The Sun Sets

'If anypony comes looking for me, I'll be back within thirty minutes.' Emerald Trance did not bother to say it aloud, since really, no one would come looking for her, and they certainly wouldn't come looking at the clinic. Well, one pony might. She looked at the filly. "I'm heading out now, so stay here and behave and I'll see what I can do."

She stepped outside into the chaos of construction. Come to think of it, the inn would be packed with refugees and help workers... Looks like another day under the stars. Or would be, if night fell. In a way, perpetual day was alright, gave better vision for rebuilding, but how would a mare sleep? A thought for another time, later in the... 24-hour period.

Considering her little unreliable narrator, the mother was clearly well enough to not keel over, so she very likely was just roped up in helping something and lost track of time and her child. 'Alright, so maybe I don't assume the best in ponies.' In this chaos, who knew who was in charge? She'd be out for hours just trying to find that, let alone what to actually do... Then again, an illusionist never did get their own hooves dirty, did they?

So instead, it was off to the closest mare that looked like they had little to do or were a bit lost. "Excuse me, if you could help for just a brief second. A little pegasus filly in the clinic is missing her mother. The filly's name is Sunset Streak, and her mother should be yellow, with a brown mane and a flower cutie mark. Yellow, brown mane, flower. You don't have to look, just if you see a mare like that who says she's got a filly named Sunset, could you pass along the message to go to the clinic as the poor girl is terribly worried? I guess it wouldn't hurt to tell a few others to keep an eye out too, if it isn't too much trouble to help a young soul in these troubling times?" Emerald gave her most practiced plead, a small bit of effort on everypony's part to accomplish what would be monumental on the part of one. It was the core tenant of pony harmony, and it was a hope that she could invoke it in ponies even when they were quite validly otherwise distracted.

rolls:

Holy Smokes gives the GM Griffon a glare and follows after the unicorn and blowing past the assembled group, throwing the doors to the mayor's office open.

---

If GM is gonna pull another "gotcha" on us and the doors are locked, HS will just use psychokinesis+It's Magic to explode the lock. Probably unnecessary Arcana roll: 18+14 = 32.

"To be fair, when I came up here last, half the doors were boarded off."
Jaquir follows the pony, this looks like it could be entertaining.

Bronymous wrote:Dodger:
Outside, you find yourself in the North East Plaza, an area you've become quite familiar with in the past few days. Besides the Clinic, there is also a Theater, Library, and some restaurants centered around a park. The condition here is slightly better off then towards the center of town. There aren't as many workers rushing about, and no debris from the outskirts has been brought here. However, every once and a while you can see another injured pony make his way up from the aid tent to the clinic, and messengers constantly bring "orders" to groups of workers, only to have them overwritten by another messenger a few minutes later.
Perception: 19+10=29
You hear a loud noise from over near the theater, and as you look, you see a group of Pegasi, and one griffon, fly away from the area. Another pony, an Earth Pony runs after them for a bit, before giving up.

Dodger knows better than to run off without information, so he decides maybe it would be a good idea to run off WITH information first. He runs up to the Earth Pony.
"Excuse me, sir, but I couldn't help but notice you chasing off some fliers. Is there an issue?"

Stormeye:
Unfortunately, the clinic's stock of medical texts is lacking. You can find information about broken bones, head injuries, chronic internal maladies, and the like. However, on one page dealing with holistic medicine usage, someone has attached a note to the margins:

For more information regarding drugs and poisons, see library collection.

It then gives you a list of book titles, and the DD code to locate them within a library. All of the books have to do with drugs, poison, and toxicology. Next to the note, in the text there is a line that reads:

However, due to the nature of much of Equestria's wild plant life, new drugs, medicines, and poisons are always a possibility, and the symptoms are not always easy to predict or identify.

Star:
The stallion looks up from his task, clearly irritated. "Oh, good, what is it this time? Let me guess, I need to move the temporary housingsix feet to the left? Or are we tearing down the whole town and rebuilding it across the river? Or am I now going to start farming on the roof of town hall? Well?" He glares at you expectantly. He has clearly mistaken you for one of the frequent messengers delivering conflicting directions.

