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Fallout: Beyond Equestria 161: Xero Hour (Part 15)

Scorch_Mechanic
Dec 9th, 2015
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  1. [2015-12-09 13:46:31] <Kkat> 3Previously...
  2. [2015-12-09 13:46:58] <Kkat> 3“The Senate speaks of the depravity of ponykind, trumpeting the hastening degradation of your social and moral values, as if they have kept theirs. I remember when spirits were respected and feared. Now we bind the power of spirits of rage to make our bullets burn and spirits of whispers to make our war machines silent...
  3. [2015-12-09 13:47:37] <Kkat> 3...This place was once held in reverence. Now it is a resource for the war effort. We are weaponizing Windigos. The Legates listen to the likes of Xero. Even the blasphemous horrors of necromancy are not above the Senate’s consideration.”
  4. [2015-12-09 13:47:41] <Kkat> 3...
  5. [2015-12-09 13:47:59] <Kkat> 3The shadows in the room deepen and seep. They melt and grow, connecting together like drops of water that get too close. Soon, the room is nothing but darkness, like everything has been painted black. The lights from PipBucks refuse to light more than a few inches of the appendages to which they are attached.
  6. [2015-12-09 13:48:18] <Kkat> 3In the darkness, images appear, figures of ponies and others... like mirages in the black. One image is a zebra waving a crooked staff adorned with feathers, the crook like a dreamcatcher with a black sapphire woven into the center. The zebra chants through the staff, waving it over powders, and the powders change color, darkening.
  7. [2015-12-09 13:48:31] <Kkat> 3A small grey unicorn with muddy-colored hair and a pair of scissors on his flank cases a spell, forming a ball of black, crackling energy. A sea-green pegasus swoops high through the air then dives... faster and faster... faster still as the air distorts around her. Glimpses of colors form and are bled black as she goes faster still until... >>>BOOOM<<< ...
  8. [2015-12-09 13:48:40] <Kkat> 3...the sky explodes around her, darkness rippling out in an expanding black ring. And everywhere below, life withers and dies.
  9. [2015-12-09 13:49:06] <Kkat> 3>> We are the source. Or, I should say, /a/ source of the power of death. Mortals are the channel. When a mortal becomes a necromancer, a part of their soul is... changed... so that our power may flow to them. A conduit. But it is the mortal's soul, and the mortal's inherent magical nature, that shapes the power... gives it... form. <<
  10. [2015-12-09 13:49:08] <Kkat> 3...
  11. [2015-12-09 13:49:18] <Kkat> 3Sleipnir waits silently a moment, then explains, >> We offer the power you call Necromancy to those willing to work for us in return when we need agents in the mortal world. We give it in exchange, and can stop doing so if the mortal attempts to... renege on its obligations. <<
  12. [2015-12-09 13:49:26] <Kkat> 3Sleipnir frowns. >> Other... agencies of death energy have... /other/ ways of dealing with those who displease Them. <<
  13. [2015-12-09 13:49:33] <Kkat> 3CopyCat tilts her head. "Like a strongly worded letter?"
  14. [2015-12-09 13:49:39] <Kkat> 3Bookwright says, "Or the strongly worded meteor."
  15. [2015-12-09 13:49:52] <Kkat> 3The mirage of the zebra returns, this time with her screaming in unimaginable pain as... something happens to her. Something that mercifully the group's senses cannot allow them to perceive. All they can feel is an overwhelming dread and a sense of wrongness so palpable they are drowning in it.
  16. [2015-12-09 13:49:59] <Kkat> 3CopyCat winces.
  17. [2015-12-09 13:50:05] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart blanches slightly and frowns. "The Zebras have many dark legends about the wrath of the Stars. No doubt there are worse fates than the ones in the stories."
  18. [2015-12-09 13:50:11] <Kkat> 3Bookwright says, "I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that's one of the 'worse fates'."
  19. [2015-12-09 13:50:12] <Kkat> 3...
  20. [2015-12-09 13:50:20] <Kkat> 3Sleipnir regards Kid almost gently... well, for a granddaddy death spirit. Sleipnir seems to glean something. >> You... wish to bargain for the one called Fluttershy? <<
  21. [2015-12-09 13:50:25] <Kkat> 3Kid bows. "Yes ma'am."
  22. [2015-12-09 13:50:50] <Kkat> 3Sleipnir frowns. >> If you end the zebra known as Xero, I will tell the Reapers to leave Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to chose their own times of passing. So long as they remain capable of doing so. And with the understanding that there is one Reaper whom I cannot speak for. <<
  23. [2015-12-09 13:51:00] <Kkat> 3...
  24. [2015-12-09 13:51:02] <Kkat> 3Shatara checks and preps his weapon. "So uh...what do y'all think of your necro-friend here...?"
  25. [2015-12-09 13:51:09] <Kkat> 3One of the translators responds to Shatara. "The ship's medic? Roam trusted the Leviathan's spirit to reform her, like it did with so many other hopeless souls. But a necromancer is always a necromancer. Her soul is not entirely hers. Why should Roam take such a risk, put her in a position second only to the Admiral?"
