//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: My Name Is Brazen Wind // Story: This Bright Blazing Future // by Dynasty-Kaine //------------------------------// "Hun lets get going!" a feminine stallion's voice called out through the small studio apartment. "We've got a lot planned for tonight after all." The voice gets closer to me as I lay sprawled across the floor, wondering if this is one of those moments where your life is supposed to flash before your eyes. Alas, no such momentous vision takes me. Yet if that is so, why does it feel so cold? Why does it feel like every bit of the stallion I am is just slipping away, into darkness? "Brazen, hunnie come o--" the pale yellow stallion was cut off as he walked into my room to my body. "Oh my god Brazen!" He rushed over immediately taking me in his arms with gentle care, I looked up into his eyes lazily and barely able to focus. I could feel myself hyperventilating even if it felt like everything was in slow motion. I just stared up into the worried lavender eyes of my partner as he pulled out his phone and called the Manehattan General Hospital. "F-Focal...I-I..." I mustered all of my strength to tell my partner one last thing before darkness swallowed me. "Call my father...and tell him what...what is going on..." "Brazen, wait no stay with me!" Focal shouted in distress. "Brazen Wind!" Before I knew what hit me I had drifted away into the deepest recesses of my mind, or maybe fell into the world beyond our own. I couldn't quite tell anymore with the images that ran around inside my head. Was this what it really felt like to be dying? I knew Focal Shot would lose his gourd over this whole event, but it looked like it couldn't be helped. I had gone into my own spiral of living life to the maximum, but in doing so I kept getting sucked into these strangely vivid daydreams. They had almost felt like visions telling me of my future and of how my time was running short or something to that effect. Only now did I realize it was exactly that. After what felt like an eternity of wandering through darkness with momentary flashes radiating on occasion, a warm feeling began to overtake me. It felt familiar somehow, like the embrace of a loving mother perhaps? My memories of my mother were few and faint at best, but upon catching a scent wreathing around me now I couldn't mistake it. "M-Mother?" I asked fearfully. "Yes my clamped eyed Wind?" came the soft reply from just above. "It cannot be..." I disparaged ruefully. I opened my eyes slowly to see her smiling face looking down at me. It was sunny and there was a fully grown elm tree hanging above her, I must have been laying in her lap. I quickly sat up, a blush overcoming my cheeks as I turned to face her. I was stunned at what I saw before me. She was a pristine white pegasus with a light sky blue mane, and her eyes were glimmering like two lovely green peridots. "Am I, dead?" I questioned with a stoic expression. "Well you are on the verge of death." she said with a pained expression. "But we cannot just let you leave your father like this, or else he will never recover again." "Yeah that is true." I sighed running a hand through my dark blue mane. "Yet there is still so much I've left undone mother. Is there no chance I can have a little more time?" "Oh my son." she replied reaching over and rustling my hair. "We do not get to choose our time to go, we can only choose how gracefully we pass on when the moment arrives." She smiled so warmly and peacefully. It was so reassuring to be here, maybe dying wouldn't be all that bad if it was my time. If it was though what did mom mean by, "...we cannot just let you leave your father..."? As I paused for a moment I observed the world around me. There was grass all around, nature flourished, a few scattered buildings here and there throughout the valley, a breeze gently flowing through our manes, and tranquility flowed all around. I looked back to my mother, it was time to learn why she was acting the way she was. "Mom it isn't my time yet, is it?" I started with a sigh. "Not quite hunnie." the white pegasus answered with a frown. "You have to take your father one last message, so he doesn't feel the world has abandoned him. This will be something truly painful for your physical body, and for your spirit Brazen." "What do I tell him though?" I questioned desperately. "You will find the words I'm sure." her eyes shining as she spoke. "After all, I'll be right there with you Windy!" I was daunted by the task of knowing I would only have a short amount of time to say goodbyes to my father and Focal Shot. Knowing my lover, he was already over the moon with worry. This would just hurt the pale yellow stallion that much more, and it just breaks my heart to know what I have to do. "You will find the