Evening fell, casting a cold glaze over Shell's eye as he stared across the rubble-strewn street. Under the last glint of sunlight, enforcers and citizens alike wandered around, trying to salvage whatever valuables they could from the wreckage. On several city blocks of Blue Nova, ponies battled blazes, their bodies forming shadows against red-orange spotlights.
Evans had been standing in front of the Prime Enforcer Shell for the better part of three minutes before he finally had the nerve to speak. When he talked, the soldier still didn't look up. “The good news is that there were actually fifty survivors from the Blue Skimmer when it fell. Several stallions had taken to escape craft before the Searonese ships flew into them. As for the dead... well... I've already orchestrated a division of messengers to prepare discreet letters to their families.”
Shell took a deep breath. His exposed and battered forelimb hung in a sling. He allowed his gaze to wander across the block, past sundered bits of concrete and burning shapes.
Evans gulped and said, “However, no amount of careful salvage or careful work will change the fact that... th-that I failed in my duties, sir.” Despite his shivers, he stood straight and tall, speaking as firmly as he could muster. “I had hoped to have done more with my first command of an armada to make the forces of Ledo proud, and I failed to accomplish a single task. I... I-I allowed countless suspects to escape, and I lost many brave souls in the process.”
Shell's eye wandered towards a weary soldier who was shuffling limply across the sidewalk. He was a decorated enforcer, but it was hard to tell from his uniform rippling in tatters off his frame. He trotted listlessly across the wreckage of the Blue Nova junction, his eyes searching feverishly for something...
“Sir? Sir, I can understand your anger and resentment right now. But I need to know what's to be done next. I accept whatever punishment y-you have to give me, sir. However, at the same time, I am obligated by duty to inform you that there is a message to be delivered. The... uh... the Council of Ledo has apparently been trying to contact you over the past seventy-two hours. I just received a letter from them shortly after the destruction and salvaging of the Blue Skimmer. They're asking that you report to them immediately, either via manacommunication or directly in the Queen's Capital.”
Shell blinked. He watched as two tiny forms waddled out into the street. At first sight of the wandering soldier, the foals gasped and ran directly towards him. The soldier, once haggard and dazed, instantly brightened upon seeing them. He ran over, fell to his knees, and scooped both children up with one forelimb. The young unicorns cried with joy, nuzzling their father as he hid his tearful face into their soft shoulders.
A deep shudder ran through Shell's body, and his brow relaxed around a moist eye.
“Sir?” Evans fidgeted... then fidgeted some more. “Sir, please, I... I need guidance here. You've never failed to command me ever...”
In one blink, Shell lost sight of the father and his foals. “There is only one victory,” he suddenly said in a metallic voice. With a wince, he slowly got up and stood on three legs. “Even if we haven't reached it yet, it doesn't make it any less special.”
Evans winced. “But... sir! The city is burning! Hundreds have died! The Blue Skimmer—”
“Were all necessary casualties in the pursuit of justice.” Shell frowned at Evans. “Are you questioning my judgment, Evans?”
The younger stallion hung his head. “No, Prime Enforcer—”
“Good. Because that and only that would be your first true failure. You functioned professionally at the battle over the hangar. I have no doubt more lives would have perished if you hadn't done your best to evade the trap they had sprung.”
“But... but the target—”
“There's a reason why this city blew up from underneath us. Just an hour ago, I was informed by our central security detachment that there's a sequencing chamber inside Nightshade HQ.”
“We...” Evans' face grimaced. “We infiltrated Nightshade's Headquarters? In the middle of a warzone?”
“From what we had discovered in the Industrial District, there was no other choice. She was suspected of dabbling in affairs that risked Confederate security, and that suspicion was right.”
“So...” Evans' shoulders slouched with a heavy exhale as he shrugged. “What now?! I mean, I-I'm sorry, sir! I'm doing the best I can, but no protocol has ever prepared me for all of this chaos and... and—”
Shell placed his good hoof on the soldier's shoulder. “At ease, Evans. It is my own fault for not preparing you better for this. I have had my eye on the prize for a long time.”
“I absolutely will serve you with the best of my abilities, sir. But... b-but perhaps a more veteran officer would be better at—”
“No, Evans,” Shell said firmly. “I trust you. That's what really matters in all of this.”
