Fallout: Beyond Equestria, 61: The Top of the World (Part 3)

[2013-11-13 13:17:44] <Kkat> 3CopyCat walks beside Noble_Heart. She doesn't say anything, but hopes that her presence was reassuring.
[2013-11-13 13:17:49] <Kkat> 3Bookwright fumes silently.
[2013-11-13 13:17:57] <Kkat> 3Shatara moves with Golden_Dream towards the light.
[2013-11-13 13:18:04] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream reaches the light, reaches the body.  A pegasus filly, no older than she is.  Wearing a light, winterized armor -- an Enclave design.  Her corpse is frozen to the ground, a layer of ice climbing over it like snowdrifts.  The ebbing light comes from her PipBuck, the screen and buttons a customized orange rather than the patriotic green.
[2013-11-13 13:18:09] <Kkat> 3The PipBuck seems to be dying.
[2013-11-13 13:18:15] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream frowns. She feels kind of sad looking at this poor corpse. She got a sense that in a different world, this could've been her. She sat down, and... Just looked over her. Same sort of cold weather gear. Same sort of build. She leaned over to see what the pipbuck said. "... Shatara, can ya'll get this on yer pipbuck? Can y' fix this?"
[2013-11-13 13:18:28] <Kkat> 3Noble_Heart fidgets more at Bookwright's insistence, her irritation flaring. "You cannot understand what that past holds. What SHE did to Us. She turned a dream into a nightmare without end. We... I... I am no fool, no failure. No idiot to be tossed aside and told that others know what is best!"
[2013-11-13 13:18:43] <Kkat> 3She snarled at Bookwright. "No backwater yokel to be ignored by those who believe themselves to know more of the world, to know more of what is 'right' and 'just'!" It was fairly clear that whomever she was ranting at wasn't just Bookwright. "I will not-"
[2013-11-13 13:19:02] <Kkat> 3She cuts off as she catches sight of filly. "... no... Nonono. No! Not too late. It can't be too late! It was never supposed to happen like that..." She backs away quickly, whatever anger she had quickly draining to terror, and sorrow.
[2013-11-13 13:19:21] <Kkat> 3"I... I... I didn't... I couldn't... I should have been there. It's not right! She did this, not me! Took a dream and made it a thousand times worse! A boon into a curse! I couldn't stop her! But... But We are still strong!" She shuddered in her legs, collapsing towards the floor. "... We were made to be strong... To be the best..."
[2013-11-13 13:19:32] <Kkat> 3She muttered quietly, trying to reassure herself.
[2013-11-13 13:19:51] <Kkat> 3Shatara puts up his rifle, investigating the dying pipbuck and fiddling with his own. These things could talk to each other, couldn't they?
[2013-11-13 13:19:59] <Kkat> 3The PipBuck is frozen to the cold stone.  The buttons likewise are rigid from ice.  But the screen can be read.  And there is a message:
[2013-11-13 13:20:07] <Kkat> 3> I'm sorry.  Gentle Breeze was my best friend once.  And I killed him.  I'm so sorry.
[2013-11-13 13:20:13] <Kkat> 3> I had to.  It was him or it would be both of us.
[2013-11-13 13:20:19] <Kkat> 3> They can't get you if you're alone.
[2013-11-13 13:20:25] <Kkat> 3...
[2013-11-13 13:20:45] <Kkat> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session Sixty-One: The Top of the World (Part Three) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LETrhOP90p4
[2013-11-13 13:20:59] <Kkat> 3--- Session Begins ---
[2013-11-13 13:21:18] <Kkat> 3Bookwright looks down on Noble_Heart dispassionately. He can't hate her. She's too disjointed for hate. So he must hug. Carefully.
[2013-11-13 13:21:24] <Kkat> 3"Noble Heart? You're right I can't understand what the past holds for you. I'm sorry for pushing you like this, I just... I'm driven like that, sometimes. I think that whenever we get back to civilization, we need to get you to a therapist. We have time, I think."
[2013-11-13 13:21:32] <Kkat> 3CopyCat flattens her ears at Noble's outburst and bites her lip. She struggles to think of something to to say, Noble's mind in too much turmoil for her to listen in on. She joins Bookwright in hugging the other alicorn. "Noble... some time could you tell me what we were supposed to be? I'd like to know one day."
[2013-11-13 13:21:44] <Kkat> 3Noble_heart had broken down into tears, leaning into the hugs more than a little. She seemed mostly distant. "We were strong... I was weak, We were strong. I was slow, We were eternal. I was a failure, We succeeded..." She muttered quietly, drowning in her sorrow, for a time.
[2013-11-13 13:21:49] <Kkat> 3CopyCat nuzzles her neck. "I'm here because of you. Thank you."
[2013-11-13 13:24:46] * Get_Lost doesn't give up that easily.... first, let's see if the pony is not simply in a comatose state of hybernation! you can never say
[2013-11-13 13:25:59] * Golden_Dream frowns, then takes a few steps up to Noble. Usually it was easy to determine what she was going to say, it just sort of flowed from her. This time, though, she just seemed conflicted. She had words, but they all seemed jumbled together in her head in a traffic jam due to what happened last time she tried to speak when she started freaking out.
