Beneath The Ashes
A blissful sleep came to an abrupt ending as the softest of morning light shone through the blinds of Zecora’s room, creating a dim sparkle in its way. She screwed her eyes shut in response to the sudden light invading her mind, shifting comfortably underneath the covers. She smiled contently once she realized that morning had come for her once again, just like it had done so many times before since the zebra had taken shelter within Fluttershy’s home. The Pegasus’ unending kindness and generosity were something that she had not come to expect from the ponies of Ponyville.
The life she had before had become nothing more than a memory, lingering in the back of her mind. Her scars faded with her memories, growing better everyday. She smiled contently as she thought back at the days she had spent in Fluttershy’s cozy cabin.
Zecora’s smile intensified as she heard the subtle clopping of hoofs on the other side of the door. She quickly threw the covers over her head, resting her head on the pillow once more in an attempt to fool the Pegasus’ into thinking that she was still asleep. The door slowly creaked open, causing the zebra’s smile to turn into a blissful grin. “Good morning Zecora.” Fluttershy said ever so gently, walking over to the side of the bed.
“Good morning, Fluttershy.” Zecora replied. Her voice had recovered well over the past two weeks. She yawned loudly, raising her hooves above her head. She raised her head from the pillow, her normally styled mane flopping messily over her face, eliciting a innocent giggle from Fluttershy.
Zecora smiled slyly as she climbed out of bed, stumbling slightly upon her hooves for a second before falling to the ground, only to be caught by a gasping Fluttershy. “You’re still injured Zecora.. you should really watch yourself.” The timid mare said softly, sending her friend a smile. Leaning up against Fluttershy, Zecora slowly made her way towards the door, stumbling clumsily over her own hooves.
Standing in the doorway, Zecora shuddered slightly as her hooves hit the frigid snow that lay on the once grassy hills surrounding Fluttershy’s home. She raised her gaze to the sky, watching the snowflakes dance as they fell gently the ground. It may have been winter, but the sun’s light shone brighter than ever that morning.
Zecora took a bit of the snow in her hoof and stared intently at it, narrowing her eyes. “Is everything alright Zecora?” Fluttershy asked, standing up to her hooves in the white powder, her signature smile on her face. Zecora shook her head timidly, dropping the snow into the ground below before stepping outside.
“Fluttershy, I would like to be told, why are we walking into the freezing cold.” She managed to ask, still having trouble speaking due to her injuries.
“Cheer up Zecora, it’s beautiful outside!” Fluttershy smiled. “Besides, you need to get your legs back into shape eventually.” Zecora looked down awkwardly into the snow, tapping it softly with her hoof, granting her another smile from the timid pegasus.
“Here, I’ll help you.” she said in a caring tone as she walked over to the zebra’s side, allowing Zecora to rest against her. Fluttershy rested her wing on the zebra’s back, shielding her from the cold snow. The sudden warmth took her by surprise, Fluttershy’s wing gave her a certain sense of safety. With newfound warmth and courage, the two made their way into the snowy hills that lay before them. Suddenly, a white bunny stepped outside with a bemused look on his face, obviously woken up by the sound the two mares were making. He blinked dully into the morning light, before charging after her owner.
The three of them made their way across the wintry hills surrounding the Everfree forest.
Angel hopped contentedly beside Fluttershy. “You must care for your little friend.” Zecora said, causing Fluttershy to smile softly at the white bunny. Zecora turned her gaze to the frozen trees that dotted the edge of the forest, peering into the dreadful darkness that they concealed, the darkness that she had once called her home. The forest seemed even gloomier this time of year.
“How are you holding up Zecora?” Fluttershy asked in a cheery tone. Zecora turned to the pegasus but before she could answer her, Angel suddenly scampered off into the forest. Fluttershy’s eyes shot open in surprise. “No Angel, Come back!” she exclaimed, lifting her wing from the zebra’s back before running after her deviant critter. Zecora, suddenly robbed of her support, nearly lost her balance. She looked as Fluttershy ran into the darkened woods, beyond which no light may be seen. With a lot of effort and determination, Zecora managed to follow Fluttershy’s hoof-prints in the snow.
The moment Zecora entered the forest, a gloomy shadow rolled over her head. The forest’s thick trees and foliage obscured the area of any light. Zecora had wandered through the forest many times in her life, but never before did it seem so... dark. The sound of the leaves cracking underneath her hoof was the only sound she could hear, no Angel, no Fluttershy. Her adobe was nothing like she remembered it to be, perhaps it was the cold grasp of winter that had changed it so.
