/vx/ - Videogames and Paranormal

>>162502
Oops. Hopefully she won't be mad about being woken up. Silver smiles at her, and decides to play along with the story he saw set up in the photographs.

"Good morning, honey."

>>162503
"Mmmmmm" She moans, or groans, and raises her head, still looking somewhat tired

>>162504
"I did not mean to wake you up. Just happy to see your face."

>>162502
[1d20+5 = (14+5) = 19]<Awoop

>>162505
She makes a small smile, looking at Silver. Her ear twitches.

>>162506
With a strange sucking and plopping sound, the cart moves up, and largely out of the mud. Some portions break off, but it is substantially intact.

>>162497
He leans back and closes his eyes, enjoying how soft the bed is.

>>162507
Iron softly exhaled through his nostrils once more, peering from his position to see if removing the cart from the area revealed new objects worth taking back.

>>162508
It's reasonably soft. Pretty good for a hotel bed. It could be softer if he were spooning a pony, though.

>>162509
First, the cart is still there, though it is mostly above the mud.

>>162510
Iron decided to instead pull the cart further out in the offchance it still hid something else aside from the flasks underneath.

>>162507
With a forehoof he gives his tasty Pear an ear scritch.

"Would you like me to let you sleep some more?"

>>162512
>tasty
[YouTube] Applejack - Well, okay then [Embed]

ear is scritched
Her ear flops down, then back up.

"Sigh. No." She looks away. "No. What time is it? Almost seven? We've got to get Brown Birch to school. I have a meeting at the University at about 10, I think." She looks over to the window, towards the sunrise.

>>162511
The cart is moved. It's a bit heavy, but so be it. Much of the sides, and certainly most of the fore, have rotten and broken off, leaving bits of wood and iron straps. There doesn't appear to be any other cargo, although it appears that there is another.... no, another two flasks.

>>162514
Breathing softly, Iron quickly trots over to the cart's part that's tied to the rope to undo it before going back into the mud to properly snatch all four flasks away from their clingy surroundings.

>>162513
"Alright then. How about I make breakfast for all of us instead?"

>>162515
Each flask is about 35 kilograms, and equally importantly, is buried in mud that has a suction like power to keep it in place.

>>162516
She smiles
"That would be great."

>>162517
...ok, maybe Iron ties two flasks as a tug test first.

>>162510
He spoons the blue pone

>>162517
Silver goes in for a proper, mouth-to-mouth kiss with what appears to be his wife.

>>162518
They are pretty snug in the mud

>>162519
Just move yourself over a bit... move the pony a little this way, a little that way... okay, lay her over on her side, and... blue pony is spooned

>>162520
If she didn't want to be kissed, she should get her own bed

pony is kissed

He feels her soft lips, and the warmth of the inside of her mouth. She smiles, and her ears lower halfway.

>>162521
Iron figured he can make it if he can drag out parts of the cart.
With that thought crossing by, he soon came back to shore and promptly tried pulling it towards the far more solid soil next to the mud.

>>162522
Because much of the cart is intact, it can indeed be moved.

This is dragged along the mud, and to the riverbank

>>162523
Iron didn't stop pulling on the flasks until they reached about Cauldron's position, just to be sure he's safe to go back and fetch the rest. Carrying about 140KG on him shouldn't pose a problem unless they needed to flee quickly.

>>162521
Huh...so that is what she tastes like...

He maintains the kiss for some time if only to enjoy this new and unique sensation, before breaking it and nuzzling her on the tip of her nose.

"Meet you downstairs, my tasty Pear."

The unicorn gets up, and finally leaves the bedroom to go to the kitchen for breakfast.

>>162521
He closes his eyes, perhaps drifting off to sleep

>>162525
snoot is nuzzled
The end of her snout is soft. She closes her eyes, and her ears flop down.

"I'll be down..." She says

Going into the hall, the carpet is different, and the walls are a different color, with more paintings handing on the walls (again, of the impressionistic school of art). There is set of lights that could be called a chandelier hanging in the foyer, but otherwise the layout is more or less the same.

>>162526
coo

Presumably, Dark Star cuddles the blue pony

Presumably

>>162524
Roll Die. Both strength, and a second, unmodified d20 die

>>162527
Yes he does

>>162527
Fancy. It is almost hard to believe this is my house.

Silver goes through the foyer/living room to the kitchen, where he looks to see what ingredients he has on hoof to cook a breakfast for whoever is living in the household.

