The Silverfox Chronicles

Silverfox and Toxic sat in her room, writing by candlelight. Silverfox was continuing her epic she had started a few weeks ago, before the whole New Pony Movement thing had gone on. It was going well, she already had acquired a pleasant thinness of pages.

Toxic was furiously writing something on the floor behind her, while Silverfox sat in her chair by the desk. She had assumed he was drawing, so she sat some nice charcoal pencils beside him. Toxic just shook his head, clearly engulfed in what he was writing.

She knew the feeling.

Silverfox reclined back. She couldn't believe it had been only four weeks since Thunderbird had attempted to take over the palace. Thinking back, the situation seemed surreal, almost like a book or a story. Just like a book or a story! Happy with her new source of inspiration, Silverfox started writing again. So far, her work was about a hideous monster taking over an entire country, and its gaze could turn ponies mad. Silverfox laughed darkly. All the trauma she had experienced hadn't been for nothing.

"Silverfox! Silverfox! Read this!" Toxic exclaimed, holding the thing he had been writing for the last hour and a half in his mouth triumphantly.

Not sure what to expect, Silverfox took the paper from his mouth. She scanned the paper. The top was titled "my story" and Silverfox read it out loud.

"I was in my house when my friends came over we had fun and stuff but then this monster came. ahhh that's scary I said very scared. then I beat up the monster but then it said stop im a good monster so I stopped beating up it. yeah now we are all friends I said happy. I am happy my friend said. oh no what about my evil twin the monster said. then the monsters evil twin came and he ate pony foals. stop thats bad my friends and I said because eating foals is bad. then the monsters evil twin said no its good and tasty and cool. then everyone died and turned into a monster and started eating foals."

Silverfox bit her lip, trying not to bust into inappropriate laughter. It was hilariously bad, but Toxic had really tried. She couldn't possibly hurt his feelings, she had watched him erase and squint at the paper for nearly two hours.

"What'd you thing? Was it good? I was inspired by your tragedy books. Wasn't the ending absolutely unexpected?" Toxic said, completely proud of himself.

Silverfox wasn't sure what to say. The writer part of her said to say, "Sorry, it was terrible. Don't quit your day job." While the best friend side of her told her to say, "It's splendid. Keep up the good work!"

After a quit internal struggle, her best friend side won.

Sticking a proud smile on her face, Silverfox lied, "Good job, Toxic. I am glad I inspired you to write."

Toxic jumped for joy. "Really?! I didn't think it was that good! One day, maybe I will be as good as you!"

Silverfox smiled honestly now. "If you don't mind, I want to keep it." Waiting for a reassuring nod from her friend, Silverfox stuck the piece of paper in her bag with magic.

Suddenly, Toxic glanced around. "Ah, what time is it?"

Silverfox looked at a clock on the wall, it was nearly twelve o'clock in the morning! The night had passed quickly writing.

Toxic followed her gaze to the clock.

"Gah! It's so late! I have to go to bed!" He exclaimed.

Silverfox laughed. "This is nothing. I have written until, like, four. We can stay up later and just sleep the rest of the day away, right?"

Toxic shook his head rushing to Silverfox to say goodnight. "No, I'm not feeling well to begin with... I should just get to bed."

Silverfox jumped back quickly. "What kind of 'not feeling well' are we speaking of?" She was squeamish, and Toxic throwing up all over her carpet was not something she needed.

"No, no..." Toxic murmured. "Not like that. I just feel kind of dizzy and just a tad bit feverish. I'm probably just coming down with a cold."

"Oh..." Silverfox said. "Goodnight, then. I hope you get to feeling better."

She turned around and started to fix her bed, and the soft click of her door told her Toxic had left the room. Extinguishing the candle, Silverfox crawled into the fluffy folds of blankets.

However, it wasn't until she had about forty minutes of sleep that a green light filled the room. Silverfox peeked over the covers to see Toxic beside her bed, head down and shaking.

"What's wrong?" She asked, her voice slightly slurred by tiredness.

"I'm feeling pretty rough. Do you mind if I sleep with you?" Toxic whispered.

