//------------------------------// // The Year Without Sapphire(part 1) // Story: The Last Alicorn(Book One: Purpose) // by Deathsia //------------------------------// THE YEAR WITHOUT SAPPHIRE PART 1 Once the ponies were finally satisfied with checking out Sapphire for the fifth time today, they finally gave the two fillies some time alone. For a time, neither said anything, the soft ticking of the clock against the wall and beeping of Sapphire's heart monitor the only sounds to break the silence between the two until one finally spoke. "You grew out your mane and tail." Sapphire remarked suddenly which caused the snow white pegasus to suddenly twiddle with the left strand of hair hanging down over her shoulder with a mildly embarrassed blush. "It looks good on you." She added a few moments later. "Really? Huh, I was actually thinking about getting my mane and tail trimmed down. All this hair can really get in your face when you're flying." She remarked aloud with a smirk. "But I guess I could keep it like this. Guess it's not too bad…" She remarked aloud though more to herself than Sapphire. This remark earned a soft giggle from the young mare only to take note of one startling fact, she was taller.  "Just now noticed huh? You sprouted up like a weed in your sleep. Grew a whole foot over the past year according to the doc." Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk. "Past year… that would make us both seventeen then?" Sapphire remarked aloud in mildly shock that she was actually older now than she was before she passed out. "Eh-heh, actually, I'm a few months ahead of ya. I'm already eighteen." Snowbreeze replied casually much to Sapphire shock. "Wait, hows that possible?" Sapphire asked looking thoroughly confused as she looked over herself under the blankets. "Well, I guess you missed two birthdays then. We landed in Manehatten a month before we were supposed to hit seventeen, remember?" The Pegasus remarked aloud as she hopped off the chair and walked over to her. "Oh yeah…" Sapphire said as she finally recalled this fact as well as she continued to look over herself in awe. "Oh yeah, those grew as well." Snowbreeze remarked with a smirk at which point Sapphire slammed the blanket down and blushed crimson at her friend. "R-Really Snowbreeze?! Did you have to comment on those!" Sapphire flustered out her blush seemingly becoming redder by the second much to the amusement of her friend who couldn't help but fall to the ground laughing. "Haha, you should see the look on your face! Priceless! haha!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between bouts of laughter. "Haha, so funny, Snowbreeze." Sapphire remarked sarcastically her blush still prominent. The snow white pegasus managed to finally stop laughing and stand up. "No but seriously, I kinda couldn't help but see them since they had to take your blankets off nearly every other week to examine you." Snowbreeze remarked in the most serious face she could muster only for said serious face to contort into a smirk followed shortly by another bout if laughter at the Alicorn's expense. "C-Can we stop talking about my teat size already?!" Sapphire exclaimed as her face burned bright red once again. "And what kinds of examines?" she added curiously. "Oh you know, the usual, anal examines, pelvic examines, the works." The Pegasus remarked casually and did her best to hold in her laughter as the Alicorn immediately began to examine herself under the blankets only to suddenly hear Snowbreeze's laughter ring out once again at which point she yanked the blanket off her head and glared down at the laughing Pegasus. "There were no pelvic or anal exams...were there?" Sapphire asked with a glare at her friend. "You're just too easy!" Snowbreeze exclaimed between laughs before she managed to stop laughing, stood back up, and cleared her throat. "No, but seriously, they had to do a pelvic examination on you once. Something about checking to make sure everything was working alright down there." Snowbreeze remarked aloud in a serious tone though Sapphire was sure she was going to crack up laughing any minute though when she didn't, the Alicorn gave an overly long winded sigh. "Were you in here when they did the.." Sapphire began to ask only to trail off as if she couldn't bring herself to ask the question. "When they did the pelvic exam?" She asked and when Sapphire nodded, it was Snowbreeze's turn to blush crimson. "Oh, no,no,no,no! You're my best friend Sapphire but I'm not into you like that! Besides, I have some common decency ya know!" She exclaimed in a mildly panicked tone. "I wasn't asking if you stayed and stared at it, you gutterbrain!" Sapphire snapped with a blush of her own. "Oh, uh, well nah, I didn't stay in here while they did it. They said I could but you know me." Snowbreeze replied with a nervous laugh. Another awkward silence ensued between the two for a short time until the question that had be plaguing the back of Sapphire's mind rushed its way to the front at which point she asked. "How did we end up here and why is the doctor donkey like the head honcho of this place or