  26. [2015-12-09 13:51:14] <Kkat> 3The other translator adds, "I remember once, long ago, when such a decision would make me question the wisdom of Roam."
  27. [2015-12-09 13:51:20] <Kkat> 3Shatara nods, singing softly to himself. "One of these things, is not like the others~..."
  28. [2015-12-09 13:51:27] <Kkat> 3The first stripeless translator adds, "If a zebra were to be so unpatriotic as to question Roam, that zebra might even ask why the Cult of LIV still exists if Roam has captured and converted one of its foul lot."
  29. [2015-12-09 13:51:33] <Kkat> 3The second translator turns to the first and says (in zebra) what Parlay translates as, "Then that zebra would be stupid as well as wicked. You know why."
  30. [2015-12-09 13:51:40] <Kkat> 3Shatara tilts his head. "Cult of LIV?"
  31. [2015-12-09 13:51:46] <Kkat> 3"The cultores-stella who control Vault LIV," one of them supplies. The other stripeless, while not understanding the conversation, do turn to pay attention at the use of that word.
  32. [2015-12-09 13:51:48] <Kkat> 3...
  33. [2015-12-09 13:51:53] <Kkat> 3The zebra nods. "You're not our first unexpected guest. You've seen what happened to the rest."
  34. [2015-12-09 13:52:03] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart frowns at that prospect. "We are uncertain that We believe 'banished by Roam to the catacombs' is truly 'unexpected'." She stamps a forehoof in mild irritation. "Indeed, We would rather take Our presence here as a sign that We have been taken prisoner. An unpleasant arrangement for all involved."
  35. [2015-12-09 13:52:08] <Kkat> 3"Rest assured, when Roam disappears you," he smiles a thin, grim smile, "Weapons and armor don't go in too."
  36. [2015-12-09 13:52:15] <Kkat> 3He sighs. "You can go back in, I do not care. But you'll do so with much less to wear. Or I let you leave and all I ask," he stares pleasantly at the alicorn towering above him. "Is your help in a simple task."
  37. [2015-12-09 13:52:22] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart looks down her muzzle at the zebra behind the desk with a quizzical consideration. "We are listening." She wasn't usually the type who'd give in to such demands. But right now she was exhausted, unarmed and surrounded by magical energy weapons. She was not so foolish as to attempt to attack those who had her at such an obvious disadvantage.
  38. [2015-12-09 13:52:28] <Kkat> 3"The banishment that sent you here: a ring of flame all green and queer?" As he speaks, Noble_Heart can feel her magic beginning to return. A slow trickle, but whatever was prevented her recovery was limited to the catacombs beyond the gate.
  39. [2015-12-09 13:52:33] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart nods her head at that. "A zebra with a bottle of fire, dragged Us down into the darkness and left Us to rot. We had feared that We might never find Our way out, until your drone found Us at least." She chuckled darkly. "Though in truth We were uncertain anyone would be likely to check on that either."
  40. [2015-12-09 13:52:39] <Kkat> 3"Since the first incursion beneath Roam, to ensure the safety of our home, I have ordered sweeps by scouting drones," he tells Noble_Heart. "Some 'gifts' have been more than flesh and bones."
  41. [2015-12-09 13:52:44] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart frowns and nods her head. "So these are a new problem, then? And Roam has not asked your permission to tread upon your home?"
  42. [2015-12-09 13:52:52] <Kkat> 3"There is a standing threat to Roam. A cult that calls Vault LIV its home." He frowns, suppressing a shudder.
  43. [2015-12-09 13:52:59] <Kkat> 3"The one who banished you to here," he adds, "Gained her power from them, I fear."
  44. [2015-12-09 13:53:05] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart raises her eyebrows quizzically. "This is one of which we have not heard." She scowls at that prospect. "That seems most unusual. And you wish Us to go and deal with this problem for you?"
  45. [2015-12-09 13:53:10] <Kkat> 3The zebra nods. "Help deal with the Cult of LIV and your freedom I will give."
  46. [2015-12-09 13:53:12] <Kkat> 3...
  47. [2015-12-09 13:54:05] <Kkat> 3A display comes up on the screen, showing a grid. A blinking light marked "I" moves along the grid towards a circle at the bottom marked "IV".
  48. [2015-12-09 13:54:11] <Kkat> 3Detention fills with the sound of heavy metal thuds as several bolts in the door of Interrogation Room IV are pulled back. Through the window that looks into Interrogation Room IV, the group can see the hatch-like door on the other end of the room open, releasing a cloud of vapor.
  49. [2015-12-09 13:54:18] <Kkat> 3Beyond, they can see the ceiling of a vast chamber (no telling from here how deep it goes). Along the ceiling is a gridwork of tracks from which cages hang above the drop.
  50. [2015-12-09 13:54:22] <Kkat> 3CopyCat gulps again.
  51. [2015-12-09 13:54:31] <Kkat> 3One cage is brought forward by the tracks, the zebra inside slowly illuminated by the light of the interrogation room as the cage slides into place, locking just outside the open door. The cage door opens.
