Something To Write Home About
In the candlelight, a pen dipped into an inkwell and ran its way across a sheet of parchment.
Ebon Mane sat cozily on his cot, smiling pleasantly into the dimness as he wrote his words across the sheet. His ears twitched on either side of his head, and his muzzle stirred to fabricate the sentences forming in his head.
Dear mother,
The Noble Jury has been through hell in high places. We've watched ponies die, suffer, and lose all that's precious to them. And yet, in the last few weeks, we've begun to see the light that shines beyond the darkness. I mean that quite literally. Rainbow Dash has found a sword that lets her communicate with Princess Celestia back in Equestria. Kera has rediscovered her voice... more or less. Either way, it's a fantastic improvement. On top of that, Bellesmith and Pilate are back together, Elma has discovered her extended family, and Roarke—believe it or not—hasn't tried to kill any of us in the past few days.
For the first time in as long as I can remember, I can very truthfully say that life is good.
Life is very... very good.
Pilate and Bellesmith sat side-by-side on a metal bench. From there, they gazed upon a circular plate amid the shadowy spires of Abinadi. Kera ran circles around hatchlings—giggling—while the young turtles tried in vain to catch up with the petite Xonan.
Off to the side, Elma sat amidst a crowd of turtles—all squatting around her. With a brighte-eyed expression, the changeling talked and talked, energized by a thick crowd of gawking listeners.
"...and then after the fishing season, Elma took her mate Garen to the sunny plateaus. That's the day she told him the answer to his question." The changeling giggled in a certain turtle's voice before continuing, "But, she almost had second thoughts at the very last second."
"You mean..." One of the young adults gasped. "Mom almost turned down Dad?"
"Well... it couldn't be helped." Elma bit her lip. "He was bagging trout every hour of every day. He didn't exactly... erm... smell good."
The family chuckled.
"But he made up for it!" Elma said with a chuckle. "I mean, of course he did. How else would so many beautiful hatchlings be around today?" A wink.
"What did Daddy do?" A female turtle exclaimed. "Mother never told us this."
"Uhm..." Elma's black carapace gave way to blushing scales for a brief moment. "Do you all really want to know?"
Several turtle heads bobbed up and down furiously.
Elma took a deep breath. "He... uh..." Her eyes rolled. "He threatened to toss himself off the bluffs."
"No way!"
"That sounds like Dad alright."
"Shut up! He was never that dramatic!" A beat. "Was he?"
"Heheheh... now don't you think differently about him," Elma said with a smirk. "Soon, he learned to respect me—erm..." She grimaced. "Elma. He learned to respect Elma. Good heavens..." She rested a hoof against her head. "I keep doing that..."
"It's okay... really..." A turtle placed his hand on her shoulder. "We get it. Believe me."
"Please..." One of the lady turtles leaned forward, wide-eyed. "Do continue. What ever happened to Aunt Regina and the leeches?"
"Oh... oh dear... did she never tell you this one?"
"Uhm... did she have good reason to?"
"Pfffft! Only if you wanna keep your lunch!" Elma slyly grinned. "Okay. I don't think anyone will hurt for knowing this. Ahem. So... one day, Aunt Regina fled by her lonesome to the Southern Shoals in hopes of cleaning in the Alafreon waters before any turtle could discover her... predicament. Little did she know that Elma and Garen were following closely behind in a tiny dirigible... with cameras..."
We've been in Alafreo for only a short time. And yet—in these past three days alone—the citizens of Abinadi have treated us like we were one of them. Somehow, I don't think this has anything to do with the fact that Elma has brought back a piece of them that had been lost for months. From the Elder Boxer to the youngest Boreals to the common stranger—they have all gone out of their way to help us feel at home. They've even agreed to fix the damage that the Noble Jury has suffered since Blue Nova without charging us anything! Can you believe that, mother?"
My stars, what a huge difference a single continent can make...
"Skystone, eh?" A turtle stopped welding just long enough to tilt his mask up and expose a smiling, grease-stained face. He hung along the bow of the Noble Jury, fastening the last bar of a fresh metal frame to the outer shell of the observation room window. "I knew I recognized that crystal when I saw it. A few crazy explorers brave the Strip of Flurries just to get here and barter mana stones for fish oil. I always thought they were crazy—but I suppose that comes with the territory... a territory wracked with war."
