Chapter 5
Chapter 5
Dusknoir remained dead quiet after his story was done. He did not move or speak in the slightest for a very long time. He simply floated there, staring lovingly at the small cloth held tenderly in his hand. Fluttershy and Houndoom looked at each other in concern before looking back at Dusknoir, silently waiting for the spirit to reawaken from his trance.
“Um, mister Dusknoir?” Fluttershy asked quietly, shifting uneasily on her hooves. “Shouldn’t we get going?”
“There is no need.” The phantom emotionlessly replied.
Fluttershy felt her heart stop from shock. Her eyes widened as she stuttered feebly, “Bu-b-but why not?”
“We are already here.”
Fluttershy and Houndoom looked equally surprised at the announcement, but the spirit paid neither of them any mind. Once again, the phantom’s stomach opened. Using his long arms, he reached inside the void of his body to gently place the cloth back. After his body shut with a familiar click, he conjured up his fireball again and sent it flying into the void.
As the purple glow disappeared from sight, Dusknoir turned to Fluttershy and said, “You should think about what you want to say before she arrives.”
Fluttershy snapped herself out of her shock, nodded silently and took a deep breath. A jolt ran through her mind as she realized that she had been so focused on getting here that she never gave any thought to what she would actually say.
I finally have my chance to speak to her again, but what should I say? Berry I’m sorry? Berry I… Berry… As she tried to think of something to say, a horrible thought entered her mind. What if she doesn’t forgive me? A lump formed in her throat as uncertainty and fear threatened to crush her. What if she hates me for what happened?
Her mind halted when the luminous glow of the fireball returned. Her pupils shrank to pinpricks and heart leap into her throat when she saw the tiny creature that trailed behind the flame.
Berry looked like the picture of death. Her fur was missing in patches, her clouded eyes were sunken in to her skull, her pale skin was taut and her ribs were clearly visible beneath it. The gangly squirrel waved its bony arm in her direction to beckon her closer. Fluttershy quickly brought a hoof to her mouth and dry heaved violently at the repulsive creature before her.
Dusknoir crossed his long arms and shook his head at the poor mare. “Do not be surprised. In this world, spirits manifest themselves as the form they had at the moment of their death.”
Distraught, Fluttershy turned to the spirit and screamed, but she choked on her voice and only a strangled gurgle escaped her lips. Hearing the faint sound of paw steps, she turned to the squirrel once more and watched in horror as it approached her. Berry scampered over to her tail and touched it gingerly. The two met each other’s eyes, and Fluttershy knew that it had to be her. She tenderly gathered the squirrel in her hooves and sat on her rump, hugging her tight.
Berry looked into her blue eyes, silently searching for something to say. Eventually she settled for a soft, “Hi Fluttershy, are you-”
“I’M SO SORRY BERRY!” Fluttershy embraced her friend as all of her sorrows came crashing out. “I’m sorry I let you die! It’s my fault! If I was faster, I could have had the medicine on time, and you would have gotten better and-and then… you, you would…” The rest of her words became trapped in her throat as her sobs wracked her body. She searched for something to say, but could only blubber like a child. Giving up on a verbal approach, she hugged Berry tighter instead.
Berry patted Fluttershy’s coat softly and squeaked, “It’s all okay, Fluttershy, I’m here.”
Fluttershy wanted to cry, to release all of her sorrow in a torrent of tears, but she knew that she could not. That only served to drive her despair further, and she wept dryly and gripped her friend like her life depended on it.
As the pegasus sobbed in the company of her friend, Dusknoir turned his back to her and faced Houndoom instead, who was sitting patiently beside him. He raised his hand up and said, “Now for you.” The spirit conjured up another fireball and hurled it into the abyss as well, and the two waited in silence for it to return.
Berry chirped again to help her friend regain her composure.
“How did you find me?” She asked calmly.
