Princes, Soldiers, Broken Hearts, Oh My
There was a knock on the door to the Royal Chambers.
Prince Eine stifled a yawn, laying down in bed with a book in his grasp. “You may enter,” he said in as melodic a tone he could muster.
The door opened, revealing a sihlouette with a familiar set of antlers.
“Sharp Quill...” Eine smiled, sitting up. “How nice it is to see you—”
“Do not get out of bed on my account, Your Majesty.” Sharp Quill strolled over while a pair of guards closed the door behind him. The elk stood at the Prince's bedside, smiling gently into the candle light. “It's been a busy day. I simply wished to check up on you before I retired to my studies.”
“You've certainly been working around the clock, Secretary.”
“I wouldn't be caught doing any less,” the elk said. “Your Coronation is in two days, and there's much to prepare for.”
“Well, I do appreciate all of your hard work and consideration, Sharp Quill.”
“What, may I ask, are you reading?”
“Uhm...” Eine shuffled, cradling the book in two tiny hooves. “Simply brushing up on my scientific knowledge.”
Sharp Quill tilted his head, squinting at the tome's title. “'A Biological Review on Val Roan Cryptozoology?'”
“Erm... yes...” Eine bit his lip.
“Hmmmm...” Sharp Quill stifled a chuckling breath. “Is this the sort of research you've yearned to cover in preparation for becoming King.”
“Call it an educational distraction,” Eine said, squirming under the covers. “Did you ever hear about the Mosiah Reports?”
“Should I have?”
“It was an expedition to one of the titular province's subterranean caverns,” Eine said, flipping the pages of the book. “Apparently the researches there encountered a creature that was different each time they caught a glimpse of it in the caves.”
“You don't say...?”
“They described it as a 'sentient and self-sufficient shape-shifter of unprecedented speed and conveyance.'” Eine slowly, slowly tilted his gaze up towards Sharp Quill. “Isn't that strange?”
“... ... ...” Sharp Quill smiled. “Very odd indeed. This world is full of curious surprises.”
“Yeah...” Eine slowly nodded. “I'm starting to believe so as well.”
Sharp Quill cleared his throat before the silence could devour the moment. “Your Highness, I was hoping to ask you something.”
“What is it, Sharp Quill?”
“Is it true that you ventured to the High Council building today?”
Eine bit his tongue.
“I just got done speaking with the Royal Clerk,” Sharp Quill said. “Apparently you took a carriage to the Sandstone District at approximately ten hundred hours.”
“Is... it a crime to observe the operations of this kingdom's legislature up close?” Eine inquired. “Especially with my becoming King soon?”
“I would very much have wished you had asked for my advice on the matter,” Sharp Quill said.
“I did not think you would approve,” Eine said.
Slowly, the elk smiled. “How can I properly assist you in the way your parents always desired me to... if you do not have faith in me, Your Highness?”
Eine stared at him.
Sharp Quill stared back.
Clearing his throat, Eine hugged the book to his chest and stared at the bed covers. “Right. Of c-course, Secretary.”
“Mmmm...” Sharp Quill stepped back. “I suppose it matters little. No harm came to you. Still, I would issue caution. No amount of Soul Sentries can stop a single miscreant from attempting something so close to your Coronation.”
“Is it necessary to be that paranoid, Secretary?”
“Not paranoia, Your Highness, I assure you.” Sharp Quill bowed. “Simply caution.”
Eine was quiet.
“I will leave you to your slumber.” Sharp Quill turned and trotted towards the door. “Pleasant dreams, fair prince.”
Before the elk could leave, Eine sat up straight and spoke aloud. “Oh, Secretary?”
Sharp Quill stopped and swiveled around. “Yes, Your Majesty?”
“I spoke with the Royal Clerk as well,” Eine said. “Just an hour ago.” His yellow eyes narrowed. “Is it true that you departed for the south edge of the City for a two hour space in time this evening?”
Sharp Quill was dead silent, dead still.
“May I ask what for?” Eine inquired.
“... ... ...” Sharp Quill smiled. “I had a meeting with General Saikano and Chancellor Fishberry.”
