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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Another point.

This will be Velvet killing a name.

It would be one thing for... well The Baldomare and The Mareinette and- The Daughter of Axes.

They are all beings vastly far above and more powerful than we are. Even the Baldomares interest was paralyzing to Velvet.

But after this both the Baldomare and Mareinette will have to adjust their schema because... trickery or not. Wolf or not. Velvet killed one of their equals.
 
BirdBodhisattva said:
But every option that doesn't involve reaching Glory is "suicide with extra steps".

No, really. There are four possible victories. Glory, Harmony, Moon, or Wolves. Anything that isn't a DIRECT step towards those is just an attempt at winning time. Anything that isn't a step towards "winning" is just an effort to "not lose". Baldomare already said that, and I keep telling you guys to reach for Glory because your enemies are motivated and (increasingly) more powerful.
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BirdBodhisattva said:
You are usually outgunned, outmanned, and right now you find yourself outplanned, by a creature older than recorded history.

Your only saving grace is that they don't know everything.
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Honestly, this is making Accept a lot more tempting as much as I don't want it to be, and I'm one of the main proponents of Offer yourself instead..
(Especially since the Master can get more than 1AP of actions done in our 1AP slot)
 
Another point.

This will be Velvet killing a name.

It would be one thing for... well The Baldomare and The Mareinette and- The Daughter of Axes.

They are all beings vastly far above and more powerful than we are. Even the Baldomares interest was paralyzing to Velvet.

But after this both the Baldomare and Mareinette will have to adjust their schema because... trickery or not. Wolf or not. Velvet killed one of their equals.
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Velvet Covers kicking flanks and taking Names.
Sponsored by The Wolf Family Business - Let your problems be divided over the world, like us!

Actually doing this tagline for the joke wolf has now let me see the regretable actions as taking our current problem and dividing the cost to solve it to the entire world constantly and infinitely.

Edit: Forgot to add quote to show what inspired the joke
 
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[X] Offer yourself instead.

Killing, or this, are the most narratively interesting to me. I don't think the Master is really opposed to Velvet, although she is certainly opposed to it, and so I don't think giving actions up to it is a tragedy. I like the Master, and I like the Wolf (as narrative devices and 'adversaries'/forces against which to contend). More of either is neat and fun to read about. But Killing is in the lead, and I expect it to remain so, and thus I will keep my vote concise.
 
zxzx24 said:
This will be Velvet killing a name.
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The Wolf killed a name.

But Velvet is the one who summoned the Wolf.

And they will know that, if a trolley problem gets put in front of Velvet, the chances of her calling the Wolf...aren't 0.

The first time? Understandable, it was that or dying.

The second time? Emotionally driven, mostly unaware of the consequences.

The third time? After feeling the regrettable results 2 times? This one was on purpose.

That, would give them pause.

...If the Assassination path is chosen, of course. :V
 
"You want to drag us back to how things used to work? FINE. We can do that. Let me just pull out the wolf and remind you how things actually used to work, hmm? Not so much fun if you are vulnerable, huh?"
 
zxzx24 said:
But after this both the Baldomare and Mareinette will have to adjust their schema because... trickery or not. Wolf or not. Velvet killed one of their equals.
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rafuki22 said:
The third time? After feeling the regrettable results 2 times? This one was on purpose.

That, would give them pause.
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Well, the million dollar question is whether their reaction will be good for us?

BritBiscuit said:
Actually doing this tagline for the joke wolf has now let me see the regretable actions as taking our current problem and dividing the cost to solve it to the entire world constantly and infinitely.
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By the description of the first RA, we are literally widening the Wolf's connection of the Wake by doing so and channeling a ton of power in the process - are you sure about this, when you are voting?
Though the mention of the Master potentially using our Bits when our Bits are impossibly tight already...
 
I feel like Velvet repeatedly using the wolf is more rather than less reason to kill Velvet considering what it does to the world. Past a certain point it also probably becomes ethically justifiable to kill the person who keeps making the world a worse place for everyone but them. I doubt this is going to make any names get on with us better (aside from the wolf divided).
 
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[X] Show her your true colors.
[X] Accept her offer.

I feel like I've made my opinion on this clear before. However, if the choice comes to choosing the Wolf or anything else, I will absolutely add a vote to whatever means the wolf doesn't win. I just can't accept that level of collateral damage. Still, there's plenty of time for more votes. As I've said, this is a fight we can win.
 
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A Fae Cat said:
names get on with us better
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To be fair, Baldomare will know exactly why we did it, and will likely understand (because she has done worse things before (?)), but I have no idea how the other Names will react?

Clueless777 said:
As I've said, this is a fight we can win.
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Well, it's less win and Not Lose, and you know what Bird said about playing to Win and playing to make other people Lose?
A RA is our only option to win now (with the Master not being on guard due to not treating us as an enemy), and what makes you think we will be in any better of a position once the Master decides to plan long term after treating us as an enemy?
(And we don't even know if the Master has a summoning cooldown, she could be back next month!)
 
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Nah. I toyed with the idea of the Names becoming increasingly hostile as you accumulate more Stains, but that just didn't make sense.

It sounds mechanically interesting, from a game perspective. But I don't see any of the Names caring enough. Well, "caring" is a very specific word, and it doesn't really transmit what I want to say. But still...

Well, it won't happen. Or it might happen at the Seventh, but the Seventh is an immediate victory, so at most it would involve a fight in the epilogue in which (by definition) Velvet would win.

Besides, the only account we have shows Baldomare living in a cozy hut, doesn't it? Well, I suppose the barking wolves might make it harder to sleep at night, but she seemed to be doing alright.
 
Glau said:
If the quest ends with one of our daughters killing us for the sake of the rest of the world I'd applaud the classical tragedy that Bird pulled off.
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Same.

Double plus irony if that daughter is Soft Sweeps.

BirdBodhisattva said:
Besides, the only account we have shows Baldomare living in a cozy hut, doesn't it? Well, I suppose the barking wolves might make it harder to sleep at night, but she seemed to be doing alright.
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...I can't tell if this is a metaphor or entirely literal.
 
[X] Accept her offer.
[X] Offer yourself instead.

I hope accept doesn't win the vote, I do, but my actions speak more than my words. We will reach The Glory or it all will be for nothing.

Edit: After seeing Bird talk about it, fuck that. It's honestly gross and I really don't like it, but who ever thought achieving Glory would be a nice walk in the flowers? All Names and all Hours know the prices to be paid and paid them, why the fuck shouldn't we.
 
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