It was a deep bass tone, almost similar to a fog horn, that made Pilate sit up with a gasp. On numb hooves, he trotted briskly across the tight space of the zeppelin's gondola. He leaned up against the edge of the vessel's railing, piercing the high winds of night with his muzzle. Once again, sounding out from the darkness, there was another heavy, blaring noise. It was soon accompanied by other sounds, a smattering of various bedlam, including grinding gears, whirring pistons, and the muttering of multiple workers.
"A factory..." Pilate gulped. "Mr. Floydien?" He turned, pivoting his head towards where he knew the one creature steering the vessel was situated. "Mr. Floydien, I believe we're approaching a city!"
"A city it would be called if it ran less like the stabbiest of zoos," grunted his companion's voice in response. "Here there is nothing but groaning and Blueing and Novaing. That is a prison that only pretends to be a city."
"Blue Nova..." Pilate murmured to himself. He felt Simon scampering past him with a swish of his bushy tail, but that didn't stop the zebra from tilting his twitching ears towards the wind and listening for even more clamoring noises. "Grinding gears. Steam vents. Laborers..." The stallion gritted his teeth. "By the Spark! I know! The city has a famous industrial sector along its northeast side!" He blinked, then tilted his head towards his companion. "But, Mr. Floydien, what would you want from the elevated factories of this maretropolis?"
"Stabby stabby horses think they can fill metal and fake bone with the glimmer after they have stolen it from membrane and real bone. Cover it with spit, they will, if only to hide the facts that they hide the fillies and the beloveds from families."
"Hide the fillies and beloveds..." Pilate's ears folded back. "Could... could your Nancy Jane be here?"
"There is no where else for the stabby stabby to have taken her. She awaits the glimmer from all sides, glimmer that is not hers nor should ever be." Floydien paused, suppressing a growl. When he spoke again, it was almost as if he was channeling a different, darker voice. "What comes next will need more sparks than striped boomer or Simon can provide."
"Huh? What are you talking about?"
"Nancy Jane cannot be saved so easily. All the spit in the world cannot change this. Floydien knows. Floydien has always known."
"At least let me help you in some fashion!" Pilate had to shout. The noise of factory work was building up and up in the air around them. He smelled pungent fumes of smoke. Somehow, he didn't doubt that if he stretched a hoof out beyond the edge of the deck, he might touch the smokestacks as they passed by. "The O.A.S.I.S. sphere could help us track Nancy Jane down! Then, once we've got her, we'll search for Belle, right?"
"Striped boomer's glimmer sphere has served its purpose." Floydien was strangely quiet, almost sullen. "The spark is nearly drained from it. Floydien does not think the ball will do what the ball will do for much longer."
"Then... uh... g-give it another charge!" Pilate exclaimed, leaning forward. Four sets of paws landed on his shoulder. He ignored Simon's twitching figure and continued speaking. "You can do that, right? Give the sphere... uh... more glimmer?"
"It is too late for the spark to help us in the realm of the stabby stabby."
"Why do you say that?!" Pilate frowned. "What's changed, Mr. Floydien? Why can't we grab Nancy Jane and go after my beloved—?" He gasped upon feeling a very familiar sphere of metal thrusted into his forelimbs. "Ooof!"
"Because the horse horse is upon us, and ready to behead the unbeheaded, they are. Floydien's fate was determined by utmost glimmer. But striped boomer? No no no. Live another day, he should."
"I... I don't get it..." Pilate quietly raised the sphere to the choker around his neck and attached it. "What in spark's name are you talking about—?" He gasped, for he could sense beyond the edge of the small, puttering zeppelin. Three heavy bodies were flying up, up, up towards the craft, and they were full of bodies armed with rods of brimming energy: undoubtedly tasers. "Well, that's rather unpleasant..."
"The paws of Simon are upon striped boomer, yes yes?"
Pilate suddenly winced, feeling a pulse of energy overcoming the sensory field of the O.A.S.I.S. sphere. He realized that it was emanating from the rodent perched upon his shoulder. "Uhh... yes? Yes they are?"
"Allow him to be your guide. Floydien goes after Nancy Jane, for Floydien can help striped boomer no further."
"Please. I beg you. Tell me what's happening! Tell me what they want with—!"
Just then, a speaker crackled loudly. Sound stones hummed to life, resonating with an angry stallion's voice as the three Ledomaritan vessels flew up and surrounded the tiny zeppelin.
"Halt! Bring your engines to a stop! You are trespassing on Nightshade Industries' property! Explain yourselves!"
Simon barked with a shrill, mouse-like voice.
Meanwhile, Pilate stammered into the winds. "Nightshade... Industries...?"
The smoke in the air had become positively smoldering.
They stopped at Nightshade Industries? How convenient.
2590249
And without an invitation, either. How rude.
Simon's new nickname should be Paul.
Eeyup, there goes me and my amazing ability of guessing the extremely obvious
ok, at this point, I'm thinking either Nancy Jane is some sort of construct, or Nightshade is doing some sort of mana infusion experiments.....
2590259
But, then wouldn't we have to call him Al?
2590384
I'm pretty sure Nancy Jane is an object, the way Floydian keeps talking about "her" combined with the dramatic tension sort of sets up that payoff. In before double bait-and-switch.
