Wings

by Ancient

Chapter 7

"I’m going to tell you one more time you are making a huge mistake." Gilda once again pointed out her dislike of the direction I walked in yet she followed close behind.
"Exactly what is it about this damn town you hate so much?" I spat giving a quick glance back at her.
"Everyone who lives there. Bunch of dweebs." She replied tilting her head to the side and rolling her eyes.
"Well do they have food?" I asked pushing a branch out of my path.
Gilda just gave a small dismissive shrug.
"You have history with this place?" I asked pulling my hood over my head to avoid branches from scratching my face. No reply came from the gryphon.
"Gilda?" I turned my head to see her staring off into space still walking close behind. I snapped a finger in front of her face and she blinked twitching her head.
"What? What'd you say?" She said seeming a bit lost.
"Ponyville." I said putting my hands in my hoodie pocket, "You been there before?"
"That's none of your business!" she snapped at me causing me to stop out of confusion.
"What?" I asked wondering what I'd done to deserve that for an answer. Gilda's eyes trained on me for a second before darting to everything but. "Oh...I meant... I've been there."
I shrugged, turned, and kept walking.
'The mind of a gryphon is a true mystery or is just a chick thing?' I wondered. I've known quite a few women who acted as sporadically and violent as Gilda though the circumstances were that of a monthly nature. Then a terrifyingly strange question hit me.
'Do gryphon females have periods?' I looked back at Gilda again wondering whether to ask only to be given a sharp "What?!"
I quickly turned back around.
'I choose to live.' was the thought that hit me immediately after I focused back on the path. That was one hell of a close call.
"How much further?" I asked feeling a bit of wear in my legs.
"Two hours on this path at the pace we're walking." Gilda replied.
"What if we b-line it at a jog?" I asked curious as to whether I could eat any sooner than Gilda's e.t.a to Ponyville.
"Then we'd fall off a cliff and die." Gilda returned blandly, “If you HAVE to get to this stupid village then we take the bridge."
"You're no fun." I said smiling. The tress thinned out making our progress a lot easier. The noises throughout the forest made me uneasy. The experience with the manticore may have scared me for life and left me turning to face every snap of every branch hidden from view by distant trees and brush.
"So what exactly is a human?" Gilda asked breaking my focus on my surroundings. I thought about it and found that I knew no real answer for her question.
"A human?" I replied glad I had my hood up to hide my confusion.
"Yeah like what defines your species?"
Flashes of home appeared before me in thought of an answer.
"Everything I guess." I finally said knowing that would not suffice.
"Well for starters we are the only species from where I come from capable of reasoning, rationality, and self-awareness." I slowed my pace to let Gilda walk alongside me as I drew my hood back.
"Are you familiar with terms like hate or love? War and peace?" Gilda asked turning her head to look at me.
"Those are terms sketched into the very being of a human." I answered looking back "Currently the majority of the world I left behind was at peace but that’s not to say we haven't done some terrible things to one another. War is always around the corner in one form or another. Tragically it is widely accepted that war is part of human nature and has been since whenever we came into existence. So much so that we have perfected war to a point to where we have created the ability to end all life on the planet by fighting one another."
Gilda's beak hung open, "End all life? What kind of power is capable of doing that?" her amazed look
"We call it nuclear. It has the ability to create vast amounts of energy to support human life or end it. I guess you could say we've perfected war to a very sharp point."
Gilda gave a very skeptical look, "You don't seem as intimidating as you make yourself sound." she said.
I laughed, "That’s because I don't want to be. I’m a lover not a fighter. As for your question on love and hate, yes we are very good at both of those or at least most of us are. Very interesting question by the way."
"Thanks I guess" Gilda's eyes shifted to the sky, "Is your world anything like ours? You seem to be familiar with the land."
I raised an eyebrow, " Another good question and yes, yes its exactly like your world so far as I've seen but without any other talking species or ones that are two stories high with scorpion tails."
Gilda smiled for a moment then shifted into a slight frown. "You said you knew what a horse was so I'm assuming you're familiar with ponies."
'Another weird question? Will they ever end?' I thought before answering, "Yeah ponies are small horses. What’s interesting about ponies though? "
"I dunno." Gilda sounded defensive, "They're..." she went silent.
"Gilda?" I said wondering what expression was on her face. A bit of mythology hit me at that very moment.
"Wait a minute. If I'm not mistaken and I may be don't gryphons eat ponies?"
Gilda flinched and looked angry for a second, "No!... Well I mean it’s been done a long time ago but that’s all over." now she looked a little ashamed.
'What in the hell?' I wondered confused by Gilda's behavior.
"Well you're predatory right? What’s wrong with that?" I asked wondering what I was putting her through.
"We are omnivorous when it suits us." she replied with a scowl.
"So are-"
Suddenly a branch snapped loudly. Gilda froze, lowered her body, and extended her claws as if waiting for an attack.
"Well well well." A voice came from an unknown location, “What is this? A gryphon and... Interesting."
"Show yourself!" Gilda demanded with eyes darting from tree to tree.
"Yeah! What she said!" I followed up to catch a deadly glare from Gilda. Suddenly a rustling in some brush before us revealed an orangish creature that stepped out into view. It stood on four legs with hooves at the ends. Its upper body was hidden by a cloak with a hood draped over what I guessed was its head. It stood at about the same height as Gilda.
"I'm not here for a fight friends." it said calmly with a male voice. "I just want to talk."
"Uh Gilda?" I asked noticing her focus on the creature was tense, "What is that?" I pointed to the hooded figure.
"Shut up and get ready to run." she hissed only loud enough for me to hear.
"You see my friends and I run a little business and we were hoping you would like an opportunity to join us." the hooded thing said.
"Gilda you can relax." I said, "He seems friendly."
Gilda's glare continued "We aren't interested now get lost!" she said in a tone that made me want to back up.
"Oh but I insist!" the other creature spoke with a tone of confidence, "You know I've never seen such a strange creature such as yourself."
I looked at Gilda, "Yeah she freaked me out when I first saw her too." I said with a shrug. I looked away before catching another one of her death glares. I swear I could feel the heat of her anger.
"No! I meant you!" the figure said obviously agitated.
