Somber #5

[18:26:59]	Somber	The companions returned to Spark town from the crashed Talon. While they hadn't found out why the ship had been dispatched out here, they had found something nigh priceless in the crashed vessel: two lightning talismans capable of generating incredible energy with the appropriate infrastructure. They'd fought a radgator to bring them in, but not without
[18:27:47]	paying for it in blood and... contamination... it's early morning and now the more technical members had the parts and time to make more repairs on the number two generators.
[18:28:37]	Shimmershy	nervously avoided getting in anyone's way, staying off to one side and watching as the ponies worked to restore power to the secondary generator. Nervously rubbing one forehoof against her other foreleg.
[18:31:33]	Edna_Stonetalon	waits off to the side waiting for the eggheads to finish up with the repairs, quietly humming that infernal song
[18:33:31]	Somber	The massive piece of equipment, five stories tall, was utterly unfunctional save for two terminals that showed some displays of the device. There were tons of connections that needed to be fixed, however.
[18:37:35]	It was a bit daunting. While they replaced the large burned out circuit panels and wired in some connections that had broken, they still couldn't quite get it to work. The hulking piece of equipment seemed to defy them. There was, however, a large locker that seemed perfect to store the lightning talismans in for the time being.
[18:39:14]	Night_Wind	mutters darkly as she struggles with the burnt out relays and circuits that refuse to show the correct voltage and amperage at the same time. "Argh! What's going wrong? I know I'm missing something. Why can't I get any section powered without triggering warning lights on a different system?"
[18:41:37]	Wanderlust	lets out an exasperated sigh as he gets nowhere fast trying to put this hunk of machinery back together. "Why can't there just be a manual for this damn thing?" He groans. "They didn't cover fixing generators in the NCR..."
[18:53:05]	Somber	After an hour and a dozen shocks, it becomes clear that there wasn't any getting this machine working for now. But the generator wasn't going anywhere...
[19:02:18]	Edna_Stonetalon	spots a strange pony poking around the number one generator "Hey I thought most of the town was asleep? Who's that?"
[19:03:15]	Night_Wind	looks up from her recently zapped hoof and blinks. "Who's who?"
[19:03:50]	Edna_Stonetalon	points at the strange pony "Them"
[19:05:01]	Somber	Indeed, there was a mare working on the other generator, but unlike them, she was definitely trying to NOT be noticed by the others. When pointed at, she turned and ran out of sight behind the generator.
[19:05:52]	Edna_Stonetalon	runs off after her "Hey! Get back here!"
[19:06:25]	Wanderlust	looks over at the pony Edna is pointing at, glad for an excuse to stop working on this infernal machine. "Well, that was odd..." He mumbles as she runs out of sight, matching Edna's pace and giving chase as well.
[19:07:04]	Night_Wind	blinks again then takes off after the mysterious mare and tries to catch her in her telekinesis to lift her off the ground.
[19:09:35]	Somber	The earth pony pulls something out of her satchel and smashes it against the generator before turning and racing down the stairs as fast as she could.
[19:12:20]	Night_Wind	calls out, "Wander, check the generator. Edna and I will handle this."
[19:13:06]	Wanderlust	"Alright, I'll take care of it!" He calls back as he runs to the generator and lets the others track down the mare.
[19:13:23]	Somber	Wanderlust runs up to where the mare was working and sure enough he sees she was engaged in some sabotage... as is clear by the block of explosive attached to the side of the equipment by magnets. There's a detonator shoved in and a red light... clearly she didn't have time to properly place it and set it.
[19:17:29]	Shimmershy	squeaks a little as she hears the beginnings of a conflict going on, inching towards the edge of the upper scaffolding to look down at the fleeing mare. She bit her lower lip nervously then headed towards the other reactor. "I-is there anything I can do to help..?"
[19:19:35]	Wanderlust	gulps. "Ah... fuck." He looks at it dumbly, trying to recall how to disarm explosives. Something about a black wire maybe? He had been a bit preoccupied by that cute mare in the squad... "Know anything about explosives?" He asks Shimmershy, sincerely doubting so but maybe she would surprise him again.
[19:21:03]	Somber	Edna flies down along side the stairs and flips upright, shouting "Halt!" The mare runs down the next flight, and the griffon huffs and drops down another level. "I said to fucking..." But down the mare ran. Edna dropped down and this time when the mare came around the switch back she fired, the bullet blasting out a bloody chuck. The mare's red
[19:21:33]	'tattoos' smears instantly, showing they're painted on, but then Edna sees something else... "What the fuck..." she murmurs in shock.
