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// Chapter VIII:  Lips Of An Angel 
// Story: A Love To Remember 
// by SapphireWings999 
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            Waking up the next morning, it came of very little surprise to me that yet another limb of mine had vanished during the night.  This time, it was my other leg meaning that all that was left of me at this point were my torso, my head, my left arm, and my wings.  Aside from my wings, all the other parts of me that were left couldn’t help but remind me of the title character from Alita: Battle Angel after most of her body had gotten sliced up by the evil cyborg Grewishka’s bladed fingers, “grind cutters” the movie called them.  As I recalled from that movie, though, even then with only one arm, she still managed to find a way to fight him off.  If only I had that same fighting spirit she had left in myself to help me through this unfortunate turn of events.

            Quick to catch my attention was the loud howling of the wind that came from the blizzard outside.  Picking myself up as best as I could from my bed with only one arm, I was faced with a dilemma in regards to how I would even get around my house.  With no legs left, my crutch that I’d only bought about 2 days ago had now been rendered obsolete to me.  The thought then occurred to me that I still had my wings which meant that I could probably just use them to hover around throughout my house wherever I needed to go.  I mean, it wasn’t like I had anywhere else I could go.  Still, I’d probably exhaust my wings pretty quickly from having to use them to such an intense degree.

            My thoughts were immediately drawn back to the events that had just happened the day before.  I’d done everything within my power to work my way towards getting that Kiss Of True Love from my dear Fluttershy to break our curse and I was even very close to getting it to actually happen, but then Discord had to barge in at the worst possible time, ruining the moment.  With that chance at the kiss now gone, there was no longer any hope for me to get it after the fact.

            Today was the day of the big blizzard that Rainbow Dash had informed me and all the other citizens about just a couple short days ago.  With how severe this blizzard was, we’d all been advised to stay inside the whole time and not go outside for anything.  This meant that any chance I had of getting that kiss again was now shot.  Tomorrow, Hearth’s Warming Eve, was the day in which I’d completely vanish from reality as if I’d never existed.  Who even knew for how much longer there’d be any of me left when tomorrow came around.

            Flying over towards the nearest window, I looked outside to see that Rainbow Dash hadn’t been joking.  The snow was coming down soo hard that I could barely see within a stone’s throw from where I was and I could throw a stone pretty far if need be.  I couldn’t even make out Fluttershy’s cottage through this intense blizzard, the closest structure to where I lived.

            Just thinking of Fluttershy caused me even more pain inside in regards to how close I’d been to getting the kiss from her.  The 2 of us had already confessed our love towards each other only a short while ago so I was positive that the kiss to follow would’ve done the trick.  Both of us were definitely more than willing to kiss each other in the moment that much was certain.

            But, with Discord’s interruption, that moment was gone with no way of ever getting it back.  Now, I’d be doomed to vanish out of existence and, even worse to me, my beautiful Flutters would never know what had happened to me.  Knowing that we’d been soo close to kissing each other and ending this period of suffering that we’d endured was all the more heartbreaking to me.  If only we’d had just a little more time then everything would’ve been back to the way it used to be.  I’d be able to go ahead with my marriage proposal to Fluttershy that had been interrupted by Claude several days prior and we could’ve had a life together.

            Unfortunately, that didn’t seem to be in the cards for me or her.  There wouldn’t be any “happily ever after” for the 2 of us.  I was now fated to pass on from this current life into the next one leaving her behind.  I wouldn’t even have a body left behind for a proper burial; Fluttershy would have no idea why I had mysteriously vanished.

            Looking out on the heavy snowfall coming down outside, I was suddenly struck with a rather morbid thought: what if I were to just fly out into the blizzard and freeze to death out there?  In my mind, I found very little point in prolonging the inevitable and at least that way there’d still be something left of me for my friends to perform a proper funeral afterwards.  Better to get it out of the way now instead of extending my suffering.  Yes it would be terribly cold out there, but I had a much higher tolerance towards cold than most others might.  In all honesty, it didn’t really bother me all that much.