[2013-11-13 13:26:02] * Noble_Heart sat quietly on the floor, crying slightly and mumbling half-sentences, leaning against CopyCat as she did.
[2013-11-13 13:27:50] * Bookwright "Shatara. What does your pipbuck say about this pegasus' power lev- er, I mean. What's on there?"
[2013-11-13 13:28:00] * Get_Lost checks the corpse, mostly because you can never say
[2013-11-13 13:29:07] * Golden_Dream "Well, um. I think- I mean, you're a pony, y' shouldn't beat yerself up over- I mean, you're strong and weak and both are fine, and..." Yeah, she wasn't going anywhere with this. She just kind of backed off a little and facehooved at her own social inadequacy.
[2013-11-13 13:29:29] * CopyCat strokes Noble's mane. She could be there, at least.
[2013-11-13 13:30:32] * Get_Lost the cyber pony hovers a hoof on the pegasus, the tip of her leg opening in a forest of small brobes and sensors as the phoenix implant starts working....
[2013-11-13 13:30:37] * Shatara blinks at Bookwright. "It has a...uh...message of some kind...I dunno if I can get more out of it..."
[2013-11-13 13:30:57] <Kkat> 3The icy wind picks up, howling, carrying eddies of snow, the cold slashing through armor and winter barding to chill the heart and bone.  Then dies away again.
[2013-11-13 13:31:34] * Noble_Heart looked up towards Golden Dream through tear-stained eyes. "Y-you're... But y-you can't be... You're dead... But you're not dead. You're here. Not dead. Not failed. Here. Worth protecting." She sniffles a few more moments and slowly tries to dry her tears, beginning to recollect herself.
[2013-11-13 13:32:12] * Get_Lost shakes her head, sighing "no.... there's no way to call this one back... if defrozen it could still make for a perfect cybercorpse, but you know... it's just not the same." instead, the mare tries giving power to the pipbuck using the internal power of her cybernetics
[2013-11-13 13:32:20] * Bookwright "Well, you're the mechanical expert. If we got it unstuck, could you take it off, make it functional?"
[2013-11-13 13:35:19] * CopyCat speaks softly. "Of course she's here, Noble_Heart. You haven't failed. You haven't failed at all."
[2013-11-13 13:36:56] * Golden_Dream tilts her head slightly and contracted her lips. What the blue bloody fuck was she talking about? Okay, no. As soon as they're back in town, she's getting some fucking mental therapy or something. "Th' fuck are y' talkin' abo-" Oh, forget it. She was just happy she was back on her hooves. "... Get_Lost... I'm guessin' she's lost?"
[2013-11-13 13:37:31] * Shatara shivers from the cold, beginning to think it's not quite natural. He shies away a bit from the breakdown-ing alicorn, watching to see if Get_Lost can get more power.
[2013-11-13 13:39:02] * Noble_Heart sniffles a few more times, looking to CopyCat. "I wasn't there. When she needed me I wasn't..." She slowly climbed back to her hooves, offering a hoof to CopyCat to help her up. "We are sorry. We should not allow Ourselves such outbursts." She smiled to the other alicorn. "We hope We did not trouble Our sisters too much."
[2013-11-13 13:39:15] * Get_Lost calls back shatara "please don't wander away... i'm not an espert of these things i don't want to fry it, i need you to check that i don't pull the wrong buttons"
[2013-11-13 13:39:38] * Bookwright "And here I thought that CopyCat was the one with multiple personality disorder. Hum."
[2013-11-13 13:42:09] <Kkat> 3For the life of him, Shatara cannot understand why the PipBuck is dying (these things have always seemed like they would last forever), nor can he restore more power to it from his PipBuck.  Furthermore, the PipBuck seems to have been wiped of everything but that one message.
[2013-11-13 13:45:04] * Golden_Dream shivers. "It's, uh. It's good t' have y' back." She wasn't going to press the issue. Fuck if she was going to try to break her down again. Her mind wandered to the wind in this place. Why was it so cold? "Hey, folks. I got a real bad feelin' about this place. Maybe we should jus' leave it be." She said, cautiously.
[2013-11-13 13:45:36] * Get_Lost "alright, i think i could try to give some life back to this little guy, but first, we better save this message somewhere else"
[2013-11-13 13:47:56] <Kkat> 3Get_Lost is able to jury-rig a power connect to her cybernetic systems, restoring full power to the PipBuck.
[2013-11-13 13:48:33] * Get_Lost passes the now working thing to shatara, trying to not disconnect the cables "try now..."
[2013-11-13 13:49:18] * Noble_Heart frowns and looks up the collapsed tower. "Were we not searching for survivors? That there is a body here makes Us wonder whether others might be hiding here as well."
[2013-11-13 13:50:16] * Shatara tries poking at the pipbucks again, copying over the message and searching for anything else.
[2013-11-13 13:51:50] <Kkat> 3There seems to be nothing else.  Not even the normal programs and spells associated with the PipBuck.  No S.A.T.S. or E.F.S., no automapping... nothing.
