Somber #3

[18:31:48]	Somber	The friends have their first restful night in a while in the aptly named Spark Town. Though rude at first, the local ponies have seemed to accept them as 'cool'. The Appleanta Expedition might have been nearly destroyed, but it was still together. The four wake in the late afternoon as things seem to be picking up. Arclight trots down into the Bunker
[18:34:04]	looking a little wan as she grins at the four friends. "Heyas. Rock on brothers and sisters." she said as she took a seat besides their matresses and groaned. "Right. So. Noticed you four were low on cap juice. Not good. That's totally broken circuit. Outsiders with no caps here got a bad fuckin name: beggers. But dependin on what yer up for, we
[18:34:12]	might be able to turn all that shit around."
[18:37:20]	Shimmershy	sat up with a yawn, having slept in a fair bit today. Arclight brought a blush from her cheeks as she lowered her head sadly from the groaning. "W-well... We... We came out here looking to trade. A-and to make new alliances. S-so... Um... So d-did you have something you needed done..?" She bit her lower lip, lowering her voice a little. "M-maybe not something involving
	guns..."
[18:38:20]	Edna_Stonetalon	groans as she gets up, feeling a little sick "Gnnn ... Oh right work"
[18:39:49]	Somber	The electric blue maned mare coughed a moment and then grimaced, wiping her hoof on her barding. "Fuckin phage... anyway, yeah. We got shooty work, thinkin work, and trottin work for any outsider able ta do em. You can also take yer chances on the stage... but gotta warn ya. It can get ya dusted if ya blow it."
[18:41:31]	Shimmershy	swallowed nervously, folding her ears back at the mention of getting dusted. "W-well... Um... Uh..." She lowers her head sadly. "I... Um... I don't... Don't really know anything about... About guns. Or science. S-so..." She shuffles her forehoof nervously.
[18:42:40]	Edna_Stonetalon	puts her gear on and carefully stows 'Commodore Snuggles' "I'm kinda in a mood to shoot something"
[18:42:55]	Night_Wind	rises on her long legs and stretches her body in an almost feline fashion...which means when her hoof slips on a piece of paper she would swear wasn't there last night, she collapses to the ground ungracefully then springs back to her hooves saying, "I meant to do that!"
[18:43:46]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Sure you did Fumbles"
[18:44:48]	Night_Wind	glances at Edna then sniffs and begins pointedly preening, seemingly not paying the griffon any mind.
[18:45:40]	Somber	"Well the shootin work is what I mentioned earlier. Head on into the old coal bunkers and go on a safari. Any bugs, rats, or sprites that get in you waste. Pretty straight forward. The thinkin work is gettin the number two genny workin again. Take some pretty decent knowledge of science and mechanics ta get it hummin. Hasn't worked right in years. The
[18:47:10]	trottin work is pretty simple fer outsiders. Make a food run. Ya can trot over to Headless and pick up some grub, or try some scavenge at the old MoP warehouses. Those MRE's never fuckin expire. And since ya aint fuckin shockers, those Salv saps shouldn't shoot ya."
[18:48:10]	|<--	Pantzar has left luna.canternet.org (Quit: IceChat - Its what Cool People use)
[18:48:22]	Shimmershy	looks up at the mention of MoP warehouses. "Um... Ware... Warehouses? Wh-where are those..?" She bit her lower lip nervously, and more than a little hopefully. "Th-that sounds safer... Maybe..."
[18:48:29]	Edna_Stonetalon	shivers at the mention of rats "I /hate/ rats. Just ... " and just looks disgusted "I don't know much about science crap"
[18:50:28]	Night_Wind	blinks at the heavy metal mare. "Did you say generator?" Memories tingle at the back of her mind, hazy visions of a room and a sense of being at a great altitude. "I might be able to do something with that."
[18:50:32]	Somber	"Off to the west. Technically our turf, but Salvation motherfuckers have been sneaking around fer months now. We'll give ya a bonus if you bring those stupid ass medallions they all wear. Good bounty fer those fucks. Not sure if you're good with crossin em, of course."
[18:51:57]	Arclight looks at Nightwind. "Yeah. Old Sparky used to keep it going, but he died and soon after so did number two. So we're down to number one and Shorty does all he can to keep it going." Wanderlust perks up as well. "I might be able to do something there too." the stallion says, rubbing his chin... then frowning and scrubbing at his ear with a hoof.
[18:52:53]	Shimmershy	lowers her head again a little bit. "O-oh..." She shuffled a forehoof nervously. "W-well... Maybe... Maybe we should spend a littletime to let Night Wind t-try to repair the generator... Then... Then we could go together... T-to try and get supplies..?" She smiles a little bit at the suggestion from Wanderlust. "S-so it sounds like that would be a good idea. Th-then we
[18:52:54]	can leave as a group. Maybe... Maybe get a chance to do some other things for locals or s-something too..."
[18:54:11]	Edna_Stonetalon	munches on her brahmin steak, thinking, "Yea lets try for that generator. Sounds simple enough."
[18:55:52]	Somber	"Yeah. Like I said, food run to Headless or the Warehouses are good sources for unphaged grub." She sat down and hacked some more, then coughed up some bloody phelgm. "Fucking shorts!" she rasped before she rose to her hooves. "Let me introduce ya to Shorty. He can show you number two. Won't matter if ya break it as its already broke."
[18:57:16]	Night_Wind	smiles at Wanderlust and nods. "I would appreciate the assistance. My skills are...a bit rusty, you could say, and I probably haven't seen this model of generator before. Besides, generators are rather large. Extra bodies to hold things in place and turn wrenches are always good," she finishes looking at the rest of the group.
