[MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun [Archive] - Giant in the Playground Forums

BlasTech

2019-11-07, 06:39 AM

WAIT NO CRAPDAMMIT NO

No, this will not do at all. The images--how did they even do that thing with the weathervane?--are seared in her skull. She doesn't want to think about her child like that, doesn't want those kinds of images, and suddenly wishes she actually knew how to shut this thing down.

No, no, nope, not gonna think about that. Time for some healthy, age-old technique of repressing it deep in her soul and never once ever again mentioning it.

Yeah, good luck with that Administrator. The link you two share is open and flooding you with sensations.

Sweaty, steamy salacious sensations.

So many.

Sensationssssss.

Give me an act under fire to keep your cool as all this emotion ploughs into your head.

Joke’s on her, she didn’t get to see a masterclass. She didn’t get to see what she was missing, so there. Guess nopony gets to walk away happy, right? He was pissed, she was deprived, and Camber…

Well. Screw Camber, anyway.

[Rolling for Moment of Intimacy: 1 + 3 + 3 = 7 Which would be -1 Hx with General Camber, and she'd get +1 Hx with Scraps, but unfortunately she's an NPC. I'm good with however you interpret that.]

Tell me Scraps, are you carrying anything on you that you value? I mean, in a way that's more than the caps it cost you to buy or the time to procure?

What do you have on you, that holds real sentimental value?

The Scrapscallion stomped to the nearest terminal, jammed the audio recorder into the slot, and fired off a message to the rest of the Enclave fleet. No attempts at hiding this time; they were playing the role of a panicked grunt who’d just seen something she shouldn’t have. In went the auth codes. In went the panicked message. Help, help, General engaging in illicit kiss crimes, they’re onto me, I don’t know how long I have, help, etc. Send. Invasion: Postponed.

“We got a job to do.” He growled, marching for the prison. “C’mon.”

You make it out of the Administration wing and reach the outer gates to the prison section by the time the alarms start to blare. The guards standing there pull out radios, before abandoning their posts to run into the admin section.

It seems your transmission has caught the attention of somepony important. Leastwise, somepony with the pull to override whatever orders the pegasi had. With them gone, the gates yield quickly under your lockpicking skills - opening up to a large chamber with rows and rows of dank, dark cells. The smell of unwashed ponies, halitosis and other unsanitary conditions pervades the air. Many stand empty, but wastelander ponies occupy several, lying on the ground or on concrete cots huddled under tattered blankets.

The sound of hoofsteps gives you enough warning for the Pegasus to pull you up and into the darkness and safety of the upper catwalks. Shortly after the two of you touch down, a guardpony rounds the corner of the cells where you'd been. From your new vantage point, you spot another patrolling a different corridor. Two more stand guard at a pair of doors at the far end and, even as you watch, the doors open and another pair of guards enter, escorting two more prisoners, clad in thick grey robes, who are deposited in a cell down at the far end.

What do you do?

Luminark feels fantastic.

So much tension comes off his withers, rolling from him in waves. He can't remember ever being this relaxed, ever having a moment away from the constant grinding tension and paranoia. A few times he'd felt like he'd almost forgotten it but... this was the only time when he felt like he'd done something about it. Just for a minute he felt like he could trust things again... cautiously, perhaps, but it felt possible. He was even like 60% sure that the binding would hold and not unleash a terrible Id monster upon the world - and those were pretty good odds when you thought about it!!

"Minister Rarity!" he said brightly. "Lovely to see you again! Next duty on my list is bringing this place back to Equestria. It's going to be a bit of a tricky spell - do you know anything about necromancy, by chance?"

"I … might know a few things." replies Rarity, looking at you askew. "I must say, that's not the kind of question one typically asks in polite company."

Meanwhile, the olive coated pony stands up, staring around in a semi daze.

"Who are you? What is this place?" he asks, before pausing and scratching his head.

"And … who am I?"

What do you do?

"Oh... nothing..." Milliway said as she began to scrutinise screens and tap on controls.

"Just, uh, checking your diagnostic logs. I had a small incendiary incident earlier... small explosion... nothing major. Just checking it hasn't burned any of your circuits or... anything..."

Tap. Tap-tap. Tap. Tap-tap-tap.

[Rolling to Read A Sitch: 4+5+0=9 What should I be on the lookout for?]

Glowing words scroll across the screen.

Synccomp root access granted. Diagnostic underway: root kernel CrE5H4|2D.exe operating … … 100%, fault error diagnostics nil. Rootkit scan complete. Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK. Memory checksum passed. Backup test … effective. Diagnostics complete: no errors found.

Whatever is the problem, it doesn't seem to be with the systems or with the crystal heart. House, such as he is, is operating correctly. Which means, if the problem isn't hardware, or software … that leaves only one place the problem could be.

It's a problem with House himself. In the sense that any pony can have a problem that weighs on their mind, that can distract them and make them act in a different way than normal.

You need to be on the lookout for that.

Thanqol

2019-11-07, 08:40 PM

"I … might know a few things." replies Rarity, looking at you askew. "I must say, that's not the kind of question one typically asks in polite company."

Luminark gave her an odd look. "Oh! Well that confirms you're not a figment of my imagination - I could never come up with such an exotic social cue. My mom is Department Head of Necromancy, you see..."

Meanwhile, the olive coated pony stands up, staring around in a semi daze.

"Who are you? What is this place?" he asks, before pausing and scratching his head.

"And … who am I?"

What do you do?

"I'm Adm - Luminark, this is Minister Rarity, this is a psychonecromantic manifestation of a polyaspected spirit-mind that has been sculpted into a recreation of the town of Ponyville, and you are a merger of one of the spirit-mind emanations and an aspect of my own damaged psyche, hopefully producing an entity with enough free will and coherence to act as a distinct entity," Luminark said helpfully. "But if you need a name, Olive Drab would be easy to remember."

Balmas

2019-11-09, 10:34 PM

Yeah, good luck with that Administrator. The link you two share is open and flooding you with sensations.

Sweaty, steamy salacious sensations.

So many.

Sensationssssss.

Give me an act under fire to keep your cool as all this emotion ploughs into your head.

[Yeah, that's a [6], thanks to the -2 cool.]

Elanorin

2019-11-11, 09:43 AM

Glowing words scroll across the screen.

Synccomp root access granted. Diagnostic underway: root kernel CrE5H4|2D.exe operating … … 100%, fault error diagnostics nil. Rootkit scan complete. Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK. Memory checksum passed. Backup test … effective. Diagnostics complete: no errors found.

Whatever is the problem, it doesn't seem to be with the systems or with the crystal heart. House, such as he is, is operating correctly. Which means, if the problem isn't hardware, or software … that leaves only one place the problem could be.

It's a problem with House himself. In the sense that any pony can have a problem that weighs on their mind, that can distract them and make them act in a different way than normal.

You need to be on the lookout for that.

Wow. So this is a... a... like a... social problem?

Milliway continued to tap on controls despite having realised there was nothing for her to find on the screens among the subroutines or reams of code.

She had no idea how to handle social problems. Now if he'd gone crazy and started shooting at her we'd be fine. Emotions...

Her one attempt at any kind of relationship had ended in complete heartbreak and, let's not forget, exile and death. To suggest that the notion of applying some kind of attempt at Friendship here was making Milliway nervous was a gross understatement. She couldn't be his shoulder. She couldn't just sit here and, like, talk about his problems. She'd mess it up. Bungle it catastrophically, and he'd hate her, possibly die.

House was too important to die.

"All seems to check out fine," Milliway said with a fake smile for exactly nopony's benefit. "No... problem here."

"You're... all good, House." She backed away from the controls with unsure steps.

You can't just leave.

So she stopped, four shaky backwards steps away from the controls.

And had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Say something!

"So... uh... is there... anything... I mean- If you- that is, I can, if you want, but I don't have to, just if you wanted to I don't have anything better- not that you're not important- but you know not like crazy stalkery impor- I mean just as a favour- not that you'd owe me or that it's out of my way or- but I don't mind- I can... like right here?"

TheAmishPirate

2019-11-11, 11:01 AM

Tell me Scraps, are you carrying anything on you that you value? I mean, in a way that's more than the caps it cost you to buy or the time to procure?

What do you have on you, that holds real sentimental value?

A twisted and blackened ignition key.

It used to go to the Pergrine. The first one. Back before it was his. Back before it even was the Peregrine. It didn't live long after the transition, but. Y'know. You never forget your first, amirite?

The Scrapscallion keeps it in one of the inner pockets of his jacket. A pocket that he rarely unfastens or opens.

You make it out of the Administration wing and reach the outer gates to the prison section by the time the alarms start to blare. The guards standing there pull out radios, before abandoning their posts to run into the admin section.

It seems your transmission has caught the attention of somepony important. Leastwise, somepony with the pull to override whatever orders the pegasi had. With them gone, the gates yield quickly under your lockpicking skills - opening up to a large chamber with rows and rows of dank, dark cells. The smell of unwashed ponies, halitosis and other unsanitary conditions pervades the air. Many stand empty, but wastelander ponies occupy several, lying on the ground or on concrete cots huddled under tattered blankets.

The sound of hoofsteps gives you enough warning for the Pegasus to pull you up and into the darkness and safety of the upper catwalks. Shortly after the two of you touch down, a guardpony rounds the corner of the cells where you'd been. From your new vantage point, you spot another patrolling a different corridor. Two more stand guard at a pair of doors at the far end and, even as you watch, the doors open and another pair of guards enter, escorting two more prisoners, clad in thick grey robes, who are deposited in a cell down at the far end.

What do you do?

Ugh.

Why did there have to be guards? Who put guards inside of a prison nowadays? Didn't they know all the best plans involved sneaking prisoners out right under guards' noses, which didn't work if their noses were here the whole time! And speaking of noses, this place stank! The worst! The Scrapscallion shrank back against the Pegasus' chest, to dilute the prison stink with Pegasus stink. Which, by default, stank a heck of a lot less.

Ughh. How were they going to get through this one?

[Rolling to Read a Sitch: 3 + 3 + 2 = 8 Where's my best way past?]

[And, because the time is right, I'm also going to roll an unintentional Seduce on the Pegasus. I want her to get curious about Scraps. Maybe fall more towards the masterclass side of the equation, and thinking about enrolling when this is all done. 6 + 5 + 1 = 12]

BlasTech

2019-12-31, 06:02 AM

Luminark gave her an odd look. "Oh! Well that confirms you're not a figment of my imagination - I could never come up with such an exotic social cue. My mom is Department Head of Necromancy, you see..."

-==-

"I'm Adm - Luminark, this is Minister Rarity, this is a psychonecromantic manifestation of a polyaspected spirit-mind that has been sculpted into a recreation of the town of Ponyville, and you are a merger of one of the spirit-mind emanations and an aspect of my own damaged psyche, hopefully producing an entity with enough free will and coherence to act as a distinct entity," Luminark said helpfully. "But if you need a name, Olive Drab would be easy to remember."

"Olive ... I guess that'll work" replies Olive, with all the certainty of the newly named psyche-spawn that he is. Rarity, meanwhile, gives a generous smile and trots forward till she's standing beside you.

"Welcome to the land of the existent, darling!" she says, beaming and beckoning him forwards. "Do come with us, we'll make sure you're well taken care of - what are we going to do with him?"

That last was a hurried whisper out of the corner of the mouth.

Well, congrats Luminark - you've now created life from nothing more than emotion. What are you going to do now?

[Yeah, that's a [6], thanks to the -2 cool.]

Well, if nothing else, you can at least say you now know a specific pegasus a bit more than you ever wanted to.

Not that that's much of a consolation.

By the time you regain your senses, right after Scraps' target gets tazed and after he finishes putting out the fires, you realise you're staring into the eyes of a corpse.

Wait, no, not a corpse - those don't blink and look at you as if they've seen a ghost - it must be a ghoul.

You get a second to realise that he's looking at you through a thick security window before the ghoul jabs a hoof at something out of sight and thick blast doors seal off both ends of the corridor you're in.

There's a hiss of seals pressurising, before a gravelly voice crackles over a nearby speaker.

"Hello there!" it drawls "'Mind tellin' us what you're doing down 'ere?"

What do you do?

Wow. So this is a... a... like a... social problem?

Milliway continued to tap on controls despite having realised there was nothing for her to find on the screens among the subroutines or reams of code.

She had no idea how to handle social problems. Now if he'd gone crazy and started shooting at her we'd be fine. Emotions...

Her one attempt at any kind of relationship had ended in complete heartbreak and, let's not forget, exile and death. To suggest that the notion of applying some kind of attempt at Friendship here was making Milliway nervous was a gross understatement. She couldn't be his shoulder. She couldn't just sit here and, like, talk about his problems. She'd mess it up. Bungle it catastrophically, and he'd hate her, possibly die.

House was too important to die.

"All seems to check out fine," Milliway said with a fake smile for exactly nopony's benefit. "No... problem here."

"You're... all good, House." She backed away from the controls with unsure steps.

You can't just leave.

So she stopped, four shaky backwards steps away from the controls.

And had absolutely no idea what to do next.

Say something!

"So... uh... is there... anything... I mean- If you- that is, I can, if you want, but I don't have to, just if you wanted to I don't have anything better- not that you're not important- but you know not like crazy stalkery impor- I mean just as a favour- not that you'd owe me or that it's out of my way or- but I don't mind- I can... like right here?"

Silence is all that greets your words for a good long while. Long enough for you to sit on the floor, tail wrapping around you, and let out a single, awkward, cough that echoes for an uncomfortably long time through the vast under chambers of the Library.

Some time after it dies away, House finally speaks.

"Milliway ..." he starts, hesitantly as an AI can possibly sound. "I - don't know how to ask this without it seeming rude. And I don't want for it to be rude, but -"

"Do you know why we are friends?"

What do you do?

A twisted and blackened ignition key.

It used to go to the Pergrine. The first one. Back before it was his. Back before it even was the Peregrine. It didn't live long after the transition, but. Y'know. You never forget your first, amirite?

The Scrapscallion keeps it in one of the inner pockets of his jacket. A pocket that he rarely unfastens or opens.

I'm sorry to say, that the key is gone.

When you next inspect it, you'll find a hole, burned by a piece of unusually-flammable whipped cream (Now with 650% more trabaloxyene, for all your food preservation needs!).

There's only one place it could've fallen - back with General Camber. She's probably got it now.

Ugh.

Why did there have to be guards? Who put guards inside of a prison nowadays? Didn't they know all the best plans involved sneaking prisoners out right under guards' noses, which didn't work if their noses were here the whole time! And speaking of noses, this place stank! The worst! The Scrapscallion shrank back against the Pegasus' chest, to dilute the prison stink with Pegasus stink. Which, by default, stank a heck of a lot less.

Ughh. How were they going to get through this one?

[Rolling to Read a Sitch: 3 + 3 + 2 = 8 Where's my best way past?]

After watching for a few moments, you realise that aggressive stealth is probably your best way past.

The guards aren't following good procedures in their patrols. For example, each of the sentries walking the floor is out of sight of his compatriots for a good few minutes. They're not even looking up - clearly expecting any attacks to come from grounded ponies, but making them easy pickings for those up in the rafters.

Once the floor patrollers are taken care of, that leaves only the two guards by the double-doors that lead further into the prison area. It'd be tricky, but a co-ordinated attack from above would deal with both of them.

All in all, you'd be acting under fire to do this without being seen - but it'd be possible. The main risk is if any of them get off an alarm. Then who knows how many Pegasi you'd be facing.

[And, because the time is right, I'm also going to roll an unintentional Seduce on the Pegasus. I want her to get curious about Scraps. Maybe fall more towards the masterclass side of the equation, and thinking about enrolling when this is all done. 6 + 5 + 1 = 12]

Being carried up by the pegasus gives you an additional benefit - you can hear her heartbeat.

Now either she's a lot less fit than you'd expect a pony who flies all the time to be.

Or there's some other reason that her heart is racing right now...

Anyway, what do you do?

Balmas

2020-01-02, 02:40 AM

Well, if nothing else, you can at least say you now know a specific pegasus a bit more than you ever wanted to.

Not that that's much of a consolation.

By the time you regain your senses, right after Scraps' target gets tazed and after he finishes putting out the fires, you realise you're staring into the eyes of a corpse.

Wait, no, not a corpse - those don't blink and look at you as if they've seen a ghost - it must be a ghoul.

You get a second to realise that he's looking at you through a thick security window before the ghoul jabs a hoof at something out of sight and thick blast doors seal off both ends of the corridor you're in.

There's a hiss of seals pressurising, before a gravelly voice crackles over a nearby speaker.

"Hello there!" it drawls "'Mind tellin' us what you're doing down 'ere?"

What do you do?

"Oh thank goodness, staff." She laughs as she hauls herself to her feet. "Frankly, I didn't anticipate that the Ministry of Morale would still be operative, much less that pre-war employees would still be manning their posts. Starlight Glimmer. Administrator, Ministry of Arcane Science. Here to collect a sample of the cloud currently affecting the facility."

A thought occurs, and she squints at the ghoul. "...are you the only one left?" Please. She's already had her mind violated once today, and it would do no end of good for her sanity to find out that the Pink One is not here.

Thanqol

2020-01-02, 09:00 PM

"Olive ... I guess that'll work" replies Olive, with all the certainty of the newly named psyche-spawn that he is. Rarity, meanwhile, gives a generous smile and trots forward till she's standing beside you.

"Welcome to the land of the existent, darling!" she says, beaming and beckoning him forwards. "Do come with us, we'll make sure you're well taken care of - what are we going to do with him?"

That last was a hurried whisper out of the corner of the mouth.

Well, congrats Luminark - you've now created life from nothing more than emotion. What are you going to do now?

"Give him a job?" said Luminark in response to the Minister's whisper. "Not like I'm overflowing with qualified applicants. If you would, though, I was in the midst of drawing this place back to reality and I'd appreciate your help in making it so."

Elanorin

2020-01-03, 12:40 PM

Silence is all that greets your words for a good long while. Long enough for you to sit on the floor, tail wrapping around you, and let out a single, awkward, cough that echoes for an uncomfortably long time through the vast under chambers of the Library.

Some time after it dies away, House finally speaks.

"Milliway ..." he starts, hesitantly as an AI can possibly sound. "I - don't know how to ask this without it seeming rude. And I don't want for it to be rude, but -"

"Do you know why we are friends?"

What do you do?

Milliway blinked. And in the blink of that eye her insecurities flared up like an anaphylactic shock. Her breaths became shallow and irregular, she suddenly felt hot and fidgety, her hooves went clammy and her entire mind swam with fear that the one single real relationship she still had was about to end in her now trademark catastrophic... well... catastrophe. This wasn't just any kind of feelings talk, which would have been bad enough. This was a talk about their feelings. This was a bona fide 'we need to talk' talk!

That coupled with House starting with 'I don't want to be rude, but' (the twin brother of 'no offense, but') there was really only one track available for Milliway's mind-train to hurtle down.

Does he not want to be friends with me anymore?

"Uh..."

Did he ever want to be friends with me?

"Well I..."

Are we friends?

Were we ever friends?

Was it just me?

"I mean, we... uh..."

Has he just been polite all this time because... of programming?

"...well, we... work together."

In the far distance of the waaaaaay back of her mind there was a tiny spark of pride at the awareness this conversation was showing, the extent to which House has clearly grown, but it was difficult to see in the thickness of all the foggy dread and discomfort.

"...like a sort of... team... that..."

"...works."

"Don't we?"

BlasTech

2020-01-04, 06:00 AM

"Oh thank goodness, staff." She laughs as she hauls herself to her feet. "Frankly, I didn't anticipate that the Ministry of Morale would still be operative, much less that pre-war employees would still be manning their posts. Starlight Glimmer. Administrator, Ministry of Arcane Science. Here to collect a sample of the cloud currently affecting the facility."

A thought occurs, and she squints at the ghoul. "...are you the only one left?" Please. She's already had her mind violated once today, and it would do no end of good for her sanity to find out that the Pink One is not here.

"Sorry lady, we ain't MoM employees, we just live here." replies the voice. "Name's Rebar and y'all have to forgive us if we don't open the doors. A lot o' ponies have come down here since the Sunderin', and none o' them have been what you might call social."

"If y'all just after Pink Cloud, you can just mosey on back up to the surface. There's plenty of it around and you don't need to go bothering us to get it."

As he finishes, the airlock door back to the surface hisses open.

What do you do?

"Give him a job?" said Luminark in response to the Minister's whisper. "Not like I'm overflowing with qualified applicants. If you would, though, I was in the midst of drawing this place back to reality and I'd appreciate your help in making it so."

"Very well." replies Rarity. "Olive, do be a dear and help finish the stocktake of the Boutique there - you'll see where I've started sorting the fabrics we have to hoof. Just keep doing that until we get you."

"Now, to business!" she declares, once Olive has wandered off. "I promised I would help, and with Celestia as my witness I do not intend to fall at the first show run!"

"First, I must ask - Have you ever done something like this before? Bringing a place of the immaterial back to the physical world?"

Well, have you?

Milliway blinked. And in the blink of that eye her insecurities flared up like an anaphylactic shock. Her breaths became shallow and irregular, she suddenly felt hot and fidgety, her hooves went clammy and her entire mind swam with fear that the one single real relationship she still had was about to end in her now trademark catastrophic... well... catastrophe. This wasn't just any kind of feelings talk, which would have been bad enough. This was a talk about their feelings. This was a bona fide 'we need to talk' talk!

That coupled with House starting with 'I don't want to be rude, but' (the twin brother of 'no offense, but') there was really only one track available for Milliway's mind-train to hurtle down.

Does he not want to be friends with me anymore?

"Uh..."

Did he ever want to be friends with me?

"Well I..."

Are we friends?

Were we ever friends?

Was it just me?

"I mean, we... uh..."

Has he just been polite all this time because... of programming?

"...well, we... work together."

In the far distance of the waaaaaay back of her mind there was a tiny spark of pride at the awareness this conversation was showing, the extent to which House has clearly grown, but it was difficult to see in the thickness of all the foggy dread and discomfort.

"...like a sort of... team... that..."

"...works."

"Don't we?"

"I guess we do" replies House, slowly. "But I just can't remember."

"Everything before that day you found me in your workshop is ... well, it's not a blur. It's just not there."

"I mean, I trust what you've told me about who I am and what we do together. But you never really spoke about why you created me. And ... well ... I'd like to be your friend. But ... I don't know why you'd want to be mine."

"It's not like I do much more than any other computer script could do - or even an actual pony like one of the Disturbance Prevention Squad."

"It's all just been so confusing. Since that day. I've tried to take everything in you've said, and do what I think I'm meant to do, but it just feels a bit ... artificial. Do you know what I mean?"

Elanorin

2020-01-04, 10:42 AM

"I guess we do" replies House, slowly. "But I just can't remember."

"Everything before that day you found me in your workshop is ... well, it's not a blur. It's just not there."

"I mean, I trust what you've told me about who I am and what we do together. But you never really spoke about why you created me. And ... well ... I'd like to be your friend. But ... I don't know why you'd want to be mine."

"It's not like I do much more than any other computer script could do - or even an actual pony like one of the Disturbance Prevention Squad."

"It's all just been so confusing. Since that day. I've tried to take everything in you've said, and do what I think I'm meant to do, but it just feels a bit ... artificial. Do you know what I mean?"

"Well... I'm not surprised you don't remember much before I found you. You were... incomplete. Lots of different parts from... different places... different functions... got my hooves on this... flying... vehicle... thing, from Outside. It was crashed, battered to hell, and labelled scrap to be destroyed but it was a goldmine. Taking it apart was an absolute blast. I mean, it had all kinds of strange upgrades and foreign parts. And I don't even know what the enormous bank in its hold even was but I found almost all your central processing units there."

If he wanted to know where he came from, that she could share. That was tech talk. Tech talk was safe.

"I didn't really plan on making you. Or even know what you'd end up being. It was just... I saw these completely unconnected separate... unrelated parts on my floor and... I suddenly I imagined a new whole. It took me months to get you functional, and even then, you didn't really take off until I hooked up that heart crystal. I had no blueprints. No plan. No real objective. I got it wrong more times than I could count. Burned off my own tail at least once. Trial, error. Lots and lots of error. But somehow you let me know when I got it right and... yeah. Then you were there. And..."

Her tail twitched, sweeping little twitchy sweeps across the floor back and forth. She gave another single cough in to the empty silence. She was running out of easy emotion-free facts to share.

...but it just feels a bit ... artificial. Do you know what I mean?

Artificial.

That word felt uncomfortably close to a concise summary of all of those hurtful words that had come out of Luminark's mouth when she'd tried to... or what had been in Scraps' eyes after she...

Princess, was she even capable of anything truly Real?

She looked at some of her many prosthetics, the shard of the heart crystal fused to her chest, and wondered if somewhere she had crossed a line without ever realising it. Maybe she had become more machine than pony. Was it her death? Had she come back, not quite living?

Or did it happen long before even that?

"I'm sorry... I never intended to be... artificial..."

TheAmishPirate

2020-01-04, 09:09 PM

I'm sorry to say, that the key is gone.

When you next inspect it, you'll find a hole, burned by a piece of unusually-flammable whipped cream (Now with 650% more trabaloxyene, for all your food preservation needs!).

There's only one place it could've fallen - back with General Camber. She's probably got it now.

Thankfully, like most losses in the Scrapscallion's life, he isn't too bothered by it, primarily because he's not even aware of it.

And with any luck, he never will.

After watching for a few moments, you realise that aggressive stealth is probably your best way past.

The guards aren't following good procedures in their patrols. For example, each of the sentries walking the floor is out of sight of his compatriots for a good few minutes. They're not even looking up - clearly expecting any attacks to come from grounded ponies, but making them easy pickings for those up in the rafters.

Once the floor patrollers are taken care of, that leaves only the two guards by the double-doors that lead further into the prison area. It'd be tricky, but a co-ordinated attack from above would deal with both of them.

All in all, you'd be acting under fire to do this without being seen - but it'd be possible. The main risk is if any of them get off an alarm. Then who knows how many Pegasi you'd be facing.

Ooooh, now you're talking! It's time for one of the Scrapscallion's favorite games: Fishing For Dumb Guys. Here's how it works:

1) Wait until a dumb guy sentry is alone.

2) Have the pegasus swoop down, clap a hoof over their dumb mouth, and swoop back up to the rafters, where...

3) The Scrapscallion will bop them with the shocky stick.

4) Tie up and pile up their catch on a nearby rafter.

5) Repeat until no more sentries.

Then for the last two, something special: The Pegasus drops a big length of chain on the two of them, and the Scrapscallion pokes the other end of said chain with the shocky-stick. Double shock, double knockout, the room is theirs, and they can get on with the rescue.

[Rolling to Act Under Fire: 5 + 3 + 4 = 12]

Thanqol

2020-01-05, 04:07 PM

"Very well." replies Rarity. "Olive, do be a dear and help finish the stocktake of the Boutique there - you'll see where I've started sorting the fabrics we have to hoof. Just keep doing that until we get you."

"Now, to business!" she declares, once Olive has wandered off. "I promised I would help, and with Celestia as my witness I do not intend to fall at the first show run!"

"First, I must ask - Have you ever done something like this before? Bringing a place of the immaterial back to the physical world?"

Well, have you?

"Sort of," said Luminark. "I've always grounded psychic fragments in physical things before - brought back a ghost and put it into my own body, for instance. I could... hmmmm."

Luminark's first plan had been to animate a bunch of corpses, which had... upsides and downsides. A ghost plus a corpse was a functional if long term unsustainable pony. But what if...

"Rather than mass-possessing dead bodies," Luminark said slowly. "What if I mass possessed a raider tribe? It'd be a two birds with one stone kind of move. Remove a violent and unreasoning gang from the wasteland and get a well armed and secured stronghold at the same time? What could possibly go wrong?"

Balmas

2020-01-05, 11:43 PM

"Sorry lady, we ain't MoM employees, we just live here." replies the voice. "Name's Rebar and y'all have to forgive us if we don't open the doors. A lot o' ponies have come down here since the Sunderin', and none o' them have been what you might call social."

"If y'all just after Pink Cloud, you can just mosey on back up to the surface. There's plenty of it around and you don't need to go bothering us to get it."

As he finishes, the airlock door back to the surface hisses open.

What do you do?

They're squatters, and so in theory, she should by rights just tear down the window, ooze on through, and take what is already hers. But there's no sense in starting an unnecessary fight. So, for now, she's going to keep them talking while she scans the area. Surely there's gotta be some way through here that wouldn't occur to a normal pony--an air vent, murder holes, if nothing else a drainage ditch she can squeeze through. Failing that, surely there must be something he wants, yes?

[Read a pony 9. How could she get him to let her pass?]

"You'll have to pardon my ignorance of local parlance, but I've been caught up in an experiment for a few--let's see, carry the two--yes, it has to be a couple centuries. Sundering?"

BlasTech

2020-01-11, 06:35 AM

"Well... I'm not surprised you don't remember much before I found you. You were... incomplete. Lots of different parts from... different places... different functions... got my hooves on this... flying... vehicle... thing, from Outside. It was crashed, battered to hell, and labelled scrap to be destroyed but it was a goldmine. Taking it apart was an absolute blast. I mean, it had all kinds of strange upgrades and foreign parts. And I don't even know what the enormous bank in its hold even was but I found almost all your central processing units there."

If he wanted to know where he came from, that she could share. That was tech talk. Tech talk was safe.

"I didn't really plan on making you. Or even know what you'd end up being. It was just... I saw these completely unconnected separate... unrelated parts on my floor and... I suddenly I imagined a new whole. It took me months to get you functional, and even then, you didn't really take off until I hooked up that heart crystal. I had no blueprints. No plan. No real objective. I got it wrong more times than I could count. Burned off my own tail at least once. Trial, error. Lots and lots of error. But somehow you let me know when I got it right and... yeah. Then you were there. And..."

Her tail twitched, sweeping little twitchy sweeps across the floor back and forth. She gave another single cough in to the empty silence. She was running out of easy emotion-free facts to share.

Artificial.

That word felt uncomfortably close to a concise summary of all of those hurtful words that had come out of Luminark's mouth when she'd tried to... or what had been in Scraps' eyes after she...

Princess, was she even capable of anything truly Real?

She looked at some of her many prosthetics, the shard of the heart crystal fused to her chest, and wondered if somewhere she had crossed a line without ever realising it. Maybe she had become more machine than pony. Was it her death? Had she come back, not quite living?

Or did it happen long before even that?

"I'm sorry... I never intended to be... artificial..."

"It's okay, Milliway" assures House. "I wasn't speaking about you. Only myself."

"If anything, your friendship has been … comforting. It's like, it's nice to feel like somepony at least knows something about me that's worth well, something. Even if I don't know anything about myself - anything real I mean."

Did you want to read a Pony (Or sentient AI as appropriate).

Thankfully, like most losses in the Scrapscallion's life, he isn't too bothered by it, primarily because he's not even aware of it.

And with any luck, he never will.

Yeah. Too right!

'Cause this universe is never that cruel, right?

Ooooh, now you're talking! It's time for one of the Scrapscallion's favorite games: Fishing For Dumb Guys. Here's how it works:

1) Wait until a dumb guy sentry is alone.

2) Have the pegasus swoop down, clap a hoof over their dumb mouth, and swoop back up to the rafters, where...

3) The Scrapscallion will bop them with the shocky stick.

4) Tie up and pile up their catch on a nearby rafter.

5) Repeat until no more sentries.

Then for the last two, something special: The Pegasus drops a big length of chain on the two of them, and the Scrapscallion pokes the other end of said chain with the shocky-stick. Double shock, double knockout, the room is theirs, and they can get on with the rescue.

[Rolling to Act Under Fire: 5 + 3 + 4 = 12]

Three quick zaps and four slightly-charred pegasi later, and you're all alone amongst the cells and semi-conscious prisoners. Your companion wedges the doors deeper into the prison shut using a nearby prybar - lest anyone think to interfere with the prison break.

The cells themselves are easily opened - thanks to keys found on one of the guards. The prisoners within start to stir, and before too long you have a motely dozen or so ponies in tow. Including the rag-cloaked pony you'd been looking for.

"Oh thank - thank the princesses." says Dirt, as he stumbles out of his cell. "Thank you so much for the rescue."

What do you do now?

"Sort of," said Luminark. "I've always grounded psychic fragments in physical things before - brought back a ghost and put it into my own body, for instance. I could... hmmmm."

Luminark's first plan had been to animate a bunch of corpses, which had... upsides and downsides. A ghost plus a corpse was a functional if long term unsustainable pony. But what if...

"Rather than mass-possessing dead bodies," Luminark said slowly. "What if I mass possessed a raider tribe? It'd be a two birds with one stone kind of move. Remove a violent and unreasoning gang from the wasteland and get a well armed and secured stronghold at the same time? What could possibly go wrong?"

"Oh my. Mind controlling so many ponies would be horribly unethical, immoral and a tiny bit gauche."

"Not to mention you'd need a significant amount of magical power - but once you had that you could theoretically possess any community, at least temporarily."

She paused, and coughed.

"Which would, as I said before, be terrible."

"That said, there might be another option." she continued. "One that requires less power - you'd be able to bring this town back to the material world, as well as many pony-psychie melds you can do. All you'd need is a conduit, and it may be that I know where you can find one."

What do you do?

They're squatters, and so in theory, she should by rights just tear down the window, ooze on through, and take what is already hers. But there's no sense in starting an unnecessary fight. So, for now, she's going to keep them talking while she scans the area. Surely there's gotta be some way through here that wouldn't occur to a normal pony--an air vent, murder holes, if nothing else a drainage ditch she can squeeze through. Failing that, surely there must be something he wants, yes?

[Read a pony 9. How could she get him to let her pass?]

"You'll have to pardon my ignorance of local parlance, but I've been caught up in an experiment for a few--let's see, carry the two--yes, it has to be a couple centuries. Sundering?"

"'Bout a month or two ago - it's what we locals call it. Those Grand Pegasus Enclave ponies swooped down out of the clouds and blasted the entire Canterlot City off the side of the mountain which led to this 'ere pile o' rubble that we now call home."

"Somethin' about these pre-war buildings tumblin' down out of the Pink seems to attract a certain kind of pony and we want none o' that in here."

Glim Glam - reading between the lines of all this, you realise that he's basically giving the standard gate-guard speech of any wasteland settlement. A much more Southern variant on the "who goes there" that the Friendship Patrol is trained to give to anyone walking too close to the bunker (and also lacking the subsequent shooting/bludgeoning and capture for scientific experimentation).

If you can convince him of your bona fides, or at least that you won't cause any trouble and actually have reason to enter, then he might let you through. In other words, you'll need a manipulate roll.

Thanqol

2020-01-12, 08:06 PM

"Oh my. Mind controlling so many ponies would be horribly unethical, immoral and a tiny bit gauche."

"Not to mention you'd need a significant amount of magical power - but once you had that you could theoretically possess any community, at least temporarily."

She paused, and coughed.

"Which would, as I said before, be terrible."

"That said, there might be another option." she continued. "One that requires less power - you'd be able to bring this town back to the material world, as well as many pony-psychie melds you can do. All you'd need is a conduit, and it may be that I know where you can find one."

What do you do?

Luminark didn't really see what was wrong with dropping a necromantic hellbomb into the heart of a raider town. Not because he wasn't a moral pony - this is more of a case of a moral compass going to war with the upbringing it's got.

Still, though. He only had maybe two real ponies with him right now and if one of them had weird hangups about using necromancy to solve problems despite being the modern founder of the discipline it was probably better to go along with it. There was something about that in one of the friendship books he'd read.

"Certainly," said Luminark smoothly. "What did you have in mind?"

Elanorin

2020-01-13, 05:48 AM

"It's okay, Milliway" assures House. "I wasn't speaking about you. Only myself."

"If anything, your friendship has been … comforting. It's like, it's nice to feel like somepony at least knows something about me that's worth well, something. Even if I don't know anything about myself - anything real I mean."

Did you want to read a Pony (Or sentient AI as appropriate).

[Certainly. Rolling to Read A Sentient AI: 2+4+0=6 Asking 1 anyway: What is House really feeling?]

The relief on Milliway's exposed face was obvious, that is, if there had been anypony here to see it.

"Well... you do know some things," Milliway said, feeling a little bit better and therefore brave enough to attempt a there there pat on his non-existent back. "You... know that you have a friend. A-and I told you how you were made and... well... uh... your... favourite... colour..."

BlasTech

2020-01-17, 07:02 AM

Luminark didn't really see what was wrong with dropping a necromantic hellbomb into the heart of a raider town. Not because he wasn't a moral pony - this is more of a case of a moral compass going to war with the upbringing it's got.

Still, though. He only had maybe two real ponies with him right now and if one of them had weird hangups about using necromancy to solve problems despite being the modern founder of the discipline it was probably better to go along with it. There was something about that in one of the friendship books he'd read.

"Certainly," said Luminark smoothly. "What did you have in mind?"

"As I said before" says Rarity, inspecting a hoof. "Breaching the walls between reality requires a significant investment of power. Or, if one is lucky enough, a link between something that is here, and something that is in the material world."

"Are you familiar with the concept of a Soul Jar?"

[Certainly. Rolling to Read A Sentient AI: 2+4+0=6 Asking 1 anyway: What is House really feeling?]

The relief on Milliway's exposed face was obvious, that is, if there had been anypony here to see it.

"Well... you do know some things," Milliway said, feeling a little bit better and therefore brave enough to attempt a there there pat on his non-existent back. "You... know that you have a friend. A-and I told you how you were made and... well... uh... your... favourite... colour..."

"Is it blue and white?" replies House. Whose voice sounds almost plaintive.

TheAmishPirate

2020-01-17, 09:29 PM

Three quick zaps and four slightly-charred pegasi later, and you're all alone amongst the cells and semi-conscious prisoners. Your companion wedges the doors deeper into the prison shut using a nearby prybar - lest anyone think to interfere with the prison break.

The cells themselves are easily opened - thanks to keys found on one of the guards. The prisoners within start to stir, and before too long you have a motely dozen or so ponies in tow. Including the rag-cloaked pony you'd been looking for.

"Oh thank - thank the princesses." says Dirt, as he stumbles out of his cell. "Thank you so much for the rescue."

What do you do now?

“Can the party ‘till we’re home free.” The Scrapscallion grunted at the prisoner, keeping him out of stank range. “Just keep quiet, do what I say, and we’ll get you out of here, capiche? Capiche.”

A small, underfed bit of self-awareness noted that, usually, Fishing for Dumb Guys put him in a much better mood than this. Weird.

At least this was the super easy part. Everybody who tells you otherwise? Not being creative enough. The base is on alert, there’s patrols about, what’s the best way to go undetected?

Answer: Do a job that nobody else wants to do. And what’s a job that nobody else wants to do?

Answer: Moving heavy crap. The bigger and more awkward, the better. Somebody sees a pair of guards hauling some big, nasty boxes around? Their only thought is, “Boy, I’m glad that’s not me, and if I pretend I never saw them, then I might not get drafted into helping.”

It takes some doing, but an old Vault like this was never short on crates and carts. Plus, they had got a bunch of unconscious guards who’re more than happy to donate some uniforms to the cause. Before long, a dozen prisoners, a few unconscious guards, and two operatives had magically transformed into two unfortunate grunts - one of whom was clearly covering their wings under a jacket - and a cart weighed down by some truly gnarly boxes. The ones you gotta have at least two ponies to lift, and a degree to navigate around a tight corner.

Thus rendered invisible, all they gotta do is walk to their exit, and bail.

(Why are they taking the guards, you may ask? Added bonus. A bunch of prison guards all disappear, along with all the grounder prisoners, right when words leaks out about an illegal grounder smooching ring? Veryyyyyyy suspicious.)

Thanqol

2020-01-19, 10:31 PM

"As I said before" says Rarity, inspecting a hoof. "Breaching the walls between reality requires a significant investment of power. Or, if one is lucky enough, a link between something that is here, and something that is in the material world."

"Are you familiar with the concept of a Soul Jar?"

"Imbuing an item with a fragment of a pony's soul to imbue it with supernatural abilities?" said Luminark. He was embarrassed to admit he knew about this topic more from bedtime stories (Ooky Spooky's bedtime stories being both intense and cautionary) than from academic literature. "I've heard that it's insanely dangerous. But I also know that some ponies can do it multiple times - Archmage Glitterjelly the Proud," his voice dropped a little, as though imparting a great secret, "was said to have cut their soul into four pieces!!"

Balmas

2020-01-23, 12:48 AM

"'Bout a month or two ago - it's what we locals call it. Those Grand Pegasus Enclave ponies swooped down out of the clouds and blasted the entire Canterlot City off the side of the mountain which led to this 'ere pile o' rubble that we now call home."

"Somethin' about these pre-war buildings tumblin' down out of the Pink seems to attract a certain kind of pony and we want none o' that in here."

Glim Glam - reading between the lines of all this, you realise that he's basically giving the standard gate-guard speech of any wasteland settlement. A much more Southern variant on the "who goes there" that the Friendship Patrol is trained to give to anyone walking too close to the bunker (and also lacking the subsequent shooting/bludgeoning and capture for scientific experimentation).

If you can convince him of your bona fides, or at least that you won't cause any trouble and actually have reason to enter, then he might let you through. In other words, you'll need a manipulate roll.

Starlight nods understandingly. "Ah, a reasonable concern. Were the surface-dwellers to learn of my home's location, we'd surely have to deal with scavengers looking to take it apart for a quick bit. But surely a settlement such as yours must do business with the outside? Perhaps I could perform some much-needed repairs or recharging of magical gems in exchange for access to your humble home?"

[9 on manipulate.]

BlasTech

2020-01-24, 07:37 AM

“Can the party ‘till we’re home free.” The Scrapscallion grunted at the prisoner, keeping him out of stank range. “Just keep quiet, do what I say, and we’ll get you out of here, capiche? Capiche.”

A small, underfed bit of self-awareness noted that, usually, Fishing for Dumb Guys put him in a much better mood than this. Weird.

At least this was the super easy part. Everybody who tells you otherwise? Not being creative enough. The base is on alert, there’s patrols about, what’s the best way to go undetected?

Answer: Do a job that nobody else wants to do. And what’s a job that nobody else wants to do?

Answer: Moving heavy crap. The bigger and more awkward, the better. Somebody sees a pair of guards hauling some big, nasty boxes around? Their only thought is, “Boy, I’m glad that’s not me, and if I pretend I never saw them, then I might not get drafted into helping.”

It takes some doing, but an old Vault like this was never short on crates and carts. Plus, they had got a bunch of unconscious guards who’re more than happy to donate some uniforms to the cause. Before long, a dozen prisoners, a few unconscious guards, and two operatives had magically transformed into two unfortunate grunts - one of whom was clearly covering their wings under a jacket - and a cart weighed down by some truly gnarly boxes. The ones you gotta have at least two ponies to lift, and a degree to navigate around a tight corner.

Thus rendered invisible, all they gotta do is walk to their exit, and bail.

(Why are they taking the guards, you may ask? Added bonus. A bunch of prison guards all disappear, along with all the grounder prisoners, right when words leaks out about an illegal grounder smooching ring? Veryyyyyyy suspicious.)

Well, it's a good idea. Fortunately, with the base on alert, nobody is too keen on interfering with a pair of guards on a mission.

Unfortunately, even with the base on alert, Enclave security isn't lax enough to let you just waltz out of here with your cargo. You can see guards at stations along the front gate, and a squad watching the landing pads. Even the patrols around the fences seem on alert.

The Applejack's Rangers are still out there though, waiting for a signal.

What do you do?

"Imbuing an item with a fragment of a pony's soul to imbue it with supernatural abilities?" said Luminark. He was embarrassed to admit he knew about this topic more from bedtime stories (Ooky Spooky's bedtime stories being both intense and cautionary) than from academic literature. "I've heard that it's insanely dangerous. But I also know that some ponies can do it multiple times - Archmage Glitterjelly the Proud," his voice dropped a little, as though imparting a great secret, "was said to have cut their soul into four pieces!!"

"Oh … yes, of course" replies Rarity, coughing lightly into a demure hoof.

There was a moment of silence. Mostly so the universe could register the name "Archmage Glitterjelly", consider it for historical accuracy, and move on quickly.

"In my time studying Necromancy, I became rather adept at the creation and imbuing of soul jars." she continued "I hardly had a choice to learn, to tell the truth, but in the end it was my choice to use that knowledge. For that I have no regrets."

"What I am saying is that there may be one or two soul jars of my own, still resting in the wasteland. We can use those to provide an anchor for the spell. Me on this end, and the fragment on the other."

"I. Can be your conduit."

What do you say?

Starlight nods understandingly. "Ah, a reasonable concern. Were the surface-dwellers to learn of my home's location, we'd surely have to deal with scavengers looking to take it apart for a quick bit. But surely a settlement such as yours must do business with the outside? Perhaps I could perform some much-needed repairs or recharging of magical gems in exchange for access to your humble home?"

[9 on manipulate.]

"Ah see you get mah point." replies the voice. "Alright. How about we make a deal. We could use the help of a pony of your … nature. You agree to that, an' I'll let you in"

"Whaddya say, miss. Do we have an understandin'?"

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-01-27, 07:07 PM

"Oh … yes, of course" replies Rarity, coughing lightly into a demure hoof.

There was a moment of silence. Mostly so the universe could register the name "Archmage Glitterjelly", consider it for historical accuracy, and move on quickly.

"In my time studying Necromancy, I became rather adept at the creation and imbuing of soul jars." she continued "I hardly had a choice to learn, to tell the truth, but in the end it was my choice to use that knowledge. For that I have no regrets."

"What I am saying is that there may be one or two soul jars of my own, still resting in the wasteland. We can use those to provide an anchor for the spell. Me on this end, and the fragment on the other."

"I. Can be your conduit."

What do you say?

"I will humbly accept your guidance, Minister Rarity," said Luminark. Before he'd been focused on merely being polite, but this was a different tone to his voice now - he was being formal. When one agrees to take spellwork direction from another unicorn then - the books say - there is no room for conflict. The apprentice must subordinate to the master in all ways for any discord between magicians opens the door to enormous peril.

The other part of it was nerves. He was nervy! He'd never even participated in magic this big before. He was a theory pony, and the idea of actually participating in a ritual...

He needed all the help he could get.

BlasTech

2020-02-22, 10:30 PM

[Certainly. Rolling to Read A Sentient AI: 2+4+0=6 Asking 1 anyway: What is House really feeling?]

The relief on Milliway's exposed face was obvious, that is, if there had been anypony here to see it.

"Well... you do know some things," Milliway said, feeling a little bit better and therefore brave enough to attempt a there there pat on his non-existent back. "You... know that you have a friend. A-and I told you how you were made and... well... uh... your... favourite... colour..."

"Is it blue and white?" replies House. Whose voice sounds almost plaintive.

[Sorry, forgot I'm meant to still answer on a miss under the new rules]

House is feeling anxious. No, wait, that's not strong enough.

Things are wrong in what passes for his mind; he's feeling like there's something missing, that there's something not right. He's feeling like there's something just out of reach, just out of sight around a corner. Something that should be there. A memory, or a concept or feeling. If he can just find it, just catch the barest glimpse, things will make sense again.

And will all of this fuelling a desire to know the answer to your question, he's feeling desperate.

What do you do?

Balmas

2020-02-23, 02:19 AM

"Ah see you get mah point." replies the voice. "Alright. How about we make a deal. We could use the help of a pony of your … nature. You agree to that, an' I'll let you in"

"Whaddya say, miss. Do we have an understandin'?"

What do you do?

"Hmm," Starlight nods, and pretends to think. "Gee, an open-ended request and a hesitation on my... nature. I'm sure it's innocent and nothing ill can come of this."

She gives a winning grin at the ghoul, and taps her hooves. "Means yes."

Elanorin

2020-02-25, 06:58 AM

"Is it blue and white?" replies House. Whose voice sounds almost plaintive.

Oh.

So not grey and white?

"Sure, those are..." Luminark's colours, "...colours," Milliway made herself say, feeling embarrassing levels of neediness rising from seemingly nowhere.

Not even pink and white? Like I was before?

House is feeling anxious. No, wait, that's not strong enough.

Things are wrong in what passes for his mind; he's feeling like there's something missing, that there's something not right. He's feeling like there's something just out of reach, just out of sight around a corner. Something that should be there. A memory, or a concept or feeling. If he can just find it, just catch the barest glimpse, things will make sense again.

And will all of this fuelling a desire to know the answer to your question, he's feeling desperate.

What do you do?

Concern for House's state of mind was a distraction that she needed, even if she wouldn't go so far as to call it welcome. She felt responsible for his wellbeing. She was feeling responsible for an awful lot lately, and while some of it was perhaps less justified, House was her creation, if he was hurting it was nothing but her responsibility.

She had no idea where to start, she thought she'd thought of everything when she built him, just the fact that he's grown this self aware was kind of proof that she'd even outdone herself. But clearly something was... maybe he just needed a hug. Maybe she was the one needing a hug. The fact that there was nothing but a column of cables available to hug sparked an idea in her head.

"House... do you want a body?"

BlasTech

2020-02-27, 07:17 AM

"I will humbly accept your guidance, Minister Rarity," said Luminark. Before he'd been focused on merely being polite, but this was a different tone to his voice now - he was being formal. When one agrees to take spellwork direction from another unicorn then - the books say - there is no room for conflict. The apprentice must subordinate to the master in all ways for any discord between magicians opens the door to enormous peril.

The other part of it was nerves. He was nervy! He'd never even participated in magic this big before. He was a theory pony, and the idea of actually participating in a ritual...

He needed all the help he could get.

"Very well then." intoned Rarity "Take my hoof."

The two of you sit on your haunches, facing one another with eyes closed, your hoof in hers.

