As Sunset and Tricky were familiar with the area from when they were much younger, they knew the path they had to follow, though they let Fox take the lead in case of danger. As they moved, Sunset noticed Tricky moving slower. "What's wrong, Tricky?" she asked worriedly.
"I'm...I'm hungry..." he whined.
"Got it!" Sunset leapt ahead of Fox, going to where she knew some Blue Grub-Tub fungi grew. These large, bouncing blue mushrooms were especially delectable to Earthwalkers, but somewhat difficult for young ones to catch due to how fast they leapt about. Sunset easily seized several of them in her magic and dragged them over to Tricky. "Eat up!"
Tricky happily chowed down on the fungi, licking his chops as he finished. "Delicious!"
"No time for too many snack breaks!" Fox called out warningly. "We need to get back to the Hollow somehow!"
"Oh, we should just keep going forward!" Sunset called back. "It leads right there!"
"So how do we get that gate open?" Fox asked, pointing to a gate blocking further progress. "I don't see any switches-"
"Right here!" Tricky called out, quickly digging up a switch and depressing it at the same time. The gate slowly opened.
"...why didn't the dirt activate the switch?" Fox asked curiously as he moved beyond the gate to work a mechanical switch with Krystal's staff.
"Because it scans for life force and magic to activate, not weight?" Sunset suggested as she turned to track the platform it raised, carefully levitating Tricky across while she and Fox leapt over.
The trio continued their way onward in similar fashion, with Tricky digging up hidden items, paths, or switches to enable further progress until they reached the Snowhorn Wastes. More Sharpclaws patrolled there, but Sunset and Fox were able to deal with them quickly as Fox got in combat practice with the staff.
After stopping at a frozen lake long enough to help a Snowhorn by digging up a couple Alpine roots to feed him, they continued down until they reached the path Sunset remembered. However, a hefty-set Sharpclaw blocked the path.
"You pay me 25 Scarabs to pass!" he declared pugnaciously.
Fox started to check to see if he had enough Scarabs, but Sunset stepped up before he could. "Or, you get out of our way now before I get upset," she declared angrily.
The heavy set Sharpclaw snorted. "And who are you to boss me around?"
"Sunset Shimmer," she stated firmly, her inflection showing she'd translated her name.
The heavy-set Sharpclaw stared at her for a time, eyes wide...and fell flat on his face. "Please don't hurt me!"
"Move!" Sunset barked out.
The Sharpclaw immediately leapt to the side.
"One of these days, your Mom needs to tell me why my name has such weight in your language," she told Tricky as they moved into the tunnels. "First the Lightfoot, then the Cloudrunners, now the Sharpclaws? What's it mean, anyway?"
"I dunno!" Tricky responded readily. "She says I'm not old enough for that answer."
Fox frowned as he followed the pair into the tunnel. Krystal had explained the prophecy to him...but he wasn't sure if Sunset was ready to hear it.
As soon as they entered Thorntail Hollow, Tricky made a beeline to his Mom's side, where she still lay upon the ground. "What's wrong with her?" he asked worriedly as Fox and Sunset caught up to them.
"Looks like she's ill," Sunset observed worriedly. "And the symptoms...look kinda familiar. What was that she'd always give you for your tummyaches and the like?"
"White Grubtub!" Tricky spoke up happily. "From the old well!"
"Get us an entrance and we'll get the shrooms," Fox promised.
"There's a weak spot I could dig through!" Tricky pointed out, quickly leading the way up there. "But are you sure I can't help?"
"Better you stay with your Mom," Sunset suggested. "I'll need to conserve my magic, so I can't haul you up and down the whole way."
"O-okay," Tricky agreed worriedly. "Just hurry!"
A single ladder led down into the well once a tunnel was dug through the raised wall surrounding it. The bottom was shrouded in fog Fox and Sunset had to pierce, revealing large red mushrooms that shook toxic spores that would clog their airways if they got too close. Green grass covered the low sloping floor, and water flowed somewhat.
Sensing something, Sunset quickly blasted a hole in a small island in the middle of the brook, revealing another chamber containing a spell for the staff. Fox quickly entered, and came back soon after. "A rocket boost," he explained. "There are spots I can use the staff to propel myself upward."
"Then that's the path forward," Sunset deduced, pointing to one such spot.
"Not without this lantern," Shabunga stated as he appeared. "It gets quite dark down there, and without a firefly lantern, you're sure to get-"
Sunset sent a small amount of magic into her outfit, making all the sunstones glow brightly.
"...or you could do that," Shabunga allowed grumpily. "Forgot it had that function. Should have charged more!"
"I'll take the lantern!" Fox spoke up. "That way we can split up in the deeper areas and get the White Grubtubs faster. Time could be of the essence."
"Just charge it to my account," Sunset offered.
"Always do," Shabunga replied. "I'll even toss in a couple of fireflies to give you a head start." Handing the lantern to Fox, he vanished.
The pair continued into the deeper levels of the well. The stone walls were dark red, as were the dirt floors. Very little light extended down there, and the red mushrooms grew everywhere, shaking their choking spores into the air. The White Grubtubs were difficult to spot as rather than a bright white, they were more a faded grey. Sunset was able to snatch the first one easily once she spotted it. "How many do you think we should get?" she asked curiously.
"As many as we can," Fox said firmly. "Given the size and Tricky's appetite, I'd say at least six."