"Of course I don't. We have shared a bed since we were foals." Silverfox muttered. Toxic curled into the bed next to her, struggling to get comfortable. "But if you are feeling that bad," She added. "I can go get Cross."

Toxic shook his head rapidly. "No, it's too late. I will be fine."

Silverfox shrugged and soon fell asleep.

Silverfox awoke some hours later, sweating and unaware of what had woken her. She was relieved to see Toxic had settled down, he had been tossing and turning for the majority of his sleep.

She assumed it was still night, for there was no light leaking through the cracks of the door. Silverfox flipped over to Toxic, watching the sleep. Then she noticed something.

Toxic was still.

Too still.

Gasping, Silverfox touched him. His skin was burning up. The alicorn's body radiated heat, most likely the reason why she had woken in a sweat, Silverfox assumed.

"Toxic?" She whispered, shaking him. "Toxic? Wake up!" She was shaking now, starting to feel uncontrollable panic welling up inside of her.

Toxic made a noise that was something between a groan and a whimper.

Swallowing nervously, Silverfox leaped off the bed and galloped to Cross's room. Without even bothering to knock, Silverfox threw open the unicorn's door.

Cross was curled under a blanket on a cot in the floor. The unicorn raised his hand, sleepy eyes struggling to focus on Silverfox.

"We have an emergency." She whispered.

~

A soft meowing woke Catfight. The mare yawned and stretched out her legs in a cat-like manner. She rose, pink mane falling in her eyes. Catfight spotted the culprit of her awakening sitting at her side.

"Tom!" She joking scolded the grey cat. "I was sleeping!"

Still giggling, Catfight trotted into the kitchen of her tree-house. She fixed herself a sandwich and gulped down a glass of juice.

She pulled on her trademark cat hat and flew out the door. Her house was attached to a large tree, with no ladder or stairs in sight. Her house simply wasn't made to accommodate non-flyers.

Catfight soared to Diamondshine's house, who lived more in the populated part of Eclipse. The unicorn lived in a small, one story house with many windows. Diamondshine felt the sunshine was healthy for his mane.

Catfight went into the house, not even bothering to knock.

Stepping into Diamondshine's kitchen, Catfight found her friend sitting at the table, towel around his neck and sipping on a cup of tea. The unicorn had obviously just taken a bath, his mane was still dripping wet.

"You ready to go Dia?" Catfight said, bouncing up and down.

Diamondshine looked shocked, dropping his cup back on the table.

"I-I almost forgot! Give me some time to dry and style my mane!" With a golden flash of fur, Diamondshine was off to his bathroom.

Catfight sighed and sat where the unicorn had been previously. She helped herself to a cup of tea from the still-hot teapot Diamondshine had left. Still hungry, Catfight even managed to scrounge up some biscuits.

Some thirty minutes later, Diamondshine trotted into the kitchen, mane at its usual perfection. He flipped it graciously.

"Can we go now?" Catfight said.

After getting a positive answer from the unicorn, the duo spend off to the castle. However, they found it was unusually empty. They searched around a bit, assuming it was still too early for anyone to be up. While looking in the kitchens, Catfight and Diamondshine encountered Ellar.

The blind pegasus had taken to cooking after Cupcake's traitorous intentions had been revealed. His food wasn't the best, but was still good nonetheless. Ellar was preparing some kind of soup, Catfight could smell the savory scent coming from the pot.

"Ellar, do you know where Silverfox is?" Catfight asked.

Ellar, stirring his concoction and eating an apple answered, "You haven't heard? Toxic's pretty sick. Cross and the Prince and Princess are up in Silverfox's room."

"What?!" The duo exclaimed in unison, taken back at the news.

Ellar sighed, adjusting the heat on his soup. "Yes, I wish I could have foreseen it...."

Saying goodbye to the seer, Catfight and Diamondshine rushed up the stairs to the library, which served as their friend's room.

They found Silverfox standing outside the door, mane disheveled and her eyes tired. The unicorn looked at her companions sadly. "Sorry I didn't tell you.... I wanted I stay here in case...he..." She trailed off, gritting her teeth.

Catfight was completely taken back by Silverfox's pitiful condition. Nodding at Diamondshine, the two wrapped Silverfox in a warm hug. The unicorn smiled slightly.