Emerald:
Persuasion: 32
The Mare listens sympathetically to your request. "Oh, that's terrible. Of course I'll keep an eye out, and spread the word around." She nods and smiles at you, before she continues. "I'm afraid I don't actually live here, I was just in town to help out. I'll see if I can get a few locals to help out and form a search party."
Streetwise: 10
She could be anywhere, though its unlikely she left the city limits. You know the Pegasus flew to the Town Center to search, so the only other areas to begin looking would be the wealthy Estates neighborhood to the west, along the river, and the damaged Outskirts themselves.

HS, JS:
The door flies open, surprising the scrawny looking pony on the other side, who was about to open them. He ducks out of the way as you make your way to the large desk in the center of the room. The stocky Stallion sitting behind it yelps in fright as you approach. "Uh, You can't come in here. This is a restricted area! Authorized personnel only!" He shrinks down in his seat, and gives a weak smile as you both stand in front of him. "Uh... what can I do for you fine gentlemen today?" You can see him breaking into a sweat.

Dodger:
"Of course there's an issue! Those damned feather-brained vandals just tried to break into the theater! As if things aren't bad enough around here, those
punks just keep making things worse! Breaking into shops, stealing food and supplies from aid stations, looting and vandalising everything from here to the Forest, and no one around seems capable of stopping them!" The Earth Pony snorts in anger. "As long as the Guard is busy in other towns and the incompetent mayor is tying up every capable pony with half-cooked relief efforts, that pack of thugs has free reign to do what they want!"

Bronymous wrote:"Of course there's an issue! Those damned feather-brained vandals just tried to break into the theater! As if things aren't bad enough around here, those punks just keep making things worse! Breaking into shops, stealing food and supplies from aid stations, looting and vandalising everything from here to the Forest, and no one around seems capable of stopping them!" The Earth Pony snorts in anger. "As long as the Guard is busy in other towns and the incompetent mayor is tying up every capable pony with half-cooked relief efforts, that pack of thugs has free reign to do what they want!"

Kids these days. No respect, no class, no style. It's sad that Dodger's the only real gentleman thief left.

"Well, sir, everypony I've talked to has directed me to do conflicting things," said Dodger. "So I think today I might employ myself and go see about teaching hot-headed flyboys some manners."

Bronymous wrote:Star:
The stallion looks up from his task, clearly irritated. "Oh, good, what is it this time? Let me guess, I need to move the temporary housing six feet to the left? Or are we tearing down the whole town and rebuilding it across the river? Or am I now going to start farming on the roof of town hall? Well?" He glares at you expectantly. He has clearly mistaken you for one of the frequent messengers delivering conflicting directions.

Star jumped at the stallion's annoyed tone. "Oh, no, sir, I was actually wondering if you could help me. You see, I was hoping to find a little filly's mother, and I was wondering if you might've seen her..."

"What the hell do you think you're doing you worthless sack of garbage? Everypony is running around like chickens with their heads cut off while you sit in here dithering and your underlings squabble like fillies. My name is Holy Smokes and in Celestia's name, may she rest in peace, if you don't get your act together I am going to personally make sure things go very poorly for you. Now, get your team together and properly organize this town's efforts before more people die, another family member goes missing, or another colt ends up sleeping without a roof over their head because of your incompetent ass before I decide that what this town could really use is a Town Hall sized bonfire." Holy Smokes says, with fire literally blazing in his eyes and not a single hint in his voice that his threats were not 100% serious.

---

Persuasion: 11 + 19 (so close) + 20 (using an MP for The Stare) = 50

Jaquir stands in the doorway, looking slightly more sinister than Nightmare Moon crossed with Death himself, metal wing outlined against the brown of the door opposite.
---------/----------------
Burning an MP to smack that up to a terrifying 60.

