Canterlot castle was always such a busy place. Ponies too important for words strolled throughout the marble halls, none of them paying any attention to the little filly that walked by her father’s side. They all seemed caught up in one conversation or another, discussing topics the filly did not understand. Not that she cared all that much, either. She was just in awe at the beauty of the place.
“You get to come here everyday?” Spitfire asked, looking up at the vaulted ceilings in wide eyed wonder. It was larger than life and more than she had ever dreamed. Plus, Princess Celestia lived here! It was one of her dreams to meet the Princess one day.
“Not every day.” Her father responded, the tips of his wing keeping Spitfire from wandering off. “Sometimes I get to go up to the Empire, where the griffons live.” He grimaced and spoke through slightly clenched teeth. “Not lately, though.”
“Why?” Spitfire liked asking her dad that question. He always seemed to have a good answer to it, and she learned something too! It was a good question to ask, she felt.
“The griffon king said some things...mean things.” Spitfire saw the frustration on her dad’s face as his muzzle scrunched and he sighed. “Princess Celestia thinks it’s for the best if I don’t go back for awhile.”
“Well that’s good.” Spitfire smiled at her dad and hugged his leg. “‘Cause I miss you when you’re gone.” Her dad picked his daughter up and placed her on his back, shooting her a smile.
“I know you do, Spitty...but my job is important. If I could quit, I would in a heartbeat to stay with you. Nopony else knows the griffons like I do, though.” That didn’t really matter to Spitfire. Other ponies could learn so she wouldn’t be left alone so often. Her mother was always off helping ponies, and her dad was always in the Empire it seemed. She missed her parents more than she saw them both together.
“Fireball.” The pegasus’ attention was turned to focus on a large white stallion with a purple and white streaked mane. He wore purple armor with a gold trim, and he held himself much more regally than anypony else in the hall.
“Oh, hello Aegis.” Fireball turned back to Spitfire. “Spitfire, this is Aegis Shield. He’s the captain of the royal guard. Is that your nephew Shining Armor I see back there as well?” Spitfire spied a little colt behind Aegis’ back shield. He was just as white as the stallion, but his mane was two-tone, a medium blue and a lighter blue. “It is!”
“Say hello, boy.” Aegis stepped to the side and ushered the colt forward. Shining Armor’s knees knocked together and he looked at the pegasi apprehensively.
“H-hello…” The colt said, quickly retreating behind his uncle.
“He’s a bit….shy.” Aegis continued with a sigh. “Anyway, I came to find you because the griffon prince showed up; and he’s not happy. Princess Celestia wants you to calm him down before he causes an incident."
“Of course he would show up, today of all days. The one day I can actually spend time with Spitfire and...” Spitfire’s dad mumbled under his breath. “I’ll handle it.” He looked back at Spitfire with a reluctant frown. “I-I just need somepony to watch Spitty for awhile.”
“You go.” Aegis motioned with his hoof. “I saw Slipstream out in the courtyard with her son, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind watching her for awhile.” Spitfire lept off of her dad’s back excitedly at the mention of the name. She knew it, and so did every pegasus filly and colt across Equestria!
“The captain of the Wonderbolts is here?!” Spitfire bounced up and down. “I wanna meet her, Daddy! I wanna meet her! Can I please?!” She tugged on Fireball’s leg with all of her might and looked up at him pleadingly.
“Of course you can, Spitty.” Fireball rolled his eyes and waved Spitfire towards Aegis with his wing. “Just go with the captain, he’ll take you to her.” She ran over to the imposing stallion and began pulling on his hoof. “Thank you so much, Aegis.”
“C’mon Mr. Captain! I wanna see the Wonderbolt!”
----
“Hey Shining Armor. Long time no see.” Spitfire smiled at the captain of the guard and held out her hoof, waiting for the stallion to shake it. She frowned and lowered her foreleg, having been only met with a face of stone. She understood that they were in the middle of a crisis and the castle was on a lockdown, but she always thought there was time for niceties.
“Spitfire.” Was all the captain said as he stepped aside and opened the door that revealed the royal court beyond. The long hallways was framed on each side by stained glass windows that depicted adventures of the elements of harmony and the royal sisters themselves. “Twilight and Celestia are waiting for us.” Shining Armor said nothing more and began walking towards the throne on the other side of the elongated room.