With a silent creak, Cross peered out the door. "Ah, you two are here. I was going to retrieve Silverfox so she could hear my announcement. I guess her friends can come too."

Biting her lip, Silverfox, followed by Catfight and Diamondshine, trotted into the room.

Toxic was curled on the bed, his fur slick with sweat. His eyes were clenched closed, and he seemed to mutter every once and a while.

Embane and Goldenbell stood by the bedside, Embane glancing up slightly when the newcomers arrived.

Not wanting to prolong the moment any longer, Cross levitated a large book from the nightstand. He flipped it open, turning to a certain page and reading it over.

Clearing his throat, the doctor began. "I'm afraid Toxic has a very serious illness. This illness, called the 'Black Fever' has a very short incubation time, explaining why Toxic had such a sudden hit with the symptoms. To make it even more dangerous, this illness progresses through the body fast. Meaning, we don't have much time until it kills him. This book says the Black Fever can only be cured by the Onsinian flower, which grows in the Forbidden Forest, but it is very rare." Cross sighed. "It's our only choice."

Goldenbell dipped her head, engaging in silent sobs. Embane just stood, too shocked to show any kind of emotion.

Out of nowhere, Silverfox said strongly, "I'll do it. I'll get that flower."

"What?!" Gasped Embane.

Catfight stepped up, coming to Silverfox's side. "I'll go too."

Diamondshine had a look of sheer nervousness on his face as he murmured, "I guess that makes three."

Embane trotted to them, shaking his head. "Are...are you sure?"

Silverfox nodded, all traces of previously exhaustion gone. "Of course. Toxic is our best friend."

Taking a deep breath, the Prince said, "Pack your things and meet me in the main room."

Silverfox sped off to her room while Catfight and Diamondshine split up and gathered other supplies.

Soon, the pegasus and Diamondshine met up with Embane in the throne room.

"Where is Silver?" Catfight asked, looking around.

"I'm here!" Silverfox exclaimed, running into the grand, newly built back room, her hoofs clacking against the marble floors. She had a brown hat on, and her satchel trailed behind her.

"What are you wearing?" Embane inquired, his eyes drawn to the unicorn's particular headwear.

Silverfox smiled proudly, stopping in front of the group. "This is my Daring Do hat."

"Your what?"

"I thought you would know, since you are pretty old. Daring Do is the main character in the book series Daring Do. It's this awesome action/adventure series about an explorer who has, well, daring adventures! I found it deep in the library, and its cover was nearly completely worn, so I assumed it was from the Canterlot-royal period."

"What does his have to do with anything?" Embane moaned.

Silverfox pulled the brim of her hat over her eyes. "Everything. This entire situation reminds me of the standard find-the-cure plot for a book! I have decided to use my genre-savviness to our advantage while we are in the Forbidden Forest."

Embane groaned, a bit saddened that his son's life was in the hoofs of an utter bookworm.

"Let's begin." He muttered, turning to the awaiting trio.

Embane summoned grey colored magic to his horn, preparing the long distance teleport spell. He touched each pony's foreheads, starting with Catfight, sending them into oblivion.

When he got to Silverfox, the unicorn gave him a smile of determination. Embane weakly smiled back and teleported her.

Silverfox felt herself thrown into darkness, instantly blacking out as she was thrown thousands of miles.

~

Silverfox stirred slightly, shaking leaves out of her mane and spitting out dirt. She adjusted her hat and shakily stood up. Silverfox paused, waiting until she felt her absolute best. Trotting over to the still-sleeping forms of Catfight and Diamondshine, she gently shook them.

Catfight was up first, taking in their new surroundings. It was a magnificent forest; trees towered above them, hundreds of feet, meeting into a canopy. The thick ceiling of foliage seemed to block off most of the sunlight, leaving the trio in a medium darkness. It was enough to see, but not bright enough to fully grasp their surroundings.

"So where is this Onsinian flower supposed to be?" Diamondshine said, adjusting the strap of his backpack on his shoulder.

Silverfox opened her mouth to say something, but almost instantaneously closed it.

"We...we didn't think this through, did we?" Silverfox finally murmured.

