“Ungh!” Belle grunted as she was shoved towards the edge of the Steel Wing’s starboard side. Her eyes were still coming into focus from so much prolonged isolation in the dark. Only when she stood before the ship’s railing did she finally capture the landscape in all its glory.
A bitter chilled tundra stretched beneath her. Pale blue and green grass loomed beneath sheets of permafrost. Sticking out of the wide-stretching plains, a shattered mesa lay in two shattered pieces, as if cracked down the center. Built into the fissure of the two halves of the miniature plateau, several tall concrete buildings stretched for the sky. Multiple platforms with decrepit mana turrets lay on the southern and eastern faces of the structures, their rusted machinery overrun with vines and moss.
“Everything is a graveyard, dear doctor.”
Belle jerked, glancing to her side. Shivering.
Past a line of enforcers standing at attention, Shell limped into view. The first thing the mare saw was the glint of the sunlight off the horn necklace rattling beneath his fuzzy chin.
“From former bastions against our enemies to the chambers where we hold our hearts,” he muttered into the icy breeze. “Life is full of strategic retreats, and all we have to return to is decay.” He tilted until his good eye rested on Belle’s figure. “Even if all you do is flee towards one horizon, the past has a way of catching up to you, exhuming old wounds.”
Belle took a deep breath before eventually muttering, “Leave it to you to know the heart of a coward.”
“A pony with nothing to lose has nothing to fear.” He drifted forward until she could smell his rancid breath. “You and I have that in common now. Do we not?”
Belle avoided his gaze. Her tail twitched, struggling to conceal the sound stone in her possession.
“But you and I are going to bring something back,” Shell said in a breathy tone. “The scabs of this war won’t stay concrete forever, not so long as you and I have gifts to share.”
“Sequencing won’t bring her back, Shell,” Belle said. “If it’s closure that you seek--”
“The target remains at large,” Shell said. “I’ll know no closure until she does.”
Belle’s lips pursed. “But I thought you said--”
“Don’t misunderstand me, doctor,” Shell tilted her chin up as he stared at his reflection in her gritting teeth. “If I learn anything from this, it’ll be what to tell her when I reel her in. It’s not just my own vindication that I seek, but Imre’s as well.”
Belle hissed through her clenched jaws. “And… if y-you’re wrong…?”
“For your sake, let’s hope that I am not.” He shoved her towards the railing and shouted over the ship’s deck. “Prepare the transport!”
Dalen trotted into the lavish parlor. He came to a stop, blinking.
Several Xonan servants stood in separate corners of the room, putting the finishing touches on their dutiful tasks. The ponies--all of them mares--dried a bathtub and gathered towels and cleaning oils. A pair stood at the back, hanging and straightening a traditional Xonan gown. Then, on the edge of a bed towards the side of the guest room, Kera sat, freshly scrubbed and dried. She winced as a mare squatted behind her, brushing the last of several long-lasting tangles from her mane. The filly’s hair hung straight for the first time in her life, resembling emerald silk.
Dalen rubbed his chin as he studied the scene. At last, three of the maidens trotted up and bowed before him. “Freet suun mekh thrien trentte bleen, Dalen Xon-Nagu’n. Punh reet fran slemm?”
“Nak veen.” Dalen bowed in response. “Haav reen trentte blunn vaar. Keev shreen rekkh maak glann.”
They bowed again--shortly this time--and trotted off with pleasant, humble smiles. In the meantime, Dalen approached Kera who was still wincing from the last of her tangles being brushed free.
“Do you now doubt our hospitality, child?” he remarked.
“I… uh…” She gritted her teeth. “I-I really could have gone without the two-hour bath and--ow ow ow ow!” She hissed, her entire head witching. “Skull-pull. Ungh…”
“A filly your age has no business wearing her mane in any other fashion,” Dalen said. He received a confused glance from the mare. Looking back at her, he swiftly murmured, “Hraak siul trentte muln riff thiul Ledomuul.”
“Ah…” The mare nodded, smiled, and resumed brushing.
“What’d you tell her?” Kera asked.
“That I speak to you in the unholy tongue of Ledo.”
“Ah…” Kera winced past another tangle or two. “Of course you did.”
“Feeling better now that you’re on the other side of the bars?”
