//------------------------------//
// Erebus 
// Story: Silver Dawn 
// by Summer Knight 
//------------------------------//

Silverstream felt cold, wet air on her beak as she started to emerge from the shadow passage. It felt like a cloud, or an unusually thick fog, but there was also a bitter taste that she couldn't place. She was about halfway out of the shadow now, and she began feeling around for the ground. Her wings emerged, and she spread them instinctively. 
"Wha' in the world?" a deep, masculine voice suddenly boomed. It seemed to come from all around her. 
Silverstream squawked in surprise and fell the rest of the way out of the magical passage. To her dismay, she found that she was a good five feet in the air, and neither her wings nor her legs were strong enough to catch her. She hit the ground in an undignified heap, and found herself laying on sand and rocks. The gentle sounds of water, the smell of salt, and the sun warming her feathers told her that she'd fallen onto a beach or a shoreline somewhere. 
"Wha's this, then?" that same voice thundered from above her. 
Silverstream turned her head just enough to see what was going on, and gasped. 
A massive form loomed over her. It had to be ten times her height at least, and looked like nothing she'd ever seen before. Two powerful arms hung down from its hulking shoulders. A relatively small head sat perched atop a thick, barrel-chested body. Two beady yellow eyes, rimmed with bright red and topped by long, upswept eyebrows, glared down at her. Instead of hooves, its body tapered to a sort of tail, which floated a few inches above the ground. The being looked almost like a genie, except that it seemed to be made entirely of clouds. 
As Silverstream stared upward in shock, a golden glow appeared in what she supposed would be the creature's stomach. The cloud monster frowned, and Silverstream gasped again as it plunged a hand into its own body. The hand emerged, and she could faintly see the struggling outline of Luster Dawn inside. Suddenly, there was a bright flash from inside the creature's hand, and Luster appeared next to her in a burst of golden magic. The unicorn lowered her head protectively, putting her horn squarely between Silverstream and this new threat. 
The creature growled in annoyance. It folded its arms across its huge chest and gazed down at the two of them. 
"Right," it rumbled, "who are you two, then?"
Luster Dawn tossed her head and stomped a forehoof. 
"My name is Luster Dawn," she announced proudly, and Silverstream felt a swell of admiration at how quickly she'd recovered from her surprise. "I am the personal protegé of Princess Twilight Sparkle."
"Izzat right?" the creature answered, supremely unimpressed. 
"And this—"
"Oh, I know all about that one," the creature chuckled. It held up one finger, and a dark form the size and shape of Silverstream appeared in the very tip of it. "Surprised she can even move, what with losin' her shadow an' all."
My shadow!
"Give it back," Silverstream croaked. "Please give it back." She hated to beg this awful monster for anything, but she couldn't help herself. 
"Lemme think about that." The creature swooped down so it was practically nose-to-beak with Silverstream. "No."
It reared back again as Luster Dawn's horn flared with furious magic, but it didn't seem to have been harmed by the blast. 
"Well," the cloud monster said as though nothing had happened, "I'd introduce meself, but judgin' by the look on the pointy one's face there, I'm guessin' at least one o' you already knows who I am." 
Luster Dawn snorted angrily. 
"Erebus," she answered. "You're supposed to be imprisoned in a never-ending storm at the exact center of the ocean."
"Right, so I was," Erebus replied. "Only, it turns out it wasn't quite as never-ending as you lot thought."
Silverstream feebly tugged at Luster Dawn's leg. 
"What's an Erebus?" she asked. 
"Erebus is a cloud demon," Luster answered. "a primeval being from before Equestria was Equestria. Thousands of years ago, ponies and hippogriffs worked together to defeat Erebus and seal him inside of a typhoon. Somehow, he broke free."
"Gotcha." Silverstream struggled to a standing position. "Then we'll just have to work together and defeat him again!"
Erebus roared with laughter. "What, with one unicorn and 'alf a hippogriff? Yeah, that's not goin' to 'appen."
Without warning, Luster Dawn fired a beam of black-laced magic at the finger where Silverstream's shadow had been. Erebus yelped in surprise and pulled his hand away.
"Tryin' ta steal your friend's shadow back?" the cloud demon rumbled. "Clever. And naughty." He inhaled deeply, and blew out an all-too-familiar cloud of sickly green vapor. 
Silverstream used what little strength she had to shove Luster Dawn backward. Taking the hint, the unicorn quickly teleported away from the green cloud. It washed harmlessly over Silverstream before fading into the air. 
