"Beneath the heavy veil... beyond the dull wall of cement... deep, deep within the ancient misty forest... there lies another world... that world is far closer than you might imagine.”
Kore Yamazaki , Volume 1 of The Ancient Magus Bride

Prologue

A pair of eyes shifted their gaze away from the window and looked down at her daughter sitting in her lap. They were huddled by her bedroom window sill, sitting on the long, softly colored floral ottoman, and taking in the silent but calm star filled night that filled her view and her entire bedroom. Her arms wrapped around her daughter tightly but lovingly, resting her hands on top of her daughter’s small hands. She wanted to squeeze them, but she always worried that she could break them, even though it never happened.

The mother was a traditional, but sweet looking woman. Her round face was framed by her large, but short red curls and her boxy turquoise glasses. Her long, sunflower patterned nightgown complimented her tall yet petite body and her buttercream skin. Her rose colored eyes shined as they focused on the beautiful little girl in her lap.

The mother’s head was resting on top of her daughter’s head. Her daughter had such long, thick, but soft, light, cherry blossom pink hair. It always surprised her how soft, but more importantly, how thick her daughter’s hair was in comparison to most six year olds her age.

She tried to shake that thought from her mind, and focused instead on finding Fluttershy’s teal eyes and her cherub like face. She was barely able to peek past her daughter’s hair, and see how the glow of the night beautifully lit the soft edges of her round, light buttercream face and glimmering eyes. She smiled softly and chuckled a little in her throat at her daughter’s curious yet innocent expression.

“That’s a good question sweetie. A question that has brought on many stories. Some say that magic comes the glimmering surface of the water. Others have said that magic comes from the night sky, leaking from the stars above. Some have even said that magic was dug up long ago, by the roots of a very old but very big tree. I however, personally prefer the story that your Grandmother Shy once told me.”

The mother, feeling a bit taken back her daughter’s question at first, but regardless answered softly, “Y-Yes, yes she was, sweetie. Why do you ask?”

She chuckled while hugging her daughter closer to her chest, “Oh, no, no sweetie, your Grandmother Shy did not look like Grandma. Your Grandmother Shy and Grandma are two very different looking people. They even acted differently too.”

“Well for starters, unlike Grandma, Grandmother Shy could see the fae. Just like you and me.”

In a subdued and almost sorrowful tone, the mother added, “Y-yes, that’s right sweetie. Just like...Papa and Zephyr.”

She quickly changed the topic and added in a more cheerful, if slightly forced, tone, “Your Grandmother Shy was so adventurous. A true heroic figure...straight out of an adventure novel. Fearless, bold, but very kind and very sweet. She wanted to know everything there was to know about the fae.”

Then, she turned her attention back to the window sills and the night sky that shone through. With all the stars in her view, She recited gently, “According to your Grandmother Shy, a long time ago, long before you were born, there was a mirror. At first glance, it seemed like just an ordinary mirror. It was covered with rust, small cracks and no one paid it any mind. No one knew where it came from. All that anyone knew was that one day, someone accidentally dropped the mirror and it created a huge crack in the middle of it, that inexplicably started to leak out magic. You see Fluttershy, the fae of this world once lived on the other side of that mirror. This meant they would see our world the way a mirror does. Everything looks the same, except for the fact that everything was a bit opposite. Everything was on the wrong side. And this confused the fae once they started coming out into our world.”

As she began to lightly braid Fluttershy’s hair, the young girl started looking out the window. A gentle, sad look slowly appeared upon Fluttershy’s face as a thought dawned upon her. This new thought urged her to ask aloud, “Momma?”

She immediately stopped braiding her daughter's hair. She took a moment to recollect her thoughts and her breath, before undoing the braid. “Sweetie, the fae don’t mean to hurt us. I know that you’re worried about them, but it’s going to be okay. We already saw tons of them earlier today, just playing around in the park. After a whole day of playing, the fae must be tired and they’ll need to get a good night’s sleep. And we’ll sleep too, you’ll see. It’ll be nothing but sweet dreams tonight, I promise.”

But this explanation didn’t help ease young Fluttershy’s concern on the subject. She pulled her head away from her mom, brought her knees to her chest, and placed her head on top of her knees. Her daughter’s eyes were still on the view of the night sky to their left.

The mother sighed softly at the sight of this, and pulled her daughter slowly into a hug. “I know it’s been hard getting some sleep lately.”

