//------------------------------// // Sharp-eyed Doctor // Story: Dawn Adopted // by Idyll //------------------------------// The skies were frozen dark-blue, and if you were a stargazer on a frosty lone hill you'd have none other than the Pegasi to blame for obstructions. It all linked back to them: the clouds that blanketed Equestria; the occasional shadow that flew overhead; the red blinking lights donned on the reflective vests that all nightshift deliverymares were required to wear, so they wouldn’t bump into each other when they glided through the fogs ordered for Autumn. There were a few weeks left before Cozy would have to wear a jacket. Plenty of time to choose a design, order and purchase one—were she the only consideration. Luster was the main consideration. And even though unicorns tended to live in the colder environments—Canterlot, and all the major cities—Luster’s body hadn’t had enough time to acclimatize. So, the heaters had to be kept on during the night, and on the couch Luster slept snugly. The blanket was scrunched between her hooves, trapped in a tight hug. A rook-shaped cushion was used as her pillow, and it was distended, almost as if somepony had replaced its stuffing with used rainclouds. On the living room table next to the filly in levitation’s length was a glass of water over a coaster and a tin of butter biscuits—store-bought until Cozy fixes the oven. Knock knock! It came from the entrance. Luster turned in her sleep. Knock knock knock knock knock knock knock— Luster woke up. With her shoulders on the couch, she stretched her legs. Since the knocks persisted, she would eventually be forced to answer the door—unless: “Mom!” Luster yelled. “Should I get the door?” No response. The filly groaned. She hadn’t the energy to stand, so she rolled off the bed, between the couch and the table, wrapping herself in a cocoon of blanket. Like a caterpillar she crawled to the foyer, and stopped only once her eyes were at the end of the hallway over the corner. The knocks hadn’t stopped. Luster shouted: “What do you want?!” The knocks stopped. Luster’s tension eased. Wooden floors never felt so comfy. Click! Luster’s eyes shot open. It was dark. Surely what I just heard was just a dream, Luster reassured herself. Tired, but hesitant to leave, she sat on her blankie, head rested against the wall, eyes fixed on the door. You’re being irrational, Luster, break-ins are rare in— The knob turned. Luster woke up fully. “Mom?!” Luster shouted. The door opened—wind rushed through—and magnets on its base kept it open. A cloaked figure revealed itself: a pony, dimly illuminated from behind by moonlight. Luster thought she was finished with these sorts of encounters, but shook it off. Focus! The filly’s horn started to brew a spell she knew was destructive—the one that broke their stove. Its charge was accompanied by a noise increasing in pitch, by light, and vibrations that shook her skull. The intruder stood still. Not reassuring, Luster thought. She shrugged it off, and blasted her spell. Not even a flinch was elicited to the cloaked figure as they countered with a defensive spell: a shield. It had faces and edges like a polyhedron, but only covered their front, unlike Cozy’s bubble which was round and wrapped her completely. Luster’s fireball was completely muffled by the shield. Not a single drop of liquid fire fell to the floor, and hardly a sound was made. It only caused the opponent’s shield to glow slightly, light blue to match their aura, which lit the foyer. Luster saw her still expression reflected on the faces of the shield, but behind it a few features of the intruder became apparent. The reflections in their eyes had sharp edges, like a crystal, beyond a purple coat. Once its purpose was fulfilled, the shield dissipated in a fashion similar to the snapping of an overpowered light-bulb’s filament, only quieter and more elegant. Big mistake. Luster shot another fireball. Another shield stopped it, and dwindled. Luster knew there had to be a better way. With inferred understanding and a little innovation, Luster cast something new. Familiar but new. She aptly titled it in her inner monologue: flamethrower spell! Flames blew out of her horn. Five seconds later, Luster used up her magical stamina. The flames subsided. Luster’s forehead was tingling. She lifted her head from the floor. The moment of truth. The intruder’s shield blocked it. They weren’t even facing the filly; they were more focused on rereading the sign outside to make sure they didn’t make an