“Oh?” Eine tilted his head aside. “What for?”
“To discuss security measures, of course.” Sharp Quill nodded. “A busy week indeed, as you can imagine.”
“... ... ...”
“Will that be all, Your Highness?”
“Yes, Sharp Quill.” Eine swallowed. “As always, your loyalty makes me proud.”
“I live to serve, my Prince.” And then the elk was gone.
The door shut coldly, leaving Eine alone in the flicker of candle light. The Prince glanced across the walls of the place in contemplative silence. Slowly, a childish grin spread across his face. He kicked out from the covers, jumped down from the giant bed, and padded across the way to a desk. Once there, he opened a drawer, producing parchment and a royal seal. With elegant handwriting, he began writing a letter, starting with a very elegant name...
Floydien trotted from the supply wagon parked beside the noble carriage. He layed out several brittle branches before Jake. The Constable fumbled with some flint, eventually starting a miniature bonfire that they contained within their part of the Plaza Topaz courtyard. Across the concrete expanse, several similar servants squatted before their own blazes, warming themselves in the hush of cold desert night.
Far away, under the overhang that flanked the Plaza's front lobby, Midnite Bastion sat, breathing calmly. She had stripped of her stealthy black threads to look less conspicuous. Regardless, her petite figure stood out amidst the otherwise barren building exterior before the courtyard. She kept her gaze locked on the elk from afar, her face tense and contemplative. For minutes on end, she shivered.
That is—until a pair of cloven hooves laid a blanket over her figure. “How many years have you served in your father's military? Ten? Twelve?” Arcanista sat beside the mare. “I don't care how tough you may be. It's no excuse to freeze to death.”
Midnite's nostrils flared. “Wouldn't make much of a difference,” she muttered. “I haven't been one to feel much of anything these days.”
Arcanista followed the pony's eyes as they were locked on Floydien. “Is that a fact...?”
“You need not be out here on my account,” Midnite said. “Go back upstairs and retire, Duchess. I can handle myself in the meantime.”
“I'm afraid it's not that simple,” Arcanista said. “We have a great deal to discuss. Sleep is something none of us can afford while we allow this situation to linger.”
“'This situation...'”
“Rainbow Dash wasn't shouting gibberish when you and she bumped into each other hours ago,” Arcanista said. “There is a legitimate danger to this Kingdom, and we all know that your father is involved.”
“That's still under debate.”
“Midnite...” Arcanista's brow furrowed. “He's not been acting natural. None of our suspects have. Either through coercion, conspiracy, or mind control—all three of them have been working towards a malevolent goal and it is our job to stop them. For Val Roa's sake. For Prince Eine's sake.” She inhaled and said, “We need your help. With you on our side, we'll have an edge that was previously out of grasp.”
“Uh huh...” Midnite melancholically followed Floydien's movements. “And just what do you need me to do?”
“First thing's first,” Arcanista said. She stood up and trotted into her line of sight. “You need to let him go.”
Midnite frowned. “Easy for you to friggin' say.” She pointed. “It's like a damned ghost from the past is having a squat right in front of me! And now you're telling me to just ignore him!”
“He seems to have no problem doing the same to you.”
“He's changed!” Midnite's voice cracked. “Just look at his face! And his antlers are gone! And... something's all mutated about his eyes! And... and...”
“It was a shock to my system as well,” Arcanista said. “Believe me. But, despite all of my sincere efforts, I soon realized that there was very little point in trying to bring the brother I know and love back to the surface of the elk he's now become.” The Duchess sighed out her nostrils. “There is a time and a place for reunions. Right now, the kingdom's future is at stake. With Eine's Coronation just two days away, there's no telling when or where our enemy will strike.”
“He should be dead, Arcanista,” Midnite grumbled. “I thought I had gotten him out of my head years ago.” She gulped. “I thought I had gotten him out of my heart.”
“Please do not dwell on him, Midnite,” Arcanista said. “As a soldier, you must understand the importance of keeping your eyes front.”
“Heheh...” Midnite chuckled bitterly. She tossed her mane while shaking her head. “Heh heh heh heh...”
Arcanista raised an eyebrow.
