Windigo Whisperer

by Misty Shadow

Cloud Shroud Knows His Fire

Cloud Shroud watched the true story finally unfold inside of his fire. Now that he had passed the third trial inside of hell, he had to know the consequences of difficult choices, what had created the hell of him and others…

What really happened on the night of Belohzhero’s birth…

Before the slaves had begun their rebellion against Neversay at his house, he and Dandy Rose were having a conversation over tea at the dining room table about the painting he had most recently drawn.

“I must say Dandy Rose,” said an impressed Neversay after sipping his tea, “your work has greatly improved. I was worried you wouldn’t have the time to truly hone your art skills while working a job so demanding, but your latest painting is a masterpiece!”

Following that compliment, Neversay turned his head to admire the painting he had now hung on the wall behind the dining room table.

“Thank you very much, sir.” Dandy politely replied. “Though I must say, I can’t exactly explain why that painting is miles and bounds better than anything else I’ve drawn so far. I guess I was just feeling more…inspired than usual.”

“Well, there you have it!” Neversay exclaimed in jest, chuckling. “It’s no accident the quality of your work improved so suddenly. You didn’t know it, but something must have had a positive influence on you that gave you the will to improve. Has anything notably good happened to you lately?”

“Yes.” Dandy answered, feeling an odd sensation in his gut. “I think I made…a friend. Three friends in fact. I don’t know any of them as well as I know you, but…something about their passion moved me…like, not only did I want to draw a painting after I felt their fire…I wanted to write a story too.”

“Oh!” Neversay remarked, setting his cup in pleasant astonishment. “You want to get into writing too, like me?”

“You write?” Dandy responded, perplexed.

“I used to.” Neversay explained. “Not stories, per se, but professional writing ability was most certainly needed for the job I used to work. Before I got into stone masonry, I used to be the government’s royal recorder.”

“Wow.” Dandy remarked. “Why did you quit?”

“It wasn’t the most thrilling line of work.” Neversay answered. “The job is far more arduous than it looks, and no pony really appreciates you for it. Not that they could, considering the things I learned while working with the government that the public must never know.”

Dandy felt a strange, foreboding chill run through his body…

“But let’s not dwell on my past.” Neversay changed the subject. “I’m far more interested in what I can do for your future, considering what a help you’ve been to me. Being an art savant, I’ve had more than my fair share of run-ins with other art connoisseurs. I could get in touch with one of them some time and see what I can do to publicize your work.”

“Woah,” responded a happily startled Dandy, “you mean like, having my art actually be on display in a museum?”

“We could make it happen, if that’s what you want.” Neversay answered cheerfully. “I alone can not make your dream come true, Dandy. If being an artist is your dream, you must will for it to come true.”

Dandy paused in self-reflection.

“If the revolution pulls through…” he thought worriedly. “Not only will I lose my master, I’ll lose my dream…”

Dandy then gripped his hooves in frustration as Neversay took note.

“What’s wrong?” he asked Dandy with concern, watching his subject shake in agitation.

“Master!” Dandy cried, banging the table, desperate for a release from the mental pressure. “The workers are going to revolt!”

“WHAT?!” Neversay yelled in shock and fury, banging his hooves on the table as well and rising from his seat. “When did you hear of this?! Who’s leading this revolt?!”

“It’s Mysterious Shade, who told me of the plan just a day ago.” Dandy answered. “She and two other workers, Rock Slide and Merigo, are planning to surround this house tonight and kill you. And I don’t believe they’ll stop there either. I believe this rebellion is only the precursor to a coup d'état against the government. Please forgive me for waiting a day to come clean. It was just that I honestly respected these three and wanted to believe they weren’t truly serious. But I respect you more, and I don’t want to risk losing you.”

“…..” Neversay glared at Dandy angrily, upset with him, but also pitying him. Nevertheless, he had a feeling of great unease.

“What makes you feel that they will attempt to overthrow the government next?” he asked, stunned and curious.

“It was the aura of that mare.” Dandy explained. “I sensed she had great animosity towards the government…great lust to tear it down and rebuild it…it was the kind of contempt I felt could only come from some pony who’s worked with the government…some pony like you…”

Neversay’s eyes went wide open as he felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

“They’ve finally come for me.” he told himself in thought, terrified. “They want to bury me with all of the evidence…no way can I let them! Not even if it means bringing him into this world…”

“DANDY!” Neversay shouted, startling the earth pony.

“Yes?” a nervous Dandy replied.

“Stay with me at all times.” Neversay ordered sternly. “You are not to leave this residence until they arrive. That is when I shall deal with them…”

He used his magic to make a familiar book that he levitated with his magic appear.

“With the forbidden spells.” he finished in a dark tone of voice. “I know of the research the government has done into demons. It’s all transcribed here in the Book of the Dead. I know a spell that will allow me to channel the will of the greatest demon they ever discovered.”

Dandy gulped, wondering if he had done the right thing in confessing now…it was as if his soul was literally torn in two over his loyalty towards his master and loyalty towards the rebels who had so greatly inspired his fire…

“What is right and wrong in the grand scheme?” he questioned himself in thought. “I may have made the wrong decision, but…I was only following what my fire influenced me to do…”

Before long, the revolution had surrounded Neversay’s house, with Mysterious Shade, Rock Slide, and Merigo leading an army of his workers wielding pickaxes and torches. Having expected them, Neversay immediately came out of the house through the front door with Dandy by his side, wearing a grisly frown on his face. Mysterious Shade shot an admonishing look of her own at Dandy, immediately sensing what he had done from Neversay’s reaction.