Her companions shook their heads.

"Does it matter?" Catfight said, trying to raise her friend's spirits. "We know the flower's here, so we can just wing it from here, right? How hard can finding a little flower be?"

"That's what the ponies in books always say." Silverfox muttered. "You just tempted the fates. It's going to be very hard."

Catfight smiled sheepishly.

The three decided to just search the forest by walking. As she trotted, in the lead, Silverfox admired the various plants and sights of the Forbidden Forest. Exotic berries and flowers grew above her, but none of them were the sacred Onsinian. She remembered the picture from Cross's medical book; it was of medium size, grey colored with a pure black centered. It was beautiful, in that gothic sort of way. Silverfox had decided to get another for her room if the stock was available.

Silverfox was lost in her thoughts, mystified by the forest's foliage, but a sharp cry from Diamondshine jerked her abruptly back to reality.

"Silverfox! Catfight! Help!" A vine was wrapped around the unicorn's back leg, straining and pulling while Diamondshine desperately tried to hold his ground.

Silverfox rolled her eyes. "Dia, really. You just got stuck in a vine."

Fear flashed in his eyes. "No, this thing is alive!"

Silverfox looked above the struggling unicorn, and she drew back in horror.

Diamondshine was right, the plant was alive. A system of vines was strung around a tree, the thin, whiplike vines cracking and moving in the air.

Magic flaring at her horn, Silverfox cried, "Catfight! Lets get Diamondshine out if this!"

The two mares attack the vines, Catfight hefting Silverfox in flight so the unicorn could attack the demonic plants mid-air.

Silverfox managed to blast a couple of the vines of the tree before the one wrapped around Diamondshine threw him in the air. It shook the stallion by the leg, attempting to kill him. But when Silverfox heard the disgusting crack and Diamondshine's cry of pain she knew what had happened.

Catfight gritted her teeth and soared to the main vine, Silverfox slicing it with a magic blade. Diamondshine limply fell to the ground and the vine around his leg stopped moving.

The two mares landing, both rushing to their friend. Silverfox crouched over him, her face grim.

"That doesn't look good." Catfight said, stating the obvious.

Diamondshine's leg was clearly broken, Silverfox could see the white edge of a bone protruding out of it. The stallion was hunched on the ground in pain, injured leg splayed away from him.

Silverfox and Catfight sat beside him, letting him rest for several minutes.

"Dia, can you walk?" Silverfox asked.

Diamondshine lifted his eyes open.

"It would be very, very painful, but yes." He murmured.

Catfight sighed. "Let's hope you have a high tolerance for pain."

Catfight helped pull the stallion up, Diamondshine cringing. The unicorn eventually found his footing, standing in an awkward position.

Silverfox gazed at Diamondshine. "We should keep moving."

Ignoring the slight groan from him, Silverfox continued her trek through the Forbidden Forest. They walked for what seemed like hours, and the little light that bypassed the canopy had disappeared. The ponies were soon stumbling in the dark, barely able to see the ground under them. It got so bad that Silverfox and Diamondshine were forced to summon light to their horns, making a light source for the front and the back.

Silverfox's stomach rumbled and her hoofs ached. Still, Cross's words echoed in her head."..we don't have much time until it kills him...."

"Silverfox...Can we please stop?" Catfight wheezed behind her.

"No!" Silverfox suddenly snapped."We can't! We have to find that flower! You heard Cross, Toxic will die if we don't find it soon!" She wasn't sure what had mad her so angry- probably a bad mixture of stress, fear, and hunger.

Catfight stopped abruptly. "We won't find anything if we run ourselves dry!" She hissed.

"We're ponies, we have incredible stamina! Resting would just waste time we can't afford!"

"It's already nighttime! There is no telling what lives here at night! I hope you remember we were attack by living plants in the broad daylight!"

"We are not defenseless! You can kick and punch and I can use spells!" Silverfox snarled.

"Guys...can you stop arguing?" A weak voice whispered.

Silverfox swung her lighted horn behind her. Diamondshine sat on his haunches, lame leg splayed out, sweat dripping down his forehead. The stallion's head was dipped downward and he was shaking badly.