something?" "Oh, wow. That's a really loaded question, Sapphire." Snowbreeze remarked with a light chuckle. "Well, we got a full month since I'm stuck here." The Alicorn replied with an eye roll and a sigh. "Well I guess I should start at what happened shortly after you passed out on the ground and all." She began… -------------------------------------------------------------------- NINE MONTHS AGO... "Sapphire?! Sapphire, say something!" Snowbreeze exclaimed frantically as she shook her unconscious friend only for the donkey to shove her to the side. "Sorry to be forceful with you kid but I need to take care of this now!"" He exclaimed as he reached into his doctor's bag, pulled out a small bottle, popped the lid open, and poured its contents onto her side, just outside of the wound. As the dark blue liquid seeped over the wound, it seemed to suddenly became hard as stone as the bleeding suddenly came to a halt with what looked like a solid flat and blue plate over the wound. "Wh-What did you do to her?" Snowbreeze asked curiously. "It's something I had from when I worked on the frontlines. They called it fix-a-cut. When this magical chemical comes into contact with blood, it solidifies, often completely sealing the wound and allowing the soldier to return to the fight less than five minutes after they were injured. "It healed her?" Snowbreeze asked hopefully. "Hardly." The doctor replied bitterly. "Problem is that this stuff only works for an hour at most before it turns to mush. At which point and time the wound bleeds out as if nothing was ever done to it." He remarked before he turned to look at the Pegasus. "Point is, this is only a temporary fix, she needs a full team of a professional doctors if she is to survive at this point and I'll be frank, even with a full team, her chances of survival are less than one percent. She's simply lost too much blood at this point for me to think she has a better chance than that." "Never tell me the odds!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she attempted to snap her wings open only to let out a shrill cry of agony no sooner she had. "B-Buck! I forgot these things were broken!" She winced aloud. The donkey walked over to examine the Pegasus's wings. "How in Equestria could you forget about this?! The only thing holding them together as far as I can tell is your skin!" He exclaimed as he noticed the dark red spots which showed signs of bruising and if the doctor had to guess, the faint white thing poking out barely was her wingbone. "R-Remember me telling you about that bad crowd I hung out with back in New Cloudsdale?" Snowbreeze stuttered out, the pain causing her to wince between words. "Wings were the first things we would go for in gang wars." "But how are you able to ignore the pain so well?" He asked aloud in astonishment. "A-After the tenth time, you get used to the pain and learn to ignore it in the heat of the moment." The Pegasus answered. "That and I was so worried about Sapphire that even if my wings were bugging me, I didn't care." It was then that two homeless unicorns were walking about. Without bothering to think things fully though, the donkey rushed to the two unicorns. "Excuse me but I am in need of your assistance!" He said in a firm tone as the unicorn's exchanged worried looks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- "D-Doodle?! What is this?!" A nurse pony exclaimed in shock as two unicorns rushed by her, Sapphire being held in a field of magic being channeled between the two and closely followed by Snowbreeze and the donkey. "The filly needs treatment stat! I want some of the best doctors and staff in the operating room!" The Doctor exclaimed before he rushed after Snowbreeze and stopped her before she walked into the O-R. "I'm Sorry, kid but professional's only." he said calmly. "H-Hey! I'm her best friend!" Snowbreeze exclaimed, clearly offended by being forced to wait outside. "Even if you were her sister, you can't come inside. I'm sorry." The Donkey replied before he ran into the O-R as the two unicorn's walked out a short time later. Dr.Doodle quickly looked over Sapphire taking note of the fact that the chemical he had used earlier was already beginning to turn to mush. "We haven't much time." He remarked aloud in a worried tone before he looked about himself and growled. "Where is that team?!" He exclaimed angrily. It was then another doctor pony walked in and looked at him then to Sapphire and gasped. "Th-That's the Alicorn they unicorns in black were after!" He exclaimed in a panicked voice. "Yes, Yes she is. Now are you going to help me?" He asked aloud in a calm tone as he began washing his hooves in preparation for the operation he was about to perform. "But…" The stallion began to say only to trail off. "Are you going to help me or not?!" Dr. Doodle snapped at the stallion. "N-No way! That thing's dangerous! You should let it die!" The stallion exclaimed only to receive a hoof to the snout suddenly and without warning which caused him to stumble out of the O-R with a bloody snout much to Snowbreeze's shock. "And you call yourself a doctor?! You should be ashamed