  52. [2015-12-09 13:54:37] <Kkat> 3Mitzi sees the enormous caves as the various cages and tracks move. She frowns, "Seems like uh waste uv space."
  53. [2015-12-09 13:54:46] <Kkat> 3"Prisoner I, you have been called to interrogation. You have six seconds to exit your cage. Failure to do so will result in your cage being electrified. Continue to refuse, and shocks will increase in severity until lethal or until you comply."
  54. [2015-12-09 13:54:53] <Kkat> 3The bedraggled zebra stands and steps into Interrogation Room IV.
  55. [2015-12-09 13:54:59] <Kkat> 3Bookwright tries not to be visibly excited about the chance to interview a genuine Vault Dweller. "Copy Cat, can you please translate?"
  56. [2015-12-09 13:55:04] <Kkat> 3"Prisoner I. You will state your name, designation, and crime for the interrogator."
  57. [2015-12-09 13:55:12] <Kkat> 3CopyCat winces at the sight of the zebra and translates what that automatic voice had said. She tries to put on a brave face. "Um, hello!" she asks in her very best Zebra(tm).
  58. [2015-12-09 13:55:17] <Kkat> 3The zebra looks weary, but stands tall, staring at the window. She takes a deep breath, collecting herself. Then speaks.
  59. [2015-12-09 13:55:24] <Kkat> 3"Xero. Praefectus of Roaman War Science Division Omega. Cosmic Treason."
  60. [2015-12-09 13:55:35] <Kkat> 3CopyCat translates without even thinking, and then her eyes go wide.
  61. [2015-12-09 13:55:47] <Kkat> 3Bookwright flips open a new page in his notebook and titles it: "Interview with Xero, 'Praefectus of Roaman War Science Division Omega, accused of 'cosmic treason'."
  62. [2015-12-09 13:55:58] <Kkat> 3...
  63. [2015-12-09 13:56:21] <Kkat> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session One Hundred and Sixty-One: Xero Hour (Part Fifteen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2aHcANs4GE
  64. [2015-12-09 13:56:29] <Kkat> 3--- Session Begins ---
  65. [2015-12-09 13:57:52] * CopyCat glances at her friends, showing her shock clearly. "Ummm..."
  66. [2015-12-09 14:00:02] * Bookwright holds his pen at the ready. "Right, first question: What is 'cosmic treason' and why do you stand accused of it?"
  67. [2015-12-09 14:01:22] * CopyCat translates, even while the little pony in her head is running around going 'Aahhhhhhhhh!'
  68. [2015-12-09 14:02:48] * Mitzi doesn't understand what is being said on the stripey pony language, but she does catch 'Xero'. She scowls
  69. [2015-12-09 14:02:59] <Mitzi> * In the
  70. [2015-12-09 14:06:56] * Noble_Heart stands quietly behind the others, watching this strange, bedraggled zebra. She hadn't expected to find Xero in such a state. If this was truly that zebra, she would have thought they were more in charge and less in a cage.
  71. [2015-12-09 14:11:51] * Shatara blinkblinks. Waves to stripeywarcriminalperson.
  72. [2015-12-09 14:12:59] * Mitzi looks to Noble_Heart, sharing her underwhelmed expectations. "Dis eez stripey ponee everyun eez scard uv?"
  73. [2015-12-09 14:14:14] <Xero> 10Xero stares at the window, not seeming to focus on anyone behind it.
  74. [2015-12-09 14:16:06] <Xero> 7"Cosmic treason is the act of betraying the Stars. I am guilty of cosmic treason because I attempted to sever my connection to Them."
  75. [2015-12-09 14:17:26] * Noble_Heart blinks and frowns. "That... Seems a strange crime to accuse one of. Are the stars not the zebra's ultimate enemy? Their greatest fear which is believed to lead to ruination and death wherever they intervene?"
  76. [2015-12-09 14:18:30] <Xero> 7"The Stars are everyone's ultimate enemy."
  77. [2015-12-09 14:18:42] * Bookwright copies down the words as they flow into his brain, translated courtesy of CopyCat. "Have you been sentenced?"
  78. [2015-12-09 14:19:15] <Xero> 7"This is my sentence. Existence eternal."
  79. [2015-12-09 14:20:24] * Bookwright "Under whose authority are you being punished?" He suspects he knows, but he wants to hear it formally, in Xero's on words.
  80. [2015-12-09 14:20:59] <Xero> 7"The Stars sentenced me."
  81. [2015-12-09 14:21:31] <Xero> 10Xero glances back towards the open entrance to the interrogation room, then stares ahead again at the window.
  82. [2015-12-09 14:22:04] * Noble_Heart frowns more heavily at that. "And how do you feel about your sentence? There are those who would see your soul free and released."
  83. [2015-12-09 14:22:22] <Xero> 7"The Mother of Balefire is my warden. She keeps me imprisoned."
  84. [2015-12-09 14:22:55] <Xero> 7"I only have two desires left, and that is one of them."
  85. [2015-12-09 14:24:18] * Bookwright "And what is the other?"
  86. [2015-12-09 14:25:28] <Xero> 10Xero sits, frowning. Then sighs, brushing a lock of her mane away from her eyes.