Dodger:
"Well if you think you can help, I'm sure much of the town would appreciate it. That pack normally hangs out in the Outskirts. That Griffon is their so called 'leader'." The pony turns to go back to the theater. "If you'll excuse me, I have to go put that door back on it's hinges."

Star:
The stallion softens a little at your reaction, but not much. "Lady, I've seen about a dozen mothers today. There's a few right over there." He points to a group of three mares a few yards away- none of them the one you're looking for. "And I'd like to help, but I'm really busy..." He looks down at the cart full of material and tools for a moment, and then back at you. "Actually, nevermind." he gives the cart a swift, frustrated buck. "My schedule just cleared up. So who is it we're looking for?"

HS, JS:

The mayor flinches as you tear into him, and by the end of your tirade he has sunken as low as possible in his seat, and with his head on his desk and hid forehooves covering it defensively. He might even be about to cry. "I'm sorry, your right," he squeaks out in a hurried tone. "I just, the town got attacked and the Guard hasn't responded, and everyone is making demands about this and that." He peeks out from under his hooves. Seeing you aren't about to roast him alive, he speaks a little more calmly.
"I don't know what happened. I thought I had it under control, but after the first mistake, ponies started to get upset. They all started asking for different things- the wealthier shop owners were hassling the others, driving up their prices. The farmers outside of town were demanding relocation aid. Groups of thugs suddenly decided now is a good time to start vandalising and robbing people. On top of THAT, there's this rash of sicknesses, and our resupply is two days late. Everyone is calling for different action, and I can't please them all! Being the mayor here is supposed to be an easy job." He lays his head down on his desk again.
"And THOSE vultures," without looking, he points past you to the alarmed ponies still waiting in the hall, not daring to interrupt. "They haven't left me alone since. I had to barricade myself in here to keep them from smothering me! I can't concentrate while they keep barraging me with demands and questions I can't answer. Every time a new request comes in, I have to say yes, or they'll break down my door and come after me!" He looks up at you again. "That's why nothing is getting done around here! You want me to get my act together? Then I need two things. The first is them cleared out of here so I can think. Second, I need someone to bring me Figure Head. He's the smartest Pony since Star-Swirl. He lives in the Estates- if anyone can sort this mess out, he can."

Bronymous wrote:Star:
The stallion softens a little at your reaction, but not much. "Lady, I've seen about a dozen mothers today. There's a few right over there." He points to a group of three mares a few yards away- none of them the one you're looking for. "And I'd like to help, but I'm really busy..." He looks down at the cart full of material and tools for a moment, and then back at you. "Actually, nevermind." he gives the cart a swift, frustrated buck. "My schedule just cleared up. So who is it we're looking for?"

Shooting Star brightened (figuratively, of course). "Her name's Sunset Streak. She's yellow, with a brown mane, and a 'pretty flower' cutie mark."

Holy Smokes sighs, "Fine. In the meantime, just make decisions. It probably doesn't even matter if they're not the best ones right now so long as everyone isn't working at cross purposes or doing nothing waiting on orders. Figuring out the best way to do things can wait until later."

He then trots over to the assembled "vultures" and shouts, "You lot get the BUCK out and STAY out. If I come back and the mayor tells me you came back to buck things up more than you have already there are going to be a few more you sized 'accidents'."

He turns back to the mayor and asks much less loudly, "Satisfied? Can you tell me anything about this Figure Head? What's he look like? Where in the Estates does he live? Stuff like that."

---

Persuasion: 11 + 9 = 20. + any circumstantial bonus from the previous madness (I figure it's gotta be something.)

Dodger makes a motion as if tipping his hat and goes off towards the outskirts.

Bronymous wrote:Stormeye:
It then gives you a list of book titles, and the DD code to locate them within a library. All of the books have to do with drugs, poison, and toxicology. Next to the note, in the text there is a line that reads:

However, due to the nature of much of Equestria's wild plant life, new drugs, medicines, and poisons are always a possibility, and the symptoms are not always easy to predict or identify.

