The Element of Laughter

by Quixotic Mage

Civilization

The Element of Laughter

Chapter 5: Civilization

Twilight squeezed her eyes shut, praying to the author of the letter she had just received that its contents would change if she looked away. Finally, she cracked one eye and peered carefully at the letter.

“Ponyfeathers, it’s still the same.”

She closed the eye again; maybe the second time would be the charm?

It wasn’t.

After briefly considering attempting a third try, she admitted the impossibility of her desire. Opening both eyes, Twilight examined the letter once more.

Is there anything odd occurring with you and your friends that you think could cause this kind of effect? I request that you investigate this matter, paying particular attention to your friend Pinkie Pie, and send me a full report just in case.

Those lines were particularly worrying. Of course Twilight had a pretty strong suspicion of what was causing the effect. However, she had also made a promise to keep it secret and, as Pinkie so often reminded her, losing a friends trust is the fastest way to lose a friend. That alone would have compelled Twilight to keep silent but she also knew that if she told Princess Celestia of Diana then she would lose any chance of hearing the rest of Diana’s story, a story that could not be found elsewhere. Her curiosity was far too powerful for her to risk that loss.

Still, a reply was definitely called for and there was simply no way Twilight could lie to the princess. She had been staring at the letter for several minutes when she heard Spike call to her from his seat by the stairs. “Twilight, do you need me to write your reply?”

Twilight panicked, if Spike saw the letter or read her response and put that together with her sessions with Pinkie Pie the whole story would come tumbling out. “Oh. No Spike. You don’t need to do that, you work so hard already. I’ll write this one you just go, uh, take a nap or something.”

Spike lowered his comic and shot her a skeptical look. “Remember what I just said Twilight? If you need privacy say so.”

“I’m sorry Spike.” She sighed deeply, letting go of her panic as she did so. “It’s a very stressful situation, but one I need to figure out for myself. I do need some privacy to write this letter though, thanks.”

“No problem Twi.” He closed the comic and started up the stairs calling back over his shoulder as he did so. “I’ll just be upstairs, let me know when you want to send it.”

The librarian nodded before summoning forth a quill, ink, and paper and preparing to write her response.

Dear Princess Celestia,

I believe the anomaly with the Elements is due to a certain project I am pursuing. Of course, I did not expect this to happen or I would have warned you beforehoof. But, considering the nature of the project, it seems likely that it is the cause of the situation you have described. Though there should not be any danger associated with this project, I have promised one of the participants that I will not divulge the details until the project is completed. I hope for your understanding in this matter and I’ll be sure to pass along the details as soon as I can.

Your Faithful Student,
Twilight Sparkle

It had taken several tries and the better part of an hour to find the right balance but Twilight was confident that the present incarnation of the letter contained a sufficient amount of truth without endangering Diana’s secret. The formality of the letter was also a message in and of itself. In her correspondence with the princess Twilight tended to be informal when discussing the magic of friendship and formal when discussing purely magical studies. By writing the letter in this fashion she gave the princess the impression that some new spell she was working on was responsible for the Elements’ odd behavior. Hopefully that would ease the princesses concerns.

In a brief fit of insanity Twilight was tempted to add a postscript asking straight out if the princess had ever heard of a pink alicorn named Diana. Instead, she rolled up the scroll and kept it rolled with her usual red band and golden seal combination.

“Spike!” she shouted “I’m ready to send the letter now.”

“Coming!” he called down to her.

A few moments later the letter was sent and Twilight resolved to put the whole situation out of her mind until her next meeting with Diana.

***

Two days had passed since the previous session and, though Twilight had tried her best, she’d been unable to put her concerns entirely aside. After considering her options she’d resolved to ask Diana why the Elements might be reacting to her. However, and she was particularly proud of this part, she suspected Diana wouldn’t give her a straight answer so Twilight had planned to start off with a few straightforward questions and then spring this one on her when she was least expecting it.

Rereading the detective novels she was borrowing the technique from and planning the precise questions to ask had taken longer than she’d thought it would. So she ended up being glad that Pinkie had had to babysit the Cake foals and couldn’t make it until the day after that. Still the time had come, Diana had awoken swiftly and the two ponies were settled, special quill at the ready, when Twilight put her plan into action.

“Before we begin I’ve got some questions I’d like to have answered.”

