“I don’t mean to rock the boat much, but…” Eagle Eye looked across the windswept top deck of the Noble Jury. “...we’re going really, really, really slow now.”
“That’s to be expected, Eagle,” Pilate said, squatting before a book that O.A.S.I.S. was scanning. “While the skystone is acting as a reserve, it is no longer our chief source of propulsion. This steam can only push us so hard.”
“Well, I know that!” Eagle Eye nodded. “But still, could there be something we’re missing?” He gazed over the railing along the starboard side and watched as rolling plains oozed by slowly below. “Maybe if we tossed some of the spare scrap that we have over the edge, we could go faster.”
“I don’t think speed is our most important trait at the moment,” the zebra replied. “Safety, however, is paramount.”
“Heh… safety?” Eagle Eye smirked in his direction. “With nothing but Xonans and Ledomaritans waiting for us in the east? You’re expecting us to be safe?”
“Hey!” Floydien’s voice barked from up ahead in the cockpit. “What’s with all the spit?! We’re headed after paint bucket or aren’t we?!”
“Now you’ve gone and done it,” Pilate muttered, smirking as he flipped another page of the book he was reading.
Eagle Eye sighed as Bellesmith trotted up. “Me and my big muzzle.”
“Don’t be too hard on yourself, EE,” Belle said as she held some acorns up to her shoulder so that Simon--perched on her backside--could engage in a liberal meal. “When you’re concerned for your friends, you broadcast it in stereo. We all know this.”
“I just can’t help but wonder what it is that they want with Rainbow Dash!” Eagle Eye said, his face sad. “I mean, the crazy cultists--sure. I kind of understood that. But the Xonans?”
“I’m endeavoring to figure that out myself,” Pilate spoke out loud, flipping another page underneath O.A.S.I.S.
“Hmm?” Belle turned about, all the while petting Simon’s bushy tail. “That’s a rather old book, beloved. What exactly are you pursuing?”
“Hmmm…” Pilate’s metal brow flickered as he said, “It’s an old tome about past Xonan dynasties.”
“Yeesh.” Eagle Eye winced. “Where the heck did you find it? Ledo doesn’t like ponies possessing books about Eastern culture.”
“Mr. Floydien has a remarkable library in his navigation room. I’ve been meaning to read several of his possessions for the longest time, only…”
“Heh, right. Got it.” Eagle Eye smirked with a nod. “A lot of crud has been interrupting ‘reading time.’”
“I always knew you were well-versed in Xonan history, Pilate,” Bellesaid as Simon scurried off her shoulder with a shrill bark. “What new things could you possibly be learning?”
“It’s more like a brand new analysis than fresh knowledge,” Pilate said. “For the past fifteen hundred years, there have been three chief factions to Xonan royalty, which makes up the highest and most valued caste. You see, ages ago, three tribes were associated with having had a ‘divine revelation’ which led to a reformation of the Xonan religious structure. Those directly related to the tribes were labeled as ‘First Born,’ and they adopted the holy language that had previously only been used by Xonan priests and priestesses. Since then, Xonan royalty has lorded over the warrior class--Second Born--and the laboring class--Third Born.”
“But the First Born are divided into three groups?” Belle asked.
“Families, beloved,” Pilate clarified. “The Cecilen Dynasty, the Jaatso Dynasty, and the Tania Dynasty. For centuries, the three families alternated possession of chief executive power. There was literally an order to it: Cecilen then Jaatso then Tania.”
“So, once the king or queen who represented Cecilen passed away…” Belle spoke out loud.
“The chief monarch of Jaatso would take over and rule over the course of his lifetime.”
“But what about a ‘she?’”
“Ah…” Pilate lifted his hoof. “Now there’s the rub. Apparently, Xonan politics is very… well… chauvinistic to say the least.”
“How so?”
“Well, let’s just say that Xona would never tolerate a mare like Nightshade gaining the sort of power that she did.” Pilate sighed and said, “Apparently--even in a high caste--Xonan females are forced into a subservient social role. This means that if a monarch was to be a mare, the torch would either be passed along to a male relative or the torch wouldn’t be passed whatsoever.”
“Wait…” Belle blinked, then made a face. “You mean that one of the Dynasties would simply be skipped?”
“Precisely. Seems as though the Xonans would rather die than have a Queen rule over a King.”
“But wait a second…” Eagle Eye shuffled forward. “One of those three houses--’Tania,’ I believe it was--it sounded super familiar! Didn’t I hear that--”
“Yes, there’s a Princess currently ruling over Xona,” Pilate said. “This is precisely what intrigues me. This ‘Princess Buch Tania Lasairfion’ has inherited her name from three separate monarchs in her dynasty’s class. This isn’t odd, though. What’s strange is the fact that her name traditionally denotes that she would have been born within this generation, which means she can’t be any younger than you or me or Bellesmith. And, as it stands, the Dynasty has already switched hooves during her lifetime.”
“Meaning it passed from Jaatso to Cecilen?” Belle remarked.
“Yes. Tania has been passed over because their chief monarch is currently female. But… obviously… she’s in power again.” Pilate tilted his head towards the other two. “So, something has happened in the Xonan infrastructure to somehow force Cecilen to skip back over Jaatso and give the torch to Tania once more.”
