The dark interior of the Noble Jury shifted with the weight of the vessel's deceleration.
A pair of chestnut brown eyes fluttered open to dim lantern light.
Bellesmith sat up, her face blank. After a few seconds, she blinked. A sigh escaped her lips as she gazed down.
Kera laid on her side amidst the blankets of the small cabin's cot. Her eyelids were shut, just as still as the rest of her. The tattooed filly's lungs rose and fell with tiny breaths.
Belle bit her lip. Leaning down, she nuzzled the child gently, careful not to disturb her slumber. She remained their, her cheek resting against the back of the filly's mane. Just as the mare's eyes began watering, she shuffled off the bed and stood on wobbling legs. Her head turned towards a grimy mirror. In the dim light, a lethargic reflection stared back. A neck-length mane hung in tattered strings. Belle brought her hoof up, running it through the frazzled mess. A brush lay on the end-table, and for a brief moment she reached her forelimb towards it. She froze, however, and stood limply in place.
Seconds later, Belle shuffled towards the door to the cabin. She rotated the valve and pushed the metal thing open. Lingering in the doorframe, she paused, turned around, and gazed at Kera. With a lasting breath, she limped out of the cabin altogether and shut the door just a crack behind her.
With softly clanking hooves, Belle descended the ladder of the forward vertical crawlspace. She came to a stop on the bottom deck, turning towards the bow. She blinked.
A canvas curtain hung across the entrance to the observation room, blotting out all light coming from Rainbow Dash's chosen sleeping quarters.
Belle fidgeted, adjusting her weight from one pair of legs to the other. At last, she reached a hoof up to knock on the doorframe. She froze just inches from making a noise. She hissed through clenched teeth, shuddering from head to tail. With slumped shoulders, she lowered her hoof and backtrotted from the curtain.
Eyes downcast, she turned around, looking at nothing in particular.
That's how the mare discovered the door to the navigation room hanging ajar.
With an eyebrow raised, Belle tilted her head to peer inside. She reached forward, sliding the door open all the way with a slight creak. Stepping inside, she was greeted with a dark, dark room. Without hesitation, she illuminated a lantern to her right.
A moving set of stripes squatted before a bookcase on the far end of the room.
Belle blinked. Her eyes ran down the zebra's figure, fixating on the bandages still clinging to his forelimbs. Not long after, her gaze fell to the floor, and she swiftly made for the door. Inadvertently, her flank brushed against the side of a globe, producing a rattling noise.
Pilate froze. His head tilted up, ears twitching.
Belle clenched her jaw shut.
After several seconds, the stallion quietly said, "You have the quietest breaths of everypony on board, beloved." He gulped. "Especially lately."
Belle said nothing.
Pilate moved again, his hooves placing several books back onto an empty shelf. "There's a tarp... or a blanket of some sort acting as a barrier to the observation room." He took a deep breath. "Any idea why?"
Belle fidgeted. She stared into the shadows next to him as she finally said, "Rainbow put it up. If you want to know a reason why, you should ask her."
"I haven't had a chance to run into her," Pilate said. "I barely hear from anypony. I just figured... uhm... that maybe the two of you—"
"We haven't."
"Ah... okay."
Silence.
Belle's brow furrowed. "What... are you doing?"
Pilate shuffled through more books, feeling across the floor to find ones that had scattered from the rest. "Mr. Floydien didn't make this library ver speed-proof, it woulod seem. Books and folders have been falling all over the place down here for days—what with all of the skystone tests that the crew's evidently been doing."
"There's no telling what order they were in to begin with, Pilate," Belle said. "You don't need to bother yourself with—"
"Yes, well, I'm the only pony on board with nothing to do. I figure everyone will be fine with these books arranged by weight and size."
"Pilate, there's no telling when I'll actually be able to make a new O.A.S.I.S. for you—"
"I didn't ask you for a time frame, now did I?" he grunted.