[18:59:40]	Shimmershy	shuffles into her bag to pull out one of the sealed bottles of water. She stared down at it nervously. Uncertain whether it would be safe to drink. Given where they found it. She shuffled it away again with a sigh and lowered her head. "Y-yeah. Let's go... Go see that." She stood up slowly to follow the others down that way. Staying near the back of the group.
[19:00:52]	Somber	The security mare trotted a little unsteadily up the ramp. Already the noise was starting to build up as the recorded rock was making way for the night's performances. Spark Town was clearly a nocturnal kind of place and now that the sun was setting the life was starting. Neon lights and lamps lit up the gloom of the cavernous interior of the power plant.
[19:01:21]	Edna_Stonetalon	digs out a bottle of water and finishes it off
[19:02:15]	following the rest of the group
[19:02:21]	Somber	On the platform, a band was trying to tune their instruments while the Sparkers began to go about their business of the day. There were stalls where meager food supplies were being sold... most of them at pretty high rates. Another stall seemed to specialize in energy weapons.
[19:04:59]	Arclight trots past them all towards a huge tower of humming machinery next to a massive drum. Cables dangled from transformers and other equipment. Arclight trotted up to a yellow unicorn stallion who's neon green mane frizzed in every direction. He fussed at a panel and then looked at Arclight. "Nononononoarclightnotimetotalkgottamakesurewedon'thavea
[19:05:14]	shorttonightokaythanksknewyou'dunderstandbye!"
[19:07:18]	Shimmershy	pauses as they pass the stage, her ears twitching just a bit as she looks up at the tuning band. Breaking off from the others to hang around that area and spend a short time meandering through the area the ponies would listen to the music. And ofcourse towards the stalls where trading was occuring. Slowly working her way through, watching the ponies argue and trade.
[19:07:29]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Speak slowly"
[19:08:49]	Night_Wind	trots along behind the security mare, briefly slowing as she passes the energy weapons and almost literally drools at a couple of items. Hurrying to catch up, she nearly trips over Edna and bumps into her from behind. "Sorry! Sorry. I...I'll just go this-a-way..." She circles wide around the griffon as she trots up to where Arclight has paused...and blinks trying to decypher
[19:08:50]	the stallion's rushed speech.
[19:10:09]	Somber	"YourespeakingslowlyenoughforbothofusIdonthavetimetofuckingwasteonbeggerswhythefuckareyoubringingthisonmenowarcwhenthemusicstartsinanhour?" Shorty says as he magically flips magic breakers with a harsh flash of electricity and an ominous hum from the huge tower of machinery. Arclight sighs. "They want to take a shot at getting number two going. They're
[19:11:16]	outsiders." Arclight said as she gave the breakers a wide berth. The unicorn gave a low glare to all of them and asked, "Whatistheelectricalmagicalsparkratioforatwothousandmegasparkgenerator?"
[19:11:24]	Edna_Stonetalon	stands off to the side letting the 'smart' ones do the work, this kind of thing just wasn't her area of expertise "I'll be over here if you need me"
[19:12:37]	Somber	"Um... can I buy a vowel?" Wanderlust asks with a weak smile.
[19:17:33]	Night_Wind	blinks several times, appearing to blank on the question, but just as Shorty is starting to scowl in disgust, her face clears as she works out what he said and the answer comes to her. "Oh...OH! It's a trick question! It's not a set ratio - it's all dependent on how you set the metaspell matrix."
[19:19:51]	Somber	Shorty stops and looks sourly at her and then sighs and rolls his eyes. "FineI'llshowthemnumbertwobutyouhavetowatchthebankstillIgetbackArcMakesureitdoesn'tdischargeorfaultthebreakersorwellallbefuckedwithanarcwelder." He turns and trots towards a catwalk leading across the cavern to an identically massive piece of equipment that is dark and silent. "Thisis
[19:21:54]	numbertwoanditscompleteshitasyoucanseebutitsonthesamesteamfeedasonesoitshouldworkbutfuckedifIgotthetimetofigureitout." He said as he trotted to a large control panel with dead terminals. "Hereisthecontrolcentercan'tgetittoworkbutmaybeyoucan." And then he yanked open a drawer and pulled out several old books and tossed them on the desktop. "Hereisallthe
[19:22:47]	manualswevegotmaybetheycanhelpyougetthisthingupandrunningbutI'mnotholdingmybreathgoodluckdon'tfuckingdie." And with that he turned and trotted back to generator one.
[19:23:45]	Edna_Stonetalon	stands off to the, and begins to hum a strangely familiar tune about ghost and giggling at them
[19:24:09]	Shimmershy	quietly shuffles through the trading area, her head low and listening to the conversations and desires of those in the process of trading. Getting a feel for the place and the ponies who live here. Looking up at the stage curiously as they continue tuning up. The quiet, shy pony mostly trying to blend into a crowd which she really didn't blend with at all.
[19:26:19]	Somber	Once you got past the rough rawness of the crowd, they really weren't all that different from other wastelanders. They talked about food, caps, sex, gangs, fighting with their enemies, how Olives were dorks and how Salvs needed to die. There was also the undertone of the phage. Who was gonna die next. Odds were looking good on Arclight biting it next...
[19:26:26]	Night_Wind	winces about ten seconds later when she realizes what Shorty said to Arc. "That is not the sort of 'toy' I want someone to bring to bed. It sounds rather unpleasant. Er, not that I am thinking of bringing anyone to bed," she mutters to no one in particular with a faint blush on her cheeks. "Right, work. Um..." She blinks several more times, staring at the books Shorty
	provided for several second. "Oh! Uh, thank..." The door slams behind Shorty. "...you."
