“Why should I believe a single word you're saying?!” Midnite Bastion growled.
“Uhhhh... okay.” Rainbow frowned. “Here's one reason.” And she let go of the mare.
“Gah!” Midnite fell... the distance of four feet, landing nimbly on her hooves. This is because Rainbow Dash had just lowered the two of them to a plateau several yards south of Shepherd's Rock.
“I totally didn't release you while we were hundreds of feet up!” Rainbow glared from where she hovered. “Believe it or not, I'm not out to murder anypony! Not you. Not your father. Not even the soul sentries or goblins who may be working for him.”
“Bite your tongue!” Midnite hissed, eyes glinting in the starlight. “The General is no Cartel sympathizer!”
“Uhhhh... are you deaf or something?!” Rainbow's voice cracked as she gestured broadly towards the Rock. “He just said out loud that he was in cahoots with them!”
“It's a ploy,” Midnite said, squinting. “A trick to throw off Secretary Sharp Quill and the Chancellor. Those two are the ones who are corrupt in this nation! My father's only playing their game long enough to pull the rug out from under their hooves!”
“Is that a fact?!” Rainbow balked. “Has he told you this himself?!”
“He...” Midnite gnashed her teeth. “...he has not.”
“Why not?! You're his daughter, aren't you?” Rainbow smirked. “Why the mask and dark clothes unless you were sneaking up on the meeting just as much as I was right now.”
“... ... ...” Midnite turned away, fuming.
Rainbow hovered closer. “If you trust dear-old-Daddy so much... why not ask him straight up what he's doing?”
“My father is a master tactician,” Midnite hissed. “It's not my place to question how he goes about defending Val Roa!”
“But you want to, don't you?” Rainbow gestured. “I can't be the only pony who sees how crazy things are with him! With the other two! With everyone!”
“What do you know? You're likely just some agent for the Cartel attempting to undermine this great nation.”
“Yes, because the Green Bandits are keen on hiring winged ponies.”
“I've seen them do stranger things.”
“Oh yeah? And what about your father? Is it natural for him to suddenly stand dead-still, eyes locked on everything and nothing, while he talks to some bodiless soul?”
Midnite Bastion winced visibly.
Rainbow pointed with a smirk. “Ah ha! He has done that, hasn't he? I knew it.” She touched down, staring across from the mare. “It's the same thing with the other two. Something or someone has possessed them... or is commanding them from afar... or has infected them. Whatever. The three most important deer in Val Roa are not their normal selves. Now, you seem like a smart pony. Don't tell me that the way Saikano's been acting lately can be misconstrued with 'normal.'”
“Hmmmmf...” Midnite paced about on scuffling hooves. “What do you know...?”
“I know plenty,” Rainbow Dash said. “Because I've dealt with this menace before. There's a monster loose in Val Roa, a changeling Queen named Chrysalis. She's brought entire nations to their knees by replacing their most important leaders. For the longest time, she's done this by literally replacing them with doppelgangers. But she also knows how to read creatures' minds. Somehow it wouldn't surprise me if she's put a spell on your dad and turned him into a weapon for her own cause.”
“That's impossible.”
“Why's that?”
“My father would have stopped her before she even entered the West Gate!” Midnite spun, snarling. “That's why!”
“Oh really...”
“He's in control of the Soul Sentries! And under his command, they would have—”
“What?!” Rainbow frowned. “They would have caught Chrysalis? Just like they caught me when I snuck into the kingdom to snoop out the changeling Queen?!”
“It's a large nation. My father tries his best—”
“Or maybe he's not commanding the Soul Sentries to defend this nation at all!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Maybe he's controlling them for another purpose... a darker purpose... because he's allied with the same force that's manipulating Sharp Quill and Fishberry!”
“That's preposterous,” Midnite grumbled. “The Soul Sentries are the most trusted line of Val Roan defense!”
“But don't you think it's a bit weird that Saikano's been recruiting so many of them?! Filling them in the streets of this city?! Lining them up along the mountain range surrounding this whole dang kingdom?!”
Midnite's eyes darted about. A sheen of sweat formed on her brow.
“There's more to it, isn't there?” Rainbow squinted. “If you're his daughter, then surely you've seen more. Perhaps on the inside.”
