Chapter 2
Delirium
Sapphire had warped into the midst of a small crowd on one of the more well-worn roads through town, scattering them like dandelion seeds in the wind. She staggered and nearly fell, winded from the force of exertion required to cast the spell. Just before her was the small blue house that Light's Hope lived in. It was a much more practical residence than the observatory tower.
“Sorry, excuse me,” Sapphire called back breathlessly. The multitude of angry stares and shouts from behind hastened her journey as she galloped up the path to the door. She pounded on it with both hooves.
“Light, Light it’s an emergency!” she shouted over the hailstorm of hoofbeats. The door swung open, glowing briefly with the subtle aura of Light’s magic.
“What’s the matter Sapphire?” Light asked, appearing from the back room to meet her. Sapphire's words were punctuated by gasps for air.
“Dawn Chaser. The others,” Sapphire said, gasping for air like a beached fish. “We need to get them. A message. It's an ambush. Entire gryphon pride was wiped out.”
“Sapphire I need you to take a deep breath,” Light said evenly. “Just calm down, and tell me what we need to tell Dawn Chaser. Okay?”
Sapphire nodded slowly, still panting for air. She tried again, this time with more detail and less heavy panting.
“Come with me, I’ve got the crystals we’ll need upstairs,” Light said after he'd heard Sapphire's revised message. Sapphire heaved a sigh of relief as she fell in step behind the yellow unicorn. Crystal magic, that explained why she couldn’t remember how to do it. Crystal magic had always been Light’s forte, not hers. Not that it wasn’t an interest, but there were so many other fields to study already.
“Ironfeather says there are many of them, several dozen at least. Enough to subdue an entire gryphon pride. They’ve taken to hiding in the snow drifts to ambush their prey.”
“I will pass that on to Dawn Chaser,” Light said. Several crystals floated to the center of the room under his power. A much larger white crystal waited there for them.
“It’s a science,” he said, carefully placing each of the smaller gems. Each sparkling addition began to softly glow as it was added to the pattern. Once they’d all been arranged the yellow-furred unicorn closed his eyes in deep concentration. Sapphire took a few steps back, opting to give the stallion a wide berth for the spell he was about to cast.
“This will be loud,” Light warned, peeking out the corner of one eye at his guest. He placed one hoof against the white crystal at the pattern’s center. Suddenly his voice boomed through the room, coming from nowhere and seemingly everywhere at once. The birds on the windowsill scattered. Sapphire found herself backed against the wall with her ears pinned down from the onslaught of sound. Fortunately the event proved to be as brief as it was loud.
“You were right,” Sapphire said, trying to talk over the church bells ringing in her ears. If it was a song, it had been a glorious battle hymn.
“Dawn Chaser has received your message,” Light announced. “For the moment, it seems that he and his team are safe and intact.”
“Do you know where they are?” Sapphire asked.
“I am afraid not,” he said.
“But you’re sure they’re okay?”
“Yes,” Light said. “I made contact with Dawn Chaser. I couldn’t sense any fear in him, nor grief.”
“Good, Emberwind will be relieved. I think we’ll all feel a lot better once everypony is back home and safe,” Sapphire said.
“Are we safe? It sounds like we are not,” Light said, in his usual mercurial way. He'd already begun cleaning up the crystals. Sapphire sometimes thought that even if the whole world collapsed all at once, Light would simply explain why it might have happened and then begin cleaning up the mess without complaint.
“Perhaps not,” Sapphire said, ears drooping.
“Now now,” Light said warmly. “Do not despair. We know of the threat. When the time comes, and it will, Glendale can defend itself.”
Sapphire could hardly believe how nonchalant Light continued to be. This, the mare thought, was the very attitude that made him always seem to know a little more about what was going on than everypony else. Was that all it was though? An illusion? Or did he actually know?
“…war? Will it really come to it?” she asked.
“I believe so,” Light said. Sapphire frowned. Not the answer she'd hoped for.
“Surely there’s got to be a way we can preempt this,” she said.
“You know as well as I that peace with the wolven is not an option,” Light said. “There are other ways to prevent war though.”
“That would mean finding a way to send the wolven back home,” Sapphire contemplated aloud. The gears were beginning to turn. These were the moments when the frosty-maned unicorn was at her best. “We need to find out why they were driven out in the first place.”
“Monsters do not need a reason, Sapphire,” warned Light, darkly.
“Everything needs a reason,” she said. “Why leave home if everything you need is right there?”
“Assuming you're right, why would the wolven leave their home?” Light asked.
Sapphire wasn’t sure. She hated how serene Light seemed about it. She could never tell if he already knew the answers to the questions he asked, or if he was just not bothered by not knowing.