“I knew we couldn’t trust you…” she thought angrily. “No matter…”

Her attention turned to Neversay.

“Neversay…” she told him coldly. “This is a revolt. Surrender yourself now, relinquish your ownership of every slave here, and in exchange, we will not torture you before we kill you.”

Neversay grew more furious than ever, emotions reflected in his increasingly hateful gaze.

“You do not DEMAND SUBMISSION FROM ME!” he bellowed irately. “I gave all of you food, shelter, and opportunity and this is how you express your gratitude?! You, Shade, or should I say, Masonic Diamond, sister of Princess Palladium, are the least worthy of talking down to me! I know what this revolt is really about! You only see the members of this coup as pawns in your scheme to cover for the government! You only want to abolish it so that you can create a new one for your own selfish reasons while you conceal the truth!”

Shade growled as the workers turned to her with suspicious looks on their faces.

“Hmph.” Merigo thought, unmoved. “As if she could fool me.”

“Shade…” Rock said, surprised by contrast. “Are you really…”

“So what if that’s true?!” Shade cried defensively. “As if I’d ever do to these workers what you’ve done! Either way, you die tonight!”

Shade’s horn lit up as she began preparing a lethal spell.

“Somehow, I doubt that…” Neversay retorted, almost sounding like he was hiding a chuckle as his horn lit up with him preparing a lethal spell of his own.

“No matter!” Shade exclaimed confidently. “You can know my power in TARTARUS!”

With that declaration, she fired a spell directly at Neversay’s heart area with the intent of stopping his heart, only for Neversay to anticipate her attack and deflect it with his horn.

“What?!” Shade cried in shock. “How did you…”

“Admittedly, that spell is more impressive when it’s used by a pony who possesses a strong will.” Neversay taunted her. “But even if you weren’t a spoiled princess, you wouldn’t have what it takes to kill a pony who has seen and comprehended far more evil…”

“Master…” Dandy remarked, greatly unsettled as he felt a terrible aura exuding from Neversay, one that had all of the rebels trembling in terror. All of them felt cold…

“I-I can’t move!” Merigo exclaimed in thought worriedly.

“Was I…a fool?” Shade started doubting herself in thought with Neversay’s will overtaking hers. “Am I truly just…a spoiled princess?”

Rock, sensing Shade’s doubt and Neversay’s bloodlust, began fighting Neversay’s will.

“No…” he told himself in thought, stepping in front of Shade, his love for her enabling him to overcome his fear. “You’re going to have to go through ME!”

“What?!” Merigo exclaimed in shock in his mind. “He LOVES her?! Enough to DIE for her?!”

Neversay chuckled.

“You, an earth pony rebel, would die for this unicorn bureaucrat?” he mocked him, chortling. “Don’t you see that she’s a government agent? That she views you even more inferior than I do?”

“Th-th-that’s…that’s not…” Rock stuttered in embarrassment, not wanting to admit what he had suspected before he blurted out his emotions of passion. “No, even if that was true, I’d still be shielding her! Her race, status, or what she thought of doing, none of that matters because we’re friends!”

*FWOOM*

Dandy felt a fire growing in Rock’s spirit, one that inspired both Shade and Merigo. Neversay was stunned in bafflement, while Shade and Merigo were stunned in respect.

“Rock…” Shade blankly said in impressed astonishment. “I didn’t know you actually cared about me this much. I thought there was at least some truth to that disdain we feigned, but never once did you actually care that I was a different race than you. To think I was actually going to treat you like a servant instead of a friend when this was over…”

“I must admit, this scene truly perplexes me…” Merigo confessed as he felt a peculiar passion welling inside of him. “But prideful as I am as a pegasus warrior, I can not allow myself to be outclassed in bravado by an earth pony. I never trusted either of you, but I always strangely enjoyed your company. In my own weird way, I admired you two. You have earned my support for intriguing me.”

*FFFWWWOOOMMM*

Dandy gasped in awe as he felt the fires of all three of them growing at the same time.

“Incredible…” he remarked in disbelieving amazement. “This is no doubt the fire that motivated me to draw my masterpiece…the unity of strong wills!”

“What was that?!” an angry Neversay barked at him.

“Gah!” Dandy grunted, unable to avoid giving himself away from being captivated by the splendor of his source of inspiration.

“These backstabbers were your inspiration?!” he continued yelling, berating him. “You were still hiding secrets from me?! Whose side are you on?! Don’t you know that none can serve two masters?!”

“I..I…” Dandy stammered, speechless and overwhelmingly conflicted, to the point where he could feel that sensation as if his soul was literally being bifurcated even worse than before. “I just don’t want you guys to kill each other, that’s all! I just wish we were living in a world where it didn’t have to come to this! Death, pain, suffering, why can’t it just all END?!”

Rock, Shade, and Merigo simply stared at Dandy, pleasantly stunned by his concern for them. Rock was least surprised, having always trusted him. Neversay, however, was glaring at him with strong disapproval.

