It had taken the better part of a half-hour for the Noble Jury to moor itself to the tower situated on the fringe of the town. This was made all the more awkward from the complete and utter lack of dockmasters. Nevertheless, with firm resourcefulness, Floydien, Props, and the rest of the ponies managed to tether the ship adequately in place.
It wasn't long before Rainbow Dash, Bellesmith, Pilate, and Eagle Eye trotted down the grand steps of the wooden structure and leveled out on the grassy plain. There, a dirt road led southeast into the heart of the quaint little village. The path was noticeably littered all over with—
"Confetti?" Eagle Eye gawked, swiveling about to give the other ponies an incredulous glance. "Is... this confetti?"
Pilate grimaced slightly as his hoof slid through a swath of the fluttery stuff. "I would certainly hope so."
"I've seen my fair share of confetti in my days," Rainbow Dash muttered, watching as her wings blew some of the papery fragments around. "This is totally that."
"Maybe... uhm..." Eagle Eye squirmed as the four slowly marched into town. "Today's the birthday of their mayor... or something?"
"Do Xonans even celebrate birthdays?" Bellesmith asked.
"The key thing to remember is that this isn't exactly Xonan territory."
"Is it not?" Belle turned towards Pilate. "I thought most of their major cities were situated in the north. We're at a greater latitude than we've ever been, haven't we?"
"Yes, but most of the landscape we've covered over the past few days have been under dispute over the last three to five decades. I doubt either Ledomare or Xona could have laid claim to any township here, even if the Xonans have been ruling the airspace."
"Jeez, this is why I never got into the politics of the war," Eagle Eye muttered. "I was just happy to be given a sword and told what to charge at." He sighed. "Well, at least until Crimson taught me better."
"You... uhm..." Pilate gritted his teeth. "You did leave your weapons on board the Jury, yes, Eagle?"
"Hmmm? Oh, totally! Besides, with Rainbow Dash here, I figured that would have been overkill."
Rainbow rolled her eyes.
"Good. Because I think we have company."
"Huh?" Belle glanced around. "But beloved, I don't see—" Her ears folded. "Oh dear."
Ten ponies were charging up the hill, heading straight at them. The rumble of their hooves shook the ground under the group's hooves.
"Awwwwww fiddlepoops!" Eagle Eye squeaked.
"I knew it!" Rainbow Dash touched down before her friends with a thud! "I'll hold them off while the rest of you gallop back to the Jury!"
"But Rainbow—" Belle began.
"No arguing!" Rainbow growled, grinding her hoof. "I didn't fly halfway across the continent, butt heads with a dragon, and get preached to by a metamorph just to have you guys get impaled by a bunch of crazed yokels!"
"Rainbow, I don't think—" Eagle stammered.
"You've thought nothing!" Rainbow's glaring eyes reflected the muzzles of the incoming ponies. "Brace yourselves! Here they come—"
"Visitors!" A unicorn mare with a bright smile and even brighter, yellow eyes slid to a stop. She hugged Rainbow Dash and nuzzled the small of her neck. "Heeee! Oh, what wonderful timing! You have to join us!"
"Buhhhhh..." Rainbow's face positively melted in horrified confusion. "Buhhh... buhhhhh...?"
"Speechless?! So are all of us!" The mare leaned back and gestured with her hoof. A stallion tossed her a ring of flowers, and she hung the garlands around Rainbow's neck. "Didn't you hear?! The war is over!"
Rainbow Dash blinked. She glanced back at her friends—gawking—and at the villagers again.
"Oh! My apologies..." The mare held her hooves together, blushing. "Not speakers of the Western Queen's tongue? I think we can remedy that." She turned around and cleared her throat.
Two mares with tribal tattoos trotted up, bowed, and spoke, "Brekk theen rehk hadh trentte thiul spenn?"
Rainbow Dash and her friends simply stared with blank expressions.
The mares exchanged glances, and the other one leaned forward to speak. "Menna siulen crassa rehkkaren hadduh trenna thiulen spennadeer?"
More silence.
"Mmmmm... meladuun..." The Xonan mares fidgeted, rubbing their hooves together pensively. At last, one of them opened her mouth, her face twisted in the awkwardness of the next attempt. "J-jaat'solienna'threem m-m-mana'suli'nullakuken—"
"Look... uhm..." Rainbow rubbed the back of her head. "We're not exactly... Ledomaritan or Xonan." She gulped. "Or, more appropriately, we're really trying to just leave all of this stuff behind and find passage east of the whole shebang."
"Travellers!" The mare with yellow eyes spread her forelimbs wide. "Long-distance traders! Why didn't you say so?!" She winked. "Even better! For you have come at the right time and at the right opportunity to carry wares to lands that haven't touched the silk of Xona or the crystals of Ledomare in decades!"
"So... uhm... the war's really over?" Belle asked. "Because from where we come from—"
"Pffft! News never travels fast enough, these days," the mare said, waving her hoof. "But, thankfully, one of our brighter residents built a tall crystalline tower years ago, and it picks up leylines from all over the continent! They declared a cease-fire two days ago!"
