Fallout: Beyond Equestria 212: ...To Roam (Part 14)

[2017-02-01 14:03:32] <Kkat> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session Two Hundred and Twelve: ...To Roam (Part 14) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PPtEHWDca8&list=PL6lMYzCrh4VGBe86gFxsx3pNx06v5W78e
[2017-02-01 14:06:58] <Kkat> 3The lights of Roam -- each small but stalwart -- burn in the stormy darkness of the evening.  Clusters in the dark indicate occupied insulae.  Functional buildings of government are lit up with floodlights.  Scattered windows across the obelisk-like skyscrapers show which floors are intact enough to be in use.
[2017-02-01 14:07:21] <Kkat> 3And on the largest, the image of the Caesar basks in the adoration of her people while patriotic music soars.
[2017-02-01 14:09:29] <Kkat> 3The basilica that stands above the (known) entrance to the catacombs is mostly dark, only a few flickering torches given indication the building is unabandoned.
[2017-02-01 14:12:24] <Kkat> 3In stark contrast, the Imperial Palace is aglow with light.  The face of the building is lit up by ground lights aimed at the walls, and the courtyard is filled with salvaged streetlamps arranged in a grid.
[2017-02-01 14:12:30] <Kkat> 3More lights accent the grandeous size and architecture of the palace, including the Imperial Broadcasting Tower which connects to the palace itself via a skybridge.
[2017-02-01 14:15:22] <Kkat> 3The tower, like the palace itself, is fortified.  There is nothing of the antenna exposed save for the dishes.  And aerial turrets jut from the corners of the tower a floor below.  The palace itself is armed to repel an air assault... or at least was over two hundred years ago.  A few of the missile racks have been fully restored at the expense of the many.
[2017-02-01 14:15:34] <Kkat> 3--- Session Begins ---
[2017-02-01 14:19:23] * Get_Lost looks down, humming some old movie song and thinking to herself, then asks "how and when are we trying to expose the bugs? we can't make a speech at the radio if we don't have somethign to show to the population"
[2017-02-01 14:20:43] * Goldy quickly moves to the gangplank area. She wasn't used to the armor, it moved her joints unnaturally, putting this strange sensation of weight on her without any of the strain. If it weren't needed right now, she wouldn't be wearing it.
[2017-02-01 14:22:11] <Kkat> 3Mwana smiles at Goldy.  "You'll do fine."  With a reassuring tease, he tells her, "No matter how often you protest this is all way to big for you, you always prove your big enough to match it."
[2017-02-01 14:24:35] * Mitzi looks to Noble_Heart. "Yu eez ready tu save Ditzy? She eez friend uv Flootershy, so she eez friend tu Ur kind."
[2017-02-01 14:27:40] * Noble_Heart nods her head to Mitzi. "We trust that you shall succeed. Our mission is different. We must help convince these zebras what has happened to their kind." She frowned slightly. "Or at least, that they should not fear or hate ponies."
[2017-02-01 14:30:10] * Mitzi nods. "Uh still want us all tu succeed tho. Ur becomeen Alpha depends on make lasteen peace. Eef ponies und stripey ponees go tu war again, Hounds will not take kindly after dere treatment een old war." She gives a firm snort. "Uh haff tu du eet, fur everyun."
[2017-02-01 14:31:14] <Mitzi> She pulls out the picture of her sister's puppies. "Especially dem."
[2017-02-01 14:32:35] * Get_Lost "shall we first free ditzy all together and then move on the part where we try to incite a civil war in a second moment, maybe with a plan?"
[2017-02-01 14:32:47] <Kkat> 3Jugeote is doing a final check of her weapons.  She looks to Shatara.  "So, you'll be translating for the giant purple one, and then I'll be translating for you.  That's the plan, right?"
[2017-02-01 14:36:48] * Get_Lost "yes, that's the plan, but not all of it: we badly need to expose the empress as a ladybug and her ither bug servants while we do the speech, or the zebras will simply not believe us and kill us all"
[2017-02-01 14:40:01] * Goldy looks over the edge, eyes drifting over the side. There game a low, rumbling laughter out of her. There's a sort of laugh where although your mouth curls up in a smile, your features still sag a bit like you're frowning. Your eyes remain dim, like light's not getting through.
