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Fallout: Beyond Equestria, 100: Origin Story (Part 17)

Scorch_Mechanic
Sep 10th, 2014
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  1. [2014-09-03 13:21:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Previously, in Fallout: Beyond Equestria:
  2. [2014-09-03 13:21:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3---
  3. [2014-09-03 13:22:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream checks the jewelry box.... And takes the mane-and-tail brush for comfort.
  4. [2014-09-03 13:22:10] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost finds herself distracted by the photo on the dresser. It is an old, black-and-white photo of two mares standing in front of this manor. One looks like a younger Rainbow Dash, maybe Kid's age. The other... is eerily hard to make out. The photograph has faded unevenly, the image of the mare in the flower dress is almost gone.
  5. [2014-09-03 13:22:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream finds a pretty necklace in the jewelry box. It's one of those friendship necklaces with half of a coin.
  6. [2014-09-03 13:22:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream takes the necklace. "... Rainbow Dash, was this yer room?"
  7. [2014-09-03 13:22:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost asks "hey rainbow, who's the mare in the photo here?"
  8. [2014-09-03 13:22:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well blinks, pulling her head out of the dresser. "No. I've never been here before." She looks at the photo. "That's... Daring Do. Wow, she looks young!"
  9. [2014-09-03 13:23:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost smiles and looks behind the pic to see if there's something written behind it. On the back of the picture is scrawled the message: DD & AK, friends forever.
  10. [2014-09-03 13:23:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream takes the necklace. It's a friendship necklace? "Hey, Rainbow. Check this out. This look familiar?"
  11. [2014-09-03 13:23:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well looks at the necklace. "I've seen necklaces like that before. They all kinda look the same to me though."
  12. [2014-09-03 13:23:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Get_Lost mutters "A.K.... i wonder who she was..."
  13. [2014-09-03 13:24:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well suggests, "Hey, there was a space between the bottom drawer and the floor, but its too dark to see." She then turns to Get_Lost, "Well, I know one A.K.... but that was Daring Do."
  14. [2014-09-03 13:24:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream churns that through her mind. "No, that was her author." She shows her the friendship necklace.
  15. [2014-09-03 13:24:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream puts it away. "This here's a friendship necklace. It wouldn't make much sense t' have both halves, would it?"
  16. [2014-09-03 13:25:05] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream checks the dresser. The bottom drawer is slightly reluctant to be pulled completely free of the dresser. But once done, Golden_Dream can see something wrapped in cloth hidden between that drawer and the floor of the room.
  17. [2014-09-03 13:25:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Unwrapping it, she finds a tan safari-style explorer's hat (with green wrappings and a black band), a hallowed-out animal horn (with a leather strap and a cork stopper), and a note (slightly crumpled, reading "Only the remorseful one shall find the key") inside.
  18. [2014-09-03 13:25:41] <Mare-Do-Well> 3---
  19. [2014-09-03 13:25:52] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well sighs. "In /Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet/, the Cult of the Quetzalcóatl Empress takes over the Tenochtitlan Basin, shrouding it under the Empress' dark magic, but their efforts to summon forth Quetzalcóatl is foiled by Daring Do, who kicks their flanks..."
  20. [2014-09-03 13:26:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well continues, "Then in /Daring Do and the Amulet of Atonement/, Ahuizotl attempts to take the Quetzalcóatl Empress's power for himself, having secured some sort of secret passage in and out of the Basin. Daring Do thwarts him, but just barely..."
  21. [2014-09-03 13:26:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well finishes, "Then, in /Daring Do and the Razor of Dreams/, she finally defeats Ahuizotl and secures control of the Amulet of Atonement, dispelling the dark magic of the Quetzalcóatl Empress, and thus protecting the basin with the Radiant Shield of Rasdon!"
  22. [2014-09-03 13:26:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream 's ear perks up. "Mare-Do-Well, where'd they say th' Radiant Shield of Rasdon went?"
  23. [2014-09-03 13:26:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright sighs and shakes his head. "Golden, weren't you listening? We're /in/ the Radiant Shield of Rasdon!"
  24. [2014-09-03 13:26:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright points a hoof upwards, indicating the Obelisk above. "These tunnels, that rock, those glyphs... We're /inside/ the Shield!"
  25. [2014-09-03 13:26:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3---
  26. [2014-09-03 13:27:17] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well alights in the middle of the old carnage. She looks disturbingly unaffected, as much as Golden_Dream... but then, she can't smell it. "Checked out that airship. I don't think they're slavers... exactly."
  27. [2014-09-03 13:27:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara looks at the ghost quizzically. "...exactly?"
  28. [2014-09-03 13:27:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3CopyCat looks over at ghost Dashie. "Do you think they're friendly?"
  29. [2014-09-03 13:27:55] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream seems more disconcerted about what Dashie said than what is currently around her.
  30. [2014-09-03 13:28:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright ponders, "How does one write that on a resume? 'Half-Slaver'? 'Enslavement Officer'? 'Semi-permanent involuntary work overseer'?"
  31. [2014-09-03 13:28:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well shakes her head. "They're pirates."
  32. [2014-09-03 13:28:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3---
  33. [2014-09-03 13:28:51] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session One Hundred: Origin Story (Part Seventeen) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SSUQxGjZZ4
  34. [2014-09-03 13:29:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- Session Begins ---
  35. [2014-09-03 13:30:41] * Golden_Dream gives a long sigh. "They're pirates." She said to herself, trying to pound it into her head that, yes, this is happening. "They're pirates." She smacks her lips. "What makes you say they're pirates?"
  36. [2014-09-03 13:32:18] * Get_Lost a large, enthusiastic grin starts forming on the mare's muzzle "pirates?" the question is a mere whisper, as if she was afraid of breaking it
  37. [2014-09-03 13:32:54] * Noble_Heart glances around at the carnage again and frowns. Then sighs quietly. This was going to make an even bigger mess in the long term, wasn't it?
  38. [2014-09-03 13:33:02] * Shatara tilts his head at Get_Lost.
  39. [2014-09-03 13:33:36] * Bookwright mans the twilight cannon. Just in case.
  40. [2014-09-03 13:34:13] * CopyCat has taken an interest. "Pirates... were they flying the Jolly Roger? Does their airship have black sails?"
  41. [2014-09-03 13:36:10] * Bookwright "Maybe Mare-Do-Well saw an abundance of peg legs and eye patches."
  42. [2014-09-03 13:37:44] * Get_Lost humms a song "shiver my timbers shiver my soul, yo-oh-heave-oh! rhere are mares whos heart is as black as coal..."
  43. [2014-09-03 13:39:06] * Get_Lost starts looking in her bags, with scissors, a small piece of parchment and stuff makes an eyepatch and puts it on her visor. not really impressive... did we mention she was a crusader?
  44. [2014-09-03 13:39:15] * Shatara does seem to recall there being black.
  45. [2014-09-03 13:39:35] * Golden_Dream sighs, then looks at the graveyard. "Corolla, get to gettin' whatever y' do. Shatara, you do yer thing and look fer that other thing. I'll start lookin' around fer stuff on th' bodies."
  46. [2014-09-03 13:40:17] * Shatara proceeds to do the thing at the place.
  47. [2014-09-03 13:41:41] * Bookwright is itching in anticipation
  48. [2014-09-03 13:41:58] * Get_Lost raises on her hindlegs and points at the horizon "THE BOOTY IS MARKED WITH AN X!" yeah, you lost her
  49. [2014-09-03 13:42:29] * Shatara was pretty sure the booty was marked with an F.
  50. [2014-09-03 13:43:09] * CopyCat takes a moment to glace at her flank. And then at Get_Lost's flank. "Shatara is right!"
  51. [2014-09-03 13:43:16] * Noble_Heart hums quietly in tune with Get Lost. "We do not believe there is much here which would require Our attention."
