The Sanctuary of Lights

by SapphireStarlightPony

The Last Sunrise

Chapter 5
The Last Sunrise

The morning came to leave Glendale and Sapphire found she was still not as ready as she wished to be. There were so many things she wanted to bring, and precious little room in her saddlebags. Ironfeather was doing his best to help, but was quickly finding Sapphire’s organizational skills lacking.

“Miss Starlight I do not think you are going to be able to fit more than one book into your pack. There’s simply not the space.”

“It’s just Sapphire,” she corrected for the third time of the morning. Either from pridal tradition or an overdeveloped sense of respect the gryphon seemed to passively insist on adhering to decorum. It would've begun grating on Sapphire's nerves by then if she were not so busy trying to pack.

“Do you have any space left in your pack?” she asked. Her pack was leaned up against the foot of her bed and stuffed so tightly that it strained against the buttons.

“I’m sorry no,” Ironfeather said, dismissing the idea with a shake of his head. “Light's Hope loaded mine up with food supplies.

After a moment of quiet consideration Sapphire settled on her personal spellbook, stuffing it into a space in her pack that only she could have found. Her new book was left on the desk with a scarlet ribbon across the open page.

“I guess that’s that then,” she said, looking at it. “It will just have to wait until we get back.”

“And I am sure it will still be here Miss Starlight,” Ironfeather assured her. “We should get downstairs, the others will be ready to go soon.”

“Right,” Sapphire said.

She stopped at the gate for one last look back at the tower door, locked behind her, then made her way to town square where her companions were sure to be waiting.

Seeing Emberwind at town hall lifted her spirits. Sapphire had been so busy the past couple days that she’d hardly had a moment to speak with her friend.

“Sapphire, glad to see you’re up. I know it’s a little early for a night-pony like you,” Emberwind said, teasing.

“Yeah yeah I know,” Sapphire said. Her eyes darted around, wondering if anyone heard. “You shouldn’t mention that in public Ember,” she said quietly.

Emberwind ignored the complaint. Her attention had been caught by the overstuffed saddlebags draped across Sapphire's back. The impression of her stood out against the cloth side of her saddlebag.

“Can I help you?” Sapphire asked, turning that side away from the pegasus' prying eyes.

“You did bring more than just books right?” Emberwind asked.

“I brought one spellbook, which I will need” she said defensively. “Everything else is food. Food and tools. I swear.”

“Good, then we’re ready,” Light said. He unfurled a map in the air in front of everypony.

“This is Karamon Pass,” Dawn Chaser said, tracing an outline of it with his hoof. “With the winter storms rolling in, it’s our best route through the mountains. It’s low, and well-sheltered from the winds. We’ve got about a week before it becomes impassable by snow. We’ll want to be back by then, or we’ll have to weather the storms. Our objective is here, a small compound high in the mountains. Unfortunately it's well past the sunline.”

“How far past the sunline?” Autumn Song asked.

Sapphire’s ears perked at a sound from behind her. Coming up over the hill was Brindolar dressed like she'd never seen him before. He wore a thick fur vest and carried a pack over his shoulder. A formidable sword was fastened to his belt.

“I am relieved,” the old dragon said, “to see that you have not left yet. I am afraid I overslept.”

“That won’t become a problem I hope?” Light asked in a stern voice. Sapphire shot him a look.

“I have spent the last two days in meditation and preparation,” the dragon said. “I will require little sleep for the duration of our journey.”

This seemed to satisfy Light. He returned his attention to the map, pointing out possible campsites, and the exact location along their path where they would cross the sunline. It was much sooner than Sapphire had hoped. Well over half the distance was on the other side of that line. It would be a long, cold march in complete darkness, save the light of the moon when it was to be had.

“Who here, has been past the sunline?” Dawn Chaser asked, once the route had been explained. Slowly Brindolar raised a claw-like hand.

“I have,” he announced.

“As have I,” Ironfeather chimed in.

“Then speak up,” Light said, “and tell us what you know.”

“Past the sunline it will be dark for the entire day,” Brindolar said. His voice could really boom when he wanted it to. “I hope you all packed very warmly, the weather up there is uncontrolled by pegasi. Mark my words, there will be storms, vicious and cold. They will not be scheduled, nor will they be announced. If you have not brought your cold weather gear, now is the time to speak up and go get it.”

Brindolar continued for a while longer, marching along the line like a drill instructor with fresh recruits. He explained the route in great detail and the finer points of clubbing a wolven to death with brutal efficiency.

“This is not a game,” he warned. “You must not hesitate to take a life. The wolven will not.”

Once he'd finished it was time to leave. Everyone lined up to say their farewells to the small crowd that had gathered to see them off.

“I wish I could go,” Rain said, pushing her head up against Sapphire’s. Morning Rain and Stormy were both present with the crowd of well-wishers, but had been selected to stay behind.