of yourself!" Dr.Doodle's voice roared from within the O-R. "Dr. Pinpoint, what happened to your nose?!" A nurse pony asked as she watched the stallion walk up to her. "Dr. Doodle's gone completely insane! He's trying to save that Alicorn thing's life when she's the reason those Spikeheads invaded our town!" Dr. Pinpoint exclaimed in a semi-frantic tone which caught the attention of nearly every staff member in the room. At once, the staff immediately rushed to the O-R much to the shock of the stallion. "Wh-What the buck are you all doing?! That thing's-" The stallion began to exclaim only for a nurse pony to look at him, rear her hoof back and slam it into his snout which sent him rolling back into the check-in desk outcold. "Racist Mule." The nurse pony remarked aloud bitterly before she joined the other ponies. Dr. Doodle looked to the sudden team of mares and stallions with a shocked expression. "I expected maybe one or two but… all of you?" He asked in astonishment. It was then that the same nurse pony who had decked Dr. Pinpoint into the snout walked up to the donkey and smiled. "Mr. Doodle, we are doctors and nurses, it is our job to help ponies in need, no matter what they've done." The nurse remarked aloud proudly to which the rest of the crowd nodded in agreement. "I-I don't know what to say." He replied softly as he fought the urge to fight back tears of joy. "Well, you can start by telling us what needs done!" Another doctor pony said aloud with a big grin. "R-Right!" Dr. Doodle replied as he turned to face the Alicorn and began to instruct the other doctors and nurses. ---------------------------------------------------------- "Wait, how did you know what they were saying?" Sapphire asked curiously as the two played checkers on her bed. "I was kind of eavesdropping." Snowbreeze admitted sheepishly much to Sapphire's amusement at which point the snow white Pegasus blushed hotly. "Oh come on! What did you expect me to do? My best friend's life was in their hooves! How could I possibly not?!" "So what happened next?" She asked curiously as she moved a checker piece on the board and smirked. "Oh, and king me." She added with a victorious grin. "I really don't know, they were all really quiet after that. It wasn't until like six hours later that the doc came out from the operating room." Snowbreeze replied as she continued her story. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- "W-Well?" Snowbreeze stuttered out nervously. Dr. Doodle sighed heavily which made Snowbreeze think the worst had happened. "It was a rough ride. We lost her twice during the operation but managed to revive her both times. I've said it once and I'll say it again, these Alicorn's are the toughest things I've ever worked with. I honestly didn't think she'd come back to us after the second time she flatlined. Even if she makes it through the night, we're not even sure she will ever wake." Dr. Doodle remarked aloud and sighed once more. "What do you mean? She's alive right?" Snowbreeze asked uneasily, still not getting the clear picture. Dr. Doodle sighed heavily as he recalled what had happened. The Alicorn lay on the operating table, the steady beep of the heart monitor saying she had no pulse. "Doctor…" One of the doctors said softly only to trail off for a moment. "She's been dead for eleven minutes… we should call it." The doctor said softly. "Not yet! She's not like other ponies!" Dr. Doodle exclaimed as he once again began to perform CPR on the filly. The other doctors and nurses looked to each other uneasily before the same nurse who had spoken up before looked at him and placed a hoof on his shoulder. "Dr. Doodle… even if you revive her this time. She's likely to be a vegetable for the rest of her life. I know its not my place to say but I feel that would be a crueler fate for her than simply allowing her to rest in peace." The nurse remarked aloud softly at which point Dr. Doodle stopped performing CPR on the filly and let out a heavy sigh. "Time of death…" He began to say until he looked to the door, taking note of the fact that a wire had been sparking and sputtering along the floor. "Lightning…" He said aloud softly much to the confusion of the mare next to him. "Can any unicorn cast a lightning based spell?!" He asked suddenly much to the shock of everypony in the room. "I-I can Dr. Doodle but I fail to see what you are getting at." The a unicorn doctor said aloud in a confused tone. "Back in the war, we had a unicorn who had turned traitor to The Canterlot nation, They used some kind of lightning spell to revive ponies who we otherwise thought to be dead." He remarked aloud. The unicorn doctor looked at the donkey uneasily. "D-Doctor… I don't see how electrocuting a pony could revive them." The unicorn doctor replied with a confused expression. "What was the voltage he said he used…?" Dr. Doodle muttered aloud, seemingly ignoring the doctor for the moment before he slammed a hoof on the operating table. "Blast it! I can't remember!" He exclaimed in frustration. "Dr. Doodle... " The nurse began. "It's been nearly twenty minutes now. She's gone." The nurse pony