[19:22:44]	Edna_Stonetalon	"What the fuck are you?! Ponies ain't supposed to have black blood!"
[19:24:06]	Shimmershy	frowns and shakes her head, looking up at the explosives. "C-could we just... Pull it off..?" She looks at the magnets and then up to Wanderlust. "Th-throw it out of the building or something?"
[19:26:39]	Wanderlust	shrugs. "Maybe, she didn't look like she had time to set it up right but... I'm not too keen on toying around with something that could kill me." He continues to stare at it, trying to recall something that might help. "I suppose its the best idea we've got..."
[19:33:27]	Night_Wind	flies after Eddie and the mare, trying to lift the mare up off the stairs, but though she seems to catch the mare off-guard, she reacts surprisingly well and pulls herself free from the field. "Darn it! Somebody stop that mare!"
[19:33:29]	Shimmershy	taps her hooves together. "W-well we definitely can't leave it here, right..? It might damage the generator. And then all the ponies here would be without power. And that would be awful." She lowered her head nervously. "B-but I don't know anything about explosives..."
[19:34:48]	Somber	The mare reaches the ground... but instead of running AWAY from the security she instead charges directly TOWARDS them. "Burn you sinners!" she screams as she reaches into her barding and pulls out a detonator.
[19:41:15]	Wanderlust	nods. "Alright, step back Shimmershy. I dont want it to blow up in your face if I botch this." He focuses his magic around the explosive, intent on pulling it off and throwing it into the least critical corner of the room.
[19:44:32]	Somber	And indeed he does. The bomb is pulled away and immediately starts beeping. Then, with a flare of magic, he tosses it in the general direction of away. The block of pink plastic explosive tumbles end over end before it explodes with a resounding blast that shakes the entire power plant.... but doesn't do more than fill the air with the resounding boom.
[19:45:10]	Shimmershy	winces and flattens her ears, closing her eye tight and hiding her head under her forehooves at the detonation, shivering in nervous terror at the results. "I-is it over..?"
[19:46:10]	Wanderlust	tries to make his ears stop ringing. "What?!" He shouts, seeing Shimmershy's lips move but not hearing anything.
[19:57:52]	Edna_Stonetalon	eyes go wide when she figures out what the strange mare intends to do "Shit!" and unloads a few shots at her, most striking home, spilling more of her black blood
[19:59:07]	Shimmershy	raises her hooves slowly and peers down over the edge nervously, watching the black-blooded pony rushing the guards. Nervously thinking over what could be responsible for that, and why she'd be doing it, and what the poor shy pony could do to help. Which at the moment wasn't really anything at all.
[20:01:26]	Night_Wind	snarls and her eyes begin to glow. She grasps the mare in her magic, lifting her high, shaking her a little, and shouting, "What did you do? We demand to know what you did!"
[20:01:34]	Somber	The mare is lifted off her hooves and gives one last scream of frustration, then bites down on the detonator. Instantly she's transformed into a brilliant fireball as the explosives in her saddlebags detonate.
[20:02:47]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Damn extremist"
[20:02:54]	Wanderlust	groans in frustration as the ringing in his ears, which had just started to fade, comes back full force from the explosion. "Enough already!" He whines.
[20:03:55]	Somber	When the smoke settles, ponies are spilling out, bleery eyed and confused. "What was that..." "Was that a fucking Solicer?" "Fucking Solice tried to blow our genny!" "Fuck! We need to go and blow THEIR shit up!" "Fuck! Fuck! Fuck the Solace!" they begin to shout and snarl.
[20:05:52]	Edna_Stonetalon	re-loads her rifle and slings it "Oh great. Now we have an angry mob to deal with."
[20:05:53]	Night_Wind	stomps her hooves in frustration and screams as the mare blows herself up instead of being a nice little zealot and answering her questions.
[20:06:09]	Shimmershy	eeps a little and slowly stands up, beginning to make her way downstairs nervously, biting her lower lip. She shouldn't be doing this. Everything was telling her she shouldn't. That it was pointless, or might make things worse. But right now she had to. Because the alternatives really were much worse! Stepping forward towards the mob. "um... Ex-excuse me?" ...