She stumbled through the darkened corridors of the forest, shivering every time her hooves hit a patch of the frigid snow. Suddenly, she tripped over a frozen, rogue root, sticking out of the earth. She fell over, hitting the ground. Once she opened her eyes, she saw that she had landed in a rather familiar clearing, “I have seen these trees, and I have walked these floors, I am sure that I have been here before.” she whispered silently to herself.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy continued to follow that rapid bunny through the forest. He turned a sharp right, disappearing behind a frozen tree. Following Angel around the corner, she suddenly found herself in a large, dim-lighted clearing. The area didn’t seem to be affected by winter’s grasp. A thick layer of tall grass covered the forest floor. The tree-tops created a natural ceiling of leaves above the pegasus’ head, the light shining through it’s cracks, creating small beams of light that shot towards the ground with a dim sparkle. In the middle stood a small pond, angel sitting at its edge, looking down into the water.
“Angel? Why did you run here?” Fluttershy said softly as she trotted over to her little friend. Angel merely looked up at her in response, the faintest of sparkles in his waiting eyes. Fluttershy examined her surroundings, every tree, every bush, it all seemed so... familiar to her. Suddenly, it started to rain above the forest, causing lonesome drops of rain to trickle through the crack in the leaves and down the trees. A single raindrop fell into the pond, causing its surface to ripple in response. Fluttershy walked over to the edge, looking down at her own reflection in the water. She saw herself, but younger. She was looking at a filly version of herself, looking up at her from the pond below. Suddenly, an image flashed through her mind.
A young Fluttershy skipped through the reaches of the Everfree forest. She hadn’t lived at the reaches of the woods for a very long time so she didn’t really know the way around the forest, neither did anypony else. Everypony that had lived in Ponyville for a good amount of time knew to stay clear from the place. The young pegasus was out to collect herbs to bring back to her humble home and the forest seemed like her best choice.
A choice that she would soon come to regret as the shadows of the place swept over her. Needless to say, Fluttershy wasn’t the most courageous of fillies. She shuddered in the dark as she carefully made her way through the thick foliage that marked the woods. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a bolt of lightning shot through the sky, creating a thunderous echo that rumbled through the forest, shaking the trees.
Fluttershy squeaked in fear as she lowered herself to the ground, covering her head with her hooves. Suddenly, rain started to drizzle down on her head, gracing the leaves of the forest. It wasn’t long however, before the drizzle turned into a vicious downpour, assaulting the poor filly’s frail being.
She had seldom been so afraid before. She huddled up against a nearby tree in an attempt to shield herself from the dreadful weather, but it was of no use. Soon, powerful gusts of wind started to blow through the trees, causing the filly’s pink mane to dance in in the air. She lowered her face into the ground, shielding her head with her hooves, her wings standing upright to stop the rain from hitting her face, a regrettable decision. Suddenly, a powerful current of wind swept past Fluttershy. Sadly, her wings caught the gust, sending her flying through the sky. She yelled for help, but her cries were muffled by the raging storm.
*Splash*
Fluttershy appeared to have landed in a small pond, she sat up to her waist in the cold tide, drops of water dripping down her mane into the pond below, sending ripples through it’s surface. With a great deal of effort, Fluttershy managed to raise herself from the pond, crawling unto the tall grass that stood in the clearing.
The sound of the rain bouncing off the forest floor filled her ears with an arsenal of loud trickling. She simply lied there, in the tall, wet grass, shivering in the cold, nowhere to hide from the rain that continued to taunt her. “Is anypony out there?” Fluttershy whispered in a hurt tone, unable to fly due to the injuries that her sudden flight had left on her wings, but the sound of her voice got drowned out by the heavy downpour and flashes of thunder that shot through the sky.
Suddenly, A small white figure appeared in the corner of her eye, it kept coming closer and closer. Once her vision cleared she saw a small, young bunny, sitting in the grass in front of her, looking at her with worry in his eyes. The bunny was half the size of the young filly. The long leaves of grass danced violently in the wind. Unable to speak due to her fearful state, Fluttershy merely looked up at the critter with tears in her eyes.
Wasting no time, the little creature grabbed her by the mane and started dragging her through the grass, she could feel the raindrops gracing her coat as the grass rustled past her body. She soon found herself shielded from the dreadful rain, as a cover of trees appeared above her. The young filly coughed softly as the rain dripped from her mane, into the ground below.
She turned her gaze to the little white critter that say beside her, tilting his head in confusion. Suddenly, Fluttershy darted at him, embracing him in a tight hug as tears escaped from her eyes. “Oh thank you little bunny!” she sobbed.
So there they sat underneath the broken trees for an entire night, listening to the calming, rhythmic sound of the rain hitting the forest’s floor. The young filly held the little bunny in her arms all the while, humming consoling tunes from her childhood to him. They had both found a friend that night..