"I want you to think back, to when you first cast a spell." she says. "Not necromancy, but back to when you first recall using magic."

Luminark. Think back, tell us what that felt like, and Open Your Brain.

"Hmm," Starlight nods, and pretends to think. "Gee, an open-ended request and a hesitation on my... nature. I'm sure it's innocent and nothing ill can come of this."

She gives a winning grin at the ghoul, and taps her hooves. "Means yes."

"All right" replies the ghoul, who taps something off panel.

The airlock gives a mighty hiss, before sliding apart in an appropriately dramatic reveal of …

Well, a pile of junk really.

The "community" that the ghoul spoke of was rather ramshackle. It looked like what would be left of a high-tech laboratory if a giant had picked it up, shaken it vigorously, and then been inhabited by homeless squatter ponies. Given what he'd been saying earlier about the installation falling off the side of the mountain, it probably wasn't a completely inaccurate description.

Other ghouls poke their heads out of the rubble, eyeing you with something approaching apprehension and curiosity.

What do you do as you walk through this township? Do you strike up a conversation, or do you try to scope out the area?

She had no idea where to start, she thought she'd thought of everything when she built him, just the fact that he's grown this self aware was kind of proof that she'd even outdone herself. But clearly something was... maybe he just needed a hug. Maybe she was the one needing a hug. The fact that there was nothing but a column of cables available to hug sparked an idea in her head.

"House... do you want a body?"

There's a moment of silence, and you get the distinct impression that you've caught him off guard.

"Is that, something you can really do?" he asks.

What do you say?

Thanqol

2020-03-01, 06:43 PM

"Very well then." intoned Rarity "Take my hoof."

The two of you sit on your haunches, facing one another with eyes closed, your hoof in hers.

"I want you to think back, to when you first cast a spell." she says. "Not necromancy, but back to when you first recall using magic."

Luminark. Think back, tell us what that felt like, and Open Your Brain.

Luminark, like any unicorn in his situation, tried to raise the sun.

It did not matter that he had never seen it! That wasn't the point! The point was that it was possible that you were the re-incarnation of a perfect pony princess unless proven pedestrian, so he'd filled his room with diagrams of the sun and all the books he could get regarding sun-related things, and a little monitor for the solar mana collectors on the rooftop. He'd drawn all the protective rituals and circles in clumsy foal handwriting. He'd taken a deep breath. He'd given his blank flank a meaningful and determined look. And then he'd started to cast the spell.

It had resulted in an absolute splitting headache and a wailing, tear-eyed run to mom. It was bad enough that he wasn't a princess, it didn't need that much pain to go with it! Frankly it was unfair and terrible and he hated the sun for being so mean.

But he remembered, if fearfully, the connection. The heat and weight and immensity. The feeling like the whole world was balancing on the tip of his horn and he just needed to let the magic run down and around the spiral grooves. Magic was always something to flinch from that day onwards to Luminark, and he couldn't quite conceal his tremble as he began to tap into it.

[Open Your Brain: 8]

TheAmishPirate

2020-03-02, 10:05 PM

Well, it's a good idea. Fortunately, with the base on alert, nobody is too keen on interfering with a pair of guards on a mission.

Unfortunately, even with the base on alert, Enclave security isn't lax enough to let you just waltz out of here with your cargo. You can see guards at stations along the front gate, and a squad watching the landing pads. Even the patrols around the fences seem on alert.

The Applejack's Rangers are still out there though, waiting for a signal.

What do you do?

How's this for a signal?

All those losers out there, guarding their dumb base or whatever. Pop quiz! What's the one thing they're not looking at? Did you say 'their dumb base?' Ding ding ding, we have a winner! You've solved the mystery of "why these dumb losers are dumb and losers and bad at their jobs, which is great for The Scrapscallion, and anybody the Scrapscallion is currently chilling with." Your prize is: You get to watch the Scrapscallion dunk on a few more of these dumbos.

It's easy. He and the Pegasus are gonna just make their way through the ranks, conga-line style, zapping or punching guards as need be. And since they're all looking out there, they won't notice what's going on until it's their turn to be zapped. And if anything goes wrong, there's a bunch of Rangers out there ready to pick up the slack.

[Not sure if this requires another Act Under Fire, but if it does: 1 + 4 + 3 = 8]

Elanorin

2020-03-03, 01:47 PM

There's a moment of silence, and you get the distinct impression that you've caught him off guard.

"Is that, something you can really do?" he asks.

What do you say?

Milliway looked at her hooves, metal clad and far better at dishing out punches and unconsciousness than she ever really thought she'd be. They used to be good at running. Hiding. Making things. Hot-fusing trag converters and stripping wires. Things were different now. But she could still remember the feeling of electrical current buzzing through her hoof cuffs whenever she tripped up and got herself the Bad Mane Day from hell. It wasn't even that long ago.

Still... a lot had happened since then.

"I used to," she said. "I made stuff. All the time."

"I'd like to try. Maybe I don't have to make it, maybe... maybe we can... I don't know... find one."

"But do you want one? Because... this shouldn't be about me. I like you either way."

Balmas

2020-03-05, 09:05 PM

Other ghouls poke their heads out of the rubble, eyeing you with something approaching apprehension and curiosity.

What do you do as you walk through this township? Do you strike up a conversation, or do you try to scope out the area?

Believe it or not, Starlight is a charming individual. You don't manage to hold onto control of a bunker full of mad scientists by not picking up a few social cues, after all. Right now, she is something new, something strange. The sooner they view her as a helpful naif, the sooner they'll stop watching her like a hawk and the sooner she can snatch what she wants and scoot out of her.

So, for now, she's all smiles, waves, hellos, every inch the regal princess ambassador come to visit. What she wants to do is find the absolutely most wretched pony of the group, and do everything she can to help them. After all, if that's the way she treats old Burgerhoof, wretch among wretches, just think of how she'll treat the people who think they're actually worth something!

BlasTech

2020-03-08, 04:48 AM

Luminark, like any unicorn in his situation, tried to raise the sun.

It did not matter that he had never seen it! That wasn't the point! The point was that it was possible that you were the re-incarnation of a perfect pony princess unless proven pedestrian, so he'd filled his room with diagrams of the sun and all the books he could get regarding sun-related things, and a little monitor for the solar mana collectors on the rooftop. He'd drawn all the protective rituals and circles in clumsy foal handwriting. He'd taken a deep breath. He'd given his blank flank a meaningful and determined look. And then he'd started to cast the spell.

It had resulted in an absolute splitting headache and a wailing, tear-eyed run to mom. It was bad enough that he wasn't a princess, it didn't need that much pain to go with it! Frankly it was unfair and terrible and he hated the sun for being so mean.

But he remembered, if fearfully, the connection. The heat and weight and immensity. The feeling like the whole world was balancing on the tip of his horn and he just needed to let the magic run down and around the spiral grooves. Magic was always something to flinch from that day onwards to Luminark, and he couldn't quite conceal his tremble as he began to tap into it.

[Open Your Brain: 8]

Threads, threads. Weaving a fabulous tapestry. One of a kind.
The many interweave, four tens and two, each awaiting a grasp to put them into place.
Each one with a home.
Where is your home, my little pony?
Is it in the fifteenth second of the fall?
Is it in the twentieth facet of hell?
Or does your safe harbour lie in between?

What do you do?

How's this for a signal?

All those losers out there, guarding their dumb base or whatever. Pop quiz! What's the one thing they're not looking at? Did you say 'their dumb base?' Ding ding ding, we have a winner! You've solved the mystery of "why these dumb losers are dumb and losers and bad at their jobs, which is great for The Scrapscallion, and anybody the Scrapscallion is currently chilling with." Your prize is: You get to watch the Scrapscallion dunk on a few more of these dumbos.

It's easy. He and the Pegasus are gonna just make their way through the ranks, conga-line style, zapping or punching guards as need be. And since they're all looking out there, they won't notice what's going on until it's their turn to be zapped. And if anything goes wrong, there's a bunch of Rangers out there ready to pick up the slack.

[Not sure if this requires another Act Under Fire, but if it does: 1 + 4 + 3 = 8]

Well, as far as plans go it's an - acceptable one?

I mean, sure - you keep sneaking through the base, leaving a trail of unconscious guards and full broom closets in your wake (why does this place have so many of those, anyway?). With the alarms and the perimeter alerted you're making good progress, carting the boxes of prisoners right behind you as you near the quietest edge of the base. Behind the brightly lit airfield, where many eyes were no doubt turned, and nothing else between you and the perimeter fence.

Up until, that is, you encounter a patrol of three in a non-descript corridor. With the exit just up ahead and a clear run to freedom after that, you and the Pegasus both stomp on one a piece and back-hoof the third with the shock stick. He stumbles, trips over his own tail, and then topples through a pair of swinging double-doors.

Which open up to a mess hall, crowded with pegasi.

The doors swing open.

You stare at them.

The doors swing shut, then open again.

They stare at you.

The doors swing shut, then open again.

Somepony, somewhere, drops their fork with a clatter that echoes awkwardly around the room.

What do you do?

Milliway looked at her hooves, metal clad and far better at dishing out punches and unconsciousness than she ever really thought she'd be. They used to be good at running. Hiding. Making things. Hot-fusing trag converters and stripping wires. Things were different now. But she could still remember the feeling of electrical current buzzing through her hoof cuffs whenever she tripped up and got herself the Bad Mane Day from hell. It wasn't even that long ago.

Still... a lot had happened since then.

"I used to," she said. "I made stuff. All the time."

"I'd like to try. Maybe I don't have to make it, maybe... maybe we can... I don't know... find one."

"But do you want one? Because... this shouldn't be about me. I like you either way."

Oh, it shouldn't be about you, Milliway, but it definitely is.

That feel of electricity? The ability to draw forth inspiration and translate that into reality?

That was the old Milliway. Back from the days before you became the Lieutenant. Before you became the Librarian.

Before you put on your mask.

If there's any part of you that still remembers that, you will need to remember it to be able to do this yourself. I mean, you can try asking the science department, you can try searching the wastelands … but what's the real likelihood of success of that path? You need to build a robot - that's nothing big by itself - but to make it more than just a drone on a leash, to make it House? You'll need something or somepony who can work miracles with matter and machines.

Somepony like the old Milliway.

While you're thinking about this, House replies.

"Hey, it's okay. I like you either way too Milliway." replies House. "And don't get me wrong, having a real body would be great and all. But it's not necessary, and I'm sure you've got more important matters to worry about right now."

You don't even need to know him that well to be able to hear the lie in his voice at the end there.

What do you do?

Believe it or not, Starlight is a charming individual. You don't manage to hold onto control of a bunker full of mad scientists by not picking up a few social cues, after all. Right now, she is something new, something strange. The sooner they view her as a helpful naif, the sooner they'll stop watching her like a hawk and the sooner she can snatch what she wants and scoot out of her.

So, for now, she's all smiles, waves, hellos, every inch the regal princess ambassador come to visit. What she wants to do is find the absolutely most wretched pony of the group, and do everything she can to help them. After all, if that's the way she treats old Burgerhoof, wretch among wretches, just think of how she'll treat the people who think they're actually worth something!

Well, fortunately, Burgerhoof isn't in too bad a place by wretch standards. I mean, sure, he smells a bit, and hasn't been able to hold down a job for a couple of years now, but his next gig is sure to get him out of this rut. He just needs a bit of time and any caps that a generous pony such as yourself can spare.

I mean, being an immortal ghoul also makes it easier - the cost of living is a bit more abstract when you're not really living y'know?

That said, it becomes quickly clear that the ponies all look to your chaperone - the folksy-talking ghoul that let you in and has been following you around ever since - for guidance. Win him over, and the others will take his vote of confidence in you as a reason not to watch you as closely.

Go ahead and make your move.

Balmas

2020-03-08, 10:52 PM

Well, fortunately, Burgerhoof isn't in too bad a place by wretch standards. I mean, sure, he smells a bit, and hasn't been able to hold down a job for a couple of years now, but his next gig is sure to get him out of this rut. He just needs a bit of time and any caps that a generous pony such as yourself can spare.

I mean, being an immortal ghoul also makes it easier - the cost of living is a bit more abstract when you're not really living y'know?

That said, it becomes quickly clear that the ponies all look to your chaperone - the folksy-talking ghoul that let you in and has been following you around ever since - for guidance. Win him over, and the others will take his vote of confidence in you as a reason not to watch you as closely.

Go ahead and make your move.

"You have a,"--think quickly, Starlight--"lovely settlement." She's watching the ghoul like a hawk, but trying to appear like she's watching him like a child--full of wonderment and joy and totally not pricing out which bits of scrap would make the best science project. "Now, you said you have a few problems that a pony of my status could help with? Don't know whether I caught your name, what's your name?":

[Read a pony: 10. What is he thinking? How could I get him to give me what I need to make a hunter-killer bot? Hold 1.]

Elanorin

2020-03-09, 05:02 AM

Oh, it shouldn't be about you, Milliway, but it definitely is.

That feel of electricity? The ability to draw forth inspiration and translate that into reality?

That was the old Milliway. Back from the days before you became the Lieutenant. Before you became the Librarian.

Before you put on your mask.

If there's any part of you that still remembers that, you will need to remember it to be able to do this yourself. I mean, you can try asking the science department, you can try searching the wastelands … but what's the real likelihood of success of that path? You need to build a robot - that's nothing big by itself - but to make it more than just a drone on a leash, to make it House? You'll need something or somepony who can work miracles with matter and machines.

Somepony like the old Milliway.

While you're thinking about this, House replies.

"Hey, it's okay. I like you either way too Milliway." replies House. "And don't get me wrong, having a real body would be great and all. But it's not necessary, and I'm sure you've got more important matters to worry about right now."

You don't even need to know him that well to be able to hear the lie in his voice at the end there.

What do you do?

Stew.

The realisation hits with the momentum of an unstoppable force that just keeps coming at her. How everything she'd done had taken her so far away from herself. Just how much she had changed, not to mention how much change she had brought to the bunker and the ponies around her. Was it for the better? Was this bunker mid mutiny/civil a better place than where it had been a year or two ago? Was she better? She'd finally won against Luminark and not only socked him one of the most satisfying gut-punches in history but seen him removed from the world entirely. Was that for the better? Was finally achieving the Library Assistant post and rearranging the whole thing, purging it of Magic, was that making the Library better?

Or had she just lashed out so hard against her feeling of being trapped that she'd not only broken free but wrecked everything around her in the process? Gone from building to destroying.

She could probably put together a robot if she really tried but yeah... it would just be a walking toaster. To make it the physical body of a fully aware AI, with the ability to completely mimic life, give him the ability to move in the world on equal terms to any biological pony... hell, she'd need more than a revival of her old memories and the naïve conviction that because she wanted to be able to do something it was possible - she'd need her workshop in its best shape. More than that, probably. It was in a horrendous state now, if it was even there at all anymore. They'd shoved everything to the back when they'd taken it as her patrol HQ. Her squads had looted it for material to make weapons. It was not only in disarray, it was depleted, disorganised and probably trashed.

She'd have to somehow make it out of this mutiny thing alive. Renounce this job. Somehow find a replacement Library Assistant - and who in Equestria could ever fill those shoes? She wasn't so sure she filled them all that well herself and she was now the Smartest Pony here by a long shot. Then she'd have to boot out the troops of their HQ somehow, that might be possible if they still hold any respect for her authority. Then she'd have to restore her workshop, reorganise all of what may remain, figure out a way to resupply. That meant reliable shipments from Outside with a flexible attitude to rules and legal import processes. Essentially that meant finding another Scrapscallion, because let's face it, he wasn't coming back here ever again. The most she could hope for was that he relayed her message to the Princess, any lingering goodwill that may still exist with him would perhaps buy her that, but no more. With all that in place then... then she could perhaps start such a project.

"Nothing's ever been more important to me than you, House." Milliway's voice is low and full of shame. "I just... got lost... and I took you for granted. I'm..." she swallowed hard, "sorry."

"Something is wrong and I can tell. Maybe that's been the case for a long time and I should have noticed sooner, but I'm here now. Is a body the thing that you need? Is there something else? Please tell me. I want to make this right. If I get just one thing right I want it to be you."

TheAmishPirate

2020-03-10, 04:35 PM

Well, as far as plans go it's an - acceptable one?

I mean, sure - you keep sneaking through the base, leaving a trail of unconscious guards and full broom closets in your wake (why does this place have so many of those, anyway?). With the alarms and the perimeter alerted you're making good progress, carting the boxes of prisoners right behind you as you near the quietest edge of the base. Behind the brightly lit airfield, where many eyes were no doubt turned, and nothing else between you and the perimeter fence.

Up until, that is, you encounter a patrol of three in a non-descript corridor. With the exit just up ahead and a clear run to freedom after that, you and the Pegasus both stomp on one a piece and back-hoof the third with the shock stick. He stumbles, trips over his own tail, and then topples through a pair of swinging double-doors.

Which open up to a mess hall, crowded with pegasi.

The doors swing open.

You stare at them.

The doors swing shut, then open again.

They stare at you.

The doors swing shut, then open again.

Somepony, somewhere, drops their fork with a clatter that echoes awkwardly around the room.

What do you do?

There comes a point in every plan’s life when it starts to look like you didn’t actually have a plan at all.

This was why the Scrapscallion never ever had a plan. Because if you don’t have a plan, then you’re going to beat the guy with the plan every time. While they’re sitting there, trying to figure out if they still have a plan, or if they need to think of a new one, you’ve already left them in the dust.

Which, hey! Sometimes that happens for reals.

The Scrapscallion stared at the dining room full of Enclave pegasi.

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

The room full of Enclave pegasi stared back.

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

The Scrapscallion...vanished into thin air?!

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

No, wait, he probably just booked it down the hallway towards the super obvious exit right over there.

And in the time it took the room full of plan-havers (whose eating plan had been completely bombed to bits) to put all that together, the Scrapscallion, the Pegasus, and their load of sneaky cargo were long gone.

[Rolling for Eye on the Door: 6 + 2 + 3 = 12. We gone!]

No plan, baby.

Works every time.

Thanqol

2020-03-10, 10:33 PM

Threads, threads. Weaving a fabulous tapestry. One of a kind.
The many interweave, four tens and two, each awaiting a grasp to put them into place.
Each one with a home.
Where is your home, my little pony?
Is it in the fifteenth second of the fall?
Is it in the twentieth facet of hell?
Or does your safe harbour lie in between?

What do you do?

Where is home? It's not the bunker, that friendless and paranoid pit, or even the library - that place was always a cage for him as much as the books. It's not in his own head, even his own thoughts are drab and lifeless or even violent. It's...

For a moment it existed in the exchange of politenesses with Rarity but that was a fleeting touch of two compatible hearts. Not, yet, a home. So is that the answer? That his home doesn't exist? Because...

... If it doesn't...

... That means that all is left is to build it himself.

BlasTech

2020-03-13, 08:13 AM

"You have a,"--think quickly, Starlight--"lovely settlement." She's watching the ghoul like a hawk, but trying to appear like she's watching him like a child--full of wonderment and joy and totally not pricing out which bits of scrap would make the best science project. "Now, you said you have a few problems that a pony of my status could help with? Don't know whether I caught your name, what's your name?":

[Read a pony: 10. What is he thinking? How could I get him to give me what I need to make a hunter-killer bot? Hold 1.]

Well, in case it's not bleedingly obvious from the way he keeps following you around and watching your every move - he's thinking you're possibly a threat, or at least up to something, but nothing either he or the community can't handle. He's mostly thinking of getting you to do whatever it is he wants you to do and then get out of here.

As to how you can get him to give you the parts for the hunter killer bot - the easiest is to do what he wants, or perhaps a trade of some kind. A settlement like this always has needs, but the real question is what can you, as a mutated half-melty princess pony on her own, offer them?

What do you do?

She'd have to somehow make it out of this mutiny thing alive. Renounce this job. Somehow find a replacement Library Assistant - and who in Equestria could ever fill those shoes? She wasn't so sure she filled them all that well herself and she was now the Smartest Pony here by a long shot. Then she'd have to boot out the troops of their HQ somehow, that might be possible if they still hold any respect for her authority. Then she'd have to restore her workshop, reorganise all of what may remain, figure out a way to resupply. That meant reliable shipments from Outside with a flexible attitude to rules and legal import processes. Essentially that meant finding another Scrapscallion, because let's face it, he wasn't coming back here ever again. The most she could hope for was that he relayed her message to the Princess, any lingering goodwill that may still exist with him would perhaps buy her that, but no more. With all that in place then... then she could perhaps start such a project.

"Nothing's ever been more important to me than you, House." Milliway's voice is low and full of shame. "I just... got lost... and I took you for granted. I'm..." she swallowed hard, "sorry."

"Something is wrong and I can tell. Maybe that's been the case for a long time and I should have noticed sooner, but I'm here now. Is a body the thing that you need? Is there something else? Please tell me. I want to make this right. If I get just one thing right I want it to be you."

"I … I don't know!" replies House, a bit of panic in his voice for the first time in - well, ever.

"It's like … there's something that should be here. Maybe there's something out there I need to find." he continues, struggling to compose himself "But I-I don't know what it is. It's - it's - its … Oh, I don't know how to describe it. It's like a puzzle with a piece missing, or-or an empty patch of wall where a painting used to be."

"Maybe, if you can't make a body for me, you can help me find it? I have this feeling I'll know it when I see it."

There comes a point in every plan’s life when it starts to look like you didn’t actually have a plan at all.

This was why the Scrapscallion never ever had a plan. Because if you don’t have a plan, then you’re going to beat the guy with the plan every time. While they’re sitting there, trying to figure out if they still have a plan, or if they need to think of a new one, you’ve already left them in the dust.

Which, hey! Sometimes that happens for reals.

The Scrapscallion stared at the dining room full of Enclave pegasi.

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

The room full of Enclave pegasi stared back.

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

The Scrapscallion...vanished into thin air?!

The doors swung shut, and opened again.

No, wait, he probably just booked it down the hallway towards the super obvious exit right over there.

And in the time it took the room full of plan-havers (whose eating plan had been completely bombed to bits) to put all that together, the Scrapscallion, the Pegasus, and their load of sneaky cargo were long gone.

[Rolling for Eye on the Door: 6 + 2 + 3 = 12. We gone!]

No plan, baby.

Works every time.

You're gone. In fact, you're so gone that, if this were a kids' cartoon, there would have been a Scrapscallion-shaped hole in the perimeter fence.

But this is reality, which means that by the time the Pegasi in the mess hall mobilise, they can only find a trail of broken boxes and torn fencing to show where your party exited.

Up in the hills beyond the base, you and the rest of the now-free prisoners regroup. Gulping down the cool air from your madcap dash, and resting on nearby rocks, you all get a moment of respite before your backup catches up to you.

A trio of red-painted Applejack's Rangers arrive, and before long you're all on the way back to the parked Peregine.

"- stirred up a real hornet's nest back there. Some of the Pegasi and Vertibucks took off while you were in there. Looked like they were heading back above the clouds" continues one of the Rangers, an initiate by the name of Cherry Glaze. "They looked in a hurry. Not sure where they'll head next, or when they'll be back"

The escapees start boarding the nearby transports, with Dirt and one other rag-clad pony opting to join you in the Peregrine rather than travel with the rest. One Ranger and your Pegasus companion join you, with the latter plonking down just behind your bike's chair and staring off into the sky, she's been a little quiet since you finished.

What do you do?

Where is home? It's not the bunker, that friendless and paranoid pit, or even the library - that place was always a cage for him as much as the books. It's not in his own head, even his own thoughts are drab and lifeless or even violent. It's...

For a moment it existed in the exchange of politenesses with Rarity but that was a fleeting touch of two compatible hearts. Not, yet, a home. So is that the answer? That his home doesn't exist? Because...

... If it doesn't...

... That means that all is left is to build it himself.

Well, Luminark, here you sit - magic forming in your horn, the Element of Generosity sitting across from you, guiding your flows.

Your sense of necromancy can feel … something … something which is difficult to describe.

What do you do?

Threads, threads. Weaving a [I]fabulous tapestry. One of a kind.
The many interweave, four tens and two, each awaiting a grasp to put them into place.
Each one with a home.
Where is your home, my little pony?
Is it in the fifteenth second of the fall?
Is it in the twentieth facet of hell?
Or does your safe harbour lie in between?

Elanorin

2020-03-19, 06:26 AM

"I … I don't know!" replies House, a bit of panic in his voice for the first time in - well, ever.

"It's like … there's something that should be here. Maybe there's something out there I need to find." he continues, struggling to compose himself "But I-I don't know what it is. It's - it's - its … Oh, I don't know how to describe it. It's like a puzzle with a piece missing, or-or an empty patch of wall where a painting used to be."

"Maybe, if you can't make a body for me, you can help me find it? I have this feeling I'll know it when I see it."

"I can help you find... 'it', of course. When you say something is missing from 'here' is that you, that you have a piece missing? Like a string of code or, a subroutine, or something? Or do you mean The Library? Is The Library missing something?" Other than Luminark.

Please don't say Luminark.

"Or the Bunker at large is missing something?" Hell there's more than one thing missing from there, that's for sure.

"I'll help," she reassures him.

Him?

"Of course I'll help. Just... tell me how. And if you don't know then... just tell me when something comes to you. That's fine too."

BlasTech

2020-03-19, 07:05 AM

Where is home? It's not the bunker, that friendless and paranoid pit, or even the library - that place was always a cage for him as much as the books. It's not in his own head, even his own thoughts are drab and lifeless or even violent. It's...

For a moment it existed in the exchange of politenesses with Rarity but that was a fleeting touch of two compatible hearts. Not, yet, a home. So is that the answer? That his home doesn't exist? Because...

... If it doesn't...

... That means that all is left is to build it himself.

Your magic reaches out, grasping the very threads of reality that splay out in front of you. They twist with life, thin, but impossibly strong. As indivisible as a soul.

Mentally, you pull on one and you feel a bridge between the two worlds start to form. Pouring your mental strength into it widens the window, but your horn soon begins to hurt as well. Sparks fly, shooting around yourself and singing your coat.

Don't give up, darling. It may be painful for a while, but it will pass.

Painful is an understatement. As you've said though, you're committed to the act. But are you committed to the price?

Luminark, your bridge between worlds is forming, but it's imperfect. There may be a side effect or two that comes out of this. You can direct the flows, pulling on the threads to steer as it turns out, but you cannot avoid something. Take your pick of the below and let me know where your village is meant to manifest?

You arrive drained, your magic and willpower spent. You cannot cast spells or manifest your changeling abilities for a full day.
You only bring part of the town with you, a few buildings at most, tell me which ones.
You arrive well away from your intended destination.

What do do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-03-19, 04:12 PM

You're gone. In fact, you're so gone that, if this were a kids' cartoon, there would have been a Scrapscallion-shaped hole in the perimeter fence.

But this is reality, which means that by the time the Pegasi in the mess hall mobilise, they can only find a trail of broken boxes and torn fencing to show where your party exited.

Up in the hills beyond the base, you and the rest of the now-free prisoners regroup. Gulping down the cool air from your madcap dash, and resting on nearby rocks, you all get a moment of respite before your backup catches up to you.

A trio of red-painted Applejack's Rangers arrive, and before long you're all on the way back to the parked Peregine.

"- stirred up a real hornet's nest back there. Some of the Pegasi and Vertibucks took off while you were in there. Looked like they were heading back above the clouds" continues one of the Rangers, an initiate by the name of Cherry Glaze. "They looked in a hurry. Not sure where they'll head next, or when they'll be back"

The escapees start boarding the nearby transports, with Dirt and one other rag-clad pony opting to join you in the Peregrine rather than travel with the rest. One Ranger and your Pegasus companion join you, with the latter plonking down just behind your bike's chair and staring off into the sky, she's been a little quiet since you finished.

What do you do?

"Here's a tip for your boss:" The Scrapscallion reached into the Peregrine's glovebox (which had yet to contain a single glove, ever) and unfolded a rough map of the area around the Bunker. "Get everything she has, get everything her friends have, and get it pointed, ehhhhh, here." He jabbed a hoof at a valley just to the North of the Bunker. Wide open in the center, plenty of mountains and caves to hide things in. "Because that's where I'm going to send the Enclave. All of them."

Yeah. Chew on that one, tin-can.

"Dirt? Pony who isn't Dirt? You're with the Rangers. I got hired to rescue you, and I'm not gonna lose my paycheck hauling you right back in the firing line. Dirt, write your folks a note or something telling them I did the job so they don't think I ditched or nothing. Cherry, when you're done telling your boss that first thing, tell her to put these ponies up for a few days. She owes me one, and this does not make us square. Oh, and I'm keeping the gun and shocky stick a bit longer. Gonna need 'em. All goes well, I'll give 'em back in a few days. All goes bad, she'll have bigger problems than missing inventory." He smirked his most dangerous smirk. "You got all that?"

BlasTech

2020-03-20, 05:32 AM

Thanqol

2020-03-22, 04:01 PM

Your magic reaches out, grasping the very threads of reality that splay out in front of you. They twist with life, thin, but impossibly strong. As indivisible as a soul.

Mentally, you pull on one and you feel a bridge between the two worlds start to form. Pouring your mental strength into it widens the window, but your horn soon begins to hurt as well. Sparks fly, shooting around yourself and singing your coat.

Don't give up, darling. It may be painful for a while, but it will pass.

Painful is an understatement. As you've said though, you're committed to the act. But are you committed to the price?

Luminark, your bridge between worlds is forming, but it's imperfect. There may be a side effect or two that comes out of this. You can direct the flows, pulling on the threads to steer as it turns out, but you cannot avoid something. Take your pick of the below and let me know where your village is meant to manifest?

You arrive drained, your magic and willpower spent. You cannot cast spells or manifest your changeling abilities for a full day.
You only bring part of the town with you, a few buildings at most, tell me which ones.
You arrive well away from your intended destination.

What do do?

He doesn't flinch away from the spell, from the pain, from the draining of energy. All his life he's done just that, but... well, it didn't work, did it? It caught up with him in the end. So now he just has to ride it out and give the magic everything he has.

He once saw a picture in a book of the town of Rainbow Falls, and he always thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. The cliff seemed taller than anything he'd ever seen, taller than the entire central elevator shaft of the bunker stacked ontop of itself. The sky cascaded down onto a mountaintop and then fell even further down and you could see forever...

That's where. That's his picture. All of his magic goes into bringing it about.

Balmas

2020-03-22, 11:41 PM

Well, in case it's not bleedingly obvious from the way he keeps following you around and watching your every move - he's thinking you're possibly a threat, or at least up to something, but nothing either he or the community can't handle. He's mostly thinking of getting you to do whatever it is he wants you to do and then get out of here.

As to how you can get him to give you the parts for the hunter killer bot - the easiest is to do what he wants, or perhaps a trade of some kind. A settlement like this always has needs, but the real question is what can you, as a mutated half-melty princess pony on her own, offer them?

What do you do?

Starlight offers one raised eyebrow. "You mean... beyond two-hundred years' accumulation of scientific knowledge? You were watching me take care of Burgerhoof. Medical! Electrical! Magical energy weapons! Material sciences! Politics! You point me at a problem--still waiting on that point, by the way, have been waiting since I walked in--and it's going to be solved!"

She shakes her head sadly. "Honestly, I thought that a ghoul would be the last pony to judge someone by their looks."

BlasTech

2020-03-23, 07:34 AM

"I can help you find... 'it', of course. When you say something is missing from 'here' is that you, that you have a piece missing? Like a string of code or, a subroutine, or something? Or do you mean The Library? Is The Library missing something?" Other than Luminark.

Please don't say Luminark.

"Or the Bunker at large is missing something?" Hell there's more than one thing missing from there, that's for sure.

"I'll help," she reassures him.

Him?

"Of course I'll help. Just... tell me how. And if you don't know then... just tell me when something comes to you. That's fine too."

"It's … something missing in me." replies House. "Maybe some code, maybe a routine … if I were a pony, I'd tell you that I'd forgotten something."

"But it's not like where I left my keys, or what I did last week. It's something where … where important isn't a strong enough word to capture it." he continues, frustration leaking into his voice.

"I'm sure there's something out there that can help me remember. I just know it."

So, Milliway. If you can't give him the means to look for something like this - do you have any ideas where to start?

Or do you want to read a sitch for some hints.

TheAmishPirate

2020-03-23, 09:27 PM

"Hey, after what you just did, feel free to keep em." replies Glaze, happily, as Dirt and the other prisoner share a glance.

"I'll tell Paladin Cross about the Enclave coming. I can't promise she'll send everyone, but I'll try to explain the Enclave are a big enough threat to the wasteland that we should keep doing whatever we can to take them down before another Friendship City occurs."

"Thank you again for the rescue." adds Dirt. "We owe you more than we can ever repa-"

He cuts off as your Pegasus companion's wings flare. The passengers watch in silence and awe as she takes off in a pale-blue and gold streak. It banks away from the Peregrine before swinging back over it. Her expression seems focused, but whether that's on the job of pacing the Peregrine (which she is doing effortlessly by the way) or something else, who knows?

What do you do?

Yeah, yeah, the Scrapscallion doesn’t want to be here any longer than you do, lady.

“Thank me when the job’s done. When I’m through with them, the Enclave won’t be able to mess with a radroach.”

Turning back to the Ranger, the Scrapscallion hoofed over the critical data drive. “Then hows about you give her this, and hows about I give you the short version, so you can get the pitch right.”

“The Enclave are bringing half a dozen battleships on a mission for some bad news mad science. They get their hooves on that, Friendship City’s gonna be every day of the week. They were gonna launch today. Now they’re not. I bought us a few days, maybe. By the time they get their act together, I’m gonna get their entire fleet to that spot, and that’s your best chance ever to mop up the Enclave, for good.”

The Scrapscallion vaulted up onto the Peregrine, and revved the engine. Ready to go, and so was he.

“If Cross asks when she should pull the trigger, I’d say wait until the Enclave start shooting each other.” He smirked. “How’s that for a signal? Now get going; we’re burning daylight here!”

Elanorin

2020-03-29, 04:05 AM

"It's … something missing in me." replies House. "Maybe some code, maybe a routine … if I were a pony, I'd tell you that I'd forgotten something."

"But it's not like where I left my keys, or what I did last week. It's something where … where important isn't a strong enough word to capture it." he continues, frustration leaking into his voice.

"I'm sure there's something out there that can help me remember. I just know it."

So, Milliway. If you can't give him the means to look for something like this - do you have any ideas where to start?

Or do you want to read a sitch for some hints.

"...when you say 'out there'..." Milliway said cautiously and with a big scoop of apprehension. "Out there" was not a destination that felt like an option right now, being barricaded in the library. Outside was a terrifying concept at the best of times and right now even stepping hoof outside the library and in to the rest of the bunker felt like the kind of reckless daredevil move that only Scrap- that was an overall unhealthy and Bad Idea.

[Rolling to Read A Sitch: 6+4+0=10 What should I be on the lookout for? Who is in control here? What's my enemy's true position?]

BlasTech

2020-04-04, 07:04 AM

He doesn't flinch away from the spell, from the pain, from the draining of energy. All his life he's done just that, but... well, it didn't work, did it? It caught up with him in the end. So now he just has to ride it out and give the magic everything he has.

He once saw a picture in a book of the town of Rainbow Falls, and he always thought it was the most beautiful place in the world. The cliff seemed taller than anything he'd ever seen, taller than the entire central elevator shaft of the bunker stacked ontop of itself. The sky cascaded down onto a mountaintop and then fell even further down and you could see forever...

That's where. That's his picture. All of his magic goes into bringing it about.

The first sense that comes back to you is sound.

The rustle of wind in leaves, the trickle of water on rock. The creek of rusted metal.

Colours come back next, mostly a washed out, sickly green. Faded pastels and dry brown broken up by an occasional splash of colour. As things come into focus, you find yourself staring at a bizarre mis-mash of ruins and brand new buildings mixed in amongst one another. Bombed out wartime ruins nestle up against the freshly manifest buildings of Ponyville (as per your imagination of them at least). You, yourself, are lying in the dirt just in front of Rarity's Boutique.

Beyond the immediate circle, a rusted chainlink fence demarcates the bank of a river that winds alongside the old settlement. The trickle of irradiated water is all that remains of the once famous falls that gave this place its name. A single waterfall feeds it, and runs to the edge of the plateau before dropping away once more. At least you have a good view from up here, in the distance, you can spot the remains of Canterlot and, to the west, the hills where the Bunker is hidden.

In your more immediate vicinity, while there are signs of this place once having been inhabited (the odd rotting bedroll, the remains of a fire pit), there don't appear to be any ponies here besides yourself.

Well, besides Olive Drab, who is lying in a heap next to the Boutique and groaning as if he has the king-hit of all hangovers.

Oh, and Rarity - who is lying next to him, not breathing.

What do you do?

Starlight offers one raised eyebrow. "You mean... beyond two-hundred years' accumulation of scientific knowledge? You were watching me take care of Burgerhoof. Medical! Electrical! Magical energy weapons! Material sciences! Politics! You point me at a problem--still waiting on that point, by the way, have been waiting since I walked in--and it's going to be solved!"

She shakes her head sadly. "Honestly, I thought that a ghoul would be the last pony to judge someone by their looks."

"Ain't judging you by yer looks, lady. Nor am I judgin' you by your words." replies Stedder. "You offer us somethin' tangible, then maybe we'll talk."

"But … hmm … science y'say?" he pauses, tapping his chin with a hoof. "Okay, let's make a deal. You wanted some cloud samples, and I wager probably some more of the MoM's secrets than you'd be willin' to discuss with the likes o'me."

"We need some help with the reactor that we use for power down here. If you can fix it up, we'll help you get where you need ta go."

What do you do?

BlasTech

2020-04-05, 12:35 AM

Yeah, yeah, the Scrapscallion doesn’t want to be here any longer than you do, lady.

“Thank me when the job’s done. When I’m through with them, the Enclave won’t be able to mess with a radroach.”

Turning back to the Ranger, the Scrapscallion hoofed over the critical data drive. “Then hows about you give her this, and hows about I give you the short version, so you can get the pitch right.”

“The Enclave are bringing half a dozen battleships on a mission for some bad news mad science. They get their hooves on that, Friendship City’s gonna be every day of the week. They were gonna launch today. Now they’re not. I bought us a few days, maybe. By the time they get their act together, I’m gonna get their entire fleet to that spot, and that’s your best chance ever to mop up the Enclave, for good.”

The Scrapscallion vaulted up onto the Peregrine, and revved the engine. Ready to go, and so was he.

“If Cross asks when she should pull the trigger, I’d say wait until the Enclave start shooting each other.” He smirked. “How’s that for a signal? Now get going; we’re burning daylight here!”

"Gotcha!" replied Glaze, as she and the other ex-prisoners loaded themselves up onto the Rangers' waiting transports. "We'll be there with bells on!"

"I should probably be joining them." says the pegasus, as she lands next to you - watching the Rangers, but you can tell that's not where her attention is.

What do you do?

"...when you say 'out there'..." Milliway said cautiously and with a big scoop of apprehension. "Out there" was not a destination that felt like an option right now, being barricaded in the library. Outside was a terrifying concept at the best of times and right now even stepping hoof outside the library and in to the rest of the bunker felt like the kind of reckless daredevil move that only Scrap- that was an overall unhealthy and Bad Idea.

[Rolling to Read A Sitch: 6+4+0=10 What should I be on the lookout for? Who is in control here? What's my enemy's true position?]

Okay, lets tackle these things in order:

"What should I be on the lookout for?" - well, you've got a clue: The colours Blue and White. You've got a goal: Memories. You've got a machine born of the Crystal Heart. Now what colour was that Heart again?

"Who is in control here?" - Most definitely you are. You're the Librarian and you're in a library - more than that - you're in THE Library (please note the capital letter - those are important). It's a veritable horde of alchemical, historical and necromantic knowledge. The single greatest concentration of arcane literature on the planet outside of Twilight Sparkle's bedside table. You're holding all the aces and those schmucks trying to break in are trying to make do with the two-pair that they've scrounged up in their own pitiful labs.

"What is my enemy's true position" - before I can answer this one. I have to ask. Who is your enemy in this scenario? Because, and this might be a freebee answer, your real enemy here sometimes sounds like yourself.

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-04-06, 02:50 PM

Okay, lets tackle these things in order:

"What should I be on the lookout for?" - well, you've got a clue: The colours Blue and White. You've got a goal: Memories. You've got a machine born of the Crystal Heart. Now what colour was that Heart again?

The crystal heart is the colour of the tropical ocean so blue and white is certainly not far off. Though the shard that is grafted to her chest is somewhat darker, dimmed, with slow tendrils of black cloud swirling inside it. It... had started doing that... she couldn't quite remember when. She'd only had it fused to her body after she died. Certainly ever since then.

Wait.

"Uhm... House?" Milliway's voice was both nervous and sheepish. "Is it this?" She tapped the shard at her chest lightly with her hoof.

"What is my enemy's true position" - before I can answer this one. I have to ask. Who is your enemy in this scenario? Because, and this might be a freebee answer, your real enemy here sometimes sounds like yourself.

While you have a point... Milliway is often her own worst enemy, right now she's undergoing a lot of soul searching and humbling gazing in the proverbial mirror so no, right now it's not her. Right now her focus and concern is House and his problem so, whoever caused him to be broken would be the most imminent real enemy in this situation. Though... it's entirely possible that that still leads back to her.

Thanqol

2020-04-08, 04:40 AM

The first sense that comes back to you is sound.

The rustle of wind in leaves, the trickle of water on rock. The creek of rusted metal.

Colours come back next, mostly a washed out, sickly green. Faded pastels and dry brown broken up by an occasional splash of colour. As things come into focus, you find yourself staring at a bizarre mis-mash of ruins and brand new buildings mixed in amongst one another. Bombed out wartime ruins nestle up against the freshly manifest buildings of Ponyville (as per your imagination of them at least). You, yourself, are lying in the dirt just in front of Rarity's Boutique.

Beyond the immediate circle, a rusted chainlink fence demarcates the bank of a river that winds alongside the old settlement. The trickle of irradiated water is all that remains of the once famous falls that gave this place its name. A single waterfall feeds it, and runs to the edge of the plateau before dropping away once more. At least you have a good view from up here, in the distance, you can spot the remains of Canterlot and, to the west, the hills where the Bunker is hidden.

In your more immediate vicinity, while there are signs of this place once having been inhabited (the odd rotting bedroll, the remains of a fire pit), there don't appear to be any ponies here besides yourself.

Well, besides Olive Drab, who is lying in a heap next to the Boutique and groaning as if he has the king-hit of all hangovers.

Oh, and Rarity - who is lying next to him, not breathing.

What do you do?

"Rarity? M-minister Rarity?" Luminark said, moving over to her, shaking her, trying to remember the theory of healing magic and knowing that he wouldn't have the strength to successfully pull it off. "You're alright, right? You came through just fine? Minister?" Keep cool, Luminark, keep it together, you remember what to do...

[If there's an act under fire to do medical stuff, hit on a 9]

BlasTech

2020-04-08, 08:20 AM

The crystal heart is the colour of the tropical ocean so blue and white is certainly not far off. Though the shard that is grafted to her chest is somewhat darker, dimmed, with slow tendrils of black cloud swirling inside it. It... had started doing that... she couldn't quite remember when. She'd only had it fused to her body after she died. Certainly ever since then.

Wait.

"Uhm... House?" Milliway's voice was both nervous and sheepish. "Is it this?" She tapped the shard at her chest lightly with her hoof.

"No idea." he replies, after a moment. "Maybe if there was a way to hook it back up to me. I've been meaning to ask though, what happened to the rest of it?"

While you have a point... Milliway is often her own worst enemy, right now she's undergoing a lot of soul searching and humbling gazing in the proverbial mirror so no, right now it's not her. Right now her focus and concern is House and his problem so, whoever caused him to be broken would be the most imminent real enemy in this situation. Though... it's entirely possible that that still leads back to her.

Well, it's difficult to say. That attack happened a while ago, back when you were in your old workshop and both House and the Crystal Heart were plugged into your network. Since then, you haven't really had the time to hunt down leads on this before you'd died.

Your enemy's true position in this is currently beyond your ken - but the steps to find it. Well, old server logs from the workshop. Or perhaps something within House's code. Or maybe something within the Crystal heart. All are valid points to start digging into where this enemy really is.

"Rarity? M-minister Rarity?" Luminark said, moving over to her, shaking her, trying to remember the theory of healing magic and knowing that he wouldn't have the strength to successfully pull it off. "You're alright, right? You came through just fine? Minister?" Keep cool, Luminark, keep it together, you remember what to do...

[If there's an act under fire to do medical stuff, hit on a 9]

Hey Luminark, do you know CPR? :smalltongue:

TheAmishPirate

2020-04-09, 07:15 PM

""I should probably be joining them." says the pegasus, as she lands next to you - watching the Rangers, but you can tell that's not where her attention is.

What do you do?

The Scrapscallion shrugged off the Enclave uniform. Rolled his shoulders. Straightened his still-smoldering leather jacket until it rode comfortable on his back. And turned a lazy look her way.

"That so?"

The knowing challenge crackled through the steaming midday heat. Thrummed deeper than the rumble of the Peregrine beneath them.

And demanded an answer.

[I am down for whatever direction the Pegasus intends to take this conversation. But at the same time, I also just rolled a 10 on the eventual Seduce roll.]

Thanqol

2020-04-11, 01:01 AM

Hey Luminark, do you know CPR? :smalltongue:

Luminark is... CPR-adjacent. He knows a lot about life and biology from one of his moms, he knows a lot about death and necromancy from his other mom. He's done lung surgery a couple of times, mostly on corpses he's helping bring up to standard. He can probably reverse engineer the theory.

But has he ever actually done it? Well... no.

Balmas

2020-04-11, 06:19 PM

"Ain't judging you by yer looks, lady. Nor am I judgin' you by your words." replies Stedder. "You offer us somethin' tangible, then maybe we'll talk."

"But … hmm … science y'say?" he pauses, tapping his chin with a hoof. "Okay, let's make a deal. You wanted some cloud samples, and I wager probably some more of the MoM's secrets than you'd be willin' to discuss with the likes o'me."

"We need some help with the reactor that we use for power down here. If you can fix it up, we'll help you get where you need ta go."

What do you do?

Finally! I mean really, how hard was that? "What is your settlement's problem?" Shouldn't take that long to say "fix our reactor."

So, we're in front of the reactor now, right? What's this thing's deal? Is there a geiger counter clicking too quickly in here, has the fuel rod run down, is there a leak in the coolant? Starlight is looking at this thing and trying to figure out what's wrong and what it needs.
[Read a Sitch: 13. And since that's one of my advanced moves: How can I fix this reactor using things in this building? Holding 2.]

Elanorin

2020-04-17, 03:01 AM

"No idea." he replies, after a moment. "Maybe if there was a way to hook it back up to me. I've been meaning to ask though, what happened to the rest of it?"

The rest of it?!

Milliway's eyes shot wide open as if she'd just sat on a wasp.

The rest of it?!

She looked at the crystal on her chest, then up at the heart suspended in House's cabling. Then back at her chest. Then back at the heart. Her mind suddenly trying to do all kinds of painful mental calculations regarding volume and mass to assess if the cut of the heart was the exact fit to the shard in her chest as she had always just assumed it was.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean the rest of it? It's all here? Isn't it?" her voice was getting higher and higher pitched by the syllable. "Isn't it?"

She had to actually remind herself not to just rip the shard out of her chest to test it in the cut of the heart as that would, according to her resurrector, kill her. Still, her unhelpful brain (that was actively resisting the Maths like an oily surface rejecting water) pointed out, it would answer the question quickly and accurately.

BlasTech

2020-04-18, 03:10 AM

The Scrapscallion shrugged off the Enclave uniform. Rolled his shoulders. Straightened his still-smoldering leather jacket until it rode comfortable on his back. And turned a lazy look her way.

"That so?"

The knowing challenge crackled through the steaming midday heat. Thrummed deeper than the rumble of the Peregrine beneath them.

And demanded an answer.

10[/B] on the eventual Seduce roll.]

Oh Scraps, you suave monster you.

The Pegasus glances at you, smirking at your response. She knows that you know what she's trying, and at the same time there's a hint of respect there that you're good enough at the game to pin it back on her so well.

"So … what's your deal, anyway?" she continued, changing tack now that the ploy was clearly not working. "Some kind of cool-as-a-cucumber road-bound loner? Or do you have a family or something you're looking after by being out here?"

What do you say?

Luminark is... CPR-[I]adjacent. He knows a lot about life and biology from one of his moms, he knows a lot about death and necromancy from his other mom. He's done lung surgery a couple of times, mostly on corpses he's helping bring up to standard. He can probably reverse engineer the theory.

But has he ever actually done it? Well... no.

Well, there's never a better time to learn by doing.

You going to go for it? Or let her expire? Or something else?

What do you do?

Finally! I mean really, how hard was that? "What is your settlement's problem?" Shouldn't take that long to say "fix our reactor."

So, we're in front of the reactor now, right? What's this thing's deal? Is there a geiger counter clicking too quickly in here, has the fuel rod run down, is there a leak in the coolant? Starlight is looking at this thing and trying to figure out what's wrong and what it needs.
[Read a Sitch: 13. And since that's one of my advanced moves: How can I fix this reactor using things in this building? Holding 2.]

After a few minutes of your expert review, you identify a few basic issues with it and one underlying problem that is making it all more complicated.

For starters, the reactor casing is damaged in a few places, enough to cause the Geiger counter to spike when standing too close to the containment vessel. Nothing life threatening for a ghoul, and something that can easily be patched using the scrap metal lying around.

