The wet grass felt cold against my back paws as I sat there waiting for... whatever the fuck it was Nightmare was waiting for. The sun had set and the cold had brought up dew, making the once dry plain really damn moist. It wasn’t cold enough to frost, which was good because that stuff crunches under your claws and makes stealth harder. Mind you it makes tracking real easy, but that wasn’t my biggest worry right now. My front claws were wet too, but at least my talons were protected a bit.
I breathed out and it frosted over. Fuck Nightmare. Just fuck her.
I was glad Trixie had the good sense to stay quiet, but I wasn’t too happy with my equipment for whatever it was we were meant to be doing. Claw guards are great and all, but when it came to blocking sword strikes you might as well try blocking a baseball bat with the palm of your hand. Not to mention they had less reach than a sword, and made handling anything complicated real tricky. I mean I’d rather have them than not, but still. Not great. I suppose if you get in close and keep attacking you can out maneuver a heavier blade, but that meant you had to get closer to the guy that was trying to kill you. At least if I had a knife I could throw it or something, even if that only worked when the guy wasn’t wearing armor.
Fuck, I’m whining inside my own brain. I hope Nightmare can hear this and it bugs the heck out of her or something.
“Is it just Trixie, or is there too little action. There are so many buildings, but next to no lights on apart from those at the gate.”
“Military curfew maybe,” but that sounded like crap even to me. Even if a curfew was in effect and the soldiers were maintaining light and noise discipline for some reason, there’d be other sounds and sights. At the very least, on a cold night like tonight there should be smoke coming from at least some of the chimneys. I didn’t like this at all.
“Agreed.” With her eyes closed, Nightmare’s horn glowed and the dew drops floated off the ground to form a pool before her. It slowly faded to translucence before shifting and giving us a bird’s eye view of the camp. It looked like it was an excavation site or some shit, carved into the cliff face was a massive hole lined with what seemed like support structures. Despite the dim light and fuzzy picture, I could just see columns carved from stone or something.
“That is amazing, but the Great and Powerful Trixie could do it in her sleep.”
Oh, for fuck’s sake Trixie. You’re not convincing anyone, just shut up and at least try to keep some kind of dignity? I didn’t say that to her because I figured she’d argue with her annoying stage voice, which would be bad because it’d carry over the distance.
All of a sudden, the pool of water collapsed in on itself and fell to the ground with a splash. Nightmare swayed dangerously on her hooves and just managed to catch herself before she face-planted in the grass.
“I am sorry, I did not expect that spell to take so much out of me.” She rubbed her temples. “Did you two manage to get a good look as to what’s going on in there?”
“Yeah,” I answered her. Why, did she not see it herself or something? Or was that for our benefit or what?
“Enough to get us in undetected?” asked Nightmare.
“Trixie can just cast an illusionary disguise.”
“Best to save your magic in case we need it. Relying on magic is a bad idea,” replied Nightmare before turning to me. “So?”
I glanced over at Trixie. She’d be a problem; her bright blue coat would stand out even if she left behind her purple cloak and hat. We’d have to rely on heavy shadows and avoid sentries, because camouflage was out of the question. Nightmare had a dark blue coat which still wasn’t great, but not as bad. Even I wasn’t very good for blending in with my steel plated armor. I looked back towards the mass of buildings and thought about what I’d seen in the mirror. I hadn’t seen any sentries, which was... weird to say the least. In my head I thought about where I’d put the sentries if I was the commander, and constructed a little map in my head of what I’d seen in the... water pool thing.
“Scrying spell, though I assure you, it was far more complex than some basic parlor trick version of the spell.”
Great, just great. Like I needed that little reminder she was in my brain. Get the fuck out of my head bitch! Whatever, I went back to thinking about how to break in.
“Yeah, alright. I think we can do it but...” I didn’t say it. I’d rather do this alone, but really the only reason I had to go in there was Nightmare wanted me to, and I doubted she’d trust me enough to give me free reign like that. Heck, I wouldn’t trust me if I was her.
“You do realize I won’t kill you if you say something.” Trixie actually gulped when she heard this; at least someone was sharing my misery.
“Well Trixie noticed that most of the guards were positioned by the ruin entrance. It seems they are more concerned with keeping guard over that than the entrance to their compound.”
I’m surprised that she spotted that. It didn’t really make much sense though. This was just a dig site right? I didn’t trust the spell enough to really believe that the compound was completely empty of soldiers, but that might just be the little Calisto in the back of my head telling me to be careful. Whatever, whether the town was empty or not, it’d be dumb to just walk through once we get past that gate.
It was really weird that there only seemed to be guards at the gate, but fuck it. If they were gonna make it easy for us I could think of a few ways to slip in without getting spotted. Whether anyone was there or not.
“Very well then, take the lead,” commanded Nightmare. “We are in your hooves.”
Fuck, pony phrases. Hooves this, hooves that, whatever. I idly wondered how far Nightmare really trusted me with this, as I signaled the two of them to follow me. I moved back down the ridge we were atop, and padded around the bottom of the small hill.
It was a fairly dark night with cloud cover, so that meant the guards in the tower would be fire-blinded. I guess I have an audience in my head now, so for the benefit of you Nightmare, fire-blinded means when they’re in the light they have a harder time seeing things outside the light.
“I am not a foal,” she hissed in my ear. “I acted as the commander for Equestria’s army when I was in power. However We hath no practical experience with sneaking.”
I think I was starting to get used to this whole ‘in your head,’ gig. If she was gonna be there I could annoy the fuck out of her while she was. I immediately started singing Ninety Nine Bottles in my head. Maybe she’d get the tune stuck in her head. Fuck, that was a bad plan because now it was stuck in mine.
