daily pastebin goal

Fallout: Beyond Equestria 191: Black Rose (Part 9)

Scorch_Mechanic Aug 24th, 2016 (edited) 57 Never
  1. [2016-08-10 13:11:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Game Starting Soon! http://i.imgbox.com/97c058AW.png
  2. [2016-08-10 13:19:10] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Previously...
  3. [2016-08-10 13:19:28] <Mare-Do-Well> 3From the air, the cave is marked by the sight of neither living creatures nor dead ones.  No bones little the area nearby.  However, Golden_Dream does spot symbols carved into some of the larger stones in a vague parameter around the cave.
  4. [2016-08-10 13:19:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  5. [2016-08-10 13:19:39] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The /Shadowbolt/ begins to move, picking up speed.  Below, a creature that is mostly a dragon lumbers out of the entrance.  Amethyst scales and ruby-spined, the dragon is covered in black vines that thread in and out of its body, covering him like veins, with bulges of oily pustules and black flowers.  The creature stares up at the ship and roars.
  6. [2016-08-10 13:19:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi gasps and slips Hunter behind her. "Wut eez dat?!"
  7. [2016-08-10 13:19:51] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Stripeless react with horror to the sight below.  The translator turns to Shatara, speaking in griffin.  "It is the Black Plague of the Anulus Mortis!"
  8. [2016-08-10 13:19:53] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  9. [2016-08-10 13:20:58] <Mare-Do-Well> 3vignette4.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/0/0a/The_scepter_in_the_flame-cano_creating_a_powerful_blast_S6E5.png
  10. [2016-08-10 13:21:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  11. [2016-08-10 13:21:37] <Mare-Do-Well> 3In the few yards between the maw and the crystal spikes, two obsidian-carved pedestals display draconic suits of armor.  These are small suits, not much larger than an alicorn, clearly designed to be worn into battle by fairly youthful dragons.  From the looks of them, they have each seen their share of adventure, one much more than the other.
  12. [2016-08-10 13:21:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi's knock echoes.
  13. [2016-08-10 13:21:52] <Mare-Do-Well> 3A moment later, there is the sound of a loud grinding.  Then a bone-rending creak as the door swings open a few small feet...
  14. [2016-08-10 13:22:20] <Mare-Do-Well> 3... and a translucent-orange crystal pony peeks out.  She first looks upwards expectantly.  Then down until her gaze meets Noble_Heart's.  She blinks in surprise.
  15. [2016-08-10 13:22:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  16. [2016-08-10 13:22:49] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream pats the carpet. "You know, I ain't ever touched actual crystal wool before. This here's neat." She remarks, following the Crystal Mare. "So, um. Yeah. We fixed th' Crystal Kingdom. It was weird for a while, but now it's at least populated by folks that got their minds straight."
  17. [2016-08-10 13:22:52] <Mare-Do-Well> 3,,,
  18. [2016-08-10 13:23:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream raises an eyebrow to her silence. "So. Turns out that a simulation of Shining Armor and Cadence are doin' fine. Ish. How're you doing? You been here long?"
  19. [2016-08-10 13:23:16] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  20. [2016-08-10 13:23:41] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright "So this is... nice. Is Her Empress the Lord of Dragons also nice? Mean? Short tempered? Can you give us a hint?"
  21. [2016-08-10 13:23:43] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The crystal mare turns to the opposite set of doors.  She sets a hoof into a knot in the petrified wood which sinks into the door.  There is an unsubtle "click".  Then she throws her weight into pushing one of the doors open.  As she does so, she answers Bookwright with a grunt.  "She is very nice.  She was nicer before the coup, though."
  22. [2016-08-10 13:23:59] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Who wouldn't want to visit all the cool weapons?" Shatara asks.
  23. [2016-08-10 13:24:23] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Coup?" Noble_Heart asks.  That was concerning. "Someone attempted to seize power away from her?"
  24. [2016-08-10 13:25:02] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright sees complete sincerity in Shatara's face and finds it oddly perplexing.  To Noble_Heart, he says, "Either that, or she means someone tried to punch her really hard."  Bookwright frowns in momentary thought. "I suppose it could be both."
  25. [2016-08-10 13:25:12] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart glances towards Bookwright. "Considering what We have seen of dragons? It is almost certainly both."
  26. [2016-08-10 13:25:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream replies back to Shatara. "I'm jus' happy there weren't a demonstration." She waits for the Crystal maid's response before moving up to the room itself.
  27. [2016-08-10 13:25:56] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Now that's not fair. The only dragons we've met so far have tried to annihilate us, eat us, and tell us to go away. That's hardly a fair sampling."  Bookwright forestalls a comment about the hatchlings: "And I'm filing the hatchlings under 'eat us'. Have you seen what they've been doing to Mitzi?"
  28. [2016-08-10 13:26:03] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart nods her head. "But consider the nature of one who would oppose the Dragon Lord. Do you really think they would be particularly civil about it?"
  29. [2016-08-10 13:26:18] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright shrugs. "I don't know? Maybe they solve political problems through boxing matches. I literally don't know."
  30. [2016-08-10 13:26:24] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream pushes through the door. "Bookie, when have things ever been that civil?"
