"Belle, what were those things that attacked us?"
"Hmmm?" Bellesmith lay Kera onto the lower cot of their cabin. "Oh, well..." The mare's brow furrowed momentarily. "From what Josho and Rainbow have explained to me, they were horrible creatures, Kera. At one point in their life, they were either pegasi who served Commander Hurricane of ancient Equestria, or—perhaps—a race of flying ponies far older."
Kera blinked tiredly, fidgeting under the blanket Belle was draping over her. "Why were they so mean and slobbery?"
"That's just the thing, darling," Belle said. "Something terribly evil must have corrupted them a long, long time ago. According to Rainbow, it almost looked like the winged ponies who controlled Stratopolis long before Hurricane had dabbled in... something that proved to be their undoing. Maybe they were working on some horrible weapon, or perhaps they simply discovered an otherworldly substance that proved too dangerous for this world." Belle shrugged, the proceeded to tuck Kera in. "Whatever made them ponies was drained long ago, and all that was left was something cruel, barbaric, and animalistic."
"They weren't like any animals that I'd ever seen," Kera murmured.
"Heh... most certainly not."
"How did we get away from them?"
Belle blinked. "Well, for the most part, because of you."
"Because of m-me?"
Belle smiled. "Don't you remember? You displayed one of the greatest feats of unicorn magic I've ever seen—much less by a young filly. In one fell swoop, you single-hoofedly knocked dozens of them from the Noble Jury's hull."
"I... I-I did?"
"Of course, Kera! It's why we're speaking to each other right now."
"I..." Kera winced, gazing towards the opposite wall of the cramped room. Her eyelids fluttered tiredly. "It's all fuzzy..."
Belle leaned close. "Well, what do you remember?"
"Dreaming..." Kera bit her lip and held the blankets close. "With my eyes open..." Her little nostrils flared. "For a long... long... super long time..."
Belle's lips pursed. "Do... do you remember what you saw in your dreams?"
Kera's ears drooped. Her body tensed up, then gradually relaxed as she melancholically shook her head.
Quietly, Belle leaned forward and kissed Kera's forehead. She lingered there, nuzzling the filly's cheek. "I know that a lot of this doesn't make much sense to you, and I'm still trying to figure it all out myself. But I am so happy... so very blessed to have you back, darling..."
"Did... did I go anywhere?"
Belle bit her lip. She sniffled slightly. "Yes, Kera. I-I'm afraid you did..."
Kera tilted her chin up. "Belle?"
Belle leaned back to look at her. "Yes?"
"Who was that in the room with us when the things attacked?"
"Hmmm?"
Kera stifled a yawn and murmured, "The pony... the pony with the bl-black coat..."
Belle squinted, then exhaled, "Oh. You mean Elma? Elma Boreal?"
"What kind of a name is that?"
Belle opened her mouth, lingered, then said, "Not a very real one, I suppose." She squirmed where she stood by the bed. "But Elma herself is very real... with a real heart... and a real desire for love." Belle smiled. "She helped bring you back, Kera."
"She did?"
"Mmmhmmm..." Belle nodded. "Elma's got a special talent. And, from the looks of it, she woke you up." The mare's eyes glistened momentarily. "It takes a very special pony to bring back a very special filly..."
Kera yawned and turned her head aside against her pillow. "I should thank her..."
Belle giggled lightly. "I think she would be more than happy to speak to you."
"She... br-brought me back to my Mommy and Daddy," Kera slurred, surrendering to the waves of slumber.
Belle's smile faded. She sat still, her breaths tense and uneven. Sniffling, she blinked her eyes dry and managed a tiny grin. Kissing Kera on the forehead one last time, she murmured, "Just rest easy, Kera."
"Mmmmm..." Kera murmured, her body instantly still.
"And don't you worry anymore. Mommy an—" Belle froze, inhaled, and uttered, "Pilate and I won't be far away."
Kera slept soundly.
Belle dimmed the lights, shuffled about, and quietly exited the cabin. She shuffled across the thin hallway of the Noble Jury's second deck, making her way past compartment after compartment. Heading towards the stern, she made a sharp left right before the mess hall. The tiny infirmary was lit, and there Pilate sat on the edge of a cot, bandaging himself with the use of his other hoof and his teeth.
"Oh, beloved—here." Belle rushed over and knelt before him. "Allow me."
"Oh, you needn't fret, Belle," the stallion said. His choker rested on the table alongside the manasphere and the Oracular Array. "I do believe I have this under control."
"Please..." Belle nevertheless took control of the situation. "I wish to do it."
