Willow Leaf was about to finish gathering up the herbs she needed, and head home, when she heard distinctive, high-pitched sounds in the distance.
PEW! PEW PEW!
Her ears swiveled in the direction. The thick, primeval forest made judging distances tricky, but it couldn't have come from farther than a quarter mile.
The young mare looked towards the source of the sounds. Of course, she couldn't see anything from the thicket in front of her, but it vaguely sounded like...magic?
She stepped back, and lifted a hoof in front of herself, reflexively. Something told her she should just get back to the hideout, and stop caring what could have caused the noise. But at the same time, her curiosity got the best of her. She put her hoof down, and trotted a few dozen feet in the direction of...
PEEEEEEEEEW-BZZZT!
She got startled, these were louder. And she was now convinced, someone was casting magic in the vicinity. Could it be...could it be Discord? Did he finally discover this last haven of normalcy?
That notion filled her with dread. She should get out of here, and quick. What if Discord saw her? She would turn her into an ice cream cone, and lick her away! Or worse...
But then, the ear piercing roaring convinced her otherwise. What could have made that? Some forest creature in trouble? She was an earth pony, but she knew of no animal that had such an otherworldly report.
Finally, reason have triumphed in her mind, and she turned back. She heard more of the screeching cacophony, but decided she won't check it out. It was not worth the risk. Then she heard one last "PEW!". Then, silence.
The mare was trotting at a decent pace back to the underground caves. She didn't care what could have been all the ruckus just recently. At least that's what she was trying to tell herself.
"I won't check it out, I won't check it out. I won't check..."
Willow Leaf stopped, and turned back. Something deep down in her mind, some primal instinct told her it would be for the best if she checked this one out. She still had the direction in front of her mind's eye. She wouldn't get lost, and get back to the path quickly.
"Just a glance won't hurt. I'll be really careful. Then, back to the hideout."
☼✶☽
Willow Leaf made it to a clearing. With wide-eyed wonder, she stared at a gigantic corpse near the edges. Its belly was cut up, juices covering the forest floor underneath. It must have been some sort of scorpion, but far-far bigger than one that could possibly exist. Was it one of Discord's creations? Even if it was, something took it out for good.
The next thing she noticed was the white lump not far from the scorpion-creature. It actually looked like a...pony? Although it was much bigger and lankier at first glance. Also, it was motionless, which could mean...
Willow walked out from the treeline, and approached the pony-like body. And only when she got closer she noticed all the blood. Even though it seeped through the blanket of leaves, it was still very visible. Then, her eyes darted to the white pony's chest. A gaping wound was the source of all the blood, but it had already started to clot, and wasn't bleeding anymore.
She brought a hoof up to her snout. She just noticed it. This pony, this unicorn also had wings. And the size and overall body proportions kinda made it look like she was...
"An angel???"
Could it be, she thought? No, that couldn't be. Angels are just a legend, an old mare's tale. But at any rate, whatever this pony is, she needs help. That is, if she is still alive. But if her wound was any indicator, she was either dying, or already dead.
"Hey um, pony, can you hear me?"
No reaction came.
Willow bent down to hear her breathing. She waited a good thirty seconds. but not even a single strand of hair moved in her ear. No air was blown out.
Concerned, she straightened up, fearing the worst. She just found a strange pony, and she was already dead? But being an earth pony, she was more sensitive to the life force in living beings. So she brought a hoof to the white mare's temple, and tried to listen to the "song of life".
It was there, barely. So she wasn't dead yet. That also meant she must have been breathing, but it was so sporadic, she couldn't pick it up. But what could she do about it? She just collected herbs, yes, and she knew many remedies that could be made from them, but she had no means to heal a wound like this. And a healing potion, an advanced one, needed more ingredients, much more.
"At any rate, I can't just leave her here. I can only give her anything resembling a proper treatment in the hideout."
Although Willow wasn't sure at all what the "proper treatment" would be, given her options. And also skeptical how beneficial it would be to bring a patient into such a damp and musky place like their underground groove. Nevertheless, she knew this strange pony couldn't stay here. But, how would she do that? Lifting her seemed impossible for a single pony, and just dragging her along the ground... No, no, Willow needed some backup.