As Zecora trotted through the darkened, snowed-down clearing, the feeling that she had been here before become more and more apparent. She could hear the snow cracking underneath her hooves, see the subtle snow that danced down into the ground. Her eyes grew wider as she noticed some sort of structure standing in the snow ahead. Slowly, but surely she made her way through the grass and snow.
Several black, broken walls stood in the snow before her. A broken doorway still stood tall in the snow. As she drew closer, the grass beneath her hooves disappeared, giving in to snow and ash. Her ears drooped down into her neck as she walked through the shattered doorway. She could see what appeared to be the burned remnants of her old home, the snow still dancing past her head.
The emotions in her mind becoming too much to bear, Zecora allowed her legs to give in to the stress, dropping down into the snow and ashes below. As her body hit the floor, she could hear glass crack from underneath the snow. Her ears perked up in curiosity as she raised herself from the floor. She started digging in the cold ashes with her hoof, staring attentively at the ground.
Suddenly, a tiny wooden frame emerged from the ashes. Zecora took it in her hooves, picking it up as the shards of glass fell into the snow. She held it in front of her face, and within, she saw a picture. A picture of the past, of a love long since forgotten, of a memory that only a lonely zebra could still dwell on. Zecora’s lip quivered slightly as she looked at the picture in her hooves, a tear forming in her eye. She was confronted with the face of the very person that she tried to forget. “I miss you my love.. everyday.. I..” she bit her lip as the tear rolled down her check, leaving it’s trail along her face.
Suddenly, she could hear somepony running through the woods, and out of nowhere, Fluttershy entered the lonesome clearing that Zecora once called her home. She gasped as she saw the zebra standing in the ashes of her memories. She sighed softly as her expression softened, walking over to the lonely mare sitting in the snow. “Zecora?” she said softly. Zecora turned her head to face Fluttershy, the pegasus could see the tears rolling from her bloodshot eyes, A layer of snow laid atop her roughed up mane.
Fluttershy walked over to Zecora’s side, letting her haunches drop in the snow below. She put her protective wing over the zebra’s back, Zecora reacting with a slight shiver as the sudden warmth of Fluttershy’s feathers overwhelmed her, a slight blush forming on her face. The pegasus slowly put her head to Zecora’s shoulder as she closed her eyes, sending a pulse of energy through her friend’s shoulder, the snowflakes dancing all around them in the dim light that enveloped the clearing.
Zecora was speechless. The warmth of Fluttershy, sitting beside her, resting on her shoulder, was simply too much to bear. She could feel her face flush red with a sudden warmth. Suddenly, Fluttershy opened her eyes, looking at the broken frame in Zecora’s hoof. “Who’s that? She’s pretty.” Fluttershy said softly.
A joyful smile grew across Zecora’s face. If she was ever to experience a perfect moment, this was it. All of her troubles and hurts, wounds and regrets, seemed petty as she looked into those cyan eyes, Sparkling with the dimmest of lights. She felt something that she didn’t think she would ever feel again.. A connection.
She had forgotten what it felt like to be.. loved. Years of lonesome solitude had weight heavily upon her weary shoulders. She just didn’t want this moment to end, this one perfect moment in a life of regrets and mistakes. Doubt filled her mind, she wasn’t sure why she felt this way, but it just felt.. right, somehow. Yet it felt.. selfish to think of Fluttershy this way, but she simply couldn’t help it, the feeling was unexplainable. She somehow felt like she didn’t deserve it. “Is something wrong Zecora?” Fluttershy asked softly, raising her head from the zebra’s shoulder.
Zecora stifled a cry. “It’s just... I’ve seen so many things go wrong, Fluttershy..” she said, not caring about the pain forming in her throat. “The life I had before Ponyville, My house burning down..” she turned to Fluttershy once more, a single tear forming in her eye. “I want something to go right. Just once. Just...” Suddenly, Zecora felt Fluttershy’s lips grace hers, her eyes shooting open in surprise. For what seemed like an eternity, Zecora looked down into the pegasus’ dimly closed eyes, until finally, their lips parted. Both mares lowered their head, just barely touching as they panted into the evening air, the snowflakes falling around them.
“Shhh” Fluttershy cooed. “It’s going to be alright..” Zecora felt her mental walls crumble around her as she heard Fluttershy say those words. She darted forward, holding the pegasus in a tight embrace, she crying into her friend’s shoulder, staining her coat with tears.
“I’m here for you..”
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Finnaly Ezio! A great new chapter with the coolest Zebra around
397791 patience is a virtue my friend. the longer one waits, the better the payoff.
397794 True True
397800 wait aren't you the first to comment on this chapter?
