Let's play a game, /mlp/! A new gimmick every week, or your money back!
If you don't know what's happening, catch up here: http://anonpone.pineapplecomputing.com/threshold/23516424
wew
>>25768252
Last time, Dandy received his first field assignment: There's some sort of topological disturbance on a small island off the southwestern coast of Equestria, and Dandy has been assigned to oversee the task force that's being deployed to investigate the area. But nuts to sitting in a tent manning (horsing?) a radio - Dandy wants to get pomp-deep in the action! And he proves it by ruthlessly gunning down a voracious colony of Parasprites that were invading the once-peaceful beaches of Coquelicot Islet! Now that the tutorial battle has ended, Dandy and his team move on to investigate the beach proper...
HP: 99%
Bits: 204
CC: 1864
Inventory: 1 house key, 1 comb, 1 white fedora, 1 two-way radio, 1 Speed Snapper, 1 lab coat, 1 moon cake, 1 bag of maple yogurt drops, 1 drinking bird, 1 coffee mug, 1 color-changing putty, 1 poster, 1 Cathedral of Terra pamphlet, 1 bottle of peppermint mouthwash, 1 ID card, 1 ounce of "citrus honey", 1 can of bug spray, 1 leftover pizza (3 slices)
The only good bug is a dead bug.
>>25768324
Down the hill and a few hundred yards up the beach, the anomalous behavior manifests.
>'What in Equestria is this...?'
"That's something you don't see everyday..." Flash Nugget mutters.
"What is all of this?" 33 1/3 asks.
"That's what we're here to find out." Flare answers, checking her equipment. When she's satisfied that everything is in order, she beckons to her squadmates. "Let's go, fillies!"
"...Which way?" Flash Nugget asks.
Flare pauses.
"You're in charge, Doctor Pomp." she answers after a moment of silence. "What do you think?"
This is where your quest continues...
>>25768471
Throw that nearby rock at it
>>25768471
I think my little brother SOMEHOW fucked up the AV cable of this too.
The fucker.
>>25768471
Throw the rock first. We need to know it's safe to cross these breaks.
>>25768497
>>25768574
>"I think we should make sure it's safe, first."
Dandy picks up a rock and tosses it across the invisible line between the normal beach and the OHDEARCELESTIAWHATTHEFUCK beach. It sails in a shallow arc and lands in the sand with a dull thump.
"...Anything?" Flash Nugget asks.
>"Give it a minute."
The rock sits on its side in the sand, motionless. Nothing strange happens to it, or because of it.
"...Looks safe enough to me." Flare says. "Let's get going."
>>25768665
Forwards then. Take the top section with Third.
>>25768665
we should get as high up on the glitch as we can
i get the feeling this sand is gonna fall sooner or later, and we really dont want to be below ANY level.
>>25768726
>"Alright, we'll take the high road! Let's go, Thirty!"
"Yes, sir! ...Wait, how? I can't fly up there, and I don't know how to teleport."
>"I can fly! Hold on!"
"Wait, stop! What are you doing? I'm scared of heights!"
>"Heights can't hurt you! Only falling can!"
"And what about US, Doctor?" Flare calls up, sounding more disgruntled than usual. "What are we supposed to do?"
>>25768992
take the not top section?
>>25768992
Do they want help getting to the top or would they prefer to risk the bottom?
>>25769409
>>25769503
Your soldiers, who you are in charge of, need their orders.
>>25769583
Path 2 then.
If it collapses maybe we can dig them out.
>>25769583
Path 2 is fine if they can reach it.
>>25769598
>>25769612
>"You guys take the middle path. If you find anything interesting, let me know. We'll do the same."
"Are you sure?" Flare asks.
">Yeah, we'll be fine. Right, Thirty?"
"Yes, sir!"
Flare relents and boosts Flash Nugget up onto the floating sandbar, then she climbs up herself. "It probably doesn't matter very much now," she calls up, "but we'll take the lead, just in case. Come on, private."
"Yes, ma'am."
Dandy strains his ears to track the sound of hoofs on sand, but it's not long at all before he is met with silence.
"You think they'll be okay, Doc?" 33 1/3 asks after a few moments.
>"Yeah, I'm sure they'll be just dandy. This is what they train you guys for, right?"
>'Besides, that nag Flare Gun might get eaten by a grue or something in there. It's a win-win situation!'
"I guess so." 33 1/3 answers.
Just then, Dandy hears the crackling of radio static.
"...ar up ahead. Don't e-..."
Dandy grabs his radio and turns it on.
>"What? Who was that? I didn't copy, over."
"It's Lt. Flare, sir." the radio repeats. "I said it looks clear up ahead, but don't expect the terrain to get any smoother. It gets a lot choppier. Mind your hooves and watch your plot. Over."
>>25770135
Continue onwards and forwards Dandy.
>>25770135
Okay then. Might as well head further in.
>>25770135
Start heading right.
>>25770154
>>25770155
>>25770158
>"Okay, Thirty, let's go."
"Yes, sir!"
The duo follows the broken beach in relative silence. For a time, they see nothing but the irregularly-placed sand and shore. But after about 150 feet, the scenery before them begins to take on an appearance that they've never seen before.
>'Uh, A-Anons...? Am I hallucinating? What is all this stuff?'https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kLFW2t3JDzY
>>25770740
can you still go backwards? Nothing in front of you matters if you can't turn around.
>>25770740
I believe that's what we call corruption, Dandy.
Something is corrupting this beach.
Can you see any way forward? Is the blue in front of you passable?
>>25770740
Looks fine to me.
>>25770740
Inept pls, don't tilt the cartridge.
>>25770779
>'Oh... Oh, crap, I hope this isn't like the maze again...'
>"Thirty, bear with me for a second here."
"Alright, Doc."
Dandy trots about twenty steps back the way he came.
>'I guess I can still go back, if I want to. Which I really do right now.'
Dandy trots back to 33 1/3.
>"Okay, good news: We're not trapped here in Weirdsville."