Pilate tilted his head down. Eventually, he nodded with a faint smile. "Very well."
Belle breathed easily, reaching around Pilate's forelimb and shoulders as she gently tightened the gauze to his healing wounds. "I don't think I've ever seen you so banged up."
"Yes you have."
Belle's lips curved. She squinted aside. "Since we left Blue Shelf, I mean."
"Ah." Pilate smirked. "Well, worse things could result from tangling tails with a sentient crocodile."
"I don't know what stunned Rainbow Dash more," Belle remarked. "The punches Razzar gave her, or the undying fact that it was you who brought that reptile down to his knees."
"I seriously doubt that she's jealous," Pilate said. "The poor mare has been forced to extinguish all sorts of nefarious souls in the past. I don't know what good it will do her countenance, but she can at least remove one burden of conscience from her list."
"I know it sounds grim, but..." Belle chuckled dryly. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a slightest bit proud of the 'solution' you chose."
"Razzar was always a victim of his own hubris," Pilate murmured, straight-faced. "I believe his comrades had to see that, or else they might still be vindictive over Razzar's defeat today."
"I'm certain Roarke wouldn't have given them the pleasure."
"No. Probably not."
Belle finished tightening a bandage and glanced aside at the table beside the cot. "Quite the fascinating device Roarke gave you."
"It doesn't hold a candle to your genius."
"Hmmm..." Belle smirked. "That's flattering of you to say. But, let's face it, I've never considered crafting you something that would allow you to grasp your spatial surroundings."
"Roarke's Searonese hybrid allowed me to catch my bearings, for sure." Pilate nodded. "But the textures of every surface around me were... well... a veritable blur. I could never read with the Oracular Array." Pilate's muzzle curved. "I'd much rather possess O.A.S.I.S. anyday."
"At the cost of knowing where you are?"
"It's not a matter of where, beloved, but who."
Belle opened her mouth, but she lingered in silence.
"How is Kera?" Pilate asked.
"Hmmm?" Belle blinked, then turned to face him. "Oh. She is... erm..."
"Still speaking?"
"Very much so." Belle nodded. "And she's starting to remember some of the smaller details from just recently." She gulped. "Like Elma and the undead attack and—"
"Witnessing the sound of her voice when I returned to the Jury was one of the most blissful things I could have heard," Pilate said. Then, with a warm breath, he reached forward and brushed his hoof across Belle's cheek. "Well... nearly the most blissful."
Belle smiled. She reached two hooves up and clasped his forelimb against hers. She shook once... twice... then fell into a throe of quivering breaths.
Pilate's metal brow furrowed. His lips pursed. "Belle...?"
Tears coated his hoof as she nuzzled it, sobbing. "Would you ever h-have it in your heart to forgive me, Pilate?" She sniffled and clenched her eyes shut, grimacing. "Kera wasn't the only one asleep for so long. I-I felt so lost... and so afraid..." Her voice squeaked as she stammered, "And I took it out on the one pony that m-meant the wh-whole world to me." A whimpering tone. "I was so horribly rotten to you... to everypony... but most especially to you."
"Beloved..."
"You d-don't deserve that... you n-never deserved that!" She sniffled and wailed, "I should be t-taking care of you... protecting you... loving you..."
Pilate leaned off the bed and knelt alongside her. He flung his arms around the mare's shoulders. "We should take care of each other."
She inhaled sharply, her voice squeaking. "Pilate..."
"Misery blinds us more than darkness," he said. "It's only natural to lose sight of love. But I know the mare whom I fell in love with when I too awoke from the abyss." He smiled and kissed her. "She needs me as much as I need her." His stroked through her mane. "Even if it took a thousand years, I would wait for her to come around. After all..." He smiled. "Would she be any less patient for this blind zebra?"
Belle smiled as tears ran down her muzzle. She buried her face in his striped chest. "I adore you, beloved..."
He cradled her head to him, stroking her neck and cheek. "You never stopped, Belle."
She winced. "Pilate..."
"Shhhh..." He kissed the top of her head. "We can make it through this. We can make it through anything. Not just us... but Kera as well..."
"Yes..." Belle nodded and surrendered to the depths of his embrace. "Yes... we c-can..."
Pilate laid his head atop her crown. He stared blindly into the bulkheads of the infirmary, his muzzle locked in a soft smile. Together, the pair of ponies cradled each other on the floor of the room while the Noble Jury drifted off into starlight.
Still got 95 chapters for things to go to shit.
Every chapter like this is a sledgehammer to the face of Shell's "legacy." I love it.
I learned something new today.