words for him as well, don't be troubled my son." my mother said breaking into my thoughts. "He has a good heart, he will find his way." I felt a blush creep over my face again at her words. Of course she knew about Focal being in my life but it still made me feel exceedingly embarrassed for some reason. "Your father and I always agreed on one thing hunnie." the gentle mare began. "Love is love no matter the circumstance around it. So as long as you were happy, we would never care who you loved." "Mom do you ever regret what happened to you?" I asked out of the blue. "I wish it could have waited a little longer personally, but we must make do with what we have as finite beings." her smile looked to have an edge of pain hidden within. "Hmm, it looks like you will be returning to the waking world soon son. I apologize for any pain you feel, just remember it will subside." "No mom! I'm not ready to go back!" I shouted as my vision began to blur. "As I said, we don't get to choose our fates." the white mare said a tear running down her cheek. "We only get to choose what to do with the time that is given to us." I collapsed in the next second, and could quickly feel myself being dragged back to my body in the physical realm. I knew I was back, as pain coursed all throughout my body like fierce lightning. My eyes shot open for just a moment to see a doctor and nurses all around, as well as Focal Shot being dragged from my room as I thrashed back into the world. The doctor quickly drew a needle and fed it into my IV, and as a feeling of cold water entered my veins my mind slowly dove into a calm sleep. I could only hope that my dad Signature Sandwich would be at my bedside when I awoke. ______________________________________________________________________________________ A Few Days Later... Signature Sandwich sat beside his son's bed, deep down wishing it wouldn't be his grave as was his wife's fate. He had caught the last train out of Ponyville the evening that Rainbow had confronted him, and had decided he had to be here with his son. Focal Shot was actually a welcome guest for the grieving father, if only for the fact that the stallion seemed to be taking this just as hard as he was. The forest green stallion had heard that his son came out of his coma yesterday evening, but since they put him back under he hadn't resurfaced. Deep down something felt wrong in his gut but he wouldn't allow it to gain any grounds. The room was homely and well taken care of, littered with get well cards and flowers galore. His son was well loved and respected by those he knew. It had to be sometime in the evening now, and Signature wondered if his son would ever awaken again. As the thought crossed his mind his son began to stir again, and his eyes fluttered open hesitantly. Once his eyes had adjusted he looked directly at the forest green stallion, and the look sent chills of memory down his spine. No, no, no. It can't be this again! The stallion despaired inwardly. "So you made it after all dad." Brazen said in a sedated voice. "It's good to see it's peaceful tonight, is Focal here as well?" "Right over here hun." came the weak voice of the pale yellow stallion. "Good, then I had best make the most of this time before me." the grass green stallion said plainly. This is exactly like when I lost you Silent Storm...Even his sentences sound the exact same! "First you Focal." Wind started. "There is so much to say..." "What are you talking about Brazen?" Shot's voice cracked. "You're talking like your going to die soon." "Ain't that the beauty of life my partner?" the matted blue maned stallion chuckled. "We live, we learn, we love, we grow, and then we die. Never on our own terms of course, but the least we can do is walk on without fear." "Hun stop it you're scaring me!" the pale yellow stallion was trembling at the realization. "Life will go on Focal, and you will be just fine I'm sure." his son continued on unfettered. "You have a strong loving heart, and there are still many who need you in this world. Alas, I am no longer to be a part of it, but always remember that I love you always my shining star." They were holding hands the entire time, and now, as tears broke away from Focal's eyes, he buried his head on top of Brazen's hand. His son sat there a moment looking on with nothing but love in his eyes, happiness was what his son had known since he and Shot had been together and it had to have killed the grass green stallion to do this. Sig just wanted that moment to freeze in time, he knew the words that came next were for him. The forest green stallion also knew that they would probably be his son's last words. He didn't want to face this fate, not again. Losing Silent Storm was horrible enough, but this fate was just too cruel to bear. As his son turned to