Voice

It was beautiful, a falling star of the likes I'd never seen before. It had fallen into my favourite copse, and I thought it was a miracle. Quickly getting ready, I grabbed some sheets of paper, thinking that it may be something inspirational. I rushed out of my house and ran towards the copse. As I drew near I heard the sounds of somepony talking to themselves, actually arguing would put it better. There were even two different voices. It was Luna trying to convince Nightmare that they could just forget about everything. Nightmare easily took advantage, and I, always trying to be helpful, stepped out and voiced my opinion. I told Nightmare that I wrote alot of my music under the night sky because I found it calming. Looking back now, I believe I came quite close to getting Nightmare subdued, because Luna's voice got stronger. I don't remember the specifics, but Luna commented on how Nightmare could rest now, and Nightmare snapped. There was a blinding flash and I passed out. I woke up in the copse later, and quickly found that I couldn't talk. I was absolutely horrified at first, and I'd locked myself in my house for the next two weeks before a couple of my friends came to find me. They were my lead guitarist and back up singer. We had our little band gig set up, and I was the lead singer. I couldn't face them though, not like this. I gathered my bits and some other things and snuck out the back. After that I set about wandering for a long time. Trottingham, Canterlot, Dodge Junction. I never stayed anywhere thoguh, not for too long. If it wasn't ponies suspicious of me not talking, it was them trying to help me for not being able to talk. As if I hadn't already tried to fix it. No, nopony was able to get my voice back, so I just kept wandering. I eventually stumbled upon the camp of a unicorn I believe is crazy, but he got me the Echdaiclar so I won't argue with it. I helped him catch a rabbit he insisted was a manticore, that was stuck in the skin of a hydra that was enchanted to appear as a griffon hidden inside of a rabbit suit. It was just a rabbit though. After I caught the thing he spent the next three days in a workshop and when he came out he had the Echdaiclar for me. That was actually my only truly good interaction with another pony that didn't end badly. Regardless I continued on, recording voice and making music. Didn't have anything else better to do. With the Echdaiclar I could atleast respond to ponies, but I still didn't ever stay long. Something bad always happened anytime I tried to get to well acqainted with an area. There was the incident where a stallion drowned because I couldn't get to him or call for help. The there was the incident with the filly in Hoofington. Some contruction equipment fell, and I was verbally attacked for not warning her. Most recently is Ponyville. A pegasus crashed and I tried to save her. I don't know if I did or not, but then a unicorn tried to heal my vocal chords. She was thrown against a wall. I was too scared to stay, so I did what I do best, I ran. Finally I found my way out here, and you found me.

"That's my story, in a short condensced not going into every little detail form." Faith ended. "Ah, so ye had a clap with Nightmare Moon? Well lass, yer a mare an' Ah'm a stallion, but Ah got tae admit even Ah havnae the parts to stand up to the likes o' Nightmare!" Angmar laughed. Faith blushed and made to hide her face when she remembered she didn't have to. "So Angmar, what's your story, if you don't mind me asking." "Tis but a simply tale. Ah was vying for spot as best young flier. Ah' heard tell of some lass wi' a rainbow mane tha' nopony could beat. 'Parently she'd done some such or another called a Sonic Rainboom. Well Ah didnae feel like being out done, much less by some lassie, no offense, and Ah decided tae give it a shot. Course Ah failed six or se'en times afore Ah got it righ' an' even then Ah go' it wrong. I'd broken the barrier too close tae the groun' and the sudden acceleration threw me righ' intae a tree. By some grace o' Celestia 'erself Ah came out o' it with one injury. Ah'd lost mah vision. O'course wi'out mah vision Ah surely couldnae fly back home. Ah wandered for a good number o' weeks before Ah said buck it an' settled down righ' here."