"Any reason why?" Rainbow Dash asked.
Eagle Eye tapped Rainbow's shoulder. "Hey, uhm, Rainbow? If you're not particularly thrilled to be wearing that..."
"Right." Rainbow stripped of the garland of flowers and limply held it aside. "Knock yourself out."
Eagle tossed his mane so that he could hoist the soft necklace of petals over his head. "Squee!" he smiled rosily to himself.
"Rumors are still flying!" the mare from town said as her cohorts grinned wickedly. "Word is that an evil invader had infiltrated the ranks on both sides! What's more, Lasairfion—the evil bane of Xona's own kind—is no more! The Xonans broke communication first, and the Ledomaritans were actually willing to listen! Turns out their Council didn't want one of their major generals occupying a particular piece of real estate all along! Both sides had been fighting for years over reasons that none of the higher-ups knew about! But now all the mayhem is over!" She waved her hoof high in the air. "Free trade! Free trade for everypony! Woohoo!"
The villagers behind her cheered with identical gusto.
Pilate tilted his head in Belle's direction, his muzzle curved. She smiled back, nuzzled him, and gazed at the crowd. "Well, it seems like you're having quite the party!" she exclaimed.
"Why shouldn't we?" The mare chirped merrily. "Whichever way the territories go, this means one thing! An uninterrupted path of trade! Our town can only flourish! And—of course—the severe drop in death and mayhem is always a plus!" She and the other ponies chuckled.
"Yeah... uhm..." Rainbow Dash bit her lip, eyeing the group nervously. "Good for you guys."
"You got any other ponies in that beautiful ship up there?"
"Maaaaaaaaaybe..." Rainbow leaned back from them like a frightened cat.
"My stars!" The mare gawked. "Is that skystone?"
"Yeah, but it totally doesn't work at the moment," Eagle Eye muttered. "Hey... uhm..." He fiddled with the garland around his neck. "Are these lavender? They're unlike anything I've ever seen!"
"That's because you've got the sound of Franzington on your tongue!" the mare said with a wink. "You should take a look around our greenhouse! We have all sorts of flowers from the east! Things you've never seen!"
"Oh jeez oh jeez oh jeez oh jeez!" Eagle Eye skipped forward. "Sign me up—"
"Now just wait a second!" Rainbow Dash tugged at his tail. "We didn't come here to party!" she hissed.
"Didn't we, though?" Bellesmith chimed. "I, for one, want to learn more about this place!"
"My maps are only doing me so much good," Pilate said.
"Relax, Rainbow Dash! They only want us to feel at home?"
"Well, you'd better feel at home quicker!" The mare motioned along as the group ushered Eagle Eye, Pilate, and Bellesmith cheerfully towards the center of town. "The party can't last forever! Though we can totally pretend it will! Woohoo!"
The ponies cheered again, a few of them teetering drunkenly.
"It's just that... that..." Rainbow Dash winced, then drooped in mid-hover with a sigh. "Guhhhh... Fiiiiiiiine." She fluttered limply after the group. "Just—y'know—don't drink anything without me testing it first."
"Pfffft... Oh Rainbow," Belle giggled.
"I'm serious!"
"As well you should be!" The mare said. "A felicitous future deserves a pessimistic past! But cheer up! We'll roll the dust of war right off you!" She galloped ahead with a happy bounce. "My name is Collins! And welcome to Archer Point!"
Keep your wits about you, gang. I don't trust this place.
Say the A-word and the ducks will come down.
I can only hope that the crew of the Jury finally catch a break in this town.
Can't we just have something nice for once? Maybe this will be the one town on the continent where no one wants to kill Rainbow and the Dashers.
Hey, it could happen. I'm pretty sure I've seen non-murders before!
The party
will last
FOREVER
Reminds me of the group when they arrived at Gray Smoke.
Rainbow: We should leave, I don't trust this place or these ponies.
Crew: Nah, were totally safe in this neutral area.
Then mass chaos.
Collins. It's a northern name, right?
I'm starting to think something like Hotel California
Where they go in, and they can't leave... ever
but that might be me overthinking things....
but maybe not....
Why am I reminded of all those places which happily invite visitors, let them stay in utter comfort and contentment, and then eat them? Like, Andale, from Fallout 3.
Or is it just the mare with really yellow eyes? I'm getting an azazel feeling, y'know?
They're described as grinning wickedly. They're far too enthusiastic about trade...They're the first happy ponies ever seen except for the ones in Emeraldine, and yet Rainbow isn't getting the harmonic nostalgia and playing ball games, or something.
This place just seriously gives me bad vibes...
On the other hand, Rainbow could just be a little uncomfortable being hugged to death by a load of cute, happy mares and given flowers. That's bothered her before.
The ponies need shoeing...
Ridgeside is never going to happen again, is it?
Oh, well...
One can dream.
*reads comments*
Grr... Damn it, ):(! See what you've done?! You and your constant twists have made us so wary that we are always waiting for the other shoe to drop! Can't even enjoy a welcome break after over 100K of death...
Too much happy...too much happy!!! Suspicioussss....
