//------------------------------// // Some Reunions Are Happier Than Others // Story: Yaerfaerda // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// P-POW! “Guh!” Zaid struggled to veer the Noble Jury left and right as it skimmed the arid hilltops south of Val Roa. Cannon blasts erupted on either side while what was left of the skystone craft attempted to outfly the second goblin battleship's armaments. “I don't suppose you guys can... I dunno... return fire or something?!” “They're well out of range!” Pilate exclaimed from the soot-covered top deck. “We'd have better luck if we were flying over them!” Bellesmith added. “Well, I doubt that's gonna be happening anytime soon!” Zaid reached a hoof to the intercom. “Blondie!” “Mareshi mareshi!” “Think you can give us a bit of lift?!” “I'm doing all I can to keep us speedy enough to dodge those goblin airblasts! No point in lifting unless you've got support!” “Yeah, okay, I get it!” Zaid gnashed his teeth. “I'll just try and find us a canyon so we can lose the creeps and give you enough energy to—” “Wait!” Belle hollered. “They're flying off!” “Pfft!” Zaid rolled his eyes. “They are not.” A hulking metal object soared high overhead, speeding its way north. “Holy cheeseballs. They totally are.” “Did I hear that the baddie bads are splitting for the hills?!” “Not the hills, Blondie. Val Roa.” “Oh noes! Whatever for?!” “Well, that was their mission to begin with,” Pilate said. “I'm just surprised they've not finished us off. We're still a liable threat.” “Maybe Rainbow Dash is shaking things in the capital!” Zaid said. “I doubt the Cartel would be able to sense that.” Belle squinted, staring off the ship's deck. Suddenly, she gasped. “The Tarkington!” “They won't stand a chance on their own,” Pilate said, shaking his helmeted head. “You can see what the goblin attack has done to us.” Belle chewed on her lip. With a renewed frown, she galloped into the cockpit. “Props!” she spoke firmly into the intercom. “How's the book?” “A lot fainter than when we first arrived here, but it's still ticking! Er... flickering!” A thoughtful pause. “Tickflickering?” “How much time do you need to prepare for us a swift thrust in the engines?” “Depends.” “On what?” “On just how thwist you want the thrusts to be!” Smiling, Zaid opened his mouth— Belle shoved a hoof into his face and spoke further into the intercom. “This may very well be the Noble Jury's last run, Props. We need you to give her all she got.” “Hmmmmm... good thing I haven't run out of okies, dokies, or lokies....” “Mother...?” Eine's yellow eyes were sparkling. “F-Father...?” Kera glanced at him, then at the balcony above. She smirked. While the stunned Council looked on in dumb silence, King Lunarius continued his bold speech. “Sharp Quill kept us alive only to torture us... physically and emotionally...” The regal buck spat. “Locked up in a frozen prison to the far north! We've been disgraced, maligned, and robbed of everything we hold dear! And to what end?! To threaten our very own Prince and steer this kingdom into the bedrock?!” His angry eyes narrowed. “It takes a chaotic mind to sow chaos, but you—you're not even remotely there yourself, are you?! That's why you and your accomplices needed the Queen and I intact, so you could gain strength from us while you struggled to keep your infernal conspiracy from falling apart!” “This...” Fishberry trotted backwards, shaking her head. “This wasn't suppose to happen...” Her eyes brimmed with tears. “Her plans...!” “What's the matter, Chancellor?!” Lunarius snarled. “Has everything stopped making sense to you?! Was your feeble mind promised more than this for your treachery?!” At that very same time, Queen Azira's eyes fell towards one particular balcony far below. Her gaze met Eine's, and she smiled with an emotional outburst. “Einey!” “M-mother!” Eine sobbed, pressing himself up to the edge of the balcony. “Mother, Father! God be praised! You are alive!” Kera suddenly fidgeted. She looked all over the balcony, then at the seats behind her. Flashing mana into her horn, she tugged and tore at the chairs. “Nnnnnngh!” Crk-kk! She ripped the furniture loose, floating all four up into the air. Then, with careful precision, she levitated them in a straight line extending out from the edge of the balcony. Without thinking twice, Eine hopped onto the first chair, then bounded onto the second. Kera bounced up and landed on the floating platforms behind him. Straining a bit, Kera utilized expert telekinesis, rotating the chairs around and ahead of them so that it created a progressively extending bridge in time with the speed of their galloping procession. In such a way, she drew an ascending path from the lower balcony to the higher one where Arcanista, Floydien, and—most importantly—the Royal Couple waited. By the time Kera had rotated the chairs up to the seat's edge, the whole Council was applauding. Eine performed a lasting leap, and Queen Azura caught him. The sobbing fawn buried his smiling face into her chest while the Queen held him close with loving forelimbs. Kera hopped onto the edge of the balcony in time to spot King Lunarius kneeling down to join the embrace, holding his wife and son close as the family reunited. As the chairs fell behind her, she teetered a bit, leaning towards the edge with flailing forelimbs. Floydien caught her, hoisting her onto an even floor. The elk blew out the side of his mouth, gazing emotionlessly at the warm reunion. “Hrmmff... tattooed boomer knows how to deliver.” “Should have given me another day or two,” Kera said, still catching her breath. She wiped sweat from beneath her smoking horn. “He may seem golden crispy, but he could still stand to burn the 'sissy' off the far corners.” Sniffling, Eine leaned back, grinning at the King and Queen. “I... I would have become King...” He gulped. “I would have done everything to make you both proud of me.” He shuddered. “You do realize that, I-I hope.” “Our precious Einey...” Azura ran a hoof across his moist face, smiling tearfully. “We are proud.” “Your patience and wisdom have preserved you, my son,” Lunarius said, his eyes firm and piercing. “Consider this as God's gift. I know I do.” “Fishberry!” Arcanista hollered. All eyes darted towards the upper balcony. The doe swiftly galloped towards the door leading towards the rest of the High Council Building. “Do you run, monster?!” Lunarius bellowed. Without saying a word, the Chancellor flung the door open. “... ... ...” Saikano stood, glaring at her. “Augh!” Fishberry hobbled backwards, pupils shrunk in the middle of a pale face. “General...?!” Her gaze flashed across, Josho, Midnite Bastion, and Eagle Eye. Then her eyes fell towards the side. Sharp Quill lay in a twitching, groaning heap. Fishberry's lungs emptied. “Oh no.” A large moose marched in, thundering past Saikano. “Oh yes.” Jake swung his hoof. WHAM! “Guh!” Fishberry fell back, collapsing across the seats as the whole Council gasped. “Whoah!” Kera winced, shuddering beside Floydien and Arcanista. “This is it,” the Duchess said, gulping. “Yes yes yessssss...”