error, simultaneously dual casting a spotlight of light from their horn. They turned to face Luster. “What are you doing here?” the intruder spoke, in a voice that sounded soft, confident, and oddly comforting. They stepped forwards. Luster stepped back. She tripped on the arm of her blanket, peeking from the hallway, but got up and ran for the kitchen door. It was locked. Magically exhausted, she pushed herself to telekinetically turn the lock. It didn’t budge at all. She tried with her hooves. Hopeless. “W—What do you want?” Luster asked as she turned to face the intruder, who stopped right in front of her. The intruder responded with another question: “Why does Cozy Glow have a filly in here?” They undid their hood. Lit from the ambient light outside through the glass door, Luster inspected the mare. Said purple coat, with a light-blue mane that slid down her nape and back over her shoulders, the same color for her irises, and both similar to her aura. “Did you think I was your mother?” “Wh—” “Because I’m not, but I can help you find her!” Two pink hooves approached the intruder from behind, and pounced around her neck. “Boo!” Cozy shouted. The intruder yelped; her horn lit up. “Easy Hope, it’s just me!” said Cozy, in her normal colors. Hope sighed relief, then turned cross. “I know you don’t have… morals… but foalnapping a filly, while inviting me over?” “You’re late.” “Good thing I was! Look at how malnourished she is! And a broken cannon?! It’s like she just escaped your basement, and I won’t be looking at you until you get rid of her!” “Relax!” Cozy held her wings out. “Lustie, care to explain for me?” “Cozy’s my—” Luster searched for reassurance that could say that word, and after Cozy nodded, “—my mom…” Hope stood dumbfounded. Taking glances at both of them, the flashlight spell she used shifted green, and was shone at Cozy. Thick strings constructed of Hope’s magic wrapped around Cozy’s forehooves and a massive needle of similar material struck the ceiling. It acted like a pulley, and Cozy was pulled to her hindlegs, and Hope did an inspection. The medical professional turned to Luster. “She must really have you brainwashed.” She turned back to Cozy. “There’s no way you gave birth to that—” “I meant adopted, you invasive thick idiot!” Cozy clarified, upside down, her hindlegs pushing against the ceiling of her brand-new house, trying to snap the pulley off to free herself. Hope undid her binds and Cozy fell on her hooves. “I adopted her two days ago from Kludgetown!” Hope took a while before she responded. “Cozy Glow adopted a foal out of the goodness of her heart? I don’t know…” “Just because your boyfriend enslaves ponies doesn’t mean I—” Cozy mouth was stitched shut. It didn’t hurt—Hope made sure it didn’t—but it was a durable spell. Magic enveloped Luster’s hoof, but the light-blue sheen felt soft and warm, and it pulled her to the living room. “Come on dear, let’s get you checked up.” Hope said, guiding Luster and magicking on the lights. Meanwhile Cozy closed the door; noticing a blanket on the floor she tossed it beside Luster, who sat on the couch confused about what was happening—but Mom didn’t seem worried. Hope went through the standard: First, and because it required the dopey filly to be awake, she tested her eyesight. Hope conjured a solid white board with black letters and numbers that got smaller the further downwards they were, and kept it afloat further back. “Now Lustie—” “Luster.” Luster clarified. “Sorry. Now Luster, can you please read what you see on the board?” Hope requested. Luster taught herself literacy so she already wasn’t too confident. She did what the doctor said and succeeded mostly, barely able to make out the third last line and hopeless on the other two. Hope wrote no notes; it was all kept in her memory. It was impossible for Luster to tell from the mare’s expressions whether she was doing good or not. Hope continued. She teleported besides Luster and attempted to inspect her ears. “How did you do that?!” Luster asked, amazed, while Hope sandwiched the filly’s head between her forehooves to stop her from moving. “Did what?” Hope asked, focused on the exam. “You just popped from over there to right here!” “You mean teleport?” Hope used that from x-ray spell before, which was harmless unlike conventional x-ray machines, to guide her magic as she cleaned Luster’s ear canal with several spells. “Yeah, teleport! How did you do that?” In-between Luster’s inquiry Hope teleported again, to her other ear. “With my horn.” Hope responded. She