With a chorus of coughing breaths, the two ponies crawled their way from the burning line of trees. Belle slumped on the swaying grass of the adjacent field as Phoenix, hobbling, turned to gaze at the wreckage behind them.
There was no remaining pieces of the mana transport to be seen. The forest was being swept over in blue energy and billowing flame. Wooden trunks crackled as they snapped in twain, falling to ashen clumps on the bottom of the burning forest.
He took several breaths, his exhausted body riddled with scrapes and bruises. Nevertheless, he shook his shivers loose with courageous poise and reached a hoof down to the mare. "It's over," he said. "We gotta make for cover someplace that isn't burning."
Belle lay on the ground, shivering.
The mustached stallion gulped and grasped her shoulders to lift her up. "Come on. We gotta go or else scout vessels might see us—"
"Nnngh!" She shook him off with a feral shriek. Scrambling on weak limbs, she scooted away from him and grimaced as she spoke. "Why did you do th-that?! Why did you have to do all of that?!"
"We were their prisoners! The Ledomaritans do not treat their prisoners with respect!" Phoenix exclaimed. "We are property to them! There's nothing to stop them from taking us apart!"
"And that excuses nearly ripping us to shreds with that... th-that ridiculous stunt you just pulled?!" She panted. "What was the whole point, Phoenix?! What are you trying to prove?!"
"Look, I saved us, didn't I?!" He barked, gesturing towards the darkening horizon north of them. "What should I have done?! Allow the enforcers to take us all the way to their hold in the mountains and torture us to death?!"
She gulped and gazed at him with a quivering lip. "And yet, wh-why did you...?"
Phoenix opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came out. His gaze fell to the windswept grass between them.
She sat up on her haunches and squinted menacingly at him. "Where was that courage... that tenacity and resolve when we needed it?! Before you let those evil ponies attack your closest comrades?! Before you let them chase down Rainbow Dash?! Before you let them capture me and... a-and..." Her face melted as she covered her muzzle and collapsed into sobbing heaves. "My b-beloved... Nnnnghhh-Uhhhhh! Oh Spark, spare me... oh bl-blessed Spark..."
Phoenix bit his lip. He trotted gently over and laid a hoof on her shoulder. "Belle... I..."
"Get away from me!" she shrieked, shoving him violently off of her. She stood up on teetering limbs, her frowning face awash with tears. "I don't need your help! I never did! I never asked for it!" She heaved and spat, "Don't you see?! You've ruined everything! Evrerything! And it's... it's f-far too late to bring back anything that is special to me!" She hyperventilated, running two trembling hooves through her disheveled mane. "You c-can't bring back Pilate. You can't bring back the love and j-j-joy of my life! Why didn't you just let the Ledomaritans carry us for our doom?! It would have made everything simpler!"
"You know I can't do that!" he shouted into the shadows of the dying day. "Belle, I'm sorry for what I did! They blew Zenith's head off and threatened my family! I was scared and I was stupid and I am sorry—"
"If you are sorry..." She glared at him, her lungs roaring through her raspy throat. "If you are truly, truly humble, then you will leave me alone..."
'But Belle—"
"Leave!" she howled at him, her voice echoing against the burning trees lining the field. "I don't want your help... I don't want your last second heroics... I don't want to see you ever again!" With quivering lungs, she spun from him and limped off in a southeasterly direction, sobbing the entire time.
Phoenix gazed after her. He almost made a move to pursue the mare, but instead he slumped to his haunches, his face long and encumbered by weak lines. Closing his eyes, the bruised Enforcer sat perpetually alone in the field, surrounded by the meager sounds of his own shuddering breaths.
Ouch. Belle may not appear to have a harsh personality, but don't be fooled, Phoenix.
Also:
Should be "scared."
...Well. Belle has a point, brother. No matter how cool your mustache is, logic will always screw you over.
If only she bloody knew her old striped boomer was alive...