"And yet that war is over like red rover!" Props chirped from where she stood peering over the upper deck alongside Zaid. The ship was propped on an upper metal strut overlooking the metallic depths of Abinadi below. All along the vessel's hull, turtles clung by roped platforms and hovering dirigibles, tending to every square inch of the damaged vessel. "And so is the Strip of Flurries! Isn't everything so deliciously topsy turvy?!"
Zaid winked. "Not to mention sexy-curvy—" A cloven hoof shoved him aside. "—narf!"
"Be careful with Nancy's bumpy bumps!" Floydien spat, pale and frazzled. His eyes twitched as he struggled to oversee every reptile's handiwork at the same time. "She hasn't burped her wild way through thunder glimmer just to be mawed to turd-lengths by shell boomers!" He spun about and galloped frantically towards the stern. "Hey! Hey! Not so swift on the zap and zappy!"
The reptilian welder blinked. "What is he stressing about?"
"Oh, don't mind him." Props grinned from ear to fuzzy ear. "His paranoia and his handsomeness love to dosey-do!"
"Yeah, well..." Zaid wheezed, standing up. "I really wish somepony would take him back to the barn."
"Did you really build the steam rig to this thing all by yourself?" the turtle exclaimed.
"Well. Mostly me and a squirrel," Props said. She sniffled briefly. "And Simon gave his life so that Nancy Jane's womb would hum another day." She wiped the edge of her eyes dry. "We've put more than our sweat and blood into this ship. We've given our souls'n'smex too!"
"Well, I'm all the more pleased to be getting it back into perfect shape!" the turtle said with a grin. "You'll be the first skystone explorers I know of who bothered to travel beyond the Churning Line!"
"Well, pizz fah wizz!" Props gleamed. "Bonus points for a waxed shine!"
"Heh..." The turtle lowered his helmet and returned to welding. "You know who you're talking to, right?"
"Heeheehee!"
Zaid tossed his mane back. "You know, I never did meet Simon the Space Squirrel, but I heard traveling with him was nuts!"
"Hey handsome!" Props called across the deck. "I think Zaid-kun here bent one of Nancy's panels loose!"
"Wat."
"That's it! The boomer dies at midnight!" With the sound of thunder, electrical manalight shimmered across the top deck and slammed Zaid into the cockpit.
"Ooof!" Zaid stumbled to a stop inside. A few quiet seconds later, his voice limped out, "Okay, I deserved that one."
"Heeheehee." Props laughed and blushed.
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This humor always gets me. What a sweet chapter!
Red Rover, Red Rover,
War has ended, Over.
And Zaid continues to spew puns, as pun-ful they are.
I still don't trust Ebon. I can't remember if Pilate is still wearing his eyeborg thing, and whether he has looked at Ebon with it. Until then, I am cautiously paranoid.
In the meantime, i'm still here. many lols were had
Didn't expect props to do that. But still, it had to be done.
Zaid and Props may not have had as much build-up as a couple, but darn it if they don't play off each other splendidly.
It's nice to see letters to mother again.
...
Right?
-Spirit
So...................
...PropsxZaid?
Happy Turtles tank up and give wax on wax off hull shine.
Flloyd gives Zaid free frying lessons.
Anyone else creeped out by all the information freely sent by Ebon, to :Mother: ?
4628794 Yesssssssssss
Narf, indeed.
Summon the ire of the paranoid elk!
Ha! Well played, Propsie.
Just a small typo there.
Ah Floydien, always so protective
Oh wow, I had forgotten Simon.
Shame on me. Great shame on me.
Nobody appreciates puns...
Yes, finally caught up again. I feel like this is one of those happy montages that you get right before something explodes or someone dies.
4628977 I do. They're punderful.
We get more of Ebon's letter next chapter. He didn't actually finish it, nor cover Rainbow/Roarke and EE/Josho :D
Though we haven't ever figured out the meaning of his cutie mark, have we?
Finally a letter from Ebon. I really enjoy seeing his perspective on the events going on.
And this chapter really doesn't inspire confidence in our current peaceful situation, even if it did end in humor. Ebon jinxed it.