"Good to hear." 33 1/3 responds. "So, what's the bad news?"
>"I don't know, but I probably won't need to tell it to you when it happens."
>>25770780
Dandy tentatively approaches what looks, to his perspective at least, like a wall of water. Except water shouldn't be able to make walls... Right?
Beads of nervous sweat form on Dandy's brow as he reaches his hoof out and pokes the water. It feels as cool and wet as one would expect water to, and it ripples like water, as well.
It's just sideways, and defying all the 3 or 4 laws of physics that Dandy knows.
>'I think this is just seawater.'
Dandy pushes his hoof against the water; it offers no resistance.
>'If we hold our breaths, we should be able to trot right through it.'
Dandy's eyes suddenly widen with terror.
>'Wait, that'll mess up my hair! ANONS, HELP!!'
>>25771015
Report to the others you maroon
>>25771015
You're fucked.
Accept your pomp's untimely death like a stallion, and know that it's your own fault for not carrying emergency pump repair supplies.
>>25771015
Sorry Dandy, in such a dangerous line of work sacrifices must be made. For the Greater Good.
>>25771015
Ask your friend there to make a shield for ummm "safety" yeahhhh that sounds right.
>>25771015
Sacrifices of the job Dando. If you wanted neat hair ya shoulda been a secretary. Unless your pal's horn can make a hole you're gonna have to stick your hat on and hope for the best.
>>25771015
On a side note you may want to fly over those numbers I have a feeling you don't want to touch them.
>>25771015
If sacrifices were easy then they wouldn't be sacrifices.
>>25771015
Look, Dandy, I'll say this once.
At some point in the near future, you'll see a living square made from other images. Imagine that each image is composed by smaller pieces, like a grid over a bi-dimensional drawing. That square will be made from pieces of the grid.
Don't make eye contact. Don't touch it. Don't acknowledge it's existence, and if it attacks you ESCAPE. It'll probably emit the growls of random animals, ignore them.
That square, even if it may not be evil, is dangerous. It corrupts reality, it shifts random values without warning. This creature, MissingNo, is what happens when Discord doesn't have control over his reality-shifting powers.
MissingNo may be the one causing this. If it's so, don't make contact and hope it fades away with time.
>>25771015
You're on a field mission, you should know that all kinds of unusual stuff can happen there. You chose this yourself. Also I think a broken pomp is the least thing to worry about. You do not seem to really have grasped the gravity of the situation yet. What if there's a sudden change in terrain? From what it looks like, the reality around you is corrupted, and corruptions aren't necessarily stable.
On a side note, this could be evidence that your reality is in fact only a simulation. I'm sure a team back at the Threshold works on this kind of hypothesis. It could also mean just this part of the island is simulated and has a corruption. In my opinion at least it looks more like a systematic, computer-like corruption than what a reality-corrupting being would cause, but what do I know.
Anyways, get over it, tell 33 that you're going to swim through the water, but check whether those number blocks are safe to walk on before you let him follow you. Also inform the field base that you're seeing vertical blocks of water.
>>25771065
>>25771070
>>25771085
>>25771104
>>25771448
It takes all of Dandy's resolve for him to not fall to his knees and sob from sheer distraught.
>'N-no... It can't end like this...'
>>25771071
>>25771085
Dandy's head perks up, his eyes glinting.
>'A-ha! Of course!'
>"Hey, 33 1/3, do you know any protective spells?"
"Yes, sir!" he answers.
>"Could you use one so we can get through this water stuff? ...Just to be safe, I mean."
With a nod, 33 1/3 focuses his magic, crafting a thin film with it that covers both stallions' bodies. Dandy sticks his hoof in the water again; this time, the water rolls right off him.
>'Dandy. Suck it, doomsayers!'
>>25771044
>>25771102
>>25771331
>>25771448
Once Dandy is through the water, he takes out his radio.
>"Doctor Pomp to base, are you there? Over."
There's a crackle of static, and then Stormy's voice replies: "I'm here, Doctor! I lost sight of you and Private Threes a little while ago. Is everything alright? Over."
>"Yeah, everything's just dandy... Wait, Private Threes?"
"That's what our CO's call 33 1/3, Doctor." Stormy explains. "His full name took too long for them to say, so they abbreviated it. It's three threes, or just 'Threes.' Get it? Over."
>"Oh... Clever. Yeah, alright, listen! The beach is all screwed up. Before it was just sand and trees and stuff being broken, or in the wrong places. But now there's walls of water in our way, lines of stones floating in the air, giant numbers strewn all around. It's a mess! Over."
"Numbers?"
>"Yeah, numbers! Literally, numbers! Big sixes and nines floating in the... sky? Ground? It's all kind of running together here. What should I do?"
There's a brief pause before Stormy replies: "I don't know, sir. That's your decision to make, not mine. Have you encountered anything dangerous, or just anomalous?"
Stopping for the night. See you tomorrow if the thread lives until then, and thanks for playing!
>>25771915
Not yet
>>25771915
Well, nothing dangerous yet, but anomalous is a definite.
>>25771963
night Inept.
>>25771963
Sleep tight, sleepypompwould it be too much trouble to ask for a higher resolution ref pic for Holiday? All we have is the initial door pic and the paper pone
beb
>>25771963
good night!
bump
>>25771915
Nothing visibly dangerous yet, I'd say. However you should tell 33 to get out of the water immediately before whatever dark blue thing just appeared over him kills him or something. I would suggest to Stormy to report back to HQ that you're not only seeing floating natural stuff, but also these numbers. Also contact Flare and ask if they're seeing similar things.
bump
>>25771972
>>25771985
>>25775937
>"Define 'dangerous.' Over."
"Have you or anypony else in the squad been attacked or injured yet?"
Dandy turns back to his squadmate, who has cleared the water. The water itself is clear.
>"...No? Actually, hang on, I'll ask the others. You tell HQ about what's going on. Dandy out."
