Once Audrey had brought Jade back from where she'd been held - the other three Enforcers had possessed enough common sense to not tangle with an angry giant plant monster that isn't presently looking for a fight - Jackie, Jade, the fillies, and Audrey followed Captain Black to Section 13. With Jade being able to inform them that she'd managed to swallow the Talisman, she was taken to get her stomach pumped to get it back out, if only to prevent having to collect it from the other end. Of course, the fact that Jade and Audrey had floated back once Audrey shrank down enough was enough to convince Jackie of what he'd been told...but his attempts to convince Captain Black proved less than successful.
"I'm telling you, Uncle was right!" Jackie insisted. "The Talismans do possess magic powers."
"Sure they do, Jackie," Captain Black replied, plainly assuming Jackie was disoriented from sleep deprivation.
"Captain, how can you not accept the possibility?" Jackie demanded. "You saw what Audrey III can do!"
"And while Apple Bloom's ability to control such a plant is impressive, it's hardly proof of magic," Captain Black responded readily.
"Well, how else would you explain it?" Jackie demanded. "I mean, just look!" He gestured behind them to where Apple Bloom was walking beside Audrey, plants sprouting up in her wake through the cracks between floor panels. "What else but magic could make such a thing happen?"
"I'm afraid that information's classified," Captain Black responded curtly. "Why don't you get some rest, Jackie? You look tired." He pulled open the door he'd been leading the group to, revealing an exact duplicate of Jackie's apartment above the shop.
"All my stuff?" Jackie gasped out, stunned.
"Ours, too?" Scootaloo gasped out in surprise, pushing herself in on Cumulo, who'd made a full recovery.
"How'd it get here?" Sweetie Belle asked.
"Until we can take down the Dark Hand, it's safer for you all here inside Section 13," Captain Black explained. "I hope it feels like home."
"Then how come Uncle ain't here?" Apple Bloom inquired.
"He...refused to move," Captain Black admitted. "Something about messing up his...Fung Shway?"
"Hey Sweetie, Bloom, help me out with this!" Scootaloo called out from a corner of the room where she'd gathered a small cyclone. The other fillies quickly rushed over, Apple Bloom drawing runes on the floor as Sweetie's horn glowed.
"What...are they doing?" Captain Black asked curiously.
"No idea," Jackie admitted.
In a flash of bright light, the cyclone turned green and stabilized, swirling in the spot. Through it, Uncle could be heard shouting, "Aiyah! Scootaloo, what have I said about weather magic in the shop! Keep it upstairs!"
"Sorry!" Scootaloo called out as she ran into the cyclone and vanished, the other two fillies following her. "It must have locked onto your protective charms."
Jackie turned to Captain Black and gestured at the obvious teleportation circle. "And how is that not magic?" he demanded irritably.
"Several possible ways," Captain Black responded. When Jackie looked to be getting even more irritated, he rested his hand on his shoulder. "Look Jackie, it doesn't matter if I believe what you're saying about the Talismans being magical. The Dark Hand wants them, which means I want to prevent them from falling into their hands. As long as we both have the same goal, does the Why really matter?"
Jackie sighed to himself as the fillies came back through the cyclone. "I suppose not," he admitted.
At that moment, two other agents brought Jade in, looking rather unwell. "Stomach successfully pumped," one of the agents explained as Jade groaned.
"What about her?" Jackie asked quietly.
Captain Black said nothing, merely pointing to where Jade's suitcases - still not yet unpacked - were sitting in a pile in one corner. Jade gasped happily at the sight. "I trust you'll keep your niece in check?" Captain Black asked teasingly. Jackie didn't answer, but the three fillies and Audrey III burst into laughter.
"Jackie!" Jade called out eagerly, her eyes alight. "Does this mean I'm a secret agent?"
"No!" all the adults present stated firmly simultaneously.
"Aww..." Jade pouted.
As everyone unpacked and got settled in, Jade decided to address a point that had caught her attention. "Say, Apple Bloom...Audrey's a carnivorous plant, right?"
"Eeyup," Apple Bloom confirmed as she carefully set up a bonsai apple tree she'd grown from a seed from the tree Santa had brought her, making sure it would continue to thrive in the new environment.
"And...he can grow to gigantic size, right?" Jade continued.
"You noticed?" Scootaloo teased, getting a blown raspberry for her trouble.
"So...at giant size, there's nothing stopping him from eating people, right?" Jade continued, trying to focus in on the point that had her concern.
"Other than mah disapproval, no," Apple Bloom admitted. "He knows ah wouldn't like it, though...unless they were people tryin' ta hurt me or those ah care about."
"Then that wouldn't hold him back from eating that giant guy when he found him about to cut me open with a cutlass?" Jade clarified.
"However oddly appropriate the name of the blade?" Sweetie joked, only to get several odd stares. She pouted. "Nobody gets my jokes..." she grumbled.
"Hmm...nah," Apple Bloom told Jade. "Ah wouldn't have objected then."
"So...why didn't he?" Jade asked. "He was ready to eat him...but instead took a sniff and tossed him away."
"Huh," Apple Bloom muttered. "No idea why he'd do that..."
"You could ask him," Scootaloo offered.
Turning, Jade faced Audrey III. "So why didn't you?"
"Cause it's so easy when you're evil!" Audrey sang out.
"I'm trying to sleep!" Jackie yelled back.
"Yeah, didn't think I'd get a straight answer there," Jade grumbled, returning to her unpacking.
Well, would YOU eat something that smelled rotton?
I'm betting that it was the fat content.
