The Breakfast, Part One
The next morning…
No less than two hundred villagers had gathered inside the main hall building of Archer Point. Several benches and tables had been set up, lying the length of the spacious interior with several burning braziers hanging from the ceiling overhead. Positioned in the very center, with elevated chairs facing the lengthy end of a thick oak table, the crew of the Noble Jury sat, along with several of the township’s gray-maned elders.
At least most of the crew was assembled. Two were absent: Roarke and--curiously enough--Kera.
“So much spit.” Floydien grunted, his ears twitching as his bulky body sat a good two feet higher than the rest of the breakfasting equines. His red eyes darted left and right in a supremely anxious manner. The elk’s pulse was visible in the throbbing of his neck and shoulder muscles. “So so so so so sooooooo much spit.”
“Please, Mr. Floydien, do relax,” Pilate insisted, sitting next to the elk as he dug through a plate of scrambled eggs with the help of O.A.S.I.S. “Nopony here is going to jump you, I swear.”
“Is not the jumping and the stabbing that Floydien fears,” uttered the elk with a spasm. “Is the carbon dioxide and the stupidity. Likely to melt Floydien from the outside in. Yes yes yes.”
“You’re blessing all of the villagers by being here,” Pilate said. “With Roarke being a no-show, you’re doing the Noble Jury a fine service. Now, please, eat what’s on your plate. It hasn’t killed me yet, so I’m sure you’ll be fine.” The zebra smiled for good measure.
“Floydien does not share striped boomer’s digestive track.”
“No, but you’ve not shared my social qualities all that much either.” Pilate nudged him. “And yet, here you are, learning to break the mold. What’s the harm in going just a little bit further, hmm?”
“Hmmmmnnnppphhnngh…” Floydien’s jaw muscles clenched and unclenched as he clasped a fork in the crook of his cloven hoof and poked/prodded at the plate of food. “Floydien is only doing this so that valley boomers supply Nancy Jane with bric-a-brac. Nancy Jane loves bric-a-brac.”
“Then let’s consider it a win-win situation,” Pilate said. “Oh, uhm… and Mr. Floydien?” Pilate cleared his throat and gestured towards his own upper skull, smiling.
Floydien blinked. With a sigh, he reached up, unclasped the bulky antlers from his head, and laid them down against the bench beside his flank. “There. No eyeboomerballs will suffer. Yes yes?”
“Such a polite elk.”
“Fwegh.”
“Beloved?” Bellesmith leaned in, a worried expression lingering on her face. “Uhm… where did Kera go?”
“Hmmm?” Pilate’s metal brow furrowed. “She isn’t here?”
“No, Pilate. She isn’t.” Belle craned her neck to look around. “For that matter, I haven’t seen her for nearly twenty minutes.”
“Hmmm. That sounds about right.”
“Huh?” she squinted at him.
“That’s when we arrived, correct?”
“Yes.”
“She said that she had to go use the little filly’s room before we sat down. She said she’d wash up before we return.”
“And she was alone?” Belle asked.
“Mmmmf!” Props spoke up from besides the mare. She washed a scrumptious bite of jellied toast down and chirped, “I had to go myself just five minutes ago! Remember?”
“Yeah…?”
“She was still there. Poor thing. I don’t think she handles the local fauna too well.” Props winked before taking another bite of toast. “Maretezuma’s Revenge and all that.”
Belle bit her lip and stood up. “I should go check on her.”
“For crying out loud, she’s fine,” Josho grumbled from besides Floydien. “If you’re gonna let the filly walk on her own someday, might as well let her crap on her own too.”
Floydien was inches away from shoving a morsel of food into his mouth, but upon hearing Josho, he sighed and dropped the fork back to his place at the table.
Belle frowned at Josho. “Don’t say it like I’ve already given up on taking care of her.”
“And you haven’t.” Josho took a drink from his mug and squinted back at her. “But someday you will have to, regardless of how long she sticks around the Jury.”
Belle sighed, staring down at her half-eaten plate.
“Just relaxe, Belle,” Pilate said. “This is a moment we’re meant to enjoy. Kera will be back soon to enjoy it with us as well.”
“I know. It’s just that…” Belle bit her lip. “I can’t help but wonder if we’re doing the right thing?”
“You mean in setting course for Lerris?”
“I mean in being secretive about it,” Belle said, bringing her voice down to a breathy tone as she gazed at the many-many faces of the villagers seated at the tables beyond. “It’s almost as if we’re conspiring against Kera.”
