Celestia's Finest: Sombra Went Down to Ashtown

[D.KnightSpider]

"Thank you, sir." It wasn't like he had done anything, but he'd take what he could get. "I'm confident that their testing will come back clean."

Sniper didn't elaborate. He knew that particular mood of Chrysalis'. Whatever she'd wanted, she didn't get. Love must have disappointed her and Sniper was fine with that.

He removes face plate and gives RT a nod. Everything was going to be fine.

Outside of the dreadfully short night this was shaping up to be. But some things couldn't be helped.

[DigoDragon]

"Works for him sometimes," Corby grumbles, "Has three mares with him tonight. Does a good job about not shoving all the details on the rest of us, though, so thank Celestia for that. Only thing we ever hear is what intel, if any, he gathered."

She checks her phone and sighs with relief. "Good. They found Love and Happy. They're fine."

"I guess if he just wants the thrills without the commitment... I tried it once, but it wasn't my thing," Rose confesses. She sighs. "T'was a low point in my life. Trying to get my personal drama cleaned up. Doing my job for the EDF. Staying out of Wild Cat's naughty list."

Rose nods on the news. "That's good to hear. Hopefully Angel checks them over. Chrysalis doesn't get along with Love's... overly forceful personality."

[Elbeyon]

Love will wave alongside Happy. She says goodnight and recognizes/mentions the changelings by name.

Love smiles real big at Happy. "Good! Surprise is a good reaction." Love puts a hoof up to her mouth and laughs. "I owe Pins for the gift idea." The hacker changelings can be a little crabby. If they weren't being crabby, that's a good sign... Probably.

Star must have been scared. Love didn't mean to do that to her. What would have happened to Star if Queen Chrysalis went through with her threat? Love scomms Star, "I didn't meant to make you worry. I'm sorry. I'll keep my comms on from now on."

She scomms Scope, "You wanted me to head up to the brig? And, meet up at Rem's?" She asks, "Is something going on?"

[Miltonian]

Sniper walks on in silence as Red Tape cautiously pumps Happy for details of what they were doing down there, which she is more than happy to provide. It's a tale that has him shaking his head in bewilderment and dismay.

"You better," Star growls, "Or I'll come find you and smack you upside the head with...a wooden spoon or something!"

The group will arrive at their destination shortly.

--

Corby shakes her head. "Well, he seems happy with himself at least...And it does turn up useful info, every once and a while."

Her lips twitch upwards into a smile. "Forceful. That's the perfect word for it. 'Forceful'.

[DigoDragon]

Corby shakes her head. "Well, he seems happy with himself at least...And it does turn up useful info, every once and a while."

Her lips twitch upwards into a smile. "Forceful. That's the perfect word for it. 'Forceful'.

"If it floats his boat," Rose says, sounding agreeable. "How about you? Any special somepony in your life, or...?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper mentally sighs and answers Love's silent comm.: "Rose tried to tinker with one of the Control Chips and tripped a failsafe. The chip exploded, magically, and melted physically. Rose was given a vision of Polaris' origins. She under observation in the brig until we can verify that she isn't compromised.

"But that will have to wait. You're going to medical for a full exam: physical, blood work and psyche test. You were alone with Chrysalis while your comm. was off. We have to establish for every pony else that you're not compromised."

Pause.

"But I know you didn't give in to her. I guess you've got more spine than I initially credited you. Good job Love."

[Elbeyon]

Love cheerfully listens to Happy's adventures of her hoofing out muffins down in the Hive. She left the group in a joyous cheering state last she saw Happy and the Hive.

Scomms to Star in surprise, "A wooden spoon!?" Love tries to ease her, "I haven't been smacked with a wooden spoon since I was a foal!" Love has trouble thinking of a time she was hit like that since she moved to Equestria. Love repeats herself in a calm more serious voice, "I'll make sure to keep my comms on. I wouldn't want to upset the comms officer."