            As the thought was swirling around inside my head (the first time I’d considered suicide in a long while), my attention was suddenly captured by something unusual outside.  Looking through the window, I could’ve sworn that I saw a small flash of color against the blinding white.  In that case, the color I’d seen was a flash of light rose that immediately caught my eyes.  There was only one mane and tail that I could think of with that shade of color and only one mare that that mane and tail belonged too.  The biggest question in my mind at the time was what in the name of the 2 sisters was she doing out in this kind of weather?

            Flying over towards the front door, I immediately opened it and headed out into the storm, leather jacket in hand.  I soon discovered that flying in and of itself was hard with this barrage of freezing snow and stinging ice, but I fought my way through it as best as I could.  All that truly mattered in my mind was getting to Fluttershy and making sure she was O.K.

            After a few minutes of fighting the storm, I finally reached Fluttershy.  She was nearly completely covered by the snow by the time I got over towards her and she wasn’t moving much to my quite visible concern.  Setting down my leather jacket, dusting the snow off of her, and reaching for her neck, I felt a slight, but still recognizable pulse that put my spirit at ease.  Taking my jacket and, with difficulty, wrapping the unconscious Fluttershy up in it, I then picked her up with my one arm and turned to head back to my house with her.

            Unfortunately, when I looked back towards where I thought I’d come from, my house was no longer visible through the storm.  Panic set in before I thought to myself that I could try to take her back to her cottage.  Looking around me for any sight of the structure, I finally spotted it faintly in the distance.  With Fluttershy firmly bundled up and under my arm, I flew towards her cottage, fighting the storm all the while, nothing more important in my mind than her own safety and wellbeing.  What hadn’t occurred to me at that time, but I would come to realize later, was that there was possibly a slight glimmer of hope that maybe, just maybe, this curse could still be broken.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


            Finally arriving at Fluttershy’s cottage after far too long of fighting the snowy barrage, I was faced with yet another dilemma: how was I supposed to get her door open to bring her inside?  The only hand that I had left was already being used to hold onto Fluttershy and I didn’t think it would be that wise of an idea for me to set her back down in the snow when she was already cold enough as it was.  That being said, I couldn’t stay out in the cold for much longer unless I wanted both of us to freeze to death.

            After a brief moment of thinking it over, I came up with a solution that I hoped would work out beneficially for both of us.  Firmly tucking my dear Fluttershy under my left armpit, I raised my hand towards her front door and focused hard on my magic to get it to open up for us to get inside, my hand already too cold and trembling to properly grip anything else at that time.  It took a great deal more concentration than normal as my magic had slowly been diminishing as my body did.  After a little over half a minute of trying to use my magic, the door finally opened ever so slightly and I was able to bring Flutters inside.

            Closing the door behind me so as not to let anymore of the cold in with us, I immediately set Fluttershy down on the couch before flying upstairs to get whatever blankets I could find for her.  With how cold she was at that moment, she needed more than a blanket, she needed a heap of blankets!  During my search upstairs for blankets, I was able to find about 4 good sized ones that I was sure would warm her up nicely and immediately brought them down to Fluttershy to get her wrapped up in as much warmth as I could possibly provide.

            Having gotten her properly tucked in with her blankets, my wings were absolutely exhausted from all the hovering they’d had to do for the past several minutes, though it honestly felt more like a half hour that I’d been using them.  I knew deep down inside that there was more that needed to be done for my beautiful Fluttershy, but I also needed to rest and warm myself up for a little bit so as not to overdo it.  With that thought in mind, I set myself down on one of her chairs across from where she was currently lying where I could more properly keep an eye on her.