“What naïve idealism…” he remarked in disappointment, shaking his head. “There will never exist a world where the strong do not eat the weak in order to survive. In a world where no one knows what is good or evil, the side that is right or wrong must be decided by a test of strength. The side with the stronger will is just. And since my will is clearly stronger…”

Every pony except for Neversay gasped in horror as they felt a terrifying amount of magical energy building in his horn…

“I know that I am justified in exterminating you traitors.” he finished as he turned to Rock, Shade, and Merigo with the sternest scowl on his face, ready to kill them with a forbidden spell.

“NNNNNOOOOO!” Dandy cried as Neversay fired magical energy from his horn, jumping in front of the blast to shield them…

“UGH!” Cloud grunted as he watched this part of the vision, feeling as if he was Dandy in this moment. “It’s just like…”

He then kept watching to see the part where Dandy collapsed to the ground dead in the snow, clutching his heart with his right foreleg, being reminded of how his body was laying out in the snow. Also remembering that he too had given his life to spare others from hateful wrath, he realized something even more shocking about Belohzhero’s identity all at once…

A vision flashed through his head of a familiar lizard crawling on Dandy’s body, the same way a lizard had crawled on his body…

“I’m…I’m…” he blankly said in disbelief as he recalled one crucial detail he had overlooked when he had first seen Dandy Rose.

He kept this detail he had recalled in mind, alongside other things that finally made sense to him, as the vision in his fire continued. Just like the last time when the Windigos showed him this vision, a fatal blow to the heart from Neversay’s magic had killed him, Neversay was regretting what he had done, mourning his servant’s death as Rock shed tears for him as well, and Shade had yelled at Neversay, berating him. This time, however, Cloud could see exactly how Belohzhero was born, why he appeared…

The will of the great demon Neversay had mentioned had now been passed on to a broken, vulnerable soul. From Dandy Rose’s body, a spectral form arose, a ghost appearing to be the hybrid of a lizard and a pony…the ghost that would be called Belohzhero…

Shade, overcome with bloodlust and rage, was about to kill Neversay with a lethal spell of her own before she was halted by Merigo.

“STOP.” he commanded, putting a front leg to her chest. “Not only is he not worth it, it would be crueler at this point to not kill him.”

“Fine!” Shade exclaimed, begrudgingly rescinding her magic. “We’ll do things your way! And what of the rebellion? Will leaving things like this truly satiate the rebels?”

“What are we, pickled garlic?!” some of the rebels shouted from behind, upset Shade wasn’t even directly addressing them. “Not only were we supposed to take Neversay’s head tonight, we’ve been given a good reason to take yours too!”

“What?!” Shade cried in shock, nervous astonishment shared by her peers.

“You heard us!” the rebels continued to cry. “If what ol’ master there was saying was true, you’re a conspirator, a traitor! And all who dare to betray us should die, including those who defend traitors!”

“You’re kidding!” Shade, Rock, and Merigo cried in disbelief and disapproval. “You would kill us over a baseless claim?! You’ve gone mad!”

“No…” Belohzhero whispered in a soft voice. “They’re not crazy…they simply want an excuse to kill you out of paranoia and lust for power. If these rebels take over, they will become just as bad as our current government.”

“Huh?” Shade, Rock, and Merigo reacted in confusion, turning around. “Who said that?”

The rebels guffawed, having heard nothing.

“Bwa ha ha ha ha!” they laughed derisively. “And they call us crazy while they’re hearing voices in their heads!”

Neversay had heard nothing either, but could sense something was up.

“Dandy…” he muttered, sensing his spirit. “Is that…no, this can’t be you…something about this presence feels…evil…”

“I’m afraid it is me, “master”.” Belohzhero retorted in a darker, demonic voice. “Your words amuse me, considering what you spoke of none knowing what is good or evil, but make no mistake, I have awakened to both the good and evil inside of me. The good in me does not wish to see any of you dead, but the evil in me certainly does not mind if you end up as casualties of my newly acquired magic…”

All of a sudden, every pony began to feel overwhelmed by a chilling, cold breeze. They felt just as they did when they were being overwhelmed by Neversay’s will, only this sensation was far worse.

“What…WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Shade cried in terror. “I’ve never felt magic this malevolent before! Not even from the demons! HOW IS THIS HAPPENING?!”

“Demons only understand evil.” Belohzhero explained. “I am not just an ordinary spirit. I was once a pony, a pony whose very fabric of existence was torn in two when he saw the good and evil in both the side of power and the side of rebellion. I admire the fire of both, yet both are corrupt. The good in me wishes for them to stop hurting each other, while the evil in me wishes for them to perish and be rebuilt to fit my ideal world, one where all submit to me, looking to me as their salvation from death and suffering. Magic is merely the product of one’s will, and now that I fully recognize the good and evil in me as they’ve split, I can combine the light and darkness within me to create a magic a world that doesn’t even know good and evil could never hope to realize…”

Rock, Shade, and Merigo gasped in shock from what they heard, as did Neversay from what he could feel.

“You’re the ghost of Dandy Rose…” they all realized, mortified. “You’ve returned as a demon…”

“Not a demon…” he said coldly as he finally revealed himself to the eyes of every pony there. “But a greater demon. I understand good and evil, the true nature of heaven and hell. They are but the reflection of the wills of our souls. Heaven is whatever surrounds the soul in a state of bliss, hell is whatever sounds the soul in a state of suffering. The soul must first be disciplined in order to know what bliss truly is, and the soul must first have something to hope for to not become complacent with only knowing suffering, never seeking true relief from it. The ultimate factor that decides whether one will end up in heaven or hell…is one’s fire. It will always be the choice of the individual, ultimately. Thus, in order to create my ideal world where all depend on me to take away their pain and misery, I must extinguish the fire of all life.”