Scomm to Scope, "Oh, wow. That's something. If she is voluntarily in the brig under observation it seems like everything will be alright." She hopes so anyway. She answers his instructions, "I have no right to complain." Love will go to the infirmary for a full examination with no complaints. "Two potential compromises in a single night." Love rubs her mane. "We're not even on a mission tonight." She replies after his pause, "I'm sorry, Scope. I didn't mean to make you worry. Two troublesome teammates..." She tries to cheer him up, "My medical report is going to be spotless! You won't need to lock me in the brig."

[D.KnightSpider]

"I know I won't. This hasn't been a good night for us. My hope is that this doesn't jeopardize our future missions." Sniper replies to Love.

[Elbeyon]

Scope has a lot of confidence in her spine. He even gave her a compliment! It feels good. Hopefully, she'll be able to alleviate his concerns. Love smiles at him. "Tonight was also a good night. Good things happened!" Stay positive! She feels like she understands Queen Chrysalis now. It was an important first step. "And, the night is still young!" She chuckles. "I wish I brought my lab coat. I'm going to do so much SCIENCE and even more MAGIC!" Tonight is the night Love and Scope unlock the secrets of Rem's Pedestal. The CPI chips won't stand a chance! There are so many computer projects she needs to work on too.

[Miltonian]

Corby clams up very quickly. "No. No there is not," she says, "Not anymore."

--

Upon arrival in the infirmary, Love and Happy are both given a quick but thorough check up by the resident pegasus doctor. She quickly confirms what Sniper hopes for. Both have a clean bill of health. No undue influence on either of them. Wildcat sends out an all-clear signal and the EDF stands down, resuming normal business.

[DigoDragon]

Rose winces slightly. "Ah. Sorry if I touched a sore spot. Somethings us doctors can't heal."

She quiets down a bit, thinking of a change in topic. "Well, food? You hungry? Maybe we can call for something to eat?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Tempting as it was to ask Angel for stronger pain relief, Sniper readily dismissed the notion as his second bad idea of the night. Asking for pain relief would necessitate an explanation of why he needed it, which would necessitate an explanation of why he hadn't informed Rose yet and that would cause more rift between them. Better to just plow through it.

"It looks like you're good to go." Sniper comments to the two. "Happy, it's a long story but Rose is spending the night in the brig under observation. I know she hasn't eaten yet and would appreciate something to eat if you're up to it. Corby is with her and would probably like something as well."

While he hasn't eaten either, he's also cybernetic and can more easily skip a meal than others on the team.

"Meanwhile, I need to feed Rem."

While on his way back to Rem's room, Sniper will call Star and check up on her post-fright. Any pony is welcome to join him but they'll have to wait until after the call is concluded to talk.

[Elbeyon]

She gives Scope a hoofs up. His confidence in her wasn't misplaced.

Love does three things (somewhere during the infirmary trip). She searches for bugs and turns off everything that went down into the Hive (except she keeps on the comms she had on her person). She concentrates on mage sense while Red Tape is with them to search for CPI chips. And, she concentrates again to start a general hidden magic search with mage sense by not specifying the search for a particular hidden item. If the stairs up from the Hive didn't wipe her out, she is exhausted. Two spells are all she can handle in this body. She could use a nap. Third! She grabs Happy into a hug and says, "I had a lot of fun baking muffins with you! I had a great time with you going downstairs." She puts a hoof up to her mouth, laughs, and jokes. "Going down the stairs was the easy part. It's climbing them that's difficult." She pokes at her noodle arms. "Scope needs me for something now, but we should definitely do something together soon again." Love squeezes her tight. "I love you." She breaks away and after any farewells, she'll leave with Scope.

Love gives Scope a nod to signal she'll be heading to Rem with him.

She texts Star, "Scope and I are heading to Rem's room." Love wouldn't mind Star joining them, but it's Scope's social function.

[Miltonian]

"It's fine," Corby says with a sigh, "He was a jerk anyway." She lapses into silence alongside Rose, content to leave it at that.

