I Establish My Denouement Before Breakfast
“Your Majesty,” a guard spoke in reverence, bowing low. “It is still incredibly early, and you have been through so much. I am certain the expedition will understand if you and the Queen wish to rest some more—”
“I will be the one to decide when I shouldn't be vigilant,” Lunarius said, his eyes nevertheless blinking blearily. “And that will be never.” He commanded the guard to rise and gestured down the long, palace corridor. “Let me meet with him now, for I must ascertain his health.”
“Very well, sir. This way.” The guard joined several other armored reindeer as they marched down the long hallway. At last, they entered the throne room which—just hours before—had been filled to capacity with members of the Val Roan elite. The King came to a stop, his muzzle agape.
In the center of the room, Secretary Sharp Quill stood, accompanied by Constable Jake. He pivoted about, and—upon first sight of the King—he attempted to bow low. However, he lost his hoofing, and he stumbled forward with a breathy cry.
Lunarius galloped forward and caught the elk. “Sharp Quill...”
“My Liege,” Sharp Quill wheezed.
“Are you malnourished?” Lunarius exclaimed, his usually stern expression replaced with concern and bewilderment. “You should eat!” He shouted towards a group of gawking servants at the far end of the chamber. “Prepare an ample breakfast! Swiftly!”
“I... I-I wished only to see you, Your Majesty.” Sharp Quill tilted his weak gaze up. “Only to know that... that the Royal Family was indeed safe.” He gulped hard. “Despite my failure...”
“No, old friend.” Lunarius squeezed the elk's shoulders. “No failure whatsoever. None of us foresaw how truly cunning and deceitful this foe would be.”
“Please...” Sharp Quill gritted his teeth. “Please tell me that you executed this beast...”
Lunarius took a sharp breath. “We have not.”
“But... why?!” Sharp Quill grimaced. “This... this shape-shifter has brought ruin to our kingdom! Even harmed your son!”
“There was no ruin brought to either my kingdom or the Prince,” Lunarius said. “And we owe thanks to a group of valiant heroes who are more than experienced in dealing with this monstrosity. It was the request of their leader, Rainbow Dash, that the creature's life be spared—so long as she cooperated.”
“Co... cooperated?”
“And she has.” Lunarius smiled. “She provided us the means of locating you, old friend.” His facial expression went tight again. “Only after depriving herself of the power necessarily to enact her fiendish plans.”
“Your Majesty... I mean no offense...” Sharp Quill gulped. “B-but... but you can't honestly expect to let her go free!”
“Not even remotely,” Lunarius said in a firm tone, helping the Secretary up to his hooves. “She is to be detained in the deepest dungeon of Val Roa. There, she's agreed to stay, and also provide us with the knowledge she's attained from a hive mind she once extended abroad. For the first time in millennia, Val Roa will achieve full clarity about the kingdoms beyond the seas and even the Grand Choke.”
“But... but how can you be so sure?” Sharp Quill stammered. “After all that she's done.”
“Well, you, for one, can be of great help to me, old friend.” Lunarius smiled. “You've had some... unique experience with this creature, I suspect.”
Sharp Quill shuddered. “And how...”
“Then, if you are willing, I would like to give you full authority in the imprisonment and interrogation of our former captor.”
Sharp Quill gazed at him with narrow eyes. “You know that my first act would be to execute her, yes?”
Lunarius shook his head as he led Sharp Quill into the adjacent hallway. “Oh, I doubt that very much, Sharp Quill.”
“Why is that?”
“Because I think you'll learn—from our other guests...” The King smiled. “...that there are greater solutions in this world than death. The Cartel? No... they proved incapable of diplomacy. But this creature... this Chrysalis? She has a heart, and—what's more—a humble willingness to serve us. What would we gain by destroying her when—instead—she can serve us... and the world in turn?”
“Forgive me for saying so, Your Majesty, but I've served as your adviser for a long time. And—quite frankly—I find that this doesn't sound like you.”
“A lot has happened while you were asleep, old friend,” Lunarius said. “And in that time, Val Roa has learned to embrace a new form of salvation.”
“And that is...?”
“Harmony, Sharp Quill. And—God willing—it has the power to transform continents. Now... in speaking of transformations... let's see about getting your health back on the right track. Servants? About that breakfast...”
Chancellor Fishberry stood in her office, staring blankly at her desk and the window beyond it.
She took a long, deep breath, her ears folding back.
She heard a set of shuffling steps from behind, and she turned around to look in the dull gray morning light.
“Apparently the office switched five times since the real you sat in your chair,” spoke an elk in the doorway. “For once, that's a luxury that neither you or I have been able to afford.”
Fishberry's lips pursed as she squinted. “Arcanista? Duchess Arcanista?”
Arcanista strolled forward, her muzzle calm despite an inherent lack of sleep. “You look better than I imagined you would.”
