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  1. - Top - End - #181
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    TheAmishPirate's Avatar

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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    "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]
    I'm developing a game. Let's see what happens! Complex.

  2. - Top - End - #182
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    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?

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    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?

  3. - Top - End - #183
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    "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."
    Last edited by Thanqol; 2020-08-24 at 06:08 AM.

  4. - Top - End - #184
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    [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?
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  5. - Top - End - #185
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "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?

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    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?

  6. - Top - End - #186
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    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.
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2020-08-25 at 03:09 PM.
    "For love is no part of the dreamworld. Love belongs to Desire, and Desire is always cruel."
    ~ Neil Gaiman

    "Just because I'm sorry doesn't mean I didn't enjoy it at the time."
    ~ Snow Patrol



  7. - Top - End - #187
    Firbolg in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    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?]
    I run a Let's Play channel! Check it out!
    Currently, we're playing through New Vegas as Gabriel de la Cruz, merchant and mercenary extraordinaire!

  8. - Top - End - #188
    Colossus in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    "... 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.

  9. - Top - End - #189
    Ettin in the Playground
     
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    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?

    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    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.

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    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?

  10. - Top - End - #190
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    "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?"
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2020-09-02 at 03:20 AM.
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  11. - Top - End - #191
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    "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?"

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    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    "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?
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2020-09-03 at 04:56 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    "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.

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    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    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...

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    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?”
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    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."

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    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?’”
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    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."

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    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?)
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "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."
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    "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?"

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    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    "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?]
    Last edited by Elanorin; 2020-09-11 at 04:10 AM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    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?

    Quote Originally Posted by Elanorin View Post
    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?

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    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "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.
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    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    “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."

  25. - Top - End - #205
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    "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?"
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Thanqol View Post
    "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.”
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  27. - Top - End - #207
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by TheAmishPirate View Post
    “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."

  28. - Top - End - #208
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    "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?]

  29. - Top - End - #209
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by BlasTech View Post
    [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?]
    Last edited by Balmas; 2020-09-22 at 05:50 PM.
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  30. - Top - End - #210
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    Default Re: [MLP] Cloudbreak II: Towards the sun

    Quote Originally Posted by Balmas View Post
    [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?

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