Yeah!!! :-)
Belle gets to go on an adventure!!
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I expected this, honestly. While he should be commended for his courage, it was a bit late. He has a long way to go before he can find redemption.
Today, we're doing 30:60's. Go find a place to run, preferably flat, but whatever. Jog for 60 seconds to warm up, then sprint as fast as you can for thirty seconds. Then, walk for sixty seconds, then sprint thirty seconds again, then walk sixty, etc. repeat this... hmm, we'll say six times to start. Knock 'em out!
I thought splitting the party was a baaaad thing?
Am I Inside - Alice In Chains
Good points by Belle, but I think splitting the party is a pretty bad idea in this case. I bet Phoenix will return in the future to save her at some point.
2267141 Probably after he rescues/finds/etc Pilate
I want to feel for you, Belle, but that's just ridiculous. Did he really ruin evrerything?
I feel kinda bad for Shell. Not a single pony he threw died.
By splitting up this group, we will be able to see how each pony copes with their own struggles and maybe they will all learn something about themselves that will eventually help the group as a whole. Also, the specific group combinations are very interesting. RD and metal head, a drunk teleporter and a mane brushing swordsman, Pilate, Belle, Crimson, and Phoenix, all on their own. I wonder how belle will change with the sudden absence and seemed death of Pilate.
A mare with nothing to loose is the most dangerous mare of all.
Not the original quote, but it works well.
2266960 My bad, must've mixed them up.
2267172 Hmm, assuming that Pilate is in the same direction he goes. It's a possibility. He could always run into Crimson or Eagle Eye, though I doubt they'd be happy to see him.
I can't say I blame Belle in this situation. As far as she knows, Pilate is dead, and Phoenix is at fault. Once again, though, everything comes back to Shell. Phoenix's hand (hoof?) was forced, especially when Zenith was executed right next to him. Crimson couldn't do anything about the two traitors in his midst without proof of their scheme. And nopony could put up any kind of resistance to Shell's attack besides that which they have already given. In fact, the only ones with any real choice were Shell, who is mainlining Ahab Juice, and Roarke. I think she'll be an interesting character to watch in the coming chapters, because her future choices are many and varied. Everypony else is already trying to get somewhere, but Roarke is free to do as she pleases.
2267583 That is probably the only way he can find redemption in the eyes of Bellesmith.
And he will find redemption, I'm sure of it. As some comment a while back said (don't remember who):
Hmm...there's something that each and every one of these ponies lost because of Phoenix. Belle lost her beloved; Pilate, his sight; EE, his commander, etc.
Maybe he can find redemption with all of them.
2267662
That's. . . a really good point.
So far we've only seen the repercussions of his actions with Belle, but he screwed everyone over, didn't he?
I'm looking forwards to Phoenix's story
This story is shaping up to be pretty frickin' awesome.
Also, while there is a good chance we will follow phoenix throughout his trial of redemption, part of me hopes that we don't see him for the next 75 chapters. And that when he does show up, like a dues ex machina in all its table turning glory, it is left up to the reader's imagination regarding what exactly happened to phoenix to turn him into such a badass.
Yeah
Pheonix gets his own adventure!
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More party-splitting. Great.
I wonder if Phoenix is going to get picked up by Ledomaritans.
Belle's just asking for more trouble in making him leave.
He has to follow her.
She's in over her head trying to survive in the wild.
At the end there you called Phoenix an "enforcer" but I'm pretty sure he's just a mercenary. Or are Enforcers not just the high-ranking Ledomaritian troops I thought they were.
A message from MASH-
Fevers are not fun...they're really painful...
So Belle is mad at Phoenix for his part in the betrayal... Though it'll be hard for her to go anywhere/do anything, seeing as how she still has hoofcuffs on (or did they come off? I might have missed it).