I shook my head and refocused my attention on the sentries. Gryphons have great vision, so even fire-blinded I didn’t want to risk crossing their sight lines. I led us on a long circular route away from the gate of the compound before taking us in closer to the wall. When we arrived I glanced over my shoulder at Nightmare, and checked her wing span. Fuck, those were way bigger than any pegasus I knew. Whatever, Nightmare if you’re in my head, you’ve got big wings so be careful not to flap them. Alright? Don’t answer with your voice, just nod your head.
She nodded in response.
Alright, good. Also, get the fuck out of my head.
I knew that wasn’t happening so I returned my attention to the wall in front of me. It wasn’t very tall, but it was a bit too high for me to leap, and I didn’t want to fly over because both mine and Luna’s wings were really big, meaning flight would be too loud.
I flexed my claws and began to climb the wooden posts of the makeshift wall. The claw guards helped bite into the wood, and pretty soon I was at the top. I peeked over the wall, and saw no one in sight. Still, I’d rather be safe than sorry. That was another one of those things Calisto used to love to tell me.
Holding on with one hand I looked back down at Nightmare and Trixie, and held my claw down for them. They just stared at it blankly for a second before I realized they didn’t know what I wanted them to do. I rolled my eyes. This is why I wanted to do this alone. Less baggage. Also, the maybe escaping thing.
Nightmare, I need you to toss Trixie up to me. I’m gonna catch her hoof and sling her over the wall. Then you do the same and I’ll toss you over as well.
She smirked evilly and grabbed Trixie. Before the unicorn knew what had happened she was already being tossed into the air like a bag of potatoes. To my surprise, Nightmare backed up before charging forward. Leaping forward, her hooves hit the wall with a dull thud and she kicked off, easily grabbing hold of the top of the wall and pulling herself up and over. She landed with a perfectly executed roll and caught Trixie as she came down.
Damn showoff. Whatever, you’re an idiot. What would have happened if Trixie screamed? I pulled myself on top of the fence and balanced there, taking advantage of my catlike agility. After a second I jumped off and landed with a similar roll. I glared at her but she just smirked and rolled her eyes.
Whatever, follow me.
I padded past the two of them, though Trixie looked like she was freaking out. I paused just long enough to hold a talon to my beak in the universal ‘shut the fuck up Trixie’ pose. And yes I know she hadn’t said anything. She didn’t have to.
I’m just glad she didn’t scream when that happened. I’d expected Nightmare to give her a warning or something, not just toss her while we’re on a stealth mission. Fucking amateurs. Have to say though, props to Trixie for not screaming. I’m not sure I wouldn’t have in her place. And no Nightmare, don’t get any ideas. We’re not testing that.
Fuck, I hate having you in my head. I’ve never had to watch my thoughts before. I hope you know how invasive this is. At least it hasn’t been as embarrassing as it could’ve. She hasn’t caught me thinking about the different times I had sex or whatever. I mean, it’d be really fucking bad if Nightmare learned about my first time with-
No!! No! Bad brain! Fuck you Nightmare. I shut down that thought path with a slam.
I shook my head till it cleared and focused really, really, heavily on the task at hand. Even while my mind had been running its mouth I’d been leading us through town carefully; checking corners, smelling the air and keeping an ear out for any guard that might be near.
I didn’t hear, see, or smell a thing as I led the two ponies. It was freaking weird, where was everyone? I didn’t think there was anyone around to catch us, but I listened to the little Calisto in the back of my head and took no shortcuts.
It took a bit longer than it needed to to get closer to the dig site, but when we did I started to notice patrols and guards.
“How curious,” muttered Nightmare, “why so many guards here and none at the gate?”
“Something precious? In Trixie’s experience, the more guards present the more valuable an item is.”
“Both of you shut up!” I hissed at them. Geez, go through the entire town not saying a thing and when they see the guards they decide to talk. “If I wanted you quiet before, I especially want you quiet now.”
Nightmare Moon simply rolled her eyes, but said nothing. Whether it was fear of being caught or of the alicorn killing her, Trixie also kept her mouth shut. Maybe there was something to this whole intimidation deal after all...
I took a moment to watch all the guards and their movement. Most of them didn’t seem to be patrolling, just standing around and waiting for orders. After about a minute of memorizing their movements I turned back to the two of them. Hey Nightmare, if you’re in my head is there any chance of me doing this on my own?
She paused, and she looked like she was thinking about it. The fuck? Was she actually considering that? Is she really fucking dumb enough to let me, a gryphon with no loyalty to her, go out on my own among other gryphons for her sake? Was she completely retarde- My eyes widened as I realized she was hearing all this. No I mean, it’s a great idea. You should totally let me go in on my own. There’s no way it’s a bad move.
She simply rolled her eyes at my careless thinking before glaring at me. Seriously, I’d never had to worry about the shit I think before. How do you get used to that? I blinked in surprise when Nightmare smacked a hoof over the back of Trixie’s head. I smirked a bit at that. Glad to know I’m not the only one who has to watch their thoughts.
Alright, with my bloody brain having run its mouth again, and my chances of doing this the smart way ruined, I had to come up with a good plan to get the two noisy cubs through undetected. I didn’t like the chances of doing this with proper stealth, for you Nightmare that means a real slow and gradual approach with camouflage playing a big role. Moving forward between patrols and staying out of sight lines is a bad idea with all the off duty soldiers kicking around. I couldn’t predict where they’d look and the chances of one of them glancing at us when we had to cross open ground were just way too high.
“Then we take out the guards,” whispered a voice in my head.
My eyes widened and my back stiffened. Fuck... Nightmare, please don’t do that again. Fuck, it felt like someone was whispering right against my brain and I could feel their breath inside my skull.
She simply rolled her eyes and gestured with her hooves at the guards.
