Of Blessings and Warnings
“Well, we’ll be stocking up in Gray Smoke, then heading southeast through a place called Azure Pass,” Rainbow Dash said, her voice rolling through the night air. “According to Josho, it’s south of one of the largest military fronts in the war.”
”How doth thou intend to deal with the nefarious Xonans? Surely there wilt be many of their patrols in the area.”
Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and answered Luna’s glowing aura. “That’s where we hope the speed of the Noble Jury will go into full effect. Since we’ll be fully restocked at Gray Smoke, we won’t have any need of parking Floydien’s ship anywhere. We can just cruise on through Xonan territory and not look back.”
”Sounds incredibly dangerous,” Luna’s voice said. ”Not to mention questionably foolish.”
Rainbow Dash smirked as she lazily hung off the edge of the top deck’s railing. “Well, you know what they say about really stupid plans…”
Luna’s voice took on a wavering tone, like it was rising and falling from a watery surface. ”Rainbow Dash, we fear that our communication cannot persist for much longer. Both the night and the full moon wavereth.”
“Yeah…” Rainbow’s nostrils flared as her face stretched sadly. “I kind of figured…”
”It will be another long month before we can once again speak with thee.”
“We’re gonna be okay, Your Majesty,” Rainbow Dash said. “Don’t you w-worry…”
Silence.
Rainbow Dash’s muzzle scrunched up. “Luna…?”
”Doth something troubleth thee, our little pony?”
Rainbow Dash winced. “I… uhm…” her voice cracked. “Actually, I was curious about something…”
”Please, do elaborate while thou still hath time.”
“Twilight Sparkle really admired you, y’know? I mean, she may have been super duper close to Celestia, but she always had a great deal of respect for the Princess of the Night.”
”We certainly had no doubt of that. Regardless, hearing it from thy words is a solacing thing.”
“Heh, yeah, well…” Rainbow Dash looked down at her dangling hooves and the mountains looming below the drifting zeppelin. “She used to tell me stuff about you and the job you had over the heavens at night…”
”Indeed…”
“And… uh… she talked about something you did. An old, stuffy ritual called the ‘Cosmic Prayer.’”
”Nothing stuffy about it, Rainbow Dash. The Cosmic Prayer is nothing less than our nightly blessing given unto the mortal equines who sleep under our benevolent rule, imploring the stars that their destinies meet fortuitous ends.”
“So, like… you say this prayer every night?”
”Indeed, and we repeat it every morning, when our labors traditionally ended. As you can imagine, in this day and age, the prayers hath quadrupled while we engage the rising and setting sun.”
“Yeah. I… uh… I-I guess that makes sense,” Rainbow Dash said. She sniffled and murmured, “Do you… ever give your blessings to specific ponies in particular? Like… knowing that they may be out there somewhere, under your moon or your sun, really needing some help?”
”Doth thou have a pony that thou wishest us to entreat the stars for, Rainbow Dash?”
“Mmmm… yeah…” Rainbow’s eyes quivered, and a lone tear rolled down her cheek. “Her n-name is Imre…”
”’Imre,’ a very noble name.”
“For a very n-noble pony,” Rainbow Dash shuddered as she wiped her cheek dry. “She’d be right at home on board this vessel, but she isn’t.” She swallowed a lump down her throat and gazed dully into the stars. “Somewhere, she’s out there all alone, and it’s my fault. If I can’t do anything awesome for her… th-then perhaps you can…”
”She wilt be with us in our prayers, Rainbow Dash. The stars shall echo with her name. This, we promise thee.”
Rainbow’s face produced a fragile smile. “That’s really t-terrific, Your Highness. You rock…”
”So we hath been told.” The alicorn’s voice faded in and out. ”We likewise hath a request to impart upon thee, Rainbow Dash, while there is still time.”
“Shoot.”
”We do not wish to spark panic or concern…”
At that, Rainbow’s ears perked. She sat up straight on the ship’s edge. “Uh… okay…”
”You sayeth that thou wilt be parting ways with two ponies soon, yes?”
“R-right…” Rainbow Dash nodded. “Once we get to Gray Smoke.”
