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Fallout: Beyond Equestria, 73: Tragedy's End (Part 2)

Scorch_Mechanic
Feb 19th, 2014
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  1. [2014-02-12 13:08:13] <Little_Gloom> 3The two alicorns land the firewagon in the dark lot filled with the corpses of teacher's wagons. Several passenger wagons, looking to have been repainted Sky Bandit stages, rust in a row. The party disembarks and moves towards the standing arch which was once the teacher's entrance.
  2. [2014-02-12 13:08:29] <Little_Gloom> 3The gate itself is twisted and melted, fused shut by the Pink. But the walls to each side of the arch have crumbled, allowing free access. A gentle mist of Pink rolls across the grounds inside, seeping out of the breaks in the wall -- nowhere near as thick as the tales of old Canterlot, nor as pervasive.
  3. [2014-02-12 13:08:38] <Little_Gloom> 3Beyond the crenulated walls, the Luna Academy for Young Unicorns was one a beautiful, almost monastic village with cobblestone streets, academic towers, and a central courtyard lined with trees, boxed plants and benches facing towards an open yard with a simple yet elegant crescent moon mosaic.
  4. [2014-02-12 13:08:46] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart looks up at the pink-stained surroundings. "This place has seen much horrors. We wonder why the zebras were carrying such a terrible thing to begin with into such a place..."
  5. [2014-02-12 13:08:51] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara shivers against CopyCat, his eyes darting around for unseen horror.
  6. [2014-02-12 13:08:59] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream frowns and starts rolling up her cloak. Yeah, she wasn't... Yeah.
  7. [2014-02-12 13:09:09] <Little_Gloom> 3As the group approach the wall, Golden_Dream can see the reaper pony waiting not too deeply inside. She can tell it is the same one, for only this one has transformed its wings into a cowled cloak.
  8. [2014-02-12 13:09:19] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat drapes a wing over Shatara as she looks around. "So much sadness here. Such regret. Enough to swallow the whole of Equestria."
  9. [2014-02-12 13:09:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream stares at the reaper and approaches. "What th' hell is goin' on here? Why'd you come n' ask fer us?"
  10. [2014-02-12 13:09:37] <Little_Gloom> 3The reaper pony nods, turns, and leads you further in.
  11. [2014-02-12 13:09:45] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream glares, then trods cautiously ahead. "Ah ain't goin' in no pink room." She mutters.
  12. [2014-02-12 13:09:50] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart follows after Golden Dream.
  13. [2014-02-12 13:09:56] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright is almost holding his breath he's so nervous.
  14. [2014-02-12 13:10:00] <Little_Gloom> 3The first steps into the Pink Mist greet them with pain. A terrible, rotting sensation that washes over their hooves.
  15. [2014-02-12 13:10:08] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat listens to Golden_Dream and tilts her head. "Hmm... actually, I might be able to help there." After a little concentration and a glow from her horn, CC casts her shield on Golden_Dream using the filly herself as the spell's focus.
  16. [2014-02-12 13:10:14] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright manages to stop himself from stepping out of the protection of Noble Heart's shield, but only barely.
  17. [2014-02-12 13:10:22] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart had her spell up already, she could defend herself, hopefully.
  18. [2014-02-12 13:10:26] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara seems to have attatched himself to CopyCat's back.
  19. [2014-02-12 13:10:32] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream blinks as all of a sudden she can't find her hooves. A bubble. Huh. "Good thinkin', CopyCat." She mutters, trying to navigate around in the bubble shield.
  20. [2014-02-12 13:10:39] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat flinches at the Pink Mist. "Ow ow ow! We need protection too..." She closes her eyes, acutely feeling the griffin clutching at her back. "I place my faith in the Power of Friendship. Shield us from this hurt and harm..." Her horn flares again, this time casting two spells slowly, one after the other.
  21. [2014-02-12 13:10:44] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat gives everyone a magic hamster ball!
  22. [2014-02-12 13:10:50] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright wobbles uncertainly. "This is... different."
  23. [2014-02-12 13:10:57] <Little_Gloom> 3Those who have read The Book of Littlepip gain a sudden insight. They know that magical radiation, usually from megaspells, alter ponies with the wrong amount of exposure, creating the Wasteland's various ghouls. Even ghosts, as they have learned, are products of magical radiation -- that specifically of the healing megaspell.
  24. [2014-02-12 13:11:03] <Little_Gloom> 3Those who read the book know that SteelHooves was exposed to this radiation, but he never became a ghost, as there was another fate in store for him. Exposed later to Pink Cloud, he became a Canterlot ghoul. The entropic, necromantic radiation of Pink Cloud overwhelms and devours that of the healing megaspell. Pink may literally eat ghosts.
  25. [2014-02-12 13:11:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session Seventy-Three: Tragedy's End (Part Two) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jW5n3k2VgZE&feature=youtu.be&t=55s
  26. [2014-02-12 13:11:49] <Little_Gloom> 3--- Session Begins ---
  27. [2014-02-12 13:15:24] * CopyCat pants, the strain of casting multiple spells taking its toll. She looks around at her friends. "Did it work?"
  28. [2014-02-12 13:16:34] * Golden_Dream has decided that this must be the worst thing she's willingly done to have to avoid being maimed. Going into that tube back at the Crystal Kingdom? Not as bad as trotting into a reaper-haunted castle covered in pink mist and horribleness for what seemed like no Celestia-damned reason. "Let's find out." She muttered pensively, following the spirit along.
  29. [2014-02-12 13:18:40] * Noble_Heart moves after Golden Dream, sparing a look at the architecture and design around them. This was a place of death and sorrow. Of horrors long forgotten, or which should have been. She ruffled her feathers briefly.
  30. [2014-02-12 13:21:14] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream can see the reapers sloughing about the ruins, standing atop broken towers and rooftops. Gliding along the crumbling walls. They seem to pay no attention to the group of shield-bubbled ponies as the group enters their domain.
  31. [2014-02-12 13:21:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara, however, cannot shake the feeling that he is being watched.
