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

Voted best in category in the Users' Choice awards.
Reader mode
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.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
(Quote slightly edited to avoid spoilers)
 
Last edited:
Earth-Destroyer said:
Yeah no, this is not a bad choice and sure is hell not mechanically enticing enough to even be one. Quests are hyper risk adverse to the point people often lose fights that are sure wins, because they are to afraid of losing to even fight in the first place. While making Velvet at least grail 6

If it was a bad option at a minimum it would have to at least make Rarity a grail 6, forge 3. Let Rarity take 2 actions a turn at a minimum. And really to get people to take a bad option turning Rarity into a grail 10, forge 5 and letting her take 5 actions a turn is the bare minimum to have a chance, of actually winning.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
You might want to review some of the previous "bad" (by which we mean "villainous", not "sub-optimal") options in this quest, both taken and un-.
 
Aranfan said:
JFC people, BirdBodhisatva just fucking said that he offered us a pit to jump down. Why are so many people voting to dive into the Abyss?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Guess what?

That ship has sailed. Either way this goes we've already suborned Rarity with grail, the only question left is whether we pretend we didn't and condemn her to pining fruitless for us for the rest of her life, or if we treat this like a relationship where we give as well.

The consequences were voted for when we went with max grail. As always, the choice for more power was made before the choice about the consequences of that power, so people voted without thinking of the bad results. We don't have a good and a bad option, just two bad options.

And I really hate the idea of setting Rarity up to suffer from being around us long-term, which is what I see planting the seeds as doing.

We took our action, now we should try and make sure we aren't being cruel about the outcomes.
 
Shaper47 said:
I wonder what is that Bird has said about Velvets relationship with Stormchaser that leads them to believe that she'd cheat on him and crush his emotional wellbeing.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Please just read the fucking option, Shaper. It is very, very, very explicit about the fact we will be having a clandestine love affair.

…only because we're doing so by overdosing rarity on Grail we're raping her.
 
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."

The text for the other option is just sus. Like, immediately before the vote Velvet wonders what will Rarity do and the Disciple option says that this is the story about coupling? I can see why people would be wary.

From the sounds of it, this is a situation like when we originally initiated Rarity on Grail in which it will be left ambigous whether it was a dream or anything actually happened rather than us being explicitly told whether Velvet and Rarity do something and neither of them being sure which one is the case. Like, Velvet will assume she didn't do anything and it might even be correct but we will never be reassured if that was the case and there will be hints for both outcomes.

[X] Keep it in reserve (Velvet will keep the Leash to herself, and consider using it if an unexpected circumstance arises, such as Twilight Sparkle or something else.)

Edit:
Aranfan said:
Oh hey, this got an insightful from Bird.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
They tend to do that for well reasoned arguments regardless of whether they are correct or not. It is not exactly a hint that they are right, just that they are taking the time to consider it.
 
Last edited:
Your recent posting is not acceptable behavior.
Byzantine said:
Please just read the fucking option, Shaper. It is very, very, very explicit about the fact we will be having a clandestine love affair.

…only because we're doing so by overdosing rarity on Grail we're raping her.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

How are we raping her when it's not our choice?

Rarity is the one who decides what she's going to do. I'm not the one here who isn't reading the options.

BirdBodhisattva said:
You wonder if Rarity will move to adjust the tiara that you have on your head, and continue to work on the dress… or if she will do something else.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

Not what Velvet is going to decide to do what Rarity is picking.
 
Shaper47 said:
How are we raping her when it's not our choice?

Rarity is the one who decides what she's going to do. I'm not the one here who isn't reading the options.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Is it rape if they say yes because you slipped ecstasy into their drink? (Hint: the answer is a resounding Yes.)

I can understand your obsession with always picking the option for more power. But you need to stop intentionally willfully ignoring what those options actually are saying because you don't want to face it.
 
Last edited:
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve
 
Glau said:
Guess what?

That ship has sailed. Either way this goes we've already suborned Rarity with grail, the only question left is whether we pretend we didn't and condemn her to pining fruitless for us for the rest of her life, or if we treat this like a relationship where we give as well.

The consequences were voted for when we went with max grail. As always, the choice for more power was made before the choice about the consequences of that power, so people voted without thinking of the bad results. We don't have a good and a bad option, just two bad options.

And I really hate the idea of setting Rarity up to suffer from being around us long-term, which is what I see planting the seeds as doing.

We took our action, now we should try and make sure we aren't being cruel about the outcomes.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
>_> we can get her Grail equal to ours ya know. Might even be nice to do so.

We can't un mind control her now, but in the future? Why throw away that chance.
 
Shaper47 said:
Of course it would be. That would be an unnatural addition.

Rarity's feelings/desires for us are perfectly natural.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I mean we are literally under the influence of some platonic ideal of Grail right now. If Rarity had any feelings towards us before this fiasco it would've been on the level of "my coworker is kind of cute" not mad horse in heat shenanigans like right now. Hardly natural....
 
Shaper47 said:
Of course it would be. That would be an unnatural addition.

Rarity's feelings/desires for us are perfectly natural.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
The lores are perfectly natural but by that same argument so is ecstasy. Something existing does not, in fact, mean that it's influence is okay.