[2013-11-13 13:53:15] * CopyCat smiles back at Noble_Heart. "It's no trouble at all."
[2013-11-13 13:53:16] * Bookwright "I don't think there are any survivors. The message on the Pipbuck says as much. Still, it's damn cold outside and we were stopping for lunch anyways. Might as well see if there's a building we can find and warm up in."
[2013-11-13 13:53:31] * Golden_Dream frowns. "... If it's all the same, mind if I keep it?"
[2013-11-13 13:56:34] * Noble_Heart nods in agreement to Bookwright. "We would suggest either finding some warm blankets or continuing moving. Though the distance of travel may be itself dangerous, considering how far it will be to get back to Our conveyance."
[2013-11-13 13:57:16] * Get_Lost "as long as we don't die the pegasus death, i'm fine... also, what does the message say?"
[2013-11-13 13:59:07] * Golden_Dream is strangely quiet. This... This triggered something that she tried to forget. "... It's... Urgh." She frowns. "Somethin' about this kid killin' her friend. Somethin' 'bout somethin' that targets folks that are together."
[2013-11-13 14:01:32] * CopyCat tilts her head. "Perhaps some kind of deadly tickle magic?"
[2013-11-13 14:02:12] * Noble_Heart eartwitches at Golden Dream's comments, tilting her head to one side thoughtfully. Something that only comes after groups? That can't hurt you when you're alone? That was odd.
[2013-11-13 14:02:27] * Bookwright "I thought it was more philosophical than that. Never thought to take it literally. "
[2013-11-13 14:02:28] * Get_Lost taps her chin "if she hadn't deleted the whole thing we would know a little better, but she purposedly deleted the whole memory of the pipbuck..."
[2013-11-13 14:02:55] * Get_Lost "also, i could sound a bit cynical, but she didn't fare very well on her own"
[2013-11-13 14:03:35] * CopyCat continues. "You need two ponies to do tickling. You can't do it alone... unless you catch yourself when you least expect it, like when you're sleeping."
[2013-11-13 14:04:05] * Shatara blinks at CopyCat.
[2013-11-13 14:04:52] * Golden_Dream frowns gravely. "Copycat, I don't think a pony would die over tickle magic." Although, she was grateful for the raise in tone. "I'd really like t' leave this place."
[2013-11-13 14:05:00] * Get_Lost "another interesting thinkg is this one: probably, whatever was the danger, it is somewhere else, since i dont' see a murdered corpse here around... she must have moved away before she froze to death"
[2013-11-13 14:05:35] * Bookwright looks beyond. "Well, we're never gonna find out if we don't try to find her friend. 'Gentle Breeze', I think. If we just stand here we're gonna freeze just like her. Shatara, you wanna be point or overwatch?"
[2013-11-13 14:06:27] * Golden_Dream frowns, then begins stripping the corpse for things. It felt really wrong, but odds are that this little filly's armor was better than hers.
[2013-11-13 14:07:38] * Noble_Heart taps her chin thoughtfully. "We recommend leaving. We are a group. A large one. If this is dangerous to groups, then it is surely dangerous to Us. While We may be no weak foals, We are also uncertain there is anything else out here worth looking into." She looks to Bookwright. "Not that We expect you to take that as an answer."
[2013-11-13 14:08:50] * Get_Lost gives a look at the now blank and powered pipbuck and in her eyes something like an idea starts to form.... she has it: the solaris look
[2013-11-13 14:09:48] * Get_Lost starts grinning "why not.... maybe with a couple of fixes..."
[2013-11-13 14:12:44] * CopyCat stretches her wings, seemingly unaware of the frozen, biting winds. "Well, we're here now. We may as well look around."
[2013-11-13 14:14:04] * Get_Lost pulls out a cuple of screwdrivers and a hoofull of apparently rare and pricey spell matrixes and starts tinkering with the pipbuck
[2013-11-13 14:14:23] * Get_Lost "eh... eheh... ehahahahMWAHAHAHAHA!"
[2013-11-13 14:15:05] * Shatara scoots away from Get_Lost...o.o
[2013-11-13 14:15:12] * Bookwright cocks his head at Noble_Heart and grins. "You know me well, O noble one."
[2013-11-13 14:15:44] * Noble_Heart stretches a few moments. "Then We suggest that We get moving quickly."
[2013-11-13 14:16:27] * Get_Lost doesn't seem to listen to the others anymore
[2013-11-13 14:18:23] * Get_Lost is typing like mad on the pipbuck imput console, line over lines of machine language reflecting on her cybervisor "look at all the potential! this ting is amazing! and those idiots used it as... as... a mere tool! CRIMINALS!"
[2013-11-13 14:19:52] <Kkat> 3Removing the armor and equipment from the corpse is a long and difficult task, as there is much ice to chip through.
[2013-11-13 14:21:31] * Golden_Dream did want it at one point. Now, not so much. "Uh. Get_Lost? It /is/ a mere tool." She murmured while trying to get the armor.
[2013-11-13 14:22:15] * Noble_Heart frowns and looks to Get Lost. That was worrying.
[2013-11-13 14:24:27] <Kkat> 3Chipping away at the ice to try to get the armor, Golden_Dream discovers that the corpse has a plasma pistol.