The manual override panel has also seen better days, but it's been cobbled back together well enough to function. It can probably be improved - with proper wheels rather than just a wrench on a stick. Or even totally rewired using some of the discarded terminals that you've spotted throughout the settlement.

The tricky part is that the reactor's automated systems are constantly sending update commands to the coolant controls. Something that has to be compensated by the manual overrides from time to time to prevent the reactor getting too out of whack. Stedder points out that its been doing that ever since the Fall from Canterlot mountain. Unfortunately, the controls are sealed behind a shield that none of the ghouls have been able to get past. He shows you it, a glowing pink wall of energy. Somepony has stencilled a horn and wings (as well as a few smiley faces and a firework) on the doorway beside it.

What do you do?

The rest of it?!

Milliway's eyes shot wide open as if she'd just sat on a wasp.

The rest of it?!

She looked at the crystal on her chest, then up at the heart suspended in House's cabling. Then back at her chest. Then back at the heart. Her mind suddenly trying to do all kinds of painful mental calculations regarding volume and mass to assess if the cut of the heart was the exact fit to the shard in her chest as she had always just assumed it was.

"Wh-wh-what do you mean the rest of it? It's all here? Isn't it?" her voice was getting higher and higher pitched by the syllable. "Isn't it?"

She had to actually remind herself not to just rip the shard out of her chest to test it in the cut of the heart as that would, according to her resurrector, kill her. Still, her unhelpful brain (that was actively resisting the Maths like an oily surface rejecting water) pointed out, it would answer the question quickly and accurately.

"Um no." replies House, as an overlay of the crystal heart appears on a nearby monitor. Red circles flash to life over two sections of it.

"According to what my sensors are telling me, in addition to the sliver you have with you, there's another missing from the rear of the Heart, and a chunk missing from the base of the point."

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-04-19, 07:44 PM

Well, there's never a better time to learn by doing.

You going to go for it? Or let her expire? Or something else?

What do you do?

Well, he's certainly going to try. Without magic and without anypony else within his immediate field of vision his range of actions are extremely limited. He will, however, also yell for help - a kind of desperate yell, the kind with a little catch that comes at the end of using every last scrap of breath in his lungs.

BlasTech

2020-04-22, 07:41 AM

Well, he's certainly going to try. Without magic and without anypony else within his immediate field of vision his range of actions are extremely limited. He will, however, also yell for help - a kind of desperate yell, the kind with a little catch that comes at the end of using every last scrap of breath in his lungs.

Well, the Princesses must have been listening. Whether because of your yell, the brief medical ministrations you provided earlier, providence or just the sprouts that you ate four your last meal, your muzzle is suddenly stopped by an alabaster hoof just as it approaches contact.

"No- Not just yet" coughs Rarity, pushing you away gently but firmly, before rolling to her hooves.

It was a little bit longer before she'd fully recovered, but you were able to get her through it.

-==-

"It's real, isn't it?"

Twenty minutes later the three of you are standing on the edge of the bluff, looking out at the lowlands between Rainbow Falls and Canterlot. The sun shines down through a patchy grey sky, casting pillars of light across the Equestrian Wasteland.

"It's not just a dream or spell" continues Rarity, looking out. "I'm really here. This is really … what's left."

Deep breaths. Eyes closed.

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-04-27, 04:35 PM

Oh Scraps, you suave monster you.

The Pegasus glances at you, smirking at your response. She knows that you know what she's trying, and at the same time there's a hint of respect there that you're good enough at the game to pin it back on her so well.

"So … what's your deal, anyway?" she continued, changing tack now that the ploy was clearly not working. "Some kind of cool-as-a-cucumber road-bound loner? Or do you have a family or something you're looking after by being out here?"

What do you say?

Oh, he doesn’t rub it in. But he smirks right back, to show her that he knows she knows he knows what she’s up to, and you know what? He digs it. Totally.

“‘The Scrapscallion’s sometimes got a place he parks his bike, but his real home’s the road.’” he recited. And, well. Maybe he ought to recite a little more, but that’s where he leaves it. She knows about the legends of The Scrapscallion, right? Everybody knows. Everybody loves ‘em. So he don’t gotta say more. Yeah. “It’s something like that,” he shrugged. “Maybe I stay someplace for a while, but forever? Nahhhhhh. Sittin' still ain’t me. Guess I was just born to chase the wind.”

Come on. Pegasi? Flying? Wind? Chasing the wind? Flirting with her? Right now? No way she could miss that. So could they skip ahead to the fun part already? Not that he wasn’t down for the slow, circling smolder or anything. No, no, it’s just. Y’know. Places to be. He had a headache or something. Whatever. Ugh, she was lucky was smokin’, or else he might do something stupid.

“And what about you, hotshot?” He countered, with a casual lean back. Daring, inviting her to get a little closer. “Who’re you out here for?”

Thanqol

2020-04-27, 11:52 PM

Well, the Princesses must have been listening. Whether because of your yell, the brief medical ministrations you provided earlier, providence or just the sprouts that you ate four your last meal, your muzzle is suddenly stopped by an alabaster hoof just as it approaches contact.

"No- Not just yet" coughs Rarity, pushing you away gently but firmly, before rolling to her hooves.

It was a little bit longer before she'd fully recovered, but you were able to get her through it.

-==-

"It's real, isn't it?"

Twenty minutes later the three of you are standing on the edge of the bluff, looking out at the lowlands between Rainbow Falls and Canterlot. The sun shines down through a patchy grey sky, casting pillars of light across the Equestrian Wasteland.

"It's not just a dream or spell" continues Rarity, looking out. "I'm really here. This is really … what's left."

Deep breaths. Eyes closed.

What do you do?

"It's hard not to get used to it," said Luminark. "Everypony else has. They look at this and think... oh yeah. That's Equestria. That's what the world is like. Sometimes I think that way too. The only thing that keeps me sane are books. I overlay the pictures I see in the books with the landscapes here, the stories of how ponies used to interact with how they do now and it reminds me that things are only this way because of... choices? Mistakes? Things that ponies did. Holding onto that different idea of normal is the hardest thing in my life, much harder than just surviving out there."

BlasTech

2020-05-02, 10:03 PM

Oh, he doesn’t rub it in. But he smirks right back, to show her that he knows she knows he knows what she’s up to, and you know what? He digs it. Totally.

“‘The Scrapscallion’s sometimes got a place he parks his bike, but his real home’s the road.’” he recited. And, well. Maybe he ought to recite a little more, but that’s where he leaves it. She knows about the legends of The Scrapscallion, right? Everybody knows. Everybody loves ‘em. So he don’t gotta say more. Yeah. “It’s something like that,” he shrugged. “Maybe I stay someplace for a while, but forever? Nahhhhhh. Sittin' still ain’t me. Guess I was just born to chase the wind.”

Come on. Pegasi? Flying? Wind? Chasing the wind? Flirting with her? Right now? No way she could miss that. So could they skip ahead to the fun part already? Not that he wasn’t down for the slow, circling smolder or anything. No, no, it’s just. Y’know. Places to be. He had a headache or something. Whatever. Ugh, she was lucky was smokin’, or else he might do something stupid.

“And what about you, hotshot?” He countered, with a casual lean back. Daring, inviting her to get a little closer. “Who’re you out here for?”

"Hah, well it sure as heck isn't myself." she grins, flitting over you close enough to let your mane feel the backwash of her wings.

"You don't get the brand and kicked out down here when you're only looking after yourself, after all." she continues. "No. For now, I'm out here for the Rangers - helping them to get up on their hooves. After that, maybe back to New Appleloosa, or off to the coast again."

"I'll just, y'know, see where things take me." she says, shooting you a significant glance™

Wellp. Time to rev your engines Scraps and get this road train rolling.

What do you do now, where do you go?

"It's hard not to get used to it," said Luminark. "Everypony else has. They look at this and think... oh yeah. That's Equestria. That's what the world is like. Sometimes I think that way too. The only thing that keeps me sane are books. I overlay the pictures I see in the books with the landscapes here, the stories of how ponies used to interact with how they do now and it reminds me that things are only this way because of... choices? Mistakes? Things that ponies did. Holding onto that different idea of normal is the hardest thing in my life, much harder than just surviving out there."

"Mistakes is the right word." replies Rarity, looking out at the wastes. "Mine, but many others' as well. So very many."

"I remember two normals." she continues. "The normal before the war, when my friends and I could just be friends, when our largest problems were sleepovers and the stress of impressing VIPs of the Canterlot fashion scene. Then, there was the normal of the war. The daily effort to keep the world together just a little bit longer. Against the fighting, against the protests and worse."

"We all tried our best. We failed, but I will not apologise for trying."

Another deep breath.

"I have to see this as another chance. An opportunity." she turned away, eyes glistening with emotion. "I will not let all that be where it ends. Not now that I am back."

"Now, darling, tell me. We have our town. We have the three of us. What's next?"

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-03, 01:19 PM

"Hah, well it sure as heck isn't myself." she grins, flitting over you close enough to let your mane feel the backwash of her wings.

Oh baby.

"You don't get the brand and kicked out down here when you're only looking after yourself, after all." she continues. "No. For now, I'm out here for the Rangers - helping them to get up on their hooves. After that, maybe back to New Appleloosa, or off to the coast again."

Yes. Good.

"I'll just, y'know, see where things take me." she says, shooting you a significant glance™

Wellp. Time to rev your engines Scraps and get this road train rolling.

What do you do now, where do you go?

Finally.

“Hop on.” He snapped his goggles down and patted the seat behind him. “Enclave’s buzzing, right? They’ll be watching the skies right now. Won’t notice somebody travelling by land. It’s just good tactical sense.” The grin on his face betrayed how little he was actually thinking of tactical sense, but since when did excuses need to be good?

He knew a spot, see. And it just so happened to be on the way back to the Bunker. Sure, the Rainbow Falls hadn’t been Rainbow or Falling since forever, but the mountain itself had survived the years pretty well. By comparison, anyway. Something something ‘not much of a target’ whatever. Point was, it was pretty, and the heights made it real inconvenient for Raiders and, really, anybody else. Too slow to get up and down all the time.

Put it all together, and you’ve got yourself a prime locale to spend some uninterrupted quality time with a smokin’ hot pegasus.

As to getting there, he wasn’t going to disrespect her with the usual “make aggressive turns, she squeals in panic, hugs onto you for support” maneuver. Please. Somepony like her, you gotta take serious, or else she might just throw you in the cargo hold and take the wheel herself. So instead? He goes fast. Bullet-fast. The kind of speed that makes a pony feel alive. No time wasted, full-throttle, handling the rough, dangerous terrain like it was paved road.

Y’know. The sort of art that only another professional can appreciate.

Balmas

2020-05-04, 05:24 PM

After a few minutes of your expert review, you identify a few basic issues with it and one underlying problem that is making it all more complicated.

For starters, the reactor casing is damaged in a few places, enough to cause the Geiger counter to spike when standing too close to the containment vessel. Nothing life threatening for a ghoul, and something that can easily be patched using the scrap metal lying around.

The manual override panel has also seen better days, but it's been cobbled back together well enough to function. It can probably be improved - with proper wheels rather than just a wrench on a stick. Or even totally rewired using some of the discarded terminals that you've spotted throughout the settlement.

The tricky part is that the reactor's automated systems are constantly sending update commands to the coolant controls. Something that has to be compensated by the manual overrides from time to time to prevent the reactor getting too out of whack. Stedder points out that its been doing that ever since the Fall from Canterlot mountain. Unfortunately, the controls are sealed behind a shield that none of the ghouls have been able to get past. He shows you it, a glowing pink wall of energy. Somepony has stencilled a horn and wings (as well as a few smiley faces and a firework) on the doorway beside it.

What do you do?

While they're wandering, Starlight grabs a wandering ghoul by the shoulder, and instructs them to bring her a scrap terminal. No, what are you talking about, of course--she's a specialist, damn your eyes, she knows what she's doing, now bring her that terminal, or you can explain why the reactor's performing at half the capacity it should.

Now. That shield. Tentatively, she pushes a hoof against the wall. It's the ministry of Morale, so you never know what wonders the Pink One incorporated into it, but it's asking for an alicorn, and she's an alicorn, so hopefully that firework doesn't mean something like a megaspell under their feet.

[What's my best way past this forcefield? Hold 1.]

Thanqol

2020-05-04, 06:51 PM

"Mistakes is the right word." replies Rarity, looking out at the wastes. "Mine, but many others' as well. So very many."

"I remember two normals." she continues. "The normal before the war, when my friends and I could just be friends, when our largest problems were sleepovers and the stress of impressing VIPs of the Canterlot fashion scene. Then, there was the normal of the war. The daily effort to keep the world together just a little bit longer. Against the fighting, against the protests and worse."

"We all tried our best. We failed, but I will not apologise for trying."

Another deep breath.

"I have to see this as another chance. An opportunity." she turned away, eyes glistening with emotion. "I will not let all that be where it ends. Not now that I am back."

"Now, darling, tell me. We have our town. We have the three of us. What's next?"

"A lot of hard work," said Luminark.

And so it was.

There are fields to be tilled. He sweats with a hoe with rows of chattering, false Pinkie Pies and Applejacks, doing hard work like he's never done before. Entire days and nights pass in a state of pure physicality beneath the sky; labour and exhaustion and the feeling of productive accomplishment.

There are houses to be repaired. The town that came was born of dreams and storybook pictures and not everything translated well; there are holes in his imagination, weak foundations, houses piled too close together or too far apart. There's work there too, repairs and adjustments. A couple of houses are cannibalized for parts, walls and doors and roof, to patch the holes in others.

There are defenses to be laid out. Luminark goes as long as he can without thinking about it - he doesn't want to live in a world where he even has to think about being prepared for invasion. But one afternoon looking out over the town the thought comes to him that he wants this place to be safe. There are no guns or bombs in his dream town, so he makes do with positioning a number of boulders above the path into town.

And in between all of the simple labour, there is tea and conversation. And it felt sometimes like an entirely new normal was happening here, despite it all.

BlasTech

2020-05-05, 08:32 AM

While they're wandering, Starlight grabs a wandering ghoul by the shoulder, and instructs them to bring her a scrap terminal. No, what are you talking about, of course--she's a specialist, damn your eyes, she knows what she's doing, now bring her that terminal, or you can explain why the reactor's performing at half the capacity it should.

Now. That shield. Tentatively, she pushes a hoof against the wall. It's the ministry of Morale, so you never know what wonders the Pink One incorporated into it, but it's asking for an alicorn, and she's an alicorn, so hopefully that firework doesn't mean something like a megaspell under their feet.

[What's my best way past this forcefield? Hold 1.]

Looking at it closely, you recognise the magic. It's a bypass shield. A kind of spell that forms an impenetrable barrier, save for one class of object, creature or concept that is allowed through.

When coupled with the picture next to it. Your best way past might be to just … walk through?

"A lot of hard work," said Luminark.

And so it was.

There are fields to be tilled. He sweats with a hoe with rows of chattering, false Pinkie Pies and Applejacks, doing hard work like he's never done before. Entire days and nights pass in a state of pure physicality beneath the sky; labour and exhaustion and the feeling of productive accomplishment.

There are houses to be repaired. The town that came was born of dreams and storybook pictures and not everything translated well; there are holes in his imagination, weak foundations, houses piled too close together or too far apart. There's work there too, repairs and adjustments. A couple of houses are cannibalized for parts, walls and doors and roof, to patch the holes in others.

There are defenses to be laid out. Luminark goes as long as he can without thinking about it - he doesn't want to live in a world where he even has to think about being prepared for invasion. But one afternoon looking out over the town the thought comes to him that he wants this place to be safe. There are no guns or bombs in his dream town, so he makes do with positioning a number of boulders above the path into town.

And in between all of the simple labour, there is tea and conversation. And it felt sometimes like an entirely new normal was happening here, despite it all.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Thanks" replies Olive Daub, dropping the tin of "Flim & Flam's preserved apple soup" (now with 900% more preservatives!) into the pot he's tending.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

The pink facsimile pronks away, leaving Rarity to shake her head. The three of you are lounging around a campfire, enjoying a balmy evening on the mountaintop and a dinner of pre-war salvage from the homes nearby. Rarity lies across from you on a rescued blanket, on that is amazingly still in good condition after having been stored in a tourist's resort equipment lockup.

"I didn't mention this before, darling, but these shades of yours are not nearly as puzzling as the real article." she says, watching the Pinkie Pie leave.

"If we keep this up." adds Olive "We'll have some crops to trade in a few months. The Applejacks are doing well there, so long as we keep an eye on them, but leave them to their own too long and they'd dig their way off the cliffside"

"Oh, please don't joke about that" responds Rarity. "I recall Applejack nearly falling off a cliff back in Everfree, on the day we all first met. I didn't realise it at the time, I'd thought she'd nearly fallen herself. It wasn't until after that I realised she'd actually jumped to that cliff ledge to catch Twilight who had gone over."

She paused, watching the shades of her past friends busy themselves with some other repairs. With the three of you gathered around the evening campfire, the alabaster unicorn seemed to be in a reminiscing mood.

"It was back on that Long Night when Nightmare Moon returned. That act, I think, was how Applejack first earned the element of Honesty." she continued. "I always wondered why - Looking back at it, it didn't make much sense why that particular display meant so much. She had been an honest pony long before that night and was an honest pony long afterwards."

"Twilight had a theory that it was because that was the night we had all stepped forward to do what was needed. That by acting out the elements for something greater than ourselves, we were earning the right to be their bearers. I don't know if I agreed, but it had a certain ring to it, don't you think? After al --- do you hear that?

Rarity glances away from the fire, ears perked towards a high-pitched whine. It sounds like machinery, an engine possibly.

Luminark. Do you recall what the Peregrine sounds like?

He knew a spot, see. And it just so happened to be on the way back to the Bunker. Sure, the Rainbow Falls hadn’t been Rainbow or Falling since forever, but the mountain itself had survived the years pretty well. By comparison, anyway. Something something ‘not much of a target’ whatever. Point was, it was pretty, and the heights made it real inconvenient for Raiders and, really, anybody else. Too slow to get up and down all the time.

Put it all together, and you’ve got yourself a prime locale to spend some uninterrupted quality time with a smokin’ hot pegasus.

As to getting there, he wasn’t going to disrespect her with the usual “make aggressive turns, she squeals in panic, hugs onto you for support” maneuver. Please. Somepony like her, you gotta take serious, or else she might just throw you in the cargo hold and take the wheel herself. So instead? He goes fast. Bullet-fast. The kind of speed that makes a pony feel alive. No time wasted, full-throttle, handling the rough, dangerous terrain like it was paved road.

Y’know. The sort of art that only another professional can appreciate.

Bullet fast, but even you can't outrace the sunset.

Not that that's a bad thing. You pull up at a plateau just beneath the ruins of the famous Rainbow Falls resorts. A nice secluded space where you, and your temporary marefriend, can do whatever you want.

Y'know. Like sit there, watch the sunset, and perhaps talk a bit.

Right?

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-05-06, 05:51 AM

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Thanks" replies Olive Daub, dropping the tin of "Flim & Flam's preserved apple soup" (now with 900% more preservatives!) into the pot he's tending.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

The pink facsimile pronks away, leaving Rarity to shake her head. The three of you are lounging around a campfire, enjoying a balmy evening on the mountaintop and a dinner of pre-war salvage from the homes nearby. Rarity lies across from you on a rescued blanket, on that is inmazingly still in good condition after having been stored in a tourist's resort equipment lockup.

"I didn't mention this before, darling, but these shades of yours are not nearly as puzzling as the real article." she says, watching the Pinkie Pie leave.

"If we keep this up." adds Olive "We'll have some crops to trade in a few months. The Applejacks are doing well there, so long as we keep an eye on them, but leave them to their own too long and they'd dig their way off the cliffside"

"Oh, please don't joke about that" responds Rarity. "I recall Applejack nearly falling off a cliff back in Everfree, on the day we all first met. I didn't realise it at the time, I'd thought she'd nearly fallen herself. It wasn't until after that I realised she'd actually jumped to that cliff ledge to catch Twilight who had gone over."

She paused, watching the shades of her past friends busy themselves with some other repairs. With the three of you gathered around the evening campfire, the alabaster unicorn seemed to be in a reminiscing mood.

"It was back on that Long Night when Nightmare Moon returned. That act, I think, was how Applejack first earned the element of Honesty." she continued. "I always wondered why - Looking back at it, it didn't make much sense why that particular display meant so much. She had been an honest pony long before that night and was an honest pony long afterwards."

"Twilight had a theory that it was because that was the night we had all stepped forward to do what was needed. That by acting out the elements for something greater than ourselves, we were earning the right to be their bearers. I don't know if I agreed, but it had a certain ring to it, don't you think?

Everything is perfect. This is a wonderful end to another day of simple, honest work with no war, explosions, or illiterates. Luminark is dimly aware that things are only this easy because he's dealing with two real ponies and a legion of ghost slaves but - well, he's never had friends like this before, so even this feels like a lot. Telling stories! Theorizing about magic! Getting along! Why has he never tried friendship before??

After al --- do you hear that?

Rarity glances away from the fire, ears perked towards a high-pitched whine. It sounds like machinery, an engine possibly.

Luminark. Do you recall what the Peregrine sounds like?

Things are not perfect.

Luminark knows that sound much too well. He has been forced to endure hours in the cargo bay of that flying piece of garbage. But more than that, he recognizes the smell. It might be impossible to smell an airplane at this distance, perhaps it's psychosomatic, but Luminark remembers the smell of onions, sweat and trash heaps the herald the coming of Whasisname on a visceral level and that sound brings it clearly into his head.

"Please excuse me," said Luminark, folding his napkin into the Elferins Curve before resting his spoon beneath it - etiquette code for I Have To Pretend That The Party Was Cancelled So That I Might Turn Away An Inconvenient Housecaller. "I need to take this."

Balmas

2020-05-06, 06:26 PM

Looking at it closely, you recognise the magic. It's a bypass shield. A kind of spell that forms an impenetrable barrier, save for one class of object, creature or concept that is allowed through.

When coupled with the picture next to it. Your best way past might be to just … walk through?

Well, that's simple.

I mean, yes, of course it is! Of course it's simple! What mere forcefield could dare to stand in her way? She, the Administrator? That's right, you punk little shield. Yield before your rightful mistress, and let Starlight figure out whether there's a switch for the shield or not.

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-08, 04:11 PM

Bullet fast, but even you can't outrace the sunset.

Not that that's a bad thing. You pull up at a plateau just beneath the ruins of the famous Rainbow Falls resorts. A nice secluded space where you, and your temporary marefriend, can do whatever you want.

Y'know. Like sit there, watch the sunset, and perhaps talk a bit.

Right?

What do you do?

What does he do? He doesn’t waste time.

He kicks the engine off. Tosses his goggles away. Tosses that beautiful windswept mane, and turns to the gorgeous pegasus sitting behind him. No hesitation. No brakes. Inches apart now. They’re alone, their hearts are racing, and they’re riding that post-mission high. He smirks, just a bit softer now. He whispers.

”Hey.”

And yet.

He doesn’t close the gap.

Does she move on him? Does she want this? C’mon, spill already. She’s gotta, just - she’s gotta. His eyes are swallowing her up, and maybe there’s a flicker in the fire and a fraying on the edges. Maybe she hears his breath catch. Who knows what that’s about. The Scrapscallion’s never afraid. So is he cold? Sick? Starving? Dunno. Whatever. Forget it. Just-

Does she want him, too?

He’s gotta know.

BlasTech

2020-05-10, 07:42 AM

"Please excuse me," said Luminark, folding his napkin into the Elferins Curve before resting his spoon beneath it - etiquette code for I Have To Pretend That The Party Was Cancelled So That I Might Turn Away An Inconvenient Housecaller. "I need to take this."

Olive just looks confused, but as you head off you hear Rarity's voice behind you - instructing him to gather the Shades and get them into the Town Hall. It looks like your friends will get the town battened down just in case.

The pathway down the mountain is one that you're able to easily traverse, despite not having spent much time in the woods before. Clearly signposted (albeit with 200-year-old tourist markers) you make your way to the "Sunset Overlook". A set of steps lead down to a plateau just below the main village.

You're getting closer to the sound of that noise before it cuts off. Ahead somewhere to the right - a few more minutes walk.

What do you do? How will you intend to approach this situation?

Well, that's simple.

I mean, yes, of course it is! Of course it's simple! What mere forcefield could dare to stand in her way? She, the Administrator? That's right, you punk little shield. Yield before your rightful mistress, and let Starlight figure out whether there's a switch for the shield or not.

Walking through, the motion sensor just on the other side of the doorway triggers as your hooves cross the threshold.

There are two sudden explosions above you.

You don't have time to react before a very sad rain of two hundred year old party confetti drifts down onto your mane. It seems as if the party poppers haven't weathered the test of time too well.

Up ahead a trapdoor in the ceiling opens and a cake, preserved so well it's little more than a solid brick of plastic and frosting, drops out and crushes a small metal stand table that seemed to have been placed there for that purpose.

Somewhere, a speaker plays a short ditty from a trumpet before shorting out with a spark.

And in the moment of stunned awkwardness that follows there is only silence - save for what sounds like the consistent squeaking of a dozen mice just around the corner where the primary control panel would be.

What do you do?

What does he do? He doesn’t waste time.

He kicks the engine off. Tosses his goggles away. Tosses that beautiful windswept mane, and turns to the gorgeous pegasus sitting behind him. No hesitation. No brakes. Inches apart now. They’re alone, their hearts are racing, and they’re riding that post-mission high. He smirks, just a bit softer now. He whispers.

”Hey.”

And yet.

He doesn’t close the gap.

Does she move on him? Does she want this? C’mon, spill already. She’s gotta, just - she’s gotta. His eyes are swallowing her up, and maybe there’s a flicker in the fire and a fraying on the edges. Maybe she hears his breath catch. Who knows what that’s about. The Scrapscallion’s never afraid. So is he cold? Sick? Starving? Dunno. Whatever. Forget it. Just-

Does she want him, too?

He’s gotta know.

She stares at you for a moment. Smiling oddly.

The two of you blink.

She steps forward, but instead of a kiss, she brings her head up to the side of yours pushing her mane into just where your ear meets your jaw. Firm of purpose, unafraid, but also … not going across that line just yet. Dancing just this side of it.

"Hey yourself" she says. Flicking her head so your eyes are both level again. Her golden irises seem to burn with intensity.

She leans in, you can feel the heat of her body right next to yours. The warmth of her breath on your coat as she whispers her next words right into your ear.

"Who are you thinking of?"

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-10, 11:16 AM

She stares at you for a moment. Smiling oddly.

The two of you blink.

She steps forward, but instead of a kiss, she brings her head up to the side of yours pushing her mane into just where your ear meets your jaw. Firm of purpose, unafraid, but also … not going across that line just yet. Dancing just this side of it.

Aughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.

This was torture. This was agony. Even as he pressed into the nuzzle, every nerve in his body was on fire with frustrated, pent-up energy. She even chose an angle where he couldn’t press kisses into her mane without wrenching his stupid neck. Like, just, gah! Come on! Yes, he got it, la de da circle around each other all hot and cold like until somepony broke, good fun! Great fun! They’d been at this all day! Could we get to the making out already?!

"Hey yourself" she says. Flicking her head so your eyes are both level again. Her golden irises seem to burn with intensity.

She leans in, you can feel the heat of her body right next to yours. The warmth of her breath on your coat as she whispers her next words right into your ear.

"Who are you thinking of?"

What do you do?

...wait, what?

He felt a strand of the Pegasus’ mane brush against his cheek, and became aware of her, so very close and getting closer, burning a hole through him with her golden eyes. Waiting for an answer.

And the fire raging through his veins went ice-cold.

“I…” Instinctively, he let out a cool, quiet laugh. Not forced at all. “Who do you think...I’m thinking of?”

BlasTech

2020-05-11, 12:20 AM

...wait, what?

He felt a strand of the Pegasus’ mane brush against his cheek, and became aware of her, so very close and getting closer, burning a hole through him with her golden eyes. Waiting for an answer.

And the fire raging through his veins went ice-cold.

“I…” Instinctively, he let out a cool, quiet laugh. Not forced at all. “Who do you think...I’m thinking of?”

There's movement to your side, you feel is the brush of a wing under your chin. It tilts you face up, to the right.

And then you feel her lips on yours.

This kiss is hot, heavy, and stands a good chance of being exactly what you dreamed it would be. It's electrifying. Freezing. And boiling all at once. Was there tongue? Who knows. A gentlepony never tells. But it goes on exactly as long as you hoped.

When she breaks off, she smiles. Looking you in the eyes.

"That was for helping to rescue those ponies." she whispers.

WHAM

"And that..." she says, stepping back from where she just gut-punched you with a hoof.

"that was for not answering my question."

What do you do?

[Take 0-harm, but roll the harm move]

Balmas

2020-05-11, 12:58 AM

And in the moment of stunned awkwardness that follows there is only silence - save for what sounds like the consistent squeaking of a dozen mice just around the corner where the primary control panel would be.

What do you do?

Carefully, Starlight excises a slice of cake. No doubt, the mice in here are hungry after two hundred years, and it only pays to make friends. And with luck, the damned nuisances will choke and not interfere with her fixing the panel. That is what's in this room, right? Fix the panel, fix the reactor, grab the ghoul, teach them to fix the computer, get the tech, get out of this craphole, kill that backstabby wretch, retake her life, flawless victory.

And while she's here, she supposes she's going to look at disabling that force field, because while it would give her no end of satisfaction to just fix it and leave, somehow she feels that if they can fix it themselves, they'll be less likely to watch her! All the tech can be hers.

Elanorin

2020-05-11, 09:17 AM

"Um no." replies House, as an overlay of the crystal heart appears on a nearby monitor. Red circles flash to life over two sections of it.

"According to what my sensors are telling me, in addition to the sliver you have with you, there's another missing from the rear of the Heart, and a chunk missing from the base of the point."

What do you do?

"Since. When." Milliway positively snarls as she launches herself at the control panel and begins to tap in commands to access the databank. She begins by going through old diagnostic logs to see if she can find any clue as to when the extra pieces went missing.

"I swear, House, I will find whoever took those extra pieces and I will get them back if I so have to cut them out of their sorry meat!"

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-11, 11:11 AM

There's movement to your side, you feel is the brush of a wing under your chin. It tilts you face up, to the right.

And then you feel her lips on yours.

This kiss is hot, heavy, and stands a good chance of being exactly what you dreamed it would be. It's electrifying. Freezing. And boiling all at once. Was there tongue? Who knows. A gentlepony never tells. But it goes on exactly as long as you hoped.

It absolutely does not, because it ends.

By all the stars in the sky, how long has it been since he’s been with somepony on his level? An adventurer like him, a pegasus, a mare, and her game was on par with his? How many ponies like this even existed?! He stared back at her with eyes glazed over, his brain long gone, and all that was left to him was a burning need for more, more, more…

When she breaks off, she smiles. Looking you in the eyes.

"That was for helping to rescue those ponies." she whispers.

WHAM

"And that..." she says, stepping back from where she just gut-punched you with a hoof.

"that was for not answering my question."

What do you do?

[Take 0-harm, but roll the harm move]

Which is how he found himself doubled up on the ground, clutching his stomach and coughing up a lung.

[Rolling Harm move: 1 + 1 + 0 = 2. The dice continue to speak.]

“Okay, pause! Hold up! Time out! Safeword!” He held up a hoof, coughing a few too many times to be normal. “What the hay!? I answered your question! That was banter, of course it was you, who else did you think?!”

Perhaps the only thing that stood a chance of saving him from further punches (or worse) was that, turns out? It takes an incredible liar to hide your emotions after getting the sense kissed and then punched out of you. The Scrapscallion didn’t give off the panicked confusion of the master con artist who’d finally been found out. No, he spoke with the honest confusion of a pony who was totally, deeply lost. Perhaps deeper than either of them realized.

And maybe, just maybe, finding an idiot where she expected a liar would give her pause.

BlasTech

2020-05-11, 08:14 PM

“Okay, pause! Hold up! Time out! Safeword!” He held up a hoof, coughing a few too many times to be normal. “What the hay!? I answered your question! That was banter, of course it was you, who else did you think?!”

Perhaps the only thing that stood a chance of saving him from further punches (or worse) was that, turns out? It takes an incredible liar to hide your emotions after getting the sense kissed and then punched out of you. The Scrapscallion didn’t give off the panicked confusion of the master con artist who’d finally been found out. No, he spoke with the honest confusion of a pony who was totally, deeply lost. Perhaps deeper than either of them realized.

And maybe, just maybe, finding an idiot where she expected a liar would give her pause.

It does give her pause and her expression softens somewhat, but she doesn't drop her hoof.

"So … not quite the flyboy your rep suggests after all" she continues, laughing quietly to herself.

"You were a million miles away. Tell me, who was it?"

She glances at her hoof, turning it over in consideration.

"And before you give me another "I don't know". Just know that I've seen that expression on you before, I've had it on myself once or twice. I want you to think carefully before answering, cause it's just you and me up here and I can keep this up all day."

She delivers that last with a bit of a smirk. She's joking right?

Carefully, Starlight excises a slice of cake. No doubt, the mice in here are hungry after two hundred years, and it only pays to make friends. And with luck, the damned nuisances will choke and not interfere with her fixing the panel. That is what's in this room, right? Fix the panel, fix the reactor, grab the ghoul, teach them to fix the computer, get the tech, get out of this craphole, kill that backstabby wretch, retake her life, flawless victory.

And while she's here, she supposes she's going to look at disabling that force field, because while it would give her no end of satisfaction to just fix it and leave, somehow she feels that if they can fix it themselves, they'll be less likely to watch her! All the tech can be hers.

You go around the corner and find the main console covered in …

Have you ever seen those silly paperweights? The ones shaped like a long-necked duck or something, with liquid inside so that it tips forward periodically as if taking a drink of something?

The console is covered in them. All squeaking away, and tapping at buttons in a random staccato. If you had to guess, you'd think they've all been doing this since something gave the room a good shake. Like the installation falling off the mountain perhaps.

In the middle of this bizzare symphony - sits the squat grey box of a tape recorder. A faded sign is attached to it by virtue of a spring and reads "Hey! Listen!"

What do you do?

"Since. When." Milliway positively snarls as she launches herself at the control panel and begins to tap in commands to access the databank. She begins by going through old diagnostic logs to see if she can find any clue as to when the extra pieces went missing.

"I swear, House, I will find whoever took those extra pieces and I will get them back if I so have to cut them out of their sorry meat!"

Sounds like you're trying to read a sitch? Go ahead and roll!

Balmas

2020-05-11, 11:01 PM

You go around the corner and find the main console covered in …

Have you ever seen those silly paperweights? The ones shaped like a long-necked duck or something, with liquid inside so that it tips forward periodically as if taking a drink of something?

The console is covered in them. All squeaking away, and tapping at buttons in a random staccato. If you had to guess, you'd think they've all been doing this since something gave the room a good shake. Like the installation falling off the mountain perhaps.

In the middle of this bizzare symphony - sits the squat grey box of a tape recorder. A faded sign is attached to it by virtue of a spring and reads "Hey! Listen!"

What do you do?

Starlight eyes the recorder with disdain. And who was the recorder to tell her what she should do? She, the Administrator, sole survivor of two hundred years of mad scientists' plotting and scheming? Listen to what, some two hundred year old warning for a facility that was build three hundred feet and about thirty degrees away?

Still, she gingerly hoofs the play button and stands ready to smash it at the first sign of high-pitched squeaking. It's been two hundred years and there's a slight chance somepony else has been in this room since the war.

{EDIT: And while we're at it, let's just spend that last hold to ask: How are the birds programming this reactor? As in, if left alone, what does their pattern suggest will happen?}

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-13, 03:34 PM

It does give her pause and her expression softens somewhat, but she doesn't drop her hoof.

"So … not quite the flyboy your rep suggests after all" she continues, laughing quietly to herself.

“Hey! I...fly a lot!”

Yep. Gottem.

"You were a million miles away. Tell me, who was it?"

She glances at her hoof, turning it over in consideration.

"And before you give me another "I don't know". Just know that I've seen that expression on you before, I've had it on myself once or twice. I want you to think carefully before answering, cause it's just you and me up here and I can keep this up all day."

She delivers that last with a bit of a smirk. She's joking right?

Ugh, he didn’t know whether joking was better or not, because he sure as hay wasn’t laughing. This sucked. Thinking sucked. His aching gut sucked. Nothing about this didn’t suck. Why was she doing all this when they could be making out right now? (It wasn’t too late to salvage that, right? Because he could really go for some more of whoops okay she’s giving him the punching eyes again keep that on the down-low.)

The Scrapscallion sulkily crossed his forelegs, putting on his best thinking face to keep her off his back for like a second. He was a million miles away? How was he supposed to know how far that was? Stupid. So like, maybe he could just...go down the list of ponies he knows who were really far away, and call it good enough? Sure, good enough. Wasn’t a very long list anyway. The Princess? No, definitely wasn’t her. Luminark? Dead. Bunker nerds, scavengers, various and sundry fine fillies throughout the Wasteland? No, she probably wanted a name here. That just left…

The Scrapscallion coughed again. Because of the gut punching. “There’s...somepony it might be, but, like, it doesn’t make any sense. I was looking at you. And thinking about kissing you. A lot.” Sure would’ve cool if he could’ve had his fill there! “Then before that, it was the mission. Then, then kissing that dumb Enclave jerk.” Who wasn’t even cool enough to kiss him right either! “Then the mission. Again.” Spent the whole day on that, and look where it’s got him; grouchy and gut-punched. Dumb mission. “Yeah, I...was gonna see her again later, part of the whole ‘wreck the Enclave, stop the invasion’ thing, but I haven’t been thinking about it or her at all, all day, so there!” He didn’t stick his tongue out at her -and it definitely wasn’t for fear of what she might do to it if he did - but man oh man, he was thinking it so loud at her.

BlasTech

2020-05-13, 08:18 PM

Starlight eyes the recorder with disdain. And who was the recorder to tell her what she should do? She, the Administrator, sole survivor of two hundred years of mad scientists' plotting and scheming? Listen to what, some two hundred year old warning for a facility that was build three hundred feet and about thirty degrees away?

Still, she gingerly hoofs the play button and stands ready to smash it at the first sign of high-pitched squeaking. It's been two hundred years and there's a slight chance somepony else has been in this room since the war.

{EDIT: And while we're at it, let's just spend that last hold to ask: How are the birds programming this reactor? As in, if left alone, what does their pattern suggest will happen?}

Let's answer the question first.

After observing for a few minutes, you realise what will happen. Absolutely nothing.

Incredibly, for all the chaotic symphony before you, it looks like the setup is self-correcting. Birds that tap away, raising reactor temperature on one side, and lowering coolant, are offset by birds on the other side of the console doing just the opposite. Somehow, even with the manual overrides by the ponies outside this room, enough birds are hitting settings-reset buttons that its all undone.

That said, if even one of the birds was to be removed, the delicate balance would be thrown out, and the reactor stability would eventually spiral into decay without outside interference.

But back to the tape-recorder.

As you hit the play button, it does squeak a little but it's only normal windup noises. There's a crackle, a pop, and then a pony's voice comes in - distorted at first by the age of the tape, but eventually normalising at into a perky, high-pitched and high-velocity set of words.

"Starliiiiiight! I'm so glad you made it! It's been four-ever. That's like ever ever ever ever! You know? I hope the cake is still edible, make sure to save a slice for later!"

"Anyway, if you're listening to this message, I'm probably dead. Bummer I know, but no point in being a party pooper about all of that. How have you been lately?"

The recording pauses at this point, as if unaware it's a recording.

What do you do?

The Scrapscallion sulkily crossed his forelegs, putting on his best thinking face to keep her off his back for like a second. He was a million miles away? How was he supposed to know how far that was? Stupid. So like, maybe he could just...go down the list of ponies he knows who were really far away, and call it good enough? Sure, good enough. Wasn’t a very long list anyway. The Princess? No, definitely wasn’t her. Luminark? Dead. Bunker nerds, scavengers, various and sundry fine fillies throughout the Wasteland? No, she probably wanted a name here. That just left…

The Scrapscallion coughed again. Because of the gut punching. “There’s...somepony it might be, but, like, it doesn’t make any sense. I was looking at you. And thinking about kissing you. A lot.” Sure would’ve cool if he could’ve had his fill there! “Then before that, it was the mission. Then, then kissing that dumb Enclave jerk.” Who wasn’t even cool enough to kiss him right either! “Then the mission. Again.” Spent the whole day on that, and look where it’s got him; grouchy and gut-punched. Dumb mission. “Yeah, I...was gonna see her again later, part of the whole ‘wreck the Enclave, stop the invasion’ thing, but I haven’t been thinking about it or her at all, all day, so there!” He didn’t stick his tongue out at her -and it definitely wasn’t for fear of what she might do to it if he did - but man oh man, he was thinking it so loud at her.

"Ahuh, sure" replies the Pegasus, chuckling to herself.

"You know, there has been something that's been bugging me all through this. For one with a rep for loving adventure and excitement, you've been a bit off to what I expected. Almost like you're not enjoying everything we've been through at all."

She circles you, watching your expression on the ground.

"That thing with the Pegasus at the base. The edge you've had while we were getting those prisoners out. The way you dealt with the guards on the way through. That wasn't having fun. That was anger, frustration … maybe desperation? As if you were trying very hard to not think about something … something you don't want to think about. That hurts to think about. But you can't stop thinking about."

She stops circling, lowering her eyes so she can look right into yours.

"Tell. Me. Her. Name."

Balmas

2020-05-13, 09:42 PM

Let's answer the question first.

After observing for a few minutes, you realise what will happen. Absolutely nothing.

Incredibly, for all the chaotic symphony before you, it looks like the setup is self-correcting. Birds that tap away, raising reactor temperature on one side, and lowering coolant, are offset by birds on the other side of the console doing just the opposite. Somehow, even with the manual overrides by the ponies outside this room, enough birds are hitting settings-reset buttons that its all undone.

That said, if even one of the birds was to be removed, the delicate balance would be thrown out, and the reactor stability would eventually spiral into decay without outside interference.

But back to the tape-recorder.

As you hit the play button, it does squeak a little but it's only normal windup noises. There's a crackle, a pop, and then a pony's voice comes in - distorted at first by the age of the tape, but eventually normalising at into a perky, high-pitched and high-velocity set of words.

"Starliiiiiight! I'm so glad you made it! It's been four-ever. That's like ever ever ever ever! You know? I hope the cake is still edible, make sure to save a slice for later!"

"Anyway, if you're listening to this message, I'm probably dead. Bummer I know, but no point in being a party pooper about all of that. How have you been lately?"

The recording pauses at this point, as if unaware it's a recording.

What do you do?

"Peachy," Starlight snarls, and yanks the casette out of the player. Yanks the tape out of the cassette, snaps the casette in half, tears the tape to ribbons, stomps on the casette with her angry horse hooves 'til it's nothing but plastic fragments, piles it all up and tzzotts it with lightning until it's a smoldering fused mass on the floor, just for good measure.

Now. That control console. If it's just the birds causing the interference, and it's only been since the fall, it's obvious that sheer happenstance had all these birds fall across the control board in exactly the right way to keep the reactor neutral, because it sure as hell wasn't some prescient pink pony exerting some deterministic calculations, because that'd be daft. In theory, then, removing the interference should be as simple as dropping the cores out of the reactor, removing the birds, setting the reactor to a good neutral, and then lifting the cores back in. Simple as pi-- cake. Simple as cake.

BlasTech

2020-05-13, 09:48 PM

"Peachy," Starlight snarls, and yanks the casette out of the player. Yanks the tape out of the cassette, snaps the casette in half, tears the tape to ribbons, stomps on the casette with her angry horse hooves 'til it's nothing but plastic fragments, piles it all up and tzzotts it with lightning until it's a smoldering fused mass on the floor, just for good measure.

Now. That control console. If it's just the birds causing the interference, and it's only been since the fall, it's obvious that sheer happenstance had all these birds fall across the control board in exactly the right way to keep the reactor neutral, because it sure as hell wasn't some prescient pink pony exerting some deterministic calculations, because that'd be daft. In theory, then, removing the interference should be as simple as dropping the cores out of the reactor, removing the birds, setting the reactor to a good neutral, and then lifting the cores back in. Simple as pi-- cake. Simple as cake.

There's a bzzrt noise as you pull the cassette out. It looks like somepony had attached a draw cord to it.

You watch that draw cord pull back, like a snake slowly retreating into its burrow.

"I love peaches!"

The voice comes again, this time from a second tape recorder that had been attached to the underside of the table the first was on. On closer inspection, you also spot a button beneath the first tape recorder - which would have been tripped had you just smashed it with a hoof outright.

"And melons, and apricots. Not a fan of cantaloupes though. But they are good on a salad."

"So, yeah. How are you going Staaarliight?" says the voice, lilting annoyingly on your name.

Balmas

2020-05-13, 10:30 PM

There's a bzzrt noise as you pull the cassette out. It looks like somepony had attached a draw cord to it.

You watch that draw cord pull back, like a snake slowly retreating into its burrow.

"I love peaches!"

The voice comes again, this time from a second tape recorder that had been attached to the underside of the table the first was on. On closer inspection, you also spot a button beneath the first tape recorder - which would have been tripped had you just smashed it with a hoof outright.

"And melons, and apricots. Not a fan of cantaloupes though. But they are good on a salad."

"So, yeah. How are you going Staaarliight?" says the voice, lilting annoyingly on your name.

Starlight sits, panting, in a pile of a couple dozen tape recorders in various states of destruction, quite unsure how she got to this point. She'd utterly demolished the first, taken the batteries out of the second, which had zapped her badly enough that her tail had snapped up against a bottle and knocked it onto a third recorder's play button. She was pretty confident in the chain of events up until recorder number seven had exploded in her face, and from there she'd just started smashing on sight.

And the damn voice was still squeaking in her ear. Something about pop rocks.

"I hope you died screaming," she interrupts sullenly. "No, wait. I hope you're alive, so that I can have a chance at you myself. You couldn't waste any of your prescience on stopping the bombs or the war, but thank goodness you spent time on this. I can't imagine just fixing a reactor without the minister of morale herself chiming in. At least the Purple One let me just get on with my tests in peace."

Elanorin

2020-05-14, 03:16 AM

Sounds like you're trying to read a sitch? Go ahead and roll!
Sure!
[Rolling to Read A Sitch: 2+1+0=3 Right. Hm. Milliway is clearly losing her touch. Asking 1 anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

BlasTech

2020-05-14, 06:06 AM

Starlight sits, panting, in a pile of a couple dozen tape recorders in various states of destruction, quite unsure how she got to this point. She'd utterly demolished the first, taken the batteries out of the second, which had zapped her badly enough that her tail had snapped up against a bottle and knocked it onto a third recorder's play button. She was pretty confident in the chain of events up until recorder number seven had exploded in her face, and from there she'd just started smashing on sight.

And the damn voice was still squeaking in her ear. Something about pop rocks.

"I hope you died screaming," she interrupts sullenly. "No, wait. I hope you're alive, so that I can have a chance at you myself. You couldn't waste any of your prescience on stopping the bombs or the war, but thank goodness you spent time on this. I can't imagine just fixing a reactor without the minister of morale herself chiming in. At least the Purple One let me just get on with my tests in peace."

"Well, as I'm not dead yet, I don't know how I died, do I?" giggles the voice, coming from (on inspection) a tiny microphone embedded in the wall. "And no sense in wondering about the what ifs and why nots. As I told Twilight, you just have to have a little faith sometimes!"

"Anyway, since I only have thirty two more recorders in this room before it switches over to the installation PA system, I was hoping we could just have a chat for a bit? I'm not sure why, but you seem really stressed."

"So tell me, what's up, doc?"

There's a pause while you can hear a faint muttering on the line.

"She got that doctorate, right? I'm pretty sure she did in the end."

Sure!
[Rolling to Read A Sitch: 2+1+0=3 Right. Hm. Milliway is clearly losing her touch. Asking 1 anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

Access logs. Who came in to your workshop in the times you weren't around.

If there was a time window, it would probably have been when you died. Scanning the logs, there are a half dozen access notes around that time.

All of them just show --ADMINISTRATOR--.

So you'll need to be on for somepony with administrator-level access. Now, how many of those has the bunker got? It could have been the administrator herself (remember, it was Glim Glam at the time) or one of the other senior scientists.

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-14, 03:35 PM

"Ahuh, sure" replies the Pegasus, chuckling to herself.

"You know, there has been something that's been bugging me all through this. For one with a rep for loving adventure and excitement, you've been a bit off to what I expected. Almost like you're not enjoying everything we've been through at all."

She circles you, watching your expression on the ground.

"That thing with the Pegasus at the base. The edge you've had while we were getting those prisoners out. The way you dealt with the guards on the way through. That wasn't having fun. That was anger, frustration … maybe desperation? As if you were trying very hard to not think about something … something you don't want to think about. That hurts to think about. But you can't stop thinking about."

Somehow, someway, every single word was the worst possible thing to say, and everything was worse for her saying it. And the Scrapscallion had just about had enough.

Who the hay did she think she was?! Did she get her sick kicks from luring handsome stallions off on their own, giving them just a taste of her, then, then, making fun of them, tearing them down, making them feel naked? And not in a good way! In a bad way! The worst way! Like, “said something lame over the Bunker’s PA and everybody heard” levels of bad.

As she circled him? As she eyed her prey? He burned a sullen glare right through her.

Well. Except for the times when he was busy staring a miserable hole in the ground.

He...he did a bit of that too.

She stops circling, lowering her eyes so she can look right into yours.

"Tell. Me. Her. Name."

The Scrapscallion snapped.

“Milliway!” He shouted, right in her stupid face. “Her name’s Milliway, alright?!”