A moment later, and Dandy is talking with his favorite guard in the world:
>"Flare, you there? This is Doctor Pomp. What's happening on your end?"
No response.
>'Oh, crap...'
>"Flare Gun?"
There's a crackle, and then Flare's voice comes through: "You're supposed to end transmissions with the word "Over.," Doctor Pomp. Over."
>"Look- Whatever! That isn't important right now! Are you and Flash Nugget okay? OVER."
>'Bitch.'
"We're fine, sir." Flare responds, detecting the anxiousness in Dandy's voice. "Is something wrong with you or 33 1/3? Over."
Dandy glances back once more.
>"No, not yet. I mean, we're okay. It's just... gotten pretty weird where we are. How about you guys?"
A pause.
>'Oh for Celestia's sake...'
>"OVER."
"We're still following the beach, sir. Everything still looks broken, including the water. We're also hearing something coming from out in the ocean every now and then. Over."
>"What kind of something? Over."
"It's hard to describe. It's like a deep buzzing sound, but with a lot of high-pitched squeaking noises popping up over it. It only lasts for a few seconds, then it stops. A few minutes later, it'll just randomly start again. We don't know which way it's coming from or how close it is, either. It's like it can come from all around us. Over."
>>25779612
Do you see any numbers?
>>25779612
Better continue forwards then. You're probably gonna have to help Three over some of this shit.
>>25779612
>It's like a deep buzzing sound, but with a lot of high-pitched squeaking noises popping up over it
inb4 it's https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsNaR6FRuO0 and can't get a connection going.
Ask if the high-pitched squeaks are in the same pattern every time, and if they sound like beeps from a computer. The computers at the Threshold beep, right? Also honestly if they do I'd tell Stormy to ask HQ to get the "Simulating reality" team involved, because that's what this looks like.
Also yeah, like >>25779693 said, continue onward. See if you can move those upside-down letters in the sky.
>>25780036
Might be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v3FyfqVSW-c
>>25780219
Possible. Although the existence of something like MissingNo would also hint at a simulation, unless you consider it to be a reality-warping being.
>>25780311
I don't really care about this simulation theory one way or the other. They find the anomaly and fix the beach. That's all Dandy needs to worry about.
>>25780036
>'Anon, you're freaking me out with this 'reality isn't real mumbo-jumbo you keep mentioning. Cut it out!'
>"Uhh, Flare, these beeps you guys keep hearing... Do they sound like they come from a computer?"
"I'm not sure, Doctor. They're incredibly high-pitched, more like glass tinkling than beeps, really. And I don't think a machine would make noises so randomly. There's no rhyme or rhythm to how often this noise happens that I can figure. Over."
>>25779667
>"What about numbers? Do you see any of those? Over."
Another pause. This time, Flare's answer isn't as snarky: "Nuh... Numbers, Doctor?"
>"Yes, numbers! Big, black, floating sixes and fives and threes and stuff, just sitting there in the air!"
"...Um, no, Doctor. We've seen nothing like that... Should I presume that you and 33 1/3 have? Over."
>"Yes, they're all over the place! It's like Mrs. Nagatha's math class vomited all over the beach! ...Look, just be careful if you see any, okay? I have a bad feeling about them. Don't touch them with your bare hooves if you don't have to, understand? ...Over."
"Affirmative, sir!" Flare answers. "We'll keep that in mind, and if we find anything else, we'll let you know right away. Over and out."
>>25779693
Dandy and Threes continue as far as they can before they come to a break in the road.
By which I mean, the spacetime itself that the way forward occupies looks broken.
>"Umm..."
"Can we even keep going?" Threes asks, scratching the side of his head. "I'm not even sure what's solid and what's... air."
Before the duo can deliberate further, a strange sound reaches their ears... A deep buzzing covered with high-pitched beeps...http://vocaroo.com/i/s0jEEinCn7kx
>>25780341
The thing is, if it's a simulation the cause might not be found here.
Otherwise, you're right. We should focus on finding something that hints at the cause, whatever it may be.
>>25780361
If you don't even know what's solid then you need to turn back.
>>25780361
This is the point where you turn back. Radio to Flare and Stormy that you can't continue and are turning back.
>>25780361
I saw a zero flash.
The sound doesn't remind me of anything I know, but you should try to get it recorded somehow. It might be some form of message. If no-one has recording equipment, I suppose you could make Flare keep open a radio connection to Stormy so he can send it through to HQ where they can record it. If the radios you have even pick the sound up.
Otherwise I agree with the others, you should turn back. Maybe you can set 33 down and take a quick peek upwards, but then you should turn back. You definitely shouldn't separate and fly up alone.
Inept
Inept plsYou know, you don't have to run if you can't really be there or whatever.
>>25780415
>>25780449
>"Hey, Threes?"
"Yeah, Doc?"
>"You know what that noise meant?"
"We're about to die?"
>"It means we're turning our dandy asses around and going back the... safe way..."
To Dandy's dismay, it looks like the corruption is spreading back the way he came. It's still safe enough to retreat, but who knows how long that will remain the case?
>>25780527
Dandy sets his partner down on what he hopes is a safe patch of ground. At least the numbers SEEM like ground...
>"Threes, give Flare a call and ask her to record that noise if she hears it again."
"Okay, but you're not planning to try and explore this yourself, are you, Doc?"
>"Heck no! I'm just going to check something real quick."
"...I don't think that's the safest idea, Doctor. Maybe I should come with you."
>"Don't worry, I'm not dumb enough to go up there by myself. I've seen this movie; the pegasus dies first."
Threes blinks. "...You mean Sunday the 15th?"
>"Yep."
"I thought the zebra died first."
>"No pony cares when the zebra dies. Be right back."
"But Doc...!"
Dandy opens his wings and flies as far up as he feels safe flying. To his surprise, there's not only more sand above the distorted beach, there's more WATER as well.
>>25781024I'm here. Just battling hunger and whatthefuckshouldIdonext?osis. It's all gud.