  31. [2016-08-10 13:26:29] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright has read a /lot/ of old-timey political cartoons. "Uh... a really long time ago, before the Big War Where Most Everybody Died?"
  32. [2016-08-10 13:26:41] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The orange crystal pony gets the door open enough for Mitzi to get through, then steps back.  "Uh no," she says to Noble_Heart.  "Dragon Lord Ember wrenched power from Dragon Lord Garble after Garble got us all into that awful war."
  33. [2016-08-10 13:26:44] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  34. [2016-08-10 13:27:22] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Dragon Lord Ember is a long, graceful adult dragon with cerulean blue scales, indigo spines and curling, ivory horns.  She looks roughly as large as Spike... actually, she is larger, but with less mass, her body is thin and sinuous.  Dragon Lord Ember looks over her visitors, taking in their measure, Her expression carefully controlled...
  35. [2016-08-10 13:27:35] <Mare-Do-Well> 3... until She spots Hunter, and then the little hatchlings with Golden_Dream.  "Oh, aren't you three just adorable!"
  36. [2016-08-10 13:27:41] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  37. [2016-08-10 13:28:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright stretches out a hoof, encompassing the hatchlings. "These... are the children of the late Mother of Balefire."
  38. [2016-08-10 13:28:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"The Mother of Balefire?"  The Dragon Lord speaks the title with a weight that shows She knows it.
  39. [2016-08-10 13:28:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright adds, "I say 'late' because we killed her, and 'children' because we cleansed the balefire eggs and they hatched."
  40. [2016-08-10 13:28:31] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Golden_Dream folds her legs. "I'd be able t' get 'em all fed if we weren't goin' into a warzone." She pouts. She looks back up at the Dragon Lord. "Um. Hi. I, uh. I'm real bad at formal, so please fer'give me. But yeah, we sorta killed the mother of balefire. Turns out, she made a deal with the stars."
  41. [2016-08-10 13:29:04] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Dragon Lord Ember turns a more inspecting eye on the hatchlings.  "Cleansed.... how?"  
  42. [2016-08-10 13:29:07] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  43. [2016-08-10 13:29:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3The Dragon Lord frowns.  "The side effects of megaspells are deep and far-reaching.  And can take paths that few if any would predict."
  44. [2016-08-10 13:29:55] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright nods,  "At worst, hazardous. At best, completely unknown. These children weren't, and now they are because of powerful life megaspells. They're already different from normal hatchlings. How much the life magic changed them is a question only time can answer."
  45. [2016-08-10 13:30:05] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Noble_Heart nods her head. "As I'm certain the existence of your maid can attest. Unfortunately We are uncertain what effects this one will have. It is not a spell which was carefully researched or planned. It was more an act of desperation at the time."
  46. [2016-08-10 13:30:14] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Bookwright nods. "We pretty much were throwing magic against the wall and seeing what stuck."
  47. [2016-08-10 13:30:21] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi pets Hunter's spines. She looks exceedingly impressed by the Dragon Lord. Upon hearing about the incident with Garble she gives a snort. "See, ponies figured out dat female Alphas eez bettur, now draguns did too. Uh'll probably be un uv da best," she remarks with a chuckle.
  48. [2016-08-10 13:30:26] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi gives a respectful, sweeping bow to Ember, her paws held out to her sides, palms facing her. "Eet eez an honour to meet da Dragon Al- Lord. Yu have very gud taste een gems und decoration."
  49. [2016-08-10 13:30:32] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Ember smiles to Mitzi and nods Her head respectfully.  "It is a pleasure."
  50. [2016-08-10 13:30:38] <Mare-Do-Well> 3And I hope it remains so."
  51. [2016-08-10 13:30:45] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Mitzi places a paw over her breast. "Ur name eez Mitzi, Daughter uv Mantle, whu eez Alpha of Poneeville Hellhound Pack." The others talked a lot more because they understood better, but she had at least hoped to be properly formal and respectful.
  52. [2016-08-10 13:30:47] <Mare-Do-Well> 3...
  53. [2016-08-10 13:31:11] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Fallout: Beyond Equestria, Session One Hundred and Ninety One: Black Rose (Part 9) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fus5O8SxUoo
  54. [2016-08-10 13:31:31] <Mare-Do-Well> 3--- Session Begins ---
  55. [2016-08-10 13:37:47] * Get_Lost protests "hey, you can't make science without taking some risk! it isn't true that we simply tried everything until something worked! we had more of a 50-50 split gamble and it worked.... so far"
  56. [2016-08-10 13:40:44] * Mitzi holds Hunter up as though for the inspection of the Dragon Lord. "Hunter here eez very sweet, und cute when he gets scard
  57. [2016-08-10 13:40:52] <Mitzi> Scared."*
  58. [2016-08-10 13:45:04] * Golden_Dream gives Mitzi a hesitant glance. "Not that we try n' scare 'em."
  59. [2016-08-10 13:47:30] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Dragon Lord Ember leans close, looking at Hunter.  Hunter reaches out and tries to claim her left nostril as his own.
  60. [2016-08-10 13:47:42] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Ember smiles.
  61. [2016-08-10 13:48:04] * CopyCat bows to the Dragon Lord who was distractingly attractive to her pony sensibilities. "I am CopyCat, your Majesty. Thank you for giving us giving us this meeting. Our journey has been long, confusing, and full of adventure."