”The stallion who calleth himself Ebon Mane…”
“Yeah…?”
Luna’s voice flickered in and out of solidity. ”We trust that he is a benevolent pony, but there is something about him that concerneth us. The essence of his soul doth not translate through the spell as doth the souls of thy other companions.”
Rainbow Dash squinted. “What… d-do you mean by that?”
”We cannot rightly tell, for the explanation is beyond us. All we know is this: the stallion called Ebon Mane is hiding something, and it vexeth him greatly. It may prove to be nothing, but if thy companionship with those ponies is built on trust, then it may be a wise thing to keep a close eye on him while he remaineth in thy party. Whatever the secret is, we feareth it may be as much a concern for thee as it is for himself.”
Rainbow Dash nodded limply. “Right… uh… I’ll be sure to watch over him.”
”Do not be rash, Rainbow. Honesty is still a relevant element of Harmony in this world. If it wouldst console thee, simply confront the stallion and…” The voice cut out.
Rainbow’s pendant stopped glowing.
She looked down at the ruby lightning bolt, touching it with a limp hoof. A cold shudder left her lungs as she gazed at the wooden deck of the ship under darkness.
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So, Ebon is hiding something. And Austraeoh has no idea Imre is dead.
~bass
He does not resonate like them? What, is he undead or something?
An undead cook...
Oh, Dash...
Yay for Luna.
And apparently Ebon is hiding something.
I wonder if it has anything to do with his mother and the letter he wrote last chapter...
Hmmm....
Maybe his mother is gone and he's having a Norman Bates dilemma inside his head
...
Nah, that'd be a stretch.
But we're onto you, Ebon.
And so is Rainbow Dash!
Ok, let's give this a bit more thought.
Hmmm...
So the communication spell works by, say, linking the essence of the souls of those talking, but Ebon's doesn't.
Should we assume there's something wrong with Ebon's soul, then?
Now, what could cause this...
Oh, stahp. Keep it up and I might just start liking my last name.
It just ocurred to me that we don't really know much about Ebon besides that he worked in a restaurant in Grey Smoke and some other sparse details, so he could be hiding almost anything, not necessarily mommy issues.
So, whatever it is Ebon is hiding, it's "vexing him greatly", and that in turn is, uh, messing with his soul? I think I'm just confusing myself more and more...
Still, I hope it's not something too jarring or that will cripple the Noble Jurors in any way.
...
I just jynxed it, didn't I?
3185521 even now I hold onto this tiny hopeful idea that imre is still alive. She is/was a unicorn with great skill. she could, just maybe, have found a way to swap herself out for a fake..........
Yeah, who am I kidding.
Wow. This was some seriously powerful stuff. We saw that Dash wanted to pray for Imre, but I also felt the undercurrent of longing. It's going to be thirty days until she can speak to Luna again. For all she knows, she may never get to again. I experienced a similar thing when deployed. At the phone centers, your time was limited, because everyone else wanted to speak as well. Every time the clock would wind down, you get that feeling of sadness. You want to say so much, pour your heart out, but you never know how. That rush of emotions, the need to say everything you possibly could. When you speak to them, it's like, just for a few minutes, you're back home, and everything is like it used to be. But once you hang up, it's over. The sound of the phone settling back down in the cradle is louder than any IED. And also because, you know that everything is fine, but that niggling feeling floats in the back of your mind: what if I never speak to them again?
No pushups this chapter, ):(.
So long, Luna. See you in...oh, 300-400 chapters or so.
I thought I smelt something funny with Ebon last chapter. I just hope his secret is relatively harmless. It would suck something awful for him to betray everyone.
Also, I don't look forward to Rainbow's reaction when she learns the truth about Imre.
Mysteries unsolved, secrets, hiding stuff and fore-shadowing. Well, I smell some major plot twist nearby.
And the part with Imre was really touching. Rainbow don't even know that Imre performed Gloria Victis manuever... it's so sad and heartbreaking, knowing fully well that similar stuff happened and happens in real life.
Awww...sadness...
