“Mmmmf…” Rainbow Dash made little trilling sounds as she turned over in her restless slumber across the prison room floor. “Mmmm… just… j-just a little more…” She shivered from a dizzy spell, the edges of her eyelids turning moist. “Just a little more cider…”
Her ears twitched to the sound of the force field buzzing out. Several heavy hoofsteps trotted in, and with a telekinetic beam the pegasus was lifted viciously off the floor.
“Unnngh…” She instantly winced from a lavender glow in her face.
“Kii huu taa jaat, Trentte.” Dalen leaned past two burly guards, levitating the book of runes in his magical grasp. “The Princess awaits.”
Rainbow Dash could barely grunt a response. As she was being led away, her hooves brushed past Zetta, knocking the petite unicorn in the head.
“Mmmmmf…” The mare looked up, blinking. She gasped. “Hey… Hey!” She scampered up onto her hooves and rushed the exit. A guard trotted in and blocked her. “Where’re you taking her?! What is this?!”
Zetta’s commotion awoke, Zaid, Nightshade, Basso and the others. Soon, the entire cell of ponies was alive with confusion and anger. They rattled the walls and metal floorboard as more Xonans rushed in to hold them back.
“We’ve reached our destination,” Dalen spoke sharply over the crowd’s noise. “The pegasus is needed in royal company.”
“Not by herself, she isn’t!” Zetta exclaimed.
“Yeah! What happens to the rest of us, huh?!” a Ledomaritan soldier grunted.
“That is up to the glory of Nagu’n,” Dalen said, then motioned towards the guards carrying Rainbow Dash. “Juut senn hraak.”
“Dreit, Dalen Xon-Nagu’n.”
Zaid and Nightshade exchanged helpless glances.
“Funny thing about Nagu’n!” Zetta suddenly spat. “You wouldn’t have gotten a clue about how she was doing if it weren’t for a certain pony willingly giving her talents!”
Dalen froze in place. He closed his eyes and remained still.
“I had the honor and integrity to study her Song even though it was against my will!” Zetta frowned. “Have you an ounce of the same in that tattooed body of yours?!” She motioned at the group with her head. “This party is to stay safe!”
A heavy sigh ran through Dalen’s figure. He turned around, glaring lethargically at the mare. At last, he turned to the guards and nodded.
Several more shuffled in from the outside hallway. They formed a thick cluster around the guards, then ushered them single-file out of the brig and onto the deck above.
“Well done, my little pony,” Nightshade said as she trotted towards the front of the group.
“Yeah, for a unicorn with pockets you sure have some stones to fit in ‘em,” Zaid added with a wink.
Zetta shuddered as she shuffled ahead.
Basso leaned in as they trotted single-file. “Wow, you really know how to talk some sense into these Xonans, Zetta. I’m impressed.”
“Could you stay behind me, Basso?”
He blinked. “Uhhh… sure! What for?”
“If I faint, I wanna know I’ll fall on something I can trust.”
He gulped and nodded. “Totally. You can count on me.”
She bequeathed the walls a tired smile. “And that’s what keeps me going.”
Kera stood on the top deck, fidgeting. She chewed on her lip in a pensive manner, weathering the cold gusts of high altitude air blowing at her emerald bangs. When Rainbow Dash was at last carried onto the open surface of the Lightning Bearer, the filly spun around with a gasp.
“Rainbow!”
She scampered within spitting distance of the guards carrying the pegasus.
“Rainbow, are you okay? I haven’t seen you in two days! I was starting to get worried?”
“Never be worried, kid,” Rainbow stammered as she slowly regained control of her hooves. Her ears folded as her head tilted away from the tome and its lavender glow. “Try being bodacious instead.”
Kera’s eyes glanced worriedly between the book and Rainbow’s limp figure. “Did… did they beat you up?”
“No, but I almost wish they did.” Rainbow glared daggers at Dalen’s figure. “I almost think I prefer the murderous psychopath bad guys over the unfair advantage exploitation bad guys.” She paused to rub her head, but was shoved forward. “Nnngh! Hmmph… at least one of them I knew I could pummel in the face, no problem.”
“Where are the others?”
“Right behind me, scamp.”
Kera glanced back as several more ponies were ushered up from the stairwell. “Hey! It’s the mare with the pretty hair! And the big guy! Heeehee… and the funny guy!” Just then, her face hardened into a frown as her green eyes reflected Nightshade. “What’s she still doing here?”
“Sorry, I’ll beat her up eventually too.” Rainbow’s eyes searched the masts, rafters, and support struts of the dirigibles above.
“You looking for somepony, Rainbow Dash?”
The pegasus muttered, “Can’t see a single thing.” She gazed forward in a tired lurch. “Which means she’s doing her job.”
“Laak suun dree mehk rekk!” Dalen shouted. Several Xonans lined up, their hooves slapping into place as they stood at attention. The small group of prisoners--about sixteen ponies total--stood nervously within a thick circle of heavily armored guards.
