A mare and her dog

by cammera


Night 28: As wounds heal

She rubbed her head distractedly and read the next letter.

Being knocked out by a parcel wasn't nice. Gods knew why Rainbow had felt the need to send her a horseshoe.

She drank some tea and passed to another letter.

"Any moment now," said Nanda, watching the trees around the clearing "Can you feel it?"

Applejack put the tea near the fire again. She did feel it, a sort of rumbling under her hooves.

"Don't care"

Nanda sighed, "You know, when I started learning my trade I had expected to grow insensible to departures over time. Instead I learned to see what beauty they leave behind for us, and you should, too."

Applejack passed to the next letter.

Then she fell to the floor. The floor shook wildly, rumbling deafeningly. She felt something warm pressing itself against her, and saw that Winona had appeared from wherever she had been.

Nanda's laughter cut through the noise cleanly, as did her voice:

"Nothing is actually moving, it's just how most people perceives the energy cascade!" she said happily "Look," she pointed at the sky "This is a once-in-several-lifetimes sight!"

Applejack did so, and...

...And from the heart of the forest column of light shot itself to the skies, birds flying with its advance.

The column seemed to reach its full height (It seemed to Applejack that it had tethered itself to the moon) and vibrated like a rope pulled tight suddenly, scaring most birds away.

Three smaller columns rose, making spirals around the first one until they reached the top too. Everything fell still for a moment as the cords shone brighter and brighter in shades of aquamarine.

For an instant, it seemed to Applejack that a thousand wisps of different colors shone along the columns.

The three cords started unwrapping themselves from the lower part, advancing tight spirals across the forest.

"Shouldn't we run?" Asked Applejack, backpedaling away from the closest one, which was a kilometers away but advancing quickly.

"Why?" Nanda turned to her for a moment, a glint in her eyes "This is life, child, in its most pure expression! What every necromancer dreams to see!"

"But will your life thing hurt us!?" she asked in a strangled tone, realizing that even Rainbow would've been pressed to outrun it.

"Didn't you hear me!?" she laughed "Life! This could cure all ills! Cancer, red rot, even death, if the body was intact enough!"

Before Applejack had time to answer, the cord reached th-

was... peaceful. The light calmed her mind, as if laughing at the very idea of anything having troubles at all.

She breathed calmly and looked around her without a hurry, taking in every blade of grass. She was vaguely aware of small animals walking out of previously empty crevices, and of gnarly roots growing over every hole the moles had made, but

-hem and went away.

"Ha! Told you, kid! I feel twenty years younger!" Nanda hopped, then cringed "Ugh, I was already old twenty years ago" she said, rubbing her back.

Applejack looked her arms and found, surprised, that the bite wounds wheren't there anymore. Winona seemed to be perfectly fine too.

Their stomaches grumbled collectively.

"And the books were right in that, too," Nanda walked to her "Care to share a bite?"

Applejack blinked at her, then at the cords. They weren't following a strictly spiral pattern now, instead covering the irregular borders of the forest.

Her stomach grumbled again, and as if in a dream she took a can from her bags.