“You’re a very lucky mare, Ms. Rarity. All of the ponies you could have around after being bitten by a zombpony, and you get one with experience in treating such wounds. Very lucky indeed if I do say so myself.” The black unicorn smiled as he crushed the rather larger berry he had placed in a wooden bowl to a pulp. The bag of medical supplies he had opened earlier sat open beside his patient, and every now and then he would request one item or another, and the white unicorn, who was propped up on a mound of other bags and pillows provided by her friends, would reach in and grab the requested object from the depths of the medical bag, and place it in the waiting hoof to join the large list of ingredients being added to the concoction settled over a fire in the middle of the campsite.
“Yes, I suppose I would be…Except said pony is also the one who got me into the situation where I got bitten by that horrible undead atrocity!” Rarity smiled faintly, her head whirling. The disease that the undead creature had infected her with when it had bitten her was traveling fast, but Nightsong continued to assure her that, though it would be close, he could still stop the disease.
“Yes, I could see how that would be unlucky.” Nightsong smiled warmly as he dumped the last few ingredients into the cauldron. “There. That should be ready in about five minutes, you drink it, then we can join the others in that sweet land of dreams. Meanwhile…”
The black unicorn lay down beside her, his cloak making pooling around him as he settled in. “What’s it like? Being a legend known throughout the world, I mean. Everywhere I’ve been; Saddle Arabia, Zebrica, the dragon lands.... Everywhere I’ve been, there’s been talk of the new Element bearers and their glorious victories over evil.”
“Well, to tell you the truth, it’s quite intimidating. Yes, I know, I go on about wanting to be a world-renown fashion designer, but that’s different. To be adored for something you love doing, something that doesn’t send you running off to save the world every other week? I could live with the crowds, the press, and all the other riff raff, but… It’s quite difficult knowing that, every time your home is in trouble, you’re one of the first ponies called on. It really is quite a hassle, and very dangerous. There are times I wish….” Rarity’s eyes began to get misty, just as there was a small puff from the cauldron.
“That means it’s ready. Miss…. I understand. It’s not easy being the first line of defense.” Before she could respond, Nightsong had stood and taken a medium-sized wooden bowl from his medical bag. He walked over to the cauldron. Levitating the bowl with his magic, he dipped it into the cauldron, waited until it had filled, then levitated it out and walked back over to the white unicorn. “Drink up!”
Rarity captured the floating bowl with her own magic, floating it over to her. She wrinkled her muzzle at the smell. “Is this really necessary? This foul smelling concoction certainly isn’t very appetizing…”
“Either you drink the potion or succumb to the disease. It’s your choice. Personally, I would prefer that such a beautiful mare stay alive for as long as possible. The world would be worse off without you.” The black unicorn grinned, then set about cleaning up his supplies.
Rarity smiled at Nightsong’s comment. Then, taking a deep breath and holding her nose, she put the bowl to her lips and began to drink.
Immediately, she began feeling better. The pain in her leg disappeared, and her head was much clearer. The potion tasted of some flavor she couldn’t identify, somewhat sour but still very, very sweet. The taste reminded her of some cupcakes Pinkie had made once using some sort of ‘secret sauce’. She had never bothered to ask Pinkie what made the sauce special, nor had she wondered what he was merely accepting it as another one of Pinkie’s culinary masterpieces, yet now curiosity had the better of her. She was about to ask when a wave of drowsiness hit her and her eyes closed for the night.
Nightsong chuckled softly. He spoke a few words to the air, and the shadows beneath the sleeping unicorn solidified, cradling the mare as they floated her off towards her tent. The red-maned unicorn hummed softly to himself, dancing as he cleaned. The shadows seemed to dance with him, forming different animals that trotted by. Suddenly, the shadows coalesced into another unicorn.
Nightsong began to sing softly under his breath as he grabbed the newly-formed shadow and began to dance with it, twirling about the campsite carelessly. He sidestepped the wooden bowl that Rarity had drank from only moments earlier, twirling the shadowy pony to the other side of the room, where it vanished back into the shadows. Stopping as he reached a hole in the breached walkway, he finished the song, bowing to the moon as he did so.
Ah, Princess. Goodnight, and sweet dreams.
Smiling to someone who wasn’t there, he turned, finished cleaning, and crept silently into his tent, casting a shadow over the fire to extinguish it.