CASE FILE : NORTHERN EXCURSION
FOR PRIVILEGED EYES ONLY
http://anonpone.pineapplecomputing.com/northern
>>26786728
FIRST
>>26786728
Previously on Northern Excursion, Rem and Mera watched a documentary on the history of modern Equestria, however they were interrupted by an unknown presence outside. After seeing lights on the horizon, a large tremor shook the outpost, sending a metal pipe at Rem. Mera moved into the way of the pipe, protecting Rem. Upon seeing Mera injured, Rem passes out for a day. When she wakes up, Patches tells her that after the quake, a new signal began transmitting to the outpost. The signal was a repeating "S.O.S." in morse code. Upon hearing this, Terra and Gingersnap began planning a trip to the source in hoping of finding Terra's lost mother. Rem asks if her and Mera can join them, in hopes that they can have Mera meet the sphere. They agree, and you leave them to finish their planning.Meant to put this in the op
>>26786739
Back in the rec room, you smell something nice. Mint is hovering over a steaming pot.
>"Ah! Good, you're back. Your food is nearly done!"
"It smells really good. Thank you."
Mera is sitting on the floor, and Sea Foam is looking at the... wings on her back.
>"Can you feeeeeeeeeel this?"
>"Yes."
>"What aboooouut this?"
>"Yes."
>"what abouuuuuut THIS?"
>"Yes."
>"Fascinating."
"What're you all up to?"
>"Oh, I'm just looking at these thingies on her back. I don't think they're vestigial, but I can't make heads or tails of em. Maybe they're used to keep her cool when she's hot?"
"Do you think that's what they're for?"
Sea Foam shrugs.
>"It's anyone's guess really. Ive never seen anything like them, or her."
You sit down next to Patches on the couch.
>"So, what'd Terra say?"
"Well, they're going to check out the signal, and Mera an I are going with them."
>"Wait what?"
"Apparently the sphere is along the path from here to the signal, and Mera wants to talk with it. I asked Terra if she would be okay with us tagging along and she said it was fine."
>"And you're going into the cave alone with Mera?"
"I'm not sure. I think all four of us would go at the same time."
He rests his head onto the back of the couch.
>"Y'know, for some reason that doesn't make me feel better."
You rest your head on his shoulder.
"You don't have to worry about me you know."
>"That doesn't make me feel better either."
"Well, what can I say that would make you feel better?"
>"I'd feel better if you weren't going back there."
A RUSE
R
U
S
E
>>26786791
THIS
>>26786728
GET HYPED
ALSO FUCK YOU FOR TAKING SO LONG
>>26786820
lmao it's fake
>>26786753
suck his horsecock, that'll feel better.
>>26786845
WHAT
EXPLAIN YOURSELF
>>26786728
You know that you no longer need to put the 'pineapple computing' part in the archive link right?
>>26786753
We've waited for too long already. We get that Patches dick TONIGHT.
>>26786753
Sorry Patchy, I have to know.
>>26786728
OH BOY
>>26786753
We need to go. Not knowing things is dangerous, and with the amount of things going on outside that nobody understands, we need to start filling in the holes to put the story here together. We can't do that sitting in the shelter all day long.
>>26786854
this isn't nips lmao, you're being rused hard
>>26786893
and how do you know for sure?
>>26786877
Agreed. As tempting as Patches is right now, we should go out and see what that S.O.S is all about
>>26786893
IMPOSSIBLE!
>>26786875
We get that dick TONIGHT!
>no new posts
>no new posts
>no new posts
it's over guys
go home
>>26786753
Tell Patches something like, "Don't worry I'm too adorable to die." and wink at him.
>>26786975
Turn that trip off you attention whore.
>>26787015
>trip
>>26786877
>>26786875
You sigh.
"Patches, we need to go. Not knowing things is dangerous, especially with what's going on outside. We need to start filling in the holes to put together what's happening here."
He groans.
"And you know we can't do that sitting here in the outpost all day long."
>"I get that, but why do YOU specifically have to go? You've already done a lot here. You should rest."
"I just slept for a day."
>"You know that's not what I mean."
"Alright, say I don't go. Who goes in my place?"
>"I don't know, anyone here."
"And what happens if the sphere won't talk? What if they leave to the signal, and they come back to find that the outpost has been destroyed because I was here?"
>"..."
Cherry scoots over to you both and pokes her head out of the blanket.
>"I'm sorry, what's going on?"
"We're just talking about things."
>"Yeah but what was that about the outpost getting destroyed?"
>"Rem, you don't know that you're being singled out."
>"You're being singled out?"
WHY IS NOBODY POSTING
>>26787015
Spotted the newfag.
>>26787041
Maybe, maybe not. Whatever attacked the outpost almost killed me.
>>26787041
>no picture
A RUSE
>>26787041
Be scientific about this.
Ask him if he has any proof that you're not being singled out and compare that to any evidence that you have that suggests that you are being singled out. Most of this team is made of scientists and engineers right?
>>26787041
Cherry's about to freak out. We should stop our chat with Patches for a moment to calm her down.
>>26787041
Something almost connected to me and put me to sleep before the quake, so I'm obviously being targeted by whatever's out there. I feel like we should find out what it is.
>>26787041
>>26787128
This Anon is right! Both Rem and Patches need to sit her down in another room, explains what's going on, and tell her that panicking and going crazy is just going to get everyone killed.
I mean our personal assignment here was to prevent the team from getting cabin fever and murdering each other and this cherry is about to pop!
>>26787041
calm cherry down, reassure her that its alright.
this thing was built to withstand lots of abuse, and has power to last us years after a complete outage
>>26787096
This
>>26787067I was gonna have this, but decided against it. So here's the sketch
>>26787096
>>26787128
>>26787138
"Patches, is there any proof that I'm not being singled out?"
>"..."
"Exactly, and the proof that I am? Something tried to connect with me to put me to sleep right before the quake. Mera even said something was trying to pull me away."
>"Excuse me, can someone please fill me in on what's going on here?"
