Chapter 1
The Refugee
Night had come, but it failed to bring the usual blanket of peace over the land. Town hall was alive with activity. Lights shone bright, music sang through the cool night air, and laughter was its chorus on the wind. The party had spilled out into the square. Everything was perfect. At least, that's how it should have been. Festivities had been cut tragically short.
A wounded gryphon, struggling to keep the wind beneath him, had crash landed in the middle of the festivities, pleading for rescue. They'd taken him away nearly an hour ago, and no one had heard anything since. Everyone had come together in the town hall, waiting for the mayor to comment. He was unavailable. His assistant was desperately trying to keep everyone calm. She'd tried briefly to reignite the fall harvest festivities, but it was a fruitless effort. Instead she'd begun encouraging everyone to go home, the mayor would be back in the morning.
Meanwhile in Glensdale tower, a meeting had begun to discuss the turn of events. The most prominent ponies in the town were gathered together.
"I know it's very late," mayor Fleethoof said, immediately bringing the speculative chatter to an end. "but thank you for coming," he added. A soft aura of light surrounded his horn, and a smooth stone with the mayor's mark carved into it lifted from its resting place in the center of the table. Emberwind leaped onto the table and pinned the stone back down with her hoof. Surprised, Fleethoof and a few others took a quick step back.
"Do we have a status on the gryphon?" the pegasus asked. Her pelt was soft white and her mane and tail were a medley of oranges reds and yellows like the fireball mark that adorned her flanks.
"Miss Emberwind if you would please wait your turn," Fleethoof said, indignant.
Sapphire Starlight smirked. She, like the others, had been waiting for the better part of an hour. She had many questions, none of which she could voice without taking possession of the mayor's silencing stone. While it had accomplished little, she admired Emberwind's tenacity. Fleethoof seemed to catch the hint of a snort of laughter and shot Sapphire a look of warning.
"His name is Ironfeather," Fleethoof said at last. The stone floated up into the air, away from Emberwind. "He's still in the infirmary but as soon as the doctors have him stabilized enough they're going to bring him up here to speak with us.
Sapphire frowned. She called the stone toward her, but at the last minute it swerved away and rested on the table before Morning Rain.
"Do we know what got ahold of him?" the light blue Pegasus asked.
"Wolven," Fleethoof said. "They live even further north than the gryphons. I doubt they'd ever come as far south as Glensdale, even in light of the coming winter."
Sapphire tried to summon the stone away from Rain, but it was swept away at the last minute by Light's Hope. Sapphire glared at the sunflower colored unicorn with the symbol of the sun rising between two mountains on his flank. Rude!
"If you're not worried, why bring us all here at this late of an hour?" Light asked.
"Preparedness," Fleethoof said. "And we didn't want anyone to worry."
Sapphire rolled her eyes. She was fairly certain that whisking away over half a dozen prominent ponies to a secret meeting in the middle of the night was not helping the 'don't worry' argument the mayor was presenting. A quick glance out the southern window at the crowds gathered in front of town hall was evidence enough of that. Emberwind snorted her frustration.
The light purple earth pony seated next to Light's Hope snatched the silencing stone away from him.
"Yes, Autumn Song?" Fleethoof asked.
"Preparedness for what exactly?" she asked. "Is there reason to believe the wolven might be planning something?"
"We really won't know until Ironfeather gets here," Fleethoof said. Emberwind stamped a hoof in frustration. Rain waved to Autumn for the stone. She tossed it toward the pegasus, but it never arrived. Sapphire had sprung upon it, tackling it to the ground. Now all eyes were fixed on the white unicorn with a blue silhouette of a dragon soaring over a sapphire on her flank.
Not one to be cowed by attention, Sapphire shook off the stares and blew a lock of her bright blue mane from in front of her eyes.
"Miss Starlight! Control yourself," Fleethoof snapped.