Midnite took a deep breath. “The ritual by which Soul Sentries are made has... changed,” she said.
“In what way?”
“Why should I tell you?”
“Because we both smell something that's fishy,” Rainbow said. “And although we were nearly killing each other a few minutes ago, that automatically puts us on the same side, girl. So 'fess up. What's gone wrong with the Soul Sentry program?!”
Midnite's teeth showed as she grimaced. “There are... hundreds of them added by the hour.” She gulped. “From all over Val Roa. And the ritual goes by so swiftly as well. Usually it takes months... even years of preparation to become a wielder of the Emerald Flame. But lately?” She shook her head. “In the Central Barracks, volunteers are rounded up, and my father just... I-I mean the General simply looks at them and... and...”
Rainbow blinked, ears twitching.
With a disgruntled sigh, Midnite hung her head. “The Coronation.” She seethed. “We need the extra security for the Coronation. That... th-that's why.” She shuddered. “It all makes sense. Surely it does.”
“You don't sound entirely convinced...”
“I believe whole heartedly in my father's cause!” Midnite snapped, frowning at the pegasus. “Some way, some how, he's working to undermine Sharp Quill and Fishberry! I just know it!”
“Uh huh...”
“Do not patronize me!” Midnite dragged a hoof, frowning. “Just who are you to claim otherwise, stranger?!”
“Because I'm not the only one who sees the inherent threat to this kingdom!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Somepony... somedeer that you know is on my side! It's the sole reason why I'm even here!”
“Like who?!”
Rainbow took a deep breath. “Duchess Arcanista of the House of Sehlp.”
“Arcanista...?!” Midnite blinked. “From Bountiful?!” She chuckled bitterly. “Has that noble gotten that desperate?! No doubt she wishes to usurp Chancellor Fishberry from her high seat!”
“Midnite...” Rainbow slowly shook her head. “It's not just Arcanista who brought me here.”
“Oh yeah?!” Midnite leaned forward. “Who else?!”
Floydien's dull red eyes traced the road leading them to the front of Plaza Topaz. He and Jake pulled the wagon while Arcanista talked with the ponies in her carriage.
“I've said it a dozen times, Kera. I'll gladly forgive you for speaking out of line before the Council today. For what it's worth, it's stirred the hornet's nest in all the right places. But when you run off at the Banquet without warning...”
“Hey! All I did was munch on grasshoppers and chat it up with the caterer's son!”
“The caterer's son?!” Ebon Mane remarked.
“Yeah! You know! At the Banquet!” Kera giggled. “The kid was super nice. Kind of a brick short of a load, but he treated me like royalty. So I'm not complaining.”
“Kera...” Ebon sighed. “Don't you get it? It's quite possible that we've made quite a few enemies in Val Roa here today. 'Treating you like royalty' could mean assassination!”
“Pfft. This pipsqueak couldn't assassinate a spider with a wad of tissues.”
“I'm s-serious!” the stallion's voice cracked. “You had me really... really worried all afternoon!”
“Playing the part of the Xonan Princess gives you a lot of authority, Kera,” Arcanista chided. “But it's no excuse to act wildly and without control.”
“Hey! I had everything under control! Besides, if that punk tried to start something, I would have totally tossed him off the balcony with one flash of mana!”
“And that would solve the situation... how?” Ebon muttered.
“Oh hush.” Kera stuck her tongue out. “I don't see what everypony's freaked out about. The heat isn't on us! If anything, the pressure's on Rainbow Dash over at Shuffle Reefer.”
“Shepherd's Rock.”
“Whatever. If anything, all of Chrysalis' hidden eyes are on her, not the 'delegates from Xona.' Heh... I wonder if she made any headway tonight.”
“To be perfectly realistic, Kera, I doubt we'll be seeing her for quite some time,” Arcanista said.
Thwoooosh! Just then, two shadows dropped down from the sky, landing in front of the wagon in the shadow of Plaza Topaz.
Jake and Floydien jerked to a stop. “Cardboard!” the moose exclaimed. His eyes narrowed. “Is that who I sniff it is...?”
Rainbow Dash released her grip of Midnite. The dark mare blinked, muzzle agape.
Floydien looked up. He froze with a blank expression.
“Floyd...?” Midnite gulped, shivering slightly. “You... you're alive...?”