[19:28:02]	Somber	Wanderlust blinks. "I wonder if he's slept... ever," the unicorn asked before rubbing his temples and starting to flip through the book. "Hey... these schematics are all intact! At least we've got a clue what's supposed to go where!"
[19:34:09]	It takes an hour for Wanderlust and Nightwind to get the control terminals up and running. The stallion laid on his back, sticking his head under the desk and trying to get a hot line to power the terminals. When they flash to life, they crackle and need a hard reboot and when they finally glow to life they show the generator is... really messed up! It was
[19:34:22]	Shimmershy	listens to the conversations, wincing a little at the mention of death by phage. Especially the idea that Arclight would die from it soon. She mostly just kept her head down, curious about the Olives. Even moving to inquire about them here and there, though hardly excessively outspoken.
[19:34:31]	Night_Wind	easily stares over Wander's shoulder with her greater height and nods appreciatively. "These are easily worth their weight in caps. Hmmm...we should start with getting a feel for what a fully functional generator of this design should look like and how it's supposed to work. Then we'll have a better idea of what went wrong when we see it. Let's start with the controls..."
[19:36:15]	Somber	going to take some spare parts to even attempt to diagnose what is wrong. Two scrap metal, two scrap electronics at least. Arclight checks in and sees the monitors are working. "Hey! I thought those two things were completely scrapped! Good job. Here." She pulled out a hundred caps and passed them to Night_Wind. "For your good start. Any hope of
[19:36:23]	getting the fucking thing working again?"
[19:37:47]	Olives? They were the dorks over at the University of Appleanta over in Olives. Bunch of eggheads always whining about power and shit, but never helping Spark town fix their generators.
[19:38:50]	Edna_Stonetalon	is all but outright singing the infernal song, almost completely unaware of what she is doing
[19:40:21]	Somber	Unfortunately, she doesn't get more than that as the loud rockers completely ignore the poor mare.
[19:41:27]	Shimmershy	sighs quietly and sinks a bit, shuffling through the crowds and moving towards the edge of the area where ponies gathered for the music. Finding a relatively unseen place to watch the oncoming performance.
[19:45:52]	Night_Wind	smiles at the reward, but it's tempered by her next bit of news. "Possibly, but it's in sad shape. We're going to need spare parts..." She begins to list off the various metal bits that need replacing and the list of miscellaneous electronic parts. "And that's assuming the coils aren't fused or that the spark induction regulators haven't melted to nubs." She pauses to rub
[19:45:53]	her forehead. "This could be a long job."
[19:46:58]	Somber	As Wander and Night_Wind finish their work, the first band of the night makes their appearance. The music blasts out of a dozen speakers to the cheering spectators who whoop in glee. It's a raw song, full of hate and rage at the Salvation ponies and a challenge for them to take their rock away. The crowd seems to eat it up. Over at Generator 2, Arclight
[19:47:09]	Edna_Stonetalon	rocks back and forth to an unheard rhythm singing quietly to her self /"When I was a little filly and the sun was going down"/
[19:47:39]	Somber	nods. "Well, dunno where you;d get the parts you need. Can't take it off Genny One or Shorty would completely fuckin short out!"
[19:50:18]	Edna_Stonetalon	bounces a little more energetically and sings just a little louder "The darkness and the shadows they would always make me frooooown"
[19:51:48]	Shimmershy	listens to the song quietly, tilting her head to one side, then the other. Biting her lower lip nervously as she watches the song. If they weren't leaving too soon she was going to watch a bit longer. Who knew what else might be popular here.
[19:54:32]	Edna_Stonetalon	bounces energetically singing loudly now "I'd hide under my pillow from what I thought I saw"
[19:55:45]	Night_Wind	taps her chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps we can find the parts we need back in the market? What do you think, Wander, did you spot any stalls selling that sort of thing?"
[19:56:19]	Somber	Edna could sing at the top of her lungs with a power drill up her rear and still not be heard over that speaker system. Still, Arclight heard and nodded. "Classical music fan, huh?"
[19:56:43]	Wander rubbed his chin. "Maybe. I mean, isn't there always somepony selling junk?"
[19:58:21]	Shimmershy	slowly stood and began to make her way back towards the generators, pausing at the edge of the performance area. She didn't want to miss much more. But her friends might... Well, no, probably wouldn't need her. Maybe she could at least be useful somehow, though.
[20:00:03]	Edna_Stonetalon	hears nothing but that infernal song, and continues to bounce happily and sing loudly "But granny pie said that wasn't the way to deal with fears at all!/She said 'Pinkie, you gotta stand up tall, learn to face y our fears! /You'll see that they can't hurt you, just laugh to make them disappear!"
[20:01:23]	Somber	Shimmershy was quickly pointed to the second generator by Shorty, who is busy monitoring the first generator, and she sees them at the second massive piece of equipment.
[20:03:20]	Shimmershy	shuffles back towards her friends, looking to Edna, ears folded back and backing away from the griffin towards the rest of the group. "S-so... Um... Is... Is there anything we can do to help..?" She looked up to Night Wind and Wanderlust.
[20:04:01]	Edna_Stonetalon	stands on her hind legs, belting out that infernal song " Sooooo, giggle at the ghosties. / Guffaw at the grossy. / Crack up at the creepy. / Whoop it up with the weepy. / Chortle at the cookey. / Snortle at the spookey."
