Ebon laid a plate of lettuce onto the mess hall table before Elma.
“Thank you,” said the snapping turtle with a beaked smile. She took a liberal munch of the greens, gobbled it down, and closed her eyes. “Mmmmm… it feels so good to bite into something that isn’t dried-out Alexian rations.”
“Just how long were you both stuck there inside that crashed ship?” Ebon asked as he sat at the head of the table.
“Oh, weeks… two months? It’s hard to say.” Elma bit onto some more lettuce and gulped it down. “We spent most of the time inside. We saw very little daylight on account of the cold.”
“Pffft!” Prowse gulped onto a wad of straws and pointed with a hook in the crook of his hoof. “Mebbe ye waur braw wi' yer baltic bluid, Tankette, yer oversized hoofbaa!” As he dug more into his plate of dried grass, Props sat by the stallion’s side, leaning in and nuzzling him with a contented smile. “But Ah was warmin' mah anes wi' th' greatest ay aw split second inventions! A communications array 'at can operate at twintie percent efficiency! An' Ah hud naethin' but thee bundles ay magical filament an' a worn it energy conduit tae bit!”
“Sooooooo amazingles!” Props squee’d, nuzzling her uncle harder. “Leave it to you to take a nothing situation and turn it into somethingtastic!”
Rainbow Dash squinted from where she hovered across the table. “What I wanna know is how you got into a nothing situation to begin with.”
Slam! Prowse’s metal hoof slapped the table. “It was those bludy pirates, Ah teel ye! At a body point, me an' mah team waur cruisin' athwart th' Frizzen Seae aw calm loch, an' 'en th' next moment--WHAM--these gantin freaks in leaither armur board uir ship, strip us ay aw th' Alexian tech, an' threaten tae seel us tae a boorichie ay strangers!”
“Uhhhhh…” Eagle Eye turned to glance at the others in the room. “All I got from that were ‘pirates’ and ‘strangers.’”
“Hey, Blondie.” Josho craned his neck to see the mare at Prowse’s side. “Care to translate? None of us can speak muzzle oatmealese.”
“Maybe I can help in that department,” Elma Boreal said, raising a scaled hand. “Ahem, what the good Professor is trying to say in his usual eloquence is that our ship was hijacked by pirates who then tried to sell us.”
“Sell you?” Rainbow blinked. “To who?”
“They… uh… they didn’t say.” Elma fidgeted, her shell rattling slightly. “They weren’t exactly the friendly type.”
“Which gart it aw th' easier fur me tae blaw burnin' metal intae their jobby eatin' grins!” Prowse belched.
“Weeeee!” Props pumped her hoof. “Go Unky!”
Elma sighed, bearing a weary smile. “Yes, the Professor did force the pirates to shove off with his… penchant for explosions. Ahem. But before we were abandoned, the best I could make out from the pirates is that they wanted to sell us to some mysterious group of wanderers who frequented the frozen wastes.”
Josho glanced at Rainbow Dash.
“Did… these strangers have a name?” Rainbow asked.
“Well, I thought I heard something, but it didn’t make any sense,” Elma said. “Some really silly, passive name, like the ‘lucky’ or the ‘luxury.’”
“The Lounge,” Eagle asked.
Elma blinked at him. “Why… yes. That sounds about right.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. “We’ve heard of them before.”
“You have?”
“They don’t exactly sound like nice ponies…” Rainbow fidgeted in midair. “Assuming they are ponies.”
“When you first arrived, we were kind of scared that maybe you were the Lounge, having come to excavate us from the ice!” Elma said. “Why any group of shady characters would want to get their claws, hooves, or whatever on us is beyond me.”
“Ach! Ah ken exactly th' reason wa!” Prowse spat. “They're efter uir knowledge ay th' secrit lain ay opportunity!”
Props gasped. “You mean Zadubadabu!”
“Unnnngh…” Josho rolled his eyes and stormed out of the mess hall. “Here we go…”
“Sure!” Prowse barked after the obese stallion. “Ye can caa it mince if ye want! But it's real, Ah teel ye! It's it haur in th' Frizzen Sea! It's what's causin' th' damned Strip ay Flurries! See 'at it isnae!”
“Do you mean you almost found it?!” Props stammered.
“If I may interject…” Elma frowned slightly. “This expedition into the arctic waters was meant to map out the edge of the Strip of Flurries in order to assist other maritime vessels in avoiding the turbulent waves to begin with! It was the Professor here who insisted on turning this into some sort of maniacal archaeological pursuit of some nonexistent temple!”
“If ye didne sass me at every turn, mebbe we'd hae gart some progress by noo, Tankette!”
“Say, I’ve been meaning to ask…” Props looked up with a scrunched muzzle. “Why’s she calling you Professor this whole time? I thought you gave up engineering school to work the shop at Gray Smoke!”
Elma gasped, eyes wide. “You mean you’re not even a Professor?”