“... ... ...”
Midnite's eyes turned glossy. She took a pensive step forward. “It's... it's me, Floyd...” An awkward smile. “It's your Nancy Jane...”
“... ... ...” Slowly, without saying a word, Floydien started trotting again. He and Jake drew the wagon past Midnite.
Both Rainbow Dash and the General's daughter pivoted, gawking at the moving carriage.
Floydien didn't look back.
Jake, glancing back and forth, raised his head and grinned. “Well... I for one think you still look dayum sexy, M.B.! Love what you've done with your thighs! Penguins!”
I think Constable Jake has Tourettes. Just sayin'...
Thirty-five pushups for the FARTING CRUDBERRIES GOODNESS BALLS SHIT-FUCK, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Well that certainly answers my earlier question. And she definitely supports daddy dearest wholeheartedly.
I wonder if the Soul Sentry ritual has changed in any other way besides getting shorter?
Clearly, Arcy's contempt for Fishberry has some notoriety.
...It's happening...
IT'S HAPPENING.
new2.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/Anonymous+rolled+image+_6e5ef8bcb0f41a69a0189d50701294a2.jpg
...WHAT.
Audible gasp
i60.tinypic.com/2zp5t7b.jpg
Still waiting on Kera realizing it wasn't the "caterer's son" she opened up to
I can't wait for Kera's reaction to finding out she was with the prince.
5317797
It would appear that sex did indeed not happen.
Oh boy now its time to watch her try to get him to remember. That ought to be fun.
So the ritual has changed quite a bit I wonder how much though.
5317797
exactly.
5317805
I can't wait, either. It's gonna be good.
5317806
Indeed, it would appear not.
Wasn't expecting sex, though. Was expecting more along the lines of two long-separated lovers tearfully reuniting and embracing each other. Or at least Floydien's brain somehow righting itself from running into Midnite.
*sigh* Guess I was hoping for too much.
Although, who's to say the second part didn't happen a little bit? All we know is Floydien kept on walking. Maybe there was a whole bunch of stuff going on under that stoic/blank expression that we don't know about. Floydien's still Floydien, and he deals with things in weird ways.
Man, this is the most random character we've had in a while.
Rejectedddd
I'm really not sure what to expect of the Floydien/Midnite thing. Closure for Floydien, allowing him to move on with a settled past? A rediscovery of lost love and retirement from the Jury? A tragic death for one or both of them? Either way, I'm interested. The fact that Floydien gave her the cold shoulder suggests to me--paradoxically, perhaps--that she still means something to him, even if only subconsciously. It isn't the act of someone to whom she is a complete stranger.
Also, the whole Soul Sentry thing raises a lot of questions. The big one for me is, where are they getting them all? Either, a.) There are a lot of deer willing to sign their selves away, b.) They're being abducted and made into Sentries against their will, or c.)Something something changelings, etc. The latter option would (presumably) also explain the sudden quickness of the procedure.
I have more thoughts on the moving Yaerfaerda symbol being an approaching plane. First, Rainbow Dash must somehow get to that plane. What if the only way to do that is to reattach it to this plane? Then the distance to the Midnight Armory just quintupled! Even worse, both sides of that other plane could be chaotic, as it didn't have any alicorns providing harmony.
That's cold.
Not convinced that Midnite is on our side yet, she might blame Dash or Arcanista for the change in Floyd. Either way, let the one-way shipping commence.
Last book, who would've even thought Floydien had a lover?
Jake is fucking crazy.
"penguins!"
10/10. Would get drunk and brawl with.
Methinks the new Soul Sentries are either changelings or brainwashed by Chryssie, that'd certainly cut down on training time.
Well... I didn't expect Floydien to suddenly remember everything just by looking at Bastion, nor to express anything, if that happened, anyways. At least he just kept trotting calmly, instead of running away and dragging everypony with him.
If Saikano can create Blues Sentries so fast, with only looking at them, we are probably dealing with changeling brainwashing, similar to what suffered Shining Armor in the series. We haven't had that in Austraeoh yet, have we?
Midnite still cares for him :/ wonder if floydien will ever remember.
5317893 Are there snakes on this plane?
Well... that went well.