Stormeye jots down DD code for the books, in handwriting that would be illegible to anyone else and takes a look around as to the current situation in the infirmary. Would he be able to dash off to the library without leaving the current patients in a lurch?

OOC:Has the situation changed much since the last time he made a perception check?

Emerald thanks the mare, and heads on her way. 'If I were a neglectful mother, where would I be...?' After a simple cursory glance around the immediate area, she tries to discern her current location. Never was good with directions, and much like the nice stranger, she wasn't exactly a local. The grand-total knowledge of the area came from a flier she found on the ground at some point saying there were a few districts in the "beautiful, historic, and cultural city of Neighagra Falls"...

Well at least it was still historic. If the kid's home was utterly destroyed, they lived on the outskirts, 90% chance. If the mother went anywhere, she'd probably try to help her neighbors first over the bourgeoisie. It was also the farthest away, unfortunately, but that could explain a time lapse. Well, standing around wasn't doing much, she might as well stick to her original plan, and do a quick walk-around to their housing and back.

actions translation:

Star:
The Stallion cocks his eyebrow. "I think you mean Sunflower? And her daughter's name is Sunset. I know her. Last I heard, she was assisting with sifting through debris- and looking anything left from her house, probably. Last I saw her was yesterday, though. And the way they've had us hoarding piles of trash, that's a lot of ground to cover. But her house was in the lower outskirts, to the south, so we might try there to start." He gestures for you to follow him, his work left abandoned.

Stormeye:
The situation hasn't changed. One new addition, but his ailments are entirely physical, and he's been attended to. The doctors may have wanted extra help on hoof, but you can see that actively seeking out a diagnosis would better help these ponies then just waiting around.

Emerald:
You head east, taking the quickest route to the Outskirts. As you go, ahead of you you can see the reddish Earth Pony you were speaking with about Cloudsdale earlier. He is moving with a purpose, as if looking for something himself.

Dodger:
You head east to the Outskirts. After a minute or so, you notice a familiar green Unicorn following you.

OOC: I wonder how we're going to meet up with the rest of the party if we're going offto an estate.

Stormeye goes over to where Physical Medicine is. "I'm going to go across the street to the library. See if I can't find some clues as to what this illness is. If it starts to get busy, send someone over and I'll come right away."

Emerald waves to Dodger when he looks back at her. "Hey, big red. I'm supposed to pass on the word that if you find a yellow and brown mare with a flower cutie mark, that if she's got a daughter named Sunset, that daughter is worried about her being out for too long and to come by to visit." He seemed rather busy, unlike the others she approached, but he did make eye contact, so she gave him the abridged version. Her business with the stallion complete, the unicorn continues glancing about the wreckage for the mother in question.

Ponymaster question:

Bronymous wrote:Star:
The Stallion cocks his eyebrow. "I think you mean Sunflower? And her daughter's name is Sunset. I know her. Last I heard, she was assisting with sifting through debris- and looking anything left from her house, probably. Last I saw her was yesterday, though. And the way they've had us hoarding piles of trash, that's a lot of ground to cover. But her house was in the lower outskirts, to the south, so we might try there to start." He gestures for you to follow him, his work left abandoned.

Star eagerly trotted after him. "Thank you, sir. You've been a great help already. I'm sure Sunset will be getting to see her mother again soon."

RavenscroftRaven wrote:Emerald waves to Dodger when he looks back at her. "Hey, big red. I'm supposed to pass on the word that if you find a yellow and brown mare with a flower cutie mark, that if she's got a daughter named Sunset, that daughter is worried about her being out for too long and to come by to visit." He seemed rather busy, unlike the others she approached, but he did make eye contact, so she gave him the abridged version. Her business with the stallion complete, the unicorn continues glancing about the wreckage for the mother in question.

Dodger indeed looks back and smiles.

"While I help look, you haven't seen any pegasi flying about with a griffon, have you?"