remarked aloud in a saddened tone. "Twenty?" He asked in a slow tone as if something was coming to mind until his eyes lit up. "Of course!" He suddenly exclaimed much to the shock of the rest of his team. "Doctor, I want you to send a lightning spell of exactly 20 volts directly at this filly's heart!" Dr. Doodle ordered firmly. "Dr. Pinpoint was right… you really have gone insane." The unicorn doctor remarked aloud until the donkey grabbed a scalpel and put it to his neck much to the shock of the crew. "Do it!" He roared. "O-Okay!" The unicorn exclaimed in fear, channelled a lightning spell into his horn and shocked the filly squarely in the heart yet nothing changed. "Again!" he ordered. Once more, the unicorn channeled a lightning spell into his horn and did it once more yet still nothing seemed to have changed. However, Dr. Doodle stared closely at the heart monitor and could have swore the steady beep had faltered for a brief second. "Dr. Doodle, please stop! She's gone!" The nurse exclaimed in a frantic tone though she dared not to attempt to remove the weapon from the donkey's hoof. "Once more!" He ordered. The unicorn doctor gulped loudly, channeled a lightning spell into his horn and shocked the filly's heart. Startled gasps erupted throughout the room as the heart monitor's steady beep suddenly began to beep to the rhythm of the Alicorn's revived heart. "I knew she wouldn't give up that easily…" He said with a proud smile before he finally realized what he was doing and allowed the scalpel to drop to the floor with a clatter. "I-I'm sorry…" He said softly. "I don't know what's crazier. You or the fact that shocking this filly revived her." The unicorn doctor remarked uneasily as he stepped away and to the back of the room. Dr. Doodle looked to his now shaking hooves, the fact of what he had just done fully sinking in now. "I-I can't believe I did that. I don't know what came over me." He said softly. "Sapphire's being prepped and will be transferred to the intensive care wing." He said softly before he walked past the Pegasus and stopped "I remember now why I stopped being a doctor…" He remarked softly and sighed once more. "I cared too much." He said simply before he continued to walk away. "W-Wait! How can caring too much be a bad thing?" Snowbreeze asked aloud as she ran up to him, still unclearly on why he was behaving like he was now. The donkey sighed aloud once more before he turned to look at the Pegasus. "Its a bad thing when you go to excessive lengths to save a pony at the cost of somepony else." He answered simply before he turned around and walked out the front doors to the hospital. Snowbreeze rushed to stop him only for a startling sight to meet her eyes. The Doctor had no where to go as a large crowd of angry ponies yelled at him and insulted him. "How could you try to save that thing! She's the reason we were held hostage!" One stallion roared over the crowd. "Yeah! It's better off dead!" A mare added. "What the buck is wrong with all of you?! She saved your hides at nearly the cost of her life and this is how you treat her?!" Snowbreeze shouted back at the crowd of angry ponies. "It's alive?!" One of the ponies shouted. "Quick! Lets charge in there and slay the beast!" Another pony shouted which was met with shouts of agreement. "Enough!" A booming voice erupted over the crowd of ponies which silenced them almost entirely. Snowbreeze and the doctor looked over to the source of the booming voice to see a Unicorn, Pegasus, and Earth Pony in well dressed clothing approach the crowd, walk through and up to Snowbreeze and Dr. Doodle. "What in the name of Luna's moon is going on out here?" The Pegasus mare asked in a stern voice to the donkey who seemed to be at a loss for words. "Who are you guys?" Snowbreeze asked only to get a swift hoof to the back of the head. "Show some respect, kid! These ponies are the offspring of the ponies who saved this city during the three hundred year war!" Dr. Doodle hissed. "Oh…" Snowbreeze remarked aloud only to still not understandingly completely but she at least knew they were a well respected group due to the fact that they had managed to halt a raging mob in its tracks with merely a single command. "We're waiting for an answer." The earth pony asked with a stern glare at the two. So Snowbreeze told them everything and by the time she was finished, she wasn't sure if they believed her, hated her and Sapphire still, or didn't believe her and hated them just the same. "Where is this… Alicorn?"  