//------------------------------// // Chapter 8: Matters of Heart pt.2- Confessions // Story: Final Fantasy: Zack's second chance // by Freelancer //------------------------------// Prior Note: Could someone (in the know with grammar) tell me if speech descriptions (e.g. “I know,” she chuckled happily, shaking her head from side to side.) need to be finished with a full stop? Because I think MS word is pretty much useless in terms of helping my grammar. Chapter 8: Matters of Heart pt.2- Confessions Around midnight, two figures exited The Sun and Stars together and headed back in the direction of the palace, slightly intoxicated, laughing, and in general going on like teenagers as they wandered through the streets of Canterlot, apparently without a possible care in the world. “Wow, I feel really tired?” Spitfire yawned as she walked, abruptly teetering one way and nearly falling over both her long dress, and the adjacent stone curb. “How’re you feeling, Zack?” “Like a giant weight’s been lifted off my shoulders,” he chuckled, reaching up and grasping the handle of his Buster Sword. “Oh wait, it’s still there.” His joke earned him a playful kick in the shin and a smirk from the golden mare. “You’re as bad as Rainbow Dash when it comes to jokes, Zack,” Spitfire giggled happily, before shifting her eyes to the metal hulk that was his Buster Sword. “Out of curiosity, how much does that thing actually weigh? I mean, from what Twilight mentioned, to her it was like lifting an Ursa Minor.” “What’s an Ursa Minor?” The SOLDIER asked with a raised eyebrow. “A bear, that has a coat like the night sky, and weighs about as much as a standard Canterlot house does.” She stated matter-of-factly, in a terrible impersonation of Twilight. It caused him to face-palm, and due to the decent amount of cider in their bodies, for them both to laugh. “Heh, well to be honest, I’ve never actually weighed it… but trust me when I say only a SOLDIER can lift it because of our extreme strength, and keep in mind this thing takes two hands to use properly as well.” “So, pretty bucking heavy then huh?” “I think ‘pretty bucking heavy’ would probably be an understatement,” Zack grinned as he removed the massive blade from his back, and then began tossing it between his hands as he walked, the golden mare watching on in both awe and slight unease at his apparent strength. For a few more minutes the two of them walked in silence, Zack mentally going over what had transpired in the last few hours that had left him in such a good mood. He literally no longer felt weighed down by his past or the memories of those who were in it, and although he would never be able to forget his old friends, the SOLDIER knew that the feelings he had once had for them would no longer dictate his actions in Equestria. He was finally free to start over again. “Spitfire, I have to thank you,” Zack said at last, breaking the silence between them as he stopped juggling his sword. “For listening to me back there I mean… it’s been a long time since I’ve felt like I do now… kind of at peace with myself.” She snickered and a shook her head in amusement. “I’m glad you feel relieved, Zack, but you shouldn’t need to thank me for it, you did the same thing for me when I needed to get all everything off my chest… besides, it’s what friends are for right?” At the word ‘friends’, a sudden and unexpected thought just about stopped the SOLDIER in his tracks. He admitted it was no surprise he hadn’t thought about it, especially given he was slightly intoxicated and tired, plus he'd only let go of everything about half and out prior, but now a revelation was dawning on him. Despite how much it pained him, Zack knew he'd now accepted Aerith was no longer part of his life, and hence, now with that obstacle out of the way, he was free to try and court anyone, or in this case anypony he wanted. Gingerly, he looked down at Spitfire while she walked beside him, a gloved hand finding its way to his chin, the SOLDIER mentally weighing up the pros and cons his slightly alcohol-fogged mind was throwing at him. He admitted first and foremost that what he was thinking would perhaps be considered crazy, if not insane by most standards, plus, despite Soarin and Shining Armor’s apparent encouragement of the idea, he was yet to actually see an example a cross-race relationship taking place. Still, there was a first time for everything, and if he wasn’t going to try whilst his confidence was boosted by the presence of the cider, then he doubted he ever would. “Hey Spits, can I ask you something?” she cast him a cheesy, and somewhat drunken grin over her shoulder. “Sure, what’s on your mind?” Zack nervously scratched the back of his neck and tried not to blush. “Well, uh, this will probably sound weird… but what’s your personal view on… well... cross-race relationships?” Spitfire’s heart skipped a beat. she knew she liked him, that attraction had been cemented, but the thought of him liking her back beyond friendship-level was something she had never really considered. It did, however, make a little more sense when she went over the prior behaviours she had noted from him, especially his unease at sharing a bed, and his stubborn urge to keep her safe. “Well, if a male and a female like each other, I really don’t think race matters,” she said as she turned on her hooves, fiery tail flicking from side to side in badly hidden excitement. “So… is this… heading where I think it is?” Under the gaze of her golden eyes, Zack’s cheeks went deep red with embarrassment, forcing the usually calm SOLDIER to shy away as he tried to figure out how to respond; of all the things he had planned to happen, Spitfire guessing what he was going to ask hadn’t been one of them. Was it really that obvious? “Well, your guess is probably as good as my own,” Zack sighed as he returned his eyes to her, the stray lock of black hair dancing across his face as he knelt down on the cold pavement in front of her, silently hoping she didn’t get the wrong impression, and think he was proposing. “Look Spitfire, I know this is going to sound a little… out there and all… but