  32. [2014-02-12 13:22:26] * Golden_Dream withdrew her flashlight and clicked it on, just in case.
  33. [2014-02-12 13:22:42] * Shatara glances around the ruins with growing paranoia.
  34. [2014-02-12 13:23:16] * Bookwright wobbles unsteadily. He lights his horn. "I'm not gonna lie, this place is freakin' me out."
  35. [2014-02-12 13:25:23] * Golden_Dream looks around. "Yeah, how do ya'll think /I/ feel? Ya'll at least don't have t' see th' reapers bein' all scary."
  36. [2014-02-12 13:26:43] * CopyCat gives a fake smile but she says nothing as she steps into the pink mist.
  37. [2014-02-12 13:34:47] * Noble_Heart sighs quietly. "This was a place of great tragedy and sorrow. It is no wonder so many dark things lurk here." She shudders slightly. "We should not stay longer than we must."
  38. [2014-02-12 13:35:23] * CopyCat stops suddenly. "Can you hear that? There's a voice up ahead but I can't make it out. Too much hissing and static."
  39. [2014-02-12 13:35:26] <Little_Gloom> 3The shadowed cobblestone alleys would have been pleasantly wide for children, but with the bubbles of the alicorn shields, the group swiftly finds themselves having to walk (roll) single-file as they move through the villa of Luna's Academy for Young Unicorns. Within
  40. [2014-02-12 13:39:47] * Bookwright sounds very muffled "HEAR WHAT!?"
  41. [2014-02-12 13:42:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Within the first few seconds, the party finds the skeleton of a child, the bones partially melted into the cobblestones.
  42. [2014-02-12 13:43:43] * Bookwright looks very ill. Though it's hard to tell though the bubble.
  43. [2014-02-12 13:45:30] * Golden_Dream frowns, then creeps up to investigate the corpse. She wasn't adverse to corpses in themselves, a corpse is just a thing. But foal corpses were hard on the imagination.
  44. [2014-02-12 13:47:19] <Little_Gloom> 3The cloaked reaper whom Golden_Dream is following reaches an intersection ahead and turns right, disappearing around a corner.
  45. [2014-02-12 13:47:56] * CopyCat bows at the remains as they pass.
  46. [2014-02-12 13:48:15] * CopyCat *bows her head at the remains as they pass.
  47. [2014-02-12 13:48:53] * Bookwright "This place is one giant tomb. I don't doubt we'll see more like that, and worse."
  48. [2014-02-12 13:48:55] <Little_Gloom> 3The bones of the foal look, at first, to have sunken into the pinkish stonework. But on Golden_Dream's closer inspection, she can see they have melded with the stone, the texture of the cobblestones bleeding into the bones themselves.
  49. [2014-02-12 13:49:23] * Golden_Dream decides that keeping up was more important than trying to be an investigator. For the first time, she felt a little dirty for thinking of looting the body. She speeds up to catch the reaper pony.
  50. [2014-02-12 13:50:28] * Noble_Heart shudders at the sight of the bones, doing her best to steel herself as she followed along after Golden Dream. Now was not the time for sorrow. Now was the time to follow, and find what this reaper wished to show them.
  51. [2014-02-12 13:52:46] <Little_Gloom> 3As the group reaches a cobblestone intersection -- the crossing path wider and lined with dead sticks, blackened and gnarled things that had once been trees -- they find several more skeletal remains, nearly a dozen, two of them having been adults. They lay strewn down the path...
  52. [2014-02-12 13:57:51] * CopyCat stops short at the sight of the intersection. She takes a deep breath, using Shatara's close proximity to help calm herself.
  53. [2014-02-12 14:00:29] <Little_Gloom> 3With a flash, Bookwright finds himself standing in the intersection as alarm bells peel and a hoarse voice bursts forth from unseen speakers, "Don't panic! Move swiftly, but stay with your counselor! S-stay close so you don't <cough> get <cough> lost..."
  54. [2014-02-12 14:01:08] * Bookwright looks around wildeyed. "No... No... can't be real..."
  55. [2014-02-12 14:02:46] <Little_Gloom> 3The school is intact under a moonlight sky. The star twinkle above, watching. Bookwright sees one pack of children all wearing school cloaks of midnight blue, following an adult stallion as he urges them to hurry, forcing himself not to run faster, presumably leading them to the exit from which the group entered.
  56. [2014-02-12 14:03:30] * Bookwright gapes, stunned by the enormity of what he's watching.
  57. [2014-02-12 14:03:46] -->| Jackelmandingo ([email protected]) has joined #FalloutEquestriaPnP
  58. [2014-02-12 14:04:05] * CopyCat frowns. "Bookie? Bookwright, what's wrong?" But her friend seems far too lost to hear her.
  59. [2014-02-12 14:05:05] * Bookwright 's eyes dart to and fro. "No... No! You have to leave! Now! Get out! Get far away!"
  60. [2014-02-12 14:05:16] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright watches, even as he feels his head start to pound and his muscles start to burn, as a mare in maintenance garb barrels out of a side alley, knocking over two of the children and rolling into a tree with a cracking thud. The children scream, their leader turns in panic, and out of the alley washes a tsunami of Pink!
  61. [2014-02-12 14:06:06] * Bookwright starts to run. Away! Away from the pink mist! "Everyone RUN! Fast as you can!"
  62. [2014-02-12 14:08:38] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream and Noble_Heart reach the intersection and are hit with terrible pain. Like a cheese grater is being taken to their insides. Noble_Heart's horn feels like it has been clamped in a vice which is slowly squeezing. The same effect hits those behind them.
  63. [2014-02-12 14:08:52] <Little_Gloom> 3The last thing they hear is the sound of static hissing over a dying voice before that sound is drowned out by Bookwright's screams.
  64. [2014-02-12 14:09:31] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright tries to run, but the more he tries, the harder it is to move his legs.
  65. [2014-02-12 14:09:32] * Noble_Heart winces in pain and gasps. "B-back... back away...!" She struggles to back up from where she was, but in tight corridors that might not be so easy.
