//------------------------------//
// When Endurance Grows Thin 
// Story: Odrsjot 
// by Imploding Colon 
//------------------------------//

	Black thunderclouds seeped over the distant mountain peaks, flickering with sporadic branches of lightning.  A low rumble wafted south across the lakes, rippling the waters and spreading the tall grass in waves starting from the shore to the quiet township of Lerris beyond.

Floydien caught an earful of the thunderou reverberation, and he whistled.  "Blasted nature stabs," the elk murmured.  "Floydien thinks that the angry north will send its grim grim this way, for once."  He turned towards the group of Jurors and Lerringtons who had gathered within the shadow of the Noble Jury in the gray daylight.  "Do the local boomers have a bunker hidden in these grass lows?"

"It's only an errant northern storm," Golden Happenstance said with a calm smile.  "Our buildings are built to last.  If we've survived the three-week cyclone two decades ago, we can certainly withstand a regular drizzle."

"That doesn't look like no drizzle to me," Rainbow's voice cracked as she gazed at the northern horizon.  "Maybe the Jury should hang out a bit longer to—I dunno—act as a windblock or something."

Floydien grumbled.  "Nancy Jane is not wind wanker!"

As several Jurors chuckled, Belle let loose a giggle from where she stood with Pilate and Kera besides Hap and Beau and several other villagers.  A few containers stood by their side, forming a symbolic line of demarcation.  "Rainbow Dash, it's okay," Belle said.  "If anything, we're gonna be in way better shape here than the Noble Jury would be if a storm hit."

"She's got a point there, color wheel," Josho droned.

"You really don't want to have a ship like that moored here when the winds hit," Beau said.  "You could, of course, always fly beyond the southeast peaks, wait it out, and come back."

Rainbow sighed, "Then that'd just be delaying the inevitable."  She gulped a lump down her throat and courageously gazed at the three.  "Who'd a thunk it that your first night here would be spent having a hurricane party?"

"Oooh!  Oooh!"  Kera looked up at her guardians with a grin.  "Does that mean we get to heat up grasshoppers on a burner?"

Pilate patted the filly's head.  "I'm sure there'll be plenty of flashlights and indoor tents to go around."  The zebra tilted his head towards the elk.  "Mr. Floydien.  I trust that you'll be able to find your way through the wastes?"

"So long as paint bucket boomer knows not to mix her spit with her glimmer!"  Floydien snorted.  "Nancy Jane's temptation to wind dance increases by the hour without the stripes, Floydien thinks."

"You've got Josho with you," Belle said.  "He's experienced!  He can be your navigator for a while!"

"If Nancy Jane needed an anchor, Floydien would have tied a chain to the boomer!"

Josho rolled his eyes.  "This is my fate, to be given lip from an elk."

Ponies chuckled.  In the meantime, Floydien trotted forward and loomed above Pilate.

The zebra's O.A.S.I.S. sphere flickered in response to the burly quadruped's presence.  Pilate gulped and managed a nervous smile.  "Life will be a great deal less curious without you around, Mr. Floydien.  I'll never forget how you've saved my hide on more than one occasion."

"Yes yes yes.  And does striped boomer remember all the times Floydien forced Simon's squirrel glimmer through his skull orb?"

Pilate winced.  "Yes, well, you certainly made up for it."

"If striped boomer insists."  Floydien fidgeted in place, his muzzle twisting left and right.  "Not good with the spit, Floydien is."  He froze, then flung his cloven hoof forward, slapping Pilate's shoulder viciously.  "Stay strong, bands of black black!"

Pilate finished hissing in pain just long enough to wheeze.  "Don't mention it."

"Is not enough of a parting?!"  Floydien tilted his head aside.  "Should Floydien bestow it to striped boomer's beloved as well?"

"No!"  Pilate sputtered.  "Spark, n-no!"

