Where Only Silver Shines

by Etyco Filly

S12 — Hesitation

Arawn stood on the dais, facing away from the throne. She, Aurora, and I shared one final look before Arawn started reciting something in that strange language that transcended reality itself. The two dozen knights, as well Aurora and I, spread out in all directions around the dais. For a paralysing long while, we stood there and waited.

A knight opened a pocket watch, and for a few moment, its quiet ticking joined Arawn’s arcane whispers. Nopony else spoke. Nopony else moved.

Somepony gulped. Somepony took a deep breath. Perhaps it was me.

The Tower began to rumble, and I whirled to look at Arawn, whose breath misted in front. Moments later, the wave of chill reached even us.

As the ground, walls, and ceiling continued to shake, the tension only grew. We stood there for seconds, minutes, or maybe hours. Some of us shuddered from the cold, while others exchanged nervous glances.

Then, the muffled, heavy flap of large wings reached the room. An instant later, the doors flew off their hinges, the massive marble shattering against the floor, as Viscount Gaunt burst into the room. He floated in front of the entrance, brow furrowed, half-open mouth frozen in a scowl. With each pony he laid eyes on, he only grew angrier and more confused.

His gaze landed on Arawn, then on Aurora. He froze. Any trace of confusion disappeared and he screamed, colour draining from his hide; within seconds, any trace of blue was gone. He drew his sword and charged at Aurora.

Her blade caught his, but she struggled to stop his momentum as she fiercely beat her wings. After a few paces, they came to a stop, bounced off of each other, only to again clash.

I almost took off to join her, but a glance from Steel—the knight closest to me—reminded me of the plan.

That Aurora could catch his blade at all bordered on a miracle, given his size. Her armour glowed with every blow she deflected, as did the runes etched onto her and viscount Gaunt’s swords. Without them, the steel would have long since shattered.

Her armour allowed her to hold on without the help of anypony, but could she beat him? Would he grow weaker once he split? If not…

I gulped. How much longer? How much longer till the shadows came? Focus, Silver. Don’t let him catch you unaware. I finally managed to tear my eyes away from their duel. How many would we have to fight? Seconds passed with nothing but their grunts and the sound of steel clashing filling the silence.

Was Arawn okay? I wanted to look over at her, but I fought off the urge.

A chill ran down my spine. What was I doing here? Arawn and I should have left The Tower hours ago. Why—

A pang of steel and a cry of pain echoed through the room. I spun around to see an exact copy of the viscount, standing over a prone knight mare. Her severed leg lay next to her as she struggled to back away from him. Three other knights surrounded the shadow viscount, and one intercepted his blow as he tried to finish off the prone mare.

Survival instincts kicked in, and I turned around to face the shadows. More and more clangs filled the room. A glint of metal in the dark. I flew back, barely dodging a swing aimed for my neck. I lifted my crossbow and shot, but the copy swerved, and the arrow pinged off its armour. Steel and another two knights encircled him, but he broke out with a flap of his powerful wings and charged at me.

I ducked under his blade. I could have slashed at his armour, but that would only hurt me. I rolled to the side, away from his sword as he brought it down, slicing the space I had just occupied.

Before I could dive for his neck, he charged again. This time, I dodged upwards. I aimed my sword for the gap between his crinet and flanchard, but he whirled around too fast. If I could block it, I would have an opening; his movement was rough, almost animalistic. But I couldn’t. I flew higher, and he followed.

Our dance continued for Stars knew how long. He would swing, I would avoid it. What could I do? He was faster and stronger than the chimaera. I should have listened to Aurora. My blade or even bones would break if I tried to parry him.

Why was I here? I was a nopony, trying to fend off an Archknight. I’d insisted, and I would die here. I’d worried so much about Arawn’s safety, and then I’d thrown my life away.

Focus, you idiot! Our rhythm had grown repetitive, but that was no excuse to get distracted! At this rate, I would tire myself out before I even landed a single blow.

And yet I wasn’t even winded. In fact, I was cold. My wings effortlessly kept up with the strain, and I barely felt my heart beat. Not even my lungs burned. On the defensive, I could hold out. I thought I needed to pace myself, but maybe I could afford an offensive.

I let more magic flow into my wings.

Immediately after avoiding a horizontal swing, I dove for his helmet, aiming for the slits in his visor, which forced him to counterattack.

I left his reach with a strong flap and flew over him with another. His muscles strained to stop his blade’s momentum, while I lunged at his back. Another pre-emptive swing, followed by another easy dodge.

I was grinning, even as I began panting. I kept up the cycle, diving for a reckless attack that would normally easily be punished, only to elude his riposte. Gradually, his counters grew slower, my margins thicker, until eventually I plunged my sword between the plates on his neck. Instead of bleeding, his body burst into a cloud of shadow.

Catching my breath, I took a moment to watch the battlefield. A dozen knights lay still on the ground in large puddles of crimson, while half of the remaining ones trailed blood wherever the battle took them. I had caused this. If Arawn and I had left, the battle would have gone differently. The Knights would only have needed to stop the viscount from leaving the estate.