  66. [2014-02-12 14:10:26] * Bookwright struggles desperately.
  67. [2014-02-12 14:11:58] * Golden_Dream curves around the corner, thinking she'd been hit by something. She collapsed, looking down at her body instinctively as if acknowledging she'd been shot, but... She didn't see anything. Why didn't she see anything?
  68. [2014-02-12 14:13:01] * Bookwright struggles and gasps for good air
  69. [2014-02-12 14:13:23] * CopyCat goes wide-eyed and staggers. The shields she was maintaining flicker like candles. But worst of all: everything went silent. "No, nono!"
  70. [2014-02-12 14:20:32] <Little_Gloom> 3There are too many behind Noble_Heart, all surrounded by shields. Backing up the way she came isn't possible.
  71. [2014-02-12 14:25:52] * Noble_Heart hisses in pain. "Broadcaster!" She glanced around as quickly as she could, the crushing pain in her head was not making it easy to concentrate. "Where is it..? Where is it!?" She scanned the walls, the floor, towards the bones. The source of the sound had to be close. There was no way she could back out without teleporting.
  72. [2014-02-12 14:30:34] * CopyCat stumbles to the ground, her eyes clenched in pain. "Noble Heart? Shatara? Get Lost? Where are you?" She begs.
  73. [2014-02-12 14:32:18] * Shatara looks around in panic as he hears his friends in pain. He'd read about these broadcastathingies, and the results..weren't good...
  74. [2014-02-12 14:39:26] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart dashes about, expanding her search as she tries to find the broadcaster. As she moves down the intersection to the right, it is Shatara who spots the figure in an alcove...
  75. [2014-02-12 14:41:12] <Little_Gloom> 3Leaning between two drinking fountains is the decaying corpse of a griffin in winterized armor, the ground below colored with black smudges where the griffin's feathers fell out and melted into the stones. There is a PipBuck on one of the griffin's arms, and it has been wired to a colorful children's audio recorder, providing power.
  76. [2014-02-12 14:42:41] <Little_Gloom> 3The recorder is of the same cheery, simple design as the one in Gaia Valley (having come from the same school), and it has one module in it which it has been playing over and over and over... for years if not decades.
  77. [2014-02-12 14:44:26] <Little_Gloom> 3On the wall behind the dead griffin is an odd and unpleasant-looking symbol sketched in chalk. It looks like a griffin rune, but it doesn't mean anything... or maybe it does. Shatara feels something akin to deja vu when he looks at it.
  78. [2014-02-12 14:45:28] <Little_Gloom> 3A voice can barely be heard through the static. The module, surprisingly, is still functional, but the recorder has been warped by the Pink into a deadly weapon.
  79. [2014-02-12 14:48:45] * Shatara hesitates a scant moment with the strange sensation of deja-vu. For a moment he wonders if he found his own corpse after some kind of time loop, but shakes the thought free. "Th-there! Between the fountains! Sever the power!"
  80. [2014-02-12 14:55:26] * Noble_Heart turned her attention towards the device as Shatara pointed it out. The crushing pain was not good, and was making it rather difficult to concentrate. So she went for the simplest spell which might destroy the device, a spray of arcane bolts across the area that was pointed out. Bookwright could be angry about lost history if he liked, she'd like to keep her head intact.
  81. [2014-02-12 15:03:27] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart destroys the recorder in a shower of sparks and purple-white energy. The static dies out, the voice beneath dying out, "... still (....hnnnngh...) I would like to be remem..." Then nothing. The pain ceases immediately, the invisible vise on Noble_Heart's horn vanishing.
  82. [2014-02-12 15:03:35] <Little_Gloom> 3Everyone else feels the agony lift, and Bookwright's senses are thrown back into the land of the now.
  83. [2014-02-12 15:04:11] * Bookwright groans on the ground.
  84. [2014-02-12 15:04:22] * Noble_Heart gasps in surprise and groans a little, rubbing her horn with a forehoof a few moments. "That is much better..." Slowly straightening up. "We are sorry that We did not think We could save the recording."
  85. [2014-02-12 15:05:14] * Get_Lost shrugs "you know what? i like saving our lives a lot more"
  86. [2014-02-12 15:05:30] * Get_Lost "if it didn't vaporize i can try something, though"
  87. [2014-02-12 15:06:08] * Shatara stares at the gryphon and the marks on the wall with the threat gone
  88. [2014-02-12 15:06:10] * Golden_Dream staggers back to her hooves. It felt as if she had swallowed a hoof full of fishing hooks and then proceeded to digest them and then promptly have them pulled back through her entire digestive system. "Whut th' fuck was that...?" She muttered.
  89. [2014-02-12 15:06:34] * Get_Lost checks the remainsof the device, looking for a memory bank
  90. [2014-02-12 15:07:18] * Noble_Heart slowly straightens up. "We have just had Our first encounter with a corrupted broadcaster it would seem. It would be worth keeping a close eye for such dangers while we stay here. This place is far more hazardous than merely the mist..."
  91. [2014-02-12 15:08:30] * CopyCat shakily gets to her hooves. She smiles at the otehrs but there are tears in her eyes.
  92. [2014-02-12 15:09:09] <Little_Gloom> 3The recorder itself is beyond hope. The recording might be recoverable -- Get_Lost is confident that she has the skills to do so, but it would be very difficult and and require a PipBuck. The griffin's PipBuck, unfortunately, seems to have taken feedback, and is a corrupted mess.
  93. [2014-02-12 15:10:01] * Get_Lost there's no problem at all! she can borrow shatara's pipbuck or kid's! shatara's is more sexy to work next so she goes for the chicken
  94. [2014-02-12 15:10:25] * Get_Lost "shatara, please stay put while i fry- ehr, i work with your thing here.... don't worry i'll be gentle, i'm a pro"
  95. [2014-02-12 15:10:45] * Golden_Dream has a whole lotta hate for broadcasters now.
  96. [2014-02-12 15:11:31] * Shatara squawks in alarm, but seems to be at the mercy of the mad sciencepone.
