Believe In What You Invoke
Sunlight was slowly replaced by flickering firelight as the sun set over the Four Brazier Inn. The middle of Seed Prefecture's moist valley lit up as ponies gathered from far and wide.
While more and more equines filed into the densely-packed tavern, two figures shuffled out. The crowd barely parted to afford Starstorm and Raptr room as they approached their Commander and the rest of the Talon outside.
“Well?” Seraphimus asked.
“Your report, sergeants,” Keris added.
“There's no sign of her inside the tavern, ma'am,” Starstorm said, shuddering slightly. Her silver armor dulled under the onset of evening. “The tavern owner was compliant with every question and request we made.”
“She even allowed us to search her basement and attic,” Raptr said. “But there were noponies anywhere—hidden or not—that matched the Rainbow Rogue's description.”
“Any indication that she stopped by here?” Seraphimus asked.
“As a matter of fact, yes,” Starstorm said, her hawkeyes lighting up. “After the other Sergeant and I gave the tavern owner a thorough description of the outfit taken from Riverstem, she recalled having received bits from a patron in a green robe and straw hat.”
“Complete with a purple saddlebag,” Raptr added.
“This was nearly twenty-four hours ago, though,” Starstorm said, gulping. “The patron—a mare—paid for food, sat on the second floor until the moon rose, and then departed from the premises.”
“She headed east along the Silt Path.” Raptr gestured. “That's... that's all we got.”
Seraphimus' charcoal brown eyes narrowed. “The owner has no knowledge of where she might have been headed?”
Starstorm shrugged. “It's Unification Eve, Commander. Thousands of ponies have been filing in and out of this township. She's never bothered to strike up a conversation with even a fraction of them.”
“The Silt Path doesn't go on forever,” Windburst said, shuffling about with his crossbow shouldered. He motioned with his beak towards the east horizon. “It breaks up into multiple paths. Some head north into the mountains. Others continue due east. A few lead south into fishing lakes.”
“One thing is certain,” the Lieutenant Keris spoke up, shifting the weight of his talon in his sling. “Rainbow Dash has an almost pathological need to go east... and nowhere but.”
“Yes, but we can't just assume that she's taken the eastmost branch of the Silt Path!” Raptr exclaimed. “I mean... she must know by now that we're catching up to her! She could have gone north or south just to throw us off!”
“Perhaps,” Keris said with a nod. “But I doubt she would willingly put her journey into that much strain.” He glanced aside at Seraphimus. “The mare is severely constrained by time, you see. Or... at least... she genuinely believes so.”
Starstorm faced the Commander. “Seraphimus, the Rainbow Rogue is currently flightless, and that gives us an edge. However—with the multiple paths that she could have taken along the east edge of Seed Prefecture...” She shook her head. “...there's no easy way to track her. She could be in... one of over a dozen different regions! Any single one of them would take an entire day of thorough searching for all five of us! And I'm pretty certain we can't afford to split up at this point.”
Seraphimus took a deep breath. She gazed at the thick crowd milling about the Four Brazier Inn. “... ... ...how many ponies here are westbound?”
“Commander?”
“How many ponies arriving here are doing so from the west?”
“I... I don't know, ma'am.” Starstorm cleared her throat. “Probably half of them—”
“More like three-fourths,” Windburst interjected. “Considering that more roads connect to the Silt Path from the east than from the west. There's a bulk of caravans returning form early shipments made to the central Prefectures to stock them up in advance of the Month of Thawing.”
“Very well then.” Seraphimus marched forward, spreading her silver-blue wings. “Unification Day is tomorrow. Let's see how many ponies here are truly desirous of honoring our Goddess.”
“Commander...?” Keris blinked.
She didn't respond. Taking wing, the griffon ascended until she was hovering in the dead center of the four burning braziers. “Ponies of Rohbredden! Foals of Verlaxion! Lift your eyes and ears! Hear my words!”
Everyone gathered around instantly went silent. Breathless, they swiveled about, staring skyward. Gawking. Multiple equines trotted out of the buildings below—with many more gazing out the windows of the tavern and other establishments.
Seraphimus' armor glinted in the flame of the braziers. Her eyes lit up even brighter. “I am Commander Seraphimus of the Right Talon of Verlaxion! As you may very well know, there is a dangerous fugitive in our midst: the Rainbow Rogue. The crimes committed by this pony are numerous and shocking, and the Council of Verlaxion—with our Goddess divine blessing—has commanded us to track this creature down! It has come to our attention that the Rainbow Rogue has traversed these grounds and eaten at this very inn!”