“So not only is Xonan being ruled over by an unorthodox monarch, but she’s gotten her power in a very nontraditional way,” Belle said.
“Precisely, beloved.”
Belle ran a hoof over her short-short hairs, her face scrunched in thought. “That’s… somewhat disturbing.”
“In what way?” Eagle Eye asked, blinking.
“Well, EE, it means that there’s been some sort of rift in the power structure of Ledomare’s chief adversary,” Belle remarked. “It could explain their huge shift in battle strategies, what with these ‘chaos monsters’ they seem to be wielding.”
“I would also suspect that their latest reformation may have something to do with it.”
“Reformation?” Eagle Eye stammered.
“Yes.” Pilate nodded. “The way in which they evidently refer to ‘Nagu’n’ as of late, it’s downright disturbing. I think we’re witnessing a fundamental change in the Xonan religion, and whatever it means to them it’s giving them undaunted righteous fury in their military pursuits.”
“And what of their princess?” Eagle Eye asked with a shrug. “Is she the reason for all this change?”
“I’m willing to believe so,” Pilate said as a gust of wind chilled all three of them. “She’s evidently brought something to the table, and whatever it is, it’s brought the Xonans into a new level of communion with their patron deity. I hate to say it, but I think this quite literally happened ‘overnight,’ and that doesn’t bode well.”
“Why not?”
“Because if an entire culture such as the Xonans’ can experience a dramatic change that quickly, then either you and I have been following the wrong religion--or Lasairfion’s reformation is completely and utterly self-manifested.”
Belle squinted. “You mean…”
“I believe the Xonans are all being led by a power-grabbing cultist,” Pilate said. “Whether she’s seeking social change or revolution, it’s unclear. But she seems to desire only two things: bloody chaos… and Rainbow Dash.”
Uh oh, sounds like guano will start hitting the fan.
So, basically, the Princess posted her 95 Thesis on some door?
Forty four-count flutter kicks, ):(. Knock 'em out!
And why does little miss revolutionist want RD, sure having a winged pony helps support your religion, but she already has the chaos monsters. So she knows RD is Austraeoh and she wants her for some reason relating towards either her new government or Rainbow's mission. Why does this sound like it's going to get worse before it gets better?
Of course they want Rainbow Dash. Everyone wants Rainbow Dash these days.
Crazy theorist time:
What if Khao has something to do with this?
Wait.
How many Xonans have they run into to asseverate that they're oftenly using "Nagu'n" lately?
3464173 Even stallions are gay for Dash. Don't ask me how that works.
It always bothers me when male "superiority" rears its head in ponyfics. Granted, it's the bad guys doing this, but the bad guys as they currently stand are also headed by an unorthodox female princess, so it goes both ways. Maybe it's because I'm used to Celestia being a boss. Or maybe I'm just looking at this the wrong way, and it's all deliberate values dissonance. Either or.
3464163
It appears to be more posting the decapitated head of the other king on the wall and saying "I'm your queen now, bitches. And we're going to do this my way."
Yay, early chapter today.
So, Jaatso was apparently the name of a Xonan foal whose reunion with his parents we witnessed in the end of Innavedr.
By the way, that family was speaking Second-born language, while later it was said that the imprisoned Xonans were mostly farmers (i.e Thord-born):
So, interesting. I doubt we'll see the Xonans who stayed in Aurum again, but this connection just has to come up somehow.
3464343
Roarke has been filling them in.
3464348 Stallions want a sex change so they can be gay for Dash.
3464349 I figure if there's a lean towards a particular gender superiority in a ponyfic, it's intended to not be likeable. Ledomare, for example, doesn't seem to consider the possibility of a male sovereign. Equally unlikeable.
Equestria's kind of like that too. All of the Element bearers are female, and I have yet to hear of any major positive male influence on the nation's history or culture beyond Star Swirl. If one were to ask Celestia or Luna if it were possible for a male to become Equestria's sovereign, I wonder what the answer would be...
Ooh, anthropological goodies. At the risk of beating a dead... well, y'know, I can't help but wonder if whatever it was that gave Lasairfion a leg-up was machine world- / dark side-related. Or maybe it's simply the Sacred Hold; god knows I'd be impressed by that if I was a power-rival. I also wonder how Khao's Kult fits into everything, because I smell a connection.
Also, I'd bet money that Kera is related to one of the deposed houses of Xonan royalty. Sort of like Anastasia; a member of one of the other two houses, sent to exile in Ledomare as a foal. I know others have had similar thoughts before, but this is the first time we've gotten some context for such a thing. As kihutaja pointed out, one of the rescued foals in Innavedr seemed to be related, so...
Some prophets give their people words to live by. Others give them chaos metal... Related picture of the day:
1.bp.blogspot.com/-OOSCfMoSQ90/T6pheobdTjI/AAAAAAAAgpI/ypjk9C84i3Q/s1600/110013.jpg
Oh great, more sexism. We barely got out of Searo and now this pile of feces happens. It's funny though: with how things are going, the princess might well turn out to be the first villainous fighter for gender equality I've ever heard of.