  97. [2014-02-12 15:11:32] * Bookwright "Ooogh... my head hurts... What happened?"
  98. [2014-02-12 15:13:02] * Noble_Heart looks down to Bookwright with some concern. "We are not certain. You began to freak out as soon as We approached the corner. It seems unlikely to Us that the broadcaster caused such. But We suppose it is not impossible. The rest of us were assaulted by a corrupted broadcaster. Thanks to Shatara's keep sight, We were able to disable it."
  99. [2014-02-12 15:14:19] * Get_Lost first, the mare rubs herself a bit against the griffon, then starts working with his pipbuck in order to use it to recover the lost recording
  100. [2014-02-12 15:15:03] <Little_Gloom> 3The meaning of the rune seems on the tip of his beak, but Shatara can't quite grasp it.
  101. [2014-02-12 15:15:27] * Shatara blushes at the cybermare's contact as he tries to decipher the puzzle before him, trapped between her and CopyCat.
  102. [2014-02-12 15:15:41] <Little_Gloom> 3It's tantalizing though, like a meaty snack dangling before him, and all the more frustrating because of it.
  103. [2014-02-12 15:18:21] * CopyCat adds to the awkwardness by wing-hugging Shatara and Get_Lost.
  104. [2014-02-12 15:18:49] * Get_Lost does her mojo
  105. [2014-02-12 15:19:17] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream notices the cloaked reaper watching them from a balcony farther down the block.
  106. [2014-02-12 15:20:08] <--| Camshaft has left #FalloutEquestriaPnP
  107. [2014-02-12 15:20:09] * Get_Lost works fast and also succeeds in doing it while being sexy with the catbird. so wow
  108. [2014-02-12 15:20:11] * Golden_Dream gives it a little glare. She didn't appreciate that... Violation was the best word that came to mind.
  109. [2014-02-12 15:21:11] * Shatara finds the closeness of the mares robbing him of any ability to ponder the puzzle.
  110. [2014-02-12 15:21:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Get_Lost struggles at first, but the damaged module is no match for her skills. The recording begins to play (although it cannot be heard without plugging in a broadcaster or listening through the earbloom.
  111. [2014-02-12 15:21:42] * Noble_Heart looks towards Golden Dream. "It would seem that our guide is either uncaring or actively hostile. We shall have to be especially careful."
  112. [2014-02-12 15:22:24] * Bookwright "I really want to hear what's on that module. If this poor griffin went around with it, there's gotta be something useful on it.
  113. [2014-02-12 15:24:06] |<-- Milia has left irc.canternet.org (Quit: )
  114. [2014-02-12 15:24:06] * Golden_Dream sighs. "If it was gonna be actively hostile, one of us wouldn't be alive t' talk about it. Ah' think it's more or less it's bein' passively hostile." She muttered. In her mind, the only thing worse than getting beaten down is being talked down to while it happened.
  115. [2014-02-12 15:25:27] * Get_Lost passes the earbloom to the first pony grabbing it "be my guest."
  116. [2014-02-12 15:25:44] * Golden_Dream crawls back up. Fuck off, pony, I'm not gonna die that easy.
  117. [2014-02-12 15:41:21] * Bookwright pulls out the recording/playing device from the other side of the world. "How about we use this?"
  118. [2014-02-12 15:42:51] * Golden_Dream looks over at Bookwright, her ears going flat. "You sure that's safe?"
  119. [2014-02-12 15:43:34] * Bookwright "Sure it's safe. This one isn't corrupted by the pink cloud. It's the speakers that are the danger, not the material being played."
  120. [2014-02-12 15:43:36] * Get_Lost shrugs "it should..."
  121. [2014-02-12 15:43:43] * Noble_Heart taps her chin. "We are uncertain. But We believe it is a problem with the broadcaster, not the recording..."
  122. [2014-02-12 15:44:44] * Golden_Dream doesn't look sure, but doesn't bolt off running.
  123. [2014-02-12 15:45:39] * Shatara keeps his 9mm handy just in case.
  124. [2014-02-12 15:45:54] * Get_Lost 2aw, just give it here...." grabs the module, puts it in and presses play
  125. [2014-02-12 15:46:00] * Get_Lost "see? easy!"
  126. [2014-02-12 15:46:03] * Bookwright tosses it to Get_Lost.
  127. [2014-02-12 15:46:22] <Little_Gloom> 3The restored module plugs into one of the eight empty module slots on the front of the recorder. The voice that comes from the recording sounds wounded and out of breath.
  128. [2014-02-12 15:46:52] <Little_Gloom> 3(Courtesy of Scorch_Mechanic: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62984274/tape_1.mp3)
  129. [2014-02-12 15:46:58] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  130. [2014-02-12 15:47:05] <Little_Gloom> 3(…ungff…) I know I said the last one was the last, but I lied. Need to keep talking. (…huuuuuff…) If I pass out, or fall asleep, I’m dead.
  131. [2014-02-12 15:47:21] <Little_Gloom> 3Several of the ponies that I’ve met out here have told me that I need to find my virtue if I hope to survive in the wastes of their former homeland. (…unngh…) Well, I don’t know about a virtue, but I have certainly found my vice. (…uuugh…)
  132. [2014-02-12 15:47:29] <Little_Gloom> 3Envy is one of the oldest sins, but few can grip a heart like it can. What else but such a severe character flaw could bring me to an end in such a horrid place?
  133. [2014-02-12 15:47:38] <Little_Gloom> 3(…hunnnnn…) I’m beginning to regret not having numbered these. My pack… tore open in the fight last night, and my meager remaining belongings, including the recordings before this, were scattered through the buildings and streets as I fled the abominations that wear the faces of children.
  134. [2014-02-12 15:47:51] <Little_Gloom> 3(…huggf…huggf…) If they are not devoured by the Pink Mist, whatever damned explorer finds them will be hard put to piece them together in any order. It would make for a poor final struggle. Still (…hnnngh…), I would like to be remembered.
