"So... wait!" Phoenix lurched forward, hissing into the dark space of the chamber where he and Zenith stood, alone. They were a long, winding corridor away from the main campsite. "She's going to be leaving us? Leaving her friends?"
"That's what she said," Zenith muttered, gazing at the blue sound stone in between his hooves. He sat on his haunches and exhaled long and hard. "She only thinks the Captain knows."
"Well, that's... I-I mean that's great!" Phoenix smiled. "I bet she'll be getting those punks off our backs! You realize what this means?"
"I do."
"It means that the Ledomaritans will be distracted enough for us to make a break for—"
"It means nothing," Zenith grunted. "You and I have seen this pony, Phoenix. We've seen how she's a mare of actions and not of words. Should we honestly believe her when she pretends to commit to something?"
Phoenix blinked. "I... I..."
"You're at a loss for words, as usual."
"H-hey! Now you wait a second!" Phoenix frowned and pointed. "I'm not half the idiot you think I am, Zenith! But it sounds like this lady is ready to split! I think we should count ourselves lucky and just run with it!"
"She's not going to give up her friends, Phoenix."
"How do you know this?!"
Zenith glared at Phoenix.
Phoenix blinked a few times. Under the other soldier's fiery gaze, his ears drooped and he leaned back against the cave wall.
Zenith took a deep breath and spoke, "She's not like you and me, Phoenix. She doesn't have a home. She doesn't have a family to return to. She's got nothing but a rare pendant around her neck and two ponies who—for whatever absurd reason—love her more than oxygen. Do you really think she's going to give up something as precious to her as them? In a life as desperate and lonely as that, it would be like tearing all of one's legs and wings off."
"She's young and healthy and full of energy, Zenith!" Phoenix whispered. "She can easily take off to some far part of the continent and live a life of her own!"
"No. She can't."
"And how the heck do you know that?"
"Because she said so. To Crimson." Zenith's bored eyes looked into Phoenix's. "She's dying."
Phoenix did a double-take. "D-dying?"
"And are you gonna trust the words of a crazed, wing mare who has nothing left to lose?"
Phoenix bit his lip. He fidgeted where he stood.
Zenith took a deep breath. "She's a pony who thinks with her heart and not with her head. I'm not about to sacrifice everything I believe in—including my future—on behalf of a pegasus' whim. How would your family feel if they learned that you died all because of an unpredictable winged ponies' subjective chivalry?"
"She could do it, Z-Zenith," Phoenix stammered. "She could stay true to her words."
"Just you see," Zenith said. "One shell, one managlider, one single spark of Ledomaritan energy gets close to that zebra and his beloved, and she'll come blurring back with that ridiculous, raspy scream of hers."
Phoenix sighed and slumped down onto his haunches. "So... wh-what are you proposing?"
"We get rid of the problems keeping her anchored to us... keeping us from going home," Zenith said, a cold glint in his eye as he held the sound stone up to his horn. "All of them."
"Huh?" Phoenix blinked, and then his lips parted. "Whoah... "
Zenith only nodded.
Phoenix bit his lip, already sweating. "Zenith..." He ran a hoof through his mane. "I-I'm not sure I'm ready to go that far just to get home."
"You'd better decide really damn soon," Zenith replied from the shadows. "Because I am."
GOD DAMN IT ZENITH! YOU NO GOOD SON OF A BITCH!
Dashie never goes back on her word. EVAH!
Oh, ye of little faith, Zenith.
Zenith must have some diamond dog in Zenith's lineage.
Somepony's in for a surprise...
You're update times are killing me, Scolon! Seriously, though, I bet that Phoenix is going to die and that Rainbow will somehow try to save him with her pendant, or something. Good chapter, though.
Heaven Bound........
Also, sheeeeeeeeeit!
Currently hating Zenith more than Shell.
Didn't even think that was possible until right now.
Yeah I guess I can jump into the bandwagon with everyone and hate Zenith.
How can he say things like that with only a few days of knowing her?