It being a supernatural drug makes it no less a drugging. And it being native to us doesn't really affect this. The question is would rarity be responding to the same actions this way if we weren't a giant grail bomb right now? And the answer is almost certainly not.

An argument can be made if this was our 'natural' grail doing it, since that is inherent to us. But this isn't. This is an outside force partially puppeting us.
 
Last edited:
Byzantine said:
Glau, please consider that rather than being kind that option is to rape rarity by drugging her while she is too out-of-her-mind on said drug to resist.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
While I do agree that the wording hints that something will happen, there are other possible interpretations. It could just be a difference of Rarity openly admitting to herself that she is in love with Velvet vs the crush coming and going as Velvet's and Rarity's Grail levels fluctuate.

Now, I don't think that is the case here, but it is a possibility that exists. Plus, we have already been in a situation in which it was implied that something happened before when Rarity became Grail 0 and it was implied that they kissed in the carriage after the party, but neither of them could tell if that actually happened or if it was a dream. Given that right before the voting it says [The Chalice Murmurs. What became of that redmost dream?] we could be facing a similar situation: heavily implied that they had an affair and left ambiguous whether they did due to how deep in Grail they were. I am not sure whether the fact that Velvet could do it without remembering or realising or that it could happen in a dream or alternate history would be better or worse, because it could mean that she wouldn't be able to tell if she can control the tier 4 influence or not and thus made her likely to repeat it... like, at least we can tell that Velvet will likely see nothing wrong with either outcome as long as the influence is active.

(Not arguing in favor or against, just pointing out that it could happen given our past experiences with Grail and Rarity)
 
Honestly i do not trust grail high velvet at all, the same way i would not trust drunk me.
The "it's natural" is a poor excuse, nature really REALLY sucks.
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve
 
Byzantine said:
The lores are perfectly natural but by that same argument so is ecstasy. Something existing does not, in fact, mean that it's influence is okay.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

I don't believe that Velvet is the kind of mare that would do such a thing. It's out of character and a pretty big stretch to suggest she'd act in such a way.

I don't know why you have this disturbing obsession with having Velvet rape a close friend while their mentally impaired but its not very in character. Focus on the quest not your own needs, you can deal with those elsewhere, this is not the place.
 
Personally I just don't see the appeal of the second option at all. Making Rarity a permanent minion is not something we want - it would not make her anymore useful to us, it would just have her incapable of ever questioning us which is horrifying more than anything else.
Beside that, we get to save... one action? Cool?
It's not a trap action, because that's some weakass bait here.
The only thing it has going for it is curiosity.

[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve
 
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve

In the end if we have the option to not mess up with Stormchaser we should pick it. Family before friends.
 
Huh. Well then. That's a thing that is happening.

At least we got our +40? :V

Ericwinter said:
But yeah, Traits might just make it worse. After all, Velvet is Beautiful, even without this Influence. I'm going to be honest, I legitimately feel kind of sorry for Flutters, Twilight, and Comet Feet. Also the lesser Cult members. Even without Attention we're running +73 to most diplomacy checks, assuming the Influence hasn't made Beautiful give a double bonus or something. With attention it's going to hit, like, +89.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I wonder if some of the cultists will mistake us for Copper because of all that Grail?

And assuming Fluttershy gives us at least a +20 on the assist (based on Rarity's previous assistance), we'll be making Comet's roll with over +100 in bonuses. That's crazy.

Anyway, voting.

[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve (Velvet will keep the Leash to herself, and consider using it if an unexpected circumstance arises, such as Twilight Sparkle or something else.)
 
Shaper47 said:
I don't believe that Velvet is the kind of mare that would do such a thing. It's out of character and a pretty big stretch to suggest she'd act in such a way.

I don't know why you have this disturbing obsession with having Velvet rape a close friend while their mentally impaired but its not very in character. Focus on the quest not your own needs, you can deal with those elsewhere, this is not the place.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Velvet also isn't the mare who would make everyone else paranoid of each other. Yet that is the consequence of using the wolf to break the door.

Actions/decisions have consequences and bad decisions can have bad consequences.
 
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve (Velvet will keep the Leash to herself, and consider using it if an unexpected circumstance arises, such as Twilight Sparkle or something else.)
 
[X] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[X] Keep it in reserve (Velvet will keep the Leash to herself, and consider using it if an unexpected circumstance arises, such as Twilight Sparkle or something else.)
 
Shaper47 said:
I don't believe that Velvet is the kind of mare that would do such a thing. It's out of character and a pretty big stretch to suggest she'd act in such a way.

I don't know why you have this disturbing obsession with having Velvet rape a close friend while their mentally impaired but its not very in character. Focus on the quest not your own needs, you can deal with those elsewhere, this is not the place.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
And Comet isn't the kind of person that would just let the Master murder everyone the Changelings kidnapped without a word of protest. Yet while high on Edge he did exactly that.

The highest influences are nasty.
 
[x] "So the seeds . . . were planted, though for long years [they will be] nothing but an unfulfilled ache."
[x] Keep it in reserve (Velvet will keep the Leash to herself, and consider using it if an unexpected circumstance arises, such as Twilight Sparkle or something else.)
 
Reader mode
You must login or register to reply here.
Back
Top