[20:04:10]	Somber	Each generator was easily fifty foot square and five stories tall, with countless pipes, cables, ducts, pipes, and turbines everywhere.
[20:05:23]	Night_Wind	seems almost aghast. "But this isn't junk we're talking about! Why a good 10 mF polymer capacitor is virtually impossible to reproduce without a stable industrial base! They simply don't make those...any...more..." It suddenly occurs to her that a love of electronics is probbably not an asset when looking to buy spare parts, so perhaps she shouldn't be the one to negotiate
	prices with the vendors.
[20:07:14]	Somber	Wanderlust spots Shimmershy and breaks into a smile. "Hey! Just the mare we needed! You worked for that Scarlet Caravan company, right? Do you think you might be able to help us with some shopping?"
[20:08:02]	Edna_Stonetalon	happily sings, bouncing back and fourth "And tell that big dumb scary face to take a hike a leave you alone and if he thinks he's gonna scare you he's got another thing coming and the very idea of such a thing just makes you wanna / LAAAAAAAAAAAAU ... *GASP* " and she clamps both talons over her beak, holding it shut, turning several shades of red as she finally realizes what she had been...
	...doing and begins to frantically look for a place to die of shame
[20:09:37]	Shimmershy	looks up at Wanderlust, the sudden singing and vocals of Edna made her even more nervous, shuffling closer to her other companions. "Um... Y-yeah. Th-that's why I came here... D-do you need something..?" Looking up to Wanderlust curiously. "If... If you need things f-for the repairs I can try to help." Giving a nervous sort of smile. "I know a l-lot about getting things
[20:09:38]	from ponies... S-sometimes."
[20:09:57]	Somber	"Heh... maybe you should take a turn at the mic. Oldies are risky, but hey, they might like it." She said as she gestured to the crowd. The first group was done and now the next was getting ready. "Ugh... B Flat... what is he thinking? They're gonna dust him..."
[20:11:34]	Shimmershy	looks up towards the stage. "W-who..?" Curious about this new pony taking the stage. She didn't like the idea of someone getting blasted into dust. That was terrifying!
[20:12:27]	Night_Wind	eyes Edna with a bit of concern when she realizes what she was hearing coming from the griffon, but she's really got more important things on her mind...doesn't she? Oh, but Edna seems really distressed. And...now that she thinks about it, the griffon didn't really like that song. "A..are you okay, Eddie?"
[20:13:37]	Somber	"B-Flat. Can't sing worth shit. And his band is fucking frayed wires..." She groaned as he started to sing... and yeah. He was terrible. He sounded weak and feeble... and the crowd began to boo and jeer. And then somepony started shooting at the stage! with a yelp, B-Flat raced off stage, followed by his band.
[20:14:33]	Edna_Stonetalon	flops onto her back holding her beak shut, face burning with embarrassment, and just shakes her head at Night_Wind, still wanting to curl up and die from the shame of having sung 'that song' out loud
[20:16:03]	Night_Wind	trots over to give the griffon an encouraging nuzzle. "Do you want to stay here while we shop? We shouldn't be gone long."
[20:17:12]	Shimmershy	winces and flattens her ears. "O-oh... I... Um... Does... Does he try that often..?" She swallowed nervously, then moves towards Wanderlust. "S-so what did you need for the repairs?" Looking between Wanderlust and Night Wind curiously. Biting her lower lip.
[20:18:14]	Somber	"We need two scrap metal and two scrap electrical boards and other electronic pieces. Maybe you could check the vendors below for us?"
[20:18:57]	Edna_Stonetalon	nods furiously still holding her beak shut, she is still several shades of red
[20:19:01]	Somber	Wanderlust asked, passing her the hundred caps Arc had paid.
[20:20:03]	Shimmershy	looks down at the bag of caps then nods her head. "S-sure. That should be easy enough..." She gathers up the caps and shuffles off back down to the main room. She'd have to look for what they needed. But she'd do her best.
[20:21:40]	Night_Wind	strokes Edna's head with a wing. "Okay, just try to hold on." She then looks to Shimmershy with a smile and recites the list of absolute essential parts followed by a second list of parts that might come in handy depending on how bad off the generator turns out to be. "Or...you know, what Wander said." She still frowns at calling her list of parts 'scrap' but lets it slide.
	"I now have a hundred caps for you to use, and if we can make this work, we'll earn a lot more."
[20:26:08]	Shimmershy	moves her way through the trading area. Finally finding a store which offered scrap metal, the poor shy mare seemed to have trouble doing anything other than getting bowled over by the swearing, aggressive trader on the other side of the table. Never the less she still bought the scrap for more than it was likely worth. Spending a bit longer working her way through the
	area before finally giving up. Shuffling back to the others to give back 90 caps and two stacks of scrap. "TH-this is all I could find... They... Um.. They didn't have any spell matrixes or electronics... I'm s-sorry... Maybe... Maybe we could get some from somewhere outside the town..?"
[20:33:08]	Night_Wind	sighs and bends her head down to neck-hug the smaller mare. "It's okay. We shall simply have to go with you this time. I think Eddie will be okay for a little while now. You mentioned trying the traders that came here?"
[20:33:21]	Somber	Wanderlust sighs softly and shakes his head as he took the scrap metal. "Well, this is a start. But without electronics, I don't think we'll be able to get this power going to the generator's systems. I mean, we could try and cannibalize the parts, but that could cause something bad to happen."
[20:34:20]	Shimmershy	leans into the hug, nodding her head. "Y-yeah... There was another caravan coming in when we arrived. I th-think at least... Maybe they'd have something..." biting her lower lip nervously.