Look Nightmare, there’s a dozen guys out there. I haven’t seen you in a fight, but I promise you that at least one of us will die with those odds. You want me to pick them off one by one? Well I don’t know what you know about stealth, but in my experience that sort of shit is hard to do when you have professionals at your back, not some rookies. Plus, how the heck do you think Trixie’s gonna take it if we start killing them? She’ll freak out that’s how. There’s a way to do this without being a dumbass.
Nightmare replied with an exaggerated sigh then slammed her head against the ground a couple of times to get her point across before flicking her hooves at me.
Alright, alright geez. I tried to think of another way in. If we could get some of those unoccupied guards to clear off, then I could probably get us through. Maybe something like a fire in one of the cabins or...
Nightmare tilted her head to the side, causing Trixie to suddenly jump into the air and the only thing stopping her from making a sound was the hoof over her mouth. A couple seconds later, Trixie’s horn glowed and a hut on the other side of the camp burst into flames. Almost immediately an alarm was raised and guards began rushing off towards the fire.
What the- I was just spitballing! Not every thought I think is a good idea! I didn’t have a chance to weigh up why that’d been a bad idea. I was feeling exasperated to say the bloody least. Fucking Nightmare!
The dark alicorn smirked at that comment and shot a smoldering look, complete with eyelash battering in my direction.
My brain shut down. For a second no thoughts entered my head other than some joke about dropping the soap.
All I got in response was a curious tilt of the head as though she had no clue what I was talking about. Then, she gave me a nudge in the direction of the entrance. Before I could react, there was a loud explosion and all our eyes snapped over to the right.
It took me a second to get over my shock. I damn near screamed with frustration. Damn it Nightmare! Why’d she even ask me to take us in quietly if she was just gonna go blow shit up anyway!
“GET A MOVE ON!”
You know what it’s like having someone scream in your ear? Well have you ever had that inside your head? Neither had I...
I signaled for them to follow me and began to dart forwards, circling us left and staying out of the sight of all the guards. All their attention was focused elsewhere, thanks to Little Miss Silence is Golden, but I knew this situation wasn’t going to last. The moment they put out that fire this whole place would be like a kicked anthill.
There were a few guards still on patrol, and a few guards who hadn’t run off after the fire. They were being extra twitchy now. Checking their blind spots and keeping an eye on the shadows. I paused for a second to consider our options. Maybe we could take them out, but that’d leave us with zero chance of a clean getaway.
After a second I had a route planned-
Three black bolts suddenly slammed into each of the guards, sending them to the ground in a crumpled mess. Calmly walking over to them, Nightmare shoved them into one of the dark corners and looked back at us serenely, all the while staying in the shadows.
My eye twitched. No. Just no. That did not happen. Me thinking did not make three gryphon soldiers die. No, she knocked them unconscious or something right? I wasn’t fooling myself. Fuck, don’t think about it now. Cause my thoughts get innocents killed, apparently.
I grabbed Trixie’s cloak, ‘cause she was too in shock to do anything and drag-dashed us through the shadows over to Nightmare. Without pausing for thought, I moved past her and led us into the ruins entrance. The moment we were inside and out of sight, and without taking the time to think it through, I spun around and slammed my fist into Nightmare’s face. She stumbled back a step before slowly turning her head to look at me. Then, without a single word or any form of acknowledgement, she strolled past as though nothing had happened.
I grit my jaw and fell in behind her. That was not my fault. It’s not my fault that I thought about killing them and they died. It’s on fucking Nightmare’s shoulders. Fuck. I don’t get caught up over guilt or self-doubt, but I was feeling shaken to say the least. She killed them so easily, it was... Fuck. Killing isn’t some shit you should do lightly. My thoughts just killing the three of them like that was...
No. I don’t blame myself for this. I shook my head and cleared my thoughts, before pulling ahead of Nightmare. We were in a big wide hall, and there were no guards insight, but I could hear more up ahead so I slowed us down. Trixie’s hooves were making a lot of sound against stone, because she was too in shock to try and walk quietly. Shit, she was a problem. If she doesn’t snap out of it w-
A loud snap echoed through the room as Nightmare Moon slapped the showmare. There was a stunned silence as we all stared in disbelief before Trixie seemed to puff up in self-importance, turn her nose up and began walking forward a lot more silently than before. Did I just miss a brain to brain chat or something?
And just when it was completely impossible for the situation to get worse, it did. There was a flash of light and a sheathed sword appeared along Nightmare’s back along with a pair of daggers along her forelegs. Oh fuck me. I silently prayed to any goddesses or elders that were listening that Nightmare seriously wasn’t going to kill everyone around. What happened to not starting a fucking war!
Three gryphons were dead, but if she took down anymore, then even if we somehow got away with no witnesses and left no trace that we did it, the Gryphon Kingdom would go to war with whomever the fuck they laid eyes on. The whole army would go apeshit.
She pouted. The crazy, murderous filly actually pouted. Oh, I’m sorry about popping that little fantasy of your about killing everyone here. Fuck, the filly was pouting like a foal because she didn’t get to massacre everything in sight. I’d hate to see what she’d have to miss out on before she has a temper tantrum. Genocide? Giant blood orgy? Nod when I’m getting closer.
Nightmare sighed and kept walking forwards, her sword drawn in a defensive stance. As far as I could tell she knew how to use it. Hey, Nightmare, just checking, but you know to stick the sharp end into the guy you want dead, right?
With a flick of her blade, two feathers drifted down before my eyes.
I decided to take that as a yes. I ran a claw over my head. Ah... fuck. Those were crown feathers too. Those things take ages to grow. Whatever. I’m still surprised she hadn’t killed me after I slogged her in the face. Heh. That’d felt good.
I led us up some stairs and through the ruins as best as I could. I didn’t know the layout of the place, so I was building a map in my head as I went.
“Wait.” I looked over at Nightmare who was gazing at a wall with a frown. “This way.”