Evans bit his lip but ultimately uttered, “And what of the Council of Ledo's trust?”
Shell took a deep breath. “I'll deal with that when it is necessary, not when it is convenient.”
“Sir!” An enforcer galloped up, his beret covered in soot. Several other soldiers accompanied him as he stood and saluted before Shell. “Sir, there's news from the northwest patrol! We found her, sir!”
“Found who?”
“Nightshade!” he said. “Her zeppelin had crashed into the mountainside. The entire crew survived. We have them all detained, sir!”
Shell's eye narrowed. “Did she put up any resistance?”
“None, sir. And get this...” The enforcer leaned forward with a bright expression. “Her zeppelin had a sequencing chamber too!”
Evans' lips pursed. He looked towards Shell.
Shell, however, was gazing across the street. The father and his foals could not be found.
With a deep breath, he turned towards the officer and spoke in a deep voice. “Bring Nightshade here... and take her to her headquarters. I shall meet her there.”
“Sir...?”
Shell limped off, his face becoming one with the shadows. “I think we've landed on something that's bigger than the Battle of Blue Nova.”
\o/ Nightshade time!
...Shell getting his hooves on Nightshade and the sequencer is potentially very bad news...
... Oh, HELL. This is gonna spiral, and in the WRONG DIRECTIONS.
Wooooow.
Shell got her? Ouch.
Goodbye, Nightshade.
Well this can't be good for Nightshade. Not at all :C
Unless Shell, for whatever reason, decides to enlist her help. I can't really see it happening, but it's possible.
Shell about to meet Nightshade?
The flight path of the feces is about to be interrupted by an air oscillation device.
Forty-five pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Shell is such an awesome character, despite how friggin' awful he's been so far. This is all open to individual interpretation, but I don't see Shell as inherently evil. I see him as somepony who was once pure and whole, who has since collapsed in upon themselves to become the nihilist. To me, Shell is the absence, and that's the compelling thing about him. It is not necessarily the strength of his convictions as it is his utter lack of consideration or regard since surrendering the better part of himself.
It's even better when you compare him to Belle. Belle is full, Shell is empty. That emptiness however is a force nonetheless. Belle is the loyal and the faithful, Shell is the desolate and the dark. He's like a vacuum, and a vacuum can still kill you. Belle is exerting a pull where Shell is forcing a push, in that they are complementary. Shell was doubt, while Belle is faith. For Belle, and in a way Rainbow Dash, Shell represents the direct insertion of doubt into her world. Just about every horrible trial she’s gone through was a direct result of Shell’s actions. Despite Shell being what Belle hates and fears, her own convictions are actually brought to their knees by Nightshade. Being presented with a force given form that is directly conflicting with her beliefs, she would have to question as to whether she has the whole story, and she almost gives in. Meanwhile, as Belle's unwavering faith falters, Shell has hit such a depth of nothingness that he is left with a completely perverted certainty. Belle's world is shattered, Shell's becomes concrete. Maybe Shell was willing to embrace shades the of grey before we met him, but not any more.
This isn't to say he doesn't believe in some sort of balance, or that the convictions he has don't aim to restore some sort of equilibrium. We don't know all the pieces yet, but I feel that Shell has been so hurt, has endured so much in his time as an Enforcer, that he's gone to the very limit that any rational being can handle in the face of irrationality that there is nothing left for him to do but to collapse, to succumb and to let something greater become his conviction. He believes his path is the sane voice in a world of insanity brought upon by the Xonans and Rainbow Dash.
This is also really similar to the choice Belle makes when Nightshade is holding her captive. Belle makes a choice during the time she is most vulnerable. Something greater than herself, Rainbow Dash, steps in to save her. Shell also makes a choice, but he relents, he despairs, becomes vulnerable and only thing he can turn to is the higher power of Ledo. Unlike Belle, however, Shell is not really lifted up, he is dragged down. As the saying goes, the way out is through.
With Belle, she has to face death, face the abyss, but not fall in. She is saved before she perishes. Her conviction makes this so. Shell too faced disaster, look into the abyss, but did fall. That choice to let go is what facilitates everything that he is now.
