Bitter Sweet
"Here you go," said a unicorn as she levitated a blue crystal into Bellesmith's grasp. "That fills your monthly ration slot. I'll already put a requisition in for another one in four weeks."
"Much appreciated." Belle turned from the wagon full of supplies in the crossroads of the Blue Shelf village. She trotted over and rested a hoof on Pilate's shoulder while balancing the crystal in her other forelimb. "Alright, beloved. Would you like a recharge here or should we wait until we get back home?"
Pilate shrugged as the sounds of trotting ponies and laboring residents echoed behind him. "I've got nothing to be ashamed of."
"Yes, Pilate," Placid remarked from from the front stoop of the general store where he and Felicity were weaving baskets for the upcoming harvest. "Consider it like taking a shot."
"Needles hardly leave me with lingering headaches," the zebra said, sighing. Nevertheless, he tilted his head towards Belle and smiled gently. "I'm ready to have my mind's eye back."
"It will only take a moment." She tilted the crystal towards his metal plate.
"I'm well aware."
She murmured a few words, and the runes on his skull lit up. The crystal resonated, pulsing in direct response. Slowly, a discharge of blue energy billowed out from the rod and drifted into the metallic part of the zebra's cranium. He shuddered a bit, but kept his legs firm as he stood bravely against the manastream.
"You know, I may be able to make that easier for you both," Felicity said. "A well-timed burst of magic from my horn could charge Pilate's device for days."
"That's a very generous offer," Belle said as she finished channeling the last of the crystal's sapphiric glow. "However, there's too great a chance of your leyline being merged with his neurological system."
"Oh?"
"We f-found that out the h-hard way," Pilate managed to say through seething teeth.
"Yes," Belle remarked, leaning back with the dull crystal. She fidgeted slightly, blushing. "Back when I could still perform magic," she said with a tilt of her stubby horn.
"Well, I should know better than to argue with a manabiologist," Felicity said.
"And a successful sequencer to boot!" Placid remarked.
Felicity grumbled, glaring daggers towards her beloved.
"Erm..." Placid gulped and put on a brave smile. "Thought I'm sure you miss your days back at the university even more!"
"Oh, I've learned to adapt," Belle said with a shrug, then leaned over to nuzzle Pilate. "You okay, honey? Was it too swift of a dose?"
"Just give m-me a moment," he stammered. After few deep breaths, he tilted his shivering snout up and said, "O.A.S.I.S. Calibrate."
The sphere glowed far brighter this time. With a tiny hum, it detached from his choker and flew several swift orbits around him.
Pilate's ears flickered, and he tilted his face Belle's way. "I assume it's working fine, or else there's a giant gnat flying circles around my head."
Belle giggled. "It appears to be powered up just nicely, Pilate."
"If you must know," Placid spoke, "It's been rotating between pulses of white and blue light evenly over the last twenty seconds. It's made about sixty revolutions in that time, Pilate, and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down."
"I think he's got the idea, darling," Felicity droned.
Placid shrugged. "I was just giving him my evaluation!"
"That's not an evaluation!" she grunted. "That's a summary!"
Belle trotted closer to Pilate's side. "How's your head?"
"A little tense, but I can manage." He tilted his muzzle up towards the forest canopy and cleared his throat. "O.A.S.I.S. Scan forward."
The sphere stopped in midair, swiveled one hundred and eighy degrees, and flashed a line of glowing white energy over Bellesmith's skull.
Pilate lowered his chin. "You've got an acorn stuck in your mane, Belle. Above the right ear."
She blinked. Raising a hoof to her head, she flicked the foreign object to the dirt path. With a giggle, she said, "Would you believe me if I told you that sometimes I'm envious?"
His lips curved. "I like to think that we just switched talents when we met."
She smiled. "Is that why you like to read so much?"
"It'd explain all the paper cuts to the nose."
"Pilate! I built you O.A.S.I.S. for a reason!"
"I know... I know. Call me old-fashioned."