  52. [2014-09-03 13:44:39] * Get_Lost "you know what really impresses pirates? A SURPRISE ATTACK!" looks around, her visot locking on several crashed vehicles "and i think that a flying self-guided bomb right in their flagship will make them see us in a completely new way!"
  53. [2014-09-03 13:46:00] * Noble_Heart blinks and looks down at Get Lost. "Yes. As enemies to kill, rather than targets to plunder."
  54. [2014-09-03 13:47:31] * Get_Lost has a bad case of flat face "ehr... maybe... but i want to make a good impression! maybe they'll let us be pirates too!"
  55. [2014-09-03 13:47:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mare-Do-Well nods to CopyCat. "They had a black flag. Skull and cannons."
  56. [2014-09-03 13:48:04] * Get_Lost there's something awfully wrong in the way her voice sound. it almost looks like... hope
  57. [2014-09-03 13:49:07] * Bookwright "We have a free-flying sniper, two alicorns, a gigantic magical energy weapon, /and/ we can fly circles around them. I think we can fight them off if we have to."
  58. [2014-09-03 13:49:22] * CopyCat stands beside Get_Lost and rubs her hooves together. "Ooo, that sounds fun Get_Lost!"
  59. [2014-09-03 13:49:54] * Get_Lost "maybe this time they'll let me play pirates too!"
  60. [2014-09-03 13:50:11] * Noble_Heart ponders that and tilts her head. "Perhaps you should instead be looking for proper loot to pay them off, then? Pirates tend to go where the money is after all."
  61. [2014-09-03 13:50:43] * Bookwright shrugs. "We don't have any loot. The only value that temple had was historical."
  62. [2014-09-03 13:51:09] * Get_Lost "and crazy zebra trinkets. don't forget the trinkets...."
  63. [2014-09-03 13:51:09] * CopyCat turns to Get_Lost, all smiles. "Oh! We could play pirates together if you like!"
  64. [2014-09-03 13:51:44] * Get_Lost "r-really?" stares at copy, even if her visor isn't really that expressive.
  65. [2014-09-03 13:52:24] * Golden_Dream sighs and hangs her head. "Get..." She couldn't kill her hope. She just didn't have the heart. "Bookie, they got a bunch of zebras on that ship, we got five ponies and a griffon."
  66. [2014-09-03 13:52:25] * CopyCat nods. "I'd love to! Will you be the captain? I can be the parrot!"
  67. [2014-09-03 13:52:35] * Get_Lost doesn't wait for a reply "MOVE, SLACKERS! THAT GOLD WON'T UN-EARTH ITSELF!"
  68. [2014-09-03 13:53:12] * Bookwright "Personally, I'm in favor of running away. That last teleport pretty much put me at my limit."
  69. [2014-09-03 13:54:35] * CopyCat squawks and starts to dig something.
  70. [2014-09-03 13:56:24] * Get_Lost is looking around the battlefield and sniffing at the ground, focused
  71. [2014-09-03 13:57:43] * Shatara checks the area for additional airpanes
  72. [2014-09-03 14:00:58] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We suggest moving on as quickly as we can. As long as we keep moving and stay low they may have difficulty finding us."
  73. [2014-09-03 14:02:21] * Get_Lost raises her head and goes meh "meh, there's nothing magical here..."
  74. [2014-09-03 14:03:04] * Golden_Dream follows Shatara for a bit.
  75. [2014-09-03 14:03:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3(( Pirate ship, as provided by Noble_Heart: http://oi49.tinypic.com/152jrq0.jpg ))
  76. [2014-09-03 14:04:10] * CopyCat stops being a parrot for long enough to agree with Noble_Heart. "Yes, we were trying to reach the second ziggy before the airship reaches us. Can we do so without them finding us or our wagon?"
  77. [2014-09-03 14:06:56] * Get_Lost start moving with a purpose. is now checking the zebra corpses, looking in their surroundings
  78. [2014-09-03 14:07:26] * Get_Lost "i'm okay with moving as soon as you wish" days so but is looking around.
  79. [2014-09-03 14:10:43] * Get_Lost doesn't look convinced at all and mumbles "parlay, can you please take a look in the surroundings and make a quick check of the forest from above the canopy?"
  80. [2014-09-03 14:11:14] * Bookwright "The second zigga-what, and maybe get those glider things fixed up."
  81. [2014-09-03 14:11:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara soon finds the wreckage of a second glider not far off. It has all the parts he would need to scavenge save for the propeller. This glider's propeller didn't survive its crash either.
  82. [2014-09-03 14:12:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay beeps and soars upwards.
  83. [2014-09-03 14:12:33] * Shatara does his best to get whatever parts he can back to the wagon.
  84. [2014-09-03 14:15:17] * Golden_Dream helps Shatara out. She never shook that feeling of trepidation. "Shatara, we have to go soon. We haven't even been to the second ziggy yet."
  85. [2014-09-03 14:16:10] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Shatara is able to load the parts onto the firewagon. Enough to build a 'new' glider.
  86. [2014-09-03 14:16:20] * Get_Lost helps shatara too
  87. [2014-09-03 14:16:43] * CopyCat squawks at Shatara.
  88. [2014-09-03 14:17:05] * Shatara blinks at CopyCat.
  89. [2014-09-03 14:17:17] * Get_Lost "so, with this you can fly? looks fun."
  90. [2014-09-03 14:19:59] * CopyCat burd-rubs Shatara's burd-face. *Squawk!*
  91. [2014-09-03 14:20:08] * Noble_Heart gets herself loaded into the firewagon. "We should go soon."
  92. [2014-09-03 14:20:39] * Bookwright "Awright Shatara, nice salvaging! You'd do my old boss proud."
  93. [2014-09-03 14:21:50] * Golden_Dream rose her eyebrow. "Who's yer' old boss?" She asked, getting into the firewagon.
  94. [2014-09-03 14:22:08] * Shatara eeps and nuzzles CopyCat. "Okay, who told CopyCat she was a bird?"
  95. [2014-09-03 14:22:09] * Golden_Dream rubs her hoof uncomfortably. Only the repentant may find the key.
  96. [2014-09-03 14:23:21] * Get_Lost "she has feathers. she's as bird as you are, kitty"
  97. [2014-09-03 14:23:32] * Golden_Dream giggles and rose her hoof. "I miiiiighta." And then she remembered she was in a horrible battletorn graveyard, and then immediately serioused up. "Let's get goin' before one of us catches somethin'."
  98. [2014-09-03 14:25:41] * Get_Lost hops on the wagon and waits for the others
  99. [2014-09-03 14:26:42] * Shatara sighs and hugs CopyCat. "Yous a pony. Now get hitched up so we can get movin..."
  100. [2014-09-03 14:28:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Parlay happily rejoins the group, announcing (to Get_Lost) having spotted pirates again. The same ones.
  101. [2014-09-03 14:28:49] * Bookwright "We really ought to start thinking of where we're going to set down for the night. It's gonna get dark fast."
  102. [2014-09-03 14:28:53] * CopyCat pouts. "Squaw-- I mean, okay." She settles in beside Noble_Heart and gets strapped up.
  103. [2014-09-03 14:29:47] * Get_Lost "do we have a plan to avoid a red firewagon not being noticed by a pirateship filled with good eyes looking for us?"
  104. [2014-09-03 14:30:08] * Get_Lost "or we go back to the cruise guided missile plan?"
  105. [2014-09-03 14:31:56] * Noble_Heart ponders that. "We might be able to travel beneath the trees? They are quite tall after all..."
  106. [2014-09-03 14:35:07] * Golden_Dream considers. "We could just try t' outrun 'em. Not a permanent solution, but I imagine a flown wagon can outfly a big airship."
  107. [2014-09-03 14:35:20] * Get_Lost "i'm not sure this is a good idea, but... what if we move the wagon in a decently covered area, add some branches to hide it from the sky and have a night long rest while the ship flies away?"