Yeah, Ebon's hiding something. It's been alluded to since Innavedr. He ain't just a cook. There's something in his past, and I have a feeling it'll rear its ugly head when the party arrives at Grey Smoke.
No clue what it could be, though.
3185781 dont say that, IC might bring her back sooner. She appeared 3 times in Austraeoh, its possible the time frame of this will last a month at least. Were back to traveling, anythings possible.
What if Ebon turns out to be the long lost son of Queen Ledo. That would be interesting.
3186007 likely something to do with why his cutie mark is a sailboat. Likely something he hates about himself. And likely he thinks that if anyone knew, he would be thought of as a traitor. Im sticking with my "son of Queen Ledo" idea.
3186028 "Ebon Mane, son of Queen Ledo, Prince of the Seas, Conqueror of Hearts"
3186048 nice.
I can't help but bactrack and try to find something in that conversation the group had with Luna to try and find some foreshadowing about this.
There it is.
So she sensed there was something off about Ebon, and then carried on with the conversation, which revealed nothing of him besides we already know.
Ugh...
I should probably give this a rest and just wait for the next chapter, or I'll go nuts.
See you tomorrow.
Uh oh. See you another story from now, Luna. I wonder how Celestia is doing? Being shut in a dark stone room with no light or ventilation with an angry chaos rift can't be fun.
And I figured Ebon, the bizarrely normal pony, had some kind of secret. We know practically nothing about him. Insane theory: He's a highly displaced changeling.
Ebon Mane is ....
Nightshade's brother?
Shell's cousin?
Prince of Ledo?
A pirate?
A Spah?
An alien?
Undead?
A Fairy?
Unseelie?
A Wizard?
Zabadudabu?
Female?
3185737
God, that hit me right in the feels, Tweak. Well said.
Looking forward to the coming conflict.
I KNEW something was up with Ebon! I hope it's nothing BAD though because well, I've gotten to like him. I wonder if even HE knows what's different about him...hmmm...
I won't make any guesses because well, I've been wrong before.
As for Imre...it would be nice if that prayer did something for her. I still feel horrible about her death.
3186366
Nope, just Chuck Testa.
Gotta say, this thing with Ebon Mane feels pretty artificial. Luna's apparently a living polygraph test? It'd've been neat to get a little more foreshadowing on that front.
Also, do you think Ebon's letter from the previous chapter is some sort of espionage tactic? Like, a hidden cipher or something. Would be cool.
Cant speak much for the IED part but you nailed it all the same. MTI cant put as much hurt on you as that phone hanging up.
____________
Anyhow, yeah kinda figured something was up last chapter, pretty much from the go.
This in particular seems pretty out of place.
and
Obviously he is writing these every night (or possibly writing in a log with that as the prompt). but if i have followed this all correctly so far isnt grey smoke where he is from (or maybe...) so part of me is inclined to think he aint from 'round there originally?
And that's at best Princess for all you know, your wait could be longer, all the way to forever.
3185737 You. I wasn't ready for that, damn you.
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That One Guy's got the right mind for conspiracy.
Changeling...Maybe the group'll come across a hive.
I mean, we've already seen crystal ponies, and cannon Season 2 forked at episode 2
3187796 Makes you wonder what happened with Chrysalis.
If the wedding went off without a problem that means that there was no changeling invasion.
Unless there was an invasion, but Chrissy figured it would be better to remain hidden and feed off love indefinitely.
Huh...
You have to wonder how they're dealing with everything back in Equestria and the subsequent disasters it could face.
How will Luna deal with the resurfacing Crystal Empire and King Sombra?
...
Damn you, IC!
Teasing us with awesome sidestories...
3187805
I wonder if Luna has her own hoof-picked team of champions, the way Celestia did in Twilight and her friends.
3187796
I like the changeling idea. Luna wouldn't know much about them, and Celestia, who might have warned her, is sequestered in the chaos rift. Perhaps a changeling with a conscience, writing to Chrysalis during his long separation?
3187824 I can totally picture it...
A group of misfits.
The ones that were looked down by society, proving they can be better than what's thought of them and prove themselves to the world!
