"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.