  62. [2016-08-10 13:48:57] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"As any good adventure should be, CopyCat," she responds. "I am pleased to meet you."
  63. [2016-08-10 13:50:05] <Mitzi> Mitzi smiles at the interaction between Hunter and Ember. "Uh do not tink dey will be problem, Eef dey learn right."
  64. [2016-08-10 13:53:50] * Get_Lost than adds, in a lower voice "and we are pretty sure that she didn't die... she was more dragged away to an obscure fate than really die in a proprer manner... narratively, that always come back later"
  65. [2016-08-10 13:54:06] <Mare-Do-Well> 3"Until all can be sure, however," Ember says with a touch of sadness, "We will need to keep them apart from the others."   She sits up, splashing glowing liquid magma with her movement.  "Like Garble's old sheriff.  Quarantined."  
  66. [2016-08-10 13:54:36] <Mare-Do-Well> 3Dragon Lord Ember looks down at the hatchlings and cannot help but smile softly.  "Since they are already on the flamecano, and I am already exposed, I cannot see a better place to have them kept than here."
  67. [2016-08-10 13:57:21] * CopyCat rises back to her full graceful height and smiles like the ojou-sama she is. Her eyes widen as Ember's words sink in. "Oh goodness, that would be wonderful your Majesty-ness!"
  68. [2016-08-10 13:59:16] * Mitzi smiles approvingly at the Dtagonlord.  She was stern, and did what she had to do in the face of a risk to her people, but she was not without compassion. She looks upon her with heightened respect.
  69. [2016-08-10 14:00:46] * Golden_Dream trembles a little bit. It just now struck her how /big/ she was. She was a small horse, used to having to look up to others. And it's not like this was the first time that she's met a dragon before. But this is the first time she has done so without the blinding of adrenaline to keep her going.
  70. [2016-08-10 14:02:04] * Golden_Dream notes, "I'm startin' t' understand what Lil'pip mighta felt first time she met Watcher. Or Spike. Whichever."
  71. [2016-08-10 14:02:18] * Get_Lost scratches her neck "uhm, yeah, about quarantine... we couldn't avoid seeing some sort of plant infected zombie-dragon coming here... in a cave"
  72. [2016-08-10 14:05:06] * Bookwright "It didn't touch us or anything. So we're probably okay. I think."
  73. [2016-08-10 14:11:01] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3nods to Bookright and Get_Lost.  "That was Briartooth.  He was Dragon Lord Garble's sheriff.  When I took the throne, he and the other dragons loyal to Garble fled.  Some made the mistake of going to Roam.  The sheriff returned with the black sickenss of the Anulus Mortis."
  74. [2016-08-10 14:12:48] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3"There is nothing left in that husk, I suspect, of the dragon he was.  Out of respect for his former position, and worry, we have given him that place on the border.  Surely," she asks, "You saw the quarantine markers?"
  75. [2016-08-10 14:14:23] * Golden_Dream blinks. "Those were quarantine markers?"
  76. [2016-08-10 14:14:44] * Bookwright "None of us could read the runes."
  77. [2016-08-10 14:14:47] * Mitzi nods. "We saw markeens,  
  78. [2016-08-10 14:15:00] <Mitzi> * but none uv us cud read dem."
  79. [2016-08-10 14:15:50] * Mitzi notes for the sake of it; "Uh can't read ponee squiggles either."
  80. [2016-08-10 14:19:00] * CopyCat gives a slightly awkward smile. The kind of smile Twilight was good at making when her face does the smiling while her eyes and mind do the worrying. "Oh! So that's what those runes meant! Noble_Heart went on ahead to get a quick peek at them up close, but she came back even quicker!" CopyCat then adds, "She's the sensible one."
  81. [2016-08-10 14:19:12] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Ember frowns.  "Of course," she groans.
  82. [2016-08-10 14:20:15] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3then asks, "Do ponies have a symbol for quarantine that you recommend I could have added to those markers just to make it even more clear?"
  83. [2016-08-10 14:21:41] * Get_Lost "sure, there are a lot. a skull with a couple of crossed bones could help... or attract curious idiots. there is also a biohazard symbol but i don't think that a lot of ponies will recognize it"
  84. [2016-08-10 14:21:47] * Golden_Dream blinks. "You got a piece of paper?"
  85. [2016-08-10 14:22:03] * Bookwright shrugs. "Get's idea is as good as any other. This isn't a solved problem."
  86. [2016-08-10 14:22:37] * Golden_Dream shakes her head. "No, just use the magical fallout symbol. Ponies might not know th' biohazard one, but if they
  87. [2016-08-10 14:22:47] <Golden_Dream> 're alive, /they know the fallout symbol/."
  88. [2016-08-10 14:23:28] <Shatara> "You could use *all* the symbols...or is that overkill?"
  89. [2016-08-10 14:24:22] * Mitzi makes a motion in the air with a claw, drawing a sort of pictograph depicting what almost looks like a chocolate bar.
  90. [2016-08-10 14:25:03] * Bookwright shakes his head. "Nothing we could write could be overkill."
  91. [2016-08-10 14:25:13] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3passes Mitzi a cool lava rock to draw on with her claws.
