//------------------------------// // The Strength to Come Back // Story: Urohringr // by Imploding Colon //------------------------------// Pilate struggled his way up a flight of crooked stairs. He leaned to his left, constantly grazing a slanted wall of slick granite. He gnashed his teeth with each step. A thin sheet of water trickled down the stairs, making every hooftrot more perilous and awkward than the last. At last, slipping only once or twice, he ascended to the upper level of the temple platform. He pulled himself forward, gripping onto shards of battered granite in the process. There was a break in the ceiling, and Pilate emerged upon a solid sheet of drowning rain. Sputtering, he nevertheless pressed on, squatting low as he threw his shoulder into the gale force winds. As he proceeded on his own, the air around him billowed with tempestuous waves of moisture and precipitation. It wasn't until about halfway through his trek across the upper platform's floor that something happened. A shadow streaked past the zebra, leaving errant splashes seattling thrugh the collective puddles around him. Pilate shuffled to a stop. He stood up straight, holding his breath in the pelting rain. His head cocked to the side while his ears flicked against the moisture. He heard nothing beyond the constant roar and hiss of the monsoon. Clenching his jaw tight, the blind stallion nervously inched forward, keeping his shuffling steps deliberately slow. When he continued to hear nothing, he accelerated his movement, stumbling towards a break in the rain where he heard less drops falling—a sign of ceiling cover. Unbeknownst to him, a shadow darted past yet again, inching closer and closer with each pass. Bellesmith winced. While the changeling's tiny figure shivered on her backside, the mare crawled up until she was even with a shattered pillar and peered directly over the edge of the platform that she was on. The temple had revolved around the central structure twice, during which its whole body had twirled around. At this point, the outer edge—including the precipice upon which she perched—was jutting at its furthest reach from the center. She guessed that she was three temples' length from the edge of the circular building where she and Eagle Eye first fell, not to mention where she last saw Rainbow Dash and Pilate disembark. The gap was too impossible to jump. Even if she had a running start, Belle would barely make it one one-hundredth of the way before plunging into the my murderous winds. However, some things were less impossible than others. As Bell glanced to her left, she saw a smaller temple gliding past her on a perpendicular course. It didn't take long to realize that jumping onto that would give her a much closer pedestal to her destination. However, the platform was dramatically smaller than the temple she was on, and it was gliding by at an alarming rate. Belle felt her heart beating rapidly even as she contemplated what had to be done next. "Elma, I'm going to need you to hold on, darling," Belle said. She was already trotting backwards, kneading her hooves tighter against the platform's slick surface. "I mean it. Grip tight. This isn't exactly going to be fun." "Nnnngh... don't... d-don't..." The changeling whimpered, clinging to her back. "You'll... w-we'll never make it..." "Jee, thanks for the vote of confidence..." Belle took a deep breath, then an even deeper one. "Spark help me, I love you, Pilate." Then, with gnashing teeth, she galloped ahead at full force. The platform's edge disappeared beneath her. Breathlessly, she propelled herself into the howling winds. The wet, wet world became weightless. Belle plummeted towards gray nothingness. She clenched her breath and had faith. There was a reason why she jumped earlier than expected. Sure enough, the winds blew her towards the left. By the time she fell towards the temple's level, it had magically drifted into the right spot to catch her... although it didn't do so smoothely. "Ooomf!" Belle landed and instanstly pratfalled, collapsing onto her side. The momentum of her leapt sent her sliding like a torpedo across the slick rock surface. Halfway through the careerning glide, she opened her aching eyes. A gasp escaped her lips; she had lost a great deal of weight. Or rather... "Elma!" Sputtering, Belle stood up and looked behind her. The frail changeling had slipped off upon impact and was rolling like a loose paper bag towards the flying temple's edge. "Hold on!" Bellesmith hollered, immediately sprinting towards the helpless creature. Puddles splashed and thunder rolled. She plunged forward, sliding on her belly and clasping the shapeshifter's body with two strong forelimbs at the very last second. With a gasp, the changeling dangled from her grasp, her legs and wings flailing in the temple breeze. Not long after, she was hoisted into Belle's embrace. The two fell over across the surface of the platform with Belle protectively wrapping her legs around her. Following a dreadful shiver, the changeling buried its face into Belle's chest and sobbed. "It's okay..." Belle murmured, caressing the changeling's neck and shoulder. "I got you, Elma. We're okay. A little shaken up... but we're okay..." "No..." The changeling quivered in her grasp, its exoskeleton flickering to reptilians scales and then reverting back to black. "It's not okay. Stop calling me that... st-stop calling me that which I'm not..." "You mustn't give up hope, Elma," Belle