[2013-11-13 14:24:53] * Golden_Dream looks. "Huh. Hey, Bookie. Take a look at this!"
[2013-11-13 14:24:59] * Get_Lost "oh no, nonono! you are soooo wrong! this thing can perform operations on pratically any size of data, it has a nearly unexhaustable potential of operations per second, you... you don't understand! they had probably the better, most compact hardware in hstory and used it as a nutcracker!"
[2013-11-13 14:25:18] * Bookwright looks at the thing! The thing that Golden_Dream is having him look at!
[2013-11-13 14:25:42] * Golden_Dream keeps prying. "Get, what th' hell are ya'll gonna do to it?"
[2013-11-13 14:26:16] * Get_Lost "oh, nothing specia.... just giving her some spice and you know... a little personality"
[2013-11-13 14:26:53] <Kkat> 3The spark cells are all drained, but otherwise the Plasma Pistol seems in good condition... although cold enough you wouldn't want to touch it with your tongue.
[2013-11-13 14:28:34] * Golden_Dream huffs. "How 'bout keeping things as reliable and predictable as possible?"
[2013-11-13 14:29:29] * Noble_Heart groans and rubs her face with a forehoof. She began pacing back and forth across the area.
[2013-11-13 14:29:42] * Get_Lost giggles "good one, kid.... you almost got me" doesnt' stop working "you know what? this thing is just the sixe of your leg...."
[2013-11-13 14:31:05] * Get_Lost "you'll love it"
[2013-11-13 14:31:22] * Bookwright picks up the plasma pistol with his levitation and gives it a good once-over. "Standard Enclave sidearm. Spark cells are drained, but if that's from sitting in the cold or being expended in battle I can't tell. I don't really need another magical energy weapon. Anypony else want it?"
[2013-11-13 14:31:32] * CopyCat eventually notices that her friends were feeling the cold. She trots over to everypony (and catbird) in turn and embraces them with Equestria's Love.
[2013-11-13 14:32:45] * Golden_Dream rolls her eyes and smirks. "How 'bout we don't strap a thing that I don't know what'll do to my leg."
[2013-11-13 14:33:53] * Bookwright "Whaddabout you, Shatara? Want a plasma pistol?"
[2013-11-13 14:35:26] * Get_Lost "but we know what it will do! it wil do miracles! here, see? first aid capabilities, self aware of potetial danger, able of suggesting a course of action and she can even give you advice on what dress to wear for the prom!"
[2013-11-13 14:35:27] * Noble_Heart trotted back and forth impatiently. Or perhaps ponderously. Or ponderingly. Or some such word.
[2013-11-13 14:36:17] * Golden_Dream keeps working. "Noble, if y'got that much energy, ya'll can help me chisel this thing off of her."
[2013-11-13 14:36:18] * Shatara shrugs a little. "Dunno if need any pew-pews..."
[2013-11-13 14:37:18] * CopyCat peers over Get_Lost's shoulder. "She?"
[2013-11-13 14:39:04] * Golden_Dream sighs. She gives up. That filly is stuck deep. "Is it any good at any of that stuff?"
[2013-11-13 14:41:22] * Noble_Heart frowns and looks to Golden Dream. "We do not feel right stealing from the dead. You should know this by now."
[2013-11-13 14:41:41] * Get_Lost "well, i still need some parts... mstly, i need to re-engineer some parts to fit a fully functional artificial intellicence, but it will ttotally work... give her time!"
[2013-11-13 14:42:43] * Bookwright inspects the body for dogtags.
[2013-11-13 14:43:33] * Bookwright "She's not using it and we've a use for it. Do you think I forgot about Sergeant Donner?"
[2013-11-13 14:46:58] <Kkat> 3The body doesn't seem to have any dogtags.  The rank emblem on the armor suggests the mare was a junior officer-in-training.
[2013-11-13 14:48:05] <Kkat> 3The PipBuck should still contain her tag.  Those can't be wiped the way programs and data can.
[2013-11-13 14:48:56] * Golden_Dream looks at Get_Lost. "Why th' fuck do you need... Whatever those things are? I can't really think of anythin' you'd need that for." She sighed, and gave the armor a jerk.
[2013-11-13 14:49:33] * Bookwright "Hum... Shatara? Can you record the personal information of this pegasus from that pipbuck?"
[2013-11-13 14:50:47] * Shatara pokes at the pipbuck again for useful things.
[2013-11-13 14:52:38] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream is able to get to the mare's saddle bags.  Drained clips of spark cells.  A canteen of something that smells oddly sweet.  Five MREs.  Military-grade binoculars.  A lighter...
[2013-11-13 14:54:02] * Get_Lost rhe mare turns for a moment at Golden_Dream "why i shouldn't? it can be better, it can see its real potential, find a new purpose, improve and evolve! wouldn't you help a friend getting better grades if you could? or teach her a couple of really good triks? it's all about sharing"
[2013-11-13 14:54:29] * Noble_Heart sighs quietly and moves up to the pony, tilting her head to one side and looking down at the body. She frowned and shook her head. "We could not get the body out without damaging it. And We will not see the remains of a child desecrated."
