//------------------------------// // Chapter 28: Trying Her Best // Story: Realm of the Lost // by Orsuros //------------------------------// “You should have used her distraction to run away. Now you’ll serve me in death.” The lich’s grating voice made Silverstream want to run and hide, but she wasn’t going to give up. She had let her friends down by letting fear overcome her in that strange time travel thing, but she was going to be brave, like her cousin Skystar, or Yona, or Gallus. Everyone around her seemed so much braver than her. She faced their enemy and looked into his eyes. They blazed with cold, blue flame. The orb flashed in the Lich’s hooves. It shot a ray at Gallus, but the magic of Harmony flashed around him for a brief moment. The siphoned energy drew back to the lich and was redirected to a pile of bones. A large earth pony skeleton rose with a moan. The sound made Silverstream shiver. “Ha! Too slow!” Gallus shouted. He held the strange green orb in his talons and hopped back a step. The lich’s horn glowed brighter and brighter. Yona tried to charge, but a forcefield held her back. The lich turned his horn toward Gallus. Silverstream cried out. “No! Gallus! Look out!” She was too far away to try to redirect the attack. The only tool she had to protect her friend was the magical brush in her talons. She put all her feelings of wanting to see Gallus safe into a quick doodle of a shield. The cartoony shield popped into existence in the air in front of Gallus. The blinding ray shattered it. A smaller portion blasted her friend. He grunted as a patch of feathers and fur burned off his right wing and shoulder. The lich charged another blast before Silverstream could think. Yona knocked aside the large skeleton and jumped in to shield Gallus. She was too slow, but the skeleton fell into the lich and spoiled his aim. Another patch of fur burned on Gallus’s side, but Silverstream breathed a sigh of relief. She ran to his side and painted seaweed bandages on his shoulder. The wet plants became real and covered his wound. It wasn’t much, but it was the best help she could offer for the burns. “He’s going after me,” Gallus said. “I’ll try to get this orb away from here, and Yona can focus on finishing him off.” “But what can I do?” Silverstream asked. She hated feeling less useful because she wasn’t as strong or as brave as her friends. Gallus put a wing on her shoulder. “Do something unexpected. You’re the best at that. He won’t see it coming.” Her shoulder felt warm even after Gallus removed his wing and hopped into the air. He rushed to the far side of the room. She looked back at the lich and cleared her mind and tried to draw in creative energy. Nothing stood out that would help against the undead unicorn. The lich vanished. The loud crack of a teleport spell was the only warning they got. He appeared in front of Gallus and readied his next magical blast. The griffon spun to meet the lich. His claws broke apart the undead’s ribcage, but he shrieked as the searing blast of magic hit him in the chest. He fell to the ground with a loud thump. Yona knocked the earth pony skeleton over with one horn. Silverstream rushed over it to get to Gallus. “Gallus! Get up!” She rolled him over. He was still breathing, but the fur on his chest had been blasted away. An angry red burn covered where the spell had hit him. A faint rattle caught Silverstream’s attention. The lich’s bones were shaking and slowly rolling back together. “No! I’m not letting you hurt my friends again!” Silverstream kicked the bones away. They were all trying to roll or move back to the lich’s skull. The burning blue flame in the eyes was almost gone, but the faintest glow of it was still there. She needed to help Gallus, but she couldn’t let the lich reform, either. “Come on. Think, Silverstream.” A sudden idea came. Evil, dark things hated the sun. She painted a bright sun on the wall and prayed for the brush’s magic to work. She thought of how amazing it had been to see the sun after years spent in the deep ocean. As she thought of the warmth and blinding rays, she began to feel them. Her little painted sun glowed with a brilliant warmth and light. The bones hissed in the bright sun and a shadowy mist around them burned off. They no longer were moving. “Take that, you mean old lich!” Silverstream flicked away a smaller bone. When nothing more moved, she walked back over to Gallus. Yona was at his side and had picked up the orb. “Starlight trapped inside orb,” Yona said. A ghostly form of their counselor waved her hooves and pointed. “Did the lich suck out her spirit?” Silverstream asked. Yona nodded. “That sounds like forbidden magic from old stories. Yona fix things. Take this and help Gallus. It harder to spread with hooves. Yona will fix Starlight.” Yona rummaged through her bag and pulled out a small jar of ponybalm. She shoved it into Silverstream’s talons. The yak grabbed the orb and went across the room to where Starlight lay unconscious. Silverstream checked Gallus one more time. He had a few smaller burns, but his chest was where he had been hit the worst. She popped the lid off the jar and scooped up the creamy salve in her talons. It smelled like herbs and honey. She placed a generous portion of it in the center of the large burn and started to spread