The stallion sounded rather pleased with himself at that final notion. "So you settled down amongst a bunch of bloodthirsty animals in the middle of a haunted forrest?" "Aye, but Ah didnae know 'bout the animals 'til later." the stallion chuckled. "But, that's awful. You must've been scared!" "Ah come off it lass. Listen, here's a bit 'o frien'ly advice. Cheer up. If Ah'd hated mah life Ah coulda walked up tae some hydra and made it an easy meal. Ah know theres still sum'in out there fer me somewhere. Ah've just yet tae trip on it." He finished with a chuckle. Faith couldn't help but laugh at Angmar's joke, finding his constant high spirits infectious. "Righ' then. I's late, an' Ah'm tired so Ah'm sure you're exhausted. Ah call the couch, an' you can take mah bed. Refusal's no' an understood sentimen' in mah house either." Angmar grinned. "Night Faith."

The next morning Faith woke up to find that Angmar wasn't in his cottage. She headed outside, but didn't stray too far. With nothing better to do, she simply listened to the natural melody of the forest around her while the Echdaiclar recorded it. "Tis beautiful no? No' a place in the world tha' can compare to jus' sittin' an' listening tae the life aroun' ye." Starting slightly, Faith turned to see Angmar standing not 5 feet from her. "How did you know where I was?" "Ah listened. Ah've sat and heard the forest aroun' my live for 3 years now. Ah think Ah can tell the difference betwixt a brook an' a mare breathin'." Angmar laughed. Smiling at the ever cheery stallion's logic, Faith decided that she wouldn't mind staying for a bit, if Angmar didn't mind. "So, are there any chores that need done? You were quite hospitable yesterday, and I'd hate to leave it unrepayed." Smiling towards the mare, Angmare beckoned for Faith to follow him. He led her to a wire, the same one she'd gotten tangled in. "Well, Ah usually check mah wire for anythin' tha' may 'ave gotten caught up while Ah slept." With that, Angmar stretched out his left wing until the tip rested lightly on the wire. Once situated, Angmar trotted off, keeping this wing set in a precise manner that allowed him no deviations from his set distance. Faith followed in awe at the spectacle. She couldn't help but wonder how much time it had taken him to perfect this one chore.

After walking the whole distance of the perimeter Angmar trotted over to a crudely made bench and sat down. "Well, tha's mah mornin' chore done. Mah nex' chore will be at night. Tha's when I walk the perimeter a agin to ensure it hasnae broken anywhere." "Oh, that's not much then." "Nah, no' at all. So what's troublin' ye lass?" "How do you know I'm troubled?" "'Cause Ah figured you'd have sum'in on yer mind. Tha' an' ye jus' admitted to it." Angmar chortled, nodding his head as if he were winking at her. "Well, I just don't get how you can be so happy. My disabilitie's done nothing but harm. I wish I had never had it happen." At this Angmar's face grew a bit more serious. "So lass. Ye wish ye wouldnae o' talked to Nightmare. If ye hadnae o' talked to her you'd have yer voice righ'?" Faith nodded before rememberin Angmar needed a vocal response, in which she clicked her Echdaiclar. "Because if you had yer voice, ye would'a been able to warn tha' filly at the construction site, no?" Again Faith typed back her response. "But tell me lass, would you have been in tha' town iffen yer voice hadnae been lost?" This time Faith typed out a 'no'. "So yer tellin' me tha' you wouldnae o' been there. So there wouldnae 'ave been anypony tae warn her anyway. The lassie still would 'ave died, lass. Tis a simple fact o' life. It wasnae yer fault." Faith could feel her eyes water up. She'd spent the last two years wanting to hear that none of it was her fault, and to actually hear it sent her head spinning. "Thank you Angmar, but I need to think about some stuff." "Ah'm sure ye do lass. Ah'll be in mah cottage when yer done." And with that the stallion stood up and ambled back off towards his home.

'How is he so happy. I can't imagine being blind, what would I even do? Sit somewhere and sing maybe? Why is it so hard to accept that none of those horrible events were my fault either. If I'd had my voice... ahhhh this is hopeless! Maybe Angmar is right. I could play what if all day but that doesn't mean that I'm ever going to figure it all out. Well I don't feel completely better, but this is a start.' With that Faith stood up and trotted back to the cottage.

