Rainbow Dash darted skyward in a blue streak, soaring over the star-drenched spiraling towers of Val Roa.
Down below, along the edges of Plaza Topaz, a depot was filled to the brim with wagons and stagecoaches. A miniature courtyard lay in between the many different stations. Dozens of servants pitched tents and set up campfires beside their vehicles where they prepared to stand guard all night long. In front of a pair of ornate wooden coaches, Jake and Floydien mingled. The Constable layed out a sleeping mat, yawning so loud he caused the nearby campfires to flicker from the sound vibrations.
“Duaaaaaaaah.... 'Can't be done,' they said! 'A fatass moose?! Lying on a sleeping mat?!' Shark penis! I wanna see them balk now!”
“Hrmmmff...” Floydien glared across the way with a furrowed brow.
Jake tilted his head aside. “Don't tell me you're still steamed about your sister leaving you to freeze your tail off down here with the likes of me.”
“Floydien is hardly affected.”
“Still, you shoulda predicted that would happen.” Jake winked. “You are trying to be just as incognito as your buddies, after all.”
“So long as Floydien's boomer friends are experiencing comfort, then Floydien is fine.”
“Heh... so there is a feeling elk beneath all of those grumpy shit-smears after all.”
“Floydien doesn't understand the moose's spit.”
“Say... I just gotta ask...” Jake leaned forward, squinting. “Don't you ever sleep?”
Floydien glared. “No. Floydien doesn't.”
“Heh... No wonder your brain is so fartwise.”
“What what what?”
“Whoever it was who took the craddle-prod to your noggin', they certainly did a real number on you. They took away your memories, your smile, now your sleep?”
“Floydien has always been able to manage.”
“Is that so?” Jake produced something between a yawn and a burp. “Then remind me why you're here again?”
“Floydien needs to look after Floydien's friends—”
“Bullcrap. You care only about your stupid space ship.” Jake smiled droolingly. “Something's lured you into this city, and I doubt it's princess potty duty.”
“There's a shape shifting boomer queen with a lot of shimmer glimmer and—”
“Odds are stacked against you if you have any intention of finding Midnite Bastion, buddy.”
Floydien's eyebrow twitched. “That is the least of Floydien's desires.”
“Hey, so maybe you're a changed elk.” Jake shrugged. “You don't exactly want to shag her anymore. I get that.”
Floydien sighed, rolling his dull red eyes.
“But a piece of you is curious. At least admit that.”
Floydien was silent.
“If I lost a huge chunk of my past and suddenly found myself at the threshhold of where I last had it...” Jake flopped onto his massive side, farted, and lay still with a sigh. “...I'd be itching to recover my hoofprints too, even if they didn't mean didley-shit to me.”
“Floydien isn't the boomer charged with searching,” the elk muttered. “Floydien has no wings.”
“So?” Jake yawned while his ears went limp. “Go for a stroll. I won't kill you for it. Just keep your antlers off so nopony recognizes your... hrmmm... Sehlp-ness...”
Floydien's nostrils flared.
“Go on...” Jake drifted off to heavy, heavy sleep. “You know you want to...”
Floydien closed his eyes. His face tensed for a few seconds, and then he squinted one eye open.
Jake was dead still.
Slowly, Floydien stood up, turned around, and shuffled towards the wagons—
“Make one move towards your antlers and I'll introduce them to your colon,” Jake muttered.
With a groan, Floydien stormed angrily off in a random direction.
Jake's lips curved beneath his closed eyes as he nuzzled the sleeping mat.
“Tell the reprentatives from Zoram that we are looking into the issue thoroughly. It was not our intent to ignore their concerns with the taxation of their outlying colonies, but with the Coronation coming up, we have had to put a hold on the bi-annual review of the financial department.”
“Yes, Chancellor,” spoke a young secretary, scribbling onto a piece of parchment. She stood with a pen and paper at the far end of a spacious office overlooking the bronze and copper rooftops of Val Roa's Sandstone District. “And what of the naga ambassadors?”
“Nnngh...” A deer sat at her desk, rubbing her forehead with a weary hoof. A glittering diamond necklace hung around her petite head. “You mean the Lounge representatives are still insisting on holding an audience with the Council?”
“Affirmative.”
“Haven't they got a clue just what kind of a transitionary period we're in right now?”