>>162528
Blue pony is cuddled

Dark Star has fallen asleep in worse, surely, than he has tonight. The room is a bit colder than he might prefer, but the bed is comfortable, the room is reasonable quiet, he has a full set of covers, he isn't ill or wounded, and unlike the night before he may fall asleep with the pony he (presumably) loves under his foreleg, pressed up against her.

But in this quiet, dark room, thoughts intrude. A frightened diamond dog running over to avenge her fallen loved one, shot in the back of the head. He can see blood, bits of brain and skull fragments flying through the air, and hitting the wall. A zebra getting shot right through the head above the eye, blood staining the wall. He can see his eyes lose focus. Or a young, tan coated colt sitting in the front seat of a truck, looking over towards Dark Star with surprise, and then falling over onto the steering wheel, limp.

>>162529
The living room is different as well. The shelves are still there, though many of the items are different. The television has been replaced with one more like the one upstairs. The taxidermied jaguar is gone, and the same is true of the Starcross wolf upstairs. The most obvious difference is that there is now a stairway going down beneath the main stairway, and a railing to prevent falling down on the side.

Inside the kitchen, the tile and counters are the same, but the wood of the cabinets is different. Silver sees a waffle maker and a coffee machine. Inside a cabinet are a number of dry cereals and oatmeal options.

>>162527
Okey
[1d20+5 = (20+5) = 25]<Strength
[1d20 = 9]<Spook

>>162530
Hmm...Silver wonders if they have the other ingredients to make waffles. He's curious about oatmeal waffles.

>>162530
He whimpers slightly in his sleep as he sees the diamond dog, then laughs as he sees the zigger get shot, and then is slightly confused as he sees the colt. he walks towards him if he can.

>>162531
The rope twists and seems as if it is about to break... but does not.

With an odd squish and plop sound, the two flasks move up and out of their mud tombs, on top of the mud. They are very much old and covered in rust.

>>162532
Would you look at that? There is indeed oatmeal waffle mix

>>162533
Moving towards the colt, he is an earth pony, probably about 17 or 18, and is wearing a simple jacket and hat. Dark Star knows this scene. He was driving one of the two trucks at the Blackbriar Pier. Dark Star shot him in the lower head with his Colt, and then set the vehicle in drive, turned the steering wheel, and sent it off the wharf into the bay.

>>162534
This disturbs him even more. possibly causing more whimpering. he trys to pull him out of the truck.

>>162534
Time to make waffles then!

>>162535
But this is not how the scene plays out. The limp corpse of the earth pony colt is causally knocked off of the steering wheel, then moved again to make way for the gear shift. His body is in the truck as it crashes into the shallow, muddy and gasoline film-layer water, and sinks.

>>162536
It is so. He gets the mix, and the other essential ingredients
[YouTube] AND IN THE MORNING I'M MAKING WAFFLES [Embed]

>>162537
Silver whistles himself a cheerful morning tune as he cooks a breakfast feast of waffles for his family.

>>162536
>>162534
>Waffles
>>162537
He rushes towards the water trying to help his fellow pony

>>162538
"No no no!"

There is the sound of giggling and hooves clopping on the floor.

All of a sudden, a small creature runs up in front of Silver

It's a small colt, maybe four or five years old, with a very messy and tangled strawberry mane, a bright yellow coat, piercing blue eyes, and a dark grey stripe running down his back. He looks upwards directly at Silver with the widest smile his face will hold, and a wagging tail.

In from the front entry to the kitchen, walks in Pear. Her mane is up, and her long, bushy strawberry tail is held together by two ties. She has a short pink woolen robe, and on her back rides a small, cream colored yearling filly with a short but bright mane and green eyes who clings with all of her legs.

Pear rushes in towards the colt and Silver

>>162539
The seawall places the wharf over a dozen feet above the level if the water. The truck actually moves far before crashing into the water, breaking the windshield, and throwing some of its cargo out the back. There is no way for Dark Star to get to it. To get to him…

>>162540
Silver smiles down at the excited colt, and ruffles his mane.

"Hey there, мой маленький пони. How did you sleep? Ready for some oatmeal waffles?"

>>162541
he dives into the water

>>162542
The little pony's mane is ruffled, and his long mane falls down over his eyes, blocking Silver's view of them

"Waffles! I want waffles!" He says in a high pitched voice ever so slightly accented Fillydelphian, like his mother.

