> Phantom Beast
>  by Slendy
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> A Hero's Icy Test!
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"So this is Hearth's Warming?" My brow quirked at the display, tilting my head to one side. "Sure you guys aren't just ripping off Christmas?"

"Isn't Christmas about some religious symbol in your world?" Yui replied back, her hoof poking out from behind her work almost mockingly. I pursed my lips, thinking back on that explanation given how Japan usually celebrates the holiday

"Eh, not Christain so that side of the holiday doesn't really matter to me. Typically we still follow the culture of exchanging gifts, cards, decorating, like right now," I loved this time of year, and Yui was big on the celebration too since this is the first Christmas/Hearth's Warming we've spent together, man have I got my hands full with this. "Most celebrate that portion on Christmas Day, though we do it on the twenty-fourth,"

"Why's that?" A hoof popped out. "Hold this." I held the strand of silver tinsel while she skipped around the other side, not noticing the sly smile tugged at my lips.

"Because it's seen as more romantic for couples," I felt the sharp tug on the other end as I continued on casually, feeling her aura simmer. "Typically the pair would go for a walk to see the many displays around their city or town, then top it off with a meal at a restaurant and exchange gifts," Then I shrugged, seeing her lilac eye peeking around the edge with surprise. "Hmm, what say you, love, feel like delving into my culture in a few weeks time?" My humor was dripping and Yui could see it.

"Y-you mean it?" She flicked the end of her decoration onto the tree, popping out with a bright smile, if Yui had one weakness it was her inevitable curiosity toward new cultures, my world, and Japan in particular. "I was thinking of doing something like that, b-but with how busy we've been I didn't know if you... um," She's a complete dork herself when she's flustered. 

Kneeling down, I ruffling her mane with a wink and smile. "I don't mind, sure, our job can be a wreck but that doesn't mean I'm ever too tired to spend time with you," I pecked her lips gently, then sat down on the carpet to admire our work with a chuckle, herself pressed to my side warmly. "In other news, I believe the two otherworldly views on this culture turned out better than I anticipated!"

Our small home outside of adventuring was the perfect size for decorating. With a little bit of creativity and colorful crystals, we had lights to decorate the rim of the walls with magically enchanted glows of red, yellow, green, and blue, sparkling in the dim light of an open fireplace. Tucked safely away from said flames was the Christmas tree, a real one I... had issues collecting thanks of a few... dozen Timberwolves out for revenge. Using gold and silver tinsel we wrapped the tree with only a few strands to keep some of the emerald green free, even among the decorative ornaments and crystals used to light it up. The cherry, or star in this case, on top, was the few wrapped gifts nestled underneath, despite it being only the two of us we did intend on returning to Blackrock to see Yui's family again, and I had a select few gifts for some around Ponyville and even up in Canterlot for a probably stressed Royal Guard mare in need of coffee.

"We rock," She held her hoof out while leaning against me, and I kindly bumped it, the pair of us exhausted after going all out with our decorating and shopping. Despite the numerous adventures, life-threatening situations, and Monster Hunting this was actually nice. Spending time away from all the fighting is rewarding in itself, not just due to the cute bat pony beside me, I felt I had the sense to push forward for days like this, even if only for a while. "Hey, Zen?"

"Aye?" Looking down at the sudden wave of unease I spotted Yui's ears folded back, herself shivering a little as she scooted closer to me and in turn the fire. "You still cold?" Even with her own fur that's surprising.

Nodding she craned her neck toward the window, and to my curiosity, the snow was falling slowly but a sharp wind carried it in the roof above, an eerie howl nicking in the wind. That's strange, not to discredit Dash but her weather team needs some serious reworking. Quirking my brow I muttered out. "So much for dark clouds only."

"More like a blizzard," Yui nodded alongside me. Oh, idea. Perking up I pulled away from Yui, much to her protest as a wing curled around my wrist. "It's cold enough..."

"Whining isn't going to work this time," I booped her snout, grinning as she recoiled from the touch, freeing my wrist. Clapping my hands I proclaimed my plan. "I'll just go see if our resident prism wants me to give a little Sunny Day, that ought to clear up the majority of this weather." Yeah, I learned Sunny Day a while ago. Turns out Dash really didn't like the idea of someone beating her weather clearing record with a dance of all things, in layman's terms, I wasn't allowed to use it less I wake up with a lightning bolt to the face, not cool.

Yui snorted at that, grabbing a blanket from the sofa while passing me a humorous look. "You mean that dorky dance of yours that makes you look like a Diamond Dog slipping in mud?" My immediate deadpan caused her to snort a laugh, flopping down beside the fireplace, curled under the blanket. "Go on then, clear this troublesome weather with your witchcraft, good sir!" 

Dryly I saluted. "Sure, anything else, your Heiness?" This was followed by a flick of my iced nail slithering across her exposed neck, hearing her squeal while her body leapt backward, flopping amongst her blanket with a flabbergasted expression. "Didn't think so, love you~" I waved away while evading a pillow that struck the side of the door. "Your pouting is only matched by your poor aim!"

"And your abilities are only matched by your terrible references!" That physically drained the color from my body at the door, then I heard her sweet voice sing across the room. "Be safe~" 

"Uh-huh... jerk." I quickly left with a small smile and tucked my red scarf close to my muzzle, intent to find the cause of this sudden snowfall before I freeze to death with my pride shattered in the snow behind me.