5317854
Random? Nah, penguins are known to be an animal you casually use for funny moments, their use is carefully planned, and requires absolute precision. That's not random at all.
Right, now we have something interesting.
Someone's either leaving the Jury, or joining it. And you know what? I hope it's the second.
But I'm getting ahead of myself. God that was bad... Now I want him to remember even more. Dammit Floyd, the love of your life is RIGHT THERE! And you just walk away? Either that's the most sane thing you've done, or the most cruel and insensitive. I can't tell which right now, but I am still very disappointed in you. Understanding, but disappointed.
And now I'm angry at Nightshade for doing this shit to him! She still doesn't feel like she got what she deserved, not after seeing this.
5317797 Instead of WHAT the threat level should be escalated to "It's Over", because clearly, it is.
I'm only at the first story in this series, but I didn't read this for so long because the strange title and the description made me think that this was a crossover with something I don't recognize. I think it would be a good Idea to add a link to the first story, because I at first thought this story was stand alone
Floydien be like
1.bp.blogspot.com/-xMp8e_pW-6A/T9tNeazKGzI/AAAAAAAADbI/zjrP065NCbo/s1600/think+say.jpg
5318930
Exactly.
Emerald flame?! Oh poop. We never have good times when flames are involved.
i8.photobucket.com/albums/a24/Pineapples101/Animated%20Gifs/Redalert.gif
Paranoia Time!
General Saikano - Evil
Fishberry - Evil
Sharp Quill - Evil
Arcanista - Chryssi
Midnite Bastion - Cleared
Nilla - High Level
Jet - Omega Level
Mamunia - Omega Level
Eine - Cleared
This ends the Paranoia Time! update
have a nice, paranoia filled day!
5318531
now to figure out how he has that power
5318930 eyup
5319159 Gah. I saw that on accident and thought that the reveal had already happened. Worst Anti-Spoiler ever
...ouch.
the feels have been felt
5317886
I am only to chapter 73, however:
Chrysalis wants them made to replace the changelings she lost. And I'm more certain that Chrysalis is playing the role of Nilla. Poor Nilla. I changed my mind on Eine because that role is too exposed for Chrysalis to just take until she has more power. I bet she will bankrupt Val Roa moving the Soul Sentries to the dark side if her plan succeeds.
If it doesn't, then Tchern will eventually be in a position to be beaten down and Rainbow(if she gets that far; which is likely to continue the story) will have to aid for destroying Tchern's reinforcements because what Tchern faces is a greater threat? I don't know how I feel about that. I'm not talking about how I feel about that in the story setting, but as an inevitable tool to be used that SS&E has been using this whole time to keep an audience. It's almost that the story is no longer his but belongs to the commentators who have invested time and put their thoughts into the story. I must think on this.
5319159
I like you, you're silly.
Never lose that logic, RD.
Once again IC has cleverly bypassed telling us how this dastardly plot will unfold. No one cares because Floydienite shipping.
Wow, Floydien...
-Spirit
... Penguins?
That's . . . cold. Whatever Nightshade did to Floydien, it really messed him up mentally. I hope that he can be cured or at least get his memory back because this is really sad.
Rainbow dropping bombs.
... I... I expected more explosions TBH.
5317785 This comment, Is terrible, and totally just made my day. I think I love you now.
Well, at least he didn't start nopeing again.
Dammit Jake, quit being so funny. Now we just need Floydien to explain everything to Midnight and we can have a nice little reunion.
~SolidFire
5319159
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DfYLar2QGI
(perfect song for an air raid scramble.)
OMG they're going to finally be reunited!
FloydBastion forev
...
I suspected it dozens of chapters before, and I'll suspect it again.
Arcanista is Chrysalis!
7:50 p.m. MST 6/26/2017
All the more reason to question him about the issue. A master would be able to ANSWER those questions in a way that makes sense, and keep him sharp at the same time.
07/10/2017
20:42 UTC
GODDANG IT WHO IS CHRYSALIS!?
Who is eine named after...?
Oh well. I feel MB may begin to question the legitimacy of RDs claims from his blatant reaction. Not to mention his lack of horns.
I can see this ending badly.
The simplest question.
Oh that's not good.
Oh my God Kera, are you kidding me?
That's about what I figured would happen. I'm betting the "NOPE" button will be pushed hard.