            Sitting there in silence, the thought soon occurred to me that there was no way that I’d be able to make it back to my house for quite a while, if ever.  I’d already had to fight the blizzard hard enough just to get here.  I wasn’t about to risk my life getting back there again, not when Fluttershy still needed me.  It was true that I’d just been considering suicide before I’d found Fluttershy unconscious outside and brought her back here, but such a mindset that I originally thought was more honorable on my part, I now realized, in retrospect, was a rather selfish one when I still had friends around me that still loved me and cared for my wellbeing.  If I was going to fade out of existence come tomorrow, I’d much rather do it while knowing that the mare I loved the most was safe, possibly even get to spend my final moments with her while I had the time.

            It was during my silent contemplations when I realized that it might be important for me to get Fluttershy something hot to eat for when she woke up.  With my wings rested enough from the reprieve I’d taken for the past several minutes, I then made my way over towards the kitchen to see what kind of food she had in stock.  During my search through her kitchen, I was struck with the idea of finding soup that I could heat up quickly and have a bowl of it ready for Fluttershy when she came to.

            Looking through her pantry, I found a can of tomato soup that I was sure would work out quite nicely.  I then set the can on the stove while also grabbing a pot, a bowl, and a spoon, the latter 2 for Fluttershy to eat (or drink) it when it was ready.  In the middle of my prep, I soon remembered that I’d need a can opener for the soup which would require 1 hand more than what I currently had.  Looking for a possible solution around this, I suddenly spotted a set of knives and realized that I could possibly use one of them to puncture a hole in the top of the can and pour it into the pot that way.  It would be slow waiting for all of it to come out, but what other choice did I have?

            Grabbing a knife and holding it firmly, I then made a stabbing motion to the can’s lid.  It took a few tries, but I finally managed to pierce through it, a little bit of the soup splattering out in the process, but not making too much of a mess.  Laying down the knife, I grabbed the can and began pouring it into the pot before turning the burner on to cook the soup.  All that was left for me to do now was wait for the soup to heat up as I took a seat on one of the kitchen chairs to rest my wings again.

            While sitting in the chair, I decided to use the time I had waiting for the soup to heat up to do a little bit of meditation.  Closing my eyes, I let all thoughts fade away as I just focused on my breathing and relaxed.  Meditation was something that I’d taken up in the time between now and when I’d last visited Equestria as a way of trying to keep negative thoughts from controlling me, but, with all that had been going on since I’d come back, I hardly had the time for it anymore.  On that note, however, I think it was safe to say that I needed it now more than ever.

            Before too much longer, I could hear the ever soo slight bubbling that indicated the soup was finally ready.  Flying over towards the stove, I turned the burner off and, grabbing the long handle of the pot, poured the soup into the bowl.  Setting the pot down in the sink, I grabbed the bowl and spoon in one hand before bringing them back into the living room and setting them down on the table next to the couch where Fluttershy still lay unconsciously.

            Reaching my hand out to touch her neck, I felt the same pulse from earlier, except stronger this time.  A smile crossed my face as I sat back down on the chair across from her, waiting for whenever she might awaken.  However, I felt very tired all of a sudden and fought to keep my eyes open.  It might’ve been from all the work I’d had to do in looking out for Fluttershy’s wellbeing or it very well could’ve been from the lack of sleep I’d gotten the previous night.  Regardless, I fought hard to stay awake, eyes still fixated on the sleeping Flutters before me, but my weariness won out as my eyelids, heavy as cinder blocks, finally closed and I soon drifted off.


*    *    *    *    *    *    *    *


            “David?”

            I was suddenly startled awake upon hearing my name mentioned in spite of how softly that voice had spoken it.  Sure enough, it was Fluttershy who had called out my name.  Standing only a few feet in front of me, she had a concerned look on her face as she looked at me sitting there.  Looking myself over, I now saw that all of my limbs had vanished.  Judging by this information, there was no doubt in my mind that it was now Hearth’s Warming Eve.  I’d been asleep for over a day.  Finally, I spoke up.

            “Hey, Flutters.  How you doin’?”

            “I’m doing O.K.  Just concerned about you is all.  You don’t have any arms or legs anymore.”