It was peaceful this afternoon across Ponyville, everything was coated in an abundance of snow, casting the once pastel streets in a blank canvass of white. There were decorations and lights dazzling this template, streets cleared with mounds of snow tucked between buildings or laying atop the roofs, if not for the growing howls of nature above the gentle snowfall might have added a layer of serenity. Sadly, I didn't hold a smile as I tucked my muzzle into my scarf, the temperature was chilly and in the air was something unnatural, whatever this feeling was pulled at my soul, even my aura sense was fuzzy, tracking the source everywhere. 

"Now, if I was a multicolored pegasus with an ego bigger than a planet where would I be...?" That meant literally everywhere. Slouching I stopped at a crossroads, gaze drooping into a deadpan. "This may take a while."

"Yo, wolf!" I retract my former statement for revision. Turning to look to my right I found that pegasus sweeping down from a few tails and hooves bobbing within the clouds, attempting to soothe the storm. Blowing her mane from her face, Dash bumped a hoof to my waiting fist. "Just the wolf I wanted to see - Slash, only 'wolf' I know that talks and stands on two legs."

"Duly noted," Nodding away I motioned up at the clouds. "Hate to cut our little chat short but... the clouds seem... grumpy?" I think that's the right word here? With my left, I swung it at the snow around us. "I'm not one to work on my off days buuuut this whole distortion is startin' to be very agitating."

Dash herself snorted, looking jaded herself while flapping in place, forehooves crossed. "Ya think? Everything's been out-of-whack today, ponies complaining about 'the weather is all wrong' or 'I have places to be' blah-blah-blah, look, if I could I'd report this back to Cloudsdale's Weather Factory but noooo, I got to hold down the fort against a storm so uncontrollable that it might as well have come from the Everfree!" After that literal meltdown, she sighed tiredly, rubbing her eyes slowly. "I'm really considering just moving my holidays to this week."

"Don't blame you, I would," Looking around, I pointed to the storm above, noting how this distorted energy gathered from among the clouds then was dispersed by the snowfall and wind. "Hrm, this might be a 'Me' problem."

"How come?" Now I held her attention, but given the sudden spike in emotions from afar I say we didn't have much time to chat

"To make it short, I think this is another Rift, it's been a while," Blinking I pivoted on my heel. "I did come to offer up a dance-routine to clear the skies but now I believe you may want to do the same for your team, chief, things are about to get spicy."

"Huh?"

My ears flicked upright. "Dash, leveling with you here, you maaay want to get your team outta here," I quickly pivoted on my heel, feeling the unnerving chill from down the street. "Oh yeah, this is one of 'My' problems to clean up." I popped the 'P' while hearing her wings flap

"What the heck's that thing?" My thoughts exactly, don't believe I've seen this one before... 

"A good reason to go, now." I insisted, bracing my paws against the cold that followed the clop of hooves as they dug against the dirt.

From the large equine body and elegant posture, it was a Kirin, only not a Kirin exactly. Its body is mainly a dark navy blue, with violet stripes throughout. Its mane is black with light purple tips and its eyes are a luminous red. In addition, its horn is larger, has a pinkish color, and features a spiraling ridge from base to tip. Maybe a subspecies? And from how cold the air suddenly got this wasn't one that dealt in lightning.

Glancing at the unmoving pegasus I deadpanned. "Remember that 'Elder Dragon' I sorta totally kicked the ass of? Meet another monster in the same category," I nonchalantly poked my thumb toward the neutral creature as it stalked toward us, snorting at both mine and Dash's presence. The very colors of her mane drained at my words, and her wings flapped sharply. "Ta-ta, now."

"R-Right, yeah, gotcha, bud!" That sent her scampering away from danger. 'Course, I neglected to mention the fact Kirins aren't as powerful as most Elders, they were just put there because no one in the Old World knew exactly 'where' a Kirin stood in terms of the standard categorization of monsters, that and they are rare, this one especially from the looks of things.

Now, both I and the Kirin stared each other down, a wail in the wind passing between us as that majestic mane bobbed in the breeze, a hiss and crackle of frost gathering at the base of the horn, looks like I called it. "Your move, Frozo."

Bucking its front hooves high, the Kirin gave a loud neigh as white winds gathered, freezing the ground under it while whipping up the snow, forming small columns of ice that shattered moments later. I cracked my knuckles and felt nothing but rage flow from those scarlet eyes that lunged toward me. This Christmas is about to get a 'continue'...

To Be Continued...
> Phantom Beast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Kirin didn't wait, charging me down while leaving a frosty smog in its wake, forcing me to evade left, the back hooves bucking against my forearms the second I did. The equine turned suddenly, threshing its head as a small wall of ice erupted from the tip of the dark purple horn, freezing my left arm in place while the body of the Kirin slammed through the ice, throwing me backward while it neighed, gathering a small plume of mist around it, my fur standing on end.

"Evade-Evade-Evade!" Pulling by my claws I flung myself from the aura, several large columns of ice expanding around it while smaller crystals manifested in the lingering cloud, shattering as they struck the dirt road. I drew my right leg back, kicking up while the navy Elder Dragon charged toward me. "Blaze Kick!" Through the frigid storm, my leg erupted, melting through the veil as it slammed into the steamrolling Kirin, fire singing its mane while it nickered at the powerful halo of orange flames that scattered on contact, myself spinning around on my heels once I landed.

Puffing out my cheeks I let out a massive barrage of purplish-blue energy with 'Dragon Pulse' the torrent rippling through the horse as it roared, ice sharpening its horn into that of a blade of ice, slamming the weapon forward to cast dozens of ice spikes in my wake, forcing me to evade into the second row of protruding ice spines, some grazing my body while a thicker one slammed into my stomach, throwing me up against a wall, leaving me open to the ramming speed of a crazed dragon.