"Ahem..."  Bellesmith spoke up with a soft smile.  "We'll miss you, Mr. Floydien.  Thank you for bringing us this far with Nancy Jane.  It was incredibly gracious of you."  She looked down.  "Isn't that right, darling?"

Kera poked her head out from where she hid—shivering—behind the mare.  "Yeah.  Really cool of you, dude."  She darted back.

"Hmmph..."  Floydien turned tail and trotted off.  "Boom yourselves a lot of boomlings.  Nancy Jane calls."

The rest of the ponies watched, blinking, as the elk left.

"Well, that was certainly... curt," Ebon remarked.

Pilate nodded.  "It wouldn't be like Floydien if it wasn't."

Ebon turned back and trotted forward with a smile.  "Someday, I'm gonna find out what he loves to eat best, and I'm gonna make him swallow that damned frog in his throat."

"I have no doubt," Belle said with a giggle.  She smiled warmly.  "We're going to miss your cooking and common sense, Ebon."

"But mostly your cooking," Pilate said with a smirk.

Belle hissed at him.  "Beloved... honestly..."

"Heheh..."  Ebon trotted until he stood right before them.  "The rest of the crew are going to go fat with you guys gone."  He took a deep breath.  "I know we all feel like a family n'all, but you three are the ones who made it feel truly... together."

"It'll still be together," Pilate said.  "Just because we're going separate ways doesn't mean we're no longer kindred spirits."

"Well, we can do the kindreding for a little while longer!" Props sing-songed as she bounded forward out of nowehre and thrusted a cluster of crystal shards in the zebra's face.  "I present to you the Uber Distance Breaker 3000!"

"Oh... how quaint!"  Pilate smiled crookedly.  His muzzle scrunched from the proximity of the glowing shards right in front of him.  "...Bellesmith, what exactly is Miss Props shoving into my face?"

"Are those..."  Belle squinted.  "Triply reinforced soundstones?"

"You know it!"  Props said with a wide grin.  "I worked on it all last night!  I even put off searching for Uncle Prowse's frequency so I could tweak it just right!  With these fibrous manaconductive tubes fastening them down the center, they can increase harmonics of leyline conveyance and—"

"I do believe we get the picture, Miss Props," Pilate said with a smile.  "And it's amazingly thoughtful of you."

"Cool!"  Kera leaned up to tap the thing.  It glowed from her touch and the filly giggled.  "It's like a super long range walkie-talkie!"

"Better than the ones any of us used in Blue Nova and the Sacred Hold!"  Props said.  "The UDB3K can theoretically let us talk to one another for at least another two thousand miles!  Though the sound quality may be a teeeeensy bit bad."  She pulled out a random sound stone and spoke into it, causing crackling feedback to fill the air.  "It'll still let us keep in touch!  Twitchy twitchy ear touch!"

"Huh..."  Rainbow Dash smirked from where she hovered.  "I totally dig the idea of that.  Way to go, blondie."

"We appreciate it, Props," Belle said as she took the bulbous crystals and hoofed it to Kera who held it with joy.  "It means more than you know."

"It's my pleasure!"  Props sniffled, smiling as her eyes began watering more and more.  "It's the least I can do to let you know that we're safe and that we love you and that we'll never stop thinking about you and... and... and..."  She bit her lip, shook, shivered, and fell on her knees.  "Aaaaa-haaaaaaugh!  I wanted Uncle Prowse to tell you the tales of greeeeease and bleeeeeding!"

"Well, maybe we can speak to him still, Miss Props," Pilate said in a hopeful tone.  Thanks to your... erm... UDB3K?"

"Waaaaaieee!"  Props teared up a deluge as she leaned in to nuzzle Pilate.  "I'll missssss youuuuu, Stripsey Wipsey!"  She turned and nuzzled Belle.  "I'll misssssssss youuuuuu, Bellesmithy Withyyy!"  She threw her arms around Kera and nuzzled her to the breaking point.  "And I'll miss your fuzzy wuzzy wuzzy wuzzy wuzzy—"

"G-Gaaah!"  Kera whimpered.  "She's drowning me again!"