>>25781036
Looks like there might be a way out behind you. Grab Three quick and bring him up.
>>25781036
Where is Threes?
>>25781036
You can make a left.
But you better go back.
>>25781036
Back with you now, before you get trapped and have to dig through sand or worse.
>>25781119
He should be on the 6es and 9s further back.
>>25781155
I thought we weren't supposed to touch the numbers.
>>25781169
Well, 33 did in >>25779612, where he should be now. Both still have that protective spell on them.
>>25781086
What do you mean?
>>25781197
There's a gap on the left.
>>25781222
But Dandy clearly can't fit through that, it's way to thin.
>>25781238
You'll have to explain that one too me.
>>25781266
Oh that. That's where we came from, silly. And 33 should be in that direction, too.
>>25781289
An that makes my statement false how?
>>25781308
Well, not necessarily false, but "Looks like there might be a way out behind you. Grab Three quick and bring him up" reads like the way out is a different one than the one they came through, and that 33 is somewhere below.
>>25781086
>>25781119
>>25781135
>>25781155
Dandy returns to Threes and informs him of his progress.
"What happened?"
>"I saw more sand and water, but otherwise it was a dead end. Come on, let's go back while we still can."
One hasty retreat later, and Dandy and Threes are back at the three broken paths. And, as Dandy expected, the corruption has spread here, as well.
>>25781548
Call in
>>25781548
Call Flare and see if they're alright and tell them you hit a dead end and returned to the beginning of the path.
>>25781548
Tell Flare and Stormy the situation.
>>25781548
It's expanding. If we don't find the source of the problem it might consume the whole island.
>>25781548
Call Flare, tell her that you're back at the beginning, and ask how things are for them. Also, tell Stormy that the corruption is spreading with random blocks of random stuff appearing everywhere. Lots of the exact same blocks, too.
>>25781548
>train tile
Huh? It's getting addresses from the other quests as well? Strange.
>>25781840well meme'd!
>>25781564
>>25781590
>>25781618
>>25781659
Dandy takes out his radio.
>"Flare, are you there? We have a bit of a problem. ...Okay, a BIG bit of a problem! Over."
A crackle of static greets the pompadoured pegasus. "What's the matter, sir?"
>"Threes and I hit a dead end and had to turn back. We're at the fork again, and whatever was blocking the way forward followed us. There's random pieces of... I don't know, scenery? I see a tree branch, a wheel, a... Is that a tiny house?"
"Doctor Pomp, I don't understand."
>"That makes two of us!"
"Doctor, are you saying that there's more to this... anomaly than we've seen so far? Over." >"A lot more. And it's spreading. I'm going to call Stormy and tell her about this. Over."
"I hear you, Doctor. We'll continue our investigation and report back if we find anything. Over and out."
Next on the call list is Stormy.
>"Stormy, can you hear me?"
There is a pause before Stormy replies: "Yes, Doctor. The audio feed keeps getting interrupted. What's going on out there?"
>"You remember those floating numbers in the sky I mentioned before? And the random stones and blocks?"
"Sort of... What do you mean 'blocks?'"
>"It's like, if you got close to a random tree or building, you'd only see a little of it, right? I'm seeing little bits of stuff like that just floating in the air, or embedded in the ground. I don't know how else to describe it, but they're everywhere! Over."
"Uh... Copy that, Doctor. I'm transmitting your message now. Over."
>"Wait, there's more! Whatever that crap is, it's on the part of the beach where we came through, now. But that stretch of the beach was clear before. I think this stuff is spreading! Over!"
This time there's a noticeable pause before Stormy replies: "Copy that, Doctor. I'll pass that to HQ ASAP and see what they have to say. Over and out."
>>25782184
So what now? Should we try taking the bottom path?
>>25782230
Hell no man. We aren't going back in there.
>>25782184
Wew, y'know I'm actually a little worried about Flare and Flash. I mean I'm more worried about Flash, but still.
>>25782184
Get a pegasus eye view of the area. Whatever's causing this is probably at the center.
>>25782332
This if we can do that.
>>25782332
>>25782383
A little lightbulb goes on over Dandy's head.
>'That's it!'
Dandy opens his wings and lifts off the ground again.
>"Threes, stay here. I've got an idea!"
"What is it, Doc?" he asks.
>"The same thing as last time. Be right back!"
"But... Aw, damn it..."
Dandy soars up into the sky, which to his relief is much less cluttered than ground level was. He has a look around the beach in the hopes of seeing something useful.
Stopping here for the night. See you guys tomorrow. Thanks for playing!
>>25782951
Night Inept.
>>25782935
Here's my plan. Call back the whole team.
We get Dandy to sketch this out, then overlay it on an old map of the beach. Estimate how far we were able to get on foot and draw that in. Estimate rate of spread and make sure the base camp is at least safe for a few hours by moving it back.
Have all pegasi on the team fly up and over to the center of the glitching to deal with it directly.
>>25782935
The epicenter is in the water, so this might have all started there.
>>25782951
see ya soon
morning bump
>>25787201
and now afternoon
just blow into the cartridge
Bumping this thread.
>>25784025
>'Hey, now THAT'S what I call a dandy of a plan! ...Dy.
>Uh, never mind. I can totally make a rough sketch of this, sure. I just need something to draw on. If worst comes the worst I can draw on the sand. Now, the first thing I need is-'
"Doctor Pomp, come in!" a staticky voice interrupts. "This is an emergency, over!"
>'Who was that?'
Dandy grabs his radio.
>"This is Doctor Pomp. What's going on?"
"Oh, thank Celestia...!" a male voice says. "Doctor Pomp, this is Private Flash Nugget! I... oh, crap... I lost Lt. Flare, sir!"
>"You... lost her? What happened?"
"I don't know, sir! She was right in front of me; we were walking on a sandbar, and we were following it out, into the water, and then it was like she walked behind an invisible curtain or something. She was just gone, right in front of my eyes! I can't get through to her radio, either! Whuh...What do I do?!"