Pear walks over, the yearling filly still clinging to her back
"Powder Flash! No running in the kitchen."

He looks over to her, and presses his lips together in a pout

>>162543
Dark Star dives into the water, and is soon moved to another scene of an exasperated police mare firing her revolver one, two, three times, before Dark Star gets her once, and then again, and she transforms into a wretched, pony-shaped insect.

>>162544
"Ah, he just wanted to see his father. But your mother is right, Flash, you should not run in kitchen, you could get hurt."

He looks at the yearling filly on her mother's back and gives her a warm smile.

"And hello to you, sweetie!"

>>162544
He recoils as he sees her face yet again, before firing the rest of the rounds into her.

>>162545
The colt lowers his head, sad

Pear looks back to the cream colored filly. She blinks her big, green eyes.

"Daffodil, can you say good morning to your father? Huh? Can you say 'good morning'? Good morning."

The filly speaks
"Hi"

Pear scrunches.

Another filly walks in, wearing several shoes and a blue skirt. She is a large earth pony filly, maybe seven or eight years old, though certainly large for this age. Her coat is bay colored, and her mane is dark brown. She has blue eyes, and her mane flows down straight, although a tie with a flower is in her mane, though not used properly. All four of her shoes are untied, with shoelaces strewn across the floor.

Pear looks over, and then walks to her
"Oh Birch, you need to tie your shoes, and fix your mane."
She immediately goes to her shoes.

>>162546
Bang bang bang bang
It bleeds blue-green as it lies on its back, with its mouth open.

>>162547
Silver chuckles at the cute antics of Daffodil, and looks at the filly who must be Brown Birch. That one has absolutely taken after her father, looking at the size of her.

"And when you are ready we can eat. I have made enough waffles for everypony."

>>162547
he walks over slowly and pokes it with his revolver

>>162548
Power Flash:
“Waffles!” He jumps up.

Pear is still trying to fix the tie on Brown Birch’s mane.

>>162549
It is poked, and limp. But the scene changes..

It's late afternoon, deep jungle. High canopied trees, and dense underbrush. Ponies in uniform move back, towards a clearing. There are flashes of yellow light in the darkness under the canopy, both single flashes and repeated flashes, and the sounds of rifle cracks and automatic gun fire. Off further in the distance is the whistle and wail of artillery, then the crash of explosions and the cracking of trees falling down. There is much yelling, and a pony in the foreground falls after a flash of red.

But then, one partly pink, partly pinto white pegasus stallion flies in carrying a submachine gun, firing into the under brush, charging into the darkness, as artillery explodes to the left, to the right, and behind him, until only the black smoke of the exploding shells can be seen.

>>162550
Silver gathers up the waffles he made, a bottle of syrup, plates, and utensils, and brings them all out to the dining room table.

>>162551
he is filled with awe and...excitement? for being on a battlefield.
He runs after his brother through the smoke yelling
"White Star! Wait! It's me darkie!"

>>162552
Like ducks at the pond when you have bread, Silver is followed by a procession of small foals over towards the dining table. Brown Birch, dressed in her blue skirt and with her ponytail mane, pulls a seat aside, and sits at the table. Powder flash moves a chair, jumps up, gets his hooves on the edge, holds on... and falls off, onto his back. Pear removes Daffodil from her back, and places her in a special booster chair that she has to take some time to get ready.

>>162553
The sound of the shells flying through air, and then hitting the ground overpowers most everything else. It seems his brother is gone.

>>162554
Silver sets up the table quickly, then goes over to help his fallen colt.

"Here we go, Flash, up we go."

He helps the colt into the dining room chair.

>>162556
Silver picks the little colt up. He’s surprisingly light . And he goes right onto the chair.

>>162554
He keeps running the way he saw him flying to, Trying not to cry

>>162557
Finally, Silver can sit down an enjoy the non-fruit fruits of his labor, and eat his oatmeal waffles with his family.

>>162558
Dark Star runs forward into the grey smoke, the whistling of the shells, the sounds of gunfire, and tall trees knocked to the ground.

Dark Star himself is soon lost in the grey smoke, and fades away from the scene, and back into the hotel room bed.

>>162559
They taste... waffley

The syrup is unfortunately not quite as good as Silver remembers, but it is otherwise rather satisfactory.

Pear speaks
"Hurry along Birch and Powder. You don't want to be late for school."

