Chapter 9
The Bastion
Pinkie Pie burst through the door of Twilight Sparkle's library and deposited the group she brought with her on the floor. "Alright everypony, we're here!" she exclaimed while bouncing around the room.
A groan left Hammer's lips as he got up from the floor. "Please, Pinkie. Don't ever do that again." The other ponies who got caught in the disorienting way of travel stated their agreements.
"Aw, okay," Pinkie said with a frown. It instantly disappeared as she smiled brightly upon spotting Twilight. "Hey Twilight. We're all here, is the balloon ready? Huh, huh, huh?" Every 'huh' her head moved closer to Twilight. It resulted in her falling backwards from leaning away at the bundle of energy.
"Spike is outside behind the library preparing it, Pinkie. It should be ready in a couple of..." she was cut off as Pinkie booped her nose against hers. "Uh, Pinkie. Can you please back up. I need to pack my things."
Pinkie got off Twilight and sat on her rump. "Sorry Twilight, but I'm so excited!"
"I noticed," Twilight replied as she stood on her hooves again. She looked at the other ponies and frowned. "Nopony else packed?"
"We didn't really have a choice you know." Rainbow Dash stated while casting an annoyed glance at Pinkie. "Besides, its not like we're traveling through the Everfree forest. I doubt there's any danger where we're going."
Hammer smacked a hoof across his face. Ow! I forgot to warn everyone about the gryphons.
"Actually..." Hammer began, earning a glance at the ponies around the room. "Rucks told me gryphons stole the Bastion from him. I'd go and take it back myself, but I would rather not experience what happened after fighting that manticore. If I was human, this would be a different story as i could properly use my weapons." He noticed Twilight's ears flick up when he mentioned 'human', but ignored it for now. Rainbow Dash's wing flared in a mixture of surprise and anger.
"What! I'm gonna kick their flanks when we get there." She shadowboxed at the air with her forehooves.
"Calm down, Rainbow," Rarity said. "I'm sure there's a perfect explanation for their actions."
Rainbow crossed her forehooves and grumbled.
"Rucks said they forced them off, Rarity." Hammer walked around the room, casually looking at the books. "I don't think any explanation needs to be given. They intended to steal the Bastion, and they succeeded. I can't do this alone, that's what you're all here in the first place." He stopped looking at the books to focus on everypony. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. If you don't want to come along knowing you might be in danger, I understand."
"Please, it's nothing the Elements of Harmony can't handle. We already took on Nightmare Moon and Discord. What's a group of gryphons worth?"
Ugh, Rainbow. When are you going to learn to not underestimate an enemy, Hammer thought.
"Something was taken from you, dear. As a friend, it is my utmost pleasure to help you get it back. Even if it means, uh, getting my hooves dirty." She cringed a bit at the last part.
Fluttershy wasn't sharing any enthusiasm as she cowered on the floor. Rainbow quickly noticed and started to comfort her. After a minute of small talking between the two pegasai, Fluttershy was able to at least sit up.
"I-I don't want to be a part of the fight. I'll still come with you, but I'll hide inside the balloon until it's over... if that's alright with you."
Twilight didn't respond immediately as she seemed busy choosing either a blue notebook or a purple one. "We've always stuck together whenever we had trouble. This is no different. As long as we work together in our goal, I'm sure everything will come out fine." Her words lifted everyponies spirits as they nodded in agreement.
Wow, never thought I'd be impressed by a bunch of colorful ponies. They sure know when to show bravery when it's needed most. Maybe this fight will be easier than I thought.
"All done!" Twilight Sparkle exclaimed. She had just finished packing her bags and placed them on her back when the front door opened.
"Hey everypony," Spike greeted the group. Turning toward Twilight, he motioned with a thumb toward the door. "The balloon is all set."
"Excellent! and right on time too." Twilight took out a clipboard and wrote something in one swift motion. Her happy demeanor disappeared when Spike slumped. "I'm sorry Spike. I wish you could come along, but the balloon can only carry the weight of four ponies."