"Well...I am kind of hungry," she says, "I may be up most of the day, but I have trouble eating breakfast at the right time. This is...kind of a very early breakfast, I guess." She grins. "Want me to order room service?"

--

Happy nods seriously. "Hunger is no joke! I'll get to work right away." She lets out a yawn. "And then I think I'll crawl into bed..."

Star is in a much calmer state of mind right now, as evident by her answer. "Joe's Bar and Grill! How may we make your day absolutely fabulous?" she says when she picks up Sniper's call. She assures him that she's fine, this is what she expected when she fell for someone on the same squad, and she now understands the reason behind the old adage against it.

Love turns off the bots without any issue, scans without finding anything, and leaves Happy with a cheerful smile on the pegasus' face and assurance that all is right in the world, even if it isn't.

Star texts back. "Well...have fun! Don't be a stranger now."

They arrive in Rem's 'room'. For lack of a more secure place, she's been returned to Wire's old bathroom, which is out of sight and secured behind the EDF's 'best and finest'. Wire's corpse has, in the meantime, been moved to a more appropriate location in an unused portion of the casino's freezer. Other than being remarkably resistant to necrosis, there's nothing interesting about the body.

Rem sits with her back turned to the door, draped in a cape that flutters in an unseen breeze. The mirror shows no sign of her. "So!" she says, "How was your day?"

[DigoDragon]

"It's fine," Corby says with a sigh, "He was a jerk anyway." She lapses into silence alongside Rose, content to leave it at that.

"Well...I am kind of hungry," she says, "I may be up most of the day, but I have trouble eating breakfast at the right time. This is...kind of a very early breakfast, I guess." She grins. "Want me to order room service?"

"Sure, now that one crisis seems over, I would presume that everyone stood down by now." Rose stretches her back and rolls to a sitting position.

"Anything is fine for me. I'm not a picky eater."

[D.KnightSpider]

"It was," Sniper hesitates for a moment. "something. A reminder of our mortality, I suppose. How was yours?"

He glances at the cape, that was new. "Are you going in for the royal look, now?"

He steps inside the washroom and moves aside to make room for Love.

[Elbeyon]

Love feels a painful longing in her chest. She texts Star, "I'd have more fun with you here. I'll work hard so I can get back to you. Have fun. I'm missing you." Love punctuates the text with a heart and star.

She follows Scope into the room. She brings her LoveBot too. It can stand in the bathtub or something to give them more room.

"It went mostly as expected." Love listens in and stays excited to hear about Rem's day.

She gives Rem a hoofs up at her new cape. "You look absolutely super!"

Love starts sorting through her equipment and controlling her LoveBot.

[Miltonian]

"I'll put the call in." She raises a hoof to her ear and brightens. "Hi Happy. Yes, I do happen to be here with Rose. Oh we'll take whatever. Surprise us."

She turns back to Rose. "Happy was already in the kitchen, prepping to make you something."

--

"I'm busy too," Star says, "Have to do some maintenance on the 'bird. Don't want our patch job falling apart on us now. See you later."

--

"Boring." She flips her head around, straight backwards and evenly between both shoulders, an unnatural angle. "Nothing much to do. Not that I mind. I am used to boredom."

She twists her body around, cracking her neck back into place. "Mm-hmm," she says to Sniper and struts a little, "do you like it?"

[DigoDragon]

"I'll put the call in." She raises a hoof to her ear and brightens. "Hi Happy. Yes, I do happen to be here with Rose. Oh we'll take whatever. Surprise us."

She turns back to Rose. "Happy was already in the kitchen, prepping to make you something."

"Dang, she's on the ball," Rose says. "Guess whatever happened didn't set her back any. Guess that's good."

Rose slinks to the floor and stretches. She walks around, inspecting the walls. She wonders what kind of ponies these walls have seen held in this cell over the decades... "How long is your shift?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper starts at Rem's extreme chiropractic display. That was... unsettling. And an unusual twist on her normal jump scares.