>>25791034
Lets go check on them.
>>25791111
I JUST DID
>>25791111
I wish Dandy could see this...
>>25791034
Time to rescue """""lady""""" Flare!
>>25791140
You did? What'd you see?
>>25791111
Fuck that, we have a plan now, that wimpy mudpone is dead weight.
>>25791034
Well, he could try walking beyond that thing, too. However then we'd lose him, too.
First things first, call Stormy and ask what the usual behavior in case of loss of crew is. I would then suggest joining Flash and investigating, even if you all risk disappearing from radio contact, unless protocol forbids that.
What you can do before that is flying up again to see if you can see Flare somewhere, in case she got transported somewhere. It's unlikely, though.
>>25791034
Call out to her and see if she responds.
>>25791111
>>25791176
>>25791216
>'.........Time out.'
>'I know I went along with all this stupid, suicidal crap up to now, but THIS time, I'm putting my hoof down. Lieutenant Bitchmouth just... VANISHED from the world, or reality, or whatever you guys are talking about happening, and you want me to go FOLLOW HER?!'
>>25791375
Well...she is your responsibility.
>>25791375
Whatever portal thing she went through might lead to whatever is causing this.
Also we might get demoted for losing a team member.
>>25791375
Remeber that time you followed a ghost is a terrific maze?
Was It worth it in the end?
Well, of course you could just tell Flare's mom afterwards that trying to help her daughter was to dangerous for the mission
Look dandy, thre's having a Dandy look, and being Dandy
And a Dandy DO NOT let a lady, even if it's the opposite of the fairest lady of all, vanish into thin air
ARE YOU DANDY ENOUGH?
>>25791375
You decided to go on the field with the field agents instead of staying back at the base and coordinating everything. You have been warned of the possible events. One of your teammates just vanished, and as the head of the team you have some sort of responsibility to find her. You can't have your cake and eat it, too. If you're out on the field, you may have to dangerous things.
That said, you don't have to follow her, but you have to find out what's up with this place anyways. Your options are pretty much:
– Fly over the area, map it, and see if you can find stuff
– Follow the middle path, catch up with Flash, and investigate the place (you don't have to go through there, but maybe there's a hint there)
– Call Flash back and all three of you follow the lower path.
Choose. You can also do multiple of these.
Now call Stormy and ask for protocol on lost squadmates, as I told you before.
>>25791420
I'm pretty sure he won't get demoted for something that is not his fault.
>>25791420
You know what's worse than getting demoted?
Getting so corrupted that not even dying and restarting can fix you.
>>25791715
nah.
Getting demoted is worse.
>>25791734
Not really, Blazar said he got demoted and promoted plenty of times. And again, nobody can fault him for losing Flare.
>>25791375
You gotta look after your crew Dandy, even if they ain't your favourite ponies in the world.
>>25791562
Except this isn't a military op, this is a threshold op. Someone disappears and you don't know why or how, you don't fucking go in after them, you get the hell out, because as far as you know this thing is now dangerous if not potentially hostile, and we know it's expanding.
As heartless as it is, fuck Flash right now. Regroup at base camp, report to Threshold, and monitor it from outside.
>>25792046
True. By investigating I personally never meant necessarily going through, more like rejoining Flash, looking around a bit, maybe stretching out a hoof into the direction of where Flare went (after trying with a rock or stick again to see what happens). Actually going after her is more of a thing that should be last resort, if every other option I listed or forgot fails. Because it's a hot trail if everything else leads nowhere.
But yeah, you're right, going doesn't really have a point right now. So tell Flash to maybe throw a rock to see if it disappears, then to come back. And report to base.
>>25791375
Tell Flash to head back quick as possible.
>>25791562
>>25791715
>>25792046
>>25792128
>>25792230
Dandy breathes an audible sigh of relief as the voices in his head shift their tone from eagerly cheering for him to follow Flare into oblivion to telling Flash Nugget to retreat and coming up with a nice safe plan like that one sensible Anon suggested.
"Doctor Pomp, a-are you there?" Flash Nugget asks meekly. "Over."
>"Yeah, I'm here. Listen, get out of there now! It's not safe!"
"But what about Lt. Flare?"
>"Don't worry, I have a plan! We're going to fall back for now and try tackling this thing from another angle. Right now, this thing is spreading, so we can't risk getting caught up in it! Understand?"
"Y-yes, sir! I copy you; I'm falling back now! Over and out."
"Did I hear that right, Doc?" Threes asks. "We're retreating? I don't know if Doc Fortissimo will like that..."
>"Don't worry, Threes. We're just falling back to base camp. I have an idea on how to get Bi-... I mean, Flare out of there, and maybe to catch whatever anomaly is doing all this, too."
Threes gives Dandy a surprised look. "Are you sure, Doc?"
>"As sure as I can be about something no pony has ever seen before... By the way, can you jump down from here, or do you need a lift?"
"I'm good, Doc." Threes says bravely, before jumping and slamming down in the sand, his legs and teeth shaking from the impact. "...See? After basic, this is... oof... no problem! ...ow..."
Dandy rolls his eyes and flutters down after him, glancing down the path Flare and Flash went down.
>"If you say so... Come on, Nugget, hurry up..."
For a tense few minutes, the pegasus and the unicorn silently wait for the Earth pony.
"Come on, colt..." Threes mutters after the fourth minute ticks by. Dandy just stands there resolutely, occasionally glancing at the spreading corruption, hoping it hasn't blocked their way out yet.
Finally, they see an equine shape hobbling out of the glitchy mess towards them. It looks like the poor horse is about to cry.
>>25792876
Alright cool. Tell him it's going be alright and hustle back to base camp.
>>25792876
Reassure sad poner it'll be okay in the end if we play it careful
Retreat to base
>>25792876
Come on, field agents don't cry. He's seen much worse, right? Right?
