When Rainbow Dash descended on the layered heights of the Royal Palace, she realized she had a plethora of places to land. So she didn't. Instead, she lowered herself until she was within spitting range of the polished exterior and she glided across the surface. Gazing left and right, she watched for movement, guards, or any hint of green light altogether. She thanked her lucky stars that there was little to no resistance whatsoever at this height. It occurred to her that the Val Roans simply didn't expect infiltration from the air. But, surely with Queen Chrysalis having infiltrated the interior ministry...
Rainbow shook her head. There was no point putting in too much thought. She had to concentrate on the task at hoof, even if she wasn't entirely sure where her hooves were going to be taking her.
By the third revolution she had made around the uppermost elliptical dome of the palace, she finally decided on the boldest entrance. She landed on the very platform where the Royal Monarchy likely made their public addresses. All four hooves touched down on the cold, polished marble. She trembled slightly, green-dyed tail twitching.
Eyes darted about. The balcony and its adjoining corridors were remarkably dark. A sheen of silver starlight glinted off the polished surfaces, but otherwise everything was dull and dim.
All the better. Rainbow snuck deeper and deeper into the heart of the Palace, darting behind one pillar after another. Despite Rainbow's anxious anticipation, she paced herself, taking her sweet time with each hallway and perpendicular corridor that presented itself.
She didn't hear the first hint of noise until she was about two hallways deep in the upper levels of the Palace. Holding her breath, Rainbow climbed up a pillar and clung to the portion of the ceiling where the column connected. From there she gazed silently and upside down at the source of the noise.
A pair of guards trotted by, their antlers a'glow with innate magic. They tilted their heads left and right in opposite directions, shining their swaths of light across tapestries, portraits, and suits of armor.
Rainbow's ruby eyes narrowed. Nevertheless, she clung to the roof like a fuzzy blue bat, shuffling sideways and around the column just seconds before the antler-light could illuminate her figure.
Once the reindeer had passed, Rainbow breathed easier. She touched down in a nimble crouch, cracked the joints in her neck, then crawled stealthily towards the opposite end of the hallway. There, she approached her first door. She tapped it once... twice... then pushed it gingerly. Peering through, she saw torchlight. Kerosene lamps dotted the interior, illuminating a long and dark corridor flanked by many doors. The air was considerably warmer, although stale. She figured that it led deeper into the heart of the palace.
Undaunted, Rainbow slithered on through and trotted lightly across the velvety carpet. Separated from the desert air, she could hear things with greater clarity. Off in the distance, the muffled voices of servants and guards echoed off the ivory palace walls. She took a moment or two to take a mental measure of the acoustics, and she realized that most of the voices were coming from downstairs, probably wafting up through broad stairwells. When Rainbow drew herself deeper into the palace, she realized her guess was accurate. Vertical chambers led to a large hallway down below. She could even see it from a few open balconies. Judging from the arrangement of tapestries and suits of armor, she guessed that the largest hallway was connecting the heart of the palace to an atrium... or perhaps a Royal Throneroom.
"Seen one kingdom, you've seen them all," she muttered to herself, then continued crawling.
As she came upon a bend in the upper hallways loftily flanking the large corridor, she heard a cluster of shuffling hooves... coming closer.
Gritting her teeth, she darted towards the darkest niche, located behind a pillar furthest from the nearby kerosene lamps. Hiding there, she pressed her back against a column and glanced stealthily around its curved edges as a trio of gabbing servants shuffled by.
"...so faithful to the Prince. You just know he made a promise to the King and Queen, God rest their souls."
"God rest their souls."
"If you ask me, he's the greatest thing that could have happened to the House of Evo. The Prince is wise beyond his years, but without Sharp Quill?"
"You've seen how he fosters the deer. He's like a second father."
"It's his duty."
"Still... doesn't stop it from being downright adorable."
"Heeheehee... if the Prince heard you say that--"
"Oh please. His Majesty isn't King for another three days at least. I can still dote on him."
"I bet if you were beheaded, there'd be a smile on your face."
"But still, where would we all be without Sharp Quill?"
"I don't think I'd notice a difference. The buck never needs his laundry taken care of."