[20:08:58]	raises a forehoof and waves it to get some attention. "Um... P-please. Please calm down. Th-this pony came here to hurt you and destroy your things. Y-yes, I know, this makes you really angry and I'm s-sure most of you want to take revenge..." she pauses and scrunches her face briefly at the mention of revenge. "B-but you said you didn't want these ponies making the rules
	about what you can and can't do... A-and if you do, if you do go destroy their things in return, th-then you're being just what they think you are. Violent, angry, destructive ponies who only care about harming others and payback. Th-they're still choosing for you what you're doing..." She shuffles a forehoof. "I... Um... I know it's probably a lot to ask... B-but you shouldn't
	go attack them. The pony who did this... She was sick with black blood, th-the Phage I think. Sh-she must have been close to dieing and come here to kill herself and take as much as possible with her. B-but if you go there and attack them innocent ponies could die, you and them. A-and you'd just be validating their beliefs about you!"
[20:10:24]	raises her voice a little and looks up to the mob, "S-so. So you shouldn't go to where they are and hurt them! That'd be really fucking bad, because then they'd be right about you and you'd just make them angrier, and then they'd come blow up more stuff and you'd go to hurt them again and everypony suffers and it'll just make things that much fucking worse." She shrinks
[20:10:25]	a little. "S-so you should just try to rebuild and make security better so no more can get in, right?"
[20:12:40]	Somber	It wasn't quite a mob... yet... but there were some pretty upset ponies. Luckily, one of them recognized Shimmer. "Hey! It's Arc's trick pony." She's got their attention... for the moment at least. And they listen. They're still pissed... but they're also confused too. "Black blood? What the fuck? Phage doesn't do that... does it? Fuck..." Well...
[20:14:19]	at the least they looked like they were off the war path. Then a magenta maned unicorn walks up and the crowd calms down. Her eyes look right at Shimmershy as if taking her measure. "Cool," and with that one word from the mare, everyone seemed to agree and shouts to burn Solace were calmed. The mare looked at all of you and nods her head again. "Come
[20:14:39]	with me. I got a job for you." And with that she turns and calmly walked towards and elevator.
[20:14:44]	an*
[20:15:41]	Shimmershy	bites her lower lip nervously as the crowd considers her words, breathing a sigh of relief as the other pony arrives to diffuse things, quietly following after. Her head still held low and carefully making her way past the other ponies. "Oh, excuse me. Pardon me. I'm sorry." The words repeated several times on her way to the elevator.
[20:16:40]	Edna_Stonetalon	follows Shimmershy "Good job with the mob Shimmer" and pats her on the back
[20:16:58]	Wanderlust	shrugs and follows, glad he could hear again. "Never a dull moment!" He mumbles to himself as he catches up with the rest.
[20:18:49]	Night_Wind	ruffles her wings a bit, but between Shimmer's words and the mare Livewire's calm response, she too settles down and simply follows the mare to the elevator. "We are listening."
[20:19:50]	Somber	When they were all inside the elevator, the white mare pushes a button as the elevator stars to lift. "You four have been good to Spark Town so far. Damned good. If that Solace fucker had scrapped the genny... well... we'd be damn fucked but good." She said as it rose up the side of the wall and disappeared in the ceiling. finally it came to a stop and
[20:21:14]	she stepped out in what had to have once been the control room for the entire power plant, now her own quarters. While decorated with multiple juke-boxes and radios and speakers, it wasn't exactly opulent. "This keeps up, it's going to be fucking war."
[20:24:18]	Shimmershy	steps off the elevator and bites her lower lip, rubbing a foreleg nervously. "D-do you know what causes black blood..?" Her voice quiet and expecting to get ignored, or maybe trying to be ignored.
[20:25:07]	Edna_Stonetalon	"These crazies ever try something like this before?"
[20:25:43]	Night_Wind	slowly nods as she listens to the mare. "Do you know..." she starts to say then cuts off as she realizes Shimmer is speaking.
[20:27:19]	Somber	"Black blood?" Livewire scowls at her. "No. Never heard of that before. But with fucking phage, who knows?" She looked at Edna. "We've never been fuck buddies, but we respected our fucking space. Last year they asked us for juice. Told em to go buck themselves. Then they started sending in fucking saboteurs. One even tried to fucking assassinate
[20:27:25]	me three months ago."
[20:28:59]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Did they offer anything in return for power?"
[20:30:36]	Wanderlust	sits back and listens, thankful that everyone was alright. Between the downed ship and the radgator and the explosions it had been quite the day already.
