A Lasting Gift From Verlax
"Rainbow, darling, I think you should go above deck," Rarity said.
"Mrmmmff... what's the m-matter, Rarity?" Rainbow wheezed, stringing together three empty potato sacks that were taken from Blue's ranch. She then proceeded to loop them over opposite support beams situated in the bottom deck of the Princess Stardust's cabin. "In some... basic... c-cavemare way, I'm actually trying to liven up the pl-place!" She paused to catch her breath. "Isn't that kinda thing your bag?"
"I can already tell that those drab satchels are hardly strong enough to support even your meager weight." Rarity shuddered. "Also... the longer that we spend down here in this rusted womb, the more likely I am to expel my stomch fluids..."
"Rarity, you've been a veritable spirit for nearly two years," Twilight Sparkle droned. "How could you possibly vomit?"
"Have you seen the the atrocious conditions of this ship?!" Rarity's voice squeaked. "How can I not?!"
"Hehe! She's got a point, Twi!" Pinkie Pie winked. "Roll enough times in your grave and you're bound to upchuck eventually!"
"I think it's nice down here," Fluttershy said with a smile. "It's all so very... simple." A gulp. "And quiet."
Thunder echoed across the bulkheads.
Fluttershy trembled. "Okay... mostly quiet."
"Hey! See?" Rainbow Dash fumbled and fiddled with the potato sacks, tying their ends neatly so that they raised a good few feet above the cabin floor. "Fluttershy's got the right idea! I mean... think about it! I've been on the run for friggin' months. Between the Talon and the Consortium and the Central Guard chasing me, I haven't had any real good opportunity for some shuteye!"
"You don't need no shuteye, Rainbow Dash," Applejack said. "Quit foolin' yerself."
"Mrmmmfff..." Rainbow yanked one edge of the makeshift hammock tight. "What makes you think I'm lying, Applejack?"
"Because you just did." The mare's brow furrowed. "Just now."
"Look... I was comfortable back on board the Noble Jury." Rainbow wiped the sweat from her brow and shrugged. "So sue me if I wanna get comfortable once again."
"But this isn't the Noble Jury," Twilight Sparkle said. "We're with the Herald... and we're just now sailing into the final waters of the final ocean on the final edge of the eastern world." She smiled gently. "You don't have to pretend to be calm, Rainbow Dash. When the time comes that you really wanna fall asleep, we'll watch over you."
"Yeah!" Pinkie nodded. "Pinkie promise!"
"Rrrrrnnngh..." Rainbow frowned, flapping her wings. "Stop trying to mother me, guys!" She lifted off the metal floor and hovered directly above the dangling sacks. "I said I'm sleepy and I meant it! If Luna can catch some Z's, then so can I! I'm not stressed! I'm not freaked out or anything! I just want to sleep!"
That said, she coiled her wings to her side and dropped like a blue anvil.
Riiiiiiiip! The potato sacks shredded under her weight and Rainbow plunged to the metal floor. Clanggggg!
Fluttershy winced.
"... ... ..." Rainbow lay stiffly on her back, blinking. "...I think I should go above deck."
Kepler gripped the rudder wheel in strong claws as the Stardust rocked and swayed in the rolling waters. Every minute or so, Flynn's ship would hit a thickly-crested wave, and a spray of salt water would baptize the top deck. The wyvern chuckled against the elements, guiding the vessel ever eastward.
In the meantime, the members of the Herald minded their stations. Those who had no tasks to do sat in the center of the open deck, sharing a huddled conversation.
"...but he's made a pact with Rainbow and the Herald!" Bard exclaimed. "There's no way in Hell that he'd do anythang to harm the expedition!"
Wildcard stubbornly shook his head. He sliced the air with flesh and metal talons.
"Hrmmmmfff..." Bard folded his forelimbs. "'Rohbredden Pride.' Pfffft... like that's gotten anypony anywhere lately... especially with the lousy Council. You ask me, yer ol' buddy will wipe his lion feathers with that notion and just stay back in Frostknife."
"I wouldn't treat Wildcard's opinion so frivolously, Bard," Ariel said, shaking her head. "After all, he knows him far more than the rest of us."