“Oh!” Kera smiled as plastically as she could. “You know it! Those… f-filthy creeps! I couldn’t stand to be in the room one second longer with them!”
“Oh really…?”
“It took me such a long time to figure it out. But they’re all just wanting to save their own skin! They don’t care about me! They don’t care about… about…” Kera fidgeted. “Our Goddess.”
“Don’t you mean my Goddess?”
“No, dude! Ours!” Kera’s green eyes sparkled. “I wanna know more about Nagu’n! I… like… f-feel it in my heart! Her song is calling to me n’stuff!”
“I see…” Dalen slowly nodded. He then glanced over at the mare. “Rekk lum thiul cass thraat. Bleen.”
The maiden nodded. “Dreit, Dalen Xon-Nagu’n.” With a graceful bow, she got up and trotted away on dainty hooves.
Kera watched, her mouth hanging curiously agape. Once she was alone in the room with the stallion, his shadow loomed over her.
“Listen, child,” Dalen spoke, his eyes hard. “I did not become a double agent on board the goddess-forsaken Lightning Bearer because of my brawn. I’ve created veils of deceit so complicated that it would turn your precious mind inside out. I know that you are making an attempt to take advantage of my good nature and Xonan sensibilities. I think it would do the both of us a lot of good if you were to bring the charade to a close.”
“Wh-what are you talking about?” Kera’s teeth sparkled beneath twitching eyes. “I wanna be a true Xonan! Through and through! That’s all!”
Dalen’s gaze hardened like a chest full of daggers.
Kera bit her lip. With a sigh, she leaned back on the bed, pulling anxiously at her straight-as-razor mane. “What g-gave it away?”
“There was simply nothing to give,” Dalen said. “The child I first spoke to--the angry, resentful, and confused child--that is the true you, and I very much doubt that it has changed.”
“Yeah, well, what about the confused part?” She gazed sadly up at him. “You believe in that, don’t you?”
“I once did. But you’ve proven to be anything but cooperative in the past.”
“Well at least I have somepony that I believe in,” Kera said with a frown. “What about you?”
“My devotion to Lasairfion, blessed by Nagu’n, has not changed.”
“Then why haven’t you decapitated me by now?”
Dalen’s eyes twitched. “I beg your pardon?”
“You found me out, didn’t ya?!” she barked, shrugging her forelimbs to the walls of the parlor. “I tried to deceive you! I took advantage of your good grace and all that junk! Shouldn’t you be punishing me for being… uh… tainted by Ledomuul or some crap?”
Dalen sat back with a sigh. His eyes looked distant. “I do not harm foals…”
“I think it’s a whole bunch more complicated than that!” Kera hopped down from the bed and stood before him. Their eyes were almost at even level now that he was sitting. “I think you need somepony to actually care for!”
“What I do and the way I do it--I do it for my family,” Dalen said in a gravelly tone.
“Yeah!” Kera nodded. “Cuz so long as you’re stuck scrubbing the floors beneath other ponies’ hooves, they’re forever gonna be Third-Born, right?”
Dalen bit his lip.
“See, I’m not the only pony who’s see-through!” Kera smirked proudly. “You’ve got a ton of holes in ya, dude. If you were living out on the street like that, the other alley rats would rip you to shreds! It just ain’t safe! No wonder they haven’t promoted you yet!”
“They haven’t lifted me and my family back to glory because of my failure.”
“Nah, I don’t think it’s that clear-cut,” Kera said. “Zytharros and the other dude? They just don’t care! That’s all there is to it, huh? You’ve bent your back for them time and time again, and yet they don’t give you the light of day?”
Dalen was starting to breathe faster. His hooves scuffed against the floor as they coiled inward.
Kera saw it. She saw everything. “I think… what you need is somepony to talk to about this, dude. How long have you been going at it alone?”
“It is not something to be discussed with you,” Dalen muttered. “You deserve a righteous life, and it’s evident to me that all you wish to do is sneak your way around such an opportunity to gain what you desire.”
Kera leaned back, fidgeting with her mane. She then blinked and said, “‘You belong to something far greater and older than yourself.’”
Dalen’s eyes darted to meet hers.
“That’s what you said, y’know,” Kera remarked with a smile. “You’ve always been hell-bent on righteousness and restoration. If the other ponies can’t give it to you, then the problem is with them. Not you! Don’t you deserve to be Second Born again?”