"This is ridiculous," Sapphire shot back. "We're standing around waiting for something to happen. We should send some pegasus ponies up north to investigate immediately. Furthermore if we can't have any productive discussion until Ironfeather arrives lets go to the infirmary where he is rather than waiting here until someone decides he's well enough to drag up 70 feet of stairs."
"Are you quite finished?" Fleethoof asked. Sapphire's eyes narrowed. One quick tap with her horn and the silencing stone was frozen in a block of ice. She nudged it sharply with her nose and sent it sliding off the edge of the table. There was a quiet thud as it landed on the ground that Sapphire found quite satisfying.
"I've had quite enough of that thank you," she said, then hopped down from the table.
"She's got a point you know," Emberwind chimed in. Light's Hope nodded his agreement.
"I'll go see if Ironfeather is well enough to be woken up," Autumn Song said, heading for the door. "I'll be quick."
"So it's settled then," Emberwind said, stretching her wings. "I'll fly up north and see what the wolven are up to. Rain are you coming?"
"Uh, I'm not quite sure," she said, looking to Mayor Fleethoof for feedback.
"No," he said. "Winter is coming and we need our weather crew at top efficiency. I'm not particularly satisfied with the headmistress of the flight school running off on her own either. Surely the two of you can put together a team to investigate without going yourselves."
"Hey what about Dawn Chaser and his crew?" Rain offered.
"I'm not sure," Emberwind said. "Aren't they your most veteran crew?"
"Yes but its only early winter right now. And there's ten rookies that applied to join straight out of flight school. Surely the ten of them can handle one three pony squad's work for a few days."
"Wonderful, excellent," Fleethoof said. "Scouts will be dispatched, the snow will arrive as scheduled, and the flight school will run smoothly."
Sapphire chuckled. Nothing seemed to bring the mayor more pleasure than a well organized plan. She wouldn't say he was in a good mood then, but at the least he had stopped glaring at her. She used a bit of magic to push the frozen silencing stone under the table, out of sight, just to make sure he stayed that way.
Soon the meeting had reconvened in the infirmary without the two pegasus ponies. Ironfeather was awake, but not particularly lucid. He had a nasty gash across his left eye, and bandages wrapped about all but one of his legs. Feathers were strewn about the room haphazardly.
"What's with all the feathers?" Autumn asked. "Those weren't here when I was just in here a few minutes ago."
"I'm sorry, I'm afraid we had to cauterize the wound on his flank," Doctor Rosebloom said. "The doctor didn't think there was time to mix more anesthetic or fetch a unicorn."
Sapphire winced at the sight of the cauterized gash. "Is there anyone else on staff right now?" she asked.
"Just one nurse In the back, mixing up some medicine. I really should join her, gryphon medicine can be tricky," she said. The red earth pony excused herself and vanished into other parts of the infirmary.
"Well, now what?" Song asked.
"We wait for Dawn Chaser to get back or Ironfeather to wake up," Sapphire said.
"That's right," Fleethoof said. "In the meantime it's important to carry on with our normal day to day duties and responsibilities."
Everyone began to file out of the infirmary. Sapphire lagged behind.
"Are you coming?" Light asked, holding the door for her.
"I'm going to stay and help the doctor make something for Ironfeather's pain."
"Alright," Light said.
"If you see Emberwind, please have her meet me back at the tower. I should be there in a couple hours at most."
"Don't stay up too late ok?" Light asked.
"…okay," Sapphire conceded. "Tell her to meet me there in the morning then."
Light smiled. "Of course," he said, and left.
Morning came much too soon. Sapphire Starlight woke to the sun shining directly upon her face. Her forelock hung across her eyes as she stumbled from the bed and made her way groggily to the window. It was no surprise to find a pair of young pegasus flitting about just outside. No doubt they'd confused the cloud she'd placed over her window with something that was wont for removing. It was their first day on the job, Sapphire assumed, and simply waved when the two darted past.