“WHAT?!” they cried in complete disbelief. “YOU CAN’T DO THAT!”

“I can, and I will.” Belohzhero retorted mockingly. “For you do not have the will to stop me, while I have the will to take the life of every pony here…with MY BREATH ALONE.”

His words proved true, as with his next breath, he breathed a gust of fierce, chilling wind that caused every pony there to freeze to death…including Neversay, Rock, Shade, and Merigo…

“I accept this fate as punishment for my sins…” Neversay spoke his final words. “But Dandy, know that we will meet again in some way or another…”

“Dandy…there’s no way I can die knowing my friend became this…” Rock remarked angrily.

“My knowledge of the forbidden spells won’t vanish, even if I have to leave this world…” Shade refused to concede.

“Far more unbelievable than what Rock and Shade showed me is your suggestion of extinguishing the fire of all…” Merigo scoffed. “Even in death, our fire will never go out…”

“Heh.” Belohzhero simply snickered as he watched the ponies he admired in life most fall to the ground dead, along with every rebel. “We’ll see about that.”

In spite of his cockiness, however, he recalled what he had drawn for his painting, the image of three ponies joining together to defeat a demon.

“We’ll see about that…” he said again more solemnly.

“Knowing their fire, them returning like I did is a very real possibility…” he thought to himself. “I must create a great army for myself in order to demoralize them, to put their fire out…”

Looking at the corpses of all the rebels he had just dispatched lying out in the snow, he had an idea.

“I shall recreate them as my minions, beasts of wind that will spread my cold breeze all throughout Equestria…” he said before he breathed another wind that caused the souls of all the rebels, except Rock, Shade, and Merigo, to rise from their coils and become Windigos. “The fire of those three that will remain after death will resist my magic calling them to serve me, obviously. These weak-willed fools, however, their rebellious yet fragile and immature souls are the easiest to manipulate…”

“What?!” Cloud cried in shock upon seeing this part of the vision. “This is not how Aero, Aera, and Aeros became Windigos? Then…no way…”

Cloud then recalled just how shocked the three were after they returned from being inside of Beelzebub and thought to himself…

“Maybe it wasn’t just their shock from discovering Belohzhero’s true identity…” he told himself, theorizing, remembering what they said about the fire they had forgotten. “The way their philosophies changed so suddenly, like they were completely different in their ideological views…it’s almost as if that’s what they always actually believed…”

Cloud’s theory would soon be confirmed to him as he watched the end of the vision, where Dandy’s ghost was finally confronted by three ponies, an earth pony, a unicorn, and a pegasus, who were all surrounded by a brilliant light that banished him to the ice in the far north, but not before his soul was finally divided into two halves, Amoros and Beelzebub…

It was one final revelation that caused that split, one that was revealed to Dandy by the god of love…

Seeing this revelation unfold in the vision immediately triggered Cloud’s memory of something he had said what felt like so long ago…

“I don’t believe in fictional characters coming to life.”

He then looked around at hell, the realm he was in right now, and realized to himself…

“In their own way, fictional characters do come to life.” he told himself solemnly. “We become like the demons we imagine, perverting the wills of others with our reprehensible conduct. The collection of the darkness we create in other people, people who lose the will to do good and wish for others to suffer, that is hell. So long as living beings exist, so will hell. Suffering is an inevitable consequence of difficult choices, and no matter how we choose, we will have to endure it.”

*FWOOM*

Once Cloud accepted that uncomfortable truth, the fire behind him roared, growing ever stronger and illuminating the dark realm.

“However, so long as we endure it, we can find something to live for.” he continued. “If you accept that you can’t be without suffering, suffering has no power. A world where you have no choice but to only suffer does not exist. And therefore…”

The fire grew so strong, the entire realm was illuminated, the darkness enveloped by an all-encompassing light…

“My hell does not exist.”

Soon after Cloud said that, the light cleared. He found himself in the form of a human spirit, hovering above his body in the snow.

“All that’s left is for me to know my fire…” he said to himself blankly. “And to do that, I must overcome my demon…his demon that deceived us both. Your day has come, Beelzebub…”

On his human body’s forehead, he saw the three-eyed lizard staring at him with a smug grin on its face. Cloud shot the lizard a stern glare in return.

“Leave my body this instant, Dandy Rose.” he said firmly.

With that, Cloud’s human body’s face suddenly contorted into a pompous smile, just like the lizard’s. His body’s mouth opened, and the lizard crawled inside the mouth before it shut and swallowed the lizard. His body then got up, turning around to face Cloud’s spirit. Finally opening its eyes, it retained its cockily smiling, sinister expression before it told Cloud in the voice of Dandy Rose…

“You can’t kick yourself out of your own house. And you can’t know your fire until you accept me.”

“What are you trying to say, Dandy?” Cloud replied, unamused.

