“Silver? Come in! Silver!”
Cobalt Coral’s words echoed from the bellflower wedged in Silver Night’s ear. The brazen black unicorn thief had found herself eye-to-eye with the hippogriff’s wayward brother, Calm Breeze. The feathers on his neck flared ferociously, gazing with disdain and approaching with a stance that exhumed an authority to seize back his leader’s property. “You rotten THIEVES!” his beak rang out. “You would invade Lord Whirlwind’s private quarters?” His eyes locked onto the envelope hovering freely with the pony’s magic. “What is that? Answer me!”
“Wait! You guys stole from us first!” She hesitated with the faint hope of pleading to his senses as her assailant made an attempt to swipe the folder away. “I’m just stealing back what’s ours!”
Following up with a desperate lunge he successfully grasped the folder away from her stilted magic skills. With a leer, he retrieved the folder contents curious what on Mt. Aris she was after. “I don’t recall us stealing military letters that... say...” Upon examination of the map and skimming a letter by his master, he became rather cold with fright as his crests fell as low as they could go. Part of him couldn’t believe it, but it had the Storm Seal as the smoking gun. The young hippogriff’s solid sanctity crumbled about as the folder flopped onto the floor. As quickly as ponily possible, Silver snagged the letter back together with all of the notes that were on the desk, shoved not so neatly into Cornfield’s saddle bags and bolted for the exit!
Meanwhile, the poor creature that had been questioning his life from this revelation shook out of it when a black and silver streak sped by him. “Wait!” The poor confused bird cried out. “Please, wait!” Silver chose to ignore his plea, focusing on probable escape plans. Veering right after she escaped him, ahead was a door, unlocked for all to bypass. She hedged her bets to simply bash through it and make her rendezvous with Coral.
“Silver! I can see the blimp!” the pony’s partner in crime chimed through the whisperweed. “Where are you?!”
“Look over the deck!” she guided through her shouting. “I’m vaulting over the rails to get to you! Just catch me!” Prompted by her command, Coral dived alongside the port side of the warship into a glide. Silver, timing her jump with the hippogriff’s speed, adjusted her legs and free fell from the blimp’s railings, leaving her life in the avian’s claws. She never appreciated the sudden stop and pull of another creature more than this moment as she landed safely in Coral’s feathery forelegs. “I hope I got everything… Haha…”
“Hey, the fact that you got out alive is the real prize!” Coral enthusiastically praised Silver for her efforts. “Let’s go back to the-”
“Coral! Please! Don’t leave me behind!” The last thing the purple bird cared for were the pleas of her light-blue brother. She rolled her eyes after looking back to see him hastily taking off beyond the blimp’s deck and doing his best to tail them.
“He’s here, too, huh?” Coral muttered with a tired groan. “Kinda figured the prison would hold him longer...”
“He just wants to arrest you, don’t acknowledge him!” Silver said in vain ignorance.
“...Maybe so... but something inside me just can’t entirely disregard my only family, no matter how annoying.” As the bearer of the Heart of Nature, Coral would have to make a landing for herself, Silver, and to give a stand for her brother’s testimony. After all, she still believed in him as her last relative. On top of that, she needed to verify what the scope of the threat stacked against all of Mt. Aris was. She was the first to land on the cockpit of their trusty sailboat in Basalt Beach, giving her time to prepare for the inevitable conflict to follow. Calm, making a less than balanced landing, stumbled with his footing as he adjusted to the rocking vessel.
“Coral…” Her sibling gasped, catching his breath from his attempts to catch up with her. “Lord... Lord Whirlwind, he-”
“Is a pampered bitch tugging on daddy’s coattails?” His sister kept him away from Silver, protecting both her and the loot she had swiped. “I don’t want to hear how that primate is Celestia’s gift to Equestria, Calm!”
“...Now that I think about it,” Silver interjected, shoving a written parchment in front of the female griff with her magic. “He did see this letter.”
Coral snatched it from the air, noting an uneasy horror looming over her brother. She skimmed through it. Then, froze for a distant second only to reread it again and again with each loop around, flushing the remaining color of her face. She turned to Silver, who instantly delivered the map to her. With a red circle creating pimples in Mt. Aris, her expression of fear matched Calm’s. “D-Do you know about this?”