  92. [2016-08-10 14:25:47] * CopyCat blinks, then turns to Golden_Dream. "But what if they're not alive?" She has a small, Nightvale-ian existential crisis, "What if they've never even been born..."
  93. [2016-08-10 14:26:15] * Mitzi repeats the drawing, though the fact that it looks like a chocolate bar would probably confuse the ponies.
  94. [2016-08-10 14:27:40] * Bookwright "Anything we write down will require knowledge of our current culture. In a few thousand years, who's to say culture won't have changed dramatically enough that our warning symbols mean something else, if they mean anything at all? I'm not saying we shouldn't make all the warnings we can, but we should be aware that their meaning will eventually be lost."
  95. [2016-08-10 14:28:48] * Get_Lost "uhm... i'm not a botanist, nor a magical radiation expert, but maybe there's a better solution for this situation? like, neutralizing the vine?"
  96. [2016-08-10 14:31:16] * Bookwright "Well, yes, that would be the ideal solution... And we should solve it if we can, but right now we have other problems."
  97. [2016-08-10 14:32:18] * Golden_Dream looks around. "Bookie, we're not tryin' t' plan fer' thousands of years. We're planning fer th' next hundred. Tops. And th' fallout symbol meant 'bad news' fer' th' last hundred years. What's one more?"
  98. [2016-08-10 14:33:41] * Bookwright scowls at Golden_Dream for interrupting his daydream. "How do you know it'll be gone in a hundred years? In a thousand?"
  99. [2016-08-10 14:33:47] * Get_Lost yeah, start putting the fallout symbol, then we could try to find a real fix for that without dishonoring the memory of the sheriff
  100. [2016-08-10 14:34:00] <Get_Lost> ""
  101. [2016-08-10 14:34:18] * CopyCat gets broken out of her trance by looking at Mitzi's claw-drawing. "What is that? It looks delicious."
  102. [2016-08-10 14:34:47] * Bookwright "It's a... rectangle?"
  103. [2016-08-10 14:36:24] * Golden_Dream gives Bookie a look. "I'm saying that this is just one of those problems that is gonna just need t' be solved by regular changin' out of symbols."
  104. [2016-08-10 14:37:41] <Pony_19020> Mitzi looks to CopyCat. "Eets old symbol fur poison."
  105. [2016-08-10 14:39:29] * Golden_Dream narrows her eyes. And then measures it a bit. "... That's a Cocoa Crunchy bar."
  106. [2016-08-10 14:39:46] * CopyCat narrows her eyes at the drawing and mumbles something about poison shouldn't look so tasty.
  107. [2016-08-10 14:40:16] * Bookwright "See? Even across contemporary cultures we symbols for poison that directly contradict each other."
  108. [2016-08-10 14:40:17] * Get_Lost "mh, cocoa... i'd love some. it's been forever, since that time we broke into the candyshop in graveyard hill"
  109. [2016-08-10 14:40:59] * CopyCat then suggests, "Perhaps a red 'X'? If we don't want to go with the radiation symbol."
  110. [2016-08-10 14:41:12] * Mitzi looks to Golden_Dream. "Eet's wut?"
  111. [2016-08-10 14:42:21] * Bookwright "I think we should just use them all and get on with things. Nothing we can do is going to last nearly long enough in the grand scheme of things, but it's literally all we can do."
  112. [2016-08-10 14:45:13] * CopyCat nods before looking back up at Ember. "I couldn't help noticing those two suits of almost pony-sized amour on display on our way in. Definitely not pony shaped though. They look like they've got quite a story behind them."
  113. [2016-08-10 14:56:00] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3turns from the current discussion at CopyCat's comment.  "Yes.  Those were mine.  When I was a /lot/ younger and smaller."
  114. [2016-08-10 14:58:04] * Mitzi is reminded that she still needs some new armor for herself.
  115. [2016-08-10 15:02:05] * Bookwright is reminded that Mitzi needs armor, weapons, clothes, food... everything. Being burned up in lava tends to reduce one's belongings to ash.
  116. [2016-08-10 15:05:30] * Mitzi nods to Ember. "So yu were a warrior und now a leader. Uh like yu," she says with a grin.
  117. [2016-08-10 15:13:53] * Golden_Dream sits there in dumbfounded awe for a moment. "A cocoa crunchy bar was a chocolate bar made back before the war. It's a dessert. We eat that."
  118. [2016-08-10 15:14:35] * Mitzi raises an eyebrow at Golden_Dream. "Yu eat poison?"
  119. [2016-08-10 15:15:05] * Get_Lost "poison for your flanks? yeah, if i will ever find some"
  120. [2016-08-10 15:15:24] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3smile to Mitzi.  "Thank you.  And, how about yourself?"
  121. [2016-08-10 15:15:31] * Get_Lost "you know  what they say about cutiemarks: the larger, the better" laughs
  122. [2016-08-10 15:16:42] * Mitzi nods back to Dragon_Lord_Ember. "As Uh said, Uh'm daughter uv Mantle, whu eez ur current Alpha. Uh want tu take his place, und Uh been travelleen wit ponies tu learn. Ur life wuz saved by ponee doctor from sickness, und Uh want ur kind tu mend fences wit ponnees."
  123. [2016-08-10 15:20:27] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3nods.  "Forging alliances with others is a strong first step.  And saving these children and bringing them here is a very strong offering to start the process."