  135. [2014-02-12 15:48:03] <Little_Gloom> 3My name (…unnnph…) is Bonaparte. I was the chaplain in my Stable – an odd job for a griffin, I know, playing intercessor between the Stable flock and those we believed watched over us. But I was more than naturally adept at the role. Perhaps, if I had been born a pony, it would have been my cutie mark.
  136. [2014-02-12 15:48:08] <Little_Gloom> 3(…hunff…) …was that? No. (…hunff…) Anyway…
  137. [2014-02-12 15:48:20] <Little_Gloom> 3…the Wasteland has little regard for chaplains, and the Talons little use for a griffin with no skills in fighting. I had no place here and even less power, forced to rely on the expertise of others to survive.
  138. [2014-02-12 15:48:33] <Little_Gloom> 3And worse, observing that even should I attempt to master a skill, I could not hope to match those about me – griffins who had been training since childhood, ponies whose talents and inherent magic gave them an entirely unfair edge. (…huuuh... huuuh… huunh…) To be mediocre was the best I could hope for.
  139. [2014-02-12 15:48:41] <Little_Gloom> 3And I envied them. Enough that I was willing to risk life and feather to come to this accursed place in the vain hope that here I would find a power that could make me their equal. And indeed, I suppose I have. For we are all (…unngh…) equal in the power to parish.
  140. [2014-02-12 15:48:46] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  141. [2014-02-12 15:48:53] <Little_Gloom> 3The recording ends.
  142. [2014-02-12 15:50:04] * Noble_Heart frowns sadly at the recording, looking down the street. "It would seem that We are soon to have another goal in these ruins. And yet more dangers await."
  143. [2014-02-12 15:50:34] * Get_Lost tilts her head "well, that was... deep"
  144. [2014-02-12 15:51:15] * Shatara gazes down at the dead gryphon sadly.
  145. [2014-02-12 15:52:04] * Get_Lost checks the friffon to see if he's actually dead or if he's still alive as a ghoul molten with the wall
  146. [2014-02-12 15:52:26] * Golden_Dream felt a grim pull on her heartstrings. Yeah. Envy. Envy can lead you to some terrible situations, alright. "... This way." She said hoarsely, plodding down to the reaper and waiting for the rest of them to follow.
  147. [2014-02-12 15:52:50] * Get_Lost also, tries to retrieve the pipbuck, maybe she can get it back to functionality...
  148. [2014-02-12 15:57:09] * Golden_Dream briefly wondered what character flaw would bring her here. She entertained the thought that maybe being in the wrong place at the wrong time was a vice in itself.
  149. [2014-02-12 15:57:51] * Noble_Heart followed after Golden Dream quietly, keeping her eyes on the walls and floor. She didnt' want to get caught by another unexpected surprise.
  150. [2014-02-12 15:59:24] * CopyCat releases Shatara and Get_Lost from her hug and trots after Golden Dream. She didn't have any vices, because everypony knows that curiousity is a virtue.
  151. [2014-02-12 16:01:22] * Get_Lost had a lot of vices, one of her problems was that she didnt' really think about it, you know, if you start making a list of the problems, you would never advance... solaris
  152. [2014-02-12 16:01:37] * Shatara moves with the others, brushing against Get_Lost.
  153. [2014-02-12 16:02:21] * Bookwright hamsterballs with the others, still eliciting groans of pain.
  154. [2014-02-12 16:12:25] <Little_Gloom> 3Get_Lost confirmed the griffin was indeed dead, and attempted to retrieve the PipBuck only to discover it had melded to bones and stone.
  155. [2014-02-12 16:14:48] <Little_Gloom> 3As the group moves on, the reaper that Golden_Dream is following turns about on the balcony and disappears into the building. As they approach, they spot a sign reading "Teaching Staff Only" next to the door.
  156. [2014-02-12 16:16:40] <Little_Gloom> 3The building is a two-story structure with second-floor balconies on the narrow ends. It is build up against a few shorter buildings, creating a dead-end on this side. Badly-aged iron lanterns hang to either side of the arched doorway.
  157. [2014-02-12 16:17:43] * Golden_Dream frowns and decides that she does not like reaper ponies at all. Fuck you, if you called for us, why the hell can't we get an escort? She sighed and then rolled her way over to the door. "Noble, Bookie, or CopyCat, on account'a me not havin' m' hooves, would ya'll kindly open th' door?"
  158. [2014-02-12 16:18:20] * CopyCat nods and tries the door handle with her telekinesis.
  159. [2014-02-12 16:19:15] * Noble_Heart nods her head, smiling as CopyCat took charge of opening the door.
  160. [2014-02-12 16:25:14] <Little_Gloom> 3The door is unlocked, but only swings inward a couple feet before hitting an obstruction. The opening is wide enough for most ponies, and for Shatara, but not the alicorns, much less their shields.
  161. [2014-02-12 16:26:03] * Noble_Heart frowns, looking up towards the balcony. "Perhaps we should try the upper floor?"
  162. [2014-02-12 16:26:10] <Little_Gloom> 3Inside, Golden_Dream can see the flicker of a Sparkle~Cola machine.
  163. [2014-02-12 16:26:37] <Little_Gloom> 3(against the far wall)
  164. [2014-02-12 16:27:14] * Golden_Dream rolls on inside. "Ah got it." She concerned herself with removing the obstruction first if possible.
  165. [2014-02-12 16:35:00] * Bookwright "Well, if you don't got it I can make the door permeable. Do you got it?"
  166. [2014-02-12 16:35:30] * Golden_Dream investigates the obstruction in question.
  167. [2014-02-12 16:45:30] * Golden_Dream slams into the area between the door and the wall. Crap. She'd need to drop the shield to get closer. "Aw, for fuck's sake!" She exclaimed, looking as if her temper had finally broken, face slightly red for a little while. Stupid asshole bullshit acid castle, why can't it ever be easy?!
  168. [2014-02-12 16:47:50] * Noble_Heart looks up towards the balcony, spreading her wings and attempting to fly up to check whether or not there was an entrance above which might be more accomodating to their shields.
  169. [2014-02-12 16:48:40] * CopyCat drops the shield around Golden_Dream as the filly desired, but in doing so the shields around herself, Bookwright, and Shatara are all dropped as well.