Stepping forward, she began walking down a side corridor and after half a dozen twists and turns, we found ourselves in what looked like a study. There were rotted desks and bookshelves and scrolls that had long since faded to dust. For a brief second her head swung left and right before she nodded to herself and walked over to one of the bookshelves. With a mighty shove, it was forced to the side, revealing a gaping hole. It looked like it had blasted apart using brute force. It was Trixie’s gasp that drew my attention to what actually lay beyond the hole - a dozen charred remains.
These corpses were new too. I could still smell burning feathers and feel the heat hanging around in the air. My eyes widened as I noticed their armor and weapons were still glowing hot. The fuck?
“Magical traps,” commented Nightmare before tilting her head to the side. “Created by me or by Luna? How curious. Considering we caught some would-be raiders, I would say the precautions were justified. Best be cautious.”
After a second I got over my shock. “You remember all the traps right?” I asked as I eyed up the crispy roast gryphon.
Actually, the dead soldiers might work in our favor. With luck, they might assume the dead gryphons that were Nightmare’s work got caught in some magic trap... Nah that was dumb. Maybe if we moved them into the temple or... Shit we didn’t have time. No, our best bet was still get out before they find us.
“Perhaps, perhaps not. We shall know once one of us dies.” Well that fills me with fucking confidence. The alicorn’s ear twitched. “Guards coming. Trixie, some invisibility spell would be useful right about now.”
“Finally! Trixie was tired of being the side show. Behold, the majesty of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”
I waited a moment for something. Instead of that, nothing happened. Not a bloody thing happened.
I knew she was useless at stealth, but when she can’t even do the magic we brought her along for... “Trixie, what fu-”
Magic tendrils wrapped around my beak, effectively shutting me up.
“Silence,” hissed Trixie. “The spell will hide us visually, but not audibly.”
What? She needed to cast the fucking spell for it to... Oh! Riiiight... I held a talon up in front of my face. Yep. Couldn’t see it. Yeah, duh. Of course an invisibility spell wouldn’t be any use if it made a flash or a pop when you cast it. Sorry I doubted you Trix. Good thing she can’t hear my thoughts, or she’d be pissed about all the crap I said about her in my head. This way, I don’t have to apologize or something.
Some more gryphon soldiers came into view, moving into the study and fanning out. They noticed the displaced bookshelf, and some of them began to move towards the hole in the wall. I carefully padded backwards away from them as they approached, and as I glanced around I could only hope that Nightmare and Trix were doing the same thing.
One of the guards peeked into the hole and immediately turned away, throwing up on the ground, just inches from my feet. Bloody pussy ass greenie. I looked up at the other guards who all had varying degrees of shock plastered all over their face. Well... apart from one of course. I noticed the clan symbol on his breast plate, a Great Scars and judging from the insignia on his shoulder pads, a sergeant major too. Yeesh, a Great Scars sergeant? Living stereotype much?
He gazed at the hole sadly, but otherwise didn’t seem at all phased by the reveal. I made sure to etch his face into my memory for future reference. Tough veteran, probably served on tours in places like Zebrica or Grazia, used to the kind of magical warfare that gryphons are totally outclassed in.
“Filvario, I want you to locate the lance corporal on rear guard and tell them we have a breach. Tell them to get their asses down here. The rest of you, get back to your posts. Mention this to anyone and I will personally strip you of your name and clan. Got that?”
Fuck. This was some serious shit if he was ready to do that to someone just for talking. Just what in the name of bloody fuck was going on with this place?
Not a single soldier made a comment and did exactly what they were told. I didn’t blame ‘em. A clan strip sucks. Death was better than that. They all filed out of the room and returned to whatever it was they’d been doing before they came in here.
The hardass stayed though, and lowered himself to the ground as he reached behind himself for a little pouch of powder. I recognized the little leather sack as zebra powders. Yep, this guy served in Zebrica alright.
“Move! Through the hole, we need to get out of here!” Seemed like Luna recognised it as well. “Damn it Trixie, faster!”
I moved forwards past him silently, and I didn’t know if Trixie and Nightmare were in front of me or behind. He raised the powder into the air and tossed it up before dipping his claws into a second powder bag as he began chanting. Not good. Really not good!
“If you’re going to walk into some pony I’ll let you know, but stop scurrying along like some scared mouse and fucking move it!”
She just swore! Hah! The fucking goddess cursed... Wow it’s weird where my mind goes while I’m doing shit. Like, now I’m all but running away from the hardass, but I’m still taking the time to go over how fucking hilarious it was that I broke a goddesses composure with just my thoughts. I wasn’t moving fast enough to make a sound though, and I really had to wonder how fast Nightmare and Trixie could possibly be moving given that I hadn’t heard them yet and they had hooves. Whatever, it didn’t matter. They had to be moving fast enough or we were fucked.
We rounded a corner and only just made it away in time for the purple haze to fill the air behind us. I held my breath, watching as it hung there for a second before slowly drifting to the ground. There were no flashy lights, no sudden outline of a pony, no strange mystical, mumbo-jumbo crap. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but considering the way he relaxed, it was obvious he didn’t find anything.
A screamed echoed through the tunnel and my eyes snapped forward. Damn, no sudden appearance of Trixie’s dead body. The scream came again and a shudder crawled up my spine. I’ve heard and seen some pretty gruesome shit in my life, but that noise sounded- Another shudder. Stop thinking about it. I needed to stop thinking about it. I’m glad I couldn’t see whatever the fuck was happening to that unlucky bastard.
Another voice joined in on the screaming and I saw a faint wavering of the air before me. By the time it came again, the invisibility spell dropped completely and I could see Trixie and Nightmare Moon before me. The showmare looked as though she was about to roll over and puke then die or something.
The scream came again. If I was a pony I’d fold my ears back and block out those sounds. I didn’t want to hear them again. I didn’t even want to imagine what was happening to that poor fucker. Just focus on putting one claw before the next.