My cross-guard conjured up a transparent shield, deflecting the horn but not the hooves that kicking and attempting to trample me, the large head of the beast hooked around my side as I found my world view invert, quickly followed by my body drowning in one of the many large piles of snow a second later. For a few seconds, there was silence. "ACHOO!" My loud sneeze cleared the snow off of me, using 'Life Dew' to mend my injures and hopefully warm me up. "Man, why'd it have to be an ice Kirin...?" Rubbing my biceps the Kirin observed me critically, hooves digging at the soil. "Waiting for me? Why thank you."

After that literal thrashing, I think I finally got this thing's moves down. Whatever subspecies this was it had the same move-set as a normal Kirin only replaced with Ice and a frost aura that could trap me if I'm not careful. Cracking my knuckles I motioned for the Kirin to proceed, to which it did a large backflip, ice and snow enlarging the horn into a sword once more with the gathering aura of frost. It was doing something big. My confidence fell apart, ears flattened against my head. "I should start running now - YAAAAAH!!"

Zipping into Quick Attack I sprinted up a mound of snow, diving up onto a rooftop in time to avoid and take in the massive tsunami of ice and snow that swept the street, several walls of gradual ice expanded from the earth before exploding under the Kirin's hooves, the ice-blade atop its horn sweeping twice to conjure two more walls either side of it, flinging projectiles that pierced walls and almost skewered me had I not fallen onto my haunches. "That was close!" If my paled face didn't say otherwise.

Kicking forward with bronze feet I dislodged mounds of packed snow and stones into the air, kicking the bullet-like balls toward the Kirin, seeing it grunt with each rapid strike of snow-fire I unleashed with twirling kicks. "Brick-Break-Snow!" Came up with that just now, haha!

Several rapid strikes broke the ice off its horn, the Kirin skipping across the street, leaving behind small clouds that showered the ground in dangerously sharp ice shards. Then it swung its head, a trail of ice snaking up the wall and across the roof beside me. Narrowing my eyes I broke into a sprint, springing over the second trail of ice with both my fists glimmering like stardust. "Retaliate!"

As though I were a blur of black and blue, my fists collided with the Kirin's flank, bringing the beast around as I caught the horn inches from impaling me, the tip of my chest spike grazing it as the mere sensation made my paws go numb, like cupping a blizzard between my fingers. Resisting the urge to pull away I held firm with my feet, even as the Dragon thrashed to relieve me of this hold. Taking in a breath I spoke gently. "Reversal." 

The white veil traveled around my arms, gravity and my swaying stance doing the rest as I held the Kirin steady, pulling and eventually tossing the large equine across the road, taking that aura of frost with it while that same substance stuck to my fur, making my movements stiff. Shaking a misty breath I closed my eyes to focus on 'Calm Mind', feeling my woes ease while a rise in heat from the dancing swords above my crown bolstered my muscles to brace the harsh environment the Elder Dragon brought with it.

The second my aura expanded I threw myself backward, two Aura Spheres crashing into the large forehead that was inches from my throat. kicking backward I dislodged a large segment from the road, the dirt, and rock smashing into the backside of the Kirin while the legs bucked through, pressing to my forearms that immediately made our fur stand on end, followed by a flash of golden bolts, backhanding its legs away while several columns of ice obscured my path. "Thunder Punch!" The first right hook tore through the walls of hardened water, then the left crossed the muzzle that snapped into view, giving me a clean shave of its snout, flinging the Kirin off to the side, the trail of ice nicking my hip a second later.

Tearing away from the frosty surface I split the crystals forming above me with sudden swipes and kicks, although I had to forcibly take one to the shoulder and foot to evade the equine's charge, leaving only a frozen scape in its wake. Slipping backward I found myself pinned between a wall of ice and the sights of the Elder. That was when another, vastly darker shroud clouded my vision, tossing me to my left sharply without my body's consent. 

"What the... yah!?" Twisting my neck I was surprised to see the Kirin had also suffered from the same effect of the dark cloud, body battering against a nearby wall as it attempting to regain its footing. 

"Can you go one day without risking your butt, just one?" Oh boy. A did sigh happily at the voice all the same. From a distance, Yui stomped over with her hood flapping in the wind, her mane tucked inside and under a blue scarf to match. Those purple orbs never once leaving my face. "Why am I not surprised you figured it was another Rift - and never told me!"

Sweating a little I put my paws up slowly. "It's the holidays, besides you worked your own butt off in our last job so I didn't want to bother you with this - duck." I grabbed her by the waist, tugging her back from another wall of ice spikes. "You can hit me later, that sound fair?" Not really the time to argue morals with my adorable partner.

Even though she was mad her hoof tapped to my cheek, eyes softening for a moment. "I'm using you for snuggles later, this is absolute." Mustn't laugh... It could be the end of the world but her angry face was just too funny. Setting her down, we quickly parted ways as the body of the Kirin swept by, ice raining down from above, keeping us on our toes. "Zen, I think the horn's the weak point!"

"Usually is with Kirin!" I relayed, skipping back from the trails of spikes erected around me, the ice forming a blade atop its crown. If it did that massive ice stunt again it might cause far more damage to Ponyville than to us. "Yui, your third spell, hurry!" Dashing toward the center of this ice storm I kept my body low to the ground, zipping by the falling ice and waves of frost that exploded at the Kirin's command, spires of ice conjuring to deflecting my aura attacks from so much as interrupting its conjuration.