"Okay!" Baxter trotted up, grinning and balancing a box full of gardening tools on his spine. "You're old-fashioned!"
"It's Baxter's world," Felicity groaned over her hoofwork. "We just have conversations in it."
"Hey, I'm an anteloupe," he said with a shrug. "I love jumping to the occasion."
"What are you up to today, Baxter?" Pilate asked.
"Thought I'd rent some tools from the general store to help Kenna with the side yard flower garden," he said. "You know how it lifts her spirits to tend to the earth."
"Lift her spirits?" Belle leaned forward curiously. "Is Kenna okay?"
Baxter took a deep breath, struggling to remain jovial. "Things have been tough with the facility as of late. It seems like the Council of Ledo has very little need of firestarters as of late."
"Well, that's alarming," Pilate remarked as the sphere returned to his choker. "When did this come about?"
"Just recently." Baxter turned to face the zebra. "Half the staff of the pyrokinesis wing have been relocated. Normally, it wouldn't be that big of a deal, but it happened around the same time that the neighborhood two roads down from us was cleared."
"There's suddenly a lot of vacancy in these parts," Placid said. "Whatever's happening in the facility, it must be requiring equines with an unprecedented skill."
"That or Grinder decided to get drunk one day and clean house," Baxter said with a chuckle.
"I wouldn't make light of it too much," Belle said. "I know how much Kenna can get worrisome over her position within the facility."
"Yes, well, we're adaptable," Baxter said. "Quite frankly, if they move us back west to the Dry Ravine, the only thing we'll miss is you guys." He smiled at the surrounding group of neighborly ponies. "Things may have been stiff and weird at times, but it was a real thrill getting to hang with you bunch."
"Don't speak so solemnly about it, Baxter," Pilate said. "There's no point in jumping to conclusions."
"Didn't I just get done reminding you I'm a anteloupe?" Baxter said, smirking. "Paranoia's in our blood. The next thing you know, they'll send soldiers to come... knocking on... our... doors..." His ears flicked nervously on either side of his antlers as his wide eyes locked on a sight beyond Pilate and Belle.
"Baxter?" Pilate asked.
Belle, in the meantime, was turning to follow the anteloupe's gaze. She instantly trembled.
Two stern-faced ponies in berets marched over from a hovering manawagon. Their eyes locked instantly with Belle's. "Are you Bellesmith of Garnet's Wing?"
She gulped. "Yes, that I am." She side-stepped over beside Pilate. "Is there a problem, officers?"
They didn't wait long to speak again. "You are to gather some meager belongings and accompany us to the facility immediately."
Placid and Felicity exchanged glances.
Pilate's jaw fell. "What...?"
"For... For what reason?" Belle remarked.
"This is not a request," one officer said. "You are to come with us within the hour."
"But... B-But I don't understand!" Belle stammered, her breaths coming in fitful heaves. "I... I just got here! I-I was given seven days! Seven days!"
"This is a direct command given by the Ledomaritan Defense Enforcement Division," one of the soldiers icily stated. "As a citizen and a laborer of the Council of Ledo, you are bound to observe the rules and regulations of the Confederacy and obey your orders."
"Now just wait!" Pilate exclaimed, his brow furrowing angrily as his teeth showed. "She's done more than her fair share of work for the Council! She's earned her time with her beloved, as is the Ledomaritan way!"
"Sir, any further resistance will be perceived as an act of—"
"Resistance?!" Pilate started to seethe. "I'm stating a valid point! If you used your heads for more than sporting helmets and berets than maybe you'd undestand—"
Before Pilate could even finish, one of the officers was telekinetically unsheathing a slender black rod. With a pulse from his horn, the taser electrified brightly in the air. Baxter dropped his box of tools and Felicity could be heard gasping.
Bellesmith rushed over between the soldier and her husband. "It's alright! I will go! We're not resisting! You... you just caught us off guard, that's all!"
"Belle..." Pilate breathlessly exclaimed.
