Do Not Panic
When the three ponies emerged upon the courtyard, a familiar sight had alighted the balcony. Making a great deal of fuss to straighten his dress shirt, Sir Ordo stood before the lower entrance to the Nightshade Industries' skyscraper. His frazzled face summoned a smile in the morning light while he waved two reassuring hooves before the dozens upon hundreds of worried citizens.
"Undoubtedly you have all heard about the incident that has transpired in the industrial sector along the northeast side of town," the stallion said. "On behalf of Nightshade Industries, I must assure you that no lives have been lost. What is more, the damage sustained has been minimal. Nightshade's assets remain intact, and though there has been a momentary delay, factory production on zeppelins shall continue like normal in a matter of hours."
Phoenix stammered, "Incident in the industrial sector...?"
"I thought I heard something last night," Bellesmith murmured.
"Shhh!" Kera snuck ahead of the group, tugging her hood tighter over her petite self. "Come on, guys! This way!" she whispered. "We're not here to check in the blabber-muzzling!"
As they crept acround the perimeter, several citizens shouted with concerned breaths.
"Are we being attacked?!"
"Is this the Eastern savages?!"
"What's the Council of Ledo going to do to investigate?!"
"As you well know, fellow citizens of Blue Nova, Nightshade Industries cannot answer for the Council of Ledo. But, if Her Majesty's soldiers desire to examine the extent of the damage caused by last night's incident, then our company shall comply with any and all of their—"
Sir Ordo's speech was cut short. A loud buzzing filled the air, followed by the gasping murmurs of several ponies in attendance. Several heads tilted up.
"Shhh! Phoenix! Kera! Wait!" Belle anchored the two just as they were halfway towards the side alley. She pointed up with a golden hoof. "Look..."
"Huh?" Phoenix remarked.
"Oh brother..." was all Kera said, accompanied by the rolling of her eyes.
A mana-driven hovercraft was descending like a gray cloud. Unlike many of the enforcers' zeppelins that Bellesmith had encountered down south, this vehicle was lined with intricate bands of golden reinforcement. Floral designs and sparkling sprites illustrated the hull. As it puttered down to an even levitation with the balcony, a wooden plank extended. A procession of ponies trotted down, wearing blue uniforms. In the center of the group was a middle-aged mare. She was clad in purple velvets and her features were obscured from the shadows produced by a broad, blue sunhat.
"Hmmm..." Phoenix murmured aloud. "I think we all know who this is..."
Belle watched, squinting with curiosity.
At one sight of the mare, Sir Ordo gasped and made a great deal of effort to bow. He trotted backwards, giving the pony room to approach the balcony's edge. Tilting the brim of her hat up, the mare exposed a pair of indigo eyes. When she spoke, it was with a surprisingly deep voice, resonating with pride and conviction.
"Last night, at about zero four hundred hours, a small zeppelin crashed into the Nightshade Industries Offices for Blue Nova Facilitation and Manufacturing. As it was well before sunrise, and during a lull in managerial proceedings, there were no ponies located at the crash site to have been hurt. There were, however, half-a-dozen guards who suffered minor injuries while attempting unsuccessfully to guide the incoming zeppelin outside of a collision course. Their actions were brave and valiant, and they are currently situated at a Nighsthade health facility, swiftly mending from their wounds."
The mare's eyes calmly swept over the crowd as she spoke boldly into the morning wind.
"I have sent Overseer Fatch to take charge of the investigation of this unexpected incident. Rest assured, this is not some incursion on behalf of Xonan sympathizers. Blue Nova's security is beyond exceptional, and there hasn't been an act of terrorism in this city for over three decades. This has been nothing more than a mere miscalculation of aerial navigation, as we have estimated thus far. Granted, a thorough investigation will explain things more succinctly, but you have my word that I shall alert the entire city of the developments as swiftly as they occur."
She began pacing around the far edge of the balcony, taking liquid step after another, her eyes trained on the crowd who had been once again mesmerized by her graceful presence.
"Our Company seeks perfection, but it is far fromit. With so many resources being transported from location to location, it is inevitable that some mishap may occur. To that extent, I have made sure that everypony trained under the guidelines of our enterprise is capable of handling a situation such as this. As the last few hours have proven, they are more than prepared for any task presented them, no matter how dramatically. This same spirit of readiness and protection extends beyond the limits of our company, but into the community of Blue Nova, and the livelihood of all good Ledomaritans at large."
A murmur of appreciation rolled through the crowd, followed by several hooves clattering over the concrete. Belle and the other two slid their way towards the adjacent alleyway while Nightshade continued:
"I come here, not to rest from a long morning of overseeing the initial repairs of the zeppelin crash, but in order to check on my dear brother, Novus, in the upper Spire. For—like with all of our fellow citizens—I believe that family must come first. And all of you who work and live here in Blue Nova: you are all my family, and I care for each and every one of you individually as if you were my very own siblings, just like my brave, brave Novus."
