Espirit stared into the wind, watching the slowly growing Cloudsdale in the distance. Apparently she had disappeared into the portal almost a week ago and Mirage had no idea how to get her back. She said the difference in time perception was likely due to time working differently in the other dimension. They had refused to abandon her, though, and spent most of their time trying to get the portal open. The crystal pony had a theory that it was locked from the inside, which was why it had been so much easier to get out than in and why once she unlocked it, the portal would likely be far easier to open. Mirage had spent most of the trip huddled in her seat, pouring over the book. She was already able to speak a few words of the breezies from memory, though Espirit suspected the mare had been studying the language for far longer and the book was just aiding, rather than teaching.

However, there had been no new information from the other ponies about the war. In some ways, no news was good news, but that likely meant they were planning a counter attack. She kept Selene huddled to her chest and hoped she'd be able to keep the poor thing from getting caught in the middle of this.

“Espirit,” Mirage said, slowly looking up. “How much of this book have you read?”

“I kind of... skimmed it. Why?”

“There's a spell in here, I want you to learn it. Well, there's a few. But this one is very important, I think.”

“What? NOW? We're kind of in the middle of--”

“It could help you save Ganry. In fact, it could be what you need to save Ganry.”

“Which one?”

“It's called Adloquium. It seems to be based on triage. You heal and--”

“Oh, yeah. And apply a little barrier of aether. How can that help him, though?”

“It could be used to hold back the damage that Celestia's taint is spreading. It could heal some of it and give Clearpond the chance she needs to fix it.”

Espirit nodded slowly and took the book. “R-right. I didn't even... right.” She held Selene close to her chest as she looked over the words. Some it was a bit hard to understand. Well, most of it was. It didn't seem to be developed for combat, so she couldn't imagine what the original purpose had been. But it fit rather nicely with what she had learned. A mix of thaumaturge and conjurer magic. She took a deep breath before nodding. “I... I think I can do it.”

“You think?”

“We'll know soon enough,” she muttered as the carriage came in for a landing. It didn't even come to a full stop before she jumped from it and started galloping. She let out a shriek as her hooves fell through the ground and was only saved by Mirage and Tempora grabbing her by the tail.

“Wait until I cast the cloud walking spell!” the crystal pony snapped. “Are you trying to get yourself killed?”

“S-sorry. Kind of in a rush.” As soon as the spell was cast, she took off, galloping through the city's streets. She stormed into the building they were using as the makeshift hospital. “Clearpond!” she screamed. “Ganry, is he okay?”

For a few moments there was silence and she feared the worst. Then the door at the top of the stairs opened and Clearpond stepped out. “Espirit? When did you return? It's... so early in the morning I don't even know.” The pegasus stifled a yawn.

“Is he okay?” Espirit asked, before Selene flew up. “I found the breezies. I think we can save him now. Please, we have to try, he--”

“Come with me,” Clearpond said before trotting down the hall. Espirit grinned and galloped up the hall, pulling Selene back into her mane. They could do this now. They could save her friend. They stepped into the room and instantly she could tell something was wrong.

“Where Steelhorn?” she asked softly, looking around.

“She's been getting... more and more erratic. I had to have her forcefully removed so she didn't try to... do anything to Ganry.”

Espirit froze in place, her eyes locked on their charred friend. “You think... you think she'd try to kill him? To... but she loves him!”

“Yes, she does. And that's precisely why,” she muttered before stepping forward. “He's suffering. I don't know how much of this he's even aware of, but it hurts. A lot. He's on death's doorstop and there hasn't been anything we can do. If...” She sighed. “If I hadn't held out hope that there may have been something you could do with Mirage's help, I would have had him and the others in such states... put down. For Steelhorn, it's all the worse. She can feel a part of him. She's forced to feel as the griffon she loves suffers a slow, declining death. To end his misery, there was no telling what she'd do. Come, let's see if we can... fix this.”