Rainbow Dash stumbled onto the scene at precisely this moment. "Who are you guys talking about?"
Ariel looked up. "Our mutual friend. Lieutenant Keris."
Bard growled, "Dubya here thinks that his ol' slicey-dicey friend in the Talon will go after yer neck."
"You mean he thinks Keris will track me down?" Rainbow remarked. She looked back at Twilight and the others. "Well... that would make sense, wouldn't it?"
"Huh?" Bard blinked.
Rainbow sat down next to them—steadying herself as the ship rocked slightly. "Hrmmmff... well... think about it!" She blinked at the others. "Keris is responsible not just for the Talon—but for all of Rohbredden. Sure, he and Theanim Mane are tasked with restoring peace in Frostknife... but if it's the will of the Six Tribes to chase me down..." Rainbow shrugged. "...then it'd be the smart thing for him to play along."
"Smart thing?!" Rarity exclaimed, causing Rainbow to look her way. "You almost make it sound like you want to go to blows with the Talon once more!"
Ariel squinted at Rainbow. "Something your friends want to add to the conversation?"
Rainbow cleared her throat. "Rarity thinks I'm hoping for a fight."
Rarity folded her forelimbs. "Hmmmf!" She frowned. "That's not what I said at all!"
Rainbow stuck her tongue out. "Deal with it." Clearing her throat, she turned to look at the not-so-ghostly Heraldites. "Before we parted ways in Frostknife, I had a pretty deep conversation with both Theanim and Keris. I put an awful lot of weight on their shoulders." She shrugged. "It wouldn't surprise me if Theanim's spread a bunch of lies about my evilness and Keris has committed to gutting me alive." A sigh. "I know I haven't made things easy for them."
Fluttershy gulped. "Nor is it all that easy for us... either..."
"So... uhhhh..." Ariel fidgeted. "...what's the plan then?"
"Plan for what?" Rainbow blinked at her. "For if Keris runs into us again?" She shrugged. "Staying alive, of course."
Ariel sighed. "You and your one track mind."
"It's gotten me this far east, hasn't it?" Rainbow briefly smirked. "Besides... I think we have a lot more to worry about... what with the sarosians of Bleak's Plummet and all."
"But yer Moon Princess has got a fix for that, right?" Bard remarked.
"Yeah." Rainbow nodded as thunder rolled overhead. "I'm hoping. After all, the royal sisters have never let me down."
Pinkie glanced aside. "What about that one time Celestia talked some sense into Axan and the dragon momma ended up killing half of Silvadel and crushing you to a pulp anyways?"
Rainbow gritted her teeth. "They've never tried to let me down... let's just roll with that, mmmkay?"
"So... lemme guess..." Bard gestured. "Our best hope at the moment is to... outrun any of the mofos that Rohbredden might be sending after us?"
"Seems like a good enough plan to me," Rainbow said with a nod. "And—besides—it's not like they're gonna want to chase us beyond the edge of the world." She bore a nervous smirk. "So we have that going for us."
Wildcard gestured something.
Ariel nervously translated: "'Chandler might.'"
Rainbow's ears drooped. Nevertheless, she muttered: "Well... let's just hope the melon fudge trips on his own ego before he makes it far... alright?"
Bard sighed. "Guess I didn't help none by makin' us wait so long at the ranch..."
"Hey... we got a bunch of supplies out of it," Rainbow said. "And you got to reunite with your baby sis." She shrugged. "If you ask me, that's worth it times ten."
"Still... it ain't helpin' nopony if Rohbredden's goons catch up to us in the end."
"That's assuming they're actually chasing after us," Ariel said. "I'd much rather freak out over windigoes and midnighters."
Echo spontaneously trotted into the conversation. "We shouldn't be shitting ourselves over windigoes, midnighters, or the Talon."
Wildcard and Bard looked up.
"Why not?" Ariel asked.
"Because I know the real reason why we should be speeding our asses to the edge of the world as fast as our farts can take us," the sarosian said. Echo sat down between Rainbow Dash and Bard. His slitted eyes reflected glossy constellations. "It ain't about Chandler and it ain't about any of the crazy ice horses that Verlax released."
