"Mmmm... Spit." The sound of crashing wooden crate reverberated across the gondola. "Mmmmm... Spit." A bag of rattling tools fell overboard. "Hmmmm... More spit." This time, glass shattered.
Pilate winced, positioned on a seat of some sorts. The platform beneath him swayed, and he heard the grinding of ropes tied to a levitating dirigible directly overhead. "Uhm... Mister... uh... Mister Floydien, sir?"
"Mmmmf... The spittest of spits." Another crate smashed into the body of the Ledomaritan tower, its impact punctuated by what could best be described as a stifled cat scream. "Floydien thinks this skipper is smelling all over of stabby stabby. A nose should not know so much fail."
"Sir, if I could just—"
"Especially a red nose."
Pilate seethed, leaning blindly forward as he furrowed his brow for emphasis. "I think it would be in our best interest if you just gave me back my manasphere and let us part ways."
Just then, the sound of rummaging stopped. It became icy still, save for the distant groans of mana-throttled enforcers far down below.
Pilate could hear his breaths lingering.
After a scuffle of cloven hooves, the voice emanated from just in front of him. "Striped boomer no longer seeks his beloved?"
"Huh? N-no!" Pilate shook his head furiously. "Of course I want to go after Belle! I just think that... erm... I-I've had enough of your hospitality, and... uh... I-I should best be on my way."
"Does not trust Floydien, the boomer, no?"
"It's not that, I—"
"Has not Floydien provided boomer with glimmer and skipper and non spit?"
"You've been very helpful, but..." Pilate winced. "This isn't the kind of... erm... 'glimmer' that I'm asking for. I'm not out to cross paths wtih any enforcers and I most definitely have no intention of zapping them with O.A.S.I.S. as a weapon."
"But what a fine bane of stabby stabby it is!"
"Only because you made it that way! Look, Mr. Floydien..." Pilate sighed, gesturing with his hooves as he talked. "You and I... we... uh... we seem to have vastly differing philosophies. Obviously, you have been through a lot, and I feel for you. But, I've been through my fair share of craziness too. As much as I feel for you and your beloved, Nancy Jane, I fear that the journey you are taking me on will only get in the way of my reuniting with Bellesmith, much less finding her."
"Hmmmm... doubt the glimmer of Floydien, the striped boomer does. Is silly, yes yes? For we have stabby stabby to blame for the sparks and the groaning and the dying."
Pilate softly shook his head. "You might have the Ledomaritans to blame for what happened to you. But me?" He raised two hooves up to his metal plate. "What was done to me was a labor of love. It was made to make my life easier." He smiled softly. "And it was none other than my beloved, Belle, who fashioned me the means why which I can still see and learn in this world. Don't you understand, Mr. Floydien? I... I'm not exactly like you. My issue with the Ledomaritans is not what they've done to me, but rather what they've done to my beloved. So while you must solve your problems by taking it up with the Queen, I won't be at rest until I find the mare that I love. And I can only do that without anymore mishap. Do you understand?"
There was a period of silence. The hooves shuffled some more, and then the voice returned, "The sight that boomer gains from glimmer sphere—it will reveal beloved boomer immediately, yes?"
Pilate's ears drooped. "Well, no..."
"It will then show glimmering path to beloved, yes yes?"
Pilate gritted his teeth.
"Does the boomer even have a plan? There is much stabby stabby but there is very few paths to take through them to go through them."
Pilate sighed long and hard. "I know I am only shooting in the dark, but I have to find her on my own."
"Then perhaps two shots in the dark would suffice? Floydien can shoot in many directions, yes yes yes. Is faithful to rely on his antlers when boomer's skull is nothing but metal and darkness."
"Where are you even taking me now?"
"To the Nova that is Most Blue, home of the stabbiest this side of the east explosions."
Pilate tilted his head aside. "Blue Nova? Why... that's not far from the Northern Facility Shell talked about..."
"A network of glimmer Floydien hopes to find. It will reunite him with Nancy Jane. Smith of Belle may not be far from striped boomer."
"Right... Right... Okay..." Pilate nodded breathily. He swallowed and said, "Could you at least give me back my sphere?"
"Floydien does not want glimmer to out-boom the boomer's skull."
"Huh?"
"It will fry you at its current charge."
"Oh..."
"Fear not, Floydien insists, for Floydien is an expert pilot." The gondola swayed as the sound of swishing propellers touched the air. "Not a pun does Floydien intend."
"R-right..." Pilate nodded nervously, sitting back in his seat. "Not at all..." A quartet of paws hopped on his shoulder, and he gasped. He felt whiskers and a wriggling nose by his muzzle.
"Neither should boomer fear Simon," Floydien's voice said as the wind picked up. "Simon may be a small token of the glimmer, but a living compass is his bushy tail."
"Right... uh... gotcha..." Pilate smiled nervously and reached a hoof out to pet the rodent's head. "Nice to meet you, Simon."
A tiny pair of tesla-coils came into contact with Pilate's hoof and instantly zapped him.
"Gaaah!" Pilate reeled back, hissing as the tiny, furry body leapt off him.
"Floydien did not tell boomer it was safe to pet Simon. Yes yes?"
Pilate rubbed his hoof and shuddered. "No no..."
Well hello Simon. Just what manor of creature are you then?
2351414 Glad to have made you... suffer?
Simon is his bodyguard, Floydian is his long-lost pal.
Well. Pilate and Floydien seem to have reached some kind of agreement. Simon notwithstanding.
Wonder how the manasphere got supercharged. Maybe making the stabby stabby boomers boom fills it with stabby stabby glimmer.