[2017-02-01 14:40:27] * Shatara frowns. "Can't say I'm fond of being the middle link in a telephone game...I'd kind of rather have everyone around to storm the castle..."
[2017-02-01 14:42:04] <Goldy> "Sweetie, I'm gonna be honest here. This whole thing feels so absurd. I'm gonna charge in and try to take out a /kingdom/, save a /damn immortal hero/, when all I wanted to do in the first place was make a lil' money and kill one pony. That
[2017-02-01 14:44:25] <Goldy> I found th' worlds mos' adorable n' strong zebra boyfriend, that I wound up savin' places, that didn't really hit me, 'cause in the end, the focus was on Cottonseed. But now that I realize it was all for nothin', lookin' out on the side like this, seein' the lights and what I'm about to do? It just
[2017-02-01 14:44:48] <Goldy> doesn't feel real. Like I'm in a dream, and sometime soon, I'm gonna wake up in bed all alone again."
[2017-02-01 14:48:04] * Bookwright "I've just now had a really crazy idea. What if we subverted the five minute's love? What if we exposed a changeling during that period?"
[2017-02-01 14:49:26] * Noble_Heart tapped her chin. "That might work, if the broadcast is live. It would certainly be a moment when a speech could be delivered, and where exposure would be across the entire city."
[2017-02-01 14:51:10] * Get_Lost nodnods "makes sense to me"
[2017-02-01 14:51:18] * Bookwright "It would be best if we could expose the Emperor, but I think any changeling would work. I think it might be a good idea to find a shaman who can make more goop to give to the citizens of Roam."
[2017-02-01 14:52:46] <Kkat> 3Jugeote nods to Shatara.  "It does seem like a recipe for 'lost in translation'."
[2017-02-01 14:52:48] * Get_Lost 2we just need a bug then. where do we get one? do you think they sell them in a shop or something?"
[2017-02-01 14:54:13] * Bookwright "I think I could definitely identify a changeling without using the goop. Unfortunately, I have to touch my horn to the changeling in question to use the mind probe spell... And they would certainly resist. Probably have to be restrained."
[2017-02-01 14:54:17] <Kkat> 3Mwana snugs Goldy.  "You won't be waking up alone."  Then he looks down.  "Also, totally with you in the 'feels like a dream' thing."
[2017-02-01 14:55:05] * Goldy raises an eyebrow, then looks down at them. "Y'know, I bet y' that if we'd dumped it out on top of the Caesar right now, we'd get a point made here."
[2017-02-01 15:01:16] * Goldy stares out at the lights for a while, trying to adjust. "Mwana, mind sittin' here with me for about two minutes while I jus'... Sort it out?"
[2017-02-01 15:01:24] * Bookwright "That's a really great plan that sounds like it would be hard to achieve."
[2017-02-01 15:02:43] <Kkat> 3Mwana nods to Goldy and plops down where he stands, one foreleg wrapping around her.  "This... is huge.  I've spent my whole life running away from the Caesar... running away from Roam.  And here we are."
[2017-02-01 15:04:24] * Get_Lost keeps looking down at the roofs of the eternal city "you know... running from something, you can't really be free. sometimes you have just to... you know... face it"
[2017-02-01 15:07:59] <Kkat> 3Jugeote looks to Shatara, "Sounds like maybe they're coming up with a new plan?"
[2017-02-01 15:08:46] * Goldy stays silent, then rubs her cheek on Mwana's. "You live, alright? You live, and then I'll live, and then we'll get this stupid thing done and you and me can eat pie at home and pass out and be living garbage for as long as possible. I'll even make that durned stinkfruit you like so much."
[2017-02-01 15:09:56] <Kkat> 3Mwana laughs.  "it's a deal.  We'll even eat 'stinkfruit pie'."
[2017-02-01 15:10:50] * Shatara shrugs a little. "Dunno. There's talk of exposing a bugpone, but I kinda thought that was the idea from the start..."