Happy times! *Bounces around* Yay! *Remembers Nightshade killed herself* ...Aww. *Remembers that she was a total bitch* Woop! Party!
I fully expect this place to go wonderfully well, and Dash leaving shell shocked that everything went well.
Collins of Archer Point. What a friendly mare.
I honestly have no clue what could possibly go wrong, so I expect some serious mayhem.
3823761 Well of course, every planet has a north after all!
What can possibly go wrong in this town of freindly buisiness starved traders who have had a crew of totally nieve and clueless rich tourists with a totally insanely priced ship just hand it over to them, maybe after a bit of,persuasion?
3823871
Well, look at the track record so far:
Wintergate: reasonably friendly, but under assault from chaos beasts/slavers. Also, carnivory.
Emeraldine: Friendly
Darkstine: Revolution
Silvadel: Destroyed. Dragons. Death.
Blue Shelf: Friendly community. Too bad they keep getting vanished.
Green slope: Fat, assaulting enforcer
Searo: Searo
Sapphire Ravine: Diamond dogs, Searonese.
Blue Nova: Wholesale destruction.
Gray Smoke: Cultists.
I'm probably even missing a few towns. Either way, there's only been ONE town where all was well and good, without massive complications from some source or other.
Still, hope springs eternal. It's springy that way. I fully hope this town to be as friendly and trade-happy as it seems on the surface.
Nothing could possibly go wrong!
3824384 ...
3823656 Lotus Eaters?
3823788 Lotus Eaters.
Is this a mention of Pestiferous, haven't heard about her in a while.
Also, how long will it be until EE says "fabulosity"?
3824612
Eh, I was sorta thinking Lotus Hotel, but Lotus Eaters work too.
[youtube=www.youtube.com/watch?v=ug7r-d-XEl8]
An overload of happiness --> we are all suspicious here in the comments.
I guess there was too much death and mayhem for us to be used to peace (or not? i dunno)
All that joy and celebrating! A damn shame Shell is going to piss all over that.
3824612
wayt hoo iz Pestiferous
I know I've heard that name before, I think she was evil...
3823595 (Twitches)
3823634 (Keeps twitching)
3824161 (Is now vibrating so hard that he'll start falling through his chair)
3824384 Aaaaaah! Why must you people jinx it!
Good lord, I hope you people are right. It would be nice to see a happy Xona. Perhaps get some information for the journey East, have a few laughs... (sigh) Curse my pessimism, can't even enjoy a pit stop...
3824126 Technically, I was probably dead before I even reached the story. Goodness knows what the changeling's real name is... but Lasairfion was probably long gone.
3825144 Aww... *Hugs*
Nice to see that I'm not the only one who thinks that something is about to go seriously wrong.
if the other Jurers on the Jury joins the party, they'll return with nothing left on the Jury. :P
free loot for everypony!
I agree with what's being said here, it would be nice for the gang to catch a break, but this town seems fishy, and we know IC likes to keep throwing stuff at us. However, maybe we're just paranoid and IC is just in a happy mood.
3824937 Searo's nasty Matriarch. Had a pretty long fight scene with RD in Innavedr starting in chapter 56.
These ponies are waaayyy too happy.
Reminds me of the second chapter of The Martian Chronicles.
I like collins already. a bit surprised nobody thinks anything of rainbows wings.
My first thought was that this seemed like a village full of Pinkie Pies...
25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lta3b1KmAv1qii6tmo1_500.gif
But yeah, seems like a nice place. There's a lot of suspicion in the comments, and you can't fault it. This seems too good. But then I remember Ridgeside. A genuinely peaceful, restful town would really hit the spot right before the final climax of the installment. Especially if it facilitates more EE being silly.
3826983 ...Hey yeah, whatever happened to that?
Goodness, it seems like only yesterday they were parading her around the terraces of Verdestone. Memories...
Come stay a while and play with me
Forever in the Everfree
Arc! Hey Aaaaaaarc! You've been shown mercy! Also, there has so far been only one place that seemed bright and happy right from the start and kept that promise: Emeraldine. And this isn't Alicornitopia. I don't trust this any further than I can see it - which, given how it is an ideational entity, isn't very far.
3823656
I'm suspecting that something will go wrong. If not massive explosions and fight, the food will be undercooked.
3826429 right, had the raspy voice and everything
ZZZZZZZZZZZZSSSSSSSSSSSDDDDEESSZZZ
I totally wanted to call it Maregaritaville.
4076505 Once again, a quite tasteful song choice. Some people say that there's a mare to blame. But it's my own damn fault.
3826983 Yeah, I hope this is like the Emeraldine arc. Really I do. But given we're coming to where the climax of the story SHOULD be, I'm dubious. Shell will probably swoop in and slaughter everypony or something.
Please let this be a break.
-SPirit
4076505 ive had that song stuck in my head all day lol
Peace? It's just too easy.
I'm going to regret thinking this but, I think Shell is finally done, I know he isnt dead, but still.
3824612 I'm getting major Lotus Eater vibes as well. Damn it, Skirts, you've poisoned us with your twists!