  87. [2015-12-09 14:26:28] <Xero> 7"I know that a pony from the past named Fluttershy has returned to Equestria somehow. I wish to meet her."
  88. [2015-12-09 14:28:27] * Bookwright can't keep a moue of surprise from his lips. "You seem to be alarmingly well informed for a prisoner."
  89. [2015-12-09 14:28:41] * Bookwright continues. "How?"
  90. [2015-12-09 14:28:57] * CopyCat takes a deep breath and attempts to calm down. She blinks, surprised by the things that she herself had just translated.
  91. [2015-12-09 14:29:01] * Noble_Heart is visibly startled by that request. That was certainly not one she was expecting. "That... Might be arranged." She took a look around the room briefly to ensure that there wasn't too much security around here. "She betrayed the stars, even the Reapers know her name. Doubtless the spirits still speak to her."
  92. [2015-12-09 14:31:27] <Xero> 7"I am in position to hear the counsel of the Mother of Balefire. We learned about the new Caesar's plans for Equestria when the Caesar's spy was caught, broken, and seduced into the Cult of LIV."
  93. [2015-12-09 14:35:05] <Shatara> "...you mean the necrobugpone. What every happened to the necrobugpone?"
  94. [2015-12-09 14:35:50] * Noble_Heart shakes her head. "We have not seen her since We entered the cloud of Tabula Rasa. EIther We relinquished her to another's custody, she was consumed by the destruction of the Leviathan, or she has escaped. In any case, We have no way to find her right now."
  95. [2015-12-09 14:35:57] * CopyCat gasps. "Xlix! She's my best friend now!" CopyCat states incorrectly.
  96. [2015-12-09 14:41:13] * CopyCat also blurts her last statement in Zebra. Incidentally, when translating her friends questions and statements she gives each of them a unique accent.
  97. [2015-12-09 14:41:41] <Xero> 10Both Noble_Heart and CopyCat realize that they have seen Xero twice before in visions. Once practicing necromantic alchemy. The second time, screaming and writhing in unimaginable, cosmic pain.
  98. [2015-12-09 14:44:26] * Noble_Heart furrows her brow and frowns. "Why does this Mother of Balefire keep you here? Does she serve the stars?" This was really concerning.
  99. [2015-12-09 14:44:27] * CopyCat swallows, "The Zebra we saw in those visions, the one being swallowed by agonizing blackness... it was her." This she doesn't translate, speaking only to her friends.
  100. [2015-12-09 14:44:41] <Xero> 7"Xlix. Yes. Her Caesar sent her to infiltrate Vault LIV. But instead of taking us down from within, the Cult of LIV converted her. Then sent her back to Roam with a balefire bomb to eliminate the Caesar. I am not surprised that she failed."
  101. [2015-12-09 14:45:35] * Noble_Heart chuckles slightly, maybe a little too darkly, "She was a tool of greater powers right to the end. It is no wonder the Leviathan made her believe she was a queen who deserved to rule."
  102. [2015-12-09 14:46:52] * Mitzi_ snickers at Noble_Heart, then looks to CopyCat, "So eez Xero bad ponee ur not?"
  103. [2015-12-09 14:47:44] * Noble_Heart frowns and shakes her head. "We do not believe this problem will be as simple as 'good' and 'bad'. Much as it pains Us to say it. This problem may be bigger than that."
  104. [2015-12-09 14:47:54] <Xero> 10Noble_Heart remembers the patrols in the catacombs. "You're not our first unexpected guest. You've seen what happened to the rest... Since the first incursion beneath Roam, to ensure the safety of our home, I have ordered sweeps by scouting drones. Some 'gifts' have been more than flesh and bones.""
  105. [2015-12-09 14:48:53] * Bookwright "What preciptated your desire to sever your clearly voluntary connection with the stars?
  106. [2015-12-09 14:50:29] * Noble_Heart frowns. "The cult attempted to place a balefire bomb within the catacombs. It must have been found by the guardians there. Or perhaps its magic was dampened by the Spirits of Silence with."
  107. [2015-12-09 15:03:12] <Xero> 7"Voluntary, yes. Our nation was at war. I had seen the devastation. So many lives lost, many of them innocent, in a war that would not end. I recognized that we had to be willing to use any tools at our disposal. We could not fight with one hoof tied."
  108. [2015-12-09 15:05:09] <Xero> 7"Even necromancy could not be shunned out of superstitious dread. But when I saw what our leaders had created from the tools we had given them..."
  109. [2015-12-09 15:05:21] * Noble_Heart ruffles her feathers slightly and speaks with slow deliberateness, words she'd perhaps mulled over far too long. "So you said the words that have damned mares and nations: 'We must succeed, at any price'."
  110. [2015-12-09 15:06:50] * Bookwright pales. "What you say implies that you started developing necromantic weapons for old Roam... Which means..."
  111. [2015-12-09 15:07:10] <Xero> 7"When I witnessed my balefire egg become their balefire bomb... a weapon that would indiscriminately slaughter entire cities... I was horrified. I knew that I had been tricked by the Stars into leading us to absolute distruction."