"Okaaaaaay, Propsy..."  Ebon pulled her back.  "We had our cry.  Now let's laugh our way back into the clouds."

"Hmmmm..."  Props sniffled, snorted, and put on a brave smile.  "Clouds aren't much to laugh at... unless I had some ice cream!"

"I'll see what I can whip up."  Ebon glanced back at the trio and smiled.  "Best of luck to you three.  You are, without a doubt..."  He bit his lip for a moment, then spoke with watering eyes.  "...the most sincere ponies I have ever known."

Belle's eyes went soft as the two trotted away.  In their place, Zaid shuffled into view.  "Mr. Zaid," she breathed, her voice trying to maintain composure.

"You and your zebra mate are super booty full," the earth pony said.  "I really regret not having the chance to get to know you guys a lot more than I did.  But... heh... with all the 'former-cultist-and-henchstallion-to-that-whacky-but-lovable-foalnapper-lady' rep that I've had to live down, I don't blame you for wanting nothing but to flatulate in my general direction."

"Erm..."

"Uhhh..."

"But you."  Zaid knelt down and smiled until his muzzle was at level with Kera.  "You're the scampiest scamp that ever did scamp!  And I'm scampily proud to have scamped scamps with your scampiness, scampwise."

Kera giggled.  "Has anypony ever told you that you're an idiot?"

"Only the ones too flaccid to admit their envy."  Zaid smirked.  "I'm glad you made it through all the messes, kiddo.  Both the ones I made as well as the ones I'm happy to have not made."

"Hey..."  Kera squinted.  "You saved my life.  Twice, at least.  You're pretty cool in my book."

"And if I wasn't so illiterate, that might mean something."

"Heheheh..."  Kera smirked.  "You remember that one time when you totally punched Nightshade in the face?"

Zaid blinked.  "Hah..."  He grinned.  "Hahahaha!  Hoooo-boyo!  I did that crap, didn't I?"

"Heeheehee—yeah!  She was just centimeters away from spitting out her own teeth too!"

"Hehhhhh right!"  Zaid sighed through a dumb smile.  "She's probably rotting somewhere as a forsaken corpse right about now."

Silence.

Beau and Golden Happenstance exchanged nervous glances.

"Well, this was fun!"  Zaid stood up.  "But I think I've stunk up the place enough.  Smell you cats in another life."  He turned and trotted off—almost bumping into Roarke.  "Whoops!  That could have been the death of me!"  Clearing his throat, he shuffled off.

Roarke, in the meantime, pivoted her icy lenses til they faced the pair of ponies standing across from her.

Pilate's metal brow furrowed.  Belle decided to speak for the both of them.  "Roarke..."

Roarke slowly nodded.  "Bellesmith."

Belle smiled sweetly.  "We've certainly come a long way from dangling in the trees as Searonese trophies, huh?"

"You still talk just as much," Roarke droned.

Pilate chuckled.  "Well, if it's of any consolation, the Jury is bound to be a bit less chatty."

"I highly doubt that," Roarke said.

A voice coughed from up above.

Roarke looked up.

Rainbow Dash hovered, gesturing towards the two ponies with her head.

After a breath, Roarke tilted her head back towards the pair and said quietly, "Your endurance through times of strife has been inspiring, even with your limited cybernetic implants."

Rainbow facehoofed with a sigh.

Belle fidgeted.  "Beloved... I... I-I think that was meant for you—"

"Oh!"  Pilate coughed and nodded.  "Thank you, Roarke.  I must say the same about how you've dealt with... uh... the loss of both your ship and your suit."  He smiled nervously.  "I once feared that your weaponry was the extent of your character, but your persistence and selflessness is a tribute to your boundless wisdom."

Roarke's lenses retracted.  She swallowed and said, "I did not expect that."

"What?"  Kera stuck her tongue out.  "A decent compliment?"

Belle giggled.

