Enter Dark Star
The unicorn knew this was a bad idea. No matter how long it had been, no matter that he may or may not have been redeemed. Being the spitting image of the tyrant of the past made Dark Star shiver in his seat. And his Cutie Mark, as usual, would likely bring no help to him, despite the pony way being of tolerance.
Hence why he was wearing an illusion. Not too complex a one, mind. He was no master mage like his siblings. A touch of white to his coat so he wasn't so darkly grey. A streak of green through his mane. Hazel colored eyes. The tome now sporting a buckler rather than the Grim Reaper. He'd have to lose it once he got to the palace. But until then, he didn't want to be seen like his normal self in public.
He'd sent a missive ahead, stating his intentions and hopes to meet with Shining regardless of wether he agreed to his experiment. He'd made it his lifework, after all. Seeing ponies off, after having done so already so many times...he'd become something of a comforting presence, it would seem. He was the Harbinger, as some liked to call him. The finality. The undeniable. If he was there, then all doubt was erased. He hated that fact quite often, but in truth, it seemed to ease many ponies into the final rest, knowing that a stranger was willing to go to such lengths to see them off.
Many had denied his experiment, but aside from the beginning, the majority found him to be comforting somehow. Like his very presence was good fortune. That, at least, he was happy with.
He sighed, looking out the windows of the Blue Thunder. The poor Friendship Express had been put to rest as well. He'd even attended that, seeing as the wonderful steam engine had born him to many places. So many endings he had seen. The new engine was much faster, the furnace powered by a new lava crystal developed by the Princess of Friendship herself. She'd stated many times that running the engine on raw magic was possible, but far too inefficient. So lava crystal and good old steam power it was. No magic powered locomotive had come close to its fuel efficiency or speed.
He shook himself from the memories, having gotten to see its first run right after the decommissioning of the Friendship Express, as well as the ensuing lecture from their purple princess. Instead, he reached into his mane and retrieved the book he kept hidden there at all times. His tome of memories. Of all those he had visited in his search for the truth.
Mortem Magica. Death Magic. He knew there was a magic to death. One which he aimed to learn so that all would know just what happened at the end, and this time, he finally had the means to follow through with it. A spell he had crafted from all those tests and talks with the dying. A spell that would let him follow a dying ember as it was snuffed, but without snuffing his own flame.
He opened the book, and began the journey among his memories with all those he had spent time with in their last moments. Those who had no one else to speak to. This would be the first, in many many years, where the one he spoke to had friends and family to be there for him. He normally chose the solitary because they needed someone there. Even a stranger was better than dying alone.
He avoided the first page, of course. It may have set him on his course, but it was not a memory to dredge up now. Instead, he passed several pages worth until Timber Leaf. Wonderful old Earth Pony. No family left. Last of her line. He made sure her will was carried out to the letter. She didn't want her friends in the Apples to know until after she was gone. That one had been hard.
Lined Pockets. Young, grouchy, full of vigor...and poison. He'd taken from the wrong ponies, and had paid for it. Dark Star had made certain his will was carried out as well. His daughter never knew where the sudden inheritance had come from, but it had been all of his legitimate earnings. He'd promised to never tell, and he had kept his word.
Dark Star smiled as he remembered how he'd had to go through several legal courses just so he could provide official services to those passing away, and how each of them were always shocked that he didn't need to be paid for it. He got along fine from the donations a few gave him now and then, and he had no property to spend money on. His biggest expense was always travel, and even that wasn't so bad as the Equestrian Railway had special passes for frequent users like himself.
He heard the whistle of the train, signalling its approach to the Crystal Empire. He looked up again, noting how empty the car was. He'd taken the very end of the train, and none had come back here. Odd. He usually had one travel companion in the back. Oh well. He didn't mind the quiet. Let him think without interruption.
He shivered as the barrier passed over the train, the sudden shift in ambient temperature making him hope he got a chance to see the Crystal Heart while here, but that would be a bonus for his quest.
The train came to a stop, and the disguised pony put away his book, before hopping up and, with practiced ease, snagging his saddlebags and tossing them upon his back. He didn't need to use his magic for such a simple task. Made him feel more alive to do it the earth pony way sometimes.
Stepping out onto the platform for the train station, he smiled in awe at the sight of the Crystal Empire. This would be his first trip here...and he had a feeling it might not be his last.