With some emotion building in her throat, almost clogging up her voice, she continued strongly, “I know sweetie, I-I know.”

Then, she pulled Fluttershy away from her chest and causing the sweet little girl to look up at her with wide, confused, sad, yet tired looking eyes. Despite this heartbreaking sight, she was able to muster up a smile and proclaim, “But until Papa and Zephyr come back, we have to be brave. And I know that you can be brave. After all,... ”

Then, she took her front left hand and let the tips of her fingers gently cupped underneath Fluttershy’s chin. “You’re Papa’s brave little girl, as well as, Zeppie’s big brave older sister.”

Fluttershy smiled briefly at her mother. However, it wasn’t too long before her solemn expression returned. Her heart sank at seeing such expression on her daughter’s face. Nothing about this situation was right in her eyes. Her daughter was too young to experience such a fear, to be without a father or experience such worry over her own little brother. The mother could see how much this burdened Fluttershy. So much so, in fact, that it made Fluttershy crouch over and lump her shoulders forward. Always positioning herself in a state where she had to protect her own body constantly. All of it threatened to bring her to tears if she dwelled on it for much longer.

Mercifully, she was drawn back to her reality when her daughter asked once more, but with more urgency in her voice, “Momma, why do the fairies always want to hurt us? Why do they want to scare us so much? What did we do momma? What did we do?”

With her little girl on the verge of tears, she soothed her by cupping both of her cheeks and cooed emphatically, “Nothing sweetie, nothing. We did absolutely nothing wrong to the fae. Please Fluttershy, you must understand. The fae only do this because we can see them. And because we can see them, it has made them curious of us. And when the fae are curious, they seek to understand. Humans run away from what they don’t understand, but the fae… they sometimes... make mistakes when they are curious. So, that is why I said that they don’t mean to hurt us. When they get carried away by their curiosity, bad things happen. Do you understand Fluttershy?”

The young girl opened her eyes and looked back up to her mother. Fluttershy truly took notice how her mother looked that night. The night glow coming through the bed window softened the edges and curves of her face, which was similarly round, much like her own face. She noticed how her mother’s hair beautifully framed her face and how the light of the stars brought out the lovely dark shade of her maroon hair. Despite how blocky and large her glasses were, her mother’s eyes were truly compelling in the darkness of the room, bright and glistening with the fresh start of her tears.

“Promise me,” she continued, “That... that no matter what happens, you will not hate the fae.”

Fluttershy remained silent and still, keeping her wide eyes on her emotional mother. Her mother could tell that her daughter was truly trying to comprehend everything she was telling her, but didn’t know how. Which made explaining things to her very complicated to say the least. However, she didn’t want to stop trying. “Fluttershy, the fae are neither good nor bad, they are simply... they are simply… ”

She sighed to herself and took her hands away from Fluttershy’s face. A distinct cold rushed to Fluttershy’s cheek and she continued to stare at her mother curiously, waiting for some form of guidance during this troubling time at night. Sadly, while her mother wanted to say that they were mysterious, or unique, or different, she knew none of those words would help Fluttershy understand.

Despite this, she decided to take a different approach, “Sweetie, our ability to see the fae is a blessing, not a curse. It is our special talent. We’re different in the most wonderful way possible. I know it doesn’t feel like it now, but someday... it will be. And when that day comes my dear child, you’re going to be so glad that you didn’t give up on the fae. Okay?”

Fluttershy hesitated at first to nod her head, but she did so in order to make her momma happy, even if for just a moment. In truth, Fluttershy didn’t fully understood what she was promising, she just knew that she had to promise something. Even so, she got the feeling that maybe, just maybe, the fae were not as bad as they seemed. If her mom was willing to be nice to them, then so can she.

“Your Grandmother Shy says that our special talent came from the same mirror that unleashed the magic and fae into our world. You see, the people who held the mirror wanted to stop all the magic and fae from coming in. They thought that they could stop the power of the mirror if they destroyed it. And so, when the glass was shattered, all of its pieces flew into the sky, transforming into beams of light, before dropping into the eyes of some young children. Among those children were some of the first people of our family. The magical mirror granted the children the power to see the fae when no one else could. This became a very handy gift because people needed help dealing with the fae, especially since they couldn’t leave our world. Also, because the mirror was gone, the fae from the other world couldn’t come into our world either. From that day forward, those gifted children and their families became known as the Bright Eyed Children of Fae. Though that was the most common name used, as some referred to as us The Children of Glass, while others called us Slay Vega or Sleigh Beggies.”