  124. [2016-08-10 15:20:49] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3adds, "At least, with me and my dragons."
  125. [2016-08-10 15:24:50] * Golden_Dream points at Mitzi. "It's poison fer' y'all. Fer' us, it's tasty, tasty chocolate. See th' conundrum?" She looks at the tykes. "I ain't lookin' t' be th' bestest. I'm jus' lookin' t' get back home and get t' that fucker what killed m' dad. And things jus' keep poppin' up t' get in m' way."
  126. [2016-08-10 15:25:13] * Golden_Dream "I ain't lookin' t'  make alliances. I jus' wanna get home and make a pie and do nothing fe
  127. [2016-08-10 15:25:18] * Mitzi blinks, then looks at Dragon_Lord_Ember curiously. "Ur kind eez endangered. Haveen gud relations wit other races eez important eef we want to continue." She lets Hunter climb back up on her head and shoulders. "Yu eez da kind uv leader Uh'd like tu tink Uh'll be like, und Uh respect dat. Uh'd be happy to discuss makeen Draguns und Hellhounds friends once Uh'm Alpha properly."
  128. [2016-08-10 15:25:24] <Golden_Dream> r' a while without feelin' like m' souls gone dead."
  129. [2016-08-10 15:26:21] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3notes, "For thousands of years, dragons did not do alliances.  That changed the day Garble became Dragon Lord.  But it changed with me.  I created an alliance with a baby dragon from the pony lands.  And together, we did what neither of us could do.  Together, we almost claimed the scepter..."  She trails off.
  130. [2016-08-10 15:26:58] * Mitzi nods, curiously. "May Uh ask wut happened?"
  131. [2016-08-10 15:27:03] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3speaks up after a moment of silence.  "Even Garble saw the value of allies," she finally says.
  132. [2016-08-10 15:27:20] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3"I still do."
  133. [2016-08-10 15:32:04] * Get_Lost "yeah, that's true. allies are even better than an army of robot zombies: they rhink on their own and are on your side without being forced to!"
  134. [2016-08-10 15:34:06] * Golden_Dream blinks. "What was th' Baby Dragon's name?"
  135. [2016-08-10 15:39:29] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3takes some time to remember that.  Then, "I believe his name was Spike.  But it has been a long time."
  136. [2016-08-10 15:41:15] * Mitzi looks to Dragon_Lord_Ember, Eef Ur history eez right, Draguns fought against ponees een old war."
  137. [2016-08-10 15:41:24] <Mitzi> *"Eef
  138. [2016-08-10 15:42:31] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3nods.  "That was under Dragon Lord Garble's leadership."
  139. [2016-08-10 15:43:55] * Get_Lost "woah, spike is probably one of the most common dragon names ever, u guess... like... finding a pony named merry going in a large cisty: good luck with the phonebook!"
  140. [2016-08-10 15:46:07] * CopyCat blinks at Lord Ember's news, then looks at Get_Lost. "But a dragon named Spike from /Equestria/? That can't be just a coincidence."
  141. [2016-08-10 15:46:55] * Get_Lost "after all these years? look, if we can find him alive, i'm eating my own parlay"
  142. [2016-08-10 15:46:58] * Get_Lost "raw"
  143. [2016-08-10 15:47:19] * Get_Lost then whispers at parlay "don't worry, that's impossible"
  144. [2016-08-10 15:49:10] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3admits, "It is past time for Dragonflight.  But we have not left these lands.  The world is still poisoned from the war; we do not have a suitable place to go, and our numbers have thinned thanks to the war with ponies and the blood spilled in my coup."
  145. [2016-08-10 15:49:27] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3adds ruefully, "The zebras had promised Garble the pony's lands as home for our next migration."
  146. [2016-08-10 15:50:29] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3says, "So we stay here.  We are content to do so, for now.  Although when these hatchlings mature, we will need to move."
  147. [2016-08-10 15:50:43] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3notes, "Assuming all is well with them."
  148. [2016-08-10 15:50:52] * Get_Lost "well, on the good news, the ponylands are now somehow cleansed... maybe there's place for everypony and everdragon? overpopulation is not one of our problems at the moment"
  149. [2016-08-10 15:56:47] * Golden_Dream raises a hoof. "Um. Did this Spike have..." What was it again? "Purple scales and green fins?"
  150. [2016-08-10 16:00:24] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3thinks, then nods.  "Why?  You have heard of him?  Is he still alive?"  She reins in her expectations.  "Or, perhaps, there is a large painting or sculpture of him somewhere?"
  151. [2016-08-10 16:01:23] * Golden_Dream 's eyes open wide, and she /immediately thinks/, [COPYCAT, WE NEED TO HOOK THEM UP. I NEED PLANS.]
  152. [2016-08-10 16:01:25] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3The orange crystal pony raises a hoof.  "um... I heard once that there was a statue of him in the Crystal Empire?"
  153. [2016-08-10 16:02:04] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3"They went there," she says, pointing at the Equestrians.  "They probably saw it."
  154. [2016-08-10 16:03:47] * CopyCat nods. "Moving may be beneficial in other ways, too. The surviving Empire of Roam is controlled by changelings. Rebuilt to serve as an emotional larder for a growing hive which is already seeking to expand into pony lands..."