  112. [2015-12-09 15:07:58] <Xero> 7"I tried to sever my connection with Them. To cut out the part of my soul tainted by Their necromancy!"
  113. [2015-12-09 15:08:27] * Xero 10pauses breathing heavily, reigning in her voice.
  114. [2015-12-09 15:08:53] <Xero> 7"They did not permit that. And punished me most severely for trying."
  115. [2015-12-09 15:10:13] * Noble_Heart lets out a quiet chuckle, followed by a bit of a giggle until she's laughing perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
  116. [2015-12-09 15:13:17] * Mitzi_ tilts her head, "Wait, yu sayeen -she- made da balefire bombs?" The bombs that had turned her pack's ancestral home into a crater, and later caused the death of her mother among many others when the Goddess was destroyed. While she had been only a pup at the time, it was the biggest cause of her father's scorn for ponies.
  117. [2015-12-09 15:14:53] * Noble_Heart lets out a quiet chuckle, followed by a bit of a giggle until she's laughing perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
  118. [2015-12-09 15:23:05] <Xero> 10Get_Lost shakes her head. "i don't think so."
  119. [2015-12-09 15:25:11] <Xero> 10The cyberpone medic looks at her friends. "cutting out part of her soul... that's necromancy, right? she tried to use necromancy to cut out the part of her that powers her necromancy. that would be like a unicorn trying to cut off her horn with a hacksaw she was levitating."
  120. [2015-12-09 15:26:36] <Xero> 10Get_Lost says, "you'll hurt yourself, but you'll fail." She turns back to the window. "no superstition about malevolent divine intervention. i think she just Solaris failed."
  121. [2015-12-09 15:27:15] * Noble_Heart continues laughing for a few moments longer, wiping a tear from her eye with a wing, before finally calming down. "We have heard of such a thing being attempted." She looks through the glass and cracks a new smile spotting Xero within.
  122. [2015-12-09 15:30:58] * Mitzi_ blinks in confusion at Noble_Heart. "Why dat funee?"
  123. [2015-12-09 15:32:02] * Noble_Heart smirks and chuckles a bit more. "Two hundred years ago the zebras sought power from their old gods, while across the ocean the ponies strove for a way to make new ones," she ruffles her feathers meaningfully, "in the end we both got what we wanted. And we were both damned for it."
  124. [2015-12-09 15:33:25] * Mitzi does not seem to get it. At all.
  125. [2015-12-09 15:33:39] * Noble_Heart laughs again. "Don't you see the joke? That the whole war was like this!? That every step both sides took was just another one towards what destroyed us?" She giggles uncontrollably. "That we were better than they, or they worse than we, it is a joke told by both sides to themselves without seeing the punch line."
  126. [2015-12-09 15:34:38] * Mitzi notes to Noble_Heart, "Dey eez all ded now. Can't tell jokes anee more."
  127. [2015-12-09 15:34:55] * Bookwright "It would be hilarious if it hadn't ended with millions of deaths, both immediately and as a result of the literal collapse of civilization."
  128. [2015-12-09 15:36:17] * Xero 10walks up to the window, puts a hoof to the glass. She is frowning tiredly. It is clear that she does not understand the words being spoken. But she understands the sound of laughter.
  129. [2015-12-09 15:37:08] * Shatara sits quietly by the glass as the others discuss divine comedy
  130. [2015-12-09 15:37:16] * Golden_Dream looks around. "Xero. What would you do if you met Fluttershy?"
  131. [2015-12-09 15:38:32] * Noble_Heart smirks down to Bookwright. "But it -is-. It is." She giggles a little bit more and looks up towards Xero again. Struggling to find words to explain herself. "After all, what good joke doesn't have a suitable punch line?" She giggles again a few moments struggling to calm herself.
  132. [2015-12-09 15:39:39] * Bookwright "The Ministry of Peace created the first megaspell framework in Equestria to make battlefield wide healing spells possible. That framework was later adapted into Equestria's weapons of war. You want to meet Fluttershy because she's your counterpart. Isn't that right?"
  133. [2015-12-09 15:40:21] * Noble_Heart giggles more as she steps forwards to place her hoof against the glass on the opposite side from Xero. "And now, here we are. Two hundred years later, with the deaths of millions and the sadness of a world destroyed behind us. Those responsible for the worst attrocities to ever exist. Meeting face to face for the first time. Can you truly not understand how absurd that is?
  134. [2015-12-09 15:40:22] * Noble_Heart How nonsensical? A joke of the highest order. One that took the end of all that existed just to be told."
  135. [2015-12-09 15:41:19] * CopyCat follows Golden_Dream's question with a question of her own. "Have you met a pony before?" She asks. "Before right now, I mean."
  136. [2015-12-09 15:42:32] <Xero> 7"With all those who died, and all the destruction that can be laid at my hooves, laughter at my fate is the kindest response I imagined from meeting ponies."
  137. [2015-12-09 15:43:06] <Xero> 7"I... I would very much like to apologize to Fluttershy. For what my work turned her gift into."