Belle frowned. Exhaling heavily, she glared into the shadows. The limping seconds pulled the hard lines loose from her brow, and she lost herself in a depressed glare.
At last, Pilate asked with a shuddering tone, "Has she... gotten any better?"
"No. Kera hasn't."
The zebra winced.
"But... she... uhm..." Belle ran a shaking hoof through her tousled mane. "She hasn't exactly gotten any worse either. I mean, it's not as though she refuses to eat or drink. She does basic functions when prompted. She's even... uhm... managed to walk when prompted. But..." Belle grimaced.
Pilate tilted his head towards her from across the dark room.
"She's not talking, Pilate," Belle murmured. "I don't know if... if it's something that can be nurtured... or if she's going to be this way for the rest of her life, or if she has to be re-taught..." The mare gulped. "But the Kera we both knew is gone. The things she was forced to see... and hear and t-taste..." Her voice trailed off.
Pilate spoke up. "Maybe if I had a chance to speak with her?"
Belle shivered. "I don't know..."
"I mean, if the two of us brought her topside, showed her some sunlight..."
"Pilate..."
"It might bring something back, you know? Instead of day in and day out of... of d-darkness..."
"She's fine, Pilate."
"Fine? Belle, beloved, you just said that—"
"Kera doesn't need any more favors!" Belle snapped. A blink, and her ears folded. "I mean... that..." She shook her head. "That's not what..." A gulp. "I didn't mean for it to sound like... that..."
Pilate sighed into the books. "Then what was it that you meant?"
There was no answer to that.
"Some things may be irreversible," Pilate murmured. "But not irrecoverable. I think Kera could use some sunlight, Belle. Even companionship. That's all."
"I've not left her side for a single moment."
"I know."
Belle squinted at that. With a cold breath, she spun towards the vertical chamber. "Knock on the engine room when you're ready to come back up to the infirmary. Best that Props or another pony be there to help you up the ladder."
"I'll keep that in mind, Belle," Pilate began, but lingered.
Belle's hoofsteps became faint as they ascended up the passageway beyond.
The zebra's nostrils flared. "...thank you."
I'm sorry, what?
"And taste"!!??
4048241
4048202 ...
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4048202 ...
I had to google the title. It's fitting though. :pinkiesad:
Quit it, Belle!
All is grim onboard the Jane.
Clanking is italic? Particularly important, or...
Taste?
Poor Kera. Stupid IC...
The amount of sorrow and pity I have for those three is an absurdly large amount for fictional characters.
Even so, they never deserved what they went through.
Taste...Damn I really don't know what to say to this one.
library ver speed-proof, it woulod seem.:
---You may want to take a look at that.
The Jury really should stop neglecting Pilate. Actually, neglecting everyone. Tensions are high, emotional levels are wacky... They all need to get together for a breather and calm down.
And what, did Shell force feed her or something?
I'm still going to say that Kera won't get better... whatever it was that she tasted.
Damn, things between Belle and Pilate are worse than I thought. I know they went through something awful, but to have had this alienating effect... I wonder if the full details of Lerris' decimation will be revealed at some point, because I suspect more happened than we currently guess. Especially considering that "taste" bit.
4048202 Who knows what Shell did...
4048202
[CRINGING INTENSIFIES]
...
Is this fic going to be about infighting?
Damn... Damn it.
The Jury now contains no loyalty, the one thing that Rainbow needs to stay together.
It is, isn't it?
...
Taste.
That's nasty.
Kera is oh so very scarred.
I have a feeling that the thing that is going to get Kera to talk again, is going to be some combination of Bellesmith, Rainbow Dash and Pilate fighting in front of her; (either knowingly or not) and it will be her telling them to stop.
4048750 or somepony perhaps
We learn that Shell is even more of a twisted villain sue and Belle continues to be an insufferable bitch. And Kera's as good as dead.
Goddamnit, Belle. Pay some attention to the hubby.
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I hope I'm wrong, but it seems that Kera has more than just full-blown post-traumatic vocal disarticulation. We may have to wait for Roarke's next appearance to the jury (not just her next chapter) before Kera speaks again.
