Mending Light

by Kiromancer

79 - Recuperation

I opened my eyes as if it had all been some kind of dream, but the pain in my foreleg instantly hammered home just how real it had been. I staggered forward, catching myself quickly as the others all opened their eyes around me. Tired, bruised, bleeding, there was really only one viable solution; the Ponyville clinic.

Twilight Sparkle was too tired to be much help, ‘typical exhaustion following extended use of a unicorn’s magical reserves’, she’d stated. Starshadow agreed, and volunteered to remain with Twilight to help clean up and ensure that nothing unexpected occurred while the rest of us went to check in to the clinic.

Taking the pressure off my leg, I flew alongside the others as Dusky, Mint, Merri, and I made our way through town. It was still late, and without much other hoof traffice, we reached the clinic quickly. I set down, carefully holding my injured leg up as we stepped inside.

Behind the desk just to the side of the entryway, Nurse Redheart turned to stare at us, her eyes immediately narrowing with a mix of judgement and clinical appraisal.

Dusky started to speak, but Mint stepped forward first, lifting a hoof to motion towards our little party. “Guard business. Any open wounds have been caused by magic.”

Redheart relaxed slightly, moving out from around the counter, but she still demanded to see some form of proof. Once Mint had dug out a badge and identification, the Nurse’s entire demeanor shifted, and suddenly I was finding Redheart alongside me to support the weight of my bad hoof, calling out for a bed to be brought out.

The clinic staff jumped at her call. I stood there waiting for a bed and looked to Dusky, feeling awful. I’d nearly screwed it all up, and again my lack of preparation had gotten me hurt. It was just like… well, just like the last time I’d been in this clinic, ready to be carted in with magical debris cutting through my wing. It felt like a lifetime ago, yet here we were again. I couldn’t help but smile, and as I looked at Dusky, her sad expression had shifted as well. There was something about this moment that almost seemed too ludicrous, and if either of us hadn’t been so exhausted, I think we’d have have broken into laughter.

The moment passed as Redheart’s aide arrived with one of the rolling beds. Quickly helped up, I was wheeled to one of the larger side rooms, where Redheart proceeded to pull out some manner of magical tool to scan the wound. I glanced down, but her aide continued to gently hold me in place, and I was too exhausted to fight back.

Redheart ran the pen-like tool over my leg, studying the output on some kind of magical screen. At last, she waved to her aide, sending him over to start pulling supplies from the cabinets. She turned to me with half a smile. “The good news is that there isn’t enough residue to be life threatening.”

Magical residue had done a number on my wing before, and had been nearly too much for my body to handle. The banshee’s knife certainly felt like a real knife, but considering it had all taken place on another plane of existence, all projected via unicorn magic… it could have been much worse. Still, the way Redheart had phrased it made me nervous “What’s the bad news?”

“It’s a pretty deep cut that isn’t entirely free of residue. In the very least, you’ll need stitches. I’d also like to monitor you overnight. This magic is very likely to dissipate by then, but if it doesn’t, I’ll need to have the doctor examine you.”

I sighed. There wasn’t much to be done about it, and I was lucky that it was the only damage I’d sustained. The only substantial wound any of us had taken, for as brutal as the fight had been. I glanced at Dusky, and found her giving me a gentle smile. With that, I simply nodded to Nurse Redheart and lay back on the gurney.

The aide returned, and began to treat the wound. No stitches just yet, but he dabbed at the leg with some cotton balls, soaked in something that just smelled medicine-y. It stung at first, but soon the pain dulled as whatever he’d applied seemed to take effect.

As her aide worked on me, Redheart turned to Dusky. She lifted the same pen tool towards her, and started to wave it over her wounds. After a moment, she pronounced a similar diagnosis. “Same case for you, minus the stitches. Your cuts are rather shallow, but numerous. I would like to monitor you overnight to ensure they aren’t a collective issue.”

The aide finished the last of his work on me, then nodded to Redheart. “Shall I prepare another bed?”

“Please.” She turned to Mint and Merriweather, standing nearby. “Now as to the rest of you…”

---

I couldn’t be sure how much time had passed when I finally awoke. I still felt tired upon waking, but not tired enough to fall back asleep. Instead, I glanced around the sadly familiar looking clinic room. Mint and Merri sat in the corner, leaning against one another as they dozed lightly.

