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Scorch_Mechanic

Fallout: Beyond Equestria, 88: Origin Story (Part 5)

Scorch_Mechanic
Jun 11th, 2014
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  1. [2014-06-04 13:17:12] <Kkat> 3CopyCat ponders aloud. "So the clue we found might be important for something we come across later..."
  2. [2014-06-04 13:17:18] <Kkat> 3The firewagon ascends, CopyCat flying south beyond the zebra town and the river. The ground beneath them is soon covered in the green of the jungle.
  3. [2014-06-04 13:17:23] <Kkat> 3The jungle basin stretches out, large and deep, filled with rivers and spotted with ruins of exotic and ancient architecture.
  4. [2014-06-04 13:17:29] <Kkat> 3The grey clouds rumble overhead, promising a storm, but they still have not released a drop of rain.
  5. [2014-06-04 13:17:41] <Kkat> 3Bookwright notes, "This probably goes without saying y'all, but your ensorcelled wings will disappear in a puff of sparkles very soon. Y'all probably wanna land on the firewagon."
  6. [2014-06-04 13:17:47] <Kkat> 3Get_Lost looks at her moth wings "it's a pity, the skull pattern was really pretty"
  7. [2014-06-04 13:17:54] <Kkat> 3"There are all sorts of ancient jungle ruins in the Tenochtitlan Basin," Mare-Do-Well notes. "If you need to get out of the rain when it starts, or get some rest, that might be a good place to make camp. Assuming they aren't infested with monsters."
  8. [2014-06-04 13:18:04] <Kkat> 3Bookwright nods, "If the worst comes to it, we can park the firewagon on top of the ruins or something."
  9. [2014-06-04 13:24:25] <Kkat> 3As he says this, up ahead Noble_Heart and CopyCat spot a perfect place for setting down. The road out of Mwanzo Mpya leads into the jungle and to a spot where the trees have been cleared away. Thick underbrush grows across the clearing and over the two rusted hulks of zebra war machinery.
  10. [2014-06-04 13:25:31] <Kkat> 3A single, twenty foot wall of white stone stands against the treeline at the far end, stained by centuries of weather and crawling with deep green vines.
  11. [2014-06-04 13:26:56] <Kkat> 3As the wagon draws near, Get_Lost, Golden_Dream and Shatara are all alerted: >> DDA Report II found. Download complete. <<
  12. [2014-06-04 13:27:22] <Kkat> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session Eighty-Eight: Origin Story (Part Five) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9SSUQxGjZZ4
  13. [2014-06-04 13:27:27] <Kkat> 3--- Session Begins ---
  14. [2014-06-04 13:30:25] * CopyCat looks over the clearing as they head in to land, her gaze sweeping across the rusted zebra war machines without interest.
  15. [2014-06-04 13:30:52] * Shatara looks over the zebra war machines *with* interest
  16. [2014-06-04 13:30:59] * Bookwright looks over CopyCa-er, ah, the clearing as well.
  17. [2014-06-04 13:31:55] * CopyCat looks at the war machines with a sudden new-found interest!
  18. [2014-06-04 13:32:06] * Get_Soon taps her hoof on the helmet a couple of times "hey, i think we found another file... we should land and investigate"
  19. [2014-06-04 13:32:43] * Golden_Dream checks her fancy wrist watch. "Best get that memory orb outta th' way, too, while I go lookin' fer food."
  20. [2014-06-04 13:34:26] * Bookwright "I think CopyCat should view it this time. That way we'll get it secondhoof instead of thirdhoof."
  21. [2014-06-04 13:36:49] * Noble_Heart slowly descends and keeps an eye on the surrounding machines. "This place is very strange compared to most of Equestria."
  22. [2014-06-04 13:37:49] * Bookwright "To be perfectly fair, we're not in Equestria anymore."
  23. [2014-06-04 13:38:05] * Get_Soon "most of equestria is pretty strange too, nowadays, you must admit that" giggle and turns on the UFO, lights start blinking but nothing happens
  24. [2014-06-04 13:38:25] * Golden_Dream looks off in the distance, with the wildlife creaking below them like an excited hive of ants. "I dunno. Looks right t' me."
  25. [2014-06-04 13:38:39] * CopyCat lands the wagon as gently as she can, with Noble_Heart at her side. "Sure, we can do that if you like Bookwright."
  26. [2014-06-04 13:38:51] * Get_Soon "i don't think that copy can relay the memory while inside it..."
  27. [2014-06-04 13:39:18] * Get_Soon "having noble access it and copy relay it would be safer..."
  28. [2014-06-04 13:39:45] * Noble_Heart tilts her head and nods. She digs into her bag to find the memory orb from within, carefully holding it in her mouth as she pulls it free. She mumbles omething around it, which is impossible to understand.
  29. [2014-06-04 13:40:03] * Get_Soon also, noble's plot is plottier, but she won't note that aloud
  30. [2014-06-04 13:41:47] * CopyCat blinks at Noble_Heart's mumble but doesn't reply. She was getting good at this listening to things with her ears thing.
  31. [2014-06-04 13:47:06] * Golden_Dream sits back with Get_Soon. There was no way in hell she was going to focus with the mental theater playing. "Hey, Get. Question. Why's your name Get Lost? Seems kinda mean."
  32. [2014-06-04 13:48:40] * Get_Soon shrugs "well, i kind of deserved it... also, it's the only name i have"
  33. [2014-06-04 13:49:44] * Noble_Heart raises a forehoof and spits the memory orb out, balancing it. "Shall We view it? Or would it be better if another did?"
  34. [2014-06-04 13:50:24] * Golden_Dream crooks an eye. "Why don't y'all change it t' somethin' that suits y' better?" She turns to address Noble. "Go ahead, Corolla."
  35. [2014-06-04 13:51:31] * Shatara blinks a bit and wonders how many names these pones have.
  36. [2014-06-04 13:52:29] * Noble_Heart frowns and nods her head, touching her horn to the memory orb and allowing her magic to trigger it.
  37. [2014-06-04 13:52:32] * CopyCat wriggles out of her harness. She nods in agreement with Golden. "Please do Corolla. I will share it with our friends through you."
  38. [2014-06-04 13:52:55] * CopyCat adds hastily. "Ii-f you are willing, I mean."
  39. [2014-06-04 13:53:09] <Kkat> 3Mare-Do-Well starts to notes she only has one name, then stops and facehoofs.
  40. [2014-06-04 13:55:03] <Kkat> 3When she looks up, all of her still-living friends have stopped, staring as if in a trance. Noble_Heart has collapsed on the ground, her horn glowing, the memory orb laying in a fern next to her. "oh."
  41. [2014-06-04 13:55:21] <Kkat> 3<-=======ooO The New Futures Orb Ooo=======->
  42. [2014-06-04 13:55:40] <Kkat> 3(read by NitoKa: https://www.dropbox.com/s/v4bsvyar663hj4m/The%20New%20futures%20Orb.wav )
  43. [2014-06-04 13:55:52] <Kkat> 3You come to your senses staring at a pristine switchboard – knobs, levers and blinking lights set into polished stainless steel. Your host seems to be performing a check. The upper row of switchboard lights are all lit comforting greens and blues.
  44. [2014-06-04 13:56:10] <Kkat> 3Behind you, a soft hiss betrays the opening of heavy doors, the clopping of hooves on ceramic tiles announces the arrival of several ponies.
  45. [2014-06-04 13:56:23] <Kkat> 3Your host looks up, allowing you to see room – spotless white and brightly lit, with a set of hashed orange stripes painted along the back wall that seems to be a decorative motif for the company, and a front wall that boasts a line of windows overlooking a huge white chamber.