"I shall come with you two shortly," Belle said, gulping nervously.
"See that you do, miss," one soldier said before casting Pilate a rigid glare. "And while you're at it, talk some sense into your zebra."
"Belle!" Pilate hissed her way. "This is preposterous, you can't just let them—"
"Shhhh..." Belle leaned in towards him, grasping his striped muzzle with two shivering hooves. "I don't like it any more than you do, beloved."
"We have to report this," he remarked, his voice starting to waver. "Contact Dalton; get him to curry some favors or—"
"You know very well that such a thing wouldn't work," she said in a whispery tone. "Where's the stallion whose cool-headed thinking wooed me since day one?"
"I... I..." He shuddered. His gray eyes moistened as he leaned in to bury his face in her shoulder. "I just don't understand. I've m-missed you so much, Belle. They have you working until Spark's end in that hole in the ground, and n-now they're going to take you away from m-me again..."
"Shhhh..." She kissed him and leaned her cheek against his. "Nopony could ever, ever take me away from you. You are my everything, forever and ever." She gently carressed his muzzle. With two forelimbs, she brought his hooves up so that he could feel soft smile. "Whatever they require of me, whatever they need me to do, I promise that I shall do it in record time so I can be with you once again."
He sighed heavily, leaning into her embrace.
"Can you be patient for me?" she asked. "Can you promise that you'll keep your cool?"
He nodded, gulped, and braved a weak smile. "I can do anything, Belle, so long as you believe in me."
She kissed him again and murmured into his ear, "Now there's the zebra I fell in love with."
After a few seconds, she gave his shoulder a final touch, pivoted around, and marched in between the two soldiers. Their gait was quick, forcing her to trot swiftly towards her unwitting destination. It was a difficult task on her part, considering Belle's vision had turned foggy with tears.
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Darn jerkbag council...
Well, there ain't no rest for the wicked...
And things begin to accelerate. I wonder what LDED needs Belle so urgently for? I think they've detected a plot point on their manaradar.
Also, unhappy Pilate is unhappy. Don't worry, zebro. It'll be okay.
Oy vey...
DUN DUN DUN.
So, if there's going to be a chaos rift or an appearance of the Rainbow, this would be it. I'd give it... two more chapters?
Also, signal boost of this story that I read that's really good:
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/59945/Fly
Perhaps they found some significance in the Eljunbyro symbol? Eh, I don't know. Sounds likes things are gettin' pretty serious though.
Where we goin?
Also, last chapter had Belle experiencing another of RD's memories IN HER SLEEP! That was OUTSIDE of sequencing!
We have got some very interesting action to look forward to here
What happened that they need her back so soon!?
Also thank you SS&E for unpdating this immediately after after I finished the previous chapter
So, after reading this from earlier, I've developed a little theory:
-We know from information from the facility that whoever the sphere was obtained from suffered some sort of end. Possibly death. It is very likely that Rainbow Dash is currently dead.
-On a side note, we can't conclude that she met her end in Silvadel in the Axan's lair. All we know for certain is "she saw nothing".
-Whitemane is tied into whatever magic is linked to Rainbow.
-In some cultures, wind is used interchangeably with spirit or life or breath.
Perhaps Belle is being called by Whitemane to bring RD back to life or something like that?
Something is happening in the facility.
I'd say Dash is waking up, but I know that's just wishful thinking.
Maybe the facility is going to be attacked? Would explain the mass relocations, as well as accelerating the sequencing project.
Alternate option: Maybe Belle's little drawing in the dirt was spotted by a manacamera before she erased it.
1525415
I like the alternate option. It plays well into the Big Brother-esque government we've seen so far, and the symbol clearly has some kind of major significance. They're probably realizing the potential Belle has for really connecting with Rainbow Dash.
...
......
.........
I hate that place...
1525452
Yeah, I though of it halfway through writing the comment and it seemed so much more likely.
