//------------------------------// // Soft Crash // Story: The Sanctuary of Lights // by SapphireStarlightPony //------------------------------// Chapter 3 Soft Crash “Ugh my head,” Sapphire groaned. She was flat on her back, tucked neatly into a hospital bed. A bowl of water had been left on the nightstand by the bed next to her. She snatched it up and took a few sips from it. A quick glance in the mirror confirmed her suspicion that she looked no better than she felt. For the moment she was alone. She took a little solace in knowing that no one could see her in this state. She pawed at her brightly colored mane, trying to straighten it. Another sip of water and then a quick escape. That was the plan, but it didn’t get far off the ground. One of Rosebloom’s nurses came in just as she was about to slip out. “Miss Starlight why are you out of bed?” the nurse asked. “I have work to do,” Sapphire replied, trying to edge past the other pony. No luck, the earth pony nurse took a preemptive step to fill the doorway. Teleporting was out of the question and even at her strongest Sapphire couldn't muster the force to charge down an earth pony. “You need to recover. Rosebloom found Emberwind and she told us what you’d been doing. Your magic is severely depleted. That’s not healthy for an aspiring unicorn. Dr. Rosebloom’s ordered a day of bed rest for you.” “Can’t I do that at home?” she whined, her ears drooping as her voice picked up in pitch. She felt like she’d already spent far too much time at the hospital this week. “No,” said the nurse firmly. Sapphire's head sank. The argument was already as good as lost.. “I’ll rest, I promise. There’s nothing to do here and my books are all at home.” Sapphire looked longingly over the nurse's shoulder into the hall. “Emberwind brought your new book from the observatory,” the nurse said. She gestured to the nightstand. The old leather-bound tome was there. The unicorn chided herself for not having spotted it already. There went her best excuse to leave. Emberwind knew her far too well. “Sorry,” Sapphire said, sulking back to the bed. “I got a little carried away and overdid it. I shouldn’t have worried everypony like that.” “Its fine I’m sure,” the nurse said. “I’ll be right outside. Call if you need anything.” “Thanks, I will,” Sapphire said. “And do not try to sneak out.” Alone again, the young mare mechanically flipped through the pages of her book defiantly determined to make use of the day. The words passed by unnoticed as the pony's heavy eyes drifted prematurely toward the bottom of each page. Absorbing nothing, Sapphire put the book aside, pulled the covers up over her head, and was soon fast asleep. When she woke later, Sapphire found the book had been placed back on the bedside table. Next to it another sandwich had mysteriously appeared, presumably from the café next door. Perhaps meant to serve as a subtle reminder of how she'd first come to be in the hospital, or of the debt she owed. The unicorn made a mental note to buy Morning Rain another sandwich after Rosebloom released her. From this prison. The shutters over the window above the bed were slightly ajar, letting through a faint shaft of sunlight, stained orange by the imminent nightfall. The light dyed all the walls with its pale glow, replacing the almost oppressively sterile hospital white with the somber orange of dusk. Sapphire guessed it was almost dinnertime. A few timid nibbles of the meager meal left for her made the unicorns stomach churn. Great. Still no appetite. Not the great sign of recovery that she’d hoped to parade in front of Rosebloom. “Sorry, but you’ll have to stay the night,” Rosebloom said when she arrived to light the candles. Sapphire's mouth popped open but she couldn't find any words in the confused haze of indignation and outrage. Rosebloom hadn't even looked at her and had already consigned her to an entire night in the hospital bed. “I’ve been here all day,” Sapphire protested. She stifled her quickly raising voice, but it was too late to hide the frustration. “Why do you suppose that is?” Rosebloom asked. Her nose wrinkled up and she cast Sapphire a disdainful look. “I already said I was sorry!” Sapphire said, scrambling for some defense of her actions. “I overused my magic. It was a priority. Light’s Hope was the only one that could get a message to Dawn Chaser and Emberwind is very worried about him. You have to let me go home! I'll sleep there.” Well that was dignified, she thought. Not that there was much dignity left to preserve after passing out on the cafe floor. “This isn’t a punishment Sapphire,” Rosebloom reminded her. The doctor's voice remained firm and even despite her patient's outburst.“Nor is it a negotiation. You’re not a filly in time out. Your friends were worried and I was worried. It is my job to see that you get better. That means getting a restful night of sleep and making a full recovery, not just patching you up enough to shove you out the door. Okay?” “Okay,” Sapphire said, trying hard to conceal her disappointment. Rosebloom seemed to consider the matter settled and left her to rest. Late in the night Sapphire was awoken by a soft light and a hushed whisper. “Sapphire, wake up,” it was Light’s Hope. Yes, restful. Colts sneaking into her room in the middle of the night. Very restful. “Light? What’s going on?” Sapphire yawned and rubbed her head against the pillow. “Tell me this is a joke,” she groaned, looking up at the starry night sky outside her window. “You need to get up,” Light said. “Come with me. We need to hurry.” “Does Rosebloom know you’re in here?” Sapphire asked. Despite the doctor's assurance that was not 'time-out' for Sapphire, the unicorn was convinced that sneaking out would somehow lead to a much longer stay. “She knows,” Light said, “and she’s already gone. Come though, the pegasi have returned.” Sapphire shot up out of bed much too quickly. A heavy thud announced her collision with the floor. Frantically she scrambled to kick herself free of the sheets that had somehow become tangled about her hind legs. She was wide awake now, searching Light’s stoic expression for some sign of what news Dawn Chaser had brought. “They