“Sheesh, guess the guard only pumps out stiffs, huh?” Soarin mumbled to Spitfire as he trotted past her. Spitfire shrugged with a sigh and followed the two stallions to face the princesses. Ponies changed as they got older, she knew that. Shining turned from a shy stallion who could barely talk to a burly guard who apparently had nothing to say.
“Soarin, Spitfire. I’m glad you’re here.” Both of the Wonderbolts bowed before the ethereal grace that was Princess Celestia. She sat on her throne, Twilight by her side holding the stone tablet from the stadium. “I’m sorry to hear about the cloudiseum. It was one of my favorite structures in Cloudsdale.”
“It can be fixed, your majesty.” Spitfire kept her voice low and respectful. “I’m more worried about the ponies who attacked it.” She was not going to lie to the monarch, it would be pointless. She had to be straightforward and truthful. “I want to know why they wanted that rock and why they were willing to kill for it.”
“Midnight.” Celestia stated with venom in her voice. “They are a group I thought had disbanded long ago. I’m ashamed to admit they even existed, but they were cultists who worshipped Nightmare Moon in the years following my sister’s banishment. They sought to release her from the moon and aid her in her conquest of Equestria.” Spitfire had never thought about ponies actually looking up to Nightmare Moon. Most ponies had only been taught to fear the mare in the moon, so what drove these to do such a thing.
“We don’t think they’re the same group, though.” Twilight added onto her former teacher’s explanation. “Looking back through the archives made it clear that they’re most likely imposters, using an old name for some sort of recognition.”
“Alright, so what’s their deal?” Spitfire wanted to slap Soarin for being so informal towards the princesses, but instead she grit her teeth. It was a question that had been on her mind as well. “What exactly are they after?” Twilight looked at Celestia nervously, the much larger alicorn just nodded with a sigh.
“Epoch.” Celestia said, her facade turning to grim steel. “He’s an old foe, as old as time itself. My sister and I were not the first to face him down and beat him, but we were the last.” The elder princess took the tablet from Twilight’s grasped and examined it. “These are fragments from a time long forgotten and a place that no longer is.” Spitfire did not like riddles or cryptic statements, they only served to muddy the subjects that were being discussed. “He changes things, alters time and probability. Once he’s sealed back into his tomb, everything reverts to how it should be, how it was before his interference. These stones are the only thing left over from those abandoned timelines.” Celestia placed the tablet down gently beside her. “They are relics of a forgotten dimension and are imbued with powerful magic. You are lucky to only have found one that echoed Epoch’s thoughts and nothing malicious.”
“So...he’s still sealed in his tomb, right?” Spitfire asked, getting a very basic grip on the situation. “All we have to do is find whoever wants him free, arrest them, and make sure his tomb is secure.” It all seemed simple to Spitfire, fantastically so.
“I do not know where his tomb is.” Celestia said with great disappointment coating her words. “After we defeated him, some memories lingered from the old world but not many. I can recall a conversation with Epoch, and parts of our journey, but I cannot remember where his tomb was nor how we sealed him within it.”
“I don’t get it.” Soarin shook his head, putting a hoof to his forehead. “So somehow you got transported from that abandoned timeline to this one, but your memories were wiped? What?” Spitfire had to admit, it did seem a bit unbelievable. She nodded silently with her co-captain’s words.
“Time travel is strange business, if what I even did can be considered such. At the center of his tomb lies his power, a nexus that allows him to manipulate the fabric of time beyond. It distorts things, like memories. You can even be given memories that were never yours, leftovers from somepony else who attempted to stop him or succeeded. It’s very...disorienting.” Spitfire sighed at the complicated mess that had just been divulged to her. She didn’t care about Epoch’s power, all she wanted to know how to stop him.
“Okay, so we should send the elements of harmony to find the rest of these stone tablets to find out where he is and seal him in his tomb permanently.” Spitfire had seemingly figured this out. That was the standard defense for Equestria, why should it change now?
“Twilight and her friends must stay here, close to Canterlot. If the worst comes, I want them to be here as a failsafe.” Spitfire saw Princess Twilight open her mouth to protest but quickly decide against it. “We will need a smaller group of ponies capable of moving quickly and effectively, to send and retrieve the artifacts. They must be brave.” Spitfire didn’t like where this was going. “They must be swift.” She really didn’t like where this was going. “They must be clever.”