I hate to say this, but Shell managed to break RD and by extension, the group bond.
Assuming this turns more positive in the next 42-or-so chapters:
RD will have a deep talk with someone not on/from the Jury
Roarke bashes more heads
Belle smacks RD (probably after a long time coming) and gets out some aggression
and Zaid still gets cheated out of his sandwich for even longer.
belle either used "taste" as a metaphor for something or she got blood in her mouth from somebody shell killed in lerris. think outside the box you nasties.
4049872
Pilate could also spend some time with Belle and Kera instead of sitting alone organising books. Unless he does spend time there off-screen.
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Why the hate for Belle? She's not being 100% reasonable, but neither are many of the others.
4050595
I never said I hated her...
That said, her behavior is pissing me off. In fact, I'd rather this all be resolved sooner rather than later. Wangst wangst wangst wangst.
I've been waiting to see how long it took for Belle and Pilate to run into each other again. I was hoping it would be on more amicable terms. While I realize that Belle, blames Pilate for all of this, I was hoping that she would at lest confront him about it so that she could start healing.
Worst case? Which is really to be expected from Shell, is that he carried out as many possible variations of corruption and evilness on Kera as he possibly could to get Belle to break.
No matter what Kera tries to do, she is faced with Nightmare Shell. She moves, he is htere, she breathes, he is there. She sits perfectly silent, Oh yes, he is most definitely there, and if she tries to move, to escape? another family member is torn apart for her crime.
It is a curious thing that any mind will always operate from the inside moving outwards. A shining heart illuminates all that would touch it - at the same time, no cancerous spirit is ever benign.
we need a Kera/Belle/Pilate group hug
then Rainbow and everyone else
Belle. Belle, your husband needs you so desperately. Why are you shutting him out?
IIIIIt's Dashie's evaluation time!
Still somber aboard the Jury...not good. Unfortunately, a recovery of Kera is impossible, in my opinion. By the way - taste? Taste? Really? These are my thoughts so far.
-MASH
Excuse me, what the heck?!
Explain please.
-Spirit
"But the Kera we both knew is gone. The things she was forced to see... and hear and t-taste...
a bit quick to judge something like that on Kera dont you think?
Hmm . . . the tension is thick. The events in that village have truly destroyed a part of them. I hope they can come back around, but who knows.
I know this has been said before, but taste?
Goddammit, Shell.
The tension thickens
There have been a handful of spelling errors and such throughout the story, nothing to worry about. But straight up I think this one is the most jarring one I have encountered. Dunno why just felt it beared mentioning.
6010085 Indeed. For the first time since we met him, Pilate is truly starting to lose all hope. And belle has lost all faith in him, They are falling apart, And dash is too busy Falling apart herself to help them.
Everything is falling apart.
holy shit, Shell, what the fuck did you do?
6387213 Best case senario is a bit of Tetrodotoxin.
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6387213
Not to make light of this at all, but what he probably made her eat:
ansemretort.org/ansemretort/arcomics/Comic462.PNG
and something along the lines of:
ansemretort.org/ansemretort/arcomics/Comic659.PNG
I mean there was blood on her face.
And he's the sick d-wad that'd do those things. I mean his entire plan of containing Dashie in Eljunbryo was mass murder entire families and defile their corpses all over the room she was in.
very
would
I chuckled.
what the fuck
Taste...taste. Dammit Shell, even in death you make me seeth with rage.
This has to be the most negative reaction I've seen her have towards Pilate.
When he affirmed his statement eve in acknowledgment of her staying by Keras side, he's inadvertently saying she isn't doing enough
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Yo, ol bro, think you can post those nebulous missing images again?
WAIT
STOP THE WORLD
I JUST DIDN'T READ THE WORD 'TASTE' DID I?
GOOD GOD NO
OH SWEET MERCIFUL CELESTIA
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He may be dead. But he not gone.