That's my feeling at least, and that's how I feel about Shell and Belle as this cool sort of duality. Shell is kinda like Anakin Skywalker in a way, in that he believed he had to succumb. He had to give in, and by doing so he was carried along by a torrent of which he saw no escape from, nor any way out for somepony standing on front of it. Even with his own beloved, his feeling is as I said: stand with me, or die. It doesn't really matter in the end.
Despite any feelings that may be present, Shell has to give the same ultimatum to anypony that stands in the way of a power which supersedes anything he might feel outside of its torrent.
Is Shell evil? He might be now. But he might just be nothing. I think of the conflict with Shell not as not one of good and evil, but of full and empty. How full or how empty Belle or Shell are at the various points of their story, past or present, make it all the more interesting. I think the fluctuations are over, but we have a long way to go. Who will end up being full, and who will end up being left with nothing? What will being full mean?
All of this just gave me a great idea, and also really cold fingers.
...Damn, I think I went a little overboard here.
Well that will put Shell away for a little while.
How many times can you double down before the dice run out of sides? I mean in backgammon you can't go past 128.
Nightshade picked the wrong one to surrender to.
That's right, Shell, just follow the soldier like a good little bitc- dog. Just go away... WAY away... and never bother the heroes again.
...
EVER.
Well, this will be problematic. Shell and Nightshade will either join forces, or, perhaps slightly more likely, Shell will take what he needs from Nightshade and then arrest/dispose of her. Either way, we're drawing nearer the final ten chapters, so things are going to have to start coming together for the final climax. And I really, really, really hope Rainbow & Co. can just end this installment with a clean slate and a fresh horizon. If Shell survives and keeps chasing them, I might have to cry a little.
3089808 He went from losing a battle fleet to losing an entire city. I guess next is destroying Ledomare? After that a reasonable pony would stop because there's no possible benefit, but it would probably just make him more determined.
3089893
I know exactly what you mean... Rainbow's rate of progression towards her goal was exponential in Austraeoh, and over the course of the last two parts it's just flatlined. I really hope they get outta Ledomare soon.
And 3089702, I really like your avatar.
For a moment, my brain had a gigantic fart and thought that those two kids were happily running towards Shell, and that he brightened when he saw them.
That was really freaking weird.
3090029
I'd kind of like to see Xona.
I wanna see Rainbow go further east also. And Could I get more Kera please?
3090042 Hah! I thought the same thing! My eyes literally widened for a bit at that part.
Well, at the rate this is going, we're either going over 200 (not likely) or getting slightly longer chapters as they cover the raid at Pale Shelf. Belle is going to free the kids' parents, whether the inhabitants at Pale Shelf like it or not. Rainbow will probably help out once she catches up, probably with a RainBoom signal.
Hmm. If that does happen, we're probably going to have 2 airships. One w/ the Noble Jane, the other with Belle's foal and parent(?) laden zeppelin. I foresee/wildly guess Roarke wanting to fly it for herself.
Also, Terra, please stay dead. Roarke is all the Searonese we need.
So Shell isn't mad, Evans is safe for now, and Nightshade has been found alive.
Onward and Eastward!!!
Poor Enforcer Evans, he seems like a nice guy, even is ready to accept his failure. Hopefully he doesnt turn to the dark side in the end. Shell can die in a hole :P
3085976
But nothing beats the thrill of being able to read for hours straight, and not having to wait.
30+ chapters can still last awhile.
Also, still not entirely convinced that Floydien isn't a tree.
3086459
I didn't read the comments from the last ~20 or so chapters (had to read offline - no internet at home), so pardon me if already mentioned, but what did you worry was lacking in quality?
I can understand the openness and delay of resolution being frustrating. Like whatever the hell happened to Axan and her sisters. But I suppose we're in it for the long haul. only 9.075 books to go.
3089623
Really liked your comment. Plus, Shell... like an empty shell? :O
3089623
Holy shit. Dude that was an amazing analysis. You earned that up-vote!
I did it!! I finally caught up with everyone! Even beat Dashie at his evaluation tonight. I look forward to reading it when it's posted later. Keep the epic chapters coming Imploding
>> Aurum >> Khao me too
I really liked the father and foals detail, more of that please.