BlasTech

2020-05-14, 07:25 PM

The Scrapscallion snapped.

“Milliway!” He shouted, right in her stupid face. “Her name’s Milliway, alright?!”

"And what is it about this filly. Why are you so scared?"

She grins, annoyingly, at your discomfort.

"The big, bad, road boy of the wastes. The Scrapscallion." she continues, prodding you with a hoof.

"What makes you so afraid?"

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-14, 07:59 PM

"And what is it about this filly. Why are you so scared?"

She grins, annoyingly, at your discomfort.

"The big, bad, road boy of the wastes. The Scrapscallion." she continues, prodding you with a hoof.

"What makes you so afraid?"

“Because this is my last chance!”

The Scrapscallion roared, flying to his hooves, straining against the Pegasus’ guard to sock her right in her stupid face. “I don’t know where she is! She doesn’t know I’m coming! She’s alone in a Bunker full of thugs and jerks and riots and she doesn’t have anypony else! She’s got nothing! I’ve got nothing! How am I supposed to...h-how am I gonna…?!”

His wild punches devolved into exhasted flailing, just as his ragged breathing descended into choked sobs.

“This is my last chance, and I’m not ready...”

BlasTech

2020-05-14, 08:45 PM

“Because this is my last chance!”

The Scrapscallion roared, flying to his hooves, straining against the Pegasus’ guard to sock her right in her stupid face. “I don’t know where she is! She doesn’t know I’m coming! She’s alone in a Bunker full of thugs and jerks and riots and she doesn’t have anypony else! She’s got nothing! I’ve got nothing! How am I supposed to...h-how am I gonna…?!”

His wild punches devolved into exhasted flailing, just as his ragged breathing descended into choked sobs.

“This is my last chance, and I’m not ready...”

The Pegasus is able to fend off your flailing, and catches you as you pitch forward at her.

She holds you - a odd combination of a pin and a hug - before softly asking one last question.

"You love her. Don't you?"

Thanqol

2020-05-14, 10:10 PM

It was at this moment Luminark blundered into the clearing, levitating a stick under his robe in a way that he hoped made it look like he had a gun in his pocket but really just made him look like a dork. "You! How did you find me!?" he said in a reasonable tone of voice. "Who sent you? Was it the princess? Did she track me somehow?"

What was his name again? Something about onions?

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-18, 08:51 PM

The Pegasus is able to fend off your flailing, and catches you as you pitch forward at her.

She holds you - a odd combination of a pin and a hug - before softly asking one last question.

"You love her. Don't you?"

Momentum is a heck of a thing.

The Scrapscallion had been riding it all his life. Letting it carry him through scrape after scrape. Gently steering it away from all the gross, lame things that brought him down. Only, somehow, he wasn’t steering anymore. He was a helpless passenger on a speeding locomotive, hurtling towards its destination. A destination that he’d been heading towards for...gosh, how many years?

And. Well. Momentum. Old habits. Hard to break, right?

Trembling, he opened his mouth, and said…

It was at this moment Luminark blundered into the clearing, levitating a stick under his robe in a way that he hoped made it look like he had a gun in his pocket but really just made him look like a dork. "You! How did you find me!?" he said in a reasonable tone of voice. "Who sent you? Was it the princess? Did she track me somehow?"

What was his name again? Something about onions?

“Oh my gosh. Ghosts are real.”

And he did what any self-respecting scavenger would do when confronted with unshakeable proof in the hereafter; take his shocky stick in his tail, and prepare to huck it at the apparition from beyond.

[Rolling Go Aggro on Luminark with the Shocky Stick: 3 + 4 - 1 = a thematically appropriate 6]

Unfortunately, the Scrapscallion’s self-respect wasn’t as self or respecting as usual, and - in all the commotion - he miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight have forgotten which end was the shocky end.

BlasTech

2020-05-19, 07:48 AM

“Oh my gosh. Ghosts are real.”

And he did what any self-respecting scavenger would do when confronted with unshakeable proof in the hereafter; take his shocky stick in his tail, and prepare to huck it at the apparition from beyond.

[Rolling Go Aggro on Luminark with the Shocky Stick: 3 + 4 - 1 = a thematically appropriate 6]

Unfortunately, the Scrapscallion’s self-respect wasn’t as self or respecting as usual, and - in all the commotion - he miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight have forgotten which end was the shocky end.

-BZzzzzzzZZZAAAPPP-

[Take S-Harm and have a short nap]

The Pegasus takes a quick step back, shocked (figuratively) at the Scrapscallion's shocking (literally) fumble.

Luminark - The Pegasus in front of you takes a look at the lightly smoking heap that is Scraps before glancing in your direction.

"I take it you know this head-case?" she asks, gesturing downwards. "You a friend of his? Or got a score to settle?"

What do you do?

Balmas

2020-05-19, 11:42 AM

"--chat for a bit? I'm not sure why, but you seem really stressed."

Starlight sits, stock still, staring at the recorder, for perhaps a solid minute. And she laughs.

You know, it's funny. Laughter is usually supposed to sound happy.

With exaggerated care, Starlight floats the tape recorder over to herself and hits the rewind key.

click-wrrrr--"not sure why, but you seem really stressed."

Starlight hits the rewind button again.

Tzzzw-wirf--prr--"really stressed!"

"Stop talking," she growls. And this time, when she hits the rewind button, it's hard enough, almost, to shatter the key. And she waits, patiently stewing, until the recorder clicks at the start of the tape. Then, with exaggerated care, she hits the record button and waits for the little red light to flash.

"You don't know a damn thing about what I've been through, do you? Didn't have the guts to go the distance, to do what needs to be done. Didn't have the knowhow, the intelligence! Wouldn't--couldn't!--make the tough calls! You weren't worth the respect of your ponies! Didn't earn their loyalty! Their love! You had nothing but fear!"

"You sat at the top of the greatest intelligence network in the world. And what did you do? Played pranks on ponies two hundred years in the future. Killer plan, there, miss Minister! After all, why would you bother stopping the war when that would keep you from harassing me two hundred years later?! You useless, incompetent--"

She shakes her head as if it will clear the anger, and stalks over to the control panel.

"You have all this control," she says to the tape recorder. "Enough planning to keep hold of something for over two hundred years. Two hundred years of stasis! Of control! Of keeping order, when by rights things should have gone to pot in the first ten years! And then one little thing gets around it! Doesn't care enough to keep in their lane!

"Well, here's what's going to happen, miss Minister. You didn't care about your friends. You weren't willing to stop the war. You delayed, you played, you had your fun, and ponies died. They died in fire, they died screaming, they died cursing the name of the ponies who failed to save them.

"And I'm not going to make the same mistake. I'm going to fix this, I'm going to fix myself, I'm going home, and I'm restoring the peace, no matter what I have to do to fix it! And you, miss Minister, have a choice.

"You can either help me, or you can let ponies die. Again.

"No, don't start talking yet. See, this is quite a clever setup you have here. Self sustaining, self balancing, self restoring, And oops, what would happen if, hmm, yes, that bird's a bit slower than the others. I bet… Yes, if I had this bird here, and those other birds here, why, it'd cause a terrible chain reaction! It'd be slow, of course, weeks at the least--slow enough for me to take my payment and get away from here before they can notice--but it'd be inevitable. Fourteen birds adding coolant, fifteen removing it. Slow, steady, inevitable death for all those people here.

"And all it would take is one bird out of position."

She pauses, as if to let her words sink in.

"And the beautiful thing is, you don't really have a choice here. You recorded all these tapes, went to all this trouble, and even knowing what I'm about to say, you still set all this up. You could have set up a death trap of turrets and robots and lasers, but no, had to have the rube goldberg machine, because, again, that was your priority instead of being useful and preventing all this from happening.

"So here's how this is going to work. In a few seconds, I'm going to pull this zipline attached to this tape recorder, and tape recorder number nineteen is going to spill out. And if the first words out of your mouth aren't 'Administrator Starlight,' followed by useful information, everypony here will die. And hey, maybe I'm wrong about the sentrybots, but you know what? That's a risk I'm willing to take, because at least dying means I don't have to listen to your stupid, useless face."

And with that, she yanks the string.

[9 on Go Aggro.]

Thanqol

2020-05-19, 07:28 PM

-BZzzzzzzZZZAAAPPP-

[Take S-Harm and have a short nap]

The Pegasus takes a quick step back, shocked (figuratively) at the Scrapscallion's shocking (literally) fumble.

Luminark - The Pegasus in front of you takes a look at the lightly smoking heap that is Scraps before glancing in your direction.

"I take it you know this head-case?" she asks, gesturing downwards. "You a friend of his? Or got a score to settle?"

What do you do?

It is illustrative of Luminark's opinion on the onion pony that he doesn't so much as blink at the literally and figuratively shocking sight. He just watches him fall, then turns his attention smoothly to the pegasus.

"Luminark, mayor of Rainbow Falls. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said smoothly, offering a hoof to shake. "I see you have met my brain damaged former companion in the midst of another brain damaging event. Rest assured, I have nothing against either of you -" he perhaps unwisely removes the stick pretending to be a gun from his robe, "as the 'ghosts!' reaction seems to have confirmed that your being here is a coincidence. Would you like to join me for a tea party?"

BlasTech

2020-05-19, 09:17 PM

"So here's how this is going to work. In a few seconds, I'm going to pull this zipline attached to this tape recorder, and tape recorder number nineteen is going to spill out. And if the first words out of your mouth aren't 'Administrator Starlight,' followed by useful information, everypony here will die. And hey, maybe I'm wrong about the sentrybots, but you know what? That's a risk I'm willing to take, because at least dying means I don't have to listen to your stupid, useless face."

And with that, she yanks the string.

[9 on Go Aggro.]

"Administrator Starlight." comes the voice, a little more devoid of good cheer.

"You are being a mean old meaniepants, you know? Saying all that stuff about me … saying I failed, that I'm useless." continues the voice, catching. "Friends don't say that stuff to friends … and I thought, I thought maybe we were."

… I guess it doesn't matter …"

"I-I don't know what you want me to say, Starlight. That you are right? That I'm a failure?" the voice cracks. "If you're listening to this message then you know the answer to that. What's the point of me admitting it again? Here I am, sitting at my desk, recording something that might get played back to you in two hundred years. Putting stuff together that might be useful to you. And you're right. Maybe I should be focusing more on the current insurgency. On locking down more frowns and giving our ponies a bit more fighting spirit. But something tells me that this is important - that it might be more important in the end.

"The truth is I don't have control. I don't know what's going to happen. Ponies look at me and think I'm good at planning or that I can predict the future. But. I. Can't. Sometimes I get glimpses, sometimes I get hunches, Pinkie Sense, that's what Twilight called it. And sometimes I'm just good at reading a pony and how they'll react. But the truth is that it's all guesswork and hope."

There's a pause, and you hear her take a drink of something.

"Pinkie sense helps. Mint-alls help with that too. But I still can't be sure. Sometimes something seems clearer, like now, where I have a better view as to what might happen. It's crazy, I know. That I can see something from 200 years from now clearer than I can see next Wednesday … but that's just how it works. I can't make it work differently."

"Now you're probably asking; Why? … I've asked myself that so many times. I'm scared Tw- Starlight. Scared of what it might mean that I can get such a strong picture about this, instead of on something about how we can win this war."

She sighs, and when she speaks again, it's in the tiniest voice you've heard her use.

"I'm scared because I don't know if that means we're destined to fail."

The line is quiet for a moment, save for her crying softly.

"I'm sorry. I don't mean to distract. I know you want answers, and you want them now. But I needed to explain how it works so you know that I'm telling you the truth when I say I don't know everything. I only know that I have to keep trying. I have to. But I also have to get this sorted out for you. Just in case."

Pinkie's voice gives a sigh.

"I'm not in control here Starlight, you are. You always have been." resumes the voice, a bit stronger. "What happens next is completely up to you. No plans, no tricks, no hidden catches. You can walk out that door again, and you won't need anything from me."

"But if you want things to be better. Then please. Please stay. And tell me what it is you want. Tell me how I can help."

It is illustrative of Luminark's opinion on the onion pony that he doesn't so much as blink at the literally and figuratively shocking sight. He just watches him fall, then turns his attention smoothly to the pegasus.

"Luminark, mayor of Rainbow Falls. It's a pleasure to meet you," he said smoothly, offering a hoof to shake. "I see you have met my brain damaged former companion in the midst of another brain damaging event. Rest assured, I have nothing against either of you -" he perhaps unwisely removes the stick pretending to be a gun from his robe, "as the 'ghosts!' reaction seems to have confirmed that your being here is a coincidence. Would you like to join me for a tea party?"

"Cloudburster." she replies, shaking the hoof. "And tea sounds just fine, although I usually go for something stronger."

What a pity Scraps is unconscious and unable to hear her use her name.

"Let me just rouse this bag of psychiatric issues and we'll be right with you." she finishes, before giving Scraps a bit of a shake.

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-20, 04:56 PM

BlasTech

2020-05-20, 05:57 PM

The bag of psychiatric issues gave off a dazed groan, but - shockingly - didn’t move. Turns out getting kissed, getting punched, getting your world turned upside-down, then getting zapped really took a number on a pony.

A quick once-over showed he was still breathing, at least. Although...the Pegasus had been around the block a few times, right? She’d know the sorts of ailments you pick up in this line of work. And now that Scraps was sitting still, and she could get a good look at him, would she notice the tell-tale symptoms of radsickness? Would she realize that she - and the Rangers - hadn’t let him out of sight for a week or more, and that he looked no different then when she first saw him?

That...that’s probably fine, right?

"Huh, guess he must really need that nap." mutters the Pegasus, frowning.

She gives it a few more seconds before hoiking Scraps up into a carry position on her back.

"Umffh - right. Well, he's not coming back just yet." she continues, apparently not having too much trouble carrying the drifter pony's deadweight.

"Lead the way, mayor."

Thanqol

2020-05-21, 03:55 AM

BlasTech

2020-05-21, 07:11 AM

"So I want to assure you firstly that this isn't one of those creepy wasteland towns where everypony is a zombie or cultist or anything," said Luminark. "I think we've all seen enough of those already. Worst part about going outside, I swear to Celestia... but that said, I should inform you that the vast majority of this town's population are, uh, zombie cultists. I'm working on it. Ah, Officer Pinkie, I have guests - aha, yes, and there are quite a few editions of the Ministers moving about. They're sweethearts, don't stress yourself about them. Minister Rarity, this is Cloudburster, Cloudburster, Rarity - Cloudburster, there's a bath through that door you can dump your friend in, there's a good pony."

Okay maybe this is one of those towns. Hmm.

The pegasus' eyes get progressively wider the further into town you go.

Eventually she stops, after passing the fifteenth ministry mare facsimile and being subjected to the thirty fifth repetition of "Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!"

"Okay, time out. I feel like there is something missing from the visitor's guide for this place."

She glances around, running a hoof down her face. When she opens her eyes again, it's with the expression of a pony who is desperately trying to remember if she drank something suspicious recently.

"You guys all seem friendly, so I'm just going to ask this question straight up." she continues, voice straining with desperation to make sense of it all. "Is this one of those situations where I need to call in the Rangers to cleanse this place with high explosives?"

"Cause, after the whole thing that happened with Stable 54 a while back … I just feel the need to check. And I gotta say, calling yourselves a bunch of zombie cultists isn't really doing yourself any favours in that regard."

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-05-21, 06:25 PM

BlasTech

2020-05-21, 08:06 PM

"Er. No. Please don't do that," said Luminark. "Look, it's weird, sure, but it's a work in progress. No malevolent agendas at work here. Nopony's going to stop you coming and going as you please, we're not looking to expand - I know the kind of place that you're talking about and I promise it's not one of those. Really, this is just... me being fed up with everything that's out there and wanting to try to carve out a little space without any danger."

"So, what are these things then? Another clone experiment gone wrong?" asks the Pegasus, calming a bit.

"I assure you darling, while the others here may be only echoes, I am very much the real article." adds Rarity.

"Uh huh, sure."

"No, I can prove it. You can ask me anything."

"... maybe later." she continues, turning her attention back to Luminark.

"So, can you tell me what these all are? I mean, besides a bunch of pink knockoffs and one dedicated method actor?"

"Hey!"

"Just pretend, for argument's sake, that I'm a pony fresh in from the wastes. No clue what's going on here, but to whom this obviously all feels weird. How can you explain all this" she continues, with a vague hoof gesture to encapsulate the ponies and the township. "to them in a way that doesn't make them feel threatened?"

What do you say? Did you want to read a pony?

Balmas

2020-05-21, 09:13 PM

"Pinkie's voice gives a sigh.

"I'm not in control here Starlight, you are. You always have been." resumes the voice, a bit stronger. "What happens next is completely up to you. No plans, no tricks, no hidden catches. You can walk out that door again, and you won't need anything from me."

"But if you want things to be better. Then please. Please stay. And tell me what it is you want. Tell me how I can help."

Starlight gives a shaky huff, before nodding. "You're Me-damn right.

"... right."

She'd had a plan, she was fairly sure.

<Princess…?>

A voice echoed through Starlight’s mind.

<What...>

Do you hear him falter, Princess? Can you see the questions piling up inside him, searching furiously for answers that aren’t to be found?

<What the hay are you doing?>

Touching Starlight's mind right now is like opening the door on a blast furnace full of anger, the kind that sears off fur and eyebrows just by proximity.

But as she puts up one hoof in the universal "just a moment" gesture, the furnace is aimed at you now.

<Can it wait, sweetie? I'm a bit busy saving the bunker right now.>

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-23, 01:30 PM

Touching Starlight's mind right now is like opening the door on a blast furnace full of anger, the kind that sears off fur and eyebrows just by proximity.

But as she puts up one hoof in the universal "just a moment" gesture, the furnace is aimed at you now.

<Can it wait, sweetie? I'm a bit busy saving the bunker right now.>

The Scrapscallion had jumped head-first into an overloading reactor with hardly a care in the world. He'd waltzed into an enemy base, made out with their commanding officer, and made it out with barely a scratch on him. In a few hours, he was going to go toe-to-toe with one of the great military powers of the Wasteland, alone, without any hope of backup, reinforcements, or support.

Here, he flinched.

<I'm havin' a little trouble seeing that.> He said, delicate tact only barely suppressing the horror. <Because it looks like the tape recorder lady asked how your day was, and in response you were going to...nuke. An entire rando town.>

Do your ears decieve you, Princess, or is he...contradicting you? Questioning you?

Thanqol

2020-05-23, 11:52 PM

"So, what are these things then? Another clone experiment gone wrong?" asks the Pegasus, calming a bit.

"I assure you darling, while the others here may be only echoes, I am very much the real article." adds Rarity.

"Uh huh, sure."

"No, I can prove it. You can ask me anything."

"... maybe later." she continues, turning her attention back to Luminark.

"So, can you tell me what these all are? I mean, besides a bunch of pink knockoffs and one dedicated method actor?"

"Hey!"

"Just pretend, for argument's sake, that I'm a pony fresh in from the wastes. No clue what's going on here, but to whom this obviously all feels weird. How can you explain all this" she continues, with a vague hoof gesture to encapsulate the ponies and the township. "to them in a way that doesn't make them feel threatened?"

What do you say? Did you want to read a pony?

"That's difficult to answer," said Luminark, "because there are places in the Wasteland quite a lot like this that are actually dangerous, and are not above using deception to lure in victims. Caution is entirely justified and founded on practical experience - after all, the last time I took a road trip I wound up with a slave collar around my neck. Feeling threatened is a rational response. Inasmuch as I had a plan, it was to hope that whoever found me here was as tired of being afraid all the time as I am."

[Read a pony: 9. How could I get her to trust me/this place?]

Balmas

2020-05-24, 12:00 AM

Do your ears decieve you, Princess, or is he...contradicting you? Questioning you?

She's still at the console, and hasn't moved any birds yet, but her grip tightens on the edges. Lies! Heresy! The Scrapscallion is the only one who's still at her side! Her only loyal friend agent! She obviously must have misheard.

<Oh please, haven't you ever heard of bluffing? She was holding back information vital to saving my home--your!--our home!>

That's right! It was entirely justified! She's doing what needs to be done!

<Besides, even if I had followed through, they're all ghouls, Scrapscallion! Immune to radiation! Their generator might have gone through a meltdown, but it wouldn't have killed them! Heck, they'd have been stronger! More radiation surrounding their town means they're constantly healing, and they don't have to worry about outsiders coming and ruining their home! I'd be doing them a favor!>

The anger is still there, of course. Still blazing out like a beacon. And you know she'd never hurt you, of course, because you're loyal and good and true and she trusts you, Scrapscallion.

Which is why that one squirrely emotion bites at you with its wrongness. She's the Princess, right? She knows what she's doing, right?

She wouldn't lie? it's very important that you believe that, Scrapscallion.

BlasTech

2020-05-24, 12:33 AM

"That's difficult to answer," said Luminark, "because there are places in the Wasteland quite a lot like this that are actually dangerous, and are not above using deception to lure in victims. Caution is entirely justified and founded on practical experience - after all, the last time I took a road trip I wound up with a slave collar around my neck. Feeling threatened is a rational response. Inasmuch as I had a plan, it was to hope that whoever found me here was as tired of being afraid all the time as I am."

[Read a pony: 9. How could I get her to trust me/this place?]

The Pegasus seems to mull over what you've said.

The thing is, you're not doing a bad job already. Open conversation, transparency, honesty. She'll grow to trust you as long as you (either genuinely or not) appear to display these traits and don't become a threat to any of her friends.

"Yeah, I can see that happening." she continues "But you have to know that just hiding up here is a gamble. The waste isn't desolate enough for you to never be found - and each time somepony stumbles up here, it's down to who they are as to how well or badly things would go."

"Have you given any thought as to how you might work this out in the longer run?" she asks.

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-25, 03:46 PM

She's still at the console, and hasn't moved any birds yet, but her grip tightens on the edges. Lies! Heresy! The Scrapscallion is the only one who's still at her side! Her only loyal friend agent! She obviously must have misheard.

<Oh please, haven't you ever heard of bluffing? She was holding back information vital to saving my home--your!--our home!>

That's right! It was entirely justified! She's doing what needs to be done!

<Besides, even if I had followed through, they're all ghouls, Scrapscallion! Immune to radiation! Their generator might have gone through a meltdown, but it wouldn't have killed them! Heck, they'd have been stronger! More radiation surrounding their town means they're constantly healing, and they don't have to worry about outsiders coming and ruining their home! I'd be doing them a favor!>

The anger is still there, of course. Still blazing out like a beacon. And you know she'd never hurt you, of course, because you're loyal and good and true and she trusts you, Scrapscallion.

Yup. Of course, of course. That’s absolutely right. We’re all on the same page here, okay? Same team? Same family?

<Alright, Princess, alright. There’s no need to shout, I can hear you just fine. We’re just...having a nice talk here, alright? The Princess and Scrapscallion. Talking it out. Like we always do. All the time. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha.>

Is that how laughter sounds here? Who can say, really? It’s definitely real. The realest laughter you ever heard.

<So! Why don’t we...sit. Maybe over on that side of the room, and keep up the talking? Talking’s good, right? Talking’s so good.>

He learned that from the Princess herself! Friends talk to each other about things. It’s the rule.

<We could start with a little recap, huh? A little…”go over absolutely everything that’s happening here, in detail, again” for your good buddy the Scrapscallion. Okay? Good? Yes?>

That’s a great topic. The best topic, even. By the stars, there’s not a better topic he could possibly think of right now.

<And you wouldn’t have to go over everything-everything! ‘Cause. Uh…>

So just. Ignore the fear pouring through the link.

<I...kinda...>

Ignore his fear, and talk it out.

<...heard everything.>

Because you’ve got more than fear.

Don’t you?

[Rolling to Manipulate Starlight: 5 + 1 + 1 = 7 Mark XP if you do.]

Thanqol

2020-05-25, 07:05 PM

The Pegasus seems to mull over what you've said.

The thing is, you're not doing a bad job already. Open conversation, transparency, honesty. She'll grow to trust you as long as you (either genuinely or not) appear to display these traits and don't become a threat to any of her friends.

"Yeah, I can see that happening." she continues "But you have to know that just hiding up here is a gamble. The waste isn't desolate enough for you to never be found - and each time somepony stumbles up here, it's down to who they are as to how well or badly things would go."

"Have you given any thought as to how you might work this out in the longer run?" she asks.

"Uh. No. Not really," said Luminark. "I mean... I've thought of things that might happen that would be good, but there's only so much under my control. I don't know who else is out there or what they want or what they'll do at a peace summit - I, ah... maybe things will be better if I just stay hidden for a couple of years."

BlasTech

2020-05-25, 07:44 PM

"Uh. No. Not really," said Luminark. "I mean... I've thought of things that might happen that would be good, but there's only so much under my control. I don't know who else is out there or what they want or what they'll do at a peace summit - I, ah... maybe things will be better if I just stay hidden for a couple of years."

"Well, word of advice time then." replies the Pegasus. "The 'hide out here' plan would've worked maybe a year or two back, but I don't think it's gonna last you now. The Waste is changing. The cloud cover was broken only a short while ago, and already there have been so many new factions appearing, new countries maybe even. It's early days, but I can feel it. Change is coming, and places like this won't stay secret for long."

"Now, I guess what I'm getting to is that it'll pay to be more proactive in finding your place in this world. You say you don't know who is out there or what they want … but hey, guess what, you have two ponies here who know the wastes like the back of our hooves. So if you want advice, or just the facts as I know 'em, then I'd be happy to share."

"Although, to really be able to help - I'd need to know a bit more about what these things really are and some more detail on what you're setup is here."

She finishes, waiting to see your reaction.

What do you do?

Balmas

2020-05-26, 01:12 AM

Because you’ve got more than fear.

Don’t you?

[Rolling to Manipulate Starlight: 5 + 1 + 1 = 7 Mark XP if you do.]

"You should know this already," she snaps, before biting her lip in frustration. Right. Mental voice. She eyes the tape recorder and makes an "i'm watching you" hoof gesture, before stalking off to the corner away from the control panel.

"You should know this, Scraps. I'm saving my home. Because after allowing his creation, nurturing him, raising him almost as one of my own--although never as one of my own, Ooky seemed oddly insistent on that--and letting him into my confidence, what does Luminark do? He stabs me in the back! Abuses my trust! Steals my home! Exposes us to the outside world!

"And look at how that's working out! What'd that distress message say again? Invaders? Milliway, locked up? General chaos, panic? And apparently now more outsiders are coming?"

"So obviously, Luminark has to die."

She sits, pleased with her incontrovertible, ironclad logic.

"He won't expect a spritebot to be equipped with a missile launcher. Or maybe a flamethrower? I'm not entirely decided on that yet. We'll see what nastiness the Pink One"--she stares pointedly at the recorder, which hasn't moved--"left for me to play with. That's why I'm bothering with this town in the first place! Fix the reactor, gain their trust, get access to their toys, profit!

"And of course you know aaaall about Halfwit, or whatever his name was. In a few days, he'll figure out I'm not coming back, and come to Our Bunker! In the ensuing chaos, Luminark dies, and back we come to save the day! I deliver the bunker from its terrible situation, and we're heroes! I get the love I'm due, and then we shut the bunker forever!"

She beams at the corner. She can already hear the cheers for Chief President Princess In Charge of Everything, Savior of the Bunker, Princess Administrator Starlight Glimmer.

"I'll admit the plan breaks down a bit at that point." After all, she still doesn't know whether to execute everybody to make sure to eliminate all the traitors, or just the ones she knows for a fact had stood by and done nothing to help her. The idiot with the tentacle fetish will be second to go, though, right after Luminark. And Ooky Spooky needs to stay alive long enough to fix her, at the very least, at which point her association with Luminark marks her as easy prey for the repurposing vats.

Thanqol

2020-05-26, 10:47 PM

"Well, word of advice time then." replies the Pegasus. "The 'hide out here' plan would've worked maybe a year or two back, but I don't think it's gonna last you now. The Waste is changing. The cloud cover was broken only a short while ago, and already there have been so many new factions appearing, new countries maybe even. It's early days, but I can feel it. Change is coming, and places like this won't stay secret for long."

"Now, I guess what I'm getting to is that it'll pay to be more proactive in finding your place in this world. You say you don't know who is out there or what they want … but hey, guess what, you have two ponies here who know the wastes like the back of our hooves. So if you want advice, or just the facts as I know 'em, then I'd be happy to share."

"Although, to really be able to help - I'd need to know a bit more about what these things really are and some more detail on what you're setup is here."

She finishes, waiting to see your reaction.

What do you do?

Luminark looks at Rarity for a moment. "Well... the plan was kind of hinged on meeting someone like you, I just didn't think it would be so soon," he mused. "Alright. The ancient texts speak of the value of honesty, so I will be direct! I am the product of a necromantic experiment to re-animate the ghost of the slain Changeling hivemind, and these entities are the ghostly echoes of slain Changelings trapped in imperfect emulation of pre-Fall ponies! I am looking to conduct additional experiments with Necromancy in order to redistribute aspects of my spirit amongst them so that they can grow into fully independent entities with their own lives and souls, and I am being assisted in this process by the greatest Necromancer of the past age! The end result will be a community of peace and harmony, separated from the horrible context of bloodshed that has dominated the world for so many years!"

There was no way to make that sound not bad, so he was kind of counting on conviction and gumption substituting.

Elanorin

2020-05-27, 04:21 AM

Access logs. Who came in to your workshop in the times you weren't around.

If there was a time window, it would probably have been when you died. Scanning the logs, there are a half dozen access notes around that time.

All of them just show --ADMINISTRATOR--.

So you'll need to be on for somepony with administrator-level access. Now, how many of those has the bunker got? It could have been the administrator herself (remember, it was Glim Glam at the time) or one of the other senior scientists.

While all this seemed to implicate the Administrator herself Milliway was not inclined to aim her suspicions at Starlight, at least not immediately. She had never seemed to take much interest in the heart that she could remember and for all her faults, Milliway felt that if Administrator Glimmer was ever interested in having the Crystal Heart she would have just ordered her to hoof it over. It was of course not exactly ironclad proof of Starlight's innocence, in fact it wasn't proof at all. A gut instinct. Not even that. More of a hunch.

So who?

Milliway's hoof tapped thoughtfully on the controls as she opened the logs directories almost on autopilot. A small voice in the back of her mind mentioned how kinda nice this was. Going through logs. Immersing herself in clean and simple data. No shades of grey here. No maybes and weird feelings that made you feel like your insides were rearranging. Just stuff that was or wasn't. Black and white. 1's and 0's.

Y'know, aside from the fact that she was investigating the theft of invaluable shards hacked out of her most priceless artifact.

Pulling up the log Milliway found herself looking for a specific name, and she couldn't even explain why. A hunch again, perhaps, but as her eyes searched the screen in front of her for evidence of who would have had access in the relevant time she half expected to see Ooky's name.

TheAmishPirate

2020-05-27, 08:29 PM

Silence.

Long, perilous, silence.

“Princess. Luminark’s dead.”

An unnatural stillness stole over the Scrapscallion’s mind.

“Luminark’s dead, and you were going to nuke a town, because somepony was getting in the way of your plan to...to kill a dead pony?”

BlasTech

2020-05-30, 08:35 AM

Luminark looks at Rarity for a moment. "Well... the plan was kind of hinged on meeting someone like you, I just didn't think it would be so soon," he mused. "Alright. The ancient texts speak of the value of honesty, so I will be direct! I am the product of a necromantic experiment to re-animate the ghost of the slain Changeling hivemind, and these entities are the ghostly echoes of slain Changelings trapped in imperfect emulation of pre-Fall ponies! I am looking to conduct additional experiments with Necromancy in order to redistribute aspects of my spirit amongst them so that they can grow into fully independent entities with their own lives and souls, and I am being assisted in this process by the greatest Necromancer of the past age! The end result will be a community of peace and harmony, separated from the horrible context of bloodshed that has dominated the world for so many years!"

There was no way to make that sound not bad, so he was kind of counting on conviction and gumption substituting.

"... … huh."

Were this a meal setting, this would have been the moment where the Pegasus would pause with a spoon halfway to their mouth. Soup dripping off the end, unheeded.

Or, were she flying along, it would be the point where she'd autopilot into a cloudbank.

As it was, given she was simply standing there. You're just treated to a good five seconds of her staring blankly into the middle distance before the organic equivalent of a hard reboot has finished.

"Well … I … huh." she continues, voice small, evidently still stuck on the loading screen. "You know, I've been down here for six years, and have a list of Wasteland Weird probably about a mile long, and that is still one of the craziest things I've ever heard."

She pauses, considering.

"Definitely top three … maybe even second. Maybe. Not gonna top stable thirty two though. That was some really messed up stuff."

Shaking her head.

"Okay, so you said 'your' spirit … as in, only your own and not using other ponies? That's … that's good." she says, regaining some more of her normal volume.

"So … the advice then … as cliché as it may be, you're going to need some friends. And I'll need to ask Scrapscallion something before I can give you a solid steer as to who, but since you've been straight with me I think I should return the favour. Ask me anything about the waste and I'll try to answer as best I can."

What do you do?

While all this seemed to implicate the Administrator herself Milliway was not inclined to aim her suspicions at Starlight, at least not immediately. She had never seemed to take much interest in the heart that she could remember and for all her faults, Milliway felt that if Administrator Glimmer was ever interested in having the Crystal Heart she would have just ordered her to hoof it over. It was of course not exactly ironclad proof of Starlight's innocence, in fact it wasn't proof at all. A gut instinct. Not even that. More of a hunch.

So who?

Milliway's hoof tapped thoughtfully on the controls as she opened the logs directories almost on autopilot. A small voice in the back of her mind mentioned how kinda nice this was. Going through logs. Immersing herself in clean and simple data. No shades of grey here. No maybes and weird feelings that made you feel like your insides were rearranging. Just stuff that was or wasn't. Black and white. 1's and 0's.

Y'know, aside from the fact that she was investigating the theft of invaluable shards hacked out of her most priceless artifact.

Pulling up the log Milliway found herself looking for a specific name, and she couldn't even explain why. A hunch again, perhaps, but as her eyes searched the screen in front of her for evidence of who would have had access in the relevant time she half expected to see Ooky's name.

Well, yes her name is there too. I mean, there's entries around the time you were dead, usually in close proximity to other ponies accessing your workspace.

It's not exactly suspicious though - after all, bringing you back to life … did you ever think who might have been involved in that besides the Administrator? The department head of Necromancy should have been the first one to mind.

Is there a reason you wouldn't think that?

Elanorin

2020-06-02, 01:30 AM

Well, yes her name is there too. I mean, there's entries around the time you were dead, usually in close proximity to other ponies accessing your workspace.

It's not exactly suspicious though - after all, bringing you back to life … did you ever think who might have been involved in that besides the Administrator? The department head of Necromancy should have been the first one to mind.

Is there a reason you wouldn't think that?

So, here's the thing, Milliway has no idea how to raise a pony from the dead. None. Milliway is also a very private pony. Hence all the password protections, firewalls and encryptions. So perhaps none of this is suspicious... to other ponies, but it pushed Milliways buttons in a major way to see other ponies putting their grubby digital hoofprints all over her crap. Doesn't matter that she walked away from this and ditched her whole workshop and everything in it with little more than a shrug once she was raised. Doesn't matter that she may even have given at least one or two of these ponies permission at some point during her drug-induced return to health.

Each and every log access entry that wasn't her own was a thorn in her side, and received exactly the death-glare it deserved.

"House," she said with a face that looked like she was sucking a lemon, "how much do you have access to outside the library? I don't mean Outside outside, I mean the rest of the bunker."

Thanqol

2020-06-02, 06:43 PM

"... … huh."

Were this a meal setting, this would have been the moment where the Pegasus would pause with a spoon halfway to their mouth. Soup dripping off the end, unheeded.

Or, were she flying along, it would be the point where she'd autopilot into a cloudbank.

As it was, given she was simply standing there. You're just treated to a good five seconds of her staring blankly into the middle distance before the organic equivalent of a hard reboot has finished.

"Well … I … huh." she continues, voice small, evidently still stuck on the loading screen. "You know, I've been down here for six years, and have a list of Wasteland Weird probably about a mile long, and that is still one of the craziest things I've ever heard."

She pauses, considering.

"Definitely top three … maybe even second. Maybe. Not gonna top stable thirty two though. That was some really messed up stuff."

Shaking her head.

"Okay, so you said 'your' spirit … as in, only your own and not using other ponies? That's … that's good." she says, regaining some more of her normal volume.

"So … the advice then … as cliché as it may be, you're going to need some friends. And I'll need to ask Scrapscallion something before I can give you a solid steer as to who, but since you've been straight with me I think I should return the favour. Ask me anything about the waste and I'll try to answer as best I can."

What do you do?

Luminark was only now starting to come to the realization that what he was doing was a little bit... unusual. It had hardly registered to him because bizarre necromantic experiments were so commonplace to him that he'd had one as a pet. It was a very, very complicated thought to start to realize that maybe that... wasn't... for everyone?

"Sure," he said politely to try and cover his sudden strange bout of introspection. "I'd love to know which organizations I can trust and which to steer clear from."

BlasTech

2020-06-02, 07:28 PM

So, here's the thing, Milliway has no idea how to raise a pony from the dead. None. Milliway is also a very private pony. Hence all the password protections, firewalls and encryptions. So perhaps none of this is suspicious... to other ponies, but it pushed Milliways buttons in a major way to see other ponies putting their grubby digital hoofprints all over her crap. Doesn't matter that she walked away from this and ditched her whole workshop and everything in it with little more than a shrug once she was raised. Doesn't matter that she may even have given at least one or two of these ponies permission at some point during her drug-induced return to health.

Each and every log access entry that wasn't her own was a thorn in her side, and received exactly the death-glare it deserved.

"House," she said with a face that looked like she was sucking a lemon, "how much do you have access to outside the library? I don't mean Outside outside, I mean the rest of the bunker."

"Oh, it depends on how sneaky you want me to be" replies House, attempting a moment of levity. "And where exactly you want me to go."

"The local systems will flag any access I attempt, but the library does have hard-links in place to the rest of the bunker that I can use."

What do you do?

Luminark was only now starting to come to the realization that what he was doing was a little bit... unusual. It had hardly registered to him because bizarre necromantic experiments were so commonplace to him that he'd had one as a pet. It was a very, very complicated thought to start to realize that maybe that... wasn't... for everyone?

"Sure," he said politely to try and cover his sudden strange bout of introspection. "I'd love to know which organizations I can trust and which to steer clear from."

"Easy enough to answer." replies the Pegasus. "I'll take them from the top."

She takes a breath and then begins counting off on her hooves.

"First off, there's a bunch of smaller settlements and factions out there - From New Appleloosa to Glyphmark, that are getting a bit more prominent lately. Stay away from Old Appleloosa though, that's a slaver town. Generally though, none of them are really "organisations" for your needs. For example, there's at least two dozen raiding bands and the like that survived the battle between Red Eye and the Enclave a few months back but none of them have really coalesced. If they ever do though, we'd be in trouble."

"As far as actual organisations go, one of the big ones you've got is the New Canterlot Republic. They're a rising star in the waste right now. Managed to seize the factories of Fillydelphia after Red Eye's slavers got wiped out, and between that, their base at the old Ministry of Morale prison and a few other settlements signing up, they're really gaining ground quickly. Their leader, Gawdwina Grimfeathers, and her daughter Reggie are former mercenaries, so they have a bit of a hard edge, but they're straight dealers. If they take a contract for you, they won't break it even if it gets less advantageous over time."

"Tenpony Tower is a former MAS base out near Manehattan. They're a bit snooty, have their own rules, but are open to trade. Heard they have a fair bit of pre-war tech lying around too which makes them more powerful than your typical settlement. They've generally been rather insular, but so long as you abide by their laws (which aren't too weird), and aren't a ghoul, you'll be fine."

"The Steel Rangers are leftovers of the MWT and Equestrian Military. They're powerful, well armed, but I wouldn't trust them myself for other reasons. They tend to horde pre-war tech and are not too friendly to outsiders."

"On the flipside, the Applejack Rangers are an offshoot of theirs who are more about trying to help the Wasteland in any way possible. They're who I work for right now, and I think they can be trusted. They tend to get in a bit of trouble with their former comrades whenever they cross paths due to how the split in their ranks happened. Civil War might be putting it mildly."

"The 'Followers of the Apocalypse' are another new faction. They've been started by one of the "Wasteland Heroes" recently as a sort of good-will aid group. Aiming to emulate the former Ministry of Peace mare by helping those in need."

She stops in reaction to a odd noise from Rarity - kind of a suppressed whine. But neither mare says anything about it, and she soon resumes.

"Generally, they sound nice, but it's early days for them to prove it."

"The "Wasteland Heroes" aren't a faction themselves, more a collection of individuals who came together for one reason or other. They've done a lot lately, most notably breaking open the cloud cover by seizing control of the MAW weather control stations across the country."

"That brings us to probably the most powerful organisation right now. The Grand Pegasus Enclave. But they are right at the top of the "steer clear" list. Pre-war military, and lots of it, but not a fan of us Wastelanders. They've taken some beatings recently, tried and failed basically to wipe out the wasteland to keep the cloud cover in place. You can thank the Wasteland Heroes for the fact we aren't all reduced to scattered settlements and ruins. The Enclave are planning another attack on this pony's home so that's we're headed after this."

She says the last, indicating Scraps.

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-06-03, 09:29 AM

"Oh, it depends on how sneaky you want me to be" replies House, attempting a moment of levity. "And where exactly you want me to go."

"The local systems will flag any access I attempt, but the library does have hard-links in place to the rest of the bunker that I can use."

What do you do?

That alleviated her sour face somewhat.

"Would you be able to determine which, if any, of the department heads are still alive?"

BlasTech

2020-06-03, 06:25 PM

That alleviated her sour face somewhat.

"Would you be able to determine which, if any, of the department heads are still alive?"

"Almost all of them are." replies House, after a moment's silence. "Morgue records only have Tree and Power Overwhelming as being killed in the last six months."

"Big Bang is listed as having been in medical, which I'd guess means he was injured in the surface bombing. No records for the others having been hurt recently, or at least not having visited the Bunker's medical facilities."

Balmas

2020-06-05, 10:46 PM

"Honestly, I think you're making a big deal out of something that wouldn't even be a problem for these ponies," she chatters. "I mean, nuke is an exaggeration. No explosion, no destruction, just an increase in the number of ra--"

Silence.

Long, perilous, silence.

“Princess. Luminark’s dead.”

What?

An unnatural stillness stole over the Scrapscallion’s mind.

“Luminark’s dead, and you were going to nuke a town, because somepony was getting in the way of your plan to...to kill a dead pony?”

She's already sitting down, but you get the definite impression that had she been standing this would have scythed the legs out from under her more effectively than a baseball bat to the knees.

"No," she stammers. "That. That's not right. Scraps, you, you're. You're wrong. You must be mistaken."

This. This doesn't make sense. She remembers. She knows that Luminark is alive, because he has to be, because what kind of crapsack world would it be if he just died out of nowhere without her being involved? It wouldn't be fair, wouldn't be right! She refuses to live in that world!

"Or. Or! Or you're lying! Scrapscallion, tell me why you're lying. You have to be lying. You're protecting him! That's it!"

There's anger there, certainly. It has her on her hooves, pacing back and forth, stomping until the tiles start to chip. Have you ever seen her angry? Like, not just frustrated, or tired, and yelling at troops, but honestly just unrestrained fury?

But it's not just anger now. There's unpleasant tendrils of confusion creeping in at the edge, and that is not okay. She! is the Administrator! She! Is Starlight Glimmer! She has been holding this bunker together through cunning, force of will, and instantly knowing what to do in every second, because if you show weakness for even a second, you're stuck behind a glass wall getting injected with squid DNA! You saw that, right, Scrapscallion!?

She know's what she's doing! She has a plan! She understands ponies! She survived the apocalypse, turned herself into a damn princess, and she! And she...

She.

That's the worst thing, isn't it, Scraps? Because she knows you're wrong. Or lying. You have to be. Because if you're not, that means she's... Well, she might, just, maybe, possibly, theoretically and I must emphasize definitely hypothetically have been wrong.

And if she's wrong... what else has she been wrong about? She's Starlight friggin' Glimmer. She is right. She is correct. Her actions have plans and thoughts that a plebiean like yourself could never comprehend. She's awarded herself titles and doctorates, and nopony with less than twenty-four letters after their name could possibly hope to match her understanding of the situation!

But you're also the Scrapscallion. Her one friend, her only remaining confidante, and most importantly? Possibly the only pony she actually trusts.

So you're lying. You have to be. Or a traitor. But you're not. You're honest, and brave, and true.

And as Starlight lies down and puts her head in her hooves, more than the anger and confusion, the largest emotion swimming across her mind like the shadow of a shark across a coral reef is fear. You've cut her deeply, Scrapscallion. Because if she's not confident, not scheming, not always correct and right, then... well, who is she really? Is she even herself if she's not?

Thanqol

2020-06-07, 12:58 AM

"That brings us to probably the most powerful organisation right now. The Grand Pegasus Enclave. But they are right at the top of the "steer clear" list. Pre-war military, and lots of it, but not a fan of us Wastelanders. They've taken some beatings recently, tried and failed basically to wipe out the wasteland to keep the cloud cover in place. You can thank the Wasteland Heroes for the fact we aren't all reduced to scattered settlements and ruins. The Enclave are planning another attack on this pony's home so that's we're headed after this."

She says the last, indicating Scraps.

What do you do?

"That's all..." Luminark's mind was jolted out of the important process of political analysis by the implications of that last sentence. "They're planning to attack the Bunker? Another attack? They attacked it before? Why?"

Immediately he kicked himself. Why did he still care about that place? It was a toxic pit of vipers and the Enclave was probably going to do everypony a favour by attacking it. Damn it, he had a good thing going here and he needed to not ruin it by doing anything stupid.

BlasTech

2020-06-07, 03:29 AM

"That's all..." Luminark's mind was jolted out of the important process of political analysis by the implications of that last sentence. "They're planning to attack the Bunker? Another attack? They attacked it before? Why?"

Immediately he kicked himself. Why did he still care about that place? It was a toxic pit of vipers and the Enclave was probably going to do everypony a favour by attacking it. Damn it, he had a good thing going here and he needed to not ruin it by doing anything stupid.

"You know the place?" shrugs the Pegasus.

"Well, we raided one of the Enclave's groundside bases. The Rangers and I had been trying to find out what their next move was, and this guy" she said, hefting his limp form "got signed up to help."

"Turns out the Enclave are after the stuff that's stored there as they think it'll let them restore the cloud cover. The comms logs we took had a long list of things they were trying to acquire, most with names that sounded like magical spells, projects or artefacts."

"Either way, they've been apparently trying for this place for a while now. Mentioned that they were seeking to infiltrate it, although how exactly they think they'll pull that off I'd love to know - not exactly that many pegasi around down here to blend in with."

"Anyway, the Rangers were going to head there soon. Between them and us, we'll see what kind of a defence we can muster with the locals."

Elanorin

2020-06-07, 09:11 AM

"Almost all of them are." replies House, after a moment's silence. "Morgue records only have Tree and Power Overwhelming as being killed in the last six months."

"Big Bang is listed as having been in medical, which I'd guess means he was injured in the surface bombing. No records for the others having been hurt recently, or at least not having visited the Bunker's medical facilities."

Milliway sat down. Without rifling through each of their offices she was struggling to see how she could find out who had taken the shards and, more importantly, where they were.

"Any surveillance footage in the offices of the surviving department heads?" she asked. Going outside felt like a suicide mission and as fuming as she was over the heart having been looted she was in no hurry to die.

TheAmishPirate

2020-06-07, 04:31 PM

Balmas

2020-06-08, 10:09 PM

<What?! Why the hay would I protect him? He’s the worst! Like, literally, one of the worst ponies I know!>

Click, click, click, the gears start to turn.

<...that was it. That was your entire plan. Right there. I thought...I thought you had to have something I wasn’t getting, but no. No. That was it. That was it.>

It was a good plan, she almost says. But even to think it sounds false. But it was her plan, right? She doesn't make bad plans! She's Starlight Glimmer!

Down, down, down, the dominos start to fall.

<But. I, you, you’re a Princess. You’re supposed to have a plan. Princesses have loads of plans. And magic. And miracles. And, and...and they’re supposed to be better. You’re telling me you…>

The sound Starlight makes is not quite a snort and not quite a laugh, but instead sits in that unfortunate bitter vocable valley of, "yeah, I used to think that too, until I tried it and found out I'm still me."

Honestly, it's a quite expressive noise.

Crack, crack, crack, the trust starts to break.

<...what else? Was there no big, smart reason for the Friendship Patrol? Were the Re-Education Jail Torture Things what I thought they were?

She brightens up. <No, that actually was a quite clever solution to a limited population and a need to keep dissidents in line without killi-->

How close were you really to catching that jerk who kept bombing us?>

Oh. Oh right. That had been. That'd been an entire thing, hadn't it? With a funeral, and everything.

Very small casket, she remembers. Saves space when a pony is in several bits.

Gah, why does she remember that, of all things? She's trying and failing, and for the life of her, she can't even think of what the dead pony was named. Botanical, or Trees, or something like that. How could she forget that?

How could she just forget about the bomber? That hasn't gone away, but... Somehow, until Scrapscallion mentioned it, it was like the bomber had just ceased to exist. Just, poof. Problem solved, crisis vanished, what's for breakfast?

Why doesn't she remember? Isn't that important?

What was her name?

Princess Starlight Glimmer, have you ever seen the Scrapscallion angry?

<What else?!>

He's breathtaking and terrifying, all at the same time, and Starlight's mouth opens without any consultation of thought or brain.

"I don't know how to fix us."

...