[20:31:24]	Somber	"Nah. Just some bullshit about how they'd pray for us in return and some shit like that." She said with a wave of her hoof. "Might have offered healing potions or some shit... I really didn't pay too much attention once they called me a harlot."
[20:31:58]	Night_Wind	listens curiously and snorts at the harlot comment. "Rude of them. So this only started a year ago? We wonder why they would ask for power all of a sudden. What do you know of their power situation?"
[20:32:53]	Shimmershy	tilts her head to one side and bites her lower lip. "A-are you sure the ones sabotaging you are really coming from there..?" She looks at her forehooves nervously. "I... Um... I mean... You two have a lot of power, r-right..? S-so if someone else wanted you gone..." She trails off.
[20:33:06]	Edna_Stonetalon	sighs "Sounds like a great bunch of religious nut bags"
[20:34:35]	Somber	Livewire smirks. "They don't got one. None at all." She shrugged. "Well they always make sure they scream how we're gonna burn in hell and shit before we dust em. Who the fuck else would they be?" And then she pointed at Edna. "Yeah. That's them perfectly. Fuckers don't even got guns. They use fucking swords. Can you believe it?"
[20:35:44]	Edna_Stonetalon	"And then suddenly a suicide bomber"
[20:35:56]	"They ever do that before?"
[20:37:19]	Somber	Livewire frowned. "No. That's fucking new. And fucking intense too. Scared the fuck out of me... and I don't scare easy." She sighs and then walks over to a safe, put in the code, and opened it up, pulling out a stack of caps. "Here. Five hundred for saving our asses." she said as she tossed them to Shimmershy.
[20:37:31]	Night_Wind	rubs her chin with her hoof. "Any idea why they would suddenly want power now? They sound like the type that doesn't care much for technology, so why get so upset at being denied?"
[20:38:22]	Somber	"They're right on the edge of the mire. Probably want turrets and lights to keep the leeches, hoppers, and beasts at bay."
[20:38:41]	"Don't get them wrong. They want it... they just don't have the juice to run it."
[20:40:30]	Night_Wind	frowns. "But they had lived many years there, hadn't they? Why the sudden change, and why so insistent about it?"
[20:41:47]	Wanderlust	"By the sound of it this mare wasn't theirs, or something is really fucking them over. Between the black blood and the unorthodox attempt at sabotage it's just too strange." Wanderlust muses aloud.
[20:42:17]	Edna_Stonetalon	"My guess is they found some sort of pre-war tech"
[20:42:57]	Somber	"Dunno." She said. "We're not exactly on speaking terms at the moment. They fucking hate us. We fucking hate them. We have the juice. They have the fucking numbers. So..." she took a seat at the desk and folded her hooves in front of her. "I want you to go and see what the fuck is going on with them."
[20:43:30]	Shimmershy	blinks and looks down at the caps, carefully gathering them up to stow them in her bag. "Th-they don't use guns..? Do they usually sneak in and try to break things by hoof..?" She frowns a little and tilts her head to one side. "I... Um... I mean... If they don't use guns and someone suddenly shows up using guns and trying to destroy you... I... Um... I think maybe someone
[20:43:31]	else is trying to make the two of you fight, maybe?" She bites her lower lip nervously. "W-we could go talk to them... maybe find out what's going on..."
[20:44:14]	Edna_Stonetalon	"We gunna get paid if we go right?"
[20:45:39]	Night_Wind	nods her head in agreement. "I was just going to suggest that. We can go as common merchants, something they may suspect but won't want to shoot on sight and less troublesome than going as supplicants."
[20:48:14]	Somber	Livewire snorted. "Course. I'll pay a hundred caps for making the trip and just having a look around. Speak to Mercy if you think it'll solve anything... she's the cunt that's in charge of that town. And if they are doing shit, I'll pay you five hundred to sabotage it."
[20:48:45]	Edna_Stonetalon	grins and nods "Works for me"
[20:50:50]	Night_Wind	nods as well. "Hopefully this can be resolved peacefully. Violence, as our dear Shimmershy pointed out, will likely only lead to more violence." She swishes her tail and begins preening her wings as she thinks back on the words of her new Mother.
[20:51:33]	Somber	"Sweet." she said as she tossed over another stack of 100 caps. "Don't know about that. If the religious fuckers are at the point where they'll try blowing up the genny..." she shivered. "Just find out what you can."