said with a slight frown. "I know you're in a bad place, but I'm going to help you live so that you can find yourself a good place." "Why...?" The changeling tilted her head up. A peach coat lingered under dark tattoos. Green bangs framed a sad face with green eyes as the filly whimpered, "Why do you love me?" Belle's muzzle fell open. She sniffled as a tear rolled down her cheek along with the rainwater. "Why wouldn't I?" She caressed Kera's cheek. "Elma, you don't have to do this. Please... just try to relax—" "How can I not relax when I'm around you, beloved?" Kera's voice deepened as her eyes went clear and the tattoos morphed into black and white stripes. Pilate leaned forward, stifling a sob as he nuzzled Belle close. "Please, just stay with me. I forgive you, my love. I forgive you for everything. Let's never be apart again..." Belle panted and panted. She clenched her eyes shut, hissing through grinding teeth as she felt the stallion's loving touch. "Elma, don't..." She squeaked, fighting the urge to hyperventilate. "Elma... st-stop it... you're..." She felt her body go numb while a fire burned in her chest. "You're robbing me... d-devouring my strength...!" The blind zebra blinked. Tossing its head aside in a plume of green fire, the changeling reverted back to its insectoid self. The wings on its back buzzed strongly while it nevertheless reeled from the shattered contact. Belle caught her breath, sitting up again as she rubbed her aching head. The changeling shuffled backwards, wincing. "I'm a monster, Belle. Just leave me be. I don't know what's happening... but your heart... your feelings are so delicious." It gulped with a clatter of its shell. "At this rate... I-I'm going to reduce us to nothing..." "No..." Belle gripped its hoof, pulling it back towards her as it kept the creature anchored in place. "We can do this. We need each other, Elma." "Just stop it..." The monster whimpered. "Stop calling me—" "It's the you I remember. And until we're somewhere safe, that's what I'm choosing to call you." Belle frowned, wiping her tears clean as she forced the changeling to look back at her. "As far as I'm concerned, you're worth a thousand of the real Elmas. So stop whining and help me get us to where we need to go. I can't do all of this on my own." The changeling winced. "Are you feeling... stronger now?" It looked at its porous black hooves, trailing with green smoke. "Y-yes, actually..." "Good. Then maybe you can walk with me. We'll move faster without one of us having to carry other." "Belle, just why..." The changeling sighed. "Why are you doing this? Why go so far for a monst—..." It clenched its fanged mouth shut. "Why do all this for me?" "Because I have to know, Elma." "Know what?" "That you can make it back from the brink." Belle sniffled. She glanced back and gave the creature a bittersweet smile. "Because then it means that maybe I can too..." Pilate shuffled under the protective cover of an overhang. Once free from the rainfall, his watersoaked body shivered. He limped forward until he brushed into a chunk of loose debris. "Unngh!" He caught himself before he could completely collapse. He felt around, hearing the rattle of loose chunks of granite. With a sigh, he pivoted to his sigh, shuffling forward, feeling for a clear path towards the furthest end of the enclosure. About a full minute into his movement, he came to a stop. He froze in place, barely daring to breathe. In a flash, he swiveled around, facing the rainy world from which he came. Pilate's lips pursed, his head craned to the side while his ears tilted forward and then from side to side. His breaths came in tiny shallow bursts as he endeavored to make sense out of the distorted sound of falling rain drops. Dead ahead of the zebra, blocking the gray light of Stratopolis, a cloaked figure stood, its hood and sleeves laced with a dull amber glow. It stood just as still as Pilate, shadowing the stallion. Pilate listened and listened. He gulped, his teeth clenching tighter. Slowly, he pivoted back towards the corner of the enclosure, moving his limbs to drift ahead. The Lounge member crouched low, coiling its muscles. The glow intensified as it prepared to spring forward. Without warning, Pilate threw his head down, clamped his teeth onto a chunk of granite, and spun back around—wielding the small boulder like a club. Smash! It met the charging figure's silver mask with a loud clank! The Lounge member reeled back momentarily. Panting for breath, Pilate galloped forward. He slammed into a wall, cursed under his breath, then shuffled along the barrier, following the sound of rain water. There was a roll of thunder, masking the Lounge member's footsteps so that it sprang upon the stallion from seemingly nowhere. Pilate felt arms surrounding his chest from behind, wrestling him hard to the floor with a murderous suplex. "Ooof!" Pilate wheezed, rolling onto his backside. "Hnnnngh!" He bucked hard, knocking the knee out from the creature. But with blazing speed the thing slipped around Pilate's weight in the splashing water, wrestling the stallion hard to the ground and pressing its elbows into his back. "Gaaaugh! Hmmmphghh... g-get off—" Pilate was answered with a metal rod shoved into the back of his neck. Electrical currents surged through the zebra's body. With a violent spasm, Pilate gasped. His blind eyes rolled back in his head, and he fell limply to the wet floor with a dull thud. And then he felt nothing.