[2013-11-13 14:56:09] * Golden_Dream lowers her shoulders and gives the inside of the canteen a little lick.
[2013-11-13 14:59:18] <Kkat> 3The liquid in the canteen is disturbingly sweet and delicious.
[2013-11-13 15:00:14] <Get_Lost> 
ACTION the mare continues her own tirade, at this point not even talking to somepony anymore "i can improve this piece of hardware, turn it from a tool to a friend. to somepony who will stand by your side not just because somepony riveted it to your bone, but because she wants to! someone who will cheer at your successes and give you a good word when you feel down." the mare pauses "so please come again.... why i shouldn't?"
[2013-11-13 15:03:28] * Golden_Dream brings her hoof to her mouth as she tries to pinpoint it. "... Yup, that's antifreeze." She gives it another lick.
[2013-11-13 15:08:13] * Bookwright scowls. "Well, stop drinking it already! You'll just poison yourself. I suppose it's probably how this pegasus did herself away, it certainly wouldn't keep her from freezing to death."
[2013-11-13 15:09:49] * Golden_Dream sticks her tongue out. "Nectarine or some other sort of sweet juice traced with antifreeze. Toxic in any large amounts. This ain't a huge amount, but it explains it." She proceeded to stash it away for a little while with the MRE's and the Binoculars. Lighter... She attempted to use the lighter to actually start a fire.
[2013-11-13 15:11:13] * Bookwright "What are you doing? I thought we were searching for a place with a door on it!"
[2013-11-13 15:12:04] <Kkat> 3The lighter gives up a little, guttural flame.
[2013-11-13 15:12:39] * Get_Lost stops tinkering for a moment "so... we're moving out?"
[2013-11-13 15:14:48] * Golden_Dream blows it out and closes it. "Still has some lighter fluid." She put the things away. She'll get on getting that armor later. "Alright. If ya'll ain't gon' leave here, then lead." She nodded at Mare-Do-Well, or at least where she remembered her next. She seemed to have a frighteningly casual relationship with looting bodies. It still made her feel a little bad, but she couldn't bring herself...
[2013-11-13 15:14:50] * Golden_Dream ...to care in a place this cold.
[2013-11-13 15:15:13] * CopyCat calls out, "Shatara, do your keen eyes see another structure or are we still heading straight?"
[2013-11-13 15:16:39] * Get_Lost mutters "they're taking the ponies to haysengard"
[2013-11-13 15:18:29] <Kkat> 3The numbers climb.  17... 18...
[2013-11-13 15:19:14] * Noble_Heart moves with the others up the length of the tower. Something was still bothering her as they went...
[2013-11-13 15:20:23] * Golden_Dream seemed very bothered as well. Everything about this place reminded her of the lighthouse on Lookout Point.
[2013-11-13 15:20:41] * Get_Lost follows the group, slow as usual, slipping on every icy surface
[2013-11-13 15:23:47] <Kkat> 3 19...  Ahead, are the shattered and crumpled remains of the tower elevator.  Visable beyond is a huge wall... the underside of the floor for Level 20... laced with cables and gridwork.  Massive cracks run across it.  Jutting out from its center are struts for the spiral stairs.  Off-center, about a pony's height up, is a cut-away section with a door.
[2013-11-13 15:26:14] <Kkat> 3Unlike the stenciled level markers of cyan and purple, the door is a worn, almost garish pink.
[2013-11-13 15:26:16] * Noble_Heart looked at the wreckage of the elevator, spreading her wings and flying towards it to check over it curiously. Who knew what might be left behind inside.
[2013-11-13 15:26:37] * Golden_Dream frowned. She almost didn't want to know what was left inside.
[2013-11-13 15:27:14] * Bookwright unslings Pew-Pew, just in case.
[2013-11-13 15:28:33] <Kkat> 3Within the cut-away section are fastened metal steps, allowing a pony to bypass Level 20 and continue upward without entering the floor.
[2013-11-13 15:29:03] * Bookwright walks carefully up to the ersatz wall and peers into a crack, trying to see inside.
[2013-11-13 15:30:16] <Kkat> 3Somepony has welded metal sheeting over the opposite end of the cut-away, preventing such passage.
[2013-11-13 15:31:16] <Kkat> 3The cracks are too narrow at pony-height to see into.  Although there is a head-sized chunk missing further up which would afford a look.
[2013-11-13 15:31:54] * CopyCat taps Bookwright on the shoulder. "Would you like a lift?"
[2013-11-13 15:32:14] * Bookwright "Yes, thank you."
[2013-11-13 15:34:04] * CopyCat holds on to Bookwright (mostly with her magic) and flies him up to the wider crack.
[2013-11-13 15:35:23] * Bookwright peers inside.
[2013-11-13 15:36:24] <Kkat> 3Lifted to the hole, Bookwright peers inside.  It's odd and a little dizzying to see a room that is tilted on its side.  And it is immediately clear that exploring the interior of Level 20 will take some climbing.  The hallway he is peering into drops below him, wide enough for pegasus (or griffin) wings but too cramped for the alicorns to fly in.