made it back in one piece,” Light said, picking up quickly on Sapphire's concern. “Though one of them is injured. I do not believe the wounds were life-threatening. Rosebloom's been with him for a while by now.” “So what did Dawn Chaser say?” Sapphire asked, eager for Light to get to the point. “There was a light at the top of the world. He felt it was important that everyone hear tonight. We should go,” Light repeated, this time turning to leave. The mare heaved a sigh. “I’m going to end up in the hospital again,” she said, catching up to him. The returning pegasi had landed just outside of town in a tall, grassy field. A soft crash, Sapphire suspected. It was something she’d heard Emberwind teaching one of her students. Two pegasus could carry a wounded third, but landing gracefully was almost always out of the question. The solution: find something softer than bare rock to crash into. Her suspicions were confirmed when they reached the crash site. Autumn Song and Rosebloom were carefully lifting Tempest onto a stretcher. He looked like he’d been through hell. He’d lost several of his flight feathers and was covered in scratches. “You said it wasn’t serious,” Sapphire whispered to Light. “He will survive,” Light explained. Sapphire winced. Light was often a little hard to follow, even for her. Much to her relief, Dawn and Stormy had fared much better. Dawn Chaser was briefing the mayor on the mission with Emberwind by his side. Stormy waited in the backdrop, keeping a watchful eye on the northern skies. “We were on our way back when the wolven caught up with us. A storm rolled in and forced us to land. We tried to take shelter in a few evergreens but there was a wolven hiding in one. He got a good piece of Tempest. Stormy and I rushed in and knocked it out. Then we high tailed it out of there. The blizzard broke about an hour later and we made a rush south. Had to carry Tempest most of the way. Sent up the signal flare when we got close and crashed here in the field.” “Well we are very glad that all three of you made it back,” Fleethoof said. “Of course we’re very interested in your findings.” “Its overrun up there,” Dawn said. “There’s hundreds of wolven and they’re not the worst of it.” “What did you see?” Light asked. “A chimera for one,” Dawn said. “We saw some signs of dragons as well. But the thing that really bothers me, is there was a… blackness.” Sapphire swallowed hard. She didn’t like the sound of that. “Dragon smoke?” she asked. “No it wasn’t like that at all,” the pegasus explained. “It was more like storm clouds, big, wild storm clouds. Nothing like they make over in Cloudsdale. They were heavy with lightning and wind. The roar was incredible. We couldn’t get very close. It was all in a blazing ring, circling something bright that shined way up into the stars.” “Light into the stars? Do either of you know what that might mean?” Flinthoof asked, looking toward the two unicorns for answers. None were forthcoming. Ironfeather lurked out of the back of the small crowd. “I’ve heard stories,” he said. All eyes turned to him. “but they’re just… stories…” his voice faded away as he spoke. “About a light at the top of the world?” Dawn asked. “Well go on, out with it.” “Yes,” the gryphon said. “Our pride’s storyteller sometimes spoke of a great evil at the top of the world, sealed away in centuries past. It is an incarnate essence of the darkness, and fears the light. They say the moon was a sacred seal placed in the night sky to ward the evil off forever, so that the sacrifice of the heroes that sealed it away would not be in vain.” “And you think this might be true?” Fleethoof asked, wrinkling his nose. “It seems so…” “Let’s not be hasty,” Sapphire said, speaking up before the mayor could say something to offend the gryphon. “Legend sometimes has a ring of truth to it. Maybe there is something up there, sealed away. I’m not sure about the moon part though, I think that’s been around since the dawn of Equestria.” “That makes sense,” Emberwind said. “So something’s been trapped up there, and its getting out. That’s what’s driving all these monsters south into gryphon territory.” “They will not stop there,” Light said. “So we flee further south then?” Ironfeather asked. “Glendale does not retreat,” Fleethoof said firmly. “We’re digging in. I need each of you to spread the word. We’re going to have a town hall meeting first thing in the morning. All of you know what to do.” The crowd mumbled a tired affirmation among a sea of nodding heads. Heavy clouds had rolled in, blotting out the moon. Light flickered to life on the tip of Light’s horn. Everypony fell in step behind him as he led the way back to town. Dawn Chaser looked up at the gathering clouds and sighed. “I’m going to have to have a word with those new recruits,” he said. “Aww they did very well considering you were gone,” Emberwind said. “They even knocked out Sapphire’s shade cloud.” “Oh?” Dawn chuckled, looking over at the bleery-eyed unicorn with the frosty mane. “Up early yesterday?” “A little,” Sapphire grumbled. “Such a night owl,” Emberwind said. “At least you’re in a better mood,” Sapphire said. “She was so quiet while you were gone Dawn. Just kept watching the north sky.” “Did you now?” Dawn asked, nuzzling Emberwind’s neck. “I did,” the pegasus mare said, grinning. “I missed you.” “Are you two lovebirds coming by the observatory tonight?” Sapphire asked. Emberwind shrugged her wings. “Maybe,” she said. “We’ve got to figure out what to tell the students at the flight school though.” “Do you need assistance Miss Starlight?” Ironfeather asked. “I enjoy company,” she said, “and somepony to bounce ideas off of.” “I would prefer to not have to spend another night in the hospital,” he said. “You and me both,” Sapphire said. “I’ve got an extra bed you can use. Maybe Rosebloom won't realize we've gone.” Ironfeather grinned. It was an odd expression to see on a gryphon, residing mostly in the eyes since the beak was completely rigid. She couldn’t help but smile back. She was sure it wouldn’t be hard to convince Rosebloom to let her and Ironfeather out of her sight for an evening. She’d have her saddlebags full taking care of Tempest.