Calm stared at her, followed by insistent nodding, his expression unchanging.
“...And you still follow Whirlwind?” Coral begged for common sense to finally overtake him. Both her and Silver saw him shake his head in utter disgrace. “Look at this... Look at this Novo forsaken map... There are bombs dotted everywhere... The castle, the markets, neighborhoods, hospitals, the- " A beat in time passed with silence, realizing what she listed, as The Heart of Nature dimmed from an overwhelming sense of doom. “Hospitals...?” She muttered before screaming. “CORNFIELD!!!”
“Wait what?” Silver spoke in confusion. “Didn’t Skystar take him there?”
Without so much as another word, the purple hippogriff unfolded the sails, ready to catch the next winds as soon as they came. Meanwhile, the former servant of Whirlwind sheepishly approached the black thief, who grew wary with his approach. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so, SO sorry.” He repeated himself in a vain attempt to gain their trust. “I never thought it was like this... I followed his every command, he told me that- that-” Suddenly, a sparking jab of agonizing pain throbbed in his brain, causing him to instinctively clutch his skull in his claws. “AAARGH!”
His screams made Silver backpedal away. She recalled that these headaches happened earlier in Coral’s Cove, when he fought with Cornfield. She stood contemplatively while watching him contend with his inner demons.
“I’m so sorry!” Calm shouted to himself. “I’m sorry, Lord Whirlwind, but I can’t follow you anymore! This is going too far this is- AAAAARGH!” Another surge of pain brought his body to the floor, exclaiming a sharp gasp for air. As the unicorn stood helplessly, he waited for some of the ailments to subside before reaching out to her. “My head! I’m sorry. I can’t say anything negative! Everytime I do, my mind just feels like it’s going to explode!”
“Poor choice of words, Calm!” His sister shouted from above while finishing her work on the sails. “If we don’t do something now, we’re ALL going to explode!”
After seeing him burst with agony during any breakthrough in good conscience, Silver pieced his behavior together into a conclusive statement. She resounded her suspicion, “...This whole time… You never really believed in Whirlwind, after all! Someone implanted your faith in him!” With more and more revelations piling up of the tyrant’s many crimes, she considered now would be the best time to retaliate. “Coral! I think we have enough evidence here! We need to inform the Queen right away!”
The purple gem thief knew that time was of the essence, and flew down to fling the steering wheel in the direction of Mt. Aris. “Silver,” Coral called back to the unicorn. “If we make it out of this alive and the Queen doesn’t reward you handsomely for this, I will steal her entire treasury to give to you!”
“Hey, that’s great! Just make sure we get to those bombs in time! I want to live to steal another day.”
Meanwhile, the guilt-wracked light-blue hybrid stewed on the port side of the boat. He felt like saying something, anything to get on his sister’s good graces again. Carefully, he made his way with light steps to her, who focused all her efforts on shooting through the waves. “Uh, Coral,” Calm began while he sat up to fidget with his own claws nervously, like an awkward student being called upon by the teacher. “I feel like I need to say something…”
“That your beautiful and brave sister was right all along and you should never doubt her ever?” Coral finished his thought without missing a beat or taking her eyes off the clear blue ocean.
Calm nodded in sadness, unprepared for what came next. He felt his blood chill a bit when she suddenly motioned him over. Once he was beside her, however, she warmly embraced him with one wing wrapped around him. “It’s all right, Calm,” his sibling assured. “I forgive you. The sooner we stop this mad monkey from going forward with his plans, the sooner we can become a family again.”
On the other hoof, Silver questioned if Coral’s forgiveness was warranted. Not only did he chastise Coral’s lifestyle as a thief, but he even trusted Whirlwind over her. The justification seemed rather dubious to let him off the hook so easily. However, for the sake of maintaining their stress at a minimum, the unicorn elected not to bring it up. These family matters were of no concern to her after all. In the meantime, she realized this was the ideal moment to verify her stolen goods. Using her levitation magic, she brought the loose pieces of paper within the bird’s peripheral vision.
“Do any of these look like Zecora’s notes?” Silver asked.
“Calm, could you?” Coral pleaded with her brother, still minding the roaring waters beyond. “Kinda steering here.”