They’d both been cleared by Redheart after she’d finished checking up on Dusky. Mint had suffered some bruises, and a hard kick to the face had been the worst of it. An ice pack was enough to take the swelling down. Merri was even better off, with only a few minute cuts and some light scores under her armor, the barding having absorbed most of the blows. Both of them were full-time warriors, more or less. I… was not. Dusky wasn’t either, even though it always felt like she was on a level above me.

I shifted in bed to look at her. She was curled up under the blankets of another hospital bed, sleeping peacefully. I hadn’t seen her so content in her sleep in a long time, since we’d first started our trip together, in fact. Not even at Ivory’s had she seemed quite so… content as she’d slept. We’d succeeded.

Unable to get myself back to sleep, I lay content watching my fiance sleep. The biggest disadvantage to our being in the clinic was simply that I couldn’t be right there next to her. Part of me wanted to slip out of bed and cuddle up with her. It probably wasn’t worth the risk of waking her, nor the risk of Redheart’s wrath.

I’d guess nearly an hour had passed when she began to stir. Waking slowly, Dusky stretched. She yawned again before pushing herself upright, blinking blearily as she took in the room. Something was still bothering her, but it wasn’t like her nightmares had. This seemed to be something else. She turned her head, and her eyes settled on me.

I smiled at her, but kept my voice down. “Morning, beautiful. You, um, look like you slept well.”

“Just a bit. Flatterer.” She smiled back, nodding as she stretched out the kinks in her neck. She sighed as her gaze dropped to my leg. “How are you doing?”

I lifted the bandaged limb up, “Fine. Barely feel it, now. I’ll be fine in no time.”

She sighed, looking down at her sheets. “Good.”

I shifted, trying to lean closer. “Hey… I’ll be fine. This isn’t your fault, if anything, it’s my fault. I… sorta screwed up again. I’m… sorry I couldn’t do more to help.”

Dusky shook her head. “I’m sorry you had to be involved, and that you got hurt.”

I fell silent, but after a moment, I couldn’t help but laugh quietly. “Some pair we are… always apologizing for… for things that aren’t our fault. It’s not like you wanted me to get stabbed, or… or that I wanted to get stabbed.”

Her smile returned, just a little. “No, but I still feel bad you had to go through this.”

“Well, don’t feel bad. I feel bad for… for you having to end things the way you had to. I should have been stronger… but I couldn’t hurt you, even when I knew it wasn’t you.”

She shook her head. “Well, don’t feel bad for that either. That whole thing was just… weird in general.”

“Then we’re agreed?”

Dusky tilted her head. “Agreed to what?”

I grinned. “Not to feel bad. We… you did it. You’re free.”

“I hope so.” She frowned, and looked down at her sheets.

I shifted in bed, reaching out towards her with my good forehoof. “Dusky… just remember, I love you. I’m here for you. No matter what.”

“Love you too, Night Light.” She smirked, then leaned over out of her bed to meet my hoof with her own.

I pressed my hoof against hers before I pulled back, still grinning.

Dusky spent a moment considering, the smile slowly falling. She turned to look at the other two ponies sleeping quietly in the corner and sighed. “You can stop pretending to sleep now, Merri, I’ve got a question.”

Merri, half-snuggled up with my sister, cracked open an eye. “Aw, how’d you know? I was kinda hoping you two were gonna start making out. Night’s been watching you for awhile, I almost figured he was gonna climb into bed and at least snuggle with ya, Dusky. I considered it myself, but Flurry’s sis’ here is pretty fluffy~.”

My cheeks burned red, “I… what? You and Mint… I... H-how long have you been watching me?”

“Hmm. Don’t know. How long were you watching her~?” Merri grinned wide, clearly feeling like herself.

Dusky shook her head, cutting me off before I could respond. “Not now, Merri. I need to know something.”

The knight’s expression shifted from predatory flirt to serious concern in an instant as she nodded to Dusky, “Err, sure. What’s up?”

“Could you close the door first?”

Merri stood, with Mint wearily waking besides her. With a spin, Merri stepped to the door, and just as she was about to swing the door shut, came face to face with Starshadow, nearly colliding with her sister in the doorway.

Star took a step back, glaring as she scolded in a half-whisper, “Merriweather! Pay attention!”

Merri only responded with her typical grin, the previously serious look gone. “Oh, hi, Sis’! Good timing! Dusky has serious questions and you know how good I am at those.”

Pushing past her sister, Star walked up alongside Dusky, shutting the door behind her with her magic. “Is something the matter?”

