Title: Anny and Hoof Feels Trip Author: Cinco_Writesday Pastebin link: http://pastebin.com/wnEVDBNV First Edit: Tuesday 3rd of February 2015 10:36:44 PM CDT Last Edit: Tuesday 3rd of February 2015 10:36:44 PM CDT [16:42] * Anny looks down at the sword, giving it a curious prod before looking to the green stallion, "Got a cold?" [16:46] * GreenHoof trots into the treeline of the woods, his sheathed sword clanging softly against his side as the short green stallion trods through the snow. "Nah... Not a cold..." He responds in a quiet voice, as if dodging an explanation. The stallion's ears flicker as he starts a slow scan of the area in front of them as they travel, squinting his dark-lined, tired eyes in idle watch for [16:46] * GreenHoof anything that may be in the area. [16:50] * Anny 's ears fold back as she leans off to the side, trying to see where he was taking her. As a gust of wind rolls on by she shivers before remembering her hood, and quickly pulls it up, "S-So where are we going then?" [16:55] * GreenHoof continues along, remembering the modest pathway he'd staked out before the snow covered the ground underneath. "Eh...I'd rather tell you when we get there. I was gonna wait till you were a little older, but... you're already older, aren't you?" He asks rhetorically. The woods seem to get thicker and thicker as they go on, giving an almost mystical appearance to the forest [16:55] * GreenHoof winter wonderland around them. Ice cicles hang from the branches of trees, glistening in the subdued late afternoon sunlight. As they got deeper into the wilderness, it might appear to the filly that they were surrounded by the same imagery from all sides, soon making it impossible to discern where they were or where they were going. The stallion below her, however, trotted on with [16:55] * GreenHoof deliberation, seemingly knowing exactly where they were going. [16:59] * Anny 's eyes continued to dart around the duo, focusing here and there as her ears flicked about under the heavy hood of her cloak.The thought of checking for hoof prints behind them never seemed to cross her mind as she continued checking around, feeling almost frozen in time from all of the similar sceneries [17:05] * GreenHoof continues leading them on until they approach what appears to be a clearing up ahead. "There it is." They pass through the clearing to reveal a frozen over lake, a small but wide body of water with no trees around it, other than one. Near the duo is the one tree, a large willow tree, much thicker and taller than any others in the area. It's roots standing out of the earth [17:05] * GreenHoof somewhat, making a few grooves about the size of a pony. It looks like a good place to take a nap if it wasn't covered in snow. About five yards to the left of the tree is a small headstone-looking thing sticking out of the snow. Hoof leads them towards it, slowing down as they approach. [17:09] * Anny stops her tree-gazing to look past Hoof's head towards the tree, slightly confused by the scene before her. She hops off of his back and makes her way towards the rock, Rain's coat falling off as she moves but she continues on without it, "I-It's very pretty Hoof, but... W-What's with the rock?" [17:12] * GreenHoof approaches the rock, an unusual gracefulness in his step, as if he were being reverent. Although there's a somewhat apprehensive look on his face, he takes a deep breath of determination through his nose, as if convincing himself this was the right thing to do. As the filly reaches the rock, she can see faint writing etched into it's flat surface, looking like it was hoof-chisled. [17:12] * GreenHoof In big letters, it reads, 'Phoenix Down', and under it, 'Alex'. "It's... a headstone," Hoof says quietly, a hint of softness evident in his voice. [17:15] * Anny focuses her eyes to read the etchings before her eyes go wide, hesitantly asking "H-His headstone?" They contract to norma lsize as some water starts swelling in them [17:19] * GreenHoof stands right next to Anny, almost against her side. He looks down at the filly, holding a neutral expression but folding his ears back when he sees her eyes start to water. Closing his own eyes, he nods sadly. "Yes. Anny, this is your dad's real grave..." Hoof stands up tall, almost making the short, stocky stallion appear larger than he is as he reaches into his cloak and [17:19] * GreenHoof brings out a small boquet of rather mediocre dried poppy flowers. He steps forward and gently places the boquet at the foot of the gravestone, slowly and methodically, as if conducting a religious ceremony.   [17:21] * Anny falls back onto her hindquarters as she continues to stare at the headstone, choking on her words as she speaks"But... But... I don't understand... He was buried in the cemetary... I was there during his funeral... At least the beginning at least..." [17:27] * GreenHoof moves back and sits next to Anny, his side resting against her's, as if assuring her that he was here. The stallion's ears fold back tightly against his head, a mixture of guilt and sorrow welling up. He almost regretted bringing the small filly out here, in the back of his mind wondering if he was just bringing up the pain and suffering Anny had already suffered to the forefront [17:27] * GreenHoof of her's. But no... Phoenix would want his daughter to know where his recovered remains truly rested. He would want her to be able to visit him. "I know... it was his grave, but... it's empty. We didn't recover his remains until months later. I... had them buried out here, where they'll be safer," Hoof explains in a quiet voice, sounding apologetic. He didn't want to tell the filly [17:27] * GreenHoof that someone had been desecrating Phoenix's empty grave at the cemetery, prompting him to bury the firey-maned pegasus somewhere no one but a few knew about. [17:33] * Anny takes her eyes away from the tombstone, looking out over the frozen lake and the surrounding area before returning her focus to the grave and sniffling a bit before wiping her snout, "S-So he's down there... Right now, r-right?" [17:38] * GreenHoof clenches his teeth behind his closed mouth, nodding stiffly to Anny. Lied again. Phoenix's skull and some of his feathers were 'down there', but not his whole body. He couldn't bear to tell the child that they had used most of his body in a ritual to make magical items. The stallion's stomach turned within his belly at lying again, his own cowardice at not being able to tell [17:38] * GreenHoof the whole story. But for now, all of Phoenix's remains (or what remained of his remains) did lie under the grave, and Hoof forced himself to be content with that answer. "Yes." [17:38] "Y-you... can talk to him, if you want..." [17:41] * Anny takes a few steps towards the grave, wiping some tears from her eyes, "I-I never really know what to say in these sorts of situations... I m-mean I guess I could Forest Gump it... But... But I don't think I have a brain disorder..." She takes another look out at the lake, "I think he would've liked it here..." [17:48] * GreenHoof brings a hoof up and rests it around Anny's shoulders, looking down to the filly and giving a soft, warm, but small smile. "I think he would have to." Hoof looks out over the lake with Anny, gulping the lump in his throat down. The last time he gazed over the lake, he was with Lucyne nearly a year ago, another pony probably dead by now. But... he could almost feel Phoenix [17:48] * GreenHoof standing next to them, and instead of giving a sense of comfort, it just made him feel more guilty. He should be standing next to them, instead of six feet under the ground. He looks down to Anny again, his smile faded away into a subdued frown. "I'm sorry... I couldn't save him." He mutters, just above a whisper. [17:53] * Anny heaves a sigh as she continues looking out over the lake, "What happened to him...? I-I heard about the witches, but... Never any specifics... Like how he got taken..." [18:04] * GreenHoof furrows his brow, taking a deep breath as he casts a glance to the headstone. He was surprised that no one had told Anny of what happened to Phoenix, but after thinking a moment, it would be expected that no one would. Calling the memories to the forefront of his brain, his mind's eye fills with images of those days, particularly the brown-coated pegasus himself. "Well..." he [18:04] * GreenHoof starts off, "He... was in the woods, with two other ponies... Star and someone else. A mare had lost her foal, and it turned out she had traded the baby to one of the witches for... something. I don't remember what. Phoenix ran across the witch and the foal, and pleaded for it's release. The witch agreed, but on conditions. Either Phoenix had to trade himself to the witch, or had to [18:04] * GreenHoof answer a riddle correctly. If he got it wrong, he'd have to trade himself for the filly." Hoof ears fold back again, and he looks down to the ground. "He... answered wrong. He