  46. [2014-06-04 13:56:33] <Kkat> 3You get the impression of odd things in that chamber, but your host isn’t looking in that direction. Instead, she is looking at the three ponies who had just entered.
  47. [2014-06-04 13:56:43] <Kkat> 3One is a rust-red stallion with an orange lab coat. The ponies already in the room, including your host you realize, all wear similar coats, either orange or white with an orange trim. They move about other switchboards, terminals and banks of monitors, or they stand at the windows, looking down into that chamber you can’t quite see.
  48. [2014-06-04 13:56:52] <Kkat> 3The two other ponies are a thin, almost gangly cream-colored pony whose mane and mustache have prematurely silvered, and a yellow-coated mare with vibrant scarlet mane, wearing a smart mahogany business dress.
  49. [2014-06-04 13:56:58] <Kkat> 3“You see,” the gangly stallion was saying with the voice of a practiced orator, “Government orders, but business perfects. I believe it will always fall to private industry to see the bigger picture, and to allow new science and technology to reach its fullest potential.”
  50. [2014-06-04 13:57:13] <Kkat> 3“Yeah,” drawled the mare with a bored air. “Honestly, skip t’ where ya tell me how this new power generator is supposed t’ work.”
  51. [2014-06-04 13:57:24] <Kkat> 3There is a polite laugh as the stallion shakes his head. “Trade secrets… well, the particulars, at least.” He visibly swelled with pride. “But, picture this: megaspells, the government’s big superpower… for years, they have only seen military application. But imagine that sort of power turned to the betterment of ponykind?”
  52. [2014-06-04 13:57:29] <Kkat> 3The mare looked apprehensive. “How exactly?”
  53. [2014-06-04 13:57:35] <Kkat> 3As they talk, the rust-red stallion trots over to your host, blocking your view of the other two. In a low voice, he asks, “Any more problems with resonance on rods nine through eighteen?”
  54. [2014-06-04 13:57:41] <Kkat> 3“No, sir,” your host responds, looking a back at the switchboard. “Everything’s pretty. We should be good for a test.”
  55. [2014-06-04 13:57:54] <Kkat> 3Beyond, you can hear the voice of the cream-colored older stallion. “The megaspell framework created by the Ministries vastly magnifies the power of the spell it is created for largely by making it bigger..."
  56. [2014-06-04 13:58:10] <Kkat> 3"...But we at New Futures have taken that science; and for the last several years, we have been researching a megaspell framework that will instead make spells last longer.”
  57. [2014-06-04 13:58:20] <Kkat> 3He chuckles. “And before you ask how that’s different from just casting the spell over and over, what I mean is: we’ve managed to take an instantaneous spell, catching and holding it in a state of perpetual manifestation. Indefinitely.”
  58. [2014-06-04 13:58:29] <Kkat> 3“Indefinitely?” the mare repeats, her voice suggesting she isn’t sure she likes the images forming in her head. Your host has one ear cocked towards the conversation, but her focus is on the stallion looking over her switchboard and nodding.
  59. [2014-06-04 13:58:37] <Kkat> 3“Well, as long as we tell it to,” the elderly stallion chuckles. “Imagine an instantaneous explosion caught in the moment, constantly pouring out light and heat, fueling a steam reactor. That’s what we’re about to demonstrate for you.”
  60. [2014-06-04 13:58:44] <Kkat> 3“Well, Ah hope it’s as impressive as you keep saying,” the mare, Apple Bloom, admits. “Stable-Tec has a project in the works that’s going to call for long-term, stable power generation. Ah’d really like to use New Future’s reactors… if they’re safe, and they work as you advertise.”
  61. [2014-06-04 13:58:50] <Kkat> 3Red Shift, would you care to explain the process to Miss Bloom?” The rust-red stallion standing next to you looks up, nods, and trots away. You can feel your host let out a breath neither of you realized she was holding.
  62. [2014-06-04 13:58:56] <Kkat> 3Red Shift looks at the stallion who is clearly his boss. “It is a bit… technical.”
  63. [2014-06-04 13:59:04] <Kkat> 3“Walk me through it,” the mare insists.
  64. [2014-06-04 13:59:15] <Kkat> 3The rust-red stallion nods, then turns and motions towards the windows. “You’ll be able to see the New Futures megaspell framework in the room below. This one is designed to work with a simple explosion spell. About the power of a grenade.”
  65. [2014-06-04 13:59:23] <Kkat> 3There is a slight but unmistakable patronizing tone in his voice as he proceeds to explain, “Our unicorns have imbued each of the rods you see around the framework with the spell. This means that the spell can be cast from the rods themselves; no pony has to be in the room when we activate. You see, the maneframe…”
  66. [2014-06-04 13:59:30] <Kkat> 3The cream-colored pony raises a hoof and clears his throat. Apple Bloom is staring at the Red Shift with a deadpan expression. “Seriously?”
  67. [2014-06-04 13:59:35] <Kkat> 3The elderly stallion gently says, “You don’t need to dumb it down for Miss Bloom. She created the maneframe we’re using.”
  68. [2014-06-04 13:59:41] <Kkat> 3“Oh!” Red Shift looks abashed. “My apologies. We’re… frankly, we’re used to dealing with C.E.O.s that can’t use their own technology without assistance from their staff.”
  69. [2014-06-04 13:59:48] <Kkat> 3Apple Bloom brushes the apology aside. “Ah guess what Ah really want to know is: have you solved the radiation problem yet?”
  70. [2014-06-04 13:59:55] <Kkat> 3Red Shift and the elderly pony exchange glances. “Well… yes, and no,” is the final response.
  71. [2014-06-04 14:00:03] <Kkat> 3Apple Bloom looks unhappy with that answer, so Red Shift quickly elaborates. “We have found a way to channel the radiation into a jelly solution that is designed to absorb it. Once the jelly has absorbed a maximal amount of radiation, we ship it to a containment facility.”
  72. [2014-06-04 14:00:09] <Kkat> 3“And these barrels…” Apple Bloom asks, “Ah’m guessing they’d be the barrels of radioactive green goo Ah spotted bein’ loaded onto the train at Tragedy’s End?”
  73. [2014-06-04 14:00:15] <Kkat> 3The room goes tensely silent. Somebody (the cream-colored elderly stallion, you think) mutters “You weren’t supposed to see that.”
  74. [2014-06-04 14:00:23] <Kkat> 3“Yeah, that’s what I thought.”
  75. [2014-06-04 14:00:31] <Kkat> 3<-=======ooO Ooo=======->
  76. [2014-06-04 14:00:44] <Kkat> 3Reality rights itself as real senses come rushing back.
  77. [2014-06-04 14:02:09] * Golden_Dream blinkblinks. "Blugh. I wonder who'd have their memories pulled outta their heads like that." She mentioned, scratching her mane. "I'mma go handle th' food situation before it gets too bad. Shatara, why don't ya'll handle th' shelter situation?"
  78. [2014-06-04 14:04:41] * Shatara blinks a little. "Okay..." He glances about. "...how?"
  79. [2014-06-04 14:05:59] * Get_Soon sighs and shakes her hed "no, no, no! they're doing it all wrong! why they simply didn't set up the thing on a satellite, rocket it to space and relay the clean energy to a receiver? the atmosphere woulld have blocked the radiation, not mentioning the sheer distance!" shakes her head "amateurs!why did they have foals in charge instead of ponies with some competence!"
  80. [2014-06-04 14:06:48] * Noble_Heart blinks and slowly stands up again, frowning heavily. "That would explain the nature of the power, and why that area was so badly irradiated." She taps her chin thoughtfully.