“That’s what I’m trying to figure out.” Dusky let out a short sigh. “But first, how did things go on your end?”

Starshadow straightened, like a military soldier giving a report to a commanding officer. “Not a peep. If they had anyone in place, they retreated when their leader was defeated. Do not worry about Twilight Sparkle—I left her in the care of Rainbow Dash.”

“Right. Then… Merri, when we defeated the banshee, you said that it would be difficult for her to come back from that. Does that mean…” Dusky glanced at me, and I gave her a supportive smile. She turned back to look at Merri with a sigh. “..that she could be back someday?”

“Nope.” She shook her head, but then brought her hoof up to think. “Not usually, when it comes to banishment spells, anyway. I guess there have been some cases where it didn’t work, but, uh… hey, Sis’, you wanna take over?”

Star dipped her head with a sigh. “What would you ever do without me? When a spirit is affected by a banishment spell, it finds itself unable to interact with anything for a long period of time. While there have been reports of spirits with a particularly seething hatred returning for another bout, for the most part, thirty or forty years is a long enough hint to move on. However, Merriweather, what have I told you about casting spells without proper study first?”

“Huh?” Merri gave her sister a sidelong glance, then straightened suddenly, “Oh! You think I did it. Nope, wasn’t me.”

Turning her glare back at her sister in full force, Star met Merri’s eyes. “Do not lie to me, Merriweather. I appreciate that you mean well, but putting everypony in danger like that is not a commendable act.”

“Um, can someone fill me in here?” Dusky interjected before the two began to argue any further.

Star turned away slowly to bow her head to Dusky’s request. “Banishment magic is a very fine art. Even in Ostfriesen, only the most powerful of unicorns have a natural affinity for it. While our knight academy covers the barest of the basics, the rest of us must spend well over a decade studying at the Exorcist’s Guild if we hope to master a spell such as what Merriweather cast.”

Merri snorted. “I’m telling you, I didn’t!”

Her frustration shifting into curiosity, Star began to tap her hoof. “If not you, then who?”

“I just assumed Twilight did it.” Merri shrugged. “She’s got an affinity for all magic, right?”

“While that is correct, did you forget that she was busy concentrating on the planar spells?” Star peered at Dusky. “Was a banishment spell in the plan?”

“No, not from what Twilight told me.” Dusky sighed.

“That is troubling.” Star’s expression grew more serious as she thought through the mystery. “Such powerful magic does not simply appear from thin air.”

Mint stood up, apparently fully awake now. “Are you sure we didn’t have anypony else helping us? Did you send for anypony else? Maybe they arrived late?”

Dusky glanced at me and shook her head. “Only those who Night contacted.”

“And you were with me the whole time.” I added. There’d been barely enough time to get Merri and Star, let alone anypony else.

Mint nodded slowly, her face mirroring Star’s in her concern. “That’s true. “What about Twilight? Did she send for anypony?”

“Not as far as I know.” Dusky frowned. “She was rushed enough with the spell preparations.”

I looked at Dusky, offering the only explanation that came to mind. “Ivory?”

“If her reach was that long, I doubt we would have had this issue in the first place. The ward would have also long lost its power.” Dusky hesitated, thinking hard. “Maybe…”

She grew distant, looking down at her sheets. She had something in mind, but there was more to it, and she clearly wasn’t satisfied with whatever answer she’d come to.

“Dusky?” I broke the silence at last. “Maybe what?”

She blinked, looking over at me and then simply letting her thoughts flow out. “Well, sometimes, when I was having my nightmares, Princess Luna would do little things to alter their course. I rarely even knew she was there until after I woke up, but I think I owe my sanity to her. I guess I wonder if she could have had a hoof in this. She certainly has the power, but… I don’t know. We were on an imaginary plane, which technically isn’t the dream world, right, Star?”

“You would be correct.” Star shifted her position thoughtfully, tapping her hoof once again. “However, I would certainly think it within the realm of possibility that she could access it if she decided she really wanted to. At this point, there really does not seem to be any other logical explanation.”

Dusky sighed, “Ugh, then why does it feel like we’re trying to fit a square peg into a round hole?”

The silence lingered on, but no pony had a satisfying answer.

Comments

[Yami Vizzini]

Hmm... Luna does seem like as good an explanation as any, but it is odd how circumspect she has apparently been all this time.

[Kiromancer]

9300945
Yeah, reaaaally odd hm? But it's probably Luna. Certainly so. Right?