Espirit nodded and stepped forward, looking over the griffon with a shiver. After all they'd been through together, she couldn't imagine the changeling going to that level. Actually killing Ganry? How hard had the last week truly been for her? She moved besides the body and took a deep breath before holding out her hoof. A moment later Selene flew down to land on it. “That is my friend. He's the one... I need your help.”

She didn't know if the breezie could understand her words, but her intent seemed to get across. The breezie lifted into the air and circled around them, sprinkling sparkling dust over them. Espirit felt a small rush through her body and shivered. She could do this. She would do this.

“Wait!” a voice called out before the door opened. The two looked back to see Mirage standing there, holding a green book in her hands. “Espirit, I want you to have this.”

The zebra sighed. “It's just a book, isn't it?”

“For magic like this, it may aid you. Like a conjurer's staff, this book can work as a focus to direct your magic.” She held it out and Espirit took it.

“R-really?”

“Yes. Good luck you two. You can do this.”

Espirit nodded and looked to Clearpond. “S-shall we?”

“Yes,” the pegasus said. She held out her own staff over Ganry and the griffon glowed a light white. It wasn't much, but it was hopefully enough. Espirit held up the book and quickly cast her own spell to match. A few of the burns gently knitted up under their combined spell, but she could feel corrupted magic trying to surge back and damage them again. The taint of Celestia was powerful. However, she quickly surged more of her aether in, focusing on the second part of the spell, creating a small barrier of aether to hold back the damage. It nibbled and cut at the shield, but it didn't break it. There was another light glow from her left and she saw Selene casting her own spells along side them, adding her healing power to the griffon.

Espirit took a deep breath before casting her spell again. They could do this. A small pink inch of flesh appeared from the black, charred flesh. It was a small little bit, almost useless. But it was a start. Clearpond cast her next healing spell and Espirit joined hers with it. The magic flowed across the griffon, healing, shielding, amplifying the magic itself. After a few minutes the inch became a foot of clean, uncharred flesh. It was still damaged, but not the fatal amounts it had before. Long and slow the three worked, using every ability they had to make progress on the wounded griffon, slowly purging the corrupted aether from his body and revealing the damaged flesh beneath.

Then, finally, they were done. Both ponies struggled to stay up and Selene was panting on top of Espirit's head, but they'd done it. The griffon now lay on the bed, bright pink. His feathers were still gone and his talons would require additional healing, but the worst of the damage was gone. He would survive without a constant influx of magic. Espirit giggled softly. “W-we did it. We actually... we actually did it!” She let out a happy shriek. “We did it! We saved him!”

“As... much as I'd love to revel in the success, we aren't done yet,” Clearpond said before getting back to her hooves. “Come on. It's going to be a long night.”

“W-what? Why?”

“We have the magic to heal the others who are in a similar state. And there are a whole lot of them waiting for us.”

Espirit gulped and followed after the mare, giving one last glance back to Ganry. “Wake up soon,” she whispered.

------

The zebra collapsed onto her bed, softly groaning as she tried to get comfortable. Selene was collapsed on her head, little wings laying limp around the ears. “Ooba duba doh,” the breezie mumbled.

“Exactly,” Espirit said with a chuckle before yawning. “Can't believe how many of them there were. How long were we there for?” She looked outs the window and blinked blearily. It was dark, though she had a sneaking suspicion it was less still dark, and more dark again.

“Booten dag.”

“Yeah, I didn't look out the windows much either. We were probably down there for hours. Days maybe...” She groaned and nuzzled into her pillows. “But... we did good. We saved all those ponies lives. Got them to the point that the others could take over. Clearpond is probably just as tired as us, too. Or even more so. She's probably really proud of how good we've gotten.”

“Gronal... dah...” the breezie said, not even looking up as she wrapped herself in the zebra's mane.

“Yeah... I'm gonna get some--”

The door to her room slammed open and she let out a groan. “Lady Espirit!” the wonderbolt called out.

“Whaaaaaat?” she whined.

“It's Ganry, he's woken up. I was told to get you the moment he did!”