expanded her telekinesis to the inside of Luster’s ears, which took a bit of effort. Creatures had a field of supernatural protection to protect spell-casters from tampering with their insides, strongest in their skulls so no random unicorn would be able to casually sever a blood vessel. “Can I learn how to do that?” Luster asked. Hope finished; now she could answer fully: “Your magic was pretty good back there, so I’d say with a couple of short years of practice you’ll be able to teleport, at least B-grade efficiently.” “A few years?!” Luster said, devastated. “The vast majority of unicorns can’t teleport. It’s like doing a back-flip, or breaking the sound barrier if you’re a pegasus pony! It took Cozy a lot of training to be able to do that (latter one).” Speaking of which, Cozy entered the room. She had several breakfast items and beverages balanced on her head, muzzle, knees and hooves. In that order: a weaved bowl of fruit, a box of cereal (leaned on her brow), a jug of water, one of milk; her right hoof held a kettle; her left, three mugs. They came from a rainbow-themed pack of seven, though the insides of all were black. Cozy slid an orange one for Luster, her little arsonist. Red for herself, to match her eyes, since the pack lacked pink. And the final one, purple, she kept between her hooves. Tilted forwards, Cozy revealed inside a teabag of Hope's favorite store-brand soaked in sugar. She got on the floor, and hidden behind her back she scooped with her wings several pairs of scissors—all broken. Approaching with tied lips and teary-eyes she visually begged– "Alright, alright!" Hope gave in. With a spell as sharp as a scalpel, and with the steadiness of a surgeon, she slashed through the mare's binds, and Cozy was free to say: "How could you do that to me?!" Hope shrugged. "I've learned my lesson putting too much trust in friendly characters," she responded, pouring the precise amount of hot water and milk for the way she liked her tea. She sipped. "This is nice!" Hope flicked her cloak from under herself and leaned on the cushions fully. Next to her was Luster being forced by her mother to take a sip of water before she was allowed to doze back asleep, as it was 3 AM, and was pampered with a pillow against the couch's arm. Hope watched. "So, are you raising her to be evil, or…?" "Well, if I wanted Equestria to be burnt to the ground I would've left her as an orphan," Cozy joked, caressing the warm body under the blanket. "Then she'd turn out like you, me, Somb—" "I'm not like you!" Hope politely refuted. "I never touched a feather on Princess Flurry's wings! Meanwhile you wrote my letter with one!" "You could tell?" Cozy gleamed from deprived giddy. It would have scared Luster if she'd seen it, unlike Hope who was fascinated by her abnormal psychology. "Want to guess where the red ink was from?" "I think I'll pass…" Hope answered, and lifted a biscuit from the tin left for Luster into her tea to flavor her bite. "Do you have Luster's health records?" "She does have Silly Filly Syndrome! Don't you Lustie?" Hope checked; Luster didn't speak. Her mouth might've opened slightly, but no response, or sign she even heard. "I don't think that's an official diagnosis." "It is," Cozy lied. "It's new." "Well, I'll try my best to treat it," Hope turned to Luster and promised. "So… no documents?" Cozy had already left the room, and came back with her satchel. Of the file of papers that she stole from that factory in Kludgetown she singled out one, and passed it to Hope. "I don't see any mention of SFS in here, and I don't see any mentions of shots. I assume you don't want her turning into a tree?" Hope duplicated herself a copy and passed the original to Cozy. "Vanhoover has the nearest vaccination center." "Well, actually I planned to take her to Manehatten over the weekend. I'll do it there. I need to visit Suri after somepony tore my cloak!" Cozy whispered beneath her wing: "If you can figure out her favorite color, type, puffiness, accessories, et cetera, I'd sure appreciate it!" Cozy winked. "Okay," Hope nodded. "Last thing she needs is some dental work." "What about her leg?" "It's mostly healed. You used my healing potion I assume?" Cozy nodded. "You could make it fully healed though." "I guess I could," Hope admitted. Cozy undid Luster's blanket. Hope sliced open the filly's cast, and straightened the patient’s leg. Streamers of light flew from the tip of her lit horn, attracted to Luster’s injury. It wrapped around it softly. If she were awake, Luster’s leg would have