Taking her cue, Calm gripped the bundle of notes and checked them one at a time, some of which were scientific jargon beyond the understanding of his simple brain. There were, however, some peculiar bits about the Gems and Zecora’s ancestor. “These look to be the ones.”
“Yes!” Silver channelled Cornfield’s colt-like behavior as she hopped about in celebration. “I found them… I got everything you asked for, Coral! Except I couldn’t find your saddlebags with all of your supplies, I think.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Her partner in crime beamed with pride. “I’m really impressed with you, Silver. You’re a true thief to your name and I’m happy that all the blood, sweat, tears, and bee stings were worth it. We’re back to being ahead of the curve!”
“Wait, bee stings?” her brother asked.
“Don’t worry about it. So, thieves aren’t all that bad, huh?”
Calm glanced over at his sibling and the black beauty back and forth, both confidently peering at him, knowing he wasn’t in a position to question their choice of means. The insurmountable pressure they piled on eventually jolted a response out of him. “Oh! Uh, yeah, you don’t have to be evil to steal, I guess...”
“Ever the white knight.” The purple hippogriff’s eyes rolled at his answer before engaging her discussion with a more like-minded pony. “By the way, didn’t you score any of the loot he had stolen for yourself? That was the deal, remember?”
“I was overencumbered.” Silver said, treating it like it was no skin off her back.
Coral only just stared in bewilderment, wondering how she curbed her greedy tendencies for so long. “You... didn’t want any of the riches for yourself?”
“Those riches…” Calm temporarily interjected. “Whirlwind said he would return them for good will. But something now tells me that he might keep them for himSEEEEEELF!” Another bad thought caused a shock of pain in his head as he once again curled up into a ball. His sister let go of the wheel momentarily and tried to comfort him.
“Of course I wanted it!” Silver continued, wanting to get the conversation back to herself.
“And yet, you focused solely on the mission.” The purple hippogriff huffed at her insensitivity. “My goodwill seems to be rubbing off on you. Still, you do have that amulet I gave you, right?”
“Duh. It’s still in these bags. I did steal as much as I could carry considering I had to deal with some monkeys in the ship.”
The boat was closing in on the docks of Mt. Aris as Coral focused on bringing the boat into an empty space. “True. Don’t want to be too greedy. Besides, what you discovered is more valuable than any treasure in the world.” After saying that, she slowly glanced down at the heart-shaped gem grafted in her chest. “Well... ALMOST any treasure...”
The time wasted away following the usual docking procedures made Coral more and more anxious. When the critical documentations of treachery were stashed safely in Cornfield’s bags, all three members of her group sped up the stairs leading to the mountain’s main gate as fast as possible. At first, the stalwart soldiers blocked their only access inside upon their approach, crossing their spears to obstruct the outsiders.
“HALT!” One of the queen’s guards instructed.
The other of her majesty’s finest took a moment to size Coral and Silver up, finding the latter to be the most suspicious. “You two are wanted criminals of the Queen,” he said matter-of-factly. “Leave the island or face charges!” Looking at Silver, he added, “And you! Move your bangs! They’re undignified!”
The unicorn, shocked by the avian’s uncouth remarks, backed down instantly, in an attempt to avoid jail time right after finishing a big score. However, Calm emerged forward in confrontation of his fellow species.
“Lord Whirlwind has sent me on an errand,” He lied convincingly to the armed soldiers. “In the name of my lord, I demand they be allowed passage. Fear not, they shall be arrested at an appointed time after we commence our audience with Queen Novo.”
The guards eyed each other, pondering on the request. The two prisoners were walking about unshackled and with no restraint; a particular oddity that brought hesitation. Upon lifting their spears, one questioned the subordinate, “They are turning themselves in... freely?”
Coral and Silver exchanged glances, making a subtle agreement with one another before putting on their best act. “You stupid half-breeds!” The black unicorn shouted with bluster. “I’ll bite your wings off! Just try it!”
“I just want to see the queen once more,” Calm’s sister flapped her beak, “So I can spit at her talons and tell her how wrong she is!”
“Why don’t you guards go lay an egg!”
The members of the Queen’s royal military, annoyed by their pure audacity, decided to grant Calm’s request if it’ll get them moving out of their sight sooner. The same guard who dissed Silver’s hair fluttered into formation behind them and made a small flick of his spear, in commanding motion, scraping the unicorn’s backside.