[2017-02-01 15:11:05] * Get_Lost "and foals. have a lot of foals. that's part of the deal too"
[2017-02-01 15:13:28] <Kkat> 3"And then what?" Jugeote asks.  "Are we going to make the Caesar walk the plank in front of everyone in Roam?"
[2017-02-01 15:16:42] * Goldy crooks an eyebrow. "Let's, uh. Take it a bit more step by step. Also, I gotta ask, what's with you and kids?"
[2017-02-01 15:18:28] <Shatara> "I'm sure exposing her as the secret evil bugpone queen would turn a few heads. Probably need more than that, but I'm not really an expert in overthrowing evil dictators."
[2017-02-01 15:22:15] * Mitzi looks thoughtful a moment. "Un ting Uh'm not sure Uh get. Dese bug ponees feed on luv, und de empress gathers luv uv stripey ponees fur dere country und each uther... why du dey need to make dem hate ponees? Uh nevur understood dat part."
[2017-02-01 15:22:55] <Kkat> 3Jugeote nods.  "A lot of zebras will forgive a leader who is caught in a lie if they can convince themselves it is for their good... but I have to believe some lies are big enough to shake even the most faithful."
[2017-02-01 15:24:17] * Get_Lost shrugs at goldie's question "nothing special. i'm just a perv..."
[2017-02-01 15:24:47] * Get_Lost "i could write some sort of hot stuff fanfiction about that..."
[2017-02-01 15:25:13] <Kkat> 3Mwana rolls his eyes.
[2017-02-01 15:30:44] * Goldy looks back out into the below. She calls out, "Hey, take it to the catacombs if we're doin' that first.
[2017-02-01 15:31:17] * Get_Lost "okay"
[2017-02-01 15:38:50] * Get_Lost "so.... when are we going to begin this suicide?"
[2017-02-01 15:41:11] * Bookwright "I think we need to lay in some groundwork first... We should try to find a shaman who is willing to help us make more goop."
[2017-02-01 15:42:22] <Kkat> 3Mwana looks up to Bookwright.  "There should be several shamans in the city, if you can find them.  But how will you know where to start looking?"
[2017-02-01 15:44:43] * Bookwright "Um... Back alleys? Secretive looking shops? Mysterious looking zebras? I would say literally asking the spirits but we would need a shaman to do that... I'm kind of making this up as we go you know. Alternatively, if we reveal the Caesar as a changeling on the live broadcast, I don't doubt a friendly shaman or two would make themselves known to us."
[2017-02-01 15:46:46] * Get_Lost "moreover, they will notice us. ponies in a zebra place will stand out. i'm not sure that looking for shamans here is a good plan. also, didn't the pirates tell us something about the population being brainwashed? it is very unlikely that we will find somepony willing to help us out of spirit of anarchy"
[2017-02-01 15:47:44] * Get_Lost "but we know some spirits, don't we? we could try to get that chaos spirit somehow. is he still following us? whatwashisname? roundabout?"
[2017-02-01 15:47:47] <Kkat> 3Mwana notes, "You have two zebras with you, not counting the Stripeless.  We could scout part of the city."
[2017-02-01 15:48:16] * Get_Lost "that's a plan too"
[2017-02-01 15:49:43] <Kkat> 3Mwana adds, "My Imperial is rusty enough that any stripe in the city will realize I'm not local.  But if we keep to ourselves, we can try finding a shop with an alchemy sign.  You probably don't need a shaman as much as you need an alchemist."
[2017-02-01 15:50:35] * Goldy kisses Mwana, then dons her helmet and casts a khaki canvas mantle over her shoulder. "Right. Right." Her voice took on the artificial tone of an intercom. "Ya'll go a' scouting. we'll go flying around and we'll put Catacombs team down. Then Broadcast team'll meet back up with Scout team up by
[2017-02-01 15:51:47] <Goldy> that tree-" She said, pointing at a shady, dead tree on the outer edges of town. "-And then they'll start their work. Sound good, erryone?"
[2017-02-01 15:52:48] * Get_Lost nodnods "good enough for me"
[2017-02-01 15:53:29] <Kkat> 3Mwana fills in Jugeote on the idea.  She talks with him a bit, then turns to Shatara.  "I should go with Mwana.  Scouting is my area of expertise, after all."