“Just whiffing some fumes from the past,” the mare muttered. She turned to glare at the Duchess. “Face it. You never approved of our relationship. No deer did. My father didn't. My comrades in arms didn't. Now Floyd himself is giving me the cold shoulder. Hell, I think the only soul on this god damn earth who ever approved of our little fling was Jake, and that's pretty friggin' depressing.”
Arcanista sighed. “I'll admit that I... had my reservations.” She cleared her throat. “However, not once did I ever appreciate the calamitous circumstances that split you two in the end. You've always had my sympathies.”
“You've never told me that.”
“You've never asked,” Arcanista said bluntly. “As soon as Floyd left for the west, you, your father, and everything else about Val Roa became a mystery. Bountiful was cut off from the High Council. I always knew that Fishberry was to blame, but...”
“But what...?”
Arcanista paced about, avoiding the mare's gaze. “A part of me wondered if maybe she had some help from someone... or some deer in the military.” Arcanista gulped. “But I was a different elk then. Far less trusting. More bitter.” She glanced briefly over her shoulder. “I think you can guess why.”
Midnite slowly nodded. “Then how come you suddenly trust me now.”
“I heard Rainbow's account of her... physical meeting with you,” the Duchess said. “I'm convinced that you're sincerely concerned about your father. You must understand; we do not wish to undermine the branches of the Val Roan government, but we have legitimate reasons to believe that something is causing those three deer to stage something horrible in time for Eine's Coronation. If you were to help us, Midnite, then we might have the edge we need to uncover this vile plot once and for all.”
“By doing what?!” Midnite Bastion frowned. “Assaulting them? Confronting them?! You're such a tiny group! I don't care how far this 'Xonan Ambassadors' facade will carry you. You guys are vastly outnumbered!”
“No one is weak if they carry a wealth of information.” Arcanista smiled. “Besides, we have... exceptionally talented friends on the outside.”
Midnite sighed, folding her forelimbs. “No matter how many ways you shake this, it looks and sounds like a coup.”
“I know.”
“Your evidence has very little solid ground to stand on.”
“I know...”
“If I respected my father at all, I would report each and every one of you and have you thrown into the stockades.”
“If that's what you truly, adamantly believe.”
“... ... ...” Midnite's eyes lingered across the courtyard. “Tell me one thing, Arcanista.” She bit her lip. “Do... do you know why he's alive? How he got to be this way?”
Arcanista slowly shook her head. “I've only gathered bits and pieces. From what I can tell, he got caught by several unsavory unicorns in the war-torn continent west of us.”
“The same kingdom Rainbow Dash spoke about?” Midnite remarked. “'Xona?'”
“Ledomare, actually. And though they were a wicked and unruly lot already, Queen Chrysalis slithered her way in and multiplied their malevolence by tenfold,” the Duchess explained. “Perhaps if this was another universe where Chrysalis had not sunk her teeth in so deeply, my brother would not have been captured and... undergone his change.” She sighed. “Right now, I have to concentrate on what's right in front of me. It's the least I can do to keep myself from collapsing in tears. Even if I never truly reunite with my 'brother,' at least I'll have the satisfaction of dissolving the machinations partially responsible for his turning.”
Midnite exhaled long and hard, her ears drooping. She muttered as she said, “I might be able to get you in close...”
Arcanista cocked her head curiously to the side. “Close to what?”
“The Soul Sentries,” Midnite said.
“And how would you intend to do that?”
“I'm not sure. I... I would have to talk about it.” She pivoted towards the elk. “To everyone. I... I-I know it's late, but...”
Arcanista raised a hoof, smiling slightly. “Say no more.” She motioned the mare to follow her as she trotted into the front lobby. “For you, Midnite, I would wake the dead if I had to.”
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Heh, funny typo, but a typo nonetheless.
Oh, please. Zombies are sooo Urohringr.
Eine's being proactive about this conspiracy business. And it looks like he's about to contact Kera.
She's taking this a little better than I thought she would.
I really would like to know more about the situation that happened where both of them should've been "dead". But I suppose that'll come later.
I'm pretty sure that's supposed to have a question mark at the end.
This is gonna be fun.