  81. [2014-06-04 14:06:51] * CopyCat picks a leaf and holds it above her head. Yay, shelter!
  82. [2014-06-04 14:07:45] * Golden_Dream frowns and points up. "Get up there, look for somethin' that don't look like jungle."
  83. [2014-06-04 14:09:22] * Bookwright sighs. "It's good that it exists though. If we could reproduce the megaspell framework, we'd be able to generate as much radiation for ghouls as they need, /and/ we'll have radioactive fuel for that radiation engine the followers are always tinkering with."
  84. [2014-06-04 14:09:24] * Shatara nods sheepishly and takes off.
  85. [2014-06-04 14:10:36] * Shatara ponders the implications of a powerplant that makes fuel for another power plant
  86. [2014-06-04 14:11:13] * Get_Soon "well, you'll also need the green goo formula... but i can almost bet it had something to do with wonderlgue and wonderglu hed something to do with corpses... i don't like where this is going"
  87. [2014-06-04 14:11:52] * Get_Soon "shatara, need help with the shelter?"
  88. [2014-06-04 14:14:49] * Get_Soon the weird UFO takes air and follows get lost, floating just behind her. a single pink camera turning all around and adjusting to analyze as much as it can
  89. [2014-06-04 14:16:43] * CopyCat trots up to the floating object behind Get_Soon and peers at it.
  90. [2014-06-04 14:18:35] * Get_Soon the thing peers at copy and boops her on the nose with the camera
  91. [2014-06-04 14:19:03] <Kkat> 3Shatara searches from the air. Immediately, several possibilities for shelter present themselves. The huge, grey wall could be used as part of a lean-to, and there were both plenty of huge ferns to make covering and vines to use as rope.
  92. [2014-06-04 14:20:02] <Kkat> 3Just up the road from the clearing is the remains of some sort of small shack. It is too small for everyone, and looks like the roof would leak heavily, but could serve as shelter for a few... or torn down and used to construct something better.
  93. [2014-06-04 14:21:39] <Kkat> 3Deeper into the jungle, she spots bits of white and red that look like they might be tents. And about twenty minutes flight away is the first of the jungle ruins, a vine-covered stone obelisk. Depending on the nature of the ruin, there might be and underground chamber, but that seems like a long shot.
  94. [2014-06-04 14:22:43] * CopyCat blinks at it and draws back suddenly as it boops her nose... then she leans forward and nose-boops it herself.
  95. [2014-06-04 14:23:47] <Kkat> 3Finally, the zebra war machines are big enough to possibly be used, although not easily... they seem rusted into single pieces of metal, and are not in a convenient shape for shelter. Still, one of them is on walker legs that lift it high enough to crawl under if you really wanted to sleep there.
  96. [2014-06-04 14:26:06] * Get_Soon the thing's camera switches from pink to blue and back several times, then it starts orbiting copycat, now ignoring get lost
  97. [2014-06-04 14:26:51] * Shatara decends again to report his findings.
  98. [2014-06-04 14:26:53] * Get_Soon get lost still waits for orders from shatara
  99. [2014-06-04 14:27:20] * Get_Soon "you are the expert, how do you want to proceed?"
  100. [2014-06-04 14:29:02] * Bookwright is just /drinking in/ all the historical significance.
  101. [2014-06-04 14:29:03] * CopyCat tries to orbit it return... and gets very dizzy and has to sit down. She sees stars spinning around her head... then the stars all turn into little floating robots.
  102. [2014-06-04 14:30:57] * Get_Soon the robot stops orbiting and starts looking around again, apparently taking phoyos, specifically pics of the two alicorns
  103. [2014-06-04 14:31:31] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream, meanwhile, has found several possible foodstuffs in a very short amount of time. There is an odd bush that produces branches filled with what look like grapes (save that they are bright orange). There are plants the size of small trees with large, vein-strewn leaves that look and smell edible.
  104. [2014-06-04 14:33:09] <Kkat> 3And there is a tree with spikey, hairy spheres hanging beneath the branches... they look to Golden_Dream like a cross between coconuts and sea urchins.
  105. [2014-06-04 14:33:55] * Shatara looks at Get_Soon's new robot friend curiously.
  106. [2014-06-04 14:34:36] * Get_Soon is quite ignoring her own robot, looking at birdcat instead, as if she is waiting for somethingù
  107. [2014-06-04 14:34:49] * Noble_Heart sits quietly near the landing site, guarding the fire wagon. She knew plenty about plants, but not so much about exploring strange, foreign jungles. And getting lost did not sound like a good idea.
  108. [2014-06-04 14:35:03] * Shatara blinkblinks to Get_Soon. "Uhm...meep?"
  109. [2014-06-04 14:35:12] * Golden_Dream picks both, then looks around for a bird or animal of some sort.
  110. [2014-06-04 14:35:45] * Get_Soon sighs and asks again "how can i help? don't we have to put a shelter together?"
  111. [2014-06-04 14:36:19] * Shatara nods. "Yeah, theres a few options for that..." He explains his findings.
  112. [2014-06-04 14:36:38] * Get_Soon the robot starts taking pics of shatara, but doesn't get near, following copycat instead
  113. [2014-06-04 14:39:17] * CopyCat slowly recovers her balance and gets to her hooves. She boops the robot with her nose again (this was clearly how robots greet each other) "Hello there, little one."
  114. [2014-06-04 14:39:50] * Bookwright "Um. Get Lost? What is this?"
  115. [2014-06-04 14:40:29] * Get_Soon "it's shatara, you know... our resident birdcat... and he's slacking...."
  116. [2014-06-04 14:42:52] * Golden_Dream picks a bunch of these orange grapes and weird cocourchins, and as many large leaves as she can find (relatively) clean.
  117. [2014-06-04 14:43:11] * Get_Soon the robot does a long beeping noise when boooped again, but stoops booping, taking instead pics of anything at rang. again, especially of princess plots
  118. [2014-06-04 14:43:12] <Kkat> 3(( Walker reference: http://www.obviouswinner.com/storage/post-images/mantis-robot-3.jpg?__SQUARESPACE_CACHEVERSION=1366048853288. Armored, with a turret underneath. Two surface-to-air missile launchers towards the top, one on each side. ))
  119. [2014-06-04 14:46:52] * Get_Soon ""oh, and meet... ah... i don't really gave her a name. it's a simple minded listener... you know, an artificial intelligence programmed to listen to others problems and cheer you up?"
  120. [2014-06-04 14:47:37] * Bookwright "So it's a small, cute version of CopyCat? And I like the word 'Listener'. It would make a good name."
  121. [2014-06-04 14:47:48] * Get_Soon listens to the long description by shatara "so.... the shack seems promising, are going to check it?"
  122. [2014-06-04 14:47:51] * Golden_Dream traces her steps back to the rest of the crew, looking hopeful. "Hey, folks, I got us some possibilities here." She showed them to everyone, putting on a brave face. She had no idea what these things were, but her conventional wisdom told her that they wouldn't be /bad/. Although, common sense also told her to feed the things to small animals before passing judgement.
  123. [2014-06-04 14:48:08] * Golden_Dream also bopped Bookwright on the head for that comment against CopyCat.
  124. [2014-06-04 14:49:03] * Get_Soon "hey, copy is a lot sexier..."
  125. [2014-06-04 14:49:50] * Golden_Dream shrugs. "I say call it Gram. Like a Gramophone."
  126. [2014-06-04 14:50:06] * Shatara nods. "Yeah, we could check out the shack. Might be worth it to make a recon pass on the tents and ruins, but they may be a bit far..."
  127. [2014-06-04 14:50:40] * Golden_Dream asks for the news on the locations found.