  108. [2014-09-03 14:36:52] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side. "We would want to get more distance from the temple. They know we were there. So may try to search for us."
  109. [2014-09-03 14:36:58] * CopyCat turns to their passengers. "Bookwright, what does Scales have to say about staying in the jungle at night?"
  110. [2014-09-03 14:38:11] * Bookwright <Is there any part of the jungle where we're less likely to attract the attention of things that want to eat the Delicious One?>
  111. [2014-09-03 14:41:55] <Mare-Do-Well> 3{ There are places that most cannot fit. Lairs that other predators stay away from. Strange caves that can be sought for shelter. }
  112. [2014-09-03 14:43:05] * Golden_Dream listens to that. Cave. Cave! "We could park us and it in a cave fer a while when darkness falls. At least then, they'll have t' filter in through the mouth of th' cave."
  113. [2014-09-03 14:43:33] * Get_Lost "i like the cave option"
  114. [2014-09-03 14:44:09] * Bookwright "Yeah, but we need to find the cave first. I mean, they're not exactly visible from the air. Can't see them for all the trees.
  115. [2014-09-03 14:44:12] * Get_Lost "i always wanted to see a living allosaurus"
  116. [2014-09-03 14:44:22] * Get_Lost humms an eerie tune
  117. [2014-09-03 14:45:09] * Golden_Dream 's shoulders slump. "How about we get to th' second ziggy and see how that fits?"
  118. [2014-09-03 14:45:44] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side. "Where would we find a cave?" She frowned. "We might be able to fit the wagon into the ziggurat. Perhaps the pirates will avoid them, given they still had active defenses."
  119. [2014-09-03 14:47:13] * Bookwright "Yeah, but we have to worry about defenses too."
  120. [2014-09-03 14:47:21] * Get_Lost "or a bullysaurus rex! i've heard they could give a wedgie strong enough to send an average nerd way above canterlot's highest tower!"
  121. [2014-09-03 14:48:12] * CopyCat nods along. "But we have Shatara and Get_Lost. We could make those defences work for us." *Squawk*
  122. [2014-09-03 14:48:25] * Get_Lost sighs, lost i her dreams of prehistoric cartoonia
  123. [2014-09-03 14:50:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Flying between the trees proves tricky and does not allow for a straight path. Wherever the jungle trees grow too close together, or vines impede flight, the two alicorns have to divert around, finding a path that accomodates the side of the wagon and the width of their wingspan.
  124. [2014-09-03 14:50:06] * Bookwright "Alright, I suppose that's a better plan than I had. Let's get to that next zigga-thingy."?
  125. [2014-09-03 14:50:08] * Get_Lost "then shatara could dress himself with a jaguar pelt and save all the girls from a six stories high ape! well, bookie could help to or be in distress, we'll decide later"
  126. [2014-09-03 14:50:35] * Shatara quietly wats
  127. [2014-09-03 14:52:16] * Get_Lost gets less and less chatty while the wagon flies in the eveningg and in the end falls asleep still telling a story of how a good b-movie should include chicks and monsters
  128. [2014-09-03 14:52:19] * CopyCat calls out while flying. "This path is tricky, which way now?"
  129. [2014-09-03 14:56:36] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We are uncertain. Goldy has the map!"
  130. [2014-09-03 14:59:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream helps navigate, keeping the two alicorns moving in the general direction of the second ziggurat But some of the detours are extensive, enough that Golden_Dream has to work to make sure they don't overshoot their goal while taking the long way around.
  131. [2014-09-03 15:00:56] * Golden_Dream exhales sharply. "Slow up! I think we're about to hit it. Keep it going north and follow this ridgeline." Her voice was starting to get hoarse with the calling out of instructions, eyes glued to her surroundings and her pipbuck.
  132. [2014-09-03 15:01:27] * Bookwright is starting to lose his mind, scanning for any airborne enemies that might be a threat.
  133. [2014-09-03 15:02:18] * Get_Lost is sleeping, since nopony else seems to want to
  134. [2014-09-03 15:07:17] <Mare-Do-Well> 3One such detour leads the group to overgrown ruins hidden in the wild overgrowth of the darkening jungle. Crumbled walls of dark grey stone are nearly covered in vines. A few rectangles of sunken blackness in the collapsed structure permit access to underground areas that may be intact. { Strange caves } Scales comments.
  135. [2014-09-03 15:08:13] * Bookwright points a hoof. "There. Caves. Do you guys think we can fit the wagon in there?"
  136. [2014-09-03 15:10:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3On the far side of the ruins, rusted cages can be seen. Those with E.F.S. see a string of gibberish flash across their vision. The burst of visual data wakes up Get_Lost. The gibberish disappears and is replaced by a new notification: >> DDA Report V found. Download complete. <<
  137. [2014-09-03 15:11:06] * CopyCat slows down with Noble_Heart, so they can check out the area.
  138. [2014-09-03 15:11:13] * Golden_Dream blinks. There's a happy blip!
  139. [2014-09-03 15:11:23] * Noble_Heart maneuvers to bring the ship down. Maybe there would be somewhere to hide here.
  140. [2014-09-03 15:11:57] * Get_Lost yawns and sighs, then starts scrolling back the data to see what the puppy those data were
  141. [2014-09-03 15:15:56] * Get_Lost "i think we've got something to read before bedtime."
  142. [2014-09-03 15:16:59] * Bookwright "What? What's so distracting all the suddem?"
  143. [2014-09-03 15:19:27] * Get_Lost "i got part five of the daring do's story when we approached those ruins..."
  144. [2014-09-03 15:19:56] * Get_Lost "bookie, you really need a pipbuck... next time we find one, i'll fix it for you"
  145. [2014-09-03 15:20:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The undergrowth is carpeted with ferns and jungle plants. The thick canopy above allows through little light, casting this place into twilight. With some searching, Noble_Heart finds an entrance into the ruins wide enough for the firewagon. The room is shallow, partially collapsed, and does not seem connected to the rest of the underground structure...
  146. [2014-09-03 15:20:28] * Bookwright "Oh! Cooool! I can't wait to read it, but we really should get situated first."
  147. [2014-09-03 15:20:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...but it provides a place where the firewagon could be fully hidden.
  148. [2014-09-03 15:21:03] * Bookwright "Just so you all know, Scales called these caves 'strange'. Which may or may not mean anything, but... be careful, okay?"
  149. [2014-09-03 15:21:48] * Noble_Heart carefully moves to carry the fire wagon within. "Likely they are strange because they are not natural. These are the ruins of some sort of temple, at a guess. Though why they are ruined when the ziggurats are not, We cannot say."
  150. [2014-09-03 15:22:20] * Get_Lost sighs, turns on the thermal view and takes a look around "probably we will know more as soon as we listen to the recording..."
  151. [2014-09-03 15:22:33] * CopyCat peers this way and that as they descend, paying careful attention to patches of dense jungle and to the caves. Noble_Heart spots a perfect location, and they carefully bring the wagon inside.
  152. [2014-09-03 15:23:36] * CopyCat unbuckles herself when they were safe and landed. "You have a new record, Get_Lost?"
  153. [2014-09-03 15:24:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3There are a few entrances into the underground level(s?) of the ruins, but most are small. Only one is large enough for Noble_Heart and CopyCat to slip through, and that is uncomfortably tight.
  154. [2014-09-03 15:24:32] * Get_Lost "if we had some static defense turrets i think i could modify parlay's interface sockets to control them, it could make our camps safer..." then replies to copy "yes, want to read it now?"
  155. [2014-09-03 15:24:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The underground interior is utterly black, the openings not allowing enough light to penetrate the darkness.
  156. [2014-09-03 15:25:05] * Golden_Dream rolls her eyes. "I know strange, Bookie." She begins to go through her pipbuck to get the message.
  157. [2014-09-03 15:25:27] * Noble_Heart lights up her horn, to keep some light on the surroundings. Blindness was kindof annoying.