The Harbinger had arrived in the Crystal Empire, and he had a pony to find.
Enter Princess Luna
"I find his appearances disturbing, and yet each time he does nothing but bring them comfort while ensuring their final wishes are at least heard, if not fulfilled."
"Yes, sister, but regardless, what bothers me most is that he always seems to find them even when there is no public record of them being near their death bed. Seven ponies in the last year alone didn't even make it to the hospital, yet he was by their side at their end. Something is not right, dear sister."
"Well, I hypothesize that he has a guiding talent which directs him to ponies near their final moments. As you can see by my reports, he doesn't visit all ponies that are dying, but seems drawn the most to those with the fewest ponies around them, or those without any at all."
The predawn of Canterlot Mountain drew in a chill breeze. Pegasi weren't awake at all hours, after all, and some winds were just too fun loving to stay still for long. Their favorite sport seemed to be trying to upset the ethereal manes of the Princesses of Equestria, three of which were having a spot of tea upon the mountain peak, where they were difficult to disturb.
"Yes, but a cold comfort he brings when even to those without definitive answers from the doctors suddenly realize they're truly going to pass away. No pony he visits lives afterwards. I am not so sure he is entirely altruistic."
"Well, the few times other ponies have been with him and the, ahem, deceased, he always asks questions and makes small requests to perform tests before and after their passing. They said he never pressures or tries to bribe, and takes no very easily. I studied the remnants of some of his spellworks when I managed to catch up to his path, and nothing dangerous is used. But those spells...I can't for the life of me figure out what they're trying to accomplish. They don't match anything I've ever encountered before, and none of my books seem to have any clues I can yet use. I almost want to say this is new magic, but I can't help but feel it is the exact opposite. It feels so, well, old."
"So a scholar of some sort, perhaps? One trying to decipher old magic of a sort? You don't think he's trying to revive Necromancy, do you?"
The mountain shuddered from an impact at the peak, a few of the denizens of the royal city below jumping in fright.
"What knave would dare revive such an atrocious magic? We must find him at once!"
"Sister, calm down. If he was trying to revive the Necromantic Arts, he would be working with the already deceased, not those about the enter the veil."
"And I can tell you right now, Luna, that he has nothing to do with Necromancy. The magic he possesses is something of a similar nature, but doesn't hold the same, well, feel as Necromancy. It feels even older than that. I'm not sure how to explain it other than that it seems to avoid stopping or undoing death. Rather, he seems to be studying it."
"Studying death? Doctors and mages throughout the ages have done so already. What does he think he can do that they can't?"
The sun began to rise, the solar sister too busy with her duty to bring herself to answer her dear sister. But her eternal student already had an answer.
"I think he's trying to do more than just watch them die. I think he's trying to experience it. Pieces of his spells latch onto the pony as they die, and stay attatched. I saw...I saw..."
"What did you see, Twilight Sparkle?"
"I saw the weavings of the spell, the anchors upon the pony, move away from where the bodies had been. Luna...I think he may very well know how to follow the dead. The anchors just...vanished into the ether, but they were still attatched. Still anchored, as if the pony were still around for them to be attatched to. But the other side was left open. He cut himself off so that the anchor would not hold them from this side of...wherever they went. This last time, I think he almost had it. His side of the anchor was near that same veil this time. I think he stopped out of fear."
The sun over the horizon, the solar sister returned to the side of her sibling and student, her pastel rainbow mane now visible in the dawn's light, her white coat as pristine as ever.
"I think one of us should visit him, finally. We have an idea of where he is going next, yes?"
"I'm certain, Celestia. He is going to see Shining. Everypony knows that right now I can't go to him because I can't venture far from the Elements just yet, and Cadance...poor Cadance is currently sealed within the Heart to prevent it from shattering again. Worst of all, nopony knows what's become of Flurry Heart. Shining is alone, and this Dark Star probably knows it."
As the light cascaded across the mountaintop, Luna, now the height of her own sister, stood proudly with her night sky mane flowing against the playful breezes, between her and her sister stood the Princess of Friendship, and still Element of Magic, whose own mane flowed in a nonexistent breeze, the colors matching the predawn they had seen only moments before.
"Dear sister, would you care to watch over my night court while I investigate this Dark Star? I feel it best that this be handled post haste. We must be certain that his research is entirely benign. He may seem nice, but working with anything involving death and magic has dangerous potential to fall to Necromancy."