  128. [2014-06-04 14:50:56] * Get_Soon "you decide our priorities, i'll just help with the job..." relays the news from shatara to kid
  129. [2014-06-04 14:51:08] * CopyCat tilts her head. "It seems to be very interested in the barding that Shatara made me. Especially how the rear portions are shaped."
  130. [2014-06-04 14:51:17] * Get_Soon the robot flies away in the jungle
  131. [2014-06-04 14:51:26] * Shatara blushes as CopyCat draws attention to her plot.
  132. [2014-06-04 14:51:31] * Get_Soon "and she's gone... they grow up so fast..."
  133. [2014-06-04 14:52:00] * Bookwright chokes down a laugh. It comes out as an abbreviated snort. "Right, tell us about this stuff you found, Golden."
  134. [2014-06-04 14:52:17] * Golden_Dream ponders. "Y'all said there was tents out here in the middle of th' jungle?"
  135. [2014-06-04 14:54:16] * Golden_Dream then decides to lift the fruits. "Alright, so, there's these things, and these things, and they both kinda look like fruits and berries. Shatara, I'm sorry I didn't find any meat around."
  136. [2014-06-04 14:55:55] * Shatara nods and smiles to Golden_Dream. "I'll live..."
  137. [2014-06-04 14:56:03] * CopyCat looks at the spikey one suspiciously. "I'm not sure how to eat that. It looks like it doesn't want to be eaten."
  138. [2014-06-04 14:56:30] <Kkat> 3Shatara spots a blur of vibrant colors slashing through the underbrush, moving quickly towards Bookwright. Golden_Dream might not have found meat, but Shatara's hunter instincts tell him that meat has found them.
  139. [2014-06-04 14:57:14] * Bookwright continues to inspect the /terribly interesting/ rock he just found.
  140. [2014-06-04 14:57:59] * Shatara lets out a squawk of alarm, bringing his shotgun to bear on the presumed predator.
  141. [2014-06-04 14:58:07] * Get_Soon is calling aloud "hey silly robot! come back you aren't supposed to go on adventture on yourselfQ you're an NPC!"
  142. [2014-06-04 14:58:40] * Golden_Dream turns to look. SHIT THERE'S A FIGHT
  143. [2014-06-04 15:02:15] <Kkat> 3(( Correction: it is moving towards CopyCat! ))
  144. [2014-06-04 15:03:07] <Kkat> 3BLAM!
  145. [2014-06-04 15:03:45] * Bookwright looks up, startled. "Whuh?"
  146. [2014-06-04 15:03:47] <Kkat> 3Shatara's shot echoes across the sky, and the creature stops moving.
  147. [2014-06-04 15:03:58] * CopyCat Eeeps!
  148. [2014-06-04 15:04:04] * Shatara pumps the slide and investigates the critter.
  149. [2014-06-04 15:04:31] * Golden_Dream looks at the snake... Thing. How was it so fast?
  150. [2014-06-04 15:06:06] * Get_Soon "EEEEP" lays flat on the ground, hooves on heer head "igiveuptakethemoneyandletmelive!"
  151. [2014-06-04 15:07:48] * Bookwright "I don't understand what's going on!"
  152. [2014-06-04 15:08:09] * Get_Soon the roobot floats lazily from the jungle, stopping tto take pic at get's plot stuck in the air
  153. [2014-06-04 15:10:45] * Bookwright looks up in irritation. "And why is that robot taking pictures of everyone's butts?"
  154. [2014-06-04 15:11:02] * Noble_Heart blinks in surprise, whipping her head around to get a look in the direction of the shot. Surprised at the suddenly-not-alive snake. "Good shot Shatara!"
  155. [2014-06-04 15:11:25] * CopyCat takes a moment to calm herself down, then helps Get_Soon up off the ground.
  156. [2014-06-04 15:12:22] * Get_Soon gets up and takes a confused loo karound, noticing the headless snake "uh... i guess we won?"
  157. [2014-06-04 15:14:45] * Bookwright "I guess Shatara's good for a couple days. I prefer to stay vegetarian myself... Golden, you wanna open one of those things up and give us a taste?"
  158. [2014-06-04 15:19:50] * Golden_Dream tilts her head. "Um. S-sure. Let's, uh. Let's get up on those tents first. Tents don't jus' stay up in th' middle of weather like this. Somepony might be over there.
  159. [2014-06-04 15:20:44] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side, looking at what Golden Dream had brought back, curious as to what might be gathered from the jungles. "It might be best to avoid the tents. If there are zebras here, they may not be friendly."
  160. [2014-06-04 15:20:58] * CopyCat claps when she realises what had happened. "Oh, thank you Shatara. If not for you there would be bite marks on my behind."
  161. [2014-06-04 15:21:01] * Get_Soon is still a bit confused, decides to simply follow the others whatever they decde to do
  162. [2014-06-04 15:21:32] * CopyCat thoughtfully adds, "Which the little robot would probably take pictures of."
  163. [2014-06-04 15:21:52] * Shatara relaxes a little, loading a fresh shell into the shotgun.
  164. [2014-06-04 15:22:39] <Kkat> 3Shatara finds the perforated remains of the creature in the underbrush. The creature is the size of a foal and most closely resembles a serpent, but with armored scales and sweeping wings with brightly colored plumage. It's sinister head bears sharp, venomous fangs.
  165. [2014-06-04 15:23:18] <Kkat> 3(( Reference for the couatl: http://www.reapermini.com/graphics/gallery/4/14459_p_3_nm.jpg ))
  166. [2014-06-04 15:24:35] * Bookwright looks at it. "That's one very pretty creature you just had to blow away, Shatara."
  167. [2014-06-04 15:25:41] * Golden_Dream pauses. "Mind if I take them fangs?"
  168. [2014-06-04 15:25:49] * Shatara blinks. "Yeah. It would have looked adorable eating CopyCat's rear."
  169. [2014-06-04 15:26:36] * Shatara nods. "Knock yourself out..." He starts poking at it with his bayonet, looking for the meaty bits.
  170. [2014-06-04 15:27:10] * Get_Soon the robot doesn't seem to be even loosely inerested in the dead creature, instead it takes pictures of birdcat from every perspective
  171. [2014-06-04 15:28:26] * CopyCat ruffles out her feathers. "Golden_Dream is right about those tents though. They could be with some investigating. Oh, and don't forget to be remorseful.
  172. [2014-06-04 15:28:33] <CopyCat> "
  173. [2014-06-04 15:30:02] * Bookwright pouts at Shatara.
  174. [2014-06-04 15:31:35] * Shatara rolls his eyes. "If you want one for a pet, I truly doubt that was the last one."
  175. [2014-06-04 15:36:30] * Bookwright cheers right up.
  176. [2014-06-04 15:36:38] <Kkat> 3Golden_Dream defangs the creature. Sadly, Shatara's shot wrecked most of the couatl's head, and Kid is unable to harvest any poison. Shatara, meanwhile, cuts away the armor and collects the meat from the dead couatl like a seasoned pro. There will be a couple nights of good eating from this!
  177. [2014-06-04 15:39:54] * Bookwright is mildly put out by the casual harvesting of bear asses. He sets off to find the tents mentioned earlier.
  178. [2014-06-04 15:41:00] * Noble_Heart stands and stretches her legs. "We should move soon. If there are mor of such snakes, they will doubtless come to try and have their own meals."
  179. [2014-06-04 15:43:48] * Golden_Dream frowns. "Right, right." She harvests what she can. Use all you can, the survivalist's and poor pony's creed. After such, she asks Shatara for the direction of the tents and starts heading there.
  180. [2014-06-04 15:44:43] * Noble_Heart frowns, moving with Golden Dream in that direction as well.
