With a cold mechanical hum, the door to the dark chamber opened. Pale blue light wafted across Midnite Bastion's figure.
She winced, lips and ears bleeding. The mare squinted, looking up from where she hung along a sterile wall, her legs and hooves outstretched and braced by dangling shackles.
On shuffling hooves, a tall dark figure strolled in from the light.
Midnite's nostrils flared. With a surly frown, she hung her head.
General Saikano came to a stop in front of her, gazing with perpetual deadpan. In the pale light, his scarred eye carried more warmth than the one that was actually studying the prisoner.
Midnite said nothing.
After a prolonged breath, Saikano calmly said: “Prince Eine of the House of Evo is missing.” He tilted his head forward, his natural and metal antlers forming shadows across the battered pony's features. “I speak, of course, of our Prince, soon to be King.” He clenched his teeth. “The deer whose safety you've pledged your very life to protect. He vanished around the same time you staged this poorly strategized stunt of yours. Perhaps, then, you would know something about his whereabouts?”
Midnite stared at the floor, scowling.
“I can order you to tell me,” Saikano said. “I can interrogate you.” He gulped. “Torture you. But I'm hoping that it won't come to that. I'm hoping you will remember the good soldier that you once were and do your last final duty.”
“... … ...”
Saikano stared at her, then past her. Slowly,he shuffled to the far side of the room. There, a huge, hairy slab of muscle and joints sat—slumped on all four knees. Jake's unconscious body was chained all over: three shackles per limb. On top of that, a massive slab of metal was clamped over his horns, weighing him further down to the floor.
“Constable Jake...” Saikano stretched his neck muscles. “Loyal to the Province Bountiful. Rather colorful history the House of Sehlp has. Almost radical, to put it lightly.” He turned towards Midnite. “If you won't give me an answer, maybe I can find one amongst the citizenry there. Shall I send five battalions? Or ten?”
The mare's ears twitched. Midnite bit her lip, shaking slightly, but ultimately said nothing.
Saikano's good eye narrowed. He shuffled over, slurring, “I brought you out of filthy streets. I brought you out of destitution. I gave you opportunities that no equine this side of the West Gate has ever entertained... and this is your repayment? This is the true shade of your loyalty?”
Midnite closed her eyes, dead silent.
“My power was yours, Midnite,” Saikano said. “Every soldier... every antler... every arrow. I would have utilized an entire army in saving your flesh in a heartbeat. But you did not want my favoritism. I couldn't have felt more proud. But now... all I feel is a broken heart.” He slowly turned around. “You need not worry. When it comes time to eke information out of you, I will send somedeer else.”
“You are not my father...”
His nostrils flared. He spoke without looking back. “That much was always clear.”
“No... you don't get it...”
Slowly, he turned around.
She glared at him, spitting up blood as she hissed, “Whatever you are, whoever you're working for, I'm going to make you bleed in places you never thought possible.” Her ears folded back. “Until you tell me where the real General is.”
Saikano's brow furrowed. “Who did this to you, Midnite?” His lips pursed. “Who turned you against me with this... hallucinogenic mania?”
All she did was sneer at him.
Saikano blinked. His ears twitched, and he found himself shuddering slightly as he turned towards the exit and shuffled his quiet way out.
He ran into a pair of guards trotting up from the far end of the facility.
“General, sir! News from the Capital!”
“... … …” Saikano glared at the metal floor.
One of the reindeer leaned forward. “...sir?”
Saikano flinched. He tilted his head up. “Report.”
“We have a caravan coming from the city, sir.”
Saikano squinted. “Was Sharp Quill successful in finding the Prince's abductor?”
“No, sir. It's Chancellor Fishberry,” the guard explained. “She's accompanying a Soul Sentry detachment. S he wishes to oversee the imprisonment.”
“Imprisonment?” Saikano leaned his head aside. “Imprisonment of who?”
“Uhm... Duchess Arcanista of the House of Sehlp, sir,” the guard said.
“You say that as if I already know of this arrest.”
“Do... do you not, sir?” The guard fidgeted. “You and the Chancellor are constantly in communication. Along with the Secretary at the Royal Palace. We just assumed—”
“You assumed?!” Saikano snarled, but suddenly fell silent. He raised a hoof, glancing at the cloven structure at the end of the limb. With a shuddering sigh, he spoke. “Thank you for the report. I will go and meet with the Chancellor.”
“Do you need more guards stationed here?”
Saikano fumbled for a bit. “No,” he eventually said, then trotted down the narrow hallway. “She isn't going anywhere...”
said Rainbow Dash to Lyra Heartstrings in an alternate universe.
Midnite be pissed, yo. I'm torn on who is most deserving of delivering the Pimp Hand of Harmony to Chrysalis: Dashie, Ebon, or Midnite.
Thirty-five wide-arm pushups, ):(. Knock 'em out!
The changeling seems to have trouble keeping her gender straight.
So why doesn't he? Seems odd, as everydeer knows…
5451629
Oh I remember that part. And it looks like you're just getting to the fun parts of BP.
5451666
Maybe Ebon caused some kind of hivemind interference trying to find Chryssi?
5451669 Yeah, I bet… I managed to guess who her beloved was a few paragraphs before the end of that chapter. Can't wait to see how that plays into the cosmology.
