Eris slipped one arm around Thunder, and sipped her tea with the other, as she chatted happily with the zebra about books. She smiled as she thought how wonderful the day had been so far, and finished the last of her tea. As she put the empty cup down on the table, she realised how tired she suddenly felt, and... was it getting dark already? Seeing Eris' empty cup, the zebra calmly pulled out two small vials from her bags. She drank the contents of one, then looked at Thunder's mostly full cup, and put the other back in her bag.
"Are... you okay honey?" Thunder asked Eris after seeing her that tired. He hugged her and rested her on his lap, then saw the zebra take out the vials. What was in them?
Eris frowned as it seemed to get even darker; it was almost like nighttime... She reached out with her magic, to try and make the sun a bit brighter, but to her horror, found her magic wouldn't work; she couldn't even lift her tea cup with it, let alone any of her more advanced abilities. "I... What's happening!?" Eris asked, panic and fear clear in her voice. "I've poisoned you." The zebra said, calmly, and in a different, much more serious voice than she had been using before. "Both of you."
"Eris!" Thunder said, then heard the zebra. "You... little..." he said, then felt week. "Aak!" He said as he felt his magic useless. He let Eris beside him and stood up slowly, trying to attack her. "Why?!"
The zebra sidestepped his clumsy attack, and expertly knocked him back onto the bench, not doing any real damage, but winding him a little. "I was hired to do so, It's nothing personal." Unlike some in her profession, the zebra didn't enjoy what she did, but that didn't stop her from doing it well. "The poison I have used on you both is a particularly nasty one I'm afraid; As I'm sure you're both now feeling, it causes physical weakness, and magic failure; and at low doses, such as you have received, Mr Shield, that is all. You will be fine in an hour or two, as my employer wished you to witness what happens to your partner." She sighed and looked at Eris. "At high doses, the physical weakness and magic loss is accompanied by blindness, intense pain, gradual insanity, and eventually; after a few days, death." She pulled a rope from her bags, and tied it to the balcony rail, preparing to climb down. Eris whimpered and clung to Thunder, not wanting to believe any of it.
"You...." he said, angry now as he tried to sit. He just looked at her as she left, unable to do something about it. "Eris!" He said aa he laid her head on his lap, stroking her mane.
"Thunder..." Eris stared past him, her eyes turning white as tears formed in them. "I... I can't see you! I can't see anything!" She'd never felt so helpless or scared, and the land around them was starting to reflect that; dark clouds were gathering, and the sky had turned a strange purple colour. The zebra looked at them and gave a final sigh as she hung from the balcony. "You two must have done something to really upset the Princess." She said, before climbing down and disappearing from view.
"I'm right here..." Thunder replied as he grabbed her paw and put it on his cheek. "I'm here..." he added. "With you..." he stroked her cheek a bit. Celestia. She had gone too far. "I will find a cure, I promise..." he said, still weak and a bit dizzyn
"No! Don't leave!" Eris cried, terrified and sobbing. Lightening flashed across the sky, and the wind howled chaotically. "Why? Why would she do this?" She asked, between sobs.
Thunder hugged her tightly and hold her close. "It was celestia's doing." He said softly to her. "She is responsable for this." He nuzzled her nose a bit. "I promise, I will heal you and we will be happy again."
Eris clung to him like her life depended on it, and sobbed into his coat. She was still too scared to really concentrate on what he was saying. "Just... please don't leave me..." She begged; She felt helpless and vulnerable without her magic, and unable to see, but being able to hold Thunder was stopping her from going completely mad with fear.
"I wont leave you." Thunder said. He would have to leave a copy in order to keep her safe, but he had to wait till he was fine again
Eris sobbed some more and hugged him for a while, until she calmed down a little, and was able to think. She sniffed, and lifted her head a little. "If what she said about this poison is true... you'll have to evacuate the town," She said, slowly. "You know how my realm is connected to my mental state..." She could all ready feel a dull pain, building in the pit of her stomach, and she knew it was only going to get worse. "This place is going to get very unpleasant, if it isn't already," She grimaced, as the pain dug a bit deeper, and buried her face in Thunder's fur again.
Thunder stroked her mane aa she did that. "I will ask Lone and Courage to evacuate the area." He said softly to her ear. "I will find a cure, I promise." He added. He hoped the two timberwolves sensed her mistress was in danger..
Lone and Thunder had indeed sensed something was wrong, and came through the portal to investigate. Seeing the unsettled weather, they looked at each other, and rushed to the house, not noticing the zebra slipping quietly through the portal behind them... Eris nodded at what Thunder said, then lifted her head a moment later, as she heard the scraping of claws on crystal, and the slightly suspicious growl of her wolves. "What's happened, Thunder?" Lone asked, looking at Eris, and standing in a slightly aggressive stance, along with Courage.
Thunder was stroking Eris' mane as he hold her close to make her feel a bit better. "The zebra. She was hired by Celestia to harm Eris..." he started explaining what he thought. "... but right now I need you to evacuate the town and make a camp outside until I had found the cure." He added to them.
"What!?" Lone said, shocked. He padded over to Thunder and Eris, and looked at her with concern. "Mistress?" Eris turned her head in his direction, and groped around blindly, trying to find him. Realising she was blind, he gently pressed his head into her claw. Eris petted him a little, obviously having to put a lot of effort into even that small task. "Please... do as Thunder asks..." She said, weakly. "And Lone... I want you to go with Thunder... look after him while he searches for a cure..." Lone just nodded slowly as she petted him. "Of course, Mistress." "What about the Zebra?" Courage snarled, furiously. "Where did she go?"
"It is likely she escaped." Thunder said to them. "I will find her and see if there is a cure." he said. "But right now I need to rest. I took some of it, so I feel weak." he said as he laid down with Eris and cuddled her, butting his nose against hers.
Courage was about to demand they pursue the zebra immediately, but Lone scowled at him before he could talk. He then turned back to Thunder and Eris. "Of course." With Courage's help, he carried the pair up to their bedroom so they could rest more comfortably, then headed out to evacuate the town. The pain was already getting worse, and Eris was trembling a bit as she held Thunder, the pain clear on her face as she gritted her teeth. She was tired, but the discomfort was making her restless, and she was still traumatized by her blindness and lack of magic. Thunder was the only thing allowing her to cope, his presence giving her some hope; he'd promised he would save her, and she trusted him completely. He was so brave, and she needed to be too...
Once in their room, he cuddled her and nuzzled her nose a bit. "Rest, my love. You need to preserve energy so you can give me more time to save you." He said. He didn't mind having Lone with him, he would be useful . "I will leave in a few hours, once the evacuation is over and I feel better." He said smiling as he kissed her nose.