Rainbow will use her ability to sense the presence of the innavedr to find belle, so they won't have to erroneously raid pale shelf.
Shell will find someone to sequence with Nightshade and discover what Belle is up to, but Rainbow (and friends) will beat him to her.
Can we have them shipped?
Because I ship it. The sadomasochism is delicious.
IIIIIt's Dashie's First Get-Backing Adventure!
Huh...I like that we're getting to see more of Shell's past. I keep thinking that his final battle with Dash could totally break his spirit...And now Nightshade, too? I have a feeling that Shell will force her to help him, though...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Whew...four...days...I...did...it...
I hope Shell feeds Nightshade her own femur.
3090692
Welcome aboard!
3091339 Good to see you again Dashie.
Looking forward to more of your evaluations.
His other hoof is in a sling, right? So what's he standing on?
So Shell turns out to be an empty shell of whatever he formerly was. I wonder how far you plan ahead, IC.
15 chapters left to amaze. 15 more chances for shell to burn or be redeemed.
3091600Can't wait! Even thought act four took a while...<coughs>
3091267
WHY WOULD YOU GO AND SAY SOMETHING LIKE THAT. ARE YOU FRICKIN CRAZY.
I like the idea of Nightshade surviving this. In contrary to Shell, she feels like one of those villains who can be defeated without the need to kill them. She could even have an epic turnaround ending. You know, the regretful bad guy sacrificing himself for the hero kind of stuff. From that perspective, I don't like the idea of Shell meeting Nightshade in person. They may be equally ruthless, but Shell has the greater fury - I doubt she wouldn't even mentally stand a chance if it came to conflict. Also, quite frankly, I like her character much more than Shell's and it would be a shame losing her like that. Then again, if someone has to die...
Well, at least Shell is finally getting some in-depth perception of the situation.
Hah. Get it? Depth perception?
...I'll show myself out.
3089623 Or in short: it was gruesome circumstance and a barren, empty mind that turned him into a fanatic. Just so.
3089989 Are you implying that a reasonable pony wouldn't have stopped somewhere before that?
3092914
Yes.
I don't think Shell and Nightshade will get on well.
3093058 Well, Ledomare is on the verge of being wiped out by the Xonans anyway -- that's why they're so desperate -- and Shell thinks Rainbow Dash as Discord can turn that around. So you could make an argument that everything he's sacrificed so far was already doomed.
3093460 They are losing the war, that isn't quite exactly the same as facing utter extermination.
3089623
Hot diggety - Too long, did read.
The little bit with the father and foals was nice. With all the sharpshooting and awesome-sauce-ery of our protagonists going on, its easy to forget that the "enemy" are ponies, too. Some of which are probably just following orders and doing their job, rather than having any actual malicious intent driving their actions.
And stop making me feel vaguely sorry for Shell. The more development he gets, the more I dislike him yet begrudgingly accept him as a three-dimensional character with - *shudders* - sympathies.
Gotta go fast if I want to catch up before this thing wraps up - onward!
Ho eytiger thinks Shell felt some feels there...
3091339
Crazy thought, what was the building that Celestia built over the chaos rift in ponyville? Was it an Obelisk and if it was, what does that mean for the two other Obelisk found earlier, is it now part of the machine I don't know. Just a thought
And I got a suspicion that I think enforser Evens might be Shell's son. I mean this it imploding were talking about so enything can happen
God I love Shell.
Plot Twist: Celestia is actually the one who built the Ring system, and is just playing dumb because she wants Rainbow Dash to learn lessons about loyalty ... With a body count in the thousands and later on possibly millions :AJconfused: .
Hold on... this is just a crazy theory at the moment, but considering how Shell is actually being unusually nice to Evans, I can't help but wonder if Evans could be his other foal...
Also, I don't know if it's intentional or not, but I like how well the expression "eye on the prize" fits Shell here - not only does it describe his actions, but there's also the fact it uses the word eye. Singular.
This is getting more and more convoluted. Will it ever end?
Probably not in 15 chapters.
-SPirit
Shell finally easing up? This is the break the gang has been needing.