"If you wish, Lulu. Try not to frighten him too much would you?"
The alabaster alicorn chuckled while her midnight sister smiled, the joke not lost even upon the lavender librarian.
"I shall endeaver to make certain his coat does not flip from grey to white upon seeing me. Keep well. I shall return when all is well." The dark alicorn leapt into the air, a shimmer growing around her until with a wink, she was gone.
"The extreme range teleport procedure you devised has come into great use lately, Twilight. Are you sure you don't want anypony to know it was you?"
"Of course, Princess. It's good enough to know ponies can get around so easily. I just wish I could get it to take more than a satchel's worth of things to carry along with the pony."
"We'll figure it out eventually, Twilight. We have plenty of time to do so."
"Yeah. Plenty of time."
Twilight looked out over the expanses of her home. Equestria. It wouldn't ever be the same without them. But soon...soon she'd find the inheritors of Harmony.
Message Received
There it was. Sitting on a pedestal in the center of the expanse below the iconic Crystal Palace. The Crystal Heart, and Princess Cadance herself.
Dark Star stood before the powerful relic, the only pony in the area at that moment. Most made it their first priority upon visiting the land, to see the ancient artifact that guarded the entire empire. Right now, it held not only that, but the fate of the Princess of Love as well. He could just barely make her out in the facets of the heart. He'd heard the story, how not long after Flurry Heart's disappearance, how the heart had begun to fade, even with the Crystal Ponies pouring their love into it like never before. Cadance had found the spell she needed to revive it, but at the cost of imprisoning herself within until the cause of it's slow demise was found.
No answer had been reached in ages. She'd been in there so long. He wondered if she was even aware of the passage of time.
"Cadance. If you know what is going on, please know. He won't be alone. I promise you that. I know you don't know me, but know that I mean with all my heart that I shall see him off with grace and love. If...if you wish me to pass anything on, and you can let me know, please do."
He felt a tug, and the heart issued a slight tremor. Everypony knew none could harm the heart now, with the power of the Princess protecting it as much as it protected the empire. Guards hadn't been needed for years, so none were there to object when Dark Star reached forth to touch the heart.
"I'll let him know."
Nothing else passed as the disguised unicorn turned away from the heart, his eyes brimming with barely checked tears that were not his own.
"As you say, Princess. Love is never lost, not even in death."
Entering the palace was easy, as it was always open to the public. The Grand Council, which ruled in the Prince and Princess' steads, kept to the throne room as was required for all processes of court. But that's not where he was headed. The first floor, dedicated to the throne room and courts, held the set of stairs he needed to use. The path to the Medical Floor of the palace. He stood before the guards, sighing before dropping his disguise, upon which both guards notably tensed, one even beginning to lower his halberd.
"I am Dark Star, Sole Proprieter and Lawyer of the D.S. Will Dispensation Authority. I have come for a meeting with Shining Armor, as per the rights of Will Dispensers across both Equestria and the Empire. May I pass to speak with the Prince?"
The halberd wielder hesitated, uncertain of what to say to such an announcement, but his partner knew what to do.
"He is waiting for you, I believe. All other Will Dispensers have been denied entry as per his orders."
Dark Star balked for a moment. Waiting for him? How did he know he'd be coming? He knew his entire life had been to go to those nearest to him, as his guiding mark had always dictated. This was the first time it had directed him to go so far.
He shook of the momentary hesitation, and nodded.
"Thank you. Where can I find him?"
After being given directions, the dark pony gathered his courage upon the stairwell, and soon found himself looking upon the door that would lead him to what would potentially be his fate. He rapped upon the door three times, opening it upon hearing a deep but feminine 'enter'. Curious, who would be visiting him at this time besides Dark Star?
"Welcome, Dark Star."
He immediately bowed, for not only was the Prince, seemingly asleep, in the room, but so was the Princess of the Moon herself, Luna!
"No need for that. Rise, Dark Star, and approach. I would ask thee a few questions."
He chuckled to himself at her wording. Perhaps his star would indeed rise today.
"I am honored to be in your presence, Princess Luna, and would love to answer any questions you may have of me, until such time as the Prince is able to answer mine own."
She narrowed her eyes at him. He sounded so much like the once tyrant, but different as well. Same tone, different attitude. How interesting.