  158. [2014-09-03 15:25:46] * Get_Lost does the same thing as kid. reading rainbows is so much better before a decent night of sleep
  159. [2014-09-03 15:27:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The ruins haven't held up well inside either. One wall sags inward. Stones have fallen loose from the ceiling. Cobwebs abound.
  160. [2014-09-03 15:28:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Unlike the temple, there is little in the way of decoration here. No runes or glyphs on the walls. No carved figures. The structure seems entirely utilitarian.
  161. [2014-09-03 15:29:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A few relics of centuries past can be found here and there. A knife rusted into uselessness. A tool with no clear purpose. Shattered bits of pottery.
  162. [2014-09-03 15:29:53] * Bookwright flops on the floor of the ruin. "Okay Golden Dream. Read me a bedtime story, pwease."
  163. [2014-09-03 15:30:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Iron rings mounted into one wall offer some hints at what the place may have been used for.
  164. [2014-09-03 15:31:16] * CopyCat looks around, studyng the architecture. "This doesn't look like a place of worship. Perhaps this was where groups of zebra used to live, or-" she spots the iron rings. "Or where they were held."
  165. [2014-09-03 15:32:18] * Get_Lost "to hide in a prison... it is the last place where you would look for a suspect!"
  166. [2014-09-03 15:33:11] * Golden_Dream prods through the pipbuck options. She found the one that had been brought up. "Alright, listen up! Story time." Poke.
  167. [2014-09-03 15:34:03] * Get_Lost listens to story time too. why read if you can have a story told?
  168. [2014-09-03 15:34:08] * Shatara looks for a comfy pone for readings.
  169. [2014-09-03 15:34:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 3====================
  170. [2014-09-03 15:34:31] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fifth mission report.
  171. [2014-09-03 15:34:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Crap. I messed up badly and now I’ve been caught. Not on purpose this time either, although I think I’ll be able to turn this to my advantage. They rank-and-file are looking at me like they want to turn me into a bloody smear, but they won’t. Once she hears that I’ve been captured, Jua will want to interrogate me herself. We have history.
  172. [2014-09-03 15:34:48] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Still, I shouldn’t have been caught. And I should have been able to take this squad of Legionnaires down on my own with one wing tied to my side. What happened to the Daring Do that could take out whole armies of bad guys with just her bare hooves and an attitude?
  173. [2014-09-03 15:34:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 3She got old, that’s what. Archeology is a young mare’s game. (As is, let us be honest, treasure hunting.) I abandoned it for a reason. But sometimes, the past just won’t stay buried, no matter how deep you dug the grave.
  174. [2014-09-03 15:35:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A younger Daring Do would have already reclaimed the Amulet right out from under Jua’s nose, and been back home by now. Without it, Jua can scour the Tenochtitlan Basin until the end of the war and beyond, and it won’t do her any good. But my bones ache, my reflexes are slow and the Legionnaires’ beating hurts more than they used to.
  175. [2014-09-03 15:35:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 3This Daring Do might not pull it off on her own. And if this goes down bad, it will be up to you lot to find the Amulet of Atonement before she does. Or, if she gets it first, fight your way to the center and take it back.
  176. [2014-09-03 15:35:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Amulet of Atonement is locked away where not just anyone can get it. A little trick I learned from the Tree of Life. Those of you who read Daring Do will know it was a long time before I found that Tree. Book Ten, to be precise. Remember this:
  177. [2014-09-03 15:35:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“Only the remorseful one shall find the key.”
  178. [2014-09-03 15:35:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3You know where I left it. Think outside the box. Good luck, RD’s speed, and may Celestia be with you.
  179. [2014-09-03 15:36:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Open Fifth Pad y/n?
  180. [2014-09-03 15:36:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3====================
  181. [2014-09-03 15:37:00] * Golden_Dream pauses before realizing something. "She didn't have a plan of who would get this."
  182. [2014-09-03 15:37:34] * Golden_Dream blinks. Oh. "And Rainbow Dash, she totally called you by name."
  183. [2014-09-03 15:37:36] * Bookwright "She wrote everything down and left it for others she knew would follow her."
  184. [2014-09-03 15:38:37] * Mare-Do-Well 3stares. And struggles not to squee.
  185. [2014-09-03 15:38:48] * Mare-Do-Well 3fails. Squees. It's a little, ghostly squee.
  186. [2014-09-03 15:39:07] * Get_Lost mumbles "thinking out of the box? the key could be in the house... you know, the one with the statues?"
  187. [2014-09-03 15:40:01] * Get_Lost "she used that sentence in that place, could be that, or another way to say to look in an unsuspected place when we will be in the right place... go figure"
  188. [2014-09-03 15:40:15] * Noble_Heart chuckles. Then frowns. "It seems that perhaps she hid it in a place where normal ponies couldn't find it. A hidden room which none could see."
  189. [2014-09-03 15:42:48] * Golden_Dream looks off to the side and raspberries at Mare-Do-Well. She then pauses. Noble... Had something. A vague idea came to her mind. She clicked "y" while it worked itself out of her mind. Remorseful one. Remorseful one.
  190. [2014-09-03 15:43:42] * Shatara hmms. "Didn't we clear that place out though? Or did the killer statues interupt us?" He tries to remember. "Ungh, I swear, days feel like months..."
  191. [2014-09-03 15:44:12] * Mare-Do-Well 3then says, "She left it for Luna's army. Remember, the books with the trigger tags were all in Tragedy's End, in the special, environmentally sealed safe."
  192. [2014-09-03 15:45:51] * CopyCat has been lounging on her side, like a fluffy green coach. She looks up at the group while they talk. "I don't remember any hidden room."
  193. [2014-09-03 15:46:03] * Mare-Do-Well 3elaborates, "If she wasn't able to come back herself with the reports and pads, she left her reports scattered about in a form where they could only be found by someone who had Stable-Tec technology and had gotten those books."
  194. [2014-09-03 15:46:26] * Mare-Do-Well 3thinks. "Hey, we did find stuff in that room."
  195. [2014-09-03 15:47:09] * Golden_Dream feels her thoughts slam into place. Tragedy's End. The horn. The necklace. The helmet that she wore. The horn. Necklace that she wore. "Shatara, get me a cup."
  196. [2014-09-03 15:47:11] * Mare-Do-Well 3adds, "We searched really thoroughly. If there were any other hiding places, I would have found them."
  197. [2014-09-03 15:48:33] * Get_Lost "for sure, those damn statues interrupted something" growls
  198. [2014-09-03 15:49:50] * Shatara tilts his head. "But you don't have...uh..."
  199. [2014-09-03 15:50:06] * Golden_Dream , more sharply states. "Somepony give me a cup or a bowl or somethin'!"
  200. [2014-09-03 15:51:12] * Get_Lost looks in her stuff, finds the first thing good as a cup and handles it to kid
  201. [2014-09-03 15:51:16] * Get_Lost "here you go"
  202. [2014-09-03 15:52:02] * Golden_Dream shortly takes Get's thing and then starts to remove the gunpowder horn from her neck. "Ruling somethin' out." She then begins to pour the horn's contents into the cup.
  203. [2014-09-03 15:52:27] * Get_Lost the thing is an empty bottle
  204. [2014-09-03 15:53:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3====================
  205. [2014-09-03 15:54:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3While there were several students who merited the privilege to join Professor Underhill’s summer travel study, I only formed clear memories of two of them: Fleetwing and Bluebell. The understandable reason for this is that they were the only two to choose to accompany me on the flight back to Mwanzo Mpya.
  206. [2014-09-03 15:54:50] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A deal had been struck, allowing the rest of the students to stay and continue their summer studies abroad. Only I was required to depart the country. Nor was I to fly back to Equestria unescorted. In fact, I was grounded, under surveillance by a Legion guard.