Well, s***. Bluff, Starlight. You planned this. He's angry, wants the truth, and you're fairly sure you've damage controlled your way out of worse.

Probably. Not sure when, but probably.

But it's fine! Look at you, being open and friendly and honest. You got this! You're great! You're Princess Starlight Glimmer, and you...

You still can't remember her name. And you're worried, and tired, and overwhelmed, and you're pretty sure that grieving someone you planned to murder is not normal, and wouldn't it be nice to be less of a princess? You know, for five minutes.

Thanqol

2020-06-09, 01:52 AM

"You know the place?" shrugs the Pegasus.

"Well, we raided one of the Enclave's groundside bases. The Rangers and I had been trying to find out what their next move was, and this guy" she said, hefting his limp form "got signed up to help."

"Turns out the Enclave are after the stuff that's stored there as they think it'll let them restore the cloud cover. The comms logs we took had a long list of things they were trying to acquire, most with names that sounded like magical spells, projects or artefacts."

"Either way, they've been apparently trying for this place for a while now. Mentioned that they were seeking to infiltrate it, although how exactly they think they'll pull that off I'd love to know - not exactly that many pegasi around down here to blend in with."

"Anyway, the Rangers were going to head there soon. Between them and us, we'll see what kind of a defence we can muster with the locals."

"Oh. Well. Er..." said Luminark. "They should be fine. They'll be fine, right? Enormous magical bunker full of wizards. They'll be fine. Just shut the door, bing bang boom. Easy!"

He got up, realized he didn't have anywhere to try and go, and trotted about in a circle and tried to pretend he meant to do that. "Do you need anything for the trip? Or would you like a place to stay? Anything you need!"

BlasTech

2020-06-09, 08:04 AM

Milliway sat down. Without rifling through each of their offices she was struggling to see how she could find out who had taken the shards and, more importantly, where they were.

"Any surveillance footage in the offices of the surviving department heads?" she asked. Going outside felt like a suicide mission and as fuming as she was over the heart having been looted she was in no hurry to die.

"I can, although tapping into the feeds directly might generate some attention." replies House, before a number of the monitors flicker to life.

"Let's see. Doc Kleiner … Crossed Wires … " he moves down the list, as monitors flicker to life showing the former accompanied by other ponies near the main entrance, firing at something offscreen and the latter working in the engineering bay.

"Big Bang, Bitter Pill" as the camera shows the two ponies talking around a table, armed guards looking on. More and more department heads pop up on the screen, either marshalling their militias, conducting experiments or fighting amongst themselves. It doesn't look like unity outside the bunker means much anymore. Neither does law and order.

"Aaand …. that's it." finishes House, as the monitors turn static.

"No sign of Proper Process, Ooky Spooky or Administrator Glimmer … let me try something."

The camera switches to a hallway view, you recognise it as the outside of the necromancy wing. A cluster of ponies are there, dressed like maintenance workers - one is applying a blowtorch to the locked doors of Ooky Spooky's lab. You see them turn off the torch, and inspect their work for a moment.

What are you looking for as you watch all this? Are you trying to read the sitch of the bunker? Or is there something you have planned?

What do you do?

"Oh. Well. Er..." said Luminark. "They should be fine. They'll be fine, right? Enormous magical bunker full of wizards. They'll be fine. Just shut the door, bing bang boom. Easy!"

He got up, realized he didn't have anywhere to try and go, and trotted about in a circle and tried to pretend he meant to do that. "Do you need anything for the trip? Or would you like a place to stay? Anything you need!"

"Not a clue." replies the Pegasus. "I mean, the troop lists we saw listed a bunch of assets being brought online. Probably more than a few of those dragonkiller cloudships that levelled Canterlot, and not to mention squadrons of power-armoured pegasi, bomb chariots, possibly mind-controlled hellhounds and Celestia knows what else."

"I guess, anything you'd have that'd help fight against that would be nice." she chuckles, before continuing. "More seriously though, since it sounds like you know the place, anything you can tell us that would help us with mustering a co-ordinated defence would be appreciated. Like who's in charge and what they'll need to get the rest of those … what did you call them? Bunker wizards ready for a proper fight. I'm guessing they probably can use some of that stuff the Enclave's after as part of the defence."

"I was going to ask him about that stuff, but we had … other things to talk about first." she finishes, jostling the unconscious Scraps.

Thanqol

2020-06-11, 08:52 PM

"Not a clue." replies the Pegasus. "I mean, the troop lists we saw listed a bunch of assets being brought online. Probably more than a few of those dragonkiller cloudships that levelled Canterlot, and not to mention squadrons of power-armoured pegasi, bomb chariots, possibly mind-controlled hellhounds and Celestia knows what else."

"I guess, anything you'd have that'd help fight against that would be nice." she chuckles, before continuing. "More seriously though, since it sounds like you know the place, anything you can tell us that would help us with mustering a co-ordinated defence would be appreciated. Like who's in charge and what they'll need to get the rest of those … what did you call them? Bunker wizards ready for a proper fight. I'm guessing they probably can use some of that stuff the Enclave's after as part of the defence."

"I was going to ask him about that stuff, but we had … other things to talk about first." she finishes, jostling the unconscious Scraps.

"Yes," said Luminark weakly. "Fine."

He wished he knew a spell to summon a fainting couch.

"I'm sure you two will have it handled," he said and it felt like an excuse. "Sorry - I'll just -" with a disturbing lack of etiquette he gave a vague wave and walked out into the street with a lump in his throat.

BlasTech

2020-06-12, 08:37 AM

"Yes," said Luminark weakly. "Fine."

He wished he knew a spell to summon a fainting couch.

"I'm sure you two will have it handled," he said and it felt like an excuse. "Sorry - I'll just -" with a disturbing lack of etiquette he gave a vague wave and walked out into the street with a lump in his throat.

You end up walking slightly down the main street of the town, passing two Applejacks and a Pinkie Pie. Whether by chance or some dint of the spell you had used, it seemed most of the shades you had in town were those of the earth pony ministry mares. Only occasionally would you spot the glimpse of a purple or yellow coat in one of the buildings.

Why was that? Who knows. A trifling problem for some other time.

Ponies plod past, carrying goods, dirt or just themselves from one place to another.

Life in the town goes on. Such that it is.

The air is cool, hinting towards rain, as the sun starts to dip towards the horizon. But for now, the warmth of the day still lingers.

The calm is only slightly disturbed by the sound of quiet hoofsteps behind you. They approach with purpose, but stop a considerate distance away.

"Did you ... want to talk about it?" asks Rarity.

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-06-14, 07:36 PM

He's breathtaking and terrifying, all at the same time, and Starlight's mouth opens without any consultation of thought or brain.

"I don't know how to fix us."

...

Well, s***. Bluff, Starlight. You planned this. He's angry, wants the truth, and you're fairly sure you've damage controlled your way out of worse.

Probably. Not sure when, but probably.

But it's fine! Look at you, being open and friendly and honest. You got this! You're great! You're Princess Starlight Glimmer, and you...

You still can't remember her name. And you're worried, and tired, and overwhelmed, and you're pretty sure that grieving someone you planned to murder is not normal, and wouldn't it be nice to be less of a princess? You know, for five minutes.

<You don’t know->

The Scrapscallion’s thoughts collapsed into an incomprehensible slurry. It took some time for a clear, steady voice to rise above the anger and disbelief.

<Come on. Princess. You fixed me before. You...I was gonna die, and, you, you did something, and there’s not even a scar. You fixed me before, and you didn’t even ask for anything.>

His mind shuddered.

<That’s...that’s not…?>

And you could snap him in half with a word.

Thanqol

2020-06-14, 09:33 PM

BlasTech

2020-06-14, 11:52 PM

"I don't want to go back," Luminark said quietly. "I hate it there."

He rested his head against the cool metal of a streetlight.

"It's so cold," he said. "It was as cold down there as it was on the surface, before the sun. Science and funding and control. Everyone seemed like an inanimate object, and even those that didn't -" he trailed off as Milliway's face flashed behind his eyes, "- changed, so that they did. All I ever wanted to do was read because the words in those books were warmer than anything else I'd ever seen."

Even as he was saying it, he knew it was unfair. He loved his moms, and the children, and... there was a reason this was hard.

Rarity is silent for a moment, but when she speaks it was with certainty.

"But you will be going back ... won't you?"

She steps alongside you, watching you closely with sapphire eyes.

"I don't pretend to know what it was like there. But, from the short time I've known you, I'm certain that there is something about you that would stop you from just walking away."

"Just like how there's something about me that means you won't be going alone."

Balmas

2020-06-15, 11:50 PM

<You don’t know->

The Scrapscallion’s thoughts collapsed into an incomprehensible slurry. It took some time for a clear, steady voice to rise above the anger and disbelief.

<Come on. Princess. You fixed me before. You...I was gonna die, and, you, you did something, and there’s not even a scar. You fixed me before, and you didn’t even ask for anything.>

His mind shuddered.

<That’s...that’s not…?>

And you could snap him in half with a word.

<Psh.>

Did. Did she just think the word Psh?

<Scrapscallion, you were only dying. Dying's easy. Do you know how much experience I have in not dying? In not letting those around me die?>

The face of the dead pony--who she still can't remember--swims in her mind and she sobers up.

<More seriously, I was doing something familiar, with the full resources of the bunker behind me, and with Ooky Spooky and the rest of the department heads assisting. This...> She frowns, and gestures at her own body. <This is unexpected. Unanticipated. Unprecedented.>

Wait. Simple words.

<New,> she clarifies. <And whatever is letting us do this? I don't know what it is, or how to it came about, or how to solve it. And I need my staff and resources to figure out the solution.>

Thanqol

2020-06-17, 11:34 PM

Rarity is silent for a moment, but when she speaks it was with certainty.

"But you will be going back ... won't you?"

She steps alongside you, watching you closely with sapphire eyes.

"I don't pretend to know what it was like there. But, from the short time I've known you, I'm certain that there is something about you that would stop you from just walking away."

"Just like how there's something about me that means you won't be going alone."

"Yeah," said Luminark, and the acknowledgement hung there for a moment. Somehow no matter what his panicking, squeaking, begging mind threw at him those two points hung immutable.

"Guess I should... pack," he said. Another silence. "What season is this?" he asked, glancing up at the distant sun above the mountains. "I want to wear something appropriate but I literally have no idea how to tell."

Elanorin

2020-06-18, 10:55 AM

"I can, although tapping into the feeds directly might generate some attention." replies House, before a number of the monitors flicker to life.

"Let's see. Doc Kleiner … Crossed Wires … " he moves down the list, as monitors flicker to life showing the former accompanied by other ponies near the main entrance, firing at something offscreen and the latter working in the engineering bay.

"Big Bang, Bitter Pill" as the camera shows the two ponies talking around a table, armed guards looking on. More and more department heads pop up on the screen, either marshalling their militias, conducting experiments or fighting amongst themselves. It doesn't look like unity outside the bunker means much anymore. Neither does law and order.

"Aaand …. that's it." finishes House, as the monitors turn static.

"No sign of Proper Process, Ooky Spooky or Administrator Glimmer … let me try something."

The camera switches to a hallway view, you recognise it as the outside of the necromancy wing. A cluster of ponies are there, dressed like maintenance workers - one is applying a blowtorch to the locked doors of Ooky Spooky's lab. You see them turn off the torch, and inspect their work for a moment.

What are you looking for as you watch all this? Are you trying to read the sitch of the bunker? Or is there something you have planned?

What do you do?

Getting an idea for what's going on around the bunker is not a bad idea. When she sees the images play on the screen she steps a little closer. Why hadn't it occurred to her to check on things before now?

"Keep cycling through high priority cameras," she said and continued to watch.

[Rolling to Read A Sitch of what's going on out there: 4+2+0=6 Asking 1 anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

TheAmishPirate

2020-06-22, 04:17 PM

<Psh.>

Did. Did she just think the word Psh?

<Scrapscallion, you were only dying. Dying's easy. Do you know how much experience I have in not dying? In not letting those around me die?>

The face of the dead pony--who she still can't remember--swims in her mind and she sobers up.

<More seriously, I was doing something familiar, with the full resources of the bunker behind me, and with Ooky Spooky and the rest of the department heads assisting. This...> She frowns, and gestures at her own body. <This is unexpected. Unanticipated. Unprecedented.>

Wait. Simple words.

<New,> she clarifies. <And whatever is letting us do this? I don't know what it is, or how to it came about, or how to solve it. And I need my staff and resources to figure out the solution.>

<So. I was just another experiment.>

No miracles. No greater purpose. No real magic. Just an alicorn in a lab coat tinkering with a half-dead wastelander.

<And you can’t keep working on me until you steal your lab back. For...for...for whatever the hay you were using it for. Or was that pointless too?>

And then, a thought so small, he hardly knew he’d thought it.

<was i?>

Balmas

2020-06-22, 11:01 PM

<was i?>

<No!> Starlight's hooves shoot out, and then falter when they find no body to hug.

<...maybe?>

Faltering. Faltering is bad, and she can see a dozen ways this conversation could be turned around. But this is Scrapscallion. And he, if anypony deserves it, has earned the truth.

Which isn't to say she doesn't require a couple tries at it. It's an unfamiliar muscle to pull on. But eventually, she musters up enough of a mental run-up to blurt out, <I don't... actually know what past me was thinking or feeling. I want to tell you that I was purely selfless, and loved you like a son from the start. Want to make myself look good. But I don't remember, Scrapscallion. Don't know, for 100% certain, what was going through my head.>

She's quiet for a while. <There's a lot of things I don't remember, if I'm honest.>

BlasTech

2020-06-23, 07:21 AM

"Yeah," said Luminark, and the acknowledgement hung there for a moment. Somehow no matter what his panicking, squeaking, begging mind threw at him those two points hung immutable.

"Guess I should... pack," he said. Another silence. "What season is this?" he asked, glancing up at the distant sun above the mountains. "I want to wear something appropriate but I literally have no idea how to tell."

"Fret not, darling." replies Rarity, "I've undertaken some travels in my time and will make sure we have everything we need."

"I must say, I was expecting you to put up more resistance to the idea. To convince yourself that you were done with that place, or that they could handle it without you."

"It's refreshing not to hear that tired old script again." she continues, looking at you from the corner of her eye.

She pauses, and you can hear the unspoken "Why?" hanging between you.

What do you do?

Getting an idea for what's going on around the bunker is not a bad idea. When she sees the images play on the screen she steps a little closer. Why hadn't it occurred to her to check on things before now?

"Keep cycling through high priority cameras," she said and continued to watch.

[Rolling to Read A Sitch of what's going on out there: 4+2+0=6 Asking 1 anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

You find it eventually, almost accidentally, while scrolling through the cameras.

A darkened room, from the equipment around it, you judge it to be one of the lower storage bays. The ones that connect to the maintenance tunnels that underrun the entire Bunker.

There's a pony, standing next to something mechanical, something big. You can guess it's probably a mare from the build, but all her features seem shrouded in the darkness. It's almost unnatural.

You see her lift something that glimmers with blue light and place it into the construct. The screen fuzzes with static, before the construct - a large robot - comes to life.

The pony steps back, before turning towards the camera. All you can see against that matte black silhouette is their eyes.

Red irises, against green and purple.

The camera cuts out.

Each of the monitors fuzz to static one by one.

"I ... I seem to have been shut out of the system." replies House, surprise in his voice. "I'm sorry, Milliway."

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-06-25, 01:04 AM

"Fret not, darling." replies Rarity, "I've undertaken some travels in my time and will make sure we have everything we need."

"I must say, I was expecting you to put up more resistance to the idea. To convince yourself that you were done with that place, or that they could handle it without you."

"It's refreshing not to hear that tired old script again." she continues, looking at you from the corner of her eye.

She pauses, and you can hear the unspoken "Why?" hanging between you.

What do you do?

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I want more than anything to stay as far away from that place as possible. I want more than anything to avoid risking my life. I'm terrified, putting myself between an army and a pack of lunatics - it's... I don't want to..."

He trailed off.

"I have no idea why I'm doing this," he said. "There's no logical explanation for it. I just don't think I can... not."

TheAmishPirate

2020-06-26, 06:54 PM

<No!> Starlight's hooves shoot out, and then falter when they find no body to hug.

<...maybe?>

Faltering. Faltering is bad, and she can see a dozen ways this conversation could be turned around. But this is Scrapscallion. And he, if anypony deserves it, has earned the truth.

Which isn't to say she doesn't require a couple tries at it. It's an unfamiliar muscle to pull on. But eventually, she musters up enough of a mental run-up to blurt out, <I don't... actually know what past me was thinking or feeling. I want to tell you that I was purely selfless, and loved you like a son from the start. Want to make myself look good. But I don't remember, Scrapscallion. Don't know, for 100% certain, what was going through my head.>

She's quiet for a while. <There's a lot of things I don't remember, if I'm honest.>

<Yeah. Well...maybe I'm better off not knowing.>

Weird. Sharing this crap was supposed to make you feel better, right? So why did he feel even worse?

<Look. I should...go> Even the attempt at making that sound cool wasn't cool. <I'm gonna go. You...you figure this out. And get back to me if you find anything good.>

His mind fell silent.

So, so silent.

Incredibly silent.

Very much silent.

Couldn't possibly be more silent.

The most silent you've never heard.

Except for, maybe, the dawning realization that he had not actually left, and would not be leaving anytime soon. A realization which perfectly crystalized into:

<oh>

Elanorin

2020-06-28, 12:57 PM

You find it eventually, almost accidentally, while scrolling through the cameras.

A darkened room, from the equipment around it, you judge it to be one of the lower storage bays. The ones that connect to the maintenance tunnels that underrun the entire Bunker.

There's a pony, standing next to something mechanical, something big. You can guess it's probably a mare from the build, but all her features seem shrouded in the darkness. It's almost unnatural.

You see her lift something that glimmers with blue light and place it into the construct. The screen fuzzes with static, before the construct - a large robot - comes to life.

The pony steps back, before turning towards the camera. All you can see against that matte black silhouette is their eyes.

Red irises, against green and purple.

The camera cuts out.

Each of the monitors fuzz to static one by one.

"I ... I seem to have been shut out of the system." replies House, surprise in his voice. "I'm sorry, Milliway."

What do you do?

Milliway stared wide-eyed at the screen. About as wide-eyed as she'd ever stared at a screen ever (and that's saying something). Vivid memories of fighting a deathbot played before her mind's eyes and while she'd made the whole thing look pretty cool at the time she did absolutely not want to have to do that again. Had some crazy wannabe-Milliway pony taken it upon themselves to upgrade the goddamn deathbot with her crystal heart shards?! She rubbed the shard at her chest and looked at the rest of it still hooked in to House, glowing faintly. How sickeningly derivative, it was borderline plagiarism. How. Dare. They. The soul-inducing element of the crystal heart in to an AI was her experiment!

She shook her head as the anger began to simmer up and the last piece of Realisation fell in to place in her mental jigsaw scramble: she did not want to be the pony that armed herself to the teeth and shot the damn bot to kingdom come. Not anymore. She was the robot-builder. She was THE robot builder. So what if she'd gotten a bit distracted lately, ditched her workshop and... turned... librarian...

THAT WAS NOT THE POINT!

She only wanted to destroy this thing so she could loot it for parts and show this upstart wannabe how it's really done. No. Not even that. She was claiming that robot. It was hers. That demented pony had used her experiemt, her knowledge and HER crystal heart to create some princessforsaken frankenmonster. It was her civic duty and responsibility to confiscate that thing and fix it before it... did... whatever!

"House. Identify all access points in the library to the lower service tunnels and lock them. Monitor and set alarms. Top priority. And tell me... that thing we just saw... tactical suggestions on bringing it in?"

[Rolling Acquisitive Eye on the deathbot: 5+3+3=11 How can I make this mine? Who will stand in my way? Will my hoard accept it?]

BlasTech

2020-06-29, 08:23 AM

Milliway stared wide-eyed at the screen. About as wide-eyed as she'd ever stared at a screen ever (and that's saying something). Vivid memories of fighting a deathbot played before her mind's eyes and while she'd made the whole thing look pretty cool at the time she did absolutely not want to have to do that again. Had some crazy wannabe-Milliway pony taken it upon themselves to upgrade the goddamn deathbot with her crystal heart shards?! She rubbed the shard at her chest and looked at the rest of it still hooked in to House, glowing faintly. How sickeningly derivative, it was borderline plagiarism. How. Dare. They. The soul-inducing element of the crystal heart in to an AI was her experiment!

She shook her head as the anger began to simmer up and the last piece of Realisation fell in to place in her mental jigsaw scramble: she did not want to be the pony that armed herself to the teeth and shot the damn bot to kingdom come. Not anymore. She was the robot-builder. She was THE robot builder. So what if she'd gotten a bit distracted lately, ditched her workshop and... turned... librarian...

THAT WAS NOT THE POINT!

She only wanted to destroy this thing so she could loot it for parts and show this upstart wannabe how it's really done. No. Not even that. She was claiming that robot. It was hers. That demented pony had used her experiemt, her knowledge and HER crystal heart to create some princessforsaken frankenmonster. It was her civic duty and responsibility to confiscate that thing and fix it before it... did... whatever!

"House. Identify all access points in the library to the lower service tunnels and lock them. Monitor and set alarms. Top priority. And tell me... that thing we just saw... tactical suggestions on bringing it in?"

[Rolling Acquisitive Eye on the deathbot: 5+3+3=11 How can I make this mine? Who will stand in my way? Will my hoard accept it?]

"Yes Milliway." replies House.

The few frames of visual reappear on the monitors, overlaid with analysis of various dimensions inferred from the surroundings. Whatever the robot is, it's big. Easily four times the size of a pony in volume and multiples of that in mass. A few notations highlight possible weapons and defensive measures.

"Beyond just smashing it, which is always a viable approach." he continues, after a few moments of this. "A hack attempt is another possible method, but there's a lot of unknowns with that. Mainly: we just what the Heart fragment is going to do now that it's plugged into that thing and how it'll interact with my systems. It could make things a lot harder if there's another intelligence in that bot."

"Can't say more until we see it up close. But if you're able to disable it, or at least damage it, then our options multiply." replies House.

A few more of the monitors display stills of the unidentified pony and their only visible features; red irises against green sclera.

Milliway - you don't know who exactly that mare is. But something tells you that whoever those eyes belong to - they're the one who has been causing you so much trouble for so long. The hack. The thefts. Maybe even the inexplicable run of bad luck you had with the Friendship Patrol. Whoever that is, they'll stand in your way no doubt.

But that's no different than normal.

"I have to warn you though, the Library isn't designed to be defended from that direction." House's voice cuts into your moment of introspection. "I'll move what mobile assets we have to that area, but it's not secure in the long term."

"Milliway ... if that ... thing is coming for you. I want to fight it. I don't want to let you face it on your own." he continues. "I think ... if it's okay with you ... I'd really like that body we were talking about."

What do you do?

"Oh, don't get me wrong, I want more than anything to stay as far away from that place as possible. I want more than anything to avoid risking my life. I'm terrified, putting myself between an army and a pack of lunatics - it's... I don't want to..."

He trailed off.

"I have no idea why I'm doing this," he said. "There's no logical explanation for it. I just don't think I can... not."

"I understand." replies Rarity.

"Back before the war. Back at the very beginning of everything. I was in a very similar position." she continues, staring at the horizon.

"Do you know the history of Nightmare Moon's return?" she asks. "Not the fables, but what actually happened that night when I first became a Bearer of Harmony?"

What do you say?

Balmas

2020-06-29, 07:13 PM

Except for, maybe, the dawning realization that he had not actually left, and would not be leaving anytime soon. A realization which perfectly crystalized into:

<oh>

<Yeah.>

You see, Starlight? This is why you don't trust ponies.

This is why you lie. This is why you fake it and pretend and bluster and never tell the truth. Because the instant you do, you open yourself up. You give that other pony leverage, a grip on your heart. You did it with Luminark, and he stabbed you in the back. You did it with the Scrapscallion and he...

The thought that he stabbed her in the back dies unspoken. Because he didn't. And hasn't. He's left her, certainly. Probably forever. Or at least, until he dies, or she dies, or he figures out a way to cut her out of his life. And a nasty part of her mind can't help but dig at itself and add, just like everypony else. But he's been loyal, true. Gone with her farther than anypony else, without expectation of reward.

Well, with minimal expectation of reward. She'd promised him something, she vaguelly recalls. Something about the bike.

Of course she remembers that, but not the dead pony's name.

And what does he have to show for it? A washed-up has-been without a bunker, without a plan, without a clue, and without a friend, all tucked away in his mind forever.

And she's not going to cry. She's not! She's already hurt him, so the current plan is to just bottle up the tears and... something. Plot. Scheme.

Awww, who is she kidding? She's got nothing.

Moping is an option, of course. Just, sit here forever, alone. Give names to the bobblebirds. Suppress the emotions for the next hundred-odd years. Try to avoid bothering him. Wonder how many pre-programmed messages the Pink One actually had set away before she, too, leaves her forever.

Although the ghouls will probably get antsy if she just sits here forever. That's a possibility, too. They genuinely need a mechanical and medical expert, and they don't have a leg to stand on about melty, oozing skin. She'll be that one mysterious kook, living in the attic and occasionally dispensing sage advice about the before-times. Except... some of the ghouls here must have been there before, as well. And her normal plan of outliving dissidents and indoctrinating the new children won't work, since the ghouls probably will last longer than she will.

So it's back to plan "sulk behind the me-only shield for the rest of time."

Groaning, she drags herself over to the control console and stares at a bobblebird. That one looks like a Preston, she decides. And his brother can be Percival, who has a love-hate relationship with Patricia. Idly, she reaches out a hoof, about to tap the birds into further motion, before hesitating.

The tape recorder is still there. She hesitates, before flopping onto her side and lazilly bapping at it until one lucky slap glances off the "Play" button.

"Soooo," she begins, and again hesitates. "Iiiii... don't actually remember your name. 'n'I can't keep just thinking of you as 'the pink one, the one that was always meddling.' Hi. You know me. Who're you, again?"

Thanqol

2020-07-02, 11:11 PM

"I understand." replies Rarity.

"Back before the war. Back at the very beginning of everything. I was in a very similar position." she continues, staring at the horizon.

"Do you know the history of Nightmare Moon's return?" she asks. "Not the fables, but what actually happened that night when I first became a Bearer of Harmony?"

What do you say?

"Not the slightest," he said. "I'm not even fully sure what is meant by that. Where I'm from... well, harmony wasn't a research priority."

Old stories. Legends. Myths. Things that might have grains of secret, ancient truth hidden inside of them. Stories and knowledge. But not history, not politics, not life events. He knew more about Princess Luna's musculature arrangements and the bloodflow requirements to support an Alicorn's physiology than he did about her personality.

BlasTech

2020-07-04, 08:12 AM

[SIZE=1]Groaning, she drags herself over to the control console and stares at a bobblebird. That one looks like a Preston, she decides. And his brother can be Percival, who has a love-hate relationship with Patricia. Idly, she reaches out a hoof, about to tap the birds into further motion, before hesitating.

The tape recorder is still there. She hesitates, before flopping onto her side and lazilly bapping at it until one lucky slap glances off the "Play" button.

"Soooo," she begins, and again hesitates. "Iiiii... don't actually remember your name. 'n'I can't keep just thinking of you as 'the pink one, the one that was always meddling.' Hi. You know me. Who're you, again?"

Well. With a question like that ...

In all the planets around all the stars in all the galaxies in all the universe. In every branch of every reality in the wider multiverse. In every permutation, every instance, every possible combination of chance, fate and conscious determination.

When that question is asked of that pony. There will only be one response.

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!"

Nailed it.

"And you're Starlight Glimmer. And that pony in your head is The Scrapscallion - good luck with Milliway, by the way!" continues the recording, which barrels on before you can ask it what the hay it's been imbibing and where you can get some.

"Now, there's no need for any of you to be grumpy guss-es. In fact, you can all just turn your frowns upside down, because ... if you're listening to this message, well, then things won't be too bad. You just need to be true to each other and things will work out. I Pinkie Promise you that."

"And nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise." it continues cheerfully.

"Now, you really need to get out of here. And I don't want to keep you waiting any longer on that. So - taped to the bottom of the console, by the back right leg, are a couple of things you'll probably need. Take them, share them with your friends and use them when the time is right."

The recording pauses, as if waiting for you to say something.

What do you say?

"Not the slightest," he said. "I'm not even fully sure what is meant by that. Where I'm from... well, harmony wasn't a research priority."

Old stories. Legends. Myths. Things that might have grains of secret, ancient truth hidden inside of them. Stories and knowledge. But not history, not politics, not life events. He knew more about Princess Luna's musculature arrangements and the bloodflow requirements to support an Alicorn's physiology than he did about her personality.

"Ah. I see" continues Rarity, barely missing a beat. "Well, without wanting to recount all the details, let's just say that I was once in a similar place to you. On the edge of a disaster, with no rational reason to step into the thick of it. I didn't know Twilight at the time, and was definitely not close with any of the others who would soon become the Elements. So, when Twilight said that she'd rather tackle the problem on her own, I had every reason to let her do so."

She pauses, giving you a glance.

"Every reason ... save for the idea that I could help. And the thought of the ponies who would suffer if I walked away."

"It's part of being a Bearer of Generosity, my dear. I couldn't abandon them and still be me, just like you can't abandon the ponies back there either. Correct me if I'm wrong, but I suspect you'll follow this colleague of yours right into the heart of the storm, just like I did with Twilight. And you'd be right to do so."

"Twilight once said to me, that the only thing that can turn back the darkness is ponies willing to heed the call of the light." she finishes, motioning to lead you back to the campfire. "I earned my Element that night ... maybe this is your chance to earn yours."

TheAmishPirate

2020-07-05, 03:17 PM

The Scrapscallion’s mind was no longer silent.

A choir of denials sprang to life, singing a tasteful selection of the old classics. They were immediately interrupted by no less than seven different abrupt, yet totally natural changing of the subjects. Who might’ve won the day, had it not been for the flood of questions that swept them all off their hooves, which gave just enough of an opening for a little note of gratitude to step into the fray.

Poor guy never stood a chance.

But the resulting melee sent the lot of them tumbling down the stairs in a tangle of limbs and ideas, leaving one coherent thought to rise above the chaos:

<Uhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhwakingupnowgottag ocan’ttalkbye!>

************************************************** ****************

The Scrapscallion groaned as a different sort of painful reality re-asserted itself. He blinked blearily at the blurred, winged, and decidedly smokin’ hot shape standing over him, and came to the only reasonable conclusion.

“Am I dead? Are you an angel?” He croaked.

BlasTech

2020-07-07, 05:47 PM

The Scrapscallion groaned as a different sort of painful reality re-asserted itself. He blinked blearily at the blurred, winged, and decidedly smokin’ hot shape standing over him, and came to the only reasonable conclusion.

“Am I dead? Are you an angel?” He croaked.

The pegasus just arches an eyebrow, and raises a hoof until your bleary-eyed gaze can fix on it properly.

She only speaks once your mind is awake enough to parse the question: Would an angel pummel you if you give her any further lip?

"Snap out of it, Scraps" she says, quickly. "Your 'colleague' is on his way back, but before he gets here I need to know ... do you trust Luminark?"

TheAmishPirate

2020-07-07, 06:15 PM

The pegasus just arches an eyebrow, and raises a hoof until your bleary-eyed gaze can fix on it properly.

She only speaks once your mind is awake enough to parse the question: Would an angel pummel you if you give her any further lip?

That depends. Is she gonna give him some more lip? Because hot dang that was - okay no no no no put the hoof down we’re all friends here that was the emotional turmoil crippling radsickness innocent and confused Scrapscallion talking.

"Snap out of it, Scraps" she says, quickly. "Your 'colleague' is on his way back, but before he gets here I need to know ... do you trust Luminark?"

"He is literally the worst pony I know." Scraps whispered back. "So. Y’know. There’s that."

Elanorin

2020-07-08, 01:55 AM

"Yes Milliway." replies House.

The few frames of visual reappear on the monitors, overlaid with analysis of various dimensions inferred from the surroundings. Whatever the robot is, it's big. Easily four times the size of a pony in volume and multiples of that in mass. A few notations highlight possible weapons and defensive measures.

"Beyond just smashing it, which is always a viable approach." he continues, after a few moments of this. "A hack attempt is another possible method, but there's a lot of unknowns with that. Mainly: we just what the Heart fragment is going to do now that it's plugged into that thing and how it'll interact with my systems. It could make things a lot harder if there's another intelligence in that bot."

"Can't say more until we see it up close. But if you're able to disable it, or at least damage it, then our options multiply." replies House.

A few more of the monitors display stills of the unidentified pony and their only visible features; red irises against green sclera.

Milliway - you don't know who exactly that mare is. But something tells you that whoever those eyes belong to - they're the one who has been causing you so much trouble for so long. The hack. The thefts. Maybe even the inexplicable run of bad luck you had with the Friendship Patrol. Whoever that is, they'll stand in your way no doubt.

But that's no different than normal.

"I have to warn you though, the Library isn't designed to be defended from that direction." House's voice cuts into your moment of introspection. "I'll move what mobile assets we have to that area, but it's not secure in the long term."

"Milliway ... if that ... thing is coming for you. I want to fight it. I don't want to let you face it on your own." he continues. "I think ... if it's okay with you ... I'd really like that body we were talking about."

What do you do?

There was absolutely no way Milliway could deny that. None. Hell, she wanted him to have a body. If only so she could have some tangible company that she could trust not to slap her in the face or stab her in the back or be inexplicably amazing at kissing. Also, backup would be good. Especially as she'd abandoned her gang of homicidal maniacs. This thing was likely armed to the teeth and able to burn the entire library down.

Thing was... building him the kickass amazing body that he deserved was going to take time. And resources. And the careful execution of a carefully detailed plan. All of which would take a lot longer than they had if he wanted to be 'suited up' and ready in time for this thing showing up. It was obvious enough that creepy pony was getting ready for launch and somewhere a clock was ticking.

There was only one thing for it. It was far, far, from ideal. But it was fast. It was convenient. And it might just do short term.

"Alright," Milliway said. "I'll... I'll be right back." And then she zipped off at a gallop down the stacks, scanning her carefully reorganised system, racking her brain for what among the countless things she'd seen when she had sorted through this place would suffice.

[Going in to my Hoard to look for something useful: 1+6+3=10 +0 hunger, Looking for a body for House that will allow him to fight]

BlasTech

2020-07-10, 08:16 AM

"He is literally the worst pony I know." Scraps whispered back. "So. Y’know. There’s that."

"So you don't trust him ... okay" replies the Pegasus, eyes calculating. "I thought ... nevermind."

She glanced up as Luminark and "Rarity" approached the fire.

"We're coming with you, darlings." says Rarity, before anything can be said by those at the fire. "Just give me time to pack a few things and, Olive, please keep this place safe while we're gone."

And with that, we zoom out. Away from the campfire on a plateau of Rainbow Falls. Away from the time-ravaged ruins of the Ministry of Morale. Away from the twisting, neverending stacks of the Library.

Time rolls on, not for long, but long enough for ponies to gather their things, take one last breath and prepare for the coming storm.

[Ending Session - Feel free to make any wrap up posts. Please see the notes in the OOC thread and the final items for each of you below.]

************************************************

Starlight Glimmer: Stuck to the bottom of the console, right where the tape said it would be, is a pair of faded saddlebags. Retrieving and upending them reveals a confusing selection of items. The one thing that you might have expected is a canister of glowing Pink Cloud, with a taped note on it saying "Eat me". Less expected is the coconut that rattles when you shake it, the two pink feathers and the tiny statuette of the Ministry Mare of Image. The final item you pull out is a old, time-worn book. On its cover, is a cutie mark that is all too familiar - a purple star trailing teal waves (https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.327250992.4183/fmp,x_small,gloss,wall_texture,product,750x1000.u2 .jpg). Turning to the first page, your eyes are drawn to the words at the top.

"Dear Diary"

---

Scraps: The pegasus glances at the others, then at yourself. You can see tension in her eyes - she's definitely taken to heart your view on Luminark. What do you do as the four of you prepare to head back to the Bunker? As an aside - how much can the Peregrine carry in the way of ponies and luggage?

---

Luminark: Your town will endure without you for now. But you know better than any pony what it might mean if the Bunker falls into the wrong hooves (or wrong-er at any rate). As you travel back to the Bunker, ensconced in the Peregrine with Rarity and Scallion, what are you thinking about? What fears go through your head as to what the Enclave might be seeking? And is there anything you are looking forward to seeing again?

---

Milliway: The stacks hold many secrets, and many options to help your case - However, you might not like what you find. Deep in the stacks you find something, tucked away behind some old sheets, old party supplies and a pinata lies a solid metal cylinder - with enough lights and tubes connected to look like a Hearth's warming tree of SCIENCE. A stack of papers next to it identifies it as a pre-war experimental flash-cloning device. Given time, you might be able to use this to give House a body. You'd just need a viable DNA sample and to figure out how to connect him to it.

TheAmishPirate

2020-07-11, 01:09 PM

There were three things that the Scrapscallion did with the limited time they had to prepare:

First, and most importantly, he took every opportunity he could to register his displeasure at the company he’d been saddled with. If Luminark sought to pack anything, his things would constantly and mysteriously wind up spilled on the ground or relocated one street over. When the pretty white unicorn was nearby, he’d loudly ask him if he was sure he was alright riding in the cargo hold again, he knew how sick he’d gotten last time. And - perhaps his best work yet - the Peregrine’s squirrly engine revved just as Luminark was stepping into the back, and the nerd faceplanted right in the dust.

Classic.

Second, when he had a moment with the Pegasus, he gave her another helpful warning: “If that guy does any weird magic crap, or gets a hold of something glow-y and science-like, don’t let him out of your sight, and don’t let him get behind you. Remember the Prin…” He coughed, momentarily and unsuspiciously. “...that alicorn I was travelling with? Remember her, uh, condition?” Raised eyebrow, and a knowing nod to the jerk in question. “Guess who made that happen.”

And third?

Man, third, he sat his on his bike and sulked waited patiently for them to just go already. Even clowning on Luminark wasn’t helping, and chatting up that other unicorn didn’t feel so good was off-limits while Pegasus McNofun was on his case. This whole trip had gone from bad to worse, and the only way it could get any worse was if he had to sit here and remember be bored out of his skull.

At least he didn't have to bother much with the loading process. The Peregrine's spacious cargo hold could fit the two extra passengers and their luggage easily, with him and the Pegasus sharing the driver's seat.

Thanqol

2020-07-12, 05:59 PM

What a piece of junk! How did it manage to spill his saddlebags again!? It lurched at random times, posing a serious trip hazard. Luminark had made his mind up - this had to stop. So he spent an entire evening writing a comprehensive and detailed letter detailing all the technical faults, safety hazards, and nonstandard modifications that had been made to the Peregrine that were no doubt contributing to his terrible experience. He was almost about to slip it under the driver's door when a thought struck him - oh no! He was being biased. The poor dear probably couldn't read!

So instead he cursed the letter so it would read the list of technical faults out loud. And in a fit of brilliance, to inure it against loss and be absolutely sure that... guy understood what he was talking about, he adjusted the spell to read out the relevant complaints upon seeing the component in question. Look at the engine? A stern reminder about proper maintenance and lubrication. See the cargo hold? A comprehensive diatribe on the importance of washing. Looking at those tacky dice hanging from the rear-view mirror? Hazardous in the event of a crash, somepony could lose an eye, replacing them with some sort of fuzzy variant would be preferable.

He made sure to charge the spell with a reasonably long duration. Who knew when they'd get to see a properly certified mechanic next? And then he finally settled into the cargo hold, satisfied with his work, wondering if this is what Rarity meant by the element of generosity.

(He knows, deep down, he's doing this to distract himself - underneath is the familiar squirming mass of lowkey panic and stress that's been his familiar companion all through life, back again after a brief delay. But there's something else there too. A strange, serene confidence that feels too bright to be fatalism.)

Balmas

2020-07-12, 11:39 PM

Starlight eyes first the diary, and then the tape recorder in quick succession. "Honestly, I'm not sure why I'm even surprised at this point."

And for a while--too long, her mind complains--that's all there is to it. Or rather, there's too much everything else to be able to get to the rest. There's too much talking with Pinkie, walking through the steps of repair a StirrupCo 9700Mk.B reactor,. Then there's too much briefing the sheriff on 'by the way, there may or may not be hellhounds poking around the neighborhood shortly, shouldn't be too much trouble, not looking for you, keep your heads down, you'll be fine." And then there's too much, 'and actually, I don't need what I came here for after all, long story, he's gone now so it's less of an issue, no I'm not taking questions," followed by too much "Okay fine, I can look at Burgerhoof again," and honestly it's an entire afternoon before she can finally do more than flick the pages open.

And that's before she even gets to the coconuts and the cloud. Who knows what the Pink One Pinkie Pie has there.

But it's finally time! Finally evening, finally a chance to ease off the burden of taking care of a second settlement! And she's bushed, she's wiped, she's... oddly happy about the day? How long has it been since that's happened?

But it doesn't matter because she finally gets to sit down and read about herself and--

And.

Hey, Scrapscallion? Who's that? Why is that? Scrapscallion, I know we're fighting, but hey, Scrapscallion, answer her, don't ignore her, why is Luminark with you and why aren't you punching him

Elanorin

2020-07-14, 02:56 AM

It might not have been what she was looking for, and she may even have moved passed it at first carrying on her search, until, a moment later, her brain forced her to stop in her tracks and began to play Images Of Possibilities to her. Shoving sheets and party supplies aside (how these had ended up in the same section was not something she was entirely sure she wanted to know) she dragged the big machine out from its storage slot and looked it over a second time. It was insane. But it was brilliant.

Now, speed was of the essence. The faster House got a body the better, who knew when that crazy pony and her 'creation' was going to show up - House did say the Library wasn't secure from service tunnel access. Also... she kind of wanted company. Looking at the mad machine that could deliver a living breathing pony that she already knew and trusted... wow, she realised she wanted that more than she'd thought. The following hours saw a flurry of activity the likes of which Milliway hadn't seen since she first created House. It went something like this:

Step 1: lug the machine (and what instructions she could find on using it) back to the control hub.

Step 2: convince House this was a fantastic idea.

Step 3: since the Library contains 'plants, animal & pony specimens' she next went on a hunt in the stacks for a DNA sample. House wanted to fight, so she was hunting for some creepy pickled relic of the most competent pony she could find/recognise that would still hold DNA. [Rolling going in to my Hoard for something useful: 3+5+3=11 Hunger remains the same]

Step 4: Hook the machine up to House's central hub.

Step 5: Push the button!

BlasTech

2020-07-25, 07:51 AM

[New session start]

************************************************** ***********************

Daybreak.

It wasn’t too long ago that you could only tell this had happened by the gradual transition of the cloud cover from black to steel grey. Now, the golden light of Celestia’s sun pours itself across the landscape, running into valleys and filtering through the burnt husks of trees.

It warms the earth, stirring the mists of Everfree, curling the desiccated plants that dot the ruins of Sweet Apple Acres and even warming the depths of Ghastly Gorge where no ponies dare tread. Across the land, wastelanders turn their faces towards that blazing beacon to greet the new day.

As our focus zooms back in, it shines on three ponies in particular.

Scrapscallion

The sunlight gleams off the hull of the Peregrine as its engine idles. It glints into the lenses of the binoculars Cloudburster hoofs to you and it illuminates the vast plain ahead that leads to the Bunker’s squat grey entrance in the distance.

It also shines on the half dozen camps that have sprung up in a circle around it.

“Outposts.” She says, as you adjust the focus to see the flag flying above it – a dual headed Ursa Minor.

“Not the Enclave, at least, but those are New Canterlot Republic troops down there." she continues "I can make out about twenty per outpost, at least a dozen alicorns spread across them all and, unless I drank something weird in that town last night – some hellhounds.”

“Not a force we can take on. But we’ve got a clear run into the bunker and, ignoring the alicorns, I don’t think they can catch us if we make a dash for it. How do you want to play this?” she asks.

What do you do?

Luminark

The sunlight gives you a bit of warmth, welcome after leaving Rainbow Falls as such an uncivilised hour this morning. You’d spent last night giving Olive Daub some last instructions and helping Rarity load supplies into the rattling deathtrap that carried you here.

Despite never having been on an adventure in your life, you are a little surprised at the sheer number of trunks and suitcases that Rarity insisted you all bring. Snug is not nearly strong enough to describe the cargo hold once they were all aboard, but you’re sure it’s all for a good purpose. It was a happy coincidence that Rainbow Falls, being a tourist town, had so much luggage lying around in good enough condition to salvage.

Still, one has to wonder about the necessity of the two pony-sized trunks that she found. Especially since they seem to alternate between mumbling things about apples and pies.

The two of you are enjoying standing on the solid ground of the ridge, soaking up the rays. Close enough to hear Cloudbreak and Shredscallion talking, but far enough away to be separate from the conversation.

Two questions for you Luminark.

First, what did you say to Olive as you left him behind?

Second, do you keep to yourselves here, or will you join the discussion going on with the others?

What do you do?

Starlight Glimmer

For you, the sunlight is less welcoming. It’s harsh, glaring in your eyes as you awake. The clifftop cavern provided shelter, but wasn’t exactly the most comfortable of resting spots. Still, it was better than staying back at the MoM hub and you had a lot of ground to cover.

Pinkie’s saddlebags rest against your semi-solid flanks, still full of their various contents. Did you open any of them as you waited for sleep to claim you last night? In those cold, empty hours, the last words from the recording play over again in your mind.

“Take them, share them with your friends and use them when the time is right.”

What was that pony thinking? And who would you actually count amongst your friends? What use could anypony have for some feathers, a rattling coconut and a statute? And that container of pink cloud … that had to be for you right? At least, eating pink cloud would likely be fatal for anypony else.

There had been only a little bit more to the message. The last words for Pinkie Pie had for you across two hundred years.

“Now you have to go back. The Bunker needs you, but not as it once did. It doesn’t need you as administrator, enforcer or leader. It needs you as its protector. Equestria needs you as its protector. Good luck, Starlight.”

Had there been a touch of hope in the pony’s voice? Or was it just the contrast between her normal exuberance and the sadness she’d had when talking to you earlier?

Regardless, you can now see the Bunker in the distance, as well as the camps now spaced around it.

What do you do?

Milliway

"Day 67: The trials continue, but despite the Princesses' support for the project there are definite avenues where we are seeing more progress than others. The work by Mosaic and Gestalt, for instance, shows promise. The work by Mirage and Trixie on the new portable stealth spells is also working well and we hope to have a prototype for testing in the near future. The work by Double Trouble, on the other hand, is less likely to generate a viable asset for the war effort."

Milliway, you wake up on your desk in the depths of the Library, papers sticking to your muzzle. There's no sunlight for you down here, just the harsh glare of florescent lighting and the smell of coffee, helpfully prepared by House. You’ve spent the last while sifting through the documentation that came with the cloning cylinder as fast as you can. There are dozens of notes, entries by none other than Twilight Sparkle, that detail the operation of the cylinder.

"Day 105: Double came to me today with a proof of concept. While impressive, in theory, the process still has many many drawbacks. Too many, really, for it to be useful in the near term. They chiefly stem from the targeted incubation period. Shortening it so drastically puts an incredible strain on the specimen. Normal pony DNA breaks down and … well … the results are really not pretty."

The cylinder is now connected to House’s mainframe by a thick rat’s nest of cables in every colour of the rainbow. The cloning process is primed, powered and ready to start. There is only one thing left to do …

“Day 142: Dee-tee turned up at my office today with a potential solution to the degradation challenge he’s been facing. He theorises that the speed of the cloning process can be compensated for through the use of a more robust donor than a common pony. He theorises that … well, I admit I’m not exactly keen on his proposal. On who he wants to approach for a test sample. Maybe once the IMP project produces a viable alicorn we can use them instead but …

… am I really considering this?”

They sit on your table, three small glass cylinders filled with preserving gel. You found them on your second trip into the stacks. The crown jewels of the Library’s specimen collection. Three samples from their manes: One, multicoloured like the dawn’s pastels. The second, a midnight blue flecked with stars. The third, a tricolour of purple, pink and cream.

“Day 181: We are shelving the flash clone project. While it can potentially provide a viable body, we have hit a snag that was obvious in hindsight. A clone needs a mind to function, elsewise all we are able to produce is a foal in an adult’s body. Double Trouble has considered reaching out to Stable Tec to leverage their research into mind transference and the Crusader mainframes, but apart from allowing a pony to prolong their life, there seems to be minimal use for it in the war effort.

I’m just glad we caught ourselves before we performed the first test. I do not want to have to think of the ethical minefield we just dodged."

It’s time. The port is open and the display above it reads “input sample”.

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-07-27, 06:32 PM

"Olive Drab, you may be the result of a suinecromantic technique to exorcise agonizing aspects of my id by containing them in a vaguely plausible pony shell," said Luminark, "but you seem okay. I hope you are. I felt like saying that the fate of this entire community rests on your shoulders but... it doesn't, really. You're in charge but that doesn't mean that you need to fix everything. You just..." he sighed. "Try to lead, rather than rule, okay? Do your best and don't beat yourself up too much for not having more than that. If other ponies won't step up to help you then it wouldn't have worked out anyway."

He didn't feel exhausted or afraid as he walked over to join the others. Just for a minute... this at least he couldn't have stopped. Something in him put him here and that seemed to be one of the few things he could truly rely on.

"New Canterlot Republic? Aren't they the good ponies?" said Luminark. He thought, but didn't add: the good ponies who we have to protect from the bunker ponies.