Diana nodded. “I was surprised you hadn’t asked any up until now. Go ahead and ask.”

“Well, first of all you mentioned that Watchwing was a bit bigger than you but you said you were, sorry, are an alicorn. So was he a really big pegasus or were you a really small alicorn?”

“Why would you think alicorns have to be large? Oh, I see. You’re thinking of the princesses.” Diana chuckled slightly. “Those two are hardly typical for alicorns. In general we’re in the same size range as the other three races, though few of us grow as large as the largest earth ponies or as small as the smallest pegasi. Even when I had my wings and horn I was this size.”

“I guess that makes sense.” Twilight laughed, “Having an entire race the size of the princesses would be a bit much after all. Let’s see…Ah yes. Secondly, what was Watchwing’s cutie mark?”

“He didn’t have one.”

“Really? Wasn’t he a bit old not to have a cutie mark?”

Diana smiled, anticipating Twilight’s reaction to her response. “No pony had cutie marks back then.” She wasn’t disappointed.

Twilight sat bolt upright. “WHAT?” she shouted. “What do you mean no pony had cutie marks back then? That’s not possible, cutie marks are an integral part of the pony race.”

“They’re an integral part of the pony race now but that wasn’t true 1500 years ago. Consider this a lesson, Twilight, just because something is a certain way doesn’t mean it’s always been that way or always should be.”

Well that was disturbing; Twilight hadn’t anticipated that one of her throwaway question would yield such an unexpected answer. However, interesting as the genesis of cutie marks in the pony race might be, Twilight decided that the issue of the Elements was of more immediate importance.

“I’ll keep that in mind.” she said humbly. “I’d like to hear more about that some other time. Now though, I have one more question. Why would the Elements of Harmony be reacting to your awakening?”

Diana examined Twilight’s intense expression closely for a minute and chuckled. “That’s what you really wanted to ask isn’t it? And those other questions were just to get me to drop my guard?”

A blush spread across Twilight’s face, succinctly answering Diana’s question but the unicorn refused to speak.

“Oh don’t feel bad Twilight. I’m reassured to know that ponies have forgotten the subtle arts of information extraction. It tells me that Celestia’s been doing a good job of making this country a better place than once it was. To answer your question I personally have a strong connection to the Elements, one that is only enhanced by Pinkie’s position as the Element of laughter, it’s possible that they are merely resonating with my awakening.”

Something about Diana’s words niggled at Twilight’s mind but the shame she felt at her ruse being uncovered prevented her from examining the feeling. “I’m sorry Diana, I shouldn’t been forthright about my concerns.”

The alicorn shook her head vehemently at that. “No you shouldn’t have been. I am a being in possession of one of your friends’ bodies whose mere presence has caused an unpredicted reaction in the most powerful magical artifacts in the country and who has asked you to keep my existence secret. You should absolutely be suspicious of me. I say this not because I mean harm but because caution is never a bad idea and, frankly, you could stand to be a bit more cautious.”

Twilight blinked in surprise. “That’s very odd of you to say. What would you have me do then, not summon you again?”

Diana shook her head again. “That’s not the point. I don’t mean you any harm; if I did I hardly would have said all that after all. I just want you to be careful so nothing takes advantage of your good nature.”

The student nodded slowly, imbibing the lesson. “Alright, I’ll be more careful in the future.”

“That’s all I can ask. You will have a very important position in Equestria someday, and when that day comes I hope you’ll remember to be cautious of others’ intentions. Now then,” Diana said as Twilight opened her mouth to speak, “I believe I have a story to tell.”

Twilight swallowed her intended response and settled in to listen.

***

Watchwing looked nervous. He stood at edge of the forest, right where the trees gave way to rolling grassy hills and was gazing out; or rather, not gazing, hence his nervousness. In the forest, where everything was so close together his sight worked exceedingly well, in many ways better than ordinary sight. However, out on the plains there was a great deal less for his air currents to bounce off of and his perception of the objects around him was significantly impaired.

As much as he might wish for some alternative the simple fact was that he had to leave. Not just for his revenge, that wasn’t terribly time-sensitive after all, but a much more urgent matter: it was the only way to save Diana’s life.