[2013-11-13 15:39:24] * Bookwright "Well. It's floor twenty. It goes down a ways. I think Shatara might be able to fly in there, but it's too narrow for a princess. Um. Goldylocks, does your intangible friend have anything to say about it? I can't see any threats from here, but it was clearly occupied at some point in the past /after/ this tower fell over."
[2013-11-13 15:39:49] <Kkat> 3There are doors along the hall, one of which is open, swung downward into the hall, creating a tilted platform partway down.  Another door snapped off completely and plummeted to the bottom of the hallway, smashing into the thick glass double-doors on the bottom.  The twisted metal pierces one of the doors and has left the rest of both a spiderweb of cracks.
[2013-11-13 15:41:07] * Bookwright continues, "It's gonna be really hard to get through here. Might take levitation to get us all through."
[2013-11-13 15:41:22] * Golden_Dream half-lids her eyes. "Oh, so now ya'll believe me." She rolled her eyes. "Shatara. Mare-Do-Well. Could ya'll look inside?"
[2013-11-13 15:42:06] * Shatara takes a peek into the shattered interior
[2013-11-13 15:43:10] * Noble_Heart continued to check over the damaged elevator. "It seems it may be very dangerous for Us. Did anyone bring any rope?"
[2013-11-13 15:44:36] * Bookwright "I think Fields-O-Wheat has some."
[2013-11-13 15:46:42] * Bookwright failed to check himself before wrecking himself. "Er. Ah. Sorry. I mean, Golden Dream. Sorry."
[2013-11-13 15:46:47] * Bookwright looks ashamed.
[2013-11-13 15:47:11] * Noble_Heart blinks in confusion at Bookwright. "What?" She looks towards Golden Dream.
[2013-11-13 15:47:32] * Golden_Dream does not at all look amused, then rolls her eyes at him and then takes out her rope. "Fifteen feet. Ah would wait on Shatara."
[2013-11-13 15:52:14] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well seems not to be here.
[2013-11-13 15:53:12] * Golden_Dream frowns. "Shatara, looks like it's up t' you."
[2013-11-13 15:53:47] <Kkat> 3The elevator offers a couple bits of valuable scrap electronics, and more scrap metal than the two alicorns can probably levitate.
[2013-11-13 15:54:37] * Golden_Dream nods. "Go in there. Make sure it's safe, an' catch me when I come in. That sound good t' you?"
[2013-11-13 15:55:19] * Shatara gulps and nods to Golden_Dream.
[2013-11-13 15:57:46] * Golden_Dream sighs. "Now git in there!"
[2013-11-13 15:58:29] * Shatara eeps and dives in.
[2013-11-13 16:03:11] * Bookwright calls out helpful advice: "Don't die, okay?"
[2013-11-13 16:04:55] * Shatara gulps again. "I'll uh...try?" He searches for the place Golden_Dream wants to get to.
[2013-11-13 16:08:18] <Kkat> 3The hole Bookwright has been looking through isn't large enough for the griffin to actually enter.  He'll have to go through the pink door.
[2013-11-13 16:11:40] * Bookwright tries the pink door. "Let's see what's behind door number one."
[2013-11-13 16:11:56] <Kkat> 3The door is locked.
[2013-11-13 16:20:26] <Kkat> 3Get_Lost climbs up into the cut-away and crouches on the door, taking out her screwdriver and a bobby pin.  Looking at the door, she hopes aloud that it doesn't open immediately when unlocked, dropping her into Level 20.  She gets to work.
[2013-11-13 16:20:52] <Kkat> 3A short moment later, the door is unlocked.  Get_Lost climbs down off of the door.
[2013-11-13 16:21:37] * Bookwright swings the door gently open for Shatara.
[2013-11-13 16:22:04] * Shatara peeks in, hoping there arent any giant mutant ice spiders waiting for him.
[2013-11-13 16:24:03] <Kkat> 3The first room is not so big, with a few meager furnishings smashed to splinters against the wall-turned-floor below.  The wall has a pink stripe, and a painted symbol indicative of the Ministry of Morale.
[2013-11-13 16:24:25] * CopyCat perches on the edge of the open door and peers in.
[2013-11-13 16:24:47] * Bookwright casts a spell on Shatara as he brushes by. "Just in case, yo."
[2013-11-13 16:24:51] * Golden_Dream pulls out her shotgun. She really should give it a name, for all she handles it.
[2013-11-13 16:27:39] * Noble_Heart frowns and moves to stay near the others. She wasn't going in, yet. But she didn't want to be far if it was necessary.
[2013-11-13 16:27:47] <Kkat> 3The interior of Level 20 is, if anything, even colder.  With without the wind, it feels like an improvement.
[2013-11-13 16:29:12] * Shatara takes a cursory glance around the room for any hazards or particularly shiny things. "Uuh, It looks safe, I think..."
[2013-11-13 16:29:15] * Golden_Dream jumps up onto Noble's back. "... Hey." She mumbled.
[2013-11-13 16:30:33] <Kkat> 3Even with Equestria's Love, Shatara can still feel a chill, but not an uncomfortable on.