“OW! Hey!” was all the captive could let out as they began moving with shameful silence. They did so as Coral chuckled at Silver’s expense. She then looked and smiled at her brother, tailing them along the path.
As the band of the imprisoned traversed beyond the palace gates and across the courtyard garden, a giant red and gold door opened with an imposing flair, as if to swallow the unwanted visitors whole. The sounds of claws and hooves traipsing upon the aquamarine hued marbled surface filled the halls as they gazed around the castle’s glamorous foyer. Feathers, busts of famous hippogriffs, paintings, and other works of art adorned the silver walls while transferring to the audience room. Queen Novo lounged about on her throne, brilliantly ordained with giant purple-hue-cycling peacock feathers sprouting behind a golden throne and a white carpet complementing her unmatched position in the kingdom. The Queen was momentarily lost in thought, but sat up straight when she laid eyes on who would dare disgrace her with their presence.
Shifting her beak closer to Silver’s ear, Coral suggested she bow her head first. The unicorn obliged, yet her eyes wandered. Drinking in the many valuables proudly on display, it was obvious that the hippogriffs, despite their distant small island nation, were especially wealthy from the gifts the sea bestowed.
Calm bowed his head, and the queen bowed hers to him. The guards bowed respectfully, and took leave with a royal gait. “Calm, is it?” her majesty began, not even dignifying her other guests with acknowledgment. “While I often do find pleasure with the audience of Lord Whirlwind, you better have a good explanation for deeming such petty bandits as worthy of my presence.”
“Indeed,” the young hippogriff stallion replied with careful politeness. “I humbly request you bow to the both of them, as they hold the evidence of your kingdom’s ruination...”
“BOW TO THIEVES?” Her loud cawing echoed in the room with enough volume to almost rival the Royal Canterlot Voice. Her wingspan stretched out as she rested her talons on her chest in a dramatic fashion. “Me?!”
“Please. If their sight offends you so, you may toss them in the dungeon. On the condition that you just grant their say in all of this.”
The agitated monarch stood with emotions stewing, contemplating what the other hippogriffs would think if she relented and sacrificed a fraction of pride. Reluctantly, she gave a short and informal bow to each of them, grumbling inside mouth, and no longer withholding their right to free speech. “What ruination do you speak of?” Nova queried the band of thieves.
Holding his claws out to the black pony by his side, Calm made a polite request with a hint of urgency. “Silver! The map, would you please?” Yet, the walls had Silver in a trance, as she was enthralled about the monetary value of each and every shiny thing around her.
Visibly irritated by the unicorn’s absentmindedness, Coral thrusted her claws into Cornfield’s bag on Silver’s back, wrecking her trance by rummaging around for the folder. After pulling it out, she bottled her pettiness of the queen inside for the greater good.
“Your majesty, though I obviously don’t see eye-to-eye with your views, we need to work together to save our kingdom and our people. Silver and I bravely risked our lives to give you this dire information.” Presenting the files with one foreleg, the hippogriff thief beckoned her to investigate the suggestive evidence in front of her, no matter how much she stood to lose against it.
Novo eyed Coral as she took the envelope in her claws, notwithstanding her doubt. Extending the map outward, she prepared to scan over it properly before sending them delightfully off into the dungeon. Though the marks were pretty conspicuous, she didn’t piece it all together until she literally got the memo. Then, she read it again. Again and again as her piercing claws tightly gripped the note and her beak prodded it to the point of piercing through. A deep seeded hatred for the Storm Creatures resurfaced, fueled by too many years trapped within the deep blue watery abyss. Lurching forward, she let out a furious screech, tearing the paper to ribbons and scattering the shreds with a blast of wind from her angry wings.
Huddled close together in fright, Coral, Calm, and Silver traded glances with each other, worried that the queen may go on a rampage after such a terrifying cry. Ensuing the outburst, a long uncomfortable pause befell the room, to which the monarch sat hunched back on her throne, digging her claws into the armrests. All the while, she peered into the hippogriff closest to Whirlwind throughout their entire facade. “How long did you know of this?” Novo practically hissed.
“I-I had no idea, your majesty!” retweeted Calm, frantically defending himself to save his neck. “Really! This is all news to me!”