You look over at her.
"It's nothing, Cherry. We were just discussing why Mera and I should go with Terra and Gingersnap to see the sphere again."
>"Yeah, but what was going on with the whole 'outpost being destroyed' thing?"
"It was just a hypothetical scenario. This thing is built to withstand a lot of abuse, and has power to last for years after a complete outage. I don't think it's going to be destroyed anytime soon."
She scrunches her face a bit.
>"What about the whole singling out thing?"
"Oh... well, I was just pointing out to Patches that whatever's out there seems to be looking for me."
>"What."
"I don't know if it's true or not, I'm just looking at what's happened. I was the one to connect with the sphere, right? Whatever's out there is obviously related to the sphere somehow, and it tried to connect with me before the quake."
She sits there staring at you for a moment, then retreats back into her blanket.
"Cherry?"
She doesn't respond.
>>26787272
Blanket Cherry a qt
>>26787272
Stick your head into her balnket and ask what's wrong
>>26787272
Cherry pls. Hug the blanket pone.
>>26787272
Give cherry a hug and ask her "what's wrong?"
Do not let her go until she opens up and tells you.
She's not okay yet, and it's time for Rem to do her fucking job!
>>26787272
We need to calm cherry down before she has another meltdown like last time. Don't want her ranting and raving about conspiracies and what not.
>>26787272
touch her hornwith your tongue
>>26787272
Take her to the shower room and take her up on her previous offer.with our mouth
>>26787272
>>26787308
>>26787306
>>26787292
>>26787320
>>26787341
>>26787338
You move over to her.
"Cherry?"
She doesn't respond.
"Cherry, what's wrong?"
You put your arm around her.
"Cherry, you can tell me what's wrong. That IS my job you know."
Silence.
"Do you wanna talk in private?"
She mumbles something that sounds like a yes.
You look over at the others.
"Um, could you guys uh..."
You point your head at the hallway.
Patches stands up first, followed by Sea Foam.
Mera just looks at you confused.
Sea Foam whispers in her ear. Mera then follows her out of the room.
"They're gone now. So what's wrong?"
>"mmmmmnn... I'm scared."
"What are you scared of?"
>"Everything. I thought this was going to be a safe, easy thing. I didn't know we would be in danger like this. Now there's earthquakes, giant talking spheres, an alien pony, and there's something out there that's trying to get us. I thought the most dangerous thing out here would be the cold. I don't know what to do."
She curls inward more.
>"I-I wanna go home."
>>26787437
Oh, sweetie. I know, I do too. I didn't mean to frighten you.
We're gonna go home, I promise.
>>26787437
Momma mode activate.
Tell her we understand, and we're scared too, but she's not alone here. There's a bunch of the brightest, most talented ponies here all working together to get to the bottom of this.
Things will work out if we pull together. She doesn't have to hide how she's feeling, and she can lean on us if she needs to.
>>26787437
We need to calm her down, but if she's too scared, let her know that Barrow can always be called to take her home if she really needs. It won't help her sanity or the team's morale. Remember, the option to opt out is there
>>26787437
"Not gonna lie, this looks pretty grim, but if you loose your cool, you're probably not going to survive. It's okay to be scared. We're all scared but if we let our fear control us, then we're more dangerous to ourselves than any monster out there. Keep your chin up, hope for the best and prepare for the worst. Because is you go into a full panic, you might not be the only one who dies from it. Also, we're counting on you, everyone here is a necessary part of this team. We need, I need everyone here to survive."
>>26787437
become a second blanket of cuddles all over the cherry pie
>>26787437
>>26787449
>>26787466
>>26787484
>>26787510
You get closer and lightly hug her.
"I know. I'm scared too. I don't think anyone here isn't scared. But these ponies are the brightest, most talented ponies I know, and they're all working together to figure out what's going on. If we all work together, we can make things work out."
She doesn't respond.
"I'm not going to lie about it not being scary. But if we lose our cool, we won't be able to survive. It's okay to be scared, but if we let our fear control us, we're more dangerous than anything out there. Panic is a dangerous thing to fall victim to."
>"...I guess you're right..."
"And hey, if you're too scared to continue, we can always call Barrow to come pick you up."
>"Barrow?"
"He's the one who would come drop off supplies if we need them."
She pokes her head out of the blanket and sighs.
>"I guess that makes me feel a little better... Thanks Rem."
"You're welcome."
She sits up.
>"So, you're heading to the sphere again?"
"Yeah. Mera want's to speak with the sphere, and I think it's important to let her."
>"Is that safe?"
"I don't know, but we can't let that stop us from learning something important."
>"I guess so..."
You put your arm around her.
"Hey, don't worry about it, alright? I'll be fine. I'll have Terra, Gingersnap and Mera with me. I won't be alone."
>"Yeah..."
Sea Foam calls from the hallway.
>"Can we come back into the room now?"
"Yeah, it's fine."
You look back at Cherry.
"If you ever want to talk, you can always come to me, alright? You can lean on us if you need to."
She rubs her eyes and smiles.
>"Yeah."
Mera walks into the room and sits down on the floor again. Sea Foam is quick to resume inspecting her.
1/2
Patches rests on the couch next to you.
>"I don't suppose she talked you out of it?"
"No, she didn't."
>"Great. When are you planning on leaving?"
"Whenever Terra and Ginger are ready."
>"Just be careful alright?"
Mint calls from the kitchen.
>"Food's ready!"
You hop off the couch and turn to Patches.
"I will."
--------------
Terra and Gingersnap are loading supplies into the transport. You're putting some pens and a notepad into your pack.
Sea Foam is watching a movie in the room.
>"Do you think the sphere is gonna like Mera?"
"I don't know. I hope so."
>"I wonder if we'll find out where it came from."
You chuckle.
"If I find out I'll be sure to write it down for you."
>"You're the best, Rem."
You put the pack on and start to head out.
"I'll be back soon, alright?"
>"Have fun!"