So um... anybody wanna take bets about in which chapter Zenith gets it?
2218992 2218994 2218986 2218946
2219065 I regret nothing.
2219065
You must have done something to piss off IC, because your characters are just bad news...
2219105
Well, Axan is apparently not a bad character in the end. The whole 'Austraeoh' thing happened, and then she did kinda save Dash's life.
Zenith, however, is an irredeemable dick.
2219105
Well, a while ago when I was not well versed in the ways of the Colon, I shouted out something preposterous in the comments of Austraeoh, something like, "IC is Shortskirtsandexplosions".
He must have taken offense to being compared to that loser and made my character(s) all massive cockmuffins.
2218986
Eeyup. Shell at least has his shattered ideals. Zenith's ideals are more like "Whatever it takes."
He's such an asshole.
This is Australia...
2219188
Ten bucks that you kill Dashie twice?
Zenith, you are about to make a huge mistake. One that you will regret for the rest of you life.
Both seconds of it.
Okay, so apparently more people are taking up the "Drill Sergeant Tweak Author Payback Workout©" so I have to vary it up a bit.
So here we go, ):(! Twenty-five pushups, Twenty-five situps, and twenty four-count jumping jacks! Don't like it? Blame your readers. Knock 'em out!
Sigh... people do stupid things. Like pay too much for car insurance. Ya know, if you switched now, you could sav-
Wait. Something just occured to me.
Who gets the claims on Rainbow Dash's life insurance?
...
I give up. I'll resort to what everyone else is inevitably doing.
Zenith! You wanker! You are at wankerosity levels over moderate, over high, and into territory known only as SPIFFING. Oh. I mean SUPREME. Zenith is now supreme wanker.
Judging by how we're running low on available chapters (only twenty left) I'm guessing that in chapter 200, Pilate and Belle will be gone, one way or another. Hopefully in the squishy, fleshy, warm, mobile and rather annoyed when you touch them like that kind of gone.
Either that or they jack Roarke's ship or something.
Zenith isnt exactly one of my favorite ponies at the moment, but at the same time I can understand the motivation there. He is far from home, and currently running from a scorched earth assult because of Dash. Even in if just in a moment of weakness the idea of selling her out to escape would go through the heads of most in that situation. That being said it doesnt really excuse acting on said thoughts, so heres to the hope things dont go that way; both for his sake and the sake of the rest of the group. Im pretty sure carpet bombing precludes any worries about collateral damage.
I have always loved that about this fic, no matter how bad a character acts it always comes across as believable; no evil for the sake of evil here (unlike the show sometimes oddly enough ).
Still got 10 bucks on everyone but Dash dying.
Side pot of 5 bucks on Zenith getting his comeuppance for insubordination later.
Dangers Of The Faithless - Testament
2219065 But Axan is best dragon don't you worry
Uau, what a release rate, one chapter yesterday and another today!!!!!! I'm still at the middle of Eljunbyro, still have no idea if Imploding is going to make it larger or not than Austreoh... Just cause I can.
Zenith, you fool...
I can see where he's coming from, but you don't negotiate with the bad guys.
As far as Shell is concerned, these guys are terrorists. He's not gonna let them get out alive if he has the chance.
Oddly enough, it's not really Zenith that annoys me with his actions this chapter, but Phoenix. Zenith is jeopardising the lives of the whole crew just because he understand Dash or trust her (1). Phoenix however just sits on the fence, complicit with whatever Zenith says because he isn't willing to take a stance of his own. He may represent the balancing point between Crimson and Zenith, but for him to develop at all as a character, he'll need to be put into a situation where he is forced to take a stance.
Hopefully, one of them is coming up.
(1) A failing on his part, sure, but you've got to wonder if it's so wrong of him not to trust Dash. This guy had been in a military campaign for a nation that betrayed and hunted him. He's been on the run for months with a group of four of his countrymen. It's not hard to see why he would develop trust issues in regards to anyone outside his group. When Dash arrives, she shakes up the group mechanics and probably knocks him out of his comfort zone of who he can trust and rely on. That would definitely cause him to despise and distrust her.