Beware the rise of. . . Dun dun DUN! Techno-squirrel! Part squirrel, part mana-powered machine!
So, yeah. . .
Looks like
RudolphFloydien has a translate function SOMEWHERE in his skull. . .(Oh, and he is an excellent pilot/navigator, a reindeer, and has a red nose? Can't imagine why this sounds familiar)
Of course not...
Eh... Floydien the red nose reindeer?
Has a very shocking pet?
And if you ever pet it?
It will shock and jumps off of you?
:3
2352379
You can call him Al.
2352576
i.imgur.com/S6ODJ.png
2352402
Floydian the red nosed reindeer used his antlers to charge it, potentially with the help of a taser-squirrel.
This right here. I don't know how you're doing it, Scolon, but you're nailing my real-life personality.
"It will fry you at its current charge."
did...did floyden just make sense?
2352692
Oh. I guess that makes it...
pretty plane to see.
hmmmmmm... Honeytiger has a headache... what possibly couldn't go wro-TASER SQUIRREL!
2352949
I'm not sure of the tone of that statement. Is it deadpan or interested observation?
This is Australia...
So maybe Floydien knows more than it seemed. Keeping the manasphere away from Pilate may have saved his life, and it's probably only useful as a weapon when supercharged.
He still doesn't make a lick of sense.
Tesla. Is. CAPITALIZED!!!!!!!!
Tesla is a proper freaking noun! There's a club on this site dedicated to him!
Okay, IC, this time, and last time (you described "teslacoils" all over Steelteeth), I'll let it slide. Next time, though, Novus is coming for you.
Floyden made sense and Pilate understood him. We are finally making progress!!!
Alright, Simon the Squirrel. I can go with that. Although he seems to be channeling Angel Bunny's tetchiness. And it seems that Floydian can make sense when he really wants to. This is shaping up to be quite the adventure - until tomorrow!
Aw man... there wasn't a commentator who was referenced. Damn
They're getting closer to each other. I am expecting many more hurdles to come.
For some reason that I have forgotten already, I just now thought that Simon might rather be a bunny or cat than a squirrel. I would point out how I now actually believe Floydien to be a Reindeer, how strange it is that he appearantly can speak sense if he wishes to and that he is obviously completely mad. All this has been pointed out, however.
Instead, let me point out that we now know why Belle has been drawn to that city - and what Kera's short appearance in chapter one was good for. That would mean that the lavender light is powerful enough to either foresee Floydien's actions or actually influence them - now taking into account how much glimmer there is in Blue Nova, I may have to retract my earlier presumption and agree with you guys: that does sound like something the Element of Magic would do.
Side note: ceterum censeo Searinem delendam esse. Furthermore, I consider that Searo must be destroyed.
2352949
Don't get used to it.
Definitely squirrel. With Teslas.
"It will fry you at its current charge."
.....
Looks like Floydien didn't always talk like Floydien talks now.
Maybe Floydien was sciency rednose before the stabby stabby horses made him mad....
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So I'm glad that Floydien and Pilate got a bit more interaction here. They definitely needed it, and it now seems like they both have a mutual respect for one another. I wonder what will become of them...oh, and they've got an electric compass kitty. Why not? These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. I didn't mean to miss yesterday's evaluation...my Internet was down. I couldn't even leave a "Message from MASH" explaining the situation. In all honesty, I did feel terrible about it and will make up the missing evaluation to you guys in the future.
Floydien strikes me as a combination of Gollum and Yoda in one creature.
What pun?
Didn't see any puns. The banter was funny, as always. Floydien makes me laff. Also, what could Simon be?
-Spirit
3690935
4193621
I'm assuming Pilate's name is pronounced PIE-let (almost like pilot).
4209343 I pronounce it "Pilate"
4210508
You pronounce it like that? I pronounce it as "Pilate."
4764227 ( ͡* ͜ʖ ͡*)
4209343 It has an e at the end.
pie-late.
Ah! Some sort of manapunk cyborg dog!
I wonder if there are more built like him, or if he's an individual creation...
Simon and Floydian, like a manapunk more intelligent version of Rocky and Bullwinkle. I can't believe how long it took me to think of that.
Okay, so the way Floydien deadpanned that Oasis would kill Pilate in its current state confirms he's a genius of some kind, living in his own reality with occasional visits to the real world. I have a feeling that Simon is also exceedingly dangerous as well as being partially machined by Floydien.
Hmn, now I'm guessing reindeer.
He can talk normally!
6157752
Well you can't be blamed really. Seeing these chapters through a blind ponies PoV we have very little sensory perception other than sound and touch so far. Personally I was thinking he was an Antelope since they were the only confirmed antlered race so far [with Reindeer being something that was only around in ancient times].
But yeah. It is quite awesome.
_______________
6195619
Like a super savant who can shoot Sith Lightning from OASIS.
Antlers, a red nose... wait a second.
And goddamn it, I missed the chapter title.
Ah. A reindeer.
Could it really be Simon the squirrel!? But all techno'd out? Oh, how delightful!
That sounds extremely blunt for Floyden. I can imagine him saying the last line almost deadpan-like.
Careful, Pilate, don't wanna slip into Flodienese now, do you?
8060712
He's a flying reindeer
Wait, what pun? Is he talking about Pilate's name? Is it supposed to sound like 'pilot'? I've been pronouncing it 'Pil-LAHT-ee' this whole time... (and of course he hasn't been online for two years, so it's not worth trying to ask... )
10305358
Pretty sure it's pi-lah-tay...
So how bell doing?
Omg, Simon! I had completely forgotten about this character. Pitty how he dies. /spoiler]