“She needs to make a very important decision soon, Belle,” Pilate said. “As much as I would love to simply ask her here and now, I feel that it would simply sway her choice in one direction.” He pressed a hoof to the mare’s shoulder. “But if Kera was to see Lerris with her own eyes… if she was to experience life at the village just as much as she’s experienced life on the Noble Jury, then and only then would she have a true grasp of what she would be gaining and what she would be losing. To introduce the thought of Lerris before exposing her to the real thing--”
“Yes, I get it.” Belle brushed a hoof over her head. “She would instantly say ‘no.’” She gulped. “Most likely...”
“It’s a decision that we’d both want,” Pilate said. “But, even more so, I think we both want what’s best for Kera, and that’s for her to make a decision that she won’t regret someday. This is precisely the opportunity that we’re giving her.”
“Hey…” Ebon leaned forward from several spaces down. “If you guys are gonna keep on chatting down there, can I have some of what’s on your plate?”
Belle glanced curiously at him. “Why? Are you that hungry?”
“I wanna sample everything these ponies make!” Ebon grinned wide. “I already nibbled on some of Propsy’s! They use a different season for each plate! I’ve never seen a tradition like this before! I want in on their secrets!”
“I’m sorry, Ebon, but I’m already halfway through most of mine--”
“Here.” Floydien practically tossed his platter down the table so that it landed before the earth pony. “Sail away, sailboat.”
“Hmmm…” Ebon scooped up some of the scrambled eggs and took a bite. He tongued the inside of his mouth was glancing up at the flickering firelight. “Black pepper. Most definitely. But then why did they use seasalt on mine?”
“Maybe they saw your cutie mark and took a friggin’ clue,” Zaid said, slumped depressively over his end of the table.
“Why so blue, you?” Ebon asked.
“Mehhh…” Zaid sighed. “Eggs and toast is good and all, but it’s… nnngh… just not the same.”
“I could show you how to make an egg salad sandwich with what’s on your plate!”
“We’re in the middle of two formerly warring countries!” Zaid cackled. “We’ve got Ledomaritans here! Xonans! A zebra, a pegasus and a friggin’ space elk!” Zaid snarled. “Why can’t there be any cows here?!”
“Even if there was a heffer here, I don’t think she’d give a crap about your spark-forsaken whining,” Josho said.
“I don’t want her to give a crap! Just a quart of milk!” Zaid sighed once more. “I swear, at this point, do I have to milk Props for some cheese?”
Ebon coughed and choked on his latest bite.
Props looked up, munching. “Hmmm?” She blinked through her bangs. “Somepony wants to milk me?”
“Pay no mind to the cultist behind the curtain of idiocy, blondie,” Josho said. He glanced at Ebon. “You okay, bucko?”
“Hckkkkt!” Ebon’s eyes watered.
A lavender hoof slapped him in the small of his back.
Ebon gulped down, then took a deep breath. He glanced aside at Eagle Eye. “Th-thanks.”
“Happy to be of service,” the stallion said with a smile, leaning over to take a dainty nibble of a floating fork. “Hmmmm… Isn’t this the life?”
Ebon raised an eyebrow. “You’re certainly living it up.”
“I can’t help it.” Eagle flung the end of a silken scarf around his neck. “Notice anything different about me?”
Ebon blinked. “You seem just as splendid as ever.”
Eagle frowned, however briefly. “See?!” He pointed at his brand new article. “It’s actual Crystal worm silk! From the southern shores! Apparently a small nation branching off of Xonan makes this stuff! I swear… it’s unlike any other fabric I’ve ever touched! I feel like I have liquid gold around my neck!”
“Well, I’m so glad that you and the scarf found each other.”
“Oh come on.” Eagle Eye stuck his tongue out. “You get to make a big deal out of a bunch of scrambled eggs. I can surely get giddy over nice linens.”
“What’d you have to barter for it?”
Eagle grinned wide. “Would you believe me if I told you nothing?”
“Nothing…?”
“Nope! The ponies of this town are just… just so generous!”
“Er, yeah…” Ebon Mane shifted awkwardly. “Do you know who gave this to you?”
“Mmmm-mfffmmf…” Eagle Eye swallowed and nodded. “I could never forget.”
“Are they in this room?” Ebon asked. “Can you point them out?”
Eagle turned and pointed across the town hall with his fork. “Why, there the fine mares are, right now.”
