A Journey through Memories

by Centauri

Chapter Eight - Secrets Told

A Journey through Memories

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Chapter Eight - Secrets Told

The griffins turned in shock and saw me in the night sky, horn still bright from the power I had just unleashed. They shrunk back from my fury; all they could see was a mighty alicorn suspended in the air above them. I remained silent, however, and did not attack them further. I already despised myself for incapacitating the griffin who slashed Rainbow Dash. Nobody – pony or griffin – moved as I landed and walked over to Dash. Fluttershy was sobbing quietly, and Pinkie Pie simply looked... empty. She wasn’t laughing; she just had a deadpan expression, as if her body had simply shut down. I barely noticed, and registered it even less. I was looking at Dash, and nobody else.

I saw Dash’s face, and grimly checked over her. She was unconscious, so I continued to check for life signs. I sighed in relief as I noticed that she was breathing.

“Fluttershy,” I called emotionlessly. There was a job to be done, and I wouldn’t rest until it was. Emotions would only get in the way at this point. “Bring your saddlebags here.” She complied quickly, still sobbing. I retrieved the bandages, along with some different herbs. I did an inventory on the herbs and quickly selected the ones I could use. I chewed on them, cringing at the bitter taste, and spat them back out. It was a primitive method, but I wasn’t certain that I could perform healing magic in my current state of shock, fury and despair; it was efficient, however, and I was glad I had remembered some skills from the past thousand years.

I rubbed a small pad of bandage in the paste and wiped it on Rainbow’s wound. I was extremely glad that she was unconscious, for if she wasn’t, she would have surely been screaming in pain; I did not want any of us to endure that.

“Fluttershy,” I summoned the butter pegasus once more. “Hold those bandages against the scars. She will stay alive, Fluttershy.” I knew that these words fell on deaf ears; any sane pony would be able to realise that Rainbow Dash was wounded so severely that she should already be dead: the claws had raked across her face and damaged her skull, but that was not the worst part. Dash’s neck had been scraped deeply, and she had been bleeding profusely from the slash. The herbs I used had been a minor disinfectant but mainly were used to thicken the blood on the surface, helping it clot. I stood and turned to the griffins standing around us.

“Griffins!” I called to them collectively. “Who among you is leader?” One griffin edged forwards hesitantly. “And what should I address you as, sir?” I asked, noticing his gender-specific feather patters.

“Swiftpaw, your maje-” I cut him off.

“Spare me those horseapples,” I spat at him. A bit more calmly, I continued. “Your griffin will not wake up for a while, but she won’t die.” Swiftpaw looked as if he would say something, but I stopped him mid-breath. “Seeing as you’re here, I would request that you assist my friends and me to Highridge. We would take ourselves, but we can only go as fast as the slowest walker.”

The patrol leader looked stunned by the order. “Um... well, yes. Okay.” He trailed off, too scared to say anything which would offend me.

“I will carry Rainbow Dash. Swiftpaw, get your griffins to each choose a pony to carry, and I warn you: if any of them fall, I will view it as an international offence against a royal party. Understood?”

“Y- Yes,” the griffin stammered. He then confidently looked towards his patrol party. “Okay, everyone, choose a pony. Heavywing, you take Gilda; you’re able to carry the most.”

One of the younger griffins walked up to Fluttershy. “It gets too cold for ponies’ wings to work where we’re going. It might be best if I take you.”

“Oh... y- yes, thank you,” replied Fluttershy, a bit surprised by the offer. “But, um... c- can we please st- stay close to um... Rainbow Dash?” The griffin nodded, not unkindly and I watched this exchange. I knew Fluttershy worried about Dash; they were best friends since fillyhood, after all.

I walked to Applejack. She was crying, but didn’t want to show it. She felt a lot more affection to Rainbow Dash than she let on: they shared the same competitive nature and both had similar athleticism. Believing it would be better to leave her undisturbed, I turned and walked away.

“Will she be okay?” Applejack whispered behind me. I turned; she had not even moved. “I know what injuries can kill a pony, an’ that was one of them. Ah think you know more than you’re lettin’ on, so tell me: will Rainbow Dash be okay?” She hissed the last words.

“I am certain that she will be okay,” I whispered in reply. “But now is not the time, nor the place to talk about how I know.” Applejack didn’t like this response, but she was smart enough to know it was the best she was going to get from me; I was also damaged by the whole affair. I hated myself for attacking the griffin – Gilda, I thought I heard – but I knew that it was the best thing to do for my friends.

Very soon, when all the griffins had chosen which mares they would carry, we set off. I had slung Rainbow Dash over my back, behind my wings. It was uncomfortable to fly, but this way gave least chance for Rainbow Dash to fall off and would not jostle enough to damage her.