“We’ll be fine, don’t worry,” Sapphire said, hoping to reassure her, and perhaps to convince herself. “Besides, somepony has to watch after things while we’re gone. You and Stormy will do fine. Try to keep Fleethoof calm, and we’ll be back before you know it.”

Morning Rain nodded slowly and forced a smile before she continued down the line. Sapphire looked to Light. He was already pointed north, eyes fixed on the distant horizon. Everypony fell in step behind him and Dawn. Sapphire fell back alongside Brindolar who had taken up the rear of the line.

“You never said you’d been past the sunline,” she said after some recollection. “Why?”

The dragon looked down at her, but did not respond right away. He seemed to be weighing his options. “It was not a happy time in my life,” he said at last. “It is not something I prefer to reminisce upon.”

“I see,” Sapphire said. “Did… something happen?”

“I cannot remember,” the dragon said with a furrowed brow. He was looking down at the snowy path before him. Sapphire felt he was lying, but decided not to press the issue.

“We’ll be safe,” she said. “Ironfeather knows the region well.”

This, unfortunately, did not seem to lift the dragon’s spirits. She took a moment to herself to study the group. There were seven of them in all: Light’s Hope, Dawn Chaser, Ironfeather, Autumn Song, Emberwind, Brindolar, and Sapphire herself. She would have felt better if Stormy and Rain had come as well, but mayor Fleethoof had thrown such a fit when he found just how many were going in the first place that he’d explicitly forbade taking more than two of the town’s few pegasus ponies off on some quest.

Sapphire really hoped the old pony could keep the place together in their absence. It was a tough job that few had the desire to do.

“Thinking about something?” Emberwind asked.

“Yeah,” Sapphire said, looking back at Glendale, by then far in the distance behind them. “I’m just glad we have people left behind that we can count on. I want a home to come back to when this is over.”

“I’m with you there,” the fiery-maned pegasus said.

“Think you’re going to need that?” Emberwind asked, eyeballing Brindolar’s weapon.

“Yes,” he answered coldly, offering no further comment.

“Delightful fellow,” Emberwind said, looking away from him.

“I am what I am,” the dragon said. There was no malice in his words, despite Emberwind's light jabbing.

“You are armed as well, of course,” he pointed out.

“Just the wings,” Emberwind said, flapping them once for good measure. “And that’s more than enough for me.”

“I know,” the dragon said, smiling subtly. “Let us hope we will not need to use them.”

The sunline seemed to come all too soon. The pass was already half covered in snow and crowned with dark clouds so heavy with precipitation that they looked like soggy ceiling tiles ready to give way at a moment's notice and deluge anyone so unfortunate to be caught beneath them. The grim canopy blocked out what precious little sun was left. From there on, Sapphire and Light took the lead, the constant, steady glow of their horns providing beacons for the others to follow.

Sapphire ached all over when Light finally called for a stop to the march. The small band found a cave to rest in, and started a small fire near the mouth to keep the cold at bay.

“That’s probably the last we’ll see of daylight,” Ironfeather said, looking out into the dark void. Snowflakes whistled past, little stinging arrows carried on an arctic wind. “The sunline is very far south in the winter I’m afraid.”

“How far do you think we made it today Light?” Autumn asked. Light had unfurled the map across the cave floor and a few of the travelers were gathered up around it.

“Better than I’d hoped,” he said, “but there’s still a long way to go. Everypony should get some rest. Tomorrow will not be easier. We’ll be more exposed to the wind once we leave the pass.”

“Actually, I’ve got something prepared just for that,” Sapphire said. “Ironfeather told me a bit about gryphon magic. Modern gryphons migrate south for the winter every year but ancient gryphons hibernated in caves like these. The mountain range used to be volcanic and some of the latent energy from the magma still persists in these rocks. It just takes the right application of force…”

Sapphire shifted her weight to her front legs and lashed back at the wall with both hind hooves. Her efforts were rewarded with a thunderous clap that reverberated up and down the length of the cave like water sloshing in a tub. A coarse, somewhat spherical black rock no bigger than a tennis ball fell loose and rolled up to her. She stomped as hard as she could on the coarse stone. Nothing. She snorted in frustration and tossed her mane. Another attempt sent the stone spinning across the floor like carelessly thrown board game dice.

“It's harder than I thought,” Sapphire said. “The gryphons used to crack these with their beaks...”

“Let me take a whack at it,” Autumn said. She took the rock and positioned it on the ground in front of her, and then stomped it with brutal efficiency. The outer layer of the rock shattered like glass and fell away. The core was dark black and smooth as ice. It began to warm and turned a dull orange color.

“Thank you,” Sapphire said, scooping up the emberstone.

“Don’t mention it,” Autumn said. “You just need to practice your uh… technique there a bit.”

In reality there was nothing wrong with the unicorn's technique. The problem was in the application of magic. Unicorn magic had a certain finesse to it which did not often lend itself to brute force application. Autumn, however, had exactly the sort of magic the emberstone needed.