"Oh well... Thanks I guess. You're pretty weird looking yourself." I replied, "And I'd really love to help but its three hours past breakfast and I really want breakfast so if you don't mind we have to make a trip to Ponyville before I starve... again"
"You know it’s a shame friend, I'd really of preferred to do this the easy way." the figure began a chuckle and I noticed leaves began to fall on me from the tree branches above.
*Snap*
All I saw was a brownish blur before being slammed into by something soft and thrown to the ground. When I opened my eyes I saw Gilda positioned over me. She jumped off quickly and turned to face where I used to stand. I looked at the same spot to see a greenish creature that looked similar to what I saw of the hooded figure. It wasn't wearing a cloak though. I couldn't believe my eyes which was a feeling that I was becoming all too familiar with. I could only imagine that it was some strange looking green horse that was holding what looked like a net in its mouth.
"What the fu-"
"RUN!" Gilda yelled already making some distance. I sprang to my feet to hear the distinct sound of galloping getting louder and louder. I turned to see the hooded figure charging at me. I jumped and grabbed a branch above me pulling my body just high enough for my assailant to pass right under me. I dropped to the ground and heard a loud smack and screams of pain. I turned to see that the hooded horse thing's momentum had carried him right into his friend where they laid sprawled about each other trying to get up. The hood of the individual who'd talked had been drawn back in the collision. It was a dark orange horse with a nasty looking scar going across his face from the top of one eye to below his mouth on the opposite side. He looked up at me with what I could only assume was pure hatred.
"Get him!" he yelled. I bolted in the direction I had seen Gilda run and did so as fast as I possibly could. It was after a few seconds I began to hear galloping from where I came.
'Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!'
I heard a loud screech that sounded like an eagle's in the direction I ran. The trees disappeared as I broke out into a clearing with knee high grass. Still in a flat out sprint I saw Gilda glowing and floating above the ground screeching in pain. In front of her stood another horse with its back facing me. It had a horn on its head that glowed the same color as the light that surrounded Gilda.
'Is that a freaking unicorn?!'
"The boss never did like birds." I heard him speak loudly. Whatever was happening to Gilda I’m sure he was the cause of it. I closed the distance quickly and let out a sharp whistle while drawing my arm back. The unicorn turned and in his moment of confusion froze. My fist made a satisfying crack as it made contact with the unicorn’s eye making it stumble back a few feet before collapsing with the ground. The glow around its horn and Gilda disappeared simultaneously and she dropped to the ground collapsing before me.
"C'mon Gilda get up we have to GO!" I was startled by a whizzing sound that passed right by my ear. The next thing I saw was an arrow planted in the ground a few yards from me. I looked up and saw the horse with a scared face standing at the tree line pointing a hoof at me with a device that looked like a small bow attached to it. It turned its head and reached into a bag hanging over its side and with its mouth pulled out an arrow which it placed in the device. It pulled back the string with its mouth and released. I ducked not a moment too soon as another arrow barely missed me passing no more than a foot above my head. I looked down to see Gilda was gone and when I looked up I saw her speeding off again.
"Wait the hell up!" I shouted taking off after her. At the edge of the clearing! There was a dirt road that kicked up dust when Gilda landed on it. I was only a few seconds behind her feeling tense and sprinting for my life.
"How much further?" I yelled starting to feel winded by the running. The faint sound of galloping could be heard getting louder.
"Close! All we need to do is cross the bridge and we'll lose em at the edge of the Everfree forest." Gilda replied quickly. Surely enough I began to make out what looked like the start of a bridge in the distance. As we got closer it turned out to be what I expected but not what I wanted. It was an old tarnished rope bridge that was swaying in the wind. Gilda stopped and I ran into the back of her.
"Watch it!" she hissed.
"What in the hell are you doing? GO!" I yelled.
Gilda looked over the edge of the canyon that the bridge crossed. It was a long drop with a river at the bottom. I gave Gilda a shove towards the bridge.
"Wait!" she yelled, "I don't think-"
"That’s great! Don't think just move!" I shouted and rammed her rear end with a shoulder pushing her onto the bridge. The galloping got louder. Gilda nervously began a cautious pace across the bridge. I didn't join her as the bridge didn't look like it would support two at a time.
"Hurry!" I yelled looking around for something to defend myself with. Gilda was halfway across when I saw the two horses from earlier approach us from a distance. The unicorn wasn't far behind. They were getting too close. I took a step onto the bridge to hear the loud squeak of the wood beneath me. Gilda looked back but continued carefully along the rickety bridge. The horses had closed the gap between us considerably. I had at the most five more seconds. I walked faster causing the bridge to rumble a bit more than I'd like. Gilda was just a few yards away from the other side when I heard the galloping stop. The horses had reached the bridge and were shooting some really angry glares at me. I kept walking.
'Almost there!' I thought pulling my way along.
"Cut the ropes!" the voice rang from the direction of the horses. I looked back to see the green horse pull a blade from a seethe hanging from its side.
"Gilda run!" I yelled now at full sprint uncaring about my balance on the bridge. Everything happened in a split second. I rammed into the back of Gilda throwing her to the other side of the bridge. At the same time I heard a loud snap and my legs felt strange. I fell as the bridge did from underneath me but grabbed a wooden plank with one hand stopping me from falling to a certain death. The bridge slammed into our side of the wall almost forcing me to lose my grip. A second later I saw Gilda reaching over the edge extending a claw down towards me.
"Grab on!" she shouted. I threw up my free hand which was just an inch short of reaching her. I pulled my body up as hard as I could with my one hand on the bridge. The tips of my fingers curled around her claws when suddenly.
*Snap!*
an arrow landed dead center on one of the ropes supporting me severing it entirely. The bridge gave way and fell. My fingers lost their contact with Gilda and I fell with it.
"Derek!" She screeched reaching down in a futile attempt. I didn't yell, I didn't thrash, I just fell. I was grateful I couldn't see where I was falling towards since my back faced down. I heard rushing water then a sharp pain before passing out in cold darkness.

