[MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

[BlasTech]

“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]

"--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]

-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]

"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]

"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.

"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."

<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?>

"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.

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?

[BlasTech]

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]

"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.

[BlasTech]

"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]

"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."

[BlasTech]

"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]

"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]

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]

"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]

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]

"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]

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]

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]

"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]

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]

"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]

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]

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]

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]

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]

"... … 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]

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]

"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]

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]

"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]

"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.