I'm assuming that this is a reference to Appledashery as I haven't gotten very far in it yet.
Y'know, the more I think about Arcanista, and the more I consider what she says, the more suspicious I become. She really seems like the most logical role for Chrysalis to take. Granted, it might seem odd for her to apparently work against the Val Roan conspiracy, but I can glean a hidden intent. If Saikano, Sharp Quill, and Fishberry are a nail driven into the Val Roan boulder, what better hammer than Austraeoh herself to strike that nail and shatter the boulder? She would actually be in a position to use Rainbow and her friends to reach her ends.
I dunno.
For a possible way to sort of normalfy Floydian, Arcanista's seems to be pushing Midnite away from trying at all. That just seems suspicious.
5319379
You can say that it's because she wants all of them to focus on saving Val Roa, and because she has realised how much her brother has changed anyway, so she wants Midnite to move on.
...or because she's actually being controlled by/is Chrysalis and is just giving Dash and the Jury a modicum of liberty, and let them think that they're actually getting close on defeating her while she's actually manipulating them as well.
5319334 Nope. The pointless references go in the other direction. Appledashery takes place exclusively in Equestria (so far). Maybe Ledomare/Xona/Val Roa exist in that universe, but there's no evidence for it. But Daring Do did discover the Urohringr symbol on a cave wall, so who knows?
Wizard of Oz reference.
5319334
I'm afraid not. Appledashery has yet to take us outside of Equestria.
Floydian is not Floyd. Not anymore. Sorry Midnite.
5319568
heh, lol
SHIPSHIPSHIP
Pity poor Midnight is being Frozen out of Floydiens Heart. Even the Duchess told her to Let It Go.
Given how quick the Soul Sentries are being, processed, and if they turn out to be changelings or at least under the Generals control, a hive like mind, could it be that what one sees, all see, if the General focuses enough on them?
what if, the General Is Chrysalis, the Soul Sentries are Changelings, and Midnight taking the Jury into the Conversion Bureau will find somewhere, possibly when trying to hide, that within which is aselection of large pod like objects, oozing greenfluid, or otherwise visignle inside, and within which is that which shouldnt be there, as it is not only without, but standing Right Behind Her?
5319317
The same sort of thing was often said about Enforcer Shell, but he just came back again, and again, and again...
5319748 Isn't there a deer of some type involved in "Let It Go" as well?
Eine wants to snuggle with Kera~
5319772 We don't talk about Shell
This must be how IC came up with Austraeoh.
1.bp.blogspot.com/-AOrsdshJhM0/UqElHct3F4I/AAAAAAAAYls/1loOtn3nj6Y/s1600/487183__safe_solo_animated_lyra_crying_reaction+image_lyra+heartstrings_happy_close-dash-up_artist-colon-dileak.gif
Floydien is not the same as before. That elk is dead, yes yes.
Anyways, Arcanista is suspicious.
You are tearing me apart here.
I'm afraid Sharp Quill might make an early move... or that Midnite isn't entirely on our side.
the suspenses are killing me
Oh you.
5322215
5320573
By not talking about it you dare the author to use it again.
Eine is becoming suspicious, thanks to Kera. Very good.
-Spirit
In this case, however, it won't be necessary because he never sleeps anyways.
It seems that Eine is taking Kera's advice, which is good. It seems that things are mounting up against this shadow government in place.
5911151 Kera's Candid honesty Got to him in a way he has probably never experienced before. Everyone always hiding things. And he's smart, I'm not all that surprised that He took her advice.
Letters to a Xonan princess, eh?
Glad to see he's taking initiative.
... EINE
You know the most important rule of sniffing out your most trusted advisor for treason?
DON'T DO IT WHEN YOU'RE ALONE WITH HIM
Isn't Kera a wonderful influence
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07/10/2017
21:50 UTC
5548773
I would argue the opposite, by invoking the name of well, He Who Shall Not Be Named, you summon him from his crypt.
『Midnite Bastion』 has joined the party.
Eine, don't try to be Kera too much. She's got the literal power to back herself up. We don't know what you got, kiddo.
Has the KerEine ship sailed yet?