"She certainly talks pretty," Phoenix droned.
"You guys done gawking or what?" Kera motioned down the dark passage. "Let's go before somepony sees you who recognizes your bald heads!"
"She's right. Let's make like kittens and get lost." Phoenix galloped down the corridor after Kera.
Bellesmith stood in place, staring curiously at Nightshade, her waving hoof, her blue sun hat...
"Psst! Ms. Belle!"
"Ahem... c-coming..." And she disappeared.
Meanwhile, Nightshade spoke a few last words: "As for zeppelin production, we should be getting back on track in less than an hour, actually. All depends on the faithful work of our beloved Overseer Fatch..."
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Interesting... where is Seclorum in this mess?
I don't trust Nightshade. Not one bit. Screw you, Scolon and Pilate. I'M PANICKING!
3.bp.blogspot.com/-Hvkrnv3C794/T2ZQwvrqsdI/AAAAAAAABR0/jAgKgr6UtD8/s1600/OhISeeWhatYouDidThere.jpg
Ah, so this section is a little ahead of time, I see.
A smooth speaker, that Nightshade. Crafty indeed.
2630827
You've clearly forgotten your towel. I have one you can borrow.
lol, best typo
2630841 I don't get it.
2630849
Or one of mine, I always keep a large surplus of towels... 42 in fact.
In a society where "beloved" is as entrenched a social custom as this one, wouldn't calling Fatch "beloved" be something of a faux pas?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: There's some connection between Belle and Nightshade. Or my name is Little Jimmy Dickens. And it's not.
2630907>>2630891>>2630849 I have my towel and the coridinates, now is the perfect time to engage the improbablility drive and find Miss Dash.
Apparently, I'm brave, and also full of hot air, and also a dickhead.
Huh.
Madame Claire "Nightshade" Zachanassian. It is time to panic. Now.
No, really. There is nothing more scary than a female dark overlord who knows what she's doing. Women are frightening creatures.
2631309 It's just an adjective. The noun is the evil word.
Ceterum censeo Searinem delendam esse, as the old lady Claire will soon pay them a visit.
Nightshade appears! Kera is rapidly becoming a favorite character in this little saga.
al honeytiger can tink right now is purple for some reason!
Oh fun. More characters to get lost in. Hopefully this isn't gonna be a repeat of Darkstine.
If Floydien hears about his incident as a "mere miscalculation of aerial navigation", he will not be pleased.
Talk about a smooth criminal.
2630841
Can you 'splain, because I don't see it. Doesn't look like Floydien does either.
Ew. Nightshade's like Umbridge, what with her speeches on order and denying that the
evil overlordrenegade reindeer has returned. I already want to punch her. If she starts making anyone carve "I must not tell lies" into their hooves, shit's going to get serious.2630867
I thought the exact same thing
I honestly don't know if I'm ever going to catch up. Its like as soon as I have ten chapters or less to read, life is all "Oh no you don't - random distractions!" and then I'm behind again. Aaaand now I'm complaining about your prompt update schedule. I'mma just shut up and read some more, now.
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
So we finally get to meet Madame Nightshade. I agree with Phoenix - she's an exceptional crowd speaker. So much so that I feel like it will play into the story later. Also, after that ending, I can't imagine that Fatch is doing well. These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
P.S. Okay, I'm seriously considering putting aside time to do these during the daytime. It's getting so hard to stay up at night that I feel like I'm old even though I'm not.
ewwwwwww she's gonna be a biiiiiiitch isn't she?
Is Luna just completely out of everything now?
Nightshade is good crowd speaker. Nightshade will be big adversary.
-SPirit
This Nightshade lady is mysterious. I wonder what her role in all of this is.
Dramatic entrance for Nightshade
. Me gusta 
Good damage control there
I foresee antogony in our future
I can't not read that in the voice of REGIS.
6150773 And now I can't stop grinning
Nightshade seems to remind Belle of someone. Luna, perhaps? Also, I forgot to mention earlier, they claimed an over-100% efficiency rate of zeppelin production... how is such possible?
6204800
They probably lied. If not, then it could mean that they are producing beyond maximum capacity. Or at least beyond what was previously thought to be max capacity.
6360394
6204800
I believe what they meant was they increased their production by over double. Instead of 10 Zeppelins per given unit of time, they are now producing 24. An increase of 140%.
Industrial sector? Oh dang, guess that means Pilate didn't just crash into the same tower complex that Belle is heading towards.
Hmn.
Now this mare don't dance around facts. I like it~
I can tell she is very analytical in nature. Sharp and witty.
She is going to make a dangerous for, because her forte it definetely in perception and cunning
I wonder if said crash involved antlers
09/04/2019
01:11 UTC
9815930
It not like Pilate can see the time of day.