Chapter 48
The cold.
It was everywhere.
It surrounded me from every direction, sending shivers done my spine and making my teeth chatter in an erratic rhythm.
But it was dry.
Neither snow nor hail nor sleet was present in this chilly and gloomy place. All of it was replaced by darkness, cutting what was visible down to the bare minimum.
I could feel myself, huddled in one corner, struggling to conserve what heat I had left. I was alone, as far as I could see. No other sounds pierced the blackness, and there was no movement beyond the engulfing night. Or at least I assumed it was night...
The walls that I could feel but not see were wet and musky, colder than the thin dry air that I breathed. But all I could do was huddle helplessly in the corner, hoping for the darkness to change.
As if someone had heard my wish, a small ominous dot appeared. It was like a star, just out of reach. But it was a sign of hope.
Using whatever strength I could muster, I rose from my corner. I had no sense of feeling in my limbs, but I associated it with the numbness of the cold. It reminded me so much of winter, and the pleasant events that contrasted with these dank bleak walls.
I took one small step, hearing a shallow echo where my foot should have landed. So I took another, slowly making my way to the 'star' that hovered no more than a few meters away.
*Bong!*
No more than three steps further, a contact with a hard surface sent a shock up from my foot. I clutched down to nurse it momentarily before looking back at what I had accidentally struck.
Slowly this time, I reached at with an open hand. The tips of my fingers came into contact with an ice cold surface. It was too dark to distinguish what it was, and its icy touch was all that it was discernible by. I managed to wrap my fingers it, holding it firmly in my hand. I jerked it, but it wouldn't budge.
It was a bar.
Moving my hand to the side, I felt another bar. And another, and another. They lined the whole side of the wall, with gaps big enough to put my arm through, but too small to pass.
I was in jail.
In the moment that this sudden realization occurred, the floating light sparked. The intensity of the light grew at an astounding pace! Soon, the bars became clear, along with the walls that held me. They were the least of my concerns as the light continued to grow, and grow.
And as I was blind from the darkness before, now I was blinded by light.
I shot up with a start, opening my eyes from the blindness I had felt. Gasping for breath, I clutched my chest that was shivering before.
But the light was gone, along with the cold. The chilly atmosphere had melted away to reveal the exquisite environment that I was really surrounded by; a royal suite in the Canterlot Palace.
It was all just a dream.
I flicked a cold bead of sweat off my brow, ridiculing and wondering why I would have had such a nightmare. The senses of my body that were no present had returned, making the dream seem all the more unrealistic.
I looked around the room, taking in the sight of gold and white furniture and embroidery that decorated it wall. In one corner of the circular apartment lay my belongings, its stark leather and tattered appearance made it a sore sight in the luxurious apartment.
It was all just a dream. A silly dream is all it was.
I threw off the side of a fine silk blanket, coloured a royal blue and lined with an equally regal gold. I found that I was still in the clothes I had worn the day before. Groggily rising from the deluxe king-sized bed I was insistently offered, I recalled why I hadn't changed. The many events of the day before had left me drained, and as soon as they offered me a place for the night, I threw myself into blissful slumber the second the door closed behind me. I didn't even hear any attendants when they brought in my luggage. Either I was asleep too soundly, or the castle's service was very good.
I push those thoughts to the back of my mind. No was no time to be admiring the princesses' household. The thought of being on the brink of war instantly tore down half of my sleepy state. I wasn't even sure what time it was, with the curtains drawn and my watch circled around the handle of my sword. Dim light seeped through the bottom of the tall navy blue drapes, but it gave no indication of the time of day. I only hoped that I hadn't slept in too late. I had to get going, and I took it to heart to do what I could for the ponies, as little as it may be. Plus, I felt grubby in yesterday's clothes.
With a stretch and a yawn, I ambled to one side of the apartment, tossing the drapes aside and allowing Celestia's pride and hard work fill the room. The sunlight caused a sparkle on everything it cast upon, making me squint as I stumbled over to my belongings. I retrieved the watch I had slung over the sword, reading the in the daylight.
Eleven-thirty?!
That was really late and inconsiderate.