Even though I drew closer to the epicenter, the sudden drop in temperature was making it harder to keep moving, the frost was dampening my fur and my joints felt locked and jittery. It was even getting harder to see straight through the small torrent of white. Off to my far right, Yui hadn't budged, even as the same effects licked her grey body, she held a hoof to her heart and closed her eyes. Beyond the wail of wind and snow, her voice traveled like a soothing siren's melody.

"Seep from shade. Grasp from veils. Drag toward dark," My fur stood on end at the rush of my own shadow pulling itself beyond my motions, centering around the Kirin, the horn coming down to graze the earth, frost rising like metal powder to a magnet. "Tenebris Hamo."

The mere lick of the last letter sprung darkness from every corner of the battlefield, dark hands reached out to clasp around the Kirin's body, snagging its legs and flank, across its stomach and shoulders, some snaked and joined by the collarbone and throat, tugging the head back from the ground. While the Elder Dragon threw itself around, stretching and attempting to undo the binding I used one of the manifested columns of ice as my leverage, bringing myself high above the Kirin's bucking form.

"Mega-!" The left heel cast a sharp scarlet, blinding those caught under its dazzling hue, my bones and muscle fibers straining under the force applied to a single point. Gritting my teeth I flung downward for a tremendous ax-kick. I wasn't done though, this put a sudden strain on my leg, so much so I almost lost my focus entirely, I had to grin and bear it, just for one blow straight to the head! Fire trailing down my leg, igniting in a furious red blaze that cut through the blizzard's veil as though it were a mere gust of wind. "Blaze Kick - hyrah!!"

Whatever ice that remained was pulverized the second the dark horn connected with my foot, the nova of reddish flames spilling from the point of contact with enough kinetic force to disperse the frost and obliterate the ice and snow surrounding the street under a clap of thunder.

The Kirin found its head imbedded into the earth with a resounding crack, the horn splintered and shattered into thousands of pieces, showering the world with sparkles of blue snowflakes through the dust cloud formed among remnants of fire flickering away in the soothing storm above, its hazardous image silencing, the howls growing still once more.

"Okay... I think... it ain't getting up from that..." Panting from the small crater left in the fallout of that move, that, and I couldn't move my left leg right now. Through the leveling dust, I saw Yui wave toward me. "I'm alive...~"

"That much is obvious, dummy," She sighed, though relieved as always while lightly jabbing my shoulder. "You really had to go all out again, didn't you?"

With a sly smile, I held my paws against my leg, feeding Life Dew into my fur while I winked toward her. "But of course, I had to make sure I impress my adorable girlfriend, right?" My answer and her reaction were enough to draw a chuckle from my dry lips, seeing her face tinge a little under that scarf.

"..." She said nothing, even while the twinkling snowfall illuminated her face somewhat, that, and the fading form of the Kirin beside me, its body slowly evaporating into the ether once more, so it was a Rift manifestation, guess that's just less to clean up. 

I leaned closer, eyes curved with mirth, "I'm right, aren't I?" The growing humor in my tone didn't help.

"...Shut up..." She was resisting, even as I poked her cheek.

"Your soul can't lie~-" Then her wing slapped my paw, eyes locking to mine.

"Yes! Okay, it was freakin' awesome! And you were awesome and... grah, are you happy now!?" Whether it was the embarrassment, her aura battering with a tidal wave of emotions, or the fact I'm tired from using up alot of stamina in that fight, I just felt happy to hear that. Leaning closer to her shoulder I sighed into her hood and fur.

"Thanks... I'm glad I'm still living up to your expectations," There were times I still felt... useless without my powers, that if I had them stripped away I'd still be nothing short of just your average guy stuck in another world. But who wouldn't? We all dream of escaping to a world where our inner selves can thrive, I'm just one of those fortunate, or unfortunate enough to land in that situation. It wasn't skill but luck, and I was afraid of that.

"Dummy..." I felt her leathery wing tug around my back, a hoof stroking my head while I let my leg rest a little longer. Her voice whispered into my ear gently. "You always live up to my expectations; Lucario, or even Human."

A few words and I felt that doubt trickle away, I even felt warmer. "I see... I hope you're -" I, ironically, froze mid-reply, seeing Yui's head tilt at my sudden reluctance to vocalize my thoughts, instead, I felt this rush of cold wind run up my spine. Gripping Yui tighter, more protectively I felt my chest stir. "Yui, something isn't right."

Now her own ears flattened, pulling away from me to inspect the area herself. The storm raged on, just the tempered clouds weren't as chaotic as prior to our involvement, so why didn't this feel right at all? 

"Uhh, Zen...?" Feeling the tug of her wing to my scarf I craned my neck beside her, seeing that Yui's jaw dropped at the sight trotting down the road. Then, while my own lips sealed themselves at the sight, a steady beat rising in my chest, Yui vocalized it for me. "I think we're still on the clock." 

"That... we are." Gulping down that lump I stood tall, Yui keeping herself knitted to my leg, withdrawing a red vial that she soon chugged the contents of, fur shivering from the strong taste that I could tell smelled of peppermint. "Ready for round two, love?"

The storm above rumbled stray, blue bolts of pure plasma discharged in the dark skies above. Clopping to a halt a Kirin played at the dirt with its front hoof, watching us with scarlet eyes. Unlike its counterpart, this was the original, though a closer look reveals that it is covered in scales rather than a coat just like the ice variant. Its majestic white mane and hair stood on end, charged with static. Crackles of stray electricity dancing between scales and hair. 