"Care to drop the suspense and just tell us already?" Ariel droned.
Echo cocked his head to the side. "Before meeting your delightful 'Herald' posse up in Starkiss, I had a whole lot of time to bond with Keris, Theams, and the Talon. I may not have had much nifty stuff to share, but I did do a whole lot of listening."
"Yeah?" Rainbow squinted. "And?"
"Theanim mentioned something that... stuck out to me," Echo muttered. "The stiff stallion kept trying to explain the Talon and their motivations as best as his convoluted tongue could manage. And he happened to state that the leader of the strike force... Commander Serendipity or something—"
"Seraphimus," Rainbow corrected. Wildcard nodded.
"Yeah. Whatever." Echo cleared his throat. "On top of being a real cold, calculating bulldozer with ovaries... the griffon officer had a lot of shit to be angry about." He waved a hoof. "Something about her family being locked away in ice somewhere."
Wildcard suddenly gestured with great intensity.
Ariel blinked. "She... had a husband and child in Frozen Stasis," the mare remarked. "For... years apparently."
"Hmmmff..." Bard tilted his hat back and sighed into the deck plating. "Just like my Amber. Small flippin' world..."
"Not small enough, apparently," Echo said. "Theanim talked about how Sera-whoever would constantly visit the Stasis chambers in the caves to the south of Frostknife. Like... she'd show up there constantly... dressed incognito so she could pay respects to her frozen family n'stuff. Seems like the Commander of the Talon was super religious and pious and shit."
"Where are you going with this, Echo?" Ariel asked.
Echo gulped, then looked directly at Wildcard. "I've been thinking... with Verlax croaked and gone..." His slitted eyes narrowed. "...just what do you think has happened to all of those frozen stasis chambers?"
Wildcard sat dead still.
Thunder rolled.
"Shit alive..." Bard took his hat off and fanned himself. "I... I never stopped to think about it. But..." His eyes lifted up. "So many of them stasis chambers depended on Verlax's frosted magic. Even the one that Amber and I stayed in couldn't maintain itself without constant visits of the Frosted Vessels every other season or so." He gulped. "They'd carry the Queen's essence into the Twilight Lands and re-enchant the outlying chambers."
"Just... h-how many ponies are we talking about?" Ariel murmured. "How many are dead and gone now that they don't have Verlax's dragon essence to depend on?"
Wildcard somberly signaled a guestimated number. Nopony had the courage to translate it out loud.
"So... like..." Echo's leafy ears twitched. "This Commander Seraphimus was pretty hardcore already, at least according to Theams and the rest of the Talon. But... with her family reduced to inert popsicle sticks—just how ticked off do you think she is now?"
All this time, Rainbow Dash stared over the turbulent seas with her muzzle agape. At last, she blurted breathily: "Gosh dang it, Verlax... you've done it again..."
Everyone looked at her. Even Kepler was distracted from his steering of the vessel.
"Rainbow?" Twilight cocked her head. "What are you thinking?"
Rainbow inhaled deeply. "Just think about it, Twilight." She squirmed in place. "Verlax did so... so many things to make sure that I was simultaneously tested and accelerated in my journey." She waved a hoof. "She threw challenges at me at every turn. She conspired to combine the Consortium and the Central Guard to hunt me down. She threatened the ones I cared about and made me as hated as I was in Ledomare... if not more so." A shuddering breath. "But now? Even beyond death, she's hammered the nail into the coffin."
"Care to be more specific, darling?" Rarity asked.
"Uhm..." Fluttershy shivered. "...do we really want to hear the specifics?"
Rainbow gazed at her friends. "In all of my travels... in all of the many miles I've flown... one thing... one pony made me fly harder and faster than anything else. He made me chase the horizon to protect Urohringr... to protect my friends." She gulped. "If Verlax's vision has stretched as far as she's made it seem... then she knows all about this. She's known about it for a long time... and she's done her best to recreate it. To make sure I 'complete the circle' out of fear and desperation."
Twilight grimaced. "Rainbow, I-I think you're looking too deeply into this—"
"Am I?" Rainbow frowned. "It's all coming together. Commander Seraphimus... her pledge... her family..." Rainbow slowly shook her head. "Everything's shattered for her... all because Verlax is dead—a thing that I ultimately had no choice in, but is still pinned on me all the same."