"Such a fastidious elk. I guess it shows in everything he does and sets his mind to."
"Almost makes you wish he could be Steward of Val Roa a little while longer."
"Say nothing of the short! Prince Eine will make a wonderful king!"
"Yes, thanks to Sharp Quill... and his handsome eyes."
"Heeheehee..."
"Have you seen them? The richest purple! So exotic... so mysterious..."
"Oh please, now you're just sounding like a school girl."
"Well, these desert nights are cold..."
"Heehee..."
As they passed by, Rainbow Dash stuck her head out. She squinted across the way at the door where the servant ponies had briefly congregated last. With a smirk, she hoof-stepped across the way and tried pushing the doors open.
They refused to budge.
"Darn it," she murmured to herself. Tapping her chin, she gazed up at the tall, tall doors. To the side was a plaque. She tilted her head, reading it in the dim lantern light.
"Secretary Sharp Quill."
"Well, this is it," she muttered. "I can't very well kick the damn doors down."
Her tail flicked left and right.
Rainbow Dash trotted briskly down the hallway, trying every door she found. At last, a door opened. She carefully peered inside. A lavatory resided, its wash basins illuminated by starlight. A chilly open door loomed just a gallop away.
Rainbow glanced back into the hallway. She counted the number of doors between where she was and Sharp Quill's office. Once she had a mental number, she dashed into the lavatory and leapt out the window. On flapping wings, she traced the balconies back, counting her way back to Sharp Quill's office. Lo and behold, there loomed a spacious balcony in open view.
"Bingo..." Rainbow grinned, then touched down.
And here we shall bear witness to the Grand Platypus in his natural habitat. Such a fascinating creature. Watch as he uses his shimmering eyes to woo his potential mates.
If this was something in the television series, I feel like a evil song should be popping up right now.
Sung by Sharp Quill, assuming its him.
Who does that remind you of?
5238232
Just so you know, from now on I'll read everything you say in David Attenborough's voice.
Splinter Dash.
That is all.
Can't be much danger of that!
Wasn't the prince an elk? (Never mind... an elk is a subspecies of deer)
5238232 Hush, you. Imploding Colon isn't ready to reveal that yet!
I'm starting to think those sentries might not be as OP as I thought they were...
Personally I don't think it's Sharp Quill, but that's just a hunch
Sharp quill is spah. Because it never washes clothes.
Also, 10 bits that dash comes across prince Eine on her sneaking mission.
inb4 Sharp Quill asks the Ninja Dash "who are you?" and will scare the living sh*t out of our sneaky and stealthy pegasus.
5238392 Of course Sharp Quill doesn't get his clothes dirty. They're part of the illusion spell he uses to appear as an elk!
5238412
Platapy is stil spah
I should know. I am one.
5238275
maybe they're like ants. One ain't bad, but a lot and suddenly your day is a whole lot worse
5238412
I'm not sure why my first thought was "my fur is dry clean only".
5238426
I think you might be on to something with that "ants" line of logic...
I have to say, I can't get a good read on Sharp Quill so far. Granted, we haven't seen much of him yet. But usually, I'm able to get a pretty good gut feeling on a character. Not this time, though. I'm teetering right on the fence between "He seems squeaky clean" and "All roads lead to Suspicionville". I'm hoping Rainbow will discover something to rectify my oracular indecision.
Everything's going well so far, Rainbow Dash should be able to dig up some good info on some of the players if she keeps this up.
Looks like a perfect time for Sharp Quill to pop outside for a breath of fresh air...
5237495 Holy shit.
Spontaneous night-time infiltration?
This is a stupid plan.
It's bound to work.
Spontaneous night-time infiltration?
This is a stupid plan.
It's bound to work.
5238237
Oh I come from a land, from a faraway place
Where the caravan camels roam
Where it's flat and immense
And the heat is intense
It's barbaric, but hey, it's home
When the wind's from the east
And the sun's from the west
And the sand in the glass is right
Come on down
Stop on by
Hop a carpet and fly
To another Val Roan night
Val Roan nights
Like Val Roan days
More often than not
Are hotter than hot
In a lot of good ways
Val Roan nights
'Neath Val Roan moons
A fool off his guard
Could fall and fall hard
Out there on the dunes
I'm leaning more towards being innocent right now, he just seems too obvious.