The other thing to take away from here are the details about Nightshade's activities. Experimenting on children and presumably attempting to create living robots.
2590417
Only if you call me Betty. If you're my bodyguard, then I can be your long-lost pal.
2590426
Then... Um, Chevy Chase.... Art Garfunkel... Uh............ LOOK, AN ELEPHANT!!
*flees*
^_^
Yes, they just happen to make their daring entrance to Blue Nova when Belle and Phoenix are still underground. How oddly inconvenient.
This doesn't look good for Pilate...
And here I'm starting to wonder if Kera has any relation to Floydien's Nancy Jane... or *is* her. Might be some communication issues. Pilate thinks it's a beloved, but it might be a daughter?
Random thought.
2590426
I laughed very hard at this!
Ooh my ribs...
watch 'nancy jane' be like the queen or something
honeytiger is so confused!
Meanwhile, back on the blimp with our zebra friend...
It is so easy to misjudge someone just because he is talking in a weird way. Funny.
I can hardly wait for Belle to meet Floydien. Not only because we will finally have eyes to see him: the character interaction will be simply hillarious.
2590731 This doesn't look good for you.
2590954 Kera is a pony. They cannot be blood-related.
2590422 Also, with Belle being led into the same building, I imagine it to be a pretty damn important object - something used to channel enormous amount of mana. Might just be an obelisk, after all.
Ceterum censeo Searinem delendam esse, cross my heart and hope to fly.
Looks like some long lost/dead loves might be found. How exciting!
I don't doubt that Floydien's Nancy Jane has something to do with what Belle's book is pointing at.
Again, it all comes back to Nightshade Industries. I'm wondering if "Nancy Jane" might be Madame Nightshade herself. Heck, there's even a loose phonetic similarity between "Nancy Jane" and "Nightshade", especially by Floydien-logic. At least Pilate and Belle are one step closer to reunion - Pilate from above, and Belle from below. On the downside, it seems as though Floydien is gonna bite the dust.
2591991
I was thinking something similar regarding Nancy Jane after this chapter. Floydien's interesting speech patterns do seem to lend credence to the notion that they are the same. But is this good or bad for Pilate...?
I wonder if this Nightshade industries stuff is going to turn out a horrific as what Duke Zaap Nator was doing to those fillies back in Austraeoh.
2589308 Yeah that would explain it...
and now we wait for the cavalry to arrive with badasses 1, 2,and 3
A sad end for Floydien, it seems.
I guess he always knew that getting Nancy Jane back from Nightshade would be pretty much impossible.
There's still a chance that he's just letting himself be captured to attempt rescuing her from the inside though.
We may not have seen the last of Floydien.
I have an odd feeling that Floydien and Nightshade Industries are more connected than we think.
Well how interesting, and just where Bell needs to be eventually...
Intriguing... Lots of new information in this chapter, waiting to be mined by the attentive reader. Me? I'm just in it for the explosions.
You'd think an unidentified zeppelin hovering over Nightshade Industries would have been destroyed more swift like. Meh. Bloody security these days.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Huh...I'm sort of at a loss as well as to what's changed with Floydien's Nancy Jane predicament. Perhaps he always knew that he would have to do something drastic at the city and it just now hit him that he had to do it. Perhaps he'll even sacrifice himself for Nancy Jane. Also - Floydien expects Simon to power O.A.S.I.S.? Is Simon a crystal being? For that matter, is Floydien himself? It's at least good that Pilate and Bellesmith are close to one another once more. I can only imagine the feels that will transpire. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Sorry about my little rage yesterday - I was having a passionate moment. I still believe, keep in mind, that this an amazing series that I love and that should go on. I suppose I can't judge Imploding's writing so harshly...
Why do I feel like Floydien's Nancy Jane is already dead? And that he knows this already? Obviously he's going in guns blazing, but I'm wondering if its in some last ditched attempt to actually save her, or more a final suicidal mission to avenge/join her. Dark stuff, although with the tyrannical empire thing going on I suppose that's to be expected. Also, yay! Pilate and Belle should be reuniting soonish! I mean we're already up to chapter...77...aw poop, we've still got over a hundred to go - more than enough time for things to get even more complicated than they already are. Well they're in the same-ish vicinity, anyway, and that's closer than before. Onward!
"To behead the unbeheaded" - sounds like a plan. :)
Ooh, Nightshade Industries! Convenient. Time for the meet-up.
-Spirit
Oh man, how will Pilate get outta this one?
2646075 I made it out to be the most morbid one. the suicide charge...but i hope im wrong...deeply...
Excellent, back to Pilate!
Looks like the group is slowly coming together... Josho and Eagle may be shit out of luck, but I foresee Dash's group hooking up with them before coming to Nightshade industries, where no doubt the last arc will take place.
Happy reunions are on the horizon.
Nightshade Industries, eh? What a fortuitous location to drop in on for a visit.
The Floydien chapters always leave me so completely confused about what the hell is going on.
So, it is like Detroit?
05/12/2017 16:32 UTC
Hide your kids, hide your wife!
-Solar Shift
8065570 It's the slightly less blind leading the blind.
8802767
I only know what he talking about do to me rereading. In other words I have context to translate Floydian speak.