//------------------------------// // Mountains Call You Home // Story: Odrsjot // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Belle trotted up the rear stairwell of the Noble Jury an hour later. The wind instantly pelted her face, causing a chill to run through her body. She trotted past Eagle Eye and Ebon Mane who were chatting along the port side railing. “I think it’s a perfectly legitimate question!” Ebon Mane stammered. “And it depends on if you’re a country stallion or a city stallion!” “I don’t see how it matters.” Eagle shrugged. “Where I end up staying is where I end up staying.” “Well, would it kill ya to have some sort of personal outlook?” Ebon raised an eyebrow. “From what you’ve told me, you seem the small-town type.” “I dunno.” Eagle shrugged. “From what little I saw of Blue Nova, I think life in a large city would be pretty snazzy.” Ebon’s face twisted awkwardly. “EE, you were in that city for even less time than I was, and all I ever experienced was a frenzied imprisonment followed by an afternoon of explosions.” “Yeah, but the skyscrapers were so pretty and shiny!” “Unnnngh…” Ebon face hoofed. “You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?” “Doing what on purpose?” As Bellesmith passed by, she patted Ebon on the shoulder and winked. “He is.” Eagle pouted. “Doing what?” “Once we’re way the heck out of the territory of these warring kingdoms, I’m going to find myself a nice quiet trading post to settle in,” Ebon said. “A lot like Archer Point! Only… y’know… maybe a little less of the twenty-four-seven smiles.” “Why’re you telling me this?” “Oh… uhm… you know…” Ebon shrugged. “So that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable if ever you decided to… to…” Eagle raised an eyebrow. Ebon cleared his throat and pronounced, “Visit.” “Oh… visit…” “Er… yeah…” “I can’t imagine you’ll be lonely.” Eagle smiled. “Wherever you’re headed, you’re gonna have Propsy around, aren’t you?” Ebon blinked. “Well, aren’t ya?” With a dull sigh, Ebon turned about-face and trotted towards the stairwell. “Now I know you’re doing it on purpose.” “Buh?” “Excuse me. I got some tomatoes to slice for tonight’s salad.” Eagle remained standing along the edge of the ship, staring out at the passing mountains. “Those! Those right there!” Josho exclaimed, pointing out at the snowy peaks towards the distant north. He stood close besides Kera and Pilate as the wind blew at their manes. “I have a manaphot of that back at Green Slope. Well, I did. Now it’s probably faded… or confiscated on behalf of the Council of Ledo since I became a ‘turncoat.’” “What’s so special about that mountain?” Kera asked. “It was the sight of a big friggin’ air battle--over fifty years ago! Back when massive atmospheric deployment was a rare thing for both sides.” Josho took a deep breath. “It’s a battle that Ledo won. Many coins had the mountain illustrated as a mark of the victory. Morning Star Point.” “Oh… yes…” Belle exhaled as she stood by her beloved. “I… I-I do believe I have seen a coin or two like that!” “Yeah. The new mint did away with the old Confederate bits.” Josho scuffled his hoof across the deck. “It was hard to celebrate the victory over a mountain when the enemy won it over within a decade and held it for nearly forty years.” “It’s amazing to see it with the naked eye,” Belle said, shaking her head. “I’m trying to envision that quiet, solemn, unsuspecting mountain covered with zeppelins.” Pilate smirked. “I’m trying to envision it, period.” Belle rolled her eyes and leaned over to nuzzle him. “Oh, beloved.” Pilate smiled and said, “I do appreciate the quiet here. I imagine the clouds themselves are stiller than ice.” Kera smirked. “You imagine right.” Pilate glanced at Belle. “How’s Rainbow?” “Hmmmm…” Belle exhaled calmly. “Dead asleep. Almost as calm as the truest sense.” “I can’t think that she’ll wake up with too pleasant of a head.” “I doubt she’ll need much of a reason to fly, where we’re headed,” Josho remarked. “Coming from a pony who’s used to hangovers, I can vouch for her.” “Well put, Mr. Josho,” Belle said, clearing her throat. “No need to elaborate any further.” “We’re headed to Lerris, aren’t we?” Kera blurted. Belle’s pupils shrank. Pilate had to lean on her to keep from pratfalling. Josho stood dead-still, his eyes darting between the foster ponies and their filly. Kera looked up, eyes calm as jaded emeralds. “My home town? In the middle of the valley?” “Kera, darling, you have to understand.” Belle smiled awkwardly. “Just because we’re flying over Xonan occupied territory doesn’t mean--” Pilate rested his hoof on Belle’s shoulder. The mare bit her lip and hung her head. With a deep breath, Pilate said, “Yes, Kera. We are headed to Lerris. It was my decision.” Kera slowly nodded. “I see…” “Do you know why we’re headed there?” Pilate asked. The filly opened her mouth, hesitated, and ultimately said, “I don’t know.” “We assure you that it’s not because we wish to be rid of you,” Pilate said, causing Belle to shudder slightly. “As a matter of fact, we love you very dearly, Kera, and we’re more than happy to take care of you for the extent of our voyage. At the same time, I felt--and most of us mutually agreed--that you deserved to see the town with your very own eyes before we pass it altogether.” “Because I grew up there, and there are ponies around who may have known my parents when they were alive.” Kera nodded again. “Yeah, I can get it. How about I ask you something?” Pilate stood still. Ultimately, he blurted, “Ask anything.” “How did you think I was gonna react, that