“Many of the other representatives on the High Seat think that they are attempting to catch us off guard.”
“Our streets are filled to the brim with Soul Sentries. Thanks to Saikano, we couldn't possibly be any more on guard.”
“They're still expecting a response, Chancellor.”
“Set up an appointment tomorrow morning. After sunrise. I know how slow those reptiles are when it's still cold outside. Maybe it'll be my chance to catch them off guard.”
“Very well. Seven o'clock?”
“Better make it seven thirty. If I don't have muffin and milk, I'm liable to kill somedeer.”
A guard trotted up, clearing his throat. “Chancellor Fishberry, Representative Nilla is here to see you.”
“I'm rather busy at the moment...”
“She says she's here per request of a Royal Envoy.” The guard raised an eyebrow. “She mentioned Princess Kera Tin Mehjj of the Xonan Empire.”
Fishberry sat up straight, wiggling her little black nose. “Xonan Empire...?” Her eyes traced the lengths of her office. “I-I've never heard of such a place...”
“The name matches fabled places spoken of by the Lounge and Alafreons, Chancellor,” the secretary said. “Far west, across the Frozen Wastes.”
“Hrmmmm...” Fishberry rubbed her chin. “Still, this is the most inopportune time.”
“Val Roan law dictates that in any situation involving a foreign ambassador, the Council is to—”
“I'm quite aware of the law, secretary.”
“Yes, Chancellor. Of c-course, Chancellor.”
Fishberry motioned with her hoof. “Let Nilla in. She's a good gazelle. I've no reason to doubt her sincerity.”
Within the span of two minutes, the gazelle was making her way down the massive office and towards the ornate wooden desk belonging to the High Council's lead speaker.
“Chancellor, Madame...” Nilla curtsied. “I-I've come to request that the High Council give audience to a group of ambassadors tomorrow.” She looked up. “They come from a great distance, Chancellor—these Xonans—and judging from their disposition it would seem a wise thing for the Val Roans to pay them every bit of attention and respect.”
“Have they threatened you in any way, Nilla?”
“Erm... n-not exactly, Chancellor. But, as you well know, rumor is that the continents to the west have been beset with great turmoil and strife. It's likely that a great war has ended, and if the Xonans are the victors...”
“I see where you're going with this, Nilla.” Chancellor Fishberry nodded. “If it is in Val Roa's best interests, then—by all means—I will arrange for the ambassadors to speak to the Council.”
Nilla exhaled with relief. “That is very good, Chancellor.”
“My my, you seem besides yourself with stress.” Fishberry raised an eyebrow. “Is playing hostess not all it's cracked up to be, representative?”
“I certainly didn't expect foreign royalty to be this exotic.”
“It seems rather sudden and out of place for a Princess...”
“Kera Tin Mehjj...”
“—to visit our esteemed capital.” Fishberry scanned through several scrolls on her desk while talking. “Undoubtely, she had to have been aided by a local escort. Tell me, is there an interior representative assisting in these Xonans' arrival?”
“Yes, Chancellor. There is.”
“A name, Nilla. Give me a name, please.”
Nilla cleared her throat. “Erm... Duchess Arcanista of the House of Sehlp, Chancellor.”
“... ... ...” Fishberry's orange eyes darted up from the scrolls. “Of the Province Bountiful?”
Nilla nodded and nodded.
The secretary fidgeted nervously.
Fishberry exhaled long and hard. “I am not going to get any sleep this week...”
Fishberry, I doubt anyelk is getting sleep this week.
I'm still hoping for some Arabian Nights style description of this fantastic city. Val Roa is almost exactly how I imagined it, it's fantastic.
Heh. I can't wait till I see how Arcanista's and Fishberry's personalities' mesh.
So Fishberry is a doe, a deer, a female deer.
5228271
And ain't Jake just a drop of golden sun?
Twenty close-hand pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
5228245 or anydeer, or anymoose, or anygazelle, or anypony, or anyzebra, or anyplatypus, or…
I, for one, look forward to the shenanigans Floydien will surely get himself into.
Warning bells are going off for fish berry. Glad to be caught up again.
have we ever seen Floydien sleep not counting when he was knocked out?
I still don't completely trust Arcanista...just too much spit. Oy vey my paranoia.
