"Best to boom out of here before the storm arrives with its gush gush," Floydien muttered to himself as he zapped energy bolts from his antlers into the various instruments of the cockpit's console. "Nancy's getting rusty enough as it is by just sitting in this damn valley of the spit and rain."
"I don't think we have long to wait, handsome!" Props said in a bubbly tone as she stood behind him. "Ebon just saw Rainbow and Eagle Eye walking up to the ship!"
"Is that right, sailboat boomer?"
Ebon stepped in from the open deck. "They're on board, guys." He gulped. "We... we can take off now."
"Yes yes yessss..." Floydien flipped a lever, and the ship vibrated as the hangar bay door slid shut at the stern. "About the time and damning!"
"Sure, it was a town full of old farts and mud," Josho muttered from where he stood in the doorframe to the cockpit. "But, all things considered, it wasn't all that bad."
"Speak for yourself," Zaid droned. "For a proverbial valley of 'milk and honey,' it's doing a damn good job lacking both."
"Why do we even keep you around, anyways?" Josho asked, squinting.
Zaid smirked. "I always put the seat down."
Josho sighed. "One of these days, you'll say one wrong thing too many, and you'll become Roarke's new winter coat."
Zaid drooled. "Oh, Goddess, if only...."
Rainbow Dash and Eagle Eye finally stepped up.
"Looky looky!" Props jingled. "We've got Dashie!"
"Hey." Ebon Mane trotted across the group and placed a hoof on Eagle's shoulder. "You okay?"
Eagle Eye exhaled, then smiled weakly. "I will be."
"Well, Rainbow?" Roarke trotted towards the cockpit, her eye-lenses still. "What do you think? Are we done here?"
Zaid glanced at Roarke after she spoke, then looked at Rainbow.
Rainbow took a deep breath. "Yeah," she muttered in a dull tone. "We're done. Nowhere now but east." Her tail brushed against Floydien as she trotted back out onto the open deck. "Let's take off, already."
Roarke silently watched her exit the cockpit.
"Blessed horizons, beloved Nancy," Floydien droned as he activated a few crystal diodes and brought the ship into a low hover. "Skim those mountains like breakfast, swift swift."
With a dull hum, the landing struts of the Noble Jury retracted into its hull. Glowing lights sparked through its skystone core, while the body of the ship dangled rigidly beneath it. Then, with a sharp climb, the bow pressed against the winds, angling the vessel east as it launched itself towards the mountains.
A few familiar faces lined up along the starboard side. Ebon, Eagle Eye, Zaid, and Props waved merrily, calling out to the ponies standing below—but mostly three in particular.
"Bye!" Belle waved and shouted. Pilate stood waving beside her while Kera bounced up and down. "Best of luck!"
"Safe travels!"
"We love you all!"
"Cherish you in our hearts and minds!"
At last, the Noble Jury throttled beyond ear shot, losing itself in the gray drizzle of the valley.
Belle's and Pilate's forelimbs hung down at their sides. Kera settled to a stop beside them as they all faced east, watching with soft eyes.
A sniffling sound escaped Belle's lips. "How long do you think they'll stay together, beloved?"
"With Rainbow Dash by their sides?" The zebra smiled. "As long as she'll let them."
Belle gulped. "And as for her?"
Pilate leaned in and kissed the mare's cheek. "She was supposed to have perished before meeting us. And yet... we gave her something to live for, didn't we?" He smiled softly. "Well, so will they. Have faith."
Belle nodded quietly. "That's something I have in abundance..." She took a deep breath and put on a brave smile while looking down at Kera. "Now, then, I think you said that you and Beau had worked out a place for us to stay for the first week?"
"Totally!" Kera smirked, waving the two on as she scampered towards the heart of their new home. "These fisherponies in the north edge of town have a huuuuuuge guest room! It's really nice! I know—because I've seen it!"
Beau chuckled as he trotted alongside the couple. "Her enthusiasm is admirable. It may be spacious, but it's still humble. It'll be a while before we can build you three a house worthy of being called a home, much less strong enough to withstand the storms."