I don't know what's weirder: the fact that Belle just addressed Pilate with his actual name, or that He got this close to shipping her with Zaid.
3464349 Honestly now, this is harmless compared to what was going on in Searo's Hold. Not nice, no, but harmless in comparison.
Just a totally crazy, insane thought. Given the amount of chaos metal, chrystals etc, what if Sacred Hold actually Is one of the Machine World control towers? I mean, say you have a warship so large it has multiple sub levels of auxilary bridges designed so they could eject as escape pods, and some sod nicked off with one while it was needed.?
3465037
Like, maybe it has one of the obelisks inside it? That's... pretty interesting, actually. We know there was some kind of event on the war-front, something to do with the machine world (that's where Nightshade got the flame). And that might be exactly the kind of shock & awe thing that Lasairfion might've used to wrest power away from the other houses. Hmmm... Intriguing thought...
3464885
if you find the "beating a dead..." phrase has been beaten to death, try this one on for size:
"at the risk of thrice slaying the slain"
Yes, it is a phrase that was once in common use
3464244
i actually would not be surprised if Khao and Lasairfion had similar, and intertwined goals toward retrieving RD. I actually want to know if Khao and her cultist group were secret agents of the Princess herself.
3463700
Hey, whatever floats your boat.
Or Death Star Moon Base Asteroid lair of float-y badassery.
As others have mentioned, there might be a connection between Laser-pion and Khao; they might have similar goals with using Austraeoh, or they might even be direct rivals, or allies.
~Basso
Is there anyone in this universe who's not?
Xona:
Still don't like them. They are bad ponies. I hope their magical flying rock fort blows up.
There is already a Dashbonery cult on the playing field.
Madame Nightshade:
Extended a hoof to prevent one of the few ponies, who can save her ass, from plummeting to her death,
Vs:
Mutilating, magically crippling and traumatizing a score of war orphans, and,
Facilitating invasive surgical experiments on sentient non-ponies, generally culminating with their deaths, with the purpose of creating a magical non-pony slave class (many of the survivors were likely vivisected without anaesthesia).
That's just the stuff we know about.
She continues to demonstrate that she is a dangerous, self-serving sociopath, and she is far from getting a 'pass' from me.
3464966
I found the source for that image, if you are interested.
So what I'm thinking is, Tania used the chaos elementals to take over Xona. Chaos has taken over her mind, and if she is part of the cult, that could lead to her thinking that she is Eljunbyro, so she will keep Rainbow "safe" within her cult.
I am starting to wonder about those refugees from the desert canyon. Were they simply trying to escape the revolution? like all the affluent Cubans in the 50's and 60's.
It is steadily making more sense.
3464170>>3464173>>3464244>>3464885>>3465616>>3466016>>3466299>>3466571>>3466995
Alright, it seems that there's a power [struggle or shift], and the Tania tribe/family wants control.
Assuming warriors loyal to each of the families have chaos beasties of their own, and these chaos-spawn are useless towards(against) RD and her pendant, Lasairfion will probably see RD's Element as a trummp card against anything Tania's (the tribe) political adversaries can throw at them.
3464589
Yeah, That would work.
This is Australia...
So, who said that Shell would be in the next seven chapters?
3470701 That would be me, and I would be so very wrong.
Calling it now... Kera is related to the royal family.
A Message from MASH-
I have a really good excuse for this, I promise. Seriously. I'll tell you all about it tomorrow.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Ooh...now this is very interesting. You thought this through, Imploding. By any chance, could Lasairfon be that cultist leader that we already met...? But I guess that would be a slight long shot. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Sleep. I needs it.
P.S.S. Don't give me that look.
So many cultists. If everyone would just join the cult of Awesome then we wouldn't have these issues. When will they learn?
such shakespeare
much rub
very ado
wow
Yeah, this Laserfair lady totally pulled a dragon out of her butt. I don't know why a dragon would listen to her, though.
Also, holy crap I am so behind. I don't think a new story has ever started without me being caught up. Hyper-read skills, activate!
-Spirit
Perhaps...this is just my second shot in the dark (my first one was in Austraeoh) but could this dying Nag'un be one of the Matriarchs? considering whats happening in the grand scheme of things, it could possibly explain the "dying" signal. Idk im just guessing. as are we all.
3704930
Quiet, you cultured fæg.
Now this is interesting. Very, very interesting. I can't even begin to understand or comprehend this, so I'll just leave it at that.
5479476 ĸəĸ
Hm... do you think the discovery of the Chaos Metal and the ability to control the creatures that comes along with it had anything to do with th rise of the Princess?
5885443 now what would give you that idea?
"But she seems to desire only two things: bloody chaos… and Rainbow Dash.”
Here we have a quality tl;dr for IC's goals in writing this series.
You know, just once I'd like to see clean, shiny, pristine chaos.
Just for... variety?
And regarding those comments about Khao...
I can't believe I hadn't tried mentally adding an "s" to her name until this chapter.
Khao... Khaos ...
Or in other words, is using the Xonan religion for her own ends, and twisting it into something awful, something that happens far too often in real life.
05/24/2017 00:09 UTC