Night Vision

The drumming of rain on the window, so loud and swift before, began to lessen until seconds went by between drops.

In the bedroom, a roaring fire threw shadows across the spacious bed in the center. Under the covers, two bumps quietly rose and fell in steady rhythm (mostly steady, every once in a while a weak cough would shake one or the other). As the clock stuck midnight, another cough, this one sharper and more painful than the others roused one child from slumber. Listening silently until the fit died down and the slow rise-and-fall resumed, the young filly made a decision.

Ever-so-carefully easiing herself out of bed, she slowly and deliberately followed the layout of the room she had grown to know so well. Reaching the door and, so as not to flood the room with light, gently opening it. She padded out.

Following the wall, she reached the top of the stairs, which were descended one at a time. Finally finding the backdoor, the latch was undone and the door opened to the outside world. Gulping, the foal walked out of the house and into the dark.

Try as she might, the little one could not seem to shake the sleep from her eyes, making everything appear blurry and indistinct.

Like I need this, she inwardly complained, but I'll deal with it. I'm not gonna let this stop me.

Moving onwards, she peered into the gloom, the moon obscured by dark clouds, trying in vain to find some recogniseable landmark which she could orient herself to, Celestia knows the grounds were big enough to get lost in at noon, let alone the middle of the night.

Just as her hooves came to rest on the muddy ground she has traversed earlier in the day, she felt fresh raindrops catch her ear. Sighing, it wasn't long until she felt her mane grow heavy with moisture and droop across her eyes.

And I could see sooo well before too, she thought bitterly, why did the weather ponies have to schedule such a bad storm tonight? Don't they realise she's gonna be sad if I don't sort this out?

Slopping through the muck, she cast her head here and there, looking for any sign, a glimmer, of the precious object she was searching for.

For an hour she searched, the rain never letting up and the ever increasing gusts finishing the job of completely removing any enjoyment from the activity, yet she didn't stop, she knew what would happen if she did. Her friend would be devastated, inconsolable. She wouldn't let that happen, even if it meant being out here all night. She was alone, wet, cold and blind but she didn't care, she took solace in the fact that her friend, sick though she was, was safe and warm in her bed. She would finish here before the other filly woke up, nothing else was acceptable.

Shielding her eyes as a particularly strong wind whipped around her and a sound followed that sent a shock up her spine: The sound of the backdoor slamming shut behind her. Frightened, she glanced around in panic but couldn't see anything. The faint light from the doorway was gone and the rain and darkness made it impossible to even see the house.

Shivering, but knowing what was at stake, she kept going, begging for anything to aid her search; a faint outline in the darkness, a break in the clouds, anything!

Oo.

She froze.

Oo.

What was that noise? Where was it coming from? Was there something there, in the dark?

Oo!

It was getting closer! Breath catching in her throat, she listened, trying to find where the sound was coming from, but the wind made it impossible. A few tears escaped her eyes as she bolted, not caring where was going, just away from whatever was making that awful noise!

Mud splashing into her mane and face, she galloped through the darkness. She bounced off something hard, pain blossoming along her leg, but kept going. The wind blew leaves into her eyes, the rain made the ground treacherous and she was pretty sure she swallowed a bug, but she kept running and running and running, until...

Fingers seemed to grap at her from all directions, raking at face and body, and finally she felt something grab at her hair and yank. Shrieking, she kicked at the grasping hands but to no avail. She couldn't move at all, couldn't even open her eyes.

Oo! Oo! Oo!

Please no! Not now!

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" She sobbed.

Oo! Oo! Oo! Came the sound over the wind, coming closer.

"I'm so sorry," she whimpered, her friend in her thoughts,"I couldn't find it."

Oo! Oon! Spoon!

"W-what?" She sniffed.

Spoon! Silver Spoon!

She gasped, finally understanding.

Silver Spoon! Where are you? Are you there?

"Yes! Yes, I'm here!"

Hold on, we're coming. Stay still, tell us where you are.

"Here I am! I'm over here!" She cried, relief flooding through her.

Soon she heard the hooves and felt strong legs freeing her and softly carrying her back to the house. She opened her eyes but still saw just blurs. Finally she was helped back inside and kindly nuzzling commenced.

"You silly thing, what were you doing out there in the storm?"

"I was-" and then it hit her. She'd failed. She hadn't found it. Tears fell down her cheeks as she began to blubber, "I was...I was...I was trying to find the t-" then a familiar squeel interrupted her.

"SILVER SPOON!" A pink and purple foal dashed into the room, a first aid kit wrapped around her waist. Diamond Tiara frantically fussed over her friend, alternatively nuzzling her face and examining her cuts and bruises. Silver Spoon shook her head, trying to finally see straight. Blinking quickly didn't work either, it just made her eyes sting. Meanwhile, Diamond Tiara had noticed her friend's behaviour and was rooting around in her pack.

"You did it again, didn't you Silver Spoon? Went walking around without your glasses again. You fell down the stairs last time, locked yourself in the freezer before that. You think you'd learn! I've been running all over the place trying to keep you from hurting yourself. Why did you go outside? Ah! here they are. Hold still now."

A pair of hooves gently slipped her glasses past her ears. Opening her eyes, her vision finally cleared and she saw the worried-but-smiling face of her dearest friend.

"Thank you." She sniffled.

"You're welcome. But look! You're still all scratched and cut! What happened?"

"Ahem. We found her trapped in a bush, miss."

"Thank you for bringing her back," she replied to the servant before turning back to Silver Spoon, "now then, come back to the room where it's warm, I'll fix you up."

Toweled off and with a warm cocoa inside her, Silver Spoon stayed still while Diamond Tiara applied bandages. She winced as Tiara sprayed a cut on her neck.

"Don't move!" Diamond Tiara gently admonished, "I'll be done soon. What happened to your necklace anyway?"

"I lost it when I was outside, looking for..."

"Looking for what?"

Hanging her head at her failure, Silver Spoon mumbled,

"Looking for your tiara."

Surprised, Diamond Tiara looked quizically at her friend.

'What do you mean you were looking for my tiara? My tiara is right over..." Empty space. "...there. What happened to it? Where did it go?"

Still mumbling, Silver Spoon responded:

"You lost it earlier, when the storm started. We ran back to the house but it must've got blown off by the wind. You weren't feeling well so I waited until you were asleep so I could go find it for you. I know how much that tiara means to you."

"You went outside in the pitch black storm just to find my tiara?" Silver Spoon smiled at her friend.

"of course! You love that tiara. I wanted to find it for you-OW!" Silver Spoon held her head where Diamond Tiara had just whapped her. Putting her hoof down, Diamond Tiara smiled, exasperated,  at her friend.

"I do love that tiara. However, I'd rather lose it than run around scared still that you'd wandered off without your glasses and gotten hurt yet again! That tiara does mean a lot to me...but I love you more."

Settling down next to her friend, Diamond Tiara threw a blanket over the top of the two foals.

"Tomorrow morning we'll go out and find our things. Until then, try to get some sleep, okay?"

Smiling sleepily, Silver Spoon leaned happily against her friend.

"Okay."

The next morning, after the storm had passed, the two little ponies (under careful watch by the groundskeepers) searched the garden for their lost items. There was laughter all round when they found a Silver Spoon-shaped groove in the mulberry bush, and happy smiles on two faces when they looked a little closer and found a necklace wrapped around a tiara.