>>162560
he whispers
"White star...."
before looking around as he wipes his eyes

>>162561
But unfortunately, White Star is not in the room. White Star hasn't been seen by Dark Star for a year now at least.

>>162560
Silver swallows his bite of waffle.

"Your mother is right, kids. Take your waffles with you if you need to finish on right to school."

>>162562
he sits up in bed and looks over at the window

>>162564
The curtains are over the window. Still, Dark Star can see outside, and sees a light on.

>>162563
The colt simply looks up at Silver. Birch, however, says,
"Aww... but I want to add more syrup..."

>>162565
"Hmmm...do we have any small cups? You could take some syrup in that."

>>162566
Pear:
“I don’t think we have any cups they can take with them. School doesn’t start for many more minutes anyways. Birch, just finish eating your waffles.”

From the living room, there is the electronic sound of the television coming on, and the sound of music playing. It’s a trumpet, playing a version of a patriotic Eqiestrian song he is familiar with.

>>162567
Silver nods in agreement with his wife, then, in curiosity, goes over to the living room upon hearing the patriotic music.

>>162565
He looks around the room

>>162569
Dark. Mostly dark, anyways. There’s light from a street lamp outside and a small light by the bathroom near the entryway. Blue Skies may or may not be asleep, hard to tell. She has a mess of papers on the table (as always), a bottle of some kind of alcohol, her jacket, Dark Star’s jacket, and then a sash hanging from the wall next to a spear (of all things).

>>162570
Is it daylight outside?

>>162571
No.

>>162572
He takes one look across the room and then lays his head back down on the pillow.
and thinks to Himself
"Did luna do that to me?"
Then trys to get back to sleep

>>162573
No Princesses in the room. But for Blue Skies, he’d be alone right now.

After some time, he finally falls asleep.

>>162574
He relaxes as he falls off to sleep

>>162568
Silver goes into the living room to see that the television has turned itself on. Music plays; it's a common song used as a sort of 'national' song of Equestria since the days of Silver's youth, but while the song is familiar, the specific version is not. An orchestra plays, though a single trumpet stands out the most.

The screen has a grey background, with a symbol that takes up much of the screen. The image shows a a pair of horseshoes back to back with the curved portions together and the open end opposing each other, between a set of bars that are underneath four stars above with another bar above, and below the pairs of horseshoes is a heart with a horn above, a feathered wing to the left, and a webbed wing to the right, with another bar beneath. To the left side of this symbol is a manticore facing the symbol. He holds a fasces low in the right claw and holds a shield high. To the right and facing the symbol is a greyish colored mare standing who has the white outline of a horn, the white outline of a left, feathered wing in the fore, and the outline of a right, webbed wing in the back. She too, is holding a fasces low with the left hoof, and holds up a shield.

Above these symbols and in the top half in white lettering are the words

"From the Consulate"

The music softens as the words "An Important Message from the Office of the First Consul" are spoken

>>162577
Silver instantly recognizes the symbols, and their meaning: the Black Hooves. But the specific combination of them is alien to him. If this is the future, is this then the flag of a Black Hoof, Fascist Equestria? Silver listens in carefully.

>>162578
"What is it?" Pear asks

The music dies down and moves to footage, possibly live footage, of a mare at a big wooden desk, with flags behind her. The mare is a pegasus with a bright coat and curls in her mane. She looks young. Very young. Too young for a position of such obvious importance. Not any older than Pear was... well, since he knew her before.

"Good Morning, ponies. And what a morning it is. Today I come to you with the most important message of my time as your First Consul."
She sits up and moves closer to the camera.

"For a decade now, millions of our brothers and sisters have been the slaves of and hosts to a race of monstrous parasites - a race whose very essence is deceit, and whose sustenance comes directly and only at the expense of the joy and will to live of our fellow ponies. For a decade, these parasites have occupied the lands settled and tilled by our ancestors for fifty generations, lands that even now our brothers and sisters till and harvest in the hopes that someday they may experience the joy they felt before these vampires came to squat on our lands.

