Archmage: Square One

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Chapter 16: Equestria at War

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The world revealed itself to me in degrees. The first sensation that returned to my consciousness was feel. And I felt terrible. Pain radiated through me, coming and going in aching waves, like the push and pull of the tide. I couldn’t exactly feel my legs, though I was relatively certain there was some sort of comfortable numbness compared to what was happening in my torso.

’Well at least I can still feel things. At least I’m not dead. Unless this is Tartarus, and this is all I’m supposed to feel. That would suck.’

The next sense I remember acquiring was taste. My mouth was fuzzy, and tasted like dirt and roots. It wasn’t very pleasant. Now and then, between crippling waves of pain, I’d feel a sort of liquid glide over my tongue, furthering the disgusting taste and making me want to wash my mouth out with anything that didn’t come directly from the ground.

Then came smell. Nothing major there, though I do remember smelling fresh laundry and blood. It was a strange combination to be smelling, for certain. But I didn’t pay much attention to it between the pain still wracking my body. But after smell came the largest and most important one of all. Sight. My eyes flickered open, and at first I had thought I went blind.

Then I realized there was something over my head. Which might account for the fact that I hadn’t heard anything either. I tried to move, to twitch something, but all I managed was a faint flick of my tail. I think. But shortly after that, a warm golden glow appeared in the darkness. It looked strangely pixelated, almost like a motion picture out-of-focus. But it steadily grew brighter and brighter until it was right before me, taking up all of my sight.

I realized then I was looking at a candle through a layer of fabric, and that there had to be somepony carrying that candle. I tried to speak, and managed a strange, gurgling sound.

“Oh. You’re awake. I just came to check on your I.V. Well, let’s get this off of you.” The voice was tender and low, unmistakably male, and welcome after what had felt, to me, like years awash on a sea of pain. The dark fabric slid off, and I was momentarily blinded by the candle. It took some time for my vision to regulate itself, but I was finally able to make sense of my surroundings.

For lack of a better word, ‘hospital’ came to mind. Considering my predicament and the excruciating pain I felt even then, it made sense. I worked my tongue in my mouth, pleading with the candle-bearer.

“Water.” I managed to croak.

“Hmm, I guess so. You seem healthy enough.” I felt something impact my lip, a faint glimmer of magic holding a cup to my mouth. I tried to move my head up, but something stopped me. Something solid. I tried again, but the pain intensified to all-new levels, and I stopped before I passed out. Instead, I poked my tongue at the thing, and found sweet, blessed water waiting for me. I lapped at it like a dog, sloppily, feeling the cool trickles course down my chin and neck. But more importantly, the majority of it went down my throat, cleansing the disgusting taste of dirt off of my tongue.

“I bet you’re wondering why you can’t move your head.” The voice said warmly, a hint of amusement in the tone. “I assure you, everything is fine. Your spine was damaged severely by the Timberwolves attacking you. We’ve enchanted your muscles to lock themselves in place so that you don’t move and hurt the healing process. Unfortunately, this comes with severe cramps and an almost abnormal amount of lactic acid buildup. As soon as the spell has finished reconstructing your vertebrae, we will release the enchantment and allow you to rest properly.”

“Ow.” I grimaced at hearing the description. It must have been a serious injury if my vertebrae had to be reconstructed, though I wasn’t entirely unfamiliar with the procedure. I had read about it once when studying medicine a long, long time ago when I was just a filly. I never knew just how excruciating this would be, or how debilitating. My panic abated at the explanation, and I was feeling remarkably more lucid now that I had a little water in me.

“The city?Io?” I managed again, finding a little more strength in my voice.

“Io has been defeated. Or at least run off.” The voice set the candle aside, casting an illumination onto his face. I tried to smile at him, but apparently the enchantment had disabled those muscles as well. He was a good-looking stallion, light-coated with a cobalt mane and warm, brown eyes. He certainly struck me as a doctor. “It has been two days since Twilight and the other princesses managed to run Io off, though they still struggle to keep the Timberwolves in their territory. From what I hear, there are many of them, and the residual energy from the previous shield is interfering with the casting of another one. At least, in the immediate area, and there are homes that would be left to the wolves - heh - if they cast another one closer.”

“Good.” I wanted to nod, but another wave of pain shook me. Tears leaked from my eyes, and I felt rather than heard the thin whimper pulse from my throat.

“How bad is it, on a scale of ten?”

“Cataclysmic.” I panted, wanting to curl up, to cry some more. Instead, I was stuck with the pain.

“We’ll give you more poppy milk. It doesn’t taste the best, but I think that’s secondary. Here you are, swallow it all now.” The vile taste returned to assault my tongue, but with it came blessed relief. The pain abated until I felt I could close my eyes without dying, and I fell back into another troubled sleep, though this one came with much more than just darkness.

I dreamt of blood and fire, sticks and a sickening smell of rot that cut to the back of my throat so hard I gagged on in. Timberwolves writhed and pulsed around me, howling and snapping at me as I tried to run, only to be cut off and herded back the way I had came. It was a terrifying dream, and it lasted for longer than I could count.