"Dia..." Silverfox whispered, anger fading. "Are you ok?"

Diamondshine shook his head. "I'm completely spent. I don't think I could walk anymore. My leg is killing me."

Catfight gave an I told you so face.

Silverfox sat down, in front of Diamondshine. "I guess we can sleep here..." She said, her voice grave.

The silver unicorn curled up against her friends, closing her eyes and feeling their gentle warmth. She soon was asleep.

~

"Silverfox, wake up." Catfight's voice in her ear woke her.

Silverfox yawned and rose, stretching her hind legs.

Catfight looked excited and anxious, bouncing up and down. Her wings shuddered slightly. Even Diamonshine looked happy, forgetting about his crippling injury.

Silverfox raised her eyebrows. "What did I miss?"

"A lot! I woke up pretty early this morning, so I let you sleep. I got really bored and I started flying around, just to get 'bird's eye view' of our area. After I broke through the canopy, I saw this humongous temple! I came back and told Dia, we theorized that the flower is in there." The pegasus chirped, fluttering up and down.

"Gah, I slept that long?!"

"Nah, everything I just described took about forty-five minutes." Catfight said, reassuring her.

Silverfox addressed her two friends. "So, our destination is this temple that Catfight keeps going on about. But first," She paused. "We eat."

Diamondshine frowned, trying to clear leave out of his mane. "What do we eat?"

"We are horses, we graze."

"Oh yeah."

After eating the fine variety of grasses the Forbidden Forest had to offer, the trio set off on their journey.

"How long did you say this temple was from us?" Silverfox asked.

Catfight smiled sheepishly. "Well...flying is much faster than walking...."

Silverfox and Diamondshine groaned in unison.

Silverfox watched the stallion limp, he looked slightly better. Before they had left that morning, Silverfox and Catfight had discussed on how to make a splint for him. The tempers of the previous night were gone, and the two mares fashioned a splint for Diamondshine's leg. It wasn't the best, but it would work.

"You guys stop here, I'm gonna check how close we are." Catfight said, suddenly taking air and soaring through the canopy. The pegasus took it upon herself to make regular checks, just to make sure the group was going in the right direction.

Silverfox took this opportunity to take a rest. Emitting a small sigh, she let herself land on her haunches. The unicorn levitating her hat off her head, wiping the sweat from her forehead with a free hoof. The Forbidden Forest was extremely humid, and the trio was feeling it.

She licked her lips, wishing desperately for a sip of water. They had stumbled upon a spring a while back, but it was long gone now.

A sudden snap of branches brought Silverfox to attention. She instinctively came to Diamondshine's side, lighting her horn with magic.

"Who ever you are, come out now!" She snarled.

Three pairs of eyes shone through the bushes. Judging by the slits in their pupils, they definitely not creatures to be messed with.

Diamondshine let out an involuntary squeak, grabbing onto Silverfox.

This should be the opposite, she muttered to herself.

A roar slit the air and three figures leaped out of the bushes.

The largest, a tiger, was clearly the leader. He was flanked by a leopard and a jaguar, who looked much smaller in comparison. The three cats circled the two ponies, snarling and growling.

Silverfox raised her horn to cast a spell, but was interrupted by a vicious bat to the head. The mare was thrown back, her unconscious body hitting the forest floor feet away.

Diamondshine gasped, stepping back from the tiger, only to run into the leopard. A large paw went over his mouth, and fangs approached his neck.

"Get the female." The tiger hissed, nodding at the jaguar. The smaller cat threw Silverfox over his back.

"I'm back!" A voice cried, plunging thorough the canopy. Catfight landed, blinking in surprise when she saw the entire scene. "Um...what did I miss?"

Diamondshine tried to explain, but his words were muffled by the leopard's paw.

Not giving Catfight a chance to respond, the tiger lunged at her, pinning her to the ground. She struggled and even tried to bit the great feline, but a loud roar discouraged any further resistance. The tiger slammed the mare on the head, sending her into blackness.

~

Silverfox groaned, her head was aching big-time. She struggled to her hoofs and observed her surroundings. It was a grand stone chamber, with odd symbols painted on the wall. At the end of the room was a huge dais, stained dark red. On a outcrop on the wall sat a pot with a small flower growing in it.