The lands and ponies of Western Equestria and the Crystal Empire were lost to the incompetence and treachery of the alicorns after the loss of a million ponies. One million of our older brothers, fathers, uncles, sons, husbands, fiancés, and friends." She breathes in. "They did not die in vain, as by their sacrifice, they bought us time. Time that my predecessors used to, by force and by diplomacy, keep us in the West and the Diaspora free from the love-sucking changelings and griffin claw by overthrowing the corrupt, rotting carcass of the old regime and empowering the common pony in our new Republic. And for a decade, my predecessors have tolerated the oppression, the brutalities and the cruelties inflicted on our fellow ponies every day by these monsters." She breathes in and out

"Well, my little ponies, we tolerate no longer. For in that decade, we have not sat idly by. No. We have secured the unity of our nation, and have diligently but secretly prepared the instruments, spells, and machines that will liberate our fellow ponies and reclaim the lands that are our birthright."

Her eyes become serious, and a malign smile forms across her face

"My little ponies, I am pleased to announce to all of you that as of this minute, 6:13 AM Canterlot Time, 11:13 Sunset time, this morning, Monday, April 7th 1022 in the Common Era, our emissaries have delivered a formal declaration of war to the Changeling Hegemony. This day will forever after be remembered as the start of a glorious crusade. A glorious crusade that not only liberated our brethren and forever ended the threat of one of ponykind's oldest enemies but marked the transition of Ponykind to a firm embrace the power of friendship. Today, everypony shall come together in common cause, and each embrace the pillars and elements of harmony for ourselves. We shall not simply follow the example of a half dozen heroes, no, but as a nation, become the paragons who will serve as examples to generations not yet born, generations whose prosperity will be secured by our actions in the coming minutes, days, and months. Our forces have organized near the border with West Equestria and will advance after bombardment. All ponies now in national service will be extended for a term of service required by the State, and all ponies in reserve within ten years will be called back into service.”

She pauses

“And I am pleased to announce to all of you, friends, Project ‘Heavens Fall’. For the past several years, our magicians have been working on a top-secret wonder weapons program. And with this wonder weapon as the foremost weapon in our arsenal of Harmony, I have ordered a first strike against military, economic, and administrative targets all across the Hegemony in West Equestria, the Hives, Olenia, and the Polar lands. West Equestria was consecrated a decade ago by the blood of our martyrs. And now it will run with the blood of its oppressors and be liberated by the fires reigned down by our magicians.

I’m proud, by golly, to be your First Consul in this hour. To lead ponykind into its glorious future. By the power of friendship we will gain the inevitable triumph. Equestria will be unified, or it will die. justice be done, may the heavens fall.

Thank you all, and Long Live the Republic.”

The screen cuts away to a black screen with the voice over, and the words in white letters
“Stay Tuned for Further Information”

The music starts playing again, and much more intensely than before.

>>162580
Silver feels a chill run down his spine upon the declaration. A swirl of mixed emotions comes flooding in, only increasing in intensity as the true depth and realization of what has happened and what is about to happen begins to hit him. With a dread look on his face, all he can manage to say is:

"Oh no..."

>>162482
This is not a good situation at all. Amber cannot simply walk down a platform, even amongst a crowd, and not be noticed with an increasingly bloodstained shirt. The only option now is to try to get between the trains and walk down sneakily.

>>162585
Roll Die

Dexterity modifier

>>162581
Pear walks into the living room. Now as then, she moves with a cautious, almost silent slink turning her head towards Silver, and towards the television. Her fur is visibly standing up, her ears are high, and her eyes are wide. She looks as if she is overcome with an electrical energy. A smile comes across her face. "Did you hear that? We are going to war."

Birch moves her chair, and carefully gets off, coming into the living room. Powder Flash just jumps off, landing on his front hooves and immediately runs in. Daffodil attempts to jump off the same as Powder Flash, though her landing is less elegant, landing on all four hooves which slide on the floor, and she almost falls. But soon enough, all three foals run into the living room. They fear nothing, moving into the living room with the speed and agility of a pack of wild dogs, and as they lope across the floor their hooves make clear clopping sounds.

"War?!" Powder Flash asks.

"Daddy, what does that mean?" Birch asks, though she moves closer to her mother. Daffodil simply moves along with the herd.

The television continues playing. An animation plays on the screen of a set of unicorns who fire beams into a ball at the base of a tower, which then is seen shooting a beam up a pole in the tower, which moves up and goes outward in waves kind of like a radio tower. The beams come to and focus on a moving rock high in the sky, and move the rock. There is a voice over, but it can be hard to hear as the other ponies in the house are moving.