For once, Yui shared my joyous tone, chuffing once. "You know it." Her wing and my fist bounced off one-another at the clap of thunder and a stroke of lightning

To Be Continued...
> Unforeseen Forecast
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Today could not get any better, could it? This was imperative in my slouched form. "You've got to be kid-" The electrified mass of white and blue slammed into my palms, a reflective barrier keeping an azure horn from gutting me senseless while I slipped away from Yui's side, herself avoiding the stray bolts of lightning that struck around the area. Pushing my toes into the dirt the sudden loss of momentum gradually eased, my arms bent forward to restrain the Kirin before its two forehooves bucked the barrier, shattering it for my frosted fist. "Ice Punch!" Creaming the Elder in the jaw the frozen knuckle atleast threw the Kirin off balance.

Unlike the ice variant, this one swung back almost instantly, bolts dancing down the spire of the horn to erect a long wall of lightning between us, then I yelped as my feet narrowly evaded a second wall to my left,  followed by a charge that had me rolling through the dirt to keep from standing in the way. Slowly shuffling back from the random discharge of lightning I bit my lip, that realization that my leg had yet to properly heal still apparent. "I can't fight like this, just how many moves do I even have left in me?" Whatever the case, this Kirin wasn't going to let us off easy.

"Heads up, Zen!" Seeing the light blue dust particles scatter at my feet I took heed of Yui's words, the Kirin focused on me and not the cloud of smoke summoned before us. The second it entered the veil it was spun out with a startled wail. Folding both my arms close to my waist two sets of metal claws tore from my fur, the sharp grin offered to the disorientated Kirin followed swiftly by a sharp cross through its forehead, my body flung over its back to carve away at its scales with a flurry of swipes.

Stumbling back beside Yui I almost fell onto my ass in that instance, "Dammit!" Coughing up my mindless reply I felt my vision double for a second. No, fight it off, you have to keep going!

"Zen..." Yui looked up at me warily, I don't blame her, I feel and probably look like the aftermath of down several Aftershocks. Wiping away the dirt on my cheek I brought my palms together, feeling the spiritual energy gather and manifest once the Kirin turned to us, hatred and scorn building within its scales the moment several bolts of lightning were summoned before its cry to the heavens, now its fur stood on end. The second it did I withdrew my polearm from within, spinning it to rest against my back. "You need to recover," Her hoof tapped my knee. "Use Rest, I can handle this overgrown pony myself."

"Yui, you-" Her wing flapped, and I saw her smug smile under her hood, attached to her forehooves were the same blackish-purple gauntlets I had made months ago, the same deadly bracers she wore against Safi'Jiiva. 

"If there's anyone who knows these monsters better than you it's me, I have been glued to your side, if that wasn't obvious," The cowl of her hood tilted to me, revealing her lilac eye brimming with confidence. How could I say no, right? She was annoyingly stubborn to a fault. Banishing Bone Rush I stepped back, eyes snapping to one of the darker alleyways to hide.

"Hey, Yui?" Before I left I offered her a quick thumbs up, even though my expression looked pale. "Kick its teeth in."

She chuckled and complied, sprinting toward the now charging overclocked dragon as the storm thundered above, bringing lightning down as I retreated behind a building, praying to Trinity that Rest won't, ironically, take too long. Once I was sat against the frigid wall I jammed my eyes shut, even while my mind raced with worry, which soon slithered away into an eased mind, Yui wasn't some defenseless pony, if she was then I'd have died dozens of times over before now. She'll be fine, for a Treasure Hunter that is.

"Rest..." The second the letters left I felt everything fall to a pink haze, drowning me in this strangely tranquil slumber.

...

...

...

...

...

*Knock-Knock-Knock*

"I said leave me alone, Summer, just for a bit," My dry voice drawled to my sister who opened the door to my room still bathed in darkness, say for the glare of my TV as I turned toward... My brow rose at the one who entered.  A familiar tomboy with wild, warm-black hair and green eyes. "Taka? Why...?" Oh right, she and the others were invited over for a Christmas Eve dinner.

"Someone's being all mopey," I saw her eyes blink wide, ruffling her hair. "Huh, not much more than usual." She effortlessly evaded my pillow.

"What. Do. You. Want?" Today wasn't the day I wanted to be belittled for my attitude

"And a Merry Christmas to you too..." Her gruff reply didn't phase me while she hopped over to sit beside me on the edge of my bed, only now my attention was away from the game in question to get through whatever she wanted to tease me about, the sooner the better. At first, she didn't speak, looking around my room as I followed her actions closely. "This is the first Christmas without Rika, yeah, I know that's why you're..." Even while my expression never changed much, hers did, looking down for a moment. "Yeah, it sucks, I get that, we all do."

"I didn't want to ruin the mood," I replied evenly, looking back to my stationary character staring toward the massive white sphere hanging over the fictional city, lanterns rising in the backdrop. Giving her a faint echo of a smile I nudged her shoulder. "Just go, I'll be fine right here."

Then something nudged me back, it was... a box? Taka held it out until she sat it on my lap, in return, she held her own soft smile, a rarity for the headstrong girl. "...I didn't get it at first why she even let me have this, now I'm seriously beginning to wonder if she's a psychic or something," Taka chuckled lightly. "Merry Christmas, you dummy."

It was red and white topped with a bow. Undoing the ribbon that held the lid shut I unraveled the gift quickly, taking the lid off to see just what exactly was inside, and who Taka was referring to. The first was... a letter, a red paper concealing the gift underneath until I read the note, a part of me almost regretting that choice. When I flipped the small card open my eyes widened with an uncharacteristic amount of light like the color was feeding back into my eyes.