  155. [2016-08-10 16:03:51] * Get_Lost offers "yeah, there is a dragon named spike in equestria, but he probably is not that one. he's a local hero or something like that... i heard he helped cleansing equestria... with some sort of... mumbo jumbo from the old times..." thinks about it "well, actually it worked a lot better than punga"
  156. [2016-08-10 16:05:19] * Golden_Dream coughs into her hoof. "Um. Well, I mean... I was, um. I know we have a book with a purple and green finned dragon named Spike, who has been in Equestria and hung out with th' Ministry mares back in th' day. And I think he's still around."
  157. [2016-08-10 16:09:23] * Bookwright nods. "A dragon named Spike participated in the final battle against the Enclave in Equestria, more than a score of years ago. According to the /Book of Littlepip/ he was also a companion of the Six."
  158. [2016-08-10 16:10:12] * Get_Lost nodnods like espert. never read the book, it hadn't enough porn in it
  159. [2016-08-10 16:10:17] * CopyCat blinks at Golden_Dream's mental message. Then she starts giggling.
  160. [2016-08-10 16:12:18] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3"Battled against the Enclave?" Ember asks, "Who are the Enclave?"
  161. [2016-08-10 16:14:26] * Get_Lost "uh... bad news?"
  162. [2016-08-10 16:14:54] * Mitzi leaves it for the ponies who know better to tell this story. She had never read this book, and only knew the Hellhound side of events really.
  163. [2016-08-10 16:16:50] * Bookwright "After the megaspell exchange, the air power arm of the Equestrian military turned inwards. They abandoned the ground-dwelling ponies and hid themselves in the clouds."
  164. [2016-08-10 16:18:19] <Shatara> "well, they were...now we're trying to get their help...maybe?"
  165. [2016-08-10 16:22:15] * Bookwright shrugs. "The Enclave as a unified whole is no more. After the Lightbringer cleared the skies, the Enclave forces had nowhere to hide. Splinters and remnants of the Enclave are all that remain, and not all of them are bad. And we've had the help of some of them to get here."
  166. [2016-08-10 16:26:08] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3asks, "Get their help for what?"
  167. [2016-08-10 16:28:20] <Shatara> "Oh, you know, just stopping a bugpone-controled stripey empire from invading equestria..."
  168. [2016-08-10 16:30:26] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3blinks.  Then blinks again.  Then a slow frown etches across her face.  "So /that/ is where they disappeared to."
  169. [2016-08-10 16:31:58] * Get_Lost "if you are referring to the bugpones, yeah. at least a part of them." then frowns "but i liked the one we captured, she seemed okay, or at least she would have been a nice bug if we undiscorded her"
  170. [2016-08-10 16:34:17] * Noble_Heart clears her throat and steps forwards. "We believe that Spike is indeed the one you know. He is certainly the right age. He has been living in Equestria, sequestered from the ponies, for centuries since the end. Hiding and... Guarding. Though We lack authority to offer you a place in the pony lands to spend your migration, We do know there is plentiful space right now. And
  171. [2016-08-10 16:34:17] * Noble_Heart it is not poisoned." She contemplates. "Perhaps the Followers of the Apocalypse might be able to find a place you could settle."
  172. [2016-08-10 16:51:01] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3listens to Noble_Heart's sort-of-an-offer.  "If it is the same Spike, perhaps he might remember me.  I would... appreciate the chance to speak with him.  As for migration, I think contemplations of that are best left until after I have spoken to an Equestrian dragon."
  173. [2016-08-10 16:51:28] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3nods to Get_Lost.  "The changelings, I presume you mean?"
  174. [2016-08-10 16:52:54] * Golden_Dream looks between Noble, and Get, a bit confused. "Do y' mean th' Followers, or 'bugpones'? 'Cause I have a feelin' th' bugpones are changerlin's, but th' Followers definitely ain't."
  175. [2016-08-10 16:54:52] * Noble_Heart nods her had at that and contemplates. "You have a radio transmitter here, yes?" She taps her chin and frowns. "But not one powerful enough to reach all the way to Equestria... But..." She furrows her brow. "But the Enclave have a communication line which reaches to the edge of Equestria. It is outside the reach of the SPP Transmitters. But it might be possible for them to
  176. [2016-08-10 16:54:53] * Noble_Heart transmit a message far enough to reach the towers." She taps her chin thoughtfully at the prospect, looking towards Shatara. "Shatara? Do you think it would be possible to daisy-chain the radio here to reach back to the SPP relays? Spike has used those to transmit messages in the past, after all."
  177. [2016-08-10 17:00:26] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3The orange crystal pony ahems and nods.  "That's mine."  Blushing (which looks really interesting in crystal), she admits, "Radio and music are hobbies of mine."
  178. [2016-08-10 17:02:17] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3looks to the crystal pony, "Citrine Glow, would you please help... Shatara, right?..." she asks, glancing to the griffin.  "...see if there is any way to contact Equestria with your toy?"
  179. [2016-08-10 17:02:41] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow mumbles something that sounds like "not a toy" under her breath.
  180. [2016-08-10 17:03:01] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3She quickly nods to the Dragon Lord with a bow.