  170. [2014-02-12 16:49:13] * Golden_Dream looks at CopyCat and gives her an exasperated sigh. When the shield came down, she bolted to the other side of the door to get the thing out of the way.
  171. [2014-02-12 16:50:29] * Bookwright gags and coughs. "A little *kaff* warning next time please!"
  172. [2014-02-12 16:51:37] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart flaps her wings, lifting herself upward. She lands on the balcony, looking in through the shattered remains of glass double-doors. Within the building are worn couches and a billiard table with brightly colored balls scattered across the green felt and the floor about it. The doorway is easily large enough for her shield.
  173. [2014-02-12 16:52:11] * CopyCat flinches. "Sorry, I didn't know they were linked so closely." Soon she has to cover her mouth to fight her own coughing.
  174. [2014-02-12 16:53:15] * Noble_Heart glances around briefly before calling back down. "The balcony has another entrance which is much larger! We would suggest moving in from up here instead!"
  175. [2014-02-12 16:54:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Copycat drops her shields, and immediately, the unprotected hooves of the ponies begin to burn. The mist doesn't reach high -- what they breathe is enough to induce coughing but not serious harm unless they remain within the mist for a prolonged time, but the thickest inch that they tread through is strong enough to be damaging.
  176. [2014-02-12 16:56:12] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart's last word is drowned out by a loud, wet cracking. She feels the wood shift under her hooves, her weight having been all the decaying balcony needed to finally give way.
  177. [2014-02-12 16:56:19] * Bookwright "Augh, I need booties!"
  178. [2014-02-12 16:57:23] * Shatara acks at the burning mist. He considers taking to the air, but worries that'd just stir the pot.
  179. [2014-02-12 16:58:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream darts through the door and turns. She spots the obstruction immediately... the skeletons of two mares, fused together and into the floor. Their stance suggests they were trying to push the door closed when the Pink got in and killed them.
  180. [2014-02-12 17:00:01] * CopyCat hoof-dances in place, trying and failing to keep her hooves out of the painful mist. The sound of cracking wood draws her attention upwards to Noble_Heart.
  181. [2014-02-12 17:00:18] * Golden_Dream doesn't breathe. She instinctively pulls out her shotgun and attempts to weaken up the bond between the skeletons and and the ground before just attempting to push them out of the way and kicking them out of the way.
  182. [2014-02-12 17:01:06] * Noble_Heart yelps in surprise at the cracking wood as she spreads her wings and tries to get off the balcony before it gives way!
  183. [2014-02-12 17:02:36] <Little_Gloom> 3The dilapidated furnishings, stained pictures and large fireplace suggest that the room was once a rather plush teacher's lounge. Golden_Dream turns from the decor and focuses on the skeletons, pulling out her shotgun and firing. The skeletons crack, splintered bone flying, as a resounding crash fills the air, much louder than the shotgun should be.
  184. [2014-02-12 17:03:07] *nickserv* [email protected] has just authenticated as you (Scorch_Mechanic)
  185. [2014-02-12 17:03:10] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat looks up in time to see the balcony come smashing down into the walkway below, debris flying.
  186. [2014-02-12 17:04:09] * Golden_Dream bolts out the door again. "Loosened up the obstruction. Shields again!"
  187. [2014-02-12 17:04:28] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream hears the crash outside and, immediately following it, a thump inside as Noble_Heart jumps in through the upper-floor balcony doorway, her shield slamming into the pool table and sending billiard balls flying.
  188. [2014-02-12 17:05:17] * Noble_Heart wobbles a few moments upon smashing into the pool table, slowly regaining her hooves. "We are alright!"
  189. [2014-02-12 17:09:04] * CopyCat nods at Golden_Dream's request and starts to beat her wings. "Shatara, please help me clear some of this mist from Golden and Bookwright. My shields won't be too helpful if I'm just trapping you all in with the pink cloud."
  190. [2014-02-12 17:09:49] * Shatara nods and flaps, hoping to blow some of the mist away.
  191. [2014-02-12 17:13:42] <Little_Gloom> 3The Pink Mist curls away, forming into thicker puffs.
  192. [2014-02-12 17:17:18] * Noble_Heart took a few moments to look around, being swiftly distracted by the billiard balls which had been sent sprawling around.
  193. [2014-02-12 17:17:30] * CopyCat recasts Shield on her friends when the mist is clear around them. She didn't take the time to focus, and the effort is visibly draining. "There... thats better."
  194. [2014-02-12 17:19:50] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart's voice catches Golden_Dream's attention. The young mare looks up, seeing her alicorn companion... then notices claw marks on the banister. They look like they were made by a griffin.
  195. [2014-02-12 17:20:47] <Little_Gloom> 3Shatara looks down at the area he and CopyCat cleared of Pink Mist. There is a carpet in the center of the room, and he and spots what look like hoofprints burned across the carpet, starting and stopping at the edges. The gait looks casual.
  196. [2014-02-12 17:20:49] * Golden_Dream squints her eyes. "... Griffin claw marks!" She exclaimed, pointing them out.
  197. [2014-02-12 17:21:49] * Shatara points at carpet. "Whose hoofprints are those?!"
  198. [2014-02-12 17:23:11] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart finds herself in a game loft. The upper floor has chairs and tables, most of which held games -- checkers, chess, a puzzle whose pieces have fused the picture into a solid whole. Some of the tables are toppled, the games on them scattered.
  199. [2014-02-12 17:23:54] * Noble_Heart curiously pokes about at the games. Not that she expected there to be anything useful stashed here. Nor anything she would want to take if there was...
  200. [2014-02-12 17:25:19] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart pokes about, and her curiosity is rewarded. She spots something in one of the corner pockets of the billiard table. Another audio module.
  201. [2014-02-12 17:26:29] * Noble_Heart pulls the module from the billiard table with a smile. "We have found another recording! Do you suppose that this reaper leads Us upon the path of the fallen Griffin?"
  202. [2014-02-12 17:26:59] * Golden_Dream shakes her head. "Ah think we already found it back there!"