TheAmishPirate

2020-07-29, 06:20 PM

Scrapscallion

The sunlight gleams off the hull of the Peregrine as its engine idles. It glints into the lenses of the binoculars Cloudburster hoofs to you and it illuminates the vast plain ahead that leads to the Bunker’s squat grey entrance in the distance.

It also shines on the half dozen camps that have sprung up in a circle around it.

“Outposts.” She says, as you adjust the focus to see the flag flying above it – a dual headed Ursa Minor.

“Not the Enclave, at least, but those are New Canterlot Republic troops down there." she continues "I can make out about twenty per outpost, at least a dozen alicorns spread across them all and, unless I drank something weird in that town last night – some hellhounds.”

“Not a force we can take on. But we’ve got a clear run into the bunker and, ignoring the alicorns, I don’t think they can catch us if we make a dash for it. How do you want to play this?” she asks.

What do you do?

The Scrapscallion let out a low whistle. “And here I was going to the Bunker before it was cool. Question is, what kinda party are they here for?” It sure would be great if they didn’t have to fight another big name of the Wasteland today, even cooler if they were on board with this whole “screw the Enclave” thing, but so far their track record on warm welcomes wasn’t super great for some reason.

He didn't feel exhausted or afraid as he walked over to join the others. Just for a minute... this at least he couldn't have stopped. Something in him put him here and that seemed to be one of the few things he could truly rely on.

"New Canterlot Republic? Aren't they the good ponies?" said Luminark. He thought, but didn't add: the good ponies who we have to protect from the bunker ponies.

“I dunno, man, why don’t you go down there and take a survey of who’s going to shoot us?” The Scrapscallion scoffed, savoring a good eye roll before tuning out the idiot nerd and getting back to saving their flanks.

So anyway...who exactly were the good guys here, again?

6. Going with Who's in control here?]

EDIT: [For bookkeeping, Luminark is rolling to Help, got an 11, and so the net result is 8]

Balmas

2020-07-30, 03:21 PM

“Take them, share them with your friends and use them when the time is right.”

Starlight scowls at the memory. Neither enforcer nor leader nor administrator? How is she supposed to protect people if they don't respect her, don't obey her, don't love her? That's how it works. You come in, you perform feats, they love you, they put you in charge.

Idly, she taps the coconut against the cliff face, not really paying attention to the rattle. She's more consumed with studying the camps below, plotting a course. Of course the weather chooses now to break the two hundred year cloudy streak. Time was, anypony with wings could get where they needed to go virtually invisibly simply by flying high enough, but now? The instant she jumps off that cliff, she's going to be instantly highlighted by the bright sunlight.

She still hasn't drunk the cloud. It's not nerves, she doesn't think. She just doesn't want to risk anything going wrong right before she returns home. She's got no idea what the Pi--Pinkie Pie's put in it. It seems like the kind of thing you drink either after the dust has settled, or right before you start kicking it up and have nothing left to lose. Either way, the time isn't now.

The time right now is plotting, and sneaking, and charting a course through the camps so she can get in without having the entire camp start shooting.

[[12] on Read a Sitch. What's my best way past these camps? What should I be on the lookout for? Which enemy is the biggest threat?]

BlasTech

2020-07-30, 11:54 PM

The Scrapscallion let out a low whistle. “And here I was going to the Bunker before it was cool. Question is, what kinda party are they here for?” It sure would be great if they didn’t have to fight another big name of the Wasteland today, even cooler if they were on board with this whole “screw the Enclave” thing, but so far their track record on warm welcomes wasn’t super great for some reason.

“I dunno, man, why don’t you go down there and take a survey of who’s going to shoot us?” The Scrapscallion scoffed, savoring a good eye roll before tuning out the idiot nerd and getting back to saving their flanks.

So anyway...who exactly were the good guys here, again?

6. Going with Who's in control here?]

EDIT: [For bookkeeping, Luminark is rolling to Help, got an 11, and so the net result is 8]

Glad you added that last bit - I was all ready for unfortunate consequences, but you managed to dodge them through the power of Friendship™

Anyway, Scraps, in answer to your question - it would seem that nopony is really in control at present.

The outposts are too far apart to be a siege and look more like observation posts. There to raise an alarm if anything nasty comes boiling out of the Bunker, or potentially deal with it more directly, but not enough to really take it out. The NCR troops seem to know it too. You spot several keeping an eye on the place through binoculars or spotting scopes, but there's not enough heavy weapons or other paraphernalia visible to support a full scale battle.

As for whether the Bunker is in control - well, unlikely. You can see smoke rising from some of the outbuildings, but whether that's due to the NCR's efforts or just the factional infighting, you can't tell. It's more likely the latter given what you know about the various departments and how well they play together.

Basically, you're likely wading into a big bowl of chaos.

Starlight scowls at the memory. Neither enforcer nor leader nor administrator? How is she supposed to protect people if they don't respect her, don't obey her, don't love her? That's how it works. You come in, you perform feats, they love you, they put you in charge.

Idly, she taps the coconut against the cliff face, not really paying attention to the rattle. She's more consumed with studying the camps below, plotting a course. Of course the weather chooses now to break the two hundred year cloudy streak. Time was, anypony with wings could get where they needed to go virtually invisibly simply by flying high enough, but now? The instant she jumps off that cliff, she's going to be instantly highlighted by the bright sunlight.

She still hasn't drunk the cloud. It's not nerves, she doesn't think. She just doesn't want to risk anything going wrong right before she returns home. She's got no idea what the Pi--Pinkie Pie's put in it. It seems like the kind of thing you drink either after the dust has settled, or right before you start kicking it up and have nothing left to lose. Either way, the time isn't now.

The time right now is plotting, and sneaking, and charting a course through the camps so she can get in without having the entire camp start shooting.

[[12] on Read a Sitch. What's my best way past these camps? What should I be on the lookout for? Which enemy is the biggest threat?]

This is going to sound straightforward - but your best bet is to just fly straight in. Not too high, because who knows who might be watching from above the clouds. And not too low to put you in grabbing reach of any hellhounds popping out of the ground. But low enough and quick enough to outpace any hoof patrols. These guys seem to be acting more like guards - keeping ponies getting out. They don't seem to be set up to prevent ponies getting in.

What you'll need to be on the lookout for is ... well, it's twofold.

One, is the reception you'll get when you get to the Bunker. You're not the Administrator there anymore, and - well - the last time you were here they tried to lock you up. You'll need to be careful in how you approach things to keep things calm - lest the ponies panic and do more damage to themselves.

But the biggest thing you should look out for, and the biggest threat? It's what you need to protect the Bunker from. Pinkie's message echoes in your mind here, there is something that poses a risk to both the Bunker and Equestria at large. Now, it might be just protecting the bunker from itself, but you don't think that's the whole picture. Forces are coming for the Bunker, or might even already be there. That's your biggest threat. All this petty squabbling between the departments? White noise, and a potential dangerous distraction.

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-02, 06:46 PM

BlasTech

2020-08-03, 06:30 AM

The Scrapscallion passed the binoculars back with a confident nod. “They can’t catch us, but they’re about to get caught out by the Enclave if they stay put. See, look how they’re pointing everything at the Bunker? They’re keeping things in, not keeping us out. Lucky for all of us…” He tapped the Peregrine’s hull. “We got a ticket into the Hangar, and after its defenses got souped up, none of the nerds in there’ll be able to crack it easy. We get them a safer post, we get us a few dozen more Foal Scouts to keep the Enclave out, that’s a win for everypony in my book.”

Perfect plan, zero flaws, provided Luminark didn’t ruin everything.

"Ok, I've heard worse ideas I guess." replies Cloudburster, lifting the binoculars back to her eyes. "Means you'll want to head to that camp, they've got the Grimfeather's flag flying as well. Probably means Regina's there on behalf of mom."

"But you know how the NCR are, right? If you want them to lift a talon to help defend the place, you're going to have to cut a deal with them - a contract, I mean, something more than just offering a win-win."

What do you two do?

Thanqol

2020-08-03, 06:40 PM

The Scrapscallion passed the binoculars back with a confident nod. “They can’t catch us, but they’re about to get caught out by the Enclave if they stay put. See, look how they’re pointing everything at the Bunker? They’re keeping things in, not keeping us out. Lucky for all of us…” He tapped the Peregrine’s hull. “We got a ticket into the Hangar, and after its defenses got souped up, none of the nerds in there’ll be able to crack it easy. We get them a safer post, we get us a few dozen more Foal Scouts to keep the Enclave out, that’s a win for everypony in my book.”

Perfect plan, zero flaws, provided Luminark didn’t ruin everything.

Luminark made a face like he was about to ruin everything. Correct Scrapscallion's grammar, perhaps, or make some sort of stale commentary on the nature of the Peregrine's technical specifications. But then he let the breath out and just... didn't. "All right. Let's go make a deal."

He was distracted and intrigued by the idea of doing something as civilized as working out a contract. Oh! Maybe it'd have signatures! And notaries! What could be better than signing a notarized contract over tea?

Elanorin

2020-08-05, 04:44 AM

They sit on your table, three small glass cylinders filled with preserving gel. You found them on your second trip into the stacks. The crown jewels of the Library’s specimen collection. Three samples from their manes: One, multicoloured like the dawn’s pastels. The second, a midnight blue flecked with stars. The third, a tricolour of purple, pink and cream.

It’s time. The port is open and the display above it reads “input sample”.

What do you do?

Milliway was staring at the three specimen jars. She was sat, head in her hooves, unmoving, much like she had been for the past hour. At least. When she found them it had felt like this amazing victory. Better than she could ever had hoped for (hell, she'd been prepared to clone herself if she'd had to and the creeps were still crawling down her spine at that). And yet, sat here, faced with the best of all imaginable choices, it felt all but impossible.

At first she'd reached for the one on the left, the bright shimmering pastels promised a clone of the most revered of all ponies she'd ever heard of and learned about as a filly. There was so much potential there. Hell, in that body perhaps House could help sort out more than just this crazy pony and her mad machine. Perhaps his wise mind in that body could help defuse some of the chaos here?

But then, the blue, with its shimmering stars, it called to her, on a personal level. It held the face she most wanted at her side. The one she'd feel most able to relate to. It was a selfish thing to keep that as an option for those reasons, but then again, had he not said his favourite colour was blue?

Then there was that last jar, the one her brain was informing her on a maddening loop of internal lectures was the right choice simply by virtue of its connection with the crystal heart that was House's, well, heart. The compatibility there was undeniable and, hell, wouldn't that serve towards the success of this insane venture which was already risky?

So it was the needs of the others, versus the wants of her heart, versus the logic of her mind, and Milliway remained, unmoving, staring at three jars. The urgency was rising though, she couldn't remain like this indefinitely or nothing would come of it and that deathmachine would show up and likely all would be lost. When her indecisiveness burped up the idea that perhaps she should just pour all three in and see what happened she finally spoke.

"House, do you have a preference here?" It was going to be his body after all.

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-05, 07:38 PM

"Ok, I've heard worse ideas I guess." replies Cloudburster, lifting the binoculars back to her eyes. "Means you'll want to head to that camp, they've got the Grimfeather's flag flying as well. Probably means Regina's there on behalf of mom."

"But you know how the NCR are, right? If you want them to lift a talon to help defend the place, you're going to have to cut a deal with them - a contract, I mean, something more than just offering a win-win."

What do you two do?

Luminark made a face like he was about to ruin everything. Correct Scrapscallion's grammar, perhaps, or make some sort of stale commentary on the nature of the Peregrine's technical specifications. But then he let the breath out and just... didn't. "All right. Let's go make a deal."

He was distracted and intrigued by the idea of doing something as civilized as working out a contract. Oh! Maybe it'd have signatures! And notaries! What could be better than signing a notarized contract over tea?

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sz5sgRlwDQ) Lame." The Scrapscallion griped as he boarded the Peregrine. "Woulda thought saving their hides would've been bargain enough, but sure, whatever, let's go make a deal."

The Scrapscallion briefly considered pointing out a few things he might be willing to offer this Regina that she'd definitely enjoy, but then again, maybe it'd be a bad idea to roll up to Milliway the negotiations with a black eye or two.

The Scrapscallion decided to keep his mouth shut.

BlasTech

2020-08-06, 07:47 AM

Luminark made a face like he was about to ruin everything. Correct Scrapscallion's grammar, perhaps, or make some sort of stale commentary on the nature of the Peregrine's technical specifications. But then he let the breath out and just... didn't. "All right. Let's go make a deal."

He was distracted and intrigued by the idea of doing something as civilized as working out a contract. Oh! Maybe it'd have signatures! And notaries! What could be better than signing a notarized contract over tea?

"Ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sz5sgRlwDQ) Lame." The Scrapscallion griped as he boarded the Peregrine. "Woulda thought saving their hides would've been bargain enough, but sure, whatever, let's go make a deal."

The Scrapscallion briefly considered pointing out a few things he might be willing to offer this Regina that she'd definitely enjoy, but then again, maybe it'd be a bad idea to roll up to Milliway the negotiations with a black eye or two.

The Scrapscallion decided to keep his mouth shut.

Tea and Contracts? Clearly, nothing is better than that.

"Alright, let's load up and head down" says Cloudburster. "Take it easy so nopony shoots at you, and I'll fly ahead to let them know we're coming"

-==-

A few minutes later, and the Peregrine's engine spinning down in the middle of the NCR encampment. Two earth pony guards come out to greet you. Not exactly welcoming, but not overtly hostile, they walk you all into a nearby tent after exchanging a few words with the pegasus. Rarity and Cloudburster walk in behind you.

Inside are a few sleeping cots, foldaway chairs and a portable table. Standing behind that, looking over a map of the region, are two griffons. One appears to be middle aged, a ragged scar running across her left eye down past her beak. The younger one has two pistols, cut down rifles really, in underwing holsters and looks up as you approach.

Scrapscallion - Your time in the wastes means you know the older of the two griffons in front of you. Gawdnya Grimfeathers, head of the Talons mercenary group and now de facto leader of the NCR.

Luminark - You recognise the younger one from your disaster of a diplomatic summit. Your last image of her, before you'd vanished in a cloud of radioactive dust, had been her climbing unsteadily back up, armor and feathers disheveled by the blast that had been meant to kill you.

"The F*ck?" she exclaims, eyes widening with surprise as she notices you. "Aren't you dead??!"

What do you two do?

Milliway was staring at the three specimen jars. She was sat, head in her hooves, unmoving, much like she had been for the past hour. At least. When she found them it had felt like this amazing victory. Better than she could ever had hoped for (hell, she'd been prepared to clone herself if she'd had to and the creeps were still crawling down her spine at that). And yet, sat here, faced with the best of all imaginable choices, it felt all but impossible.

At first she'd reached for the one on the left, the bright shimmering pastels promised a clone of the most revered of all ponies she'd ever heard of and learned about as a filly. There was so much potential there. Hell, in that body perhaps House could help sort out more than just this crazy pony and her mad machine. Perhaps his wise mind in that body could help defuse some of the chaos here?

But then, the blue, with its shimmering stars, it called to her, on a personal level. It held the face she most wanted at her side. The one she'd feel most able to relate to. It was a selfish thing to keep that as an option for those reasons, but then again, had he not said his favourite colour was blue?

Then there was that last jar, the one her brain was informing her on a maddening loop of internal lectures was the right choice simply by virtue of its connection with the crystal heart that was House's, well, heart. The compatibility there was undeniable and, hell, wouldn't that serve towards the success of this insane venture which was already risky?

So it was the needs of the others, versus the wants of her heart, versus the logic of her mind, and Milliway remained, unmoving, staring at three jars. The urgency was rising though, she couldn't remain like this indefinitely or nothing would come of it and that deathmachine would show up and likely all would be lost. When her indecisiveness burped up the idea that perhaps she should just pour all three in and see what happened she finally spoke.

"House, do you have a preference here?" It was going to be his body after all.

"I honestly ... am not sure" replies House, after a moment.

"They all feel ... familiar for some reason or other. But I don't know which one would work best."

You're right though Milliway. This is a choice for you to make. There is no wrong answer, but there is one that might work better than the others.

Would you like to read a sitch and try to put together the clues you've got in front of you?

Or would you like to consult a source that is less ... tangible. Would you like to open your mind?

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-06, 04:32 PM

Scrapscallion - Your time in the wastes means you know the older of the two griffons in front of you. Gawdnya Grimfeathers, head of the Talons mercenary group and now de facto leader of the NCR.

Luminark - You recognise the younger one from your disaster of a diplomatic summit. Your last image of her, before you'd vanished in a cloud of radioactive dust, had been her climbing unsteadily back up, armor and feathers disheveled by the blast that had been meant to kill you.

"The F*ck?" she exclaims, eyes widening with surprise as she notices you. "Aren't you dead??!"

What do you two do?

"Yeah, no such luck, apparently." The Scrapscallion shrugged with a huff. But even as he plied the 'ol Scrapscallion charm to the situation, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.

Okay, yeah, there were two griffons, right here, watching all of them, and probably also a handful of guards outside, so there was actually a lot of watching going on. But like, a feeling of being watched-watched. With intent. He couldn't tell if it was good, bad, or sideways, but what the hay could he have done to catch the eye of one of these NCR goons?

And...why did it feel like said eye belonged to the mom?

[Rolling Reputation on Gawdnya: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 I throw myself on the mercy of the MC.]

Balmas

2020-08-06, 09:58 PM

Huh. Well, that's simpler than expected. Easier, too--maybe it's just Scrapscallion rubbing off, but there's part of her that feels cheated by the missed opportunity to sneak through the camp, possibly while seducing someone on the way in.

Still, that's a good thing. She ignores the shouts as she zooms past the camp, less falling hawk and more gliding stealth bomber.

But she's not aimed at the front door. If things are running the way she'd run things--and the fact that people are here admittedly puts paid to that assumption, but we work with what we have--that's where the Friendship Squads will have set up a defensive position. Randomly dropping in there out of the blue seems like a good way to get vaporized.

She's not sure what that would do to her, but it seems like a bad idea to test it.

Instead, she's aimed at the vents. An underground facility this size needs ventilation to bring fresh air from the surface. And that flows throughout nearly the whole Bunker. She zoops through the grill like jello being fed through a set of teeth, and then she just needs to hope she remembers the way to her office.

BlasTech

2020-08-06, 11:17 PM

"Yeah, no such luck, apparently." The Scrapscallion shrugged with a huff. But even as he plied the 'ol Scrapscallion charm to the situation, he couldn't shake the feeling he was being watched.

Okay, yeah, there were two griffons, right here, watching all of them, and probably also a handful of guards outside, so there was actually a lot of watching going on. But like, a feeling of being watched-watched. With intent. He couldn't tell if it was good, bad, or sideways, but what the hay could he have done to catch the eye of one of these NCR goons?

And...why did it feel like said eye belonged to the mom?

[Rolling Reputation on Gawdnya: 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 I throw myself on the mercy of the MC.]

A question for you Scraps!

Can you tell me of a time you had to break a contract with a Wastelander? I mean, not just when you delivered cargo late or missed up one of the Ts and Cs (not that you can be bothered negotiating that level of detail), but when you straight up broke a promise that you should've kept? I'm sure it's happened and ... well, it looks like she knows it too.

Who was it, why did you break it, and what was the result?

Huh. Well, that's simpler than expected. Easier, too--maybe it's just Scrapscallion rubbing off, but there's part of her that feels cheated by the missed opportunity to sneak through the camp, possibly while seducing someone on the way in.

Still, that's a good thing. She ignores the shouts as she zooms past the camp, less falling hawk and more gliding stealth bomber.

But she's not aimed at the front door. If things are running the way she'd run things--and the fact that people are here admittedly puts paid to that assumption, but we work with what we have--that's where the Friendship Squads will have set up a defensive position. Randomly dropping in there out of the blue seems like a good way to get vaporized.

She's not sure what that would do to her, but it seems like a bad idea to test it.

Instead, she's aimed at the vents. An underground facility this size needs ventilation to bring fresh air from the surface. And that flows throughout nearly the whole Bunker. She zoops through the grill like jello being fed through a set of teeth, and then she just needs to hope she remembers the way to her office.

So - just in through the vents? No security? Nothing to dodge?

Is the Bunker really that easy to get into? Or is there something lurking ahead of you as you slip past the first grate?

If so, roll for an AUF - if not, then tell me what your journey is like before you drop down into the Administrator's office.

Thanqol

2020-08-07, 04:10 AM

Luminark - You recognise the younger one from your disaster of a diplomatic summit. Your last image of her, before you'd vanished in a cloud of radioactive dust, had been her climbing unsteadily back up, armor and feathers disheveled by the blast that had been meant to kill you.

"The F*ck?" she exclaims, eyes widening with surprise as she notices you. "Aren't you dead??!"

What do you two do?

"I got better," said Luminark flippantly, but looked away. He... didn't want to remember that day. He didn't want to think about having... abandoned everyone. A bit more quietly, and a lot more sincerely, he added. "Glad that you're okay."

"Anyway," he cleared his throat. "My understanding is that there are bad things going down at the Bunker and too many awful ponies either have or are trying to get their hooves on it. And, um. I feel some sort of responsibility towards... that... situation. So I'm back now, hopefully here to make sure everything turns out okay."

BlasTech

2020-08-07, 09:50 PM

"I got better," said Luminark flippantly, but looked away. He... didn't want to remember that day. He didn't want to think about having... abandoned everyone. A bit more quietly, and a lot more sincerely, he added. "Glad that you're okay."

"Anyway," he cleared his throat. "My understanding is that there are bad things going down at the Bunker and too many awful ponies either have or are trying to get their hooves on it. And, um. I feel some sort of responsibility towards... that... situation. So I'm back now, hopefully here to make sure everything turns out okay."

"Well that's ... nice I guess?" replies Reggie, before shooting an aside whisper to the rest of the gang. "You guys know he was dead, right? You can't fix dead!"

She's interrupted by the older griffon clearing her throat.

"Oh! Uh." she stammers, resting a talon on her chest for a moment - as if in memory of something - before turning back to you all. "I'm not really doing a good job of this am I?"

Deep breath, while the older griffon rolls her eyes fondly.

"Okay, starting over. It's good you survived too -stillnotsurehow- but what's your plan for making "everything okay"? This place has been spitting out random warbots and mutants for days now - it's a hazard to the whole waste."

Balmas

2020-08-07, 11:56 PM

So - just in through the vents? No security? Nothing to dodge?

Is the Bunker really that easy to get into? Or is there something lurking ahead of you as you slip past the first grate?

If so, roll for an AUF - if not, then tell me what your journey is like before you drop down into the Administrator's office.

See, I think the issue here is you're imagining something out of a Shadow Spade novel. The hero crawls their way through vents that are large enough, for some reason, to accomodate an average pony, and soundproofed enough that nopony will notice the tromping of hooves on thin metal, before unscrewing a ventilation grate and emerging where they need to be.

Not so the Bunker! This is a premier, top-of-the-line, secret research facility for the Ministry of Arcane Science, built at the war-heightened peaks of paranoia! Before you even reach the grates, you need to figure out which of them are disguised, which of them are obvious (and therefore trapped), and which of them actually lead where you want to go. And of course you'd need to figure out how to disable the disintigration fields--because there was that one time with the murder of pigeons--and the air filtration systems, because again, murders of pigeons.

Oh, and then you'd need to figure out how to shrink your average pony down to something approaching the diameter of a soup can. After all, the architects read Shadow Spade too.

[[6]. So close.]

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-09, 05:17 PM

A question for you Scraps!

Can you tell me of a time you had to break a contract with a Wastelander? I mean, not just when you delivered cargo late or missed up one of the Ts and Cs (not that you can be bothered negotiating that level of detail), but when you straight up broke a promise that you should've kept? I'm sure it's happened and ... well, it looks like she knows it too.

Who was it, why did you break it, and what was the result?

Uhhh, you want a list? Stuff happens, y’know. Can’t be helped.

But if we’re talking stuff happening that she might’ve heard of, then mayyyyyyyyyyybe she heard about Bitsburgh. Way back when, they contracted him to go and get a load of scrap from point A to point Them. It wasn’t really a contract, y’know, he doesn’t go for all those messy details, they just made him promise three things, and he’d get paid.

He broke the first promise where he said he’d go and get the stuff by ditching the whole job partway through. Because oh my gosh was it boring. Nothing more than a dumb freight job over pancake flat roads. Some of which were actual roads! Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaame. He blew their down payment on fuel and other goodies to finance another, much more fun job that he can’t be bothered to remember right now.

He broke the second promise where he said he wouldn’t come back until he had the stuff by doing exactly that. Under the cover of night, no less, to have some fun with the mayor’s daughter. Who may have been a significant part of the third promise.

So anyway that’s why he’s not allowed in Bitsburgh anymore.

"Well that's ... nice I guess?" replies Reggie, before shooting an aside whisper to the rest of the gang. "You guys know he was dead, right? You can't fix dead!"

She's interrupted by the older griffon clearing her throat.

"Oh! Uh." she stammers, resting a talon on her chest for a moment - as if in memory of something - before turning back to you all. "I'm not really doing a good job of this am I?"

Deep breath, while the older griffon rolls her eyes fondly.

"Okay, starting over. It's good you survived too -stillnotsurehow- but what's your plan for making "everything okay"? This place has been spitting out random warbots and mutants for days now - it's a hazard to the whole waste."

The Scrapscallion really wanted to leave him out to dry hear what this definitely great plan was, and so he shut up for a sec to watch the show listen.

Thanqol

2020-08-12, 03:54 AM

"Well that's ... nice I guess?" replies Reggie, before shooting an aside whisper to the rest of the gang. "You guys know he was dead, right? You can't fix dead!"

She's interrupted by the older griffon clearing her throat.

"Oh! Uh." she stammers, resting a talon on her chest for a moment - as if in memory of something - before turning back to you all. "I'm not really doing a good job of this am I?"

Deep breath, while the older griffon rolls her eyes fondly.

"Okay, starting over. It's good you survived too -stillnotsurehow- but what's your plan for making "everything okay"? This place has been spitting out random warbots and mutants for days now - it's a hazard to the whole waste."

"I am hoping that nopony bothered to take me off the bunker's security filters, what with me being dead and all," said Luminark breezily. "I intend to walk up, find out who's in charge, talk sense into them, and hopefully not have the entire thing devolve immediately into a spectacular action sequence. Worst case I have to do another stint dead, but there are worse things in life than death."

BlasTech

2020-08-12, 07:48 AM

See, I think the issue here is you're imagining something out of a Shadow Spade novel. The hero crawls their way through vents that are large enough, for some reason, to accomodate an average pony, and soundproofed enough that nopony will notice the tromping of hooves on thin metal, before unscrewing a ventilation grate and emerging where they need to be.

Not so the Bunker! This is a premier, top-of-the-line, secret research facility for the Ministry of Arcane Science, built at the war-heightened peaks of paranoia! Before you even reach the grates, you need to figure out which of them are disguised, which of them are obvious (and therefore trapped), and which of them actually lead where you want to go. And of course you'd need to figure out how to disable the disintigration fields--because there was that one time with the murder of pigeons--and the air filtration systems, because again, murders of pigeons.

Oh, and then you'd need to figure out how to shrink your average pony down to something approaching the diameter of a soup can. After all, the architects read Shadow Spade too.

[[6]. So close.]

You manage to evade the fields, squeeze past the blades and step around the traps, eventually making your way to the air vent above the Administrator's office. Such is your mastery of stealthy-stealth-ness, that nopony is the wiser as you reach your destination.

Clearly you are a master of the maze. The super of the sneaky spies. The ultimate ... uh ... underhooved undertaker?

... Ok, maybe not that last one.

Anyway, it's all going swimmingly up until you drop down from the ceiling into your office ...

--==BZzzzwwoooRRrnnn==--

A crackling energy field springs to life around you. Trapping you inside a shimmering white bubble a good foot of the ground.

It seems somepony else has been reading Shadow Spade, as one of the egg-shaped chairs in front of your desk slowly spins around to reveal the pony who had been lounging in it. Grey bun of a mane, silver rimmed spectacles, clipboard and impeccably tidy labcoat. All that's missing is the small white cat.

Proper Process, divisional secretariat and head of the administration department, blinks and regards you critically over the rim of her glasses.

"Well. You're not who I expected to fall into that particular trap." she observes.

As your eyes adjust to the bunker's harsh lighting, you see two other ponies sitting around the administrator's table: Target Practice, the Chief of Security, and Big Bang the head of the Chemistry department. They look like they've been talking, clearly you've just interrupted a meeting of some kind.

What do you do?

Uhhh, you want a list? Stuff happens, y’know. Can’t be helped.

But if we’re talking stuff happening that she might’ve heard of, then mayyyyyyyyyyybe she heard about Bitsburgh. Way back when, they contracted him to go and get a load of scrap from point A to point Them. It wasn’t really a contract, y’know, he doesn’t go for all those messy details, they just made him promise three things, and he’d get paid.

He broke the first promise where he said he’d go and get the stuff by ditching the whole job partway through. Because oh my gosh was it boring. Nothing more than a dumb freight job over pancake flat roads. Some of which were actual roads! Laaaaaaaaaaaaaaame. He blew their down payment on fuel and other goodies to finance another, much more fun job that he can’t be bothered to remember right now.

He broke the second promise where he said he wouldn’t come back until he had the stuff by doing exactly that. Under the cover of night, no less, to have some fun with the mayor’s daughter. Who may have been a significant part of the third promise.

So anyway that’s why he’s not allowed in Bitsburgh anymore.

Well, with all that playing through your mind there's barely enough room for two additional thoughts.

The first is that the mother of the young griffoness talking is looking at you like she's recalling the tale of Bitsburgh in all the vivid embellishments borne of a Wasteland's worth of retelling. You can see it in the set of her beak, in the glint of her eyes as she leans back against the wall of the tent. She pulls a knife from her bandoleer and purposefully begins sharpening it with long, slow strokes. All without her eyes leaving yours.

-shinkt- -shinkt- -shinkt-

The second thought, following right on the tail of the first, is that the thing she's sharpening isn't actually a knife.

It's a melon baller.

Why the hay does she even carry one of those??

"I am hoping that nopony bothered to take me off the bunker's security filters, what with me being dead and all," said Luminark breezily. "I intend to walk up, find out who's in charge, talk sense into them, and hopefully not have the entire thing devolve immediately into a spectacular action sequence. Worst case I have to do another stint dead, but there are worse things in life than death."

"Oh okay." replies the younger griffon. "Well, once you've died and come back again you can look us up?"

She glances at Cloudburster who is looking at you with an expression of exasperation.

"Or is there something you wanted to talk to us about before you go and get yourself perforated? Your buddy there suggested you wanted to cut a deal of some kind." she finishes, indicating the pegasus.

What do you do?

Balmas

2020-08-13, 10:53 PM

Starlight ***** an eyebrow. "Who, exactly, did you expect to fall into this trap?"

Lazily, she allows herself to schlorp into a puddle at the bottom of the bubble, before reforming back in a sitting position. She is casual, composed, confident, in control, but in a non-confrontational way. She doesn't need to fight for respect. She simply is.

She's home.

The effort of forming a martini glass out of her own leg is perhaps less than justified, but it's worth it to see the look on Proper Process's face.

"No, really. Was it Byte Size? I may be a bit out of the loop, but last I remember her work on miniaturized spy drones was truly astonishing. Or maybe Ashheap finally managed a breakthrough on reanimating energy weapon goo piles, but that seems likely given the outcome of his last self-experimentation. Or did Otto finally manage to hybridize himself with that cuttlefish RNA enough to fit through a tunnel that size?"

Hmm. There's a twinge. Wonder whether he actually survived?

A concern for another day. Right now, she needs to get these ponies on side. Or at least, not actively against.

[[11] on Read a Pony.
-How could I get Proper Process to help me save the Bunker?
Holding 2.]

She pauses, and rolls her eyes. "Oh, do put the guns away, Target. Maybe you didn't hear, but I'm taking a contractually-enforced leave of absence. You don't have to worry about me seizing power for at least another ten years."

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-15, 04:19 PM

Well, with all that playing through your mind there's barely enough room for two additional thoughts.

The first is that the mother of the young griffoness talking is looking at you like she's recalling the tale of Bitsburgh in all the vivid embellishments borne of a Wasteland's worth of retelling. You can see it in the set of her beak, in the glint of her eyes as she leans back against the wall of the tent. She pulls a knife from her bandoleer and purposefully begins sharpening it with long, slow strokes. All without her eyes leaving yours.

-shinkt- -shinkt- -shinkt-

The second thought, following right on the tail of the first, is that the thing she's sharpening isn't actually a knife.

It's a melon baller.

Why the hay does she even carry one of those??

Oh no, the eye belonged to the mom.

New plan, new plan. Dunking on Luminark? Back burner. Top priority; getting out of here in one piece, and with all pieces still attached. The Scrapscallion was crazy enough to leap into a reactor going critical, but Gawdnya thinking he was going to put the moves on her daughter?!

Nopony was that crazy.

"Oh okay." replies the younger griffon. "Well, once you've died and come back again you can look us up?"

She glances at Cloudburster who is looking at you with an expression of exasperation.

"Or is there something you wanted to talk to us about before you go and get yourself perforated? Your buddy there suggested you wanted to cut a deal of some kind." she finishes, indicating the pegasus.

What do you do?

"Yep, right, we can all agree; terrible plan, we got a better one in the works, not important." The Scrapscallion inserted himself into the negotiations, at a respectful, mother-and-Cloudburster-approved distance from Reggie. "What's important? Good question, thanks for asking. Answer: The Enclave Fleet heading here, now." He didn't even pause for dramatic effect! That's how serious he was taking this c'mon Gawdnya be cool this was! "Cloudburster and I raided one of their outposts the other day, and we caught some of their communications. They're sending a fleet - a big one, maybe everything they have left - here, and they're gonna take everything that's not nailed down. You think those mutants and murderbots are bad? Wait until the Enclave gets their hooves on that stuff. We're talking Friendship City all over again, all over the place. Or worse, they get their little kingdom in the sky back, and good luck getting them out of there a second time."

The NCR cared about that stuff right? Right. Definitely. No need to melon-ball the messenger.

"Here's the deal; this Bunker here was my base of operations before it went to pieces. Which means I can get all of us inside the hangar. It's fortified, inside and out. Seriously, just got some fancy autoturrets on the entrance, it's pretty sweet. I can let all of you in, and that'll keep the Enclave from rolling over your guys, and leave them to deal with whatever weird science crap comes shambling out. Added bonus, great spot to hold them off while we get the situation down below under control. Everybody wins, right?"

Thanqol

2020-08-16, 02:35 AM

Luminark nodded along to Scraps' proposal. "I'm really too new to this outside world to pick sides in this big weird political throwdown," he said, "but at bare minimum I'd prefer it if all the terrible things in that bunker remained on the inside."

Elanorin

2020-08-16, 06:21 AM

"I honestly ... am not sure" replies House, after a moment.

"They all feel ... familiar for some reason or other. But I don't know which one would work best."

You're right though Milliway. This is a choice for you to make. There is no wrong answer, but there is one that might work better than the others.

Would you like to read a sitch and try to put together the clues you've got in front of you?

Or would you like to consult a source that is less ... tangible. Would you like to open your mind?

What do you do?

Not only was this extremely important - House getting a body was a Big Deal as he might well end up keeping it... indefinitely, and he deserved the best. But also, with the crazy hack looming in the wings with their deathtrap of a poorly constructed bot, she felt she had something to prove when it came to craftmanship. She was going to face this pony and her construction would be superior in every way. And whatever happened after the dust settled, they would both know it.

There was nothing for it, she needed to get a more direct taste of her options. And so Milliway steeled herself, drew a deep breath, in and out... and took an actual sip of each jar.

[Rolling to Open My Brain: 1+3+3=7]

BlasTech

2020-08-17, 08:52 AM

[[11] on Read a Pony.
-How could I get Proper Process to help me save the Bunker?
Holding 2.]

She pauses, and rolls her eyes. "Oh, do put the guns away, Target. Maybe you didn't hear, but I'm taking a contractually-enforced leave of absence. You don't have to worry about me seizing power for at least another ten years."

"Well, I see no reason not to say." replies Proper Process, regarding you as if assessing the shield's ability to contain you too. "I was expecting Luminark to attempt to get back in here. The Administrator's office seemed a likely target for such an attempt - so this room is rather thoroughly trapped. That pony has left things in a most intolerable state, and needs to answer for his actions."

"Anyway, enough of that." she clicks her tongue, before turning back to the other ponies. "This interruption should not disrupt our negotiations to bring peace to this bunker. Target, Bang. You were both saying?"

The two other ponies snap out of the distraction afforded by your arrival, turning back to each other with looks of undisguised venom. They pause, silent, waiting for the other side to make the first move. Eyes narrowed, jaws clenched. Tension building.

But it's Proper Process' expression you notice most. Small, almost unnoticeable, but the pony is smiling.

It makes it clear. You can't convince her to help save the bunker. She wants the division to continue.

What do you do?

"Yep, right, we can all agree; terrible plan, we got a better one in the works, not important." The Scrapscallion inserted himself into the negotiations, at a respectful, mother-and-Cloudburster-approved distance from Reggie. "What's important? Good question, thanks for asking. Answer: The Enclave Fleet heading here, now." He didn't even pause for dramatic effect! That's how serious he was taking this c'mon Gawdnya be cool this was! "Cloudburster and I raided one of their outposts the other day, and we caught some of their communications. They're sending a fleet - a big one, maybe everything they have left - here, and they're gonna take everything that's not nailed down. You think those mutants and murderbots are bad? Wait until the Enclave gets their hooves on that stuff. We're talking Friendship City all over again, all over the place. Or worse, they get their little kingdom in the sky back, and good luck getting them out of there a second time."

The NCR cared about that stuff right? Right. Definitely. No need to melon-ball the messenger.

"Here's the deal; this Bunker here was my base of operations before it went to pieces. Which means I can get all of us inside the hangar. It's fortified, inside and out. Seriously, just got some fancy autoturrets on the entrance, it's pretty sweet. I can let all of you in, and that'll keep the Enclave from rolling over your guys, and leave them to deal with whatever weird science crap comes shambling out. Added bonus, great spot to hold them off while we get the situation down below under control. Everybody wins, right?"

"The enclave ..." says the younger griffon. She looks like she's about to say more before she's cut off by the mom.

"No deal." she replies, eyes narrowed.

"You broke contract out at Bitsburgh, as well as breaking a few other things." she said, muttering the last part. "Even if you told me Celestia was coming down on a flaming meteor and asking us for help, I'm not about to put my ponies in harms way just on your word alone."

What do you do?

Luminark nodded along to Scraps' proposal. "I'm really too new to this outside world to pick sides in this big weird political throwdown," he said, "but at bare minimum I'd prefer it if all the terrible things in that bunker remained on the inside."

"On the other claw, that's probably the most honest assessment I've heard today." she continues, looking at Luminark.

"If the Enclave are coming, what do they want from this place?" she asks.

What do you do?

Not only was this extremely important - House getting a body was a Big Deal as he might well end up keeping it... indefinitely, and he deserved the best. But also, with the crazy hack looming in the wings with their deathtrap of a poorly constructed bot, she felt she had something to prove when it came to craftmanship. She was going to face this pony and her construction would be superior in every way. And whatever happened after the dust settled, they would both know it.

There was nothing for it, she needed to get a more direct taste of her options. And so Milliway steeled herself, drew a deep breath, in and out... and took an actual sip of each jar.

[Rolling to Open My Brain: 1+3+3=7]

Okay. Well let's start with the Celestia jar. You lift it to your lips and take a swig, moving it around on your tongue as you consider the flavours. It starts with a hint of nutmeg, a touch of cinnamon - with a rather smoky aftertast----

BLARGH.

Ok, no. Not really. I mean, what were you expecting? This isn't a fine scotch, this is 200 year old preservation gel designed by the Ministry of Arcane science. It tastes like old boots marinated in sweat socks and banana peels and then served up with a plate of toast burnt so badly it's turned to liquid.

Maybe if this had been designed by the Ministry of Morale, things might have been different. But no such luck.

Luna's gel is not much better. In fact, this sample is freezing. So cold on your tongue nearly burns. You have to spit it out and then rub it off with your hooves before it can cause any permanent damage.

That leaves only the Cadance jar.

Well ... in for a bit in for a bushel, right? (Is that the right saying? Always get that one wrong).

You take a swig of the liquid, fully ready to spit it back out the moment something bad happens. For a second though you're disappointed. It tastes - bland, like you're drinking nothing at al----

-==-

You see the Crystal Heart, spinning on its pedestal in a city made of glass.

-==-

A stallion looks at you, his mane a brilliant two toned blue and his coat pure white. You can't hear the words he speaks, but you can feel the love behind them.

-==-

You feel wings, stretched out to either side, as you barrel towards something in the distance. Small, purple, falling. A tiny creature clutches a blue gemstone as black smoke billows towards him.

-==-

THUD.

Blinking, you find yourself back in the Library, slumped over one of your computers and your tongue buzzing with a strange tingling sensation. Your hoof is splayed over the keyboard, and you note that it has pulled up the log of the diagnostic you ran earlier.

Synccomp root access granted. Diagnostic underway: root kernel CrE5H4|2D.exe operating … … 100%, fault error diagnostics nil. Rootkit scan complete. Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK. Memory checksum passed. Backup test … effective. Diagnostics complete: no errors found.

Your eyes, still reeling from the visions they just had, latch on to one part in particular.

Rootkit scan complete. Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK. Memory checksum passed.

Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK.

C4D4|VC3

CADANCE

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-08-18, 03:43 AM

Your eyes, still reeling from the visions they just had, latch on to one part in particular.

Rootkit scan complete. Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK. Memory checksum passed.

Gestalt #C4D4|VC3 integrity OK.

C4D4|VC3

CADANCE

What do you do?

Milliway was frozen in a stare yet again, this time on the screen in front of her. How did she not see this before? It was right there. Right, the hell, there. In front of her ash-grey nose. Her hunch was busy crossing its legs and nodding smugly in the back of her mind, dishing out prime cuts of 'I told you so's' and 'you never listen to me anymore'.

Well. At least the choice was clear and that was... good. Right? No more indecision. Her path was obvious and all there was left to do was to lift the pink/purple/cream specimen jar and put it in the slot, close the hatch and push the button.

So she did.

And it was the single hardest thing she'd ever done.

As the machine began to hum, or whirr, or whatever it did as it began to work its insane magic, Milliway sat down and for a moment, while she was still alone, she allowed herself to feel the sting of loss. Sure, this plan was brilliant. Sure she was certain it would work. Sure, it was a fantastic thing that House got not only a body but clearly it was going to be much more than that. It was going to be a perfect fit. Not just a body. His body. No, her body. It was giving back a major piece of what was so clearly missing. It was doing the Right Thing.

And yet it felt... so very hard.

The vision of the blue and white pony played in her mind and she knew she was no longer going to be (if she ever had been) House's number one pony. Hell, she wasn't even sure the pony that would emerge from that machine would be House at all. House, as she knew him... was disappearing with every thump, hiss and burp of the machine before her. She'd made him to not just be an assistant around the workshop but to be her friend, and only her friend. The one she could rely on and trust to never betray her. Hurt her. Leave her. As he was beginning to grow and gain self awareness it had started to dawn on her how much that was not only unfair but not really friendship at all. It was possessive. Manipulative. And a bit creepy. That blue and white stallion may not exist anymore but the image served as the perfect picture that whoever emerged from there was not House, perhaps not even Princess Cadance, but whoever they were they were their own and would make their own choices and friendships and there were no guarantee that she would be one of them, no less number 1.

And that was... good. It was as it should be. This was a Good Day. This was a win. This was genius on a scale she had not wielded for months now, hell, if ever. And yet it made her feel more than a little bit sick to her stomach, and not just because of tasting centuries old preservation jelly.

Somepony was emerging from all this and she realised now they were less her brilliant brain creation and more a case of somepony broken that she'd merely put back together. Or some of them at least. The matter of the missing shards was still very much a thing that needed addressing. Especially now. It was somepony amazing. Truly, jaw-droppingly amazing and, hell, probably the one the world needed every bit as much as either of the other choices.

But still, to Milliway, this was a goodbye and she had to swallow hard against the lump in her throat.

Thanqol

2020-08-19, 10:36 PM

"On the other claw, that's probably the most honest assessment I've heard today." she continues, looking at Luminark.

"If the Enclave are coming, what do they want from this place?" she asks.

What do you do?

Luminark looked at her askew. "I don't know what they think is in there," said Luminark. "I've never even met an Enclave. But from what I know is in there? Imagine the mages who did that," he pointed a hoof at a convenient mountain with a massive crater taken out of the side, "had two hundred years to refine their craft."

TheAmishPirate

2020-08-22, 07:41 PM

"The enclave ..." says the younger griffon. She looks like she's about to say more before she's cut off by the mom.

"No deal." she replies, eyes narrowed.

"You broke contract out at Bitsburgh, as well as breaking a few other things." she said, muttering the last part. "Even if you told me Celestia was coming down on a flaming meteor and asking us for help, I'm not about to put my ponies in harms way just on your word alone."

What do you do?

Ah well. It was worth a shot. They had Paladin Cross and her gang en route, that’d have to be enough.

And even if it wasn’t, it was cool. He’d figure something out along the way. Not like he had anything he could actually give these jerks, he was dead broke. It’s fine. It’s whatever. It’d work out. Probably.

Oh. Hey. He was marching right up to Gawdnya’s face. Legs were moving, couldn’t stop ‘em. That’s new.

“So.” Also new. When’d his voice get so...cold? “My word not good enough for you? How ‘bout this?” He reached into his jacket, and before any of them could gut, shoot, or melon ball him, he slammed a hoof down on the portable table. There, lying on the maps, was a single, dirty key, hanging from a battered ring.

The ignition key for the Peregrine.

“Consider that a deposit. I’m not leaving ‘till the job is done, and you can hold me to that. Do we got a deal, Feathers?” He met her gaze, unflinching, with no idea why he’d just done that.

[Rolling to Manipulate Gawdnya: 5 + 5 + 2 = 12]

BlasTech

2020-08-23, 03:06 AM

Somepony was emerging from all this and she realised now they were less her brilliant brain creation and more a case of somepony broken that she'd merely put back together. Or some of them at least. The matter of the missing shards was still very much a thing that needed addressing. Especially now. It was somepony amazing. Truly, jaw-droppingly amazing and, hell, probably the one the world needed every bit as much as either of the other choices.

But still, to Milliway, this was a goodbye and she had to swallow hard against the lump in her throat.

<Sample accepted ... Procedure commencing>

The machine bubbles to life, tubes filling with arcane liquids and the very stuff of life.

<Selfstream download initiating>

"Milliway." says House, his - her - voice, echoes around the cavernous stacks. "I ... I don't know if this is going to work or not."

One by one, monitors flicker to blank. Black screens replacing the blue glow of House's standby presence.

<Download in progress>

"But, even if this ends up not working - I just wanted to say; I really appreciated the time we had together."

All the monitors in the Library lie blank. The only light now being provided by the central mainframe and Crystal Heart.

"And ... I know what this means to you."

The mainframe powers down, and the Heart ... well, the glow of magic in it begins to fade.

"So ... thank you, Milliway."

The Heart fades to grey.

"Thank you for being a good friend."

<Download Complete. Commencing growth process.>

...

...

After all of that, the silence of the Library is deafening.

Sitting there, in the darkness, with only the soft green glow of the cloning device. It almost makes you jump out of your skin when you hear another voice in your mind.

"Milliway?"

It takes you a moment to recognise it, as it'd been a while since you last spoke. It's not Luminark. It's not House.

"Milliway, what's happening out there?"

It's Moondancer.

What do you do?

Luminark looked at her askew. "I don't know what they think is in there," said Luminark. "I've never even met an Enclave. But from what I know is in there? Imagine the mages who did that," he pointed a hoof at a convenient mountain with a massive crater taken out of the side, "had two hundred years to refine their craft."

"Megaspells" replies Gawd, looking you clear in the eye. "You're talking about a megaspell production facility".

She and Reggie glance at each other.

Ah well. It was worth a shot. They had Paladin Cross and her gang en route, that’d have to be enough.

And even if it wasn’t, it was cool. He’d figure something out along the way. Not like he had anything he could actually give these jerks, he was dead broke. It’s fine. It’s whatever. It’d work out. Probably.

Oh. Hey. He was marching right up to Gawdnya’s face. Legs were moving, couldn’t stop ‘em. That’s new.

“So.” Also new. When’d his voice get so...cold? “My word not good enough for you? How ‘bout this?” He reached into his jacket, and before any of them could gut, shoot, or melon ball him, he slammed a hoof down on the portable table. There, lying on the maps, was a single, dirty key, hanging from a battered ring.

The ignition key for the Peregrine.

“Consider that a deposit. I’m not leaving ‘till the job is done, and you can hold me to that. Do we got a deal, Feathers?” He met her gaze, unflinching, with no idea why he’d just done that.

[Rolling to Manipulate Gawdnya: 5 + 5 + 2 = 12]

Gawd looks at the key for a long while, before reaching for it with a claw.

"I know what this is to you, Scrapscallion." she replies. "So don't think I'm missing the gesture. But I also know what I said earlier."

She flicks the key back towards you.

"Keep it. I said I wouldn't deal with you and I meant that. I don't back down on my word." she continues, her voice conflicted. "But, I can also see how much this means for you so ... I'll put a deal on the table for him."

She turns to Luminark.

"We want a megaspell." she states, simply. "In exchange, we'll join you in defending this place from the Enclave."

"Now, I know those things aren't to be taken lightly, so we can negotiate what kind of megaspell once the place is safe." she continues, holding up a claw. "The NCR has many needs. Taint that needs purging, croplands that need reclaiming and, yes, other factions out there that we could use a deterrent against. We're flexible, but you're asking that we put a lot of ponies' lives on the line, so we expect you to deal fairly with us for this."