[20:34:56]	Edna_Stonetalon	breathing heavily, eyes wide with her face still quite red "I /need/ a drink!" and she wanders off looking for something strong to drink
[20:41:59]	Night_Wind	smiles down at Shimmershy then nods towards the entrance. "Okay, lets go find the traders and when we do, I'll stand behind you for moral support, okay?"
[20:43:03]	Somber	Edna finds her drink, but unfortunately none of the other stalls or vendors have any scrap electronics. The brahmin caravaners were studying a map when they showed up, and they apologized. "We done sold our last scrap an hour ago," the leader, a sallow orange earth pony mare said as she chewed on a stalk of grass.
[20:45:28]	Shimmershy	steps up towards the leader. "Um... Who did you sell it too..? If... If you don't mind me asking? We were hoping to get ahold of some electronic parts. But nopony here seems to have any to spare." She sighs and sinks her head a bit.
[20:48:17]	Somber	"No idea. All these freaks look the same to me." She said with a shrug as she looked at the map. "I think we picked up our last patch from the ghouls at the old army base," she said as she tapped it. "Or you could get some all the way over in Olives. Or just try your luck at some other market. This place uses up scrap like crazy though. It's how they
[20:48:24]	build all their instruments and stuff."
[20:48:48]	Edna_Stonetalon	doesn't care about the scrap, she just wanted something strong to make her forget about that infernal song and how she had made a fool of herself singing it, she had practically thrown her caps at the vendor and chugged the entire bottle of booze in one go, she then stumbled off looking for the others already feeling the warmth of the drink taking hold, Edna must be a light weight
[20:50:31]	Shimmershy	nods slowly and hangs her head a little. "W-well I guess that makes sense." She sighs quietly and closes her eyes. "I guess... I guess we could go to the Ministry of Peace warehouses and look around there... If... If we can't find some. Maybe we can at least find some food to trade..."
[20:51:13]	Somber	The old trader looks at her with nigh pity. "Yer them outsiders Arc was talkin bout, weren't ya?"
[20:52:21]	Shimmershy	nods her head a little sadly, shuffling a forehoof. "W-we brought supplies. But had to abandon them when the rest of our group went crazy..."
[20:54:49]	Night_Wind	frowns at the memory of their unpleasant parting with the rest of the caravan. "If not for that grenade machine gun, we might've been able to get some supplies..."
[20:55:05]	Somber	"Right." She sighs and shook her head and then moved aside to show her the map. It looked like a pie that had been divided into six wedges. "This here is my tradin map. Give ya an idea of what's what and what's where."
[20:55:35]	=-=	Arcane_Scroll is now known as Arcane_Scroll[A]
[20:55:59]	Somber	She taps the north west edge of the circle. "This here is where ya'll are. Spark town. Shock town. Power plant. Place changes names faster than they swap bands."
[20:56:08]	Shimmershy	nods her head and takes a moment to look at the map, listening to what the mare had to say.
[20:58:32]	Somber	She touches the northern part edge of the circle. "This here is Headless. Not bad folk really. Odd. They sell food. Buy ammo." She then touches the north east corner, dropping her voice a little. "This is Salvation. They're... well... religious folk. Fair folk... long as ya don't cross their prayin."
[20:58:54]	Edna_Stonetalon	sees Night_Wind and goes and stumbles off after her "Heeeyy! Fumblz wat fer mee!"
[21:01:38]	Shimmershy	nods her head, looking up to Night Wind, then back down ot the map nervously. "Y-yeah..."
[21:01:40]	Night_Wind	blinks at Edna for a change being even less coordinated than her. "Are...you okay, Eddie?" she asks reaching a hoof out to steady the mare.
[21:02:14]	Somber	"They mostly sell things like medicine. Big buyers o weapons an the like tho. I try not ta stay too long." She touches the eastern side of the circle. "Over here is Bayleaf. Swamp folk. Stick to the roads and don't stay too long. They sell all kinds of... well... strange stuff..." She left it at that, and then tapped the South east. "Down here is
[21:03:02]	Olives. Appleanta University. Not so much sellers, but if you need stuff fixed up right or proper medical care, they're the ponies who can set ya up.
[21:04:24]	Edna_Stonetalon	stumbles up to Night_Wind and throws her arm around the alicorns neck "I fouund yoo. Ya seeen that damnn colt we cam here wiff? I gotz werd fer im"
[21:04:30]	Somber	She touched the bottom. Now down here is trouble. Appleton and Orange Grove. Both settlements hate each other. Been feudin fer two centuries. Some folk like ta make money playing one side against the other. They buy ammo and guns. Sell food."
[21:05:47]	Shimmershy	keeps her attention on the map, tilting her head to one side then the other curiously. Just listening patiently for the moment.
[21:06:00]	Night_Wind	sniffs Edna's breath then wrinkles her muzzle. "He's right over there on the other side of the generator. What's that...wait...have you been drinking? Eddie!"
[21:06:40]	Somber	She touched the south east. "This here is the Base. Not sure what it's official name is. Big army base. They sell bullets and ammo. Buy anything radioactive if ya can find it. They're not all there... but they ain't gonna eat yer brains. Not unless yer striped." Finally she touched the west. "And round here is Trainville. Big train switchyard. Lots
[21:06:54]	of scrap salvage here."
[21:07:52]	Edna_Stonetalon	smiles dimly "eeYup! Dont eben member why I dun got a drink. Fink I needz anuva wun"
[21:09:47]	Somber	She gestured in a big circle. "There's a few other settlements round the city, but this is the main tradin ring. In the middle is Appleanta... but most folks don't go there less they want a nasty dose of Phage."
