Faerie Dust was lying in the chalk outline when Phoenix walked back in.
“How goes-”
“Shush!” Faerie said, not moving.
Phoenix winced and said nothing. He looked around the restaurant to wile the time away.
The tables and chairs were all moved around and the floors were swept clean. There were no donuts behind the counter anymore and Phoenix couldn’t help but wonder if the police had taken them all for ‘testing.’ The fireplace had a small pile of soot in it but nothing else; considering how warm the weather was, they were probably old. The generator in the corner was still partially disassembled; the pipe used as the murder weapon had probably been taken back to the department.
Faerie Dust moaned softly.
“Dusty?” Phoenix said, whirling around.
“Don’t… try to… wake me…” Her voice was hollow and emotionless. She opened her eyes and the irises were gone; her body tensed up and her mouth opened in a silent cry. She began to shake.
Phoenix’s heart was near breaking watching this happen and doing nothing, but he couldn’t tear his eyes away.
Slowly, slowly, the color faded into Faerie Dust’s eyes, but they were no longer her sweet lavender ones, but Cinder’s dark red irises. The tension in the brown mare’s body suddenly stopped and the pony flopped limply on the floor.
“Officer Cinder…?” Phoenix asked, walking closer. “Can you move?”
The possessed mare’s lips twitched, then her ears, then her tail. Then her eyelids snapped shut. Cinder was probably getting used to using a physical body again.
Then, softly, she spoke: “G… go…” The voice wasn’t Faerie Dust’s. It was Cinder’s. The sounds were a little more guttural than before as muscle memory returned. “Go… go away.”
Why does everypony want to say that to me today!? Phoenix thought.
Out loud, he said, “Why?”
Cinder opened Dusty’s eyelids. “Just… go. Leave me alone. I’m going to leave.”
“What? Why?” Phoenix said. “After Dusty tried so hard to summon you?”
“Yes, and that’s why I didn’t leave right away. I didn’t want her efforts totally wasted.” Cinder closed Dusty’s eyelids again. “She seemed so sweet… so eager to help… I… I didn’t want her to fail completely, so I thought I’d just stay a little while, so she could say it worked, and she’d know it wasn’t her fault…” Her voice was catching. A tear slid down Dusty’s cheek. “But… but I can’t deal with this anymore. I can’t.”
“Deal with what anymore?” Phoenix asked.
“My job. My family. That… that monster.” Cinder folded Dusty’s forelegs around Dusty’s chest without getting up. Her sobs were louder now.
“You mean Shocking?” Phoenix said.
Cinder just shook her head a little and didn’t answer. Phoenix didn’t know if she was shaking her head to say ‘no, I mean someone else’ or ‘I don’t want to talk about her.’
Phoenix wished he was less horrible at being comforting. He knelt beside her and put a forehoof on Dusty’s shoulder. “I… I…” What? I’m sorry? I can imagine this pains you? I’m sure this is painful? All he could think of was stating the obvious.
So in the end he said nothing at all, just stroking Dusty softly as Cinder sobbed and rocked back and forth with grief, shedding tears that weren’t her own. Phoenix mildly wondered if Dusty was awake for this; channelers were supposed to stay conscious but let the summoned soul have the reigns, but Dusty had a dangerous habit of falling comatose when possessed.
“So what are you going to do?” he asked after a moment.
Cinder was silent for a while.
“Are you just going to leave?” Phoenix pressed.
Cinder pushed Dusty into a sitting position. Her cheeks were still wet but she seemed to be done crying.
“You don’t want to, do you?” Phoenix asked.
Cinder turned away, not meeting Phoenix’s eyes. “What’s the point? To wait years in frozen limbo only to get killed again?” She sounded like she was trying to convince herself.
“What about Bottle Cap?” Phoenix asked.
“Maybe he’s better off never waking up,” Cinder said bitterly.
“H-how could you say that!?” Phoenix said. “He’s so young and has so much of his life ahead of him and there’s just so much good in this world.”
“What’s the point?” Now Cinder sounded hollow. “It only takes one to ruin it. Shocking Snap’s always done whatever the Tartarus she liked and she has no reason to stop now. I saw her kill me, but nothing else, and my testimony won’t be valid in court. She’ll just get away like she always does and there’s not a moonbound thing I can do!”