Despite Watchwing’s best efforts her leg wound had gone bad. He wasn’t terribly surprised, lacking a water-proof bandage she’d had to expose it to the dirty water of the swamp when they traversed it for the second time. Or it was conceivable that Captain’s blade had been poisoned. Either way, he’d done his best to prevent it but he’d only been an apprentice apothecary and herbs could only go so far anyway.

Regardless, by the second day of travel the wound had puckered and a thin white covering ran along its length. Diana had characteristically not mentioned it but by the next morning she was slightly feverish. They had continued on and reached the edge of the woods early that afternoon and halted, hoping the extra rest would be beneficial.

Unfortunately, the next morning Diana’s fever was worse and their options were as slim as ever. Watchwing voiced what they were both thinking. “We’ve got to find you a unicorn healer. Otherwise it’s just a matter of days. Unless you can heal yourself?” he asked without much hope.

She shook her head. “Healing is some of the most complicated magic there is and it’s also the least forgiving of mistakes. Can’t you just use some type of herb?”

“No.” he sighed. “The right herbs would have prevented the infection if we could have kept it clean, but nothing I have can counteract it. I suppose we really do have to find you a healer.” He trotted over to where she was resting under a tree and felt her forehead. “And soon, you’re fever’s getting worse.

“It’s not that urgent,” Diana protested. “We can just continue as we intended and stop in whenever we happen to find a town.” Her words were undercut when she tried to rise and ended up stumbling. She would have fallen had Watchwing not been there to catch her. It hurt her pride to have to lean on him but she knew better than to object considering her current state.

Together they slowly made their way to the edge of the wood where Watchwing had been standing moments before. A slightly bitter smile formed on his face. “I hate to ask when you’re sick and injured but can I borrow your eyes?”

“What do you mean ‘borrow my eyes’?” she asked.

“I can’t make out the far off terrain well enough to detect signs of habitation. Do you see anything that would suggest a direction for us to take?”

Still leaning against Watchwing for support, Diana raised her head and tried to focus her fever-dimmed eyes. “Let’s see. Smoke would be most visible over plains like these, do I see any smoke? No, but that could be because I can’t see very well. Hmm, any irregular ridges on the horizon that would indicate a ponymade structure? No, but again that could be my eyes’ fault. Hello, what’s this?” She leaned forward and narrowed her eyes, trying to get as clear a picture as possible. “Yes! Watchwing, there’s a road running parallel to the tree line. I can just see the change in color at the top of the second row of hills. If we follow that we should end up in a settled area.”

Watchwing sighed in relief. “I’m glad you could something to give us a hint as to the best route. Otherwise we might have ended up wandering aimlessly for days. Let’s go then, the quicker we find a village the quicker you’ll feel better.”

“One moment, there’s something else we need to consider.”

“What might that be?” he asked.

“The three-day grace Captain allowed us is over. It’s entirely possible that homunculi will be actively looking for us and between my race and your lack of eyes we’re a rather unmistakable pair.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.” Watchwing frowned. “There isn’t much we can do about it though, unless you can cast an illusion or something?”

Diana shook her head. “My skill in magic is far too limited to create a convincing illusion and even if I could any unicorn would be able to detect the constant magic usage. I had something more prosaic in mind.” The pink glow of Diana’s magic colored her horn as she reached into her pack and telekinetically brought out a brown traveler’s cloak.

With a quick shake of her head she tore a small strip of fabric off the bottom of the cloak. “We’ll be a pair of itinerant cripples. You have a condition that makes you need less light than ordinary ponies so you wear a blindfold and I’m perpetually cold so I have to wear a cloak at all times. Hay, they’re not even lies. With this fever I will be cold and you certainly don’t need light to see. Anyway it isn’t perfect but at least it won’t be immediately obvious that I have wings and you don’t have eyes.”

Watchwing considered it for a moment before accepting the blindfold and tying it tightly around his face, careful to keep it out of his mane. “Makes sense to me. We might as well start now in case we encounter anypony on the road.”

Diana donned her cloak, albeit with some difficulty, and they set off in the direction of the road. They were forced to travel slower than they might have liked due to Diana’s wound but they still made better time than they had in the wood owing to the lack of roots and branches to trip them up.

The openness of the plains might have unnerved Watchwing but Diana considerably enjoyed it. She had been born and raised on the wide expanses of a community farm and to once more have the wind in her mane and the sun at her back felt like a homecoming. It was almost pleasant enough to make her forget the pain in her leg and head, almost.

