Crimson Heart

by Starkeeper_Ponyfic

Arc 2, Interlude 1: Dreams of the Fallen

Frisk staggered to their feet and looked around. A black, formless void surrounded their body.

"Hello?" they murmured. "Is... is anyone there?"

"Greetings, partner," the void replied. A small child dressed in a green sweater and a golden heart locket stepped out from the shadows with a small smile on their face. "It's me, Chara."

"Chara? Where are we?" Frisk asked.

"I'm... not sure," Chara admitted. "You're unconscious, but... I'd guess this is a shared dream of some sort. Or maybe it's your dream and I'm just here because I'm inside your head."

"Maybe Princess Luna would know," Frisk suggested.

"Perhaps," Chara shrugged. "In any case... today was eventful, wasn't it? A lost empire returning, an evil king redeemed... Asriel... alive..."

"In his body, no less, and with at least Star Blazing," Frisk added. "I wonder what other magic he's got from his God of Hyperdeath battle..."

Chara grinned. "I helped him come up with that name and the design... it was a game we'd play in the RUINS. The Angel of Light, fallen from the heavens to save the Absolute God of Hyperdeath..." they remembered wistfully. "But..." they sighed, their expression falling, "that was a long time ago. And... we've both changed so much that... I don't know anymore. It'll never be the same, certainly, since I can only talk to him through you, and... well, we know at least some of what he's done. I... I wish I'd been less shortsided. If I could go back... and fix everything... I'd..." Chara trailed off, tears lining their eyes.

Frisk smiled softly and hugged Chara. "Hey... I get it. How many times did I traverse the Underground before I figured out how to save the monsters?"

Chara sniffled and pondered a moment. "Let's see... The first one, where you killed a few monsters in self defense..."

Frisk chuckled nervously. "I, uh... didn't realize the full nature of reloading at that point. Assumed things would always play out the same way if I died once, no matter how I changed my reactions."

Chara nodded. "The second one, where you managed to spare every monster but couldn't bring yourself to try befriending Undyne..."

"I was scared she'd just kill me when I was at her mercy," Frisk admitted.

"And then, because the universe apparently likes the rule of three, you got to Asriel on your third travel," Chara concluded.

Frisk sighed. "Man. We've done a lot. I wonder what's happening with everyone who's not unconscious."

"I can answer that," Luna's voice called.

Frisk and Chara turned to face Luna and Chara waved softly. "Greetings... I am Chara, Frisk's... narrator, I suppose. I believe they explained our connection at the wedding?"

Luna nodded. "It is good to meet you, Chara. I will explain the affairs of the waking world, if you like."

"Yes, please," Frisk said.

"Here, let's get somewhere more comfortable," Luna offered, flaring her horn. The shapeless void faded into a tranquil forest glade with three chairs resting in the shade. Each inhabitant of the dream took a seat before Luna jumped into her explanation. "After you lost consciousness, Discord and King Sombra began accusing each other until I broke up the debate by informing them it was because of pure fatigue from removing the shadow spell from King Sombra. Which, I must say... that was. Highly impressive. Curses such as that do not remove easily."

"I'm still tired from it, and I'm asleep right now!" Frisk exclaimed. A smirk suddenly crossed their face and they added, "I'm so tired I can hardly tree straight!"

Chara facepalmed and Luna hooted in laughter. After she composed herself, Luna continued her story. "After I had calmed the two, King Sombra dispelled the dark magic repressing the memories of the Crystal Ponies and summoned the Crystal Heart. He gave it to Princess Cadance, who used it to fully heal the Crystal Empire and then put the Heart in its rightful place. King Sombra came out afterwards and gave the rulership of the empire to Cadance and Shining Armor with his sincerest regrets and apologies to the Crystal Ponies. They... well, they weren't totally accepting, but none of them attacked him or ran in terror. I've promised him a place to stay in Canterlot while he tries to atone for what he's done. Discord went to his home realm so that he could process his emotions and grapple with the idea that he's at least partly responsible for the death of his sister. You, Thorax, and Asriel are currently at Miss Fluttershy's home, I believe. Twilight and Spike stayed behind to catalogue the Crystal Empire's history, Spike... far more reluctantly than Twilight," Luna admitted. "I believe that is all, unless you two have any questions."

Frisk shook their head and Chara followed suit. "Nah, I'm just... I'm tired," Frisk replied. "Any way to give me a restful, dreamless sleep?"

"Certainly," Luna replied, flashing her horn briefly. "I will see you soon, Frisk Dreemurr."

"See ya soon, Princess Luna," Frisk murmured as Luna's spell returned them to the shapeless void of sleep.

Author's Note:

Chara's recount of Frisk's resets is roughly accurate to my playthrough of Undertale, though the first one was tweaked a bit to provide a proper in-universe reason rather than the actual reason of I didn't get how to spare some of the monsters (namely Undyne and Pyrope) and forgot fleeing was an option but the second run I really was just that spiteful against Undyne.

Comments

[SethFilms]

Great chapter !!!

[Starkeeper_Ponyfic]

10592165
Just wanted to say thank you so much for all the comments you've left so far! It fills me with so much joy whenever I see the little red numbered box on the notification bell

[Wild Wire]

I'm actually really liking this story so far, keep up the good work!