The hippogriff snorted with laughter. 
"Oh, please," she taunted him. "What are you gonna do, steal my shadow twice?"
Erebus scratched his chin with one log-sized finger. 
"Nah," he replied, "I'm just gonna do this." He reached out with a hand bigger than Silverstream and swatted her aside. 
That casual hit broke her last reserve of endurance. Silverstream's body went tumbling through the air and crashed hard into the sand; she was too weak to even try to control her landing. She wanted to stand again—she truly did—but she couldn't muster the strength or the willpower. 
Her legs twitched feebly. The darkness that she'd been holding back through sheer stubbornness crept into the edges of her vision. She tried to cry out in pain, but she didn't even have the energy for that; all that emerged was a raspy croak no louder than a whisper. 
"Luster..."



"Silverstream!" Luster Dawn shrieked as her dear friend was struck down by the monstrous creature. She raced back to Silverstream's side, cursing herself for an idiot—Silverstream must have been dreadfully sick and weak for Erebus's lazy swipe to have that kind of effect on her. No doubt she'd been suffering since she lost her shadow, and had just been putting on a brave face for Luster's benefit. 
Because I told her that she was keeping my head on straight, Luster berated herself as she skidded to a stop on the loose sand. I told her that I needed her, so she thought she had to be there for me. And now...
Silverstream lay crumpled on the ground, motionless except for weak twitches in her legs and wings. Her eyes stared at nothing, and her tongue lolled out of a half-open beak. For one heart-stopping moment, Luster Dawn thought that her dear new friend was dead. 
Then the hippogriff coughed weakly. 
"Help..." she whispered. Her voice could barely escape from her throat. "Please help me..."
I will. Seeing her brave friend in such a state made Luster want to cry. Then it made her angry. This guy's going down.
"Still with us, luv?" Erebus asked the fallen hippogriff. "Good. Your shadow's got a lot o' energy; it'd be a shame to lose it."
With a sudden, furious scream, Luster Dawn fired a blast of shadow magic. Her beam tore into Erebus's shoulder, taking a hoof-sized chunk out of it. Cloudstuff and something darker flew into the air and dissipated.
Erebus roared in pain and floated backward, clutching the injury. 
"Bloody Tartarus, that actually hurt!" he exclaimed. 
"Oh, you haven't even started to hurt," Luster Dawn promised. Her eyes burned white as she charged another blast. 
"My, my, you're a strong one, aren't you?" Erebus sounded eager, rather than afraid. He spread his arms wide. "All right then, little filly, gimme all ya got!"
"Luster..." Silverstream whispered, so softly that Luster thought she might be hearing things, "it's a trap..." 
A second layer of light wreathed Luster Dawn's horn as she drew in more and more power. Then a third. She was holding more magic than she'd ever dared; the slightest misstep now could cause her to lose control and destroy her own horn, or worse. 
But she was one of the finest pupils the Royal Academy of Magic had ever known. She was Twilight Sparkle's personal student. She wouldn't make a mistake. 
Luster roared a wordless battle cry and unleashed her power. This was no mere beam, it was a torrent; a raging river of golden energy, shot through with dark purples and blues. It hit Erebus squarely in the torso and lit him up like a Hearth's Warming tree. For just a moment, Luster Dawn could see hundreds of dark shapes flitting around inside his translucent body—all the shadows he'd stolen. 
Then she felt something coming the other way, using her shadow magic to reach back out to her. It flowed into her horn like molten iron, then spread to her chest. However, that burning pain was nothing compared to the awful tearing that she felt a moment later. 
"Gotcha," Erebus said with a smirk. 
Luster Dawn's stream of magic winked out, and she collapsed to the ground next to Silverstream. 
"My, oh my." Erebus brushed a bit of soot off the spot where Luster's magic had hit him. "You're quite somethin'. But—" he inhaled deeply and swelled up even larger than before, "—I invented shadow magic. You never 'ad a chance." 
The cloud demon once again held up a finger, and this time the shadow of a unicorn danced on the end of it. 
"Thanks for the power, luv. I'm gonna enjoy this."
"I really don't think you are," Luster Dawn answered weakly. 
She twisted her head around so that her horn was resting gently on Silverstream's forehead. The magic that emerged was a paltry fraction of the incredible blast she'd summoned before, but it was enough. 
"Your turn," she murmured to Silverstream. 



Silverstream's half-lidded eyes snapped open in shock. The pain that had been with her for the past several hours was fading. She felt stronger by the second. 
