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// Chapter 4: A Walk With Dawn 
// Story: Lost Magic And Betrayal 
// by Politicalunrest2400 
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	Hope woke with a start. The room was light by a single lantern that provided just enough light to see by comfortably. She glanced back toward the room where Nights-shade and his sister Holly had disappeared into, and saw it was not pitch black. 
Hope glanced about the front room and found Daisy, softly humming to herself, washing dishes in the small sink. Another large stallion sat at the table, drowsily pruning a large wing that somehow he kept from being in Daisy’s way despite the small accommodations. Gold, orange and red feathers intermixed on the Pegues’s wing, reminding Hope of the colors of dawn.
“Dawn-strid…” she coughed, throat dry and parched. She cleared it with a groggily cough that was far less then ladylike. Blushing slightly, she said “Dawn-strider I suppose?” The lazy looking Pegusis looked at her, his eye lids drooping down to cover strikingly green eyes. 
“Yesum. I take it you’re the good nurse Hope that Nights-shade so hung up on then?” Daisy turned around and thumped the large stallion on the head, soapy scrubber leaving behind suds as some bubbles were flung into the air. 
The wack had not been a soft tap, rather Hope thought she might have to bandage another injury before the night was done, but the massive pegisus merely grinned at her in perhaps the toothiest smile she had ever seen.
“And who is ‘lady-sue’? she seems like some pony that’s…” he was again interrupted as Daisy brought down another blunt instrument, this time a rolling pin on his head. 
“It’s not polite to be asking such questions of a lady after she just woke up, you stubbornly stupid pegusus.” Daisy’s face was calm, as if this was an exchange they had both had nearly every day of both of their lives.
Dawn-strider looked down, yellow and red coat bristling with shame. “Yesum Ms. Shade. My apologies Ms. Nurse. I mean Nurse Hope, or is it Ms. Hope?” Daisy simply rolled her eyes at the stallion’s foolishness.
“Hope is fine thank you Dawn-strider.” Hope was smiling, immensely amused at the pairs antics. As she spoke Dawn-stider perked up and even smiled slightly, bowing his head to her in thanks.
“It’s not that he means any harm you see Ms. Hope, it’s that he is too stupid to know when to shut his mouth with those darn questions of his. Any way, you were saying something about a ‘lady-sue’ and I was going to ask you later… when we were alone.” As Daisy said the last, she glared down at the sitting stallion whose head was now bowed even deeper in evident shame.
Hope frowned, sad memory’s coming back to her. “Lady-sue was the name of my little filly. Before the betrayal when I had a family…” her voice trailed off and her eyes dropped from the pair of ponies to the floor as she remembered her grief.
“Oh… oh my dear I didn’t mean to bring back such hurt.” Daisy walked beside hope, and nuzzled her softly, it reminded hope of pleasant memories of her own mother, and how she had comforted her after the news had come.
Dawn-strider’s head came up, ears back signaling his discomfort at the topic and his own sympathy for Hope. “Much sympathy ma’am.” Was all he said, voice barely a whisper, as he again tipped his head in a small salute.
“Oh come now, it was a long time ago. I am fine now.” Hope protested trying to pull away from Daisy’s nuzzling, but the stubborn mare merely wrapped an arm around the younger mares shoulder and pressed closer. “Really, this was all a very long time ago.” She tried again, but Daisy didn’t let up her embrace.
Hope was feeling very uncomfortable with Nights-shade’s mother clenching on in an embrace so tight she could barely breath, and the large, rather handsome stallion Dawn-strider looking on with a pained expression of his own.
“Thank you for your support…” Hope said as she finally wiggled out of the older mares grasp. “… but really I am doing just fine. I actually have not thought about it for quite some time.” The lie was evident on her face, though Daisy let it go this time. 
“Girl, I had four still born stallions and two mares before I got lucky enough to have Nights-shade. Holly was a complete and pleasant surprise, if a draining one…” Daisy said as she glanced lovingly toward the pair who slept in the now dark room they all shared.
“My point is, there is not a day that goes by that I don’t think about every single one of their precious little hearts, and I never even got to hold them.” Daisy’s eyes started to water slightly but her voice never wavered; and neither did her gaze. “It is a mothers burden to carry the pains  of those she loves and to worry constantly about them where ever she goes, no matter if they are with our ancestors or here still in the flesh.”
Daisy got close and whispered so that only she and hope could hear clearly. “And you my dear, are most certainly a mother. It is the one wound that time can never heal, and it is the one wound that you would never want it to…” her voice trailed off as she stood completely strait and started to walk toward the sink and her dirty dishes again, as if the whole thing had never happened.
“Well then, dawn strider you will need to take Hope back up to the main cavern so she can get back and get some sleep herself.” Daisy’s hooves were already in the dishwater and scrubbing for all she was worth on one particularly stubborn pan.
“Yesum” Dawn-strider said as he lazily stood and exited the door. 