"Sugarcube...?" Applejack blinked. "What are you gettin' at?"
"Isn't it obvious?" Rainbow exhaled. "Verlax has built a new Shell." She gazed off into the distance. "I promise you... Seraphimus will come for me now. Maybe we'll run into Keris and Chandler. Maybe we won't. Echo is right: that's not what we should be concerned with at the moment. Somewhere... out there... an angry, tragic soul seeks my head... and I can bet you every bit in the whole dang world that she'll stop at nothing to make sure it's removed from my body." She gulped. "And she'll tear through every friend and ally to get to that goal... I don't think even the edge of the world can stop her."
Twilight and Rarity bit their lips.
Ariel leaned forward. "Who... who is Shell?"
"The worst of the worst," Rainbow muttered. "And a dark chapter from my past that I have no interest in repeating. But now... thanks to Verlax..." She shook. "...I've got just the accursed fuel I need to continue with the Divine's twisted vision of Austraeoh's journey as quickly as I can." She shook her head. "We can't afford any more stops... any more distractions... not so long as such a deathly element exists out there."
Wildcard hung his feathery head in a solemn breath.
Ariel shuddered nervously. "If... if this 'Shell' was so awful... so murderous..." She raised an eyebrow. "...then how did you survive him?"
"I barely did," Rainbow replied. "In the end, the only way to defeat him was to do something that I had refused and resisted for so long... and at great, unnecessary cost. But now... I know better... and Verlax is counting on that."
"What do you mean, Rainbow?" Fluttershy asked.
"Rainbow..." Twilight started—
"You know it too, Twilight," Rainbow said, looking emotionlessly at her. "There's far too much at stake for me to deny it." Her gaze settled on the growing flicker of Yaerfaerda above the rolling waves. "When I run into Seraphimus again... there's only one way to deal with the Commander... the same way I had to deal with Shell in order to move on." She gulped, frowning. "I'm going to have to kill her."
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Wow. And here Rainbow is bowing to Verlaxes plans to make her think of her journey as having only one way to complete it. Now, i dont think that Seriphamus could be reasoned with by Dash at this point, but she's already determined that she has to kill Seraphimus to continue.
hoh fuck
7436902
What he said!
...I still want to see some redemption for our favourite vengeful bird brain, but I guess that's not gonna be given to us.
Oh well. If we can't have that, we can at least have one hell of a fiery fight.
KILL THE BEAST!
Somebody get Rainbow a hammock, stat!
Verlax has just reached ANOTHER level of diabolical. I wasn't even sure that was possible. I don't think ANYBODY wants Shell 2.0
"R.I.P. Potato-Hammock. We hardly knew ye."
Welp...definitely time for round two.
So that was foreshadowing in the last chapter. aww, man...
Lerris.
I miss the Jury too, Rainbow.
Foreshadowing?
Well, if it is a fight to the death, let us hope that it is a quick and easy one for Seraphimus. Unless she finds a way out of it, somehow.
2.bp.blogspot.com/-1ZPi_i7ItHw/U9aVMVD-sxI/AAAAAAAAVLE/9KqDlaqk7FQ/s1600/so+you're+telling+me+there's+a+chance.jpg
Yay! I knew my hopes for a potential Seraphidash weren't unfounded! Maybe things will work out between the two and they'll—
Oh.
Uh.
Never mind then?
*gently puts down shipping goggles and tip-toes out of the room*
7436834 Seraph may have been willing to listen before.
But with her family gone... Dash might be right, short of crippling her by breaking all her limbs or paralysing her... the only thing that will permanently stop Seraph, is death.
At least, Seraphimus isn't as twisted as Shell, she still values life of others as long as they don't stand in her way. So she won't burn an entire village just for catching Rainbow... I hope.
7437122 Seraphimus x Shell.
I'm curious now about how many individuals were frozen and then immediately thawed and killed by Verlax's demise. Where there any previous descriptions of the size of this stasis complex?