Luminark, Scrapscallion - What do you two say?

Thanqol

2020-08-24, 06:07 AM

Elanorin

2020-08-25, 05:40 AM

[I]

...

...

After all of that, the silence of the Library is deafening.

Sitting there, in the darkness, with only the soft green glow of the cloning device. It almost makes you jump out of your skin when you hear another voice in your mind.

"Milliway?"

It takes you a moment to recognise it, as it'd been a while since you last spoke. It's not Luminark. It's not House.

It's not Scrapscallion.

"Milliway, what's happening out there?"

It's Moondancer.

What do you do?

Heart racing and breath in her throat from the sudden fright of the voice in her head and Milliway's brain is limp and uncooperative in coming up with a reply. I mean, what do you even say to that at a time like this?

'I'm just resurrecting one of the ancient Princesses because there's this green-eyed pony with a robot that might climb out of the sewers.'

'Just dismantling the Library's primary defenses in the midst of civil war in order to possibly give it hooves, or maybe turn it in to a puddle of sentient goo, stand by for information on which of the two it is.'

'Oh draining the still unstudied mystical energy from the most valuable ancient relic we have, rendering it to be no more than a pretty paperweight, along with destroying one of your most prized biological samples in the hopes that this machine I found with the party supplies can spit more than just confetti.'

"Conducting an experiment, ma'am," Milliway finally said. It was unthinkable, outright obscene to lie to Moondancer, but she could not bring herself to tell the whole truth either. Not yet. Once the results were in and her triumph or failure was made clear, then yes. But for now, four words were all she could muster as she stared at the faint green light. The black screens around her seemed emptier than they had ever been, the whole library seemed... no longer alive.

Oh hell, what a gamble to make!

Milliway finally got up from where she sat on the floor and slowly, gently, walked up to the machine and placed a cautious hoof on it. Was it still working? How long would it take?

BlasTech

2020-08-25, 07:44 AM

"I'm going to give you this warning exactly one time, so it's really important you listen to me here," said Luminark. "Magic is alive. It's not an unthinking, uncaring beast of burden, it's not a tool or a hammer or a sword. It is intelligent, it is powerful, and it has its own agenda. Gather enough of it in one place, even if it's just for storage, and it will act in accordance with its own interests. Magic is... chaos."

He shivered.

There was always something in the Library.

"Frankly, I don't know you from the Enclave. I'm new here, I haven't heard their side of the story - maybe they're the benevolent do-gooders out to keep this place safe from you. More likely they're not. More likely everypony with the means fully intends to use this place to its fullest possible potential. Stands to reason."

He squared his shoulders a little. Breathed in a hint of courage. "If you trust me I'll see to it you get your pay at the end of this. The bunker has a lot going for it. Plenty of things you can use there, plenty to make your time and... your lives worthwhile. Maybe after that greed gets the better of you and you kill me to get your hooves on the Library. I wouldn't really be able to stop you if you did. But I want you to know that if you kill me, when I claw my desiccated carcass back out of the grave for a second time, I won't come back to stop you. I will turn my tail and run as far as I can in the opposite direction because it'll only be a matter of time before the NCR becomes another greasy crater on the mountainside."

"... you give the weirdest intimidation speeches." Reggie observes.

"Who cares. Actions speak louder anyway. Contract." she orders, setting the younger griffon scrambling.

Before long, there is a piece of parchment and quill laid on the table in front of you. The terms all seem rather cookie-cutter, which befits a document that has had "Talon Agency protection agreement" at the top (with Talon Agency crossed out and replaced with 'New Canterlot Republic') and you're free to peruse the terms. They do seem rather generous all things considered - the promise of military protection for the immediate duration of the emergency, options to extend or renegotiate subsequent to that at need, and payment to be rendered as "one megaspell - or equivalent assistance to NCR" upon defeat of the Enclave assault.

All in all, it's not bad for what amounts to a promise of yours on a piece of paper. After all, if you lose, who'd collect? And if you win - well - you can decide later if you'll actually pay up, right?

Gawd signs her name down the bottom, before holding the quill out to yourself. You notice that it's the same brown colouration as the griffon in front of you.

What do you do?

It's not Scrapscallion.

Heart racing and breath in her throat from the sudden fright of the voice in her head and Milliway's brain is limp and uncooperative in coming up with a reply. I mean, what do you even say to that at a time like this?

'I'm just resurrecting one of the ancient Princesses because there's this green-eyed pony with a robot that might climb out of the sewers.'

'Just dismantling the Library's primary defenses in the midst of civil war in order to possibly give it hooves, or maybe turn it in to a puddle of sentient goo, stand by for information on which of the two it is.'

'Oh draining the still unstudied mystical energy from the most valuable ancient relic we have, rendering it to be no more than a pretty paperweight, along with destroying one of your most prized biological samples in the hopes that this machine I found with the party supplies can spit more than just confetti.'

"Conducting an experiment, ma'am," Milliway finally said. It was unthinkable, outright obscene to lie to Moondancer, but she could not bring herself to tell the whole truth either. Not yet. Once the results were in and her triumph or failure was made clear, then yes. But for now, four words were all she could muster as she stared at the faint green light. The black screens around her seemed emptier than they had ever been, the whole library seemed... no longer alive.

Oh hell, what a gamble to make!

Milliway finally got up from where she sat on the floor and slowly, gently, walked up to the machine and placed a cautious hoof on it. Was it still working? How long would it take?

The machine was working - you can tell that much from the displays - but "Flash" cloning might be a bit of a misnomer in terms of how soon it'll be before you know what the outcome is. It doesn't help that the pony who designed the "estimated time to completion" readout clearly didn't understand how time worked. The numbers keep fluctuating between 14 minutes and 2 days.

"Experiments are good - but can you come to my office please? I need your help with something. Um, if you have a minute and are not too busy I mean." says Moondancer.

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-08-25, 03:07 PM

The machine was working - you can tell that much from the displays - but "Flash" cloning might be a bit of a misnomer in terms of how soon it'll be before you know what the outcome is. It doesn't help that the pony who designed the "estimated time to completion" readout clearly didn't understand how time worked. The numbers keep fluctuating between 14 minutes and 2 days.

"Experiments are good - but can you come to my office please? I need your help with something. Um, if you have a minute and are not too busy I mean." says Moondancer.

What do you do?

Watching that display was quickly threatening to become physically painful. 14 minutes she could wait. Would wait. Wanted to wait. For House? Of course!

2 days? I mean, a pony has to eat at some point. And... stuff. You know. Anyway.

"I'll be right there," Milliway said to the voice in her head.

She stroked her hoof on the machine gently, as if caressing the mane of an upset little filly. "I'll be right back. I promise."

The thought of that pony emerging to nothing but emptiness and loneliness made her stomach turn. She did not want that. Just the image in her head made her eyes ache. This was going to be a momentous event and she should be there to support them. She just had to.

She ran to Moondancer's office, and the further she went from the central communication hub where the machine stood, the more urgently she felt the impact of each second ticking away. What if the 14 minutes was right? What if it was less. What if-

She screeched to a halt outside Moondancer's office. A cold sweat burst forth across her entire body in an instant as the thought and mental image hit.

What if the machine finished and they were ready but... couldn't get out.

And nopony was there to help them.

She knocked on the door but didn't bother waiting for a reply before she burst through. This was gonna have to be quick. If she so had to sleep on that damn floor for the next two days she was not leaving House trapped and alone.

Balmas

2020-08-28, 12:19 AM

The two other ponies snap out of the distraction afforded by your arrival, turning back to each other with looks of undisguised venom. They pause, silent, waiting for the other side to make the first move. Eyes narrowed, jaws clenched. Tension building.

But it's Proper Process' expression you notice most. Small, almost unnoticeable, but the pony is smiling.

It makes it clear. You can't convince her to help save the bunker. She wants the division to continue.

What do you do?

Clever. Divide and conquer is an old trick, but it's an old trick because it works.

So, undivide.

"You'll have to forgive me for being a bit out of the loop. I've been rediscovering myself of late. And, I'm sure that you've noticed, the Bunker is a bit surrounded at this point. We can't afford petty infighting.

"So, instead of glaring at each other over the table, Target Practice. How about you share your side of the story, and Big Bang will listen without shouting or telling me all about how he's wrong? And then we can listen to Big Bang in the same way, so that we can focus on not letting the ponies outside steal our home."

[Spending 1 Hold: What does Proper Process intend to do?]

Thanqol

2020-08-28, 06:08 PM

"... you give the weirdest intimidation speeches." Reggie observes.

"Who cares. Actions speak louder anyway. Contract." she orders, setting the younger griffon scrambling.

Before long, there is a piece of parchment and quill laid on the table in front of you. The terms all seem rather cookie-cutter, which befits a document that has had "Talon Agency protection agreement" at the top (with Talon Agency crossed out and replaced with 'New Canterlot Republic') and you're free to peruse the terms. They do seem rather generous all things considered - the promise of military protection for the immediate duration of the emergency, options to extend or renegotiate subsequent to that at need, and payment to be rendered as "one megaspell - or equivalent assistance to NCR" upon defeat of the Enclave assault.

All in all, it's not bad for what amounts to a promise of yours on a piece of paper. After all, if you lose, who'd collect? And if you win - well - you can decide later if you'll actually pay up, right?

Gawd signs her name down the bottom, before holding the quill out to yourself. You notice that it's the same brown colouration as the griffon in front of you.

What do you do?

Contract! Contract! Eee! Megaspells forgotten, apocalypse forgotten, tail swishing, Luminark levitates the paper and luxuriates in writing his signature on it. It takes a while. He's practiced his signature, and it's a full illuminated manuscript thing with cross-hatching and a border of little hearts. Contract! Contract! It's so happy and civilized and just nice. Oh! He pauses half-way through the highlighting to double check all the fine print. Ooh, he's checking a contract for fine print! There's never been a happier horse as he continues to work his way through his seven minute art project of a signature.

BlasTech

2020-08-30, 08:45 AM

She knocked on the door but didn't bother waiting for a reply before she burst through. This was gonna have to be quick. If she so had to sleep on that damn floor for the next two days she was not leaving House trapped and alone.

"Come in!" Moondancer's reply is prompt and urgent.

You open the door and almost step out over a 1000ft drop.

"It's okay, it's just a projection." says the Archmage, once she notices you dangling from the doorframe.

Moondancer looks to be walking on air, a miniature landscape laid out below her granting a bird's eye view of the hidden valley and the Bunker's surroundings. It appears to be a real-time map, as you can see tiny ponies moving about the camps that ring the valley, and a speck of a speeding transport of some kind heading back to the Bunker proper.

Moondancer doesn't really take note of any discomfort on your part, already back at task with her customary diffused focus. Her magic lights up and a half-dozen books swirl around her as she keeps talking.

"Something's wrong with the weather. It's interfering with my work ... or it will/is/has been interfering with my work, to be precise. Temporal magic is fussy like that" she continues, flicking between Alostratus' treatise on the water cycle, Reading the clouds and Mr Wizzlepop's Thunder Cakes.

She pauses, before tossing the last book back into a nearby pile.

"Most of the literature I've tried consulting isn't helping - so I'm left to assume that that is not naturally occuring." She points a hoof to the edge of the virtual map - where a long, black stormfront is advancing inexorably towards the Bunker.

"Do you know anything about the weather? What do you make of it all?" she asks.

As you look downwards, you also notice a sudden surge of activity at all the surrounding camps. Dozens of ponies start converging on the Bunker itself.

What do you do?

Clever. Divide and conquer is an old trick, but it's an old trick because it works.

So, undivide.

"You'll have to forgive me for being a bit out of the loop. I've been rediscovering myself of late. And, I'm sure that you've noticed, the Bunker is a bit surrounded at this point. We can't afford petty infighting.

"So, instead of glaring at each other over the table, Target Practice. How about you share your side of the story, and Big Bang will listen without shouting or telling me all about how he's wrong? And then we can listen to Big Bang in the same way, so that we can focus on not letting the ponies outside steal our home."

[Spending 1 Hold: What does Proper Process intend to do?]

"Those "NCR" ponies?" scoffs Target Practice "They're nothing to worry about, we've got them hiding under their own tails - A couple of warbots every so often and they know better than to come near here."

"AYE!" says Big Bang, in his 'indoor voice', before catching himself and continuing at a more acceptable volume "Ahem ... I mean ... I care less about them than I care about payback for the ponies this cretin and his 'Friendship Patrol' have killed. The Chemistry Department will not be intimidated any longer!"

"They were rebels, as are you!" shoots back Target Practice.

Proper Process is silent, but she is watching both the exchange and yourself with narrow eyes. You can tell her play here: She wants to provoke the talks into breaking down - but she's also watching you closely. If you interfere she will try to get them out of the room so she can dispose of you without witnesses.

Contract! Contract! Eee! Megaspells forgotten, apocalypse forgotten, tail swishing, Luminark levitates the paper and luxuriates in writing his signature on it. It takes a while. He's practiced his signature, and it's a full illuminated manuscript thing with cross-hatching and a border of little hearts. Contract! Contract! It's so happy and civilized and just nice. Oh! He pauses half-way through the highlighting to double check all the fine print. Ooh, he's checking a contract for fine print! There's never been a happier horse as he continues to work his way through his seven minute art project of a signature.

"Done." says Gawd, rolling it up and depositing it into a document tube. The older griffon doesn't seem fazed in the slightest by the wait, unlike her daughter.

"Regina here will accompany you as the force commander" she continues, startling the younger griffon awake. "Once we send out word to the other camps. I'm going back to base to see what else we can find out about Enclave movements in this area. If there's an attack coming, I'll see to it that reinforcements are dispatched."

And with that, you're shown out.

-==-

It's twenty minutes later, and the four of you are now back on the Peregrine, speeding towards the Bunker. In fact, the party number is now five, thanks to the Reggie sitting in the cramped cargo hold, checking the sights on a comically oversized pistol while carrying on radio conversations with the other camp sergeants.

Luminark and Scrapscallion - The two of you are at the front, watching the outbuildings of the Bunker loom closer.

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-09-02, 03:19 AM

"Come in!" Moondancer's reply is prompt and urgent.

You open the door and almost step out over a 1000ft drop.

"It's okay, it's just a projection." says the Archmage, once she notices you dangling from the doorframe.

Moondancer looks to be walking on air, a miniature landscape laid out below her granting a bird's eye view of the hidden valley and the Bunker's surroundings. It appears to be a real-time map, as you can see tiny ponies moving about the camps that ring the valley, and a speck of a speeding transport of some kind heading back to the Bunker proper.

Moondancer doesn't really take note of any discomfort on your part, already back at task with her customary diffused focus. Her magic lights up and a half-dozen books swirl around her as she keeps talking.

"Something's wrong with the weather. It's interfering with my work ... or it will/is/has been interfering with my work, to be precise. Temporal magic is fussy like that" she continues, flicking between Alostratus' treatise on the water cycle, Reading the clouds and Mr Wizzlepop's Thunder Cakes.

She pauses, before tossing the last book back into a nearby pile.

"Most of the literature I've tried consulting isn't helping - so I'm left to assume that that is not naturally occuring." She points a hoof to the edge of the virtual map - where a long, black stormfront is advancing inexorably towards the Bunker.

"Do you know anything about the weather? What do you make of it all?" she asks.

As you look downwards, you also notice a sudden surge of activity at all the surrounding camps. Dozens of ponies start converging on the Bunker itself.

What do you do?

Milliway takes a few extremely hesitant and shaky steps in to the room and looks very much like a foal on ice. All of her instincts were screaming that she was going to fall to her gruesome death so grab on to anything, everything, now! She only just managed to not voice it but it still found a way out, through tiny beads of sweat under her mane.

"Uuuh..." she began when Moondancer began to talk about ... weather.

Weather?

As a bunker-born Earth pony who had set hoof outside a grand total of twice (and lived to utterly regret both events as personal record lows) weather was not something that had ever had any importance, or even the slightest cameo feature, in her life. Hell, while she knew clouds were a thing she didn't even know what they really did or... you know... why. It just never seemed to be something that would matter in any way whatsoever.

Just as she was about to give Moondancer the brief, honest, and above all quick reply that she had absolutely nothing to offer here (which, as worrying as those dark clouds were, was good because then she could get back to her 'experiment' right away, and besides, storms must have come and gone in their hundreds without the bunker being none the wiser so surely this was nothing that really mattered) when the speeding transport caught her attention. She took a few more shaky steps towards it to take a closer look.

"Weather is really not my area of expertise," Milliway said honestly, peering at the approaching vehicle. "Can't you just... blow the storm away? Or something?"

"And what are you working on anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

BlasTech

2020-09-02, 10:50 PM

"Weather is really not my area of expertise," Milliway said honestly, peering at the approaching vehicle. "Can't you just... blow the storm away? Or something?"

"And what are you working on anyway, if you don't mind me asking?"

"You know, for all the ponies in this bunker, not many really ever ask me that. I guess they're not interested." she replies, blinking in surprise.

"I'm researching Destiny." she says, adjusting her glasses and looking as self conscious as a 200 year old font of magical power can possibly look. "Do you um - do you believe in it?"

Elanorin

2020-09-03, 04:52 AM

"You know, for all the ponies in this bunker, not many really ever ask me that. I guess they're not interested." she replies, blinking in surprise.

"I'm researching Destiny." she says, adjusting her glasses and looking as self conscious as a 200 year old font of magical power can possibly look. "Do you um - do you believe in it?"

"Destiny?" Milliway said, completely baffled. How would you even begin to research something as intangible as that?

"Well..." now she had to think. Did she believe in Destiny?

Milliway frowned. Having spent a very large chunk of her life creating things (and worrying about the fallout of Luminark's insane magic), using her hooves and making sure she relied on absolutely nopony but herself, it was difficult to fully take a concept like that in. If she was honest, the notion of it scared her a little. When she was little she would have said yes. While she'd never quite had her head in the proverbial clouds as much as Luminark she'd had enough hope and faith in the world and her fellow ponies to trust in justice and truth and... yes, destiny too. All it took was a little bit of misplaced trust and ever after her Friendship Training... well, she'd forged a life where she made her own luck. Or so she'd thought.

But then... lately, it was as if things that happened were somehow reflections of past actions. Her own mistakes coming back at her and cutting justified consequence. Was that what destiny was?

"To be honest... I don't know," she said with an apologetic shrug. "If it does exist, it would make me wonder though, what steers it, what sets it as one thing as opposed to another? What sways it to solidify one pony's fate as this as opposed to that? And does it nullify free will? Or does it not touch ponies at all? Are we just too small to be touched by it, incidentals in the bigger world destiny?" She bit the tip of her hoof thoughtfully. "Huh. I guess it's quite an interesting subject actually," she conceded.

"Have you found anything?"

Was she actually discussing research? What next? Start walking around wearing some stupid hat?

BlasTech

2020-09-03, 08:41 AM

"To be honest... I don't know," she said with an apologetic shrug. "If it does exist, it would make me wonder though, what steers it, what sets it as one thing as opposed to another? What sways it to solidify one pony's fate as this as opposed to that? And does it nullify free will? Or does it not touch ponies at all? Are we just too small to be touched by it, incidentals in the bigger world destiny?" She bit the tip of her hoof thoughtfully. "Huh. I guess it's quite an interesting subject actually," she conceded.

"Have you found anything?"

"To be honest ..." replies Moondancer, with a small, sad, smile. "I don't know either."

Turning away, she trots slowly across the miniature landscape, eyeing up the roiling cloudbank as it approaches.

"Something definitely exists." she says, voice a little stronger. "We have cutie marks after all, symbols of our life's passions and 'destinies' - but at the same time, we are free to interpret or utilize those skills how we choose. Most ponies are content to let the world move them about, slotting themselves into jobs that they take comfort in and living lives that only generate the smallest of ripples. But others, others whirl the whole pond around themselves."

She turns back to you, and her horn glows as six cutie marks appear in the air around her; A star, a trio of apples, a rainbow lightning bolt ...

"Just look at the Elements of Harmony." Moondancer continues "If ever there were a set of ponies who had a 'Destiny', it was them. Living embodiments of the adage that 'Friendship is Magic', they changed the course of the entire world when they took their places at the head of the ministries. Their elements found them, defined their lives, defined everypony's."

"And then the world ended." she said, bluntly. Before pacing, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Is that a sign that destiny failed them? Or was their destiny to fail? Or ... what if ... what if their destiny is yet to be realised?" she whirls back to you. "What if there's something we're meant to do? Something that can fix all this?

"I haven't yet been able to determine the answer ... but the more I look into the matter, the more I study the eddies of 'fate' and 'choice' ... the more I'm convinced that there is something to the idea." she says, excitement creeping into her voice. "I'm getting closer every day. Mere chance cannot account for all the variables that I've observed. Something else must exist for the equations to balance ... and I've almost developed a spell that might prove just what it is."

"I only wish Luminark hadn't died. That ..." she looks away, coughing and frowning to herself. "From a purely professional standpoint only I mean ... It was a setback to my calculations."

"N-not that I'm not thankful to have you as my apprentice too!" she says, eyes widening.

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-03, 06:45 PM

Gawd looks at the key for a long while, before reaching for it with a claw.

"I know what this is to you, Scrapscallion." she replies. "So don't think I'm missing the gesture. But I also know what I said earlier."

She flicks the key back towards you.

"Keep it. I said I wouldn't deal with you and I meant that. I don't back down on my word." she continues, her voice conflicted. "But, I can also see how much this means for you so ... I'll put a deal on the table for him."

She turns to Luminark.

"We want a megaspell." she states, simply. "In exchange, we'll join you in defending this place from the Enclave."

"Now, I know those things aren't to be taken lightly, so we can negotiate what kind of megaspell once the place is safe." she continues, holding up a claw. "The NCR has many needs. Taint that needs purging, croplands that need reclaiming and, yes, other factions out there that we could use a deterrent against. We're flexible, but you're asking that we put a lot of ponies' lives on the line, so we expect you to deal fairly with us for this."

Luminark, Scrapscallion - What do you two say?

The Scrapscallion gave a gruff nod - gruff? Seriously? What was wrong with him today?! - and slid the key back into his pocket. “That’s fair. I did actually still need that key to drive over to the Bunker, so. This works out.”

Nothing left to do but sit back and watch the negotations play out...

It's twenty minutes later, and the four of you are now back on the Peregrine, speeding towards the Bunker. In fact, the party number is now five, thanks to the Reggie sitting in the cramped cargo hold, checking the sights on a comically oversized pistol while carrying on radio conversations with the other camp sergeants.

Luminark and Scrapscallion - The two of you are at the front, watching the outbuildings of the Bunker loom closer.

What do you do?

Well. Here it was. A point of no return. The first he’d crossed today, and it wasn’t gonna be the last by the looks of it. If you knew how to look, you could find off-ramps for just about anything. A thousand different ways to run off and leave your problems behind. But here's the thing; the longer you waited, the deeper you got, the fewer chances you got to bolt. Sometimes, it was quit early, or quit never. And. Well. He’d just scratched ‘quit early’ off the ‘ol list of options.

Man, whatever. He didn’t want to think about that anymore. If he was jumping into a ticking time bomb, he at least wanted to enjoy the ride down. The thrill was kinda comforting, in a familiar way. Unlike the jerk riding behind him, who had him uncomfortable in an...unfamiliar way.

“So.” He broke the silence, not taking his eyes off the road. “‘Magic has a will of its own’ or whatever. How’s that even work?”

Thanqol

2020-09-04, 06:36 PM

Well. Here it was. A point of no return. The first he’d crossed today, and it wasn’t gonna be the last by the looks of it. If you knew how to look, you could find off-ramps for just about anything. A thousand different ways to run off and leave your problems behind. But here's the thing; the longer you waited, the deeper you got, the fewer chances you got to bolt. Sometimes, it was quit early, or quit never. And. Well. He’d just scratched ‘quit early’ off the ‘ol list of options.

Man, whatever. He didn’t want to think about that anymore. If he was jumping into a ticking time bomb, he at least wanted to enjoy the ride down. The thrill was kinda comforting, in a familiar way. Unlike the jerk riding behind him, who had him uncomfortable in an...unfamiliar way.

“So.” He broke the silence, not taking his eyes off the road. “‘Magic has a will of its own’ or whatever. How’s that even work?”

Luminark lifted his head and let his horn glow. The light slowly built up into a ball and then softly burst, like a bubble filled with mist. As it went it formed a strange hexagrammatic symbol in the air before blowing away on the breeze.

"Have you ever seen somepony cast a spell without having an intent in mind, at all?" Luminark asked. "Just a little gasp of pure, undirected magic summoned and released into the world. Did you see it? It didn't do nothing, it didn't dissolve into chaos. It did something. It attempted to become something. We rarely see it because we're always inflicting our willpower on it, overwhelming the will of magic with our own, crushing the life out of it so it does what we want. But what happens when we don't? Or we can't? What happens when the magic is just left to run rampant? Or when it spends so long on its own that it starts to struggle against the bindings unicorns placed on it?"

He tapped his hooves a bit on the ground, then started to trot forwards.

"The Pink Cloud over Canterlot. A megaspell, a horrible thing even by the standards of megaspells. But somepony told me a story of an undead filly animated by the concentrated power of that mist... going on an adventure. Changing the wasteland in her wake. Get enough magic in one place and it'll start doing something entirely of its own will and I don't think that those decisions or actions are random. There's a pattern there, and we can see just how organized it is with even the most basic manifestation of magic, the cutie mark. I... suspect that it's benevolent. At its most basic, I believe that magic wants something good. But I think that it's struggling against so many toxic decisions and bad will that it can be extremely unpredictable in how that manifests."

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-05, 06:31 PM

Luminark lifted his head and let his horn glow. The light slowly built up into a ball and then softly burst, like a bubble filled with mist. As it went it formed a strange hexagrammatic symbol in the air before blowing away on the breeze.

"Have you ever seen somepony cast a spell without having an intent in mind, at all?" Luminark asked. "Just a little gasp of pure, undirected magic summoned and released into the world. Did you see it? It didn't do nothing, it didn't dissolve into chaos. It did something. It attempted to become something. We rarely see it because we're always inflicting our willpower on it, overwhelming the will of magic with our own, crushing the life out of it so it does what we want. But what happens when we don't? Or we can't? What happens when the magic is just left to run rampant? Or when it spends so long on its own that it starts to struggle against the bindings unicorns placed on it?"

He tapped his hooves a bit on the ground, then started to trot forwards.

"The Pink Cloud over Canterlot. A megaspell, a horrible thing even by the standards of megaspells. But somepony told me a story of an undead filly animated by the concentrated power of that mist... going on an adventure. Changing the wasteland in her wake. Get enough magic in one place and it'll start doing something entirely of its own will and I don't think that those decisions or actions are random. There's a pattern there, and we can see just how organized it is with even the most basic manifestation of magic, the cutie mark. I... suspect that it's benevolent. At its most basic, I believe that magic wants something good. But I think that it's struggling against so many toxic decisions and bad will that it can be extremely unpredictable in how that manifests."

Steady on the approach. No sudden swerves, no funny business with the pedals. Wasn’t nobody around but the two of them, and he didn’t have anything to say to anyone else besides. He kept them straight. He kept them steady. He kept his mouth shut.

The Scrapscallion was listening.

“So what’s that got to do with you?” He downshifted, taking them to a slower cruise. “You work with magic. You’ve thought about this. What’s the ‘so what?’”

Thanqol

2020-09-06, 05:07 PM

Steady on the approach. No sudden swerves, no funny business with the pedals. Wasn’t nobody around but the two of them, and he didn’t have anything to say to anyone else besides. He kept them straight. He kept them steady. He kept his mouth shut.

The Scrapscallion was listening.

“So what’s that got to do with you?” He downshifted, taking them to a slower cruise. “You work with magic. You’ve thought about this. What’s the ‘so what?’”

"I really don't know," said Luminark. "Even after all this time... I don't have it figured out. Every time I think I do I make a mistake and everything ends in disaster. I almost just... gave up. That's why I was out there, where you found me. I was looking to just check out for a while."

He stared into the middle distance for a while.

"So I don't have any big agenda here, not any more. I just want to stop the violence and the fear as much as I can. That especially includes protecting the magic, though, because it's got greater potential to hurt in the wrong hooves than anything else."

Balmas

2020-09-08, 10:24 PM

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-09, 07:15 PM

"I really don't know," said Luminark. "Even after all this time... I don't have it figured out. Every time I think I do I make a mistake and everything ends in disaster. I almost just... gave up. That's why I was out there, where you found me. I was looking to just check out for a while."

He stared into the middle distance for a while.

"So I don't have any big agenda here, not any more. I just want to stop the violence and the fear as much as I can. That especially includes protecting the magic, though, because it's got greater potential to hurt in the wrong hooves than anything else."

"Well, whaddya know," the Scrapscallion scoffed, studiously keeping his eyes forward. "Luminark says he doesn't know, and Luminark says he messed up. Two firsts in one day; must be lucky or something."

Thanqol

2020-09-09, 07:39 PM

"Well, whaddya know," the Scrapscallion scoffed, studiously keeping his eyes forward. "Luminark says he doesn't know, and Luminark says he messed up. Two firsts in one day; must be lucky or something."

"I'm - sorry?" said Luminark looking around. "Are you mad at me about something?"

Elanorin

2020-09-11, 04:06 AM

"To be honest ..." replies Moondancer, with a small, sad, smile. "I don't know either."

Turning away, she trots slowly across the miniature landscape, eyeing up the roiling cloudbank as it approaches.

"Something definitely exists." she says, voice a little stronger. "We have cutie marks after all, symbols of our life's passions and 'destinies' - but at the same time, we are free to interpret or utilize those skills how we choose. Most ponies are content to let the world move them about, slotting themselves into jobs that they take comfort in and living lives that only generate the smallest of ripples. But others, others whirl the whole pond around themselves."

She turns back to you, and her horn glows as six cutie marks appear in the air around her; A star, a trio of apples, a rainbow lightning bolt ...

"Just look at the Elements of Harmony." Moondancer continues "If ever there were a set of ponies who had a 'Destiny', it was them. Living embodiments of the adage that 'Friendship is Magic', they changed the course of the entire world when they took their places at the head of the ministries. Their elements found them, defined their lives, defined everypony's."

"And then the world ended." she said, bluntly. Before pacing, brow furrowed in concentration.

"Is that a sign that destiny failed them? Or was their destiny to fail? Or ... what if ... what if their destiny is yet to be realised?" she whirls back to you. "What if there's something we're meant to do? Something that can fix all this?

"I haven't yet been able to determine the answer ... but the more I look into the matter, the more I study the eddies of 'fate' and 'choice' ... the more I'm convinced that there is something to the idea." she says, excitement creeping into her voice. "I'm getting closer every day. Mere chance cannot account for all the variables that I've observed. Something else must exist for the equations to balance ... and I've almost developed a spell that might prove just what it is."

"I only wish Luminark hadn't died. That ..." she looks away, coughing and frowning to herself. "From a purely professional standpoint only I mean ... It was a setback to my calculations."

"N-not that I'm not thankful to have you as my apprentice too!" she says, eyes widening.

Milliway avoided Moondancer's eyecontact and her whole face looked as guilty as it did ashamed. The whole death thing was... well it sucked. And it was the catastrophic conclusion of her own stupid chess game. She had never wanted Lu- ...him, dead. Not even when she'd muttered long strings of horrible mortal fates she wished he'd face, when she was particularly upset with something he'd said or done. Including the number of times he broke her stuff. Or confiscated her violation cuff. Not even when he smugly took the library assistant job from under her nose.

Just because you want to kill somepony doesn't mean you want them dead.

Milliway swallowed a particularly spiky lump in her throat. The thought that it was hurting other ponies too, especially Moondancer who'd done nothing wrong other than pick Mr Stupid Hat over her all those years ago, it made the whole damn mess even worse.

Then, a suspicion hit her and a cliff appeared at what she'd thought was the bottom of the ravine she was in. That look on Moondancer's face...

"So... you and him... were you... like..." Milliway started and the dread that rose in her chest choked her voice before she could finish.

[Rolling Read a Pony on Moondancer: 5+6+0=11 Hold 3, Spending 1 hold: What is Moondancer really feeling?]

BlasTech

2020-09-13, 04:37 AM

Starlight isn't listening to the argument. It's old, familiar stuff. Departments squabbling has been going on since before the war, if her journal is any judge.

No, she's paying attention to Proper Process, meeting her gaze and, when she's sure Proper Process is paying attention and the two bozos aren't, gives a small, nearly imperceptible nod. Well done. If you weren't trying to destroy it, maybe you'd be able to lead this place.

But that doesn't mean that they aren't foes right now.

(Spending that one last hold: how could I get her to reveal her plans to these two bozos?)

You know Proper Process. If there's a pony who can keep her cool from verbal baits, assaults and haranguing, it's her. An island of calm amidst the squabbling factions of the Bunker and all their heated currents. Attacking her directly isn't likely to achieve much.

But ... how often has she had to bend others to her will? Other than citing regulation and precedent, which she always used as shields for herself as much as cudgels to force compliance, she's not the most charismatic orator, or the most proficient manipulator.

You mentioned it already - those two bozos. Get them involved. Make it so she can't just send you or them away. Throw her plans off balance. Perhaps you can get her to divulge something while she's scrambling to react to their inanities.

What do you do?

Milliway avoided Moondancer's eyecontact and her whole face looked as guilty as it did ashamed. The whole death thing was... well it sucked. And it was the catastrophic conclusion of her own stupid chess game. She had never wanted Lu- ...him, dead. Not even when she'd muttered long strings of horrible mortal fates she wished he'd face, when she was particularly upset with something he'd said or done. Including the number of times he broke her stuff. Or confiscated her violation cuff. Not even when he smugly took the library assistant job from under her nose.

Just because you want to kill somepony doesn't mean you want them dead.

Milliway swallowed a particularly spiky lump in her throat. The thought that it was hurting other ponies too, especially Moondancer who'd done nothing wrong other than pick Mr Stupid Hat over her all those years ago, it made the whole damn mess even worse.

Then, a suspicion hit her and a cliff appeared at what she'd thought was the bottom of the ravine she was in. That look on Moondancer's face...

"So... you and him... were you... like..." Milliway started and the dread that rose in her chest choked her voice before she could finish.

[Rolling Read a Pony on Moondancer: 5+6+0=11 Hold 3, Spending 1 hold: What is Moondancer really feeling?]

"Oh! Oh, no!" replies Moondancer, her eyes going wide and waving a hoof as if to dispel the thought. "No, Luminark and I had a professional relationship, nothing more. I just know how it can sound if I get caught up in my work and forget to think of ponies as ponies. His loss was a loss for more than just the impact it had on my work though and I'm just ... not sure how best to say that without it sounding insincere."

"I have to remind myself that ponies lives matter." she continues, looking away. "It sounds easy, but after all this time dealing with theory, it can be hard to remember that a pony's actions have consequences beyond the parchment in front of me."

Her eyes look into the middle distance, unfocused. You get the sense that she's thinking about another pony to whom that could apply, but not Luminark. She's telling you the truth about that. The awkwardness and shame that's radiating off her seems to have a far more distant cause.

As for what else she is feeling - worry? Hope? There's a strange mix in her.

It's probably to do with the weather.

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-13, 02:42 PM

"I'm - sorry?" said Luminark looking around. "Are you mad at me about something?"

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Me? Mad? Naw, I ain’t mad. Why would I be mad?” The Scrapscallion said, in a normal voice that normal ponies use for all those times when they’re not mad. “It’s not like I’m on the biggest job of my life, and I gotta babysit a big-brained know-it-all who ruins things as easy as eating breakfast. Or like the entire job’s about cleaning up said know-it-all’s latest and biggest mess, and he’d have been happy to leave it that way if I’d picked a different spot to make out with one of the raddest pegasi in the Wasteland. Which he also interrupted. So how could I possibly be mad, Luminark?!”

...you know, on second thought, that might actually be the mad voice.

Thanqol

2020-09-13, 04:31 PM

“Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat? Me? Mad? Naw, I ain’t mad. Why would I be mad?” The Scrapscallion said, in a normal voice that normal ponies use for all those times when they’re not mad. “It’s not like I’m on the biggest job of my life, and I gotta babysit a big-brained know-it-all who ruins things as easy as eating breakfast. Or like the entire job’s about cleaning up said know-it-all’s latest and biggest mess, and he’d have been happy to leave it that way if I’d picked a different spot to make out with one of the raddest pegasi in the Wasteland. Which he also interrupted. So how could I possibly be mad, Luminark?!”

...you know, on second thought, that might actually be the mad voice.

"Oh, so that's all this is to you?" said Luminark. "You're salty that I interrupted your makeout session and your marefriend turned out to have enough morality to be unable to look the other way when she found out that ponies were going to have a gunfight in a megaspell casting chamber? Well, if saving the world from a second baelfire apocalypse is too big an ask, then drop me off here and sit this one out. If I survive I'll tell Cloudburster," wow, he remembers her name? "that you were a big damn hero and we got separated in the chaos. Or tell her I said it's too late already and you and she need to get to a safe distance. That's what you want, right? An excuse to leave? Then leave."

Balmas

2020-09-17, 06:31 PM

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-17, 06:46 PM

"Oh, so that's all this is to you?" said Luminark. "You're salty that I interrupted your makeout session and your marefriend turned out to have enough morality to be unable to look the other way when she found out that ponies were going to have a gunfight in a megaspell casting chamber? Well, if saving the world from a second baelfire apocalypse is too big an ask, then drop me off here and sit this one out. If I survive I'll tell Cloudburster," wow, he remembers her name? "that you were a big damn hero and we got separated in the chaos. Or tell her I said it's too late already and you and she need to get to a safe distance. That's what you want, right? An excuse to leave? Then leave."

“Oh look! What a surprise! Luminark thinks he knows everything! How happy I am to be in the presence of somepony so wise and so never wrong.” The Scrapscallion rolled his eyes and snorted. “She is not my marefriend, and I am not leaving.”

Thanqol

2020-09-17, 07:18 PM

“Oh look! What a surprise! Luminark thinks he knows everything! How happy I am to be in the presence of somepony so wise and so never wrong.” The Scrapscallion rolled his eyes and snorted. “She is not my marefriend, and I am not leaving.”

"If I ask you point blank what your problem is and your only concrete response is to complain about your makeout session being interrupted, paired with a hoofful of vague insults, then getting treated like a foal is on you," said Luminark. "Spit it out or suck it up."

BlasTech

2020-09-18, 06:53 PM

"Oh man, the friendship patrol is still around?" Starlight snorts, eyes on Target Practice. Get him riled up, make him angry. "I thought they would have been disbanded by now. Without me or the Lieutenant in command, what is there to rebel against? At that point, you're down to department heads as the leadership, right Big Bang?"

"Yes, we're still around, no thanks to you." spits Target Practice. "After you abandoned us and that upstart tried to erase us, we've held together. The Bunker endures, the Law endures and so do we."

"As for these department heads" he shoots at Big Bang. "There's no leadership there, they're all too busy looking after their own little empires and projects. If somepony has to take the reins of this place, it might as well be me."

Big Bang scowls back.

"How we spend our time is our decision, we don't need your jackbooted thugs interfering with our research in the name of 'order'." he replies. "And the next pony of yours who tries will be lucky to get away with only burns. Try to usurp our authority and you'll have the whole faculty united to stamp you out."

Proper Process takes her eyes off you to watch the banter, seemingly happy with how it's going.

[Did you want to read a sitch?]

Balmas

2020-09-21, 11:43 PM

[Did you want to read a sitch?]

[You know, that seems like an excellent idea while Proper Process is distracted. 8 on Read a sitch. What's my best escape route?]

BlasTech

2020-09-22, 06:21 PM

[You know, that seems like an excellent idea while Proper Process is distracted. 8 on Read a sitch. What's my best escape route?]

Well, there's two options for you here - depending a little on what you want to do immediately after getting out and what implications you want to raise for the Bunker.

The first option is to goad Big Bang and Target Practice into a fight - there are a couple of cups of coffee on the Administrator's table, and one in particular is close to both ponies and a set of controls that look like they might be tied to the shield. Both of them look pretty eager to go at each other and, were they to start throwing punches, there's better than even odds that something will get hit or splashed into it.

You'll be out and free - but these two heads will be fighting, likely deepening the rift Proper Process has been trying to grow.

The other option ... weeeeelllll.

You can get them to let you out with sufficient wordplay; giving them an incentive to get you out of this room. One option is if they all probably agree on taking you back to either be experimented on or executed. In that case, while you'll be out of the ball and thus have more options, they're still likely to try to keep you restrained to some extent. There's a prisoner shock collar sitting on the table behind Proper Process that looks a likely candidate in this, but at least that is something you can physically try to fight.

On the plus side, at least with this approach both Tourniquet and Big Bang will be united on something?

I mean, yes the uniting topic would be the prospect of your maiming and/or death, but that's still a Positive Friendship Experience™ for them, right?

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-09-23, 03:41 AM

"Oh! Oh, no!" replies Moondancer, her eyes going wide and waving a hoof as if to dispel the thought. "No, Luminark and I had a professional relationship, nothing more. I just know how it can sound if I get caught up in my work and forget to think of ponies as ponies. His loss was a loss for more than just the impact it had on my work though and I'm just ... not sure how best to say that without it sounding insincere."

"I have to remind myself that ponies lives matter." she continues, looking away. "It sounds easy, but after all this time dealing with theory, it can be hard to remember that a pony's actions have consequences beyond the parchment in front of me."

Her eyes look into the middle distance, unfocused. You get the sense that she's thinking about another pony to whom that could apply, but not Luminark. She's telling you the truth about that. The awkwardness and shame that's radiating off her seems to have a far more distant cause.

As for what else she is feeling - worry? Hope? There's a strange mix in her.

It's probably to do with the weather.

What do you do?

The relief was immediate and complete. She did not want the burden of having killed Moondancer's lover on her conscience on top of everything. It had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any involuntary images of them together that had not once flickered through her mind. And if they had, not that that would bother her. She was totally over all that.

Totally.

"I... kind of know what you mean. Only... I have to remind myself that other ponies have feelings," Milliway admitted, looking down at her hooves. "Feelings that matter. And that I, in my dogmatic attempt to not let them hurt me, am still able to hurt them."

She looked at the dark and worrisome weather on the map, approaching in the distance. "Maybe you need a Pegasus?"

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-23, 08:10 PM

"If I ask you point blank what your problem is and your only concrete response is to complain about your makeout session being interrupted, paired with a hoofful of vague insults, then getting treated like a foal is on you," said Luminark. "Spit it out or suck it up."

“Alright, you want me to spell it out for you? I don’t buy your Harmony talk, I don’t buy your ‘brand new Luminark’ act, and I don’t buy that you’ll do a dang thing to help.” As if he even needed to say it! Stars above, where did he get the guts to be so dense?! “You’re happy to talk our ears off about your stupid perfect village on a stupid perfect hill, and how you can’t wait to show everybody how great and awesome you are. Thing is?” A knot of anger and acid tightened in his stomach. “Hard to believe all that when you tried to kill one of the only ponies who ever thought you were somethin’. And left the rest of us to clean up your mess. Sound familiar?”

Y’know. Like the big dumb Bunker in the grips of civil war they were barreling towards.

“Fool me once? Jerk move. Fool me twice? It ain’t funny anymore. Do us all a favor? Keep your mouth shut, and don’t try for three.”

BlasTech

2020-09-23, 08:39 PM

The relief was immediate and complete. She did not want the burden of having killed Moondancer's lover on her conscience on top of everything. It had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with any involuntary images of them together that had not once flickered through her mind. And if they had, not that that would bother her. She was totally over all that.

Totally.

"I... kind of know what you mean. Only... I have to remind myself that other ponies have feelings," Milliway admitted, looking down at her hooves. "Feelings that matter. And that I, in my dogmatic attempt to not let them hurt me, am still able to hurt them."

She looked at the dark and worrisome weather on the map, approaching in the distance. "Maybe you need a Pegasus?"

"Maybe." replies Moondancer, as you both turn to watch.

The boiling clouds kept coming, sweeping across an open plain towards the ruins of an old settlement, nestled around the base of a gleaming white spire. As you look on, two things happen in quick succession.

The first is that the white tower explodes with light and colour.

Originating from a point just below the tip, a veritable wave of prismatic light shoots out (https://images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/9604e7e7-8982-486f-a9ae-d036459bbd8f/d493xpu-ebe89cb2-c24c-4a5f-9af8-f0106858a3d1.jpg?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJ IUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjph cHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3sicGF0aCI6IlwvZlwvOTYwNGU3ZTctOD k4Mi00ODZmLWE5YWUtZDAzNjQ1OWJiZDhmXC9kNDkzeHB1LWVi ZTg5Y2IyLWMyNGMtNGE1Zi05YWY4LWYwMTA2ODU4YTNkMS5qcG cifV1dLCJhdWQiOlsidXJuOnNlcnZpY2U6ZmlsZS5kb3dubG9h ZCJdfQ.bfSCyjBEPRbWUZRbssaswiJaM9GfMkrTfMeEwv4fRWc ). Concentric circles, rippling outwards like from a stone dropped in a pond, except all the more beautiful and awe-inspiring for the sheer size. They easily dwarf the size of the town beneath them, stretching out for more than a mile in every direction, and what's more; there's something about the display of light and colour that feels ... warming. Like a reminder of happier days.

"Artificial sonic rainboom" notes the Archmage, in response to the obvious question. "That weather control tower must be operational."

Indeed, the rainboom hits the approaching cloudbank - scattering the inky black clouds and making a noticeable dent in the approaching storm front. Looking closely, you see a dozen or so tiny specks fall out of the cloud. It's hard to tell what they are, but they are definitely alive. You see them recover and, in formation, fly back up to the storm front. And that's when the second thing happens.

The tower explodes. Again.

Can towers do that? Can they explode twice? I guess they can.

In this case, though, the explosion is preceded by a beam of blue-white energy lancing out from somewhere deep inside the approaching storm bank. Unlike the majesty of the rainboom, the beam reeks only of fear and destruction as it smashes into the lower levels of the tower. Explosions follow in its wake, tiny from your vantage point, but you can see the physical impact of them on the hamlet as houses and walls are blasted apart by the shockwaves.

The beam cuts out and the tower slowly topples to the landscape with a rumble you think you can hear even here.

"Well." says Moondancer, as the cloud bank rolls forward over the destroyed village. "I think that answers the question as to why that storm has the capacity to interfere with my work. I suspect you might need to let the administrator know we have an issue on our hooves?"

Meanwhile, the cloud front re-forms, rolling ever onwards. Directly towards the Bunker.

What do you do?

Thanqol

2020-09-23, 08:51 PM

“Alright, you want me to spell it out for you? I don’t buy your Harmony talk, I don’t buy your ‘brand new Luminark’ act, and I don’t buy that you’ll do a dang thing to help.” As if he even needed to say it! Stars above, where did he get the guts to be so dense?! “You’re happy to talk our ears off about your stupid perfect village on a stupid perfect hill, and how you can’t wait to show everybody how great and awesome you are. Thing is?” A knot of anger and acid tightened in his stomach. “Hard to believe all that when you tried to kill one of the only ponies who ever thought you were somethin’. And left the rest of us to clean up your mess. Sound familiar?”

Y’know. Like the big dumb Bunker in the grips of civil war they were barreling towards.

“Fool me once? Jerk move. Fool me twice? It ain’t funny anymore. Do us all a favor? Keep your mouth shut, and don’t try for three.”

"Are you talking about Starlight Glimmer?" said Luminark. "Because of all the many things I regret, I don't regret that. She was crazy and needed to go down. Tell me I'm wrong. Look me in the eyes and tell me that she would have done something other than maintain her reign of torture, terror and mind control beyond a second doomsday. Perhaps you somehow never saw it. Perhaps you're the kind of pony who somehow closed his ears to the screams coming from the Friendship Patrol's dungeons. But presumably even you saw what she did to Miliway."

He was maintaining a steady tone up until that point - but there it slips. His nostrils flare and there's a flash of genuine fury within him.

"Besides," he said. "I certainly didn't kill her. I didn't even permanently damage her. I can fix her, if she somehow learns to stop being such a lunatic."

Elanorin

2020-09-24, 07:54 AM

The beam cuts out and the tower slowly topples to the landscape with a rumble you think you can hear even here.

"Well." says Moondancer, as the cloud bank rolls forward over the destroyed village. "I think that answers the question as to why that storm has the capacity to interfere with my work. I suspect you might need to let the administrator know we have an issue on our hooves?"

Meanwhile, the cloud front re-forms, rolling ever onwards. Directly towards the Bunker.

What do you do?

That tower. That amazing tall tower. A weather control tower. She could only imagine what kind of machinery had been in it in order to control weather! Maybe a bit of magic too. And to see it levelled just like that. It was a sudden mix of awe and distress.

What they hay was in those clouds?

When Moondancer spoke of alerting the Administrator, Milliway looked up from the map and her face transformed to patient compassion as she eyed Moondancer head to tail. Had she forgotten already? Wow. Was she that distracted by this?

"Uhm... we don't have an Administrator anymore, ma'am," Milliway said hesitantly. "He, uhm... he died. Remember?"

She shifted a little on the spot uncomfortably.

TheAmishPirate

2020-09-24, 07:45 PM

"Are you talking about Starlight Glimmer?" said Luminark. "Because of all the many things I regret, I don't regret that. She was crazy and needed to go down. Tell me I'm wrong. Look me in the eyes and tell me that she would have done something other than maintain her reign of torture, terror and mind control beyond a second doomsday. Perhaps you somehow never saw it. Perhaps you're the kind of pony who somehow closed his ears to the screams coming from the Friendship Patrol's dungeons. But presumably even you saw what she did to Miliway."