Standing hope walked toward the door. Resting a hoof on it, she turned her head and whispered back into the room voice barely audible over the scrubbing of dishes “Thank you.” Before hurriedly exiting, closing the door behind her.
As soon as the door shut behind the young mare, Daisy stopped scrubbing. She let the tears fall from her eyes at the memory of her precious children that had never seen the light of Celestia’s glorious day, or the bright twinkling stars of Luna’s holy night. After a few moments, as she had learned to do every moment of her life, she picked up the scrubber. Her own grief be dammed, she had work to do.
***
Dawn-strider nearly filled the small corridor. Small for him at least, as most pony’s cold pass each other with no problem, while when he came by they had to squeeze against the wall. There was once while the pair was traveling that they had to go through a side corridor to wait, as three mothers with their little filly’s and foals passed them by, followed by two mean looking stallions from the loyal nights guard. As soon as the group passed however, they were off again.
Despite his lazy nature, and even lazier steps, hope had trouble keeping up with the Pegasus as each one of his strides equaled about two of her own. Neither said anything as they walked, though it was not an uncomfortable silence. With Dawn-strider it seemed everything should happen in its own time, and he oozed a persona of confidence and calm.
They both entered the great chamber, Hope slightly behind Dawn-strider. If she had been a dog, he would have thought her nipping at his heels. He bit down on the comment though, as he remembered the nasty bump on his head that Ms. Shade had given him for opening his big mouth.
“Thank you Dawn-stider…” hope said her voice somewhat shaky from both the exertion and from the fear that had welled up in her as she had passed the place where she had been attacked, and where Nights-Shade had saved her.
“You’re welcome Ms. Hope” he said voice echoing in a slow cadence across the cavern floor. “Twas a pleasure ma’am.” He said as he bowed his head in his typical salute.
“Dawn-strider? Uh…Can you tell me a little about Nights-shade? What is he like?” she asked slightly uncertain.
Dawn-strider chuckled slightly “So, you fancy him to do ya?” he laughed a slow and deep before continuing on despite her face going a deep shade of red. “Well now I can’t say that neither of you don’t deserve it.” His face took on a quizzical look before he continued, putting a hoof to his chin. “Well now let’s see here. He is a big fellow, but I am sure you already know that, just look at him he is almost as big as me.” He laughed again before continuing. “He is a good fighter, though our friend Tempest ((Look this up… name you used at the beginning)) is much better than either of us. He is good at making armor you know? He can make a whole suit in about a day, less than that if there is a rush on it which is a hard thing let me tell you.” 
Dawn-strider rubbed his chin again thinking of more he could tell hope before he spoke. “He is also really good to his ma, she is sick you know and he does all the extra work he does so that she can get help.” He chuckled again shaking his head. 
“That’s actually how we met. Ya see, we were both working in the same forge, and I kept seeing him work the extra shift with me and tempest. I knew he had never gotten in trouble like me or tempest always seem to do, so I thought he was just trying to show us up. You know, make us look bad in front of the boss man.” Hope nodded that she understood and he continued.
“And ya have to understand back then he never spoke to no one, I mean no one. Not even the boss unless he absolutely needed to. He was so focused on working, and so none of us in the forge knew any different. Anyway, I picked a fight with him one day and the rest is history.” He smiled at her as if what had happened after that was as clear as the day is bright.
“so… how did you two become friends?” Hope asked confused.
“Oh… well we fought. I beat him up pretty good, this was before I trained him up to fight ya see, but he took a bite out of my hide too. See here?” he opened his right wing, revealing a massive scar that ran along under the wing joint, until it came to what could have only been a bite mark. “Took a chunk out of me, the bastard.” The massive Pegasus grinned laughing low and deep to himself. “And… well… that’s how we became friends. We were in the same room together recovering in the hospital down in the under caves when it still was functioning, and we got to talking.”
Hope shook her head, confused. How could two ponies, so big and strong, fight like that and then when it was all over, end up best friends? That was NOT how she was taught friendship worked. “Must be a Stallion thing…” she said still confused.
“Yesum, I think it is. Come to think of it that’s how I got most of my friends. We fought, and then we talked… odd.” Dawn-strider then started to walk away back toward the under cave entrance. As if he had realized something he turned and said “thanks for talkin with me ma’am. I was beginning to think you to scared while we was down there.” He pointed toward the under cave entrance. 
“I thought the same of you Dawn-strider.” She said as she smiled. “Too afraid of little old me to talk, that is.” Dawn-strider’s expression turned contemplative again, but she continued “But don’t worry, I don’t bite… at least not as hard as Nights-shade.” She laughed to herself as she saw the great stallion walk slowly down the under cave path, apparently deep in thought; hooves clacking heavily on the stone floor.
Well Hope, time to get to bed, she thought and headed up toward her own living quarters near the top of the cavern walls. She stopped, remembering how far she would have to go. Her legs ached, her eyes burned, and she was emotionally exhausted. Thinking better of it, she whistled, calling down a sky coach.