//------------------------------// // Chapter Four // Story: A Matter of Life and Death // by The Daughter of the Moon //------------------------------// "Ugh…" Blue Fire groaned, and turned over on his side. He had had a very crazy dream. They were all in Shining Spear's house, and she was crying, and then… Blue opened his eyes. He was laying in his bed. Blue Fire sat up. His left leg was throbbing. "That was a very lucid dream…" Blue Fire carefully slid out of bed. He went into the kitchen, not realizing that his dream, in fact, hadn't been a dream at all. "Mornin', Red Flame. What's…" Blue Fire's heart sank as he took in the sight before him. Shining Spear was laying unconscious on the couch, while Red Flame kneeled beside her, healing her injuries, his horn glowing. Tia was staring at Shining with worried eyes, a butterfly perched on her floating crown. "Oh my gosh." Blue Fire ran up to Red Flame and Tia. He had expected Tia to back away when he approached her, but surprisingly, she too looked at him with worried eyes. "What happened?!" "You had another one of your… attacks." Red Flame said quietly. "Thankfully, Shining wasn't hurt too bad. She'll be okay." "Thank goodness." Blue Fire said, sighing in relief. Blue Fire sat on the couch next to Shining Spear. Shining Spear was a very strong mare, but apparently, he was a bit stronger. Tia attempted to touch Blue Fire's heart with her horn again, but Blue Fire backed away hastily. Tia stared at him with her big eyes. Shining stirred. She opened her eyes. They were red and puffy. "W-wha…?" Shining mumbled Blue Fire ran up to her. "I'm SO sorry, Shining! I don't know what got into me! I hope you're not hurting to bad! How do you feel?!" Blue Fire said rapidly. Shining didn't reply. She just stared down with empty eyes. "Why…" "What?" "Why… didn't… the blood work…?" Shining asked, turning her head to look at Tia, her eyes watering with desperation for for an answer. Tia looked at Blue Fire. "Oh." Blue Fire sighed. "Reaper blood and dust isn't just your average cure-all." Blue Fire explained cautiously, afraid that Shining would burst into anger as she had in her house. "You see, Reaper blood and dust will revive everything and everypony, but… it only works if the pony receiving it is willing to get better. The blood didn't work on your father because…" "…He didn't want to be cured?" Shining said quietly. Blue Fire looked down. What was he supposed to say to that? "I see…" Shining mumbled. They sat in silence for a while, the only thing moving was the butterfly fluttering its wings on Tia's crown, and Shining's chest, steadily rising and falling; the only thing they could hear was Shining's ragged breath and the soft whistling of the wind outside. Red Flame entered the living room with four hot chocolates floating beside him. They hadn't noticed that he had left the room. "I… I made hot chocolate." Red Flame said as he gave each of them a cup, straining himself to smile. "Thanks." Blue Fire said. "…Thanks." Shining spear said quietly. Tia gave an awkward smile to Red Flame (that seemed to say, "Just keep smiling!") as she wiped the hot chocolate from her mouth. "So…" Red Flame started. "I'm going to make Hearth's Warming Eve dinner now! It's gonna take a long time, so that's why I'm starting now! Still, I could use some help, so does anypony want to help me?" Tia nodded happily and went over to Red Flame. "You'd better stay here, Blue." Red Flame whispered to Blue Fire, glancing at Shining Spear. "You know, just in case." "Nah, I'll help with dinner for now. I think it'd be better if you stayed." Blue Fire said he followed Tia into the kitchen. "Good idea. I'll stay then." However, Blue Fire's heart sank as Tia stood in front of him, waiting for instructions. He didn't know how to cook! How could he be so stupid as to not remember that?! "H-hey, Tia… Do you know how to cook?" Blue Fire asked hastily. Tia gave Blue Fire an exasperated sort of look, but she nodded. "Oh, thank goodness. Do you think… you could get Christmas dinner started?" Tia ignored him as she was already searching through all the cabinets and the fridge for ingredients. "Whoa." Blue Fire thought, impressed. "Well, I'd better start the fire." Blue Fire went over to the wood-burning oven and started to charge up his fire attack. It took awhile, as he hadn't used offensive in a long time. He heard Tia scurrying around the kitchen behind him. After he had lit the stove, he felt Tia tap him on the back and turned around; his mouth dropped in awe. Tia was carrying a giant casserole dish (it was bigger than her; how was she carrying it?). It was filled with stuffed mushrooms, potatoes, and other stuffed vegetables, all of them ready to be baked. Floating beside her were pie dishes filled with savory fruits, wrapped in hoof-kneaded dough, and trays full of fresh seasoned vegetables. Blue Fire's mouth watered. "H-how…?" Tia just gave him a friendly smile as she gently pushed him aside and put the food in the oven. "In such a short time…" Blue Fire muttered. Tia posed dramatically in front of the kitchen door, imitating fireworks sounds. "Oh, Red Flame taught you?" Tia nodded proudly. "Why isn't there Alfredo, then?" Blue Fire laughed. Tia winked at Blue Fire, as to say "Oh, of course they'll be Alfredo! This is Red Flame we're talking about." Blue Fire seemed to get the message and went into the living room with Tia. Shining Spear appeared to be in a better mood. She and Red Flame were playing Charades. Shining was laughing as Red Flame dragged his hooves across the floor, hunching over, muttering to himself. "Oh, I know! It's Blue Fire" Shining laughed. "Ding ding ding!" Red Flame said cheerily. "Hey!" Blue Fire exclaimed. "Look, even the Reaper's doing it!" Red Flame said as he pointed to Tia. She was doing Red Flame's imitation of Blue Fire; she was hunched over and was muttering to gibberish. "Oh, come on!" Blue Fire said, but he was smiling. If anypony could cheer up Shining Spear, it was his brother. "Hey, Blue Fire, is it okay if Shining stays with us for Christmas?" Red Flame asked. "Since, you know, her house is kinda… broken." "Sure. Tia made plenty of food for all of us!"