  207. [2014-09-03 15:55:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Rather, the flight back was aboard the airship /Uasi/, a zebra dirigable piloted by Mhalifu – an associate of Goldentongue whom, I was told, was one of the few pilots brave enough to dare the skies over the Tenochtitlan Basin.
  208. [2014-09-03 15:55:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Packer insisted that it would be improper for me to make the journey without an adult and representative of Baltimare University. However, Professor Underhill insisted that he could not spare the unicorn. They got into quite a quarrel, but that stopped when Bluebell stepped forward.
  209. [2014-09-03 15:55:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3I remember her words clearly, as they were strong, defiant and utterly bewildering to me. “You aren’t sending Daring Do home without sending me too.” Bluebell stood with me. And a moment later, to my even greater shock, Fleetwing did as well.
  210. [2014-09-03 15:55:34] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The professor had to relent when Bluebell and Fleetwing insisted on joining my exile.
  211. [2014-09-03 15:55:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3~-------~ oOo ~-------~
  212. [2014-09-03 15:56:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3<pause>
  213. [2014-09-03 15:56:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream opens the gunpowder horn and is surprised to find it empty.
  214. [2014-09-03 15:56:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 3<resume>
  215. [2014-09-03 15:57:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fleetwing was seething. Daring Do watched him cross the deck, back and forth and back and forth. The pegasus had landed just so he could pace.
  216. [2014-09-03 15:57:15] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do stood in the shadow of the armored zebra, her Legion-appointed warden, and stared over the bow of the Uasi. She had never been on an airship before, despite Baltimare having more than Fillydelphia and Canterlot combined; but she would still rather be flying, and was in no mood to enjoy the novelty. She hated being grounded.
  217. [2014-09-03 15:57:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Worse, she was on her way home. She’d been in Bahari Soko less than a day and had gotten to see almost nothing. Her entire summer was ruined... and that was hardly the worst of it. People had been /hurt/ because of what she had done. She thought she was saving a creature from imprisonment. She thought she was being so clever.
  218. [2014-09-03 15:57:51] <Mare-Do-Well> 3And instead, the sphinx had gone on a rampage. Before Daring Do boarded the airship, primi ordines Jua saw fit to tell her the sphinx had been “put down”. Not that she needed to. Daring Do had felt it when she heard the sharp crack of thunder. She had wondered what kind of monster the zebras would need a blunderbuss for. Now she knew.
  219. [2014-09-03 15:57:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The lush canopy of the Tenochtitlan Basin stretched out below and before the airship, an undulating wave of green broken by gouging ravines and the sporadic, upthrust shapes of ancient temples and obelisks, ziggurats and fortresses.
  220. [2014-09-03 15:58:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The basin was bordered on one side by the sharp, craggy peaks of the dragon mountains, on the other by the dazzling blue of the ocean. North, on the far side, beyond the jungle, was Mwanzo Mpya. Daring Do felt she had just left.
  221. [2014-09-03 15:58:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring fished something out of a pocket and looked down at it, trying to focus on the one small bright point in all of this. On her hoof, she held two golden chains; clasped to each was one half of a broken coin – friendship necklaces, each bearing half of a whole. “At least I’ll be able to visit with…” Daring Do stopped.
  222. [2014-09-03 15:58:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The young pegasus grew alarmed when she realized that, just for a moment, she had forgotten the name of Goldentongue’s goddaughter. Even though she had bought the necklaces while thinking of her, it took a forceful moment to remember. “…A.K. again.”
  223. [2014-09-03 15:58:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“I better be able to get into the summer expedition next year,” Fleetwing growled as he strode towards her. Somewhere northward, the clouds over the basin rumbled with thunder. “If you’ve screwed up that too…”
  224. [2014-09-03 15:58:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do stared into Fleetwing’s face. “You didn’t have to come back with me. Neither did Bluebell. You could have been in Bahari Soko right now.” Why in Tartarus did he come back? Of all the students, Fleetwing had seemed the most excited, the most eager for this trip.
  225. [2014-09-03 15:59:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“And it didn’t sound like the Professor’s expedition was likely to happen with or without an excuse for the primi ordines to say no,” she added.
  226. [2014-09-03 15:59:13] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“But you gave her one anyway, didn’t you?” he snapped.
  227. [2014-09-03 15:59:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“By saving everyone’s lives,” Daring snapped back. “All I remember you saving was luggage.”
  228. [2014-09-03 15:59:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fleetwing took a menacing step forward and looked ready to throw a few hooves, but a brisk voice snapped the tension. “No roughhousing aboard my ship. Save it until after the trip.”
  229. [2014-09-03 15:59:34] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Both Fleetwing and Daring turned to see the zebra, Mhalifu. She was a sturdy-looking mare who spoke Equestrian with a thick accent. A nasty scar ran up the right side of her face to where her right ear had once been; and she wore a bandoleer of knives, a black pith hat, and a lasso on her flank.
  230. [2014-09-03 15:59:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do glanced around and noticed several of the deck-workers were also wearing lassos, although Mhalifu was the only one lethally armed.
  231. [2014-09-03 15:59:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“At least,” Mhalifu said with a smile that the scar made crooked and ugly, “Not until my crew all gets the chance to size you up and place bets.”
  232. [2014-09-03 15:59:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fleetwing’s contempt for Daring gave way to that incessant curiosity that he had displayed over dinner at the ambassador’s manor. “I heard Goldentongue say you were one of the only airship captains willing to fly from Bahari Soko to Mwanzo Mpya. Is that true?”
  233. [2014-09-03 16:00:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mhalifu snickered, “The last anyone told me, I was one of only three.”
  234. [2014-09-03 16:00:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“Why’s that?” Fleetwing asked. “What’s so dangerous about the Tenochtitlan Basin?”
  235. [2014-09-03 16:00:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Like Daring Do, he had taken note that they had traveled to Bahari Soko by boat over the ocean, taking the long way around the jungle.
  236. [2014-09-03 16:00:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Professor Underhill had pressured Goldentongue to arrange a faster transportation so that Packer, who had chosen to chaperone the three of them back to Equestria’s nearest train station, could rejoin him and the other students as soon as possible.
  237. [2014-09-03 16:00:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do wondered if it was because the professor needed Packer’s assistance with his work, or because he didn’t want to have to handle that many students all by himself. Granted, if it was the latter, after recent events, Daring couldn’t exactly blame him.
  238. [2014-09-03 16:00:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mhalifu’s smile vanished. She seemed to appraise Fleetwing and Daring, as if determining whether to give them the same “Pray you don’t find out” answer that Daring had gotten when she asked one of the deck workers that same question earlier.
  239. [2014-09-03 16:01:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3But something about one or both of them seemed to cause a twinkle in Mhalifu’s eyes because she decided to be more forthcoming.
  240. [2014-09-03 16:01:09] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“The Quetzalcóatl Empress, a dark and evil spirit who seeks to rule the jungle. Zebras are right to fear it.” Mhalifu told them. “Her cultists scour the basin for means to break her prison. Tenochtitlan Basin will suffer if she’s risen.”
  241. [2014-09-03 16:01:15] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“And no one’s stopping them?” Daring Do gaped.
  242. [2014-09-03 16:01:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mhalifu scowled. “The efforts of her cultists do not go uncontested. Yet few are /daring/ enough to stand against the Empress.”
  243. [2014-09-03 16:01:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do recalled the metal clasp on the assassin’s cloak: a feathered serpent. “They were the ones who attacked us on the docks, weren’t they?” Mhalifu nodded. “What were they after?”
  244. [2014-09-03 16:01:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Before she can answer, a zebra voice calls for Mhalifu; she turns away, barking orders. Then strides across the deck, leaving the two pegasi alone again.
  245. [2014-09-03 16:01:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3<pause to allow roleplaying>
  246. [2014-09-03 16:05:33] * Get_Lost "well, if what this book says is true, it could be quite interestinf for us... i'm starting to think that the pirates are the lesser peoblem we could find"
  247. [2014-09-03 16:05:37] * CopyCat bites her lip. "What was that about the Empress? I swear she's been mentioned before somewhere but I can't place where."