The Onsinian flower.

Smiling wildly, Silverfox made a move for it, only to be interrupted by the sound of hoofs on stone. She whipped around, a tall stallion was approaching her. He wore a feathery headdress, with a string of bones around his neck. The stallion had bright red fur and fierce yellow eyes.

"Don't move." He hissed, red wings pushing back the cloak he wore, expanding his wingspan at their full extent.

Silverfox glared. "What have you done with my friends?! A pegasus and a unicorn. Stallion and mare."

The stallion smirked. "Those ponies are going to be used for a later sacrifice. You are the current one."

Silverfox bit her lip, regretting all those books she had read. "You are going to sacrifice me to some kind of god, right? Hack open a virgin on that dais over there, if I'm correct."

"You're a smart mare."

"You have got to be kidding me! That is the most stereotypical thing a villain could ever do! What are do beforehand, ravish me?!"

"What?" The stallion asked. "Of course not, that's gross."

"What kind of god are you going to sacrifice me to? A snake? Or maybe a crystal dragon?" Silverfox snarked.

The stallion narrowed his eyes. "It is the earth mother, Gaea. She will appreciate a disrespectful soul like you." The stallion cleared his throat, and similarly dressed guards came into the room. "Once we kill you, Gaea will restore the Onsinian and make it grow more offspring." Silverfox's eye caught the stallion's headdress, a shriveled black flower hung loosely.

Time to put on the charm, she thought.

Silverfox strutted to the stallion, shaking her body rather lasciviously. The stallion looked confused, but slightly enthralled. Silverfox paused in front of him, batting her eyelashes.

"Do you really want to sacrifice me?" She whispered in his ear.

The stallion blinked. "Yes."

Silverfox frowned. Perhaps subduction wasn't exactly the best solution.

"Guards!" He shouted, turning his head. "Restrain her and burn the decoy."

Silverfox's magic power was no use against the guards' sheer might. They soon had her down on the stone, barely able to move.

Another guard trotted into the room, Silverfox's hat in his mouth.

The unicorn gaped, she had just realized her head was bare.

The leading stallion strutted next to the hat-bearing guard, following him to the dais.

The guard placed the hat on the blood-stained dais while the leader grabbed a torch from the wall.

The stallion stood over the dais, casting a shadow over the circle of stone. Silverfox heard him muttering something, but she couldn't make most of the words out.

Suddenly, the stallion started shouting, eyes filled with malice. "I, AZTIXA OF THE STONE-DWELLING TRIBE, OFFER THIS SACRIFICE TO THE EARTH MOTHER GAEA!" Aztixa dropped the torch, sending her hat in flames. The cloth was soon completely engulfed, burning to ashes.

Silverfox was shaking. This could be it. Her death, burning as a sacrifice to some tribe she didn't even know existed. Toxic would die, and Catfight and Diamondshine would suffer her same fate no telling when. The unicorn hung her head.

It was useless.

As the guards let her to the dais, Silverfox was in a daze, dumbly glancing around the room. Aztixa was waiting, seemingly gleeful to burn something another soul. Silverfox glanced up, above the dais.

Her breath caught in her throat as a idea came to her. Above the dais was what seemed to be a large boulder, covered in symbols, suspended by some rock.

Just maybe, she thought to herself, trying to hide a smile, this could work.

Before the guards could finish tying her down, Silverfox ripped from the restraints, kicking the closest one in the face. Silverfox sent beams of magic into the suspensions of the rock, sending it crashing down. Levitating the Onsinian flower into her mouth, Silverfox leapt off the stone, galloping past Aztixa with a smug face. With a quick glance behind her, Silverfox saw the boulder rolling towards her, leaving a path of destruction in her wake.

She ran out of the room, not wanting to give Aztixa and his goons a chance to catch her. She came past a long hall with cells, most likely a prison.

"Diamondshine! Catfight!" She screamed. "Where are you?"

Hearing a reply at the end of the hall, Silverfox rushed to the occupied cell. She blasted the locks apart with magic, and ran, hoping her friends would have sense enough to follow. Once they saw the giant boulder, they did.