Yet another voice joined them. Then a third. Then a forth.
And then there was crying. Glancing back over my shoulder, my eyes widened as the bookshelf was moved back into place, cutting off all light. For a second we were left in absolute darkness then glyphs began glowing on the wall, pulsating in a goddess damned freaky blue light show. I turned my attention back to the hallway before me, and there stood Nightmare with her eyes closed, a calm look on her face as her horn glowed. All of a sudden, a wall emerged from the ground, cutting off our way forward and a passage opened to the right. All around us, I could see the walls shifting position and changing. All of a sudden she wavered on her hooves and leaned heavily against the wall, beads of sweat trailing down her neck as her body trembled.
“Nightmare, what the fuck is happening?” I spoke out loud because I knew we wouldn’t be heard by the hardass outside between the grinding and shifting stones.
Nightmare just seemed to ignore my question as she forced herself back onto her hooves. “I do not know how far they’ve managed to penetrate into my sanctuary, but I remember enough to hopefully get us there first.” Begging moans echoed towards us. “We need to hurry. There is something here that should not be here. I...” She pressed a hoof to her temple before her head snapped to the side as though looking at someone. “Monsters? Are you certain?”
“Monsters?” I repeated. “What fucking monsters?” Here I thought that Nightmare was the scariest thing I’d have to deal with.
“Something we remember from a long time ago.” Her frown deepened. “Neigh, not remember, more like a dream of a memory. We remember arriving at a town, ransacked and dead, half eaten ponies littering the street. We remember ponies with crooked horns and bat like wings and so much muscle they no longer looked like creatures of the day. We remember ponies being killed, raped, and eaten - hopefully in that order. We remember their cat-like eyes full of lust and animalistic instinct with no fear or remorse. We remember-”
She swayed on her feet and this time she completely collapsed, as a pained expression came across her face. “We- We remember... We remember...” Her eyes rolled back and her entire body slumped over.
I didn’t rush forward to help her or anything like that, I just padded closer and poked her in the shoulder. “Nightmare?” I asked. I hope that shit she was saying about monsters was just her being crazy but... Yeah, I doubted it. If the goddess was telling me monsters were around, then I bet monsters.
She stirred slightly, but it was only when Trixie dumped cold water over her face that the alicorn’s eyes finally snapped open. I‘d sort of hoped that they might’ve switched over again and we’d be back to good old dumbass Luna, but nope. When those eyes opened it was the reptilian look of the insane evil filly with a pumped up sex drive. Damn it. Why can’t I ever catch a fucking break?
“Nightmare?” I asked again. “You alright?” Don’t get me wrong. I didn’t care about her, it’s just she was our guide at the moment and we were probably gonna need her to get out of here alive. When I say we, I mean me. I wasn’t really worried if Trixie made it out or not.
“I’m fine.” She tried to stand up, only to sway unsteadily on her feet, “Merely used too much magic.”
“If you say so, what was that shit about monsters?” I asked glancing around the poorly lit room.
“Ha! Don’t tell Trixie the gryphon is scared of some scary story. Pathetic.” Horn glowing bright, Trixie took the lead with Nightmare leaning against her. “Come, we have secrets to discover. The Great and Powerful Trixie shall dazzle the world with secret teachings found in this place and she will not have you deny her that power.”
“Spoken like a true idiot,” I spat at her. “Fuck you Trixie. A monster isn’t some bedtime story that scares cubs and foals. A monster’s an idea. Ever seen a sleeping dragon? I’d call that a monster. Hunted a manticore? Monster. A pony with a twitch in their dead eyes as they laugh about every way they’re gonna fuck you. That’s a fucking monster. I mean for Tartarus sake, you have goddesses damn Nightmare Moon leaning on your shoulder, and you’re telling me that monsters don’t exist? If you are then you’re fucking retarded.”
The unicorn looked back at me with a scared little smile. “Trixie knows.”
I paused. “Good,” I said flatly... Fuck, I feel like an idiot. “Sorry, I fucking freaked out back there.” I muttered as I passed by her. But damn it, couldn’t she at least pick a less annoying way to deal with shit? Mine wasn’t so bad. I just swear a lot.
I stayed ahead of them and spoke over my shoulder, “So Nightmare. About these monsters...”
“We do not know. Our memory is fuzzy at best.” Nightmare blinked and cleared her throat. “I mean, my memories are not entirely accurate, after all, it has been over a thousand years. They die as easily as any mortal though.”
“That suits me just fine.” I muttered as I looked around us for anything. “They have a spine brain and heart, right? Veins and arteries, nerve clusters, the whole deal?”
Trixie looked sick.
“That is what I recall. All are pony in shape as well and seem to be modeled after ponies. Crooked horn is unicorn, therefore magic, bat wings are pegasi, therefore flight, the mass of muscle are earth ponies. I suggest staying on the cautious side, I do not remember how they fight, but according to Celestia, I ended up erasing the entire town from existence to stop them.”
“Alright,” I answered her. I swallowed nervously. Fuck, that did not sound good. “I can kill a pony.” Arteries in the neck and upper legs that bleed out real fast when cut. Leg joints that break real easy when hit right. Gap between their skull and spine were you can cut their spinal cord. “I can kill a pony,” I repeated to no one. “Are these the sort of things that’ll find us, or will we see them before they see us?”
“Who knows?” she replied with a shrug. “And you forgot about the artery along the wing. I’m personally more partial to hamstringing them myself. Reduced mobility means less chance of the-”
“You two are sick,” spat Trixie. “Monsters out there? Trixie is standing next to two right now. Trixie hopes you both burn in Tartarus and she can’t be rid of you soon enough.”
Fuck. I’m a monster?