"Speaking of which, my little ponies, I think it's best that we get inside swiftly," Golden Happenstance said as he urged the two along. He gestured towards the thickening clouds along the northern horizon. "This is undoubtedly going to be a windy evening!" Hap said.
"Well, you weren't exagerrating when you said that this village has its fair share of excitement!" Pilate remarked.
"I know! Isn't it cool?" Kera chirped. "Race ya to the apartment!"
"Slow down, darling," Belle said with a sweet smile. "One step at a time..."
The three new Lerringtons trotted calmly into the heart of town. In the meanwhile, the Noble Jury had become a distant speck along the eastern sky, disappearing into the jagged mountain range. Thunder rumbled once again in the north, sending gusts of air across the tall grass of the sweeping plains.
Some of the wind ripped through the weeds blanketing a hilltop west of Lerris, overlooking the township. The breeze picked up, rippled, and then came to a dull, whistling stop. In the ensuing silence, a cold hush fell over the landscape's western edge.
This lasted for several seconds, until a humming noise pierced the air. The rusted chassis of a managlider skimmed to a dead stop on the hillside. Steam vented from the heart of the machine, forming a cold mist. The haze parted ways as a gray, bloodstained hoof touched down onto the pliable soil of the valley.
Oh come on! You have to be kidding me! I had a feeling this was coming but god damn it still really sucks reading that ending. So now the question is how many die before the end of this story?
Don't you fucking dare.
Oh yeah. I forgot about Shell.
I think Floydien is secretly Shakespeare.
Also, dammit Shell. I swear if you hurt anypony Rainbow will discover and find a way to make your life even more miserable.
At least they're not hundreds of miles out. They can still make it back before Shell goes apeshit and levels Lerris down to a parking lot, especially if Rainbow flies ahead of them.
Of course.
Wouldn't want us to get too emotional now, would you IC?
This story is going to end in a heartbreaker isnt it? WE WERE SO CLOSE.
Please let the storm hit whenever Shell's the only one outside. I'd like that.
4004206
He needs to just...die. For his sake as much as everyone else's. His twisted mind is doing little more than serving as life support for him at this point. Killing him would be little more than a kindness.
4004210
A part of me wants to say that Imre's horn being jammed into his skull does NOT in fact make him magically potent, but given the power that is plot phlebotinum, Shell is going to slaughter everyone in Lerris unopposed.
God... God damn it. Ugh.
.....fvcking called it.
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HEEEEEERE'S SHELL!
Well, it's sad that they're staying behind, but now that they're starting a new life, maybe we can finally get a happy ending and—
> Shell
Oh no.
You're not doing this.
No seriously, you're not doing this.
I'm not even gonna get worried because there's no way you're doing this.
Heck, I'm freaking happy and extremely satisfied with the way things turned out right now because you're not freaking doing this oh my god.
Time to die Shell getting sick of your shit!
Fffffffffff god damn it.
Just... bluh.
And heres me thinking Shell would appear just in time to see Dash flying off alongside the Jury, thereby psychotically following her, instead of reaching the town, seeing Belle, and according to his own perfectly reasonable logic, slaughtering absolutely everyone because if they live, he has failed.
The only way to save everyone from Shell now?
Take off and nuke the place from orbit. Its the only way to be sure.
NNNNNNNNNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOooooooOOOOOOOooooOOOOO.
NO.
NO. GOD NO.
4.bp.blogspot.com/-jc5k9Qgvy0c/UbzkMNctenI/AAAAAAAAHR8/wABzGb8xUUE/s1600/the-office-gif.gif
...what the actual fff...
My face right now:
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4004254 Oh this is happening. There is no stopping it,we will all 8e forced to sit 8ack and watch as Shell 8urns everything we were hoping for down to the ground.And we will h8 him for it, And ourselves for h8ing him. For he is already dead,and it is our hatred that 8inds him to life.Shell is our demon,we have no one to 8lame 8ut ourselves for summoning him again.
Meh, Lerris'll be fine. If Shell decides to pay them a visit, they can just ring up Dash on the Props Device 3000.
"Hey, Shell's here. You mind popping by to invert his face real quick?"