Just as you're about to exit the room, she calls out.
>"Hey! Uh..."
"Yeah?"
>"...Be careful, alright?"
>>26787721
Get back in there and make out with her before we go. She obviously wants it.
>>26787721
We should assure her we'll be fine, maybe even a smooch on the cheek, just to drive the point home.
Maybe check on a couple more ponies that'll be left behind to see how they're doing before ya go. Just to be sure everyone's alright.
>>26787721
Give her a hug before we go.
>>26787814
Give Seafoam a good luck kiss!Don't really do that, it's unprofessional. But Think about it!
>>26787721
put mera back in her pokeball before you leave the shelter, she has no fur so she'll probably freeze to death or melt all the snow around her with crazy body heat or some weird shit
>>26787738
>>26787747
>>26787814
>>26787828
>>26787844
You walk over to Sea Foam and give her a peck on the cheek.
"Don't worry, I'll be fine, okay?"
>"Alright."
She pulls you in for a hug.
>"Just come back safe and sound."
"I promise."
You leave the room and go to check in on the other ponies before you leave. Cherry and Sherbert are asleep, and Mint, Prism and Circuit are watching TV. They're all doing fine. Patches on the other hand is waiting by the entrance.
You walk up to him
>"You don't have to go, you know."
"Patches, you know I do."
He sighs and his horn lights up.
An object floats out his jacket and into your hooves.
"What is-"
It's a knife.
>"In case you need to protect yourself."
"Patches I can't-"
>"Please, for me."
You stare at it.
"...Alright."
>"Thank you."
You put it in your jacket.
"Now, I sh-"
He gives you a hug.
>"I hope you won't have to use it."
He lets you go.
>"I think they're all ready to go. Good luck, Rem."
You smile at him.
"Thank you."
--------------
>"Ah, there she is. Ready?"
"Yup."
You sit in the seat next to Mera. Terra and Ginger are in the front of the transport.
>"Alright. We're gonna head to the S.O.S. signal now. You might want to take a nap before we get there."
"Noted."
You look at Mera.
"You sure you want to go through with this?"
She turns to you.
>"I am."
The vehicle sets off to the signal.
1/2
>>26788297
>"We're here."
The transport slows to a halt.
You all look out at the building.
>"At least the snow is light."
"Yeah."
You look over at Terra. She's staring out of cockpit.
"Hey, you okay?"
>"Huh? Oh, y-yeah..."
She lets out a long breath.
>"Alright. Are we ready?"
You and Ginger nod.
"Mera, here. You should put these on."
She takes the makeshift coat and puts it on.
Terra opens the back of the transport.
Huh, no wind either.
You all take flashlights and jump out.
There's an entrance with a light flickering above it. The door is kept open by the snow.
Terra and Ginger go first, followed by you and Mera.
Frost covers most of the things inside. The air is still and cold. There's two doors branching off of this room. Left, and right.
Do you split up? Or do you stay together?
>>26788355
decision making is hard, use the knife to guide us. spin it as a young horse at a party would spin a bottle and follow whichever way it points closest to
>>26788355
Stay together, This place is likely infested with those bugs that keep killing the cameras.
Look for the generator or power-core. if we can get power going this investigation will be a lot more silky smooth.
>>26788355
Stay together. We don't know what's out here and there's strength in numbers.Also, it's cold, so this means you can cuddle for warmth if it gets too cold.
We don't wanna get picked off by this thing, knocked out due to sleep powers, and there may be surprises that we need more than one pony to help us out of.
>>26788355
FUCK
ITS THE BUILDING
SHIt
>>26788394
o noooooo
use dangerous metaknowledge to perceive the threat that none of the party could possibly know about in character
>>26788394
Someone post the text logs from the EPU reports on this.
Does anyone have that archive site thing? The one with all the ARG stuffs from the tumblr?
>>26788394
Blood? Yeah, stick together.
Does this place have an A.I. getting information from the local computer should help if it does.
Also that unhappy face in the snow is kinda funny.
>>26788355
>>26788381
>>26788384
You decide to stay together.
"Which door do we go in first?"
>"I think we should just go from right to left."
You nod.
Terra opens the door to the right. It's the storage room. The floor is littered with frozen coats and tools.
"Did anyone find anything?"
>"Nope."
You leave the storage and head through the other door. It leads into a much larger room. A few tables are spaced throughout, a map is splayed across one. The wall on the far side of the room has a flickering screen on it, and the desks have old scientific devices on them. There are boxes with folders upon folders laying around the floor.
>"We should fan out and see if there's anything in this room."
You and Mera head to the flickering screen. You can't tell what it is, but something is flashing across it.
>"What is that?"
You turn to Mera.
She's looking at a large, metal machine on the table.
"I think it's an enigma machine."
>"Enigma machine?"
"It was used to encrypt secret messages."
>"I see."
You take a look at the map. It's layer of frost has kept it intact after all this time. You don't want to move it, since it could shatter. Ginger calls to you.
"Hey guys, check this out."
They stay silent.
"Guys?"
You look at them. They're standing in front of a desk, looking at the screen sitting on it.
"What did you guys find?"
Terra's eyes are wide and she's clutching the picture of her mother.
"What's-"
Someone had scratched a message into the screen of the machine.That's all for now, i'll be back tomorrow!Thanks for putting up with my bullshit guys[/spoiler]
>>26788786
> Ginger calls to you.
Don't read that part. I dun fuked up
>>26788786
Well, That seems like sound advice.
Take the computers, or if possible just the hard drives and any papers that may have been left out.
The Idea is to extract as much information as we can now as quickly as possible. so we can read through it at our leisure when we get back to base.
>>26788786
Welp, okay then. Lets take a quick look around for anything we could actually take. Any storage devices from the computers might be salvageable. We should take a picture of the map too if we have something to do it with.
beb
>>26788786
Try not to freak out.
no die
>>26789834
Two bases, two spheres?