An hour later the two ponies had reached the road. It was a dirt road, relatively well traveled considering how tramped down the dust was. Diana peered up down the length of the road but there was no sign of civilization on either side for as far as she could see, not that that was very far. The road followed the hills which soon broke the line of sight in both directions.

After a brief discussion they decided to travel to their right, which was east, on the road because that way the sun would soon be behind them and Diana at least would be able to see anything they were heading toward more clearly.

They walked with the comfortable silence of those who have traveled many miles in one another’s company and anticipate doing the same for many more. The only change was Diana’s face, which grew more drawn and strained as the sun passed its zenith and began its slow decent.

Mid afternoon found them struggling up a particularly sizeable hill. As they finally reached the summit a very welcome sight met their eyes. Nestled in the shadow of the hill was a town of respectable size. The road led directly to a large clump of buildings that was presumably the town proper while other smaller clumps and single buildings were visible farther out. Past that the plains reappeared, colored with a regularity that indicated skilled agricultural husbandry.

Diana let out a whoop of joy and took off as fast as her injured limb allowed. “Come on Watchwing! There’s a village, I’m not going to die after all!” she called back over her shoulder.

Breaking into a gallop, Watchwing swiftly caught up with her and settled into an easy trot, keeping pace with Diana. He smiled widely. “That’s great news. I just hope it’s big enough to have a healer. What does it look like anyway?”

While Diana enthusiastically described the town for her blind companion the two rapidly descended the hill. Before they knew it the road had changed to cobblestones and they found themselves on the main thoroughfare.

After so long in the wilderness, the town seemed strange in its activity. Townsponies of all three races went about their daily business, trotting along the main road, turning down one of the many side streets, or entering the multistory thatched-roof wooden buildings that lined the road. All prosaic tasks, to be sure, but so many seemed strange to a filly from an isolated farming village. Through it all strode homunculi guards keeping the peace and ensuring that Discord’s will was enforced.

Diana did her best to enjoy the novel sights around her but between the guards and her aching limb the experience was rather soured. She nudged Watchwing. “So where would a healer be anyway?”

A surprised expression crossed his face, followed swiftly by an embarrassed one. “I don’t know,” he said. “I was just following you but, of course, you’ve never been here before either.”

She smiled at that and shook her head. “That’s pretty foalish of us not to realize we don’t know where we’re going. I suppose we should just ask somepony.” Diana took a quick look around and spotted a light orange unicorn filly with a bright pink mane who didn’t appear to be too busy. Trotting over she offered a friendly greeting. “Hi there! My name is Diana and that’s Watchwing. We were hoping you could help us. You see, we’re new in town and we were wondering if you could direct us to the town healer.”

The unicorn smiled at her, though the smile seemed to dim slightly as Watchwing followed Diana over. “It’s nice to meet you.” She said. Diana thought she heard a subtle emphasis on the ‘you’ but convinced herself that she must have been mistaken as the other pony continued speaking. “I’m Apricot and I’d be happy to help you.”

There it is again. I wonder why she keeps emphasizing that, Diana thought.

Apricot gestured down further down the street. “Keep on going past two more side streets and take the third one on the left. The healer’s office is down there on the left side. They should have a large sign out in front so you can’t miss it.”

Diana thanked her and was about to walk away when Apricot gestured her closer. Curious, Diana stepped forward to hear what she had to say. “If that featherbrain is bothering we can get the guards to get rid of him. I know how uppity those inferior races can be.”

If Diana had been paying attention she would have noticed the distinct lack of expression on Watchwing’s face, as if he were well used to ignoring such remarks. However, she was far too busy being indignant. “Watchwing is my friend,” she said icily. “Thank you for your instructions but I’ll ask you to keep your idiotic opinions to yourself.”

Ignoring the startled look that crossed Apricot’s face, Diana turned on her hoof and stalked off in the indicated direction. Watchwing followed her. “Mind telling me what that was all about?” he asked.

“You heard her. How could she say that about you?”

Watchwing shrugged. “I’ve been called worse. That’s just the way things are. Unicorns are better than pegasi are better than earth ponies.”

Diana screeched to halt in the center of the street and turned to stare at him incredulously. “You mean that sort of thing is widespread? That wasn’t an exception to the norm?”