Silverfox, with her friends trailing behind her, came upon a grand room with tall ceilings. The wide doors where open, leading to the outside. Outside there was a long flight of stone steps, like the ones outside of every ancient temple in fiction.

"Silverfox, Diamondshine, I'll carry you down the steps! Use some levitation magic too!" Catfight shouted, hefting the two unicorns with her forelegs.

The pegasus launched herself off the side of the temple, taking air as she flew.

Diamondshine looked at Silverfox. "You got the flower!" He said.

"Of course I did." She said, "Why else would I have escaped that dramatically?"

Below them, Aztixa and his guards stood, yelling and snarling. When she saw red wings flash, Silverfox had a major "oh crap" moment.

"Aztixa can fly!" She screamed, pointing a hoof wildly at the red figure that was slowly gaining on them.

With a bit of a smirk, Catfight suddenly changed direction. She was heading towards a river, and was quickly descending.

"What are you doing?!" Diamondshine cried, his good legs struggling.

"Escape! What idiot would try to follow escapees into the water!" Catfight grinned.

"The idiot that flew into the water to start with!" Silverfox exclaimed, bracing herself for impact with the rushing water.

The three hit the icy water with incredible force. Silverfox was stunned, sinking below until Catfight grabbed her and pulled her head above water. She took a huge breath, making sure the flower was still in her mouth, and was pushed back under by her friend.

Diamondshine was holding onto a rock with his forelegs, trying not to get swept away. Catfight and Silverfox crouched near him, holding on for dear life.

Through the froth of the water's top, Silverfox saw Aztixa hovering above the water, then fly off. Nearly letting her breath out with relief, Silverfox motioned to Catfight. The three swam to the shore, gasping for breath.

Silverfox gave herself a hearty shake, showering Diamondshine with water. The stallion let out a little hiss very much like Aztixa, shaking his mane.

Silverfox dropped the Onsinian flower on the grass, gazing at her friends.

Catfight trotted to the plant, giving it a long hard look.

"So this is the flower that can save Toxic?" Catfight asked, poking it.

Taking it back in her mouth, Silverfox nodded. "Get ready, I am going to teleport us back. Dia, I need you to combine your magic with mine."

Diamondshine touched horns with Silverfox while Catfight took a firm hold on her tail. The three ponies disappeared with a loud pop, landing on their rump on the castle floor.

~

Embane heard the sound, knowing that Silverfox and her friends had returned.

Nuzzling his mate and son, the Prince of Equestria made his way to the throne room.

There he found the three unconscious, laying on the floor as if sleeping soundly. He saw that Silverfox had the flower in her mouth.

"Silverfox," he whispered. "Diamondshine. Catfight."

Slowly they started to rouse. Silverfox opened one green eye, gazing sleepily around. She stumbled to her feet, followed by her friends.

The ponies had a small amount of cuts on them, while Diamondshine's leg was broken.

"Embane! We got the flower!" Silverfox exclaimed, tossing the Onsinian plant to him. The alicorn caught it with magic.

The ponies rushed to Silverfox's room, where Cross and Goldenbell waited. Cross brewed the Onsinian flower into potion, making the antidote. He quickly gave it to the ill alicorn, Toxic slightly shuddering as he managed to swallow it.

"Why isn't anything happening?" Silverfox asked nervously, peering at Toxic, who still slept on feverishly.

Cross frowned. "We just gave him the medicine. You can't expect him to be up and health, can you? The antidote has to have time to mend all the damage the Black Fever did to his body. He's gonna be out for a couple days."

Silverfox blinked. "Oh. If that's the case, I'm going to sleep." She jumped in her bed, pulling the covers over her and Toxic. "What?" She asked. "I'm exhausted."

Diamondshine yawned. "I'm with Silverfox. I'm going home." Catfight nodded, following the stallion out of the room.

Embane's head sagged. "Alright. I need some sleep too. Let's leave them in peace, Goldenbell." The Prince and Princess left.

Cross looked at Silverfox, "If his fever rises, come and get me."

And with that, Silverfox finally drifted off to sleep. Before she was complete out, however, Toxic whispered one word in her ear.

"Thanks."

End of Story 6