So, Rainbow has one final chance not to do what Verlax orchestrated. Hopefully she'll take this one. I mean, maybe Seraphimus is beyond help at this point (or maybe not), but I'd love for Rainbow to prove Verlax wrong just once.
WE CAN REBUILD HIM. FASTER. STRONGER. MORE AUSTRAEOH-RESISTANT
The thing is that last little bit was all I was thinking about when then first brought her up in this chapter. The thing is I really doubt Rainbow would even be able to reason with Seraphimus and even if she did, assuming that Seraphimus would even care about the truth, there is no way to know if she would keep the lie going. With her family gone she might not care what happens to everyone else, she might kill Dash anyway or just sabotage the whole thing out of grief and anger. So either way they likely would have to kill her.
But will Dash end up letting the sisters down? Kinda makese nervous with the last seed being loyalty.
Pff, that's nonsense, Rainbow! You can just, I dunno, cut off her wings and break her legs or something, just make sure there'll be no way to... what? What was that?
vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/disney/images/4/48/Star-Wars-Episode-III-Birth-of-Darth-Vader.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20140411035447
Oh.
I must disagree with Rainbow that Verlaxion planned this, at least not to the extent that she is suggesting. Verlaxion had been doing this stasis exercise well before Rainbow was even born. I mean from her perspective it would be great if someone in the position to chase Rainbow loses someone in the stasis chambers, but lets be serious here, that is not an event you can reliably manufacture. You have countless people who lost someone the same way, yet none of them are chasing Rainbow right now. The simple fact is that Verlaxion couldn't have prepared this event based on anything Shell did because we are talking about events that were sent into motion before Shell even came onto the scene, and couldn't have relied on anything other than luck for any such a plan to be fruitful.
I fully expect the trial for the last seed to be something else.
What many were hoping 100~ chapters ago: Dash gon' cure 'em. Sera will then bow to the power of Small Blue Horse of the Eastward Persuasion
What we're looking at dealing with now: Total 'Phimus Family Annihilation
So yeah... Could have been a smoother in-universe month for all involved.
This is dark and ugly. Thanks a lot, Verlax.
...thanks, Verlax. You are the second worst.
I'd say who you're second to, but you seem to already know him.
I remain in optimistic denial.
And there it is... Shells 2.0 but different. Hopefully with lessons learned Seraphimus won't last three books.
Wait... How many books do we have left? Shit...
7437091 There are no shadows on the dark side. Just bad things happening all the time without warning.
7437122 For some reason when I click on the image link it creates another copy of the image instead of hiding it again. I found this hilarious with the image you chose and more so because it just seems like something you'd do. I wouldn't be surprised.
Throne damn it Verlax! You just had to go and do that didn't you?! May the Warp take you!
*sigh* I was fearing this was going to happen to Seraphimus but dang did I not want it to. I hated Shell so much, he is probably my least favorite part of this entire series so far and now we're getting another version of him. My problem with him was he overstayed his welcome in part because it always felt like he escaped situations that, had it been any other character, they would not have. I hated it because he always survived just to continue being the main villain that I had long grown tired of. I really really don't want to see this type of thing repeated with Seraphimus.
Crap, so now we'll have another villain that will be ludicrously unkillable and uber-ruthless in pursuing our hero? :/
"Verlax has built a new Shell." Fuck. Please don't do this IC. Don't let Seraphimus die like this
7437532
I agree, partially. She might have gotten the idea from Shell, but decided that Sera would be a good target with reason to get angry and exasperated the situation by being a dick to her.
And just when I thought Shell was gone for good, his soul invades the body of another.
...Yeah I really wouldn't mind seeing Seraphimus kick the bucket.
I feel bad for laughing but that hammock failure was hilarious.
There we go, straight from the horse's mouth.
Seraphimus is canonically Shell 2.0.
It couldn't ever have been anyone else - not Jeryn, Revan, Skagra or any of those other small-time sociopaths. Certainly not Chandler.
The chief ingredient of Shell is an overpowering sense of righteousness.
I hope this will be different, I know it won't be. It's a sad thought.
Saw it coming, but I'm REALLY excited to see Shell 2.0. I loved Shell so much as an antagonist and I seriously doubt Seraphimus will come even close to him. Still, Seraphimus ought to be good and I'm looking forward to her downward spiral with her futile attempts to snag the elusive Rogue.
