"Ungh!" Bellesmith yelped as she was shoved forward onto the open deck of the Steel Wing.
"Stop it!" Pilate snarled, his muzzle frowning over the bulbous glint of O.A.S.I.S. on his choker. "She c-couldn't hurt you if she tried! Stop being rough with her!"
"Mr. Pilate, your beloved..." Captain Filta spoke as he trotted calmly into view. "...is responsible for leading us on the most expensive, costly chase in Confederacy history. She has a great deal to answer for." The uniformed stallion's eyes narrowed on the zebra as explosions and flak filled the vistas of the air battle beyond him. "You are 'Pilate,' are you not?"
Pilate's nostrils flared. "I didn't know I had gained infamy."
"You should be grateful that you're allowed to so much as stand on board my vessel," Filta said. "I've lost good stallions during Shell's crusade to capture you and your winged friend."
"Then maybe you should take it up with Shell," Pilate said bluntly. "Or—better yet—cease pursuing our 'winged friend' in the first place."
"Pilate..." Belle leaned over to nuzzle him, but was forced apart by armored stallions with reins on her bindings. "Nnngh..." Wincing, she gazed at Filta with a pleading expression. "Captain, please! Stop this mayhem at once! There's no need for more violence! Rainbow Dash—our friend has a long and arduous journey ahead of her! She has no interest in Queen Ledo's affairs!"
"The only reason she's giving your troops so much Spark-forsaken fury is because you've captured the two of us from under her noses!" Pilate growled. "She'll stop at nothing to come rescue us!"
"Oh, we're quite sure of that," Filta said with a calm blink. "As a matter of fact, that's all part of Shell's plan in motion."
"Pl-plan...?" Belle stammered.
Filta calmly turned and glanced over.
Belle and Pilate turned their heads.
His legs in irons, Phoenix was led—stumbling—down from a platform where a transport glider was just cooling down after landing. With just one look flung at the two ponies, he instantly winced and gazed away.
"You..." Belle murmured at first. Then her entire golden face twisted as she lurched forward in a hideous snarl. "What did you d-do?!" her voice cracked into a shriek. "This is all your fault! Rainbow Dash did everything f-for you and your comrades—!"
"Belle," Pilate muttered.
"You didn't just betray her or us!" She writhed as the enforcers had to restrain her, holding her back with musculare forelimbs. "You betrayed them! What were you thinking—?!"
"Belle, he's terrified," Pilate exclaimed. "Can't you sense it?"
"I don't care if he's quivering in his horseshoes! We trusted him!" She turned and spat at him. "We trusted you! And you betrayed us!"
The mustached stallion winced, his ears flicking to the sounds of distant explosions and whining managliders. A single tear rolled down Phoenix's face as he stammered, "I-I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He gulped. "Th-they killed Zenith! They blew his head up right in fr-front of me! And... and th-they threatened to destroy my entire family!"
"You think that's anything compared to what they're going to do to us now?!" Belle roared. "To what they're going to do to Rainbow Dash?! To what they want to do to the entire machine world?!"
Phoenix's face contorted. "Wh-what?!"
"What do you know?!" Belle howled. "You know nothing! Nothing but fear and doubt and—"
A heavy quartet of hooves landed from a parked managlider.
Belle gasped and stumbled back beside Pilate, trembling.
Shell glared at her, then turned to glance at Phoenix. Calmly, flanked by his fellow soldiers—bruised and battletorn—he marched down the steps from the platform and onto the center deck of the Steel Wing. Cannons fired, briefly interrupting the icy thickness of the moment as he paced down the solid line of enforcers standing at attention.
Pilate clenched his jaw. Phoenix quivered. Captain Filta squinted quizzically, then turned to mutter into Shell's ear. "What... What happened to Enforcer Josho?"
Shell paused in mid-step, his metal prosthetic scraping against the wooden deck. His eye fell to the cannons, blinked, then glanced dully at Filta. "He died as he lived," Shell uttered. "Off-balance."
With another scrape of his hooves, he turned and narrowed his gaze on the couple.
Belle bit her lip, leaning towards Pilate under the shadow of Shell.
The Prime Enforcer paced towards him, casting Phoenix a side-glance, but nothing more. Finally, he came to a stop in front of Belle and gazed down at her, exhaling through a pair of cold nostrils. "You're late to the experiment, good doctor."
Belle gazed down and said nothing.
Shell cocked his head to the side. He raised his hoof and forced Belle to look up at him.
The mare's eyes were brimming with tears.
He muttered, "This is not shame. It can't be. A traitorous husk only knows decay."
She whispered back in a firm tone, "I'm far from becoming a hollow creature like you."
Shell said nothing. He glanced to the side.
Pilate faced towards him, chewing anxiously on his lips. As if feeling Shell's gaze, his ears drooped.
After several seconds, Shell turned and spoke firmly to the nearest group of enforcers. "Open the hold! Bring up the sarcophagus!"
"Aye, sir!"
Crew members flocked every which way, opening a wooden door and raising a platform with a familiar coffin built out of chaos metal.