His hurried words didn’t suffice the queen to doubt the possibility of a double cross. Yet, if they were going to uproot the Storm King’s son on a plot for revenge, she would have no choice but to listen. “Will you perhaps be working with me a little while longer until I sort out an evacuation plan?”
Calm quickly bowed his head, relieved that wisdom won over the queen to mercifully spare him. “O-Of course! Anything to stop this from happening!”
With the subject of Whirlwind’s former lackey temporarily sated, the thieves found themselves in the spotlight. First was the darkened outsider. “Do you have any intention of being involved in our matters?” Novo asked Silver, slowly extinguishing her ire.
“I-I... I’m just a d-drifter…” The unicorn stuttered, unable to control her nerves. “Sir ma’am sir.”
Rolling her eyes, the queen held back any naturally occuring hostile remarks for the sake of brevity. “Then name your price, drifter. Your service to this kingdom deserves a reward.”
“Ooh!” Perking ears and a widened grin accompany Silver as she stepped forward boldly for her payday. “This gets better and better! Ok! Firstly, I’m gonna need crates…”
“Crates?” Novo flashed a slight smirk from this optimistic request.
Behind the pony, Coral’s jaw hung at the idea of what purpose those crates would serve. “Oh, you can’t be seriously-” heckled the purple hippogriff before being cut off.
“To carry all that reward you’re gonna pay me with, of course!” Silver couldn’t help but laugh haughtily with her demands. Her triumphant cackle died down, however, as soon as Novo stared unflinchingly into her. The pony thief sounded gradually more nervous, fearing she went overboard once again.
Without warning, there was a loud snap from the throne. The queen, her raised talons bent, made an official decree. “You heard her,” she addressed the guard, having no hint of jesting in her words, “Let her take a tour of the castle and everything she requests of it.”
“WHAT?!” Mt. Aris’s own purple bandit reeled in utter shock, words failing to escape her beak coherently. Her mind raced, thinking of how her majesty of all hippogriffs, historically so vindictive and judgmental, would agree to such an outrageous ransom. Her mind would never receive enlightenment on the matter.
“YES!” Excitement surged forth through the black pony’s body. She felt like she was a filly in a candy store with nopony watching over her, and lacking any restraint from her deepest and greedist wishes. Fully embracing the queen’s uncharacteristically generous offer, she skipped over to the soldier tasked to assist and flashed him a sultry look. “Would you be my lovely escort this evening?”
As clueless as the exalted avian taking bemusement at the unicorn’s selfishness, a nervous chirp escaped his beak. He was beet red, delighted in the thought to be near such a rare beautiful pony as he made off to account for the necessary containers.
“But why?” Calm begged for a suitable answer floating inside his majesty’s head. Novo gestured the curious lackey over to her throne and gander at the map.
“Take a good look. There are five bombs planted around my castle alone. In the short time we have, we could not possibly salvage everything and see to it my subjects would escape in time.” Graciously, she rose and then descended upon the stage of her audience, stalking around Calm to further address his sister. “And you, Coral. What is your intention?”
“I’m surprised you have to ask,” the purple bandit retorted. “The Mind of Water.”
“I thought you’d say that. When I gave the go ahead for Whirlwind to hunt you down, I assumed he had our best intentions at heart. Now, I know what he’s truly after.” The queen jutted her talon of the highest rank to Coral’s chest in an authoritative manner. “You want it so bad? Work with me, and it shall be yours until we deal with Whirlwind permanently!”
When it came to taking orders but not giving them, the Heart of Nature’s bearer was more defiant as the scarring banishment had tarnished such trust in her highness. Yet, this time was different. The whims of fate had turned, and Novo was finally listening to her for the good of hippogriff kind. She sighed, her talons tapping on the floor anxiously. “What is it you wish for me to do?”
“Calm.” Her royal highness piqued the brother’s attention. “Contact Whirlwind and send him here. I will hand Coral over to him in chains and have my guards escort with her in the temple.” Knowing that command would perturb her, the queen preemptively subdued the gem thief’s concerns. “When the time comes, my guards will liberate you, and you can claim The Mind of Water before he can!”
“I assume this is to trick Whirlwind into thinking we are all allies while you evacuate every creature?”