[20:54:05]	Shimmershy	gathers up the hundred caps and frowns. "I want to find out more before we do anything... If... If they're really that agitated then they must be very desperate, or very angry." She bit her lower lip. "Blowing up the generator when they need power... Doesn't make sense. K-killing you, sabotaging your food and water, d-doing things which would drive you away..? That makes
[20:54:06]	sense... B-but blowing the generator wouldn't help them any. Even if you were gone, they still wouldn't have power..."
[20:54:58]	Night_Wind	nods and takes the second bag of caps in her telekinesis. "What are items they buy that you sell cheaply? Large, inexpensive items are fine. We want enough to look like serious merchants even if we won't make much of a profit."
[20:56:02]	Edna_Stonetalon	"When was the last time you heard of a griffin merchant? Or an alicorn one for that matter"
[20:56:56]	Somber	"No clue." she said with a shrug. "Every pony wants juice. Fuck, we used to sell it a century ago. But nopony wants to pay anymore. Fuck, we'd happily trade for some good food... if we could get the powerlines working again. No clue how to do that exactly. Maybe those smart fuckers at Olives can figure it out."
[20:58:09]	Livewire smirked at Edna. "Fuck. Flyers in general. not many here. Nah, you're better bet is to just walk in. Say you're fucking 'adventurers' or some shit. They'll probably preach at you a bit and then get to talking.
[21:00:23]	Night_Wind	tilts her head. "Hmmm...I suppose you're right. Subterfuge is not our forte, so I suppose sticking as close to the truth as possible without giving anything away is best."
[21:00:42]	Shimmershy	nods her head and looks towards the others. "W-we could just... Tell them the mostly-truth? Th-that we're from outside the cloud and our carriages crashed and friends went mad..?" She gave a nervous smile. "I-it might not be normal... B-but at least it's believable... Right?"
[21:01:55]	Wanderlust	chuckles. "Considering what goes on here /anything/ could be believable."
[21:02:31]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Merc it is then"
[21:02:34]	Somber	"Fuck if I know. Those fuckers might say you're heathens from fucking hell or some shit. But you probably noticed we weren't shy about using you. Can't see them being different. Appleanta always needs people who can get shit done."
[21:04:56]	Shimmershy	bites her lower lip and nods. "W-we're kindof a recognizeable group anyway. If they've got any kind of information on what goes on here they'll probably already know who we are..." She looks at Night Wind and Edna. "A-and I don't think disguises come quite sufficiently disguise-ing to help..."
[21:06:18]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Looks like I'll play 'caravan guard' again"
[21:07:09]	Night_Wind	slowly nods. "If they view us as an asset, they would be less likely to get in our way. Best not to be too much of an asset though if we find out they need to be...inconvenienced enough to curtail further assaults."
[21:08:23]	rubs her chin again as a memory surfaces. "I do admit to being troubled by one thing though."
[21:09:19]	Somber	"I leave it up to you. Arclight vouches for ya. You can play. And you saved the generator. So I fucking trust you more than I do most fuckers." She pointed at a map with the communities arranged in a ring around Appleanta. "Shortest way is going counter clockwise to Solice... but that takes you by the base and those ghouls are fucking wierd. Might try
[21:10:05]	to lock you up to protect 'princess luna' or some shit." she said as she looked at Night Wind. "Clockwise is longer... you'll see more of the Apple too."
[21:11:07]	Night_Wind	raises an eyebrow at the 'Princess Luna' remark but gives a small nod of her head acknowledging the warning.
[21:12:09]	Shimmershy	rubs her foreleg nervously. "Ghouls..? M-military ghouls..?" She frowned a little. "I think... Um... Maybe the long way would be better..? But we might not get there in time if they're this desperate." She sighs and sinks her head.
[21:12:34]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Mite be a good idea to take the long way. Or just fly around the base"
[21:13:01]	Somber	"Ever hear of anti-aircraft missiles?" Livewire said to Edna with a smirk.
[21:13:10]	"AKA the 'extra crispy'.
[21:13:22]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Lovely. There goes that plan"
[21:14:19]	Somber	shrugs. "Or the ghouls might let you pass without an undead fart. Like I said... they're fucking crazy. They get a little juice from us because they could stomp us if they really wanted to."
[21:15:05]	Night_Wind	suspects she knows the answer but decides to voice her question anyway. "I suppose cutting more or less directly across is considered...unwise?"
[21:18:02]	Shimmershy	bites her lower lip and looks up to Night Wind quietly.