“Heh, if you knew some of the sentients I’ve met.” I shook my head and chuckled. “I’m a bloody pussycat compared to some of the dead-eyed killers this world has.” I glanced at Nightmare.
“I am a monster? I am merely in touch with my primal instincts.” Well that sounded familiar. “The true monsters are those who repress their true selves.”
“Bullshit,” I told her. “You can self-justify it all you like, you can have all the reasoning in the world, but there are lines, and when they’re crossed that’s it.” I was very careful to keep my mind on the present. I was not going to let Nightmare see the shit that was bouncing around in the back of my brain. “And when you start to enjoy it? Then fuck it. You’re the monster.” Though I had to admit that I had a lot of fun that one time in-
Nope. Nopety nope. Nah. Not thinking of that. Nightmare is not seeing that. The stone beneath my claws is grey. My feathers are white, and my fur is brown. Nightmare’s coat is blue. Trixie’s coat is also blue, and when I’m thinking of this I can’t think of anything else.
“Still monsters,” growled Trixie. “And how much longer till we reach what we are looking for?”
“Soon,” Nightmare’s horn glowed and the runes pulsed, “Very soon. Two more corners if I’m remembering how to read this right.”
“Good. I can’t wait to get the fuck out of this place.” I glanced around at the dusty walls. I asked, “What are we here for anyway?”
Nightmare made no reply.
“Do you even know?” I looked at her. “You mentioned that shit about how you have half a memory or something.”
Still no reply.
“Hit the nail on the head didn’t I?” I smirked, “Great, fucking great. Killed three guards, almost got caught thanks to you amateurs and we’re probably gonna see some monsters, and you don’t even know why.”
“I did not kill three guards,” she whispered we reached a wall. Leaning forward, she inserted her horn into a hole in the wall and a wave of dark blue spread out. A second later, the wall dropped down and we walked in the room. The wall immediately closed up and Nightmare touched her hoof against the wall to her right and something looked like stars appeared, illuminating the room.
Both me and Trixie looked around at the light show. Trixie’s eyes were wide with wonder and even I had to feel a little mystified. Still, I can never resist running my beak.
“So, was that what we came for? The pretty light show?”
“No.” The lights brightened, revealing rows and rows of glass cylinders that reached the ceiling. Some were cracked, some were toppled over and some were full of some weird liquid and even had creatures in them. “That is what we came for.” She frowned. “I think.”
Once more, Trixie decided to throw up.
I looked out over the seemingly endless glass tubes and stared open beaked. Even I’d shut the fuck up. The creatures in the tubes were... oh goddesses. They were disgusting. Some were bloated sacks of muscle were their skin had torn open a thousand years ago. Their insides trailing perfectly preserved in whatever the fuck was in those tubes. Others were shriveled skeletons with misshapen legs and eyes that had turned an ivory yellow inside their head. One of them had bloated forelegs, and shrunken hindquarters. A few of the tubes just had skeletons in them, and for that I was glad.
I couldn’t blame Trixie for throwing up.
And one of them just opened its eyes.
“Guys, some of these things aren’t dead,” I said and my voice sounded scared even to me. “What the fuck is this?”
The thing was still staring at us, its eyes moving from one of us to the next. It was like no pony I ever saw. It had bat wings! Freaking bat wings! A unicorn’s horn sat on its head, though it was cracked and oddly discolored. Its coat was patchy and a dark navy blue. There was a ponies cutie mark on its flank. A telescope. Fucking Tartarus, this thing used to be a pony with a cutie mark in astronomy or something. A few wisps of purple mane floated in the liquid around it, the same colour as my crown feather tips or the patches around my eyes. It’s eyes were the same colour as mine too, golden yellow.
As it gazed back at me, I realized that I recognized that look in its eyes. I’d once looked something like that, starving and cold and wet. But here, there wasn’t just hunger and desperation. Here there was no restraint or hesitance, nothing but a primal animal that needed to kill and eat and breed. I was drawn into those eyes, my claws pulling me towards the tube. It bared its teeth as it watched me approach. It’s chewed on lips pulling back in something that almost looked like a sick smile. I took another step, my thoughts completely stopped and-
A silver blur flew past my head followed by shattering glass and the green fluid pouring out in all direction.
Suddenly, everything snapped into perspective and I spun around on my hind legs with my talons up. I saw it was Nightmare and caught myself. “What the fuck was that?” I still sounded shocked and frightened. “Fuck,” I added for no real reason as I glanced over my shoulder at the dagger sticking out of the thing’s forehead.
“That, is a dead creature,” said Nightmare over her shoulder. “Now help me look. There should be some kind of journal here.” An explosion rocked the room, sending dust raining down. “Hurry, they’re getting closer!”
I shook my head and ran over to help Nightmare. I paused just long enough to grab Trixie’s cape and drag her away too. Nightmare was standing at a bunch of desks that were near the wall. I began yanking open wooden doors and drawers that collapsed in my claws. Then I just started punching them open while Trixie still stood there like a fucking idiot. Not that I could blame her.
“Wouldn’t a journal just be dust anyway?” I asked as I flipped a desk over.
“Hardly. Now shut up and help me search.”
As I searched I was running through a series of curses and stringing them together in the most creative ways I could. It was what I did to keep my mind of things while they’re happening. Calisto had his own little mental exercise and he’d taught all of us to come up with our own. Mine was something I was good at.
I punched a hole in a cabinet and my claws closed over something square and hard. I yanked my arm back and pulled the door off. In my hand was a book with a leather cover and glowing runes coating its front. I flipped it open, but couldn’t read any of the language. As I flipped through the page a hoof band fell out. I stopped to pick it up, and held it up to the light. As far as I could tell it was made of gold, and there was a single diamond embedded in it. Surrounding the ring was a line of sapphires, and some old Equestrian was engraved beneath the diamond. it looked pretty expensive, and I thought I could hoc it for quick bits if I had to. I closed my talons around it and turned around.