“That is ultimately up to the glory of Negu’n,” Dalen said, though his breath shuddered at the end of the proclamation.
“Something tells me somepony isn’t all that sure about it,” Kera said. After a few seconds, she trotted over and plopped down beside him. “So, what’s the harm in telling me all about it?” She smiled up at him cutely. “What’s the deal with this Nagu’n Goddess anyways?”
Dalen glared down at her. “The righteous fury she possesses would crush your fragile little mind.”
Kera’s tattooed brow furrowed. “Try me.”
Dalen’s ears folded nervously upon witnessing that.
“Forty-three,” Zaid said dryly to the prison ceiling. “There are… forty-three bars enclosing the cell that we’re in. The ceiling has seventy-two panels, and there are th-three big cracks in the floor.” He swallowed as he sat up with his back shivering against the wall. “If you multiply forty-three by seventy and divide it by three and then produce the square root of all that…” His voice trailed off as his eyes grew wider.
“What…?” Basso looked over, weakly. “A pattern?”
Zaid whimpered, then glanced back. “It means I haven’t eaten anything in nearly twelve hours.”
Basso groaned and face-hoofed. He looked over towards Zetta who was shivering. “Zetta. Zetta, are you doing alright, filly?”
“The song h-has changed,” she remarked, curling her forelimbs towards her chest. Basso leaned over and hugged her, keeping the mare warm. “This Nagu’n… she’s determined to get someplace, and she’s bringing the entire Sacred Hold with her.”
“Maybe she’s ready to finish us off,” Basso said. “Or… or the war, I mean. Whoever these ponies believe in, it’s gotta be super tough.”
Zetta sniffled, her eyes moistening. “I wish it would just finish us off.” She whimpered. “Nopony else. My family is only two hundred miles from the front. If… if it reaches them…”
“Shhhh… Don’t even talk about that, Zetta.”
“I… I-I don’t know what to do, Basso,” Zetta quietly cried. “I feel like I heard this coming from leagues away. We should have done something to prevent it! I should have d-done something! And now… n-now my family… every family in Ledomare is going to suffer…”
“Don’t give into fear. We still have some aces in the hole.” He turned and looked over his shoulder. “Don’t we?”
Nightshade glanced back, saying nothing.
“Don’t look at me,” Zaid muttered in mid-yawn. “I only play Unoats.”
Basso groaned again.
Nightshade slowly stood up, wrapping a moth-eaten cloak tighter around her figure. “The cultist is onto something, though.”
“I am?”
She squinted through the bars of the place. “They haven’t fed us in nearly a day. For that matter, none of the guards have shown up in hours.”
“Yeah?” Basso muttered. “So?”
“So… they’re obviously detained by something,” Nightshade said. “It’s almost as if… as if…”
A scuffling noise.
Nightshade looked up.
Two guards fell from the ceiling, landing on the floor with a clatter of loose armor. Zetta gasped and Basso stifled a yell. The other enforces began murmuring in shock.
“Damn, if they haven’t got the weirdest sprinkler system in here!” Zaid spat.
“Shhhh!” Nightshade glanced from the unconscious guards to the shadowy space beyond the bars. “We’re not alone!”
Sure enough, with the twanging lengths of black cables, a metal mare descended from the ceiling.
“Hey!” Zaid brightened, galloping up to the bars. “It’s Sexsteel! Yay for Sexsteel!”
Roarke glared at him, then took in the rest of the ponies whose faces reflected off of her lenses. She glanced behind her, checked for signs of movement, then slithered towards the cell itself.
“Please tell me that you’ve come to break us out of here!” Zaid pleaded.
“Not right now,” Roarke’s voice rang forth, though somehow still maintained a whisper. “We are too deep into the Hold for a successful breakout of this many ponies. Besides, I suspect a moment of opportunity will arise that we can take advantage of.”
“Moment of opportunity?” Nightshade whispered. “Like what?”
“Hey!” Basso pointed as Zetta stared at the metal mare with a gaping expression. “I know that pony! She’s the one who spoke to us from beyond the wall of the other cell we were in!”
Roarke glared over her shoulder. “He will be getting out last.”
“Oh…” Basso’s ginormous earlobes drooped. “I’m sorry… for whatever I did.”