The day's went by, and melded into a few weeks. That in turn melded into a month and a half and while Faith hadn't completely gotten over everything she'd been through, her time spent with Angmar and his jokes and wisdom had definitely helped. During this time she'd taken to leaving her Echdaiclar with the stallion to fiddle with while she worked around the area. She knew he was working on something for her, but she didn't quite know what. She'd also started wearing a charm anklet so she wouldn't accidently sneak up on her friend. Friend. It held so much meaning, and while Faith had had friends before, this was different. She and Angmar had a mutual understanding of eachother. Niether wanted pity or anything of the sort. They both simply wanted to live life like a normal pony. They were two sides to the same coin, and of late, Faith had been wondering if they could be something more.

Waking like any other morning, Faith placed her Echdaiclar next to Angmar's sleeping form as she passed the couch. 'I don't know why he refuses to let me sleep on the couch, ah whatever.' She slipped out the front door and went straight out to patrol the border and check on the lines. She realized a while ago that Angmar had done this before merely as a habit. The worst thing to happen since her arrival was when Angmar had fallen asleep on his back one night and when Faith had walked through she found his 'flag' at 'full mast'. Needless to say it had been an extremely awkward day. Laughing at the memory Faith suddenly realized that all was not normal. There was a snapped line! She made to rush back to the cottage when something impacted her side. She flew through the air about seven feet before hitting the ground and sliding through the grass another four feet. Shaking her head, the mare looked up to see a very rare sight. She was lloking at a chimera! 'Those are supposed to be extinct!' The beast roared at her, but stopped abrubtly when a small stone struck it in the side of the head. "OI! Aren' ye a braw an' bold wee beastie pickin' a figh' with a lass! Why don' ye try a stallion on tae see if their more tae yer likin'!" Still reeling from the hit, Faith could barely make out Angmar's form running from the beast. Trying to rise, she put weight down on her left foreleg, causing her vision to blur as she gasped in pain and fell back down on her side. It was the worst thing ever. After years of attuning her hearing to encompass everything, she found it near impossible to block out the roaring and sound of timbers being smashed. After what seemed like hours all the noises stopped. Thinking realistically Faith realized it had likely been about 15 minutes. Straining from the effort, the injured mare forced herself up shakily onto her three good legs and immediatly set out to find Angmar, praying that he was okay. As she drew near to wear the cottage had been, Faith was horrified to see that it was half demolished. Moving as fast as she could, Faith desperately scanned for any sign of Angmar. Stumbling throguh the wreckage of the wooden structure, she finally found him. He was bleeding from slashes gouged in his right side, and he was already quite pale. Moving quickly, Faith immediatly began to bandage Angmar's wounds. Once finished she made a splint for her own leg, then turned the remains of the front door into a sled. Lifting Angmar onto it, she took the rope she'd attached to it in her jaws and took her first step forward when she tripped on something. It was her Echdaiclar, miraculous still intact! Picking it up and grabbing the lead rope again, Faith set off for the direction of Ponyville, praying to every thing she could think of that she'd be able to get there in time.

Scootaloo was with Rainbow Dash for flying lessons. During the past few weeks her wings had matured a bit more and could now properly support her weight. She was flying by Dash's side when something caught her eye coming out of Everfree Forrest. She signaled Dash and turned to get a better look. "Hey Dash, hold up a sec! What's that?" The chromatic mare in question turned to look where Scootaloo was pointing. Having sharper eyesight than the filly, Rainbow Dash gasped when she realized it was two ponies. "Scoots! Get back to town and get help!" As the filly flew off, Rainbow Dash flew down to aid the two ponies.