Seraphimus pivoted about, her glaring eyes sweeping sharply across the crowd.
“The Rainbow Rogue is a pegasus of petite stature,” she continued, booming. “She is currently flightless, due to her left wing being inoperative and needing bandages. Her coat is sky blue and her eyes red like brilliant rubies. Once, she possessed a bright mane and tail with every color of the rainbow. She has since completely shaved her mane hair, reducing herself to a shorn, bald state. This pegasus was last seen wearing a green farmer's robe and possessing a purple saddlebag and a plain farmer's hat! According to eyewitness testimony, she was last seen exiting the Four Brazier Inn and heading due east! Now I know that many of you have come from the eastern regions beyond the Silt Path. If you have seen a mare of this description, then it is in your best interest as a Goddess-fearing citizen of Rohbredden to report it to us here and now!”
The crowd was awash in murmurs, glancing curiously... worriedly at one another.
Raptr blinked. “Does... does the Commander seriously expect this to work—”
“Shhh!” Windburst hissed through his beak, squinting up at the griffon. “Wait for it...”
Seraphimus bore an iron frown. Her next words were frigid: “Need I remind you that aiding an enemy—even through an omission of truth—is grounds for treason. There are many sins that our gracious Goddess forgives.” Her eyes narrowed icily. “But treason... on Unification Eve?” Her beak clattered. “Such a soul would need a strong current indeed to reach the Spring Havens.”
Keris' feathered brow furrowed.
The crowd lingered in dead silence... at least until a tiny squeak frightfully emanated from the side of the tavern.
Seraphimus instantly spun about, her armor glinting in the flames. “Who is it? Who wishes to bear their testimony?”
A single body was shivering. Hard.
Windburst saw it. He gave a shrill whistle, drawing Seraphimus' attention. He pointed across the town with a razor sharp talon.
A middle-aged stallion stood with rattling horseshoes.
FWOOOOOSH! Seraphimus landed in front of him. The sheer gust of wind nearly blew the already-frightened pony off his hooves. “Yes, citizen?” She arched an eyecrest. “There is something you wish to share?”
“I... I-I...” The stallion gulped. He took his conical hat off, exposing a balding head. “...a thousand pardons, Commander. I do not mean to commit treason. I j-just... wasn't certain if the information I had was relevant...”
“Speak your peace, my little pony,” Seraphimus said. “We are all here to bring glory to Verlaxion on the even of Unification Day.”
“Okay... uhm...” The stallion gulped. “I was trotting southwest from the Petrispines. And... a-and I saw these two ponies. A mare and a stallion with matching blue coats. They were twins—which is how I remembered them. There aren't many twins from where I come from, Commander.”
Seraphimus sighed. “The Rainbow Rogue has no known sibling, good sir.”
“That's just it!” The stallion's eyes twitched. “These twins... th-they had a traveling companion with them.” He gulped. “I... I-I couldn't see much of her from the green tunic and rice hat that she was wearing, but she did have a lighter shade of blue than the other two. It struck me as strange... that they'd be trotting so closely with somepony who didn't match.”
“Was she carrying anything?”
“Just... a saddlebag,” he said. “Very light. Dark purple... like the evening sky above us right now.”
Raptr and Starstorm exchanged gaping expressions.
“I see...” Seraphimus squinted. “You crossed paths with them?”
“Yes, Commander. We were going in opposite directions.”
“And where does this path they were taking lead? You mentioned the Petrispines?”
“Well... to be honest, there's only one reason a pony would ever bother to pass through the Petrispines, Commander.” The stallion blinked. “To reach Kunmane. Right on the edge of Stone Prefecture.”
The crowd murmured around him.
“Very well, sir. Your contribution helps immensely.” Seraphimus raised her talon.
“Ghhh!” The stallion flinched... only to have the silver-plated claws resting gently on his shoulder.
“Verlaxion's blessings to you and your whole household, dear sir,” Seraphimus said. “May you enjoy the Month of Thawing with good health and vigor.”
“Erm... yes, Commander. I-I shall...”
“The rest of you! Go about your business! Thank you for your time!” Seraphimus turned tail and shuffled back towards the group.
“Ma'am...” Windburst leaned in. “The Petrispines is a stone forest full of sporadic rock formations and pine trees. It's an easy place for the Rainbow Rogue to hide.”
“Then let's hope that Rainbow Rogue is as restless as the Lieutenant suggests,” Seraphimus droned. “And that she's headed straight for Kunmane.”
“Commander,” Keris walked up alongside her. “If I may.”