Occasionally, a group would manage to destroy a copy, only for another to step out of the shadows a minute later. Would this even be worth it? Would Arawn be able to fix everything? The Knights had lost so many.

No! I had to stop wasting time with these stupid thoughts!

How could we deal with the copies? There had to be a limit to how many he could make. There were a lot fewer of them than before. That had to mean something. What if we took out the original? Was there even an original?

I quickly found Aurora hovering over the dais, staring wide-eyed at me, her mouth half-ajar. The clouds of mist in front of her muzzle weren’t as big or frequent as mine, but she too was panting. At least she’d managed to defeat the copy without any injuries.

She shook herself out of it, nodded to me, and dove to help a group of knights, one of which had just been struck down. I considered doing the same, but I needed more time to catch my breath.

My eyes settled on Arawn, still reciting the spell while her whole body shivered. Ice was beginning to form on her robe and fur. Would she be okay? She had to be, she knew what she was doing!

I couldn’t simply abandon the knights, but I had to help her. I searched the room for a moment, counting four remaining copies. If I took out one, the knights could overpower the others.

I threw reason and caution to the wind, took a deep breath, and started pushing as much magic as my arteries would allow into my wings. My head started spinning.

With a single flap, I crossed the twenty paces separating me from the nearest copy, and rammed my sword straight into his chest, through his armour. The crack of a whip echoed. I tried to pull out the blade, but the peytral held it in place. What should I do, how should I—

The body vaporised. I bolted. Each beat of my wings sent fire through my veins, as if somepony had covered them hundreds of times and doused them in distilled alcohol.

I didn’t know how I could even help her, but I had to try something. Anything.

I didn’t stop. My head spun, my lungs burned, and my wings were numb. I didn’t stop. Not until I landed next to Arawn, an eternity later.

More ice. Stars, could she do this? She kept whispering the strange words, her eyes barely open. What would happen if she failed the ritual?

I stood next to her, wrapped my right wing over her, and pressed my body against hers. Her skin was colder than ice, but I gritted my teeth and endured. At least it dulled the pain in my wing.

I worked up the courage to watch the battlefield.

With Aurora by their side, and against fewer enemies, the knights were slowly starting to outpace the copies’ ability to appear. Each destroyed clone gave the knights a moment to rest and to regroup. I sighed. It was over. We had won.

Yet Arawn was so cold. Soon, I too started shivering, my wing growing number with every moment. Arawn’s breathing had slowed so much.

Please, Stars, Moon, Sun, save her. She couldn’t die here. Not after everything. The knights would soon finish off the last of the viscount’s copies. Only a few more minutes, and everything would be fine.

Had she known this would be so dangerous? My vision was growing blurry, dark edges encroaching. I pressed my eyes shut, and forced them open. I couldn’t lose here. I couldn’t.

I couldn’t feel Arawn breathing anymore. I was simply numb, and she was alright. She had to be.

Everything stopped shaking. I could no longer muster the strength to smile, let alone shiver. Or maybe I just didn’t feel it anymore. Arawn still wasn’t moving. Slowly, everything stopped mattering. If she was alive, then I’d recover too. If she wasn’t, then I didn’t want to.

Somewhere far away, somepony shouted something, but I didn’t care. I had to keep Arawn warm, or she wouldn’t survive. I had to. She had to.

Somepony was pushing me away, and it took all my efforts to focus on who it was, and what she was saying. “Silver, you need to leave, now! You’ll die if you stay here.”

The floor was rumbling, sinking. It didn’t matter.

“What’s done is done! Move!” she screamed at me. “Go!”

To satisfy her, I tried to move, but something was holding me back. Something tied around my torso. What was it? Oh, it was just my wing.

I couldn’t feel my wing.

Aurora screamed something to somepony.

Again, I tried to yank it off of Arawn, but the layer of ice held firm. I closed my eyes. Maybe it would thaw after a nap.

No. Focus, Silver. I could use magic to thaw it. I had to.

I’d never been good at weather magic, but this was foal’s play.

Yet the magic inside me refused to budge. Refused to reach my frozen wing. I lifted my other wing. At least it still worked.

With a flap, I sent a warm wind over my frozen feathers. It wasn’t fast enough.

Sweet Stars, it wasn’t fast enough! I pulled again, at a different angle, but nothing worked. Nothing worked. Nothing worked!

The floor gave a lurch, dropping several paces.

My wing came free, and I fell to my side. I breathed out, and tried to stand up, but my legs refused to lift me. I kept falling to my left.

Why was this so hard?

I looked at Aurora as she sheathed her sword and detached it from her shoe. What had she needed her sword for? Shouldn’t she help me—

I screamed. It couldn’t be. She couldn’t have. She wouldn’t have. She shouldn’t have.

Yet there it was: my severed wing, stuck to Arawn’s frozen, unmoving body.

Somepony lifted me. Why? Why save me? I didn’t want to live like this.

I tried to scream, but no sound came out. Everything was dull. Nothing mattered. The world was fading to black, and all I only hoped it would stay like that. My wing was gone. Arawn was gone.

She and I would have tea with Luna soon.