People have been joking about "Shell 2.0" for ages. Now it's canon.
hoo boy
8867869
I know, right? People have been trying to replace Shell for a long time now, but now Rainbow has confirmed it herself.
Well then. Shell, I see?
OH COME ON!!!
I liked Seraphimus. Granted, he was a little loco in the coco, but I liked him. But Shell... I hate Shell, I despise Shell. Just thinking about him makes me genuinely seethe with anger, even though he was 4 books (and many months for me) ago. I don't want Seraphimus to be like him, and I genuinely hope he can change his way, but I wouldn't put money on it, and that makes me sad.
7437847
Lol
Ultimately, Shell CHOSE to become a monster and destroy his family. Seraphimus did not, her family was taken from her by forces outside of her control. Verlax seems to have little respect for the personal agency of mortals, but that agency, that power of choice, is what makes one monster or more than monster. I think that will ultimately be what spares Rainbow of having to kill her.
11/09/2019
18:48 UTC
Revenge is like a ghost.
It takes over every man it touches.
Its thirst cannot be quenched
until the last man standing has fallen.
The world’s man of action
Will look and wonder
How it came to this.
You may be able to destroy me.
But eventually the beast will come for you.
7622232
>Implying Shell had a soul when in truth he was little more than a self righteous plot armoured ball of hatred parading in the husk of a pony
>>[This comments' section in general]
Heh, some humorous comments here, I like it. (I don't always read the comments, but I'm pretty sure that from the amount of complaining I've done about their length I might come off as try to seem like I do,)
So, about the whole "New Shell" thingy.
I doubt that Verlax intentionally planned the whole of Seraphimus becoming a new Shell, but I'd bet that Verlax planned to have a similar archetype to rise from The Talon, and end up chasing Rainbow after her death. Like Andwhytisit (7438066) said, it probably wasn't feasible for Verlax to have orchestrated the Shell Parallels intentionally.
Kind of riffing off of what Tim the planes-pony said; I think that Seraph not choosing to kill her family substantively differentiates her from Shell. In fact, I'd say it's substantial enough discredit the "2.0" part of the interpretation. Unlike Shell, Seraph has an emotional core that ins't corrupted by willful and intentional murder of her family. Perhaps she sees her family's death as a result of her own sins, but that, to me at least, implies that there is a chance she can forgive herself and let go.
Looking at Seraph though, she can still fall further down the grief hole. She still appears to care about Keris and the Talon, so I wouldn't be terribly surprised if by some foul contrivity *cough* Chandler *cough* either or both were murdered or otherwise leveraged to further Seraph's lust for Rainbow's demise.
That being said, I really hope Rainbow deals with Seraph quickly and decisively at the nearest bestest opportunity, and that Keris continues to live harmoniously.
Also, I kind of wanted to share my thoughts and opinions on the whole 'great lie' and Rainbow Rogue stuff.
So, because I am like I am, I came up with an entire plan for not doing what Verlax wanted Dash to do. My goals for this plan were:
1. Rainbow circulates the truth instead of Verlax's lie.
2. Rohbredden continues to function with stability and harmony.
3. This plan is executable with the time and resources available to Rainbow & Crew starting at the time and place of verlax's death.
Obviously, this is super duper subjective, but feel free to point out any holes you see.
My plan goes like this:
First, Rainbow, Theanim, Keris, Starstorm and Logan (Maybe Ehco too, I don't really know what to do with him) truck it out of Starkiss to the Council so they can convince them to peacefully evacuate/brace Frostknife and the rest of Rohbredden. The very first thing Rainbow and her crew do is remove Chandler from the area. Once that's taken care of, Rainbow starts negotiation by destroying any hope the council had in Verlaxion and their efforts to save her. Rainbow does not portray herself as the hero, nor Verlax as the villain, instead sticking to the facts. Rainbow Dash iterates on the fact that the last thing she would like to do is destroy Rohbredden She also briefly describes the construction of 'the blight,' and how is a lie. Theanim now steps in and informs the council of the most immediate and pressing danger: The windigos. He describes in vivid detail what the windigos will do if Rohbredden is not braced for the stampede, furthering feelings of despair. Keris now confuses the council by informing them of Verlax's dying sentiments and admiration (or love, or something? It's been a while) for Rohbredden and each pony that consituted it. More importantly though, Keris knows that despite the truth, through harmony and kinship, Rohbredden shall be strong.