Fluttershy coughed and eased her hug on her friend. She placed Berry on one hoof and held her up to her head so they could see eye to eye and said, “A…after you… died I--” Her voice was seized by a harsh coughing fit, but it quickly faded. “I ran away from the Timberwolf as fast as I could. I thought I could get away but, a whole pack came and…Houndoom rescued me.” She cleared her throat and began to speak more clearly. “He fought the whole pack by himself.” She remembered how determined he was to make certain that those wolves died. “I can’t think of a creature brave enough to attack a whole pack alone, but he did.” She shivered as she remembered the fierce battle. “Houndoom was merciless- like a monster- as he burnt them all to ashes. He also… burned me.” She pointed to the scar and sighed, “I don’t blame him though. He saved my life. Without him, I would never have made it to Zecora’s hut. She took care of my burn, and was more than willing to help me find you.”
Fluttershy felt her heart warming up as she thought about all the two did for her. “Zecora and Houndoom both went so far out of her way to help me get here, just so I could say goodbye to you. She and Houndoom walked me back to the clearing, helped me summon Dusknoir, and she even went back to my cottage to check up on Angel for me.” Her ears and smile drooped as she thought about her other animals. “Angel Bunny and the rest really miss you, Berry. And even though you were only with us a short while, we won’t forget you,” Fluttershy brought Berry in for another hug, “No matter what.”
Berry beamed with happiness through her sickly smile. “I didn’t realize you guys cared about me so much.” As the information was processed, she felt at peace. It was strange; that she would receive so much love from such a large group of strangers. Overcome with happiness, she patted Fluttershy’s fur and nuzzled her cheek. In return, Fluttershy brought her arms back around the squirrel, and hugged her again. The two remained there; content to be wrapped in each other’s embrace until the end of time.
But they knew their time together was limited. Fluttershy cradled Berry in her hooves the way a mother cradles her child as a small grin grew on her face. She was never one for pranks, but just this once, the mood needed to lighten up, and she knew just the way. She began rocking her arms back and forth to lull the squirrel into a light sleep. Once Berry closed her eyes, Fluttershy brought her muzzle to the critters stomach and blew a raspberry, eliciting a shriek of delight from the startled squirrel. Berry squirmed out of the pony’s grasp and scampered into her mane, disappearing from sight. Fluttershy felt her tiny paws crawling all around her head until they found their target. This time, it was Fluttershy’s turn to giggle and squirm as Berry tickled the back of her sensitive ears. The giggling mare fell on to her sides as she gasped for air, but Berry scampered to her exposed belly and began tickling that as well.
They continued to play and take turns tickling each other. Without speaking, they decided to make their last memory of them together a happy one, so they frolicked in the misty dreamscape, laughing and hollering and squealing with joy.
After a time, they lay down to catch their breath. Fluttershy rested on her back while Berry sat on her belly. Slowly rising and falling with each breath the pegasus took, she spoke quietly, “Fluttershy, I appreciate more than anything that you went through so much trouble to talk to me again, but I have one last question to ask. Will you be able to get past my death? Can you move on?”
Fluttershy inhaled deeply and petted her friend softly as she said, “As a promise to a friend, I will move on.” She carefully rose on to her hooves and placed Berry on the misty ground. “It may take some time, and I know it will hurt, but I have my friends and Zecora to help me.” She shut her jaw tight to stop her lip from quivering and stared at the small critter.
Fluttershy brought the squirrel in for one last hug. She patted what was left of her fur and said, “No matter what, I will always remember you. I’m sure the rest of the critters will too.” As she released her grasp on her friend, Berry scampered back down to the ground.
Berry’s face widened into a grin that stretched from ear to ear and said, “You don’t need to worry about me. In this world I have the most wonderful dreams. It’s always so nice; the perfect day, every day. There are acorns as big as a house and I can eat all that I want and never get full! I can even sleep away from the shade of the tree branches without worrying about a hawk or wolf coming around the corner. It’s paradise, and I’m happy here, even though you’re gone. So I want you to be happy, even though I’m gone.”
Once more, Fluttershy wished she could cry, and once more, no tears came. Her lip quivered as she held back her sobs. Before her throat closed up completely, she managed to wrench out a single word, “Okay.”
With a final wave goodbye, Berry turned back to the void and scampered out of sight.
When the grey squirrel vanished, Fluttershy straightened her back and inhaled deeply through her nose, closing her eyes and trying her best to not break into hysterics. Her body shook as her sorrow threatened to burst out, but she held fast. Slowly, she conquered her emotions, and her head felt clear from negativity.