Yes Zaid, your did deserve that, but the pun was worth it
The Noxians will not be pleased to hear of Demacia's new allies.
Abinadi turtles confirmed for TGRI mutagen exposure. Someone get Michael Bay on the phone.
Was that... a Turtle Wax joke?
4628707
Belle was seeing if she could improve the Oracular Array, and while I don't think Pilate has mentioned whether Ebon is a changeling, he has almost certainly glanced at him by now, and probably would have mentioned if he saw something awry. No news is good news(?). (Or he might just mistake him for Elma.)
Man, everything's so happy and carefree right now.
...So when's the ghost of Shell or something going to come in and ruin everything? That's usually how these segments of story go.
And I'm still waiting for more pegasi. it would only make sense that there should be some relics of the old race leftover at the very edge of the world, right? Or am I just hoping too much that we'll see some more feathers sometime soon?
24
Everything changed when the fire nation attacked.
IC is grandmaster trolling us right now. He's going to make it ACTUALLY have a happy ending for once and we're going to be paranoid about it forever.
You just got elk-ed!
I want that to be a thing. Get on it, internet.
I feel like Elma is going to travel with the Jury once it is all fixed up.
Also, Ebon's letters are a nice thing, I think.
4630124 I choose to embrace the good times, and remember them for when the bad times roll around.
I still hope for happy ending and Elma staying in Abinadi. I like her, but I don't want her to become permament Jurist.
Also, Zaid x Props
I think I should mention this:
—Wikipedia
4628987
Agreed.
4628787
Seconded.
PS: I've been meaning to ask – why have you changed your avatar?
Ebon needs to meet Boxer.
My relaxed take things as they come nature to fiction is making it rather easy to enjoy these chapters paranoia-free. I mean, even if shit goes down, the entire cast is here. I think they can handle it. Besides, think positive. Remember that before Lerris they got to relax all the time. Rainbow Dash played soccer once for goodness sake!
Can they dump Zaid here? Hes like fingernails grating on a chalk board and has already proven himself to be a rather major liability. If the trope of the moron eating half/all the remaining food then the travelers immediately finding land/a hotel wasn't so intact then he would have starved them to death.
4630393 The avatar I have now is the avatar I've been using on literally every other site except this one for months. A few weeks ago, I suddenly remembered to stick that one here too.
That was highly appropriate.
Floydien has no time for your shipping. And Zaid just reminded me of the Scout.
Is no going to mention the narf bit in relation to it's reference?
Pinkie and the Brain anyone?
4629276
huh, i didn't think about that.....
the occular array can see more, but not as well, like the reverse of the Belle's beautiful invention.
it would make it very easy to confuse who was who. after all, he couldn't see that Vaughn was actually Roarke in robes.
Zaid tho
And then zombie Shell descended from the sky and burnt everything to the ground, including Kera. The end.
I'll be very surprised if nothing goes wrong, it's just in IC's nature.
My bet: Ebon is a changeling. He's not Chrysalis's. Tchern is his mother.
4631642 I keep waiting for Somepony to ask "What's a churning line?"
Consider my shit lost.
Dammit, Zaid, you always seem to put yourself into some kind of trouble. But man, I think that the shipping fever has caught the ship or something. I honestly hope that Props and Zaid pair up sometime. They do complement each other well.
well, being in more-or-less close contact with each other with very few options otherwise....I do think that relationships both platonic and romantic are to be expected. (even if i'm dead wrong, I know that there is a 'logical' explanation of some sort for why everyone would catch 'shipping fever')
5903291 Naw, You're completely right. With all the life and death etc. Whilst living in close quarters with very little consistent extra company, it's expected that eventually Deeper bonds would start to form, Not necessarily romantic, but some of those would pop up too. Strife Breeds understanding, and companionship in unbelievable ways.
The boomer dies at midnight!
Praid (zops?) is the ship which I throw my utmost loyalty behind, second only to the Noble Jury herself
Wat?
I'm really loving this more slice of life focused downtime. This series has been so frantic or depressed for so long that I forgot how nice it was to just see the Jury interacting with a new and friendly people who aren't in any danger.
Wonder how long this'll last...
Elma should stay on in part for the practical benefits.
A shapeshifter could contribute to the party in a staggering number of situations.
(And it's not like they've got another one of those on board.)