>>26791276
Hmmm
B
>>26788786
Agreeing with
>>26788892
>>26789048
We already have a ton of information to analyze just in what we can take from this room. No reason to go further and invite danger before we've taken the chance to examine this evidence for hints of what we might be getting ourselves into.
>>26795648
I have blown a load to that image.
That teasing peek of her latex bound ponut is so hot. Imagine how it smells. unf
P
>>26795686
Smells like latex
>>26788786
>>26789048
>>26788892
"Leave Now..."
Terra is silent.
"Are you okay?"
>"This... this is the desk my mom was sitting at in that picture..."
Ginger puts her hoof on her shoulder.
>"We don't know if that means anything."
"Guys-"
>"I didn't expect for her to be a-alive but-"
"Guys-"
>"Terra, we don't know if she's the one who wrote this."
Terra falls to the floor, clutching her head.
>"Oh no... oh no oh no oh no-"
>"TERRA!"
>"She couldn't survive this. I'm not nearly as strong as she is and she couldn't survive this."
Mera walks up to you.
>"Is she alright?"
"Mera-"
Terra curls inward.
>"We're all gonna d-"
Ginger steps in front of Terra and slaps her. The brown mare falls on her back.
>"SNAP. OUT OF IT."
A small trail of blood runs from Terra's nose.
>"You KNEW what you might find out here. You KNEW that something strange happened to your mother, but you CAME ANYWAY. So SNAP OUT OF IT and FINISH what you came here to do!"
Terra stares at her in silence.
>"I-i'm... I'm..."
Ginger holds out her hoof to Terra.
>"Now come on. We've got to find where the signal is coming from, right?"
>"Y-yeah."
She helps her up.
Mera taps your shoulder.
>"Why did she hit her?
>>26796394
Well shit. Uhhh...
"We needed to snap her out of it, and sometimes physical pain can pull someone out of their hysteria."
We probably shouldn't stay here, but we're not gonna leave terra and ginger behind. Maybe come back with a few more ponies, or hell, just take everything from this room back to home base to analyze.
It's probably not safe here
>>26796394
Well, her thoughts had started spiraling into negativity, and something sudden and shocking like that can bring you out of that.
She wasn't trying to hurt her, she was trying to stop her hurting herself, mentally and emotionally.
>>26796394
Hey, both of you calm down. It's high stress, I know, but I don't think slapping is the right response either.
If you don't think you can handle it then we should head back. Being panicked will not help us get through this.
>>26796394
She didn't do it to hurt her, but sometimes being hurt on the outside can distract you from pain on the inside.
>>26796394
>>26796429
>>26796432
>>26796482
I feel like we should add something to discourage Terra from learning and repeating that behavior. Something along the lines of ..
"Ginger is under stress and did what she did impulsively, it worked but but it was a mistake to resort to physical violance. Talking to her or holding her would have worked as well, Ginger could have accidentally hurt Terra or upset her more."
(Maybe not true, but considering Mera dosn't seem to feel pain she probably dosn't know her own strength, I'm afraid of her doing the same thing the next time someone else freaks out. Especially given that it could be misinterpreted as an attack).
>>26796394
>>26796429
>>26796432
>>26796453
>>26796482
"Uh, well, she needed to snap her out of falling into hysteria. A pony who's hysterical can hurt themselves and the ones around them. Sometimes sudden physical pain can pull someone out of that."
>"It hurt her?"
"Y-yes. But she didn't want to hurt her. She wanted to help her."
>"I see."
You walk up to Ginger and Terra and speak under your breath.
"Look, I know we're in a stressful situation, but I don't think slapping is the right response either."
>"No, I-I needed that. I'm fine now."
"If you don't think we can handle what we'll find, I think we should head back. Being panicked will not help us get through it."
>"What about the sphere?"
"Safety comes first."
>"No I-I can handle it. We came out here to find what's sending the signal, so we're going to find it."
"Are you sure?"
>"Yes."
"Alright. But if you get like that again, we'll head back, okay?"
>"Alright."
"Good. I think we should learn what we can from this room, then head on to find the signal."
They nod.
>"Did you find anything?"
"Mhm. A map."
>"A map?"
"Yeah. C'mere. I think it's of the area."
1/2
>>26796729
You lead them over to the frozen map.
"I'm not a geologist, or a map reader. Do you know what these markings mean?"
>"Hmmm. These two circles are points of interest. This blue one marks an area with a strong magnetic field. The pink one is an area where the ice is extremely close to the ground underneath. Unnaturally so."
"What?"
>"The glacier that covers this area is usually a constant thickness. In this area, the ice is so low and thin, you could probably see the ground through it."
"And what's this?"
You point at the dot in the middle of the intersecting lines. She leans in to read the notes.
>"Apparently the signal they were investigating is coming from that point."
"So that means..."
>"That's where the sphere is."
"Are you sure?"
>"Positive."
"So they knew about it?"
>"I'm not sure."
Ginger pulls out a camera and takes some pictures of the map.
>"We should go back to looking for the signal."
You and Terra nod.
The rest of the building is full of the same frosted over equipment and furniture. No signs of any pony.
"Do you think the base sent the signal because it was programmed to?"
>"That's a possibility, but that doesn't-"
Mera jumps in front of Terra, blocking a hallway.
"Mera?"
She's staring at a door on the far end.
>"There's something here."
Everyone falls silent. You hear morse code coming from the door.
>>26796735
Something alive?
Or just the machine sending the signal?
>>26796735
Have mera hide somewhere with the other two, Brandish your knife and hide somewhere else, ready to strike.
If the thing is dangerous, protect the others. They are the priority at this point. Try not to engage, but don't be afraid to defend yourself and the others.
>>26796735
PANIC
>>26796892
hue
>>26796735
Investigate
>>26796735
Something like us, or something different?
>>26796761
Sounds like a good plan
>>26796735
>>26796756
>>26796761
>>26796892
>>26796969
>>26796973
"Is it something alive? Or is it just the machine sending the signal?"
>"It's alive."
You slowly pull out the knife.
