//------------------------------//
// Gomma 
// Story: Book 1 - The Behemoth came to Canterlot 
// by Equimorto 
//------------------------------//

Twilight felt her body being carried away from where she lay. Her limbs were weak and aching, and she kept her eyes half-closed, but despite how tired and drained she was adrenaline and will were still keeping her at least half conscious, and she was grateful for it. She felt she was being carried by magic, but not much besides that. No loud sounds could be heard, so she figured at the least Nightmare Moon was not an immediate problem.
She couldn't see exactly where she was being brought, only feel that it was somewhere downwards and back, but she figured it was any of the buildings where a doctor was. She wasn't sure how much a regular one could do, especially when her issue was plain old exertion, but she figured being looked at couldn't possibly hurt. She was a little surprised then, when, upon being set down on the relatively cold ground, she realised she was still outside.
Someone came over her. By the time thighs clicked in her head and made her realise who it had to be given how tall they were, a faint golden and amber glow was already spreading over her body. She stood up and it hurt her far less than she would have imagined to do so, as she felt all tiredness being drained away from her body, all aches being removed.
She looked around and was even more surprised to see who'd brought her there. Starlight seemed to be back in perfectly healthy conditions, no wounds on her coat even if some blood was still on the bandages she was busy removing. Twilight didn't focus long on her though, and looked to Celestia instead. Unsurprisingly, but perhaps ironically, the alicorn looked the worst out of all of them. Her short mane still a mess and the signs of what she'd had to endure still there on her body, her face was smeared with tears that hadn't finished drying yet, her legs and wings were drenched in dried blood, and there was an odd, unnatural black spot on her chest with no hair growing from it, like a magically burnt scar in her skin.
"It's not going to spread," Celestia said, noticing how Twilight's attention lingered on the mark. "Not the prettiest, but I think it was worth it."
Twilight's eyes went wide as the implications hit her, and immediately her head whipped to the side to look at the alicorn lying close by, a little farther back at Celestia's side. Luna wasn't moving and she was still covered in blood, but the wound on her chest was gone. She was breathing. Unconscious, and possibly more than just asleep, but she was alive. And there was something different about her mane.
"I owe Firecracker an apology," Celestia said, drawing Twilight's attention back to her. "We'll have time to celebrate, Twilight. And time to talk, Harmony knows we'll need it." Her tone was still signed by the consequences of her sobbing, hoarse and a little stuttering in places. "But things aren't over yet. Go and make sure it's finished."
Twilight wanted to say something, but she swallowed her words instead. She nodded, turned, and headed towards the crater.