Fishberry frowned. “Hrmmfff...” She pivoted back towards the desk. “I heard you were a key member in the 'Salvation of Val Roa,' as everydeer is already starting to call it.” She sighed, running her hoof over the wooden finish. “Did you come here to gloat?”
“No.” Arcanista took her head as she paced forward. “I came here to see how you were doing, assess the damage, and discover the future of the High Council's Chancellor seat.” A tiny smile formed across her muzzle. “And then I might gloat.”
Fishberry shuddered. “You should see the way everydeer looks at me. They can't seem to get it out of their heads that I'm the real Chancellor and that the pretender is now deep in a dungeon. And while it's all well-and-good for the Secretary to resume his position or for the General to regain the respect of his troops, my last real contribution to this kingdom was at least forty-two sessions ago. Laws have been ratified. Trade agreements have been rearrange...” She sighed heavily. “I'm so behind. Even if I could become Chancellor again, I wouldn't know where to begin.” She gulped hard. “They're going to choose someone else. I just know it.”
“Indeed.” Arcanista nodded. “They most definitely might.”
“Why would you—?” Fishberry's eyes twitched. She spun about, mouth agape. “Oh God. Don't tell me.” She squinted. “It's you, isn't it?”
Arcanista chuckled. “Oh no... no. That position would necessitate my abandonment of the citizens of Bountiful—which I simply cannot do. You of all elks should know, Fishberry, that the one thing I've ever wanted was a true representative seat in the Council.” Her eyes flared momentarily. “As the House of Sehlp has long deserved.”
Fishberry merely frown. “Bah... your brother...” She shook her head, grumbling to the shadows. “That damnable Duke was always too mischievous for his own good. Floyd was always sticking his antlers where they didn't belong. And as for the General's adopted daughter... heheh... well, we both know what else he stuck.”
“He's alive, you know.”
Fishberry gave Arcanista a double-take.
The Duchess' muzzle tightened. “You... are surprised to hear that?”
“And you're surprised that I'm surprised.” Fishberry blinked. “Duchess, I am no friend to the House of Sehlp, but when the Duke vanished—I was just as shocked and dismayed as you were.” She gulped. “You mean to say that Floyd is one piece?”
Arcanista sighed. “Half a piece. And... you truly do not know who extorted him into departing from Val Roa?”
“I...” Fishberry shuddered. “I may have once suspected deer or elk capable of stooping to something so low.” She gulped. “But that was then. This is now.” She hung her head. “I've no power to do much of anything anymore.”
“Well... power, you may not have. But you are certainly gifted.” Arcanista trotted over and rested a hoof on the other elk's shoulder. “If we were to combine our talents, we might be able to scoop out corruption from this kingdom once and for all.”
Fishberry gazed warily at her. “You would... enlist my assistance?”
“Why wouldn't I?” Arcanista smiled. “Regardless of our pasts, we both had a common enemy. Now we both have a common victory, and it is right within our grasp. Let us not let the Fall of Chrysalis go to waste. The High Council has been shaken at its core, and those who have been embezzling in the royal funds during the 'supposed deaths' of the King and Queen are likely to be panicking now that there's no young and impressionable Prince to manipulate. If we act soon, we can catch and uproot those who deserve their seats even less than the monsters that tried to undermine them. Now, what do you think of that invitation?”
Fishberry stared at her. Eventually, her ears twitched, and she broke into a meager smile. “A curious challenge indeed, Duchess. When would we begin?”
“Soon.” Arcanista winked. “Very soon.” She trotted off. “But, if you'll excuse me, I have a... breakfast to attend first.”
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Harmony abounds, it seems. And with so many chapters left...
Eh, I'm betting on harmony this time around. We've ended with the tragic ending too many times in this series, that we've all become beaten down by it, always looking for the other shoe to drop. I predict the story will end with Dash about to cross the Grand Choke, and all the jurist's either waving bye or already departed for home.
Twenty-five squats, ):(. Knock 'em out!
Why do I suddenly feel even more uneasy about Val Roa's course than I did while it was in Chrysalis' hooves?
Hmmmm I'm starting to think that I might be a little to paranoid with how this will go. Its looking like it really will end happily for once, I just don't see what could go wrong at this point. Outside of the King and Queen using the info they've got about the other Kingdoms and going on a conquest or something like that I just see this ending nice and happily.
Val Roa travels West.
So guys. Guys. I know this doesn't exaclty belong to the chapter and may be off-topic a bit and perhaps you cannot even identify with it and me with my weird humanizations and stuff but still
LOOK AT THIS
This took freaking forever to get done. Look at it. Look at it!
So eh yes, anyway.
I'm not getting Arc's doom and gloom vibe at all here. I say it really is all sunshines and rainbows for Val Roa from now on!