The female Pegasus asked sternly. -------------------------------------------------------------- "Wait, who were those ponies?" Sapphire asked curiously only to smirk. "Oh, and I win again!" She exclaimed with a giddy smirk. "Best five out of six?" She asked with a sheepish smirk. "And they were like I told you, the offspring to the ponies who saved the city. Some kind of group who were treated like princesses and princes from what I could tell." She answered simply. "I was sure they were going to kick us out of town after what happened and all but they didn't!" Snowbreeze continued… -------------------------------------------------------------- "Wait, you're serious?" Dr. Doodle asked in pure shock after hearing what the unicorn had said. "Yes, Dr. Doodle. I have looked into this young Pegasus's eyes and I know her words to be true. She and her are this town's saviors and is to be treated with the respect that we are." The unicorn replied calmly. "Even if it was their fault they came here to begin with." The earth pony added bitterly. "With all due respect, I'd bet my wings that they were already here and only surfaced when me and Sapphire showed up." Snowbreeze replied as she chose her words carefully. "Though Sapphire didn't get to tell me much before she was hurt, she did tell me that these guys are part of an organization called 'The Order Of The Dark Horn'." Upon mentioning this name, the Pegasus immediately knew she had said something important because all three ponies gasped in shock. "That's… Not… Possible…" The unicorn said aloud in a slow yet stunned tone. "That organization was disbanded over five thousand years ago after the Elements Of Harmony defeated them." The Pegasus remarked aloud. "That's what I said!" Pinkie Pie's voice suddenly erupted which caused Snowbreeze to yank her attention to the right to see the hyperactive pink mare. ---------------------------------------------------------------- "Wait,wait,wait! The Element of Laughter contacted you?!" Sapphire exclaimed in shock upon hearing her friend tell her this part of the story. "It wasn't the first time. She's the one who led me to the doc." Sapphire remarked aloud. "Is she here now?" Sapphire asked as she looked around the room. "Nah, she left a long time ago but I'm getting ahead of myself." Snowbreeze replied and continued to tell her story. ----------------------------------------------------------- Snowbreeze stared at the pink pony for a few moments longer before she looked back at the three ponies. "Is something amiss?" The Earth Pony asked curiously. "N-No. Please continue. I'd like to hear more about this organization. " Snowbreeze replied uneasily. "I think I've finally figured your randomness out Pinkie. You only appear when something important is going to be said or happen." Snowbreeze thought to herself seriously. "The Order Of The Dark horn was an anti-Alicorn organization with one goal: To eliminate all Alicorn's from the face of Equestria." The Unicorn began. "From what the old manuscripts tell us, they had succeeded in killing three of the Alicorn princesses and had their sights set on the final princess. The Element of Magic." The unicorn continued. "It was only after a long a gruesome battle that the Element of Magic sacrificed herself by casting a spell that not even our best unicorns could hope to cast to this day. We know not even of the spell's name." The unicorn said simply but paused to allow the Pegasus to take this information in. "How'd she do it?" Snowbreeze asked, the tension in the room would have had her on the edge of her seat if she were sitting down at the moment. "She cast a spell not much unlike the one that surged through our city a few hours ago according to how our scriptures described it. It eliminated every member of the organization in a mere thirty seconds but left everypony else unharmed." The unicorn remarked aloud much to Snowbreeze and even Dr. Doodle's shock. "Of course these are merely myths and legends. None of which have any basis or fact on the events that transpired today." The Pegasus added calmly. "My freaking foal-hole they don't have anything to do with what happened today!" Snowbreeze blurted out much to Dr. Doodle's shock as he attempted to hush the Pegasus only for her to shove his hoof away. "You accuse us of lying?!" The earth pony asked aloud, his eyes flashing with anger as he spoke. Snowbreeze looked at the three uneasily at the three, her confidence wavering for a moment before she regained it. "Yeah, I do!" She exclaimed as she pointed at the three. "You're stepping over the line, kid!" Dr. Doodle exclaimed as he walked up to the Pegasus, bit onto her tail and began to drag her away only for Snowbreeze to forcefully yank her tail out of the doctor's mouth, and walk back up to the three. "How dare-" "Save it! I know you three are hiding something and I'd bet my tail that it has something to do with these dark horn guys! Why else would you all suddenly look all scared-like when I mentioned them!