When next I awoke, the room was warm and I was hot, a little sweaty, but curled up and no longer in pain. Slowly, I moved my head, feeling the tightness in my muscles. I opened my eyes to look around, finding myself in an old-fashioned hospital room with warm wooden floors, and even a radiator against the far wall. There were two windows letting in golden sunlight; either in the morning or the evening I couldn’t tell.

“Hello?” I tested my voice, finding it working well enough to speak regularly. “Anyone there?” The bed I lay upon sat against the same wall with the door, and from that door emerged a pudgy Earth Pony mare in a crisp white uniform. She beamed warmly at me, and I found myself happy that I could return the smile.

“You’re awake! Goodness, I was afraid you’d sleep through the year! How are you feeling, love?” She had a cheery, alto voice that I found remarkably relaxing. I shifted my legs and head a little, feeling fatigued but no longer in pain. I knew if I tried to get up and walk, I’d likely suffer from more cramps. I grimaced and looked at the mare.

“Fatigued, I think. Like if I move too much I’ll die.”

“Aah, the doctor said you’d feel that-a-way. Here, let’s get you some water and some rest. I’ll ask and see iffen it’s okay for visitors to come an’ see you then. You’ve sure got a lot of them, Miss Caster.”

“Goldy?” I asked, drinking eagerly from the glass she offered me.

“There’s a golden-colored young filly out there, yes. She and this other feller, a green unicorn, almost had a spat just yesterday. The green one, I forget his name, seemed the most unruly of the two so we asked him to step out. Though I told him I’d come and fetch him once you were awake.”

“Basil. Yeah, I’d like to see him too… later. After Goldy.”

“I’ll go see if she can come in.” The mare winked at me, leaving with the cup in my grasp. I sipped at it, feeling sweet relief flood into me once more. I looked out of the window intently, trying to grasp at what was outside or which of the two Trottingham hospitals I was in, but I couldn’t quite see enough to tell me which. Instead, I did what any pony does when stuck in the hospital.

I waited.

Thankfully, it wasn’t very long at all. The nurse returned, beaming warmly, with a certain energetic young pegasus on her tail.

“Now, no hugging or anythi-“

“Star!”Goldy shoved past the mare with little regard for her implied command, instead launching herself onto the bed. Thankfully, she had enough sense to straddle me rather than fall on me, but she pressed her neck up against mine, and I felt a wave of relief not dissimilar to the water flood through me just then.

“I’m okay, Goldy. It’s okay now.”

“Star, oh by the heavens, I’m so glad you’re okay.” She looked like Tartarus had chewed her up and spat her out. Her golden mane was frayed and looked a little dirty, and she had certainly smelled better. I could tell from the strange cowlicks and tufts on her coat that she had been sleeping on hospital chairs for the past two or three days.

“Did you stay the whole time?”

“She never left.” The nurse grumbled, taking a mouth-full of Goldy’s tail and hauling her off of me. I was sad to see her go, but I knew now there would be time for a tearful, physical reunion later. Goldy glared at the nurse, but resigned to sitting at my bedside on the doctor’s stool. The nurse didn’t look ready to debate that much, and instead went on to take my blood pressure and other vitals while Goldy and I chatted.

“So, what all happened? After the enchantments were triggered, I mean.”

“Well, I don’t know many of the specifics.” Goldy waved nonchalantly. “They came to get me and your parents a few hours after I dropped you off at the foot of the wall, saying you were in the hospital and it was critical. We came as soon as we could, and we’ve been waiting ever since. Basil, Lotus, and Breeze checked in and updated us every couple of hours. Apparently Io wasn’t the only dragon who’s come back.”

“No.” I felt the blood rush out of my face, leaving me with a chill. “The other Great Serpents are back, too?”

“I couldn’t believe it when I heard it either, but not too long after we’d learned that, this huge fireball went up in the bay. It was… colossal.”

“Tiamat.” I whispered, thinking back to all the stories and history books I had read. “The Maw of the Sun.”

“That’s what Twilight said it was. There were two more just like it, and everypony in the city got really scared. Some of the flames were so hot you could feel it, even just standing outside on the street; miles away from the blast.”

“Tiamat was renown for being the most incendiary of the Great Serpents.” I muttered. Goldy blinked at me invitingly, so I continued. “They’re called the ‘Maw of the Sun’ because the mages of old hypothesized their flames were hot enough to rival that of the sun’s. They say Tiamat’s fire was hot enough to melt stone to glass, vaporize steel, and even hurt the Great Serpent themselves. They say the Fields of Blood had wide swaths, miles long, of land that had been scorched down to the bedrock, everything above it vaporized into gas.”

“Well it seems that way.” Goldy fidgeted, hugging herself on the side of the bed. “We were so scared, but right around then Celestia and Luna showed up, I think. I guess Tiamat ran when they arrived, because there wasn’t another one after that. But there's this other one, I don't know its name, flying around out there."