“Sure Ah am!” Prowse grinned a bearded grin. “Professur ay kickin' th' world's crease wi' mah mental metal meddle!”
“Unnnngh…” Elma gripped her head with two trembling hands. “What’s my life coming to…?”
Eagle Eye gulped. “Seems like the expedition was hijacked by more than just pirates…”
“Ay!” Prowse frowned at him. “We waur makin' foo progress until th' bludy pirates cam alang! So keep yer wee purple beak it ay thes, jobby jabber!”
Eagle raised a hoof, lingered, fidgeted, and muttered, “I can’t tell whether or not to feel insulted or confused.”
“Well I’m feeling randy,” Zaid said. Whap! “Oww!”
Rainbow lowered her hoof and faced the table again. “Well, you’re welcome to stay on board where it’s safe. We’ve got a skystone ship. We should be able to outrun any pirates.”
“I would hope so,” Elma said with a nod. “The only vessels that bother to streak through these clouds are the ones powered by skystone.”
“Well, you’re in luck!” Props grinned wide. “Nancy Jane’s womb is powered by the stuff! And all of it super shiny and glowy!”
“Ach!” Prowse smirked, munching on hay as he ruffled the mare’s golden mane. “Mmmmfff… Noo there's a bonnie lassie, takin' efter yer uncle wi' th' grease bawbag genes!”
‘Heeeeeeeeee I’m the bawbaggiest!”
“There’s… just one thing.” Rainbow Dash gulped. “We’re… n-not exactly heading west on this ship.”
“That’s fine,” Elma said.
Rainbow blinked. “It is?”
“Of course!” The turtle smiled. “I was born across the Frozen Sea. Alafreo, my home country, is just on the other side of the Strip of Flurries.”
“Alafreo… huh?”
“I only cross over to help merchants map the frozen wastes out here. So, if you’re heading east and you’re kind enough to bring me on board, then I’ll be happy to help in any way I can.” She shuddered slightly. “Bleachkkk… anything’s gotta be better than traveling west towards that nasty kingdom with the wars and stuff.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow Dash exhaled with a calm smile. “Tell me about it.”
“Jusssssssst one question…” Zaid leaned in.
Elma glanced at him. “Yeah?”
“Do they serve grilled cheese sandwiches in Alafreo?”
Elma Boreal blinked. “What’s a grilled cheese sandwich?”
Zaid’s left eyebrow twitched. He turned to look towards the other half of the mess hall. “Any chance we can take a quick detour west?” Whap! “Oww!”
Zaid.
The mythical Zadubadabu is a frozen temple causing the strait of flurries to appear somehow? Hmmmm, color me interested.
Also, my first time commenting while caught up! yayyyyy!
East, land of the cheeseless.
Zaid's never gonna get his cheese sandwich.
4101657
Plot twist: Temple of zabudabu is actually made of cheese.
My friend who's currently still reading Odrsjot asked me what the hell Zadubabdabdaba was. I had no idea what he was talking about. Now I remember all the foreshadows.
4101659 I guess we know when Zaid's leaving the party then.
The thought crossed my mind. What would have happened is Rainbow Dash went west to reach the dark side? And what is happening west that she isn't there to see?
Oh, Zaid.
This was a good chapter and I like the world building with the talking tortoise, I just wish Zaid could get his grilled cheese.
4101659 Of course he's not. Cheese Sandwich is still in Equestria, preparing for the party to end all parties.
Well, shoot. Now the Lounge has an automatic reason to target the Jury if they find out that Prowse is onboard.
I wonder how Elma is going to contribute to the crew?
Oh, Zaid...never change.
4101659
That would be the best plot twist ever.
4101815
If I recall right, Shining Armor and Cadance are traveling west, trying to locate one of Axan's sisters.
Also, the temple is the machine world's portal.
Fifty crunches, ):(. Knock 'em out!
What if the Lounge's base of operations is the temple of Zadubadabu?
4102072
aaannnddd Flash Sentry
I'm jumping on the idea that the Lounge are turtles like Elma.
Wonder if the Book is of any use at this time, would Prowse or Elma be able tor ead anything in it, and what sort of upgrades could we be looking at. Are the Lounge looking for their own way into the Machine World, so they can then start sendingout remote control options to other activated sites so that noone else knows where they are? Wonder what the straights will look like for trade if it turns out that activating the Control Spire calms the weather and maybe even warms things up some.
Can't wait to finally see this temple should be interesting.
4101659
Neigh, that's the truth behind the Midnight Armory. Harmony...and grilled cheese.
Zaid you cutie...
i wonder where Dragonridergoku is.
I'm sure this would make his day.
4101659 Bite your tongue!
The moment will come and I'll show you.
I'll show you all!
I think I've never said this, but it's pronounced Zah-eed
And thus Zaid's mighty quest for the lengendary grilled cheese-sandwich continues.
Either it sounds like a delicious sauce to put on pasta, or an awful lot like a certain eastward traveling horse name.
Double whap combo!
Italian turtles?