“Baggies?” Fluttershy questioned, tilting her head to the side with confusion.

She let out a soft but bell-like giggle at her daughter’s remark. She grinned, began to pet the top of Fluttershy’s head, and she brought her gaze down to her child’s eye level, “No sweetie, beggies. Not baggies. Though, I do like the sound of Sleigh Baggies.” Then, she finished her statement with another little giggle, and this caused Fluttershy to smile. For just a moment.

Her eyes and smile began to soften as a distant but potent memory came to mind. Fluttershy took notice of this and watched her mother intently. Especially when she told her that, “That’s why...that’s why your Papa always said that...that you and Zeppie have such pretty eyes. Your eyes and your brother’s eyes are like pieces of sea glass. Pieces of frosted treasure that just washed up on the shore of a beach.”

With a reassuring smile, Fluttershy brought her small hands to her mom’s face and comforted her with, “You have pretty eyes too, momma.”

Tears began to form in the corners of the mother’s eyes as she gently embraced her daughter’s touch, “Ohhh, thank you sweetie. You’re so kind to your momma, did you know that?”

“Yes!” Fluttershy proclaimed confidently with a bright grin on her face. Her mother couldn’t help but laugh at her smart but confident proclamation, it comforted her to know that her daughter still had spirit. A spirit that reminder her so much of her late husband's mother.

“Yes!” Fluttershy giggled, this time louder and having a hard time even responding to her mother in the midst of her laughter.

She laughed with her little girl, holding her up high in the air, swinging and dancing with her as they giggled together. She brought them away from the window sill and towards the floral patterned queen size bed in the middle of the room. Their dance and constant spins around the room ended when them both landing and flopping onto the bed. They bounced back a little at the impact, which made them laugh and giggle even louder than before.

The mother and daughter continued to chuckle until they really couldn’t breathe anymore. They gradually and slowly eased their laughter in order to catch their breath. Their backs relaxed into the plush surface of the bed as they calmed themselves into the quiet night. The bedroom was filled with the sound of their steadying breath and the subtle pounding of their heartbeats.

Her bright grin eased into a gentle smile, and she let out a cleansing puff of relief. A breath that she had been holding in for the longest time now it seems. She turned to face Fluttershy, who was already looking more like a carefree and happy five year old than the scared little mouse that she had been protecting for weeks now. She crawled up to Fluttershy, and cradled her into her arms. The little girl immediately embraced her mother’s touch and nuzzled into her chest. She closed her eyes, let out a quiet sigh, and let a gentle smile escape from her lips.

“Alright sweetie,” the mother whispered happily, “That’s enough fun for one night. It’s time for this bright eyed child to get some sleep.”

She chuckled in her throat before moving to the head of the bed with her daughter in her arms. Quietly, she removed her glasses and placed them on her white birch night stand. As she did so, Fluttershy yawned again and her grip on her silk pajama top began to loosen. She could tell that her little girl was already asleep in her embrace.

She pulled on the covers of the bed with her free hand, while securing Fluttershy with the other, and tucked the pair in. Snuggling herself closer to Fluttershy, she silently rested her chin on top of her little girl’s head.

Sunflower awoke suddenly to the sounds of Fluttershy screaming for her life, furniture and other objects being tossed and thrown in the bedroom, as the piercing echoes of horses neighing and monsters howling tore through the room.

Everything was all a blur. Everything was going too fast. She didn’t know where Fluttershy was. She didn’t know where the fae that was attacking them was. Without her glasses, Sunflower was all but completely blind.

The bedroom was still dark, so it was either still in the middle of night or the hours before sunrise. To her, this meant that she was dealing with fae that thrived on darkness, but ran away from sunlight.

Before she could process her situation, grab her glasses, and come up with a plan to save her and Fluttershy, she could feel the fae struggling to pull Fluttershy out of her arms. They grabbed and pulled on Fluttershy from wherever they could, making the frightened child cry and scream even louder, calling out for her mother. She reacted rapidly and pulled her daughter back to her chest. It was a tug of war between her and these mysterious fae that dare invade her home.