397802 Yes i am
397826 well i'm glad people like this story. enjoy the reading my friend.
398051 glad you enjoyed the chapter my friend.
I swear, so many of my favorite stories were updated today (this one included) i could explode from happiness!
This was an amazing chapter, SO MUCH D'AWWWWWWWW
Loved it!
Nice chapter, but I found it irritating the way you used the word "suddenly" way too much.
402162 ahh nothings perfect.
great story my friend, i would like to see more though
402421this is a great story
will you be updating it soon
530689>>480671 expect an update in the month, when i dunno.
i'm sorry, but these do take a while.
532577
SQUEEEEE
yay thank you fo answereing
533155 no problem. not many people comment on here mind you so it's rather easy to do so.
... I am assuming this is on permanent hiatus?
1787744 "laughs happily"
never beleave something is gone for good, it will return like a phoenix from the ashes...
1788261 ... Why do I have trouble believing that?
For the love of Nayru, I am writing a shipping involving both Spitfire and Zecora...
I don't need to tell you how hard that will be to pull off... And I plan for multiple chapters...
I need assistance on that if you would be so kind.
1788280 hmm sounds challenging bro...
and hay don;t worry, i promise this time, it will be off hiatus soon.
and bro, all your story needs to be is the romance needs to be beleavle, such as with scars, it was mostly a build up for the romance because zecora was injured and such.
you should do something simalar, maybe spitfires wings get hurt or something
1788304 ... I find your lack of spelling disturbs me.
It ain't that hard dude. Here, i'll show you.
"Be-lieve-able. Sim-i-lar.
Sorry, inner spelling nazi compels me to do so.
... And I will consider that idea. I'll send you a link of the story's first draft shortly.
1788334 thank you bro, thats rather nice of you.
always nice to meet another friendly writer
awww 35w and still nothing, was a nice story :9
3057192 this story will be done one day!
cute story so far cant wait for it 2 continue
It sucks that this was set before Zecora was made closer of a friend of the main six. Also, why the seclusion? Wouldn't Fluttershy like to include her other friends in this weird-ass part of life? And what caused the fire in the first place!? One more critique-- I truly hate time lapses. The 2 week thing was a bit much. Okay, last one, I promise. Unless Zecora was, at some point, on fire, where did her burns and other 'injuries' come from? I can understand that inhaling hot cinders as she was unconscious caused her to burn her throat, but what about the ones on her coat?
Other than those thingies, this was generally likeable. 7/10!!
3989852 well, if a home and forest is on fire, there's proberly a good chance you are going to get burned, ether from touching the fires, or being near them.
time to use some experamenting!
there just funny dreams silly, no need to worry, they'll go away.
example, i burnt my hand once because i put my hand too close to a bonfire once, and it was fairly burned.
also, you do have to consider how shys friends would react to her nightmares:
i imagine dash would want to help, but dash is no inner thoughts reader, and applejack could be surrportive, but again, same thing with dash, and rarity might be too busy with her clothes or looking after sweetie to help shy.
also, 2 weeks isn't that bad of a time lapse x//3 i've seen some storys do 20 years for no reason, because logic, and besides, two weeks isn't that much, not a lot happens in two weeks.
but thanks for the little mini review, i do promise i will get back to this at some point, i promise.
3990094
When I said 'why the seclusion', I meant that we should be seeing some of the main six here. Too many things have happened for them to be like 'hey the forest lit up and zecora's probably dead or worse, flutters to, we should totally check on them and make ourselves a part of the story.....fuck it lets get ice cream instead.' And I do believe that the other five would do more than explain her fears away... like comfort her or something. I mean, she's losing sleep over this stuff, for weeks now! They'd be very worried about their sensitive friend. But, even then, twilight would totally be able to help, what with her knowledge of magic and the body and mind, and all the other sciences.
4022513 good point, just the person who i write the story with said that for story sake, it would work better like this.
its kinda like how the hobbit book was turned into 3 movies, instead of just being 1 long movie
Is this story supposed to continue, or is it just the author who forgot to change statys too complete?
4676654 it will be continued one day, i don't know whn, but one day it will
4684206
Wow, and I Who thought it to be complete! Well, then I'll await the day it continue!
4684206 One critique. If I were writing this, I'd have either stayed consistent with Zecora's rhyming, given an explanation for why she wasn't rhyming (perhaps difficulty talking forced her to speak in short bursts, anything longer than a few words would end in a coughing fit), or, most likely, had Zecora only regain enough speech to whisper short, raspy sentences, if at all.
Other than that, this story is really good, and I'd love LOVE LOVE to see it continued! By the way, you wouldn't happen to know of any other Zecora-Fluttershy shipfics, would you?