“No.” Watchwing was surprised at her surprise. Everypony knew the ranks of the races; their proper place was drilled into them during their foalhood. “In fact, she was rather polite about it. Surely it was the same in your village…” He trailed off, realizing the flaw in that logic.

“It was nothing like that!” she shouted. “I grew up being taught that ponies are all family. Seeing somepony act so horribly makes me sick.”

“Fine, it’s wrong. Can we keep moving, please?” Watchwing glanced around nervously. “We don’t want to attract attention after all and if a unicorn is shouting at a pegasus, the pegasus is going to get in trouble.”

It was true, Diana realized, they were beginning to draw stares from passersby. She gave a fake smile, as if to say that nothing was the matter, and continued down the street. As they turned down the side street Apricot had mentioned Diana questioned Watchwing further. “Was it really always like that in your home village?”

“To a certain extent.” he replied. “I had a bit of a special position because I was the apothecary’s apprentice. Most ponies know better than to antagonize the colt who might be fixing them up someday and fixing up ponies teaches you real fast that there aren’t many differences between the three races. I still got my fair share of insults and humiliation though.”

A thought flashed through Diana’s mind and she felt her mood darkening toward anger. “I bet this is Discord’s doing.” she growled. “Having the races hate each other spreads his beloved chaos and undercuts any attempt at coordinated opposition.”

Watchwing shook his head sadly. “I don’t think so. While it is true that he supports the racial contention, it’s too common and widespread for us to blame Discord for it. No, this is something we ponies have done to ourselves.

Diana’s anger faded at his words, replaced by a simple sad confusion. “I just don’t understand.” Her tone of voice seemed very small at that moment, as if the eager pony who had sought out other places for their wonders had instead found them infinitely crueler than she could have imagined.

Heart aching, Watchwing searched for something to say that would show his companion that the world was not as dark as it appeared to be. No great wisdom came to him so he settled for something else entirely. “We’re here.”

They had arrived at the healer’s office. It was an otherwise unremarkable two story whitewashed wooden building with the aforementioned large sign out front relating the trade of its inhabitant. Watchwing entered the building first to give Diana an opportunity to compose herself. After a moment she locked her emotions up tight and limped inside.

There is something universal about the waiting rooms of healer’s offices. They all seem to have the same collections of impersonal lightly colored chairs interspersed with potted plants. On the far side of the room stood the typical counter behind which the typical receptionist was waiting.

Together they approached the counter. “Excuse me” Diana said, “We were told this is a healer’s office?”

The receptionist, an off-white unicorn stallion with a messy dark brown mane, looked up. “That’s correct. Glimmer’s my name, doctor Glimmer, and I can heal anything from minor injuries to fatal diseases and everything in between.”

Watchwing seemed surprised. “A full doctor in a small town like this place, hmm? That’s passing strange.”

“I thought he was a healer, what’s the difference between that and a doctor?”

“Well a doctor is a healer who belongs to the physician’s guild and is certified to have certain level of competence. Simply put we’re the best at what we do.” Glimmer said with a measure of pride. “That is, for ponies that can pay anyway.” He added, his eyes lingering on the frayed hem of Diana’s cloak and their generally threadbare appearance.

Diana and Watchwing exchanged looks at that comment. Though she was familiar with the concept of money no pony had used it in her village. Watchwing, of course, hadn’t been able to take money with him when he’d fled his village and hadn’t earned any more in the woods. In other words they hadn’t a copper bit betwixt them.

“How much, hypothetically, might a healing cost?” Diana asked carefully.

Glimmer pursed his lips in thought. “Well, let me think. An appointment is nine silver bits, diagnoses of any particular ill ranges from five silver to one and a half gold bits depending on the difficulty and the actual healing ranges from one to two gold bits again dependant on difficulty. All told two point four to four point four gold bits is the usual range.”

A quick flashback to her schooling days reminded Diana that there were ten copper bits to a silver bit and ten silver bits to a gold bit and that a judicious family of four could eat for about two weeks on a single gold bit. “That seems a bit high don’t you think?”

The doctor shrugged. “The guild sets prices, I just follow through. Not that I’m complaining, I still make a decent bit, no pun intended, even after the guild takes their dues.”