"Okay, wait here. I will get some helping hooves, and bring you to my place."
Willow turned tail, and trotted towards the hiding place she's been calling home for the last six months. All the while being skeptical that this majestic white mare would still be alive when they got back for her.
☼✶☽
Luna was almost done with the spider-demon, but it was still kicking, and wanted to get up once again. But exploiting its momentary daze, she thought of a finishing move. As its chitinous hide was very thick, even for her advanced combat spells, she opened the spider's mandibles, and inserted her horn in the opening. Then she charged up... and released. The monster's brain, and probably other organs too, shot up from its suddenly ruptured back in liquefied form, and splattered all over the place. Good thing the alicorn was expecting it, and erected a shield against the raining viscera.
Luna wasn't one who was appalled by the sight of death, but that many innards being on the outside made even her retch a little. But, the battle was won, and the next moment, she looked at the mangled corpse with the ice-cold professionalism of an adept Guardian. She felt no disgust anymore, just the satisfaction of victory.
And with that, she looked around, for confirmation that Celestia could handle the other monster. Which was arguably the harder target. But Luna had no sight of either the scorpion, or her fellow warrior. Even though only a few minutes ago, she saw them battling it out only a few hundred yards away.
Luna squinted her eyes. Maybe her sist... that lousy Celestia lured it away even farther from the village? Wouldn't make sense, but she nevertheless took flight for a bird's eye view.
She saw nothing.
"Damn it, Celestia. Did you just whisk yourselves away to Caelum itself?"
Floating in the air, Luna couldn't not notice the nearby forest, stretching for miles alongside the wheat fields. What if Celestia took the fight there, for more tactical options? She didn't expect that much skill from her, but couldn't think of any place else where they could be. So she flew to the edge of the woods, and hoofed it from there.
☼✶☽
It wasn't hard for Luna to figure out the monster's path. The broken branches lying about, and the smaller trees toppled showed her the direction. She followed it, at first at walking pace, then she sped up to trotting. Something wasn't right... The forest was silent, so the fight must have been over. But then why Celestia didn't seek her out? That was the expectation, knowing her.
Luna was almost galloping when she reached a small clearing. There, she saw the corpse of the giant scorpion.
"Hm. Not bad. But where is...?"
Then, she gasped. Celestia lay there, next to the scorpion, motionless. She ran over, and noticed the gaping wound.
"Oh no."
And as she thought of the worst, Luna's heart sank a bit. She can't just lose her…her mission companion. And anyway, an alicorn cannot be killed, it was never done, it's not possible! Telling herself that, Luna nudged her mission companion a bit.
"Celestia. Celestia! Get up, it's time to move. Do you hear me? Celestia?"
She got no response. Wanting to get uncertainty out of the way, Luna quickly cast a detect life spell, and she got positive feedback. She let out a small sigh, relieved. So Celestia was still alive, after all.
At the same time, that wasn't the only feedback she got from the spell. In the vicinity, there must have been several living creatures. Luna turned back, and scanned the treeline at the edge of the clearing. Then, she noticed some of the bushes moving. She fast-walked towards them, with horn lit up, and shouted:
"Whoever you are, show yourself!"
Then some other bushes seemingly also came alive, and Luna could make out the silhouettes of vaguely pony-shaped creatures. She shouted again:
"If you can understand me, come out! Don't make me want to drag you out."
"Come out, or I shoot!"
And in response to that, finally, a light green mare walked out to the open.
"Please, show mercy!" the mare said, making an apologetic gesture with a hoof "We really mean no harm! We were just trying to help your, uh... friend, o glorious Angel."
And after she finished the sentence, the mare bowed down, her snout almost touching the forest floor. And as if just waiting for a prompt, the rest of the ponies, four stallions appeared, and kowtowed as well.
Luna's horn ceased its magical glow, and she responded in a much calmer tone than she previously used.
"Oh... Ponies, it's fine, I don't need your help. But thank you. Besides, do you happen to know anything about..."
