In The Midst of Snow

The Wake of Spring

With a whoosh like a relieved sigh, the dusty black whirlwind of negative energy dissipated. Above, wearing a stony poker face, Scaramouche crossed his arms as he watched Xiao and Aether hugging closer to each other. They were so smitten with each other that they have probably forgotten Scaramouche's presence.

Since there was nothing else left for him to watch, he supposed it was time for him to take his leave.

However, he had barely turned around when Aether called, "Scaramouche!"

Scaramouche clicked his tongue. Flying back down towards the couple who were disgustingly holding hands, he sighed, "What?"

"I haven't been able to thank you yet for what you have done," Aether admitted. "It...must have been a great shock when I died."

Scaramouche pursued his lips. A great shock was an understatement. He had been horrified by his actions. For once, there existed someone that he could rather trust. While he had been angry at Aether for betraying him, he had also felt sick to the bone that he had been the one that ended his life. It had stayed vividly in his head for weeks on end before the despair of paperwork overcame that.

Still, there was no forgetting the total exhilaration when he had struck Aether, only for the entire world to flip around as the glowing star - his friend - fell down, unmoving, fading into nothing.

At the time, he wasn't even afraid of Her Majesty's wrath and judgement. No, he was afraid of his dirty hands and Aether's allies that he had to face.

But that was all in the past; long had Scaramouche moved on. It was just another war in the yellowed pages of history.

So, the least he could say now was...

Huffing, Scaramouche rolled his eyes. "You bet it was. I'm angry at you for that. Well, I was."

Seriously looking Aether in the eye, Scaramouche said, "I am also grateful for what you have done. You were right. I've discovered from my co-workers that Her Majesty had been wanting to replace me for some time now. If it weren't for your plan, Her Majesty would have seen no need for me anymore and discarded me from Celestia. So, because of that-"

Rubbing his forehead, he bashfully muttered, "Thank you."

"Oh, Scaramouche..." Aether said sympathetically.

"Wait, what do you mean co-workers?" Xiao interjected.

Ah, shit.

"Oh, would you look at the time!" Scaramouche said hurriedly, nodding at a non-existent watch on his wrist. "Time for me to go back up there. It was nice seeing you guys. Rest in peace, Aether. Byeee."

With a bright zap, Scaramouche was gone.

Aether chuckled. "I'm glad Scaramouche is doing well."

Although, that didn't bother Xiao at all. What was more concerning was...

Aether, too, looked down at his body. It was not obvious, but his entire being was becoming more transparent as the minutes went by.

"Ah, looks like my time is almost up," Aether said sadly. With a small sigh, he gazed into the darkening horizon. The sun was setting, preparing for its long slumber. "I wish I could have at least seen Lumine for the last time."

Glancing back at Xiao, though, his expression softened. "Don't look at me like that. We still have some time."

"I just..." Xiao struggled to find the right words. "I've been waiting for so long to hear from you. We've been going here and there the entire day, we barely even got to...do anything nice together."