“I don’t suppose we could work out some alternative? I have some medicinal herbs you might be interested in or perhaps some form of labor…” Watchwing trailed off hopefully

“No can do. Guild rules are enforced by Discord’s guards. I’d lose my license and possibly my head if I accepted anything but the coin of the realm.” He hesitated for a moment. “Unofficially, might I ask what kind of problem we’re talking about?”

In answer to his query Diana twitched her robe aside slightly, just enough to reveal her injured foreleg. Several hours of use had not improved its appearance and the surrounding flesh was beginning to take on a grayish tinge.

Glimmer whistled. “That is an impressive wound there; you’ll certainly lose the leg and possibly die from blood poisoning if you don’t get some serious help. How’d you get that anyway?” The question caught Diana by surprise but fortunately she was saved from needing to answer as the doctor continued. “Must have been those rebel earth ponies eh? Road’s just aren’t as safe as they used to be.”

Watchwing was particularly interested in that tidbit of information but he realized it wasn’t the time to pursue it so he simply filed it away for future reference. Instead he tried to steer the conversation away from dangerous waters, and back to the more pressing matter. “Now you know how important it is that she gets help, can’t we work something out?”

“Hmm,” Glimmer leaned back in his chair as though considering his options. “I’d like to help you but I’m afraid I can’t.” He held up a hoof to forestall their objections. “I’d like to advise you to follow the main road out of town and knock on the door of the first house on the right after the cobblestones end, but I can’t. I also certainly can’t tell you to tell the person who lives there that Dr. Glimmer sent you.” He winked at them. “I’m sorry, I’d really like to help you, but I just can’t, they’d take away my license after all.”

Diana nodded slowly. “Well we wouldn’t want that to happen. Guess we’ll just be going then. Come on Watchwing, maybe somepony else will be willing to help.” She said as she turned to leave. Watchwing paused long enough to mouth “thanks” to Glimmer before following Diana out of the office.

The doctor waved goodbye to the two exiting ponies. “Good luck with the whole not dying thing. Feel free to come back if you suddenly strike it rich.” He called after them, smiling to himself.

Glimmer’s instructions proved to be accurate and the two travelers found themselves nearing the indicated house as evening fell. Their knock was answered by a somewhat confused dark green earth pony.

“Can I help you two?”

“I hope so. Doctor Glimmer sent us; he indicated you might be able to help heal me.”

At Diana’s words the earth pony’s confusion cleared up. “Oh, of course. Please come in.” She stepped back and held the door open as they entered her house. “It’s not much but feel free to make yourselves at home.”

The room they entered was small in a cozy sort of way. A dining table occupied the center with numerous chairs around it. A sitting room, complete with a fireplace and patterned rug, was visible to the right while a hallway to the left led deeper into the house. Though the fireplace was unlit there were numerous niches in the painted white walls which contained floating balls of light that provided illumination equal to daylight.

In the brighter light their host came into greater focus. She was a mare, perhaps a year or two younger than they, with warm golden eyes and delicate features. A soft brown mane cascaded down her back, its color matching the short tail that graced her flank. Diana and Watchwing removed their packs and followed her into the sitting room where they each made themselves comfortable on the rug.

When they were settled the earth pony broke the silence. “Naturally if it seemed urgent I’d take you straight to my workspace but since neither of you seem to be about to keel over I thought it’d be best to talk for a bit first. What are your names, if you please?”

“I’m Diana and this is my good friend Watchwing. And you are?”

The earth pony grimaced. “My full name’s pretty ridiculous so I usually go by Zephyr or just Zeph.”

Watchwing smiled at that. “Zephyr huh? That’s an odd name for an earth pony; it’d be like naming me Terra or something.”

Zephyr nodded seriously. “Yes it is rather odd, and it’s still better than my full name.” She smiled mischievously. “Maybe I should call you Terra just so you appreciate how hard it for me.”

“I hate to interrupt,” Diana interjected, “but I’m in a good bit of pain and I’m rather curious as to how you can help me since you’re an earth pony after all.”

“I understand, though trust me when I say that the better I know you both the easier the healing will be. As for how it’s done, well that’s my little secret for now. Could you show me the injury please?”

For the second time that day Diana twitched aside her cloak to reveal her stab wound. “Assuming it’s possible for you to heal me, how much will it cost? I don’t want to incur any debts I can’t pay.”