  138. [2015-12-09 15:45:02] <Xero> 7"Then, after that, somehow, I would very much like to finally die."
  139. [2015-12-09 15:45:18] * Golden_Dream gives her a smirk. Not a joyful one, the awkward one that comes when saying anything is a grueling experience. "... I think I could arrange for both of these."
  140. [2015-12-09 15:47:33] * Bookwright writes furiously. "...wants...to apologize...to Fluttershy"
  141. [2015-12-09 15:47:41] * Mitzi raises an eyebrow, looking to Golden_Dream, "Why we need to arrange her dyeen? Dat seems like eet wud be eeziur."
  142. [2015-12-09 15:48:20] <Shatara> "Given she's been alive 200 years, it seems like it'd be more complicated than it might seem..."
  143. [2015-12-09 15:48:50] * Noble_Heart smiles, giggling a little and stepping back. "We will gladly help her find Fluttershy and speak to her. And perhaps afterwards, if death is still what she desires, We will help however we can." She looks down at Xero with sad, tired eyes. "It is something We would not deny one who has such weight to carry if they wished it."
  144. [2015-12-09 15:49:07] * Mitzi blinks, "Oh. Eez she ghul? Dey not dat hard tu kill."
  145. [2015-12-09 15:51:12] * Bookwright shakes his head. "She's not. She's, somehow, a soul jar of herself. She's not just immortal, she's also invulnerable for all practical purposes."
  146. [2015-12-09 15:51:28] * Golden_Dream frowns gravely. "I don't think it so much that she's a ghoul, Mitzi. I think it more that Xero here ain't allowed t' die. Th' stars won't allow it."
  147. [2015-12-09 15:51:56] * Mitzi blinks at Bookwright. "Wut?"
  148. [2015-12-09 15:54:17] * Bookwright "...Ah, right. You haven't read the Book of Littlepip, have you? Um... Well, it's just as I said. Soul Jars are created when an item is infused with a piece of someone's soul, separated from them and invested in the item with powerful necromancy."
  149. [2015-12-09 15:54:37] * Bookwright "Soul Jars are nearly indestructible."
  150. [2015-12-09 15:55:24] * Get_Lost frowns "i'm afraid that to dispel a souljar, technology won't help us at all..."
  151. [2015-12-09 15:55:33] * Golden_Dream gives Noble_Heart a pleading look. "It's not funny. The joke weren't funny th' first time, it ain't funny now."
  152. [2015-12-09 15:56:05] * Mitzi shakes her head at Bookwright. "Uh haveen't read ponee aneeting." She listens to his explanation. "Jars eez easy tu break. Ur eef soul inside, just open lid... du souls float?"
  153. [2015-12-09 15:56:12] * Bookwright "They're protected with the energy of the piece of soul invested in them. And having a bit of your soul cut out... it's the most painful, horrifying experience imaginable."
  154. [2015-12-09 15:56:38] * Noble_Heart looks at Xero quietly a moment, then looks to Mitzi. "A soul is something so powerful and eternal it can last forever without a body to contain it. Turning such a thing into the basis of magic, to infuse an object with its power? That would render the object as indestructible as the soul is. Something capable of enduring an eternity of existence." She turns back down to
  155. [2015-12-09 15:56:38] * Noble_Heart Golden Dream, crouching slightly and nuzzling her cheek briefly. "Perhaps it is something that you had to have been there for."
  156. [2015-12-09 15:57:09] * CopyCat fluffs up her feathers and stands a little taller. Noble_Heart's suggestion that the pair of them might be new gods sounded very nice to her. "CopyCat feels the strangest desire to talk in the third person and narrate her thoughts out loud!"
  157. [2015-12-09 15:57:10] * Mitzi holds up a paw. "Hellhound claws break aneeting."
  158. [2015-12-09 15:57:39] * Shatara ponders unstoppable forces meeting immovable objects
  159. [2015-12-09 16:01:18] * Golden_Dream hangs her head. "I can't really make it so you walk out of here. I'm sorry about that, Xero. I'm also sorry for thinkin' you th' reason of all th' sufferin' up top with th' town. I can't make it so that Fluttershy hears that out of your mouth. But I give you my word, so long as she holds breath-
  160. [2015-12-09 16:01:26] <Golden_Dream> -by the time I get there, she'll hear it from mine."
  161. [2015-12-09 16:01:45] * Bookwright "There is one thing we could try though. Littlepip may have succeeded in destroying a soul jar already... but she used a balefire bomb to do it."
  162. [2015-12-09 16:02:02] * Golden_Dream shakes her head. "Bookie, that's not gonna work.
  163. [2015-12-09 16:02:22] * Golden_Dream smiles sadly. "I got a plan, Bookie. It's a good one."
  164. [2015-12-09 16:03:20] * Get_Lost "does it invole things going boom?"
  165. [2015-12-09 16:04:44] <Xero> 10Shatara has the same thought as Bookwright. The only think believed to destroy a soul jar (although it was never confirmed) is a close-proximity balefire bomb detonation. Fortunately, that is actually within their reach.