[21:18:35]	Edna_Stonetalon	"The shortest way always is"
[21:18:56]	Somber	Livewire starts to scoff, then reconsiders. "You fuckers are new so... okay. Yeah. Appleanta's always been fucking bad. Always always. Used to be you could scavenge there. Hell, there were gangs and shit just like everywhere else. But there was always something wrong with that fucking place. Like every now and then a gang would just disappear. Not
[21:20:50]	stomped out in some gang war. Just... disappear. And there's also the fact Appleanta was never balefired. But what happened to all the people? Nopony knows. Just fucking gone. Then, fifty years ago or so, the phage starts. It was small then... wasn't fucking everywhere like it is now. You went in to the Apple and came out... soon your guts would be
[21:22:07]	rotting or your brains would turn to mush. So no pony fucking goes there... not if they can help it. The only ponies I know who will dare are the Owl Guard over in Olives. They got some freaky bio protection suit or some shit. But what they go in for and what they find... who knows. Olives sure aint tellin."
[21:23:20]	Shimmershy	bites her lower lip worse and scrunches her nose. "O-oh..." She looked at her forehooves, swallowing nervously. "A-and the Ministry of Peace hub is... Is inside that cloud, around the tower..?"
[21:23:21]	Night_Wind	perks up her ears at that news. "We had suspected we would need to deal with Olives in the near future, but this confirms it."
[21:24:18]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Mite be worth a try to go have a talk with them Olives"
[21:26:14]	Night_Wind	nods. "But first I would like to be certain we have dealt with whatever is at the source of these attacks." She sighs then and shuffles her hooves.
[21:26:17]	Somber	"Sure. Right at the base of the Tower. Not sure where exactly." She then looks at Edna and Night. "Have caps when you do. Olives has the smart ponies... so much so they got their own genny... bastards."
[21:26:57]	Wanderlust	nods, trying not to look too disappointed. "Sounds good to me, there's bound to be something good in that tower that'll be ours for the taking if we can convince them to part with some of those suits..."
[21:27:25]	Shimmershy	lowers her head. "O-oh..." She sighs quietly the nods her head and stands up. "Th-then we should leave as soon as we can. The long way would be good. We'll get to see the other factions... And maybe find out what could cause black blood from someponies who see more strange things..."
[21:28:07]	Edna_Stonetalon	"This whole place is a strange thing Shimmer"
[21:28:25]	Night_Wind	twitches her ears at Wander's words but makes no comment, staring at her hooves and chewing her lower lip.
[21:29:41]	Somber	"Let me know what you find out from Solace. If they are doing shit to stomp us, we need to be ready. And if some fucker is playing them against us, we need to get them stomped before they do. I don't want to kill those Solace fucks, but I will if they threaten Spark Town again.
[21:35:59]	Shimmershy	looks up to Night Wind as she turns to prepare to leave. "Is... Is something wrong..?"
[21:39:20]	Night_Wind	glances at Shimmershy and shuffles her feet. "We were reminded of something. It could be helpful if the ghouls looked favorably on us, but...it could be trouble as well. Our kind does not handle being worshipped very well. It...can lead our thoughts in bad directions. And...we recall hearing that there is one of our kind at Solace...one that is worshipped. It is troubling."
[21:40:56]	Shimmershy	frowns a little and tilts her head to one side. "Oh... W-well that might... Might explain why they would suddenly want power. And why they might be violent." She looks back towards Arclight. "Um. O-one last question. How long ago did the problems with Solace get really bad..?"
[21:41:16]	Somber	Livewire waves her hand. "Yeah... yeah... there's a white one of you or some shit like that. Celestia's second coming... or so they say."
[21:41:20]	hoof*
[21:42:59]	Shimmershy	nods her head and smiles. "W-we'll try to figure something out." looking back up to Night Wind before proceeding towards the elevator. They could talk Alicorns later.
[21:44:07]	Edna_Stonetalon	follows the others out
[21:44:10]	Night_Wind	blinks and simply stands stock still.
[21:46:00]	Wanderlust	"Something else you wanted to say Night_Wind?" Wanderlust asks, not wanting to just leave her standing there.
[21:47:09]	Night_Wind	shakes her head after a moment and mutters, "Impossible. That's just not possible." Her voice gets louder as she speaks. "It must be a trick! There are no white alicorns!"
[21:48:11]	Wanderlust	takes an involuntary step back. "Err, well, apparently there are. Unless they just saw wrong? Maybe?"
[21:48:34]	Edna_Stonetalon	"They got this stuff called paint"
[21:49:07]	Somber	Livewire shrugs. "Well maybe it's a fake. Fuck if I know. They've always said they've got some special connection to Celestia."
