//------------------------------// // Chapter Eight // Story: A Matter of Life and Death // by The Daughter of the Moon //------------------------------// The crowd fell silent. All eyes were on Tia and Shooting Star. "Tia…" Blue Fire mumbled. "Hmph." Shooting Star sniffed, flipping his hair. Tia stood up straight, pushing Shining's shield aside. She wiped the blood off her face, staining the sleeve of her sweater red. "Bet your surprised your blood is red and not silver, aren't you? After all, you've been willingly giving away so much of your healing blood. That's why you gave it to Shining Spear, isn't it? To keep her quiet. To keep your whereabouts hidden. You would almost kill yourself and deplete nearly half of your silver blood just to escape my grasp. To cause more pain to others without suffering the consequences." whispered Shooting Star darkly. "After all, self-harming is one of the only two ways to kill a Reaper, and the most painful one at that…" Tia shook her head. "But it doesn't matter." said Shooting Star, chuckling bitterly. "You will yield to me if it's the last thing you do!" Shooting Star sent more stars crashing towards Tia. When the light cleared, Tia was on her knees, blood trickling down her face. Blue Fire grit his teeth. "Tell me when you're ready to give up." Shooting Star said apathetically. More and more stars came speeding down towards poor Tia, who was not resisting at all whatsoever. Blue Fire helplessly watched in horror. Shooting Star was about to send a giant star towards Tia when her pendant glowed a bright periwinkle. "What?" Blue Fire mumbled. A wisp of sky blue light escaped from the pendant and took the shape of a butterfly. It flew around Tia and ensconced her in its phosphoresce. "What's happening?!" Shooting Star demanded. When the wisp returned to Tia's pendant, she was completely healed, with no sign that she had ever been attacked. "What did you do?!" Shooting Star shouted angrily at Tia, who pushed herself onto her hooves. Shooting Star sent a barrage of stars flying at Tia, but to everyone's surprise, she quickly dodged them all. When the light cleared, she was unharmed. The crowd cheered loudly. Shooting Star, however, was enraged. "GAAAH!!!" He yelled, absorbing two more stars as Tia spread her wings and took to the air. Shooting Star rapidly fired beams of light aimed at Tia, however, she dodged them gracefully. The crowd cheered louder. "You go, kid." Blue Fire said to himself, smiling. Shooting Star was breathing heavily. He sent more stars towards Tia, but they were slower, and seemed to not be as bright. Tia dodged them once again. "I… I will…" Shooting Star said in between breaths. Shooting Star continued to fire dozens of stars and beams of light towards Tia, but she dodged almost all of them, though a few were able to graze her. The battle continued until there were no more stars hovering above the stage, and the crowd had nearly lost its voice. Shooting Star was on his knees, breathing heavily, unable to get up. He had worked his magic to his limit. Tia looked down on him from the air. "What are you waiting for? Kill me." Shooting Star jeered. "Kill me without the slightest sign of hesitation or mercy, just as the other Reaper would have." "...Other Reaper?!" Blue Fire thought to himself. Tia flew down and landed at the opposite side of the stage as Shooting Star. She pointed her horn at him. "Going to stab me, are you? I thought you would chose a crueler method." Shooting Star scoffed. Tia started to run towards Shooting Star, her horn aimed at his heart. Shooting Star closed his eyes, smiling. "I'll finally get to see my parents again." Shooting Star said quietly. Tia was nearing closer. "I'll get to see everypony." Tia was one foot away from Shooting Star. "The nightmare will finally be over." The crowd flinched, expecting to hear Tia's horn plunge into Shooting Star's chest, but they heard nothing except Shooting Star's jagged breaths. "W-wha…?" Tia's horn laid upon Shooting Star's heart. "No." Blue Fire whispered. A comforting warmth spread over Shooting Star. He started to cry. Tia closed the stage curtains so that no one could see them. The crowd was disappointed. "I… I just wanted to save my… my little sister…" He sobbed quietly. "An evil Reaper... cursed my family a long time ago... so that every generation, one pony would... become fatally ill. That pony… was my sister…" Shooting Stoor looked up at Tia, tears in his eyes. "The only cure for this illness... was Reaper dust or blood. The king suggested that I… pose as a performer for a while… so that when a Reaper appeared… it would have a better chance… of meeting me. But when I had spotted a Reaper… he told me to catch it… and bring it to him… but I guess I got carried away…" Shooting Star chuckled sadly. Tia embraced Shooting Star in a hug. He recoiled, but after a while, he hugged Tia back. Suddenly, Blue Fire burst through the curtains, dragging Red Flame behind him. He ran to Tia and scooped her in his arms, hugging her tightly. "Oh my gosh Tia are you okay?! I was so worried!" Tia nodded and hugged Blue Fire back. "What were you so worried about, Blue Fire? Tia was watching the show with us the whole…" Red Flame looked at Tia. "Oh…" He took Tia from Blue Fire's arms and squeezed her. "OHMYGOSH REAPER ARE YOU OKAY?!" Tia nodded happily, wincing slightly. "That was some show you put on, Reaper." Blue Fire and Red Flame turned to face Shooting Star. Amazingly, he looked like he had just arrived for the beginning of the show. His clothes were in pristine condition, his hair was smooth and clean, and his face was free of tears. "Get. Away. From Tia." Blue Fire demanded, pushing Tia behind him. "OHMYGOSHYOU'RESHOOTINGSTARI'MSUCHABIGFANOFYOURWORK!!!" Red Flame squealed. "Red Flame!" Blue Fire scolded. "What are you doing?" But it was too late. Red Flame was shaking Shooting Star's hoof. "I love your scarf, wherever did you get it from?" Shooting Star asked. "Oh, my brother made it for me! He's the best!" Shooting Star faced Blue Fire, who backed away from him. "I said to get away!" Blue Fire repeated. Tia, however, ran from behind Blue Fire to Shooting Star, who picked her up. "Wasn't that fun, dearest?" Shooting Star said. Tia giggled. "What?!" said Blue Fire. Red Flame slid next to his brother. "Jealous?" Red Flame asked, elbow-ing Blue Fire. "N-no!" Blue Fire exclaimed hastily. "I don't… I don't know what you're talking about." Red Flame smirked, suppressing a laugh.