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she looked at the three with a glare. For a time the three remained stoic as they glared back at Snowbreeze until the Pegasus stepped forward. "Very well, We-" "Don't you even say a word, Fairweather!" The unicorn suddenly exclaimed cutting off the Pegasus which caused her to look back at the two. "How can you two be so naive?! This Pegasus and her Alicorn friend just saved us from their control which they have held over us for the last thirty years!" The Pegasus snapped. "And they will be back!" The unicorn exclaimed just as fiercely as the Pegasus had. Upon hearing these words, the Pegasus's eyes flashed wide in both rage and realization. "You guys planned to hand Sapphire over to them no sooner they came back, didn't you?!" Snowbreeze roared as she lunged at them only for the donkey to snap him mouth on her tail and hold her back. "That's why you were being so nice to us! You back-stabbing, Leadhoof, featherflank, and Spikehead!" Snowbreeze roared angrily. If she had her wings at the present time, Dr. Doodle's attempts to hold her back would have already failed. The three ponies looked at the snow white Pegasus as if they were glaring daggers back at her, though unlike her associates, the Pegasus had a saddened yet guilty expression upon her face. "Wow, tough crowd." Pinkie Pie remarked aloud with a worried look at the group then back to Snowbreeze. "I'd cool my jets if I were you! These ponies don't look like the kind who like to be insulted!" She added in a whisper despite knowing only Snowbreeze could hear her. "Our fair city has thrived for as long as it has thanks to the generous support of that order. We would be fools to protect the one creature in this city that they wish to see dead." The unicorn remarked aloud much to even the shock of Dr. Doodle who spat out Snowbreeze's tail upon hearing this and stared at the three with a jaw-dropping expression. Fortunately for Snowbreeze or rather more likely the group, the Pegasus had taken Pinkie Pie's advice and calmed herself down. "So, you mean to tell me that those guys who murdered that stallion in front of everypony, attempted to roast everypony, including you guys, are worth more than the life of the pony who saved all of you?" Snowbreeze asked in a low yet loathing tone. "As long as the order exists, we have no choice but to obey them. You see, without their financial support, this town would have long since collapsed in on itself, look to its citizens. They are constantly fighting amongst one another. Do you truly believe that such chaos would allow a city to survive as long as it had without help?!" The unicorn continued. "They wouldn't be if you'd just make laws that ban segregation along with encouraging them to work together! You three are a shining example of the teamwork that can bring this city together!" Snowbreeze exclaimed as she continued to glare at the three. "Idealism like that is why the Element of Kindness was the first to die!" The unicorn retorted much to Snowbreeze's shock and horror. "Yes, Fluttershy attempted to ask the order to instead of fight them, to help them unite the ponies of Equestria since all but one Alicorn princess remained." He continued as a dark smile washed over his face. "She was the most naive of the elements of harmony. Far too kind, not suited for the kind of work the order had thrived so hard to achieve." "You're awfully forthcoming with such sensitive information… Why do I get the feeling we won't be leaving this room alive?" Dr. Doodle remarked aloud finally recovering from the shock as he narrowed his eyes at the group. "Very observant of you, Dr. Doodle." The unicorn remarked aloud darkly as his horn began to glow with a scarlet glow. However much to even Snowbreeze and Dr. Doodle's shock they realized the earth pony and Pegasus were just as shocked by this information as they were. "Horus… what are you doing?!" The earth pony asked in fear as he backed away from the unicorn as did Fairweather. "You… You're a member of the dark horn, aren't you?" Snowbreeze asked as she rushed over to Sapphire's bed in hopes of acting as a shield to the unconscious Alicorn. "Such naive fools. Did you really think that the order would not have somepony on the inside? Somepony who could keep an eye on this pathetic little city in case the Alicorn was born here? "We are everywhere!" Horus remarked aloud as his voice suddenly dropped to the deep commanding voice Snowbreeze recognized instantly. "It all makes sense now! Your father was also a member, wasn't he?! That's how this city suddenly began to thrive so well despite the fact that me and Bluesteel's parents worked so hard but achieved nothing until you and him showed up! My parents and I knew something odd was going on when the city suddenly had bits flowing in from seemingly nowhere! I always knew something was amiss about you but I never knew what exactly until now!" Fairweather exclaimed as he struck a combat stance. "Very astute of you, Fairweather. My father was right about you and her. You and that featherflanked mother of yours are far too smart for your own good!" He exclaimed as he fired a beam of magic at the Pegasus only for her to dodge it barely which resulted in the wall being blasted wide open. "Your father... he killed my parents, didn't he?!" Fairweather exclaimed as she dodged yet another beam of magic. "No Fairweather… my father didn't kill them." He replied as a malicious yet seemingly psychotic grin appeared on his face. "I did!" He exclaimed which was met with shocked gasps by everypony in the hospital room while Fairweather dodged yet another blast of magic though this one had managed to scratch the Pegasus's right hind leg and while not a direct hit, still caused the Pegasus to cry out and fall to her underside for a moment before she opened her wings and began to hover in place...