Pilate's mouth dropped. "That... I-I even smell it..."
Belle gasped and turned towards Shell. "What?! You actually think that you can get her inside that thing again?!"
"No," Shell shook his head without looking. "I know..." His eye swam back to her. "...that you will get her inside it again. However, not from here."
"H-huh?"
Shell motioned towards a platform where several fresh managliders were being fired up. Their engines hummed over the sound of distant explosions and cannonfire from the flanking vessels.
"In a matter of seconds, you'll be on your way to the Council's Northern Facility, a hundred miles due west of Blue Nova. From there, you will be re-acquainted with the tools of junctioning."
"Junctioning?!" Belle stammered.
"No way..." Pilate hissed. "No way are you putting my beloved through that nightmare again!"
"You speak as if there's a choice to be had in the matter." Shell pivoted about in mid-pace. "The fact is, there are very few unicorns with the innate abilities that she has. Once we've captured the target, it would be most beneficial to everypony involved if the good doctor was to lend her talents to the experiment again." Shell turned and glared at Belle. "And you will... lend your talents again."
"No..." Belle clenched her teeth and shook her head. "I... I-I won't! I refuse!" She stamped her hooves. "With every inch of my spirit, I will fight you! I will not help you siphon Rainbow Dash into a weapon!"
Shell paced over to her, gazing at her sideways. He raised the metal hoof to his chin and scratched it, thinking aloud. "Then, I suppose, the swiftest solution is to remove that which motivates such a stubborn spirit." That said, his prosthetic slapped on Pilate's shoulder.
Belle twitched. Pilate gasped—his hooves being swept out from under him.
With a silent growl, Shell galloped towards the edge of the deck, dragged Pilate along with him, and threw the zebra mercilessly over the side.
"Pilate!" Belle shrieked, collapsing forward in a sobbing lurch.
Phoenix's jaw dropped as his and everypony's ears were filled with the screams of the falling stallion—a horrific sound that was all too swiftly devoured by the continuous thuds of the air battle all around them.
Belle heaved and heaved. She fell to her knees, covering her face in her forelimbs as her voice collapsed into indiscernible wailing.
Several stallions shifted uncomfortably.
Captain Filta blinked but said nothing.
As Belle's fitful sobs filled the air, Shell turned around calmly, adjusted his uniform and marched over towards her. With a telekinetic burst, he lifted the Mare forcefully up by the neck.
She hissed for breath, sputtering as her tear-stained face was filled by his unfeeling scowl.
"You listen to me. You are a tool. You are a weapon, just like the target, just like we all are pieces of this Confederate machine. You have nothing. You love nothing. You are nothing... nothing but a means to an end. You will live for the glory of Ledo, and you will not cease breathing until you are no longer useful. Do I make myself clear?"
"My... m-my beloved..." Belle could only whimper.
"Sob at your heart's content. Soon, you will no longer need a heart." He shoved her viciously to the floor and marched off. "The Queen is your beloved now." He motioned towards Captain Filta. "Prepare the transports. They leave now... long before she arrives." He swiveled about and gave them all a glare. "And she will arrive..."
I'm going to lose my heart at the rate of how many chapters you are publishing in one day... o.0
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my rage meter on Shell exceeded the sky...
Um... holy crap.
Man, this looks... really, really bad.
he is not dead, he can't be dead, I won't believe it. Rainbow has to win somehow, but I can't see how. Not even the combined might of her friends to turn the tide. Friends weren't enough, I don't know if anything will be. All the while, Rainbow is being ripped to shreds by endless waves.
She has been pushed to far as it is. Hasn't sleeped since, what, chapter 140? I don't know, but in the last 48 hour Rainbow has repeatedly faced and narrowly survived half a dozen things she shouldn't have overcome. The pain she has faced and the injury and fatigue she is under now makes thought of victory by herself unfeasible.
Her friends have all fallen out, but somehow they have to rally back. Even the ones that should be dead. Otherwise I can't imagine a path to victory that I would believe.
It all seems very hopless...
Gosh Dangit where is that metal mare and that warship of hers
Well that sounds painful.
What the- I now hate Shell with a passion of a thousand burning suns.
I refuse to believe that Pilate is dead!
Oh, and shell? he needs to die, right now.
Wait, what?
I mean, seriously, what?
...
What?
Seriously...Shell is best villain.
He sound so flawless. No emotion nor compassion. He's not afraid to act to get things done.
Kind of a bit ...gee what's the word.
In any case he look so much like the total opposite of Rainbow. Both are loyal to their values but while one is completely selfless the other is totally selfish, also they both act on the spot if necessary...or something
then again I'm probably stupid and can't think of anything....or obvious.
FCK, SCOLON! WHAT HAVE HAVE YOU DONE?!
Oh damn. Though I was expecting that in the overall scheme of things, I did not expect it to be so sudden.
Hot diggidy dog, everybody's dying in these last few chapters.
i detect hints of unease in the crew, this will come into play before the story's end i am sure.