“Whether you ask or not,” she moaned.
“Was it really necessary to... invoke the glory of the Spring Havens in that speech?” His magenta hawkeyes blinked. “Our job is to protect the interests of the Council and the citizens of Rohbredden, not dictate about the afterlife.”
“We cannot catch this beast on our own, Lieutenant,” Seraphimus said. “Every foal of Verlaxion is a claw of the Talon, and I need every digit to sink into the prey—or else she'll slip away.”
“Yes, but to appeal to citizens' insecurities—”
“So long as the Rainbow Rogue is at large, all citizens are vulnerable,” Seraphimus grunted. “Do not preach to me about 'insecurities.'”
“I only mean to remind you that you're a guardian,” Keris said with a frown. “We all are.”
“Then perform your role faithfully, Lieutenant. We've allowed the Rogue to roam far too much. There is no time for pleasantries.” Seraphimus stepped ahead of the Lieutenant, waving with her claws. “Talon! Take wing!” She flew sharply into the air. “We head northeast! Sergeant Windburst, you know this area the best. You take point.”
“Aye, Commander.” Fwooooosh!
As the armored griffons flew skyward, Keris stood behind. He hung his head, sighed, and reluctantly flapped his wings—joining swift formation.
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Zealotry, whatever the message may be, only leads to the shackles of tyranny...
Thanks
And Seraphimus is walking a dangerous line, hope she knows when to pull back. Unfortunately I highly doubt it.
Invoking divine judgment was kind of a dick move, Seraphimus.
I can't wait for Rainbow to beat Seraphimus up.
Stay strong Keris, I get the feeling we'll need your intervention before too long.
Also, merry Christmas Jury!
Sounds like the chase may end soon in Kunmane. I must say I find it interesting to see Twilight's attitude shifting over the past few chapters, focused more on keeping Dash alive and unhurt even at the cost of risking others, a rather opposite mindset to what she had on Red Barge or back at the Quade. I think its because now that Twilight's had not only a hard taste of how vulnerable Dash can be at times and has had days now to let her mind start grinding on the problems of the journey she's not only going into her hyper-worry mode, she's starting to get scared enough of failure to start going full on Vulcan in her logic, becoming a Spock to Dash's Kirk. I wonder if she'll go full Lesson Zero at any point over obsessing about keeping Dash safe?
Jeez, when the shit hits the fan (either when Seraphimus loses faith in Verlaxion, or when Keris defects), the shit's really gonna hit the fan.
The hunt continues...
The greatest thing here,would be the Talon overtaking Dash while she moonspeaks and sleeps.
Happy Hearthswarming everypony!
-Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
6765201
If only Seraphimus knew who Verlax's really was... Although by the look of things Keris is going to defect when he sees Seraphimus abusing her authority against Rainbow. I hope that that'll be the case anyway.
And merry Christmas to all! Especially you IC!
Well, Rainbow's gonna have a nasty surprise waiting for her in Kunmane. If it comes to a fight, Rainbow's odds don't look good. Granted, her track record in sticky situations is pretty good, but she's outnumbered and flightless against a special forces unit. Her best bet, as far as I can tell, is to somehow get wind of trouble and slip under their radar--perhaps take the twins up on their offer.
6765224 who's going to what now?
I'm wondering if Luna can debate with Seraphimus
6765210
Man, how do you manage to make those wonderful little quotes?
They sum up these stories so well have you thought of putting them together to make a "Austraeoh in 500 words or less" kind of thing?
There's only so many times you can repeat the word "Quade" on a list of crimes.
6765354 Pretty much all of them up to Yaerfaerda were made after I'd caught up, so for the most part, they are just summaries of the major arc for each book.
Now I just try to take a guess based on how the last book ended and guess at how the next book is going to progress based on that, and try to base them off that.
I do actually have a collection of all of them saved...
Burdened Loyal heart,now she is the Spark. Austraeoh.
Broken shattered wings,listing in their slings. Eljunbyro.
Scattered and alone,friends away from home. Innavedr.
Together and afraid,the hunters due be paid. Odrsjot.
Long lost legend found,hidden darkness crowned. Urohringr.
Flying into death, a kiss with her last breath. Yaerfaerda.
Treachery and deceit, kingdom of conceit Yaerfaerda.
Memories given light, ease a lonely flight. Ynanhluutr.
In the end isolation, hunted by a nation. Utaan.
Companions have returned, inner darkness spurned. Utaan.
The Quest stands on the edge of a knife. Stray but a little, and it will fail, to the ruin of all. Yet hope remains while the Company is true.