“Any number of reasons,” she said. “They could be migrating in search of food, water, or to escape harsh conditions. Like birds flying south for the winter.”
“These are savage creatures,” Light said. “Savage creatures from a harsh climate,” he added. “Whatever forced them out must be quite impressive.”
“This means we need another mission,” Sapphire said, hanging her head. “We can’t risk sending Dawn Chaser in there to take a look without knowing more about what we’re up against.”
“I agree,” Light said. “For now we should concentrate on our defenses and wait to hear back from the pegasus squadron. Then we can plan a more substantial expedition. The gryphon should prove invaluable in such an endeavor. Let us hope he makes a speedy recovery in Doctor Rosebloom's care.”
“Yes, you’re right, as always,” Sapphire said. “Thank you for sending the message. I’m sure Emberwind is grateful as well. She would have come herself if it were not for the urgency.”
“I understand,” Light said. “I suggest you return to her before she spends more time worrying about the welfare of her mate.”
“Of course, thanks again,” she said, and vanished into thin air once more.
* * *
Sapphire found the hospital abandoned. She huffed and stamped her hoof in frustration. There was no telling where Emberwind had gone. For a moment she wanted to scold the pegasus for leaving without her, but she quickly remembered she’d never told anyone to expect her return. A brief wave of dizziness and nausea washed over the young unicorn, snapping her out of the internal monologue she had been having between herself and an imagined Emberwind.
Sapphire leaned against the wall to steady herself, grimacing at the faint nausea that had stayed with her since that last warp. The strain of all the magic she'd used was quickly taking its toll. She chided herself for her most recent expenditure, all that magic wasted to hurry back to meet nopony.
Nearly an hour later, Morning Rain would find her asleep, head resting on the table in a puddle of drool next to a cold daffodil sandwich at the café next door to the hospital.
“Sapphire, are you okay? You don’t look so good,” Rain said, studying the white unicorn.
Sapphire mumbled a quiet protest and tried to shake the sleep from her eyes. She smacked her lips and looked down at the untouched sandwich she didn’t remember ordering.
“Yeah, I’m fine sorry. What time is it?” asked the groggy unicorn.
“Only midday,” Rain said, stealing a skyward glance out the window. “Sapphire how late were you awake last night?”
“Late… got up early,” mumbled Sapphire. She hoped the sandwich was hers, because she was eating it.
“Yeah you shouldn’t do that,” Rain said. “Magic can get unstable if you get too tired you know.”
Sapphire cast a harsh, bloodshot glance at the pegasus. She was not in the mood for a lecture. Too much magic, not enough sleep, the heaviness of her eyelids said more than Rain could have in an hour. Each felt like it weighed at least 20 pounds. Sapphire looked up from her snack. The violet-maned pegasus was still there, watching, scowling.
“I know?” Sapphire said, hoping that would appease her. No such luck.
“So why are you here, eating my sandwich?” Rain asked. Sapphire choked. That explained the steady, unsympathetic glare.
“Your sandwich? I’m sorry, I didn’t know. I thought, I mean, I didn’t. I’m… I’m not quite sure how I got here.”
“Just relax,” Rain said. She made little effort to hide a heavy sigh of frustration. “You stumbled in here about ten minutes ago complaining that you were dizzy. I went next door to get the doctor and found you asleep on my lunch when we came back.”
Sapphire became keenly aware of Rosebloom's presence with the feeling of a cold metal stethoscope being pressed to her chest.
“Hey!” Sapphire yelped, nearly falling over as she tried to get away.
“Relax,” Rosebloom said, studying Sapphire’s bloodshot right eye, then the left.
“How is she?” Song asked, trying to see what Rosebloom was looking at while trying to stay out of the way.
“Eyes are bloodshot, breathing is a bit labored," Rosebloom said without looking away from her patient. “Probably just a bit overtired. She was up half the night conjuring medication.”
“It wasn’t half the night,” Sapphire protested half-heartedly.
“It might’ve been more than half. I was there if you recall. When did you wake up? How much magic have you done today?” Rosebloom asked. Sapphire shied away, flustered by Rosebloom’s sharp tone.
“Uh, I, two warps… a summon…” Sapphire's cobalt eyes stared blankly at the wall as she tried to stir the fog from her mind. “You're wrong it was definitely less than half the night...”
“Not so many questions at once,” Rain said, stepping between the doctor and her patient with her wings flared defensively. “Give her a minute to think!”
“She’s a clever pony, she should be able to handle it,” Rosebloom said, looking past the angry pegasus. “I warned her last night not to do this. She’s clearly overtired and she’s overused her magic so much she’s barely standing.”