“Hey Nightmare, is this it?” I said holding it out the journal to her and pulling the door off my arm. “It came with this.” I held up the ring.
She glanced at the ring before delicately taking it with her magic. Nightmare examined it with her brow furrowed before shrugging and tossing it away. Snatching the book it out of my claws, she began pouring through it before chucking it behind her. “It’s a decoy. Now where is it? It should be- Of course!”
I watched her run off to the back of the room before shrugging and picking the ring back up. Like I said, I could easily sell it for quick bits. Another explosion shook the entire place, dislodging some rubble and toppled the desk over. They were getting closer.
“What the fuck are you-”
“Ah ha!” There was a click and a secret door swung open. Dashing into the room, she reappeared a second later with a bound book. “Quickly, I shall teleport us out of here.”
Another explosion and I could see the flash of light coming from the corridor we came from. Without a second thought, we rushed over to Nightmare and pressed ourselves against her. I didn’t even make a joke this time, what’s wrong with me?
Instead of immediately teleporting us out of there though, her horn glowed and all the glass containers exploded. Sure, most of the creatures collapsed onto the ground, dead as can be, but some fell on their hooves and made a noise that sounded like nothing I’d ever heard.
“What the fu-”
There was a flash of light and we were out of there.
“-ck was that for!” I shouted at Nightmare. “Why the fuck did you release those things!”
“Agreed!” I was surprised when the unicorn actually slapped Nightmare across the face with her magic. “You are a monster.”
“Please, we needed something to keep them occupied so I gave it to them.”
“Didn’t you tell me how those things butchered a town or some shit!” I shoved her away from me and advanced towards her. “There were less than fifty soldiers in that temple. Do you really think that they’ll be able to take care of what had to be more than a hundred of those... whatever the fuck they were?”
To my surprise, Trixie was right beside me, backing me up.
“You know nothing,” hissed Nightmare. “If you’re so concerned about the monsters getting free, then fine!” Her horn began glowing, her eyes turned white and the entire ground began shaking uncontrollably.
“What-”
There was a sudden plume of dust from over the ridge and I rushed over to see what exactly had happened. There, where the excavation site once stood, was nothing more than a pile of rubble. She forced an avalanche.
“You... You just...” Tears streaming down her face, Trixie blasted the alicorn. And I mean blasted. Full on, magical explosion that lit up the entire night sky and had enough energy to make my feathers stand on end.
Nightmare was on her side, she didn’t look conscious, but I didn’t care. I leaped over and aimed for her throat, but at the last second, her sword was in the way. If it hadn’t been for the gauntlets she had made me wear, I would have lost a hand.
“Are you not happy? We have stopped the monsters and prevented an all-out war. The Gryphon Kingdom will write it off as an accident and we will go on our merry way.” Every word she spoke resonated with magical might. “Attack me again. I dare you.”
I jumped back and lowered myself for a fight, clenching my claws into a fist. I grit my jaw and sized her up. There was cold sweat all over her body, her wings were drooping, I could see the bags under her eyes, the way she was standing was wrong for a fight, and I remembered her magical fatigue from the temple. But fuck. Everything she said was true. I wanted to kill her. I wanted to cut her throat and her arteries and shove a talon into her cerebral cortex and use her brains to tan her skin into leather and pour her blood into the soil for fertilizer and grind her horn into powder for medicine and use her fats for grease and sell her bones to some collector and reduce her entire body into its usable parts and leave the rest for the scavengers. I wanted there to be no trace of her by the time I was done.
But she was a fucking goddess. And I was a fucking gryphon. Trixie was a stage magician, and what fucking chance did we have of killing her? I don’t know. I really wanted to try. I wanted to try my luck and hope for the best.
“Hope is not a plan,” she said to me. “Plus, would you harm a mare as sexy as me?” She must have seen my look because she burst out laughing. “At any rate, you wouldn’t harm poor ol’ wittle Luna would you?”
I grit my jaw. I couldn’t kill a filly. Fuck me. I couldn’t. For all her posing and threatening, Luna was just a stupid little filly, a child god that was trying to be a big girl.
I slowly raised myself from the ground. If someone else were to try to kill her, I wouldn’t stop them. If she were to swing first, I’d fuck her over. If anything were to set me off then I’d see her dead. But at the moment, I was plotting how to kill a fucking filly. A fucking foal. Goddesses I hoped Trixie would take the first shot so I could join her, or that Nightmare would try her luck or something that’d let me use the excuse that I lost control.
But she didn’t make a move. Trixie simply stared at me out the corner of her eye, waiting for me to give a signal or something. Fuck, she was looking to me make the call. Trusting me to make the right decision. I’d forgotten about her. If we were to fight, she’d get torn apart. I doubted her chances of surviving. Fuck. I couldn’t get her killed like that. She wasn’t like me, she had no idea what a real fight was like. If she was looking to me then I couldn’t get her killed like that.
Goddesses. Fucking goddesses, and this little one in particular.
“I hope you fucking burn,” I snarled at her. “I really fucking hope that I get to watch.” I clenched my claws. “And I want something out of this. I want a promise. Between you and me or me and Luna, either one of you. I want a fucking promise. An open favor that I’ll call on and you’ll swear to under blood.”
Trixie looked at me spluttering. “What? What-”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP TRIXIE!” I screamed at her. If I let her go out on her own, who knew what the fuck Nightmare and Luna would do. I needed a reason to stick around, and it had to be a better one than getting my mind of Dash. I’ve done bad shit for bits before, I had to pretend to myself this was another one of those times. I trembled with anger.
“You need my help,” I told her and knew it was true. “The army will catch you and fuck you up without me. You think they’re just gonna write that temple collapse off? They’re gonna search for anyone nearby, and when they find you, and without me they will, it’ll be war between Equestria and the Gryphon Kingdom and you’ll be killed on sight if you’re lucky. More likely they’ll take you alive and crucify you, hornless and wingless with your stomach popped and a red hot poker in your cunt.”