We flew on.

* * *

As we neared on our fifth hour of flight, I saw a cliff face with caves carved into the surface at numerous levels, spanning from about seventy yards short of normal cloud level, to the top, at about a hundred yards above the normal cloud level. I only knew this from the last time I came, however, and it had probably changed in the past millennium. The griffins seemed to be getting slightly tired, but I guessed that they had endured a solid morning of patrols, and that was without the burdens of five ponies. I barely cared though; I only wanted... needed to get Dash to a warm bed.

We drew nearer, and if the sight of a patrol party carrying five mares and a comatose griffin was not enough to intrigue them, then the sight of the Night Princess of Equestria carrying a wounded pegasus was. We finally landed and the ponies dismounted the griffins.

“Heavywing, go up to Command and tell them we’re back in some... unusual circumstances,” Swiftpaw ordered. In an aside to me, he hissed, “Heavywing is my third in command.” I glanced at him briefly, but was too world-weary to care for his opinion of me.

Bypassing the insult-trading, I simply told him to take us to the hospital. He complied, grudgingly, and led us down a set of caves into the centre of the mountain. “It’s warmer underground, and so we thought it would make sense to keep the sick patients here,” he explained to us as we reached a door in the cave. He led us in and conducted a whispered conversation with one of the griffins in charge if the hospital. The attendant took us to a room with a single bed. It looked comfortable and had enough blankets, so I lay Dash down on the mattress and pulled the blankets on top of her. I gave Swiftpaw one last command.

“Swiftpaw,” I said quietly. “Take the others to somewhere they can sleep. Close by, if you will. After that, I’ll let you go, and if I go to the griffins’ Command, I’ll tell them about how you helped me in difficult situations.”

The griffin nodded, now aware that he would get a favourable recommendation for future promotions, and led the six mares away. I stayed by Dash’s bed. Eventually, I realised that I wanted to know what happened. She would be reliving her dream time and time again in her comatose state, so I delved into her dreams.

I woke up. There was a scuffing of something on the hard ground of the plateau. I opened my eyes and saw a griffin’s face hovering two hooves above my own. I rolled away from my sleeping position quickly, and leapt to my hooves, adrenaline coursing through my veins. My heart was pounding as I recognised the griffin who woke me.

“Gilda,” I growled. The other ponies also woke from the griffins’ presence.

“What the hay are you doing here, mule?” the griffin spat the insult at me, and my pride got the better of me.

“What did you call me?” I walked up to her. I heard somepony stumbling over behind me and I glanced to look. Twilight looked weary, but otherwise undamaged.

“A mule,” she repeated. “Useless unless you need something to carry your load.”

“Are you calling me useless?” I hissed. “At least I don’t run at the mention of a prank.”

“What,” Gilda said, devoid of emotion.

“Hey everybody, look here!” I called to the griffins surrounding us. “This is Gilda. She couldn’t take a joke for her life. I bet she runs away and cries each time you trick her, doesn’t she?”

“Shut your mouth, Rainbow” she whispered menacingly at me.

“Or what?” I asked her, innocently. “You’ll cry to the griffins around you? You’re outnumbering us, two-to-one. You must be feeling so brave, Gilda.”

She lifted her claw. “I’ll show you what’s going to happen.” She hissed at me. I knew griffin claws could kill a pony in a single swipe, but that didn’t cross my mind at the time.

“I bet you’re only doing that because you’ve got an army behind you,” I told her. In my peripheral vision, I saw Luna in the night sky. “Is your mummy one of the-”

The claw slashed at me as Luna released her energy.

Pain exploded across my face as the claws raked across.

I fell into darkness.

I pulled myself from the dream, knowing that nothing else would happen which I could see without possibly damage her. Waking an unconscious pony before they were ready was a sure way to make the injuries worse, and possibly lead to them completely and irrevocably forgetting about what had happened to them. I examined Dash’s scars; they were deep and very raw. I had made sure they had been cleaned and cured, but I was still worried about it. I could not remove the scars with simple unicorn magic, and nor could I remove them with simple alicorn magic; I would have to use very complex and gruelling spells to make Dash look the same again, and I could not do that with her unconscious or anywhere near sleep. If she fell asleep during the spell-weaving, it would be impossible for me to fix them with my own magic, and I could only hope that Celestia could save her image then.

Not completely trusting of the griffins, I barred the door to the room where Rainbow Dash was staying using magic. I knew it was a useless move; no-one would dare try to harm a friend of the Night Princess when she was right beside them. I removed my saddlebags and left them by the corner of the room; I thought that I might be staying for a while. Noting Dash’s condition, I guessed that she would be comatose for anywhere between one and ten days. Any longer than ten days, I feared that she would not wake for many months, even years. I prayed that this was not the case, for every single pony’s sake: I would not be a good ruler if I lost one of the bearers of the Elements of Harmony, primarily because I would blame myself for it.