"I am afraid we will be skipping any pleasantries. I am here on royal business...with you. First and foremost, I must ask. What is your intention with studying those that are passing into the beyond? Answer honestly. I will know if you lie."
He looked up, and noticed her horn was glowing slightly. Truth spell, he wagered. Yeah, she'd know if he lied for sure. Not that he needed to, but it was still not a comfortable thing to see regardless.
"I seek to know the truth about what lies beyond the gate."
"Gate? What gate do you speak of?"
"The Death Gate, your majesty. In my journeys and many trials and tests, I have found that upon death, we all face a majestic gate that we must pass through before we are truly are rest. The ghosts that haunt the living are those that have refused to pass through the gate, at least until they are forced to or finally feel at peace. My goal is to see past the gate and return while still living."
"So you latch on to unfortunates as they pass, thinking they will take you beyond while your living body anchors you?"
"Only if they let me. I would never force myself upon anypony, even if they somehow held the promise of some strange luck that would pull me through and back again."
"And are you so certain you wish to see what is beyond?"
"I am."
"Even if it may break you? What if what is beyond is not something you would want to see? What if it destroys everything you believe in?"
"Then I will have paid the price for my curiousity."
"A price you are willing to pay, I see. And what of others? Would you spread the truth, wether it be horrible or grand?"
"I can honestly say I do not know. Answering that would be like saying you know for certain what your child will be before you even have a mate to make said child with. Too many ways for the answer to be changed on the whim of reality."
"You are a rather interestingly minded pony, Dark Star. That was not an answer I would have forseen. Tell me, then, my little pony, why it is you do this."
"No pony deserves to die alone, and my mark helps me find those that are alone so they are no longer such."
He turned to look at the sleeping Shining Armor. He'd seen pictures, knew of his deeds and strength, and now, he saw the aged, nearly wizened creature before him, and only wondered that he had lasted so long. Outliving his grandchildren must have taken its toll, but not even the great Prince, who had somehow absorbed some of his lover's longevity, could withstand the test of time.
"And he was feeling very alone, my Princess. Even from here, I can feel it. He has friends, certainly. Plenty of family to boot. But he feels alone, still. His wife and daughter out of reach, and he can't even lift a hoof anymore to keep with his Empire. It's time for him to go, and he knows it. He just refuses to go while alone. Stay, Princess? Help me keep him company in his last hours?"
"It would be my honor. But how do you know he only has hours?"
"My mark."
The dark pony walked over to the Prince, noting how dull his coat had become. There were no medical drips, not monitors...nothing but the bed and the Prince, and his two visitors.
"Prince Shining Armor. Would you do me the honor of speaking with me? Wake, please, and view the world one last time?"
Luna tilted her head, feeling a tendril of magic behind the unicorns words. It was a gentle nudge against the Prince's consciousness. Luna knew there were other ponies that could touch the unconscious mind out there, but to think this Dark Star was one of them.
His breathing became deeper, and slowly Shining's eyes opened. Seeing Dark Star, at first he appeared fearful, but then his eyes rested upon the grey, not red, horn, and the lack of fangs, and he relaxed. A moment later and his eyes rested on Luna, and a smile graced his muzzle.
"Luna. How nice to see you again. And you must be this Dark Star I've heard so much about. I take it my time is here then."
The grey pony looked away, nodding as he did. He never could get used to how easily ponies accepted him as a sign of their demise, but he shook it off and looked back at the Prince.
"I'm afraid so, my Prince. Are there any affairs you wish me to take care of for you? I am an official Will Dispenser, if you would wish for those services."
"No, my matters are settled, Dark Star. Thank you for the offer."
Luna looked on, saying nothing. There was nothing she really could say, after all. She was watching another of her close friends nearing their end. That is, until Dark Star moved away from the bed and gestured her to come near.
Strangely, she felt the need to do as he bid, and upon nearing the white unicorn, the hoof of Dark Star found itself upon her withers.
"He needs this, Princess. Please, indulge him one last touch of family." It was a whisper, barely even there. But looking at the laying Prince, she couldn't help but agree, and she gathered him up in her hooves, holding him as tightly as she felt safe.
"Oh, Shining, I'm so sorry we couldn't all be here."
"It's ok, Auntie. I know everypony came with you in their hearts."
Dark Star felt more than saw this moment as perfect for the message he had been given. Why nopony else had been directed to this before, he didn't know, but he hoped the words meant more to the Prince then they did to him, at least.