Her thoughts returned to the letter that Angel had written her earlier. Berry was gone, but she had other animals that depended on her too, and that filled her with the resolve she needed to get back on track. Rising to her hooves, she turned and called out for Dusknoir, “Mister Dusknoir! I’m ready to go--” She stopped abruptly as she registered the sight before her. “…home.”
Dusknoir was still there, as was Houndoom. Only… there was two of him. The two were right beside each other, with one lying on his side while the other rested its head over his neck. The way the two were entwined with one another, it looked as though they were about to go to sleep.
Careful not to make a sound, Fluttershy moved toward the pair as softly as a feather, but her path was blocked by Dusknoir’s thick arm. She turned to speak but his voice preceded hers, saying, “You had your moment of peace, let them have theirs.” She strained to extend her neck past the spirits’ arm, but he pushed her back. He did not act with malice or frustration, but rather with tenderness and tranquility. Fluttershy steadied herself and Dusknoir’s long arm moved back to his chest to fold in with the other.
Fluttershy eyed the new creature studiously and notice a few differences in their appearances right away; the second Houndoom was smaller in stature and had noticeably smaller horns that curved gently back, as opposed to the others’ whose horns raked sharply back like a spear. She concluded from these observations, and the way the two were entwined, that this new Houndoom was female.
She heard a heavy sigh escape Dusknoir’s body and turned to find him looking at Houndoom with pity, the way one might pity a bird that broke its wing. “Fate can be a cruel mistress,” his shoulders sagged and his voice was weighed down with sorrow as he spoke, “but her will cannot be undone. It was with a heavy heart that I shepherded their souls here, for their time came far too soon.” He narrowed his eye on the male and solemnly said, “He has suffered through pain incomparable even to my own.”
Fluttershy looked at the female curiously before turning back to Dusknoir, “What do you mean by them? They can’t both be dead, Houndoom was just with me.”
“Look closely and you will understand.”
Fluttershy nodded silently as the two dogs began to move.
The female picked her head off the ground and nibbled at the male’s neck. He moved out of the way but she persisted. Eventually he got up and playfully grabbed her muzzle with his own. She tried to get away but her movements her sluggish. He quickly placed his paw on the side of her head and pushed her back to the ground. Once he let go she snapped at his ear and tugged on it hard enough to send him on to his side. Before he could right himself, she placed her forelegs around his neck and climbed on top of him. She went limp like dead weight to pin him down and watched with glee as he squirmed to get free.
As Fluttershy watched their “battle” continue, something clicked in her mind and her face lit up like a candle with her revelation. “They must be mates! Of course! That would explain why he wanted to get here so urgently, but...” She stopped herself and stared into the mist, “But that doesn’t explain how she died...” Hoping for another answer, she tried asking the spirit but he did not reply.
After a while the male stopped struggling and lay perfectly still. The change in behavior caused the female to drop her guard, providing him with the perfect opportunity to escape. He rolled away and began circling her. She tried to stand, but her wobbling legs could not support her weight. Once he entered her blind spot, he pounced back onto her, grabbing her muzzle again and pinning her back to the ground. She whined in defiance and pawed at him but his grip was too strong. After a moment she gave up and relaxed her body. He released her jaw and howled triumphantly while she rolled onto her other side to face away from him, revealing her backside to the Pegasus.
With a clear view, Fluttershy saw to her horror that the female had jagged gashes all over her body, including several deep punctures on her back that looked like something had tried to bite her in half. There was only one creature Fluttershy could think of that made such marks on its prey, a Timberwolf. She furrowed her brow as she thought, But, there’s no way a Timberwolf killed her! If she can breathe fire, how could she have died?
When he saw this his ears and tail drooped and he whimpered as though to apologize. The female continued to ignore him, so he walked back over and placed his head over her neck like before. He snuggled up close to her and cooed softly into her ear, and she responded by licking his nose and entwining her tail with his, creating a helix that brought the two even closer together.
As Fluttershy observed their play like a faithful sentinel, she thought back on what Dusknoir had said, It was with a heavy heart that I shepherded their souls here.