traded himself to the witch, and the baby's life was spared." Hoof looks over the lake again and squints his eyes, looking at the far end of it as he remembers the rest. "Phoenix was taken to the Kavshers' manor. [18:04] * GreenHoof He was a hero. They wanted a hero for... something. I don't know exactly what they planned. It wasn't to kill him or anything, it was to make him an adept or something. He was going to be released back to us." Hoof frowns and sighs, continuing. "The leader of the witches had to go on a trip. He left his apprentice in charge of Phoenix. She was under orders to take care of him, from [18:04] * GreenHoof what I understand, but... he ended up dying. She killed him." [18:05] "H-he... he died to save the life of a child... H-he's a hero..." He says in a quiet, sad voice, partly to Anny, and partly to himself. [18:13] [D:] [18:16] * Anny heaves out a second sigh, letting out a sob before turning back towards Hoof with a smile, wiping her eyes, "Thanks Hoof... D-Don't be surprised if I ask for future trips out here..." [18:21] * GreenHoof 's ears flicker at the sob, making his own throat tighten up as he resists crying himself. He gives Anny a weak smile,nodding. "A-any time you want, kid." Hoof stands up, looking up to the sky, then back down to Anny, turning to face her. "And something else..." Hoof lifts a hoof and pokes Anny's chest, holding it there. "I think Phoenix would be very proud of you. He loved [18:21] * GreenHoof you very much." [18:23] * Anny turns back towards the grave, "Love you dad... I hope you're fine up there." [18:28] * GreenHoof turns to the grave with Anny, smiling wistfully. [18:33] "We can stay as long as you'd like... But it is getting dark soon." [19:08] * Anny looks up at the sky and nods, "Yeah... Let's get going..." [21:18] * GreenHoof nods and looks to the grave again, staring at it longingly for a few seconds before giving it a brief smile and turning back to Anny, crouching closer to the ground. "Saddle up, kid." [21:19] * Anny grabs Rain's coat and pulls it over herself before making her way onto Hoof's back, looking back at the grave as he stands up, "How'd you find this place?" [22:00] * GreenHoof stands back up and trots back to the treeline where they came out, casting one last glance to the grave before entering the woods once more. "Old friend showed it to me. Dunno if you ever met Lucyne when she was around..." [22:01] "I don't think so... But I'm not too sure, Phoenix was pretty important around town so everyone seemed to know him and talk to him..." [22:04] * GreenHoof nods, listening to Anny, but also keeping an eye out for anything in the woods around him, resuming his vigilant scan. "Heh, everyone loved Phoenix. In some ways, he's still around." [22:05] "You think maybe he is? Like, maybe he's here as a ghost or something? MLP had ghosts right?" [22:09] * GreenHoof keeps his face forward, attempting to hide his frown. On earth, Hoof hadn't really believed in the supernatural or ghosts,but in this realm, it did seem to be more probable that there was some sort of afterlife. Nevertheless, he was skeptical that Phoenix was still around in a supernatural sense. "Eh... I don't know about that. Possibly. But I meant more... he's still alive [22:09] * GreenHoof because he made himself such an important part of people's lives, and his actions continue to live on. In you... and in me. Remember him and keep him close to your heart, and he'll still be alive." [22:12] "Yeah, I know... Was just hoping there might be some chance that I could apologize... For not wholly being there when he was still here, and for not sticking around to help Vesuvian raise his daughter." [22:14] * GreenHoof frowns, a knot tightening in his chest a bit. Suddenly, the stallion stops, craning his neck back to look at Anny as best he could. "Anny?" [22:16] "Hoof?" [22:18] "Phoenix loved you and enjoyed every second you spent with him. Vesuvian has people helping her out. Don't be sorry." [22:20] * Anny sighs, "I know, but... I just can't help but feel bad for all of the time I /didn't/ spend with him now that I can't anymore..." [22:24] * GreenHoof closes his eyes for a moment, taking a deep breath. He wanted to tell her not to feel bad, that she shouldn't feel bad. Butthe same feeling often ate away at him sometimes, especially guilty on the fact that he failed to save him. "I know... So do I..." Hoof says quietly, turning to face in front of them again and continue trotting.