"Please keep holding him, Princess, for I do have a message to deliver to him. Ahem...I feel your love every day, and wish you to feel mine. Know I will always remember you, for your life has made me shine. We are together, even now, and when I return, I will not be alone, for a part of you shall always be with me. She went ahead, and together, all of our hearts shall grow stronger for it."
Shining's grip on Luna tightened, tears flowing freely upon the dark alicorn's fur.
"They're...they're both ok. Luna, they're both ok! I don't know how, but Dark Star heard them. They're ok!"
Luna was looking over Shining's shoulder at Dark Star, who himself was holding back tears. He'd heard them in the crystal heart? Just what WAS this pony? Nopony had been able to contact the Princess all this time, and not only does Dark Star deliver a message from her, but one that indicates the missing Flurry Heart was inside too?
"The connection was very weak. I had to touch the heart itself to hear anything, and it was barely even a whisper. I had to pierce the veil to even understand it."
Of course. They were in a state of suspension like death...the veil of life would garble anything they heard. Why hadn't anypony thought of th...right. The taboo of necromancy. But for this pony to pierce that veil so casually. He was on the border of it, for sure, but was somehow staying on the safe side of it. Luna would have to keep a close eye on this pony for a long time coming.
In spite of herself, Luna did smile at the relief she felt in Shining's embrace and tears, before laying him back on the bed.
"I would request something of you, My Prince, but it is an extremely selfish request of mine, and I would not be upset if you refused."
"I'm listening." He was still sniffling from the cry, but both Luna and Dark Star could see there was not much time. That had spent a lot of his energy, that release of emotion.
"I wish to, well, follow you into the beyond. I wish to see the gate, and this time, possibly pass through it, with an anchor in my still living body to draw me back."
"Gate? There's a gate?"
"Yes, my Prince. I have taken to calling it the Death Gate. All ponies I've been with have had to pass through it, but I have yet to do so. I wish to do so with you, My Prince. Would you honor this poor foal the opportunity?"
"What if you can't come back?"
"It is a risk I am willing to take."
This time, it was Luna who spoke up.
"And your last will?"
"Here."
He removed his tome from his mane, handing it to the Princess.
"The last page is my will. Should something happen, that details everything. All of my research and records are in this one tome. I even had it enchanted to draw the attention of anypony near my body should I pass away myself. I feel safe knowing it is in your hooves, Princess."
"Dark Star, stand before me, and look me in the eyes. Your Prince demands this."
Dark Star blinked a few times. For somepony on their deathbed, Shining's voice still held a commanding authority he felt obliged to listen to, and so he did.
"Tell me again what it is you want to do."
He took a gulp. Those eyes, even faded as they were, held him still, piercing him to the core.
"I, Dark Star, researcher of Mortem Magica, wish to tether my soul to your own long enough to traverse the Death Gate, and hopefully return with what I learn. I am ready to risk my life for this."
Shining held that gaze for a while longer, Dark Star refusing to look away, until with a satisfied smile, Shining nodded, still not breaking the gaze.
"You have a soldier's determination, Dark Star. I will grant you this, then. I will kick your flank if you don't return, however. Understand me, soldier?"
"Sir, yes sir!"
Dark Star threw a rather poor salute before he even knew what he was doing, to a chuckling Luna.
"You've still got it, Shining."
"I'll, uh, just prepare the enchantments and runic circles then." Dark Star got to work, soon covering the room almost entirely in runes, Luna ogling at the sheer complexity of the spellwork. If Twilight were here, she'd likely be bouncing off the walls just studying half of it. While she took in the spellcraft, Dark Star stood beside Shining Armor, watching the aged unicorn sleep away his last few minutes. He could feel it, as well as see it. It was time.
"Princess, if I don't make it back, please do your best with my will. I've only been one pony, and there are many I didn't get to help."
And so, the Princess watched as at the moment, Dark Star became his namesake, and began to radiate a dark, blinding energy unlike any she'd felt before. It was like looking at her sister's sun, it was so blinding, but it was black...the lack of that making sense alone bothered her. Moments later, it was over, and when she could see again, the room was cleaned of any of the runes he'd drawn. Dark Star himself was slouched over Shining, facing away from her. She knew it without even trying. He was gone. Swallowing a sniffle, she trot over to look him over, and what she saw was as shocking as the magical flare had been.