Cinder slammed Dusty’s hoof into the floor and bent Dusty’s head. In Cinder’s old body her bangs would have been covering her eyes now, but all of Dusty’s mane was done up in her bun so the effect was lost.
Phoenix took a deep breath. He didn’t like making strong statements about the future when it was out of his control. It always made him nervous, since it could end up being a lie. But maybe that was a good thing. Maybe it’d make him try harder instead of powerlessly whining that he’d done all he could.
“I won’t let her get away again,” Phoenix said, crossing his heart with one hoof. “Whatever it takes. I can’t let this happen again.”
Because injustice to one is injustice to all.
“And if- and when I catch her,” Phoenix continued, “will you stay?”
Cinder slowly inhaled, then exhaled again. “If you could do that for me… I… I wouldn’t know how to thank you.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” Phoenix said, putting a hoof on her shoulder. “Now… are you okay leaving Dusty’s body, or do you want a few more minutes?”
Cinder’s eyes flashed with pain and Dusty’s lip curled into a worried expression, but she said, “No, I… I couldn’t impose on her more.”
“You see the spherical bobbles on Dusty’s mane?” Phoenix asked. “They can carry souls. It’s not as nice as having a flexible body to move around, but they’ll keep you warm until she can take you back to her village and get you more comfortable accommodations. There’s a pony up there who’s trying to build metal puppets for souls to stay in; maybe even give them the feel of being alive. If you’re up to experimentation. If they work, then channeled spirits may even be allowed to testify again, since they’d be harder to fake.”
“You seem to know a lot about this,” Cinder said, smiling nervously.
“Ahahaha…” Phoenix rubbed his spikey mane. “I pick up some things here and there, being friends with a channeler and all.”
“I’m sure.” Cinder used Dusty’s hoof to hold one of the hair decorations up to her eye. “Um. How do I get in it?”
This had better go smoothly or he’d be forced to ask Mystic for help, which would require admitting he’d been hanging around with Dusty. At least he had personal experience to draw on. “It’s easiest if you lie down,” Phoenix said, helping her get into a comfortable position. “Try not to move at all… this will feel very scary, like you’re dying all over again, but trust me when I say it’ll be fine once you reach the other side. Well. Warmer, anyway. But if you can’t finish it the first time and you need another minute in Dusty’s body to get your courage up again, that’s fine. You’ll know it’s working if it feels like you’re about to tumble down a slide; let yourself fall and trust there’s a soft landing.” Noticing how still Cinder was lying, and that her eyes were closed, he continued, “Let the numbness happen. Let yourself detach. Slowly, slowly… don’t be afraid, we’re both here for you and we’ll take care of you. Everything will be fine. Stay calm, stay still…”
Dusty’s body lay still and limp for several worrisome seconds. Then she suddenly tensed up as she yawned, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. Her very own violet eyes. “Mmph… how’d it go, Nick?” She pulled on her right hair bauble. “Aw, she stayed with us?”
Phoenix glanced down at the little sphere. There was no apparent difference in Dusty’s accessory that normal ponies could detect; only those with soulsight could sense souls.
Phoenix nodded. “She’s staying, on condition I don’t let Shocking wriggle away tomorrow.”
“Well, you weren’t going to in any case,” Dusty said. “I believe in you, Nick.”
Phoenix let himself smile slightly. “Thanks.”
There was a brief silence as they smiled awkwardly at each other.
“Well,” Dusty said, “I’d better hurry home to Kurain to get Cinder comfortable. We’ll set up an appointment with Dr. Gene tomorrow, after you win the trial of course. I’m sure neither of us will want to miss it.”
“Okay. See you then.” Phoenix wondered if he could hug her goodbye. Well, it wasn’t like Mystic Faerie was watching-
A feeling of dread came over him. “I didn’t do any of the chores Mystic Faerie gave me today! She’s going to kill me!”
“You had more important things to do; she’ll have to understand!” Faerie Dust said. “But if she’s going to kill you anyway, let’s make it worth it.” She wrapped her forelegs around Phoenix’s neck and snuggled her muzzle under his. “Goodbye Nick. I’ll see you soon!”
Despite the goodbye, she made no move to leave. Phoenix stroked her beautiful plum mane with one hoof and hugged her back with the other. “Goodbye Dusty. Thanks for everything.”