When the animation is done, it moves to what a card, again with that same symbol seen earlier, claims is a message from the foreign minister. This cuts to a grey unicorn with glasses in front of a set of flags behind a podium. He speaks as follows

"The Equestrian Pony's Republic has called its Sister Republics of Aserion, Wingbardy, Falcor, Sicameon, Mareegypt, Dragonia, and Chripotera, to aid in the liberation of Equus from Changeling tyranny.

And to anyone who would consider interfering from the outside: if you do, you will face consequences greater than any you have faced in history. All relevant decisions have been taken. I hope you hear me."

>>162593
"Well, foals...it means lots of things, but most of all there will be big, long fight between us ponies in east, and changelings in west, like there was before you were born."

Silver seems to not share his wife's enthusiasm wholeheartedly. He knows this has to be done and that Western Equestria needs to be liberated, but he knows what this truly means perhaps more than even Pear does. Especially now that he has a family.

>>162594
>>162596
Exactly who, what, or why there is a popping sound in the train car Amber cannot tell, but Amber seems to have been very lucky, for as unstealthy as she is right now, the officers are distracted for the moment.

There is no respite in the messages displayed

As if a commentary by a producer, the phrase “36 minutes” is spoken. Then the speech begins in earnest:

"A message from the office of Governor Star."

The screen shows a flag in the center with alternating almost checkered patterns of black and some light color, with a shield shape that is black with a white image of a pony standing on her hind legs on a pedestal playing a trumpet with musical notes. It seems to be the flag of Baltimare as things were in the olden days, but Silver can't really say for certain.

"Per the advise of the Department of War, the Governor has issued a mandatory evacuation order for the City of Baltimare."

The screen displays a map of the city of Baltimare. Baltimare is sectioned into neighborhoods with arrows pointing away from them.

"This evacuation order is a purely precautionary measure to mitigate potential retaliatory action by the changeling Hegemony, and is based upon the theoretical rather than the anticipated capabilities of the enemy. Dangers are threefold. The first is the potential detonation of area of effect weapons smuggled into Equestrian cities by Changeling infiltrators. These devices will likely be of a thermal nature, and may affect a significant area. Potential targets include the Meadow Brook naval base and the power station on the south side of the bay, the harbor, regional administrative government buildings in the city center, and the Flash Prance National Airport.

Those living on the south side of Horseshoe bay should move further south or to the coast line, and regroup at Kereskai Point or Blackwater. As this area is flat, and trees may pose a danger of falling or burning, residents should evacuate to as far away as possible. Residents of Cherry Hill and the Peninsula should evacuate to the north side of hill and regroup at Maretime Bay. The hill should provide natural cover. Residents of the Cowtown and northern districts should evacuate northward as reasonable, and regroup in North Point or Maretime Bay. Residents of the Redheart and Locust Promintory Districts should move south of the Delemare if travel permits and should shelter in place in a secure underground location if movement south of the Delemare is not feasible. Regrouping should occur at Maregate. Residents of the city center, and of the neighborhoods north and south of the city center should move north or south to North Point or Maregate as is reasonable. Those who cannot move out of the city center in a reasonable timeframe should shelter in a secure underground location. Those in Colton Hill and the westside should move south towards Maregate, or northwest towards Mane Chapel. Please evacuate the danger zones immediately and bring with you only the most essential items, including a gas mask. Emergency and military services will be there to help with transportation.”

Silver can see that the arrows and circles on the map match up to the voiced directions. The northside of the bay is one of the safer locations, certainly more so than the southside, but it is still within one of the wider rings coming off of the dot in the harbor.

“The second danger to residents is from poison gas attacks from infiltrators. These attacks may target major transportation choke points, densely trafficked areas, and major industrial centers. Please keep a gas mask with you at all times. If you do not have one, one may be provided by military or emergency services.

The third danger is from poisoning to food and water. Please use test kits on newly obtained food and water and be wary of the following symptoms: Fever and chills. Swelling of neck. Sore throat. Painful swallowing. Hoarseness. Nausea and vomiting. Bloody diarrhea. Headache. Red eyes. Stomach pain. Fainting. Symptoms develop after one or more days. If someone in your group develops one or more of these symptoms after consuming food from a food stockpile, the food stockpile should be circumspect or even discarded.

Besides the above threats, infiltrators may sabotage rail lines or cause damage to oil and chemical processing plants, especially in the eastside. Beware of poisonous gas leaks, fires, and explosions there. Be wary of damage to bridges and rail lines, especially across the Delemare. Changelings may pose as authority figures such as police officers and military personnel, and as civilians. Real military and police personnel will provide identifying information and respond to reasonable questions as circumstances permit. Use your best judgement in determining who to trust."