in all honesty I really like you, so I was kind of wondering… if you’d go out with me?” “You mean like a marefriend?” she asked quickly, trying not to let her excitement to overtake her already alcohol-fogged mind. “Well…” Zack shrugged somewhat hopelessly. “Yeah.” “YES!” A moment later, Zack found himself struggling to breath, and held captive in Spitfire’s tight embrace; he had to give it to her that she was decently strong. Still, the tightness in his lungs was overshadowed by the warmth in his chest, and quickly he wrapped his own arms around her, and hugged the mare back while she held her head over his shoulder. “I take it that means you like the idea then huh?” he chuckled, running a hand gently through her fiery mane. “Oh hehe, sorry… It’s just that I’ve... never had a serious coltfriend before, Zack,” Spitfire giggled, glad that with the darkness and their position he couldn’t see the happy, but embarrassing, tear roll down her cheek. “With my team’s travel schedule I just… didn’t have time for one. Heh, Soarin suggested once that I just find a good looking stallion for the night after our performances, like he does mares, but I never liked the idea of being…well…you know, promiscuous.” “Well, no matter where you go, I go,” Zack grinned, at last pulling back and planting a small kiss on her soft furry muzzle. “So I’m pretty sure you don’t have to worry about travel issues.” “Nope, only team ones,” she giggled, raising her own head and placing a small kiss of her own on his lips. “But I don’t think they need to know about this... just yet.” Zack snickered as the plausible look on Stormwing’s face when he found out filled his mind, which basically consisted of the old stallion standing there, with mouth agape, and eyes wide in shock. “On that, I agree,” Zack chuckled at last, rising gently to his feet with Spitfire still cuddled in his arms and smiling. “And just so you know now, I'm not like Soarin, I will never push into anything you’re not comfortable with… if you get me.” He finished off with a sly wink, which caused her to blush intensely but giggle none the less. “Thanks Zack, I really like you and all, but it’s going to be a little while before I’m… you know, ready for that,” she sighed happily before yawning loudly. “Uh, but I sure am ready for sleep.” “It’s midnight, and you are slightly drunk,” Zack chuckled, switching his hold so she was more comfortable, before resuming his walk. “If you need to fall asleep I don’t mind, I can carry you back.” Within a minute of saying those words, Spitfire had obeyed, her head falling gently against his chest as the SOLDIER walked back towards the palace and she slept quietly; it was for a while an odd feeling to Zack, like perhaps the alcohol in his system had caused him to imagine everything that had happened in the last few minutes, but he was happily reassured every time he looked down at the pegasus lying asleep in his arms. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………… “GRRR! This is hopeless!” Chrysalis snarled through clenched teeth, slamming a mottled hoof down on the dimly lit stone floor, the queen trying to vent her frustration at another failed search. Around the changeling queen sat five mounted shards of green crystal, the same type as the thousands upon thousands of other crystals that dotted and illuminated her races underground cavern hideaway with their glow, but it was however only these five that were frustrating her. Both she, and the crude spire shaped green gems, sat tucked away in a concealed natural chamber, set in the deep grey stone wall high above the cavern floor where her subjects went about their business; normally, this was her place of refuge, a sort of crude throne room in a way, where she could escape the problems that usually plagued her and her race, but tonight her place of escape had turned into a place of torment, because of one thing in particular. Said thing being the presence of the creature known as Zack Fair. “If not for him, I would be sitting on the throne of Equestria,” she hissed to the air around her as she began to pace back and forth. “Ugh, there must be something here.” Shaking her head to clear her building rage, she returned her eyes to the crystals, her horn beginning to glow the same shade of green as the stones. A moment passed before moving images appeared on their glistening surfaces, and hence gingerly she once again sat down on the cold stone and stared at them as she sort through their secrets. To any other changeling who would’ve dared to disturb her, the moving images would have seemed like projected nightmares, but to the changeling queen they were something far different then dreams or nightmares, they were a chance at revenge. For these were the memories she had gained when she had invaded Zack Fair’s mind. Hence she sat there and silently looked through them, looking for any sign of a weakness, or something she could use against him when they faced each other again, but even after hours of searching she was yet to find any hole in his metaphorical armor; his combat skills were devastating, his magic more powerful than even her own, and his willingness to use those abilities unquestionable, plus, there was no hint of a potential poison or even an allergy for that matter. And, from what she was seeing, he had defeated just about every threat that he had ever faced, even the monstrous creature the red maned one known as Genesis had become during their final encounter. And yet neither that, nor the lack of useable information was what had made her angry, what she found herself rather enraged at was actually and literally what she wasn’t seeing; although she hadn’t gained much due her lack of time, there still should have been at least five years’ worth of memories, and yet a very large quantity of what she was seeing was just undecipherable black, like Zack’s mind had either been damaged so the memories were erased, or he had been a sleep for a very long time. “Gah! This makes no sense!” Chrysalis fumed as she shifted through the blackness, silently hoping an idiotic changeling would come in, just so she could