“I don’t get it!” Zetta squeaked. “What is this? Have you come to break us out or not?”
“All in due time.” Roarke gulped. “You ponies need to know…”
Nightshade leaned forward. “Know what?”
Roarke gazed weakly from beyond the bars. “What I have witnessed… of this ‘Nagu’n.’”
“Br-bringing home the southern b-birds, a pegasus’ job begins,” Rainbow Dash murmured as blood trickled down her face. The branches from her forehead had reached a good four inches by now, and the coat along her body had grown dull and shaggy. “And cl-clearing all the gloomy skies to let the s-sunshine in…”
A wave of pain flew through her. She writhed against the metal shackles chaining her to the dais. Her panting figure undulated with tiny whimpers.
“We m-move the clouds…” She gulped. “And melt the white sn-snow. When the sun c-c-comes up… its warmth and b-beauty will… glow…”
Hoofsteps.
With a weak sniffle, Rainbow Dash glanced up. Her foggy vision twitched from red to yellow and back. Three shadowed figures trotted into view, standing just beneath the anchored pendant of Loyalty.
Two Xonan guards in royal armor trained their poleaxes on the bound, mutating pegasus. In the center, a familiar equine in a gray robe trotted up.
“M’sella’nar vm’beraat’sun calla’sath,” the mare said, her blank muzzle moving like a ghostly mouth against the darkness of the chamber. She trotted a full circle around Rainbow Dash, observing the effects of chaos on her body. “Hmmm… Lasairfion Xon-Nagu’n rekk’arthan syl’rak’tuh drem’a’darr.”
“Dreit, trelliuth massadreen,” one of the guards said, nodding.
As the mare shuffled to the side, her robe unfurled slightly. A fetlock with red, yellow, and green bands flashed in the ruby light.
Rainbow’s breath sucked in. “You…” Her eyes darted up as she hissed in a dark voice. “You are n-not the interpreter…”
The two guards rattled in surprise, gazing straight at Rainbow.
The mare looked at her, then at them. She squatted low as something exploded from within her robe.
Th-Thunk! A steam bolt flew into one of the guards’ neck.
“Hckkkllt-pbkkkktkt!” He gurgled on his own blood.
“Ledomulian trentte!” The other rushed the mare, only for her to blast up on steam vents and drape the cloak over his face. He slammed blindly into one of the poles chaining Rainbow in place. As he stumbled backwards, ripping the robe free, the mare landed on his backside. In place of tattoos, she carried a complex rigging of steam tools and hydraulic cables. None of this weighed her down from the act of stabbing him repeatedly in the neck with a serrated dagger.
“Hraauckkt--Aaaughhhlghkkt!” He fell down like a wet sack of meat. Panting, the mare dismounted and sheathed her bloodstained weapon.
Rainbow Dash was already rattling furiously in her binds. “You?! How… how in the flying f-feather did you get here?!”
“I’m not the one you should be pointing a hoof at,” Khao said as she icily turned around and glared at the pony. “Didn’t I warn you, Austraeoh?” Her eyes narrowed. “Didn’t I warn you that horrible things awaited you in this part of the world?”
“Darn it!” Rainbow Dash hissed, her eyes rolling back as more blood trickled down her forehead. “I need to get free!”
“No,” Khao shook her head. “First, you need to see.”
Jerk!
Well, I guess +1 Karma point for Khao, but I'm not sure this won't be brainwashing of some sort...
Was just wondering how long until the crazy cult would be back.
The heck's this pony gonna do this time.
It's probably a bad thing that when I saw this, my brain immediately jumped to Attack of the The Eye Creatures.
Actually, I want to say something about Shell at this moment.
I think, that while of course, we see the incoming final doom of Prime Enforcer Shell, in these last moments he deserves the best way to leave this story.
During the entire story I have met a huge amount of hatred towards him, and I know that it was justified. But the far it goes, I think that it's a tragic moment, and with each chapter I see that Shell became victim of his own code of honour and valors, that everything he touches, even with "good intentions" turns out to be something completely cruel, out of mind.
Shell is villain that survived incredibly long amount of time, and I as a reader, I'm really used to his character. He was just, basically, always. From the very beginning of Eljunbyro.