Rainbow now iterates again how 'the blight' was a construction used to manipulate Rohbredden and how she does not want to destroy Rohbredden. but rather she wants to save it. Rainbow Informs the council that in order to survive the stampede, the council must act with the authority it holds in solidarity, and order a full scale evacuation into the frosted shelves. As well as that, they must inform the rest of Rohbredden of the impending stampede. Logan now breaks the sordid atmosphere and informs the council that if they do not comply, he along with the the rest of his so called 'blighted' accompaniment will be obliged to 'knock some sense into them.' (My hope here is that if the council is not swayed by persuasion, then sense can still be slapped into them... Or that they can be forced to comply by violence. *Shrugs*)
Meanwhile, herald (minus Logan) has been herding the army to saftey (I think in the actual happenings the army somehow avoided the windigos by evacuating west of starkiss? I dunno). Maybe they've even managed to convince a few pegasi or griffons to go do advanced warnings already. providing they reach enough people to ensure wide survival, the herald then goes to assist the Talon.
So the talon would be --despite the fact that RD is attempting to get the council to issue an ultimatum on this very thing-- preparing evacuees to go into The Frosted Shelves, and conversely preparing the frosted shelves to accept evacuees. their effacacy? *Shrugs* hopefully they've gotten most high risks taken care of.
Now, if everything has gone according to plan, the council renders an ultimatum: "People of Frostknife: get into the frosted shelves or your gonna freeze your butt to death. We'll explain everything once everyone is safe." From here the plan slows down dramatically, and Rainbow maybe befriends a couple tribes-members as the Talon, Theanim and the one company of soldiers Rainbow rescued slowly and carefully disseminate the full truth along with harmonic rhetoric strong enough to knock out an elephant.
...Looking at my plan, it doesn't seem better than what actually happened. It's not really in any way wholesome, and initially the 'truth' is very much leveraged to emotionally smack the council into submission. Some of bits are kind of just loosely attached, and a large part of it relies on the council maintaining authority so long as they act as a cohesive group. In all honesty, I kind of feel dirty writing it.
In terms of the goals I set out to meet though... I guess it could work. It's definitely not something that I thing IC would ever substitute they way he wrote the story for.
Just some happy sidenotes:
-I really loved Twilight's comment about "Ledomare taking so loooong." I related to that so much.
-There was a thing Keris said to Theanim when Theanim was upset that they weren't telling the truth to so many ponies (and wyverns and griffons, etc.) that was genius. Unfortunately I don't remember what it was. It was good though.
-I give the recent shanties and likewise folk songs a 10/10. That "Roll the Old Chariot" thing with David Coffin was absolutely awesome.
-I felt Bard's speech to his family was spot on. Very well executed. (But there was like five encounters between Blue, Tim & Johnny, it felt like it took soooooo long to get through the buildup.)
-Echo's swearing, while somewhat abated, continues to bring joy to my life.
-Axan called Celestia "Sun Butt."
-Axan character growth! There's still hope she may gain friends out of those shortlived mortals! Yes!
-Luna time!
-More bat ponies!
And there it is. Official Shell 2.0. Not surprising, really. It was bound to happen.
Well...you tried.
Yeah, Shell 4.0. and an actually competent one.
Look, I don't think it'll come to that with Sera, mostly cause you're missing the point that Shell was batshit crazy. Sera is definitely hurting and is gonna make your life hurt, but I doubt she's gonna be as legendarily awful as him.
Well R.I.P. any hope of this turning out well. Our obsessive asking 'Is that Shell 2.0?' has come around to bite us in the rear.
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Really, though? Seraphimus vs Dash was a fight that lasted one chapter, and it wasn't even a close fight. Shell's fights have always been much longer and much worse. Though maybe Seraphimus' power level will get a buff now that she has nothing to lose.