//------------------------------//
// Book 3 - Chapter XXXVII 
// Story: The Sunset Trilogy 
// by ocalhoun 
//------------------------------//

Book 3: Equestria Abides
Chapter 3

	Twilight Sparkle looked up at the towering face of Griffon's Gate castle. Built right on the edge of the soaring cliff side overlooking the ocean, it was a magnificent sight. Two short towers flanked the main gate in, leading into thick swooping walls that reached out to the cliff face on either side, with two higher towers at each point where the wall met the drop off. That paled in comparison, however, with the main body of the castle. Within the courtyard a massive stone edifice rose to dizzying heights, and rather than ending in a vaulted roof like the towers, it was crowned with a flat deck, the famous gate for which it was named.

When it was built, the fortress was a defensive point, holding the western coast against invasion from the warlike griffon nations on the archipelago of islands well off the coast. Twilight could remember from her (exhaustive) study of pony history that one of Princess Luna's last acts before beginning her rebellion had been to forge a peace treaty between ponies and griffons, and at that point, the castle had become the main border crossing between the two races. Any griffons heading to Equestria were supposed to pass through the gates at the top of the castle, and likewise any ponies heading to the griffon nations were supposed to check in at the castle.

“Ugh, we have to stay here?” Sunny Daze asked as the group approached the massive wooden gates.

“Huh?” Twilight turned back to the filly. “It's all you've been able to talk about for the last few days, and now you don't like it?”

“Oh, um...” The filly stalled.

“And look at these walls!” Apollo said laying a hoof on them appreciatively. “Nothing's getting to us in here.”

Twilight continued to look at Sunny questioningly. “Oh, yeah, I... um... love love love it!” she said, running up and giving Twilight a big hug.

Twilight shook her head with a laugh and returned the filly's embrace. For some reason she felt like she was going to faint for a moment, but Sunny dropped back down to the ground, and the feeling passed.

The gates glowed blue for a moment and shook, a little dust falling down. They rattled but didn't open. “It won't open,” Shimmer Spell said, a little unecessarily.

“Great, you bring us all this way and now the door's locked. Any other great adventures you want to take us on?”

Apollo looked back at Splints, “Hey, I have a plan thank you very much. I'll just–”

“Hey, that wasn't me!” Splints said defensively.

“Well what is this genius plan of yours then?” Hair trigger said.

“Wait, that was you?” Apollo asked. “First you run off and get lost, and now you're playing critic?”

Trigger just sat down crossing his arms. What happened to that little colt? Twilight wondered. He wasn't even darting around like he usually did, though he was still sticking close to Sunny like he had been for the whole trip.

Shaking his head at Trigger's silence, Apollo took to wing, flying up and over the wall. A moment later, the sound of a big board hitting stone pavement echoed out from behind the wall, followed by a few pounding hoof beats before the sound of a rusty latch opening.

With a grunt from behind the door, Apollo started pushing the door open, though he didn't have to struggle with it for long. Shimmer Spell caught the doors in her magic, flinging them open and almost dropping Apollo down into the dust.

“There, that's the plan,” Apollo said, looking at Trigger sternly. “Now let's get in and get unpacked.”

Twilight pulled Apollo aside as they passed through the gate, entering the wide courtyard. She looked over her shoulder furtively before asking him, “Where'd you find those two? It seems like they're acting funny... What happened to them?”

Apollo only shrugged. “We found them following along your trail of markers, just like we were.” He looked past Twilight at his crew, now with the wagon passing through the gates. “They said they just got lost for a little while, and then found your trail and followed it.”

“And they never said anything else about what happened when they were gone?” She asked.

“Nope, not a word...” Apollo stopped for a moment thoughtfully. “Which is kind of odd for those two.” His look changed to one of concern. “You think something happened to them?”

“I don't know...” Twilight replied. “Something's different... I just don't know what.”

Apollo grinned. “We'll just keep an eye on them... but look, we're finally here. You ready to settle in?”

Twilight looked up at the central fortress. Despite its age, its stone still looked fresh-cut and clean... protected by spells perhaps? Windows peeked out all over the big building, and the light colored stone kept it from looking too gloomy.

She smiled back, blushing a little for some reason, but looking forward to finding out what this castle had in store for them. “Yeah, I'm ready.”


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