[21:11:13]	Shimmershy	looks down at it a little nervously and bites her lower lip. "Um... Wh-where on this is the Appleanta Ministry of Peace hub... D-do you know?" Looking up at the trading pony curiously.
[21:12:42]	Somber	"The Hub. Didn't know you were suicidal." She tapped the middle. "Closest to Olives... but still well inside the city proper. Dunno anyone that's gotten in and out without pukin their guts out.
[21:14:15]	Shimmershy	sighs and lowers her head. "O-oh..." She gave a weak smile. "Th-thanks. I hope we can find what we need somewhere safe..." She gave a quiet sigh.
[21:14:31]	Night_Wind	frowns at Edna. "I think you've had plenty to drink already." She looks up at the news from the trader. "Is it really that bad then? Surely there are environmentally sealed suits that could be used?"
[21:15:41]	Somber	The old trader gave her a little grin. "Don't get discouraged. Take jobs. Get caps. One of the first things I learned when I got here is all these folks got all kinds o squabbles. If yer a neutral party, ya can go nearly anywhere with no fuss. Ya learned about the blights?"
[21:17:08]	Shimmershy	nods a little bit. "O-only a little. We.. We crashed in the Madwood when we got here..." She sighs quietly. "Most of our companions ate the grass and went crazy a little while after. I-it's why we don't have anything any more. Other than what we carried out."
[21:17:13]	-->|	Pantzar ([email protected]) has joined #falloutequestriapnp2
[21:19:35]	Somber	"Yep. Coulda been worse though." She gestured to the map. "Now the tricky thing about the blights is the damn things move around. One week they'll be here... the next over there. Sometimes they'll go away for a week or two. Others will stay fer months." She gave a smirk. "They make tradin the fun it is. There's five. Madwood's just one, and one o
[21:20:27]	the tamer ones, ta be honest. It'll play with yer head somethin fierce. stick to tha road and never git off it. And for yer sanity, don't eat nothin."
[21:20:41]	Edna_Stonetalon	waves her talon dismissively "Baaa yer no funn. Na werz dat dam colt I gotz wurds fer im" and stumbles off to look for Wanderlust
[21:21:27]	Shimmershy	taps her forehooves together nervously at the mention of saity. "A-and don't camp there." She adds for whatever use it was. Giving a quiet sigh. "S-so what are the others like..?" If the madwood was 'tame' she was a little afraid of the rest...
[21:21:55]	Night_Wind	tilts her head at the news from the trader. "The blights move? So...what happens to those who were affected by the blight when it moves on? And does the vegetation become edible or does it go away with the blight?"
[21:23:51]	Somber	She looks at Night and smirks. "Hard to say. Most folks don't want to risk losing their marbles to nibble on the greenery to check. They're magic. No way to detect em... except ta be affected by em. Some desperate folk will risk it... but most don't last that long."
[21:25:43]	She points at the map. "Rotwood sprouts up lookin like a decayin mass of ick. Easiest to spot. You go in there and... well... it gets nasty quick. Ya start rottin from the outside in. That blight collapses into pulp when it passes though. Easiest to spot when it comes and goes."
[21:28:03]	"Warpwood is a lot like the madwood. It'll look damn tasty. You can eat it too.... till it mutates ya into a monster. Time and space aren't right there either. I knew an old mare that went in and emerged a filly. Ya ever hear o Killin Joke. Imagine a whole damn forest o the stuff. Hard to tell when its there and when its gone. Just got to look fer
[21:28:09]	the 'strangeness'.
[21:31:42]	Shimmershy	swallows nervously and nods her head slowly. "I... Um... S-so they just sortof... Show up randomly?"
[21:31:58]	Night_Wind	speaks up. "Strangeness? What kind of strangeness? I've...kind of been changed once already. I'm still getting used to that fact."
[21:32:55]	Edna_Stonetalon	glomps Night_Wind "Heyyy! I wadnt lookin fer yoo"
[21:34:01]	Somber	"Hard ta say for sure. Warpwood might change the road to soap... or bottlecaps... or acid. It might turn you into a hell hound or a lump o shit. There's just no way to tell." She looked at Shimmershy and nodded. "Yup. Always after a rainstorm though. When it rains, pay close attention. If there's a wood there that wasn't there before, yer lookin at a
[21:34:43]	Night_Wind	blinks as the griffon glomps onto her back legs. "Eddie, you're talking to my tail. The talky part of me is at the other end," she says with a blush.
[21:35:00]	Somber	blight." She sighs. "Ghostwood is... well... strange too. Least deadly o the five. Least likely to change ya but... well..." she sighs, looking pensive. "Just best ta stay clear."
[21:35:52]	Shimmershy	bites her lower lip and nods slowly, looking up towards the sky covered with that faint black mist far above. She swallowed nervously. "S-so it's... It's some kind of s-side effect of... Of whatever the black stuff is..." She winces a little and flattens her ears.
[21:38:14]	Somber	"Likely. Mist was always around the city proper. Source of the Phage, most recon, but over the last five years the blights started."
[21:41:23]	Shimmershy	nods and taps her forehooves together nervously. "S-sounds like we'll have to travel a bit to get what we need." She sighs quietly. "I guess... I guess everyone shoudl take some time to get ready." Looking up to Edna and Night Wind. "Th-think you can help our griffin friend under control until she sobers up..? Once she does maybe we can go travel to the warehouse..." She
[21:41:24]	slowly stands and gives a nervous smile to the tradespony. "Th-thanks for the info."