  203. [2014-02-12 17:27:05] * CopyCat looks at where Shatara was pointing. "Those hoof marks aren't in any hurry, and to be burned in like that they must have happened after the pink mist was present. What do you think, Shatara?"
  204. [2014-02-12 17:31:47] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream can't help but notice the reaper does not seem to be in here. But there are doors into two other rooms on this floor, and one on the floor above.
  205. [2014-02-12 17:32:29] * Golden_Dream grumps. "We goin' up there, or goin' down one of two rooms down here?
  206. [2014-02-12 17:32:33] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We do not mean where he ended his journey. We mean where he traveled." She moved to check the door on the upper level.
  207. [2014-02-12 17:35:31] <Little_Gloom> 3Noble_Heart opens the door on the far end of the gaming loft. It opens into a smaller room with shelves that hold games. Two of the shelves have given way under the weigh of boxes and time, spilling the floor with boards, dice, chits and other colorful pieces. Many of these have melted into a greasy muck.
  208. [2014-02-12 17:37:17] <Little_Gloom> 3Across from the door, a sliding glass door looks out onto the balcony on the opposite end. There is a chair on it, and the skeleton of a pony. The book she was reading melted into her. It has mostly disintegrated now, leaving only the cover and a few tattered pages, but part of the lost text is forever written across her ribcage.
  209. [2014-02-12 17:38:02] <Little_Gloom> 3Golden_Dream finds another audio module on the steps up to the loft, near the worst of the scratches.
  210. [2014-02-12 17:38:33] * Golden_Dream pushes the door that was previously blocked by skeletons open. She felt... Weak. Colors were blurry and blooming unnaturally in her perception. "... Got another one here." She said, realizing she couldn't even touch it if she wanted to.
  211. [2014-02-12 17:39:01] <Little_Gloom> 3CopyCat spies the telltale yellow of a medical box wedged behind a ruined fainting couch.
  212. [2014-02-12 17:41:09] * CopyCat uses cheating magic to pick up the audio module that Golden_Dream had found. She lets Bookwright hold onto it for safe keeping before spotting something herself. "There's something here. I think it's a medical box... but it's pretty wedged in there."
  213. [2014-02-12 17:42:02] * Golden_Dream frowns. "Let's check th' other rooms first t' see if we're clear."
  214. [2014-02-12 17:42:43] * Noble_Heart frowns. "We hav found a way out on this side. Perhaps Bookwright would wish to cast his spell to see if any more of these recordings lay hidden nearby?"
  215. [2014-02-12 17:44:18] * CopyCat tilts her head and tries to telekinetically tug the box free. She sticks her tongue out of the side of her mouth in concentration.
  216. [2014-02-12 17:46:13] * Golden_Dream sighs and sits down. She wasn't feeling well.
  217. [2014-02-12 17:47:29] * Bookwright focuses his magic.
  218. [2014-02-12 17:47:44] <Little_Gloom> 3With concentration, effort and the secret tactic of wiggling, CopyCat gets the medical box free. A moment later, Get_Lost has it open. Inside were five healing potions. Unfortunately, three of the bottles are broken, they're contents pooling in the box along with broken glass. But the other two are in perfect shape.
  219. [2014-02-12 17:48:18] * Bookwright casts "Locate Records, Advanced"
  220. [2014-02-12 17:52:33] <Little_Gloom> 3Spots of light appear in Bookwright's vision, illuminating a score of items that still qualify as records within the range of his spell, not counting items carried by himself and his friends. At a glance, he can see none of the books or magazines that remain in the room are glowing -- they have deteriorated beyond use -- but there are two records here.
  221. [2014-02-12 17:53:13] <Little_Gloom> 3One is upstairs in the back room, the other on this floor beyond one of the doors.
  222. [2014-02-12 17:55:23] * Bookwright "Two items of interest. There's something in an upstairs room, and there's something on the other side of those" he points "doors."
  223. [2014-02-12 17:58:47] * Bookwright makes for the doors he pointed at, and tries the handle with his telekinesis.
  224. [2014-02-12 17:58:55] * Noble_Heart tilts her head to one side. "We believe what you may be detecting up here is the remains of a pony and their book. Though We are uncertain you would wish to pursue attempting to reclaim what of that book remains..."
  225. [2014-02-12 18:02:01] * Golden_Dream attempts to open the door, looking for the reaper pony.
  226. [2014-02-12 18:02:07] * CopyCat collects the potions Get had liberated and follows after Bookwright.
  227. [2014-02-12 18:02:46] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright opens the doors. One leads to a bathroom with another medical box mounted on the wall, the glow apparently coming from inside it. The other door opens to a small kitchen -- a stove, a cupboard, a teacher's fridge covered with notes and a rickety table with a leg that has already begun to buckle, spilling the table's contents onto the floor.
  228. [2014-02-12 18:04:22] * Bookwright walks carefully into the bathroom and tries the latch on the medical box. "Hope it's not fused..."
  229. [2014-02-12 18:04:34] <Little_Gloom> 3The notes on the fridge range from "The white chocolate - hazelnut - tulip creamer is mine, not everypony's!" to "Chearilie is best teacher!" with crayon hearts and a third of the letters backwards.
  230. [2014-02-12 18:05:01] <Little_Gloom> 3The medical box appears to be locked.
  231. [2014-02-12 18:08:25] * Bookwright "Get Lost, I found another medical box here, but it's locked. Can you give it a shot? There's something in here that's more than just medicine." Bookwright then goes to examine the fridge. He's morbidly curious about the contents.
  232. [2014-02-12 18:14:32] <Little_Gloom> 3Bookwright opens the fridge and the light doesn't come on, although a harsh purple glow eminates from inside. Closer inspection shows that some sort of mold managed to get into the lightbulb and grow there before dying, leaving the bulb filled with dark residue... much like the residue that covers about two-thirds of the interior of the refrigerator.
  233. [2014-02-12 18:15:34] <Little_Gloom> 3The glow is from a bottle of Sparkle~Cola Rad. The bottle is untouched by the growth that permeated most the the fridge, as is a circle about a hoof's-width around it.