She tentatively raised her head a few inches. The movement didn't hurt at all. She glanced down and saw that she was darkening the sand beneath her; her shadow was back.
"How?" she whispered to Luster Dawn.
"Long story," Luster grunted in response. "Listen. I can't beat Erebus. But you can." She locked eyes with Silverstream. 
"Tear him apart."



"Well, ladies, it's been fun," Erebus gloated, looming over them, "but it's about time I put ya with the rest o' the foodstuffs." The cloud demon reached downward, about to pick up one of them in each massive hand.
In a single motion, Silverstream leapt to her hooves and shot into the sky. With a raptor's screech, she ripped straight through Erebus's stomach and out the other side. Vapor and shadows poured from the opening—the clouds disappeared into the air, while the shadows streaked inland to seek their owners. 
"Wot?" Erebus gasped, clutching the wound. "But 'ow?"
"Long story," Silverstream replied. Then she put a talon to her chin. "Also, I don't know." 
The demon's bright yellow eyes narrowed angrily as he looked down at Luster Dawn. 
"You," he growled. "You weren't tryin' to destroy me. You were stealin' yer friend's shadow back!"
"Yup," she answered, her voice weak but proud. "The first shot was so you'd think I was trying to hurt you. Then, while you were busy dealing with my light show, I found her shadow. When you stole mine—which I let you do, by the way—I attached Silverstream's shadow to myself in its place. And now it's back where it belongs."
"Hmph. Well, it was a nice trick." Erebus straightened up and moved his hands to reveal that the hole in his stomach had already closed. "But it'll take a lot more'n that ta put me down. Now, then—" He inhaled, and blew another cloud of noxious green fog toward Silverstream. 
"Not this time," Silverstream said. She flapped her wings rapidly, creating a gust of wind to disperse the magical cloud. 
As the last wisps faded, she realized that this time she was the one who'd been tricked. Erebus was now exhaling toward Luster Dawn's helpless form—not the green shadow-stealing cloud, but a massive, jet-black storm cloud, sizzling with lightning. It blanketed the beach and crept toward her friend.
"Luster Dawn!"
Silverstream swooped toward the unicorn in a desperate race against Erebus's attack. Even if she got there first, though, where could she go? Where would Luster Dawn be safe? 
Inspiration struck as she remembered how she'd evaded the green mist back at the carnival. 
She reached Luster Dawn mere inches ahead of the black cloud. Without slowing her flight, she scooped up the unicorn's body and sped out toward the ocean. Once she was over deep enough water, she took a breath and focused on her shard of the Pearl of Transformation.
Silverstream turned into a seapony in midair. She angled herself and Luster Dawn downward. They hit the water and slipped beneath the surface at a shallow angle, barely making a splash as they entered. 
Erebus's clouds can't go through water, Silverstream thought desperately. She'll be safe here.
She looked at the pony she was holding, and sick dread surged through her stomach. Luster Dawn's eyes were rolling in their sockets, and her muscles were going limp. She was too weak to hold her breath for long, and she was already losing consciousness. Her body would soon force her to breathe; and then she would drown. 
Silverstream looked upward and saw that the black cloud was hovering overhead. It wouldn't take much time to disperse, but it would take longer than Luster had. She turned her attention back to her quickly-fading friend. 
Don't worry, Luster, she thought tenderly. I'll breathe for both of us.
Silverstream cradled Luster Dawn's head with one foreleg. She placed the other hoof over the unicorn's nostrils, so that she wouldn't try to inhale through them. 
Then, Silverstream lowered her head. Her lips firmly met Luster Dawn's, and she breathed out. 
The unicorn's eyes opened wide in surprise, then half-closed again as sweet air filled her lungs. She reached out with her own forelegs and wrapped them weakly around Silverstream. She nuzzled the seapony in wordless thanks.
"Are you okay?" Silverstream asked. 
Luster Dawn, unable to make herself understood through the water, simply nodded.
"Erebus's magic can't reach you under the water," Silverstream explained. "Will you be able to swim?" 
Luster nodded again. 
"Okay." Silverstream reluctantly let go of Luster Dawn, and the two broke back through the surface. Erebus was still hovering angrily on the shore, preparing another cloud. "I have to go."
"Silverstream—" the unicorn reached out with a hoof. 
"What is it?" 
"I..." She shook her head and swallowed whatever she'd been about to say. "Be careful."
Silverstream gave a knowing smile. 
"I love you, too."
With a flash of transformation magic, she shot back into the sky.