[2013-11-13 16:32:05] <Kkat> 3s/on/one
[2013-11-13 16:33:56] <Kkat> 3There are three other exits from that first room: a small door on the wall-turned-ceiling right next to the open pink door, and two open passages opposite each other on the walls, on either side of the wall-turned-floor.
[2013-11-13 16:34:36] * Noble_Heart looks back to Golden Dream, blinking a moment. "Hm? Yes? Is something the matter?"
[2013-11-13 16:37:37] * Golden_Dream frowns. "Hmm. When ya'll don
[2013-11-13 16:38:27] <Golden_Dream> 't know where t' go, follow yer left hoof." She noted sagely.
[2013-11-13 16:39:26] * Noble_Heart blinks, somewhat confused. "What?" She wasn't clear on what Golden Dream was talking about at all at this point. "We know where We are going. Eventually, into that door." She waved a forehoof towards it. "Or perhaps past this floor, depending upon what is found within."
[2013-11-13 16:42:29] * Golden_Dream nods. "Well... Sure, but It'd like t' go to th' passage on th' left first when we get t' gettin'.
[2013-11-13 16:43:45] * Noble_Heart beats her wings briefly. "Then why are you with me? We cannot easily fly within. You might be better off going alone, at first. As We would doubtless weigh down your rope."
[2013-11-13 16:43:50] * Shatara goes though the door, gliding down and trying to get his bearings in the sideways room.
[2013-11-13 16:47:10] <Kkat> 3Above Shatara, the pink door hangs open.  Next to it, on the "ceiling" is a smaller door.  To Shatara's left and right are passages out of the room -- hallways, but one of them is collapsed in only a short distance down it.  The other, however, continues some distance, with doors in the "floor" and "ceiling".  The same pink stripe continues along all.
[2013-11-13 16:51:35] * Shatara decides to check the ceiling door first.
[2013-11-13 16:56:04] <Kkat> 3Shatara flies up and tries the ceiling door.  The door swings open towards him, unleashing an avalanche of vaccum cleaners and hoses, pipes, steam gauge assemblies and boxes of cleaning supplies.  He manages to dodge out of the way, pelted only by a couple flasks of turpentine and a box of detergent that bursts open in a cloud of white powder.
[2013-11-13 16:57:09] * Shatara sighs, his black plumage comically covered in white. Definitely wrong door.
[2013-11-13 16:58:15] * CopyCat calls through the open door. "Are you okay in there Shatara?"
[2013-11-13 17:00:21] * Shatara glares up to the open pink door before shaking and brushing the powder off.
[2013-11-13 17:04:54] * Bookwright waves cheerfully at Shatara. "Hey, now that you're a ghost, can you say 'hi' to Goldy's friend for me?"
[2013-11-13 17:05:26] * Shatara chucks a convenient object at Bookwright.
[2013-11-13 17:05:41] <Kkat> 3With one passage collapsed and the door above leading only to a supplies closet (now relieved of its contents), only one other passage remains.  The wall-turned-floor along this hall is rippled and damaged, the door on the "floor" is twisted and bend partially upwards by a girder from beneath, the room below inaccessable from structural damage.
[2013-11-13 17:07:26] <Kkat> 3The opposite door in the "ceiling" looks considerably better off.   Beyond the two doors, the hallway continues until it reaches an opening -- a gap created by an intersecting hallway.
[2013-11-13 17:09:25] * Golden_Dream nods. "Is it safe?"
[2013-11-13 17:10:02] * Shatara looks around. "I think so..." He draws his pistol anyway.
[2013-11-13 17:15:24] * Golden_Dream hands Noble_Heart the end of a rope.
[2013-11-13 17:15:32] <Golden_Dream> (hooves, even!)
[2013-11-13 17:16:00] * Noble_Heart takes the rope with a slight frown. "Be careful. We will follow if We can."
[2013-11-13 17:22:55] * Golden_Dream shrugs, then swings on down. "Hey, Shatara! Pick a hallway."
[2013-11-13 17:24:01] * Shatara checks the uh....left door?
[2013-11-13 17:24:12] * Noble_Heart takes firm grip on her end of the rope, keeping Golden Dream as stable as possible.
[2013-11-13 17:25:19] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream lands amongst mangled steam gauge assemblies and assorted other supplies.  She can see the two passages, one leading to a collapsed dead-end.  The other down a hallway with doors.
[2013-11-13 17:27:49] <Kkat> 3The hallway with doors (as mentioned before) has a door on the "floor" and one on the "ceiling" that are immediately visible.  The "floor" of the hallway is badly damaged from the collapse, and the door on the "floor" is inaccessible.  Based on the height of the cut-out, both Shatara and Kid can estimate the inaccessable room had to be extremely shallow.
[2013-11-13 17:28:20] <Kkat> 3Beyond the two doors, the hallway continues a little ways before being intersected by a vertical hallway.
[2013-11-13 17:30:10] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream does see something that Shatara could not, however.  At the point where the hallways intersect, Mare-Do-Well is standing on the edge of the horizontal hallway, staring downward.