[21:50:16]	Shimmershy	taps her chin and looks up to Night Wind. "M-maybe it is a fake..?" She shook her head. "B-but we can figure it out when we get there... Nothing we can do while we're here, right?" giving a half-hearted smile.
[21:51:36]	Night_Wind	shakes her head. "We are green or blue or purple. Different shades perhaps, different colored manes, but never different colored coats!" She snorts seeming deeply disturbed by the very idea of such a thing. "It must be a fake...or...or maybe something done by Killing Joke! Yes, it must be one of those two." That seems to calm her down, but her feathers are still a bit
	fluffed as she turns away.
[21:53:22]	Wanderlust	blinks at the sudden outburst. "Easy there. Shimmershy is right, we'll deal with it when we get there, no reason to freak out."
[21:55:07]	Night_Wind	nods to Wander though her mane retains a slightly frazzled look and her feathers haven't fully settled.
[22:24:02]	prances uneasily as she considers their near future. On the one hoof, she would like to get this over with quickly both for the sake of Spark and to be able to put her troubling questions about this mysterious alicorn to rest. On the other hoof, the possibility of being treated like royalty by the ghouls is even more troubling than the possibility of them being hostile.
[22:25:08]	Somber	With their gear packed up, the group starts their way east, moving clockwise around the empty city. As they approach where the madwood once rose, they can see the long low stretch of the mall laying naked and exposed. It was hard to imagine that just days ago all of this had been a lush jungle; a thousand times lusher than what the SPP put out with its
[22:26:16]	cloud seeding. Where greenery once was is now hard clay and stones; asphalt and rusted wagons and carts. Just more of the wasteland, now not hidden by madness inducing growth.
[22:40:43]	Edna_Stonetalon	returns from doing another flyby of the wrecked caravan "Hey someone was alive there and no crazy rangers. I think her name was Rawna or something. She's acting weird, just walking around in circles. Looks like it's been scavenged already too, but we mite be able to get a wagon up and running"
[22:42:24]	Shimmershy	nods her head and looks up to Edna. "A wagon would be good... Save on exertion at least." She gave a timid smile. "I guess... If Rawna's not dangerous we can try to talk and see about getting a wagon working again..."
[22:43:30]	Wanderlust	looks disappointed, but nods. "At least there's something we can salvage still."
[22:45:17]	Night_Wind	hesitates, something nagging at the back of her mind. "That...hmm...could it..." she mutters then raises her voice to ask, "Could her name have been Rowen?"
[22:45:51]	Edna_Stonetalon	snaps a talon "That was it Rowen"
[22:46:08]	Somber	When the friends get to the crash site they find the tan Rowan walking in a slow circle. Her brown eyes are glazed and unfocused as she trots slowly in a circle. Somepony had spray painted over her cutie marks with horse shoes and wrote 'hold here.' on her back. 'Brain fucked' had been written across her face. 'Free fuck' across her sides. And from the
[22:46:56]	shiny material covering her flanks and face, somepony did so. Sadly the wagons have been scavenged so that they'll never fly again.
[22:47:05]	Night_Wind	beams and with a joyful whinny, she takes off towards the crash site at a canter. "Rowan! Rowan, are you okay? We've been so woried!" she calls out to the mare.
[22:47:48]	Shimmershy	blinks and frowns at the state of the pony, tilting her head to one side at Night Wind's sudden outburst with a nervous chew of her lower lip.
[22:47:50]	Wanderlust	frowns deeply at the state of the mare. "That's really fucked up..." he mutters quietly.
[22:48:19]	Night_Wind	grows decidely less happy as she takes in Rowan's state and swallows back bile. "Oh, Rowan..."
[22:48:25]	Edna_Stonetalon	"I didn't notice the writing before"
[22:49:56]	Somber	The earth pony didn't acknowledge them as she just kept walking in that slow circle, muttering to herself.
[22:51:23]	Night_Wind	steps closer, placing herself in the path of the other mare. "Rowan?"
[22:52:07]	Edna_Stonetalon	"That is just messed up. Think we could help her?"
[22:52:12]	Somber	She stops and just stands there, muttering and staring straight ahead.
[22:52:49]	Night_Wind	leans close, trying to hear what the mare is saying.
[22:54:24]	Shimmershy	slowly moves in closer to listen to what this mare was muttering. "I'm... Um... I'm not sure there's much we can do to help. I-if she ate the stuff from the madwood sh-she might just be..." She whimpers a little and lowers her head.