it with circular motions. She wondered what Gallus would say if he was awake. He always seemed a little jumpy if she touched or hugged him for too long. She blushed as she felt the muscles of his chest. He felt strong and solid, even if his skin felt dry and scorched. She hummed and dabbed dollops of the salve on his other burns and rubbed it in. “Silverstream like touching Gallus?” Yona’s sudden question nearly made her jump. Starlight was also watching her and leaning against Yona. Silverstream nodded slowly, even as she felt her cheeks flush. “It okay,” Yona continued. “Yona like touching Sandbar, too.” “Just don’t tell Gallus, please. You know how he is.” “On yak’s honor, Yona will not tell.” Starlight was closing her eyes and rubbing her forehead. “I’ll keep it confidential. My head hurts too much to think about it.” The healing power of the ponybalm was already working. Silverstream worked more of it into Gallus’s skin. The burns didn’t look as red. Gallus’s feet twitched. He rolled to his side and groaned. He opened his eyes and looked at everyone, but his gaze lingered on Silverstream and where her talons lingered on his chest. “Ugh… it looks like we made it, even if half my fur didn’t.” His talons met Silverstream’s. She felt him almost push her away, but he stopped. “That does help with the pain. Thank you, Silverstream. Just a little more, and I should be good.” “Does it hurt anywhere else?” She asked. “You crashed pretty hard. I could help check.” She rubbed his shoulder and front legs. He stopped her as she tried to feel where she thought he might have some bruises on his belly or side. He chuckled nervously. “I-I’m fine! Just finish treating the burns.” Starlight and Yona both smiled when Gallus wasn’t watching them. A slow vibration and a barely audible purring came from Gallus as she gently treated him. She knew that saying anything would spoil the moment, but it only lasted a few seconds more. Gallus slowly stood up. “That’s enough. We should get back.”  As they carefully made their way back to the surface, Yona found a moment to whisper to Silverstream. “Was Gallus purring?” Silverstream nodded. “Wasn’t it cute?” They both laughed. Gallus looked back at them with his usual suspicion. Soon, they were back at the magical portal that floated in the air. They hopped through it. The pleasant warmth and dry air of the Bazaar was a huge relief after the stifling cold and fog of the crypts. The animated statues stood guard, but Grandeur appeared a few moments after their return. He adjusted the mirror and closed the gateway before speaking. “That’s one big task settled,” he said. “Congratulations on a job well done, and on repaying your debt.” He held a talon out. Starlight placed the orb in his claws. “We’re glad we could help, but what was the idea of giving something like that to a necromancer who was sure to misuse it?” Grandeur put the orb into his magical bag before answering. “We made a fair agreement. The orb is easy to use in bad ways, but I can’t judge everyone who does business with me. He was a better pony when he rented it from me. There are many good ways items like that orb can be used.” Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Really?” The large griffon ignored the verbal jab and focused on Gallus. “Oh, you poor boy. Let me get you something to fix your looks. It won’t do for a fine griffon like you to go around looking all beat up and ragged. Drink this.” He pulled out a red potion and handed it over. Gallus chugged the potion. A faint golden glow surrounded him. His fur and feathers regrew until all hints of his injuries were gone. “That worked great! Thank you!” “It’s the least I could do. You all deserve a quick rest and what healing and food I can provide. You saved me a great deal of trouble.” “And you’re going to help us get home?” Silverstream asked. She was tired of the constant battles. She wanted to go back to their regular classes at school, even if this place did have lots of amazing things. “Yes. I keep my word. You shall have my help when the time comes. It will be the fourth artifact of the six you need. If your friends can convince Scriptus to help, you’ll have five. We should wait to see how things go with them before you make your final plans. Queen Cordys and Storm Surge have artifacts of great power that could work for your spell, but I don’t think you want to face them both if you don’t have to. You should all rest here and make your final move tomorrow.” Silverstream felt exhausted from the day’s adventure. She was dirty and beat up. Starlight looked terrible, and she could tell that Gallus was trying to look strong even though he was probably about to collapse from exhaustion. Yona looked almost like normal, but the yak always did seem to have a strength and stamina that few could match. “It’s safe here,” Silverstream said. “We won’t find a better place.” Starlight nodded. “Let’s hope that their mission went as well as ours. I hope Sandbar remembers how to use the long-range messaging spell.” “That’s hoping for a lot,” Gallus said. “He forgets his homework half the time when I don’t remind him about it.” Silverstream sat next to Gallus and chuckled at his joke, even if it was a little mean. She looked over at the sunset and hoped for the best for her three missing friends.