He was maintaining a steady tone up until that point - but there it slips. His nostrils flare and there's a flash of genuine fury within him.

"Besides," he said. "I certainly didn't kill her. I didn't even permanently damage her. I can fix her, if she somehow learns to stop being such a lunatic."

The Scrapscallion took a long, deep breath. To better concentrate on the driving. In a straight line. At an unmoving target. (It was a lot more difficult than it looked, alright?)

“You didn’t stick around to see what became of her. Guess who had to clean up that mess, too?” Go on! Take a big guess! Here’s a hint; you suck. “And if you asked me to pick between th...between Starlight before and Starlight after? I’d take her before you had a chance to ‘help.’ Every time.”

“Which, by the way? Next time you - specifically - aren't getting eaten alive by Hellhounds and/or irradiated; you’re welcome.”

BlasTech

2020-09-24, 11:49 PM

That tower. That amazing tall tower. A weather control tower. She could only imagine what kind of machinery had been in it in order to control weather! Maybe a bit of magic too. And to see it levelled just like that. It was a sudden mix of awe and distress.

What they hay was in those clouds?

When Moondancer spoke of alerting the Administrator, Milliway looked up from the map and her face transformed to patient compassion as she eyed Moondancer head to tail. Had she forgotten already? Wow. Was she that distracted by this?

"Uhm... we don't have an Administrator anymore, ma'am," Milliway said hesitantly. "He, uhm... he died. Remember?"

She shifted a little on the spot uncomfortably.

"I ... yes" replies Moondancer, raising a hoof to her head. "I mean, isn't there a new Administrator? Normally I can tell if the seat is vacant for too long."

"Who is in charge now?"

Thanqol

2020-09-26, 04:36 PM

The Scrapscallion took a long, deep breath. To better concentrate on the driving. In a straight line. At an unmoving target. (It was a lot more difficult than it looked, alright?)

“You didn’t stick around to see what became of her. Guess who had to clean up that mess, too?” Go on! Take a big guess! Here’s a hint; you suck. “And if you asked me to pick between th...between Starlight before and Starlight after? I’d take her before you had a chance to ‘help.’ Every time.”

“Which, by the way? Next time you - specifically - aren't getting eaten alive by Hellhounds and/or irradiated; you’re welcome.”

"Did you know the Friendship Patrol tortured me?" said Luminark. "Did you know they tortured Miliway? Obviously you don't, and obviously they never had a crack at you. After all, you could always just leave. I was more than prepared to wipe out any counterattack from the 'princess'. An army of Hellhounds would have been foal's play for somepony with the Bunker's resources. And if that was her plan... well, you see my point about her being a psychopath who rules through fear and violence and needed to go down."

Balmas

2020-09-28, 01:03 AM

Well, those are kind of crap decisions, aren't they? On the one hand, loss of control. On the other, loss of ponies' affection.

Given the options, the choice that ends with her not getting disintegrated--or worse, she's pretty sure that R&D has worked out something nastier in her absence--is probably the correct one. Dammit, that just gives Proper Process what she wants, though! Gah!

"...you see my point about her being a psychopath who rules through fear and violence and needed to go down."

...Hey!

No, no. Revenge later. Escape now.

"I mean, can you even imagine? Imagine trying to just insist that you're in charge because the previous establishment ended, instead of because being good at your job?"

BlasTech

2020-09-28, 06:17 AM

Well, those are kind of crap decisions, aren't they? On the one hand, loss of control. On the other, loss of ponies' affection.

Given the options, the choice that ends with her not getting disintegrated--or worse, she's pretty sure that R&D has worked out something nastier in her absence--is probably the correct one. Dammit, that just gives Proper Process what she wants, though! Gah!

Well, there is one other option.

Magic.

It sounds trite, but only if you think of magic as the spells and sparkly lights that most unicorns make use of day to day. Rather, I'm speaking of the old magic, that which is shaped by emotion, instinct and sacrifice more than conscious thought. The kind that forged the Elements and shaped Equestria twice over.

If you want to tap that primal force, turn your magic inwards, and open your mind.

But who knows what might happen?

Elanorin

2020-09-28, 11:39 AM

"I ... yes" replies Moondancer, raising a hoof to her head. "I mean, isn't there a new Administrator? Normally I can tell if the seat is vacant for too long."

"Who is in charge now?"

"Nopony. Everypony? I don't really know. I kind of ran for it and barricaded the library doors when the mutiny broke out," Milliway admitted, feeling distinctly unheroic. "There was this massive explosion and then tonnes of guns came out and... it looked like pretty much every department had prepared their very own flavour of power-grabbing. And... well... there's a lot of flammables in here."

"Maybe somepony has established themselves as the new administrator, but it's anypony's guess how stable or long-lived that claim is. Also..." she glanced behind her at the door, thinking she really should get back to her' experiment'. "Whoever it is might find themselves replaced before long..." she added, half to herself.

BlasTech

2020-09-30, 09:08 PM

"Nopony. Everypony? I don't really know. I kind of ran for it and barricaded the library doors when the mutiny broke out," Milliway admitted, feeling distinctly unheroic. "There was this massive explosion and then tonnes of guns came out and... it looked like pretty much every department had prepared their very own flavour of power-grabbing. And... well... there's a lot of flammables in here."

"Maybe somepony has established themselves as the new administrator, but it's anypony's guess how stable or long-lived that claim is. Also..." she glanced behind her at the door, thinking she really should get back to her' experiment'. "Whoever it is might find themselves replaced before long..." she added, half to herself.

"Uuuuuuuugh, this is exactly the reason I designed that spell in the first place." grumbles Moondancer, as she wanders away from you and disappears.

No, really, she's just gone. There's no flash of magic, sound or sign she's casting a spell. She's just there one moment and then not. It's as quick as blinking, except you know you didn't blink in that moment.

"Right!" she says, from your opposite side. Seemingly now back and holding a small book in her magic.

"Just a moment, been a while since I had to do this." she says, as her horn lights up.

There's a brief flash of pale pink light and ...

You guessed it, she's gone again.

By the time your eyes track her once more, Moondancer is walking over the map, looking down at the landscape around the Bunker. A small green blip has appeared, moving quickly in some kind of transport as it heads to the outbuildings.

"Looks like the Administrator is in that vehicle." she finishes. "Or at least the administrator-for-the-moment."

"I need you to go talk to them." she says, turning to you. "Get this situation under control before my work is disturbed or ... something worse happens. Hard though that might be to believe. Anyway, I'm sure you can do it!"

She says the last with a slightly up-beat smile that feels very out of place on the normally awkward book-horse.

Anyway, what do you do?

Elanorin

2020-10-01, 01:48 AM

"Uuuuuuuugh, this is exactly the reason I designed that spell in the first place." grumbles Moondancer, as she wanders away from you and disappears.

No, really, she's just gone. There's no flash of magic, sound or sign she's casting a spell. She's just there one moment and then not. It's as quick as blinking, except you know you didn't blink in that moment.

"Right!" she says, from your opposite side. Seemingly now back and holding a small book in her magic.

"Just a moment, been a while since I had to do this." she says, as her horn lights up.

There's a brief flash of pale pink light and ...

You guessed it, she's gone again.

By the time your eyes track her once more, Moondancer is walking over the map, looking down at the landscape around the Bunker. A small green blip has appeared, moving quickly in some kind of transport as it heads to the outbuildings.

"Looks like the Administrator is in that vehicle." she finishes. "Or at least the administrator-for-the-moment."

"I need you to go talk to them." she says, turning to you. "Get this situation under control before my work is disturbed or ... something worse happens. Hard though that might be to believe. Anyway, I'm sure you can do it!"

She says the last with a slightly up-beat smile that feels very out of place on the normally awkward book-horse.

Anyway, what do you do?

After having visibly jumped a couple of times at the ...teleporting?! Moondancer's unsettling movements around the room, she once more stares at the map, this time her jaw slowly drops open as she stares at the green blip speeding across the map. She took the few steps forwards to stand closer and watch it approach.

"He did it..." she breathed in complete wonder and amazement. She had reached out in a crazy last ditch attempt for help to Scrapscallion and asked him to find Starlight and convince her to come help. This little green blip was proof that not only had her crazy long-shot plan worked but Scrapscallion had actually managed it. And fast.

Suddenly a wave of shame rose in her chest at having doubted him. Considering his past achievements, of course he could pull this off. She should have known better than to doubt him. Really, how many times did a pony have to prove his quality before she admitted his resourcefulness, street smarts and tenacity? Scrapscallion was a hero, no other words applied. Still, the fact that he would help her after how she'd treated him... that damn apology hadn't even gotten through because she'd been to damn awkward and had taken too long to say it before the connection broke.

Oh snap out of it, Milliway. He clearly has compassion for the other ponies in this bunker and obviously want to spare the lives of those who will die if this conflict rages on. That's what's fueling him. Just like any storybook hero.

"Starlight Glimmer is coming back."

So Luminark hadn't lied when he said he hadn't killed her.

Huh.

So that was another name to be added to the list of ponies she'd underestimated.

Oh, hell. Did Starlight know Luminark was dead? Had Scrapscallion told her?

This was all such a mess and the last thing she wanted was to go out there and face it head on. Wasn't there some stuff she needed to do in here? Sweep the stacks? Re-alphabetise the geology section? The mutiny and departmental infighting felt almost overshadowed by the thought of facing Starlight and Scrapscallion again. What would Starlight think of her? As her Lieutenant she should really have done a whole lot better than just lock herself in a library-sized cupboard and hide her head under a proverbial blanket when trouble broke out.

She was not going in to Friendship Training again. No. If Starlight so much as mentioned starting that stuff up again... she was going to have to put her hoof down. The Administrator might be coming back to restore order but over her dead body would things go back to the way they were before. She absentmindedly rubbed her hoof that no longer wore the violation cuff. Perhaps it had been a tad heavy hoofed, but it had been effective.

The Deathbot! Impending threat to the library and Moondancer. That was a legitimate excuse not to go out there! Oh thank the Princesses.

"The thing is," Milliway began, turning away from the map to look at the... slightly eerily upbeat Moondancer, "there is an imminent attack coming from the service tunnels. There's this big attack robot and it's going to break through our weakest spot any moment. So... maybe I should just stay here and, you know, deal with that. In fact I should go check on my defence plan right now. Yes. I'm sure Starlight and Scrapscallion has the other stuff under control. They, heh, they don't need me." She started to back up towards the door.

TheAmishPirate

2020-10-01, 08:51 PM

"Did you know the Friendship Patrol tortured me?" said Luminark. "Did you know they tortured Miliway? Obviously you don't, and obviously they never had a crack at you. After all, you could always just leave. I was more than prepared to wipe out any counterattack from the 'princess'. An army of Hellhounds would have been foal's play for somepony with the Bunker's resources. And if that was her plan... well, you see my point about her being a psychopath who rules through fear and violence and needed to go down."

“Nah.”

The Scrapscallion stood up, turned fully around in his seat, and planted himself square in Luminark’s stupid face.

“Nah, you don’t - you threw all that power away in a hissy fit, and left Milliway to die. You don’t get to talk like you were any better.”

Balmas

2020-10-01, 09:40 PM

It's worth a shot. I mean, that freak alicorn showed up in there once, and didn't Luminark follow her inside? Means that where there's an inside door, there's gotta be an outside.

Let's just hope that the door is inside the Bunker and not, you know, inside a vat of whatever the Chemistry department is working on this week.

But... This bit of the library-rinth is unfamiliar. Which doesn't say a lot, given what her mind is normally like, but this bit of library looks like it's older somehow, full of MAS imagery. Has she ever been this deep?

[3 on Open Your Brain]

BlasTech

2020-10-04, 05:52 AM

"The thing is," Milliway began, turning away from the map to look at the... slightly eerily upbeat Moondancer, "there is an imminent attack coming from the service tunnels. There's this big attack robot and it's going to break through our weakest spot any moment. So... maybe I should just stay here and, you know, deal with that. In fact I should go check on my defence plan right now. Yes. I'm sure Starlight and Scrapscallion has the other stuff under control. They, heh, they don't need me." She started to back up towards the door.

"Well, that's just demonstrably false" replies Moondancer, adjusting her glasses.

"I mean the whole not needing you thing." she clarifies. "The whole sub-basement robot thing I'm sure you can handle too. I mean, that sort of stuff is why I've got an apprentice after all, so I'm sure you're qualified. But the not needing you thing, well, that I am qualified to talk to."

"You see, I have some ... well, let's call them preliminary findings from my research. I am convinced that what you do next is going to be integral to preserving my work."

What do you do?

It's worth a shot. I mean, that freak alicorn showed up in there once, and didn't Luminark follow her inside? Means that where there's an inside door, there's gotta be an outside.

Let's just hope that the door is inside the Bunker and not, you know, inside a vat of whatever the Chemistry department is working on this week.

But... This bit of the library-rinth is unfamiliar. Which doesn't say a lot, given what her mind is normally like, but this bit of library looks like it's older somehow, full of MAS imagery. Has she ever been this deep?

[3 on Open Your Brain]

Well, that's the risk of delving into the old magics. Sometimes you can delve too deeply and your conscious mind is whisked away like so much driftwood on the tide. Oh well, I'm sure nothing will happen to your body until you get back, right?

The office around you fades away as you find yourself once again in the depths of your mental dreamscape. Faded hallways lead away to either side, but in front of you is an aged dining room. Lit by candles spaced every few meters, the mahogany dining table stretches away into the distance - far longer than any real table could achieve. The chairs are all unoccupied, save for one - where a middle-aged stallion is sitting, cutting into a slice of steak. His hair is black, and his coat grey and he's clad in a light brown suit of the kind a butler would have worn back before the apocalypse.

He looks up at your approach, frowning slightly at the interruption.

"Can I help you?" he asks.

What do you do?

Elanorin

2020-10-04, 07:24 AM

"Well, that's just demonstrably false" replies Moondancer, adjusting her glasses.

"I mean the whole not needing you thing." she clarifies. "The whole sub-basement robot thing I'm sure you can handle too. I mean, that sort of stuff is why I've got an apprentice after all, so I'm sure you're qualified. But the not needing you thing, well, that I am qualified to talk to."

"You see, I have some ... well, let's call them preliminary findings from my research. I am convinced that what you do next is going to be integral to preserving my work."

What do you do?

Milliway cast her eyes down at Moondancer insisting on her being needed. It felt so very nice to hear that and she honestly couldn't remember when she'd last been told that. It was a double edged sword though, her actions potentially determining the future of Moondancer's research was a massive boulder of responsibility right there.

Wait...

She looked back up at the Archmage once more. Apart from being a heap of responsibility and flattery that Moondancer trusted her with her research, it did feel like a strange thing to say on second thought. How could anything she did affect Moondancer's research in any way that Moondancer did not want? Moondancer did Magic. Capital M Magic. Magic that made Luminark's stuff look like firecrackers and party tricks. If Moondancer wanted her research safeguarded surely she had plenty means to ensure that, including applying those dizzying time-tinkering things she sometimes did. Unless...

Unless she's not expecting to be here.

"Why? Are you going somewhere? You're- you're not right? When I get back from... all the stuff, you'll still be here right? Researching."

[Spending 2nd Read hold: What does Moondancer intend to do?]

Balmas

2020-10-04, 09:52 PM

"You absolutely can."

If this is an illusion, it's a top notch one. It's easy to miss the power of smell when you're making an illusion, since sight and sound are so much more obvious. But no, the smell of the gravy wafting off the steak has her mouth watering.

She sits at the table, one hoof noting the intricate grain of the table. Again, touch is easy to miss, and folding in this many whorls into the oak surface is expensive. So, either not an illusion or an incredibly powerful illusionist who's subtly showing off.

"Starlight Glimmer. Administrator-Emeritus of MAS facility B3K. You can tell me what you're doing inside my mind. Do I know you?"

[12 on advanced Read a Pony. Holding 3.]

Thanqol

2020-10-04, 11:27 PM

“Nah.”

The Scrapscallion stood up, turned fully around in his seat, and planted himself square in Luminark’s stupid face.

“Nah, you don’t - you threw all that power away in a hissy fit, and left Milliway to die. You don’t get to talk like you were any better.”

"Oh, I do not dispute the fact that I'm a coward," said Luminark. "I have spent my entire life in a state of barely restrained panic and paranoia. So yes, when I was murdered in the midst of a tea party, I didn't drag myself up to my bloody stumps and launch a counteroffensive - instead I took it as read that everypony hated me and wanted me gone. So I went."

He leaned in closer, bringing himself eye to eye. "My weakness was that I snapped under pressure, ran away, gave up, and wallowed in despair. I am facing that now. Celestia, some part of me is ready to run again at the first loud noise and I can't say for sure that I won't, but I am trying to be better. What I did not do was crush dissent, build an authoritarian police state, brainwash anypony who disagreed, and maintain that hideous status quo for two hundred years. So damn right I'm better than Starlight Glimmer."

BlasTech

2020-10-09, 05:46 PM

Milliway cast her eyes down at Moondancer insisting on her being needed. It felt so very nice to hear that and she honestly couldn't remember when she'd last been told that. It was a double edged sword though, her actions potentially determining the future of Moondancer's research was a massive boulder of responsibility right there.

Wait...

She looked back up at the Archmage once more. Apart from being a heap of responsibility and flattery that Moondancer trusted her with her research, it did feel like a strange thing to say on second thought. How could anything she did affect Moondancer's research in any way that Moondancer did not want? Moondancer did Magic. Capital M Magic. Magic that made Luminark's stuff look like firecrackers and party tricks. If Moondancer wanted her research safeguarded surely she had plenty means to ensure that, including applying those dizzying time-tinkering things she sometimes did. Unless...

Unless she's not expecting to be here.

"Why? Are you going somewhere? You're- you're not right? When I get back from... all the stuff, you'll still be here right? Researching."

[Spending 2nd Read hold: What does Moondancer intend to do?]

"Well, who can tell what the future holds." replies Moondancer with a slight smile. "But as long as the Library endures, then yes ... I'll be here, working on my spell."

Milliway, you can tell that what she's saying is only scratching the surface of what she's planning to do. She's going to keep working, she's going to finish her spell. But your apprenticeship carries with it a deeper understanding of what that really means.

A pony cannot spend a dozen lifetimes in service of Magic without some consequences.

In this case, you know that the Library and the Archmage are deeply intertwined. A magical confluence of power, part place, part thing part pony. One would not exist without the other. What will it mean if she finishes her research?

Because that is just what she intends to do.

What do you do?

"You absolutely can."

If this is an illusion, it's a top notch one. It's easy to miss the power of smell when you're making an illusion, since sight and sound are so much more obvious. But no, the smell of the gravy wafting off the steak has her mouth watering.

She sits at the table, one hoof noting the intricate grain of the table. Again, touch is easy to miss, and folding in this many whorls into the oak surface is expensive. So, either not an illusion or an incredibly powerful illusionist who's subtly showing off.

"Starlight Glimmer. Administrator-Emeritus of MAS facility B3K. You can tell me what you're doing inside my mind. Do I know you?"

[12 on advanced Read a Pony. Holding 3.]

The pony looks up, his face blank for a moment until looking back down at his place with a smirk.

"Rest assured, Starlight Glimmer, I am not inside your mind." replies the pony, continuing to slice away at the steak but not actually eating anything. "If I were, we would not be having this conversation."

"Now, I don't think we've met before - although I do know who you are." he continues, that smirk still present. "And the fact that we are here in this place means you have either sought me out or just gotten lucky."

"Either way, it's an opportunity." says the pony, placing his cutlery neatly beside his plate and looking up.

"So, tell me Administrator, why have you returned to B3K? What are you looking for in this place which exiled you?"

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-10-10, 12:52 PM

"Oh, I do not dispute the fact that I'm a coward," said Luminark. "I have spent my entire life in a state of barely restrained panic and paranoia. So yes, when I was murdered in the midst of a tea party, I didn't drag myself up to my bloody stumps and launch a counteroffensive - instead I took it as read that everypony hated me and wanted me gone. So I went."

He leaned in closer, bringing himself eye to eye. "My weakness was that I snapped under pressure, ran away, gave up, and wallowed in despair. I am facing that now. Celestia, some part of me is ready to run again at the first loud noise and I can't say for sure that I won't, but I am trying to be better. What I did not do was crush dissent, build an authoritarian police state, brainwash anypony who disagreed, and maintain that hideous status quo for two hundred years. So damn right I'm better than Starlight Glimmer."

“Starlight Glimmer wouldn’t waltz into a riot and try to settle things with a chat and a tea party!” The Scrapscallion smacked his forehead. “Aw, what am I saying; you’re not running away! You fixed your one and only flaw! You definitely know what you’re doing, nobody has anything you need to hear, you did it! Congratu-buckin’-lations.” He snorted. “Gah, you even call yourself a coward like a coward. Buddy, you got some hard lessons ahead of you, and we do not have time for your-”

*kaboom!*

“Ego…?”

The Scrapscallion peeked around Luminark, and saw a rainbow explosion beating back an advancing wall of darkness.

That...that probably wasn't good.

Elanorin

2020-10-12, 03:18 AM

"Well, who can tell what the future holds." replies Moondancer with a slight smile. "But as long as the Library endures, then yes ... I'll be here, working on my spell."

Milliway, you can tell that what she's saying is only scratching the surface of what she's planning to do. She's going to keep working, she's going to finish her spell. But your apprenticeship carries with it a deeper understanding of what that really means.

A pony cannot spend a dozen lifetimes in service of Magic without some consequences.

In this case, you know that the Library and the Archmage are deeply intertwined. A magical confluence of power, part place, part thing part pony. One would not exist without the other. What will it mean if she finishes her research?

Because that is just what she intends to do.

What do you do?

"Good," said Milliway. "That's... good."

She glanced at the door behind her, still feeling more than a little hesitant about going Out There to Deal With Things. She just wanted to go back to the computer hub and see how Not-House was doing. All those other things, while important, felt... too big for her.

"You should come with me," she suddenly said, half surprising herself. The words spoke themselves the moment they came in to her mind. But yes, she realised, the heartbeat after, she did think Moondancer should come with her.

[Spending final Read hold: How can Milliway get Moondancer to come with her to 'sort out' the civil war and the service tunnel threat together?]

Thanqol

2020-10-13, 01:27 AM

“Starlight Glimmer wouldn’t waltz into a riot and try to settle things with a chat and a tea party!” The Scrapscallion smacked his forehead. “Aw, what am I saying; you’re not running away! You fixed your one and only flaw! You definitely know what you’re doing, nobody has anything you need to hear, you did it! Congratu-buckin’-lations.” He snorted. “Gah, you even call yourself a coward like a coward. Buddy, you got some hard lessons ahead of you, and we do not have time for your-”

*kaboom!*

“Ego…?”

The Scrapscallion peeked around Luminark, and saw a rainbow explosion beating back an advancing wall of darkness.

That...that probably wasn't good.

Luminark was fairly fatalistic when it came to acts of giant magic. He took a moment to appreciate the lights and scale, and if it had it in mind to kill him, running and cowering wouldn't help - he knew a 'die tired' situation when he saw one.

"Listen, whoever you are," said Luminark breezily, watching the colours on the horizon as the wind swept through his mane. "I don't know you. I don't know what your problem is. I don't know what you've accomplished in life, I don't know what your deal is, I don't know how it relates to me. If you're carrying a grudge I assure you it is entirely one sided. I'm not looking to prove myself to you, or to anypony, or to be right, or to win a prize, or to be in charge. I'm here because it's the most right thing that I know how to do, I'm here because I'm exhausted from running away from everything, I'm here because I want to fulfill the dreams of a wonderful ghost I recently met. I'm doing the best I can. And while I don't know what your best looks like, I very much doubt it involves catty vagueblogging at a pony you've never so much as introduced yourself to. Now are you going to fly this thing or am I going to have to?" He produced a technical manual from a pocket of his robes - the source of the friendly little voice that's been giving you helpful maintenance reminders. "I've been studying just in case."

BlasTech

2020-10-13, 08:16 AM

"Good," said Milliway. "That's... good."

She glanced at the door behind her, still feeling more than a little hesitant about going Out There to Deal With Things. She just wanted to go back to the computer hub and see how Not-House was doing. All those other things, while important, felt... too big for her.

"You should come with me," she suddenly said, half surprising herself. The words spoke themselves the moment they came in to her mind. But yes, she realised, the heartbeat after, she did think Moondancer should come with her.

[Spending final Read hold: How can Milliway get Moondancer to come with her to 'sort out' the civil war and the service tunnel threat together?]

Moondancer's smile wavers.

"I ... really can't." she replies, looking aside. "More importantly, I really shouldn't"

There's a pause, as she gathers her thoughts.

"I told you about my research. Studying destiny, fate ... the proverbial will of Magic itself." she begins, tone unsure. "I could go on for days, months really, about the underlying logic and philosophy behind my observations. How the theory that we live lives based on linear cause and effect and how the associated heuristic models of determinative cognition are insufficient to filter the noise of chaos from the underlying patterns of deliberate probability manipulat ---"

She coughs.

"What I mean to say is ... part of my work is diagnostic. And I'm very close to determining the ponies who can and should have the capacity to act. It would be too much to say that they are 'destined' to change the world, because that would imply success when none is guaranteed. But they are the ones who, if they do things right, will achieve the right outcome. The outcome that is most in line with what is best for Equestria in the long run."

"Now, I am nothing if not thorough in my research. I have checked, and double checked my results. And I am not one of those ponies. These 'agents' of Magic, come and go over time. Popping up amidst the wasteland. Some fail, their potential sputtering out unfulfilled. But when they succeed - the changes they can effect are immense."

Moondancer adjusts her glasses, glancing at you to see how you've taken this in. And, you're probably not imagining it, but the expression on her face is both sad and meaningful. As if she is trying to impart some additional piece of information without saying it.

"In addition." she continues. "There is the matter of my broader work. If I were to leave now - there is every chance I won't have it completed in time. Every second may well count. I simply can't take the risk of stepping out of my office for that long. If my calculations are correct - the final product may be needed very soon."

She says this as if she isn't just standing here talking to you - and, well let's face it ... given how the Archmage sometimes acts, she might well not be.

Milliway - in answer to your question, you can tell what it will take to get her out and into the field. You'll need to show her that her life's work - her entire life's work - is either unnecessary or incorrect. The Archmage is a pony of data, she's been around for 200 years and has been working on this that entire time - but that's not to say she's right.

Feel free to read a sitch if you want a pointer on the flaw in her logic. But suffice to say, you will need to go out and do things in order to prove this to her.

But also, bear in mind that the Archmage and the Library are intertwined. A confluence of magic and the arcane that cannot exist without one another. If you want her to come with you, you'll also need to be ready to sacrifice your Hoard.

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-10-14, 07:58 PM

Luminark was fairly fatalistic when it came to acts of giant magic. He took a moment to appreciate the lights and scale, and if it had it in mind to kill him, running and cowering wouldn't help - he knew a 'die tired' situation when he saw one.

"Listen, whoever you are," said Luminark breezily, watching the colours on the horizon as the wind swept through his mane. "I don't know you. I don't know what your problem is. I don't know what you've accomplished in life, I don't know what your deal is, I don't know how it relates to me. If you're carrying a grudge I assure you it is entirely one sided. I'm not looking to prove myself to you, or to anypony, or to be right, or to win a prize, or to be in charge. I'm here because it's the most right thing that I know how to do, I'm here because I'm exhausted from running away from everything, I'm here because I want to fulfill the dreams of a wonderful ghost I recently met. I'm doing the best I can. And while I don't know what your best looks like, I very much doubt it involves catty vagueblogging at a pony you've never so much as introduced yourself to. Now are you going to fly this thing or am I going to have to?" He produced a technical manual from a pocket of his robes - the source of the friendly little voice that's been giving you helpful maintenance reminders. "I've been studying just in case."

The Scrapscallion snapped out of his rainbow firework-induced reverie, blinking confusedly at his co-pilot. “Wait, are you talking to me? Was that all...at…”

His brows furrowed.

“Luminark.” He said, dangerously calm. “What’s my name?”

Thanqol

2020-10-14, 08:33 PM

The Scrapscallion snapped out of his rainbow firework-induced reverie, blinking confusedly at his co-pilot. “Wait, are you talking to me? Was that all...at…”

His brows furrowed.

“Luminark.” He said, dangerously calm. “What’s my name?”

"Er?" Luminark looked trapped. "I, er, so we have been introduced? I mean, something about you rung a bell but..."

He scratched an ear with a hoof awkwardly. "Debrishalott?"

Balmas

2020-10-16, 04:12 PM

[Spending one 12+ hold: What is he planning to do?]

"It's my home."

Huh. So that's what telling the truth feels like.

"I could bulls*** some schpiel about being afraid of what an entire bunker full of amoral idiots would do without me holding them in check. And it'd even be true. But I've poured more than I can remember into this facility, two lifetimes and more. I've raised generations of children here. You really think I'm going to walk away from that?"

TheAmishPirate

2020-10-18, 03:19 PM

"Er?" Luminark looked trapped. "I, er, so we have been introduced? I mean, something about you rung a bell but..."

He scratched an ear with a hoof awkwardly. "Debrishalott?"

“...we spent days cooped up on a road trip together. You wanted to grab some dinky box out in the middle of nowhere, and you wouldn’t even let me look inside. Not even when I tried to sing the entire way back.”

“We got captured by a bunch of wastelanders. You drugged me, I pretended to threaten you to save our lives, then we got separated when that crazy hulking slaver came along and attacked. I’d no idea what happened to you until I heard you were back at the Bunker.”

“Last time we saw each other, you tried to hire me. You were ready to give me your office.”

“Enough with the jokes, Luminark.” The earth pony ground out. “What’s. My. Name.”

Elanorin

2020-10-20, 04:56 AM

The back of Milliway's shoulders were beginning to itch and once the feeling had taken root it quickly began to spread up her withers and neck and down her legs. She needed to get back to House. But something kept her here. Something about Moondancer and everything happening in this mindboggling room. It was important. House was important too, but this was... just so big. It was hard to turn away from and she really wanted Moondancer with her if she was going to tackle this kind of hero stuff.

Perhaps it was just insecurity talking but she really felt Moondancer should come. She'd been shut in this office for, what, centuries? Surely both she and the world could do with her being in this as opposed to shut away on the fringes.

Milliway was itching to take off but she decided to put her hoof down.

"I disagree," she said.

[Rolling Read A Sitch: 5+1+0=6 Asking one anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

Thanqol

2020-10-20, 06:05 PM

“...we spent days cooped up on a road trip together. You wanted to grab some dinky box out in the middle of nowhere, and you wouldn’t even let me look inside. Not even when I tried to sing the entire way back.”

“We got captured by a bunch of wastelanders. You drugged me, I pretended to threaten you to save our lives, then we got separated when that crazy hulking slaver came along and attacked. I’d no idea what happened to you until I heard you were back at the Bunker.”

“Last time we saw each other, you tried to hire me. You were ready to give me your office.”

“Enough with the jokes, Luminark.” The earth pony ground out. “What’s. My. Name.”

"Look around you," said Luminark. "The sky is alight with rainbows, armies are entrenching, the dead have risen and we ride on wings of fire towards a bunker filled with all the terrible and wonderful relics of the Old World. We stand at a crossroads, a conflux of fate, a moment when time and magic have come together to give us a unique opportunity. We could save the world. We could change the world! In this moment of transition, upon this liminal stage, we should ask ourselves not what we have been called in the past but what we want to be called in the future! Isn't the problem with the wasteland today that too many ponies are looking backwards when they should be looking forwards? And so I ask you, friend, what do you want your name to be?"

[Manipulate: 6]

BlasTech

2020-10-23, 06:57 AM

"It's my home."

Huh. So that's what telling the truth feels like.

"I could bulls*** some schpiel about being afraid of what an entire bunker full of amoral idiots would do without me holding them in check. And it'd even be true. But I've poured more than I can remember into this facility, two lifetimes and more. I've raised generations of children here. You really think I'm going to walk away from that?"

"I don't know" replies the stranger. "I admit, I don't know you that well. When I saw you had left, I wasn't expecting you to come back."

Another slice on his plate, as he seems to think about something. His expression is cold and calculating, but you can see there's something burning behind those eyes.

"Now that you have, though" he continues, speaking slowly as if testing the waters. "You must know that the Bunker is moving on poorly. That said, there is a pony who might change all of that and not necessarily in your favour."

"Do you know what Milliway has been doing?"

While he's still working his way up to it, you can tell what he's trying to do right now is offer you a deal, or to talk you around to doing something, for his own agenda. One of those typical 'deal with Discord' kind of things, although one that is not necessarily to your benefit or detriment. He's planning to do something about the Bunker, but it's for his own reasons.

What do you do?

The back of Milliway's shoulders were beginning to itch and once the feeling had taken root it quickly began to spread up her withers and neck and down her legs. She needed to get back to [S]House. But something kept her here. Something about Moondancer and everything happening in this mindboggling room. It was important. House was important too, but this was... just so big. It was hard to turn away from and she really wanted Moondancer with her if she was going to tackle this kind of hero stuff.

Perhaps it was just insecurity talking but she really felt Moondancer should come. She'd been shut in this office for, what, centuries? Surely both she and the world could do with her being in this as opposed to shut away on the fringes.

Milliway was itching to take off but she decided to put her hoof down.

"I disagree," she said.

[Rolling Read A Sitch: 5+1+0=6 Asking one anyway: What should I be on the lookout for?]

"Well." replies the Archmage, sadly. "The data doesn't lie."

And with that, she vanishes. There one blink, gone the next.

It's obvious when you think about it though. For all of her research and logic, the Archmage has spent the last 200 years observing, rather than doing. Of course her data is only showing a hoof-full of ponies would have the potential to change the world! With how things are on the surface, amidst the death, radiation and bad fashion, finding a pony with the fire and drive to try to make the world a better place has to be about as rare an occurrence as finding a generous dragon who loves baking.

What you need to be on the lookout for then, is an opportunity to change the data.

Get others into the fight for the right reasons, make ponies want to make the world a better place for all - rather than just themselves. It might seem like an insurmountable task, but it only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. Do that, and you'll prove to the archmage that ponies can do more than just bury themselves in offices and do research.

Well, assuming you believe all that stuff yourself. Do you?

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-10-25, 04:10 PM

"Look around you," said Luminark. "The sky is alight with rainbows, armies are entrenching, the dead have risen and we ride on wings of fire towards a bunker filled with all the terrible and wonderful relics of the Old World. We stand at a crossroads, a conflux of fate, a moment when time and magic have come together to give us a unique opportunity. We could save the world. We could change the world! In this moment of transition, upon this liminal stage, we should ask ourselves not what we have been called in the past but what we want to be called in the future! Isn't the problem with the wasteland today that too many ponies are looking backwards when they should be looking forwards? And so I ask you, friend, what do you want your name to be?"

[Manipulate: 6]

The Earth Pony coughed.

“Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, like, should I slap you now, or when we get there, or...?”

Thanqol

2020-10-25, 04:26 PM

The Earth Pony coughed.

“Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, like, should I slap you now, or when we get there, or...?”

"Now, please, I don't want that hanging over my head," said Luminark.

Balmas

2020-10-27, 01:13 AM

"Last I heard, she'd made a radio and sent a distress signal."

Which, frankly, disappointing. Milliway had everything she needed to succeed! Power! Authority! Minions! A magical artifact grafted to her very soul! A small fraction of Starlight's natural charisma! And then the moment things go bad, she cowers in a closet? What rank amateur decided to spend the resources bringing her back? Frankly, a very poor decision.

Now, that's interesting though. He knows her ponies well enough to know them by name, and has enough eyes to be at least tangentially aware of what's going on in Milliway's little hideyhole. The question is... why? Why's he so invested in this Bunker? She's got 200 years of reasons to care. Why's he care?

[Spending one hold for that question]

BlasTech

2020-10-30, 07:03 AM

The Earth Pony coughed.

“Sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo, like, should I slap you now, or when we get there, or...?”

"Now, please, I don't want that hanging over my head," said Luminark.

A short ride and one dope-slap later, and the Peregrine swoops up to the outbuildings of the Bunker.

So ... let's take a moment to describe how things are laid out - it might be important before too long.

Milliway, Gliimer - you'd best listen up too, but let me know if I've got anything wrong here.

There are only a few buildings above ground, of which the Peregrine's hangar is easily the largest. The others are mostly meteorlogical sensors, a smattering of air intake vents (appropriately shielded and hard to access) and a pair of weather generators that used to keep the Bunker's valley in a defensive haze. They haven't worked for some time now though, not since the Day of Rainbooms swept the localised storms away.

The Garage itself looks like a dilapidated pre-war aircraft hangar - emphasis on looks. The deal that Scraps struck with Glimmer resulted in a brief but thorough refurbishment and security upgrade. Beneath rusted corrugated tin roofing, solid steel. Behind crumbling concrete, a reinforced interior shell. And hidden among the shadows of the various windows and eves a decent number of firing ports and security systems. The building is fortified, albeit a large above-ground target.

The entrance to the bunker is much less impressive for what it is, a simple squat entrance with a sealed blast door. (https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/starwars/images/9/91/EndorBunker-ROTJ.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/865?cb=20130421043208) For all of the wonder and importance of the Bunker itself, the entryway is little more than a glorified door that leads to the main entrance tunnel.

Down a hundred meters and through the front security airlock you reach the upper levels of the bunker. The first thing you'll see is the entry atrium, off which are the upper administration wings, a security/medical station and supply rooms for surface expeditions.

The next levels are the main divisional laboratories, arranged in a rough hub and spoke model around central living spaces. Chemistry, Physics and Materials Science are some of the ones on the first level. Mechanical sciences, Botany and Biology amongst those on the next along with the main agriponics facilities - vast subterranean fields lit by artificial suns from which most of the Bunker's food comes from.

Beneath those are the critical Bunker infrastructure and hazardous laboratories. The Library is accessible from here, as is the Bunker's water and power systems. The Bunker's cemetery is here, for those who are not destined for the recyclers, as is ... fittingly enough, the Necromancy department. The primary Security hub, barracks and armoury round out this level.

The warrens are the next level down, a maze of tunnels and pipes which provide maintenance access to plethora of pipes and wires that feed the rest of the bunker. Tucked away in this maze of heat and steam are the prisons and "re-education" facilities of the now-defunct Friendship Patrol.

Laboratories resume below this level, focusing on those sciences where depth is preferable for their work. Geology, Mineral sciences, Arcane studies. they have easy access to the final level of the bunker where a number of airlocks and vehicle bays herald the entryway to the gem mines and tunnels beneath the Bunker.

Scraps, Luminark - we focus back on you two as you pull up outside the Hangar. The peregrine's engine crinkles and cools as you all debark, with Regina and Rarity looking up at the dilapidated exterior of the entrance.

"Nice" deadpans Reggie, looking up at the rusting roof. She looks like she's about to say something more when she's interrupted by a new voice.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!"

Two ponies are trotting out from the Bunker's entryway, clad in security uniforms. It's Hot Toddy (Absorber Rod's brother) and Tourniquet. While they clearly recognise the Peregrine, they seem wary of the unfamiliar faces piling out of it and Tourniquet has an especially hateful glare reserved just for you Luminark

What do you two do?

"Last I heard, she'd made a radio and sent a distress signal."

Which, frankly, disappointing. Milliway had everything she needed to succeed! Power! Authority! Minions! A magical artifact grafted to her very soul! A small fraction of Starlight's natural charisma! And then the moment things go bad, she cowers in a closet? What rank amateur decided to spend the resources bringing her back? Frankly, a very poor decision.

Now, that's interesting though. He knows her ponies well enough to know them by name, and has enough eyes to be at least tangentially aware of what's going on in Milliway's little hideyhole. The question is... why? Why's he so invested in this Bunker? She's got 200 years of reasons to care. Why's he care?

[Spending one hold for that question]

"Well, she's done far more than that." chuckles the pony. "Namely, she's replaced you."

He watches you, seeing if you have any reaction to that news.

"Now, I have nothing against Milliway. Love her and all that. But you should know she's creating something in that Library that goes against all the natural orders of Equestria. A clone, an alicorn clone. A new princess."

"One which might just take your Bunker away from you. A younger, prettier face for those impressionable scientists to rally around. But one without knowledge of how to properly administer a place like this. An empty shell without a soul."

Mare, this guy is not doing subtle very well is he? It's like he thinks you have this big button on you about this topic and he's just going to mash it until he gets a response.

It's weird though. You don't know him, but you can tell from what he's saying that he knows the Bunker well enough to have lived in it for a while. And for whatever reason he has an unhealthy fixation on Milliway's work. It's the kind of single-minded focus that only comes from a specific blend of slighted vengeance and greed, tinged with paranoia. He wants something, but he also wants to hurt somepony, likely her, in particular.

He's also clearly not quite all right in the head.

What do you do?

TheAmishPirate

2020-11-01, 04:37 PM

Scraps, Luminark - we focus back on you two as you pull up outside the Hangar. The peregrine's engine crinkles and cools as you all debark, with Regina and Rarity looking up at the dilapidated exterior of the entrance.

"Nice" deadpans Reggie, looking up at the rusting roof. She looks like she's about to say something more when she's interrupted by a new voice.

"Hey! What are you doing here?!"

Two ponies are trotting out from the Bunker's entryway, clad in security uniforms. It's Hot Toddy (Absorber Rod's brother) and Tourniquet. While they clearly recognise the Peregrine, they seem wary of the unfamiliar faces piling out of it and Tourniquet has an especially hateful glare reserved just for you Luminark

What do you two do?

"Now, now, boys..."

The Scrapscallion stood up at the helm, flicked his goggles off, and flashed them a genuine Scrapscallion Smirk.TM

"What kind of hero's welcome is that?"

Elanorin

2020-11-02, 04:46 AM

"Well." replies the Archmage, sadly. "The data doesn't lie."

And with that, she vanishes. There one blink, gone the next.

It's obvious when you think about it though. For all of her research and logic, the Archmage has spent the last 200 years observing, rather than doing. Of course her data is only showing a hoof-full of ponies would have the potential to change the world! With how things are on the surface, amidst the death, radiation and bad fashion, finding a pony with the fire and drive to try to make the world a better place has to be about as rare an occurrence as finding a generous dragon who loves baking.

What you need to be on the lookout for then, is an opportunity to change the data.

Get others into the fight for the right reasons, make ponies want to make the world a better place for all - rather than just themselves. It might seem like an insurmountable task, but it only takes one pebble to start an avalanche. Do that, and you'll prove to the archmage that ponies can do more than just bury themselves in offices and do research.

Well, assuming you believe all that stuff yourself. Do you?

What do you do?

Milliway most certainly does. But she neither has time or the patience to chip away at Moondancer's resolve in that manner. So a last-ditch sledgehammer approach it is.

She stomps a hoof on the floor with a loud clunk and begins:

"The data may not lie but it can be interpreted incorrectly." Did she really just say Moondancer was wrong? Too late to back down now. In for a bit... "And gathered incorrectly. Assembled incorrectly. Things might be compared that seem equal but aren't because they haven't been fully understood by someone who just sits on her butt reading all day for hundreds of years rather than get out there and experience even a fraction of it firsthoof!" Milliway ranted, right in to thin air. To be honest, she'd seen enough of Moondancer's tricks not to trust that a seemingly empty room was actually empty. There was a greater-than-zero chance that the Archmage could hear every single word she said and she had nothing to lose. If she was going out there she may well be shot. Or stabbed. Or exploded. She might not see Moondancer ever again so, yeah, here it was.

"Have you even once stopped to think on the fact that you're already neck deep involved in all these events and making them happen even by just the mere fact that without you forcing me to go out there and 'fix it'", complete with hoofy air quotes, "I would totally have stayed right here with my experiment and defending the library and your research. It is you and your actions that are making me go out and do the things you say I have to do, but that I would never have done if you didn't make me. That means you're already in this, Archmage. Your hooves are well and truly muddy already, you're engineering all of this! This is your doing! As is whatever happens to me out there as I go, unarmed, blind, with no knowledge of what's out there. Hiding behind books and doors and library stacks doesn't remove you at all, nor does it remove the blood on your hooves if I fail. Because you could have helped me. You could have been the difference between failure and success just by being there. So rather than learning through other ponies' lives, maybe, just this once, get off your precious little unicorn butt and have your own experience!"

Another hoof stomp. A frustrated snort. And an annoyed tail swish. Then she walked out and slammed the door shut as hard as she could behind her to head back to check on House. She hoped the whole damn office trembled.

She paused, turned around, and added, at the top of her voice, at the closed door:

"This is your last chance. If you don't come with me then you cat sit in there and rot. If I'm not killed today, I quit!"

Milliway out.

[Rolling Manipulate on Moondancer: 3+3-1=5 Awwww]

BlasTech

2020-11-02, 06:50 AM

"Now, now, boys..."

The Scrapscallion stood up at the helm, flicked his goggles off, and flashed them a genuine Scrapscallion Smirk.TM

"What kind of hero's welcome is that?"

"The kind you should be used to getting by now" shoots back Toddy, although he gives a smile to soften the hit. "Though you should really know better than to bring back Wastelanders, you know the protocols better than most in this Bunker.

He glances at Rarity and Reggie, opening his mouth to say more when his radio crackles to life ...

Milliway most certainly does. But she neither has time or the patience to chip away at Moondancer's resolve in that manner. So a last-ditch sledgehammer approach it is.

She stomps a hoof on the floor with a loud clunk and begins:

"The data may not lie but it can be interpreted incorrectly." Did she really just say Moondancer was wrong? Too late to back down now. In for a bit... "And gathered incorrectly. Assembled incorrectly. Things might be compared that seem equal but aren't because they haven't been fully understood by someone who just sits on her butt reading all day for hundreds of years rather than get out there and experience even a fraction of it firsthoof!" Milliway ranted, right in to thin air. To be honest, she'd seen enough of Moondancer's tricks not to trust that a seemingly empty room was actually empty. There was a greater-than-zero chance that the Archmage could hear every single word she said and she had nothing to lose. If she was going out there she may well be shot. Or stabbed. Or exploded. She might not see Moondancer ever again so, yeah, here it was.

"Have you even once stopped to think on the fact that you're already neck deep involved in all these events and making them happen even by just the mere fact that without you forcing me to go out there and 'fix it'", complete with hoofy air quotes, "I would totally have stayed right here with my experiment and defending the library and your research. It is you and your actions that are making me go out and do the things you say I have to do, but that I would never have done if you didn't make me. That means you're already in this, Archmage. Your hooves are well and truly muddy already, you're engineering all of this! This is your doing! As is whatever happens to me out there as I go, unarmed, blind, with no knowledge of what's out there. Hiding behind books and doors and library stacks doesn't remove you at all, nor does it remove the blood on your hooves if I fail. Because you could have helped me. You could have been the difference between failure and success just by being there. So rather than learning through other ponies' lives, maybe, just this once, get off your precious little unicorn butt and have your own experience!"

Another hoof stomp. A frustrated snort. And an annoyed tail swish. Then she walked out and slammed the door shut as hard as she could behind her to head back to check on House. She hoped the whole damn office trembled.

She paused, turned around, and added, at the top of her voice, at the closed door:

"This is your last chance. If you don't come with me then you cat sit in there and rot. If I'm not killed today, I quit!"

Milliway out.

[Rolling Manipulate on Moondancer: 3+3-1=5 Awwww]

The slamming of the door echoes in the silence of the Library but there's no other response. No sign that the Archmage has even heard you, let alone registered the intent behind your threat.

Soon, your anger reverberates away into stillness and you stand alone amidst the stacks. Just you, the sound of your breathing, and the beeping of the cloning tank.

Wait ... beeping?

You look at the display, which is no longer gyrating between the competing estimates of 'soon' and 'heat death of the universe'. Instead it's displaying a solid 00:00:00:30:29 and rapidly cycling down to zero.

25 seconds.

The vents hiss, releasing a cloud of steam that blankets the ground from stack to stack. Shrouding the machinery in a grey haze.

20 seconds

Liquid drains from the main tank, bubbling along the countless pipes on the vat's exterior. All you can see through the mist are the blinking lights around the main vessel.

15 seconds

A bright light builds within the main vessel, which cracks vertically - like a door, about to open. The lights begin to blink in unison, cycling through a rainbow of colours before progressively turning green.

10 seconds.

"Attention. Attention. All Bunker Residents, this is your Chief of Security." Target Practice's voice crackles over the general PA, drowning out everything happening in front of you.

Luminark, Scrapscallion. This is also being broadcast on the radios Hot Toddy and Tourniquet are carrying, temporarily distracting from their interrogation.

"Our former administrator has attempted to return to the Bunker but has been arrested." it continues. "A formal trial will be held ... briefly ... in the main auditorium on Level 1. With the execution held soon after. All bunker staff are required to attend."

There's a brief muttering, as if talking to someone else, before a sigh is heard.

"And yes, canapes will be served in accordance with gathering regulations 5N-AX on formal events. That is all."

There's a beat of silence up above ground, before Toddy clicks the radio clipped to his shoulder.

"Security Control." he says, confused. "Confirm that last? We're currently looking at Luminark up here."

"Confirmed." replies the voice on the other end. "Not sure what's going on, but the Chief wants us all there. You better hurry."

"Acknowledged."

Hot Toddy and Tourniquet look at each other, and then at Luminark. Tourniquet makes to step forward before Toddy stops him with a hoof.

"C'mon. It's not worth being late for an all-hooves call." he says, dragging the colt away before he could try anything. "Scraps, I don't know what's going on with all of you, but you better hurry too unless you want to be on Target's hit list"

What do you two do?

Milliway - just as the voice fades away your attention is drawn back to the cloning rig, which finally opens.

All you can see through the haze is a pony stumbling out, going down to their knees. Features obscured except for a long thin horn above their head and wings on their flanks.

What do you do?