  181. [2016-08-10 17:03:06] * Mitzi snickers a bit
  182. [2016-08-10 17:08:20] * Golden_Dream goes /slack/. Her face pales a bit. It was really only this easy? "We need that thing sent t' th' mayor- no, th' followers - no, Lil'pip herself t' tell her all that's goin' down here! We need /erryone/ t' know this shit's goin' down."
  183. [2016-08-10 17:08:53] * Shatara scratches his head. "Err, maybe? I mean, if you can boost the signal to the enclave, they might still have the infrastructure to get the signal to the SPP..."
  184. [2016-08-10 17:10:48] * Noble_Heart looks to Golden_Dream. "It is true, a warning would be useful. However there is little the Equestrians could do about such a thing." She frowns. "Assuming they do not already know. Rainbow Dash is likely there, by now, and she knew of what happened here. Which means Fluttershy might as well, assuming the two were capable of speaking to one another." She furrows her brow
  185. [2016-08-10 17:10:48] * Noble_Heart and ruffles her feathers as a thought occurs to her which clearly is uncomfortable, but doesn't say anything else.
  186. [2016-08-10 17:11:06] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3stares at Golden_Dream.  "What... 'shit' has be going down?"
  187. [2016-08-10 17:12:55] * Noble_Heart looks up towards Dragon_Lord_Ember. "The Roam Empire, or rather the changelings controlling it, is planning an invasion, and has already begun the process of infiltrating spies into Equestria." She scowls at the thought. "Or at least beginning a new war. It's possible that they don't actually care about -winning- the war, just the nationalism and unification that comes with
  188. [2016-08-10 17:12:56] * Noble_Heart conflict with a great enemy. But regardless, dangerous times are coming to Equestria if nothing is done."
  189. [2016-08-10 17:16:12] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3nods.  "That is where they went then."  After a moment, she explains, "When the Crystal Empire banished the changelings from their boarders, Queen Chrysalis and her army were flung into our lands.  They caused a fair bit of trouble before my father drove them out."
  190. [2016-08-10 17:17:24] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3notes, "Not that they could have survived here long.  Dragons don't do love."  Maybe-blushing-slightly-but-it's-probably-your-imagination, she adds softly, "Culturally speaking, that is."
  191. [2016-08-10 17:19:19] * Bookwright "Er... pardon my asking, but what exactly... have you been doing?"
  192. [2016-08-10 17:19:36] * Noble_Heart nods her head and sighs. "These changelings seem to have, erm, changed. They appear to feed on nationalism. Love of one's country and people, rather than love for a specific individual. Roamans have a 'Five minutes of love' every day where they stand by quietly and contemplate their place in their nation and their adoration for their leader." She snorts and frowns.
  193. [2016-08-10 17:20:17] * Golden_Dream immediately starts thinking, [Copycat please this is /too/ perfect.]
  194. [2016-08-10 17:28:09] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3frowns.  Then turns to Mitzi.  "In the spirit of building alliances, I can do you a favor in return.  I will send Citrine Glow to accompany you as my ambassador from the Dragonlands."
  195. [2016-08-10 17:28:40] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow looks shocked and a bit unnerved.  "but... um... my place is at your side!"
  196. [2016-08-10 17:29:13] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3tells her, "Yes, unless I need you be elsewhere.  And I think, for a small while, I do."
  197. [2016-08-10 17:29:19] <Shatara> "We've got an airship, we can come back anytime!"
  198. [2016-08-10 17:29:40] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow looks concerned.  "But... how will you... without me... you can't even cook!"
  199. [2016-08-10 17:30:40] * Mitzi looks to Citrine Glow, then smiles and extends a paw. "AMbassador eez important job, yes?"
  200. [2016-08-10 17:30:43] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3rolls her eyes, but smiles.  "I'm a Dragon Lord, and I am two and a half centuries old.  I am sure I can manage without my number one assistant... for a few weeks."
  201. [2016-08-10 17:33:17] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow looks worried.  But nods.  Then offers Mitzi her hoof.
  202. [2016-08-10 17:33:31] * Golden_Dream smirks. "Hey, at least you won't have t' cook while I'm around. Or clean. Or... Well, you can talk better than I can, prolly." She serious's up for a moment. "But, the argument you should make is, you know where we're goin', danger'll follow. We will protect her with everything we got."
  203. [2016-08-10 17:33:48] * Mitzi shakes it firmly
  204. [2016-08-10 17:34:11] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3looks to Mitzi.  "Keep her safe.  She will be very helpful.  And she enjoys the benefit of being a crystal pony, and thus immune to the plague."
  205. [2016-08-10 17:34:25] <Golden_Dream> "But that might not be enough. I ain't gonna sugar coat it. Are you sure that both of you are okay with this?"
  206. [2016-08-10 17:35:27] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow looks nervous.  "It... can't be worse than the seraph invasion.  Right?"
  207. [2016-08-10 17:35:43] * Golden_Dream blinks. "... Seraph... What?"
  208. [2016-08-10 17:36:37] * CopyCat trots up to Citrine Glow and shakes her hoof eagerly. "A pleasure to meet you! Will you be bringing any of your music collection with you? I'd love to hear more of it!"
  209. [2016-08-10 17:36:56] * Mitzi blinks and looks to Citrine Glow. "Yu dun get sick?"
  210. [2016-08-10 17:42:38] * Bookwright "You must bring your music collection. Pink-E's selections are a bit, er, brash."