“Don’t play dumb.” Dandy retorted. “You know all the questions you can’t get off your mind now that you finally know the answers. Why did Belohzhero want you specifically to be his successor? Why would he go through all this trouble just for you? Why was Sombra so worried about your power? Why do both of us share an interest in art and writing? Why do we both share such similar fates…as well as a similar appearance?”

Cloud gulped as he recalled the most obvious hint that he completely overlooked from being so fascinated with Dandy’s painting…the fact that Dandy had the same white coat as his pony form, as well as the same blonde hair as his human self…

“Because you’re me.” he spoke the bitter truth. “You’re Belohzhero, and technically, so am I. That’s why you chose me to be your successor.”

“Yes…” Dandy replied sinisterly. “You are my human counterpart.”

“…What does that mean?” Cloud asked, feeling disillusioned.

“The truth I learned when I was defeated in Equestria,” explained Dandy, “revealed to me by the god of love, was that Equestria is merely a creation of the human will. We are all created by the forgotten magic of willpower, and unconsciously, you created me in your image. Taking advantage of your lack of awareness, I manipulated you into becoming my vessel, allowing me to become something greater than just a product of will.”

“Is…is…” a bewildered Cloud stuttered to ask. “Is the world of Equestria a creation of the human will…the same way the human world is a creation of God’s will?”

“That’s the easiest way to simplify it.” Dandy answered. “Sombra must have explained it to you long ago, the magic of willpower.”

“Yes…” Cloud replied somberly. “He told me that my body of cloud and shadow was constructed by my will…if I had to be told something like that…if something like that could happen without me even knowing…”

“Who’s to say that this entire world of Equestria you’ve been exploring this whole time isn’t constructed by your will?” Dandy asked jeeringly.

“Does that mean…” an increasingly demoralized Cloud responded. “…that it was all a lie? Nothing I went through actually happened? Was everything I learned…are all the bonds I formed not real?”

“If that was true, there would’ve been no point to me putting you through any of this.” Dandy retorted. “No, what your will had you experience was true. But it didn’t happen in “the world of Equestria”. It happened in your world of Equestria…or should I say, ours.”

“Ours?” Cloud asked inquisitively.

“You remember when you were confronted in your soul by Beelzebub, correct?” Dandy reminded him. “My demon is your demon. The darkness that haunts you, the darkness that distorts your will, that is what shaped Equestria into what it is. The god of love always wanted you to confront this darkness, but it was difficult with nothing to motivate you. That’s why he told me what he did, to give both our souls a chance of salvation. Your world of Equestria is one of the few things you have a fire for. He allowed all of this to transpire so that your fire would not remain forever stagnant, dooming you to hell.”

“Unbelievable…” Cloud remarked in astonishment. “So the same way Sombra was sent to help me as Celestia and Luna’s unusual choice for a guide, the god of love worked through you and your evil plan to help me…”

“Ha ha ha!” Dandy guffawed. “Did you say, “evil”? I hate to disappoint you, but I am only as “evil” as you are. I have nothing but good intentions for our world of Equestria. Case in point, who do you think told Celestia and Luna to send Sombra to help you? I did as Amoros, my good half. Sombra, despite his rebellious thoughts, was merely controlled opposition. His order, the order of the Windigos, it wasn’t about either one succeeding or not. All that mattered was the way it influenced your fire, and the way you rebelled against them both despite knowing both of their wills were stronger than yours…that kind of fire was exactly what I needed you, my counterpart, to possess in order to play the role of Equestria’s savior.”

A mortifying thought dawned on Cloud…one that enraged him, leading him to scowl…

“You’re not just going to be done with my human body, are you?” he told Dandy indignantly.

“No way.” Dandy retorted, mocking him with the same eyelid pull and tongue stick he did as Beelzebub. “After all, since I am you, I will also know your fire once it finally awakens. And we will use that fire to enact my perfect order in Equestria, transforming the land into a perfect nation. Everything will begin once you return there. Once all your friends see you alive and well after you gave your life to save them, the ruler of friendship will be so impressed, she’ll abdicate her position to you in order to regain the trust of the displeased masses. From there, we shall finally end all pain and suffering by mandating everyone to make a contract with a demon through the Book of the Dead. Inspired by your sacrifice, they will all have the will to suppress their demons…and then never need their fire again. They’ll breed strong generations for ages eternal, but never rebel. Living perfect lives while ruled by a perfect government, they’ll allow the fires they no longer need to gradually be extinguished, and eventually, none will ever be able to choose hell again…they’ll only know heaven in Equestria.”

“That sounds similar to what Sombra confessed to…” Cloud remarked.

“Precisely,” replied Dandy cockily, “since like I said, he was just controlled opposition. Really, all you, him, and my disciples did by interfering with my plans was spare the general public the discipline I had initially planned for them. Still, it was the best any creature opposing me could ever pull off. You do deserve a reward for your efforts, as do your friends by being graced with our presence, don’t you think?”

Cloud waved his right arm in a motion of disapproval.

“Are you legitimately trying to butter me up?!” he cried angrily, unmoved by Dandy’s goading. “You think flattery’s enough to sway me after my fire’s come this far?!”

“Nah, I think better of you than that, you being me and all.” Dandy continued to stroke his ego with his rejoinders. “However, I will warn you. Once you see how your friends in Equestria are holding up, you will quickly realize that you have no choice but to come back to them, even if it means allowing me to establish my order…”

With a wave of his hand in Cloud’s human body, Dandy called shadows to surround the two and teleport them both to a resting room in Twilight Sparkle’s castle. The two, invisible and unperceivable, could see Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Aero, Aera, Aeros, and King Sombra all gathered around a table, despondent and sharing forlorn looks over the death of Cloud.