  248. [2014-09-03 16:06:21] * Golden_Dream mutters. "Celestia damnit, Celestia damnit," She muttered, looking inside the horn for anything taped inside of it. "Shatara!" She called out, all but tossing the blunderbus to him. "Empty that out!" She calls, removing her helmet and digging for any loose folds.
  249. [2014-09-03 16:07:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright is sure that the reference to the tenth Daring Do book is important, but it has been so long since he has read that one. He can't remember it clearly.
  250. [2014-09-03 16:07:52] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright does, however, have the books with him.
  251. [2014-09-03 16:09:07] * Bookwright "Right. Okay. Tenth book. Teeeenth. Book." He begins to carefully sort through the collection of books that they loo- er, borrowed from the house. "Heere we are. Tenth book." He cracks it open gently.
  252. [2014-09-03 16:09:17] * Noble_Heart taps her chin. "The Empress was one of the enemies who Daring Doo ultimately defeated. She had a necklace of power. Miss Dash mentioned it some time ago, We believe." She frowns slightly. "We are concerned about the nature of this apparent curse upon A.K. Rolling and what might have caused it." She sighs quietly and contemplates that.
  253. [2014-09-03 16:14:27] * Bookwright ponders. "Scales talked about the Quetzalcóatl Empress. Said she'd find me tasty. I wonder if the one mentioned here is the same one...?"
  254. [2014-09-03 16:15:49] <Shatara> "Do quetzalcoatls reproduce?"
  255. [2014-09-03 16:15:56] * Bookwright "I assume so."
  256. [2014-09-03 16:16:40] <Shatara> "Maybe theres a Empress Quetzalcoatl the second...?"
  257. [2014-09-03 16:16:47] * Golden_Dream briefly spots the books in her peripheral vision. And then, in her mind moil, she took the third book of the series and flipped through the pages.
  258. [2014-09-03 16:18:12] * Bookwright <Scales, this Quetzalcóatl Empress of yours... Erm. Is she as real and solid as you and I?>
  259. [2014-09-03 16:19:09] * CopyCat mutters dreamily to herself. "~all I saw was a great serpent wound around the pistons and pumps, wounded by the crush of the wheels."
  260. [2014-09-03 16:20:17] * Noble_Heart shakes her head. "We would assume that she is a powerful spirit as mentioned in the manuscript. If so, it is likely not her that Daring Do defeated, but her link to the physical world."
  261. [2014-09-03 16:20:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3With a scan, Bookwright starts remembering the story. The tenth book, /Daring Do and the Tree of Life/ is the one where Daring Do had to team up with Ahuizotl! How could he have forgotten that?
  262. [2014-09-03 16:23:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Scales rolls her eyes. { The Empress is the mother of all couatls. She is eternal. }
  263. [2014-09-03 16:24:27] * Bookwright groans. "Oh. Oh my. Remorseful. Book ten is where Daring Do teamed up with Ahuizotl. And that means... I think Daring Do entrusted the Amulet to one of her foes."
  264. [2014-09-03 16:27:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream pulls out /Daring Do and the Amulet of Atonement/ and begins to reacquaint herself with the story. The third book was where Ahuizotl attempts to take the Quetzalcóatl Empress's power for himself. Daring Do finally manages to stop him, but only by the skin of her teeth!
  265. [2014-09-03 16:29:06] * Mare-Do-Well 3frowns at the thought. "She wouldn't! ... buuuut she kinda did in book ten, when she gave Ahuizotl the Sapphire Stone."
  266. [2014-09-03 16:30:21] <Shatara> "but wasn't it a statue?"
  267. [2014-09-03 16:31:18] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side, contemplating that. "Perhaps she gave what she did not want them to find to the Quetzacouatl Empress? If all of the zebras feared her power and could not unseat her, then she might have been strong enough to protect it."
  268. [2014-09-03 16:31:50] * Golden_Dream closes the book. "Galdurnit!" She huffed. "I have one more idea. It weren't in th' horn, it weren't in th' book, it weren't in th' helmet. Which means th' only thing in that room that sorta makes sense is th' necklace. We need t' find th' other bit of this." She said, holding the friendship necklace.
  269. [2014-09-03 16:32:50] * Bookwright shakes his head. "No, you misunderstand. The Quetzalcóatl Empress isn't flesh and blood. If someone finds the Amulet of Atonement, that pony or zebra can use it to summon the strength of the Quetzalcóatl Empress. It's what we're trying to avoid."
  270. [2014-09-03 16:34:55] * Golden_Dream huffs through her nose. "And if it ain't in any of those places, we gotta go back t' Tragedy's End. 'Cause that's th' only place I see repentant people tryin' t' go."
  271. [2014-09-03 16:35:31] * Shatara lounges on CopyCat as the pones debate plot points.
  272. [2014-09-03 16:35:50] * CopyCat is a comfy pone.
  273. [2014-09-03 16:36:08] * Bookwright "We must be remorseful to find the key. It's got something to do with how she found the Tree of Life, which was by teaming up with her former enemy. Maybe that's what we've got to do?" He takes off his glasses and rubs his eyes with a kerchief. "Oh my head hurts. I was always terrible at riddles and this is no better."
  274. [2014-09-03 16:36:38] * Bookwright grunts. "We might as well try to find A.K. Yearling for all the good I'm doing here."
  275. [2014-09-03 16:36:45] === CTCP time reply ``16:36:45 3-Sep-2014'' from Mare-Do-Well
  276. [2014-09-03 16:37:55] * Shatara muses. "Or maybe it's something silly like looking at the ground..." He does a lot of that...
  277. [2014-09-03 16:38:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 3<continuing>
  278. [2014-09-03 16:39:27] <Mare-Do-Well> 3After a few moments of silence, Daring Do finally asks, “Why did you come back with me?”
  279. [2014-09-03 16:39:33] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“It wasn’t for you,” Fleetwing grumbled. Daring Do looked at him questioningly. Then followed his gaze across the ship. Bluebell was borrowing the telescope of one of the deck workers, gazing out at the dark shapes of the temples under the cloud-mottled evening sky.
  280. [2014-09-03 16:39:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“Huh?” Daring asked blankly. Then it clicked. Fleetwing and Bluebell? Fleetwing and Bluebell. They were more than just friends, Daring Do realized. They might even be going steady. “Oh.”
  281. [2014-09-03 16:39:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“You saved her,” Fleetwing said bluntly. “She wasn’t going to let you get kicked out alone. And I wasn’t going to be able to enjoy this trip worried about her.”
  282. [2014-09-03 16:39:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do reflected on how Bluebell hadn’t seemed as curious as she or Fleetwing, although she had treated the trip as an adventure. Daring had heard of ponies who, upon falling for another pony, changed their interests to match the others. She suddenly suspected Bluebell had done just that.
  283. [2014-09-03 16:40:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“Oh,” Daring said again. She watched as Bluebell swung the telescope upwards, looking at the clouds. Something she said caused the zebra to snatch back his telescope rudely. Daring Do could sense Fleetwing’s mane bristle a little.
  284. [2014-09-03 16:40:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The zebra turned the telescope upwards, staring through it only a moment before spinning and shouting. The strange zebra words were quickly echoed up and down the ship, shouted from one zebra to the next as they rushed to that side of the ship and stared upwards.
  285. [2014-09-03 16:40:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do heard her guardian Legionnaire grumble and detach his spear from its holding brace on his armor.
  286. [2014-09-03 16:40:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“Not good,” she moaned and turned her head to the skies, looking at the clouds that were visible beyond the curving canvas of the Uasi’s balloon. Almost immediately, Daring Do spotted several large, dark shapes moving towards them through the clouds.
