Silver Dawn

by Summer Knight

An Unlikely Team

Silverstream awoke to pain. Every inch of her burned like she'd flown through a fire. And eaten fire. And shoved fire so far up her beak that it was cooking her brain. She didn't dare to look around yet; just the thought of light entering her eyes made her head pound in protest. She tuned in to her other senses instead to try to take stock of her situation.

Wherever she was, it smelled dry and dusty. The scent tickled her beak slightly, and she fought off a sneeze—she didn't even want to think about how much sneezing would hurt. She could hear something nearby: A sort of rhythmic tapping with a high, indistinct sound behind it. The sound was moving, traveling back and forth across a short distance over and over again.

Luster Dawn, she finally realized. The unicorn was pacing and muttering to herself, just like her teacher tended to do when faced with a difficult problem.

"Luster?" Silverstream said—or tried to say. What came out was an unintelligible groan.

The muttering cut off with a sudden gasp. The hoofsteps stopped pacing back and forth and raced to Silverstream's side.

"Oh, thank Twilight, you're awake." Luster Dawn's voice came from somewhere over her. "Are you okay?"

"I'm... urgh." Silverstream tried to move and immediately regretted it. She settled for opening her eyes a slit, just barely enough to see. "I'll live." I think. "Where are we?"

"Some kind of storage shed," Luster answered. "It was the only decent shelter I could find."

Silverstream looked around as best she could without moving her head. It was indeed a small wooden shed. Boxes and totes lined the walls, labeled with the names of various games and attractions; supplies for the booths, she supposed. Even that little effort made her headache spike.

"Is there any water here?" Silverstream croaked.

"To drink, or to swim in?" Luster asked uncertainly.

Faust, she's cute, Silverstream thought.

"To drink," she giggled.

"Right. Of course." Luster Dawn flushed with embarrassment. "Yeah, there's plenty. I got food and water from one of the stands." Her horn glowed golden, and a bottle of water floated over to Silverstream.

Silverstream stretched out a foreleg, then winced and clutched it back to herself as her muscles screamed in protest.

"Um," Silverstream mumbled quietly, embarrassed, "sorry, could you...?"

"Could I... oh! Of course." The bottle floated to Silverstream's mouth and the cap unscrewed itself. "Here."

Silverstream opened her beak, and the bottle tilted a small mouthful of water into it. It was cold and refreshing—she felt a tiny fraction of her strength return.

"Thank you." She reached out again, slowly this time, and managed to take hold of the bottle. She took another cautious sip. "You found all this while I was out? How long?"

"You were unconscious for about half an hour," Luster Dawn answered. She bit her lower lip. "I tried to wake you, but nothing worked. For a while, I... I was afraid you might not wake up at all."

"Don't be silly," Silverstream said with an encouraging smile, "that's not how these adventures work!" She stretched out a talon and brushed it across her worried friend's cheek. "I told you, everything's gonna be fine."

---

"I told you, everything's gonna be fine."

Luster Dawn reflexively nuzzled into Silverstream's gentle touch, taking what comfort she could from it. Then Silverstream lowered her foreleg and closed her eyes again—whether sleeping or just resting, Luster couldn't tell.

How can she be so calm? Luster Dawn wondered as she looked down at the hippogriff. Is it really just experience? It was true that Silverstream and her friends had gone on a lot of adventures—at least one of which was immortalized in stained glass at Canterlot Castle—but it seemed like she was hardly taking this seriously at all.

In a lot of ways, Silverstream actually reminded her of Li'l Cheese. They were both so carefree and happy, no matter what was happening around them. At the same time, they were both intensely curious, and wildly excited about new experiences.

Luster Dawn knew that Silverstream was a fair bit older than her, but she sure didn't act like it. In fact, as Luster looked down at the hippogriff's weak, nearly helpless form, she felt a strong protective instinct rise up. She wanted nothing more than to take care of her friend; to help her get better, to guide her and teach her, and then...

And then what? As she realized the direction her thoughts were going, Luster Dawn was intensely grateful that she was already pink. What was she even thinking about? She needed Silverstream's help, and of course she wanted her friend to get better, but that was it. There was no "and then."

Right?

Silverstream mumbled quietly, and Luster nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Wh—what did you say?" Luster Dawn stammered.

"Nothing. Just—rrgh—giving myself a pep talk," Silverstream answered as she slowly pushed herself upright.

"Whoa, whoa!" Luster darted to her side and leaned, supporting Silverstream as she stood up. "Are you sure you're ready?"

"I'd—ngh—I'd better be," Silverstream answered. "There's... a lot of creatures... counting on us." Just the effort of standing upright had her panting.

"Silverstream, you can't help anyone in your condition," Luster Dawn protested. "You need to rest."

"Nah, I'm fine." She waved a claw dismissively. "Just a bit stiff."

Luster cocked her head to the side. "You were out cold less than five minutes ago," she pointed out.

"Well, that was then, this is now!" Silverstream answered. Evidently seeing that Luster wasn't convinced, she walked a few steps around the inside of the shed. "See? I'm feeling a lot better."

"Well," Luster said hesitantly, "if you're sure." It was true that she could really use Silverstream's help.

"I'm sure." The hippogriff turned her head, and her shining blue eyes caught Luster's golden ones. "Thank you, by the way. For taking care of me."

"N—no problem."

Once again, Luster Dawn was glad that her face was already pink.

---

This is not a good idea.