Espirit sighed before slowly getting up. She reached up to pluck the breezie from her mane, gently placing the sleeping creature onto her pillow. “You get some sleep. I need to go check on an old friend.” She then trotted after the pegasus, closing the door behind herself. She was too tired to even try to remember which of the wonderbolts he was, or admire the way his uniform kind of stuck to his body. She was led through the building and back to Ganry's room. The moment the door opened she let out a happy squeal.

Ganry was sitting up, one of his claws around Steelhorn who was wrapped in one of his featherless wings. “You look like a plucked chicken,” Espirit said as she trotted in. “I can't tell you how happy I am to see you're okay.”

“I can't tell you how happy I am to be okay,” the griffon said, his arms never pulling away from Steelhorn. “I... I can't really remember much of what happened. Just a lot of pain and...”

“Don't, don't talk about that,” the changeling whispered. “You're good now. You're all better. Never letting that happen to you again.”

Espirit blushed and gave a nervous smile. “I'm... I'm sure in a few weeks your feathers will be all better, too. It's uhhh... well, you're healing okay, right?”

“Yeah. A few conjurers check me every few hours, or so they told me. I really just feel very tender, can't even believe I survived that. How uhhh... how did you do it?”

“It wasn't just me,” Espirit said softly. “It was a breezie. Mirage helped me to find her and--”

“Don't sell yourself short,” Mirage said as she trotted into the room.

“Huh?”

“You put your life on the line to find the breezies and did everything you could to get their help. You were the one who was casting that magic, too. You did plenty, Espirit.”

The zebra blushed and poked at the ground. “I-I was just following your guidance, I didn't... I didn't really know what I was doing. I just did what you told me. Besides, once I was in the breezie lands it really wasn't hard. They were quite friendly.”

“That's not surprising,” Mirage said with a shrug. “According to that book you found, it seems ponies like us were once their care takers. They likely have records of... well, once this danger is gone, we'll deal with them. How is the patient feeling?”

“Hot, but much better than I had,” Ganry said with a chuckle. “Can't wait to have feathers again.”

“With the magic they keep casting on you, should be fine. I hear Silverwing's wing is already up and about. Feathers and all. You'll be good for the next battle in no time.”

“There isn't going to be a next battle,” Steelhorn said quickly. “We're done, it's over. Retiring.”

“W-what?” Espirit asked, her eyes widening. “B-but Celestia and Luna are--”

“They can burn this world to ash for all I care,” the changeling said, nuzzling the griffon. “I... I'm not risking our lives any more. Others can do it. I'm done.”

“W-what? You can't be serious! Ganry, talk some sense into her!” Espirit said, a lump forming in her stomach.

“I agree with her. During that fight... if I hadn't dove then, if I had been a little slower, it could have been Steelhorn laying in this bed,” the griffon said softly, his arms tightening around her. “I couldn't have... bore that. Losing her was... the thought of losing her was the most terrifying thing I'd ever experienced. Worse even than those flames. We're done, other heroes can fight instead. But it won't be us.”

“B-but... but you can't. We... we need--”

“You should stop too,” Steelhorn said before looking towards her. “Espirit, you're young. You're still just a child, you have your whole life ahead of you. You've done the hero thing, you've made your legend. We failed, it happens. Let somepony else fight Celestia. Nopony would blame you. You tried, that's all they could ask.”

“It's all they could ask, but it's not all I can ask!” Espirit said, stomping a hoof down. “If we don't stop her, ponies will die! No, ponies ARE dying! We have experience, we have the skills, we have--”

“ENOUGH!” a voice boomed from the doorway. The zebra cringed and looked back to see Clearpond standing there. Her eyes had bags under them and she was leaning slightly against the wall, but she still managed to glare with a ferocity that made Espirit want to run and hide.