made you felt like you had to keep it like some sort of big bad secret from me?” Pilate tilted his head in her direction. He hugged Belle close with his arm. “I don’t know.” Kera’s eyes narrowed. After a few seconds passed, she gazed out upon the passing scenery. “If you don’t mind my asking…” Pilate said. “...would you care to tell us how you figured out we were headed there?” Kera looked at him. Hours earlier… “What else could it possibly mean?!” Kera stamped her hooves as her eyes grew glossy. “They wanna get rid of me!” “That isn’t true…” “Yes it is!” her voice cracked, reverberating off the wooden exterior to Archer Point’s town hall. “I’m too much of a burden to them! They hate Xonans, grasshoppers, and bushy hair! Of course they’d be happy to get rid of me!” “If you were not precious to them, why did they agree to let Rainbow Dash--their best friend and most trusted pony on this earth--leave on a treacherous voyage to rescue your flank from Herald, Nightshade, and the Xonans?” “It’s… it’s never about me!” Kera grunted, folding her forelimbs as she stared across the dirt road down the center of the village. “It’s always about Rainbow Dash!” “Kera…” “If I had feathers and a vomit-colored mane, they’d not want to get rid of me!” “Kera, they are weak ponies.” Despite Kera’s angry disposition, she flinched at that. “They are weak and they are frightened easily. If they were on their own, they’d be dead within days.” “Don’t… d-don’t say that!” Kera sniffled, turning to frown over her shoulder. “Pilate’s s-super smart, and Belle can kick major flank when she wants to! I’ve seen it!” “Then why do they act as if they forget it? Every single day? Why do they depend on Rainbow and Floydien and Props so much?” The filly bit her lip. “They’re victims of their own pasts. They’ve learned to cling to the affection of others, and that is the only way they know how to exist. Rainbow Dash has cemented this, and the only reason it hasn’t proven disastrous for anypony is because Rainbow herself is in the position to have ponies who want or need her right now. But she’s not alone. Pilate and Belle need somepony, and that pony is you.” Kera bit her lip. “Need me… but… how? I’m not a strong pony…” “It’s taken me a while to understand that what you stand for is as easily important as what you do. Someday, Pilate and Belle are going to have to split from Rainbow Dash. Hell, that day will come sooner than later. The problem is, none of them are ready for this dark decision. For Pilate and Belle, this means a great deal of heartache. But for Rainbow Dash, it means a lot more. Forming attachments and loyalties is the very crux of her being. And if she someday collapses from not being able to hold herself up, then it’ll prove a tragic thing not just for her--but for the entire world that she is inadvertently trying to save.” “I don’t get it…” Kera wiped her chin as tears bubbled up. “What do I have to do with any of this?” “Do you or do you not believe that you are Eljunbyro?” The filly took a deep breath--shuddering--and said. “I do.” “Kera, listen to me. This journey was never meant for you. It was never meant for Pilate or Belle either. The journey has been and shall always be Rainbow Dash’s. Sooner than later, she will have no choice but to become the amazing warrior I first witnessed her to be. When that time comes, it will be up for Belle and Pilate to let go of her. Only then will she know that she is once again alone in her task.” “And what about Belle and Pilate?” Kera sniffled. “What will give them strength?” “Do you wish to know the truth?” Kera nodded vigorously. “Knowing where you stand.” A pause. “Kera, a time is coming--and it is coming soon--when we all must decide how far we are to go in this adventure. For you, that time is coming sooner. Now Pilate and Belle think that they are doing you a good thing by not exposing you to the nature of our next stop. I do not agree with them. I think they are taking the easy way out of confronting you, because they’re too afraid of how angry and shocked and hurt that you will be.” “Then… then what do I need to do?” “You need to decide. And you need to make that decision firm. Do you stay in Lerris, and establish for yourself a life of peace and tranquility? Or do you pledge to stay by your new foster parents’ side, willing to suffer, hurt, and even die alongside them?” “It… it can’t possibly be that bad…” “Kera, look at me. And dry your eyes. Tears will not make the coming decision for you.” Wincing, the filly did just that, gazing up at the mare’s face. Roarke stepped forward, placing a hoof on the little pony’s shoulder. “What lies beyond the frozen sea is unknown, with the constant threat of shape-shifting evil waiting to prey on us.” “But… but…” Kera bit her lip. “They all flew away, right? The big bug ponies? Rainbow scared them away.” Roarke slowly shook her head. “No, Kera. Those creatures are more dangerous now than ever before.” “What makes you say that?” “Because what nopony on board the Noble Jury will own up to is the fact that they can now be any one of us at any time.” Kera gasped sharply, her eyes twitching. “And when the time comes that these monsters decide to reveal itself…” Roarke’s lenses pistoned out. “You need to be strong enough to give your life for the ponies you care for… or else you shouldn’t be there at all.” Kera stared and stared. She blinked, turned aside, and answered Pilate. “Eh… it’s the mountains…” She shrugged. “Especially with how Josho was describing them and all.” She smiled faintly. “I recognized them. After all… I’m home.”