“Oh don’t worry about that.” Zephyr said, peering at the wound. “That’s the arrangement Dr. Glimmer and I have set up, he sends the ponies that can’t pay guild rates to me and together we figure out a fair method of reimbursement after you’ve made a full recovery.” She stepped closer to Diana to get a better look. “That’s cuts clearly a couple of days old, why didn’t you get help before it got this bad?”

“I was an apothecary’s apprentice so I thought I could keep it from getting infected and it would heal on its own.” Watchwing shook his head as he answered. “Unfortunately, we had to slog through a swamp with no way to keep it sterile. After that we knew we needed help and this is the first town we’ve come to since then.”

Zephyr nodded in understanding, still peering closely at the wound. She reached out to touch it and then paused. “May I?” Diana gave her assent and the green earth pony carefully touched it with the tip of her hoof. Her eyes closed and she seemed lost in thought for several moments. At last she opened her eyes and withdrew her hoof. “It’s a good thing you came to me. Even most unicorns would have had to amputate the leg to save you from the infection now that it’s gained such a firm hold. Come, the healing should be done now.”

Diana rose and followed Zephyr through the dining room and down the hallway she had seen earlier. Watchwing hesitated but a gesture from Zephyr convinced him that he should follow as well.

The three ponies padded down the hallway past numerous doors until Zephyr finally paused in front of the last door on the right. It was made of a lighter wood than the dark floors and had an inset plaque that simply read “healing room” in straight, cleanly written letters. Pushing the door open, Zephyr ushered them inside.

While Diana wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting, it certainly wasn’t the sight that met her eyes. The room had an earthen floor with a circle of soft green grass in the center just large enough for two ponies to sit on comfortably. Numerously plants, both potted and planted, were scattered seemingly at random around the room, giving the impression that they had wandered outside. A large skylight enhanced this impression, displaying the first stars of evening through the purpling of dusk.

Zephyr gestured toward the circle of grass. “Take off your cloak and sit down over there, please. Watchwing you stay nearby but make sure to keep off the grass.”

“Could I keep my cloak on?” Diana asked nervously. “I’m not really comfortable taking it off.”

The earth pony shook her head. “This will be hard enough without any extra complications. If you don’t take it off I can’t guarantee I’ll be able to heal you.”

“Alright, but you have to keep what you see to yourself, understand?”

“I’m familiar with the principle of patient healer confidentiality.”

Slowly, Diana undid the cloaks fastenings and allowed it to fall. Zephyr’s eyes narrowed in suspicion as she beheld the pink wings furled at Diana’s side but she managed to keep her tone casual. “Interesting. There was an announcement yesterday from the guards to report any sightings of a pink alicorn traveling with a blind pegasus.” Her eyes drifted over to Watchwing’s blindfold. “What would I find if I removed that blindfold, hmm?”

Keeping his expression carefully blank Watchwing reached up and began to untie the blindfold. “What the hay do you think you’re doing Watchwing?” Diana hissed at him.

“You’re the only alicorn outside your village; deception gains us nothing at this point, it’s obvious who we are.” He replied steadily as the blindfold dropped, revealing his empty eye sockets.

To her credit, Zephyr didn’t flinch at the sight, she’d seen much worse in her time as a healer. She tapped her chin with one hoof, looking thoughtful. All she said though was “I think I know how you’re going to repay my healing.”

Diana and Watchwing exchanged a surprised glance. “You’re not going to turn us in?”

Zephyr shook her head defiantly. “I’m no friend to the guards or to Discord. We can speak later but we should get to the healing now, before it gets any worse.”

Surprised though they were it wouldn’t do to look a gift horse in the mouth. Diana walked to the grass and settled herself on one half of the circle, injured leg outstretched. Watchwing sat down near her while Zephyr settled herself on the other half of the grass circle.

Before she began Zephyr issued a few last instructions. “While I am performing the healing I must ask that you both refrain from speaking or moving as best you can. Diana, you should focus on your desire to be healed but it is imperative that you do not use or even summon your magic in any way. Finally, this might take a while so please be patient. Now, are you ready for me to begin?”

“I suppose it’s too late to ask exactly how this is going to work?” Diana asked halfheartedly.

“Yes, now hush. I’m starting.”

