Random Things

Archmage 02

He stared blankly at the book in his claws.

He woke with a start, a gasp. His chest was burning.

His eyes were skipping over words, constantly doubling back to catch what he'd already read half a dozen times.

His mouth felt like sandpaper, he couldn't get the sour taste off of his tongue. His back was killing him.

Why was he sleeping on a metal table?

He sighed and turned the page. It was a book he'd read often, though not enough to quote by heart. Reviewing it wouldn't imprint the words any deeper.

He just needed a distraction.

"I'm sorry, Twilight." He knew that voice, he could recognize it even through the fog in his mind.

It was Nurse Redheart, at least, he thought it was.

Recognition alone didn't equate clarity.

The other individual in the room with him, covered by a thin sheet, shifted in her sleep.

Her breathing quickened.

He closed his book.

"We don't know what happened. Fluttershy brought him in a few days ago in a state of hibernation."

Fluttershy?

She was supposed to be watching him while Twilight was out.

He'd just seen her a few hours ago!

"Nngh... whuh? Rainbow Dash?" Perhaps it was merely the morning fatigue, but her voice was much deeper than he remembered.

"I'm afraid not, Princess." He crossed one claw across another, dimming the windows and dulling the brilliance of the morning sun.

His head was pounding, his legs ached with every step he took towards the door.

He felt like he'd overslept for far too long.

"After rigor mortis set in, we... figured it would be best if we kept him preserved until you could return and... Make arrangements. He, well, he looks like he's just asleep."

"Who's there? Why can't I see anything!?" An innocuous red gemstone on her bedside began flashing quickly.

Panic. Her heart rate was rising well above normal.

"I'm Blaze Ritter, Princess. Headmaster of North Star Academy as you may recall. We met briefly the year before last, during the peace talks between yourself, the Crystal Empire and Yakyakistan?" The pulsing light faded as he talked, calming her as he directed her down memory lane.

"North Star Academy? Then, then you're a dragon?" Unseen by her, he nodded. "You were removed from the peace talks by security after getting in a fight with the delegate from Yakyakistan, weren't you?"

"If you don't want to see him, that's fine. We can move right on... to..." It had taken some effort, but he'd managed to open the door, a thick beast made of steel.

Natural light stung at his eyes.

Screams nearly burst his eardrums.

"He made some very rude assumptions as to what I'm teaching here, and I took offense." He was not training street-side buskers nor mares of ill-repute and he'd refused to let the accusation slide. "You may want to close your eyes, Princess. This may sting at first."

She didn't respond, so he assumed that she did as instructed. Diamond-rending claws gently pulled at the cotton fabric that had been meticulously layered over the stub of her horn and eyes, unraveling the pristine fabric from her purple mane.

He idly took note that she still had the streak of pink shocking through her locks.

"Alright. I've dimmed the lights but you may still be susceptible to backlash-induced migraines. If it's too bright, please tell me." One amethyst eye squinted open, followed moments later by the second. She blinked a few times as she adjusted, her pupils contracting almost immediately.

"Oh... huh." Her head slowly swung to and fro, bobbing slightly as she took in the room. The carved, polished stone of the wall and the warm oaken furniture. "This doesn't look like a hospital room."

"And it's not, in the strictest sense of the word. This is a place of magic, not medicine." He placed his book on her nightstand, seating himself once more in the nearby chair. "I'm sure you're aware of the difference between a healer and a doctor?"

A white pony, her mane pink, skittered back against a desk loaded with pens and papers when she saw him. She was screaming, her eyes widened in fright.

He could see the whites of her eyes.

Another pony stood frozen next to where the white pony had been. This one was colored purple, though unlike the first she had a horn and wings. She was staring at him, her jaw slack in surprise.

He didn't know what was going on.

Awkwardly, he waved hello.

"Sp...Spike!?"

"I...I feel better." She had ignored his question. "Is that why I feel better? Celestia and everypony else brought the best doctors in Equestria and they couldn't do anything..."

She trailed off to a whisper at the end, so quiet he could barely hear the last words.

Blaze sighed silently, dearly wishing he had thought to bring something to drink with him.

Preferably something strong.

"I can't speak for my counterparts in Equestria, I'm afraid, but your injury is one we've encountered a fair few times here." She zeroed in on his hooded eyes, glare suddenly razor sharp. "There's little by way of documentation of them in Equestria, but myself and a few of my colleagues found the existing records as well as the basis of what we use to treat them."

The ruby on her bedside was flashing again.

"Curse fractures are frightfully uncommon, Princess Twilight, even moreso is the unicorn that survives receiving one. If you don't mind my asking..."

Her nostrils were flaring, her eyes wide. If she wasn't half sedated, he'd be afraid she would charge him.

"What drove you to try casting Dark Magic so far beyond your skill?"