* * *

“Luna,” a hoarse voice whispered my name as I was dozing off. My head snapped up as I remembered there was only one other pony in the room. I galloped over to Rainbow and nuzzled her affectionately. “Hey, get off me,” she complained as I barraged her. I complied quickly.

“I’m sorry, Dash,” I apologised. “But we’ve all been so worried about you recently.” I was surprised that Rainbow had taken her bearings so quickly. Or she was just too tired to care, came a small voice inside me.

“Can you please get me some water?” Dash asked, her voice still hoarse. I ran quickly to the nearby underground stream and conjured a small glass to carry the water in. When I returned, Dash was waiting patiently, but quickly gulped down the water I had provided.

“So,” Dash began, after a few more glasses of water in a similar manner. “Where are we?”

“We’re in the hospital in Highridge,” I told her. She started. “Don’t be alarmed. I told the party of griffins to take us here, and I carried you to the hospital so you could rest. I stayed here with you while you were asleep.”

She seemed slightly shocked. “Speaking of... How long was I out for?”

“Three days and a night,” I answered. Dash seemed to accept this as fact.

“Only that long?” Dash asked. I nodded. There was a silence between us as she attempted to recall the events that led her to her presence here. “So... I was sleeping, and I got woken up by a noise. That was... Gilda, I think. Yes, that’d be right.

“So, what after that,” she continued the train of thought. “When I got up, Gilda and I were squaring up to each other, and she was about to slash me... I saw you in the corner of my eye, and then I said something which snapped Gilda... What happened to her, anyway?”

“Well, I uh...” I didn’t feel comfortable talking about it. I hated myself whenever I hurt somebody. “I attacked her. I didn’t mean to kill her though, and I only kill if I really want to and am trying pretty hard. I just sort of... lashed out at Gilda. Is that the griffin you had problems with, before I came to see you?”

“That’d be the one,” said Dash. She was looking very tired.

“Maybe you should get some sleep,” I suggested. Dash nodded and rolled over. I told her I would put a spell on the door so it only opened with her permission. I turned to leave and get some food.

“Luna,” Dash called me back. “Just one thing... That slash. It should’ve killed me. So... how am I still here?”

I smiled haggardly. “I know, Dash. But don’t worry about it. You’re here, and you’re safe. That’s all that needs to worry you now.” I gathered up my saddlebags and left, leaving a weary Rainbow Dash behind me. I made up my mind. I’ll tell them when Rainbow’s stronger. I can’t put it off any longer.

As I exited the hospital cave, I rediscovered the feeling of a hungry stomach. I could survive without food for longer than all ponies, but it was very uncomfortable. I took an apple from my saddlebags and proceeded to munch on it. Will they still trust me after I tell them? Are they going to believe me? I asked these questions of myself, but I naturally found no answer.

Over the next few days, the other mares came to visit Dash in the hospital. I didn’t answer Dash’s question, and, to her credit, she didn’t ask again. I was still sleeping in the hospital room, on a cushion that the griffins had provided me with, but I had been able to explore the caves and talk to the others after Dash had woken up the first time. I was still worried about Dash’s scars, but she seemed resigned to the fact that they would stay with her together. I still felt guilty; until I fixed them, I would be worried that they would ruin her life forever.

The others seemed to be a lot more relaxed around the griffins after Dash woke up, and Twilight was fulfilling her need for new knowledge by talking about griffin society.

“It seems very military-based,” Twilight explained to me, after I had expressed an interest; society did change over a millennium. “The rank structure is similar to our own, they just have different names. Swiftpaw is a sergeant of a dragoon; Gilda was his corporal. The list goes on. I found that griffin society is extremely regimented, and many of the griffins would prefer to live another way.” This news interested me.

“Are there any plans for change?” I asked. This hierarchical structure could easily go wrong, and the upper classes had to be very wary of revolt. The system in Equestria was similarly hierarchical, but we listened to the citizens’ complaints and tried to resolve them. If either my sister or I decided that a noble was not acting in the best interests of their area, we would tell them to change; if they did not, we replaced them. “I fear that this society could go wrong very quickly.” We continued this discussion, and I found it very entertaining, but also very serious to the wellbeing of griffins. Twilight knew what she was talking about, and she tried to act in the best interests for the griffins, as well.

* * *

We all met up in Rainbow Dash’s room. I had called them there so I could tell them the truth, but first, I wanted to give Dash a gift.

“Hi everyone,” I began. “You may have wondered why I called everyone here. Well, I guess there are two reasons. First of all, I would like to ask you a question, Rainbow Dash.” She looked up at the mention of her name. “If I could remove the scars from your face, would you want me to do it?”