Well, now that we finally see Fishberry, she doesn't seem like a changeling queen in disguise. The vibe I'm getting off of her is that she's, at worst, a busy-body bureaucrat. But an evil mastermind? Not so much. I could be wrong, of course, but if I was a betting man, I'd put my money on someone else (Midnite Bastion might be my first choice at this juncture, but it's hard to be certain without having met her in the present day).
Huh, I just realized that the one who is most likely to know that the jury are lying about Xona and all that is whoever Chryssi is disguise as. So somechangelling is going to hear about this "Princess Kera Tin Mehjj of the Xonan Empire" and be all "yeaaaah nope. I'm calling bull on that one."
So, according to her, it's Saikano who is advocating the surge of guards. He is in a position ideal to warmongering, but he could still be being controlled by Bastion. No way to know who Chrysalis is impersonating at the moment.
And now that we finally have a chance to see Fishberry... she lacks Chrysalis' vibes of superiority and misanthropy. I think we can put her near the bottom of the suspect list for now.
Well, no warning bells going off in my head right now for Fishberry, but I still don't like her.
5228257
Same, except Val Roa didn't match how I imagined it.
Sleep seems to be the buzzword this chapter. I wonder if there is any significance to it.
Also, speaking of sleep, I seem to recall Celestia having said something once about not needing sleep as an Alicorn. Since Chrysalis is a fallen alicorn, does the same rule apply? As an ancient evil mastermind, I would think sacrificing a week of sleep would hardly even warrant a second thought. Then again, she could be in character...
So we wait. Dash checking the geography, and possibly listening in, while trying to keep out o range of the regular Soul Sentries, while Floydien is randomly wandering hopefully into teh right place at the right time to at least hear something. I wonder how big a kick out his antlers the Soul Sentries would get, or how many were used to zap the Jury the first time, and if the scan memory persists?
just how good is Chrysalis disguise this time. Who is she and how is she acting.
This innocent desert city is completely oblivious to the storm that's coming.
I have to be honest. I'm eager to see what kind of misery Chrysalis stirs up, only for Rainbow Dash to come and roundhouse kick her in the face.
5228793
I still think it's Midnite Bastion.
i.lvme.me/60sqsld.jpg
5228802 Well that would be true of any immortal, they don't need to sleep, but it would help.
she'd still get physically and mentally fatigued and that would make it hard for her to keep up her disguise and act respectively.
Arguably, Celestia and Luna would need at least 2 days of sleep considering the amount of magic they'd need to raise and lower the sun and moon.
Luna more so at this juncture because she has to raise both and lower both bodies.
Celestia is probably in dire need of it,devoting all her time to keeping the chaos rift in check, one would think they have a rotation system in place where Celly takes a week, then Luna takes over for a week so she can rest and recover....
5228617 I hereby dub Kera tin Mehjj as "Princess Consort". Problem solved.
In all seriousness, Lasairfion owes RD et al a favour or three.
for a moment my madness shall seep into this realm of paranoia
Suspects:
General Saikano - Omega Level
Fishberry - Minimal Threat
Sharp Quill - Dubious
Arcanista - Dubious
Midnite Bastion - Level Unknown
Legend:
Omega Level = Most likely suspect at current moment; high priority watch
High Level = Very likely suspect; high priority watch
Dubious = Suspicious, but not likely the target; low priority watch
Minimal Threat = Unlikely suspect, but cannot rule out; low priority watch
Level Unknown = Suspect with too little information to classify; highest priority watch
5228569
I would wager it's not Midnight.
I still have my money on the asshole that's running the whole show... forgot his name already, but I don't like him. Saikano is not a likely choice either, since again, he's subject to the will of the Crown and the Council.
So we've gotten to see Val Roa and we've managed to get our meeting with the council. I still don't like Fishberry yet, but I'm not getting a Chrysalis vibe from her. Saikano is a fairly big suspect, but only because we don't know too much about him past that he's in charge of the soul sentries. I'm personally thinking it's Sharp Quill at the moment, but knowing IC, we're all wrong and it's some other character nobody expected. I guess we'll have to wait and see. May the glory of Zadubadabu show us the answer.
Hmmm we finally meet Fishberry. Right now she doesn't strike me as any more or less of a suspect then before, however that could change quickly. With the new info we got on Saikano he has become a bit more suspicious to me but right now my two big suspects are Arcanista and Quill
Again, not a good idea to exaggerate the facts of Xona.