Help him down, pat him on the back, tell him that it's not his fault, and that you'll do all you can to get the Lieutenant back. Announce your tactical retreat to Stormy and tell him that Flare went missing.
>>25792876
Don't worry buddy, we're getting out of here.
>>25792922
>>25792965
>>25792972
Dandy and Threes go to their squadmate and help him down. He's sniffling and has a bit of the thousand-yard stare going on.
"I screwed up..." he mutters. "Oh, Celestia, I screwed up..."
>"No, you didn't. This isn't your fault. Stay dandy, buddy, we're going to fix this."
"It's okay, bro." Threes adds, hoisting his fellow soldier up onto his shoulder with his magic. "The Doc's got a plan. We're going to get the Lieutenant back and capture whatever is causing this. Right, Doc?"
Flash Nugget doesn't respond, but he looks at Dandy with what might be hopeful eyes.
>"Yeah... Yeah, we'll do everything we can."
Dandy pats Flash on the shoulder.
>"So cheer up, okay? It'll be alright. Just give me a sec to tell Stormy what's going on."
Dandy takes a few steps away from the two agents and takes out his radio when he thinks he's out of earshot.
>"Stormy, you there?"
"Doctor Pomp!" Stormy answers, sounding relieved. "I'm here, are you guys? Lieutenant Flare's audio feed went totally dead about fifteen minutes ago, and everypony else's is still flickering."
>"Yeah, listen, Stormy. Flare is... Well, we lost her. She went too far into the... corruption? And then she vanished. We don't know what happened to her. The rest of us are returning to base. Over."
"Oh... shit... C-copy that, Doctor. I'll tell HQ immediately. What about everypony else?"
>"We're all okay. Flash is with me and Threes.... We're all together. We're on our way back now. Over."
"Yes, Doctor... Are we pulling out?"
>"...No. I've got a plan. We might need to move base camp, so make sure it and the whirlybird are ready. Over."
"Yes, sir. Is there anything else you need?"
>"Yeah... I'll need some pen and paper, and a map of the beach. Over."
Dandy gestures to Threes and Flash to follow him.
"Copy that, Doctor Pomp." Stormy responds. "Anything else?"
>>25793249
I can't think of anything.
>>25793249
Maybe some food and water for Flash. Also Stormy, as a pegasus, should probably help you with the mapping, so she should get ready.
>>25793249
>>25793429
Something to help Flash calm down.
>>25793429
>"Get some food and water ready for Flash Nugget. He's had a rough day. Over and out."
A short time later, and the remaining Dune Buggies have made it back to base. While Threes explains the situation to Stormy and Flash Nugget gets some much needed cold water and freeze-dried hay, Dandy sets to work recreating what he saw from the air on a whiteboard, using the map Stormy laid out as a reference.
>'The corruption moved a little less than half as far as we did, so that's... a hundred and fifty yards in a half an hour. So... five yards every minute. And we're about a kilometer from the edge of the beach... so...'
Dandy sets his markers down and steps away from the board.
>"Okay, every pony, listen up!"
Threes, Flare, and Flash fall quiet and gather around the board as Dandy outlines his plan:
>"I got a bird's-eye view of the beach before we left, and by my estimates, Threes and I only got about this far before we had to turn back, while Flare and Flash made it to this 'X.' Threes and I had to turn around first, and by the time we did, this outer circle was looking as bad as it did in here. So, I'm thinking we have about three hours before that mess spreads to this camp... That's the bad news."
Dandy pauses for dramatic effect.
>"The good news is that I noticed the air was a lot less screwed-up than the ground when I was getting a bird's-eye view of the beach. So, here's my idea: We launch an air strike on this thing. If this stuff gets worse the further in we go, it must mean that whatever is causing it is at the center. And our clearest path there is the sky. So, Stormy and I will lead the charge, find whatever is causing this, and then we bag it! Any questions?"
Stormy raises her hoof. "Are the two of us going there alone? We need somepony to stay here and monitor the feeds."
"Yeah, and me and Flash can't fly!" Threes adds. "And you guys can't exactly carry one of us the whole time. What if you need more than two ponies?"
>>25794014
Flash can stay then.
Then we can carry threes together.
>>25794014
We don't really have time to call in backup.
>>25794014
Aerial recon is fine, but only advance if there's a clear path to whatever the target is. We can't afford to get caught in this.
>>25794195
We need to help Threes conquer his fear of heights.
>>25794305
>unicorn is scared of heights
>traumatized Erf pone
No matter who we choose, we're fucked.
>>25794014
You can only work with what you have. It's either one of them getting carried, with has obvious risks, or the two of them stay here.
>>25794322
Then let's go for the most entertaining choice.
>>25794206
>>25794331
>"Right now, we can only work with what we've got. If we have to carry one of you, then that's what we'll do. It's that, or the two of us go by ourselves."
Flash and Threes exchange a nervous look.
>>25794195
>>25794305
"Then I'll come with you." Threes offers, earning a surprised look from Dandy.
"But I thought you were scared of heights."
"I am," Threes responds with a nervous smile, before playfully socking Flash Nugget in the shoulder, "but Flash is scared of everything else, so the choice is kind of obvious, isn't it?"
"H-hey!" Flash protests with a scrunch. "I am NOT scared of everything! I just... prefer to think over all my options before I commit to one."
"Well," Threes answers, "think this over: You already walked three times as far as we did, you had a way worse scare than we did, and... Well, I don't mean this in a racist way, but you can't fly OR use magic. I think we should do whatever is most likely to work, and the Doc's plan calls for as many of us as we can spare. We should optimize our chances however we can, don't you think?"
"Okay, yes, but Flare is MY teammate!" Flash protests. "I have to help her!"
"And how can you do that better?" Threes asks. "By staying here and keeping us connected to HQ, or by going out and trying to capture something that you probably can't even touch without it doing what it does to everything else to you?"
"He's right." Stormy adds. "We need Threes' protective magic, and we need my and Doctor Pomp's wings, AND we need somepony to stay here. It seems logical how we should do this."