"It's alright Twilight. Besides, nopony else knows how to take care of the library like me." He boasted. Twilight caught him off guard with a small nuzzle.
"And that's why you're my number one assistant, Spike." She said with a loving smile. Spike blushed under his scales, turning them dark purple.
"Twilight, quit it," he whined quietly. "Not in front of everypony." Twilight giggled at his embarrassment and stopped.
Everypony said their goodbyes to spike, who waved back as they left the door. Twilight lead the way around the library toward the purple balloon. Hammer stared in a mix of disappointment and excitement. He was finally going to see the Bastion, but it was most likely going to be a slow journey.
"How far away is Trottingham? From what Rucks said, it is most likely floating above it."
"About an hour flight with my balloon," Twilight responded while fussing with small preparations for their transportation. "Go ahead and get in everypony."
Hammer and Pinkie Pie jumped into the basket, while Rarity carefully climbed inside. After everypony was settled in, Twilight joined them. With a purple glow of her horn, the ropes keeping the balloon on the ground lost tension and they began floating up. With Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy following close beside them.
Pinkie took little time to express her excitement.
"Whee! Bastion, here we come!"
There it is...
Hammer could hardly believe he would see it again. These past several days have been quite a strange journey and he always felt the doubt of never returning home in the back of his mind. Seeing the one thing that might return him home, brushed the feeling aside like how one would swat a fly.
The Bastion seemed in perfect shape. He could see the smaller islands surrounding it, meaning it still had the brewery. The thought of drinking several of his homelands alcoholic beverages made his mouth water. The thought disappeared instantaneously at the sound of yelling coming from the island. He looked closer as he saw several bird-like creatures dotting the island.
Huh, so that's what they look like. The avian half of their bodies immediately made his blood boil. He hated birds. Even the peckers in his homeland and their annoying squawking drove him insane, so these creatures had to be no different.
Right?
Since hiding a giant purple balloon in the middle of the sky isn't the easiest task, it didn't take long until they were spotted by the gryphons. Although Hammer admired the way Twilight landed it perfectly near the edge of the Bastion. He would have to hold off the compliment as they were starting to approach the balloon.
"Hammer and I will handle this. Rainbow and Pinkie, intervene if things start to get... messy." With that said, she hopped out of the Basket with Hammer following suit. Trotting forward with her head held high, to show she wasn't scared, she approached the gathering gryphons.
Hammer took this time to count out the potential enemies. The gryphons appeared to be in different feather tones ranging from yellow to red. The color range seemed smaller compared to the ponies who seemed to cover the entire color spectrum.
One, two, three... seven... nine... fifteen of them. Plus any that might be hiding. Best to not take any chances and prepare for the worst.
"Greetings," Twilight began as she looked at the group in front of her with a friendly smile. "My name is Twilight Sparkle and my friend here is Hammer Spin." A chuckle came from the group, but she ignored it. "I friend of mine told me you stole this, uh, island from him. While I would like you to return it, could you please tell me why you took it from him?"
The group was silent and only stared down at Twilight with annoyance in their eyes. Finally a gryphon was pushed from the group to likely talk. It glared at whoever pushed it out before turning toward the two ponies.
It was about a head taller than Hammer. White feathers covered its head and went down to the neck. The rest of its body was a dull-amber while the wings had a darker brown color. What stood out from the other gryphons was its bright gold eyes with purple that surrounded it like a natural eyeliner. The same color was on the tips of feathers that stuck out on the top of its head.
Twilight stared at the gryphon with a slight tilt of her head and squint of her eyes. She was either trying to remember who this gryphon was or she spotted a piece of broccoli in its beak. She opened her mouth to speak.
"Gilda? What the hay are you doing here!" Rainbow Dash exclaimed as she landed quite loudly next to Hammer. She glared daggers at the gryphon who shrugged it off like a brisk breeze.
"Glad to see you too, Dash."