𝗗𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗭𝗲𝗻,
𝗗𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗲𝗱, 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗯𝗲 𝗮 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗮 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻. 𝗜 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝗺𝗲, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗼𝗼, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗵𝗼'𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘁𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘂𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗹 𝘄𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻. 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀.
𝗟𝗼𝘃𝗲,
𝗥𝗶𝗸𝗮


Underneath the tissue paper... was a picture, it wasn't fancy or something needlessly expensive, it was just a pine frame fixed with Rika hugging me around the neck tightly, and... I was smiling. I remember this, the first time I ever smiled outside of family, without Summer, Mom or Dad. She made me smile.

The glass was stained by a stray tear, then another, then I could barely see the image while my gaze blurred under a haze of feelings I did so hard to suppress for her, for everyone. "...I..." I croaked while Taka's arms pulled me into her chest, holding me tightly even as she trembled. Sniffing back a few tears I couldn't stop, just seeing this was enough to just... snap that single thread I used to smother all my grief. "Rika..."

"It hurts, it really freakin' hurts Zen," Taka's fist tapped off my back, feeling her head dip against my shoulder. "I'm so angry, I just want to snap at everything like that would make me feel better, but I don't want to lose anything else, so stop," She whimpered. "Please don't shut us out."

I think... that was what finally helped me pull myself from that abyss.






[No POV]


The Kirin roared once more, lifting off its front hooves as lightning crackled across the spire of its horn, summoning several horizontal lines of lightning to scorch the earth black, Yui slipping between the lines while she flanked its... well flank, striking with a powerful right hook and left cross to the turning muzzle, using her agility to keep from being bucked herself. Another line of plasma narrowly singeing her fur as the Kirin galloped her way, attempted to trample her as she kept her distance.

"Okay, you got this, Yui, just a one-winged treasure hunter against an Elder Dragon that's faster, stronger, and can summon lightning..." Her ears flattened at that dissolving pep-talk, keeping away from the many stray bolts summoned by the Kirin's wail of rage, some tearing thatch off of roofs. "Erm... I've really got to start taking my holidays seriously."

"Heads up!" Yui bounced back, bucking the second the Kirin's stomp missed, forcing her to roll under a swipe of the horn that left a small trail of lightning in its wake, the paralyzing sensation throwing her backward and into a pair of hooves? Confused, Yui peered up to find the smug grin belonging to the resident Element of Loyalty. "What? Wouldn't be cool of me just to jet when some dumb monster shows up, and no way am I missing out on this!"

"I - thanks, Rainbow." Yui smiled while the pair touched down a fair distance from the enraged Kirin, lightning striking its body, signifying it's now taking them both seriously. Shaking the tingling sensation from her hooves Yui adjusted her hood in the harsh winds. "Okay, to sum up, it's one big lightning rod, and now that it's charged those scales will be even harder to break."

"And no use trying to clear the clouds," Rainbow chuffed. "I tried but they just kept moving like I was trying to hold water with my bare hooves."

Taking this in Yui saw the trail of blue between them and immediately shoved Rainbow from the line while she dived left, spotting the Kirin bow its head a second later for the sudden strike of several bolts. "Keep moving and try to find some way to break the horn, that's its only weak spot."

"Leave it to the best flyer around!" Dash complied and flew to keep the Kirin distracted as Yui slipped by unnoticed, her jagged gauntlets drawing near with their somewhat toxic scales. If she could weaken the horn for Rainbow they may be able to snap the horn off like the last one, the question was, could they? Without Zen's know-how on Monsters, she had to play off what she knew and her own intuition, no offense to Rainbow Dash but her knowledge wasn't... vast in this subject. "Come on ugly, even a blind unicorn can hit the far-side of Ponyville better than you, bleh!" She stuck her tongue out as Yui sweatdropped

"My point proven, but if the shoe fits..." And it did, the Kirin neighed, channeling arcs of lightning to hone on the blur of colors that kept just out of its strikes, this, in turn, kept the majority of the lightning from damaging the town

Then the Kirin resorted to charging its horn to a neon glow, the stray bolts webbing its scales as Yui moved closer. Reacting, Yui swung her forehooves forward, slicing across the Kirin's face as it lost its focus. It changed its pattern to kick Yui, missing her tail as she swept up onto its back, landing a solid punch to the crown, hopping over its horn but not without delivering a solid 'crack' to the horn, her eyes catching the fissure made with the toxic bracers of hers.

Kirin soon steamrolled toward Yui, discharge from above raining down around it as it kicked Yui backward, herself almost caught by a bolt as another wall of lightning deafened her left ear. Shaking the ringing out of her head she slid to the side of the equine, bucking with her back hooves, almost wincing at the sensation of kicking concrete. The creature reeled back, the horse's front hooves pivoting toward her head.

Yui rolled backward, avoiding being trampled. Yet the horse's head swung low, knocking her back on her flank while a cyan strobe crashed against the temple of the Elder with enough force to dispersed the ice and snow around them, knocking it on its side as Rainbow did a small flip, digging her hooves down on the horn as chips dislodged from the fractured horn. With the Kirin now snorting in the snow, reeling from the resounding force Rainbow applied from her flight the pegasus took the time to cackle proudly.

"Oh yeah, be it a dragon, hydra, timberwolves, or even um... whatever this thing is - I'm the best - uwah!" The Elder Dragon clearly had enough to the two, throwing Dash off as it thrashed its horn in their direction, three trails of lightning conjuring in the dark skies while it charged past Dash and toward Yui, herself unable to move in time and instead blocked with her gauntlets, smelling the remnant poison dripping from the Kirin's jaws as it snarled in her face, throwing the bat-pony afar, the bolts trapping Dash a moment too late to catch the fallen treasure hunter.

