A Matter of Life and Death

by The Daughter of the Moon

Chapter Three

Shining Spear was chasing Tia through Snowfall Woods, hot on her trail. Shining was throwing spears at Tia as she pursued her. Tia spread her wings and flew above the trees, but Shining threw a spear at her, grazing her wing. Tia crashed into the snow, and the chase continued.

"You won't get away!" Shining Spear yelled.

Shining lunged forward and jumped in front of Tia. Shining shoved a spear through Tia's coat and into the ground, nearly impaling her. Tia, unable to flee, winced as Shining came closer.

"Fight me, Reaper!" She yelled, tears forming in her eyes.

Tia shook her head.

"It's already hard to hurt a little filly like yourself… But you not fighting back makes it even harder!"

Shining surrounded Tia with many spears, glinting in the sunlight.

"Fight me, or I'll attack!"

Tia once again shook her head. However, just before Shining Spear could give the signal for her spears to attack, a blur passed before her eyes. Shining felt something around her hooves. To her surprise, when she looked down, Tia was hugging her.

"W-what are you doing…?"

Tia looked up at Shining Spear, who had an unsure look on her face. She then touched her horn to Shining's heart, and a calming warmth spread over Shining's body. She fell to her knees, crying, while Tia looked unsure at what she had just done.

"I'm s-so s-sorry, Reap-per… I-I didn't mean to h-harm you…" Shining sobbed, tears falling down her face. "I-I jus-st…"

Shining continued to cry as Tia hugged her. They had stayed like this for a long while before Tia heard approaching hoofsteps, crunching in the snow.

"Tia!" Blue Fire cried, limping as a dragged his left leg through the snow. "Where..."

Blue Fire trailed off as he approached Shining Spear and Tia.

"W-what did you do…?" Blue Fire asked Tia in amazement.

Tia stood up and reached out her horn to touch Blue Fire's chest, but he backed away, a slightly scared look on his face.

"Oh. I see..." Blue Fire said quietly as Tia stared at him with skeptical eyes.

Blue Fire went up to Shining and held out his hoof. She grabbed it and stood up, wiping her eyes.

"S-sorry you had to see me like this…" Shining sniffled.

"Heh. It's fine. You couldn't help it." Shining replied, glancing at Tia.

"So that's a Royal Reaper's power, huh? When it touches your heart, it reveals the deepest emotions buried deep in your heart. Only another Royal Reaper can withstand it…"

"Oh, and sorry I hurt your leg…"

"It's fine. It didn't hurt that bad." Blue Fire lied, hiding a wince from the pain in his leg.

Tia tugged on Shining's shirt.

"What's up?"

Tia slit her coat with her horn, and a drop of silver blood slipped out.

"H-hey, what are you doing?!"

Tia put the blood in a vile she found in her coat and gave it to Shining. Her eyes widened as she took the vile with shaking hooves.

"R-reaper blood-d…" Shining stammered.

"It can only be attained if a Royal Reaper willingly gives it…" Blue Fire said, his eyes locked on the vile.

Shining Spear embraced Tia in a long hug, saying thank you repeatedly to her.

"What's she up to?" Blue Fire thought suspiciously.

---

It was the day before Hearth's Warming Eve. Shining Spear hadn't been seen since she fought Tia a few days ago. Worried, Red Flame, Blue Fire, and Tia went to Shining and her dad's house.

"I wonder if she's okay…" Red Flame said as he approached the door. However, when he knocked, the door creaked open. It had apparently been unlocked.

"Shining? Are you in there?" Red Flame called.

Red Flame, Blue Fire, and Tia walked into Shining's house.

"Whoa."

The inside of Shining's house was in shambles, There were holes in the walls, shattered china was on the floor, and the furniture was all broken. It was surprising that in outside of the house wasn't in shambles too.

In the middle of the room was Shining, looking down, crying. A cracked, empty vile was laying next to Shining's father, the former captain of the royal guard.

Cautiously, the trio approached Shining Spear.

"You okay there, Shining?" Blue Fire asked.

"You…" Shining mumbled.

"What?"

"You!" Shining yelled, glaring at Tia.

"W-what's going on, Shining?" Red Flame stammered.

"YOU!!!" Shining cried at the top of her lungs, tears streaming down her face. "YOU KILLED POPS!!! YOU KNEW THE BLOOD WOULDN'T WORK ON HIM!!! YOU DIDN'T GIVE IT WILLINGLY!!! YOU JUST WANTED TO MAKE ME SUFFER!!!"

Shining charged towards Tia, but Red Flame surrounded Shining with pillars of fire.

"Hey, calm down, Shining!" Blue Fire yelled. "Reaper blood--"

"Calm down…? CALM DOWN?!" Shining shouted. "HOW WOULD YOU FEEL IF YOUR FATHER PROMISED HE'D SEE THE DAY YOU HAD ACHIEVED YOUR DREAM, BUT THEN WAS PUT IN A COMA BEFORE YOU COULD TELL HIM?! AND THEN WHEN YOU THINK YOU'D FOUND A WAY TO CURE HIM, IT HADN'T WORKED?!"

Shining was breathing heavily. Red Flame looked scared. He grabbed Tia and ran out of the house, subsequently making the flame pillars around Shining disappear. Holding Tia in his arms, Red Flame hid behind a tree well away from the house. He knew that Shining had gone too far.

Tia struggled in Red Flame's hooves to try to see what was going on, but Red Flame held her tight.

---

"How would I feel?"

Blue Flame snickered. Shining was still breathing hard.

"Heh. I dunno. My father, no, whatever he meant to me and my brother, if anything, was--"

Suddenly, Blue Fire started yelling in an strange language. As his voice became louder, Blue Fire started to float into the air.

"H-hey, w-what's going on?!" Shining said, stumbling back as Blue Fire approached her.

Blue Fire's eyes changed color, from a cerulean to a pitch black.

Blue Fire approached Shining closer, grabbed her neck, and brought her head level with his. Shining looked into Blue Fire's soulless eyes.

"But you would never know."

Blue Fire dropped Shining Spear on the ground, who was half-conscious. Blue Fire started breathing heavily, his hooves shaking.

"W-what hav-ve I d-don-ne…?"

Comments

[Skye Mist]

Oh crap.
This is awesome so far. This is so getting tracked.

[The Daughter of the Moon]

6970759 Hey, your back! Haven't heard from you in a while.

[Skye Mist]

6970775 Yeah, busy on other stuff.

[The Daughter of the Moon]

6970777 What do you think of the story so far?

[Skye Mist]

6970780 Great. Excellent concept. Great characterization. Even greater, a veil of mystery.

[SadisticRainbows]

I love this story and I can't wait for the next chapter! I'd like it to be a bit longer, but I know how hard it can be to make long chapters. I hope the next chapter will come soon~

[The Daughter of the Moon]

6971246 Oh, thanks!

[grey mane]

“The treachery of demons is nothing compared to the betrayal of an angel.”
― Brenna Yovanoff, The Space Between

I feel for shinning I truly do, to lose a loved one is hard on anyone no matter how many times it happens. And for poor Tia caught in the middle of it, I mean she didn't trick Shinning her race says it all Reaper. I know not if she as an allegory for the Reaper of Souls but it was there for me to see. But I'm baffled as to what is going on with Blue Flame, only a few answers for what could have happened to him and none of them good.