IIIIIt's Dashie's Tenth Marathon Evaluation Time!
Oh shit...that was...sudden...oh God...
Shell is such a good villain...he just killed Pilate with no mercy whatsoever. But...I do feel like Imploding just added it for the feels. Now that Pilate is gone, Shell's got nothing to threaten Belle with. That is, unless Dash shows up. I really hope Roarke caught Pilate, though, and he's not really dead...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Ohhhhhh we're halfway the-ere
Ohhhhh-Oh!
Liiiiiiivin' on a pra-ayer!
...what kind of government is this? By now, I'm fairly sure the whole reason why "beloveds" exist is to give the citizens hope, only to crush it should the need arise! Jesus, I'm a cold-blooded bitch.
What?! Shell, if you wanted to control Belle, keeping Pilate alive would have been a better bet. If Dash is now the only other living being that she remotely cares for, won't she do absolutely anything to avoid hurting her? If Pilate were alive, Shell could have pressured her into it. Now, however... Also, Roarke saved Pilate. She must have. Even though it totally doesn't make sense, seeing as he's a "Breeder" and all, but still, I'm not giving in until we have a body. Maybe Dash saved him somehow? Know how I said maximum drama levels had been reached a couple of chapters ago? Yeah, scratch that.
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Nah, he's done a Jonathan Killian. Although, given what happened to him, this will not end well.
[Engage skyward yell mode]
FOX!!!
[Disengage skyward yell mode]
This is Australia...
2240842
There's no need for threats if she no longer has the will to resist.
We haven't seen the body. I refuse to believe in his death.
Yep, he's lost it. Nope, no way, he is not only evil, he is completely out of his mind. He just killed an invaluable hostage on impulse.
I mean, aside from the fact that he is basically satan wearing a beret, now he's not even making sense. He was pitiful before, but now he's just... I can't even hate that wretched thing anymore.
Wow. Does shell realize that now he has no leverage over her at all now?
Wow, well that was brutal
No... Rainbow Dash has to have saved him. HAS to have.
>he lifted the Mare forcefully up by the neck
Why the capital M?
Shell! Why!
So many faces.
Also, SHell has a total of zero leverages to use against Belle. Belle can just be all like "no" and he'll be all like "yes" and she'll be all like... ANd Shell will have nothing to use.
-Spirit
I guess everyone's luck eventually runs out.
Shell snapped, and with him, so did my heart
I no longer possess the slightest sympathy for Shell.
That was a waste of a good hostage, now Shell has nobody else he can torture to push for Belle's compliance. This is a gamble that her spirit will be fully broken after this, and I don't buy that it will be.
Also, another death with no body, I don't buy that it'll stick.
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If only they had a friend that was the best flyer I'm all the lands... too bad that isn't a thing...
Early on this chapter I made a prediction of what was about to happen, and the end of this chapter tells me that it was wrong, but I think it was on the right track. I hope that Josho teleports to Pilate and teleports him either to safety or back aboard the airship. It was his speciality teleporting into the air and dropping people the reverse hopefully is equally possible if he recovered enough.
Oh Shell....
You. Are. Dead
Oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck oh fuck
(WHY did no one comment ob this yet?)
apparently rainbow has multiple noses
THE MOAR U KNOOOW
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I am utterly horrified at what just transpired, and the only thing that could possibly make Shell even worse is if he reveals that this talk about being loyal to the Confederacy is a load of BS and he wants all that power for himself. As to the government, this is like Imploding took the worst governments in our world/history such as South Korea, Nazi Germany, and others I cannot recall atm and rolled them into one.
He's been insane this whole time.
Not just since Belle busted Dash out, but... since before he joined the Ledomareitan military? Since he had to 'interrogate' his beloved?
The shell is broken, and we see the horror writhing inside.
Shell: that one magnificent bastard you love to hate.
On the other hand though, I do admittedly really like his line about Josho,”He died as he lived; off-balance.” That line is actually pretty good. But I swear, if 2E and Josho have died, I’m burning down 2E’s Winery in retaliation (not really, that’s horrible, and I’m not even of drinking age yet). But seriously, Shell is using Belle (and he even says, she’s just a tool, and Schism popped into my head at the worst of times), imprisoning Pilate (he will never analyze again), and worst of all, wasted money on maintaining an airfleet! How dare he.
But this does bring up a question: if the chase was so expensive, why’d they do it in the first place? My guess is because that when a villain is certifiably insane, they don’t care how expensive something is. He’s wasting all this money because of two reasons, one, because he can, and two, because he’s blinded by the promise of a Rainbow Dash and he wants to pour as much money as the operation requires in there.
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Probably because of the "Escalation of commitment" phenomenon.
2235680
How is it that I’ve been a practicing chemist for over twenty years, have read your comments hundreds of times over seven years and four full re-reads of this series, and just now noticed your userpic and put it together with the name?
God Shell is such an inhuman (inpony) bastard and it just becomes more and more obvious with every chapter. Also i notice that he's a foil to Rainbow, loyalty to an institution vs loyalty to ponies