            “What were ya doin’ out in that blizzard yesterday?” I questioned. “Ah thought that Rainbow Dash had said that nopony was supposed ta go out durin’ that time because o’ how intense it was.”

            “I was trying to get over to you.  I… I thought that if I left early enough, I’d be able to make it over to your house before the blizzard started.  Unfortunately, it came too suddenly, catching me off guard before I’d even reached you.”

            “Why were ya tryin’ ta get over ta me?”

            “Because I felt bad that we never got to finish spending time together before Discord had come over 2 days ago.  After you’d left that day, Discord came straight out and asked me to marry him.”

           That cheeky little 2 faced bastard, I thought to myself. He tried to steal my girl by taking advantage of the fact that she’d forgotten about us ever having had a relationship.  I mean, c’mon Discord.  That is low, even for you.

            “Wh-what did you say?”

            “Well, to be completely honest… I turned him down.  The 2 of us are close friends, but I don’t think I love him that way.  Not to mention I’m still getting over the fact that he’d betrayed all of us to Tirek, even though other ponies inform me that that was a long time ago.  Anyhoo, I was trying to make it over to you so that we could have more time together and finish what we’d started.  I guess I just didn’t plan it out properly ahead of time as the blizzard came upon me faster than I expected it would.  As I was out there in the cold, I… I was honestly scared.  Scared that I was going to die alone out there and that I’d never get to see your face again…, the face of the one… I truly love.”

            With those words from her, I honestly wished that I still had my arms so that I could’ve embraced her in a warm, comforting hug.  After a brief moment of taking it all in, I finally replied.

            “Ah understand what yer sayin’ ‘n Ah ‘ppreciate yer concern, but Ah don’ want ya puttin’ yerself in danger on ma ‘count.  Yer safety is far more important ta me than anythin’ else.”

            “I realize that now.  At the same time, though, your safety is just as important to me and seeing your body slowly disappearing like this can’t help but make me feel just as equally concerned for you.”

            “Ah guess that’s yet another thing that we have in common: our desire ta protect others, ‘specially those we love.  Reminds me of an instance many years ago back in ma world.”

            “What instance was that?” Fluttershy puzzled.

            “Well, a little less than 2 decades ago Earth time, ma mom was in tha hospital after havin’ recently given birth ta ma second youngest siblin’, Matthew, ‘n, because o’ that, ma dad needed me ta watch one o’ ma other brothers, Stephen, while he was takin’ part in a park ‘n rec softball game cuz ma dad was watchin’ another siblin’ o’ mine durin’ a swimmin’ event they were takin’ part in.

            “So ma dad gave me a slip o’ paper with his phone number on it fer tha coach, who we all knew, ta call him as soon as tha game was over.  However, when me ‘n Stephen got there, tha coach who was there was a replacement that none of us knew.  Still, Ah gave him ma dad’s number, tellin’ him ta call it when tha game was over so he could come ‘n pick us up.  Game finally ends ‘n err’body leaves, but our dad still wasn’t there almost a full half hour later.”

            “Oh my!  That sounds awful.”

            “It was pretty bad.  So, ‘bout a half hour later, ma dad still hadn’t shown up ‘n Stephen, not even a teenager at tha time, was at tha point o’ tears.  Thinkin’ over our situation, tha only other solution that Ah could come up with was fer both of us ta start walkin’ back ta our house, even though it was a few miles away.  So we began walkin’ home ‘n made it ‘bout halfway there before ma dad pulls up after seein’ us walkin’ along tha side o’ tha road.  Turns out, that coach had never called him at all ‘n ma dad only realized somethin’ was wrong when someone else from the softball game showed up at tha swimmin’ event.”

            “I’m terribly sorry that the 2 of you had to go through an experience like that.”

            “As am Ah, ‘specially as far as Stephen was concerned.”

            “That being said, I think it was very brave of you to take action like that when things went south for you guys and I can see that you cared just as much for my safety yesterday as you did for your little brother back then.”