“What kind of ruler am I?” Twilight disparaged herself in regret. “Not only did I lose the trust of my people, an innocent pony lost his life…”

“I’m glad that Princesses Celestia and Luna are going to free Discord now,” chimed in Fluttershy, “but I didn’t want him back at the cost of Cloud’s life. I wanted to get to know him more…”

“It’s all my fault…” Rainbow bemoaned, blaming herself even more than Twilight had. “If I had just been nicer to him from the start, not treating him like he was a pest, he would’ve valued his life more, at least enough to not just throw it away like that…”

“…” Sombra was the only pony to not remark yet, looking over to his side curiously.

“Remember that it wasn’t you ponies who killed him.” Aero interjected. “It was our kind, the Windigos, influenced by Beelzebub, a demon’s hate. And Cloud willfully died to save you from their wrath.”

“Cloud did not give his life in vain.” Aera added. “He died because he loves you ponies, and that love for you will not disappear after death, nor will he. I know for certain…”

“Cloud could even be watching us right now.” Aeros remarked, largely sincere even as he didn’t know Cloud and Dandy were there. “Regardless, I’m sure he wants us to move on and not be like those Windigos who were ruled by emotion over what has already passed.”

“Definitely, though I’ll say it’s important to look back on the past if you want to create a new beginning…” Sombra said strangely, looking in Cloud’s direction and making Cloud curious.

“Ha ha ha…” Dandy chuckled. “Just what I’d expect from those Windigos now that they’ve regained their memories. Can’t say the same for your pony friends though…”

“I…get what you mean…” Twilight tentatively replied to Aeros. “But my people are not going to suddenly trust me again just because getting over my shortcoming is the right thing to do.”

“I’m still bothered by the fact that we’re having to sit here and talk so calmly about this while a cruelly killed pony is having his death certificate signed in the other room.” Fluttershy interjected with concern. “It’s scarily grim…”

“You guys don’t understand.” a still dejected Rainbow rebutted the Windigos’ sentiment. “You’ve spent a thousand years loathing friendship, that’s why you think we can just get over this. And take our emotions where? Even Twilight, who didn’t know the guy, loved Cloud as one of her people. And he died because he loved us. So tell me, are we just supposed to forget his sacrifice like you’re suggesting?”

The three Windigos were taken aback by this comment, a crucial memory triggered in their minds as their expressions grew ever more serious.

“No.” they sternly answered. “Forgetting something that important was the real reason we were turned into Windigos.”

“Wait, what?!” a surprised Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow exclaimed in unison. “What do you mean?”

Before the Windigos answered, Cloud noticed how Sombra still would not cease to look over in his direction. It was as if he could sense he was there the same way he could sense what the Windigos were talking about from the time he was with them in Cloud’s soul. Cloud’s suspicion was confirmed once Sombra used his magic to make the same white book with the insignia of a cross on it he had shown him before they summoned Beelzebub appear. And with the Windigos’ next words, Cloud finally understood the true purpose of The Book of Life…

“We forgot the will of the god of love. We were not willing to sacrifice everything so that our friend’s soul could be redeemed. Instead, we wanted eternal life for ourselves as compensation for what we suffered through. But since we were already dead, we had to settle for being Windigos. And since we went against the god of love’s will, we could only know happiness with a god of love…”

“You Windigos…” the three bewildered friends replied. “Knew about love and friendship before you were dead? Are…are you actually…?”

“Yes.” the Windigos answered blankly. “We used to be ponies just like you. In fact…we were the ponies who defeated Belohzhero two thousand years ago.”

This revelation completely shocked everyone present, except for Sombra, who was focused on what his senses were telling him, a chortling Dandy, and an awestruck Cloud, who despite already knowing this from the vision he saw, was captivated by another revelation.

“I finally get it now…” he said in amazement as he looked down at his ghostly hands, realizing that he was still the ghost of a human the same way Aero, Aera, and Aeros were still the ghosts of ponies when they had stopped Belohzhero. “I wasn’t wrong…the god of love put me here to reform Sombra…I’ll know my fire through The Book of Life!”

*FFFFFFFFFFWWWWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMM*

Remembering the sense of purpose that had motivated him to stand up to Aero, Aera, and Aeros combined with his most important realization of all, his fire grew exponentially, achieving its ultimate power. Dandy was no longer laughing or even grinning arrogantly once he felt this power and realized it was not his own.

“What the…” Dandy reacted in bemusement. “This…this can’t be right! Why is this fire not burning inside of my soul?! I’m you and you’re me!”

“No, Dandy.” Cloud retorted blankly. “I am myself and you are part of my will. My will would only ever want you to know your own fire…but you sold it to Beelzebub. Your “master plan” was doomed from the start.”

“NNNNNOOOOO!” Dandy howled in despair. “How can I be inferior to both you and him?!”