  234. [2014-02-12 18:16:36] * Bookwright picks it up gingerly with TK. "Wow, this stuff sure is radioactive." He looks over his shoulder and calls out, "Anypony want a bottle of Sparkle Cola Rad?"
  235. [2014-02-12 18:16:40] <Little_Gloom> 3A few other items in the fridge clearly did not fare so well, the only one even slightly recognizable being a quaff of flavored creamer.
  236. [2014-02-12 18:17:38] * Noble_Heart looks towards the path downstairs. "We would take it if CopyCat does not want it!"
  237. [2014-02-12 18:18:05] * Golden_Dream waves her hooves!
  238. [2014-02-12 18:18:23] * CopyCat raises her hoof. "Oh, I do! I do-... or, maybe we could share it!"
  239. [2014-02-12 18:18:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Get_Lost successfully opens the second medical box, muttering something about it not even being challenging. Inside are three more healing potions (all intact), a roll of normal bandages, a medical brace and a (MoI approved) copy of Supernaturals.
  240. [2014-02-12 18:18:34] * Golden_Dream "Ah c'n make somethin' that can explode with that stuff!"
  241. [2014-02-12 18:20:59] * Noble_Heart contemplates that. "We would suggest allowing Golden Dream to have it in that case. We would merely drink it."
  242. [2014-02-12 18:22:02] * Bookwright sets the bottle of soda down on the table. He plugs the module Golden_Dream found into the playback device, and hits play.
  243. [2014-02-12 18:22:13] * CopyCat scuffs her hoof on the ground. "I guess..."
  244. [2014-02-12 18:24:43] * Golden_Dream ponders on that. "Why do ya'll like this stuff so much? I tried some and it just kinda tasted chemically t' me."
  245. [2014-02-12 18:26:44] * CopyCat mutters to herself about feeling all fizzy.
  246. [2014-02-12 18:27:23] <Little_Gloom> 3The voice of the griffin plays from the recorder, urbane and pleasant. Conversational.
  247. [2014-02-12 18:27:35] * Noble_Heart goes quiet a few moments before answering Golden Dream. "Because it is good for Us. In a sense." She goes quiet as the recording begins playing.
  248. [2014-02-12 18:27:53] <Little_Gloom> 3(with special thanks to Scorch_Mechanic: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62984274/tape_2.mp3 )
  249. [2014-02-12 18:28:00] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  250. [2014-02-12 18:28:05] <Little_Gloom> 3I see dead people.
  251. [2014-02-12 18:28:11] <Little_Gloom> 3I presume I have always been able to, but that the Stable afforded a dearth of ghosts. I have always felt as if I was somehow connected (in tune, I suppose) with the other side. The supposition certainly facilitated my career in the Stable.
  252. [2014-02-12 18:28:24] <Little_Gloom> 3Not as useful, I must say, as the not entirely dissimilar ability of some zebras to see into the realm of the spirits. True ghosts are not only exceptionally rare, but the few that can affect anything on this side of the veil are even moreso. And those that can appear severely disinterested in lending their services to the living.
  253. [2014-02-12 18:28:37] <Little_Gloom> 3So much so that I have questioned whether doing so is taboo for them (although I find it hard to believe that ghosts can even form a culture)… or perhaps dangerous, although that would require there be something that can harm that which is already dead and departed.
  254. [2014-02-12 18:28:40] <Little_Gloom> 3I finally found a ghost – a little filly in the ruins of a farmhouse along the old zebra incursion line – who was willing to provide an answer to my query. One word: reapers.
  255. [2014-02-12 18:28:46] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  256. [2014-02-12 18:28:52] <Little_Gloom> 3The recording ends.
  257. [2014-02-12 18:36:35] * Noble_Heart passed the other recording down to those on the lower floor. "We found this up here as well."
  258. [2014-02-12 18:37:07] * CopyCat tilts her head. "Reapers? Like the creatures Golden_Dream saw?"
  259. [2014-02-12 18:38:06] * Bookwright "Thank you, Noble Heart." He inserts the recording, and plays it.
  260. [2014-02-12 18:39:07] <Little_Gloom> 3Again the voice of the griffin speaks from beyond the grave, the memoirs of his past playing in the Pink-soaked ruins of the Littlehorn school. The contents of this one, even more than the others, betray that the group is not finding the recordings in any sort of chronological order, the contents placing him quite a travel distance from here.
  261. [2014-02-12 18:40:03] <Little_Gloom> 3(Again, thank you Scorch_Mechanic! https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62984274/tape_3.mp3 )
  262. [2014-02-12 18:40:10] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  263. [2014-02-12 18:40:19] <Little_Gloom> 3Out of that swamp! At last, the light guides me true! Never again will I step foot or talon into that wretched, cursed place. And take my words to heart, anyone who hears this: neither should you.
  264. [2014-02-12 18:40:30] <Little_Gloom> 3The name Froggy Bottom Bog does not strike terror as does Splendid Valley or The Everfree Forest, much less the sinister reputation that the Ruins of Canterlot once had. But I am convinced that is only because too few have escaped, and those who did failed to survive long enough to spread the warning.
  265. [2014-02-12 18:40:36] <Little_Gloom> 3(True, there are those who make frequent passage into the bayou. Do. Not. Trust. Them!)
  266. [2014-02-12 18:40:44] <Little_Gloom> 3Suffice it to say that feuding tribes of zebra necromancers is far from the only danger to your body and soul that infests the darkest stretch of the Ponytomic. Nor the worst.
  267. [2014-02-12 18:40:50] <Little_Gloom> 3Still, I leave the swamp with more than I entered (not counting the wounds which will never heal) – the reapers are real! And it is possible to bargain with them.
  268. [2014-02-12 18:40:56] <Little_Gloom> 3---oooOOOooo---
  269. [2014-02-12 18:41:05] <Little_Gloom> 3The recording ends.
  270. [2014-02-12 18:41:11] <Little_Gloom> 3--- End of Session ---
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