blast them. “There must be… wait.” Her rant stopped as a sudden splash of colour danced across one of the crystals, one that, through her magic, she could feel contained a feeling she was yet to encounter in Zack’s vast amount of other memories, fear. Hastily, she followed it back through the long blackness, realizing it was a tiny fragment, one she had only just managed to gather during her confrontation with the SOLDIER. The memory filled the surface of the crystal before her while her jaw hung agape; through Zack’s eyes, she saw a long narrow platform on which Zack stood with his sword readied, and on the other side, stood the only being she had encountered in the memories that sparked fear in him. The creature was a SOLDIER like he was, its mane falling across its shoulders and back in long silver-white locks, while its face reminded her of a hawk, but what truly unnerved Zack, and hence her, was the aura of madness that surrounded it. “No, you’re not… you’re not the Sephiroth I once knew!” Zack yelled through the memory, massive sword pointed at the figure opposite him. “I am the chosen one,” The figure replied as he drew his own sword, the tone of his words so cold Chrysalis swore she felt her blood freeze. “I have been chosen to rule this planet.” With a strange sense of fear and awe she watched the battle rage between the two of them, and slowly a smile spread across her dark muzzle, as she saw the black haired SOLDIER eventually fall to his enemy. That smile dulled a little however when the memory showed another, the one known as Cloud, wound and then finish off the warrior with Zack’s sword. “How unfortunate, to die by a stab in the back,” Chrysalis murmured distastefully as the memory faded to black whilst Zack fell unconscious, allowing her magic to stop and the memories to cease with it. Slowly, she once again rose to her hooves and began pacing in circles, pondering on how this new found knowledge would, possibly, enable her to defeat both Zack Fair and the Equestrian princesses; Sephiroth was indeed dead, but as she knew that didn’t mean to say he was completely gone, Zack himself was a prime example of that. From Zack’s memories, she had gained an understanding of the Lifestream, a sort of river of magic and souls that ran through the heart of his world; she guessed that when the mare Spitfire had wished upon that star, the old magic, that permeated and linked all worlds, had pulled his metaphysical form from the Lifestream and created a physical one on that cloud. The process itself was quite easy for her to understand in terms of how such a spell would work, but the old magic, like that of the stars, was far more powerful than her own or anypony else’s for that matter, and hence trying to summon Sephiroth in physical form from thin air, with just her magic, would be utterly impossible. “And yet…” she whispered to herself, a smile spreading across her muzzle once more. “Perhaps there is another way.” The idea that was forming in her head was both desperate and dangerous, but not impossible; from Zack’s memories, she had now found out he had Sephiroth’s cells inside him, thanks to the experiments of Hojo... and hence there was a chance that with the aid of magic, the god-like SOLDIER could be brought back from the dead. Such heinous black magic, however, had never been used by the changelings before, and despite being practised at one stage, had by her memory been banned in Equestria for hundreds of years. But the ponies, as she knew, would never throw away their knowledge, so there was no doubt in Chrysalis’s mind that buried somewhere, deep within Canterlot, would be the spell she was looking for, all she needed to do was to somehow find it, and acquire some of Zack Fair’s blood. “But how?” she hissed with a shake of her head. “Celestia would have locked such spells away, so they would never see the light of day again, and where would she have hidden them anyway? As weak as she is, that princess is not stupid, so she wouldn’t simply place them in the royal library.” There was only one possible answer to her question, that being that such spells would be sealed deep within the royal vault of Canterlot, the same vault she had learned, during her weeks of impersonation, that contained the elements of harmony. As Shining Armor had let slip the vault was protected by an ancient and powerful lock spell, one that only Celestia and the elements knew how to undo, but he had also mentioned that despite that spell, a certain spirit of chaos had been able brake in and steal the elements. “And for it he was trapped in stone,” Chrysalis spat angrily with a face-hoof, remembering the day Shining Armor had proudly led her past the statue standing in the royal gardens. “Hmm, if I could free Discord, then there would be nothing left to stop me from summoning Sephiroth… but that sealing was cast by the elements of harmony barely over a year ago, only a powerful unicorn would be able to break it.” Chrysalis gritted her teeth at the new found problem, normally she would have tried to do it herself, but as her spies had informed her a magic barrier had been raised around Canterlot, plus she knew that if she tried to break that barrier Celestia would have her killed on sight. Mentally she cycled through the unicorns she thought would be powerful enough to perform such a task, and unfortunately the list of useable ponies was quite small; there were the three princesses, the guard captain Shining Armour and Twilight Sparkle. None of those she knew would come close to working. Just before she gave up hope, however, another name popped into her head, one that she was amazed she had overlooked at first thought; during her stay in the palace he had mistaken the changeling queen for his sister, and rather profusely spouted his disdain of her choice of husband, and of how she had tarnished their royal families honour. That, Chrysalis knew, was something she could very much use against him. “Oh Blueblood you weak minded fool,” She laughed, the pieces of her plan finally beginning to set in stone. …………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………