Silverstream was all too aware that she was in no shape to be walking, let alone adventuring. Aside from the pain still searing her inside and out, she felt horribly weak—just standing up had been a struggle, and she probably couldn't fly if her life depended on it. Still, there was no way that she could let Luster Dawn face... whatever this was... alone.

"So." Silverstream sat down on the floor. She was pretty sure she'd made it look casual, and not like her legs had given out under her. "Any ideas?"

Luster Dawn rubbed her temples. "Not really," she admitted. "I've been racking my brain to figure out what kind of spell this is, but I've got almost nothing to go on. The green fog reminds me of Twilight's story about facing the Sirens, but we haven't heard any music. I thought maybe Discord was pranking us, but he'd have gotten bored by now. I just need some kind of clue."

"Well, then, let's find one!" Silverstream suggested. "You've got the fog, and that wall thingy that zapped me. Any clues there?"

"Maybe." Luster nodded slowly as she thought. "The barrier shocked you before you even touched it, so we know it's aggressive. I think we can rule out regular pony magic here. That just leaves... oh, any kind of evil magic!" she shouted in frustration.

"Does it, though?" Silverstream asked. She ticked the points off on her talons. "We know that it can capture creatures and move them somewhere far away. We know that it leaves fog behind even after the magic's gone. We know that it can make a magic wall that shocks anyone who gets too close. That's gotta narrow it down, right?"

Luster Dawn took a steadying breath. "Okay, yeah, you're right. Actually..." She cut off whatever she was about to say and looked away. "Never mind. Sorry."

"What is it?" Silverstream asked.

"Well—" Luster Dawn scuffed a hoof against the wooden floor "—if you could tell me what it... felt like... that might help me figure out what kind of magic it was."

"Uh, well, it hurt!" Silverstream responded.

"I know!" Luster Dawn held up her hooves apologetically. "I know it hurt, and I'm sorry to ask you to relive it. But if you could tell me specifically what you felt, it could give me a clue."

Now it was Silverstream's turn to take a deep breath. Describing the pain would be easy enough; she just had to make sure not to let on that she was still feeling it.

"It burned," she answered quietly. "Like I was on fire, or I got hit by lightning—real lightning, not like what a pegasus could make. And there was something... inside." She held a claw to her chest. "I dunno, it's hard to explain. Like something inside of me broke."

"Do you think it did something more than just shock you?" Luster asked concernedly.

"I dunno," she repeated. "Maybe. I feel—uh, felt—really weak. It was like," she cast around for a good comparison, "like I was sick. Yeah, that's it, kinda like the feather flu."

"Feather flu." Luster Dawn tapped her chin thoughtfully. "So, muscle weakness, head and body aches, fatigue?"

"Yeah, exactly," Silverstream confirmed.

"So the magic field drained something from you, maybe?" Luster mused. "We're dealing with somecreature who captures others and drains their energy?"

"That makes sense," Silverstream agreed. "Any ideas yet?"

Luster grimaced. "No," she said. "Or, rather, too many ideas. We've definitely narrowed it down, but this could still be any of a half-dozen monsters that I know of, or an evil mage." She stood in thoughtful silence for a few seconds, then nodded decisively. "I need to take a closer look at that barrier."

"Okay, but I'm not getting zapped again so you can study it," Silverstream warned her.

"No, of course not!" a horrified Luster Dawn answered. "I would never ask you to do that!"

Silverstream snorted. "It was a joke, you dork." She affectionately ruffled the unicorn's mane.

"Oh. Heheh." Luster giggled uncomfortably. "Right. Anyway, we're not far from the barrier. Are you sure you're up for it?"

"Of course," Silverstream lied. She kept her face smooth as she forced herself back to her hooves. "Lead the way."

---

Luster Dawn kept her pace to an easy trot, and frequently glanced back at Silverstream. However, despite Luster's concerns, the hippogriff seemed totally fine.

"You know," Luster Dawn mused as they walked, "I don't know much about hippogriff anatomy, but it's impressive."

Both of them stopped dead in their tracks. They were standing in the light of a bright crystal lamp, and Luster's pink fur wasn't enough to hide her blush in that unforgiving glare.

"Um—" Silverstream began.

"No, I-I-I just meant how quickly you recovered!" Luster waved her hooves frantically in front of her. "You've got an impressive body! I mean, you've got impressive stamina! I mean—eep!"

She buried her burning face in her hooves.

"Sweet Celestia, you're adorable," Silverstream cooed.

Luster Dawn found herself wrapped gently in a wing. Silverstream's feathers were wonderfully soft; she might have enjoyed it more if she hadn't been looking for a rock to teleport under and die.

The wing also felt strangely warm, as if Silverstream were running a fever. She'd mentioned feather flu—was she actually sick? Or was this a normal temperature for hippogriffs?

She finally lowered her hooves enough to look at Silverstream. Then she froze.

"Luster Dawn?" Silverstream asked.

Luster tried to answer, to explain what she was seeing—or, rather, wasn't seeing—but nothing came out of her mouth.

"Oh come on, it wasn't that bad," Silverstream cajoled her.

"Silverstream," she finally managed to whisper, "look behind you."

"Huh?" The hippogriff let go and twisted her head around. "I don't see anything."

I know. That's the problem.

Just to make sure, Luster Dawn mentally traced a line from the glowing crystal overhead down to Silverstream, and then to the ground behind her. The ground that was lit by the same glare as everywhere else around them.

"You don't have a shadow."