>"Whoa, why do you have a knife?"
"Patches gave it to me."
>"... You two have a strange relationship."
"W-we don't have... nevermind."
You look around the area.
"Can you guys take Mera and hide behind that wall?"
>"You want us to hide?"
"Please."
>"But-"
Mera walks behind the wall and looks around the corner at you.
Terra sighs.
>"I thought we were going to stick together?"
You pull her in and whisper to her.
"Look, if whatever's in there is dangerous... You, Ginger and Mera are priority at this point. I can defend myself."
>"What? No! That's-"
"You know it's true. You have a reason to be here, and what happens if we lose Mera?"
>"But-"
"Please."
She stares at you.
>"... if we hear anything, I'm going to run in there."
You nod and she heads around the corner with Ginger and Mera. You turn to the door. It's unlocked. Slowly, you push it open.
A flickering screen illuminates a figure at a desk. Snow covers everything.
You tap your hoof onto the door. Maybe it'll illicit a response?
It doesn't.
What do you do?
>>26797077
Oh jeez. Approach the figure.
>>26797077
Leave the door open.
Slowly approach, knife at the ready. Poke it to see if it's alive. If it is, be prepared to defend, if not, examine and call in the others.
Be careful though. Your life is just as important as the others, and you wanna make it through this with them.
>>26797077
Say something like, "did you send the signal?"
If there is no response get closer and do this >>26797095 and if the body still doesn't move get the rest of the party in there and have someone pulling guard duty at the door.
>>26797077
Announce yourself louder.
If no response, slowly approach the figure. We don't know if that's what Mera sensed in the room or not, that could just be a dead pony and there's something else in there.
Do we have any lanterns or flashlights or anything with us? Maybe some light would help.
>>26797077
Say the name of Terra's mom.
>>26797077
>>26797085
>>26797095
>>26797113
>>26797115
>>26797176
You step forward.
"Hello?"
No response.
"Did you send the signal?"
No response.
You step forward again.
"G-.... Geode?"
No response.
You have Patches' knife ready, and you stand next to the figure. The body is frozen solid.
You move around to see it's face.That's all for tonight. See you all tomorrow!
>>26797354
I'm not sure what i'm looking at, but I don't like it.
>>26797354
We shouldn't let Terra see this.
>>26797354
it's fucking eye is doing that fucking thing goddamit
>>26797364
It's Terra's mom, see the glasses?
>>26797374
It's her mom, She has to see what her mom turned into.
Besides, Now we know what is happening to Rem. That center eye is going to emerge eventually and those things outside will claim us as one of their own.
I think at least.
If my theory is true we need everyone on the science team to get out of dodge while we wait for the inevitable to happen.. I'm not sure if Mera should stay with Rem or not in that situation.
>>26797354
Fuck. Looks like this pony was further along in the mutation that Rem is currently experiencing.
>>26797404
>She has to see what her mom turned into.
No she fucking doesn't you pleb.
This is how you sour every memory of someone you have.
i went through the archive and found Rem being cute.
>>26797412
So, she goes through all of this effort and all of this work to never know for herself what happened to her mother?
No, Terra is an adult.and if she never sees this, she'll never get the closure she came here for.
We do need to warn her that her mother has mutated before she sees it but to keep her from this is worse for her in the long run.
>>26797434
do you really want terra's last memory of her to be that horrible mutated pony corpse thing?
Also, I'm pretty sure that it's not terra's mom. It looks like it has severely deformed pegasus wings, kinda like Mera's
>>26797434
When did I say she couldn't know?
There's difference between her being aware and her being shown her mother in a horrendous state.
This has nothing to do with being an adult. You don't show family members this kind of shit. It's damaging and unnecessary.
>>26797354
Check the room for anything else that looks like it might be alive. After doing that, I suppose we could touch the corpse and try mind-melding to look through it's last living memories.
If that works of course, we have to be concerned with the repercussions of touching ANOTHER alien consciousness with our own.
>>26797448
Agreed. Though, maybe ask Merra if it's possible before touching it. She seems to know of things connecting to you, so maybe she knows if it can? I kinda don't wanna touch the metly thing with my face...
Mera might be able to extract the memories from this corpse.
Whatever we're doing we should cover the corpse before anyone else enters.
>>26797354
okay but for realsies, we really need to find out what's alive in the base. if that thing is dead, then... where the hell is the thing that mera sensed
>>26797354
Look at the floor and then the ceiling.
In that order.
>>26797445
If Terra wants to see the body we shouldn't stop her.
>>26797540
When she's in the right frame of mind maybe, but not right now.
>>26797545
that's not her mom tho
>>26797412
>>26797434
>>26797443
>>26797445
>>26797540
It looks nothing like her mom, I don't know why you guys suspect it to be her. It even has what appears to be destroyed wings. Terra's mom wasn't a pegasus.
>>26797545
No one is coming back here. This is the last chance anyone will have.
>>26797555
And we should take the body. We need to know what happened to it.
>>26797556
Also giving it a proper burial would be nice.
>>26797559
At this point I don't think it'd be safe to assume it's dead.
>>26797559
Agreed. No one should be left out here.
No one wants to know what the morse says?Or the fact that Mera said that this something was alive?
>>26796610
This post shouldn't have been ignored.
Mera needs to know that, while in this case it worked, resorting to slaps like that is not normally ok.
>>26798456
You say that like you don't want Mera pimpslapping everyone.
Has anyone ever thought about look what's on the screen?
>>26797670but filename.That "Boo" written in the snow is funny, but it kinda kills the moment
>>26798160
I do, but it doesn't look like Morse to me
>>26798580
>Everyone falls silent. You hear morse code coming from the door.
>>26798160
The morse code is most likely the S.O.S. signal that brought us here.
>>26798580
>>26798617
>>26798718
Oh right,sorry, I'm half asleep, I was talking about the writing on the map
>>26798544
I don't think the boo was intentional
>>26798730
>You point at the dot in the middle of the intersecting lines. She leans in to read the notes.