Dash thought for only a moment. “I had sort of resigned to the fact I would have these for life, and... you’re saying I don’t need to?” I nodded. “Well, then. I would like to get rid of them. Does anyone not agree?” She directed the question to the whole room. Nopony objected.

“I guess that settles it,” I said. “Now, Dash: I need you to stay awake while I do this. Are you ready?” Dash nodded.

I drew a mental breath and began. I lit up my horn and started to enter Dash’s mind. I felt an obstacle I forgot to warn Dash about: her own instincts.

Dash, I thought, no need to speak aloud. I need you to let me in. It’s instinct to not let anything into your mind. Just picture an open door. I heard a mental grunt of acquiescence and the barrier melted away. I dove deeper. I found the processes which ran the body: the beating heart; the breathing lungs; the ever-working brain. It was into these processes that I set myself.

Now came the difficult part. I opened my eyes in the physical world and sent some magic to the part of my mental being in Dash’s mind. It was not easy, being in two places at once, but for this magic, it was required. I felt the magic connect on the other end and chose the processes to change. I sifted through the many functions that the body made, until I found the repair process. I directed the power into this and manipulated the area it worked for. The skin on Dash’s face started returning to its normal cyan colour, but it was still visibly scarred. I added some more magic to the process and it sped up. The skin was returning to normal and I heard a gasp behind me. It nearly broke my concentration, but I managed to shut it out. The skin looked perfectly normal again, so I moved to the next step.

I withdrew some of the magic I was using, and once again sifted through the processes until I found the one which grows hair. I added a slight amount of magic to this and watched as the coat on Dash’s face returned. As it finally reached the equal growth stage as the fur around it, I halted the flow of magic. I withdrew my mental being inside Dash and slumped on the floor behind me. Twilight looked astonished, but managed to conjure a mirror to show my handiwork to Rainbow. She looked at herself.

“I’m still awesome, though,” she said, extremely happily. “Luna... thanks so much for that. I just...”

“Don’t worry about it,” I panted. “I could have stopped it from happening in the first place.” There was a pause as I regained my strength.

“Luna,” Applejack began. “You said there was somethin’ else to it.”

“That I did,” I responded. I paused again before continuing. “Many, and I would guess all, of you are thinking that Rainbow Dash is lucky to be alive, even Dash herself. I need to tell you why, because it affects all of you.

“Gilda’s slash should have killed Rainbow Dash, and I daresay if it was any pegasus, unicorn or earth pony outside this room, it would have. You are all extremely special; you’re the Elements of Harmony, but you need to know that a title isn’t all to go with it.

“How have Celestia and I stayed alive for millennia? I’ll tell you: an ancient magic is there, protecting those who protect the world as it is. I am one of those protectors, and so is my sister. You are all protectors of this earth: you saved the balance from Nightmare Moon, and I feel that you may need to do something similar again, though I pray against it.

“I do not know the origin of this magic, nor anything else except that it is extremely powerful. It can save you from the brink of death: even as you teeter on the knife’s edge, it pushes you in the right direction. It saves you from many dangers in this world, even from those of time. You will not age, and it will take extreme power to bring death to you.”

There was a deathly silence as the six ponies before me digested what they had heard. Rarity was the first to speak. “That means... we’re not immortal, but we are close to it?”

“That’s exactly what I’m saying.”

There was another pause, and then the purple unicorn stood up and left the room. “Twilight,” Pinkie Pie called, “why are you leaving?” I thought I heard a sob from outside the door.

“Twiligh’, sugarcube, what’s wrong?” Applejack expressed her concern.

I hesitated. “I need to go and talk to her,” I told them. “It took me a very long time to get used to, and you’ve only just heard.” They nodded, understanding, and I pursued Twilight down the corridors of the mountain. I finally found her standing outside on a wide cliff edge.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” I asked her, cautiously.

“Is there anything else you’re not telling us?” She cried. “We have tried trusting you all this time and you can’t bring yourself to tell us the most important aspect of our lives? You might not tell us something until it suits you, but hurts everyone else. Do we even have proof that we’re immortal?”

“Dash is still alive,” I tried desperately. “Any other pony would have been killed by that wound. You know that, Twilight, you just need to see it.”

“I just need to see it,” Twilight echoed. “And why the hay should I trust you?!” She screamed at me.

“Because I love you,” the words slipped out of my mouth and I regretted it almost instantly. The emotions crossing Twilight’s face were shocked, confused, intrigued and angry, and they frightened me off.

I saw Twilight about to speak, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear what she had to say. Instinct reigned and I bolted into the sky, where she couldn’t follow me.

I flew away.

Comments

[PonyPawz]

Oh lulu.