4102280
Or the Midnight Armory is guarded by evil, murderous grilled cheese sandwich demons and Zaid gets a little more than he bargains for.
This is curious indeed. So, the Lounge wants Prowse for his knowledge of Zadubadabu? First off, how, exactly, does Prowse have the sort of knowledge that mysterious groups from thousands of miles away would be aware of and covet? Just what's his story? Second, what exactly is Zadubadabu, and why is the Lounge interested in it? Is it, as Jake suggests, a gateway into the machine world? Every installment so far has featured at least one such portal, which factored into the events on the surface (the minotaur slavers, Blue Shelf's operations, the war in Ledomare, etc.). And to top it all off, was the mysterious vessel that was following the Jury for a while from the Lounge?
I can't even begin to say how stoked I am to find the answers to these questions.
Also, inb4 the entire far continent is inhabited by reptiles.
so is the lounge good or bad..they seem to want something.
Zadabu... wah... what...
*flips a table*
IT'S A PLOT ELEMENT, NOW?!
*cans.wav*
... Fine. Okay. I don't even care, any more.
Can fan - fictions jump the shark?
4102238
Mysterious, masked, and SHY individuals and a land of turtles. Sounds less like Equestria and more like Amonita Kingdom, if you get my drift. Watch for plumbers.
4102426
When he does get here, he's gonna flip his lid when he finds out Zadubadabu was real all along just as he foretold.
So, deactivating a temple in order to make the passing of an impenetrable, icy barrier and thus the journey to the east possible? Are we doing reverse Fiery Mountains now?
Well slap my tail and call me Sun.
4102188 We don't talk about Brad.
4102426 Just had that conversation. I knew it was Zaïd, the 1200% Arabian version. Also, enjoy your grilled cheese.
Well I sure am glad I spent 10 minutes figuring out how to pronounce Zadubadabu back in Gray Smoke.
I'm digging the idea that the temple is an entrance to the machine world.
4104002 Why thank you, I do believe that hell would help grilled sheese achieve the perfect toast.
4101657 good old Zadubadabu, opening up the only path through the frozen sea.
4101659 that would be great. Maybe the old Zadubadabuites worshipped Luna's moon.
4101709 Zadubadabu. Spell it right.
4102136 I now support this theory
4102426 I've been busy doing other things. I keep falling behind and missing the good stuff.
4103648 Hail Zadubadabu
4103722 indeed I have
4104077 Za-du-ba-da-bu. now just say that really fast. I hope it is, the last entrance was a massive hole in the war torn ground.
4104492 I can assure you that's the case. Because I've been here for quite a bit, you know, eating all the grilled cheese one could ask for. It's delish I tell you. Bad news is that after smack-talking Rainbow like you did, Satan has decided that after such a good deed you belong in heaven. But don't be sad, they might not have any cheese up there, but enough lettuce and onion juice to spend an eternity! Oh, and Shell and Nightshade asked me to pass their warmest greetings to you. Said you could propably use them up there in that frozen nightmare.
4101657
It's gonna be the plot of Alien versus Predator. It will probably be better than that movie.
4104830 My tears won't bring you back, Nevvy.
Zaid won't live much longer without the grilled cheese sandwiches, and his lifespan has already been drastically reduced by the amount of slaps he has accumulated
4105048 Why should I want them to? I'll be here in hell with the cheese. You should've died a villain while you still had the chance.
I liked this chapter, and for extremely selfish reasons. The last possible semi acknowledgement was in Innavedr. Something about a millipede. I'll be honest, when I read my user name I think I had a muscle spasm or something, and now I can't stop smiling. Let's just hope this new land stays at least not destroyed...
Zadubadabu is actually a plot element.
...
I love you, IC.
-Spirit
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Here we are againnnnnngh! Exposition it is. Now, I guess we can rest assured that we just have two new Noble Jurors along for the ride for some time. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Never thought I'd laugh at the word jobby after I was older than 12
so hes a SCOTTISH speaker...how could i forget the good ol' scotts?? i asked if he was british or australian...i didnt even consider the scotts or the irish
by the way, i know im a bit late on this
but
CONGRATS ON YOUR INDEPENDANCE SCOTLAND!
The further east they go, the further Zaid gets antsy about grilled cheese. I'm betting that he doesn't get a grilled cheese until the end.
4104002
Hey now! I'll have you know that I'm a perfectly semi-kinda-okay guy.
Rejected.
And on that day, no grilled cheese was found, and the lamentations continued.
Zaid: rat creature of the jury
Searching "oatmealese" on google only produces 2 results. One of them is this chapter. Hmm...
6656922
And for anyone desperate to know what the second result was, wonder no more!
http://kthadani.com/2013/11/11/living-one-cuisine/
6209445 Though thinking on it it does make sense she wouldn't have heard of it. Reptiles don't produce milk, and thus by extension cheese. I also don't think they can digest milk, though I can be wrong about this. Still, universe is out to get Zaid
05/30/2017 23:00 UTC