Bonk
>>26797354
It looks like a failed Mera. So that means the spheremight be lying to us, and tried to make a pony/sphere hybrid with the memebers of the other team. Or, the sphere is telling the truth, and whatever the things in the cave are fused the team with the sphere. This could be the first failed try, but where are the others?
>>26797354
I legit can't tell what I'm looking at
>>26797556
It's frozen to that desk, could get messy.
Hmm we could try to thaw the room.
bad
>>26797354
Didn't Mera say there was something alive?
I want to sleep inside of Mera's.....skin folds.
>>26802983
Lets just call them wings please.
>>26803029
skin blanket
>>26803082
pls
>>26803029
flesh curtains
>>26803029
I prefer to think of them as fins or flippers or maybe like that frill that the frilled-neck lizard has! Really, we need to see if Mera can frill it out or use it to swim.
>>26802983
Congratulations you have figured out what the skin things are forthey make her better at hugging.
>>26803479
Are the flesh flippers soft and fuzzy? Are they covered in a downy velvet? Or are they just bare skin? These are important things to know before even thinking about asking to be enveloped in them.
>>26803561
I hope they are soft.
>>26803561
They're the same color as her coat, so they're probably at least fuzzy. They're also not very rigid-looking, so I doubt there are many bones in them, if any at all.
As an Internet expert on mammalian skin flaps, I'm going to assume they feel like large dog ears.
>>26801922
Uh yeah, guys...if this thing is dead, there's something else in the room...
>>26804242
I've never felt dog ears desu, what am missing?
>>26804523
Honestly it depends on the dog sensations range from warm floofballs with a living center to living leather.
>>26804242
>>26804523
>>26804758
Large dog ears seem about right. Quality analysis everyone. Well done.
>>26804508
Now that the skin flap issue is solved, we can move on to this secondary matter.
I have a feeling the frozen body is still alive in some way. Mera shook off a pipe to the head after all.
If not, we are being cautious, I don't see what else we could do but leave, and I don't think anyone wants to do that.
>you will never cuddle with a bigger than average alien pony with soft skin fold appendages that feel like dog ears on her back
Just end my life guys.
>>26805132
Bumping with a better example
>>26805755
cute pupper
>>26797404
>It's Terra's mom, see the glasses?
No?
>>26797354
>>26797374
>>26797412
>>26797448
>>26797474
>>26797486
>>26797559
>>26801922
>>26805060
You back away from the body.
"oh god..."
The flashlight drops to the floor. You scramble to pick it up and flash it around the room.
Nothing.
You take a deep breath and try to keep a hold of yourself. Should you call them in now? Could they handle seeing this?
Is this thing still alive? Mera said something alive was here, but this body looks dead.
Is... is this Terra's mother? Should she see the body like this?
A shuffle in the snow behind you makes you jump. You brandish your knife and get ready to defend yourself.
It's the others.
>"Are you alright?"
You drop your stance.
"Y-yeah."
Terra helps you up.
"Why didn't you guys wait for me to get you?"
>"Mera said you were scared, so we came in."
"She said I was scared?"
Terra nods.
"How did she know that?"
>"..."
"Terra?"
>"What is that?"
She points to the body.
"I-I don't know."
You hear Ginger gasp as she sees the state of the figure.
>"Are they... alive?"
>"Yes."
Mera walks up to it.
>"This creature is alive."
>"That's not possible. It's body is frozen solid! No pony could survive this for so long!"
>"This creature is not fully pony."
"What?"
>"It is like me."
The room falls silent.
>"L-like you? Would that mean the other team met the sphere too?"
>"I thought the sphere said we were the ones who met it first? How could this pony be like Mera?"
"I-I'm not sure."
You walk up to Mera.
"Can you... connect with them?"
>"I believe I can. Do you want me to try?"Sorry for the late start. Some friends came around and postponed my start.
>>26807137
Have Mera connect with the Pony[?] and gather some info. Also, put that knife away. You're gonna poke someone and it's not gonna be fun.
Maybe have terra and ginger load up some of those old computers and files for investigation while mera mind melds.
>>26807137
Can you do it safely? It cant hurt you can it?
>>26807137
Check to see if YOU can Mind meld with it
>>26807137
We should try first. Mera can helpor give us a slapif needed.
>>26807181
>>26807165
"Can you do it safely? It can't hurt you can it?"
>"I think so, and I don't think it can."
She tilts her head at you.
>"Do you want me to try?"
"I don't want you to do anything that you wouldn't want to do. But if you think you can do it safely... I think it might help understand what's going on."
Mera turns to the body and places a hoof on it. Her eyes close, and the slit on her forehead opens, emanating an orange light.
Terra whispers.
>"What do we do now?"
"I think we should just wait. Maybe we could look for some files or something while she connects with them."
Terra nods, and the three of you begin searching for anything that would seem useful. You scrounge through some frozen boxes, but most of what you find has been destroyed by the elements. However, you managed to find a few papers that were somewhat readable.
-----
Page 1
-mplications of this are astounding! We managed to get a sample to bring back to study closer. The makeup of the stuff is remarkable! So far, we've found many of the building blocks of life within it, yet we've also found non-biological elements as well, such as silicon! There's-
----
Page 2
-ough Geode was against it, we all concluded that to understand the samples, we would need to test it with other living tissue. Atom is going to be the one to---
---
Page 3
-utations have been appearing at an alarming rate. Although Atom seems to benefiting from them all! The most noticeable one being a change in his eyes. His sclera have become yellow orange, and they continue to get more vibrant. His iris have also nearly van-
---
Page 4
-ocked himself in his room. No one can get in. We don't know how he's doing it. In our attempt to subdue him, Atom cut Pyrite along his arm. We cleaned up the would as best we could, I just hope it won't get infected with anything. We've been unable to contact the-
---
The readable pages end there.
"Did you guys find anything?"
They both shake their heads.
>"What about you?"
>>26807137>having friendsfix that
>>26807476
Show them the papers.