"Ow..." Whining from her own snow pile Yui gasped, seeing the shadow looming over her with illuminated eyes, a poisoned breath escaping the Kirin as the fractured horn sparked, building up an abundance of energy, even as Dash attempted to kick the back legs of the Kirin it merely bucked the flyer away, unphased by her attempts to garner its attention.

Despite the initial fear that struck Yui and the panic in Rainbow's magenta eyes, the Kirin's focus shifted, ears flicking as it brought its head to the single ray of sunlight that broke through the storm above. Strange as it was, even Rainbow was surprised even some slither of sunlight was poking through. Now the Kirin's fur shivered, and so did the other two not-so-feral ponies, realizing the wind had become far less chilly, it was cold but not frigid, and more rays of sunlight was starting to seep through cracks in the swirling vortex above.

Then it dawned on Yui what this was, smiling fondly at the eased clouds and piercing shade of gold of the afternoon that broke the layer of darkness. "Heh, Sunny Day," Now the Kirin backed away, snarling back at the alley Zen retreated down, seeing a similar, golden-orange hue emanate from within. Its horn sizzled with energy, and its focus was no longer on the pair of smaller equines before it.

The soothed smile stretched across the Lucario's muzzle as it revealed itself from beyond the Kirin's sight, keeping his eyes closed while both of Zen's paws were cupped together, infusing a light blue aura over his frame, now, his pool of energy had finally refilled. "Calm Mind. Nasty Plot. Swords Dance. Work Up. Bulk Up-" Still no strain, only the sensation of lightning racing to and from every bone in my body. "-Iron Defense. Agility. Laser Focus. Substitute."

Revealing his eyes, the indomitable burst of power was unleashed across his fur, wisps of many colors forming an aurora over his body, even his Bone Rush ability seemed sharper, traced with multicolored light. He hadn't felt this amount of strength since Diablos, heck, even as close as when he battled with the first-ever Elder Dragon he encountered, it was exhilarating, and now he felt nice and warm. 'My turn.'

In a blur under a massive flurry of lightning, Zen slipped into Extreme Speed, everything becoming slow say for the Kirin, its head snapping toward his position even at such an extent. Zen grinned, drawing his left arm forward. "Called it - Stone Edge!" His newly acquired skill summoned forth dozens of silver tinted stones from the earth, dispersing the bullet-like projectiles to intercept the Kirin's electrical build-up with an effective amount of force, hearing the creature wail from the assault. 

Zen moved closer striking with his polearm across the underside of its jaw, spinning his staff backward to crack off the monster's forehead while he spun over its jagged horn, snapping the tip of his staff against the crystal appendage. Lightning discharged, almost frying Zen as his speed cut back to the norm. The Krin dipped back, sailing backward with a single arc of lightning that Zen split with a heavy vertical slant.

Kirin spun around with a wail, swiping the air with electrical currents while Zen's polearm's upward stroke dispersed the bolts, thrusting through the gap to slice at the thick scales. The equine's horn swiped low, forcing Zen to effortlessly parry with a single-handed 'Quick Guard', leaping high for a blazing kick that tore the earth high, slamming the debris into the underside of the Kirin. Keeping himself airborne Zen swung himself in a saw-like fashion, carving down the vertrbre of the monster as a wave of pure color, his body thrown away by a protective blast of blue lightning. 

Enraged, Kirin galloped through the smoke, its horn caught surprisingly by a hand as it was yanked forward a painfully bright hand chopping down with enough force to completely sever the delicate instrument that guided the Kirin's power. The abrasive cut unleashed that pent-up energy, painfully bright and hot partical effects tossing the combatented back, Zen having erected a 'Protect' around himself to take the brunt of the expelled energy. 

While the dragon recovered from the unbearable loss of its horn, a frozen knuckle swiped it gut, making it stumble as a metal shin cracked against its side in a clockwork manner but Zen's radiant power was on the verge of fading, even his strained expression told him so, and his limbs were getting worn out from the exhurted force. 

"He's running out of time." Yui bit her lip. Dash kept pumping her forehooves out, copying his motions.

"Come on, Wolf, kick its flank!" That did stretch a small grin over Zen's snout.

"Alright..." While the Kirin was using what remained of its horn to gather the energy it had stored up, Zen did the same, intending to put this Rift out to pasture. Sucking in his breath Zen pulled in his own aura, drying up what reserves spilled from his body visibly, condensing the energy with sparks and zaps of red and purple lightning of his own. With his foreign tounge he called out the name between the striking taste nicking his taste buds and buzzing his teeth. "Hakai... Kōsen!!!"

The stream of red and purple light was cast from his maw, lightning the world briefly in a matching twilight as royal-blue lightning and solid amethyst and ruby clashed in the center, though a spectacular display, Zen's sheer control compared to the Kirin's now shattered horn stump couldn't bear the weight of the attack for long, soon it too was consumed by the light that rocked the world slightly for a mere moment, if the town wasn't aware of the danger before, this certainly woke half the country from their obliviousness.

When the light died away, all that remained was a large indent in the earth, and the lifeless Kirin found at the opposite end, smoking still from the burns it suffered. The stray discharge of colored bolts fizzled out across the gap. Zen's energy finally tapped out after draining himself twice. It was a serious handicap after using Rest, something he greatly wanted now more than ever. Dash applauded beside Yui, herself about to say something until Zen stomped his foot once at the base of the small crater.

With a glimmer in his eyes, and a smile on his face he beamed out his thoughts to the pair, 'Hahaha, Oroshi Kirin, that was the purple ones - yah!!' He accidently sat his foot on a solid piece of ice left by the Subspeices before, promptly faceplanting the dirt a second later, his legs slowly slipping down the crater's edge alongside the rest of him.