“Because you were never willing to give up everything while he was willing to take everything.” Cloud answered seriously. “But don’t worry, I know now how to save you from him and my friends too…”

Cloud knew that before he could save his friends, he would have to tell them the full truth…harnessing the power of his will, he allowed himself to become visible to them as his true self…he allowed the creations of his will to know their maker…

“CLOUD?!” everyone in the room cried in shock upon seeing their lost friend suddenly manifest before them, recognizing him immediately from his fire despite his human appearance. “YOU’RE…YOU’RE A…”

“Human.” Cloud finished for them bluntly as they could see he was the ghost of one. “And “Cloud Shroud” is just the name for the pony self I created with my will. My real name is Ken Carin. I am one of the creatures responsible for creating this world you call Equestria. And the Equestria you’re in right now is a creation of my will, just like all of you.”

Everyone there wanted to believe that he had lost his mind…but they inherently knew of the truth to his words, being part of his will and seeing him return from hell…

“Are you trying to say that…” they said in utter disbelief. “That you’re our…god?!”

“No.” Cloud replied meekly. “I am not a god. I am only a man. A feeble, hopeless man who needed his own creations of will and the true god of love to guide him to salvation. That’s why in my subconscious mind, I created you to be as similar to what the ones who made the “real Equestria” intended for you to be as I could. It was my way of giving you all free will. And now, I will ask all of you personally…”

Cloud then crouched to the floor, putting his left hand on his left leg and holding out his right arm before asking them…

“Do you want to help me stop Beelzebub?”

At this time, both Discord, who had watched Princesses Celestia and Luna turn themselves to stone after freeing him in order to appease the masses who wanted the government punished, and Justice Minister Neighsay, who had just finished completing Cloud’s death certificate, felt a strong premonition.

“Besides giving Fluttershy a surprise welcome at home…” Discord said with a sly smile before snapping his fingers and teleporting away. “My work here is done…”

“I feel as if I wasted my time on this…” Neighsay told himself as he looked over what he had just signed. “…Good.”

Everyone there was quick to place a hoof on Cloud’s extended hand, showing that they were intent on helping him put a stop to the demon that had plagued Cloud, Dandy, and this realm of Equestria for so long, all except for one pony…Twilight Sparkle.

“As much as I want to help…” she said sadly. “I can’t comprehend why you would do this for us. Especially me. You created us, and because of my weakness against the Windigos, that hate, you died. Why trust a failure like me after my inept leadership created a world where ponies don’t trust the government, the news, or the system? Surely in your world, you trust the government, the news, and the system, right?”

“Definitely not.” Cloud bluntly replied. “My trust in the world ended long ago. For so long, the only thing I believed in was my own fire. And that’s all many humans believe in now too. Despite our never-ending list of failures, it’s our fire that encourages us to keep going in our endlessly insane world. I was a far greater failure than you could ever imagine yourself to be before I got to this point…the point where I’m willing to give up everything if it means I get to share my eternal flame with others…”

With those words, the Book of Life began to glow…Dandy noticed this, and began to panic.

“NO, IT CAN NOT BE!” Dandy shrieked, his voice becoming distorted with Beelzebub speaking through him. “YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO SUBMIT TO YOUR EGO AND BECOME THEIR GOD! THEY CAN NEVER KNOW THE TRUTH!”

“Truth?” Sombra replied in puzzlement, able to hear Beelzebub. “So there’s even more to that book than I thought?”

“Absolutely.” Aero, Aera, and Aeros interjected, grinning confidently. “Your act of faith in joining Cloud to stop Beelzebub has already assured your salvation. The god of love told us of that book’s true purpose long ago in a scene familiar to this one…only this time, we will not allow our hearts to be swayed…”

Dandy grew even more fearful when he could feel the wrath of the Windigos that was now ingrained in Cloud’s fire calling out for him to be punished for what he had done…

“Especially when none of the Windigos are on his side this time!” they finished with a gallant exclamation, overwhelmed with confidence.

“RRRGGGHHH!” Dandy cried, putting his hands on his head in agitation that was further stoked by his sight of the Book of Life now floating in the air. “NO! COULD THEY REALLY…”

Cloud smiled, looking up at the book, already knowing what was going to happen. He then looked at Twilight and asked her with his hand and the hooves of the others still out…

“So Twilight…are you willing to give up everything to live forever with your friends in paradise?”

“Of course.” Twilight answered without any hesitation, smiling in turn and putting her hoof on his hand with the others, completing the circle before they all raised their limbs in the air. It was then that the pages of the Book of Life turned to show them…their names appearing on pages that once appeared blank, right beside the names of the rebels who had become Windigos, Neversay, and many ponies whose times in Equestria had long passed, proving the legend of none knowing salvation through it wrong. Every pony shed tears in blissful amazement at the sight as Aero, Aera, Aeros, and Sombra were surrounded by light.

“Do you finally understand now?” the trio told Sombra happily. “The reason why we must be able to suffer and die?”

“…Yes.” Sombra said solemnly as he could feel the light changing him and the Windigos. “Because it is our will to suffer and die for what is right that will lead us to paradise…”

Dandy’s panic soon turned to relief as he recognized the light surrounding them…

“This is just like when…” he said as he remembered what happened when his soul split apart. “Only…they’re going to be…”

Aero, Aera, and Aeros were transformed by the light into the spirits of the ponies they were, while Sombra was transformed into an ordinary unicorn with a green-jeweled headpiece and an ordinary, gray horn.