A hot shower scalded away the grogginess of a long night. There would be little time for grooming though. A quick wash and a brush through her mane was all the time she could spare before Emberwind arrived. A ring of the doorbell heralded the fiery-maned pegasus's arrival. Sapphire hurried out to the balcony and looked down at her guest far below.
"I'm up here!" she called down. Emberwind quickly joined her on the balcony.
"Good morning," Sapphire said as Emberwind landed gracefully and folded her wings.
"Morning," Emberwind said, yawning.
"Long night?" Sapphire asked.
"Early morning," she answered. Her ears drooped subtly.
"I guess.. Dawn Chaser and his crew left for their mission?" Sapphire asked.
Emberwind nodded slowly.
"He'll be back before you know it. He's fast and strong, I'm sure he'll be alright."
"Yeah, I know," Emberwind said. "Anyway, he's got his job to do, we've got ours. Let's just get to work okay?"
"Sure," Sapphire said. "Breakfast first?"
"Not very hungry," Emberwind said. Sapphire frowned, wishing the same was true of her. She grabbed an apple from the kitchen and wolfed it down on the way up to the observatory.
"So what's the plan?" Emberwind asked.
"Remember that book I ordered a few weeks ago?" Sapphire asked.
"Not… really…?" Emberwind said.
"Well it arrived yesterday afternoon before the party. I haven't had a real chance to go through it mind you," Sapphire said.
"Sapphire I'm hoping really, really hard that there's a 'but,' here," Emberwind said. "Cause if you think I'm gonna spend another afternoon pacing around the observatory while you read all day you've got another thing coming."
"No no of course not," Sapphire said, blushing. She was still sore about that? It'd been practically a week.
"I'm just saying, you can get a little carried away sometimes."
Yup, still sour.
"This time is different," she said. "There's a spell in it I want to try."
Emberwind flicked her tail sharply once. Sapphire could tell she was not convinced.
Half an hour later, Emberwind and Sapphire were hoof-deep in snow. It was falling from a billowing cloud that filled much of the high ceilinged observatory. Sapphire beamed with pride.
"Sapphire… is this another book on dragon magic…?" Emberwind asked, prodding at the cover.
"Miiight be," Sapphire sang, dancing through the snow. "aaand this one's real!"
"Well this is all really nice and all, but considering that it's supposed to be snowing within a week, maybe we should work on something a little less…. You.. ish?"
"I know I know, I'm sorry, just it was the only thing in the book I thought I could knock out in an hour," she said. "Plus it will be great this summer. The book listed over a dozen food plants alone that need snow to grow."
"Like?"
"Snow peas, frostberries, ice lilies, arctic nettles, iceberg lettuce…"
Emberwind's ears drooped as her face took on an expression of bewilderment. "Sapphire, iceberg lettuce doesn't need to grow in the winter."
"…misty corn, strawberries, all kinds of mints," Sapphire continued without missing a beat.
"That's all well and good, but do you have any tricks to clean this up? The entire observatory is buried in snow."
"Uh…"
"Sapphire…"
"Right right," she said, "just… let me think a second…" a nervous chuckle implied that she didn't.
Emberwind chuckled. "Look, I'll take care of this. You're probably still starving. Leave the weather stuff to the expert and get some breakfast. Then we'll go check on Ironfeather, kay?"
Sapphire's stomach growled. "I guess that's a yes."
After a much more filling breakfast, Sapphire reunited with Emberwind at the hospital. "Ready?" she asked, trotting up to the desk.
"We better hurry," Emberwind said. "Fleethoof's been in there over an hour."
Sapphire's eyes widened. "He didn't send for us?" she asked, stamping a hoof in frustration. The nurse suddenly seemed to take notice of them.
"Oh, are you here about the gryphon?" she asked.
"Yes, didn't Rosebloom tell you I would be here?" Sapphire asked. "I was up half the night conjuring up his medication."