Add to that the fact that the thought of getting home has been his only motivator to stay alive over those months other than the raw, animal will to live. Without that, he might as well have just died in Ledomare. So when Dash comes, she brings with her incredible amounts of danger, putting his life and the others at risk. It's not really a surprise that he doesn't like her, nor trust her.
My feelings for Zenith are more conflicted after this chapter...
On one hand, I'm still sympathizing with his desire to leave integrity and honor behind and just go home by any means necessary, but...
I don't know.
Big mistake buddy
when I heard the mention of sound stones I was like CCs back. But hes not
Zenith I am going to slap you so darn hard yer head will spin!!!!
Damn it damn it damnit damnit DAMNIT.
2219243
My starting point with those 45 push-ups from two chapters ago was a very, VERY bad idea...>_<
2221434
You and me both.
Good gravy, I'm gonna feel this in the morning.
2221940
I'm still feeling it two days later. If there's any good side to this (besides the obvious), I have a good idea of exactly which muscles push-ups help to build.
Because every single fiber of them burns with the fires of Hades right now.
2221434>>2221940>>2222009
If it hurts, it means you were doing them right.
FINALLY! I've caught up with this
amazinglyawesomely epic tale! I never thought I'd see the day.Also, god damn it Zenith. You better kiss your pretty flank, 'cause Rainbow's gonna kick it all the way to the moon.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So I started to feel a little bad for Phoenix in this chapter. He's got a big choice that he has to make. Also, all issues concerning Dash aside, Zenith is being extremely disloyal to the ponies he's lived with for so long. He truly seems to just not be a nice guy in general. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Yes, I didn't do an evaluation last night. I'm sorry, but I was very tired, and fell asleep extremely quickly.
Hm. Zenith actually seems like he has a reason for being a dick here. At least he's not just doing it because he likes ruining lives.
On second thought, he probably does like it.
Oh Zenith, touching Dash's friends is the absolute last thing you want to do if you want to make it home in one piece. Alright, I had some sympathy for the guy before, but now he's just a complete arseface. Turning in two innocent ponies when you don't even know if your problems might be solved for you? The commanding officer he's followed through Tartarus and back has managed to trust her, the very reason he's on the run in the first place is because he refused to hurt innocents, and now he's gonna throw it all away? Granted, after going through all of that I'd be pretty hard pressed to make it the rest of the way, too, but still. Welp, off to see how bad this gets - onward!
2219228
Zenith's ideals are "get back home". The problem is, he's not a thinker even in the best of situations, but unlike Phoenix, he thinks he is one, which makes him a real danger to himself and others when he enters a blind panic like he's doing right now.
2219065 media.tumblr.com/tumblr_me4b11IKXR1rol1w1.gif
No, but seriously: if you could use your... magical namesake powers of awesome control or stuff like that to make him stop being such a jerk, that would be much appreciated.
>And are you gonna trust the words of a crazed, wing mare who has nothing left to lose?
Do you mean "winged"?
...
Why? Seriously? Why would you not trust her?
-Spirit
2222439
The pain of progress, no?
Zenith is about to make a mistake. A big one.
Dammit, Phoenix! I know you have it in you to fight Zenith's treachery!
Well, zenith is about to be crushed.
Zenith, you dense motherfeather.
It just hit me like a ton of bricks when Phoenix said "I'm not half the idiot you think I am" that him and Zenith and a dead ringer for Gregory Powell and Michael Donovan, from "I Robot" (The book, not the movie).
I loved the banter between those guys.
unicorn plus mistake equals catastrophe.
Oh, goddamnit Zenith!
Zenith finna die before the end of this series.
I called it.
Every day Zenith sinks deeper into my pit of loathing. I’m so mad at him right now. Rainbow Dash might return; that’s one thing he might be right about, but I do not think exterminating Rainbow Dash in an ‘accident’ is the right way to go about things.
That’s about it for this chapter.