“We need to leave,” Lunarius said in a firm tone. His eyes glared. “Now.”
“That's... going to be a bit difficult,” Eagle Eye said, wincing. “You see, we didn't think this was going to turn into an escort mission. Our flying machine doesn't exactly have room for five derrieres, royal or not. Waaaie!”
Eagle hung in the grip of Lunarius' angry hooves as the King crossed the cave distance and held the unicorn towards his growling face. “We'll be dead if we stay here and let the Guardians get us!”
“Whoaaaaaaah-there, Bambitron.” Josho telekinetically split the two apart and placed Eagle gently onto his hooves. “First thing's first, we're on your side. Second...” He glared daggers at the royal buck. “You roughhouse the kid again, and I'll shove those antlers of yours someplace so dark that all of Val Roa's candles won't help you find 'em.”
Azira winced.
“Uhhh...” Eagle Eye gulped. “Old stallion—?”
“We came a long-ass way to figure out what Queen Chrysalis had placed here in this horrible arctic anus! I'm not expecting you to kiss our fetlocks right off the bat or anything, but would it kill ya to show a teensy bit of dayum respect?!”
“Queen Chrysalis...” Lunarius murmured. His eyes swept across the lower end of the cave and its slime-encrusted walls “...so that was the beast's name?”
“You've seen her?!” Eagle Eye exclaimed, leaning forward.
“An unfathomably long time ago,” Azira explained, shivering. “Within days of our separation from our beloved son, we were brought here and imprisoned before her presence. She... had a legion of horribly disfigured ponies here: more crustaceans than equines.”
“The minions worked for her,” Lunarius said. “Though it was obvious to us that they didn't exactly desire to do so.”
Josho glanced at Eagle Eye. “Those must be the husks we saw on the way here.”
Eagle Eye shuddered. “It had to have been right after Chrysalis lost control of the Hive Mind.” He glanced up. “She must have dominated control over one fledgling nest.” He gulped. “You're telling us that they didn't follow her willingly?”
“Shortly after obeying her rules, she... sacrificed them,” Lunarius said.
“Sacrificed them?” Josho's eyes narrowed. “In what way?”
“She... eviscerated them,” Azira said, eyes tearing up. “I didn't think it was possible to pity such miserable creatures. But, before our eyes, she slew them one by one and... and...”
“She utilized their inner effluence,” Lunarius said. He gestured at the slimy platform behind them. “It's what she used to craft our prison.”
Eagle Eye held a hoof over his cheeks, grimacing.
“It... must have channeled whatever power she had given to her traitorous conspirators in Val Roa,” Lunarius said. “Because when Sharp Quill later showed up to torment us, it was evident that the substance within the platform only magnified the magic spells he performed on us... leeching us of our thoughts and consciousness.”
“Wait...” Josho leaned forward. “Did you ever see Chrysalis again?”
“How means you?”
“The changeling monster that gooped you two in here!” Josho exclaimed. “Did she ever appear again after Sharp Quill's visits?”
Lunarius blinked. “Nay...” He shook his head. “We've had every reason to assume she's elsewhere in Val Roa, weaving her terrible web of plans.”
“She gave us to Sharp Quill to exploit and dissect from the inside out,” Azira said with a shuddering breath. “And now he's using that to exploit our son.”
Once more, a loud shriek echoed through the cave. The deer and ponies looked around, nervous.
“Alas... there's no time for this!” Lunarius grumbled. “There's no time for anything! Her guardians! They will return!”
“But, I thought you said she turned on all her minions!” Eagle Eye exclaimed.
“Yes...” Lunarius nodded. “And they were merely food for these monstrosities. It doesn't matter where she harvested them from, but they devour mana—especially in imbalanced bursts. And now that you've freed us from the prison keeping our energy at bay—”
Another shriek rolled through the chamber. Sparks danced between the skystone nodes above, a few of the bands dipping low enough to make Josho's and Eagle's manes stick on end.
“They're coming back!” Azira exclaimed. “They hunger! And with the four of us free, it's their first chance to have their fill in ages!”
“But I-I thought you said these things only eat mana!” Eagle Eye exclaimed.
Lunarius' eyes narrowed. “Do you unicorns ever leave your horns at home?”
Eagle glanced at the king's glowing antlers, then at Josho. “Can we commence with the skedaddling already?”
“Right.” Josho was already whipping out the sound stone as he lit a path down the way they came. “Booster! Booster Spice! Now would be a good time to reply, buddy!
“Scrkkkkk!”
“Still no luck?!” Eagle exclaimed.
“If you can't hear your companion via leylines, then that means it's too late,” Azira said, shaking her head. “The monster's guardians are upon us.”