Also on screen are examples of military identification cards. A few locations are highlighted, like rail lines in the west, the bridges that cross the Delemare, and a few chemical plants in Cowtown and Red Heart.

“Please remain in the regrouping points until the all clear is sounded. Food, water, and medical supplies have been stockpiled, hospitals deemed at risk have been evacuated, and public items of historical or monetary value have been evacuated or secured. This is a purely precautionary measure for your safety.

Hail victory, and long live the republic.”

>>162601
That's...not good. He knows changelings have been in the city before this. It's entirely possible they could have smuggled weapons into the city. But would they really detonate such weapons in populated civilian areas? And the earlier announcement from the First Consul about their "wonder weapon"...is that what his daughter White Light was working on? Could the Hegemony have a weapon like that, too?

He breathes out. Without even knowing it he has started to become worked up. He needs to be strong and resolute, for his family. He turns to face his foals, and kneels down.

"Okay foals, we are going to be taking trip away from city for little while. I want you to go to your rooms and pack your things. Your mother or I will help you if you need it, okay?"

>>162602
Silver's eyes are almost immediately bombarded by the piercing blue eyes of Powder Flash looking up at him. His tail moves back and forth at the eye contact. Birch walks over to Powder Flash's side.

Brown Birch:
"Where are we going?" She asks

Pear looks concerned, and her smile moves away

"I'll... I'll get a bag" She says, and starts to move away, towards the stairs.

>>162603
"Not too far away from here, just until we get all-clear signal. We will be back before you know it. Just think of it like one of adventures I've told you about."

He smiles at his foals before noticing where his wife is going. He quickly rushes over to intercept her.

"Pear, are you okay?"

>>162604
She looks back to him
"Yes..." She says. "Just getting some things." She says, and starts to move away

>>162605
Silver looks back to his foals and bids them, "Everything will be alright, just pack your things." He smiles at them before he joins his wife as she goes upstairs.

>>162606
They look up to Silver, and then scurry about in their own ways

Birch:
"But what about school?"

Pear goes upstairs directly and to the closet, grabbing a bag.

>>162607
Before he gets out of sight of his daughter, he turns around and smiles at her, if a bit sadly.

"I think school is cancelled today, sweetie..."

Once upstairs, he looks around for his own bags and supplies. He also talks with his wife.

"Are you going to okay, Pear? I noticed how your mood changed after I told foals to pack up."

>>162608
She takes a couple items - a totem, a dog statue, an amulet - off of the shelf. When silver speaks she stops, looks down, and then looks directly back to him, pausing for a second before answering.

“Strength comes from adversity… I’d rather that adversity not come to my foals, though.”

>>162609
"I know, but adversity affects all of us in wartime. Besides, this is for them. You heard TV. We need to make sure they are safe, more than anything."

He goes over to his wife. Taking an opportunity when her hooves aren't occupied to hold them instead.

"I love you, Pear Faucet, and I love these foals we made together. I cannot put you in harm's way like this."

>>162610
Her ears go straight up when silver moves for her hooves. With Silver's words she says

"I know..." She sits down, and wraps her long tail to her right. She folds her ears halfway down. Then she looks up to Silver, and smiles widely, showing teeth.

>>162611
He bends his head down, pressing his forehead against hers. He looks deeply into her eyes.

"As long as you and I are together, we will get through this. All of this. Our family will remain resolute."

>>162612
She closes her mouth, and looks up to him
"... Alright... I trust you." She says

>>162613
The smile on his face absolutely beams with joy as she says that.

"Thank you, Pear. I needed to hear that."

He goes in for a kiss with his dream wife.

>>162614
She makes a weak smile, but moves her lips and muzzle up to kiss him

The feel and taste is real enough, moist and warm as it is.

>>162615
He doesn't hold it for too long, just enough to enjoy the sensation. It's been a while since Silver last felt what it was like to kiss his wife like that. When they break, he continues to smile at his wife.

"We will need to be strong for our foals, my love. Can I count on you to help me?"

>>162616
Perhaps some day he'll kiss his wife again, if only in a dream.

She makes a weak smile
"Okay..."
Then she nods
"Okay. Let's go get the foals."

>>162617
"Let me quickly grab everypony's toothbrushes from bathrooms, then I will meet you downstairs with foals."