“Correct. While he’s in the temple, I will commence an evacuation plan while Whirlwind’s forces are distracted. Will you do it?”
Deeply considering the different angles this could backfire, Coral hesitantly dismissed the notion since nothing better came to light. “Of course. But on one condition...”
“And what would that be?”
“I must see Cornfield first and foremost.”
The only hospital on the island, much like every structure in Mt. Aris, was built inside a large multi-chambered tree, decked with colored windows. Cornfield was laid up in a bed, after Skystar proficiently submitted him to the facility’s care. His room’s surroundings consisted of a wooden floor and a decorated powder blue wall. Within the space of the room were the usual hospital and care equipment. Within the corner was a snug bedside drawer with lively flowers, and a bookcase lined with miscellaneous documents.
All of the fixtures couldn’t help the unconscious, however, as the green stallion showed no signs of breaking out from the magic-induced coma. The chance of an awakening grew nearer as a nurse escorted Coral inside and informed her to call if anything was needed. The purple visitor thanked her and, when the nurse left, paused a bit. She pulled alongside a chair and sat beside Cornfield’s bed, grasping a bouquet in her claws. Looking at him now, as he rested in the peaceful tranquility that a hospital provides, left her smiling with some relief. Perhaps, in some wishful miracle, he could arise right then and there, uplifting her warm grin. Alas, her imagination relinquished the thought, as she held back the emerging tears and rested her gift by his side.
“Hey, Cornfield…” She started talking, desperate for a reaction. “I know you probably can’t hear me but... I brought your favorite flowers over. They’re blue hibiscus flowers. The same ones you gave me.”
An audible click of the door handle churned and squeaking hinges broke the silence. The grieving thief sat up straight to see a peculiar light-red hippogriff with styled back tangerine feathers and a doctor’s coat coming in. “Ah,” the medical practitioner chimed with a low baritone voice. “Are you this colt’s family?”
This question came off a little awkward to her, Coral glanced at the flowers, then back at the doctor, prolonging the response. “I suppose... You could say that. I never got the diagnosis from the nurse when I came to see Cornfield... Will he be alright?”
“Ah... Well, it’s difficult for me to tell you this…”
“What?” She responded with a ghost of her normal vocals. That’s the one absolute last thing she needed to hear in a hospital. The consulting red hybrid approached the colt’s still body from the other side of the bed.
“The thing is... while we don’t normally diagnose ponies, it’s usually not that difficult to do so since we all share similar traits. However...” He drew a clipboard from the rack hanging off the bedframe and looked it over one more time to confirm the prognosis. “According to our results, this young stallion here has a bad case of a ‘magical coma’.”
In a state of shock and disbelief, Coral recoiled from her chair, almost tipping herself over. “WHAT?! A coma! H-How? He had a stomach ache, right?!”
The force of her hysterical screech was met with the doctor’s talons held up to her face, hoping to calm her down. “It’s caused when an abundant source of magic enters a pony with no clear outlet of release. If he was a unicorn, his horn would discharge any that he could not contain. As it stands, however, he still needs to get the rest out of his system before he can wake up. The phenomenon is known as ‘Astral Slumber’.
Coral shivered from the chilling news and hung her head, trying to discern the meaning behind this information. “Astral Slumber? Will he ever wake up on his own from that?”
“Wha- Oh yeah… ‘waking up’ is one way to put it.” The doctor cleared his throat. “Well, there’s one solution that was devised and shared by the brilliant minds over in Canterlot to solve the problem. However, it can’t ensure all side-effects are accounted for.”
“Such as?” Coral questioned, shrugging with her eyes glaring as she had no other option in mind.
“According to our records, if there’s still a massive buildup of magic in his body, the mixture we would give him can release it all very violently, enough to cause a lot of unspeakable damage around him and even to himself. Tell me, do you know what happened for him to fall into Astral Slumber?”
She briefly recounted the many events which led up to the last time she saw him. “He... There was an event where he was struck on the back with a powerful bolt of lightning. Not natural lightning, mind you, but lightning magic made by a powerful unicorn. Why? Is that the possible cause?”
“Consider this: has there ever been anything unexplainable that happened involving him? Perhaps contact with a magical artifact or magically-induced consumable?”