"Oof," Rainbow lost her grin, wincing alongside Yui who just covered her face with her hood, shaking her head. "You sure know how to pick 'em, Yui."

That didn't help at all, "Idiot..."

'...I think my foot's behind my ear, and I don't think it's suppose to do that...' Scratch that, he's completely helpless.

"Spectacular." Yui's monotone voice was only matched by her eye-roll but otherwise moved with Rainbow to help him out of his own misery.





In another world...

The day was finally winding down during Winter, almost all the remaining customers had left for the afternoon, leaving a girl with long, silky-white hair and a piercing shade of red eyes, Summer, to tidy up the cafe while her Dad worked on cleaning behind the counter. Giving a small huff she stretched after cleaning down another table. It was hard work but nothing she couldn't handle, brushing a lock from her eyes as she smiled at a young woman sat by the window who appeared to be gathering her stuff to leave.

"Hi, all done?" Summer offered kindly, the woman in question was a beautiful golden blonde and wore a pair of tinted glasses which did confuse Summer at first since she didn't seem to be blind given the lack of a guide dog and/or cane. She was really nice though so Summer didn't complain and set to gather her small platter dish and empty teapot.

"Ah, yes, thank you," She spoke sweetly at the young girl clearing her table. "This place is small but cozy, and the tea was the best I've had in a very long time."

Giggling, Summer bowed her head. "I'm happy to hear that." While she cleared the table and turned to set the dishes back on the counter the woman procured a small envelope from her coat, smiling fondly at Summer, humming to herself.

"You've certainly carried that charm back with you, little Eevee." Putting the correct amount of money on the table atop the letter she sighed out a breath of a job well done. Her shades were gone, replaced with a sudden glimpse of a gold cloth covering her eyes. "Your brother is doing fine."

"Huh - wait, where did...?" When Summer turned back the woman was gone, say for her payment and a letter underneath. Now Summer was perplexed, taking a small, hesitant moment to approach the table before lifting the letter and... seeing her name written on the front? Once more she looked around, peering out the window but finding no trace of the woman, even as she smooshed her face against the glass. "Who was she?"

Curiosity took over and she revealed the document inside, a piece of parchment not just ordinary paper. Unfolding the carefully sealed letter she felt her eyes slowly begin to widen; So much so she felt her chest tighten while her pupils dared to follow the text down the page to the point she felt light-headed.

𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝘆 ???

𝗔𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁, 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗜'𝘃𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲, 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗻𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 (𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗬𝘂𝗶 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗡𝗢𝗧 𝗮 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗿𝘆). 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗼𝗻, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝘀𝗼 𝗺𝘂𝗰𝗵 𝗵𝗮𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗼𝗳 𝗺𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝘆 𝗼𝗹𝗱 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗽𝗲-𝗱𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝘄𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲. 𝗠𝗮𝘆𝗯𝗲 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗧𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗼 𝗵𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗘𝗾𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗮? 𝗜 𝗱𝘂𝗻𝗻𝗼, 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗸𝘆 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗳𝗳, 𝗜 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄, 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗶𝗳𝘁𝘀 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲-𝗮𝗻𝗱-𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗠𝗼𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀, 𝗺𝘆 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗲'𝘀 𝗳𝘂𝗹𝗹.

𝗔𝗵, 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗜 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗽 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝗰 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗺𝘆 𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀, 𝗮𝘄𝗸𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗼 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗳𝗿𝗲𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲, 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗺. 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗳 𝗜'𝗹𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻, 𝗼𝗿 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗮, 𝗔𝘀𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗞𝗮𝘇𝘂, 𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝘀𝗵𝗲 𝗶𝘀. 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹! 𝗛𝗼𝘄'𝘀 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗮 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗞𝗮𝘇𝘂'𝘀 𝗸𝗶𝗱? 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝗮𝗹𝗹'𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗜 𝘄𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗳 𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗨𝗻𝗰𝗹𝗲, 𝗜 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗹𝗲, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗸𝗶𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗿𝗶𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗞𝘂𝗹𝘂 𝗬𝗮 𝗞𝘂! 𝗛𝗲𝗵𝗲𝗵𝗲... 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗵, 𝗜 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜 𝗰𝗮𝗻'𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗺𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂'𝗿𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱 𝗜 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝘁, 𝗜'𝗺 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗱𝗶𝗼𝘁.

𝗜 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝘀 𝗜 𝘀𝗻𝗲𝗲𝘇𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗱𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗞𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻 (𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐚 𝐧𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐥 𝐊𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧), 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗱, 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗮𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗻. 𝗬𝘂𝗶 𝘀𝗮𝘆𝘀 '𝗛𝗶' 𝗯𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆, 𝘀𝗵𝗲'𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗺𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝗮 𝗽𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝘀𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁'𝘀 𝗰𝘂𝘁𝗲. 𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗠𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗗𝗮𝗱 𝗮𝗹𝗹'𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗮𝗺, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲𝗿'𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝘁𝗵𝗲-𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗺𝗲. 𝗠𝗲𝗿𝗿𝘆 𝗖𝗵𝗿𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗮𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿, 𝗹𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗲𝗹𝘀𝗲.

𝗦𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆,
𝗭𝗲𝗻

Despite the impossibility and overwhelming shock that struck her, Summer managed to hold herself steady, though the tears dampening the table under her wasn't something she could control, flooded with that reminder that the annoying, over-optimistic idiot she called her brother wasn't here. He was so far from her reach that it was almost frightening, despite what she hears around her school, Summer and her friends know why he's not here right now, this was proof of that. Despite her tears, Summer surprisingly held a warm smile, clutching the treasured gift closer to her heart.

"I love you too... idiot." That was something that could span billions of miles.


End