  287. [2014-09-03 16:40:33] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Creatures burst from the concealment of the clouds – huge beasts the size of manticores with wings like bats and faces like monkeys. “Ahools” the Legion guard said as he set his spear. On the ahools’ backs road cloaked figures.
  288. [2014-09-03 16:40:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The zebras deck leapt into action, using lassos to try to catch and bind the ahools as the creatures swooped towards the deck. Daring Do crouched, her heart pounding. She was ready for action.
  289. [2014-09-03 16:40:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fleetwing stumbled backwards, crying out, “Bluebell, look out!”
  290. [2014-09-03 16:42:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bluebell spun, her eyes going wide at the sight as five ahools dove between the deck of the /Uasi/ and its balloon above. Bluebell dove for cover.
  291. [2014-09-03 16:42:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3One of the great beasts’ wings snagged in the rigging. Daring Do winced at the painful snapping of wingbones. The monster plowed into the deck, scattering zebras and throwing its passenger.
  292. [2014-09-03 16:42:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The ahools bore huge claws, easily the size of newborn foals and wickedly sharp. They cut into the zebras as the flew overhead. Daring Do’s readiness to fight evaporated, leaving cold shock at the sight of so much blood. Beside her, Fleetwing panicked and flew.
  293. [2014-09-03 16:43:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3She saw Packer cringe and throw up a magical shield as one of the ahools cut a swath towards him. The monster’s claws tore through the shield like it was made of leaves. Packer fell, blood spilling from the side of his head.
  294. [2014-09-03 16:43:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The zebras lassoed two of the ahools out of the air. With practiced speed, they bound the creatures’ wings and claws while others fought to subdue the riders. The ahools’ claws were sharp enough to make quick work of rope, but they seemed to lack the manual dexterity to free themselves without causing egregious damage.
  295. [2014-09-03 16:43:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3One tried to anyway, gouging great bloody tears in its wings as it slashed apart the lassos binding them.
  296. [2014-09-03 16:43:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A thought flashed through Daring Do’s mind: the ahools could easily tear the /Uasi’s/ balloon to shreds, but their riders were directing them to attack the deck. They wanted to take the ship in one piece. But they definitely had no use for the crew. Intuition told Daring Do that the riders were after something, and they thought it was aboard the /Uasi/.
  297. [2014-09-03 16:44:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The ahool with the broken wing started to claw its way across the deck. Two more zebras attempted to stop it, catching it about its head with their lassos; but the beast knocked them back with a flailing sweep of its unbroken wing.
  298. [2014-09-03 16:44:10] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do’s heart was pounding as the ahool lumbered towards her. For the second time in a day, she was in mortal danger. Her paralysis broke, adrenaline surging through her body. Daring Do took to the air, flying out of its reach on the side of its broken wing, keeping the rigging between herself and the monster.
  299. [2014-09-03 16:44:19] <Mare-Do-Well> 3It kept moving across the deck, and Daring Do saw that she wasn’t its prey. It was moving towards where Mhalifu was fighting the cloaked zebra that had been thrown from its back.
  300. [2014-09-03 16:44:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The zebra cultist fought with a mouth-held cutlass, Mhalifu with only a knife. But Mhalifu was the more seasoned fighter, and the zebra had not landed well and was struggling with a limp. After moments of furious clashing, both blades were sent spinning across the floor. The ahool stumbled closer.
  301. [2014-09-03 16:44:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do caught sight of the ropes trailing behind it, the lassos still around the ahool’s neck. She dove for the deck and caught the ropes in her mouth. She landed behind the huge beast and pulled. The ahool jerked to a stop with an enraged howl.
  302. [2014-09-03 16:44:40] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“No, your Empress’ will not win fight,” Mhalifu spat as her right hoof slammed into the cultist’s muzzle. “When her secrets are exposed to light.” Mhalifu’s left forehoof slammed into his chin, the uppercut sending him stumbling back. Mhalifu spun to deliver a hard buck to the zebra cultist’s exposed stomach, driving the wind out of him.
  303. [2014-09-03 16:44:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The monstrous ahool struggled towards its prey, even with Daring Do trying to pull it back. Her hooves slipped and slid in the warm blood coating the deck.
  304. [2014-09-03 16:44:54] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“You… fools… will expose... nothing!” the cultist gasped, curling up on the deck as the shadow of the ahool fell across him and Mhalifu. “…we have… your sacrifice.” The cultist spat. “…and soon… we will have the Amulet…”
  305. [2014-09-03 16:45:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Daring Do flew upwards, straining as the ahool clawed its way within arms reach of the Uasi’s captian. The ropes tightened around the beast’s neck.
  306. [2014-09-03 16:45:08] <Mare-Do-Well> 3“No, you won’t.” Mhalifu seemed oblivious to the ahool, now within claws reach, struggling to strike while it struggled for air. The zebra captain’s attention was completely locked on the cultist. She cooped up the fallen scimitar. “In Ahuizotl’s name!”
  307. [2014-09-03 16:45:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3---
  308. [2014-09-03 16:45:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fifth Pad Ends.
  309. [2014-09-03 16:45:37] <Mare-Do-Well> 3====================
  310. [2014-09-03 16:48:32] * Bookwright "I think maybe my first instinct is right. I think... I think Daring Do gave Ahuizotl the Amulet of Atonement."
  311. [2014-09-03 16:53:57] * Noble_Heart shakes her head. "It is not the amulet of the Quetzacoatl Queen we seek. But the one to control the shield of the sun over this valley. That was what the zebras sought in the last days of the war. And what might still be here to be found."
  312. [2014-09-03 16:54:04] * Golden_Dream slumps down. Her brainstorm failed, so best hop onto the one still booming. "That don't tell us where th' durned cat thing is, Bookie."
  313. [2014-09-03 16:54:39] * Bookwright points up at the sky. "What do you want to bet the pirates know something?"
  314. [2014-09-03 16:55:19] * Golden_Dream gave a frightened chuckle. "You wanna bet that I don't wanna find out if they do?"
  315. [2014-09-03 16:56:45] * Bookwright shrugs. "Seems pretty clear to me."
  316. [2014-09-03 16:58:15] * Golden_Dream laughs with eyes wide open. "It just might be a safe bet there, Bookie."
  317. [2014-09-03 17:00:46] * Mare-Do-Well 3interjects. "They the same thing. The Amulet of Atonement can be used to power the Radiant Shield of Rasdon. Or to unleash the Quetzacoatl Empress." She adds, "It's /really/ powerful. In book four, Daring Do defeated Ahuizotl and secured control of the Amulet of Atonement, dispelling the dark magic of the Quetzalcóatl Empress..."
  318. [2014-09-03 17:01:04] * Mare-Do-Well 3concludes, "...and thus protecting the basin with the Radiant Shield of Rasdon!"
  319. [2014-09-03 17:03:22] * Golden_Dream rubs her hooves together. "That still don't tell us where t' look."
  320. [2014-09-03 17:03:55] * Noble_Heart taps her chin and frowns. "And it was put somewhere her foes would be unlikely to look. Somewhere where she felt confident that few would find it." She furrowed her brow. "It makes Us wonder if perhaps she convinced this zebra who came to interrogate her to take the amulet and hide it."
  321. [2014-09-03 17:04:43] * Mare-Do-Well 3taps her ghostly hooves together soundlessly. Then suddenly says, "Waaaaaiit."
  322. [2014-09-03 17:04:46] <Bookwright> "No, Jua was the zebra looking for it in the first place."
  323. [2014-09-03 17:05:15] * CopyCat waits.
  324. [2014-09-03 17:06:17] * Mare-Do-Well 3offers, "Daring said she hid the Amulet of Atonement using a trick she learned from the Tree of Life, right?"
  325. [2014-09-03 17:07:50] * Noble_Heart nods her head slowly.
  326. [2014-09-03 17:08:06] * CopyCat ponders. "The friend of my friend is also my friend?" She misquotes, hopefully.