[2017-02-01 15:53:40] * Get_Lost "goldy, can i just check your armor programming? i just don't want it to have an active transponder, it could give us away...."
[2017-02-01 15:53:41] <Kkat> 3She pauses, then suggests, "You might be able to join us.  While ponies would clearly be 'dangerous foreigners', people might not be too bothered to see a griffin in Roam.  Especially if accompanied by two zebras."
[2017-02-01 15:55:45] * Goldy flicks up an ear. "Hmm? Sure, I suppose." She said, parking up by Get.
[2017-02-01 15:56:56] * Get_Lost quickly checks the programs "oh, and i uploaded a couple of terabites of data on the local hard drive. you can never know when you need plots..."
[2017-02-01 15:57:03] * Shatara nods a little. "If I can help, I'd love to."
[2017-02-01 16:06:11] * Get_Lost patpats goldy on the helmet "good girl"
[2017-02-01 16:06:32] * Goldy narrows her eyes. "Why- why did you fill my helmet with butts."
[2017-02-01 16:06:55] <Kkat> 3Jugeote asks, "You don't by any chance know anything about alchemy, do you?  If we find an alchemist, might be useful if one of use has a clue what to ask."
[2017-02-01 16:09:00] * Get_Lost "i'm as good at alchemy as the average equestrian pony... that is... uhm.... a total failure. goldie, aren't you adept at mixing booze? is that something similar to alchemy?"
[2017-02-01 16:11:19] * Shatara shakes his head. "Not myself...maybe one of the crew does? I know they're a little...off..but I'm pretty sure they're good stripes deep down. Since the empire saw fit to brainwash them into working on their battleship, after all...I could ask the others, but it doesn't really sound like anything we'd have picked up along the way..."
[2017-02-01 16:13:23] * Goldy looks around. "Um. Naw. I know plants and stuff, I can make alcohol jus' fine. I got some o' this miracle booze you could prolly trade fer'."
[2017-02-01 16:13:38] <Kkat> 3Jugeote nods.  "Well, it's not like we're putting in an order.  Just looking for prospects.  Probably ought to spy out two or three alchemists if that's possible."  She frowns.  "Will they have what is needed?  How often do you think they import alchemy materials over the Anulus Mortis.
[2017-02-01 16:13:41] <Kkat> 3?"
[2017-02-01 16:16:40] <Kkat> 3Mwana looks to Bookwright and Noble_Heart.  "Should the scout team go now, then?  It's going to be a dark and stormy night.  Makes it easy to sneak, but harder to read."
[2017-02-01 16:17:17] * Noble_Heart nods her head to Mwana. "Yes. That seems wise. Try to find out where the Caesar's palace is as well, if you can. Though We imagine any questions of that sort might make you too visible." She frowns.
[2017-02-01 16:17:25] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well shimmers into view.  "Did somebody say 'scout'?"
[2017-02-01 16:18:54] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well points a ghostly hoof towards the illuminated palace.  "Caesar's palace is right there."
[2017-02-01 16:19:29] * Goldy perks up. "Oh, hey. Yeah, you know where we got an alchemist r' someone around that can make more of this gunk?"
[2017-02-01 16:20:02] * Get_Lost looks at the palace, mumbling "wow, i bet it's filled with blackjacks and hookers... and maybe even a casino... i'm so jelly"
[2017-02-01 16:21:43] <Kkat> 3"Also, while you were talking, I did a fly-through of the city.  At least, as much as I could."  Mare-Do-Well frowns.  "I'm not that good at reading Imperial zebra, but I spotted a few places that looked Zecora-like enough to maybe be alchemist shops.  Or they could sell potpourri.  Hard to tell the difference."
[2017-02-01 16:22:18] * Bookwright "If the alchemist can read the instructions and make the goop I don't think it matters much."
[2017-02-01 16:23:24] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well grins smugly, "I can, however, say for sure where the broadcast station is.  I could lead you right to it.  I flew the whole building five times, so I know it like the back of my wing."