The newfound unity between Rainbow and friends is really starting to shine. Facing the journey as a group effort, a single front, and all that jazz. They're gonna need it.
I have a feeling that Keris's time in the Talon is depleting somewhat rapidly.
Also Happy Hearthswarming!
Are we seeing the first seeds of Shell in Seraphimus? Manipulating ponies through their religion--a religion she subscribes to--in order to catch Rainbow? She's already sacrificing some of her integrity for the sake of the hunt.
To the East, followers of shipping, for our prophet has left for the edge of the world!
6765652
without the coma you can read Shell!
new shell confirmed!
i-luminar-ti!
If Keris is starting to doubt his leadership, there might still be hope if the Talon catch up.
I wonder if ):( planned for Unification day to nearly line up with our Christmas/Hearths Warming day.
6765291
Apparently my tablet autocorrects Keris to be Jerusalem. Learn from that what you will.
Merry Christmas everyone
If that's how Seraphimus achieves her goal, it's no surprise Wildcard left if he used to be Talon :P Keris might be joining him.
Seraphimus better watch out, doing stuff like that repeatedly is likely to get the Talon hated by the populous, and by members of her own team.
Correct me if I'm wrong but, IIRC the idea that Rainbow is wrong about her condition killing her has been voiced quite a few times by other characters. If I'm right I wonder if this is some kind of foreshadowing.
Quick! Maybe if we turn off the fan before the next few chapters everything is gonna be alright!
The final chase has begun. Descent in the Talon is growing. All things will come to a head soon enough.
Bleh. Overzealous threats won this time around.
Wonder if Dash might see reason to part ways with the most dangerously cute pair of twins during the night if she thinks their safety wouldn't be under threat for the remainder of the trip. Questioning from the Talon would likely be the worst they'd receive, but she'd be a much easier target if she sticks with this group.
Better for her to high-tail it to Kunmane alone. Get a saddlebag respray, trade hats and nab a
NakhiNeighkhi dress or something. Anything to try to blend in.And a merry Hearth's Thawingmas holiday to all you Nobleites!
6765839
I believe those doubting characters have only been in the last two books. Otherwise, it seems to only have been confirmed that it is in fact, killing her.
Still doubting your place in everything, aren't you, Keris?
On the first day of Hearth's Warming Eve I received
A box from the tree of Harmony.
Why do I have the feeling Keris will turn rogue on the talon and help let Rainbow escaoe from them?
Careful with how you paint Seraphimus. She's been an interesting character exactly because she's been so ambivalent. It would be a shame if that became too one-sided as things progress.
6771592
6765096
I have a feeling that Seraphimus is going to have a fall before the end. I think she'll cope better than Shell, I even think she'll live, i HOPE she'll get a happy ending, but as awesome as she is, she is nothing if not Zealous in her beliefs. And rainbows end goal is to expose and destroy everything that Seraphimus stands for, when the time comes, When she has to face the truth of the lie she has been living for so long, that she has lost friends and family to...
Well we shall see how things come about.
Woah there, Seraphimus. Dismount thine elevated equine.
It seems that Seraphimus is overzealous in the hunt for the Rainbow Rogue. This will be her downfall, assuredly.
6774514
I wish the best for your character. She's too spiffy to end up dead or perma-broke. Hopefully it's just like with Roarke where she ends up better for it.
I feel like Keris is seeing his commander change subtly over time as they're searching and putting their focus onto the Rainbow Rogue. It's like he's seeing her do kinda... not 'good' things but for the right reason, much like a certain wanted fugitive. I just hope it turns out well for everyone—but mainly Dash—when they all run into each other.
~SolidFire
7076613
Keris is watching Seraphimus turn into Shell right before his eyes. I can only hope that when the time comes, he will be braver than Evans was - and for Seraph's sake, that her arc finishes in a Heel Realization rather than death.
Seraphimus, just when I thought you were as bitchy and manipulative as you could get, I was wrong. The other commenters are right, she is becoming Shell.
If u dont snitch your going to hell
Wow i really hate u Sera
Seraphimus, I thought you were merely a stern, but fair and reasonable being.
I see that I was wrong...I consider you an enemy 100% now.
Seraphimus, I thought you were merely a stern, but fair and reasonable being.
I see that I was wrong...I consider you an enemy 100% now.
At first I liked Seraphimus, maybe a bit fanatical, but a good guy at heart. That opinion is slowly degrading.
Someone is starting to have doubts on how righteous he and his troop are.
I never liked religion being used to guilt or manipulat others. I am religious my self.