The moon shone its pale blue light on a decrepit shack resting underneath a dying tree. Small flickers of light could be seen through the frozen crystals within the falling snow around the shack. What leaves were left on the tree were softly blowing with the wind, eventually deciding to jump for life and desert their dying host.
In the shack was a young woman with faded red hair, her complexion as gritty as her hair. She seemed to be alone as she layed within the shack; her eyes winced from the snow creeping through the hole above her and landing on her grimy eyelids.
It would seem that life had decided to abandon this poor woman yet she kept hold of it so desperately. She knew that eventually she wouldn’t be able to hold onto it anymore and spoke out-loud to seemingly no one.
“I didn’t think this day would come. A day of sorrow, of suffering to the next; a day that would repeat for eternity. But I never thought that this day, today, would have actually come.
Who would’ve known that magic would have actually come right? Well, my sister and I did. We both knew and they..the people..shunned us for it.
We believed in the unknown and for our beliefs we were shunned. We were pushed out and forced to live in this harsh exile. Here I lay rotting away in the crumbling shack of our beliefs, yearning for the day of magic and it has finally come.
The absence of magic however has done its damage; I am dying, and there isn’t much I can do about it.” She said, speaking to a dark figure emerging close to her.
She smiled and continued to speak as her thoughts formed.
“But what I can do is talk to you . I can share with you my life before I join the next world. It’s all I can do because you my friend is all I have left, along with hope. I suppose us witches are a dying breed but that’s okay; you’ll hear what I have to say.
From the time we were young we were told magic existed. Of course everyone in Canterlot laughed at us and said that couldn’t be farther from the truth; their faith and beliefs were held in the fancy technology they held in their hands while ours was in something darker.
Reeka and I knew other world enchantment was real. We would often practice it even though it would yield no result. But it mattered none since our belief was always unshakeable.
The things I did..to protect poor Reeka..To create even a slight chance of awakening the power within, They were terrible things but I did them for the love of her. The people sought us out and they tried to harm us but I prevented them. I fought back and I hurt many people. I often contemplate that perhaps my current predicament is because of what I have done. Could that be so? Do I..do I deserve this slow death?
Here I lay in the rags that I had once called clothes. My jeans are worn and old, my once cerulean shirt faded along with the straps on its face and my once proud red hair is a knotty mess, scattered much like my will. The dirt and snow replace what once was makeup on my face and branches replace my beautiful pink bow in my hair. And yet here I lay powerless to do anything. Magic is here yet I find I cannot get up and go to it.
Maybe this is fitting for me. Maybe I deserve this. But what of Reeka? I shall never forget my sister. I have never once regretted any moment I had spent with her. I enjoyed the time I spent with my sibling and I will always. Back then it was only her and I against the world and belief was all we had in the end.
Belief. *coughs* Belief that tomorrow would be better than today or the day before. Belief that one day magic would come to all of Canterlot! I always told Reeka that tomorrow would come no matter how seemingly far away it was. And I was right; tomorrow has finally come. *wheezes*
I never got to feel magic in our lives but that’s okay since we had one another. We had each other and our love for one another was all the magic we needed dear shadow. *sighs* But that matters none right now does it my friend?
The more I speak to you my friend the more I become weaker. Tomorrow is here yet I cannot reach it. I ask of you shadow if you will sit by my *coughs* side and watch the end come.”
The shadow shuffled closer to the frail Draggle, seemingly listening carefully.
“Yes, exactly like that yess..*wheezes* Isn’t it amazing how beautiful the snow settles down? How mystifying it is how something so beautiful can be so deadly? Reeka always liked snow; she loved it for the beauty that it is. Watching snow fall down is such a peaceful thing, isn’t it dear shadow? Hmm. It sure is.
Thank you for staying by my side and for listening to me. With you at my side I am no longer afraid of the end. The end comes for us all and with you my dear friend I am ready. For too long have I spent a life of fighting and the peace I yearn for is right in front of us. Look at how inviting the snow is! Look at how pleasant and embracing it is!
It almost makes me forget all of our struggles in the past. It can alleviate my pain and I need that more than magic! It is okay, I am no longer afraid. *coughs violently* The end is here..thank you for staying with..”
And so ended the story of Draggle the witch as her last breath softly exited her lips, forming a small cloud that circled onto itself until finally, like her grip on life, it softly let go, ascending towards the stars above. The shadow came closer to the moonlight that glowed onto the figure and extended a small hand that brushed the young witch’s face up and down. Finally the shadow stepped forward and showed itself to be Draggle’s beloved sister, Reeka.
Reeka walked up to her sister and grimaced, swelling with anger but calm enough to close her sister’s eyes. Without saying a word she left the shack, heading towards the faint lights in the distance. Her boots crunched softly in the snow as her breaths trailed behind her.