“But what could he have meant by that?” Fluttershy furrowed her brow as she continued to think, “They are mates. And of course, having a mate leads to…” Her blood instantly froze in her veins as another piece of the puzzle clicked into place. “No...no there is no way that could have have happened. Please, anything but that.” She tried to dismiss the thought, but no matter how much she wanted to believe otherwise, there was no escaping this terrible truth. The female’s sluggish movement, the Timberwolf scars, it all made sense now. The revelation shattered her bearings like a boulder dropped on a fragment of glass and she collapsed in the mist as the spirits comment echoed endlessly in her mind, for their time came far too soon.
The memory of the battle in the forest clearing came rushing back as Fluttershy pieced everything together. The Timberwolf leader’s reaction to Houndoom’s howl, Houndoom’s unstoppable fury, everything made sense. He may have saved her from the wolves, but now she understood that that was not his initial plan. His ferocious fire was not born from a desire to save her, but for revenge. And even though she could never condone such an act, she was even more confident in his compassion. He felt guilty for the consequences of his revenge, and did everything in his power to make it up to her.
“Don’t worry Houndoom,” Fluttershy slowly rose back to her hooves and smiled softly, “I forgive you.” She wanted to tell him personally, but after seeing him resting so peacefully with his mate, she decided against it.
“Now then,” Dusknoir called to get her attention, “If you are ready, we will depart from this world.”
Fluttershy steeled her nerves and took a step forward, but turned back to Houndoom and asked, “What about him?”
“It is up to him to decide when he is ready to leave. But knowing what he has gone through, I believe you will understand if he does not wish to return to the world of the living.”
“What will happen if he does decide to stay here forever?”
“If he truly has no regrets and wishes to remain in the spirit realm, then I will return to the world of the living and destroy his physical form. Once a soul decides to begin its infinite sleep, there is no going back. Now, I will ask once more, are you ready to depart?”
Fluttershy nodded and closed her eyes, bracing herself for the events that she knew were coming. With a familiar click, the zigzagged mouth opened wide and the white mist fell away into nothingness as she was plunged into the infinite depths of the spirit’s core.
*****
Fluttershy opened her eyes as the now-familiar dizzying aftermath of Dusknoir’s unique transportation began to fade. Clearing the fog from her vision, she found she was lying on her side in the clearing, just as she had been before the spirit arrived. A quick glance up at the sky told her that some time had passed while she was unconscious, for though the stars still gleamed against the black curtain of night, the moon had descended below the treetops.
As she brought her gaze down from the stars, she locked eyes with Dusknoir, who was floating slowly towards her. His simple presence here immediately raised a question, but after looking around the clearing she saw, or rather didn’t see, Houndoom. Not a trace remained of the demon hound, so Fluttershy detached her concerns for him; he was in a better place.
As Dusknoir grew closer, Fluttershy notice something strange about his otherworldly cyclopean visage. The previously emotionless countenance was so twisted she thought she was looking at his reflection from a funhouse mirror. However, once he had gotten within arms reach, she realised that the peculiar, crooked grimace was the closest thing to a smile the phantom could muster. She was happy to return the affection and displayed one herself.
Dusknoir trembled like a child as he was overcome by sensations that eluded him for a millennia. The frigid, desolate winter that froze his emotions away melted into the warmth of spring as his heart beat once more. Blood and courage coursed through his veins and ignited the fire of passion he thought had long since burned out.
Dusknoir eventually wrangled his wild emotions together long enough to say, “Thank you, Fluttershy.”
“You’re thanking me? But why? I should be the one thanking you, I never did anything.”
Dusknoir’s ghoulish grin grew, “For the chance to talk. After all, you are the first creature to hold a conversation with me since the Zebras stopped summoning me some seven hundred years ago.”
Fluttershy cocked her head to the side to the side, “Huh? But what about all those souls you escorted, didn’t they-”
“The recently deceased are not ones for idle conversation. Even if they were, I am not the most pleasing visage to chat with am I?” Dusknoir pointed to his blood red eye and blinked playfully.
Fluttershy giggled at the unexpected display of humor.
