.

Things our master wants to have happen that I do not want to have happen:

- Celestia killed. We are going to need to subvert Comet Feet to avoid this, I think, but fortunately he's the cults' only real knife.

- alliance with the changelings. Fortunately, this is off the table for now. I expect it to come up again if the Master is in a favorable position and can extend her mercy.

- mass slaughter of the kidnapped ponies

- traumitizing poor Flower to death
 
jason1stlegion said:
This is an interesting point, as well. Why does the Master believe we are slacking? Is he truly unaware of the uses of multiple Lores?

(I'm leaning towards yes, or he wouldn't have become what he is now. But the possibility that they are useless beyond mental stability and rituals should not be discarded).
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More fool they given how rituals and mental stability are useful tools and currencies.
 
jason1stlegion said:
This is an interesting point, as well. Why does the Master believe we are slacking? Is he truly unaware of the uses of multiple Lores?

(I'm leaning towards yes, or he wouldn't have become what he is now).
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Not Velvet specifically. IT's that so few of the Ponies in the cult have made it past the Branding Door.

Hell, for all Comet is currently hopped up on Edge, does he even have a Brand yet?
 
Hmm… on the one hand, the Master did say they found several prisoners who were kept alive, and the section in which he ordered to kill everything was mostly dialogue. It is possible, theoretically, that he secured Twilight before destroying everything. I doubt it, however, and… yeah, no. Fuck the Master. They've lost hope, and I don't think we can wait four months to prove them wrong. And we're sure as hell not going to reveal Selene's existence after this. I'm… honestly not sure we would have had the option even if we had gone, and that's about the only way I could see of preventing this.
 
I'm honestly not willing to see what the Master will have us do now that they've set their sights on extinguishing the light of Harmony. So far we've been fairly passive, searching for Luna and then the changeling hive. But if the Master's going to be more active now...

I don't think we'll have the time to subvert another advisor if we want to get out with our morals at least somewhat intact.
 
Ericwinter said:
Hmm… on the one hand, the Master did say they found several prisoners who were kept alive, and the section in which he ordered to kill everything was mostly dialogue. It is possible, theoretically, that he secured Twilight before destroying everything. I doubt it, however, and… yeah, no. Fuck the Master. They've lost hope, and I don't think we can wait four months to prove them wrong. And we're sure as hell not going to reveal Selene's existence after this. I'm… honestly not sure we would have had the option even if we had gone, and that's about the only way I could see of preventing this.
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Baldomare could have refused to give the order with Object, if we're going for what-ifs.


EDIT: On an unrelated note, I wonder if this is how politicians and top corporate executives feel (filtering for the mostly-benevolent ones); whenever they make a single choice that's a bit worse than the alternative, people are hurt. People die. And there's nothing they can do to stop it, and if they want to keep even worse things from even worse people/ideologies from happening they have to spend all that effort they wish could have gone towards fixing this tragedy (if such a thing had been possible) into covering their own a** so they can make even more mistakes.
 
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Ericwinter said:
Hmm… on the one hand, the Master did say they found several prisoners who were kept alive, and the section in which he ordered to kill everything was mostly dialogue. It is possible, theoretically, that he secured Twilight before destroying everything. I doubt it, however, and… yeah, no. Fuck the Master. They've lost hope, and I don't think we can wait four months to prove them wrong. And we're sure as hell not going to reveal Selene's existence after this. I'm… honestly not sure we would have had the option even if we had gone, and that's about the only way I could see of preventing this.
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"For those we may yet save."

Appropriate words, perhaps even more so now.
 
We might also have to worry about Rarity betraying us because if Twilight dies everything we promised her about the cult saving her will unravel and i wouldn't be surprised if she lashes out against us by going to our foe with info of our involvement in the cult.
 
jason1stlegion said:
Baldomare could have refused to give the order with Object, if we're going for what-ifs.
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I'm not sure she would have. She seemed pretty eager to break the stone, and that was a separate action from nuking everything. Hell, I like that the Stone got broken. To save the Victims, we would have had to convince the Cult members to not obey the Master's order.
TheMortalRuins said:
We might also have to worry about Rarity betraying us because if Twilight dies everything we promised her about the cult saving her will unravel and i wouldn't be surprised if she lashes out against us by going to our foe with info of our involvement in the cult.
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Nah, we're more likely to learn first—being Inner Circle—and when that happens we are grabbing her and telling her that we fucked way the hell up, and now we're going to rebel.
 
Ericwinter said:
I'm not sure she would have. She seemed pretty eager to break the stone, and that was a separate action from nuking everything. Hell, I like that the Stone got broken. To save the Victims, we would have had to convince the Cult members to not obey the Master's order.

Nah, we're more likely to learn first—being Inner Circle—and when that happens we are grabbing her and telling her that we fucked way the hell up, and now we're going to rebel.
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I was thinking more usurpation and eating of souls, but largely yes.
 
Well no matter what happens ponies will now know that their were Changelings among them, so our suspicion levels will drop. Unfortunately if Cadence doesn't die she is god queen now and Chrysallis STILL has Celestia to cause untold damage. The master will also now and be gunning to execute Celestia.

Master honestly doesn't think we can reach the glory that is unfortunate. I suppose we have been neglecting cult knowledge increases despite our own vast knowledge, and the path to the moon remains frustratingly obscured. We will never reveal Luna till she is ready; therefore, the only solution to change Master's mind is to pursue the Glory in earnest by climbing the Mansus or discover the path to the moon by exploring the Mansus ourselves. I suppose that is what Bird means by it will be a long drown out game over if we never climb; cause, the master will be forced to douse the light of Equestria destroying the civilization we love to stop it from being consumed by a greater threat.

This absolute slaughter of everything in the hive if Comet takes part in this well. I fear he may have chosen the Wolf's Sacrement if he joins the dousing of the light. Continuing on this path would allow Comet to ascend to a Long faster than any pony else; because the actions of Violence does not require dreaming of the Mansus if you bath enough. I don't know how to steer him to a different path though without some drastic change like having him blunt his Edge through Fluttershy. It is definitely possible for Comet to change, but I fear the path he is on and the Master will encourage leads to the Wolf.


NMS said:
Not Velvet specifically. IT's that so few of the Ponies in the cult have made it past the Branding Door.

Hell, for all Comet is currently hopped up on Edge, does he even have a Brand yet?
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We didn't notice to when casting the influence, so I would say no. He might not need a Brand though. Reaching Heaven through Violence might be possible like the Exile if he continues on the path of the Wolf. If he baths in Celestia or Chrysallis blood while holed up on Wolf essence, then it wouldn't surprise me if that is enough to achieve his ascension
 
zxzx24 said:
It's probably time to walk out yes. Canterlot can be nice.
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My only concern-- well no, my multiple concerns about Canterlot: We're recognizable, at least by some. It's within a stone's throw of Ponyville, relatively speaking, so we'd really have to be on the lookout for murder-beasts, whether Windigo flavored or Comet flavored. Celestia's probably not in any condition to hide behind, even if she did decide to grant us both leniency and sanctuary. Either the city or the guard is going to be decimated when we get there, more likely than not, and are unlikely to be in any state to defend against said murderbeasts.

On the other hand, if the Master is going to actively gun for Celestia, we could try to act as an early warning system of sorts, and the chaos in the city would probably make it easier to slip into the castle unnoticed. And Cadence is there, and we're pretty friendly with her. She may vouch for us if we say shit's getting effed up and is only going to get worse, probably.
 
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