Before she could finish her sentence, Luna, almost instinctively, glanced at Celestia. What she wanted to ask wasn't important right now. That wound was horrid, it was a miracle she was still alive. She looked back at the mare.
"Never mind, you may leave. You are safe now. All threats potentially harmful to ponykind have been dealt with."
Luna waved dismissively at the earth ponies, and turned back to Celestia. She tried to piece together in her head what could have happened. That wound was caused by physical trauma, not by magic. Probably by the stinger of the beast? Seemed likely. Also, she must have had consciousness for at least a little bit after it got her, if the blood clots were any indicator. They wouldn't form over such a deep and wide cut, those were the results of a healing spell.
"Deep tissue damage, probably the heart got grazed too. I'll need a healing spell gradu quattor for that."
Then suddenly, it dawned on Luna she didn't know any healing spell near that advanced. She was a warrior, trained in the art of destruction from a very early age by the Magikhan herself. And she didn't deem it necessary to teach her anything more about healing than what was crucial to keep one in the fight. As bodily damage like she saw in front of herself would mean almost instant death, so self-healing wouldn't be possible in the first place.
"You're a tool. A sharp and effective tool, but a tool nonetheless."
"NO!" Luna cried out "I am the Magikhan's right hoof! And I can do this!"
Luna put a hoof over Celestia's forehead. She felt some temperature. The wound must have begun to inflame. She reached out with magic, and a thin, dark blue aura enveloped the edges of the cut. They started to join back together, but halfway done, Luna stopped the spell.
"It should be drained first. It makes no sense to close it up before that."
Luna knew there was a separate wound-drainage spell that would deal with that, but of course, she didn't know that either. She tried to stretch her arcane knowledge, but aside from it being a precise form of teleportation, she didn't know how to cast it. There was some trick to it, that optimized the spell for living tissue, but that was beyond Luna. She was sure Celestia knew the method, but she never indulged in learning something like that. Instead, she knew over a hundred ways to pop a changeling's head.
For the first time in her life, Luna felt powerless. She sat down on her rump, and buried her face in her forehooves. Her wings limply hung to her sides.
"What? What should I do?"
She looked down at the barely alive Celestia, and a grim thought passed through her mind. What if... what if she just left her here? She didn't have much time left probably, and nothing she could do would help her. And the mission still needed to be completed. Alone or not, but the Artifact had to be retrieved, and delivered to Arcana.
"No, I can't just do that! She is my..."
Luna let out one deep, guttural sob. A tear ran along her cheek.
Then she quickly wiped it, and turned around.
She expected the previous ponies to be still there, and she was right. She also noticed a huge object on the back of one of the stallions. It looked like a rolled up stretcher.
Luna quickly put together the ponies' intention.
"Where did you want to take her?" she asked, in a tone that played on the border of neutral and grieving.
"To our hideout, the Groove of Roots." the mare answered, after some hesitation. "That's where we were able to stay out of Discord's sight, and keep our sanity."
"She needs a sterile place to stay, or at least clean." Luna said "Is this groove of yours something like that?"
The mare looked at the ground, and hung her head in shame.
"N-not really. It's more like damp and murky. But it's all we have."
"There's a village nearby. Go there instead. And don't worry about Discord's chaos. I'll deal with that once we get there. Besides, what is your name?"
"I'm called Willow Leaf. And... you really are Angels, aren't you? Sent here by the good spirits to help us in our time of need? To repel the chaos in our land and restore harmony?"
Luna pursed her lips while considering the answer. She thought about just rolling with what Willow Leaf said, but that would be an un-truth, at best. On the other hoof, telling things how they were would have been too complicated to these mortals, things they didn't even need to know. Eventually, Luna said:
"I am Guardian Luna, warrior of the alicorn tribe. And my injured companion's name is Celestia. We are here on a mission that is two-fold, and indeed might involve getting rid of Discord. But we are not "angels", whatever you ponies might mean by that."
"We are honored by your presence all the same, Guardian Luna." Willow and the other ponies bowed once again, then she added: "But you ARE here to help, after all, and we'll be eternally grateful for that."
"Yes, yes." Luna answered, getting a bit impatient, then pointed at the stallions "But you four wanted to carry her; now you can do so. Follow me to the village. There, I will think of a remedy."