Bam, problem solved. Don't have to worry about Shell doing some sort of horrible sneak attack at the absolute worst moment.
...of course, things are never that easy, are they?
SON OF A BITCH I SWEAR I'LL BREAK OFF MY ARTHRITIC WRINKLED HOOF SO FAR UP YOUR ASS YOU'LL WISH YOU WERE COUGHING UP YOUR SHRIVELED LITTLE HEART THROUGH THE THROAT I'LL BE RIPPING OUT WITH MY OWN TEETH AND THE LAST THING YOU SEE WILL BE MY TATTOOED GRAY ASS GRINDING YOUR BROKEN HORN INTO THE DIRT THAT'S TOO GOOD TO TOUCH YOUR FILTHY FACE BECAUSE KERA'S HOOVES HAVE WALKED ACROSS IT LONG BEFORE YOU DROVE YOUR OWN DAUGHTER TO SUICIDE LIKE YOU SHOULD HAVE DONE YOURSELF THE DAY YOU "INTERROGATED" YOUR WIFE LIKE A COWARDLY CHILD, TOO AFRAID TO STAND UP TO YOUR COMMANDING OFFICERS, SACRIFICING THE MARE YOU NEVER LOVED FOR THE CAREER YOU MURDERED JUST AS COLDLY FOR NOTHING MORE THAN YOUR OWN RAGE, WHICH IS INCONSEQUENTIAL COMPARED TO THE BURNING WRATH I WILL UNLEASH ON YOU IF YOU SO MUCH AS LOOK AT KERA SIDEWAYS FRONTWAYS BACKWAYS OR SLANTWAYS OR ANY WAYS I SWEAR IF YOUR EYES SLIDE OVER HER LIKE A SLUG ON A ROSE I WILL GUT YOU LIKE A FISH AND WATCH YOUR EYES GLAZE OVER AS I FILLET YOUR FLESH INTO SUSHI WHICH I WILL THEN FEED TO YOU WITH FAR TOO MUCH WASABI WHICH I WILL ALSO RUB INTO YOUR EYES YOU SON OF A BITCH.
You son of a bitch.
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Well, we're on the home stretch...
...do you mean to tell me that they've been walking on their hind legs the whole time, and no one told me?!
SEE! SEE!?!? THIS is what I was talking about! FUCK! Someone KILL that sonnava bitch!...Well if it's actually SHELL that is...
Oh fuck.
4004674
But, but, I don't...
What? My life is a lie!
I was wondering how long it was going to take for our old buddy Shell to show up again....
are kidding me
He's back... joy...
Reads chapter...
...
Flips a table.
Oh for fuck's-
Yes, everybody saw it coming and yes, that means a complete turnaround for everything set up for the last ten chapters which by that has just now become completely pointless hasn't it?
Oh for FUCK'S-
Listening to Promises by Nero makes this 20 times sadder than it should be
holy god, chapter spawn...
time to read!
EDIT: no, just... no. nonononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononononono
my mood is ruined
Fuck you IC... Fuck you.
Look, it's everyone's favorite stallion.
I totally called it.
Nonononononononononononononono!
What have you done!!?
I FUCKING KNEW IT
Yup, it happened. Let the smoke billow and the bodies fly.
An em dash? In Austraeoh? Not two hyphens?
You're spoiling us, IC.
I'm so sorry that I called this now...
Grrrr... Grrrr...
Me: "Gawd, these farewells are dragging on. Something awful, please happen already!"
IC: [delivers]
Me: "Ooh yay!"
Why didn't I believe this would happen? Please let it Zytharros or something. If not, damn.
4004536 Man, you are awesome. remind me NEVER to cross you!
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Fricken...there's nothing I can say to this. Shell is bad news, but he doesn't worry me much for some reason. I'm pretty sure he's overstayed his welcome as an antagonist in this story at this point, and as such, I don't feel like he even IS an antagonist anymore. Shell definitely should have had his final battle long ago. I suppose that, again, it comes back to SHELL MUST DIE!! These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Honeytiger has been gone a long time. Things have appeared to go down.
NO.
-SPirit