Grumbling to myself on my pig-headedness, I trailed the apartment, opening the blinds of each window. I barely noticed the small parchment, plastered to the polished wood of the suite's doors. I stopped in my tracks, turning to the door. I could make out Twilight's initials, but the rest was too small to read. I yanked the note from the door, bringing it into the light. Rubbing the grit from my eye, I read:
Keith,
If you're reading this, you should be awake, finally!
Anyway, everypony but me has gone into town to help. I've stayed in the castle to investigate the griffin's history. Trotter is here too, and he's looking forward to seeing you again! So, get to the library as soon as you can.
T.S.
P.S. Pinkie Pie says you sound cute when you snore.
The last part made me chuckle. How could I not have noticed if Pinkie Pie, of all the mane six, had come in here? I must have been really tired.
A faint sound of hooves faded in from the outside. Somepony was coming.
*Toktoktok*
"Who's there?" I asked in my cracking morning voice.
"Keith, I know the castle suites are luxurious, but I wouldn't consider now the best time to enjoy it."
I knew that voice too well. A voice that was young and jolly, with a slight trottingham slang.
"Trotter?"
"Who else would it be?" His muffled voice came from beyond the door. "As your human and aural scientist, I assume I have the right to see my subjects!"
I flung open the double doors, revealing the red stallion with a neatly combed brown mane. He wore a different robe than when he was in Ponyville, and it was more extensive in decoration. Probably only to be worn in Canterlot as a status.
"Well good morning then, mister 'aural scientist'." I mocked.
"Good to see you too, human. Though I wish it weren't during such dark times." He extended a hoof with a small smile. I wrapped my hand around half of his hoof, as much as I could grab, and shook firmly. For the past year, this Scholar of Magic had not only helped me learn about human magic and Equestrian culture, but the colt had become my friend more than my teacher.
"My god, you mane- sorry... hair's in a mess."
"I just woke up, if you haven't noticed."
"Oh believe me, I have. So has Twilight Sparkle, and Rarity, and Applejack, and Pinkie Pie, and-"
"Yeah, yeah I'm late, I get it. I'm sorry." I gestured for my observer to enter, but he waved a hoof in decline.
"It's alright. We've managed to gather some information while you were gone, and I'd think you'd find it rather... intriguing. Get yourself washed up, and make it quick. We've got real work to do!" He magically shut the double doors.
The scholar had returned to his studies in Canterlot since the beginning of Winter, I assumed his delay in returning during the Spring was connected to these recent events. Needless to say, he hadn't changed a bit.
"Heading to the library, I assume?"
"Not for long. There's something else we must do afterwards."
Walking by the scholar's side, we crossed an outdoor path, putting in full view the makeshift shelters of clouds that hung above the royal city. Bundles of small floating islands bundled together around the mountain, housing the pegasi that had the courage to live in the air after the assault. The ponies of both land and air worked hoof in hoof to help, hoist and carry all those who couldn't fly up to the shelters. At least that way, Canterlot wouldn't overcrowd. The sheer number that had managed of them that managed to appear overnight was astounding.
"The pegasi built all that?!" I exclaimed in amazement.
"They told me they had worked tirelessly through the night to build it." Trotter barely looked up. "And besides, clouds aren't hard to make structure out of!"
We returned indoors, climbing a marble spiral staircase to the library. Guards of the day were suspicious of me, but the badge given to me by Shining Armour said otherwise. I wore no weapons or armour on top of my grey sweater and black jeans. At least not yet.
Nodding to the guard by the library's entrance, Trotter continued, "But that's the least of our worries. As more makeshift homes are made for the homeless pegasi, more clouds are being used up. However, these clouds have come into short supply recently."
"Because the weather factory is damaged."
"Yes... how did you know that?"
"I was there." I recalled, "Just before I managed to escape, I saw the factory get bombarded. It got away, but not without any consequences."
"That's just the first part of the problem... let's see here..." Looking up to read the labels of each corridor, Trotter muttered, "Time travel... mythology.... alchemy-ah yes! The history section!"
With a light red hue, the golden gate of history archives opened, revealing a lavender unicorn buried in books, gathered around the round table in the center. Books of different sizes and thickness flew book to their shelves with a tint of magenta, but they halted in midair as their levitator turned towards us.
"Well, well, well. Look who's an early riser!" Twilight poked.
"Can't help it if I didn't bring an alarm clock."