All around the ship, the air was gray, as if the world couldn’t decide where the fog ended and the clouds began. Several vertical columns of smoke hung across the horizon like pillars. Unless one squinted hard, it looked like the landscape had gone crooked, and everything was at a perpetual lean. It was very disorienting, and it made Rainbow Dash feel even dizzier.
With the sound of humming manaengines, the twin battleships escorting the Lightning Bearer roared off in opposite directions. A patch of dull haze parted through the cloudy sky, filling the air with an ethereal gray mist.
Zaid tilted his head about, blinking. “So, like, where’s this super badass leader dude who staged this whole take over?” No sooner had he finished uttering this when a salvo of high-pitched shrieks filled the air. Every prisoner except Nightshade and Rainbow Dash flinched as a flock of glowing serpents flew up past the port side of the Lightning Bearer.
Every airborne snake was being ridden by a Xonan warrior, and at the head of the group--flying the largest and most threatening serpent of all--was Zytharros. He spun around, banked hard, and came into a hover before the bow of the Lightning Bearer. His armor pulsed in sequence with his bright eyes as he shouted above the whipping winds.
”Haasulieth messen lesso thriulen trenttenne Buch Tania Lasairfion Xon-Nagu’n! Rekkhuusuth melendriette hassaal mecrieth thrien dresdunadar!”
All as one, the Xonans slammed their hooves down and shouted, their tattoos glowing for a sparse few seconds of absolute fury. ”Dres dunn darr Nagu’n! Trendt Xon-Nagu’n!”
Zytharros pulled at the reins of his beast and pointed towards a patch of gray sky. “Rekku blassuun thien varr!”
Two beast riders flew up alongside him. The mounted ponies levitated horns to their muzzles and blew liberally. A loud bass noise filled the air.
Rainbow Dash listened curiously. To her left and right, she heard the noise multiply. She and Kera and the other ponies looked to see several Xonans lining the edges of the top deck, blowing through identical horns.
Soon, the sound echoed from the horizons, as multiple airships appeared through the mists, their crew complements blowing at similar instruments. The entire atmosphere vibrated with the righteous noise. And when it ended, a different sort of rumbling cascaded through the heavens.
“Whoah…” Zaid pointed up high. “Far out!”
“What?” Basso craned his neck to see, along with Zetta. “What’s far out?”
Nightshade, however, was gulping with a pale expression. “Spark spare us…”
The heavens parted--not in one crack, but in several. Multiple schisms broke the air, for soon a piece of the sky was unraveling, one abomination at a time. The world above bent like a warped mirror reflected off the back of enormous manta rays. These devilish monstrosities fell back, shrieking in twisted birdsong as they descended from an enormous spherical cluster that they had been clinging to. As their muscles woke up, their scales rolled back, no longer reflecting the mirage of a gray sky. In the span of a minute, the entire illusion faded, and high above the Lightning Bearer--several hundred meters in diameter--hovered a massive globe made out of jagged rock and granite. Several glowing clusters of magically imbued crystal were placed within the surface--embedded in the thick crust--at equidistant intervals.
The gigantic Xonan stronghold hovered like a second moon, orbited by hundreds upon thousands of shrieking reptilian monstrosities on leather wings. Several large holes--like polished caves--loomed along the middle and upper sections, and they were brimming with airships, battlecruisers, and Xonans on mounted serpents.
“That…” Kera murmured, her jaw hanging. “...is kind of awesome.”
“Pffft…” Rainbow Dash muttered. “Giant flying turds don’t deserve that word.”
Zytharros shouted to the air and flew forward. The Lightning Bearer followed him, and soon everypony found themselves hovering into the largest cave, and into the heart of the Sacred Hold.
secret mini moon base anyone? ( edit why 30 dislikes on comment what I do wrong? )
Finally. A chance to meet the Xonan demigod. I wonder what will come of this meeting.
I sense a deluge of lore incoming
I want to see what happens when RD wears/touches a chaos strip while near the book. I want explosions soon.
Or, RD getting control of the demon thingies. That would be hilarious.
Hmm...
Also this paragraph made me feel... strange.
3456171
Not gonna happen. Amusing idea nonetheless, though.
It's only a model...
Rest day, ):(. Enjoy it while it lasts...
The language barrier is rather spoiling the atmosphere. Insane nation of occult, chaos-worshipping mentalists have just revealed an enormous floating fortress by tearing open the sky and the language is the most unsettling thing for me. Probably not what you were going for.
Still, pretty impressive that you made up your own language. You'd think the Xonans would be a little bit more bothered about the fact that Rainbow just called the home of their goddesses a turd.
I predict that the meeting with Princess Buch Tania Lasairfion will go smoothly and without complications.
Okay, so less Stratopolis and more jumbo-sized Vivec Ministry of Truth. Kera's right, though, it's still awesome.
3456270
Well, as long as the noble jurists don't show up halfway through.