  166. [2015-12-09 16:04:54] <Xero> 10Not only are their balefire bombs here, but they are on a mission to deliver one to Golden Buckle so that he might detonate it in Gaia Valley.
  167. [2015-12-09 16:06:00] * Golden_Dream ponders. "Yeah, Get. I guess it does."
  168. [2015-12-09 16:07:38] * Noble_Heart looks back to Xero. "We might be able to get her out of here intact, actually. She could return, with us, to Equestria. Is Our mission not to find and return a balefire bomb? It seems that is a way to solve both problems."
  169. [2015-12-09 16:07:40] * Get_Lost "then count me in"
  170. [2015-12-09 16:08:29] * Mitzi looks through the window. "So, yu sayeen dis Xero can't die? Dat... seems like eet wud suck."
  171. [2015-12-09 16:09:14] * Bookwright "That is her punishment, yes."
  172. [2015-12-09 16:09:17] * Golden_Dream smacks her lips slowly. "... Xero, it's cards on table time. I guess you deserve to know this." She cranes her neck up. "So how about we trade answers. I have my own way t' make sure y' die. It's pretty durned foolproof, I think. Before then, I gotta ask. Did you raise th' dead of folks in power
  173. [2015-12-09 16:09:29] <Golden_Dream> armor recently or back durin' th' war?"
  174. [2015-12-09 16:10:19] * CopyCat turns to her friends. "It is simple then. We perform a jail break plus heist. All we need is to dress Xero up as a washermare and sneak her out... Oh, and we can hide a balefire bomb in the washing basket!"
  175. [2015-12-09 16:11:28] <Xero> 7"I have raised many dead in the course of my existence. An army's worth."
  176. [2015-12-09 16:12:13] * Mitzi blinks at Xero. "Raise dem up tu where?"
  177. [2015-12-09 16:12:48] <Xero> 7"I have even escaped this prison before, attempting to travel to Equestria on my own. The Mother of Balefire allowed it... for a while, before She pulled me back."
  178. [2015-12-09 16:13:03] * Get_Lost "i.... i'm not that confident with the valley going boom plan.... couldn't we simply detonate the thing here and then find another way to produce magical radiations at home?"
  179. [2015-12-09 16:14:09] * Noble_Heart shakes her head. "Fluttershy will be at the valley. Of this We are certain." She looks to the interrogation room. "Then the task is clear. We must slay the Mother of Balefire to make good Our escape."
  180. [2015-12-09 16:14:34] * Bookwright "You do realize you just said that out loud, right?"
  181. [2015-12-09 16:15:10] * Noble_Heart looks to Bookwright quizzically. "We have already agreed to help free her prisoner, have We not? It is not as if Our intentions are unknown."
  182. [2015-12-09 16:15:36] * CopyCat stops and turns back to the interrogation glass, a rather pressing question suddenly on her mind. "Who is the Mother of Balefire?"
  183. [2015-12-09 16:15:40] * Get_Lost "uhm... what is the mother of balefire?"
  184. [2015-12-09 16:16:53] * Bookwright "A phoenix, of course."
  185. [2015-12-09 16:17:30] * Bookwright backtracks. "Or a dragon? Er, green... fire... could be either, I guess."
  186. [2015-12-09 16:17:47] <Xero> 7"She is the ruler of Vault LIV. Once... long, long ago... back when I was Praefectus of the Roaman War Science Division Omega, She was my number one assistant."
  187. [2015-12-09 16:21:37] <Xero> 7"Together, we gave the Senate necromantic weapons before they were willing to accept using necromancy. With her aid, we were able to convince the Senate that what we were delivering was instead 'dragon magic'."
  188. [2015-12-09 16:21:53] * Xero 10sighs, looking away.
  189. [2015-12-09 16:22:25] <Xero> 7"In truth, we suspect the Senate did not wish to look too close. As long as they could deny..."
  190. [2015-12-09 16:24:37] * CopyCat blinks as Bookwright puts the pieces together for her. "Oh... wow."
  191. [2015-12-09 16:30:39] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We had not planned to add dragonslaying to Our agenda. But it seems today at least We must."
  192. [2015-12-09 16:31:15] * Bookwright "Can I still interview her first?"
  193. [2015-12-09 16:31:44] * Get_Lost "probably, not even a common dragon, but a necromancy powered one... is she cybrnetically enhanced too?"
  194. [2015-12-09 16:33:48] * Mitzi looks to Noble_Heart, "Ur fathur killed dragon unce. Uh cud too Uh tink. Wud mean a lot fur ur merit tu be alpha." She flexes her claws again, hoping the burning she suffered wouldn't render her less capable in that regard.
  195. [2015-12-09 16:35:25] * Noble_Heart smiles to mitzi, "THen it seems Our goal is set." She looks to CopyCat, "Ask Our new friend if she is prepared to leave."
  196. [2015-12-09 16:37:03] * Mitzi flexes her claws and looks to the cage. "Yu want me tu get hur out? Ur can she du eet?" She points to Get_Lost
  197. [2015-12-09 16:38:08] <Xero> 10The Voice of Vault LIV sounds through the speakers. "If there are no more questions for Prisoner I, she is to return to her cell."
