"Unggh... Look..." Josho frowned and rolled over across the metal floor. "Will you stop shivering?"
Eagle Eye grimaced, clutching his forelimbs to himself as he lay besides the heavyset stallion in the middle of the rusted prison hold full of exhausted ponies. "I c-can't help it..."
"It's not even cold in here!" Josho hissed.
"It's not the cold..." Eagle Eye whimpered.
Josho's gaze narrowed. "You started doing this crud right before they shoved us back into this thing."
"Shhh!" hissed one of the many miserable equines of the place.
"Yeah! Keep blowing!" Josho grumbled at him. "If you like, I can come over there and carve you a new trachea!"
The other prisoners said nothing.
With a sigh, Josho layed his head back down. His bleary eyes stared into the rusted floor. "Spark alive, what I wouldn't give for a drink right about now..."
"The cr-crystals..." Eagle Eye stammered.
"Yeah? What about them?" Josho grumbled.
"They must be doing something to m-me..." He said amidst his quivers. "To all of us..."
"Well, you the most, obviously."
"I think that's why the Diamond Dogs don't want to get too close. They know there's something toxic or d-dangerous..."
"Jee, you're just now figuring that out?"
"So sue me!" Eagle Eye grunted back, wincing as he felt the metal loop of the manacle around his forelimb. "I was always the dexterous one... not so much the clever pony." He sighed. "That was always Zenith's department. And Crimson..." He bit his lip and covered his sad face with a pair of limbs. "Ohhhhh Crimson..."
"Give it a rest, will ya?" Josho grumbled. "It's not like you were gonna marry him..." He then squinted and glanced over his shoulder. "Were you?"
"It wasn't like that..."
"Seems that way to me."
"It wasn't!" Eagle Eye frowned, then sighed yet again. "I knew he had his own life to live, his own family to return home to, his own future to care about..."
"Then why do you make such a big deal about him?"
Eagle Eye exhaled long and hard, ultimately murmuring into the rusted shadows of the room, "B-because I loved him anyways..."
"Heh. Figured—"
"Enough that, once we got back home..." Eagle Eye gulped. "I was thinking of hiking back north and g-getting captured."
Josho raised an eyebrow. He tilted back. "Say what?"
"Crimson is brave and all, and I'm glad for all he did to keep us safe." Eagle Eye shuddered. "But the fact is... the Ledomaritans don't stop for nothing."
"You got that right—er...." Josho winced.
"They would march their way into Franzington to find the four of us, even if we did make it," Eagle Eye said in a soft breath. "So, I had this idea that... maybe... just maybe I could sneak out and get myself captured, so that I could concoct this story about how every member of the Blades Guild died but me. Then... p-perhaps they'd believe it, and they would have left Franzington alone."
Josho shook his head. "Not a chance. They would have tortured you for the truth first."
"I wouldn't have given it to them."
"How could you possibly believe that?"
Eagle Eye opened his mouth. He lingered, but ultimately squeaked forth, "Because it's h-happened to me before..."
Josho blinked. He turned to look at him.
The young unicorn's eyes were moistening, but he sucked it in with a frowning breath.
Josho squinted. "Now you're just pulling my leg." Silence. "Aren't you?"
"When I went into battle in the northern Xonan heights..." Eagle Eye muttered, "I was ready to die. There was... more than one reason for that."
Josho's face was awash with confusion. Just then, a beam of light shone on them. He sat up and squinted towards the bright, outside world as the bodies of diamond dogs shuffled inward.
"Wakey wakey, poniesssssss!" An alpha canine slapped his whip against the nearest wall. "Back to the quarry!"
"Nnngh..." Eagle Eye tried getting up, but stumbled.
Josho glanced at him, then at the captors. "You gotta be drinking from toilets! You just had us retired less than three hours ago!"
"You want to dig?!" The diamond dog pointed at him, frowning. "Or you want to die?"
Josho glared. As ponies lurched up on all fours around him, he stood up and nudged Eagle Eye. "Come on, squirt. Up and at 'em."
"I... I-I can't do it," Eagle muttered.
"You think I give a crap?" Josho hissed. "If you don't get up, they're gonna rip your head off and I'll be bound to a slightly crappier smelling pony!"
"All the b-better... for you..." Eagle Eye wheezed, his body limp.
Josho's brow furrowed. He looked at the crowd surging out, then at the bright world beyond. With a groan, he glowed his horn and forcibly lifted Eagle Eye to his hooves.
Eagle groaned. "Where... why?"
"Just friggin' move," Josho grumbled, trying his best to make Eagle Eye look animated as the two lurched out of the prison cell and into the dust of the sun-lit crystal quarry. "I really, really don't want to spend the afternoon burying you."
"Why n-not? It h-has to be loads easier than hammering rock."
"Shut it."
poor poor Eagle Eye...
It's not lookin so good for poor Eagle Eye...
Wow. It seems Eagle Eye has paid a high price for loyalty. And yet he is willing to pay more. I... I feel the utmost respect.
30:60's, six reps. Knock 'em out!
I never would have thought that of Eagle Eye...
Why must all the OCs be so interesting?
It's just going to make it harder when you start killing them off.
...You're gonna have Crimson show up just as Eagle Eye dies, aren't you? You devious, evil bastard... Nice one.
And now, the crystals turn out to be filled with chaos energy and turn EE into a draconequis. That way, EE takes out the Killas before being killed by Roarke and Dash. Then Crimson arrives as EE turns back to normal. This will happen if my other plans dont.