[2013-11-13 17:32:08] * Golden_Dream looks at Shatara. "Hey! Shatara! Look down those doors and see if there's loot t' be gotten!" She winked at him. "Betcha can find somethin' fer Copycat if you look hard enough." She whispered.  She looked up at Mare-Do-Well. "How ya'll doin', friend?"
[2013-11-13 17:35:55] * Shatara blushes. "W-what?" He checks the door again.
[2013-11-13 17:37:54] * Golden_Dream elbows Shatara. "Don't be stupid. T' be any more obvious, you'd have t' be carryin' around a big ol' neon' sign."
[2013-11-13 17:39:44] <Kkat> 3The door in the hallway ceiling opens, revealing what at first appears to be a bare room.  Shatara can see his breath.  There is frost on the walls in here.  He spots a door higher up on the far wall -- one that should open into the vertical hallway.  Then, he sees the corpse in the near corner.
[2013-11-13 17:41:24] <Kkat> 3The pegasus is definitely dead.  The gaping pit in his head, blood frozen red, proves there is no need for Get Lost to give a second opinion.
[2013-11-13 17:42:06] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well doesn't respond.  Doesn't move.
[2013-11-13 17:49:47] * Golden_Dream opens her mouth, and then closes it. Finally, she works up the courage. "Did y' know him?"
[2013-11-13 17:50:24] * Shatara blinks at the corpse, teases forgotten. "I'm guessing this was her,uh...friend...?" he whispers.
[2013-11-13 17:58:03] * Golden_Dream just shrugs sadly. "Hey, Mare-Do-Well. Please. What's wrong?"
[2013-11-13 18:00:12] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well isn't at the room, or where she can see the corpse.
[2013-11-13 18:00:24] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well is at the hallway intersection.
[2013-11-13 18:01:03] * Golden_Dream blinks. "Shatara, mind gettin' me across to th' hallway intersection?"
[2013-11-13 18:03:45] * Golden_Dream blinks. Wait, what's wrong with her? Ugh. She walks over to Mare-Do-Well and pantomimes patting her back. "Hey. Hey." She looked back and ushered Shatara closer.
[2013-11-13 18:04:27] * Shatara backs away from the body towards Golden_Dream's more...alive concerns.
[2013-11-13 18:08:49] <Kkat> 3The floor and ceiling of the horizontal hallway end, only to begin again a couple yards away across the gap.  Above, the vertical hallway rises up as far as Shatara's light allows them to see.  There are doors in the walls, the one directly above presumably the second door on the room where Shatara found the corpse.
[2013-11-13 18:10:07] <Kkat> 3Below, the hallway extends down less than a pony's height, a space that would have been an alcove (perhaps a reading nook or a place for potted plants) at the end of the vertical hallway.
[2013-11-13 18:12:43] <Kkat> 3On the floor (which had formerly been a wall) of that alcove is a framed photograph -- the glass shattered and the frame broken --of a young pink pony covered in flour in front of two laughing baby ponies.  The background, while blurry, is multicolored and bright.
[2013-11-13 18:13:16] * Golden_Dream looks down at the picture. "... How'd you know her?"
[2013-11-13 18:17:57] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well finally manages, "That's Pinkie Pie."  She gives a painful smile.  "You can't tell because she was so much younger then.  And covered in flour."
[2013-11-13 18:19:31] * Golden_Dream looks back at the picture. "... I'm sorry." She says. "I bet she's somewhere better now." Not that it was too terribly hard.
[2013-11-13 18:20:47] <Kkat> 3 Mare-Do-Well brushes a ghostly hoof over her non-crying eyes.  "Heh... as if that's terribly hard."
[2013-11-13 18:24:15] * Golden_Dream blinks. Holy shit, that was weird. She sort of pantomimes touching her shoulder. "Hey, if you want t' talk, me 'n Shatara and all th' others are willin' t' listen. But we do care about you, alright? 'Cause you're a friend."
[2013-11-13 18:24:35] * Golden_Dream looks at Shatara. "Ain't that right, Shatara?"
[2013-11-13 18:27:02] * Shatara blinks. He trusted his friends that this invisible companion did, in fact, exist, but it didn't make this much less awkward. "Uuh...sure?"
[2013-11-13 18:27:23] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well turns to Golden_Dream and decides not to mention that the others cannot see or hear her.
[2013-11-13 18:33:43] * Golden_Dream just shrugs and looks down. Odd how expression can yell so loudly. "I know, I know. But it don't mean that they don't believe you exist. And even though I have t' be your mouth, I really wanna help you get through this. Alright?"
[2013-11-13 18:34:16] * Bookwright can't really tell what's going on down there. But it looks important.
[2013-11-13 18:35:20] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well exaggerates sighing, then nods.  And looks up the shaft above.
[2013-11-13 18:37:33] * CopyCat has settled down with her forehooves just over the edge of the 'outer' door, peering in.
[2013-11-13 18:38:13] * Golden_Dream shifts a little, looking uncomfortable. "When they come down, and after I ask 'em, could y' possess a friend? I promise not t' do what I did last time."
[2013-11-13 18:38:19] * Noble_Heart sits not far from CopyCat, keeping an eye back down the tunnel.
[2013-11-13 18:45:05] <Kkat> 3--- End of Session ---