Ardue the griffon shivered as he stepped into the cave. Stepping from bright, morning sun to creepy dark cave always gave him the shivers, and no matter how many times he saw the slimy black rocky crags and smelled the dank air, it always creeped him out a little. He made sure to keep his wings folded, not knowing, or trusting, what foul substance was on the floor. It didn't help at all that griffons had almost no night vision to speak of. Walking blindly into a cave? Every griffon instinct he had protested at the thought.
But when one receives orders from the high king, he obeys them; or he will be receiving something sharp between his head and his chest. And if those orders are to visit the Royal Alchemist, deep in the dank caves, you become really grateful that griffons as a species were not gifted with a fine sense of smell.
Inas'i (for some reason, all alchemists seemed to have apostrophes in their names...) was working deep inside the cave. Every other griffon guard thought he was crazy. Ardue shared this opinion. It wasn't natural for a griffon to spend that much time underground. It just wasn't.
He entered what could be called the laboratory. Having learned long ago not to startle the alchemist (another griffon had had the misfortune of doing that while he had been working with acid at the time...) he called out. “Inas'i?”
A griffon stood up and pushed protective goggles off his eyes. His eyes... something seemed off about them. Ardue figured it was from spending too much time underground. His feathers were not preened, and had lost much of their shine. The fact that he held a somewhat large knife made this assignment that much more unnerving. It glinted dangerously in the numerous torches that lined the walls—griffons weren't known for their night vision.
“Let me guess. The High King wants a progress report on my work.” Inas'i's voice was raspy from disuse. And no wonder—nobird would want to visit him down here.
“Yes, Inas'i.”
“Then you will be the bearer of good news. Much of the important work has already been done. I have but to add the final ingredients and my work will be done.”
Ardue felt his heart race. “So it's true? Unlimited magic power will be ours?”
“Oh, not unlimited,” said the alchemist. “But close enough. The power is directly correlated with the sun. But as long as the sun is shining, yes. For our intents and purposes, unlimited power.”
Ardue couldn't stop a smile from spreading across his face. If Inas'i had truly found a way to let griffons use magic, that would change many things. It would be an exceptionally large stick in the aerie for all griffons.
Not that they were planning an attack or anything. But griffons are, by nature, quite competitive; and the fact that a strong, proud, mighty griffon couldn't use magic while a puny, furry pony could... well, that rubbed many feathers the wrong way.
See, in open combat, a griffon is superior to most ponies. Their flight and hunting instincts allows them to pick off earth ponies from the air like a hawk hunts a rabbit (if engaged on the ground, it's a bit of a double-or-nothing—if the claws score a one-hit-kill, the griffon wins; but it only takes one powerful buck to break a griffon's light bones, and victory is assured for the earth pony (1) ); and while not as quick as a pegasus, they are more than a match in a straightaway flight; and if they do catch one, their claws and beak can quickly make short work of them. A unicorn is the only race they fear, because a unicorn can strike with impunity.
So it was not hard to imagine the confidence that would be inspired by the ability to use magic.
Ardue returned to the present as Inas'i started to describe his ingredients. “Powdered extract of Hearts' Desire,” he said, pointing at a small bowl of powder with his knife. “That is quite hard to acquire, I might add. Grows only in this pony place called Everfree.”
He took another step forward. “Oh, and the last ingredient.” He turned and took a burlap cover off of a cage Ardue hadn't noticed before. Ardue gasped in surprise as he saw a tiny unicorn, no older than his younger cousin.
“Did you... chicknap that unicorn?” he asked, shocked.
Inas'i grinned evilly as he leaned over the cage. “Well, her parents didn't exactly volunteer her for my experiments, if that's what you're asking. But she helps provide the most important component.”
The quivering unicorn looked up, her eyes full of fear. She was young enough that the irises of her eyes still hadn't developed yet.
“The blood of the innocent,” Inas'i finished.
The knife came down.
Ardue was aghast. Griffons and ponies were not on the best of terms, but generally bore no ill ill to one another; but killing a hatchling was just beyond acceptable.
“What will the high king say?” he stammered, taking a step back in revulsion and horror.
“Nothing,” said Inas'i, collecting the blood in another bowl. “He ordered me to find a way to let griffons use magic, and I have delivered. He does not question my methods.”
“But I do!”
Inas'i added the crushed purple flowers. “Ah, but you are of no consequence.”
“When the high king finds out about this...”
Inas'i had added the final ingredient, and mixed them together. “If,” he corrected. “If the king finds out.” Having mixed sufficiently, he took a drink of the foul substance. Inas'i shuddered as the mixture flowed through his body. He fell on the ground, twitching uncontrollably.
“Inas'i?” Ardue asked, unsure if this were a problem or what normally occurred. Normal griffons didn't deal much with alchemy. For all he knew, this was what was supposed to happen.
Within thirty seconds, Inas'i had ceased his twitching. He stood up. “And he won't.” He calmly began to leave the cave. Ardue stared after him in shock, before running to catch up.
“Even if he has no qualms, you can't just kill a pony and get away with it, much less a baby unicorn! Do you know what the Equstrians are going to do in retaliation?”
“It doesn't really matter what they do if they are no longer in charge,” Inas'i said.
Ardue felt a shiver run up his back. “What was that?”
“Too long we have been in the shadows of the ponies. Too long we have kept but a semblance of self-government. They own us and they know it, what with their coinage and their princesses...”
“Surely you're making a molting out of a lost feather,” Ardue protested.
“You are a fool (2). The time has come again to rise up! For griffons everywhere to asset their authority again as the superior species. For griffons to live as we were meant to live! On the top of...”
This rousing speech was cut short as they stepped into the sunlight. Ardue squinted, slightly blinded, but Inas'i had stopped completely, being very blinded. He had been underground for too long.
But griffon eyes were designed for sunlight, and they soon adjusted. Inas'i continued, “On the top of the social structure, for we are the superior species. There must be some... adjustments made.”
“You're insane,” Ardue breathed.
Inas'i examined a claw thoughtfully. “They have said the same of other visionaries. But I have done what no other could do. I provided magic for the griffons.” Suddenly, his claws glowed, as if they were miniature flames, but gray. A quick wave later, Ardue was on the ground, a rock embedded in his head. (3)
Inas'i stepped forward and lay a claw on Ardue's dead body. “You should be proud, Ardue. You were my first test. And it seems as though I was successful.”
Stepping over his dead body as though it were worthless slag, Inas'i stepped out confidently. Speaking of adjustments, there needed to be some... rearranging of affairs in this kingdom.