            “Ah truly do care fer each o’ ya,” I affirmed. “In fact, did Ah ever tell ya what my favorite letter is?”

            “No,” Flutters puzzled, “I don’t believe so.  What is it?”

            “F,” I replied.

            “Hey!” she exclaimed. “That’s the same letter that my name starts with.”

            “Favorite letter fer ma favorite mare, ”I softly smiled as Fluttershy came closer to me, hopping up onto the same chair I was sitting on.

            It was a little surprising to me that the chair was somehow large enough to fit both of us in it at once, but I wasn’t complaining.

            “Now,” she began, “I think it’s about time that you got a proper reward for saving me from that blizzard as well as looking out for my wellbeing with how you bundled me up with those blankets and even left that bowl of soup for me to make sure I got warmed up properly.”

            It was in that moment when she got on top before leaning in towards me, lips at the ready.  Realizing that this was now the perfect opportunity to get that Kiss Of True Love needed to break the curse, I closed my own eyes as the distance between us narrowed.  Finally, our lips connected in a warm, passionate kiss, both of us willing participants in the moment.  I also felt a warmth come over me as my limbs finally returned, my arms wrapping themselves around my beautiful Flutters in a loving embrace, hands stroking her wings, never wanting to let her go.

            Pulling apart from the kiss after several seconds, Fluttershy let out a gasp before speaking back up to me.

            “David!  I… I remember now!  I remember everything!” she squealed with delight.

            A smile crept across my face at her remembrance.

            “That’s great ta hear, ma love.  Also, Happy Hearth’s Warmin’ Eve ta ya.”

            “Same to you, my handsome stallion.  While you were sleeping earlier today, I stopped by the post office to get your present that had come in recently.  I didn’t know much about the gift at the time, but, now with my memories back, I’m sure that it’s something you’ll really like.  Shipped straight from the far off land of Horsetralia”

            Fluttershy then passed me a small pouch that had been hanging up nearby.  I wasn’t sure what to think at first until the pouch started moving.  Before long, 2 tiny baby albino Sugar Gliders, one boy and one girl, poked their heads out from it before leaping over towards my arm and running up my sleeves.

            “Sugar Gliders!" I exclaimed. "How did ya know that those are one o’ ma favorite animals?”

            “Because of when we were inside your mind the second time you came here,” Flutters answered back.

            “This is a great gift, Flutters.  Ah really do love ‘em.  Ah think Ah’ll name ‘em Mike ‘n Lisa.”

            “You’re welcome,” she smiled as the 2 marsupials perched themselves on my right shoulder.

            “Now Ah jus need ta get ma gift ta you,” I started as I was reaching into my pocket for the small velvet box that was in it.

            “The answer is ‘yes’,” she stated.

            I was a little caught off guard by her sudden reply as I wasn’t even sure what it was directed at.  Confused, I inquired further.

            “Yes ta what?”

            “Yes, I’d love to marry you!” she smiled. “I remember when you were going to propose to me that one night several days ago and there’s no other pony I’d want to marry than you.”

            Smiling back at her, I pulled out the box before opening it up to reveal the ring on the necklace I was going to give to her.  Her eyes lit up even brighter upon seeing it.

            “David, it’s beautiful!  The diamond even matches the color of my eyes.”

            “That’s why Ah picked it out,” I replied as I placed the necklace on her, “‘n there’s no other pony Ah’d want ta marry than you.”

            Fluttershy then placed her forehoof on the ring itself as it hung from her neck.

            “Thanks for making this the best Hearth’s Warming Eve ever, my love.”

            “Yer welcome ‘n thanks ta you too, ma beautiful mare.”

            Cuddling each other close, we knew that we’d have to break the news of our engagement to our friends eventually.  However, after all we’d been through these past several days, we’d earned some much needed time to ourselves to just relax and focus on each other now that the curse had finally been broken.  Little else mattered to us in that moment as we simply enjoyed each other’s company while looking forward to spending the rest of our lives together forever.