felt like it was adrift in zero gravity. Hope’s eyes were calmly squinted, as if she were half-asleep, a reflection of her ability to enforce an instant calm in herself. Luster’s leg was fully wrapped in construct ribbons. Hope inhaled. Pull! Aura squeezed Luster’s leg all at once, and—voila—she was healed! To keep it quick, and to not over-complicate a simple procedure, there was a slight pinch at the peak of Hope’s spell. Luster sharply inhaled, but her mother was there to comfort her, to hug her and stroke her back to slumber. “There there,” Cozy soothed. “So, dental work, huh?” Hope nodded. “I could do it manually, or I could brew a potion. However, I’m missing a herb for that latter option.” Her horn projected a 3D image of what they needed. “A purrifico flower!” The center disk was triangled shaped, and it had the typical number of pedals, but two were most pronounced than others—those on top at opposite ends like ears. It made the whole plant resemble a cat's head. Hope revealed its habitat: “The top of the Smokey Mountains should have a few.” Her horn charged. “Actually, I wouldn’t mind a hike!” Cozy said. “Why don’t we walk? You do teleport nearly everywhere!” “I walk!” “Around the pit stops before you’re ready to teleport again!” Cozy teased. “Come on! It’ll be fun! And we’ll get to catch up!” Hope considered it. “But what about her?” She pointed at Luster, sound asleep. “I’m sure my little guard-dog can fend for herself. Can’t you?” Cozy hovered open and gave her daughter a peck. She moved Luster’s hoof away from her mouth; her efforts only worked to annoy the filly in her dreams as it shifted back in place once Cozy turned her back. “This is a very safe neigh~bourhood! Besides, break-ins are rare in Equestria! It shouldn’t take less than an hour—two at most!” Hope sighed and smiled. “Alright. But I’m still using my magic!” Cozy flew to slide open the door. “Got it!” The two left by way of the backyard, over an aged, wet and mossy wooden fence that led into the heart of the forest. It was situated between the Smokey Mountains on the left, Unicorn Ranges on the right, and the starry skies above. They proceeded left. Whilst Hope lit the way through her horn, Cozy held the former’s bag. The latter’s stored items that were more valuable by several factors, so she left it behind. Cozy’s satchel was enchanted by a spell caster, but the rules, ‘settings’, were dictated by a set of instructions written in runic, like lines of code, with magical thread. Cozy learnt the basics of the language as a filly from the research she did prior to her first conquest attempt, guided by her pen-pal Tirek. Last night, she expanded the access list to include Luster. Now the filly could take and store items as she pleases, which would come in hoofdy later today; Cozy planned to bring them both, and maybe Hope, to buy furniture. “—you’d sleep in the guest room, of course!” Cozy said as she did a wing-assisted jump over a rocky stream. Hope teleported. “Fair enough.” Cozy flew above the canopy, and leaned back to sit on one of the branches of a particularly tall tree. The fog was clearer the further up they went, but there it was still quite bad. Luckily for her, in the high-up valley between the two peaks, between the clans of the Hooffields and McColts, there were a few artificial lights—red ones, soft on the eyes. It marked the animal sanctuary. On the way down, Cozy hooked her wings around a lower branch and hung from it. “This a-way!” She pointed. “You’re really energetic considering how early it is,” Hope said. “How could I possibly sleep after my good friend Radiant Hope finally came to visit!” Cozy replied with saccharine cadence and grinned. Hope was creeped out whenever Cozy did her ‘friendly’ talk; most of the villain’s friends were. It made her look possessed, when she smiled so broadly her upper eyelids touched her pupils—directed to Caelum—'Celestia's' relam. Hope couldn’t help but imagine Cozy abruptly crying blood afterwards, all whilst she held that same, rounded contour of her lips. “You’re not mad at me for anything, are you?” Hope asked, ready to teleport at the subtlest hint of aggression. “Golly Hope! You’re not scared of little ‘ol me, are you? A puffy pink pegasus mare?” Cozy giggled; not reassuring. “What in Equestria would Sombra do to me if I plucked even one hair from your mane?” “...That’s still on your mind?” Hope smiled softly. “Well, he is a valuable member of the Legion, and I really do need all the help I can get to fix the—umm, ‘Princess’ problem,” Cozy