“Reformed.” Dandy finished, awestruck. “Their will to go through death, pain, and suffering…that is what reformed them.”

With that realization, Cloud walked over to Dandy, extending his hand to him just as he had extended his hand to the others…

“Do you know the real reason why the god of love told you what he did now?” Cloud asked, smiling with assurance. “It wasn’t because your master plan was what would bring you and Equestria to salvation…it was because of what you and all my great friends helped me realize…that made me want to give up everything…so that you could have a second chance…”

With that, a light surrounded Cloud as well, transforming him into a phoenix…

“What…what are you…” Dandy reacted in amazed bewilderment.

“I’m allowing you to have my body…” Cloud began to explain. “…so long as you are willing to accept this second chance…and have your name inscribed in the Book of Life…”

Dandy then realized why Cloud’s soul took the shape of an immortal bird of fire…and without a second thought, told Cloud…

“I accept. I will accept the punishment for my sins…and renounce Beelzebub!”

Dandy now knew Cloud’s fire…it was his will to be a symbol of rebirth…that would inspire others to know the god of love…and with this fire overtaking his fractured soul that was coming back together, Beelzebub, unable to take the heat, had his lizard form propelled out of Cloud’s human body and into the air. The shock of having his will overpowered shook him so greatly, his desire to maintain his physical form eroded, causing his lizard body to turn to ice. Knowing that the evil half of Dandy he had empowered would soon be dominated by Amoros, he had one final thought before his soul returned to the shadows…

“It will torture me forever knowing that I will never overcome…strong wills united by the god of love…”

With that, the ice sculpture he now was fell to the ground and shattered into pieces that melted away into water vapor. And so, a new name appeared in the Book of Life below the names of Cloud Shroud and his friends…

…Dandy Rose.

Epilogue

*click* *clank* *creak* *ROOM*

The sound of the door to a cell was heard opening as one of Twilight’s guards opened up the prison room Dandy Rose, appearing as a normal earth pony with a white coat and blonde mane and tail, had voluntarily confined himself to. Twilight had agreed to incarcerate him for the crimes he had committed under the influence of the demons until Princesses Celestia and Luna had decided to free themselves from their stony prisons. But that was not all that they decided to do…

“You’re free to go.” the guard told Dandy solemnly. “The princesses-“

“I already know.” Dandy interjected gleefully, slightly confusing the guard. “He came to tell me in a dream what happened…”

Dandy was staring at one part of a painting that he had spent his time imprisoned working on. The top part of it was a phoenix glowing in a magnificent light above him with Celestia and Luna by his side. It was not just him, but also Twilight who knew of the ascent of the rulers she admired into paradise, shedding tears of joy in the garden where she saw their statues were no longer there like Cloud told her…

“You relinquished your demonic pacts…” she said proudly. “And now you know true eternal life…”

It wasn’t long before she, Rainbow Dash, Futtershy, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, the now reformed Aero, Aera, and Aeros, and the now reformed Sombra were marveling a painting hung up behind Twilight’s throne room by Neighsay and Dandy. They were all overwhelmed with inspiration in their hearts as they saw it depicted not just a phoenix and their former rulers above them in paradise, but ponies and creatures of all kinds, including them, below in Equestria, each one with a fire inside of them they’d use to create a world they could trust again. All of them were using their fire to tend to the land, to build new houses, to make new inventions, to create whatever they wanted to make using the magic of their own will. A will that would be passed on from generation to generation…

*PAT*

“This truly is your best work.” Neighsay told Dandy, feeling the will of his ancestor channeled through him as he patted him on the back.

“It wouldn’t have been possible without him and his sacrifice…” Dandy replied humbly, shedding tears of joy while looking out a window in Twilight’s throne room.

He looked down at his hooves and briefly saw them become human hands before he looked out the window again, the group joining him to watch the phoenix Cloud Shroud had become fly through the sky to remind them of the fact…

…that they would be reborn by a fire for the god of love…

And so, they were reminded of an adage…

“The fire of friendship lives in our hearts.” they all thought, reminded of the carol sung at the end of the Hearth’s Warming Eve play. “This is where the fire is sparked…this is where it grows…”

In the human world, this was true too, shown by an open book beside the laptop and drawing tablet in Ken’s bedroom. Written inside were all the events that had taken place in Ken’s Equestria, and the book soon shut itself to reveal what was written on the cover…

Windigo Whisperer

By Ken Carin

Author's Note:

I really, truly do hope that you guys loved that finale and the story whole. I don't normally get too sentimental when I write my stories, but this one was definitely a special exception, since I kept getting teary-eyed constantly writing this finale that went well over the projected 7,000-word prediction without me even keeping track of how hard I worked on it. I don't know what I'll do for my next story right now, but I'm really grateful for all my fans who stuck around with my most successful story so far to the end!

Comments

[-Brutus]

This is really good ending :) IT feels like everything is tied up; life is an struggle and people often forget that.

[EnderHooves]

11207429
Maybe eventually. I could always become like the immortal patriarch of a grand and noble family line. A village elder who serves as a guide due to my experience. Maybe even change my identity every 10 or 100 years to have a new life and experiences and travel the world.
Have a good life while the good time lasts, then deal with the end when it comes.

[DerpTape]

Other than missing a crossover tag, this was a pretty decent story with interesting characters. Could have been a bit more character development/fleshing out, but enjoyable.