"Jormangundr." I nodded, swallowing against the dry sensation in my mouth. "The Wings of the Aether. They say he flies so fast that his wake shaped the mountains and set the waves in motion, giving us the tides. Not much other than that is known, only that every now and then a streak of light can be seen, and in its wake, a thunderous roar is all that's heard."

"That's..." Goldy scrunched her nose at me. "Awfully wordy, even for you."

"I was quoting the books." I muttered, blushing faintly. "But that's what they said about them... Io, the ram; Tiamat, the fires; and Jormangundr, the winds. Those three plagued the Fields of Blood so long ago. Before Horseshoe Bay was made."

"Hmm. I'd believe it." Goldy stood from the stool, reaching out to lay her hoof on my foreleg. "I have to go, Star. There are a lot of ponies who want to see you, and they only allow one of us at a time. I promised your parents I wouldn't be long."

"Alright. Goldy, I love you." I clutched at that hoof for a desperate moment, realizing how badly I had missed her touch in the dark abyss of my unconsciousness. If a pony ever could feel the touch of death and live to tell about it, I think I'd be as close as any. Now that I was back, I had some things to talk to Goldy about, and I planned on spilling my heart before long. But she needed rest - real rest - and I needed to talk to some other ponies before that.

"I love you too, Star. I'm gonna go back and shower and stuff, but I'll be back right after that, okay?"

"I'll see you then." I smiled as she leaned in, sneaking a quick kiss. The nurse opened her mouth to complain, but she knew the finer points of keeping one's mouth shut. When Goldy pulled away, she held a faint blush and a warm smile. Despite her frumpy appearance and the bags under her eyes, that smile made her seem like the most beautiful mare in the world at that moment. Some small part of me wondered if I deserved a wonderful mare like that to call my own. The larger part saved the mental snapshot of that look forever.

"I'll see myself out now." The nurse followed after Goldy. "Your vitals look fine and you're resting well. We'll get you up and walking tomorrow, and the day after that you should be able to leave. I'll send the rest of your visitors in one at a time."

"Thank you, miss..."

"Just call me Candi." The nurse winked at me before leaving. In her wake, a welcome face came in.

"Mom."

"Oh Star!" She fluttered to my bedside, laying both hooves on one of mine. She looked just as distraught as Goldy did, but at least she had the common sense to get some restorative sleep. The bags under her eyes seemed to come from just crying, and not restless nights on hospital benches. "Thank the heavens you're okay; we were scared to death."

"I'm fine, mom. How are you and Dad?"

"We're alright, darling." Olive sniffed, nuzzling into my hoof lovingly. She moved her own to my neck, pulling me close tenderly. I didn't feel any pain, so I tucked into her embrace like a little foal. After coming face-to-face with whatever fate had been mine at the receiving end of a Timberwolf pack, I felt like I needed to be a foal; if only for a little while. The tears came then, the ones I'd been too afraid to cry in front of Goldy.

"Shh, shh, it's okay." My mother's voice was a soothing tincture that relaxed me beyond measure. I felt her parental reassurance do wonders for my nerves, and true relief flooded into my veins once more. In that moment, I wasn't Twilight's student tasked with a nearly-impossible task, I wasn't a unicorn who had just had a brush with death, I wasn't a cowering pony beneath the shadow of three dragons that hadn't walked the land for thousands of years...

I was just a scared little filly. And I needed to be that filly for a minute longer.

"I'm okay." I pulled away from my mom after a while, smiling bravely at her as I wiped the tears away. "Thank you, mom."

"I'm so glad you're okay, Star. But I promised I wouldn't take long. Your father is waiting."

"Okay." I sobered a little, wondering what it was my father would have to say to me. One of his last warnings to me was 'be safe.' Having failed him, I wondered what sort of ire I would be facing. "The nurse said I'll be out of here in about two days."

"That's good. Goldy will be happy to hear that." Olive smiled at me and made for the door, though she stopped at the threshold. "We're proud of you, Star. Rumor has it you and Basil did a great thing holding those Timberwolves at bay while they worked on the wall. Don't let anything anyone else says make you think otherwise."

"O... Okay. Why, what are others saying...?" I asked, but my mother just closed her eyes and shook her head.

"It's not my place to say. Just know that we're proud of you, Star." And with that, she was gone. I was left on the bed, my mind racing a million miles an hour. I hardly got a chance to reconcile them before Audit walked in.

Now there was a pony who had seen hell. I froze as the phantom image of my father took the doctor's stool, sitting close by the side of my bed. If Goldy looked bad, Audit looked a dozen times worse. His eyes were bloodshot, and there were coffee stains on his sweater. His mane was completely matted on one side, and stood up at odd angles on the other. The bags under his eyes could have weighed hundreds of pounds, and his head hung low enough to give him the most defeated, tired posture I've ever seen. I opened my mouth to speak, but he fixed me with an intent look.

"No father should have to bury his daughter."

He left. Without another word, without even looking at me, he turned and walked out of the room. The door shut softly, with an almost-inaudible *click* and I found myself secretly hoping he had slammed it instead.

I curled up in a ball on the bed, tears of guilt and fear flowing fast and free now.