The intruders soon resorted to pulling on her forearms, shoulders, legs, and her hair. She attempted to kick these creatures off her, but her feet couldn’t find their bodies for some reason. She felt like she was kicking the air helplessly. Meanwhile, all she could see was the blurred vision of her daughter’s tear stained face. She could see a shadow created by the fae looming over head. When she took a closer look at the being attacking her, she could make out the fuzzy edges of their grotesque, ghostly, equine looking faces and glowing white eyes.

When her forearm was bare and in front of Fluttershy’s chest, holding the little girl close to her own body, the fae took the opportunity to bite down on it hard. She sobbed aloud in immense agony, immediately feeling the blood trickling from her forearm and the unforgiving pressure of their bite. And this pain, this brief but merciless pain, made the mother momentarily release some of her grip on her daughter.

But instead of pulling on Fluttershy, the ominous monsters decide to drag her off the bed. They dragged her by her forearms, using their powerful but flat toothed jaws to do so. Sunflower cried even more, feeling more blood spill from the wounds on her forearms. She struggled to punch the fae, but when she did, she felt her fist come into contact with nothing. Absolutely nothing. She could feel something light and airy brush against her fingernails, something like smoke or mist brushing against her skin. But, it was as if the fae weren’t really there.

“MOMMA!” Fluttershy screamed out, pulling on her mother’s legs in order to get her back on the bed.

Despite how small and fragile she seemed to be, she was able to match this tug a war with the fae in the room.

The fae growled and neighed in response to Fluttershy’s resistance. Their eyes were the only source of light for Fluttershy to focus in this almost pitch black bedroom.

“MOMMA!” Fluttershy cried out once more, putting more of her strength into her pull on her mother’s legs.

With one mighty tug, the group of fae together were able to pull her mom away from Fluttershy’s small grip. They dragged her off the bed.

The little six year old Fluttershy took her stare away from the grave standing in front of her. She turned her gaze to the hill towards the back of the cemetery. Her eyes widened in awe when she saw a woman. A blue, transparent woman floating, just floating along, dressed in a cloak that reminded Fluttershy of fog. A thick morning grey fog. The woman had no feet, but instead, the tail of a ghost of some kind. The woman’s eyes were closed, and tears streamed down her ghostly face as she sang her song. To some people, the song would just sound like wailing or howling. But to Fluttershy, she was singing.

True, her song was mournful, sorrowful, and sad. But, she was singing nevertheless.

Fluttershy remembered this woman’s singing voice whenever she, her mother, her father, and her baby brother would walk through town. Whenever they were a few blocks away from the cemetery, she would hear this woman’s tragic song. And that is why, Fluttershy wasn’t afraid of this female fae. She was familiar to her in a way, even though they had never met before.

The chilly afternoon air blew lightly through Fluttershy’s long black dress that went to her ankles. From the top of her white collar to the bottom of her dress, there was a long vertical row of white silk buttons. Her luscious pink hair was restricted into a restraining bun, held by a fake black rose.

Fluttershy looked behind her to the crowd near the front of the cemetery, hoping to see if they could see and hear the ghostly woman in the cemetery. Instead of their eyes and ears on the woman off in the distance, their attention was focused unfortunately on Fluttershy.

This made the young six year feel uncomfortable, and she quickly spun her head back to the grave in front of her. On the grave, it read:

Here Lies
Sunflower Cinch
May 5th, 1970-June 11th, 2006
Mother, Wife, Daughter, Sister, and Our Brightest Flower

Meanwhile, in the crowd near the front of the cemetery, two older women were paying careful and close attention to her. Their eyes were stern and cold with harsh judgement than those in the massive throng.

One of the women was in a wheelchair, and she bore wrinkles that could outnumber the number of rings inside of a tree. Yet, despite these many lines of age, her eyes still had some form of spark and fire to them. Indicting that this woman looked far older than she actually was. But, due to her declining health, her youth was stolen away from her. To add to her aged appearance, she almost didn’t bother to put on any make up. Herpale, buttercream complexion and greyish indigo hair, almost looked white in the light of the sun. Upon her face, was a pair of chunky, dark red, thick rimmed glasses on the top of her very small nose, all but covering her magenta eyes. Finally, she wore a very elegant, expensively designed, black dress with a string of grey pearls on her neck and matching pearl earrings. This woman went by many names over her lifetime, but one name that always seemed to stick was Mrs. Cinch.