“We’ll do it!” Soarin snapped a wing up in salute, before he recoiled as Spitfire reached out and kicked him in the shin with her hoof. “Ow! What?! We’re two of the fastest ponies in the world, we’re brave, and at least one of us is clever like half of the time.” She glared daggers at Soarin. She was not exactly keen on leaving to go on a wild goose chase. That was reserved for heroes and suicidal ponies, not her and Soarin. They were celebrities, not heroes.
“Captain Spitfire.” The pegasus turned to look at Princess Celestia. “Please reconsider. Soarin and yourself already know everything, you know what you’re looking for, and you know who else is as well.” Spitfire narrowed her eyes in defiance. Celestia might’ve been the princess, but Spitfire still had the option of saying no if she wanted to.
“That’s not my job, Princess.” Spitfire stated bluntly. “I’m not an adventurer, I’m not some sort of hero. What do you expect us to do? Fight off a whole army that Midnight apparently has and go on to save the world?” Spitfire shook her head. “I’m sorry, but I don’t think we can do it.”
“I think you can.”
Spitfire blinked, caught off guard; it hadn’t been Celestia who spoke, but Princess Twilight. “I saw you at the stadium, how quickly you acted and how amazing you were.” Twilight stepped down from her spot next to Celestia and descended the steps so she could be level with the pegasus. “You were brave, you were smart, you were a hero.” Twilight smiled. “I know you can do this, Spitfire. You just have to be willing.”
“Plus, if you don’t accept I’ll just do it alone.” Soarin kneed Spitfire in the ribs. “Think about that, me out there alone.” What should’ve been a dubiously dark statement turned sarcastic by Soarin raising his eyebrows repetitiously.
“Can I have some time to think about it? Maybe a few hours?” Spitfire just wanted to take a walk around the city alone and clear her head. She needed a good think before she could commit to anything.
“Of course, Captain.” Celestia nodded. “I expect an answer by the end of the day, though.”
----
“Stupid mares…” Spectrum Strider grumbled to himself as he plucked a dead feather from one of his wings. Currently he was under a tree in one of Canterlot’s more secluded areas and tending to his wounds. His boss was supposed to contact him here soon, and he didn’t want to miss it. That would be an earful. “Why’d they have to go steal what I stole? I told ‘em, oooh I told ‘em ‘just cooperate an’ everythin’ will go smoothly’ but did they listen?” He shook his head and looked out into the city, his eyes focusing on each passing pony and guard. “Of course not, nopony listens to me. Just like that time with the fruitbats, just ignore me and do whatever you want. Do I just have one of those faces that scream ‘don’t listen to a single word I ever say’?” The rambling was cathartic, especially considering he was in the middle of a city that was on high alert because of him.
“It’s because you are an idiot, Strider.” The pegasus jumped to his hooves and looked around, his eyes wild. His shoulders slumped and released tension when he remembered how his boss liked to communicate with him.
“Right, the link thing. I always forget you can just pop into my head whenever you like.” Spectrum posted himself against a tree where any passing pony couldn’t get a good look at him jabbering to himself like a madpony. “Maybe ring the doorbell next time?”
“Trust me, Strider, I do not wish to be ‘in your head’ anymore than I absolutely have to.” Spectrum rolled his eyes at the stuck up pony in his ear. Always such a hard-ass, he was. “Perhaps you should cut down on the rambling next time, it’s unbecoming.”
“Get on with it, maybe?” He groaned. “I get it, I’m not exactly up to your standards.” The pegasus shrugged with a smile. “Just remember you’re the one payin’ me.”
“I am very well aware.” Star Shine spoke through what sounded like gritted teeth. “That is exactly why I called. I know you did not retrieve the tablet, but please tell me you recovered the other target I sent you for?” Spectrum closed one eye and thought about his response for a minute before actually speaking.
“Yeah, sure.” He wasn’t exactly sure what ‘other target’ Star Shine was referring to, so he decided to just go with it until he was caught. “Got it right here.” The pegasus patted the tree trunk next to him, causing a few leaves to fall from the branches.
“I’m impressed, Strider.” The voice was smug and belittling, something Spectrum didn’t exactly appreciate.”Bring it to the drop off and we will get mov-”
“-I don’t have it.” Spectrum interjected with a sly grin and a chuckle.
“Then…” He could hear the anger raise in the uppity unicorn’s voice. “...why did you tell me you had it?” Each syllable was annunciated to such a precise degree that he could practically feel the spittle flying from Star Shine’s mouth with each word.