He had a smile upon his face, and clutched between his forehooves was something she knew he hadn't entered the room with. A scroll tied with a simple blue ribbon.
*****
"Well, what does it say Luna?"
"Yes, dear sister. You've been pacing quite long enough while holding that scroll you say is from beyond the veil. Read it."
Luna sighed, looking upon the other two Princesses, who she had already shared the news of both Shining's passing, and the good news that both of the Crystal Princesses were safe.
"Very well. Let us hear what Dark Star has to say in the matter, and then we shall proceed to his last will. I promised him that much."
Dear Princesses,
I write to you from beyond the Death Gate. Saying it is strange here is putting it mildly. Time passes faster here, it seems. In the bare seconds since I began the spell with Shining, we have been here for what feels like years, and I've only now gotten permission to write back.
The Keepers, as they call themselves, have a special place for any creature that passes through a gate that is not their own. That is correct, each gate is specific to the individual. Because of what I did, I must eventually become one of them. A Keeper.
It seems that long in the past, the first Keeper did just as I did, and found that unlike all the others before him, he could not continue on beyond this place we are in, but he discovered something he felt dreadful. Any manner of creature that went on from here, passing through their next gate, had their memories and personality erased as they were 'recycled' into a new life. He felt it a tragedy that they were just vanishing, as if having never existed. So he took it upon himself to do something about that.
So began the Archive. A grand Library exists here, detailing the life of every individual that has come through the gates since the time of the first Keeper. None of the Keepers know what happened to the First, but every so often, when a new Keeper is introduced, one fades away.
Shining's lifetime has been recorded. He will be remembered. Mine has been recorded too. They say it is in case I end up being the odd creature that passes through the wrong gate and still gets to go on. We shall see.
I can already feel the spell fading. I feel like I still have much time left, but I know it is not so. Know that I am grateful for the peaceful land I was brought up in, and that I hope I get to do so again, even if I won't know I have done it before. Please, take care of my will. There are many ponies who could use the comfort. I know, because they have been telling me.
Your loyal subject, even beyond the Gate,
Dark Star
"That's. Wow. So, after the second gate, we just...stop being?"
"No, Twilight. We simply stop remembering. I think what he didn't say means just as much as what he did say. We may have our personalities and memories taken, but our soul, the core of our being, remains the same. I would like to think that means something."
Luna was looking at the book as the other Princesses spoke, opening it to the first page. In it was a picture of Dark Star next to an old female earth pony, the both of them smiling at the picture taker. Next to it was written a few words.
Bright Star, 84, heart failure. No one nearby. Pushed family away months before death.
A little below the picture, tiny writing that looked partially smudged by droplets read 'goodbye mother'.
Luna began perusing the records, finding more and more ponies that would have died alone if not for Dark Star. Between some of them were notes on his research into Mortem Magica, and eventually began mentioning the Death Gate.
"But Princess, does that mean I'll forget you too when...I finally pass the gate?"
"Of course. And I will forget you too. But I do not think that is a horrible thing. After all, they're recording our lives in that place, are they not? And they said they spend years recording it all. I bet you, if we went through that library together, we'd find our past selves colliding more than once."
"But how would we know?"
Luna began to look over the final sections, noting how he kept writing that "I seem to remember something. I'm not sure what, but I feel like I've done this before."
She started going through it faster, seeing more and more hints that he was remembering something.
"I'm sure part of us, no matter how much whatever power it is tries to erase us, leaves something behind."
Luna reached the final page, the one he'd said had his will.
"To whom it may concern, the final will of Dark Star. I ask one thing, and one thing only. Let no one die alone, be they pony or not, because I now know the truth. The ones who are beside you when you die, are the ones you will remember as you live."
She stared at it for a few more seconds, before Twilight interrupted it.
"Hey, is there something written on the other side of the scroll?"
Luna turned back to the scroll and turned it over, the words as she read them bringing a strange sense of understanding.
P.S.
Luna, thank you for being there for us. I am glad that in the end of this life, I was with my brother and sister once again.
Author's Note
Well, a strange one indeed, I think, but I had to get it out.
While it is a standalone, let me know if you think this could turn into something more!
Or, heck, if you want to use it as a baseline for a creation of your own, I'd be honored.
Comments and Critiques always welcome!