☼✶☽
The group of five ponies and two alicorns have reached the village. The inhabitants, so far idling about, were looking on with a mix of bewilderment and horror. Murmuring sprung up. Why was one of their saviors now lying on a stretcher? They wanted to get closer, but Luna's strict glances left and right dispelled any nosy ponies.
The stallions were looking for a place to put down -the arguably really heavy- Celestia, but Willow Leaf indicated to them they should carry the injured alicorn to her house once the corruption has been removed from the village by Luna.
Luna overheard the conversation, and asked:
"Which one is your house?"
"That huge one in the village square...I think. The one made of green jelly with caramel candies sprinkled on top." answered an unsure and confused Willow Leaf.
"Then I'll start with that one."
Luna walked over to the house-shaped piece of dessert, and prepared the previously learned anti-dark magic spell. What she didn't admit however, that without Celestia's assistance, her spell wouldn't have enough yield to remove the chaos from the whole village. Nevertheless, she fired off the beam, and Willow's house returned to its former glory. The mare walked over, with a huge smile plastered over her face.
"OH GOSH! It's so good seeing it like that again! Thank you, Guardian Luna, thank you!"
And once again, Willow bowed down before Luna. And admittedly, Luna enjoyed the praise and humble dignity that was expressed towards her. But, she couldn't let that distract her. She had a... companion to save, and a mission to accomplish.
"Rise." Luna declared "Bring Celestia in. I will fix the rest of your village later."
☼✶☽
Celestia lay atop the dining table. Only Luna and Willow were present, but after the latter looked around a bit, basking in the glorious mundanity of her home, she was ready to leave.
"I'll leave you alone, Guardian Luna, to do your miracles, and heal your companion."
Luna didn't respond, so Willow went for the door, but as she touched the handle, the alicorn stopped her.
"Wait. Does the village happen to have a...medicine pony? A healer of sorts?"
Willow faced Luna, and cocked her head a bit. She was obviously baffled by the question, but answered in a neutral tone.
"Yes. That would be me. But why do you need a healer? You're an ang...an alicorn. You can fix anything with magic."
Luna was still looking at Celestia. She didn't make eye contact with Willow Leaf.
"Your legends about the abilities of our race might exaggerate a bit. Not all of us are all-powerful. And I'm a warrior, not a healer. And I fear I might lose her if she doesn't get treatment beyond what I can provide."
Willow made a few unsure steps forward. Her mouth remained open a bit. She sputtered as she started:
"I'm...I'm afraid what I can provide right here wouldn't be enough either."
"Please, think!" Luna turned wildly to face Willow, her voice getting a tinge of aggression and desperation "Is there a spellbook around I can consult? I don't know much healing magic, but I'm an alicorn, I could learn in an hour that could save her."
Willow got startled. She defensively lifted a hoof, and her ears drooped. It wasn't the intention, but Luna's imposing figure had that effect on her. Nevertheless, she tried to remain calm.
"Y-you mentioned you're a tribe. Can't the rest of the alicorns help?"
Luna made a grimace like somepony who bit into a slice of lemon. She shook her head once, and furrowed her brows.
"It's...complicated! I can't summon them here, not right now. And it might be too late anyway by the time they would arrive."
"They can't learn of my failure. What would the Magikhan think? What would the council think? I'm the mission leader, things should have gone smoothly."
Willow looked at the ground, then back at Luna, Her eyes reflected sympathy. And maybe some pity, too.
"I don't have any spellbooks. We're an earth pony village, nopony here could use them for anything. But... I'm aware of a potion, a really powerful one, that could bring ponies back even from the brink of death. Sadly I don't know the recipe, or the method to make one, but my father does. I should consult him, then get back to you. I don't dare to promise anything, but that's the best bet I have."
Luna's expression softened. She bent down a bit, so she was at eye level with Willow.
"Please do so. I don't want to lose her."
"Of course. I'll hurry as much as I can."
Willow promptly left the house, and Luna remained alone with Celestia.
"Come on, Celestia. Hold on just a little bit longer."