Both ponies stared at me in a stunned silence, then Nightmare burst out laughing.
I just stared at her in shock
“Leave then.” Her eyes hardened and a sadistic smile danced on her lips. “I may be weakened, but how long do you think it’ll take them before they realize it was not a collapse? A day? Two? My magic will have returned by then and sure, I may not be as powerful as I once was, but I can fly and I can turn invisible. And if I do get caught, I have enough power to blast my way out. What about you my fine feathery friend? It’d be such a shame if you got caught. What with the whole exile thing you’ve got going on. I need you? Ha! I have what I want. You’re the one who needs me now.”
“In what fucking way do I need you?” I snarled, my mind racing. “I can walk. You’re too fucking weak to stop me, and if you take a shot, then I rip you limb from limb. Give me a good reason and I’ll end you right here.” I wasn’t clenching my fist anymore. My talons were open and ready for bloodletting. “Don’t try to play on my fucking responsibility to stop war or some shit. I’m a fucking selfish bitch with a strong survival instinct. Tell me what possible goddess damn reason would I have to stick around? How the fuck could I need you?”
“Oh, I don’t know, what about the gryphons who are rushing towards here as we speak?” Nightmare just sat there smirking as she examined her hoof. “After all, Trixie’s little light show from before will have no doubt attracted some attention. Sure, you can run, but I have little doubt that they will track you down in no time flat, especially if the Wide Eyes are involved.” At my widening eyes, her sadistic grin deepened. “Oh yes, I know all about them, I’ve dealt with them in the past. So be my guest, leave. I don’t mind in the least, I have what I came for after all. Of course, you could always fly away since that’s near impossible to track, but would you leave poor little Trixie all alone to fend for herself? She’d be dead before the night ended and you know it too.”
“Why do I give a fuck about Trixie?” It’s my fault she’s in this mess. “If she dies, it means fuck all to me.” Nightmare was wrong about one thing. If they found her she wouldn’t be dead before nightfall. It’d take weeks before they were done with her. “Wide Eyes? I’ve dodged them in the past, I can do it again.” I think that part was true. Bloody Tartarus, I hope that part was true. “And even if I can’t, what protection could you give me? You’re the one that’s still trying to convince me to stay; I doubt you’re done with me yet.”
“I am not trying to convince you of anything. I am merely stating the most likely outcome of you leaving. Fur-Furthermore, there is the issue of… issue of…” Nightmare pressed a hoof to her forehead. “There is- Get out of my head! No one asked you!”
She dropped onto one knee, her fur and mane constantly flickering between the dark blue and a lighter shade as she clutched her head while muttering some weird language under her breath.
“Nightmare?” I said as I took a step backwards. “What’s the matter, Wittle Wuna not playing nice?”
All of a sudden her fur changed back to its light powder blue coloration and when she opened her eyes, the cat like irises were gone.
“Thou must leave at once, the gryphons will be upon us soon. We do not know how long we can keep Nightmare Moon at bay, but hopefully it will grant thee enough time to escape. Go! We shalt provide a distraction for thee. Move towards the border and get Trixie to safety.” She suddenly shoved her journal into my claws. “Take this with thee, it must not fall into mortal hooves. Hurry!”
I was too shocked to do anything for a second, but after my brain processed what had happened I realized this’d be my best chance to get me and Trixie out of here. I turned and jumped over to the stage magician.
“Trixie, hold this.” I ordered as I shoved the book in her face.
After a moment of hesitation, it was wrapped in her aura. I paused for long enough to unstrap the plate armor and let it fall to the ground. This was now an endurance game. Plus the damn thing had been useless anyway.
I grabbed her shoulders in my armored talons and took to the air. She shrieked in pain as my claws drew blood but I ignored it. I flew in a beeline, low against the plains as I headed straight for the Equestrian border. After a while Trixie stopped screaming and seemed to calm down. You know, she was surprisingly light in my arms. Guess life on the road didn’t make it easier for her to pack on weight.
Once we were far enough away from Luna or Nightmare or whoever the fuck it was that was in charge at the moment, I changed directions and began heading more to the west.
“What are you doing?!” Trixie shouted. “The Equestrian border is that way!”
“I know!” I answered her. “But that’s the direction Luna told us to go, and the direction Nightmare’s going to search for us in!” I’d only flown her so far and I was already starting to get tired. “We need to head to somewhere she won’t come for us, and find another way back into Equestria from there!”
Trixie was silent for a moment. “Alright, so where can we go that she won’t be able to follow us?!”
A couple of answers ran through my head, but they weren’t very good ones. I knew the border between Equestria and the Gryphon Kingdom like the back of my hands. I’d been here enough to navigate the whole place without a map, and using the stars as a compass.
“I think we need to get to a settlement!” I answered her. “Port Town’s in the complete opposite direction from where Nightmare saw us heading! If we circle round the Nightmare Plains, we can make it there in a few days, and lay low until the army calms down a bit! It’s got a population of lots of different sentients too, so you won’t stand out, and I know some guys there that can help us out!”
My wings were feeling really tired but I ignored them. I needed to put as much distance between the place we’d left, and any kind of a useable track as possible. Fuck, I hope they don’t get involved. If they were then they’d find Nightmare, and the tracks me and Trix had left behind, and they’d be after us. If they ever found out who we were, then we’d need to leave the bloody continent to ever be safe again.
“Fuck me. ‘An expedition into the Gryphon Kingdom, a week in a week out, that is all We require.’ Fuck you Luna!” I shouted to no one, though I felt Trixie shift uncomfortably in my grip. “Hey Trix, just letting you know now. You’re probably gonna die.”