“When we were on the sailboat on our way here. There was one incident where his eyes glowed and made incomprehensible statements. Then, he claimed there was a female hippogriff in the sky when there was none. Finally, when we were, uh…” Quickly, she disguised the truth about their encounter with the storm creatures. “Trapped in a shed somewhere, he screamed really loud and blasted the, uh, wall, allowing us to escape.”
It didn’t take the sharp eyes of an eagle to see that the medical professional was deeply disturbed by these symptoms. “R-Really? He has that much magic imbued in him?! And you want to let that out? Are you sure..?”
She thought about it carefully, leaning in to caress his cheek while his head laid on her claws. The talons brushed through his messy blonde mane as she started tearing up and spoke to him softly. “It’s your fault, Cornfield. You made the promise that you wouldn’t leave me. At a time like this, where I need to do the most dangerous mission of all, I’ll be damned if I have to do it alone. I hope you realize that... and forgive me...” She looked right at the doctor’s anticipating face and gave him a determined nod. “Do it.”
The hippogriff of medicine, afraid to defy his hippocratic oath, mumbled profusely and abandoned his professionalism considering what disaster might befall. “...Shit… Alright... You know you’ll be responsible for him, right?”
“I gave you a FUCKING answer!” Cornfield’s committed partner bared her claws at her own kind, threatening to eviscerate him. “I’m not charging to face death if I’m without my partner! DO IT OR I’LL SEND YOU TO THE ICU, AS IN: I’LL SEE YOU DEAD!!”
Stumbling, barely keeping himself from tripping over his legs, he scrambled to the door and poked his head out. His voice wobbled with fear, cracking in pitch. “N-nurse?! Can you tell the lab to brew up a Magi #341 potion?! And a waiver to sign for the procedure!” Confused, the nurse asked why only for the doctor to quickly reiterate “Just do it… please!”
Despite practically the entire hospital’s plea for Coral not to go through with her wishes, the selfish bird waved them all off. Was it all overly exaggerated or were the lives of the hippogriffs in the building at risk from her actions? No matter what, Coral comprehended the emergency that urged Cornfield’s revival and knew it would justify the means of their survival. Before too long, a flask of blue shining liquid arrived in her clutches. The doctor suggested she drip-feed him the concoction into his mouth before scurrying out and slamming the door behind him. Gingerly following his step, drops of the tincture splashed on Cornfield’s tongue, sliding down his throat as she leveraged his swallowing.
Then, a gradual glow emitted around the colt’s body, bringing back the magical aura she first witnessed when he became “possessed”. Coral foolishly leaned in, believing he would surely stir awake. Much to anyone’s surprise, a shockwave of magic blasted from him with an audible bang. The force of it threw her back into staggering, with the glass of the window near his bed shattering. It was almost like a paranormal force had escaped its prison and fled into parts unknown.
Instantly, Cornfield broke out of his incapacitated trance, almost like he was in a state of suspended animation until he came to! “Whoa!” His eyes were still adjusting, but he could feel the stiffness of being out of it for so long. Once his vision became clearer, he stretched his forelegs out. “Aaaahh… Wha... Where am I?”
Taken by surprise from his sudden awakening, the edges of her beak struggled to uplift her smile, as she fought back the tears. Identifying his most dependable friend, the green patient was rather dumbstruck, seeing her emotionally distraught face. “Um... Coral? What’s going on? You look like hell…” He asked. Coral embraced the bedridden Cornfield, hugging him tight while rubbing one of her cheeks against his.
Unable to deduce any proceeding event which led to this moment, the colt maintained his query of misunderstanding. “...Coral? Coral what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”
Reinforcing her forelegs around him, Coral replied “ I’m just happy to see you’re ok again...” Then she took the bouquet on the bed to give him, chuckling to herself.
“Oh! Thanks! I am pretty hungry!” Just when he came in for a bite, the color of a particular flower caught his attention. “...Oh, wait... These are…” The memories lingering in his brain had surfaced. He could visualize the elation on Coral’s face when she had gazed upon him in a state of love. Those feelings began to flourish inside him as well. “...Heh, now I know why you are crying.”
She smiled but cut it short with a sigh. “A lot has happened while you were asleep. Silver and I went through Tartarus and back to find something important.” After informing him, she turned over to the medical staff peeking through a crack in the door, called by the initial sound of shattered glass. “Would you allow us some privacy please?” Upon the door being shut, Coral gave Cornfield a grave look. “You cannot tell a soul what I’m about to say. Not even a hippogriff, got it?”