[21:41:36]	Edna_Stonetalon	leans on Night_Wind and uses her to support herself as she stumbles forward to join the conversation "Heeyyy! Hwat yous all takin bout?" and throws an arm around the alicorn neck to stop herself from falling over "Damn bldins spinnin"
[21:42:34]	Night_Wind	gently attempts to shake Edna loose of her hindquarters as she lifts a hoof to rub her chin. "Yes, that's about when Littlepip took control of the SPP and opened up the skies to let the sun shine in - the Day of Sunshine and Rainbows. It's quite a holiday outside this valley, but...I guess not so much here."
[21:44:56]	Somber	"Yeah. Appleanta never had the cloud cover. Feral weather, sure, but no pegasi fer some reason." She gave a little shrug then looked at Night_Wind. "So I'm guessin things are happenin back home? Last I knew, yer lot were monsters. Never thought I'd see one o you talkin."
[21:45:01]	Night_Wind	pulls Edna close with a wing once the griffon moves to join the conversation...and not a moment too soon! *poot!* She flushes crimson and ducks her head. "'Scuse me."
[21:49:10]	sighs at the term monsters but at least that gives her something to focus on aside from embarrassing bodily functions. "Uh, yes...yes we were sadly. But then Littlepip slew our Mother and for a time we were lost - some still are in fact, though without our mother most aren't as strong. Others like myself however serve our new mother Velvet Remedy. She is a unicorn mare
[21:49:11]	and Bearer of the Element of Kindness."
[21:49:18]	Shimmershy	sighs quietly and hangs her head a little, turning to shuffle off back inside. biting her lower lip nervously. She took a few moments to look at the crowds and the stage to see what was going on at the moment.
[21:51:07]	Somber	"Yeah. I heard there were some of you around here now." she said with a shrug. "Didn't hear stories of abductions so I didn't believe em."
[21:56:13]	On stage they were between shows at the moment as another band was getting set up.
[21:56:55]	Night_Wind	shrugs uncomfortably. "I've heard that there's one of us at the Salvation group, but...I'm fairly certain she's not one of our new Mother's children. If she is, one of the woods probably got to her. Um...but you mentioned five woods. Madwood, Rotwood, Warpwood, and Ghostwood, but what's the fifth?"
[21:59:37]	Shimmershy	shuffles a little bit, tapping her chin a few moments as she went to try and find Arclight. She seemed to know everypony here, after all. Or at least know the most well known of them.
[21:59:53]	Edna_Stonetalon	only hears '5 woods and Madwood' "Derz fiv uv them damn crazy woods!?"
[22:01:09]	flailing her free arm around in a drunkin panic
[22:01:26]	Somber	"Deadwood," she said grimly. "Looks lively enough, but the air is a poisonous haze. Just about everything that there can kill ya. Strange plant critters there too."
[22:02:27]	Shimmershy finds Arclight struggling for breath near the stage. She looks over at Shimmershy, sweat on her brow, and she gives a little half smile. "Hey..."
[22:03:29]	Shimmershy	shuffles up with her head low. Giving a nervous smile. "H-hi..." She sighs and moves up next to the other mare, the unicorn staring down at her hooves. "Um... A-are you... D-do you..." She swallows nervously and sighs, looking away. "S-sorry... I should... I should probably let you relax..."
[22:05:01]	Somber	"Nah. Nah. It's okay sugartail." she said as she wiped bloody spittle from her mouth. "What can I do you for?"
[22:06:31]	Shimmershy	sighs and looks back up to Arclight. "D-do you... Um... Do you know any bands w-which might be willing to back a new singer..? I guess... I guess most of them wouldn't. Because it's so dangerous if the singer doesn't go over well..." She shuffles her forehooves nervously.
[22:08:26]	Night_Wind	somberly nods to the trader. "That...sounds like a good place to steer clear of. Might be survivable with breathing equipment or better yet sealed armor, but still..."
[22:09:11]	Somber	She looks to the side and then looks back at her. "Well... You could talk to B-Flat's group. I know they're ready to dust him themselves. They're in desperate need of a singer... if you think you got it in you to rock."
[22:10:03]	The trader shakes her head. "Nope. Deathwood will eat through environmental suits and even power armor with enough time. Your only hope is to get through without dying."
[22:10:29]	Shimmershy	gives Arclight a little smile. "Y-yeah. I mean... F-fuck yeah. O-or someone will, at least." She sighs quietly, slowly standing up and kissing Arclight's cheek. "I... I'm sorry... Sorry I can't help more..." She shuffles off nervously and sadly.
[22:14:38]	Night_Wind	winces at that news. "Oh...so the air has a corrosive component as well...because mere poison wasn't enough, naturally. Well, that puts it right up there with RotWood for places to avoid. Anything else we should know?"
[22:15:58]	Somber	Arclight looks at Shimmershy in concern. "you sure? I mean... you saw what happened to B-Flat when he shorted." Then the mare gave a half smile. "Hey. I'm going to pull through, yet. I'm not ready fer the Phage to take me out just yet."
[22:17:36]	The trader shrugged. "Plenty. But that's what an outsider needs to know. There's lots of outsiders who come here and trot right into Appleanta and die. Hell, RedEye sent a whole team of raiders in there fer somethin and they didn't come out. But now with the blights popping up... well... Appleanta sure could use a hero of its own right now."