The other women with her was fairly tall for someone of her age. She was close to being forty soon, and started developing crow’s feet at the corners of her narrow, light pink eyes. Despite age trying to crawl in, she still had beautiful, light blue skin, and youthful color in her dark purple, lavender, and fuchsia hair. She too tied her hair in a bun, but it had more style and a clean finish in comparison to her companion’s hair. She wore thin rimmed, bright red glasses on her small nose, along with light purple eyeshadow and red lipstick. She also had a distinct a beauty mark near the right corner of her stylized lips. Just like her friend, she wore a long, designer black dress with a string of white pearls on her neck. She even had matching white pearl earrings. However, her pearls were not as grand or expensive as her companion’s, suggesting a difference in class.

“Just look at her Abacus,” remarked Mrs. Cinch, her tone shaky but still snobbish, matched with a thick British accent, “She has the same vacant, frightful stare as her mother.”

“And look where it got her,” Abacus replied, bearing a strong yet equally arrogant accent, “Tearing herself apart by her own insanity. In front of her own daughter no less.”

“I agree mother,” Abacus responded in a nonchalant tone, “I propose that we send her to the mental facility up state. They should be able to take care of her little-”

“No Abacus,” Mrs. Cinch interrupted sternly, “That is no longer an option. Your father and I did that with your sister, and look where it got her. Marrying a man who was just as insane as she was. A man below her status no less. Having that same man leave her in the middle of the night and taking their son with him. It’s already shameful enough.”

“Oh, then what are you suggesting, mother?” Abacus scolded, “Taking on the child yourself? You’re in no condition to take care of her.”

In response, her mother gave her a critical state one would see in a disappointed parent, causing Abacus let out a groanful sigh before she opted for a compromise, “Look, if it’ll ease you, then let us send her to Winter Chill’s Boarding School For Proper Girls. The same school that I went to when I was her age. You can still be her legal guardian, and a well trained staff can be in charge of her education and mental health.”

“No,” Mrs. Cinch protested, “She’ll just get worse if we send her there. Those twits won’t know what to do with her, and you know it.”

She lifted her cold, wrinkled eyes to her daughter and explained, “She’s still young Abacus. Perhaps it isn’t too late to make her into a proper Cinch and regain our rightful place in this society. I want you to be her legal guardian.”

“I want you to take her under your wing, teach her everything that you know and follow her in every step of the way. With your guidance, we just might have a chance.”

“Mother, I’m a principal at a private educational institution! Not a nurse to a delusional-!”

“Keep your voice down child, do not embarrass me.” Mrs. Cinch growled underneath her breath, “My word is final, Abacus. Think of this as your punishment for not marrying into the Orange family like you should have done years ago and...you having, that commoner child out of wedlock.”

In a huff, the old Mrs. Cinch pushed her wheelchair away from Abacus, and joined some of the more sophisticated aristocrats that were guests at the funeral. Meanwhile, Abacus turned to look behind her and observed Fluttershy, still standing in front of her mother’s grave. Using her index finger and her thumb, she pinched and massaged the bridge on her nose and groaned to herself. Straightening out her dress, she made her way towards Fluttershy, making sure to look high and regal with each step she took.

Fluttershy meanwhile, didn’t notice Abacus coming from behind until she saw a shadow looming over her. “Huh?”

She turned around and saw the foreboding woman standing over her with a daunting gaze. Fluttershy’s body immediately cowered in her presence and she stuttered when she asked, “H-Hi?”

“Hello Fluttershy,” Abacus replied in an unsympathetic tone, “I am Abacus Roman Cinch. I’m your late mother’s sister.”

She stiffly offered her hand to Fluttershy and continued with, “How do you do?”

Fluttershy hesitated at first, but slowly took Abacus’s hand and shook it softly. “You’re my auntie?”

Once the two stopped shaking hands, Abacus clenched her hands together behind her back and commanded, “I will be the one taking care of you from now on.”

She turned away from Fluttershy and started to walk away from the grave, “Come my dear, the guests shall be leaving soon. It is our duty to see them off.”

Abacus stopped and coldly replied, “ No ‘buts’ my dear.” Then, after her command, she continued to walk forward.

Meanwhile, Fluttershy took one last sad look at her mother’s grave before slowly joining her aunt at the front of the cemetery.

Fluttershy continued to hear the sound of the female fae’s song as she socialized with all who attended her mother’s funeral.

The Wife of the Old Draconequus

by misskoifishpony

Prologue