Changing Flows

by ChaoticHarmony

Hearth's Fire

Needle was drawn from the memory as Cherish, who was snuggling into his side, closed the small book. On the cover the title was written in text that looked as if it was aflame. Our Heart's Fire. The cover image was that of Needle and Cherish holding a small bundle with a midnight black horn sticking out of it with huge smiles that were common on the faces of new parents. The spine was worn and the pages were beginning to yellow with age; seven years was a long time for a book that was constantly looked at. Needle looked down at his wife, a smile spreading across his face as he nibbled at her ears playfully. She squealed at the small jab of sensation that he knew his teeth had produced, and she tried to jump away from him. She would have succeded in escaping if it hadn't been for his jagged hooves holding her in place.

He gently held her down as she struggled to escape his biting. He smiled widely around the tip of the ear is his mouth as she turned up to look at him with pleading eyes. "Needle Wings! That hurts! Can you please let go?" The pleading tone in her voice made his resolve crumble, and he loosened his hold on her. Cherish suddenly flipped him onto the floor, a tough feat to accomplish. She rolled off of the couch on top of him and smiled a playful smile at him as he struggled. "Now it's my turn buggy man."

He flailed around wildly, trying to get his hooves under her so he could push her off but had no sucess. He shuddered at the feel of her warm breath on his normally cold shell, and he felt her teeth scrape against it lightly. The noise that her teeth created as they scratched at the smooth surface made him shiver even harder. Cherish pulled away from his neck, still smiling that smile of hers as she devised her next form of tormenting him. He nearly flinched as he saw something in her eyes that told him it wouldn't be an old trick. How she came up with all of these tricks, he never would be able to find out. She stood up, to fetch something for her game no doubt. Needle never was one to miss opertunities, and he slipped his feet under hers and twisted them together. He smiled at the surprised yelp Cherish made before she fell, and he leaped on top of her, placing his hooves on either side of her body. He leaned down to kiss her again and when their lips connected, it felt like the time she had come to life again.

Dark clouds of memory floated up unbidden and he tried to banish them from his mind. Nothing could erase his happiness now, not a single thing in the world. Except losing her again, said a small voice in his head. He pulled away from her and she gave him a look of confusion. She reached up and touched his face with a hoof, wiping away a tear that he hadn't even known was there. "Needle? What's wrong?"

He took a steadying breath and forced a smile. "Nothing is wrong love. Everything is perfect." Even he could hear the lie on his own voice. He jumped when another hoof came up and wrapped around his neck, pulling him into another kiss.

When the kiss broke, Cherish gave him a knowing look. She crawled out from under him and pulled him over to the couch that they had been sitting on. She sat down and waved a hoof at the spot next to her, indicating that he should sit. He did so, and she pulled him down to lay his head on her lap. Looking up into her face, he saw a shadow of pain cross it, and she leaned down to kiss him again. He felt her tears drop onto his shell as she kissed him and shared his pain. When she pulled away, his world seemed a little bit brighter, the colors all much sharper and thrown into more contrast. "I think about it too Needle. Everyday I do. I try to forget, but I just....can't.". She ran a hoof across her face to wipe away her tears before continuing. "The only thing we can do is try to cover up the feelings, but," she touched his cheek with a hoof, "you don't have to lie to me about it. I will always be there to know the pain too." She tried to continue, but Needle cut her off with a strong hug.

"Cherish, I can never forgive myself for letting you go through what you did. Never will I-" she silenced him by moving out of the hug to give him another kiss, and when she pulled away he found himself unable to remember what he had been saying. "You know Cherish, I hate it when you do that." He kissed her again, just a swift peck on her lips, before stepping off of the couch. He walked over to the window and towards the setting sun. "Hm, Phoenix should have been home by now. It isn't like him to be late coming home from school."

Cherish stepped beside him and looked out of the window with a worried cast to her face. "Do you think he's gotten into some kind of trouble Needle? Oh what if he's hurt? What if-" Needle cut her off by placing a holed hoof on her shoulder.

"Love, I am sure he if perfectly fine. He problably just got lost on the way home again. I'll go out and look for him now." He walked around Cherish to open the door. He kissed her a final time before he closed the door and set out into the darkening town.

He walked with ease through the empty streets of the village, happy for once at not having to endure the stares that his form had always collected when he left home in the day time, not that he particurarily cared what other ponies thought of him. The only three ponies in his life that mattered were Cherish's sister, Bright Light, his love Cherish, and their child Phoenix. He retraced the path that Phoenix would have taken on the way home, and he lit his horn with green fire to light the path. He arrived at the school building, and he saw no sign of his son anywhere. He turned to head back home, and a glint of light caught his eye.

Trotting up to the source of the reflection, he saw some kind of dark blob on the ground, as if something had been burned. There were multiple spots of blackness on the ground, and Needle followed them, increasing the light from his horn to locate them with greater ease. He eventually came across a lake, where the scorch marks entered, and then hoofprints walked out next to it. He followed the still-damp prints in the sand until he came across a still, black figure. He rolled over the limp shape, and recoiled with sudden nausea gripping his body and bile rose to his throat.

The burned and scratched black figure on the ground in front of him was his son's body. Phoenix's normally sleek coat was matted with dried blood and in some places was missing completely. His beautiful silver tail had been cut away at some places, and was darkened with soot in the rest. Needle fought the bile rising in his throat as his survival instincts kicked in and he bent his head down to listen intently at Phoenix's chest. Thank Celestia he's alive! Relief flooded through him as he listened to his son's faint heartbeat.

Wasting no time, he pulled his son onto his back, balancing the limp body with magic and setting off at a gallop for the hospital where Phoenix had been given life those 7 years ago.