//------------------------------// // Taking the Fall, Now and Forever // Story: Yaerfaerda // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// The Noble Jury grinded sideways for twenty agonizing seconds. As soon as it came to a lurching stop on the mountain's edge, Roarke stripped of the last piece of armor and galloped up the inclined crawlspace between the bottom floor and the cockpit. "Roarke!" Bellesmith shouted from where she still fumbled to get up beside the observation room. "Roarke, wh-where are you going?!" "I have to see..." Roarke panted and seethed as she peeled her way through the hole in the careening cockpit floor. "I-I have to see if she's alright!" "Please... I-I'm begging you!" Belle's voice hollered up, hinting of a sob. "Tell me if my beloved's alright!" Roarke pressed herself against the door to the top deck, but stopped right there. Gnashing her teeth, she cursed under her breath and spun completely around. The metal mare squatted by Pilate's side, inspecting the fumes of burnt mana still wafting from his runic plate. Despite a few pained groans, the zebra was in one piece. "He's breathing and stable!" Roarke hollered down the ship. She heard bodies clamoring through the bulkheads as the Jurists collected themselves from the awkward landing. Looking over, Roarke could see Floydien's legs start to stir. "Floydien's coming to! The two of you can check on your breeder together!" "But Roarke! Wait--!" "I have to check on Rainbow Dash!" Snarling, Roarke kicked and bucked and smashed at the door. At last, they parted ways with a crooked space. Roarke squeezed through, the metal plugs in her limbs rattling. "Nnnngnh-guh!" At last, she collapsed freely onto the top deck. The freezing mountain winds chilled her coarse brown coat. Undaunted, she scrambled back onto all fours and leapt blindly over the side. Through sheer dumb luck, the ex bounty hunter landed on an even slope of rock. Loose gravel rattled past her at a sharp incline, making the next part tricky and slippery. "Rainbow!" Roarke nevertheless called out. As she galloped fearlessly up the mountain side to the point of impact, she could still see the ethereal green aura of the Val Roan mana shield from beyond the desert peaks. Twirling bands of emerald energy shot upwards at random intervals, electrifying the same air that the Searonese pony was breathing. She felt bolts of mana dancing between her teeth, shocking her to the very core. She ignored the pain and discomfort, galloping faster, only slipping once or twice. Finally, she reached the spot where the nose of the skystone ship made contact with the mountainside. There was a chunk of earth carved in a jagged swath. Loose pebbles lined the metal hull, rattling with each heavy hoofstep the metal mare took. "Rainbow!" Roarke skidded to a stop, hyperventilating. She scrambled madly, digging at the edges of the wreck so as to peer into the shallow space sunk beneath the ship's weight. "Rainbow, say something! Why'd you go and do it?! So what if we crashed at a sharp angle, you idiot?! We could have put it back together! You didn't have... have..." At last, she saw it. From beneath the bow of the ship, a ragged tail of shiny, multicolored hairs stuck out. Wordlessly, muzzle quivering, Roarke darted over to the far side of the metal hull. What she saw forced her to fall back on her haunches, trembling. "Searo alive..." She brought a hoof up to her paled face. "No..." "So, it nullified all of the magic tech on board your vessel..." Rainbow Dash gazed out the window onto the squirrel sanctuary of the Manor. She took a long, melancholic breath. "...Ms. Dash?" The mare winced, instinctively clutching the pendant beneath the collar of her plain servant gown. "Uhm... I..." She turned and glanced aside. "Huh?" "This 'magic force field,'" Arcanista emphasized. She and Jake stood side by side, staring across the parlor. "It canceled out the mana conduits of the Noble Jury?" Rainbow gulped. "I... uhm... I-I was out for most of the time after the crash," Rainbow muttered. She gestured limply to her side. "The zebra can explain it better." Pilate fidgeted in his seat next to Bellesmith atop a lush couch. "Erm... yes, well..." He tilted his head in the Duchess' direction. "Whatever hit us was a great deal more powerful than all of our reconaissance prepared us for. Nopony was to blame, really. We figured at the time that Chrysalis was the one responsible for energizing the anti-magic shield." "And now?" "We still believe it, most certainly." Pilate nodded. "We're quite lucky to have come out of it alive." "Pilate, especially," Belle said. Pilate sighed. "Floydien and Roarke didn't fair much better either. And let's not forget Rainbow Dash--" "But it didn't cripple her like it did you and Floydien," Belle said. She glanced up at the Duchess and Constable. "Do you two even know of a technology in the Val Roans' possession that can cause this sort of damage to mana-powered devices?" "Dandelions!" Jake spat. "That's soul sentry snuff, through and through!" "So what you're saying is that magically empowered members of the