Flash looks down, unable to come up with a counterargument. "...Okay, fine..."
Stopping for now. Figured I'd run a bit later since we got held up for a couple of hours. Thanks for playing, and for bearing with my many screw-ups. See you later!
>>25794963
Night Inept.
>>25794963
Night.
fef
stylin bump
bump
beb
I'm here, I'm here.
Should I go ahead with the aerial recon, or is there anything else you guys want to do or change first?
>>25801529
I'm ready
>>25801529
yes
>>25794945
Ah, he shouldn't be down. Everyone is a vital part of this team.
>>25801529
I can't think of anything except making sure that Flash doesn't feel too down, and we already did plenty of that.
>>25801570
>>25801575
Commence Operation: Glitch Hunt!
Dandy, Stormy, and Threes set off on their mission, trotting back as close as they can to the edge of the corruption. They come to a stop near where they met that old stallion earlier; the beach itself is no longer free of the metaphysical mess that this anomaly is causing.
>"Okay, guys, we're winging it from here."
"I'll carry Threes on my back." Stormy offers. "It'll be safer and less taxing than carrying him in my hooves."
"Sounds good to me!" Threes answers, a little too eagerly, earning a bit of a look from Dandy. "Uh, I mean, if that's okay with you, Doc. Sir."
>"Yeah, okay. It makes sense. Saddle up, then."
Threes walks over to Stormy and raises a hoof, before stopping. "Um... How should I, uh...?"
Stormy bends her legs, lowering herself. "Just climb on top of me."
Dandy snickers to himself. Even though most of his face is covered, Threes is quite obviously blushing.
"Climb... on top of you?" Threes repeats. "Okay, no problem..." He puts one foreleg over Stormy's back, then the other, his weight causing her to buckle a bit. Quickly trying to balance himself, Threes' other foreleg flies to the nearest steady object: Her rump.
"There you go, juuuust like that..." Stormy urges, sounding a bit too calm and relaxed for Threes' tastes. The beet-faced unicorn quickly moves his hoof, reaching over Stormy's flank and lifting his hooves off the ground, letting his weight rest entirely (and, in one specific area of his body, a tad uncomfortably) on her lower back.
>"Are you two ready?"
Stormy salutes him. "Yes, sir!"
Dandy grins.
>"Threes?"
His salute is a bit less certain. "Y-yes, sir!"
>"Dandy, now let's move!"
The trio scours over the distorted shoreline for anything unusual... Well, more unusual than they've already seen. But most of the bizarre scenery just runs together, or is utterly incomprehensible.
"What do you think, Doctor?" Stormy asks. "Do you see anything that stands out?"
>>25802324
GEE I DUNNO
THE SKULL MAYBE?
>>25802324
That giant skull is kinda a thing.
>>25802324
Well, Dandy? I also think that skull stands out.
That said, the bottom of that line of ERRs reminds me of CGOL.
>>25802388
In fact the whole left side is unusual really.
The ERRs and that black and white stuff are much more uniform than the rest of it.
>>25802358
>>25802388
>>25802423
>"Well, there's that skull in the water over there... Let's go check that out first."
The squad carefully approaches the giant face. It flickers occasionally, but it doesn't move or acknowledge their presence at all. It simply floats there.
"Is that the anomaly...?" Threes asks.
>"Uhhhh..."
"If it is, how do we contain it?"
>"Uhhhhhhhhh..."
>>25802814
Try asking it politely to stop doing the things it's doing.
>>25802814
HELLO GIANT SKULL
>>25802814
Huh. I guess you could try to see if anything happens when you touch it? I don't really see a lot of other places of interest other than zhis one.
>>25802862
>>25802917
Dandy rolls for diplomacy.
>"Um... Hello? Hey, you! Big skull thing!"
"Doctor, what are you doing...?" Stormy asks, whispering.
>"Maybe it's friendly? It's worth trying to talk to it, isn't it? Hey, you! Can you hear me?"
The skull-shaped patch of water gives no response.
>"Could you please stop turning our beach into Nightmare Central, maybe?"
Again, Dandy receives no response whatsoever.
>>25803189
Uh, do you have anything you can drop on it?
We should make sure it's solid.
>>25803189
Well this was a waste of time.
Can you still hear that beeping noise?
Maybe you could fly around and see if you can find the origin of that?
>>25803215Nope. Your inventory is totally empty and there is no possible way you could have figured out its contents anywhere in this thread.
>>25803297
I vote bugspray.
>>25803189
You might want to get out there for now, it looks like your way up is slowly being blocked (literally). Otherwise you'll probably have to land on and walk it if it's solid.
>>25803215
Trying with hooves should also work, it's just water around it if it's not solid. Unless of course anything that touches it disappears, so maybe 33 should cast his spell.
>>25803297
Anything he's WILLING to drop on it you double nigger.
>>25803215
>>25803313
>BLOOP!
>CAN OF BUG SPRAY removed from inventory
>>25803446
Well, that answers that question. And now the way is completely closed, at least in this spot you currently are at.
>>25803479
The way up, that is.
You should probably fly somewhere else where the way up is free..
>>25803446
Are you trapped? the only way I see now is going left.
>>25803535
Trapped means no options.
>>25803596
that's rather pedantic Anon.
The sky is the only direct route out.
>>25803492
>>25803535
Dandy looks around and realizes that he and his squadmates are quickly running out of escape options.
>"I think we should look somewhere else. Follow me, guys!"
A bit quicker than is necessary, Dandy beelines off to the left and makes a break for the first open patch of air he can find, Stormy and Threes sticking close behind him. Trying not to focus on how close they just came to being trapped in... THAT, the trio quickly gains some altitude and returns to a safe distance from the infected area.
>"Okay, so what did we learn?"
Threes and Stormy glance at each other, confused.
>"Giant skulls are bad news. Don't get close to them!"
Stormy's ear flops over. "If the huge skull isn't the anomaly, then what is?"
>"I'm still working on that."