"Oh I'm sorry. Rosebloom went home before I got here. Ironfeather is doing well though. You're welcome to go back and see him."
"Thanks," Sapphire said as she hurried by.
Ironfeather's room was back in order. All the feathers had been swept up and his bandages had been changed and cleaned. The young gryphon was sprawled on his side on the bed still, but his eyes were wide open and bright with alertness and focus.
"Ah, good, you've arrived," Fleethoof said. "Ironfeather, this is Emberwind and Sapphire Starlight. They assisted in your treatment last night."
The gryphon lifted his head and studied the two newcomers for a moment. "Sorry, I don't remember either of you. I had a nasty crash you see," he explained.
"Oh we were there," Sapphire said.
"Not bad for how torn up you are," Emberwind said.
Ironfeather managed a half-hearted chuckle. Landing gracefully with injured wings was not an art he cared to perfect, merely to survive.
"I'm sure you're very tired," Sapphire said, trying very hard to check her curiosity with a healthy dose of empathy. "But if you could fill us in a little on the details of how you got here and how you got hurt so badly it would really help us figure out what we ought to be doing, aside from getting you back in one piece."
"There were wolven, dozens of them, hiding beneath the snow in our winter hunting grounds. They burst from the ground and took our entire pride by surprise. Everyone was killed or captured. I may be the only one to have escaped," he added somberly.
"I've read all about them," Sapphire said.
"You have?" Emberwind asked, eyes wide in disbelief.
"Yes, they're half wolf, half dragon," she explained. "They usually live in the glacial mountains up north. They're very dangerous, but they've got plenty of access to food in the mountains."
"Ah, dragon hybrids. Suddenly I'm not nearly as surprised," Emberwind said, chuckling. "You're in luck Ironfeather, you've found our local expert."
"We do hunt in the mountains," Ironfeather said, "but never far enough north to encounter the wolven."
"Never?" Sapphire asked. "You've never seen one at all?"
"Never," Ironfeather repeated.
"Is that important?" Fleethoof asked.
"It might be," Sapphire said. "Maybe something drove the wolven out of their own lands?"
"Or maybe they just invaded unprovoked," Emberwind said.
"This is distressing news," the mayor said. "There's much to think about before we decide to act."
"We should work on our defenses," Sapphire said, frowning. "And we should get a message to Dawn Chaser warning him about the wolven. When his squad gets back we'll know more about what we're up against."
"They are many," Ironfeather warned. "If you've sent scouts…"
Emberwind looked at Sapphire with pleading, worried eyes.
"They'll be fine," Sapphire said quickly. "I'll go get Light's Hope to get a message to them now."
In a flash of magic she was gone. Startled by the display, Ironfeather nearly tumbled from his bed, barely saving himself by flaring his wings to steady himself.
"Relax, please calm down," Fleethoof pleaded.
"Apparently you've never seen a unicorn teleport before," Emberwind said.
"It is not a sort of magic I am familiar with," Ironfeather said, taking a moment to clear his throat. He was quick to regain his composure.
"It's alright, it's not something we're familiar with either," Emberwind said. "It's a difficult feat. Out of our entire town only she and Light's Hope can handle it."
"Really?" Ironfeather asked.
"Yes, they've both got a lot of talent, and the work ethic to develop it into something really unique. Magic ability among unicorns varies from pony to pony just as much as flight skill varies among gryphons and pegasus."
"I imagine you are correct, miss…Emberwind was it?" Ironfeather asked.
"Yes," Emberwind said.
"Would it be possible to see more of your town? If you'll have me, I think I will be staying with you for some time. At the very least until I can reunite with my pride."
The mayor's eyes brightened. "Of course, of course, we are more than happy to take you in. Glensdale has always had a very bright outlook on our relationship with the local gryphon pride."
"Thank you," Ironfeather said, bowing his head.
"I'll go check with the doctor and see if he thinks you're good to go," Emberwind said, and galloped off in search of him.