To top that I'm 90% sure she knows Nilla actually was threatened.
Fishberry doesn't seem all too suspicious... I can't be sure, but as a tentative guess, I'd say it's not her.
5229393 I'm not even on your list?
5230173 .......
you fit into the lowest area, the "everyone else" area
I would show you more of my mind (and thus the long list of suspects for many different things), but to do so would take far too long
for your pride:
Suspects:
General Saikano - Omega Level
Fishberry - Minimal Threat
Sharp Quill - Dubious
Arcanista - Dubious
Midnite Bastion - Level Unknown
Nilla - General Watch
Legend:
Omega Level = Most likely suspect at current moment; high priority watch
High Level = Very likely suspect; high priority watch
Dubious = Suspicious, but not likely the target; low priority watch
Minimal Threat = Unlikely suspect, but cannot rule out; low priority watch
General Watch = Do to the "everyone is suspect" rule of paranoia, this is the largest group; low priority watch
Level Unknown = Suspect with too little information to classify, but whose name or detailing factor was mentioned; highest priority watch
Wasn't Fishberry referred to as a he earlier on?
...well shit. That's too bad.
The secretary is Chrysalis.
I bet Cheesy isn't even replacing anyone. She's just in the shadows, promising power to someone of the council.
5230412 This is fair. (I don't even think I'm Chrysalis, although I wouldn't be surprised if I'm working for her or get brainwashed by her.)
With the confusion of Fishberry, I think we can strike her from the 'Is secretly Cheeselegs' list
5229057
I do too. I was just thinking that we cannot rule Fishery out, even if she appears to not be Chrysalis.
5230412 Like the little roundup you have there. But I'd have to say Bastion should be higher on the list. Cause of the drama potential, and she is Saikano's daughter. She could manipulate him Shining Armor style with little to no difficulty.
5229393
I bet my socks that Saikano is a red herring. He's more of a corrupt Wizard of Oz type, who's up to some very shady things, certainly (perhaps even the goblins), but I do not think he is Chrysalis.
I bet miss-holes-in-things-fairy is none other than Lady Arcanista herself.
5228431
A fair question! In fact, the series has never explicitly mentioned him sleeping. There are a few instances where this is at least alluded to:
Right before Roarke leaves the Jury there's this line:
Floydien wakes up Belle at night to tell her to talk to Celestia:
Not quite conclusive evidence, but certainly compelling
Theories! Theories everywhere!
Theres an add below the chapter showing fan made 3d printed MLP AAAAART!!!!!!!
No, Fishberry, no you won't. It's going to be a long few days.
-Spirit
Hmm . . . I'm not able to tell if Fishberry is a changeling or not. But maybe this is what Ebon meant by Chrysalis having been changed. Maybe she got a taste of her own medicine.
We'll see how this goes soon enough.
Fishberry seems to not be all that pleased with Arcanista's presence in the capitol. Hopefully she'll get a bit of a headache from some extra stress.
~SolidFire
So does floydien sleep? I suspected he didn't for a long while but eventually the story mentioned him taking breaks or having an auto pilot. We never saw him sleep or in a room when people were sneaking around at night though?
Huh. Elk recognize each other by their antlers more than their face?
8158060
I imagine it's a bit like a hairstyle, in that it's a distinct part of their appearance and its absence makes recognition take a little longer.
Those poor Lounge lizards. How cruel it must be to be forced into a meeting in the cold, cold weather.
Hmmm, first impression wise, I like Fishberry. It'll be interesting to see what sort of twist there is regarding Chryssalis.
Personally, I think Dash should probably be a little more cautious flying around, after all she is a bright blue pony with a glowing golden pendant and wings. Not to mention the excess of sentries.
In the meanwhile, this coup is looking pretty unsavory, I'm not liking the prospects it or the shady goblin business.
Im guessing that sometime in the next couple of chapters things hit the fan.
8860149
Well, they do have those fancy suits at least.
....Fishberry is sus.
8158060
8771809
This got me curious, so I went and did some digging…
(Emphasis mine.) So basically, it’s totally possible that they recognize each other that way, though I imagine in this society they could recognize each other without, so your explanation is probably the best. Still, I found that interesting