  181. [2014-06-04 15:49:00] * Get_Soon to the tents ahe goes! the robot is already going
  182. [2014-06-04 15:51:39] <Kkat> 3The tents are not far, but the jungle thickens quickly, the trees and underbrush making descent difficult for the large-winged alicorns (and leaving no way they could land the firewagon here). The tents are of military mesh fabric, white with stripes of red and gold. They look old, the campsite overgrown, but they do not look to have weathered centuries...
  183. [2014-06-04 15:52:30] <Kkat> 3Years. A decade perhaps.
  184. [2014-06-04 15:53:26] * Noble_Heart ducks low beneath the tree branches. She frowns at the sight. "We wonder whether We are the first group to be given this mission."
  185. [2014-06-04 15:55:08] * Golden_Dream frowns and looks around. "Yup. I do still believe we are."
  186. [2014-06-04 15:55:59] * Bookwright "So then... who set these up?"
  187. [2014-06-04 15:58:02] * Golden_Dream looks at the fabric. "I dunno. Hey, Noble. What group used'ta use gold n' red for their colors?"
  188. [2014-06-04 15:59:47] * CopyCat suggests, "Perhaps lions?"
  189. [2014-06-04 16:00:29] * Noble_Heart blinks and furrows her brow. "Gold and red?" She tilts her head to one side, struggling to remember anything of that sort. "... ... ..." A long pause. "I have no idea."
  190. [2014-06-04 16:03:17] * Golden_Dream frowns. Really? "Well, there's no point in not checkin' 'em out fer' goodness sake, but I figure we're not alone, but not fer th' reasons y' might think." She peeks into the tent.
  191. [2014-06-04 16:04:31] * Bookwright steps carefully up to one of the tents and lifts the flap, peering inside.
  192. [2014-06-04 16:05:15] <Kkat> 3There are cots inside the tents, metal boxes, discarded rubbish that is being devoured by time and insects. Golden_Dream's scavenger instincts tell here that, regardless of whoever erected these tents, they have been used by several parties in the years since. Some of the rusty tin cans have Equestrian labels, others bear only strange glyphs or runes.
  193. [2014-06-04 16:06:55] * Golden_Dream creeps around and checks up on anywhere a pony could be hiding. Even if that's an a metal box. "... Y'know what I might be thinkin?"
  194. [2014-06-04 16:07:08] * Bookwright "Nope. What you thinking?"
  195. [2014-06-04 16:08:24] <CopyCat> "No..." CopyCat lies.
  196. [2014-06-04 16:09:57] * Golden_Dream raises an eyebrow. "I'm thinkin' that, like we've been goin' out t' the zebra lands, they've been goin' t' see us." She kicks up a little dust. "This is a waystation. A rest stop."
  197. [2014-06-04 16:10:46] <Kkat> 3The metal boxes yield little more than junk, but one of them holds a tattered book -- its pages badly yellowed, and bearing several stains -- and three coffee cups in amazing condition.
  198. [2014-06-04 16:12:54] * Golden_Dream just looks bewildered. "What th' fuck do they put into these things that keeps them so clean?" She takes the tattered book and flips through it for Equestrian.
  199. [2014-06-04 16:13:02] * CopyCat nods. "But going from here to Equestria would mean walking past those living statues."
  200. [2014-06-04 16:13:27] * Golden_Dream frowns. "They probably don't mind their own kind walkin' around."
  201. [2014-06-04 16:14:18] * Bookwright grins. "Earth pony design and very subtle magical manufacture, Golden."
  202. [2014-06-04 16:16:15] * Golden_Dream lifts a coffee cup, biting her lip. "Why th' fuck couldn't they put that on their guns?"
  203. [2014-06-04 16:17:00] * Bookwright "Probably because guns take much more wear and tear than coffee cups."
  204. [2014-06-04 16:18:10] <Kkat> 3The book -- Tales for Nightmare Night -- is a collection of foal's scary stories featuring the likes of Nightmare Moon, the Headless Horse and the Olden Pony. The pages for the Slendermane story are particularly dog-eared and has a lot of circling and indecipherable scribbles in the margins. The index features a big, circular coffee stain.
  205. [2014-06-04 16:20:03] * Golden_Dream looks... Moderately horrified.
  206. [2014-06-04 16:20:18] * Golden_Dream "... Do y'all wanna hear a story?"
  207. [2014-06-04 16:21:38] * CopyCat nods her head eagerly.
  208. [2014-06-04 16:21:50] * Noble_Heart looks up towards the canopy and sky beyond, frowning slightly. "We have found frozen zebras in the remains of the fallen tower, remember. It seems probable that they have been trying to reach Equestria. But... It is hard to say for how long."
  209. [2014-06-04 16:22:25] * Get_Soon since the otthers are perfectly managing the situation, the mare grabs her robot once she floats too near and jiacks her cybernetics into it, then her visor goes black as if she's somewhere else
  210. [2014-06-04 16:23:14] * Bookwright nods. "Well, we're here now and nopony else seems to be using these. I say we retire for the evening."
  211. [2014-06-04 16:24:08] * Golden_Dream lets out an exasperated sigh. "Once upon a time, a filly and her friends found a tent in the woods. And in the tent, there was a book of horrifying things. And in one of them, there were an entry that's been circled and underlined all over. Tell me th' rest of this story."
  212. [2014-06-04 16:25:59] * CopyCat smiles. "And they lived happily ever after!"
  213. [2014-06-04 16:27:02] * Get_Soon "also, in the everafter there were cookies."
  214. [2014-06-04 16:28:54] * Golden_Dream facehoofs. "I was goin' fer th' whole cabin in th' woods setting. Grab yer guns, we're lighting this place up bright."
  215. [2014-06-04 16:29:53] * Shatara shrugs. "If you're not comfortable here, there are still other options...
  216. [2014-06-04 16:31:03] * CopyCat grabs a gun and waves it around as instructed.
  217. [2014-06-04 16:31:44] * Golden_Dream tilts her head, then lowers it. "Shatara, th' folks in that story don't have guns bigger than their heads, like we do. If Slendermane comes along, we'll shoot 'em. Lots."
  218. [2014-06-04 16:31:58] * Get_Soon detaches the robot from her, the thing poobs the mare's nose before scuttling away into the green "so... we'e not using the comfy tents? what is plan B? the old leaky shack?"
  219. [2014-06-04 16:32:44] * Shatara nods. Likes the plan 'shoot the boss until it dies'.
  220. [2014-06-04 16:33:15] * Bookwright sticks his head in more tents, to see if there are any more surprises.
  221. [2014-06-04 16:33:38] * CopyCat pouts. "Couldn't we just try to have a tea party with the scary monster?"
  222. [2014-06-04 16:34:35] * Noble_Heart raises an eyebrow. "Usually that would mean that those who had told it particularly liked that story. Though perhaps in this case you might be right." She frowns and taps her chin. "There are certainly no shortage of strange things in this world, especially now."
  223. [2014-06-04 16:35:18] <Kkat> 3The other two tents are much like the first, save one has several badly-faded, browned photos glued to the wall, mostly of various ruins in the jungle.
  224. [2014-06-04 16:36:07] * Golden_Dream nickers. "So, we're doin' double shifts for night watch. Two out per shift. Me 'n Noble'll get first shift. Everyone alright with that?"
  225. [2014-06-04 16:37:54] * Get_Soon "sure, i can tell parlay to help with that, if you wish"
  226. [2014-06-04 16:38:33] * Bookwright "Alright. What's on second?"
  227. [2014-06-04 16:38:41] * Get_Soon whispers to bookie "i'm trying to teach her to translate pony to zebrican, parlay seemed a fitting name..."