him time seemed to slow down for the sandwich maker. No, just stop this from happening! "Dad, mom says hi." were the first words out of his son's mouth. It broke Signature instantly, and he could feel tears break away from his eyes. "Now let's see if I can find the words to say to ease your foreseeable pain." Brazen continued onward carefully picking his words. "There are many paths in life we all must walk on our own, and this one is mine. It is short and bittersweet, but I wouldn't trade a single day of it for a longer life. Every moment was perfect." "No just stop it son, the doctors are gonna help you!" Signature sobbed feebly. "We both know that they can't father, but that's okay." the young grass green stallion uttered with a great degree of peacefulness. "You are gonna have to let me go, just as you let mom go. I'm sorry that it has to be this way, but hey, at least it isn't the end for you yet. You've still got things you have yet to achieve!" "Oh yeah, like what?" the forest green stallion uttered in defensive anger. "The universe has now claimed the two things I cherish most in this world!" "But that's not completely true now, is it father?" his son returned with a bold smile. "Wh-What do you mean?" he stammered caught off guard. "Take refuge in your music, a talent you earned for yourself." Wind started off. "Embrace all the others within your life you would call as close as family. But above all father, you need to go on living...for those..." Brazen Wind's words seemed to trail off suddenly. Signature was at the height of his fears, but he couldn't miss any of the last words his son had for him. So he kept himself calm in his words. "Son, are you alright?" he asked shakily. "Yes." the pale green stallion said shaking his head as if to clear it. "Father you must go on living for those...for those who have already left this world before they could see all of it." The young stallion blinked rapidly and shook his head again, he was fighting to stay conscious at this point it seemed. He turned away from Signature and leaned down and kissed the top of Focal's head while mumbling something only they could hear. After that he turned to his father again, a bright smile on his face. His last words would stay with Signature forever, "I love you Dad! Don't worry I'll tell mom you said, Hello! I'll always...be...with...you." As Brazen said his last sentence he laid back casually and closed his eyes slowly. The machines hooked up to him to monitor his heart rate began slowing their monotonous beeping until they held on a single sound. The solitary sound of a heart ceasing to beat. That quickly became the only sound that the forest green stallion could hear, even though Focal Shot had broken down fully into what would normally be decibel shattering sobs. He got up slowly and moved closer to his son's now unmoving body. He leaned over him and kissed his forehead whispering his final words. "Goodbye my son, may your spirit go on...to find the peace it deserves..." he paused a moment before adding, "...I love you Brazen Wind. Goodbye." Signature turned to leave as the doctor and two nurses rushed in, and they tried to find out what had happened from him to no avail. The simple stallion calmly pushed his way past them and headed for the elevator, he needed to get out of this place for a while. He needed to clear his head now. He called the elevator, stepped inside once it arrived, headed down to the ground floor, and walked out the front doors into the chilly Manehattan air. As he walked down the skyscraper filled streets he just tried to regain his thoughts, but Sig couldn't manage to come to terms with things. The stallion felt utterly broken and alone as he walked below the rain cloud filled skies. The rain would fit the situation best right now. The world had just removed one of it's best pieces, and sacrificed another in the process. It was a long time before Signature was pulled out of his numb state by a sound that just begged him to follow it. It almost sounded like organs, or was it a keyboard? It didn't matter he could hear the song and he ran to it as quick as he could. Into Manehattan's Central Park he went, and within no time he came upon a band playing on a makeshift stage for anyone passing by. Once he got closer, he knew exactly what song they were playing. It took him back in time, all the way back to Brazen's birth. The sandwich making stallion felt his heart once again renewed by the power of music, as he remembered the rainbow maned pegasus he still had to watch over. He smiled wide as the song started to come to a close, he began humming it anew as he started on his way back to the hospital. He sang along with the singer as he strode away. You do the walk, You do the walk of life, Yeah you do the walk of life! Woo-hoo-hoo!