  327. [2014-09-03 17:08:10] * Golden_Dream rose an eyebrow. "Why, yes, Mare-Do-Well. Yes, she did. You thinkin' what I'm thinkin'?" She had no idea what Mare-Do-Well was thinking.
  328. [2014-09-03 17:08:25] * Mare-Do-Well 3asks, "Remember what Professor Underhill said about the Tree of Life in the first pad?"
  329. [2014-09-03 17:08:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “What’s the Tree of Life?” a teary-eyed Fleetwing managed to wheeze between gulps of water.
  330. [2014-09-03 17:08:46] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> Goldentongue steepled his hooves and looked to Professor Underhill with a smile. The professor jumped to explain, “Have you ever been to the Equestria Games?” he asked. When Fleetwood nodded, he went on. “Then you’ve seen the ice archery competitions. Ever wonder where those arrows come from?”
  331. [2014-09-03 17:09:01] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “There are plenty of spirits in the zebra lands, some of which are very powerful. We all know about manifested spirits, but sometimes spirits inhabit natural things…”
  332. [2014-09-03 17:09:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “Like how nature spirits inhabit wood, making timberwolves?” Bluebell asked. The professor nodded.
  333. [2014-09-03 17:09:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “…and like how a powerful spirit of cold and hate, like a windigo, can make its home within a tree,” Underhill explained, “There is a grove of such trees just southwest of this village. The trees change to reflect the spirit that has fused into them. The wood, if you can really call it wood anymore, from those trees is used to make ice arrows.”
  334. [2014-09-03 17:09:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “And the Tree of Life?” Daring Do asked, finally getting a question of her own. “A tree with some sort of life spirit? What would that be like?”
  335. [2014-09-03 17:09:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3> “Yes!” Professor Underhill announced with a touch too much enthusiasm. “Based on my research, such a tree exists deep in the Tenochtitlan jungle. And I believe that the fruit of the tree would add years to a pony’s life. A veritable fountain of youth!”
  336. [2014-09-03 17:11:01] * Noble_Heart frowns. "Then you think... She planted the spirit of something into the amulet, to keep it hidden..?" She suddenly got a very grim and horrified look. "We hope that Our imagination exceeds the reality."
  337. [2014-09-03 17:12:04] * Golden_Dream rose her eyebrow. "Do tell, Noble." The worst possible option tends to be the true one.
  338. [2014-09-03 17:12:06] * Mare-Do-Well 3recalls, "In /Daring Do and the Tree of Life/, Daring Do had to team up with Ahuizotl if she was going to get to the Tree before Doctor Caballeron. She needed Ahuizotl's help because the Tree of Life had protected itself by sealing the sacred grove with a lock that required a special key."
  339. [2014-09-03 17:13:12] * Mare-Do-Well 3continues, "Daring Do knew that Doctor Caballeron had the Legion with him and they could just blow their way into the grove by force! But if she wanted to get in, she needed the key."
  340. [2014-09-03 17:13:35] * Noble_Heart contemplates that. "A... Key with multiple parts? Which different people would have to use indvidiually?" She tapped her chin.
  341. [2014-09-03 17:14:04] * Golden_Dream blinks. Looks at the necklace. "... I bet you that we have part one."
  342. [2014-09-03 17:14:27] * Mare-Do-Well 3warms up to the story, even though several of the ponies here had already read it... probably more than once. "Not with multiple parts. The key was /disguised/. Only somebody with the correct... mentality, I guess... could get the key to reveal itself."
  343. [2014-09-03 17:16:21] * Golden_Dream chuckles nervously. Oh, shit. "So you're sayin' that it's based off of mentality." If the worst possible option is the correct one... Her eyes went wide. "No. Nonono. You- NO. NO."
  344. [2014-09-03 17:16:35] * Noble_Heart furrowed her brow. "Then the key may actually be something which you must seek atonement to find... But atonement for what?"
  345. [2014-09-03 17:16:59] * Mare-Do-Well 3continues, "The key revealed itself from an object that had special moral significance related to the Tree of Life... specifically, the Sapphire Stone! And only Ahuizotl had the... let's say... 'noble personality defects' to get the Sapphire Stone to turn into the key!"
  346. [2014-09-03 17:17:51] * Golden_Dream hung her head. This is going exactly where she thinks this is going.
  347. [2014-09-03 17:18:12] * CopyCat ponders to herself quietly. "I wonder if it would work with a memory, too."
  348. [2014-09-03 17:19:43] * Noble_Heart frowns and furrows her brow.
  349. [2014-09-03 17:19:44] * Bookwright is just befuddled. "Riddles. Oh my goodness I'm terrible at riddles."
  350. [2014-09-03 17:20:38] * Golden_Dream frowns gravely. "Let me solve this one fer' you, Bookie. Copycat, how did you feel when you got noodled by the slender zebra?"
  351. [2014-09-03 17:21:46] * CopyCat looks down. "Ashamed."
  352. [2014-09-03 17:22:09] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright and Golden_Dream both remember the scene from the book with Ahuizotl trying to make the Sapphire Stone reveal the key. It was beautifully comical, right at one of the most tense moments in the book.
  353. [2014-09-03 17:25:28] * Mare-Do-Well 3nods to Noble_Heart. "If I'm right, we need the key. We need to be at the lock where Daring Do has hidden the Amulet of Atonement. And we need someone who is really sorry for... something that they did." She suddenly slumps. "Gosh. If I wasn't dead, that could be me."
  354. [2014-09-03 17:26:29] * Noble_Heart frowns and nods her head. She looks down slowly, then speaks quietly, "Then first we must find the door."
  355. [2014-09-03 17:26:34] * Golden_Dream continues. "And immediately after, y' said that you wanted t' remember who you were." She rubs her forehead. "I got it all wrong. That spirit ain't truth, it ain't answers. It's pure and simple repentance."
  356. [2014-09-03 17:26:52] * Mare-Do-Well 3looks at all the things Golden_Dream got from the room. "And I'm guessing we've already got the key."
  357. [2014-09-03 17:29:08] * Golden_Dream holds the helmet dear in her hooves. She's shaking. "... If anyone wants, I'll be the one t' go out t'night."
  358. [2014-09-03 17:33:30] * Mare-Do-Well 3looks at Golden_Dream, "Are you okay?" She suspects Golden_Dream is thinking about thing she is remorseful about. That's not easy.
  359. [2014-09-03 17:35:57] * Noble_Heart gently moves a wing around Golden Dream. "We do not think it would be wise for any of us to be alone." She looks down sadly.
  360. [2014-09-03 17:38:43] * Golden_Dream inhales. Exhales. "I don't recommend you comin' with, Noble. It ain't gonna be pleasant, and I'm th' only pony that'll see it comin'."
  361. [2014-09-03 17:40:05] * Noble_Heart shakes her head. "But I will not let you go alone." She nuzzles Golden Dream's cheek.
  362. [2014-09-03 17:43:39] * Golden_Dream bites her lip. "There ain't nothing I can say that'll get it through yer head that I don't want you t' be th' one that gets noodled, is there?"
  363. [2014-09-03 17:44:07] * Noble_Heart quietly shakes her head.
  364. [2014-09-03 17:45:56] * Golden_Dream exhaled quietly, before moving out into the dark of the jungle. The term "red of tooth and claw" resounded in her mind without real understanding why it was there.
  365. [2014-09-03 17:48:47] * Noble_Heart follows behind Golden Dream, intent to stand watch.
  366. [2014-09-03 17:51:27] * Golden_Dream 's heart went heavy with dread. This wasn't going to be nice. "... Come out, friend. I know yer' watchin'."
  367. [2014-09-03 17:53:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The sun has begun to set. The sky looks bloody through the small breaks in the canopy above.
  368. [2014-09-03 17:54:30] * Golden_Dream waits for darkness to fall, or the spirit to come. Either would suffice.
  369. [2014-09-03 17:54:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- End of Session ---
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