  228. [2014-06-04 16:39:21] * Golden_Dream tilts her head and nods, making a small, brief hum. "That might be useful. Cute name."
  229. [2014-06-04 16:40:01] * Bookwright "Can it translate zebra into pony?"
  230. [2014-06-04 16:40:51] * Get_Helmet "i told her what i wanted her to do, she understood it and is working on the data she has, with time she will be able to translate for us... maybe a day or two"
  231. [2014-06-04 16:41:44] * Get_Helmet the more data we gather, the sooner she'll larn zebrican
  232. [2014-06-04 16:45:38] * CopyCat turns to Get_Helmet, suddenly remembering. "Did you say something about a new message? Like the one we found near the statue town?"
  233. [2014-06-04 16:46:03] <Kkat> 3A low rumble from overhead announces that the beginning of rain that the clouds above have been threatening. Shatara feels the first raindrop splash against his beak. At first, most ponies feel just one drop. Then another. Then a spattering of very light rainfall as the sky darkens.
  234. [2014-06-04 16:46:20] * Get_Helmet yes, it's in the database... the others with a pipbuck should have it too...
  235. [2014-06-04 16:47:44] * CopyCat tries to hide from the rain under a wing. She uses the other wing to shield Get_Helmet. "Well let's get back into the big tent and you can share it with us."
  236. [2014-06-04 16:48:13] * Golden_Dream checks her pipbuck again. That's right. She saw this come up. "Hey, Shatara. Why don't y'all tell them about this thing that come up. I'll tell Noble while were outside. She looks out. "... Um, Noble? Mind if we get a bubble goin' while we're out?"
  237. [2014-06-04 16:49:50] * Noble_Heart frowns and looks around the tents. "Yes. I can manage that." She gathers herself close to Golden Dream and casts her shielding spell, allowing the water to splatter harmlessly off the purple sphere.
  238. [2014-06-04 16:52:01] * Golden_Dream pulls up the file and starts to recite it to Noble while the weather storms outside.
  239. [2014-06-04 16:53:10] <Kkat> 3Light flashes across the darkening clouds as the jungle rainstorm turns late day to night in minutes, the very dim light from the sky not penetrating the canopy above. Lightning paints the campsite and the vegetation crowding around it in sharp relief. But soon, the primary source of light is the purple glow of Noble_Heart's shield.
  240. [2014-06-04 16:54:14] <Kkat> 3Fortunately, for those inside, one of the boxes in the third tent yielded a couple lanterns.
  241. [2014-06-04 16:54:57] * Shatara frowns. "...this is starting to look like one of those ghost stories..." He flips on his pipbuck light."
  242. [2014-06-04 16:55:00] * CopyCat holds out a lantern to Get_Helmet. "Can you science this for me please?"
  243. [2014-06-04 16:57:01] * Get_Helmet "sure" does her mumbo jumbo on the lantern
  244. [2014-06-04 16:57:12] * Bookwright lights his horn for the convenience of others and pulls out a Daring Do book for evening reading.
  245. [2014-06-04 16:59:04] <Kkat> 3====================
  246. [2014-06-04 16:59:22] <Kkat> 3Second Mission Report
  247. [2014-06-04 16:59:32] <Kkat> 3Look around you. Where you’re standing is a symbol all that’s wrong with this whole damn war. This place used to be Phantasy Sinema, one of the first outdoor cinemas in the zebra lands. Part of the great cultural exchange – they gave us drugs, we gave them movies.
  248. [2014-06-04 16:59:40] <Kkat> 3I remember my first outdoor cinema… flying my own little cloud up, parking it front and center. I remember the kid who put his cloud right above mine kept dropping popcorn on me. But I didn’t care. I was too captivated by the huge silver screen and the adventures of Noir and Lace.
  249. [2014-06-04 16:59:51] <Kkat> 3Now this place is a staging ground for the Legion. No zebra parents take little zebra colts and fillies here anymore. No images light up the grey screen. Instead, there are robots and missile trucks and military zebras everywhere.
  250. [2014-06-04 17:00:02] <Kkat> 3(I spotted a whole squad of them wearing wing-talismans; just flying isn’t enough of an edge in the Basin anymore. Fortunately, I’m more than just a pair of wings. I wouldn’t be here if I wasn’t.)
  251. [2014-06-04 17:00:07] <Kkat> 3It’s like we all woke up one day and decided we’d been too happy for too long and the world needs to suck now.
  252. [2014-06-04 17:00:14] <Kkat> 3From here, they could secure Mwanzo Mpya in minutes, and they have enough forces to conquer Tragedy’s End. Or obliterate it. But I don’t think Equestria is their target. At least, not directly.
  253. [2014-06-04 17:00:23] <Kkat> 3I still haven’t found out where they are doing yet. That’s going to require an excursion much deeper into the jungle. But I have discovered that this operation is under the leadership of Legate Jua.
  254. [2014-06-04 17:00:31] <Kkat> 3(Figures that striped witch would end up a Legate; I wonder how many corpses she had to climb to get there.)
  255. [2014-06-04 17:00:37] <Kkat> 3And knowing her, I’m willing to bet she’s not in the Basin for kicks. Whatever she’s up to, it probably involves the Amulet. Fortunately, even if she’s found where it’s locked away, I doubt she has what it takes to get to it.
  256. [2014-06-04 17:00:46] <Kkat> 3Of course, it could have nothing to do with the Amulet at all. The Tenochtitlan Basin has enough other Secrets that she could be after. One way or another, the Legion is taking a very unhealthy look at the ruins. Dash was right: this spells trouble for Equestria. Maybe for everyone.
  257. [2014-06-04 17:00:55] <Kkat> 3And now, the pad. I tried the introduction in a more formal style, but it just isn’t the way I write. Still, it really worked for what I feel I need to convey. So I figure maybe I should split the difference. Start each chapter with a lead in, then change to something more comfortable.
  258. [2014-06-04 17:01:02] <Kkat> 3Let’s try that. Here goes: rough draft, chapter one, take one…
  259. [2014-06-04 17:01:19] <Kkat> 3Open Second Pad y/n?
  260. [2014-06-04 17:01:26] <Kkat> 3====================
  261. [2014-06-04 17:05:54] * Golden_Dream pads out "y".
  262. [2014-06-04 17:07:59] <Kkat> 3At the press of "y", the mission text is replaced with several pages of rough draft for a book:
  263. [2014-06-04 17:08:01] <Kkat> 3====================
  264. [2014-06-04 17:08:19] <Kkat> 3I first met A.K. Yearling in the sweltering summer ten years before the return of Nightmare Moon. I had just completed my first year at the Baltimare University, where I was attending on a full athletics scholarship.
  265. [2014-06-04 17:08:43] <Kkat> 3I had also been fortunate in that my high school had offered cooperative credit courses with the University, allowing me to start college with several of my general studies requirements already completed – primarily writing and arithmetic...
  266. [2014-06-04 17:09:00] <Kkat> 3..., the former because I took every class in it that I could and the latter because I made the effort to get those studies out of the way as swiftly as possible. As a result, I was able to delve into the professional curriculum for my true passion – archeology – as early as the second half of my first year.
  267. [2014-06-04 17:09:12] <Kkat> 3And this allowed me to join Professor Underhill’s summer travel study.
  268. [2014-06-04 17:09:21] <Kkat> 3I was one of five students privileged to join Professor Underhill and his teaching assistant Packer on their trip to the zebra city of Bahari Soko. A.K. Yearling’s godfather, Goldentongue, was the current Equestrian Ambassador to the zebra nation, and invited us all to dinner at the ambassadorial manor in Mwanzo Mpya.