Have Luna take Trixie as her apprentice, out of all the S1 charachters she could be the most fitting.
Call Gilda from wherever she is and have her be a part of the team too.
I know S3 is off the plate, but what the hell, have Lightning Dust too.
Why not the drakes from Dragon Quest, or hell, the Diamond Dogs as a recognaissance team.
Have the Flim Flam brothers be the tech providers for the team in all of their steampunkish glory, that'd fit in perfectly with this universe!
...
I'm sorry, I need to go to a corner and have a fangasm.
He seemed really obscure from his introduction. Why kidnap a cook? Wouldn't you just kill him if he got in the way? Then there is the way he talks, which sets him apart from the other two Grey Smokians.
Curious...
He could very well be the prince of a confederacy, or perhaps is related to the whole Pegasus mystery.
She wilt be with us in our prayers, Rainbow Dash.
It all makes sense now! His obsession with food! His desire to leave them all as quickly as possible! His burgundy coat! His way of speaking! His martial skills! He's.... he's the Muffin Man!
3186366 Plot twist: he is actually Unsent and Luna will have to call upon the stars to excorcise him before he turns into a fiend. Auron Mane. Take it away.
If they cannot aid in her escape, they shall aid in her remembrance.
I gotta say, it irks me how omniscient Luna has seemed in these past few chapters. Based off of what Dash has said, and a few moments contact, she is able to pretty much cut straight through to the core of who and what they are. She is an immortal who can invade dreams and all, but still . . . it seems a little too convenient. :shrug:
Anyhow, looks like we've got a changeling on board this ship. Nothing like a little diversity.
3188487
My god, it all adds up!
3188728 Well, according to Luna:
So I'm assuming thet she figured this because of the spell. If it is supposed to "connect", or "let you " the souls of those speaking, you'd raise an eyebrow too if it didn't work with someone.
Goodness gracious. Imre, why did you have to die? Shell, why did you have to be a dick? I'm not gonna get over this.
3188149 Uh, because people normally don't want to kill people that are in their way?
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Oh, now this is very interesting. It must have something to do with that letter he wrote to his mother in the last chapter. Perhaps he is simply unsure of whether or not he should go with Dash or stay in Gray Smoke. Or perhaps there is something more...These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Poor Dash. I don't think her prayers for Imre will do much good at this point, but they're a nice thought nonetheless.
And what's up with Ebon? Don't tell me Shell's his father, too. No wait, its Axan. Dragonness is recessive, after all. Or he's really a pirate, because of the boat on his booty. Pfft, booty.
Calling it now, Ebon is a dragon pirate and secretly Shell's long lost brother. Hows that for screwing with Luna's resonance?
Maaaybe I'll just read and find out like a normal person - onward!
Could not read this part without tearing up. Cried like a bitch when she died, I tear up whenever she's mentioned. That was the absolute worst way to kill off such a great character, but it made the storyline as great as it is now because of that fact. Goddammit, IC, why do you have to be so freaking GOOD!?
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Changeling was my first thought. Especially how he senses the harmony of the crew so well and how his voice sounds different to Luna. of course, y'all who still follow this story surely know by now. Whatever the case is, it will be interesting when I (eventually) reread this series, to hear his lines in a possibly different light.
3186366
Scootaloo's Dad?!?!
What could Ebon be hiding?
Dash, I'm glad you don't know.
-Spirit
Hmm, this is vexing for me as well.
Irish blessing to you, Imre.
Judging by the fact that you just included a chapter talking about the five matriarchs just before this Ebon Mane business, can't help but wonder if there's a relationship there with his mysterious 'mother'. Probably just paranoid though. Maybe.
... Is Ebon the foal of Queen Ledo? I dunno, that's the first thing that popped to mind.
Rainbow Dash still have no idea Imre is dead
[indescribably emotion intensifies]
and Ebon being a changeling WOULD explain his empathetic senses...
Ebon is a changeling, called it way back in Innavedr(5984310).
5988522 Yeah I figgered it around the same time but like... he's a cool dude so I hope the reveal isn't too rough on the group.