Sapphire whined with her head hung low, staring at the black and white tiled floor. She felt as though her legs had taken on the consistency of jelly. Barely standing? Wrong again Rosebloom, she thought as the floor rushed up at her.
“Sapphire!” Rain yelped. “Now look!” She snapped at Rosebloom.
“Help me get her up,” Rosebloom said. The doctor was impervious to Rain's outrage. Such outbursts from patients and their family and friends. “Let’s get her over to the hospital. She can sleep it off there.”
Autumn Song arrived just then, pushing the door open with her nose. She immediately recognized the unmistakable white fur and bright blue mane of the downed unicorn.
“Woah what’s going on here? Is Sapphire okay?” she asked, pushing through the gathering crowd.
“Everypony step back, give us some room,” Rosebloom said. “Sapphire’s going to be just fine. Autumn, help me get her to the hospital. She just needs some sleep.”
“What about me?” Rain asked, already regretting her harshness toward the doctor. “How can I help?”
“Figure out where Emberwind went. She and Sapphire are almost inseparable. She’ll know just how much magic Sapphire’s been using over the past few days. Get Light on your way back,” she said. “Maybe he can recharge her or something.”
“Right, I’ll hurry,” she said, and galloped outside before flitting gracefully into the air. She was off like a shot, a thin wispy blue aura trailed off her tail and wings as she flew.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Emberwind was in the last place Rain would expect to find her: on the ground, giving Ironfeather a tour.
“So all ponies have magic?” Ironfeather asked, looking up at the bakery. A basket of fresh muffins sat on the ground between them.
“Yeah, that’s what our unicorns say,” Emberwind said, munching on a muffin. “That’s why we’re so colorful, and why our marks match our talents. It’s also why everypony excels so much at their talent, and why pegasus ponies can walk on clouds and trail an aura off their wings and tails when they fly. It’s just a theory though, something Light and Sapphire cooked up.”
“Do you think it’s true?” Ironfeather asked.
“Could be,” Emberwind said. “They’re both very clever ponies. I don’t pay it much mind really. I’m more about flying and weather management. I teach the young pegasi here in Glendale actually. We have the occasional gryphon as well, none in the past couple years though.”
Ironfeather nodded slowly. He was proving to be an attentive listener, but talk of flying had caused his features to droop a little.
“Wings still hurting you?” Emberwind asked.
“Yes, I hope that doctor of yours is wrong. I am not keen on being grounded for three weeks.” Ironfeather started to stretch his wings but a sharp sting made him think better of it and he folded them across his back.
“I hope so too, I’ve been grounded before.” Emberwind did not cherish the memory. “Not something I’d like to have happen to me again. On the bright side, at least Doctor Rosebloom cleared you for a walking tour. She probably could have kept you there a couple more days. Best to do what she said or you’ll be flat on your belly for a solid week.”
The gryphon nodded slowly without saying anything. The unhappy look in his eyes was impossible to conceal. Emberwind pushed the basket of muffins in front of him.
“Try one, you’ll like it,” she said.
Ironfeather snatched up one of the warm, buttery muffins. It practically melted in his mouth as Emberwind had promised. He wolfed down two more of them in seconds.
“Easy there,” Emberwind said. She chuckled at the gryphon’s appetite. It was an encouraging sign. “We’ll want to save a few for the hospital staff.”
“Maybe we should get a second basket?” Ironfeather suggested with a hopeful look. Emberwind however, was not responsive. “Something wrong?”
High overhead a light blue figure soared by, making good time toward the cliffs overlooking Glendale. Emberwind was tracking it through the afternoon sky.
“Is something wrong?” Ironfeather asked.
“Not sure,” she said as the pegasus vanished in the distance. “I should go check on that. Somepony just went up to the flight school in a hurry and there’s no classes today, so they might be looking for me.”
“Should I go back to the hospital?” Ironfeather asked. “I think I can find it on my own.”
“I imagine you’ve had more than enough of the hospital. Why don’t you wait here at the bakery? They’ll probably whip you up something special and I shouldn’t be gone long.”
“That sounds nice,” Ironfeather said. “Also I’d very much like to see your school once I am well enough to make the flight.”
“Of course, that’s the first place we’ll take you,” Emberwind said.
“Back shortly,” she added, then leapt into the air and raced off trailing a fiery aura in her wake. She stopped for a moment and looked back down at the gryphon below. He was watching her with an unmistakably sullen expression. Suddenly the mare wished she’d waited until Ironfeather had gone inside before racing off into the sunny mid-afternoon skies. Too late, she chided herself for the insensitivity. She hoped that something in the bakery, whether it be a new friend or just a nice treat, would lift the grounded gryphon’s injured spirit.