...I mean come on, Rainbow went through there, it's what she does.
Must be really good breakfast.
img.pandawhale.com/81335-Flynn-Breakfast-gif-Walt-Jr-Br-jCID.gif
i.imgur.com/7NkbL.jpg
I don't get any feeling that they're going to conquer anything. Let's stop being paranoid for a second and look at what's actually being said. Lunarius seems interested in discovering the lands beyond his kingdom, and he's VERY set in the fact that bringing Harmony is better than bringing Death. I think this is less about expanding the empire and more about expanding the horizons and finding new ponies to open trade with.
After reading the title and the chapter, is it bad I went through it again to see if IC had hid any clues as to the content of these final 55 chapters?
Fishanista? Arcaberry?
Eh... I'll come up with something eventually.
5595720 Hot stuff.
LUNARIUS HAS BEEN CHRYSALIS ALL ALONG.
THE IMPRISIONED ONE IS A CLONE PRETENDING TO SURRENDER.
NOTHING IS REAL.
WE'RE DOOMED.
5595692 http://austraeoh.wikia.com/wiki/Austraeoh_Wiki
An amazing adventure with breathtaking world building, inspiring character development, seat of your pants action, heart rending drama, and feels inducing friendship.
Oh, God, now there's no question that this peace'll crash and burn; the only question is how spectacular the shitstorm will be.
I get a denouement!
5595823 THERE ARE NO BRAKES ON THE PARANOIA TRAIN
CHOO CHOO
Warm fuzzies~
5595720 Damn, I didn't know some of us here were that artistic. Very well done.
Still, very handsome!
Edit: whoops, just realized this was something you commissioned
Kinda interested in seeing how Lunarius handles Roarke's command of the Cartel.
And I'm interested in seeing how Eine and Sharp Quill handle a reunion.
5595692 This is... this is the story. It's worth it. This is why you came here.
If the King demanded a breakfast for Saikano,
how did Arcanista know ?
5595692 The real holy grail looked like a battered old wooden cup: but oh the wonders it held.
5596273 In a palace, there is no such thing as a quiet breakfast. Breakfast is an event.
Yay! Breakfast!
5595692 Look up the translations to the names of the books,they'll give you an idea of what to expect in each book.
Arcanista working with Fishberry is pretty nifty, but when I think of Sharp Quill interrogating Chrysalis, all I think of is
c2.staticflickr.com/4/3121/3199429992_c9c1d44a1e.jpg
Oh, I didn't know Lunarius was a superhero from a 50s comic.
Oh, God, there's gonna be a toast with toast this time.
I predict that there will be pancakes
Will there be cheese at the breakfast?
There better be grasshoppers.
so many breakfast comments
dammit, now i'm hungry
and yay to the Arcberry corruption cleaning duo
also, Lunarius's "ever vigilant" line reminds me of Batman
old Batman, not angsty Batman
Aaaand the Arcaberry train is back on track!
5595692
This is the best story I've read, ever. It's a tale of friendship and distrust; peace and war; love and hatred in all their forms; wounds both physical and psychological; Harmony and Chaos; Loyalty and loneliness; and flying east. Start here and be amazed.
*Gleefully waves their victory flag*
Heeeee!
*Cheshire cat grin*
I think I'll break out the good Scotch an' have a liddle drink!
Huzzah for Arcaberry!
Everyone aboard the elk ship!
5596277
Speaking of the Holy Grail, was anyone else getting an Indy and the Holy Grail vibe when Dashie told Belle to let the book go?
5595815 Duchessberry Arcafishta.
5598544 Yes.
de·noue·ment
noun
the final part of a play, movie, or narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.
synonyms: finale, final scene, epilogue, coda, end, ending, finish, close; More
antonyms: beginning
the climax of a chain of events, usually when something is decided or made clear.
"I waited by the eighteenth green to see the denouement"
synonyms: outcome, upshot, consequence, result, end; informalpayoff
"the debate had an unexpected denouement"
Fishberry is redeeming herself!
I already feel like we need a spin-off with the adventures of the Noble Jury after this goodbye.
-Spirit
Breakfast. Damn, I'm really hungry now.
Lunarius isn't taking any chances.
For whatever reasons, I always pictured the Dutchess looking like Cadence
just pointing that out now lol
Aw, Arcanista and Fishberry really are best frenemies.
7032519
Huh, that made me realize IC never really specified the coat colors of all the deer. Are they all natural, or do they have the same pastels as the ponies do? Because that'd be all kinds of hilarious.
We destroy our enemies when we make them our friends. There is enough misery and hate in the world without needing to hold onto old grudges
10/15/2019
02:02 UTC
Friendship and Harmony for everyone!
9884465
Keep your friends close,and your enemies closer. So close you two become friends as well.