Eagle Eye's selflessness is quite something to behold. It is at once both a testament to his strength character, and a striking stark look at just how much hope he has lost. Furthering the starkness of character, Josho's increasing change of heart is something to behold, especially in the context of loyalties and where they lie.
Poor Eagle Eye..
It looks like Josho has something to learn about loyalty from Eagle Eye. Maybe he'll learn something about Ledomare in the process. Hopefully he'll come to his senses before the crystals fry EE's brain from the inside out.
*Blades Guild
This has been Gram--I mean, Consistency Police with cannonSpectacle. We now return you to your regularly scheduled program.
Aw, just hug 'im already, ya big softie.
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Yow... that was not a connection I had made at all. These metal mares really are suddenly shaping up to be a majorly unsympathetic bunch of s, aren't they?
I keep trying to think of ways that EE and Josho can break out. But I don't think they will any time soon. A unicorn is going to come to the rescue, and we've all seen how well unicorns deal with the rocks around there. I just hope they're still alive at the end of the story.
I wonder what the crystals actually are doing to EE. Is this a crippling illness or a slow transformation?
Can't wait until tomorrow
I love Eagle Eye. I admire him for finding his inner strength time and time again when it comes to aiding those he loves - whereas he in a situation like this where he himself is in danger lacks this ardour completely. Truly, the world knows no greater valour than the coward who rises to meet his fear. Crimson may be a hero, but his own fears are no foe near as impressive to conquer. Once more, hats off to EE.
Also, I keep on wondering whether there is some kind of toxic gas involved with the crystals, or if the radiance of the Crystal Ponies is the reason for their discomfort. With this chapter up, I'd momentarily go for the latter. After all, Eagle Eye is not only the weakest member of the Blades Guild, but also the one with the most sensitive feeling for magic. Which then again would verify the assumed connections between the Crystal Ponies and the natural world...
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gosh, poor..... everyone...
Well I hope that things get better for them.
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Yeah... It's heavy stuff.
Everyone seems in pretty bad situations.
This is Australia...
...and I've caught up. This has been a hell of a journey, IC, and I have to say good job.
I'd say a lot more but I'm exhausted, so lets make this short and simple.
Excellent world building. Was curious about how big the world was(considering how far Dash must have flown), then you explained it.
Amazing characterization. I didn't like the way you wrote Dash at first, to be honest, then I learned more about her past in your world.
Beautiful descriptions. I'd like to see some more of them
I could mention a few other things. (underground/cave theme, then the machine world, etc) but I'm tired and I work in the morning.
So... Thanks, IC, for a fantastic series.
Finished it all in about 4 days of reading. Would have been less except for work and school.
Needs more awesome descriptions like in the beginning pleasepleaseplease :)
Eagle Eye has seen some shit.
Poor kid...interesting that Josho is not only looking out for the kid but...seems to be warming up to him.
Just what are those crystals and why are the Diamond Dogs mining them? So many questions....
josho was i hack soldier. shell and EE are the ones i feel for.
Hopefully their is some kind of cure
Aw, Josho's unleashing his inner papa bear! And poor EE! Guy hasn't caught a break in a long while - as grim as its looking for him, I am continuing to form my own head-canon where he retires to a tropical island after this mission with Crimson and his family. Or that he ends up hanging out with Pilate and Belle wherever they end up. Or maybe him and Josho will become bffs and have a party after this is all over. Anything that doesn't include imminent death sounds good for him right about now. Well, enough of my blathering - onward!
Makes sense. EE was always more sensitive to magic than the rest, so what is affecting the diamond dogs is affecting him the same, right?
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So EE is apparently made of stronger stuff than what we thought. I kind of expected something like this with EE. Also, it's interesting to see him open up to Josho about his true feelings for Crimson. It could just be because he's got no one else to talk to, but maybe the two are growing a mutual respect for one another. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
2347783 huh, so EE knew Crimson had a family, but loved him anyway? Huh. Also, again no comments here in a while.
Blargh, M/M shipping. Oh well. It's sad, his state... There's nothing he can do any more. Whether they win against the republic or not, he can't save Franzington, not anything. It's all gone.
But...
What if...
What if they all joined Dash? EE, Crimson, Phoenix? But they would still be leaving their families behind... I just don't know.
-SPirit
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What do you have against it?
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Too much penis for one man to handle, if you know what I mean.
Damn, EE is all kinds of depressed.
Entry II:
It appears I have traveled far enough to no longer see Eljunbyro looming behind me. I am well and truly 'in' this new land.
I found an old quarry of vibrant blue crystals, long abandoned. I kept a small fragment as a memento.
If I am lucky, the diamond dog tracks I found nearby are from a long gone pack.
I doubt enslavement would suit me, and I have somewhere to be.
I face east, and continue.
Stay strong Eagle Eye, stay strong
Aha! So it is crystal meth rock!
Just get a nice huff, EE, you'll be alright...
It must affect him more because he's more attuned to the leylines....or he has a weak constitution.
Eagle Eye is clearly blaming himself for things that in the end are simply not his fault. He needs to realize that, it is not his fault, and he did everything equinely possible to stop these bad things from happening
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Or, perhaps, he simply doesn't think he has a reason to live anymore.
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Eagle Eyes gift is a double edged sword
2E has a good backstory, and it’s only made me like him more. Josho seems to warming up to him, as well.
While 5is wasn’t the comedy chapter I expected, it was great anyways.
Is it weird that i can imagine Josho adopting EE?