  211. [2016-08-10 17:42:41] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow answers Golden_Dream, "Seraphs.  You know... zebras made out of sunlight..."
  212. [2016-08-10 17:42:59] * Shatara blinkblinkbs. "No, we don't know."
  213. [2016-08-10 17:43:40] * Noble_Heart contemplates something curiously. She frowns slightly as a thought occurs. "Crystal Ponies are immune to the Anulus Mortis?" She furrows her brow heavily. "Interesting. The power of the Crystal Heart is... In opposition? Greater than?" She struggles with words a bit. "Defeats the power of the Black Rose. And thus the plants it grew." She taps her chin, apparently thinking
  214. [2016-08-10 17:43:41] * Noble_Heart out loud. One of her ears twitches at the mention of zebras made of sunlight. "Those killed by the Celestia One, We would presume."
  215. [2016-08-10 17:44:21] * Bookwright groans. "I knew it was too much to hope that weapon would have no repercussions."
  216. [2016-08-10 17:44:45] * Golden_Dream just stares. "Naw. Noble, there's an easier answer. They're technically ghouls. Radiation don't affect 'em." Then, while still staring. "We don't know what sunzebras are. We ain't seen them. We're from Equestria. Our kinda ghouls jus' turned all zombiepony-like."
  217. [2016-08-10 17:46:29] * Noble_Heart looks towards Golden_Dream, then shakes her head. "Steelhooves was healed by the megaspell Fluttershy created for healing. Yet upon death he became a canterlot ghoul, -not- a ghost. The Pink Cloud consumed the power of the healing megaspell. There must be a more complex relation than simply that the crystal ponies are ghouls. Perhaps to do with the nature of the magics in
  218. [2016-08-10 17:46:29] * Noble_Heart play? The Crystal Heart grants the power of love, which metaphorically begins with the heart. We have little experience with love magic, but it is possible that such things also begin with the heart. Magic is tricksy that way."
  219. [2016-08-10 17:47:58] * Bookwright "Golden, that's because the weapons used on Equestria by the zebras were death magic. Balefire eggs are ultimately magic from the night stars that certain zebras worship. Celestia One is flame and heat, overpowering brightness and searing light. But it's still a megaspell."
  220. [2016-08-10 17:48:06] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3listens, then adds in, "We believe that the seraphs are zebras from the islands that ponies obliterated with the power of the sun.  Survivors... of a sort."
  221. [2016-08-10 17:49:08] * Bookwright shivers. "It's still hideously powerful magic shaped into a weapon of obliteration, the same as the balefire bombs. That it caused similar effects, similar undeaths, should come as no surprise."
  222. [2016-08-10 17:49:50] * Noble_Heart looks up towards Dragon_Lord_Ember, nodding her head. "That seems consistent. The Celestia One, a light-based megaspell to focus the power of the sun into a beam of concentrated energy, was used to attack Zebra missile bases when the megaspell exchange began. To cut off their ability to launch an excess of balefire weapons."
  223. [2016-08-10 17:51:11] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow says, "There's old stories that say that the seraphs are driven mad, searching the world for their shadows, which were burned off from them and became living things of their own."
  224. [2016-08-10 17:52:07] * Bookwright "That can't have happened to all of them. Surely there are some that are peaceful? I mean, they were enlightened after all..."
  225. [2016-08-10 17:52:50] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3does not look like she appreciates Bookwright's pun.
  226. [2016-08-10 17:53:11] * Shatara contemplates digging the cattleprod from his bags for it.
  227. [2016-08-10 17:53:44] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3glares.  "All I can say for sure is that they are extremely difficult to kill.  Artillery, claws and spikes just pass through them."
  228. [2016-08-10 17:54:04] * Bookwright shrivels under Ember's gaze. "Sorry. I was trying to lighten the mood a bit. My point still stands though. Being made into a ghoul didn't affect the attitudes of the ponies it happened to. Except the ones that went insane of course. Why would they invade?"
  229. [2016-08-10 17:54:56] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3says, "I don't know.  It isn't as if they could talk."
  230. [2016-08-10 17:55:10] * Noble_Heart raises her eyebrows at that. "That's... Well, We would not say it is impossible. The powers of megaspells are strange, and often have unexpected consequences." She tilts her head to one side, digging a forehoof at the floor in contemplation. "Perhaps not an invasion. But a flight? If their shadows were alive, and they are beings of living light, it is possible that the
  231. [2016-08-10 17:55:11] * Noble_Heart darkness of themselves ran the risk of killing them."
  232. [2016-08-10 17:59:34] * Dragon_Lord_Ember 3sighs.  "Not to worry.  They were driven from the Dragonlands a decade ago.  We haven't seen more than one or two strays in the last several years."
  233. [2016-08-10 18:00:28] * Noble_Heart nods her head. "But another thing to be concerned about on Our flight towards Roam, it seems."
  234. [2016-08-10 18:00:29] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3Citrine Glow notes, "Still, be careful if you ever see a shadow that looks burned onto a wall, where there is no zebra to cast it."
  235. [2016-08-10 18:01:18] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3--- End of Session ---
  236. [2016-08-10 18:01:33] <Dragon_Lord_Ember> 3XP: +2000
RAW Paste Data