1525407
You've got me thinking about how similar Ledo and Shelf are to Darkstine in their use of magic and talk of sparks. While I do not think we've seen a very large time jump, I leave open the possibility that Ledo and Shelf are actually places we've already seen but set in a distant future (or past?). More likely, it's just further east, though.
Plausible, Whitemane or RD's spirit or something; finish the sequencing to resurrect that which was lost. Though, we haven't seen any character directly presume that's even possible. Even Dash admitted that bringing the elements back would not bring back what she wanted, namely her friends... and Applejack. Though it remained my hope, just as it remains my hope for Dash.
This chapter brings with it some lovely meta humor and world building along your standard, "Orwellian dystopia is on the precipice" line. Storm's comin', keep cool my babies.
1525415
I'll take Manacameras for $200, Alex.
1518920
If you hadn't already been featured, this would have gotten you a slow, painful OC death
Damnit the buildup. Now I'm gonna be forced to wait until you rip the rug from under my feet.
1525170
YES!!!! Please make this happen!
Not the most believable plot line, well, Dash is just that awesome, so why the he'll not?
1525415
I find this exceedingly likely.
Ah. I had been curious about why Pilate hadn't been able to get some other equine to charge OASIS for him. Belle implied that she was able to in the past, and I satisfied my curiosity by just assuming that she was the only one sufficiently well-acquainted with the device to give it power. In any case, that sounds extremely unpleasant :/
Seeing as how all these characters seem to have been BROUGHT to Ledomare (possibly by force, has that been confirmed?), I can't help but wonder if their educations took place before or after their relocation. A doctorate in manabiology? I can see how such a degree would fit with the technology we've observed so far, but noting how everyone is expected to obey their leaders... are such extensive educations mandatory? For some reason, even though it's the case for their jobs, I can't picture everyone simply being assigned an area of study so arbitrarily. Hmm.
Wow. I'm a dick.
Anyway, I can only assume the guvamint is trying to exploit Belle's weird connection with Dash. And knowing how utterly dickish and short-sighted a totalitarian empire can be, I expect nothing less than the Council attempting a full mental overwrite of Belle to Dash. But I'm just spitballing; it's not like I control anything in the story.
1525508
I'm actually pretty sure that Ledomare is the country Axan was talking about earlier. Foreshadowing, much?
So yes; further East, of course. Same as it ever was.
1526356
Regardless of what happens to Dash, the reader must continue the eastward journey? Intriguing.
Oh, boy. Are we starting to alternate between one-chapter and two-chapter updates? Hmm...
Also:
First: *caressed
Second: Oh, man. Unpleasantly heavy foreshadowing, guys. I do not sense a happy ending for these two anytime soon...
Ha, I caught that reference. Nice one SS&E.
1525289
or the good apparently
I can't get through a full chapter now worrying about the same thing. First, I really want to know more.about this O.A.S.I.S thing, could be interesting to find out more.
Then of course, why do the council need Belle again so soon ? Something must have either gone wrong, or more information must have been found. If this is so, then the must need Belle for more sequencing. That then asks the question: why do they need to find out about their current subject (whom we assume is RD) so urgently? Perhaps the know what Austraeoh is, or of the importance of the pendant around Dash's neck. Or that the world may be ending and that RD is the one to fix it.
The Ledomartian council must know something, and I want to know what.
Now, onwards to the next chapter!
1527025
Yeah, Pilate's totally screwed (sorry man
) I don't sense a happy ending for Belle and him. Either Pilate will be replaced with Applejack or Belle will just go crazy and lose her sense of reality flitting in between two sets of memories. I feel kinda bad that I'm happy Belle's getting sent back to the facility - her and her friends are great and everything, but watching them frolic while waiting for the crap to hit the fan is stressful. Now at least the threat's in your face, if that makes any sense. Onward!
More More! MORE!!
1527025
As I said earlier, the first story was just SS&E's personal challenge to himself to write 1 chapter to Austreao a day, and then after succeeding he tried for two a day with this one, so despite the symbolism, its all really just a coincidence, as his recent slacking proves.