  198. [2015-12-09 16:38:58] * CopyCat nods, and then asks Xero the question. "Are you prepared to leave now? We wish to return after meeting with the Mother of Balefire."
  199. [2015-12-09 16:41:06] * Shatara hmms. "Who else is here, I wonder..?"
  200. [2015-12-09 16:42:01] * CopyCat glances at Shatara. "Good point. Some of the other cells were supposed to be occupied, too."
  201. [2015-12-09 16:43:37] * Bookwright "On the other hoof, Xero isn't going anywhere right now. We can come back. Or we could try asking the Voice-in-the-Air if she can come out. She did say she got out before and the Mother of Balefire allowed it for a while."
  202. [2015-12-09 16:52:48] <Xero> 7"I am, but the Mother of Balefire will not allow me to."
  203. [2015-12-09 16:54:13] * Noble_Heart looks up towards the place the voice came from. "Then We regret to inform you that visiting hours have been extended," she reached out with her magic, warping space to teleport Xero into the room with them, "indefinitely."
  204. [2015-12-09 16:55:21] <Xero> 10With a flash, Xero is teleported into the Detention observation hall.
  205. [2015-12-09 16:56:36] * Mitzi looks over the bedraggled zebra as she appears in the flesh, in a flash. "Yu not look indees- inveenc- unbreakable."
  206. [2015-12-09 16:56:59] <Xero> 10A moment later, Xero is engulfed in green fire. She screams, seeming to burn away.
  207. [2015-12-09 16:57:22] <Xero> 10The Voice of Vault LIV replies. "Of course, Ambassadors of Equestria. The Mother of Balefire will see you now."
  208. [2015-12-09 16:57:41] * Get_Lost "uhm... remember that thing about the securityflagging things that could create problems and reboot the security on hostyle? welll... i think this counts as a big step for ponyking towards war... again"
  209. [2015-12-09 16:57:57] <Xero> 10With a clang, the empty cage is drawn away from the open observation room door.
  210. [2015-12-09 16:58:18] * Mitzi frowns, looking to Noble_Heart. "Eezn't dat wut happened tu yu?"
  211. [2015-12-09 16:58:43] * CopyCat gasps, "You're amazing Noble_Heart!" her expression quickly changes when Xero bursts into fire and screams.
  212. [2015-12-09 16:59:04] * CopyCat takes a reflexive step backwards, shuddering in horror.
  213. [2015-12-09 16:59:55] <Xero> 10Into the empty space rises the head of a huge (gigantic, terrifying, enormous, teeth-gnashing, sharp-scale having, horn-wearing, smoke-snoring, could eat a pony in one bite) dragon!
  214. [2015-12-09 17:00:52] <Xero> 10"COME INTO MY LAIR, MY LITTLE PONIES."
  215. [2015-12-09 17:01:31] * Bookwright gulps. "Um. Hi. Do you have time to answer a few questions before you eat us?"
  216. [2015-12-09 17:01:33] * CopyCat gulps. She hopes the dragon won't be doing the same very shortly.
  217. [2015-12-09 17:01:57] * Mitzi actually smirks at the sight of the dragon. All that smoke and memory and stars and soul talk had been very confusing. A big monster with teeth threatening her friends was far easier to understand, and had a much more straightforward solution.
  218. [2015-12-09 17:02:14] * Noble_Heart snorts and scowls. This would be slightly more complicated than she was expecting.
  219. [2015-12-09 17:08:04] * Shatara is with Mitzi on straightforward solutions.
  220. [2015-12-09 17:08:10] * Get_Lost is actually afraid. very afraid. the mare smales her plot on the floor and it doesn't look like she's goin to move it any soon
  221. [2015-12-09 17:10:07] * Golden_Dream gives the Dragon a rigor mortis grin and swats Shatara with her tail. Now, Shatara. It's time for you to be a gardener. "Hello. Uh. Do you have a simpler name or title that you go by? Jus' curious."
  222. [2015-12-09 17:17:39] * Shatara eeps, keeps an eye for opportunities to do the thing.
  223. [2015-12-09 17:23:42] <Xero> 10"IF YOU WOULD LIKE, LITTLE PONY, YOU CAN SIMPLY CALL ME 'MOTHER'."
  224. [2015-12-09 17:24:34] * Get_Lost if she weren't already white, she would have turned the color of a blanket
  225. [2015-12-09 17:25:31] * Noble_Heart stood defiantly looking into the large room. Their final obstacle on this journey had been laid before them, and she would not be the one to bend or break.
  226. [2015-12-09 17:25:33] * CopyCat takes a deep breath, and takes a step- Nope. Still frozen. She'd need a moment.
  227. [2015-12-09 17:25:55] <Xero> 10--- End of Session ---
  228. [2015-12-09 17:25:57] * Golden_Dream can't help but let out a single, grim chuckle. Oh, mother issues. That's... That's great. She had daddy issues already, so now at least she has a matching set.
  229. [2015-12-09 17:26:12] <Shatara> "How bout 'Ma'? can we call you 'Ma'?"
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