[22:17:37]	Shimmershy	gave a nervous smile to Arclight. Lowering her head a little bit. "Y-yeah... I mean... M-maybe not me. But... But I'm sure there's someone who'd love a chance t-to break through." She gave a quiet sigh and puffed herself up just a little bit. "B-besides. It'll be fine. I'm sure. J-just gotta be fast to get away, right?"
[22:19:08]	Somber	"Not even Rainbow Dash was faster than light. But if there was a band needin some talent and willin to do a change, its B-Flat's group. They're the lowest of the low right now." Arclight said before hacking and wheezing once more.
[22:20:07]	Shimmershy	nods her head and kisses Arclight's cheek again. "Th-then just keep an eye no the stage. Maybe you'll see some proper electricity tonight yet..." She gave a little hint of a giggle.
[22:24:44]	Somber	Arclight looks a little too busy breathing to really respond.
[22:25:28]	Shimmershy	lowers her head sadly and shuffles off to go look for the band. Hoping that Arclight would be okay.
[22:27:52]	Somber	The band was in a storage closet with a sign on the door reading "The most awesomest rock band ever." Inside there were four mares arguing loudly with a stallion. "We're sick of sucking ass, B! Face it! This isn't going to work!" One mare snapped. "They're shooting at US too you know." Whined a second. "We need better special effects." Said a third.
[22:28:03]	Night_Wind	shuffles her hooves uneasily. "I somehow don't think we're quite up to the Lightbringer's or Security's level of heroism. But...but if we do see some epic heroes, we would certainly do what we could to help them!" She glances back towards the generator and sighs. "Right now though, we can't even seem to fix a piece of equipment that would be an immense help to this place."
	Somber	"No! We need more METAL!" Boomed a fourth.
[22:29:16]	The trader shrugs. "If you can't find the stuff here, go look for it. Don't whine about it. But don't go alone. That's rule one. People vanish here when they're all alone and a blight grows up around them while they're sleeping."
[22:29:53]	Edna_Stonetalon	drunkenly slurs "Onwerd ta adventure!"
[22:32:01]	Night_Wind	shudders at the very idea then turns to Edna. "Do you...do you think you could fly in your current state? We might be able to make it to one of the closer settlements more quickly than the rest, and if we entered a blight, flying would hopefully get us back out before we suffered too much."
[22:33:27]	Somber	The Trader waved her hooves. "Don't fly! Not unless you absolutely have to. If you get into the phage you won't come back! You'll be crazy or poisoned or mutated or Celestia knows what!"
[22:34:18]	Shimmershy	knocked her hoof on the door, sticking her head inside. "Um... Hello?" Trying to get a little bit of attention to herself. Giving a nervous smile to the room full of ponies.
[22:34:33]	Shimmershy	"Arclight said you might be looking for a new singer..?"
[22:36:28]	Edna_Stonetalon	lets go of Night_Wind ans sways slightly "Fink I can make it. Sum air mite be gud fer us right now."
[22:36:41]	Somber	A dusky stallion with a weedy voice threw open the door and glared at her. "No!" He said. But a black unicorn, a blue pegasus, a red earth pony, and a shaggy.... brown... thing... all shouted in unison. "Fuck yeah!" The unicorn trotted forward. "Can you sing?! Tell us you can sing!"
[22:37:01]	B-Flat's mouth worked silently in shock.
[22:38:22]	Night_Wind	shakes her head. "We weren't planning to fly high, but we both move faster by wing than by hoof. Last we saw it, the haze of the phage was well above the tree tops. Does that ever change?"
[22:40:06]	Somber	"All the time. The stuff is freaky. Like it seeks out ponies that get near it. There's a cloud ship that crashed not far from here four years back. Every pegasus on it was dead. Place was phaged from top to bottom."
[22:40:07]	Shimmershy	looks up towards the unicorn nervously. "W-well... I'm... I'm not sure I'm who you'd be looking for... B-but... I think I know someone who might. S-someone who's really metal and can mash properly." She gives a nervous smile up to the unicorn before deflating a little. "A-at least they say they can. So... So I'm really hoping they can! But they need a band."
[22:41:19]	Somber	"Well tell them to fuck off!" B-Flat snapped. But the huge hairy... thing... picked him up in her hooves and threw him right out of the room. "METAL!" she roared! "Get your friend! Sing! We need to make METAL!!!!"
[22:43:24]	Night_Wind	frowns at the news. "That...really isn't what I was hoping to hear. If you flew close, I could keep us both in a shield bubble like before, but I'd be low on energy when we got where we needed to go. If we ran into trouble, that could be a problem. What do you think, Eddie?"
[22:44:28]	Edna_Stonetalon	shrugs "It's werff a try."
[22:44:33]	Shimmershy	eeps, blacking up a bit from the giant fluffy thing shouting. "Uh... Uh... O-okay. I'll... I'll send her your way!" She scurried off nervously down the halls. Time to do something which was probably a terrible idea, but right now she didn't have many other options left.
[22:49:52]	Somber	B-Flat lay in a heap outside.
[22:50:15]	Night_Wind	sighs and shakes her head. "Right, then I guess we'll have to try flying at ground level." Clearly aware that this is the opposite of what Edna voted for, she explains, "You're clearly smashed. If my suggestion is sounding good to you right now, it's probably a horrible idea."
[22:51:20]	Edna_Stonetalon	pat pats Night_Wind "Yur a smarter pony den I R"
[22:52:32]	Shimmershy	passes by B-Flat briefly, glancing at him nervously. She had to hope this turned out well. It could go so badly... Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. She shuffled off down the halls. Maybe she could... No. That was a terrible plan. Shaking her head. She'd have to figure something out. Especially now...