Roarke exhaled.  Eventually, she muttered.  "If there's anything I've learned in my life as of late, it's that strength comes from the strangest of places."

"Thank you, Roarke," Belle said with a smile.  "I think that was a very sincere thing to say."

Roarke's gaze descended until it reflected Kera from afar.  "I certainly hope that you three will continue to be strong, for the fight does not end here.  It doesn't end anywhere."

Kera gulped, then returned with a secret, silent nod.

"And Roarke..."

The bounty hunter looked up.

Belle's eyes were hard, chiseling.  "We hope that you remain strong for those who need it too."  Her eyes reflected a spectral shade above Roarke.

Roarke's ears twitched.  She gulped, gave a short nod, and trotted away from Rainbow's shadow.

Rainbow glanced at her leave, then looked aside as Josho shuffled forward.

"The day we first met, I had just stumbled out of an outhouse, and suddenly I found myself having to accost a terrible ventriloquist act at gunpoint."

"Spark alive..."  Pilate rolled his gray eyes.  "Do not remind me..."

"You think I have any friggin' fun remembering it?!"  Josho frowned.  "It was the worst day of my life."  He sighed, his ears drooping somewhat.  "And it began the best days of my life..."

Belle smiled emotionally.  "The blessing works both ways, Josho."

"In some directions more than others."  Josho gulped.  His brow furrowed as the lines in his muzzle darkened.

"Is something the matter?" Pilate asked into the ensuing silence.

"Just..."  Josho muttered, clearing his throat.  "Some days I regret being sober."

"You have many days ahead of you, Josho," Belle said.  "Don't fill them with regret."

"I'm a soldier," Josho said.  "It's too late for that.  But still..."  His lips curved slightly.  "It could have been a lot worse."

"For all of us," Pilate said with a nod.

"Yeah.  You keep saying that."  A pause.  Josho drifted forward.  He gave the zebra a firm hoof shake.  "A finer gentlecolt, I've never met."

"I'm willing to believe that," Pilate said.  The two stallions shared a mutual chuckle, and he added, "Take care of the family, Josho.  More look up to you than you think."

"That's what I'm afraid of."  Josho turned aside and looked at Belle.  Without hesitation, he lifted her hoof and kissed the end of it.

Belle blinked, blushing slightly.  The edges of her muzzle curved up and she stifled a giggle.

"What?" the unshaven stallion grumbled.  "Ticklish?"

"Heehee... yeah..."  Belle sniffled and leaned forward, giving him a dear hug.  She stroked his back and murmured, "Find yourself a home, a beloved, and live life warmly, Josho."

"Yeah, I'll see where that takes me," he droned.  "Praise the Spark you ain't no Xonan, or you would have wished me to make love to a pit of snakes or some crap."

Beau opened his mouth, but Hap stopped him before he could say anything.

Josho leaned back, then glanced down at the little filly standing between the adult ponies.  "And you..."  He pointed.  "Do something about the vomit in your mane."

"Ungh..."  Kera rolled her eyes.  "I knew I should have let it go curly again!"

Belle finished wiping her cheeks long enough to snicker.  "Don't you dare, darling."

"Yeah..."  Josho turned and trotted away.  "Got that over with..."  As he made his way towards the Jury, he paused.  He turned and squinted curiously at a lavender figure in Rainbow's shadow.

Eagle Eye was staring at the grass below, his shoulders shaking, heaving.

Rainbow Dash saw it.  Coiling her wings by her side, she softly touched down to the earth for the first time in hours and placed a hoof on the stallion's shoulder.

Eagle sucked in his breath, lifting a pair of moist eyes.  He gazed at Rainbow Dash.

Rainbow smiled back at him.

With a gentle nod, Eagle bravely shuffled forward towards his three friends, with Rainbow trotting closely alongside him.

Beau gestured to Golden Happenstance.  Hap nodded, and the two stallions trotted towards the heart of Lerris, ushering the crowd of onlookers to give distance as the five ponies converged in the center of the field.