"I wish you could get out and about more, someday that will happen."

And Rem had to ask about appearances. Stereotypically, this was a minefield-- especially for a married couple. While they weren't married, this was no less a minefield.

He suppresses a helpless shrug at the cape. "Since Princess Luna's your relative, I guess that would make you royalty? So the cape suites you."

[Elbeyon]

There's scary. Maintenance work. The ship repairs were fun though. She texts back, "Take care of her. Your beautiful wings deserve flight. I'll see you later."

Love watches with big eyes as Rem swivels her head around. That's different. The realistic neck cracking sends a shiver up her spin. Of course, Rem is board. Love tries to drop a beat, "Sounds like a real pain in the neck!" She notices Rem is getting along really well with Scope. She puts some stress in her cheek over Rem's boredom and decides to look into doing something about it.

"Hey, Rem. I brought some magic items to look at things again. Would you feel comfortable with me taking a peek?"

[Miltonian]

"Seems so," Corby agrees, "Glad to hear it."

She kicks back and sighs. "Fraid you're stuck with me for a few hours yet. Least till two in the morning. Too bad this door isn't set up to play cards throug--" She looks at Rose's horn and jumps to another train of thought. "Hmm...how late you planning on going to bed?"

--

Rem's grin widens horribly. "Oh I'd love that. But I'm not sure the world will."

It's the wrong answer. Her smile disappears and becomes a blank spot on her face. Her eyes turn dark, pits of blackness. She stares at Sniper and, very seriously, says, "Thank you. I will take that in the spirit it's meant."

She blinks and her eyes return. "Well I'd prefer you take me out to dinner first, but that's Sniper's job, so go ahead," she says to Love.

[Elbeyon]

Love smiles real big. "I'd love that too! I have some friends that would be really interested to meet you." Rem will get out of this bunker one day. A few gaming friends would really love to meet Rem. They see all types of wild stuff on VR. Rem did say her and Luna didn't get along on account of Luna trying to kill her. Love isn't stepping in between this little quarrel.

Love giggles at Rem's joke. "I can take you out to a meal some day. I know some good restaurants. It could be fun even if you it wouldn't fill you up."

She adds, "I'll get started. Don't mind me. I'll need to focus for a second." Love winks at Rem. She moves on over to the two magical items and checks out Rem's battery and electrical set up to make sure everything is in order before she starts. She used her old laser rifle's battery as an emergency energy supply to power the pedestal's magic. She only would have had a couple of rifle shots without the main battery. Luckily, she never had to fire that rifle again. It'd be nice to say that about her current rifle too. Love will go slow and take out her spell stone. She wants to do everything in her power to make sure this goes right with Rem. Stone in hoof and if all lights are green, she wills the first stone into action. She focuses and the stone dissolves in her hoof.

Spoiler: Roll

Show

Analyze Magic on the pedestal (I messed up the roll here and rolled in the dice thread)
Rolled 14. (Should be a success)

Analyze Magic:
Identifies exactly what spells are on the subject. If the subject has more than one spell on it, Analyze Magic identifies the one that took the least energy, and tells the caster “there are more spells.”

It can then be cast again to determine the next spell, and so on. Name and Password enchantments (p. 68) count as separate spells that resist at +5; any individual wizard may only attempt to Analyze a Name or Password once. Like Identify Spell, above, it will give limited results when the caster is faced with an unknown spell.

[DigoDragon]

She kicks back and sighs. "Fraid you're stuck with me for a few hours yet. Least till two in the morning. Too bad this door isn't set up to play cards throug--" She looks at Rose's horn and jumps to another train of thought. "Hmm...how late you planning on going to bed?"

Rose shrugs at the question. She hadn't thought that far ahead. "Dunno, I haven't thought that far ahead," she repeats the narration. "What idea did you have in mind?"