In the end, I think that Shell needs a good moment to leave the scene, the last moment when everyreader will have opportunity to give him some respect. The last chapter of Shell in which one I will be able to say : Gloria Victis! I really hope that he will not meet Zenith fate...
Our lifes are not our own.
From womb to tomb, we are bound to others,
Past and present.
And with each crime
And every kindness
They birth our future.
Well, Khao's presence is a surprise, her actions are not. How pleasant for her that Rainbow has gotten rid of her friends without even needing her help! Ten chapters from now, Khao and Nightshade will be on board of the Jury, sipping tea, and Zzap Naator and Axan and Hushtail's son (I've stricken that wretch's name from my memory) will hand them biscuits. Until then, prepare for the double rainbow. Related mind-molestation for today:
i.imgur.com/4ZaGJhO.gif
Shell's entire mentality in a single sentence. I love you so much.
Finally a sane person who understands me! A true critic! A connoisseur of fine music! All of you barbarians can go home now. ... ... ... what do you mean, 'she's only playing it?'
So that's really what shocked her so? Why I am so glad that our love is mutual!
3537287 Well he was Zenith's fate...
Well I can't sum this up in three points.
So, Shell and Belle are on their way to sequencing, Dalen knows Kera's "secret", Roarke has a way out, and Rainbow has to see through the Khao to find Harmony.
Is Shell going to be disappointed with Imre's response? Will Kera be ratted out by Dalen? Can Roarke ever forgive Basso? And what's going to happen to Rainbow? Find out next time on...
The Austraeoh Saga
3537328
Can't help, it's not my native language. Still, thanks for pointing out.
AND THE STORY INTENSIFIES...EVEN MORE! I would love to see some interactions between Khao and Zaid, but i have a feeling Khao wont give Rainbow the opportunity to reunite with her friends.
Also, sad singing was sad.
I wonder how I'll react once i find my ex-boss...
You just cant keep a bad cult leader down, unless its with extreme personal prejudice.
Man, they have the weirdest sprinkler system here.
3537352
Oh, thank Khao. Is she the leader of some faction of (only comparitively) sane ponies? Seems like it.
Y'know, it'd be real ironic if it turns out Khao and her bunch are Odrsjot.
Shit hit the fan a long time ago, and now it's up to our eyeballs.
I'm not so sure Khao was ever evil, she's just blinded by her own dogma. I think she'll come to see things Dash's way in time, or at least be less murderous towards the REAL Eljunbryo.
"Winter wrap-up, winter wrap-up!" ~
Hehe. Every chapter I read now, my mind just automatically adds, "And the plot thickens!" to the end.
Moving on.
~Vortex
Things are just going to get worse now...I know it...
Winter Wrap up, Winter Wrap up~
I knew it. I knew Khao would get involved at some point. Austraeoh is still the cult's priority. She gets detained, they have to free her.
But I have know idea what she's about to show Dash.
Come on Rainbow. You can do it. Channel that energy into one hoof, break the chains, then chop it off. It'll grow back.
fc03.deviantart.net/fs70/i/2011/137/d/b/the_doctor__s_severed_hand_by_mclatchyt-d3gkl5a.jpg
3537778
We got Belle and Pilate confirmed to be Eljunbryo, Kera or the other kids implied to be Innavedr, though never actually explicitly said, and then we got...not Roarke...Floydien doesn't seem like it...not Josho nor EE...not the ex-inmates......Oh heck no.
The Eljun Bureau strikes again!
~Basso
Kera's dialogue seems to have become much more intelligent than the Innavedr days.
I was completely taken by surprise by Khao's entrance, there's just so much going on that I forgot about her.
I'm betting that the Shell and Belle thing is just a big and convoluted ploy to get Imre back into the scene.
Kera is doing a nice job when she's not doing Nightshade's job.
Khao is so religious that she doesn't really care about Rainbow Dash when she's the most important pony in the plot. She reminds me of Judas; she wants her own interpretation (no matter how she got it) of Scripture (or whatever they have) to come true, and she's willing to do anything to get her own plot moving.
Kera is best Zonan.
Oh gawd, Rainbow singing Winter Wrap-Up.