Val Roan populace volunteer to become living anti-air artillery?!" Pilate grimaced. "Who would authorize such an undertaking?!" "It's... much more complicated than that," the Duchess said. "As if it wasn't already obvious, there's an elitist system at work within the Val Roan populace. The bulk of the power--both politically and economically--is wielded by deer, elk, and gazelle. This is the way it's been for years." "What... the horns are a means of showing off?" Rainbow muttered. "It's more about the natural magic Val Roans possess," said Arcanista. "It's a sign of status as well as power. But it comes at a price... the price of honor. It's typical for a member of every family to give up their freedom and become a weapon of the state. This sounds a great deal more intense than it really is. Val Roa, for all of its internal squabblings, is a relatively peaceful kingdom. The Cartel has been our only true enemy in these last few centuries. Aside from dealing with them and a few occasional bumps with the Lounge, there hasn't been much of a need for employing Soul Sentries around the clock." "Well, things have changed," Rainbow grumbled. "Cuz they totally blitz'd us out of the freakin' sky! And they didn't use a bunch of floozies to do it either! No, this is probably the most calculated attack I've seen since we butted heads with the Xonans!" "Soul Sentries never attack on their own," Jake said. "And they don't do it without provocation. Some head cheese on the top of the shelf gave the order to form that defensive perimeter, much less the volley of shots that landed you on your rusted asses." "I beg your pardon?!" Belle scowled. "That volley of shots nearly turned my beloved brain dead and almost crushed Rainbow to a pulp!" "Shhhh..." Pilate rested a hoof on the mare's shoulder. "It's okay, Belle. He's on our side." Pilate's nostrils flared. "Even if he's a tad abrasive." "HAH!" Jake grinned wide, drooling. "Only a tad?!" Arcanista cleared her throat. "I... h-have no doubt that Chrysalis is responsible for this defensive line being bolstered. Both Jake and I agree that it's an unprecedented show of Val Roan force." "Yeah..." Jake stifled a yawn. "It means that those meditative fart-knockers have been increased by a factor of ten!" "Meaning..." Belle blinked. "It has to involve a recruitment of five thousand fresh, new soul sentries. Easily." "Five... thousand?" Pilate murmured, ears twitching. "Well, yeah! If they wanna make a defensive line long enough to zap anything flying in north or south of the West Gate!" "Just... wh-what powers up their horns, anyways?" Rainbow asked. "Are they all just like the Duchess, only more powerful?" "There's a ritual involved," Arcanista said. "It's very secretive... not to mention sacred by most Val Roan standards. The key ingredient is meditation and focus... achieving a selfless state of mind that eliminates ego and emotion." "But there's more to that crap. Ohhhh yeah." Jake nodded, his huge antlers kicking up an artificial wind. "Since I was a little poopstain, I've always latched onto the believe that they use desert dust." "Desert... dust..." "From the Grand Choke... y'know?" The moose's beady eyes blinked. "They scoop up a whole bunch of that crap and--like--smoke it or some garbage." He grinned with yellow teeth. "That's why they get to do all that anti-magic pew pew stuff, cuz they're channeling the choke... as it were." "The very notion that the Grand Choke is what empowers Val Roa is what makes the kingdom so intimidating," Arcanista said. "If we didn't have a desolate and inhospitable landscape beyond the eastern border, we would have been conquered by an alliance of the Lounge and Cartel ages ago. Several of our population would have fled to Alafreo and the frozen wastes beyond to find a new home." "In fact, several did," Jake said, fighting a yawn. "Nnngh... back several centuries, during an even older war with the Cartel. History buffs called them 'Westgaters.' I like to call them 'yellow bellied panty-waists.' When I first heard that Floyd ran off years ago, I thought he was just reenacting history. Heh." Rainbow Dash took a deep breath. "Well... that would explain a few things." "Huh?" She shook her head with a sigh. "Never mind. Seems like, one way or another, the only way we're going to figure out this soul sentry crap is from the inside." "Do we even have an idea who commands these deer and elk?" Bellesmith remarked. "The highest members of the military are the only ones empowered to control the noblest of warriors," Arcanista said. "So... General Saikano, basically," Rainbow Dash muttered. Her brow furrowed beneath emerald bangs. "Or in other words, Chrysalis." Arcanista took a deep breath. "Quite possibly." "Just who is this Chrysalis yahoo, anyways?" Jake glanced around. "Can I punch it?" "Sorry, pal..." Rainbow smirked. "But that favor goes to me when the time comes." "Uh huh. And... like... if the guards stop this silly cloud parade at the West Gate, then what?" "Well..." Rainbow shrugged. "I guess I get to try my punching hoof on you instead." "... ... ..." Jake blinked. "Cool!"