"All the same. I guess you deserved it."
I grabbed a velvet pillow from a stack of 'seats' and seated myself next the the purple unicorn. She smiled as she slid a red thick book across the table to me.
"Rest well?"
"Almost. Had some weird dream about a freezing pitch-black prison. But I guess it wasn't enough to wake me since you girls came in."
"It was Pinkie's idea! And it sounds like bad memories of Winter to me."
"Yeah, yeah. Let's get to work." I flipped open the golden lined cover of the book that was as thick as a head. It was written in the only language I've seen in Equestria, covering whole aged pages of the book, but I've made myself familiar with it.
"An Extensive History of All Races and Species Known in Equestria." I voiced the title.
"It looks like somebody was brushing up on their Equillian." Trotter rounded the table in surprise. "Look, you don't even need the medallion to read it anymore!"
"You should've seen him in the Winter. He was in the library for half the season!"
With the glow of her horn, Twilight flipped hundreds of pages in a blur, coming to a stop at the designated mark. Sure enough, it was the history of the Griffins. I skimmed over the pages as Twilight was just about to begin to drone on about what I could have just read off the book. Trotter had disappeared into the rows and rows of shelves in search of something, and it seemed this entire section of the royal library was deserted except for the three of us. Twilight's voice echoed around the round room.
"As you've already been made aware of, this isn't the first time we've had a hostile situation with the Griffins. Centuries ago, there had been a war with them over the superiority of the skies. Mind you, this was a time when the Griffins were still considered relatively neutral creatures, although naturally aggressive. Genitive gryphi, as they are called, advanced through rational thinking, substituting for what they didn't have in magic with incredible progress in areas of technology. However, this didn't mean that they didn't have total lack of magic. The Griffin King, always from the same bloodline, watch over the Griffins with a special device. A golden scepter, ornamented with an encased sapphire in its head, that holds hidden magical abilities. It is written that the scepter, and I quote, 'is older than the icy mountains the formed Avia's valleys', thus keeping its untold powers within the King's bloodline, passing it down by word of mouth from generation to generation, in fear that its immense capabilities should fall into the wrong hands."
"What. The. Hell." I said with my jaw hanging half-open. Not only was it an overflow of information, but everything Twilight said was directly from the book. "Do you spend all your free time memorizing these or something?"
"What are you talking about? I just read it fifteen minutes ago." She brushed it off as if it were a regular achievement. It probably was.
"Well, this is all amazing and everything, but I still want one question answered: How do we know it's them? If the Griffins have been allied with the ponies for the past centuries, why the sudden aggression? Are we even sure it's really them?"
"That's what we've been doing all morning, my ignorant friend."
Trotter returned with a moveable chalkboard, trailing magically behind him. He positioned it across the table, only showing the clean side of the board.
"Remember that little 'weapon' the Princess mentioned the day before?"
"That one that can supposedly assault whole cities from far, far distances?"
"Yes, and it's much further than you think." The scholar actually sounded excited as he flipped the board around. "Now, we've been doing a little digging lately, and the Princess doesn't know we've been doing this. I suggest we don't bring it up or let it spread. It might cause a little too much panic."
The other side of the large chalkboard was covered with a single drawing. It was a peculiarly mechanized metalwork that could be considered stupendous in Equestrian standards. It was a cannon, but not just any old cannon. It was an indescribable monster of a machine; a hybrid of a tribuchet mixed with a supposedly gigantic metal barrel that boasted ambiguous attachments on all sides. And if the scales were correct, it was a staggering size of a hundred ponies, excluding the towering stand. The same size of an elder dragon I had met before.
"Isn't it marvelous?!" Trotter exclaimed, "A real piece of work, crafted by the Griffins centuries ago and was meant to be the crowning invention of that era! It's considered way ahead of its time!" He clapped his hoof together in nerdy delight.
"That's a really big gun." I commented with a whistle. "But if it is as big as you measured it to be, how did they move it to attack Cloudsdale, and disappear?"
"Wrong assumption, Keith!" Twilight moved up to the board with a grin. It looked like every studious unicorn was enjoying this pre-wartime discussion. "Do you see any wheels on this cannon? Any movable components? Any ease of mobility? And how, you may ask, is that possible?"
"I didn't, but please carry on."