>>26807476
Show them your findings, then check on Mera. Maybe ask if this might happen to mera? She might be dangerous, or things might happen soon that will put us in danger, and maybe we should be a little more careful around Mera.
>>26807476
Seems they tested a sample from the sphere on one of the team. Didn't end well.
>>26807476
Make it abundantly clear that no one is to be injected with anything relating to the sphere.
As if it wasn't obvious already.
>>26807502
Don't start doubting Mera, that's the fastest route to causing conflicts in the group.
>>26796729
>"Y-yes. But she didn't want to hurt her. She wanted to help her."
For the love of fuck, can we go back to this sometime soon and clarify that hurting someone is NOT the best option, even if you want to help them? This shit is going to put us into one of those 'destroy you to save you' situations you expect from rogue AI
Just tell her that hurting people is bad and sometimes good ponies make bad decisions, even if the hurt was minimal and (in this case) beneficial.
>>26807502
Mera is for love and cuddles you pleb.
>>26807595
I think you're kicking up a fuss over nothing myself, but if it makes you feel better then sure.
>>26807599
and then when we cuddle later on she tears us apart
RiP Rem
>>26807476
I think we just let her connect with Atom, and it seems like he became violent. This is probably going to be a problem
>>26807476
You hold up the papers.
"These. You might want to read this."
You hand them to Terra. She quickly reads through them.
>"So they did meet the sphere."
"It would seem so."
Terra hands the papers to Ginger.
"Apparently testing the sample on a living pony isn't a good idea."
>"Yeah, but how did they test it on them? Me and you both touched the sample that Mera came from. Are we... also going to mutate?"
"I'm not sure. Maybe they tested the sample in a different way?"
Terra looks at her hooves.
>"Maybe..."
"After reading those papers though, I'm a bit worried about Mera. What if she connected with that Atom character?"
You all look over at her.
>"Do you think she'd be dangerous?"
"I... I hope not."
You all sit in silence, waiting for the large mare to finish.
After a few tense minutes, she removes her hoof, and opens her eyes.
"M-mera?"
>"... Yes?"
"D-did you find anything useful?"
>"They are sad."
You look at the others, then back to Mera.
"Sad?"
>"They have a request for us."
"What request?"
>"They wish for us to end their life."
Terra reels back at this.
>"Wh-what?"
>"They said they do not want to live like this any longer. All they want to do is rest. So they have asked us to end their life."
The brown mare shakes her head.
>"We-we can't just kill another pony! That's wrong!"
>"But they said-"
>"I don't care what they said! We can't just..."
She looks at you.
>"We can't just kill them, right?"
>>26807795
Regardless of what she learns, Mera won't turn on us. I trust her completely.
>>26807795
Is Terras mom in there? Did Mera get names?
Even if we're down to fulfill their request, there are too many questions that need answers right now. What happened to them? Was the sphere involved? was another party involved? what have they been doing all this time? What changed that let them send the sos?
I'm not against assisted suicide in principle. Actually, we're a psychologist, ask mera if she can help us talk to them. We can determine if they are of sound mind and get answers.
>>26807795
Of fucking course we will, you'd be an asshole not to.
We should ask it some stuff though. Can Mera ask if it is willing to answer some questions? Like who it is, what happened to the team, etc. Make sure to promise it that you'll follow through and end its life do it doesn't go into a homicidal rage or anything.
>>26807795
Before we do anything.
>Who is this pony?
> Did they tell Mera what happened to them?
>Do they know where the others are?
I wonder if it's possible to fix them, rather than having to kill them.
>>26807795
Well we can't just leave them here, that's for sure.
>>26807795
Ask mutant if there is anything it wants us to do before/after killing it
>>26807795
Ever heard of a mercy kill? There's no helping them at this point.
>>26807795
find out who the pony is before kill
>>26809332
and also find out why they sent a signal
>>26807795
Now this is a conundrum. I vote with the others here; try and glean some more information from them- who are they, what happened, how did they contact us, etc.
Then, as to ending their life... oh dear. I think it would be a kindness, regardless of what Mera might think, but we'd need to explain to her just why killing is okay in this instance.
Question is though, can we kill it? Mera took a steel beam in the head and it had about as much effect as a falling snowflake...
>>26807795
It's clear that we need to talk to them and learn more, but I think we should try convincing the mutant to reconsider their death wish. I understand that this situation is likely stressful and overwhelming but from the sound of those papers I don't think that they had that much support from their team when these changes started happening. Of course, if the poor mutant is still in pain after we are sure that they are in a sound state of mind we can consider the euthanasia of the poor creature but we shouldn't just grant it's grim request just because it's feeling depressed.
Some situations that would warrant ending this creature's life would be if it is significantly dangerous and unable to control the threat it embodies or if it is in constant and untreatable pain.
Also, "Atom." This name implies that Atom was the same kind of thing as Mera. Ask Terra if Atom was the name of anyone on the first team. If not, we know exactly what Atom was even if this pony is not Atom.
I think Atom is probably what is wondering around outside since he would likely have had longer to adapt to the climate than mutated science team members.
>>26811943
>Also, "Atom." This name implies that Atom was the same kind of thing as Mera.
No? It's pretty clear that Atom was a part of the team and agreed to be the guinea pig for their experiment.
bad
>>26807795
I think we should offer to take them back with us and try to help them. Best case scenario we can actually help revert them to an acceptable form of life. Worst case scenario, we fail and put them out of their misery, hopefully having gained some useful information about them beforehand.
>>26815729
>let's take them back to our base
No
>>26815815
Mera said they're like her. I'm sure they're not any more harmful than Mera is. You aren't afraid of Mera, are you anon?
>>26815815
We could put them in the lab.
>>26815842
Why look at this cute unassuming frog. Surely it isn't dangerous in any way.
>>26815974
So you are afraid of Mera?
>>26816394
Not necessarily afraid, but I'm not blindly believing that she's completely safe either.