[22:54:55]	Wanderlust	doesn't want to get to close to the mare, he almost feels dirty just looking at her. "What is she saying?" He asks.
[22:55:00]	Wanderlust	too*
[22:56:05]	Edna_Stonetalon	stands back, keeping an eye out for anything moving
[22:56:35]	Night_Wind	shudders and blinks back tears then gently reaches out to hug the mare. "We are sorry. We are so sorry we could not stay."
[22:56:52]	Shimmershy	blinks and frowns, looking around at the surroundings a few moments in confusion, towards the distance. She shook her head. "I... Um... I think... I don't know." She lowers her head and whimpers a little.
[22:57:41]	Somber	She just stands there as she's hugged, her eyes wide and blank. She didn't look in distress or beaten... far worse... she looked broken.
[22:58:38]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Clean her up. Maybe those at Headless can help."
[22:59:10]	Wanderlust	busies himself looking around the camp for anything the scavengers might have missed. It felt like he was intruding on something private and wanted to be useful in the meantime.
[22:59:16]	Night_Wind	shakes her head sadly. "They...I think they...conditioned her. I wish one of my green sisters was here. Damaged minds are not the sort of thing I know how to fix."
[23:00:20]	Edna_Stonetalon	"I don't think that's it. Mite have something to do with the phage"
[23:00:37]	"And then... scavengers got to her"
[23:01:44]	Wanderlust	mutters something crude under his breath.
[23:01:46]	Shimmershy	nods her head in agreement to Edna. "P-probably... That stuff did strange things. A-and someone took advantage." She lowered her head and closed her eyes. "W-we should at least try to get her cleaned up and to somewhere safe. B-before something out here finds her."
[23:02:11]	Night_Wind	shakes her head. "The phage may have played a part, but...I do not think the Rowan I knew would have been...asking people to come back and 'rut' her." She strokes a hoof softly down the mare's back even though Rowan seems unaware.
[23:02:48]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Is that what she's saying?"
[23:03:35]	Shimmershy	nods her head weakly.
[23:04:00]	Edna_Stonetalon	huffs and looks rather cross now
[23:04:29]	Night_Wind	winces and nods to Edna...but there's a flash of fire in her eyes. "If we find the ones who did this, they had best be insane as well if they know what's good for them."
[23:05:12]	Edna_Stonetalon	"Sorry Night I'm pretty sure they aren't insane"
[23:05:15]	Somber	Washing her face, the mare attempts to fellate the bottle. Washing her rump makes her lift her tail. When contact ends, she starts to walk in a circle... and then begins to approach Wanderlust.
[23:07:16]	Wanderlust	is busy digging through some of the items left by the scavengers. He skitters back as he sees the mare walking his way, tail up. "Um... a little help?" He says, having no idea how to resolve the situation.
[23:07:17]	Night_Wind	snorts. "Mother will not be happy, but then I doubt she would be happy with ponies who would do this. I think I might compromise. Perhaps castration will suffice?"
[23:08:25]	Shimmershy	rubs her forehoof at the ground and looks up at Wanderlust's call. "Um... I... Um... I don't know." She whimpers a little and shakes her head. "W-we should get her somewhere safe... B-but I don't know anywhere she'd be safe..."
[23:08:28]	Edna_Stonetalon	points at Rawan "We should knock her out or something and get moving"
[23:09:22]	Somber	It was a way to get to get her to walk in a straight line as she tried to duck her head under his hindquarters.... and when he moved away she simply moved closer to him again as she muttered softly over and over again.
[23:11:35]	Wanderlust	is blushing furiously while trying to dance around the mare, keeping something between himself and her. "H-Help!" He looks at the rest of the party desperately.
[23:12:41]	Edna_Stonetalon	giggles sadly "Sorry Wander nothing we can do. Least she's keeping you from looking at my flank"
[23:16:17]	Night_Wind	smiles a bit sadly but ruefully. Awkward solutions are still solutions after all, and maybe somewhere along the way...well, who can say?
[23:17:36]	Wanderlust	stops. "I do not stare at your flank!" He yells with a deepening blush.
[23:18:19]	Edna_Stonetalon	smiles "The blush says you're lieing"
[23:18:22]	Shimmershy	frowns and moves towards Wanderlust, shaking her head. "Um... Maybe you can lead her out of here towards where we're going..? They might be able to help..."