Ebon craned his neck to see across the torch-lit place. A trio of mares had been staring nonstop. Upon finally making eye contact with Eagle Eye, they all waved back, giggling wildly as three blushed faces erupted among them.
Eagle smiled and waved back. “So sweet and polite, too!” He returned to his food.
Ebon’s ears folded. He muttered aside. “You know, there’s a reason why they were so generous to you.”
“Mmmmmf-mmmf--really?” Eagle Eye dug through his scrambled eggs, shoveling more mouthfuls. “It’s because we’re the first outsiders in forever, right?”
“Nnnnngh…” Ebon rolled his eyes and returned to sampling Floydien’s plate. “Sure, why not.”
“I mean… we’re a symbol for the end of the war! For free trade! For the prosperous future of this village!”
“You know, for a stallion who sees so well, you really are blind.”
Eagle Eye blinked, looking up. He gulped and murmured, “Huh?” A pale hoof flicked his ear from behind. “Eeep!” He bumped into Ebon and glanced behind.
“Gotcha,” Kera said with a smirk as she skipped her way towards the empty spot between Bellesmith and Pilate. “Sorry I took so long.”
“Oh! Kera! There you are!” Belle scooted over to give her more space. “Are you… uhm… are you okay?”
“Yeah, yeah.” Kera sighed as she sat down. “I saw a bunch of grasshoppers in the field on the way back and--well--guess I totally let them distract me. Heh.”
“Heehee!” Props giggled in between sips of juice. “Never a rest for the tattooey!”
“Kera…” Belle squinted sternly.
“Oh, relax, Belle!” Kera grinned and fluffed her green mane. “I didn’t eat any of ‘em!” Her marked muzzled scrunched. “Little buggers outran me. Whew! I’m out of shape, I tell ya.”
“Spark, spare us.” Belle face-hoofed. “Well, I do hope you washed up.”
“Oh, definitely, Belle.” Kera leaned forward towards the table. She stared at her food, and then her green eyes lingered towards some unseen edge of the town hall in the distance. Her smile faded while nopony was looking. “You know I can take good care of myself.”
Before Belle could look at her--
“Say…” Pilate spoke up. “Forgive me for being blind, but where exactly is Rainbow Dash?”
“The paint bucket’s over there with the spittiest of the boomers,” Floydien grumbled.
“Where?”
“I believe she’s seated next to Collins at the head of the table, is what Floydien’s probably trying to say, dear.”
“Ohhhhh…” Pilate nodded, but then flinched. “Wait, really?”
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…part one?
>Just relaxe, Belle
Oooh, fancy spelling
Lerris?
...
And what's going on with Pilate? He's being awfully inattentive...
Zaid, really? That is highly inappropriate and very likely to happen.
No matter how little shipping fuel you give me I can totally make the Ebon x Eagle ship work in my head!
...The "Part one" of the title is making me paranoid...
Hmm, speficic plates for each crew member, mares on the edge of a prior war zone intrested in a good house stalllion, Kera using her superior sneak and peek to listen in, and Zaid wanting to become a couple with Props, or at least one with Props couple?
One way or the other, there seems to be cheese approaching.
Hmm...I wonder what Kera's so pensive about?...
Also, Props didn't seem to be fazed by the prospect of milking at all. Wat.
My guess is Roarke spilled the beans.
Kera deserves to know and Roarke is the type of pony who would do such.
Interesting. Eagle Eye is completely oblivious when it comes to the ladies. The more you know.
We may have a spit take in part 2.
I'd say that there's no way Eagle's not flirting with Ebon, but considering the mares whose affections he failed to notice, I wonder if he's just that oblivious.
I'm interested to see what will happen in Kera's hometown. I am hoping for Archer Point to be a normal town, but I have a bad feeling for part two.
This fits me SO much in my mental image of EE.
Kera's gonna feel like they wanna ditch her, I JUST FREAKING FEEL IT.
I want to make them hug and take long walks together and make them do stuff that would make them feel awkward, and no. I am not getting too much into it.
3850888 A stallion's got to do what a stallion's got to do.
For cheese.
3850968
The linen,
Its too winnin'
Can't see cuz we're swimmin' in the linen of winnin'
Kera is awsome. I've said it before and i'll keep saying it until proven otherwise.
cheese
cheesy cheese
cheesy cheese cheese cheesiest cheese cheese cheese cheesycheese
cheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheesecheese
cheese
...
thats is all
3850939
Sounds valid.
The EbonEye is strong in this one.