stressed those quotes. “And I don’t mean white, black or purple…” “Oh Aurora, how badly does she hate you?” Cozy’s eyes were fixed on an owl, fixed on a mouse. The predator observed from the shadows, and as ingenious and cunning those rodents might be, when alone they were helpless to save themselves from sweeping claws. That is if Cozy hadn’t intervened. By the mere unpleasant association towards Twilight, Cozy had a preference between critters. “She has a crush on me and won’t admit it.” “Wha—” “She’ll kill me to prove she doesn’t!” Hope took a moment to formulate the detailed response: “That’s not why.” Cozy humphed. “What do you know? I know that mare better than anycreature!” “That’s not why she hates you. You weren’t exactly sparing with the details when we used to have dinner together. I remember you told us—you said,” and Hope spoke in higher pitch: “Boo hoo Flurry Heart lives in a castle and is too rich and powerful to have anypony she’d confidently call a friend! I’m shedding a tear for you!” Hope continued: “Then you said you fake cried in front of her, and you were slamming the table laughing.” “Fake crying takes a lot of practice,” Cozy commented. “Golly, I must’ve revealed more than I thought!” “You scared Sombra—” Hope realized her slip. “Don’t tell him I told you that!” Cozy motioned sealing her lips. Luster woke up from a dry throat. It took her a full minute for her to gather the willpower to quench her thirst with the half-drunk glass specifically placed for her. If you ignored the excitement of three hours ago, she slept well. She used to wake up from her own sweat, that is if she could even sleep, but now only her left hoof was wet—with drool. She hoped Hope didn’t see her do that. Her old griffon friend, Georgia, used to tease her for it. Wonder what she's doing now? Hunger shook away the thought. Breakfast had been so conveniently placed in front of her. “Ce-re-al,” she read aloud. ‘Elements of Harmony—oes,’ labeled the box. ‘Apple-flavored deliciousness enchanted with six different flavors of marshmallows!’ The main cereal, from the cover art in front, was torus shaped and beige. ‘Free toy inside!’ Luster’s eyes widened; her eyebrows heightened. A curious hum shook her throat. She crawled through the counter into the kitchen—because she felt like it—to look for scissors. She checked every cabinet below, the countertop, and every cabinet above the countertop. Most were empty; others were filled completely. One particular cabinet had: flour, starch, sugar, vinegar, baking soda, cocoa powder, cocoa powder of a different brand, chocolate chips, a chocolate bar, a spectrum of food coloring, a few other items. No scissors. Luster sighed, and thought to look upstairs. She hadn’t been up there yet, so for all she knew, there could have been an entire trophy room of sharp weapons—and/or memorabilia, like those weird pictures Cozy took of a rook in front of her enemies and public. As she headed towards the door, Luster noticed something. Slime. It outlined the pet flap of the kitchen glass-door. Now it was impossible to open due to how sticky the ooze was. Luster shrugged it off. Must be residue from one of Hope’s spells. Her mother and her mage friend would be back soon. Luster ran up the stairway, and the very first room she wanted to visit happened to be the one with the door closed. She tried to open it. Locked. Figures. Next to that was a room accessible. On the door was a piece of paper with the symbol of a rook, drawn in pencil and taped on. Wonder whose room that is… It was bare—it didn’t even have any curtains—but there was a wooden foldable table holding a small, squared bottle of red ink and a quill of a pink gradient—more saturated further up—and a stitching kit. Also the window was open. It was cold, so Luster closed it. The upstairs bathroom was the biggest of the two, the only one with a bath, and since it came with its main components: aforementioned bath; toilet, sink, and shower, it was the most complete of all the rooms. It had nearly everything Cozy had in her last bathroom, and golly did that mare love her colors! Luster magically opened the mirror cabinet over the sink. A few red bows—like the one that tied Luster’s ponytail—a black one in a box tagged: ‘for serious occasions’ followed by a crying face, and none were white. Oh, and no scissors. Luster’s patients had dried up. Light bulb! What if I just burnt it, Luster wondered. I’m in a bathroom, what could go wrong? There was a loud thud. It came from downstairs. “Mom?” Luster called. “Hope?”