“I-I just--”

“You will just nothing. They have done their part and then some. If they wish to rest and recover, or even retire, it is their decision and we cannot and will not force them to do otherwise, through guilt or other means.” The pegasus stepped into the room and stood strong, making both Espirit and Mirage move back a little. “They have earned their rest a thousand times over.” She then turned to Mirage. “You are old enough, you should know better.”

“I was the one...” Espirit said, trailing off. Slowly she lowered her head. “R-right. I'm sorry. I didn't mean... I just...”

“It's fine. You two, come with me. Ganry, I am happy you are doing well. I will prepare a retirement package for both of you once I am able.” The pegasus turned and trotted out the door. “We can speak later. For now I need to talk with these two.”

Espirit nodded and followed after, giving one last fleeting glance to her friends. She couldn't believe they were going to just... leave like that. To give up. All of a sudden she felt all the more tired, as if the days were finally catching up with her. She longed to return to her bed, but knew that wasn't an option yet. She walked behind the pegasus. “So, err, are you going to yell at me more?”

“No,” the mare said softly before stopping. “Another assault is being planned. The battle is... not going well.”

“What's wrong?”

“Luna is what's wrong. Celestia hasn't been seen, we believe she's fighting in the north, with the centaurs. But Luna is now fighting at our borders and... frankly, nopony is capable of fighting her. In the nights she strikes, silent and deadly. Even when we repel her, we lose far more than we take from her. We can't pin her down with a large enough force, so we're going to try an old tactic. The same one we did against Cadence, with a small change.”

Espirit gulped. “You mean--”

“Yes. An air ship. Our main force will assault her forces, while a group of eight attack from the sky, driving down on her and taking her out while her forces are alone. Without her magic, our side will have a chance.”

“B-but what about Celestia?”

“If Celestia comes, we'll have to make do. We have to destroy Luna before they can join and focus on us together. Our forces will be eight and...” She took a deep breath. “Espirit, I want you to join me in the assault. I can use your healing magic. The breezie could be useful, as long as she stays by you.”

“Of course!”

“Mirage, I want you and Tempora as well. We could use your fire power. The extra help we'd get from your summoned creatures would help us in case there are things we can't handle. Tempora has the fire power we need to destroy her, as well. We--”

“He'll never go for it. Especially if--”

“My brother won't be there.”

Mirage sighed. “I'm... not sure I can make any promises, but I'll see what I can do. It would be better if you were to talk to him, though. He--”

“I cannot. I haven't... please, just tell him we, I, need him. This isn't a minor threat, we'll need our very best.”

The crystal pony sighed and shook her head. “Then why me? I'm not in my prime anymore. I--”

“You helped us defeat Celestia all those years ago, you have more experience than any of us. Besides, even Grounder is going to be there. That's most of the old guard, wouldn't you say?”

Mirage let out a gasp, a hoof moving over her mouth. “Grounder is coming? Well, then how could I possibly say no? The day I let that old mutt out do me is the day I turn myself into a nursing home.”

“Good. Get some sleep, well be going over the plan tomorrow. I'd tell you how dangerous this is going to be, but you all already know that. Espirit, you need to let your breezie know, though. If she doesn't feel she can join you--”

“I'll talk with her. With Mirage, and explain everything. I'm sure she'll help. She's a good pony.”

Clearpond nodded and then started trotting again. “Good. Both of you, try to get some sleep tonight. It's going to be a very, very long day tomorrow.”

Espirit nodded and waved the mare goodbye. She then looked to Mirage. “You'll help me talk with Selene, right?”

“Of course,” the crystal pony said before patting her head. “You go and get some sleep. I... am going to have to have a long talk with Tempora.”

“Do you think he'll help?”

“Of course he'll help. I just need to find out which string to pull to get him to.”

“String?”

“Nothing, grown up talk.” Mirage turned and trotted away. “Sleep well, Espirit. I'll see you in the morning.”

The zebra nodded and started trotting back towards her room, her legs feeling heavier with every hoof step. She couldn't believe she'd be fighting the spirits again, this time without Ganry or Steelhorn. She hoped eight of them would be enough.

She prayed her magic would be enough.