~Basso
Yeah, she knows. Or knows part of it. Whether it's through her own espionage or through someone spilling the beans remains to be seen.
I'm not sure what's better: Eagle Eye obliviously leading around a pack of smitten mares, or Zaid checking out certain female body parts for entirely different reasons than before.
BTW, "Fwegh" is my new favorite expletive.
Sounds like Roarke didn't like the sound of everybody being secretive about Kera's possible future.
I agree with everybody else who's said it, it's Roarke.
3852090 It would also explain why she was gone for so long.
3850830
I've not been myself, lately. Haven't even left a single paragraph's worth of comments in the last month!
ships everywhere! I honestly miss the romance parts from Austraeoh.
Is my namesake being objectified for the sake of some cheese? Propsy is a classy mare, damnit, not a milk cow!
That being said, I have a feeling she'd be down to try, if only out of sheer curiosity.
3850830 Pilate doesn't see, remember. OASIS picks up on energy signatures, scans items and suchlike; which leads to however it then chooses to interpret that data as vision. If he doesn't "see" Rainbow Dash, then perhaps something is masking/altering her signal, or it isn't her.
The sound “Fwegh" is now my spirit animal. Also, those mares are fools. Poor, clueless fools but still fools.
3851032
It'd be ironic if they went to Lerris and got into trouble because Kera, not knowing, wasn't able to tell them something important about the town.
Pertinent friendship lessons:
"I learned that no matter where you go in life, you should never forget that you are the product of your home and your friends, and that is always something to be proud of, no matter what!" -- Sweet and Elite.
"Seeing the Great Dragon Migration made me wonder what it meant to be a dragon, but now I realize that who I am is not the same as what I am. I may have been born a dragon, but Equestria and my pony friends had taught me how to be kind, loyal, and true. I'm proud to call Ponyville my home, and to have my pony friends as my family." -- Dragon Quest.
"You shouldn't let anypony pressure you into doing something you don't think is right. Sometimes you have to tell even your closest friends "no". " -- Bats
3853321 I never said that he saw. All I'm saying is that Pilate generally knows what's going on around him, sight or no sight. The fact that he didn't know Kera was missing worries me, and he didn't know where Dash was, either. It's awfully suspicious...
3854565 Oh, I'm agreeing with you. Something is causing OASIS to be on the fritz.
Dear Lord, IC. How many ships are you trying to set sail?
3851091 Cloud Kicker x EE. I'm calling the ship now. Who writes crossover fics?
Also, has anybody ever mentioned what Ebon's "Sailboat" cutie mark is actually for? Because I'm starting to think that he has a passive ability to set ships sailing.
What if, Kera is acting weird because Roarke lied to her, to get her to stay behind in Lerris, for her own safety? I mean, Roarke is concerned about Kera's well-being, even if she cares more about safety than emotional stability. Kera now believes that Belle and Pilate are trying to get rid of her... and when it comes out, Rainbow is going to kick Roarke to the curb.
Rainbow can't be happy. Anypony who becomes special to her, like AJ or Gold Petals, will be ripped away from her. What could be more heart-rending than Rainbow Dash having to dump Roarke before even starting a relationship?
Eagle Eye is best blind pony.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Well, the character interactions here are really nice. It's cool to see Belle slowly coming to terms with the whole Lennis situation. Personally, I can't see Kera leaving the Noble Jury for any reason, but we'll have to wait and see. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Were the FimFiction servers down for anyone else last night? Because despite me having Internet the "FimFiction servers stopped responding." Weird.
Look who's talking.
The second running joke of this series is going to be Zaid never getting grilled cheese.
The first is Zadubadabu.
Now, what are we going to do with Kera...
-Spirit
4457754 No, the first running joke is the wrong A word
Hmm I have a sneaky suspicion the Kerras town is a big ol pile of burning rubble...there's just too many chapters left for everything to go fine.
those three that gave eagle eye the special silk... =_= -looks suspiciously
Too bad EE doesn't like mares. Otherwise, he would be drowning in them.
[internal screaming/hunger for cheese]
I don't know what distresses me more. This, or that Props seems to be completely undisturbed by the notion.
She overheard the talk.
6204708
You have to admit that it would be some rather awesome milk, and it would be funny as heck if she actually let that happen ... and now I can't get the image of Props being milked out of my head.
All in all, that'd seem to be Zaid's favorite way to get the job done.
I sense another ship setting sail.
Okay, but are we not going to talk about this inexplicable noise Floydien made? Because I'm still giggling.