Dusknoir continued, “My task of guiding lost souls and putting them to rest is rather tedious. After the Zebras stopped summoning me, I was all alone again. Without anyone or anything to talk to, I had plenty of time to think; reflect on my past. I had been holding on to those thoughts and memories for a very long time. But then you came along.”
Dusknoir lowered himself down to speak eye-to-eye. “I thank you from the bottom of my soul for giving me a chance to release the pent up emotion of my story. I feel as though a great burden has been lifted from my chest, and now I am free to think as I please without those memories anchoring me to the past.” He bowed deeply and lay his hands out before Fluttershy’s hooves. “I am in your debt, Fluttershy. If there is anything I can do to assist you, don’t hesitate to call.”
Fluttershy blushed and tried to hide behind her mane from the spirit’s reverence, “Um, it was nothing, really.”
Fluttershy gazed awhile into the night sky before looking to the forest and then to her leg. When she turned her attention back to Dusknoir, he was still bowing to her. Hesitantly, she bit her lip and said, “Uh, actually, there is one thing…”
Dusknoir did not move.
“W-well, do you think you could, um, bring me back home? I mean, it’s dark and I don’t actually know the way back so...”
“As you wish.” At this, Dusknoir quickly erected himself and moved right in front of Fluttershy.
Fluttershy made a quick “eep!” as Dusknoir brought his large hands under her, gently lifting her off the ground with the care of a proud father. He held Fluttershy close to his chest, cradling her like an infant and began floating to the edge of the clearing and into the dark forest.
Fluttershy rested her head on the spirit’s chest as he silently navigated the forest. She closed her eyes and relaxed in the spirit’s embrace and when she opened them again, her cottage was in sight, just beyond the edge of the trees. As the cottage came closer, the first few rays of the sun’s light crept up from the tree tops, showering the dewy grass and leaves with a golden warmth that penetrated the cold of night wrapped around her like a blanket.
When they reached her porch at last, he placed her down and bowed honorably. Fluttershy shifted on her hooves and blushed a bright scarlet at the display of devotion. She looked up at him with teary eyes and choked, “So, I guess this is where we say goodbye?”
Fluttershy’s head sagged as tears streamed down her face, but Dusknoir lifted her head back up and wiped away her tears; a gesture that was both heartwarming and futile as more tears quickly replaced them. “Whenever there is a meeting, a parting is sure to follow,” he said softly. However, that parting need not last forever.”
As the sun rose higher, Dusknoir began to melt away into the shadows, but his voice remained, “Should a parting last forever, or only a short time, that is for you to decide. If ever you wish to return, come and see me.”
Fluttershy stared on as his body faded away completely, leaving her all alone on her porch. She stood immobile for a moment until the sounds of birds chirping snapped her back to focus. As the morning radiance bestowed a tranquil glow on the small cottage, she inhaled deeply and open the door.
“Good morning everyone, Mama’s home.”
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The feels.
finally a new chapter good as always
Well that was....good?
Wow...I'm speechless!
4125323 thanks for commenting. It really means a lot to me when people tell me how they felt about each chapter. If you want, why don't you follow me? I'll have more stories out soon.
4127305 Alright. Why not?
Even if I did not read it yet, having not a single down vote automatically earns you a like and fav
4386529 I hope that holds true after you actually read it. :)
4388218 ;)
That last chapter got me right in the feels.
FLUTTERSHY! You went and forgot to tell him about what happened to Luna!
The odds are 148:1! Impossible! Why is this not featured !
4957771 Im glad you liked it, it means a lot to me :)
nice
I love this ending. Though sad, it is perfect.
5560059 thank you for the kind words, sir. I did my best.
.....welp, you made me cry you magnificent jerk. If there is any problem with this fic, it's that it had not Marowaks in it.
Sequel?
5943718 Maybe. I've kinda lost the drive to write for the time being. But it might come around eventually.
It's over?
4887639 MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY!!!
CURSE YOU, FLUTTER, FOR NOT TELLING DUSKNOIR THAT LUNA LIVES!!!!!
That. Was. Amazing!
I love the story but not the part that Fluttershy not telling Dusknoir that Luna is back but also can you do a sequel to this, because the end of chapter 5 was a bit of a cliffhanger there.
Please write more