"I'm afraid I haven't been on the lookout for such a group. I think I saw a griffon by city hall and plenty of ponies were nearby, when I was leaving, but that was a little bit ago. If I do see anything pretty similar to that, I'll see if I can get them to you." A simple glance long the skies to ensure she wasn't just missing something. "Wouldn't a pegasus be better suited to chase down a griffon?"

RavenscroftRaven wrote:"Wouldn't a pegasus be better suited to chase down a griffon?"

"Certainly, but all the pegasi are busy on construction projects that conflict with one another, so while they get together I've taken it upon myself to find this griffon. A pegasus would be appreciated to help make sure those hoodlums stay still, though."

HS, JS:
The ponies in the hallway nearly trample each other to get away. As they shove their way into the stair well, you can hear a loud commotion- sounds like a few more visitors to the aid tent.
Hardwood answers, already visibly more clam and collected once the audience was gone. "Figure Head is fairly old, easily the oldest pony you'll find in this town. He has a pale blue coat and silver mane, and a gargoyle head for a cutie mark. He lives in the East side of the Estates- he wanted to live as close to the Library as possible, and unlike the wannabe Caterlot-elite ponies that live there, he fancies himself an old-timey wizard, so look for a big pointy hat and cape."

ET, D:
After a few minutes you reach the upper outskirts. All along the street are darkened buildings, many of them Shops and businesses that are temporarily closed, and many of them have been vandalized in some way- broken windows, graffiti, etc. There are some ponies walking around, but they are obviously workers, as anyone who's homes were damaged would have been displaced to the center of town. Still, the workers amble about, clearly unsure of what to do. Every once in a while, one will begin digging around in piles of rubble, looking for salvage.

Star:
The Stallion, who introduces himself as Heavy Plow, leads you south, into the lower Outskirts. Here you can see much of the damage. Many of peoples homes were hit by stampedes or rampaging beasts coming north. He leads you a little ways up the street, to a building that looks like it was hit by two tornadoes and then trampled by rhinos. "This was her house. It came down hard, and little Sunset got caught underneath. It was a miracle she survived." He looks around a bit. "They've been carting off debris for the last two days in all different directions. Since we didn't pass her on the way here, we can either head north, to the shops, or east, out of the outskirts, towards the falls."

Stormeye:
Physical Medicine snorts at the idea of his staff continuing to disappear, but makes no argument. You head to the library. Being the learned Pony that you are, you have no trouble using the code to find the related books.
Perception: 4+7=11
You are completely focused on your quest for knowledge, and don''t allow yourself to be distracted. Most of the medical texts relating to drugs offer no results, but one book, Medical History and Pandemic Mystery, seems to have a solution:

In the Early Pre-Classical era, a string of mysterious illness swept the southern half of Equestria. Dubbed "Quaking Plague" at the time..... symptoms included uncontrollable shaking, incoherence, thinning of the blood, delocalized pain.... at the time, bacterial and viral infections were unknown, though still often treatable by commonly practiced healing magics and medical procedures...... discovered that the sickness was actually the cause of poison......Blue Moon Powder, that could be ingested with food, or inhaled as a fine dust.... if left untreated, it was often fatal, but required to be undiagnosable.... the work of a Cult called the End of Day..... supported the Princess of the Night, and the downfall of Princess Celestia...... most medical professionals dismiss the "Quaking Plague" as a criminal act rather then a medical issue, and many modern texts do not include it except as the odd case study for students.

Bronymous wrote:ET, D:
After a few minutes you reach the upper outskirts. All along the street are darkened buildings, many of them Shops and businesses that are temporarily closed, and many of them have been vandalized in some way- broken windows, graffiti, etc. There are some ponies walking around, but they are obviously workers, as anyone who's homes were damaged would have been displaced to the center of town. Still, the workers amble about, clearly unsure of what to do. Every once in a while, one will begin digging around in piles of rubble, looking for salvage.

Dodger walks up to one of the workers, the one who looks the least confused and/or busy.
"I'm looking for some sailors Pardon, sir, but have you seen any griffons flying by recently?"