  269. [2014-06-04 17:09:28] <Kkat> 3~-------~ oOo ~-------~
  270. [2014-06-04 17:09:35] <Kkat> 3Severed and stuffed animal heads gazed down from their mountings, the faces of previous ambassadors and their families stared out from the portraits lining the walls, a trio of flies danced in the air above a table filled with fruits, breads and thickly-veined greens, and Daring Do was experiencing the strangest conversation yet in her life.
  271. [2014-06-04 17:09:45] <Kkat> 3Professor Underhill accepted a refill of wine from Mhudumu, Goldentongue’s zebra manor-servant, as he patiently tracked the conversation at the table. Like most of the other student-archeologists, Daring Do was being reserved, not wanting to commit some unexpected cultural faux pas within her first night outside of Equestria.
  272. [2014-06-04 17:09:57] <Kkat> 3But next to her, Fleetwing was bombarding the ambassador with enough questions for the rest of them. Daring Do wasn’t sure if she was just that eager to learn as much as she could during this extraordinary opportunity, or if she was trying to impress someone. Probably, Daring Do thought, a little of both.
  273. [2014-06-04 17:10:04] <Kkat> 3As for herself, Daring Do just couldn’t keep her eyes on the young mare sitting at the far end of the table.
  274. [2014-06-04 17:10:17] <Kkat> 3At the end of the table sat a pretty mare – a pegasus like herself and about her age – hidden behind a flower dress and a pith hat. Daring Do’s mother had once told her wearing hats at the table was rude. Maybe it was different in the zebra lands?
  275. [2014-06-04 17:10:23] <Kkat> 3She opened her muzzle, but her brain locked, unable to find a polite way to ask. So instead she closed her mouth again and just watched her. Or, that was, she tried to. But it was like her attention just kept slipping off of her. Everything else seemed so fascinating.
  276. [2014-06-04 17:10:38] <Kkat> 3Still, Daring Do decided to strike up a conversation when she noticed nopony else was paying the mare any attention at all, not even on the rare occasions when she spoke. Worse, there was something sad about the way she talked, as if she’d already given up on being heard.
  277. [2014-06-04 17:10:44] <Kkat> 3Daring Do, having never been particularly social herself, decided she wasn’t going to let the girl be alone in a room full of ponies.
  278. [2014-06-04 17:10:53] <Kkat> 3She had only gotten as far as “Hello” and “I’m Daring Do, what’s your name?” when the blurting of yet another random question from the mare beside her yanked away her attention.
  279. [2014-06-04 17:11:05] <Kkat> 3“What’s that hanging over the fireplace?” Fleetwing asked between mouthfuls of cheese, pointing a hoof towards the slender metal pipe with a wooden stock mounted over the mantle of a walk-in fireplace, beneath the four trophy hydra heads. A carved horn hung beneath it, the end of the pipe bowed out like a bell, and there were odd mechanical pieces to it.
  280. [2014-06-04 17:11:21] <Kkat> 3Daring Do found herself looking towards the strange thing, her own curiosity welling inside her.
  281. [2014-06-04 17:11:33] <Kkat> 3Goldentongue smiled. “Ah. That’s a blunderbuss.” His horn glowed with yellow light as he lifted the thing from its mounting and floated it over the table towards Fleetwing, offering a closer look.
  282. [2014-06-04 17:11:44] <Kkat> 3“It’s a zebra weapon, essentially a small cannon. You fill it with explosive powder from the powder horn, stuff in a metal ball, steady your aim with a forehoof and fire it with the mouth-brace.” Goldentongue gently rotated the blunderbuss before Fleetwing and Daring Do before letting it settle into Fleetwing’s eager hooves.
  283. [2014-06-04 17:11:50] <Kkat> 3“Is that safe?” Professor Underhill asked the ambassador in a hushed tone. Goldentongue assured him that without being filled with the powder, the weapon was as harmless as a lead pipe.
  284. [2014-06-04 17:12:01] <Kkat> 3Daring Do and the other students joined Fleetwing in examining the strange zebra weapon. She wanted to know what sort of monster it was designed to protect against; the only cannons she had seen before were used for parties, and the need to weaponize one struck her as alarming.
  285. [2014-06-04 17:12:06] <Kkat> 3But Fleetwing had already launched into a dozen questions about how it was made, how it worked, and if she could get one to take home to her uncle who could totally make an even better one.
  286. [2014-06-04 17:12:13] <Kkat> 3Mhudumu brought out a bowl of branches laden with what looked like orange grapes.
  287. [2014-06-04 17:12:25] <Kkat> 3Daring Do once again turned to the mare at the end of the table. “What’s your name?” she asked, then immediately regretted it. There was a slightly pained look in the mare’s eyes, a touch of a frown on her muzzle, which told Daring that she had already given her name. Daring had been too distracted to hear it.
  288. [2014-06-04 17:12:33] <Kkat> 3“Just call me A.K.” the girl said with a meek and slightly weary tone. Daring winced, mentally kicking herself. She promised herself to get the mare’s full name soon, and to use it. But for now…
  289. [2014-06-04 17:12:39] <Kkat> 3“Is it used for hunting?” one of the other students, Bluebell, managed to slip in. “It sounds like it would be really noisy.”
  290. [2014-06-04 17:12:46] <Kkat> 3Daring Do’s attention was once again pulled back to the blunderbuss and Goldentongue. The mare named “A.K.” momentarily forgotten, Daring Do silently thanked Bluebell for getting in the question she herself had wanted to ask.
  291. [2014-06-04 17:12:53] <Kkat> 3“The blunder is more for defending,” Mhudumu explained, entering the conversation for the first time. He looked to Goldentongue, who nodded approvingly. “Its thunder monsters find offending.”
  292. [2014-06-04 17:13:08] <Kkat> 3“These lands are full of dangerous creatures,” Goldentongue added. “The forests to the south are even wilder than the Everfree back home, and manifested spirits roam freely, especially in the jungle just beyond this village.”
  293. [2014-06-04 17:13:14] <Kkat> 3He floated the blunderbuss out of Fleetwing’s hooves and set it back on its mounting. “A lot of monsters, timberwolves for example, can be frightened off by loud noises when they cannot be fought off.”
  294. [2014-06-04 17:13:22] <Kkat> 3Daring Do made another attempt to strike up conversation with A.K., asking about the foreign fruits and leaves. The mare blinked (was she surprised that Daring Do was still trying to talk to her?) and began to answer. But she’d barely said a few words when a coughing fit from Fleetwing tore away Daring’s attention.
  295. [2014-06-04 17:13:30] <Kkat> 3Fleetwing had finally stopped questioning long enough to munch the strange, vein-y leaves that comprised the meal’s main course, and was quickly downing a glass of water, tears in her eyes.
  296. [2014-06-04 17:13:36] <Kkat> 3(“I warned you they were a little spicy,” the mare in the flower dress and pith hat said softly. Only, it wasn’t really that she said it softly, Daring thought later that night, so much as the words felt oddly inconsequential.)
  297. [2014-06-04 17:13:43] <Kkat> 3A flash of irritation passed through Daring Do. She took pride in being focused. The first few times seemed like coincidence, but now she was beginning to feel as if somehow the world was actively conspiring to keep her from having a conversation with this mare.
  298. [2014-06-04 17:13:49] <Kkat> 3Frowning to herself, she made another attempt. “So, A.K., how long have you lived with Goldentongue? I noticed you weren’t…”
  299. [2014-06-04 17:13:58] <Kkat> 3Daring Do stopped. She had been about to say that she had noticed the young pegasus mare wasn’t in the portrait of Goldentongue and his family. But as she looked across the table at the picture – Goldentongue and his wife standing in front of the ambassadorial manor – she realized that there was a third figure standing in front of them.