“Right, of course,” Sapphire said with a quiet chuckle of embarrassment riding on her voice. Her first instinct was to explain why she'd not been able to light the stone, but she felt Autumn Song wouldn't be nearly as interested in the theory as she was.

“Good job, both of you,” Light said. “These will take the edge off the cold. Let’s try to get a few more of them together.”

Soon they had built a campfire out of the magic rocks, and dinner was cooking in a kettle nestled among them like an egg in a strange nest. Several of the travelers gathered at the mouth of the cave, watching the snow fall. It was like a sea of falling stars, sparkling in the faint light of the moon.

“It’s nice to watch,” Emberwind said.

“It’s a lot like the stuff we make,” Dawn said. “Just a lot more of it. I wonder, where it all comes from.”

“The magic up north,” Sapphire said. “There must be so much of it. That’s the only thing I can think of that could cause this much weather.

“Leave it to a unicorn to jump to magic,” Autumn said, adding a snort of disapproval as punctuation.

“Got a better idea?” Sapphire asked.

“Well, no. I guess not,” Autumn said. “Maybe… northern pegasus ponies?”

“Not the case,” Emberwind said. “Glendale ponies are the furthest north in this region.”

“Sapphire is probably right,” Ironfeather said.

“Sleep! Everypony should get some sleep,” Light said. “We’ve got a long way to go yet. There will be plenty of time to debate where the snow comes from when we’re marching through it tomorrow.”

Sapphire grimaced. Light never seemed to be bothered by anything, it was an admirable trait, but it seemed to her that he often forgot that others were not nearly so hardy.

“I’ll take first watch,” Brindolar said, settling in by the entryway. He had a tireless patience that made him well-suited for the task.

It felt like hardly any time had passed at all when Sapphire awoke to Brindolar’s hand on her shoulder. Bleary eyed, she looked up at the old dragon.

“My turn to watch?” Sapphire asked.

“Sorry, no,” Brindolar said. “It is morning, according to my timepiece. That means time to go.” The old dragon smiled. Sapphire wished she had the energy to smile back.

The days wore on, but at last the lights came into view. Sapphire and Light stood on a ridge, looking on toward the beams of splendor rising in the distance. They came from the center of a sprawling compound, ringed in the dark black clouds of a raging storm. Sapphire was in awe of it. It was like nothing she'd ever seen. She looked back at the others, gathered around a small fire nearby, all eyes were fixed on the sprawling wonder before them. It was far grander than Sapphire had ever expected.

"The others are ready to go into the sanctuary," Brindolar said, coming up the ridge behind them.

“Sanctuary…?” Sapphire asked. “You called it that before. Why do you call it that?”

Brindolar squinted, looking at the big cluster of buildings.

“Is it not?”he asked as though it could not possibly have been anything else.

“It’s big, that’s all we know,” Sapphire said.

“Much bigger than we thought,” Light added. He came dangerously close to stating what was on everyone's minds. The compound was big enough to house an army that would dwarf any force Glendale could possibly muster without Canterlot itself marching to her aid.

“There’s something wrong with the magic here,” Sapphire said. She could feel it in the air, like the wet scent in the wind in the hour before a big storm.

"It does feel different," Brindolar said contemplatively. He was trying to get a sense of what the unicorn was feeling but could only come so close as that vague sense of wrongness that comes when one marches into a room and is gripped by the feeling that something had been moved in their absence.

"Is it something you've seen before?" Light asked. His neck was beginning to ache from straining to look up at Brindolar. The old dragon just rubbed his bearded chin and shrugged.

"It feels familiar. I am sorry, I cannot place my finger on it," he said. He took his timepiece from the pocket of his robe and quickly became lost in its glinting face.

"Very well. We should get moving," Light said. "The general area seems safe enough.”

“We're moving on!" he called down the hill. A flurry of activity erupted as the others began to break camp.

"Doesn't it bother you that we've not seen a single wolven on our entire journey?" Sapphire asked, pawing at the snow. It had been bothering her for hours as a sort of nagging suspicion that she’d forgotten something important.

"It's strange," Light said, looking off toward the distant cliffs. "We have numbers. They might have just kept their distance."

"Not as many as my pride had," Ironfeather said darkly.

Sapphire frowned. "Not a single sighting, no scales, no tracks... It's like they've all vanished."

"They were here," Dawn Chaser said, stamping his hoof.

"No one's doubting you," Sapphire said quickly. "Let's just... get out of the snow."

Out of habit a line had formed behind Light's Hope. The glow of his horn had been the beacon to follow for the past days. Now it was finally out, reduced to obscurity by the light of the sanctuary.

Comments

[Rust]

Huzzah! Le update!

[ajaysallthat]

....i have no idea whats going on

[SapphireStarlightPony]

240331

In what regard?