Note that in this case, "God" is short for "Godzilla", and he's a giant radiactive dinosaurs. Of course, the deer call him God and say he's a deer, and made the deer to his image, and that's why they consider themselves the dominant species. Other species, such as platypuses, have to disguise themselves as deer with magic if they want respect.
So obvious. Loved by the prince, lusted after by the maids, never needs his clothes cleaned, exotic eyes...
IT MUST BE A TRAP.
hmm....
notably, by this line I should be incredibly suspicious of our violet eyed friend... was it violet or purple.....
however, the maids seem to feel he is good, and i'm always inclined to agree with those that do your...
oh wait....
huh...
.... no change in the watch list then, SQ is as suspect as ever.....
I really don't want Sharp Quill to be Chrysalis. His relationship with Eine is so touching.
5238721
Fixed. I only had access to a bootleg of the theatrical cut as a kid growing up overseas, and it was the way it should be, dammit.
Sharp Quill, Rainbow Dash will watch you masturbate.
Sharp Quill is triggering the, hey, theres smething strange about those girls. Ohh, that sort of strange, feeling.
But, the Lavender trail always eventually leads to where Dash needs to be, but she has done diversions before? Otherwise my thought would be. Not the Prince, the prince is one of the far mausaleums, where th trail leads?
Seems obvious.... too obvious
But knowing how paranoid we all are about Quil definitely being a red herring, Colon is likely to pull a 'nope, you were right' just to catch us out.
5238232 man, you are really running with that Platypus deal Swan
5239155 I'm strangely okay with that.
Who are you and what did you do with Rainbow Dash.
Reindeer guards. Rainbow Dash better hope they can't fly.
Boy, I sure hope RD isn't about to walk in on Chrysalis, because that would be awkward and hard to escape from! (please walk in on chrysalis please walk in on chrysalis please walk in on chrysalis)
5239515 "Is it a bluff? Or a double bluff? Or a triple bluff?"
5238984 Violet and purple are two words for the same color. (I'm sure there's some technical fashion difference but IDC)
5238254 I am not opposed to this.
5239515 Of course I am! I came up with it after all. which probably means it will never happen or get referenced ever
5239517
5239754 Yes, it's true. During an editing session, Swannie called me a magical platypus and offered me all the fish. Out of the magic of friendship I have forgiven the blatant ignorance shown as to the diet of platypuses.
And what do platypuses eat? Notice how Imploding Colon has not described the palace grounds as having worms and insect larvae. The Grand Secretary is also no doubt fond of shrimp cocktails.
5238243 Mmm quite so.
Sharp Quill is Chrysalis and she's fallen for Eine as her son.
bad things
they will happen
what I thought of
5253807 lol
He never needs his laundry taken care of? That seems like his clothes aren't even real. He's either a platypus or Chrysalis.
Or both. Because, you know, Chrysalis could be a platypus.
-Spirit
There's quite a but if focus in Sharp's eyes. Wonder if there's something to it.
5900913 I think it's misdirection. all of it. I've no idea who chryssi is, but I am already sold on the fact that she is NONE of our 3 main suspects, and we haven't even seen the soldier yet.
God IC has taught me to trust nothing and no-one.
Should've brought the night vision goggles and black suit.
6077432
IC the God of Red Herrings.
This is a red herring but we have to fall for it. It's just so much more fun that way
[Mission: Impossible theme]
HE MUST BE A CHANGELING
Seems like she picked up quite a few moves, either from Roarke or just from watching everyone. Off that topic, where did they get the kerosene for the lamps? Fossil fuels take millions of years, really deep rock, and precise conditions to form, which I doubt would be found on an artificial world, unless said world is way older than is implied.
07/04/2017
02:47 UTC
8273657
I'd guess either it refers more to the style of lamp than its actual fuel source, or kerosene is made from something other than petroleum in this world. That or I'm giving IC a tiny bit too much credit and the answer is he just goofed.