>>25803717
Try checking out this little island thing.
>>25803717
Is there any way into the center?
>>25803771
That is unchanged and it is near the center.
>>25803771
>>25803773
>>25803792
As Dandy scans the most heavily-affected area, he notices something he missed before. Near the center of the mass of pixels is something round that doesn't seem to be moving or being altered at all.
>"...Hey, do you guys see that?"
"See what, Doc?" Threes asks.
>"That round thing down there. What is that?"
Stormy and Threes squint down at it.
"...A beachball?" Threes guesses.
"It's too big to be a beachball." Stormy answers.
>"Let's check it out."
The trio swoops down, finding that whatever this object is, it is totally surrounded by the corruption. It's also bigger than any of them!
"It looks like an egg..." Stormy mutters.
"An anomaly egg?" Threes guesses.
>"Let's-"http://vocaroo.com/i/s1kt0LptFmbY
>>25804247
Huh, Okay. Try touching it.
>>25804247
Oh fuck son that is a Pokemon egg if I ever saw one, bet a Missingno is in that shit too.
>>25804318
Yeah. You need to walk around with those to hatch them, so it's probably a bad idea to move it.
>>25804247
Well, we found what's causing this shit.
Now we just need to contain it.
>>25804247
Radio in about the egg.
>>25804318
>>25804354
>>25804358
>'A Pokey-mon egg? And if you walk around with it, it hatches? I don't think any pony COULD walk this monster around!'
>"Stormy, Threes, keep an eye on this thing. I'm going to call Flash."
"Yes, sir."
Dandy takes out his radio.
>"Flash, are you there?"
"Yuh... crap... Yes, sir! This is Private Flash Nugget, over!"
>"We found the anomaly. It's a big egg! I don't know if we can move it-"http://vocaroo.com/i/s1QSIJT2hq6M
>>25804247
>>25804613
>filenames
aw shit
>>25804640Maybe you guys will figure them out by tomorrow.I really doubt it though.
Stopping here. Good night, and thanks for playing!
>>25804663
Night inept.
>bad egg
Wew
what a weird egg.
>>25805910
It's a Yoshi egg.
Welp. I can't find anything related to those image names.
They don't match any numbers I can find related to Missingno, nor do the sounds match any Missingno ones I can find.
They also don't exist in the Pokemon Red game files.
And as for Bad Egg, there's nothing really specific about that except that it's usually the product of cheating.
>>25807558
Well, having a direct link to the character is cheating to some extent, isn't it?
>>25807932
Not particularly, considering we lose direct control.
>>25804613
I suggest getting out of there and letting HQ come up with a good containment method for this. Who's with me?
Also I don't see anything in the audio that I can relate to the filenames and numbers.
>>25808408
If we wait the problem will just spread further and it might make the egg inaccessible as well as possibly causing more disappearances.
>>25808507
Good point, but what should they do? Cast 33's protection spell, then carry it back to base (or actually, having 33 levitate it back to base), at the risk of corrupting everything around them wherever they move?
>>25808541
Clearly we need to challenge it to a battle.
>>25808541
We should do a few tests before we act. I vote dropping a bit on it and talking to it.
>Implying the egg isn't hatching right now
>Imlying it didn't absorb Lt. Flare and can now evolve
>Implying what's going to come out won't beFlareon
>>25808583
It does look like the typical Pokémon battle opening with the flashing background and the cry-like soundbite.
Since the numbers look like they could be octal and hexadecimal respectively, I did some conversions. There doesn't seem to be any easily found (i.e. binary ASCII) text in there.
base 8: 000002024762717762271
base 10: 71810095768761
base 2: 10000010100111110010111001111111110010010111001
base 16: 414F973FE4B9
base 16: fcfca2b2044aa
base 10: 4450591864538282
base 2: 1111110011111100101000101011001000000100010010101010
base 8: 176374505310042252
>>25808664
Yeah, I tried that earlier. Nothing recognisable came out of it, and I couldn't link it to anything pokemon related either.
>>25808716
>pokemon-related
I don't know a lot about the series, but taking the numbers under the egg, pokemons 214 and 577 are Heracross and Solosis, which are interestingly of types that are weak against each other (bug and psychic).
>>25808732
Also, I just realized what I wrote:
>bug
>psychic
Kind of fitting.
>>25808732
>>25808744Bug aren't weak against psychic.
>>25808890
We need a psychic to kill the bugs
>>25808913
But... bugs aren't weak against psychic.
OK, found it. It is indeed related to MissingNo.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iSyzAtyBivI&t=44 (@44s if the timestamp doesn't work)
>>25808890
Well OK, then the Pokémon I listed are weak against those, because that's what is written on Bulbapedia.
>inb4 Bulbapedo
As I said, I am not very /vp/-knowledgeable. I can only spout what I read.
>>25808890
>forgetting hera is part fighting
>>25808935
And that makes the statement wrong how?
Activating bump routine
>>25809808
proceed
Mark2
Some further research has revealed that the observed effects seem most similar to the so-called "Glitch City" glitch in Pokémon games, which in some cases is also characterized by random tiles and numbers everywhere: http://glitchcity.info/wiki/index.php/Glitch_City
I haven't found anything in there that gives a clue as to the filenames, though.
Do you guys think informing Dandy about what we know to be a good course of action?
As in, should we tell him that this stuff seems similar to a bug in a video game from our world, and one that tends to corrupt save data.
>>25812157
He can hear everything you post unless it's behind spoilers or in an image (unless he sleeps in the case of images). So you're a bit late, he definitely already had the chance to understand just that.
However, I don't think there's anything wrong with it, since it's pretty obvious that that thing is corrupting stuff. And life doesn't really have a save file.The only thing I can think of is it corrupting Dandy's ability to respawn, but dying isn't really our goal anyways and I'm sure he's happy that he respawns at all.
bump
Not today, it would seem.
I promised I would bump all the quests to keep them alive in /cyoag/. Here's yours.
beb