Well things seem to be going smoothly... for now...
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Is thsi what we have become? Constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop?
What a silly question. Of course we are.
Dio - Rainbow In The Dark
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I love me some lore at the beginning of the chapter.
Also, CAUGHT UP!
D'aww! Sweet, syrupy chapter is nice and cathartic. Though - and I won't quite be so fatalistic as AppleTank - there're still too many chapters left for them to be all puppy dogs and ice cream. To Alafreo, I presume?
Again,
-SPirit
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so are we gonna have another couple descriptive austreaoh type chapters while we head to Val-Roa?
..even though the entire landscape is just water and ice..
Thick and sweet. just like syrup.
Getting a little fluff and lime is always good.
And seeing Kera back to normal is awesome.
Though somehow I think by the time they reach Val Roa,Chryssie will have brainwashed all of the inhabitants.
Aww. Happy endings all around.
4543656 Yes, yes we are, as my constant neurosis is proving. TOO MUCH DISTRUST. Rainbow can't go 24 hours without things falling apart. We are rapidly approaching that limit!
SQUEE
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I, for one, choose to enjoy the happy times while they last, and watch the dark times knowing there is good right around the bend.
:3 :3 :3 :3 :3
finally peace. now how long will it take for shit to hit the fan for the gazillionth time
Such a happy family, even with everything they have gone though. I hope It at least ends that way for them. Regardless of how things normally go in this story.
With explosions and pieces falling off the Noble Jury every other chapter, I'm surprised it's still flying.
And it seems with this the previous status quo from 130 chapters ago is pretty much back.
Oh hey, the first time in, like, a hundred chapters that Kera actually acts like Kera. Woo!
I wonder if belle can expand upon and enhance the ocular array to do what oasis did and keep his spacial awareness intact. I just realized roarke received a hug and didn't kill anybody lol
Daww~
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Yessssss.... come to me my precioussesesss.....
So I guess Pilate and Belle are no longer Kera's 'adventure guardians', but now her actual parents. That's fine, but I hope she remains the independent and sassy capable filly she is. If not, you can just dump them off in Val Roa or Alafreo, because that much syrup is going to get into the engine and cause some technical problems. The main reason I feel this way is because when ever Kera says 'Momma' or 'Poppa' I internally groan. I never really liked Belle or Pilate, and I don't want to stop liking Kera too. I don't know why but 'Momma' and 'Poppa' just kills me because it makes me think that Kera is regressing.
Back to not complaining, I can't think of any conflict on the Noble Jury besides Ebon's blank slate thingie and the always present, ever growing sexual tension between Roarke and RD.
WHAT DID YOU SAY?
...sorry...
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Worried about Kera regressing?
You mean like.. Are You My Mommy?
Are you dancin?
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FTFY
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Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But you'll never know what a fool I've been!
Darling heart, I loved you from the start
But that's no excuse for the state I'm in!
Aww, now kiss! With EE and Ebon together, one has to go and take all that ship-tease energy somewhere else. Oh wow, just thinking about that just got me to squee again. Nope, scratch what I just sad, everything back to EE 'n E!
4543773 We're all gonna die and you know it.
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Yeah, this was a bit of a problem of characterization over the past few chapters. But I think this one managed to avoid the cutesiness and make her seem like her, just with her guard down.
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Agreed. We all know the peaceful times won't last forever, but why waste them worrying? We've still got some time left, after all. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if the Jury encounters no real trouble before reaching Val Roa.
4546381 Oh come on, now you jinxed it.
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but.... you two are already dead aren't you?
4549950 Yeah, go ahead and rub it in you insensitive ruffian!
Pretty nice chapter. I'm happy that these two have finally worked out their problems, and I dearly hope we don't regress again.
Those two love each other more than life. Even when they were falling apart that never changed, they just lost sight of it for a while. It is good to see them back at each others sides almost as good as it is to have kera back.
She would be had you met her at the beginning of her journey. But now, having grown, she has really learned to let such unimportant things go. Kinda hope that she stays this way.
Oh, what joyous day. Next full moon will mean a lot to discuss.
There have been too many tender, loving chapters. Some bad shit's gonna go down REALLY soon.
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You're not my mother! You're a Snort!
Well, it sounds like the OA is more combat-oriented while OASIS has more fine detail.
Ideally, whatever he ends up with should support switching between both modes, or even overlay them.
Leave it to a blind zebra to make darkness poetic.
Huh, you're her Mom now, why you stop?
Maybe Belle can combine OASIS and the Ocular Array so Pilate can have full sight again?
Don't sell it short belle, she smashed them through the hull