This is Australia...
i.imgur.com/e1QWtVs.jpg
I just skimmed through my personal image folder and realised that I had perfectly relevant pictures for almost every single landscape described so far - but this one. So much potential going to waste, such inefficiency! I shall repent.
Anyway - the construction of such a fortress would be an interesting endeavour to watch. What came first, the giant stone orb thingy or the twenty thousand chaos creatures keeping it afloat?
3456282 Guess who will be laughing once Rainbow destroys the Heart of Nagu'n.
Dayum...
That's...that's just...wow...
zomgflyingrockfortressofawesomenesssocool
zaid is putting on the moves.
also:
motivateurself.files.wordpress.com/2008/06/thats-no-moon.jpg
Xonan certainly is a musical language... yeah... like a fork in a garbage disposal, or a Wookie getting kicked in the jewels.
Flying eldritch moon fortress. Okay. Reasonable.
Welcome, To Laputa, Castle In The Sky.
Thats no moon. Nope, but Bassos going to be on it pretty soon. and theres a certain corridor with Dashs name on it.
Hmm, Crysssssstals. Pity that being of perfect construction they have a very pure resonant frequency.
So, you know what happens when the fat lady sings.
I dont hear no fat lady.
Ok that base is pretty badass. I can hardly wait for it to crash to earth and crack like an egg.
Or alternatively it could explode like the Death Star.
I sense a moderate probability of that megastructure being destroyed in a massive explosion sometime in the future.
Hey, mind your language, Dalen :)
Goddamn, there was some impressive imagery in this one. And that not-turd must be huge if the LB can fit in just one of its hangars. I can only assume that the crystals mentioned being embedded in its surface are the same stone as what the Noble Jury has, and therefore, the reason for the Sacred Hold's ability to fly. On the flip-side, the fact that Lasairfion and her minions are homing it up in a movable, hovering fortress sort of challenges the machine world connection, though I'm sure there has to be one still. Whatevs.
...now that's not even the right letter, Dash.
That's what I would have said if Kera didn't already say it.
Looking forward to meeting Lasairfion
~Basso
3457181
Wait, what?
3456171
What about this:
She touches a chaos strip while near the book and her pendant falls off!!
...
All while gaining control of the demon serpent thingies.
Wow. That imagery was just ... damn. Awesome isn't a word to be used lightly in this story, but Kera hit it on the head.
Although the mood was ruined when I looked at the chapter title again and burst out laughing.
It occurs to me: if the crystals in the Sacred Hold thing are sky-stone, and if sky-stone is found at the edges of the world, then maybe, just maybe, Nagu'n is from the dark side of the world, or something like it.
3456529
Nah, they'll most likely run into Shell, at this point.
3458843
Good point. I'd forgotten about him.
And if those crystals are skystone, that whole ball of rock is a giant Shell Magnet (Patent Pending).
This is Australia...
No one calls anything but Rainbow Dash awesome....
but it is pretty cool.
Plus i can feel the distant thunder of bombs in our future... and lots of explosions!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
3457136>>3456263>>3456282>>3456647>>3457291
Two things:
This foretess has major Unyielding Hierophant vibes everywhere.
Conspiracy time:
Nagu'n has got a less malignant form of whatever eating Dash. She wants the pendant. RD goes chaotic
A Message from MASH-
Need...sleeps...
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Whoa. Um.
...
Well then. As cool as that is...Damn. How do they pull it off? Is there a spell to make it blend in with the sky? And even then, what's keeping it afloat?
Find out next time on DragonBall Z!
These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Just watched the Season 4 premiere.
AND OH
MY GOD.
That's no moon! It's a trap! Oh, wait. We already knew that.
How are the Ledomaritans beating the Xonans again? They have spirit snakes! And floating strongholds! Equestria got off pretty darn lucky, not being situated next to any of these crazy places, I'll tell you that much.
Onward!
3456147 I'm not sure.
Awesome.
Why would you even say that, Dash.
-Spirit
3457136
forget the fat lady! youre obsessed with the fat lady!
beyond that cloud is a floating city that noone here on Earth believes exists.
and ive saved the best reference for last!
That's no moon...its a space station.
3456647 That is...legitimate...one of the most beautiful wallpapers ive yet seen....Im in awe...
i have my own share of nice wallpapers if you want any, i can pm them to you.
How much does it cost, and where can I buy that flying awesomeness?
Holy hell, so they can hide entire BUILDINGS inside chaos rifts?
Man, RD is NOT gonna like it in there.
It's a flying mountain.
Well, it's not a giant tank, but it's still impressive.
That's no moon; it's a snake station.
There is only one set of music appropriate for this scene
05/23/2017 21:41 UTC
What the actual fuck is this cultist idiot talking about?
Ponies don't have pockets...or stones.
Or stones. Especially not if they have nipples.
8079496
Snakes oon a train meets snakes on the moon
She said it!!!
She said the line!!
3456147
A mystery to me too, I'm trying to find out why.
8707526
Not a normal pocket, but a fun pocket.
He's making one of the dirtiest jokes I've ever heard