7384169
Carrion feeders would. And Audrey's a plant anyways. Can't get much more decomposed than dirt.
And we finally make it past episode 2. If memory serves, They're off to Mexico next chapter! If that's the case I can't wait to see how the CMC interact with Paco.
I going to guess that AB's "good magic" countered Audrey's carnivorous instincts...if plants have those...still waiting for some grass type pokemon to show up at uncle's shop.
7384183
Taken directly from the last chapter.
7384179 Your joke fails in that it displays ignorance of Sumo. Sumo wrestlers have very little actual body fat. "Large" does not always equal "fat". You would do well to remember this.
Audrey sensed the good in Tohru, and thus spared him.
It's as good an explanation as any.
7384179
Hrm. You know, it's possible this isn't inaccurate. With such a huge influx of Good Chi from Apple Bloom, more might be neither welcome nor needed, making good people unappetizing.
I wouldn't recommend being caught by him to Valmont or Dai Long, though. The three stooges are probably safe, especially Ratso.
This is the life for me! The Devil tips his hat to me!
If that is not magic I think the Amulets of Normalcy are overpowered, that or maybe Black is under a spell from some Chi Wizard to think magic don't exist.
I just imagine Daolong Wong trowing a dark chi spell and Audrey eating it and commeting "Ummm... Spicey"
7384288
Or Captain Black is aware of classified technology that can do those things, and all the Amulets of Normalcy have to do is say "this isn't magic" and let the observer's brain fill in the blanks.
7384349
The amulets keep him from realizing they're talking ponies. As long as they're wearing them, he just sees 'talented kids'.
7384330 I don't remember that happening in the show, but if it did, it was probably due to ignorance on the part of the writer of that episode. A lot of people are ignorant about Sumo wrestlers and the reason for their size and weight.
I'm pretty sure Jade is feeling quite... pumped right now.
Yeah, not many puns this time around.
So we're still going to have to wait for Shendu's revival before he gets it, huh?
Took me a second.
7384330
7384364
On a semi-related note: Isn't Tohru small for a sumo? (I can't remember the title of the episode, but I know he said that himself somewhere in the series...)
7384352
Of course! IT'S THE ALIENS! THEY ARE BETWEEN US, DISGUISED.
That's why he know that things could be done without magic.
7384375 Dang Uncle! And I thought Audrey III was the plant!
Captain Black: Friendship is Classified.
Looks like building a portal is a breeze!
I think Audrey III is substituting positive chi for the extra nitrogen most carnivorous plants on Earth usually get from their food of insects. So of course she tossed Tohru after finding him full of "nitrogen".
Another enjoyable chapter. Good job.
Hmmm... green cyclones that teleport you. This sounds like something from a video game, and knowing Tatsurou, it probably is. I'm just not sure what though. Warp Whistle? Ballad of Glades? Can anyone else think of something more plausible?
7384182 I remember first hearing this song when I was 17. That was 14 years ago.
Cut Lass! I get it!
7384704
No, at that point the 'these are normal' suggestion goes bye bye.
7384720
Farore's Wind, actually. That's why it's green.
Good chapter with cute moments but that pretty much shot down my expectations on the level of chaos happening. The big start to the series of Jade and CMC teaming up and there was no Discord releasing levels of chaos followed by tree sap. I know you don't do spoilers but can at least guarantee an incident where Jade and the CMC get covered in tree sap together, please?
7384911
I can guarantee at least six.
7384200 Whoever said Tohru was rotten?
Audrey totally realizes he's in a bad situation and trying to make the best of it. Plant smelled the good on him, realized Apple Bloom wouldn't want him eaten if she knew, and threw him away all frustrated.
7384935
Thank you.
7384720 Gale Seeds, maybe?
7385067
Nope. Everything Captain Black is aware of is all Earth based tech that hasn't been released to the public yet. No aliens.
Poor Captain Black, the Crusaders are going to keep shoving magic in his face and he'll have to keep on denying it. I can't wait to see him try to explain some of the stuff away. I can also totally see Tohru keeping a bag of plant food on him just so if Audrey is hungry the next time they meet he can offer a vegetarian course instead.
7385102 I see Tohru with a bag of plant food in one pocket and some industrial herbicide in the other pocket just in case the food doesn't work.
Audrey...
7384935 well this will be a fun ride to come. And is part of the PWNY-verse or a au?
7385509
Part of PWNY-verse.
7385517 cool
Ha! Cut-lass!
You know, it's actually not that hard to interpret what Audrey III is saying. It just confirms that he can tell when a person is evil or not, possibly by the theories stated earlier about being able to smell good chi, or possibly even intent. "'Cause It's so easy when you're evil." In other words, it's easy to eat people when they're evil, but since Tohru isn't really evil, Audrey III didn't eat him. Case closed.
7385897 and u expect the Crusaders to come up with something like that? its an obvious solution and those three dont do obvious very well...and apparently neither do the show writers given what their Cutie Marks were slaps on with...
7384205 Sorry, just a thought. Although it is still possible that Audrey thought it was too big a meal.
Chapter Twenty Seven:
"Aiyah!"
\
Chapter Count: 1
Total Count: 23
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 42
Aaaah, Voltaire. Good stuff. Hehehe...
Please don't give them the cutie marks they got in the show.
7384182 Love that song
Very funny, but it also brought a question to mind:
Did the captain ever see the three fillies without the 'normalcy' pendants?
It would surely explain his stubbornness.
7390494
Not yet he hasn't.
7390502 That explains it then...
7386516 Keep Counting!
I know your pain.