Faith's entire body ached and resented any movement she put it through. Physically she wanted nothing more than to stop and lay down, but she knew she couldn't do that. 'I have to make it, just a few more hills, just a few more and I can get all the rest in the world.' As she cleared the trees of the forrest she could have sworn she'd seen somepony flying. 'Great now I'm seeing things, come on Faith get a hold of yourself.' Tartarus bent on pressing on, the exhausted and delirious mare didn't even realize that she had fallen on her side and was now futily kicking her hooves through the air. Slowly darkness closed in around her, the last thing her eyes noted was a rainbow.

*BEEP* 'Hmm, is that my Echdaiclar?' *BEEP* 'No, I don't have that noise. What is that?' *BEEP* 'Uh, shut up, I just want to sleep...' *BEEP* Annoyed with the persistent noise, Faith attempted to roll over and cover her head with her pillow when everything suddenly came rushing back to her. 'Angmar!' *BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP* Turning, Faith found she was attached to a heart monitor. 'Shut up! I have bigger things to worry about!' She was about to start pulling equipment off of herself when a nurse walked in. "Hello there. Glad to see you're awake! I'm Nurse Redheart, and you're speaking machine is on the desk next to you." the nice nurse mare smiled. Grunting with effort, Faith stretched out and grabbed her Echdaiclar, frantically typing out her message. "Is my friend Angmar ok?! I need to know!" "Blind, Scoltish?" Faith nodded jerkily at this. "He's doing better than anypony expected. We expect a full recovery." Relief flooded through Faith's body as she realized that she'd succeded. Nurse Redheart smiled again, then trotted back out the room. A few hours later, the nurse came back in and asked if Faith would like to visit Angmar. Nodding enthusiastically, Faith allowed the mare to help her out of bed, then push her I.V. stand for her. AS she stepped out of the room, she found two Royal Guards standing outside her door. "Don't mind them honey, they're not of your concern for you right now." Nurse Redheart assured. Faith continued to follow the mare to the I.C.U. Finally the nurse stopped at a door and led Faith in. LAying in the bed was Angmar. His side was covered in bandages but his breathing was regular and unlaboured. Softly Faith brushed her hoof across Angmar's face. "Ah've heard o' nurse's wi' a sof' touch, but Ah've got a feelin' tha's no nurse. How ye doin' Faith." Angmar chuckled softly. Quickly setting to work on her Echdaiclar, Faith responded. "You have no idea how happy I am you're safe." "Ah reackon it's akin tae how Ah felt 'bout...." Suddenly a guard poked his head in, "Excuse me ma'am but you're needed." "Och, by off with ye lad! Can ye no' see she's jus' tryin' tae rest!" "Sir, I am a standing member of the Royal Guard following..." "An' you'll be a sittin' member o' the Royal Guards after Ah've got ye talkin' out the other side o' your face!" The guard quickly retracted his head as a cup came flying towards the door. "Ah didnae hit him, did I?" Silently rolling with laughter, Faith just managed to type her reply, "No." "Damn... ah well, atleast yer happy!  Ah've got a question though. Why didnae ye run when Ah distracted that beast?" Faith pondered the question for a few moments before answering, "I honestly couldn't tell you. I just couldn't leave you. I can't really explain it." Angmar sighed contentedly, "Ah guess tha's similiar to how Ah can really tell ye why Ah thought tha' chuckin' a rock at the beastie was a good idea at the time. Ah can tell ye one thing Ah'm sure of thoguh lass. Ah'm damn sure Ah love ye!"  The silence that followed was peaceful at first but quickly became disconcerting. "Ah didnae scare ye off did A-" His question was cut off quickly as Faith drew him into a deep kiss. It was perfect bliss, until the door opened again and Faith quickly drew away. 'Oh my it's-' "Ah come off it! Git the heck out ye daft beast! All Ah wan' is tae enjoy mahself an' know tha' Faith isnae bothered. Now move yer arse ou' tha' door an' dinnae let me catch ye back here 'til Faith comes out an' gets ye! Go on, bugger off!" '-Princess Luna and Princess Celestia!'