“No offense, Queen, but save your woeful words for when you can put hoof to quill again!” Josho pumped his shotgun and gestured at Eagle Eye. “We're getting your royal butts back to your kid, y'hear?!” He marched down the corridor, frowning. “Nothing's gobbling this old bastard up. Not while I'm still alive to fart! Now move your tails!”
PRELUDE TO HALFTIME
2gross4me
So now we know why everyone was dead in there and what happened.
...Well...that sheds a rather unpleasant light on what happened on Chryssy's end when she lost control.
Josho is best pseudo father. Also, ew. Just ew. Chrysalis you a bitch.
Bambitron
Love it
Anyways, this picture sums up my opinion of this whole situation:
i0.kym-cdn.com/photos/images/original/000/339/808/122.png
Can't wait to see what the guardians look like
Okay, so these "guardians" aren't changelings. That pretty much narrows it down to chaos bat creatures, or some other Dark World abomination (which, in turn, implies either a door to the Machine World and/or a possible passage to the Dark World itself, as per my previous hypothesis).
Hold onto your butts.
So. Looks like I'm Chrysalis.
What happened to the original Sharp Quill?
Just Essay better make this worth my while. Las Pegasus, Derpy, and a shard mission still works for me. (and no Stu Leaves!)
wat
No. All three of us are Chrysalis. That's why we can't get too close to each other. We'd fuse back into a single being or something. That's what she did with all the whatever she got from harvesting her drones.
But Sharp Quill is probably the leader, or whatever. The purple eyes are one giveaway, along with him being the one to visit the prisoners to feed.
5406907 That's not the conclusion I drew at all. Chrysalis captured the King and Queen (possibly with Sharp Quill's help), slaughtered her young to make the cocoons, set up the Guardians, and left. Nowhere does it indicate that she replaced Sharp Quill. In fact, based on Sharp Quill's mental correspondance and dialogue ("I will do whatever she demands" when he was holding Eine against the wall, etc.), I'd heavily wager that he's not Chrysalis.
5407144 We don't know who this "she" is. We've been assuming it's Chrysalis. Chryssi could have sunk so low after losing her hive that she's forced to work for someone else.
The evidence SQ is Chrysalis is (1) she disappears and SQ from then on visits the royal prisoners and (2) SQ behaves much like a changeling in feeding off the prisoners.
5407179 The obvious answer is that Midnite's secret daughter is Chrysalis.
Does this feel to convenient to anyone else?
5407144 It's possible the Sharp Quill that was feeding off the king and queen was Chrysalis. She may have been using that form to get them angry to increase feeding, while the other one was in Val Roa.
So Chryssi killed the changelings, SQ has been plucking information from the royals to manipulate the prince, and the cave is infested with mana eating monsters.
I wonder what Ebon's making for dinner.
Yeeeeeaaaahh, have Josho and EE gone through any actual... bonding moment yet? As in, father and son moment?
Nearly halfway there, and shit isn't getting any easier...
5407289
IC is probably reading these anyway and will pull something crazy on us. Just wait...
But like you said, I am pretty sure the SQ interacting with Saikano and Fishberry isn't Chrysalis.
Ebon said he couldn't feel her, but would Chrysalis's lack powers affect his ability to sense?
Fortunately, at that moment...
The animator suffered a fatal heart attack!
... Maybe?
*Fishberry looks hopeful*
I mean, isn't the plot already complicated enough without adding even more terrifying hell abominations?
5406907
You can go ahead and be Chrysalis.
I'll be on the next airship heading to Mexicolt.
Chapter 98. Comin' up on halftime.
Well, thats disgusting. from the sewer to the guts of the problem as it were?
Internal politics anyone?
Hmm. These guardian monstrocities demand, desire, devour mana, and flesh just gets in the way? Pity Josho or otherwise cant cause a breach in the major mana warpcore behind them, monstrocities are moths to flame, so the far lesser mana sources can get out, Oh Hey guys, this soundstones working again. Um, whats that screaming sound? guys? GUYS?
Bomb Five, please return to the bomb bay.
BIG MANA MONSTER INCOMING!
Wow...chrysie doesn't handle rejection well, now does she?
5406808
shit's metal as fuck
5408042 2metal4me
IC's not even half way through and it's already longer than Austraeoh!
please tell me the king has a badass amount of magic, like, Twilight Sparkle levels
Booster, where?!?
I just hope that casting a shadow across the warp is an ability the Eldar truly have.
'Do you ever leave your horns at home'? Floydien would have a ball in that cave.
I love Josho.
Come on, go go go! You can do it!
-Spirit
I don't think I want to know what these guardians are.
I'm not saying that Sharp Quill is Chrysalis, but have you ever seen them in a prison-cave together?
5965580 lol
They eat mana? Going to be a problem using mana to defeat them then.
Ugh, if she's gone that means we still don't know whether she's controlling the three from afar or has turned into one or more of them.
A N G R Y
P A P A
M O D E
A C T I V A T E D