-------------------------------------

Princess Celestia sat in her room at a desk preparing to send off a bundle of letters that were rolled up and tied with various sorts of ribbons. She had planned to spend the day with her sister though it had seemed her star pupil had asked Luna away to help her with a project she had been working on. Celestia sat and sighed at the tedious work she had to do.
'It would be nice to at least have some company she thought silently looking at a small portrait of a purple unicorn with a small purple dragon sitting atop her back, both of them smiling. She heard the doors creak open and believed her wishes had been answered. She turned with a smile and hope but soon found herself disappointed as instead of looking at anyone she wished to speak to she stared into the eyes of one of her messengers. A pony clad in golden cloth with white swirls stitched into n intricate design.
"Good evening Princess."
"Likewise." Celestia replied with her tone drenched in boredom and despair, "What do you bring to report Flow Mane?"
"Princess..." the messengers face grew grim worrying the Princess.
"Flow Mane?" She said softly.
"I don't know how to say this." Flow Mane said lowering his head. The princess stood from her cushion and walked up to the messenger.
"Do not worry Flow Mane there is no news too troublesome that I cannot handle it" she put a hoof upon Flow Mane's shoulder. Flow Mane flinched at her touch even though he found it comforting. He then reached into his golden robes and pulled out a crystal in the shape of a burning flame. A red glow emanated somewhere from within the crystal that grew brighter in dim flashes in a beat pattern similar to that of a heartbeat. The princess froze.
'No...'
She had seen their end.
'It can't be..."
She was there.
'Impossible'
Memories flashed back terrifying her while a soft voice spoke in the distance.
'How?!'
"Princess!" Flow Mane yelled. Celestia had snapped back to reality right as two of her guards had burst into the room hearing the commotion. Everything was silent for a few seconds as the four ponies looked around at one another all with faces covered in confusion.
"W-we need to locate the source." the princess said finally breaking the silence. No one responded letting the silence settle once again.
"NOW!" her voice boomed shaking the very room itself. Flow Mane backed away a few steps in fear.
"P-Princess..." he sputtered nervously. Celestia swerved her head to give him a gaze that made him cower.
"W-we already have..."

Comments

[Cryzer]

This one and The Lost Equestria are easily one of the best HiE fanfics over here... and most underrated too . Hopefully, you wont die like the author of TLE did (I really think he died lol), anyway.... I really like where this is going so.... can I have moar pls??

[Ancient]

160595
I won't die on ya man and I started this story because of an awesome dream and since I started it so hear me now I.WILL.FINISH.IT. It feels so awesome not having to hold this story in my head to fade with memory with time and at the same time allow the world to see what went on inside my head for three months now. The next chapter was also really fun and I think you'll like it.