[D.KnightSpider]

Sniper blinks at Rem's expression and then tilts his head. Something had gone awry somewhere.

Thank you, Captain Obvious.

He quietly strips out of his gear and assembles his morning kit. A seat on the side of the tub brings a round of thanks from his weary bones. Sniper waves Rem over to join him.

"I hope you can put up with a clueless stallion for a few minutes. My comments bothered you and I'm not entirely sure why, although in hindsight, I can make a few guesses. But guesses are all I've got. Could we talk about it?"

[Miltonian]

As Love gets to work, Rem turns her attention to Sniper. She silently regards him. “Luna,” she says, “Is Luna the reason the cape looks good? Or does it look good because it looks good?”

Love’s check of the battery reveals that it has drained half the remaining charge. This pedestal was not meant to be portable, but advances in battery technology means that it can be so long as you keep careful watch on the remaining charge. As for the magic present, either the spell is weaker than before or Love is lucky because she gets a good reading. There is a basic spell in place designed to foil the attempts of mages studying the inner workings of the pedestal, a sort of magical password-protection that needs to be bypassed before the rest can be examined. It functions at several levels of intensity, all weaker than the spells that comprise the matrix itself, so that further uses of Analyze Magic will just pick up one of the stronger versions. However, the correct input will disable all of them. The question is, what is the proper input?

Normally, it’s another spell, linked by the caster at the casting. However, there are a lot of spells out there and the team only has access to a few of them. Studying the spell itself is no help. The answer must be elsewhere.

--

“You could play cards using your magic,” Corby says, “You don’t need to…” She looks closer and sighs. “Horn cuff. Nevermind.”

She lets her head fall backwards. “Welp. Guess you’re stuck with my lovely conversation skills.”

Happy pops her head around the corner. “And my taco soup!” Corby almost jumps out of her skin. Happy giggles. She pulls a cart laden with a steaming pot of soup and several bowls.

“That was...fast,” Corby says, which is a grave understatement.

[D.KnightSpider]

"It looked good because of you." Sniper says. "Not Princess Luna, or your origin, or the clothing, just because of you. It's the pony that makes the clothes, not vice versa."

Another glimmer of truth lifted a little bit more of his inner darkness. He felt himself relax ever so slightly. It wasn't an altogether comforting truth, but there was a certain freedom in finding it.

[DigoDragon]

"I heard the song soup of my people," Rose says in delight. She prances up to the door and tries looking out. "Happy, it's nice to see you again. Heard you and Love had some trouble down in the hive."

[userpay]

Healing potions... Come to think of it shouldn't they have some healing potions? Brazen might need to talk to Red Tape about that later...

When the call goes out about the changeling situation however it breaks up the moment with Seafire. Not that it could have gone far in the armory. Brazen reassembles his equipment while listening to the calls. His suit earns several glances, did he have time to get in? Eventually the moment passes however and the all clear is given. Great two incidences in one night... With a sigh Brazen sits back down. Well on the plus side at least neither involved him.

When Sniper and Love come through he gives them a wave.

[Elbeyon]

Love and her LoveBot give Brazen a wave on their way through. "Good evening, Brazen. I hope you're having a good night."

===

Love tries not to pay too much attention to Scope's and Rem's conversation.

Love's check on the battery has her worried (not too worried though). She follows the wires, inspecting them, as she makes sure Rem is properly plugged into DW. Love should switch Rem over to one of her new adaptive batteries. Her patch job with Equestrian standard batteries doesn't look like it'll hold indefinitely (without maintenance anyway).

It looks like Love won't wrap up this riddle tonight. How many layers could there be on Rem's pedestal? Too many is likely the answer. She isn't going to give up on the first go though. She takes out another stone and crushes it between her hoofs. She will likely pick up the next stronger obfuscation, but Love is here to do SCIENCE! Science requires repeated testings.

Spoiler: Roll

Show

Anaylize Magic
(3d6)[12]