Didn't expect David Khaoresh to show up, but if she can help Rainbow I guess I'll give her a pass. And Kera pushing Dalen's buttons is pretty awesome. Now I'm just curious what Roarke knows about Nevlamas/Nagu'n... I can only assume it's something that we, the reader, don't even know. Methinks something is rotten in the state of Denmare.
I'm interested in the fact that the transformation to Discord is so slow. Prior events where the amulet has been removed have seen RD turn chaotic pretty quick. Where is the power she had when she took off the amulet when in the forest with Roarke? She should be, by now, clicking her fingers, turning the Xonans to Swiss cheese. Are these special chaos-strip chains she's suspended in?
3538065 Yeah, that was a surprising amount of empathy from Kera. Dunno where it came from or if it's even real.
Let's see if it pays off, Cotton!
3535667 Hey don't blame me. I'm dyslexic and words that aren't in my spell check kinda have a fair chance of being wrong.
Jeez, I leave for a few weeks and the more things happened in these past twenty-someodd chapters than I've ever seen. Oh, and Khao needs to get kicked in the face a few times, because goddammit leave Rainbow alone.
This is why Zaid is the best character.
((72 bars * 43 panels) / 3 cracks) ^ (1 / 2) is approximately 55.641. Odrsjot is the fourth story in the series, and 55.641 raised to the fourth power is 9585216. The sumnation of the square of each digit in that number adds up to 236. The same sumnation again results in 49, and then 97, then 130, 10, and finally, 1. Therefore, 9585216 is a happy number, which proves that there is hope for our imprisoned heroes yet.
I guess that was the distraction Roarke was talking about. Hooray for crazy cultists?
I recently had a thought: Why doesn't this story have a dark tag? Or do I just have no understanding of the tag system? There is an awful lot of blood, mutilation, and death in this story.
Oh god, Rainbow Dash singing Winter Wrap-Up hit me in the feels so, so hard. I had to stop reading for a moment and compose mysef. Gawd, somepony give Dash a hug.
Well that part with Dash singing was pretty depressing... And the timing of Roarke and Khao breaking into the hold was pretty close, I wonder if Roarke enlisted the cult's help?
3539440
You can't argue with that logic!
3537522 It was just a pun about Shell being hardly able to share Zenith's fate (as in "destiny, that which was destined to happend") when he was Zenith's fate (in a personalized meaning, meaning "he was the one who made that fate happen by killing him"). You didn't do anything wrong.
Can you hear that?
...That's the sound of my hatred for Shell returning.
None of this weighed her down from the act of stabbing him repeatedly in the neck with a serrated dagger.
...
Boosh.
No, Khao, you idiot. If you hadn't stolen the book and kidnapped Kera, Rainbow and the gang would've just blasted past the whole continent in Nancy Jane!
OK,just do Khaos thibg abd getvher to letbyou out, put on pendent, beat shit out of Khao, find friends, escape to Seclorums army or the place the Nagun is attacking
but obviously.that wont happen, because Imploding Colon
At least Khao knows better than to remove the necklace.
That doesn't sound pleasant. However it is good to see Khao return. I want to see Zaid's reaction to this new development. Although it will probably just be lambasting her about the lack of grilled cheese.
And now I have that damnably catchy song stuck in my head. Thanks a bunch, IC. *grumble grumble*
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation tIme!
Well, I was right about Dalen. But why the heck is Khao here? Tese are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
3539440
Holy crap, I can't beleve you took the time to figure that out!
And as rainbow dash would say, gazuntight
Ah, but have you named them yet?
Also, Dash's singing Winter Wrap Up was kinda heartbreaking. The little reminders that this all takes place in the same world as the show to some extent usually are.
Also also: lots of interesting new alliances are forming, temporary as some of them may turn out to be.
Onward!
3539440
Sorry to burst your bubble, but you forgot to divide by 3. It should be the square root of 1032, which is about 32,1247568.
4367258
31.6754374 to be exact
or as exact as google calc can be
Khao has joined the party.
-Spirit
....khao...
How is she here?
Why is she here?
And is it a good or bad thing that she's here?
Ah, Winter Wrap Up. Now those were happier days. Can you see your old friends, Rainbow Dash?
And Khao...I am not sure if I should be happy or angry to see you.
5121348 You are Hangry. Happy and Angry.
Also, you could be so hungry your angry and therefore Hangry
God dammit, Khao.