Although he just came back to the land of the living for about five minutes, he agreed to her demands and listened with the best his addled mind can muster.
“I know that this may be frightening, after just waking up, but...” She braced herself for the literal bombshell she’s about to declare. “It seems that Lord Whirlwind has loaded Mt. Aris with explosives and is going to level my home. Even if he gets The Mind of Water.”
Cornfield remained silent and still like he was analyzing her proclamation. Just when it seemed he would once again freak out over things beyond his control, something clicked. “Wait a minute! Do they know about this? I mean, the queen and all the other hippogriffs. Have we finally got everypony on board with fighting that lunatic?”
Although not what she expected, Coral dwelled on his response. “Well, in a manner of speaking, yes. For once, Calm is behind us one hundred percent, and even the queen has authorized us the duty of securing the Mind of Water before he does!”
Unfortunately, the colt fell back into a pattern of confused hysteria. “Wait! We’re what?!?! You didn’t mention that part!”
“Hey, hey, take it easy! I’m not losing you to yet another coma! Meanwhile, I’m trying to keep panic to a minimum. But listen, the fact that he already planted the bombs suggest they are detonated remotely.” Then she stood up before him. “We just need to distract him long enough to evacuate as many hippogriffs as possible!”
Energy building back in his young body, he stood up in his bed slightly panicked. “Alright, but what should we do?! How can we extract everypony without raising a panic?”
“Cornfield, Settle down now. Look, We already got a plan!”
“Wait, you do? You should have led with that, you know.”
“You won’t like it, though. Calm and a few other hippogriff guards are turning me in, all chained up and everything. The Queen herself will act like the ‘treaty’ is still in effect. By the time Whirlwind takes us deep underwater, we’ll have bought everyone enough time to be saved!”
“But, then what will I do? Whatever it is…” The colt aligns himself next to her, leaning on her foreleg. “I’d rather be with you. If it means chaining me up as well, then that’s fine. After all, you have the Heart of Nature, so I think I’m safer with SuperGriff than anywhere else on this... Is it a mountain or an island?”
“Both! And I knew you’d stick with me! Besides, the more able hooves on my side when Calm lets me get The Mind, the better. Queen Novo is waiting for us over at the castle. Are you in? Or are you… chicken?” She starts folding her forelegs and making sounds like free range poultry. They both laughed, endearing each other after becoming revitalized once again. “Don’t worry, Coral!” He stood with bravado. “I’ll never let anything bad happen to me again!”
Happily nodding, Coral then held her fist up, “Partner?” and reached out to him.
“Partners for life!” Cornfield enthusiastically bumps his hoof with her fist, and they share in the moment of friendship.
“Time to check out and get into character, then!” Gingerly, she helped her coltfriend off of the bed and assured his hoofing after a long period of time in slumber. As Coral approached the door to upturn the handle, Cornfield paused to review his time of consciousness up to this point.
“There’s just one thing I gotta ask…” he queried. As his favorite hippogriff opened the way for him, her fellow kind witnessed his leave and scurried out the hall, giving him a wide berth. “...Why am I at a hospital? The last thing I remember, we were taken captive aboard some sub, and then I felt a little seasick, and now I’m here!”
“Oh!” The gem thief darted her eyes from Cornfield to the floor, processing the best possible answer. “You, uh, got a stomach bug and complained you weren’t feeling so good before you passed out. So, when Silver and I busted all of us out, Skystar took you to a hospital.” She smiled at him, hoping what she said was satisfactory. It’s not like that was being dishonest, as she promised never doing so again between them. Just left a few itsy bitsy details out.
“Wow!” The colt answered with genuine awe. “You broke out of that hold? That’s incredible! ...But it’s weird... I passed out?” Recalling the best he could, he tried to think with his hoof tapping his temples to get the memory banks working. “I remember while you were with me and I felt sick, I was wishing really hard that we’d somehow break free and get out of there. I guess it worked, huh?
“YUP!” Coral blurted out, hoping for the topic to drop. “Dreams sure do come true… Anyway, come on. We got a tyrant to overthrow.”