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Again, we get to see a lot more of Belle's character here. Back before Pilate "died," she was humorous when Imploding wanted her to be, she was kind and the slightest bit shy, and everything was good. But we see here again that Pilate was such a big part of her life. It is just so unlike her to be lashing out at someone like this. I don't think she spoke this harshly even to Shell. I also don't think Amy of the readers, myself included, appreciated how important Pilate was to her back in Eljunbyro. But here, we see how important he really was. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. My fever is gone, for the most part! The evaluations will now resume as normal. I'm sorry about the brief hiatus, but I hope you understand - this fever I had was one of those things that makes you want to go in bed, curl up, and just die. Anything I evaluated wasn't going to be good, trust me. But now I'm back, so everything is good!
.....and fire.
Does this mean we will get to see the lonely-adventure-thing that made me like Austreaoh so much again?
someday....someday....Honeytiger will catch up....it could be today...who knows...NOT HONEYTIGER!
Ah, poop. I forgot that Belle still thinks Pilate is dead. Have faith, Belle! It takes more than a bazillion foot free-fall through warring mana gliders into a burning forest to take out a zebra! Or at least I'm assuming it does, considering that Pilate is still alive and he's the only zebra in the story. I hope she doesn't do anything too careless...Phoenix should stealthily follow her until this whole mess is sorted out (which, knowing how this works by now, will probably be in a hundred and fifty ish chapters ) Anywho - onward!
Well, so much about that. At least now we know what's going to happen to IC if Pilate ever stops commenting.
2267197
We now enter Shell's mind.
Behind all the blood, madness, insanity, fanatical misplaced loyalty and what have you, we encounter the following bit of wisdom:
"I threw two ponies off a cliff, and the zebra off a zeppelin! Nopony could possibly survive that!"
>'But Belle—"
Single and double at the same time?
No, no, no! You can't leave, Belle! You need this pairing to survive! Unless Phoenix goes after Belle, the pairings are now:
Crimson and Tweak, Belle, Phoenix, Dash and Roarke, EE and Josho, Pilate and Floydien.
-SPirit
2294904
He threw three ponies (Crimson, EE and Josho) off a cliff, not two.
don't hate me
There was(were) no remaining pieces of the mana transport to be seen.
also, he's a mercenary, not an enforcer
Right?
3690495
Crazy, I know.
I don't know about you guys but belle is pretty much being a unappreciative mare right now. At least pheonix is trying to get shit done. Onward to the next chapter!
I'd like to say, this chapter is outstandingly great, even for Austraeoh standards. It's unlike Belle to be this unreasonable, and even blame Pheonix for something that has significantly improved their situation. But, just like 76 says, it shows how much she cared for Pilate. It's a core quality of her character, and it's demonstrated here with just a single mention of Pilate in the chapter.
very nicely done. now, onward.
Split like a motherfucking atom
Belle may come to regret this decision, but it's totally understandable given the circumstances.
Belle, you idiot. While rejecting Phoenix’s help may have made emotional sense, in terms of the situation you are in it made zero logical sense. You are lost in a hostile wilderness in a hostile country, and you need all the friendly help you can get.
5535124 Ka-boom goes the
dynamiteemotional tension.This chapter was cliche to say the least. I 100% expected this reaction from Belle. I was hoping that she would at least flinch when Phoenix said Zenith's head blew off, but it makes sense for a pony who's love just died to act the way she did against somepony who seemingly caused the whole thing
6485180
kaboom goes the
dynamiteentirety of zeniths headBelle just voiced my concerns, nice.
That being said, I wonder why she sent Phoenix away? She seems like a nice pony, and Phoenix did just save them. Although, yes, Pheonix’s method of saving them wasn’t exactly subtle and smart. Honestly, I think both parties are nervous, and they are letting the emotions get the best of them.
10095342
No matter what you do, trying to take control of the enemy aircraft risks detection and escalation. He started off stealthy to keep the ships intact to then comandeer them but that requires a lot of luck.
It is inevitable, he had only one weapon and who knows when the guy would be distracted enough for it again? It was perfect