"It's really simple, actually." Trotter continued, "It doesn't have to move. It just has to be fired."
"From Avia?" I asked.
"From Avia."
"And how far is that?"
"Farther than we'd like. And such is the power of this behemoth of a weapon!" Trotter levitated a piece of chalk to circle a major part of the cannon, situated at the base of it where the tribuchet ended and the cannon began. "Right here is a very unique device. In fact, every part of it should have won a science award in itself! For you see, this connecting point right here holds a compression chamber, powerful enough to send projectiles over extremely long distances in a matter of seconds. And of all the things it is powered by, it is steam."
Griffins were steampunked?
"So what you're telling me is that this monster can fire from its home state, travel hundreds, if not thousands of kilometers, to accurately bombard any area of choosing?"
"Air currents and obstacles be damned. So technically it's-"
"Overpowered as hell, that's what it is!"
"It has its downsides!" Trotter retorted, "From what we could gather without information from the Griffins, we've found that a Griffin is required to map out the area of assault. Unfortunately for the Griffins, they never had the chance to use it, let alone map out coordinates... until now. On top of that, only the King has the authority to use the weapon. There was a reason it was discontinued, Keith! It was unstable, devastating, and not to mention a major harm to the environment, especially for an icy state like Avia!"
"So why now?" I rose from my seat, frustrated with the lack of reasons. "Why now, of all times, to choose to pull out this giant gun and randomly attack a pony city?"
Nobody had a real answer to that question. Only guesses and theories, but no proper reasons.
"But we're not exactly sitting ducks." Trotter erased the board, later claiming he had acquired the book that had a better drawing of the weapon. "It's not a free fire device. There's a long rest period for that type of weapon to recharge before becoming available for use again."
"Then let's make the most of it. Find out a pattern to their attack and prevent the destruction of another city." I suggested. "And if you ask me, I wouldn't be surprised if they aimed for the crystal empire."
"That's not our priority." Trotter's smile faded. With Twilight's help, all the books were returned to their respectful shelves in one clean magical sweep. "Right now, we need to take care of the need of the ponies."
"The weather factory may be damaged, but at least its intact." Twilight said, "It's just been moved to Skyscape City, under an emergency repair team."
Trotter beckoned us to follow him out of the library. I left with my head swirling with all this new knowledge.
"Unfortunately, that brings about an even greater dilemma;" Twilight went on, "With the weather factory out of commission, there is currently no source of clouds, or rain! Those were the departments that were hit the hardest. And with Spring just beginning, we've got an entire kingdom to feed!"
Twilight was right. This situation was more important than looking for answers. With Equestria's only source of rainwater out of order, it would only be a matter of time before stores of water ran out, especially with the need to plant and grow. I imagined Applejack receiving this type of news, and it didn't look so good.
"Surely, there's another source of cloud production in Equestria? Everypony couldn't have just been relying on one factory right?"
"Actually there is, but I've never seen it myself. All I've heard are rumours as since I was a filly. Apparently, Trotter knows something we don't."
"Oh, yes I do!" Trotter almost giggled. Twilight and I trailed behind the scholar, confused as to where our next destination would be. "The night before, Princess Celestia requested something of me. A special task that involved a substitute to the means of water production. I was tasked to ensure the working order of Cloudmaker 2.0!"
"What?" Twilight and I chorused.
"I knew you two wouldn't know what that was. I can assure you, both of you are in for a pleasant surprise!" The red stallion's chuckle echoed through the arched corridors of the castle.
"Are you sure he's not crazy, Twilight?"
"I ask myself that sometimes too."
We left the library block for the open grounds of the palace. An increased number of guards were patrolling the compound, and I knew there were more of them in Canterlot.
"So where exactly are we going?" I inquired, dodging a column of armed pegasi.
"Somewhere that a lot of ponies had forgotten for years." Trotter's eyes gleamed as he gaited down the courtyards.
"Oh far Celestia's sake, Harry! Just tell us where we're going!" Twilight sounded just as confused and frustrated as I did.
"Very well. Twilight, perhaps you remember the caves beneath the castle?" The scholar cleaned his spectacles casually.
"Yes, with bad events to boot. What about them?"
"Have you ever wondered why there were mine shafts all around the caves?"