"Then let's get searching!" The pair turned to seek out the mushrooms deep within the well.
... I'm reminded of an old Star Trek novel that explained how Kirk cheated his way through the Kobiashi Maru in the academy; he re-programmed the simulator so the Klingons would be scared of his reputation, and back down upon hearing his name....
I can dig switches that work that way.
Awesome chapter.
8513630 That’s the way that went down? All it said in the movie was that he had reprogrammed the whole scenario.
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Yep. He reasoned that he fully intended to be THE BEST DAMN CAPTAIN EVER, so naturally he would have such a reputation. And since his motto is "I don't believe in a no-win scenario" he changed the rules. Which is still IMO the best way to do that.
That was fun, may I have another? Looking forward to more.
Keep up the great work. Deus tecum.
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Actually, you're right, but you're also wrong. Kirk basically cheated because he felt the test was unfair, not because there's no such thing as a no-win scenario.
Personally, I feel that the Kobayashi Maru isn't an unfair test. It's an unfair, completely pointless test. No matter how well you build a simulator, you're not going to be able to test the sort of thing that the test was supposed to determine outside of real world conditions. And if a combat scenario is the judge that we go by, that would pretty much table some of the greatest generals history has had.
Oh, we're not gonna debate who the best Captain is, by the by. There's no debate. Each in their own way was the best.
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Not only was that in a novel, it actually made its way into one of the movies. The one where they bring Spock back if memory serves.
But you're right; he did do that. He felt the test was unfair. He got a commendation for 'original thinking' as well. He still didn't pass, though he was one of those that championed a change to that particular scenario.
All this guff about him changing the test because he didn't believe in a no-win scenario is just that. He did it because he was a rebel that didn't like to lose.
The other thoughts came later.
She's calling you fat, Tricky. Nice friend.
I have a feeling that if she ever got to 0 Shabunga wouldn't tell her and let her rack up a lovely debt that she wouldn't be allowed to double-or-nothing her way out of. Grudges can be a bitch.
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The movie (Wrath of Kahn) came out first; the novel covered a number of examples of how various characters did when trying their luck. It's been years since I've read the book, but I recall both Kirk and Scotty cheated (in their own way) and Sulu managed to not loose the ship.... because he was unwilling to risk interstellar war over a ship with no more then 35 people on it. (The simulation ended with him waiting for authorization from the Klingon Embassy to cross the boarder.)
8513809
In the movie where it's first brought up, Wrath of Khan, Kirk outright says "I don't believe in a no-win scenario." It was his reason for doing what he did. To be fair he also took the test three times. And no I'm not going to debate who the best is. Only that, in his own mind, Kirk has always been the best.
That being said, as far as the test itself, it DOES have a VERY valid point. How does the person deal with failure/defeat. It's something you SHOULD know about someone before handing them a weapon that powerful. Will they back down because the law says they must? Will they try their best to save the innocent? Will they strike at the enemy just for the sake of revenge? Or, as in one case though I can't recall the captain, will they blow up the civilians to remove the problem entirely. Hell one of the common fan theories for MLP is that the "Hatch the dragon egg" test Twilight took WAS designed to be impossible. She just had Destiny on her side to give her a Deus Ex. Why such a brutal test for young children? To rule out another Sunset Shimmer.
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The test was designed to prevent people like Kirk from over estimating their abilities. The computer that ran the program was slightly different every time a person took it and what worked in one scenario would not work again. Kirk got a pass becuase not only did he show a vulnerability in the computer he showed them that they where treating the simulator Captain as if they had no experience and where a nobody.
Several people have beaten or outright out foxed the test and their solutions where either put into the computers test banks and what they did could have been taught at the academy. If my memory is correct but in the expanded universe Nog beat the scenario by bribing the Kilingons. The computer took into account that his people where know for greed but didn't account for the fact that Nog still had a good personal wealth. He simple paid to be left alone! It is a badge of honor to beat this test as everybody understands what they are actually looking for.
8513870
Is this the episode you're thinking of? Deep Space 9 season 5 episode 13 For the Uniform. Sisko pursues Michael Eddington, a former Starfleet officer who joined the Maqui. Sisko poisoned one colony with trilithium resin, and threatened to do the same to all Maqui colonies if Eddington didn't surrender.
The 'Sunset Sass' is back! I just can't get enough of that bacon-haired mare.
It's a good thing Sunset and Tricky have explored the planet, I can't wait to see the eventual family reunion between Sunset's family and Tricky's once they rescue his dad. And will Krazoa Spirits cause, "I've seen enough hentai to know where this is going!" comments from Sunset and Fox demanding to know how she knows the term???
That's Lightfoot, not Littlefoot. Littlefoot is from a different series.
And that’s how GrubHub was founded.
Maybe next time we can read the story of when Sunset Shimmer and Fox climbing down into a well!
Things are happening, the world is falling apart, probably due to some magical being at the core of the planet. I really don’t know. But things ar getting interesting.
I'm looking forward to seeing how some of the plotholes get explained. For example, you can literally see the entire area you visit on a cracked chunk -- FROM SPACE -- yet can apparently breathe perfectly fine on italong with a dinosaur that is easily at least a twentyth of the chunk's size.
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Simple.
Mmmmmmmagic!
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8535350
That's magic for you.
I think you overdid it on gameplay elements. Those are rather jarring in otherwise fluid narrative.