Taking Diana’s injured foreleg in her hooves, Zephyr placed one over and one under it. The room grew quiet. At first it was a normal quiet, still filled with the soft settling sounds of a wooden house and the breathing of the three ponies. Then it grew absolutely silent, impossibly still, and all the world seemed to lean in, waiting for motion, action, something.

Zephyr began to sing.

Her simple wordless melody was light and lifting. It was cheerful at first, sweet and bubbly, like a brook in spring, like growing grass, like a sapling sending forth its first shoots. The trees came in, the deep baseline of the oaks, the wistful breathy tune of the willows. All the plants, the grass, the very earth beneath them joined in Zephyr’s music.

This wasn’t magic in the traditional sense; it was something much older and more elemental, a symphony in which every individual piece of the world had its own part. It was an expression of the invisible ties that bind all to all. Those ties formed the warp and weft of the world, to comprehend them in their entirety was beyond any, but a bare outline was all that was needed here.

To music narrowed its focus from the interconnectedness of the world to a single thread: Diana. Her body resonated as the music became intensely personal. The melody sung by Zephyr served as her basic external characteristics, her own music, not sung simply there, rose from within providing the timbre and from Watchwing came the counterpoint, the way the world viewed her from without.

All the different pieces combined to build a song that captured Diana’s quintessence. As the music swept through her and reached her injured leg a sour note entered the harmony. The injury should not be. It was wrong, a fundamental alteration from the correct shape of this tiny section of the world. Slowly, slowly, Zephyr sang it right. She altered it, note by note, returning the tune to its destined path and as she did so the wound itself began to heal. Diana could feel the tickling sensation of flesh knitting together and the cleansing fire of the infection being purged from her blood stream.

Or not purged, not entirely. Wrongness cannot be so easily set right. While some was simply eliminated the rest was drawn into Zephyr’s waiting hoof. Diana would have objected, would have yanked her hoof away rather than let Zephyr suffer the pain for her, but she remembered the emphasis placed on not moving and held her peace.

The healing seemed to take place in a space out of time, where all that existed was the song. At last, though, the twisted notes were set right and the song dwindled until it was cloaked once more by the trappings of the world.

Normal quiet returned for a moment as the three ponies maintained a respectful silence for the performance. Finally, Zephyr removed her hooves from Diana’s. “It is done. Try moving it to make sure nothing went wrong.”

Obediently, Diana raised and lowered her hoof. A look of wonderment came into her eyes as she realized it no longer hurt. “Thank you.” She said.

“You’re welcome.”

As Zephyr responded Watchwing shook himself like somepony coming out of a deep sleep and asked in an awed voice. “What was that?”

“That is how I heal ponies. I understand them, everything that makes them who they are from their cells to their personalities and I use that understanding to absorb anything that shouldn’t be there, taking away their injury in the process.” Zephyr frowned. “It isn’t usually like that though. To have to start so broadly and narrow down so much is very odd. It was as if you had a piece of the entire world inside you that had to be acknowledged before I could focus you specifically. Any idea why that might be?”

“I can’t think of anything…” Diana began. She paused, remembering her deal with the Tiresian and the seed of the ancient tree that she’d accepted as a price. “Actually, I have some idea but it’s pretty complicated.”

“I expect it would be,” Zephyr nodded. “I’m going to go out on a limb here and guess you two don’t have anywhere to stay?” They shook their heads. “I thought not. You can stay here for the night; at no charge of course, I’ve got plenty of space. You can explain the oddness of your healing and we can discuss your payment over dinner.”

“That’s very generous of you but we really shouldn’t impose any further.” Diana tried to object but, unfortunately, her stomach chose that moment to grumble hungrily.

Zephyr smiled, “Nonsense. It wouldn’t be an imposition. I usually live with a friend of mine but she’s…elsewhere this evening and I’d get lonely without anypony here.”

Diana smiled back, “In that case we gratefully accept.”

Evening plans now settled Zephyr led them out of the healing room and into the house proper.

Comments

[Twifight Sparkill]

When I saw this update pop into my inbox, I got so excited I read it all during my lunch break at work - excellent piece of the puzzle.

I very much enjoyed the description of Zephyr and her uncommon healing practices!

Back to work. Sigh!

[Bridgebrain]

That was a beautiful description of healing musics. I've heard the concept of magical music and song spouted many a time, but that was particuarly exquisitely written

[mythfan12]

i think she's found the element of generosity (that is once the elements appear)