[2017-02-01 16:25:33] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well gives an odd chuckle, "It's the one objective I could scout.  There's several places in Roam that a ghost can't enter.  The palace and the catacombs are two of them."
[2017-02-01 16:27:51] <Kkat> 3Mwana smiles.  "That will make scouting a lot faster.  Give me a list of the places that looked 'zecora-like' and we'll check them out."
[2017-02-01 16:28:12] * Shatara tilts his head curiously. "Oh? Some kind of wards on the palace itself?"
[2017-02-01 16:29:23] * Noble_Heart nods her head to Mare-Do-Well. "Excellent. Then we know where to strike. Those broadcasts occur on a regular schedule. Though We are not entirely certain when precisely."
[2017-02-01 16:30:52] * Bookwright "I'm sure we could just ask a local, but I think that would make the local suspicious. After all, a real resident would know the schedule by heart anyways. I don't doubt we'll be able to nail down the timing from our own observation."
[2017-02-01 16:31:22] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well shakes her head.  "Not exactly... More like there are walls that are manifesting as real on the other side of the shroud."  She frowns.  "I'm not really the pony-ghost to talk to about how magic works.  That was always Twilight's deal.  But as a Ministry Mare, there were some things we all had to learn."
[2017-02-01 16:34:39] * Get_Lost "meh... probably the place is so old that the area itself is infused with magic.... you know, like... i don't know... a magical locus, or something... having to do with... those... ah... lewd lines and where they.... uhm... cross, yeah.... they make a.... yeah, i have no idea"
[2017-02-01 16:35:28] <Kkat> 3"And one thing we all needed to know about was Bypass Spells.  Twilight's Ministry created them from a zebra spell, and it was super hard for them to crack.  Twilight said there were things about it didn't make sense, including why zebras considered it necromancy.  The MAS version wasn't."
[2017-02-01 16:36:06] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well looks down towards the basilica.  "Well, I'm pretty sure I just figured out what made zebra bypass spells necromancy."
[2017-02-01 16:42:02] <Kkat> 3"The zebra's version of a bypass doesn't make something just move out of phase with something else, it makes it move to the other side of the shroud," Mare-Do-Well assumes.  "Some Caesar used it to make walls with an other-wall bypass, creating barriers in the ghostly realm."
[2017-02-01 16:43:12] <Kkat> 3Mwana admits, "I have no idea what most of that meant.  But the stars and their necromancy have always been a threat, at least according to the old religion.  So of course Roam would have defenses against ghosts."
[2017-02-01 16:43:33] * Get_Lost "yeah, but a zero-point white plasma drill can still bypass it, whatever magic they're using..."
[2017-02-01 16:43:51] * Noble_Heart taps her chin thoughtfully. "We also believe it might be defenses against the catacombs. Apparently old Roam felt it important to have defenders of the -inside- of their catacombs. As if a threat would rise from them."
[2017-02-01 16:44:52] <Shatara> "So stripeypones took their zombiegoasts very seriously..."
[2017-02-01 16:45:50] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We are also concerned about why the necromantic magic used to banish Us sent Us to the catacombs of Roam. That seems strangely specific."
[2017-02-01 16:49:37] * Bookwright "It makes sense if you think about it though. The if the catacombs were designed to contain necromantic entities, a spell that banishes that's intended to be used on the undead would make perfect sense teleporting the target into the catacombs."
[2017-02-01 16:52:13] * Get_Lost yawns
[2017-02-01 16:54:13] <Kkat> 3Jugeote tells Shatara, "There is a reason that zebras burn their dead, and that the catacombs are not used as burial sites."
[2017-02-01 16:55:22] <Kkat> 3"They were once.  That was a historically horrific mistake."
[2017-02-01 16:56:43] * Get_Lost "at least from how you put it, it must have been an entertaining horrible mistake"
[2017-02-01 16:58:35] <Kkat> 3Jugeote answers, "It was the end of the First Age of Roam."
[2017-02-01 16:59:58] <Kkat> 3--- End of Session ---
[2017-02-01 17:00:04] <Kkat> 3XP: 2500