Poor Belle & Pilate...
I don't suppose this is a shout-out to 'Dashie's evaluation time'?
1534264Umm...I'm pretty sure it is.
THIS IS THE BEST DAY EVAR!!!!
Also, despite having not even finished Austraeoh yet, I could not resist seeing my reference. I'm sorry...
But as soon as I finish Austraeoh, I will definitely evaluate this "Eljunbyro."
Seriously, where does he get the names for these fics?
-MASH
1525170
they may take our lives, but they can never take OUR FREEDOM
1525289 Money don't grown on trees.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So the one thing I'm getting from this chapter is the interactions between the townspeople. I thought that was done very well. Also, something big is going down in the science facility. I'm guessing that, assuming Dash is alive, she 's waking up. Could be...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. For your information, it's rather hard to truly evaluate something when the author takes roughly 197 chapters to tell you the exposition. So I think I'm doing a pretty good job, if I do say so myself.
Ah, who am I kidding.
REFERENCES!!!!
End of the world incoming?
P.S. As long as I read more than 2 to 3 chapters a day, I should catch up eventually.
I don't want no stinking references.
ok seriously I sort of wish I could be reference....maybe....BLAAAH Anyway, this chapter
...
...
.
.
.
.
..........
.
cruel
just....cruel
1801822 Well, it's just that to "evaluate" something is to determine it's value/worth/merit. Like "This is a good chapter, pivotal to the story and well written." That would be an evaluation because it's assessing the chapter's importance and assigning a value of some kind.
Your Evaluation Times are more like summaries and speculations, where you point out the crucial plot points, relate them to previous chapters and then proceed to predict what will happen in the future. You don't typically "evaluate" the chapters at all.
Keep doing what you're doing though, it really helps me out, you frequently call attention to things that I've missed.
The sentry near Belle and Pilate's house was repaired. Her squiggles in the dirt did not go unnoticed.
1579166
This is the second time so far you've been referenced. That's the highest reference (excluding character inserts) count of posters so far! Aren't you a lucky duck...er, you know.
Something I noticed no one else mention so far, this order is coming from Enforcement again, aka Shell. Why is he the bringer of all gifts and curses (read: plot device) so far in this arc? Why act like you're being benevolent in keeping your most successful sequencer so far happy with rewards, or at least not completely burned out, if you just immediately take them away?
1579166 I'm sure it is.
Take note.
"Hey, I'm an anteloupe," he said with a shrug. "I love jumping to the occasion."
Also, I hate totalitarian states with a passion. I'm looking at you, Iran, Russia, China, North Korea, Syria, etc.
Dashie was referenced again!
Congratulations!
Also, why? Why must you do this to us, Ledo?
What! Overtime? I better get those days I'm missing when I'm done.
They aren't going to, they never do.
1712364
Got bills to pay, mouths to feed, ain't nothin in this world for free.
3441020
You know, it's odd how even though people hate totalitarian states, they are the longest running and . . . most popular states in history. Hell, democracy doesn't even last as long as as totalitarian states. And that's why the United States is so special.
Well, this is true love.
Love this relationship.
Hahaha!
Intriguing. Kind of a Wayward Pines vibe here.
Okay, so Belle's trip is cut short, Pilate nearly gets tased, bro, and Baxter has become this fic's Wayne. Man, I hope we get to see more of him.
Then we have Pilate 'seeing' via O.A.S.I.S. Seriously, that's gonna crop up later, and nobody will be surprised.
Also, I guess it was Whitemane, not Sun-Butt, that spoke to Belle in the dream. Ah well.
Maybe that access symbol she drew earlier had something to do with her early return to the line of duty.
I give it... Four more chapters before Dalton is hurt, tortured, or killed in order to motivate Belle.
Maybe Shell's Barry the Chopper. Man, I wish we had more of him than 'he wears a beret' so I can draw the right FMA character comparisons. My life is so hard.
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