>>26816458
Safe enough to allow in our base so far. If one, why not two? Are you jealous that they might have secret telepathic slumber parties and not invite us?
>>26815974
Being afraid of a being with telepathy? Wow, that sure is smart.
Trust goes both ways, it would be far smarter to blindly trust her because then she wouldn't have any reason to doubt us, thus making it so if there was ever a third party trying to influence her to hurt us, she would refuse.
>>26786728
>priveliged
>>26816615
>>26816615
Deepest lore.
>>26807795
>>26807812
>>26807842
>>26807826
>>26807868
>>26808546
>>26809332
>>26809337
>>26809950
You stay silent.
>"Well?"
"We... we can't just leave them here like this..."
>"But killing!?"
"It would be worse to keep them alive as they are!"
>"But-"
"We have to be merciful, Terra."
Terra looks away from you.
"Mera, did they say anything else while you were connected with them?"
>"No. They only asked for death."
"Could... could I connect to them through you?"
>"Possibly."
You look back to Terra.
"If I can connect with it, I'll see if we could possibly help them in another way, and maybe get some answers, alright?"
Terra nods.
"But, if I can't, you do understand what we have to do, right?"
She pauses for a moment, then nods slowly.
"Alright. Mera, what do I have to do?"
Mera holds out her hoof, and you place yours in hers.
She touches the body of the pony, and you close your eyes.
You suddenly start to feel colder. Your body feels like it's floating away. You feel alone.
It's dark, and freezing.
"H-hello?"
A voice emanates from all around you. It's sad, and faint.
>"please... help me... end me..."
"A-are you the pony sending the signal?"
>"... yes... please... kill me..."
>>26818307
We want to help, but we also came for answers.
>>26818307
I'm a psychologist, I can help. I understand that you're in despair right now, and possibly for a long time. I understand that you're suffering, but I'd like to ask you some questions.
Can you tell me why you don't want to live anymore?
>>26818363
That's probably kinda obvious.
>>26818307
it might be a trick, and the body will explode into mutagenic spores upon death
>>26818307
Make sure they understand that we could possibly thaw the body out, as if it stayed alive this long it almost certainly has the capacity to emerge from an extended period of deep freeze.
>>26818307
we must understand what happened here before we erase you forever and classify all the information we find here. it's just procedure.
>>26818307
Where are the others?
>>26818307
We will, but we're in trouble too. We just have some questions before we can help you, so what happened to you doesn't happen again.
Who am I speaking to?
What happened here?
What have you been doing all this time?
How did you manage to send the signal?
We've contacted the sphere, did it do this to you?
We've been watched and attacked by something, can you tell us anything about that?
>>26818381
We might be assuming the wrong things. Better to know for sure than to simply assume, yes?
>>26818307
who were you? so I know what to imagine writing on the imaginary grave I'm going to imagine digging for you
>>26818336
>>26818382
>>26818386
>>26818393
>>26818398
>>26818363
"I-I know you're in pain, but we need answers to questions that only you might have."
>"please... just kill me..."
"M-maybe we can help you in another way?"
>"..."
"I-if you've survived this long, maybe we could thaw your body out? That way-"
>"power... low... can't heat up..."
"We could-"
>"facility is... dead... no... hope..."
"But we have an outpost not far from here. We could take you back and help you."
>"you have... an outpost... here?"
"Yes! We could help you!"
>"..."
"We just need some answers first. Anything you can tell us. Please."
>"..."
"Who... who am I speaking to?"
>"..."
"I-I'm sorry if this is-"
>"p... py... pyrite... name is... pyrite..."
"Pyrite?"
>"...yes..."
"Can you tell me what happened here, Pyrite?"
>"found... something... in ice..."
"You found something?"
>"yes... a sphere..."
You feel your heart stop for a moment.
"A-a sphere?"
>"yes... fine at... first... then changes... bad things..."
"How did you send the signal?"
>"connected... to machine..."
You remember the fleshy growths connecting to the radio setup.
"Have you been sending the signal this whole time?"
>"yes... power fluc... tuates..."
"Where are the others?"
>"dont... know... gone..."
"When the others were here, did you ever feel... watched?"
>"watched..."
"We've been stalked by things, and possibly attacked by them as well. Can you tell us anything about that?"
>"dont... know..."sorry for the super slow responses. I'm working on something else atm too.
>>26818885
Can you tell me what changed?
I... might be in your shoes soon. Do I need to be quarantined?
>>26818885
Didn't the sphere deny meeting ponies before us?
>>26818885
How did things go wrong? Did the sphere do this?
>>26818885
Did Atom cutting Pyrite spark this mutation?
>>26818885
Shit what do you bet the things that shine lights at us, watch us, and put us to sleep are actually the mutated remnants of the original team.
>>26819168
There's no one else it could realistically be.
At what point did the sphere lie to us? It told us that others talk to it. What if those "others" are the mutated team before us?
I'm beginning to think we should be less afraid of the things stalking outside of the base and more worried about the sphere.
we should fuck the corpse in a huge orgy and let it go out with a bang
>>26818885
Offer to take them back to our base and see what we can do. We literally have the best team of experts in Equestria collected there; if anyone can improve their situation we can. Once they're in better shape they'll be able to tell their whole story.
>>26819583
Aliens.
>>26822073
But they're part pony.
>>26820173
You mean your original concern WASN'T the sphere?
beb
Am I the only one who thinks something fucky is going on with time. That base disapeared and now it's back. Maybe we were the first ones to encounter the sphere. Maybe times jumping around. Okay...It's a stretch. Anyways..bump
>>26822110
That doesn't mean they're not aliens
>>26825505
And then it turns out we were the first to come out here and geodes team was the team that came out here looking for us!
OH FUUUUUUUUU
Bep
>>26827397
It makes it a lot less likely.
Nips is dead, prepare the funeral dirges
guys what if there are more spheres?
>>26830970
dammit, again?
it's over guys
go home
I can't let it go just yet
I've come for this thread
>>26833975
Go away Inept