  300. [2014-06-04 17:14:07] <Kkat> 3There always had been. But, for some reason, A.K.’s image was oddly de-saturated, as if there was a fault in the film, and it made her difficult to see.
  301. [2014-06-04 17:14:13] <Kkat> 3The young Daring Do stared. And for a moment, she was struck by the thought that someone or something had taken a pencil and tried to erase A.K. from the picture.
  302. [2014-06-04 17:14:23] <Kkat> 3Professor Underhill had meanwhile seized the opportunity to delve into professional matters with the ambassador. “I had really hoped that, after the trip to the Bahari Soko museum, you could help me get the permits for an expedition I was hoping to make into the Tenochtitlan Basin next summer,” he said brightly.
  303. [2014-06-04 17:14:30] <Kkat> 3(Fleetwing was staring pleadingly at Mhudumu as the zebra poured her a new glass of water.)
  304. [2014-06-04 17:14:48] <Kkat> 3“You hope to find the Tree of Life, yes?” Goldentongue asked with a chuckle. “You are hardly the first. But permissions have gotten harder. The new local primi ordines, a rather ambitious mare named Jua, is making an issue over Equestrians rescuing Tenochtilian antiquities..."
  305. [2014-06-04 17:14:55] <Kkat> 3"...Apparently, she believes leaving them to rot in the jungle is more respectful than putting them in a proper museum.”
  306. [2014-06-04 17:15:04] <Kkat> 3Daring Do joined the other students in voicing frustration and disapproval. Bluebell rolled her eyes, proclaiming, “Well that’s just silly!”
  307. [2014-06-04 17:15:11] <Kkat> 3“What’s the Tree of Life?” a teary-eyed Fleetwing managed to wheeze between gulps of water.
  308. [2014-06-04 17:15:17] <Kkat> 3Goldentongue 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?”
  309. [2014-06-04 17:15:22] <Kkat> 3Daring Do, as much as she wanted to try to talk to A.K., knew she couldn’t miss paying attention now. She had no idea what ice archery had to do with the Tenochtitlan Basin, but if Professor Underhill was planning an actual archeological expedition next summer, she wanted in!
  310. [2014-06-04 17:15:29] <Kkat> 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…”
  311. [2014-06-04 17:15:37] <Kkat> 3“Like how nature spirits inhabit wood, making timberwolves?” Bluebell asked. The professor nodded.
  312. [2014-06-04 17:15:44] <Kkat> 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.”
  313. [2014-06-04 17:15:50] <Kkat> 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?”
  314. [2014-06-04 17:15:56] <Kkat> 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!”
  315. [2014-06-04 17:16:05] <Kkat> 3====================
  316. [2014-06-04 17:16:26] <Kkat> 3End of Pad.
  317. [2014-06-04 17:16:44] <Kkat> 3Crap. I’ve got to be losing my touch. That would have to be the most boring start of a Daring Do book ever.
  318. [2014-06-04 17:16:46] <Kkat> 3====================
  319. [2014-06-04 17:17:23] * Golden_Dream 's mouth is widely agape after that. There's a long pause before she actually said something. "Fucking hell!"
  320. [2014-06-04 17:18:22] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side, looking up towards the sky again, then around the surroundings. "If there ever were such a tree, it seems unlikely to have survived in a healthy manor after the war." She frowned heavily at the prospect.
  321. [2014-06-04 17:21:01] * CopyCat bites her lip. "The stuff about the pegasus called A.K. was creepy."
  322. [2014-06-04 17:24:05] * Golden_Dream looks up at Noble, slightly worriedly. "I don't think it's in the mountain. There's somethin' about an amulet, and this here tree of life thing? It's some fucked up shit." She looks out into the jungle, slightly disheartened. "Can't exactly just let this be." She grinds her molars. "Corolla, why th' fuck can't th' past stay past?"
  323. [2014-06-04 17:29:43] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side. "It cannot? It has been two centuries and nothing has come of such things. And these writings are that old. It seems unlikely that they would be disturbed now. Unless we disturb them, I suppose." She kept her eyes on the forest surrounding them. "Doubtless we'll find out more as we go. Though it makes me wonder if perhaps this A.K. Yearling's
  324. [2014-06-04 17:29:44] * Noble_Heart seeming lack of notice is related to that strange room which was so impenetrable to sight and magic."
  325. [2014-06-04 17:31:35] * CopyCat blinks at Noble_Heart. "What room?"
  326. [2014-06-04 17:32:43] * mimezinga "well, that's interesting... do you think this tree of life exist?"
  327. [2014-06-04 17:34:05] * Bookwright "Golden Dream, the past lives with us as surely as the future hurtles towards us. I can't help but notice that we saw that same painting ourselves in Yearling manor... I suppose now we know whom the faded part depicted. It's all very strange."
  328. [2014-06-04 17:34:52] * Golden_Dream rubbed her hooves on her forelegs. "Reeked of spirit magic bullshit, that's what it was." She muttered, looking around. "You know, there's a weird feeling that comes with bein' th' first t' see somethin' so old that nopony's seen for hundreds'a years."
  329. [2014-06-04 17:34:57] * CopyCat had said that in Noble_Heart's general direction but the other alicorn was was distance away outside the tent.
  330. [2014-06-04 17:35:17] * Bookwright "But... the painting! You remember the painting, right?"
  331. [2014-06-04 17:37:19] * Bookwright "What if... What if she found it?"
  332. [2014-06-04 17:37:22] * Noble_Heart contemplates that. "It is possible. It makes me wonder, who was actually writing this story? It's certainly written from Daring Do's perspective. But was A.K. Yearling not the actual writer of those novels?" She contemplated that thoughtfully, tilting her head to one side slightly. "That would imply that it was she, not Daring Do, who was here leaving the journals."
  333. [2014-06-04 17:38:23] * Bookwright "A.K. Yearling is the author of the story, yes. It's not really public knowledge that Daring Do's adventures were real."
  334. [2014-06-04 17:38:52] * Bookwright "I do wonder why she chose to so obviously insert herself into the story though..."
  335. [2014-06-04 17:39:12] * Golden_Dream looked over. "I... Ugh. Maybe she just drops them off and then has A.K. publish 'em for her for some reason." She looks rather fidgety and neurotic. "Look, ever since I figured this spirit stuff out, and I really haven't yet, it's startin' t' make me wonder what we do, y'know? Fire spirits make fire things happen. Life spirits make life things happen. Death spirits make death things happen. So what do we do, you know?"
  336. [2014-06-04 17:47:28] * Noble_Heart contemplates that. "I do not believe that spirits -make- things happen. They facilitate, sometimes, certainly. But I do not believe that reapers are necessary for death. Certainly I would not believe that they must be there for a pony to be murdered." She frowns. "At least I cannot imagine that it would be so. To do such would require the ability to predict what there is
  337. [2014-06-04 17:47:28] * Noble_Heart that will happen. Which does not reflect what we have encountered of them so far."
  338. [2014-06-04 17:48:03] * Bookwright "I think that life spirits would have a higher chance of making you pregnant..."
  339. [2014-06-04 17:49:32] <CopyCat> "And fire spirits may be creatures of passion, too..."
  340. [2014-06-04 17:51:48] * Golden_Dream frowns. "Well, clearly they can do stuff. I mean, I doubt some pony made the tree of life. Rainbow Dash is a spirit now, and she does stuff."
  341. [2014-06-04 17:55:17] * Bookwright frowns. "Don't forget we're searching for Ditzy's Element of Laughter too."
  342. [2014-06-04 17:56:58] <Kkat> 3--- End of Session ---
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