I'm also starting to get a clue about the whole color thing, and it doesn't bode well for Lyra if my suspicions are correct.
Hmm, she rattled him. I'm still not sure whether the Big Three have simply been brainwashed, or whether they're changelings and the real three are (hopefully) imprisoned somewhere. If it's the latter, this chapter suggests that the changelings might be oblivious to their falseness, which, of course, isn't unheard of for Chrysalis' agents. Either way, the facade isn't impervious. This is a good thing.
Breakout time!
Also tell us who she isssssssss
Saikano is behaving like he has a passenger who doesnt let him know when they take control.
Jake has three shackles per leg and a large metal slab shorting his primary electrical power poducing terminals? This could be intresting, seeing which has more capacity. Jakes mana reserves, or the block of metal which can only lose heat through its surface to the surroundings before it at least softens, and melts, which given its between two power electrodes, means the current loop could accelerate it at very high speed into quite possibly an unfortunate direction.
Forget fireball in the dungeon, would you like to be on the reciving end of a corridoor wide shaped charge?
So, somthing more complicated and intresting is likely to happen instead.
Or, as Discord says, sometimes a cigar, is just a fish.
5451663
dude, how bout your furry ass. three shackles per limb? daaaaaamn, son!
5451759 Assuming Jake's antlers are actually conducting electrical current in a loop, and there was sufficient current flowing, the Lorentz Force might be sufficient to propel the current carrying metal. However, given the shape of a moose's antlers, the shape of the electromagnetic field wouldn't exactly be optimal. An elk's antlers, on the other hand, look much more appropriately shaped to yield more interesting results...
Calm down there, Shell.
5451882
Important point I suspect a lot of people will miss about that article. The muzzle velocity of that test fire, was higher then lunar escape velocity.
The origional idea to fire stuff of the surface was a Linac several miles long. Now they have the equivalent in something that can fit on a small ship. No wonder Transformers liked it.
Also, makes a great first stage accelerator for Scramjet based ballistic orbital interceptors?
I thought Moose were more dish antenna than fractal yagis
The suspense...
I sense a disturbance in the force...
Wow, I get behind for a few days and a whole bunch of shit happens, and I would say three shackles per leg is a bit of underkill, obviously they need four, maybe even five for safe keeping.
5451701
Oh god, that story. That is probably one of if not the best one I've read on this sight. It also kind of messed me up for a bit. And yeah, they don't bode well. At all. Eh, you'll find out.
5451663
all three?
in rapid succession?
i'm imagining Midnite knocking her into Ebon, Ebon kicking her into the air, and Dash slamming her back down
at which point you could repeat the process
5452555 Remember, folks, who's writing this story. Rainbow Dash is not assured a happy ending.
5451972 Why was that necessary? What cosmic entity deemed it alright for you to say that? Because our of all the things in the world that are not alright that actually ranks very low, but it still hurts, man! I didn't need that to see that! Now I'm sad, and whose fault is that? I'm gonna go cry for a few hours...
5451972 If Saikano is Shell reincarnated as a deer, I will blow something up. Violently.
*munches on popcorn*
oooohh......Saikano is breaking. Things are definitely getting interesting.
*more sounds of popcorn crunching*
...I'm so glad I got this popcorn.
Reminds me of how Floydien changed, wonder if Saikano will manage to break her. I haven't seen too much about her, hopefully she can escape, but in Saikano's grasp I doubt it's worth trying. If we get a torture scene...
Hmmmm I can't wait to see if they are brainwashed or just replaced here as it seems like it could go both ways right now.
So cultivated and regal and so very sorry for what he's doing. A real Gehneral, that one.
Didn't ebon already clarify that it's not changelings but brainwashing? Saikano sounds like he doesn't like what's happening one bit. Midnite might be the key to break his brainwashed brain. Why doesn't he kno about the dutches? Is he even brainwashed!? Are sharp quill and fishberry using him?!
5452757
Just as planned.
i655.photobucket.com/albums/uu280/Mechanical-Spin/your-tears-are-delicious-cry-12926884195.jpg
That's some Darth Vader level fathering there.
5451972
Saikano will soon hit himself in confusion.
Speaking of him, I imagine the metal parts of his antlers to look like Chise's wings.
2.bp.blogspot.com/-NpBnUxcrqO4/UIbG-jyzI4I/AAAAAAAAAys/Iyn_CsdXDNk/s1600/saikano.jpg
Except her wings are different every chapter, so you have many to choose from.
EVERYONE IS A CHANGELING AND RAINBOW DASH IS DEAD!!!
5453961 Amen.
5452681
Plot twist: Scolon is secretly George R.R. Martin.
i.imgur.com/d3mtNU9.gif
WAHT A TWIST
Ooo... Something is ahoof in the Generals brain.
A mystery is ahoof!
what ever happened to good parenting?
Something is happening to their connection.
-Spirit
Well, the good we can gleam from this is that the Jury has really shaken up the conspiracy going on here. It's a sign of progress.
5469479 changeling mind control.
She
_________________________
The opening of this feels like Shell/Imre all over again.
8162173
Question is, will the father listen this time?
07/16/2017
23:53 UTC
8162173
Let's hope it doesn't have the same conclusion.
Everything is slowly falling apart for the Three Crappy Amigos.