“Well one: you told me to ‘please tell you’, and I was raised right. You said please, so I did what you wanted. Two: you were awful vague about what exactly ‘it’ was, and I didn’t know. For all I know, it could’ve been this tree I’m leanin’ against.” Spectrum shrugged. “That’s what you get for bein’ obtuse, boss.” It was always fun to get Star Shine’s knickers in a twist, not that it was very hard. The results were just entertaining.
“I ought to-!” The sentence stopped midway as the stallion on the other end of the link regained his composure. “Your performance has been lackluster today, hasn’t it? First you fumble the tablet at the stadium, and now you’re behind schedule.”
“Alright, hang on a minute.” Spectrum protested. “You told me it was okay to bail on the one with the Wonderbolts, and not to mention I woulda had it if you had kept your promise to keep trouble away!” Spectrum was not a chew toy, nor was he something to be kicked around. “What was I supposed to do against an alicorn? Fly at her?” He may have been a bit impulsive at times, but he was not suicidal.
“I did not even have a read on Princess Twilight Sparkle.” The stallion on the other end spat the name with venom the likes of which Spectrum had never heard from any living pony. “I was lucky enough to get her brother to cancel, but none of my contacts in the palace were even aware of her going.”
“Well maybe that’s ‘cause your ‘contacts’ are in Canterlot and not Ponyville, hmm?” Spectrum posited. “Might be a good idea to get her where she lives instead of where she doesn’t.” The pegasus shrugged and went back to his idle ponywatching.
“I will upgrade my network.” Star Shine relented. “We will not be left in the dark next time.” It sounded like a promise, one Spectrum was going to hold the stallion to. No intel or bad intel were all the same to him, both left him open for more improvisation but also more danger. Both were good, as long as one didn’t heavily outweigh the other. “Now, I assume you are in Canterlot.”
“Yep, in a park on the southside. I thought’cha might join me, but that was me gettin’ my hopes up again.” Of course Spectrum had met Star Shine on more than one occasion, but it seemed that lately he was only getting his orders through the established link and never face to face. It was a bummer, really. It was always more fun to poke and prod Star Shine in the flesh where he couldn’t just turn Spectrum off.
“Go to the Hall of Honor.” Star Shine ordered flatly. “I will meet you there.” Well speak of Discord and he shall appear. While he was looking forward to seeing the uptight pony again, he had some very deep reservations about the meeting place.
“I’m gonna go ahead and assume you meant some other place and not the big Hall of Honor smack dab in the middle of the city.” Spectrum pushed off from the tree and cocked an eyebrow in confusion. “‘Cause y’know that there’s a ponyhunt goin’ on for me, right? It’s not like I’m free to go waltzin’ about all I like.”
“I’m counting on that, Strider. Meet me there, twenty minutes.” With that Spectrum felt the link in his head go dark. He was alone with only his thoughts again. Well that and the growling in his stomach.
“Well I’m sure he wouldn’t mind if I took a little bit of a detour. Can’t say I wouldn’t want to visit one of the bakeries around here.” With the thought of warm baked goods filling his head, Spectrum started off towards his date with something delicious.
“Strider, if you so much as deviate from the path to the Hall of Honor I will scramble your brain right here and now.” The pegasus nearly jumped out of his skin when the voice intruded his head again.
“C’mon!” He shouted, letting his heart rate start to calm. “I’ve been up all day plannin’ that attack and I’m hungry. You can’t stop me from eatin’!” He would complain later about Star Shine apparently spying on his thoughts somehow.
“I will bring you something.” The unicorn hissed. “Get there. Now.”
“Alright.” Spectrum said with a sigh. “But you owe me a doughnut or something of equal or greater deliciousness.” The mirrored sigh that he got from Star Shine almost made skipping food worth it.
Almost.
----
Spitfire had been wandering the city streets for some time, just contemplating her options. No answers had come easily, though. Just more and more uncertainty. It all came down to whether or not she was the right pony for the job. She had military training, as did all of the Wonderbolts, but it was more than that. She wasn’t a hero, plain and simple. Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and their friends were the heroes of Equestria. They were the kinds of ponies that needed to save the world because they extraordinary.
“I’m just a Wonderbolt.” She muttered as she strode through the crowded streets of Canterlot. It may have been a little ridiculous to anypony else that the captain of the Wonderbolts was developing an inferiority complex, but it was a unique situation.
The multiple times that the Wonderbolts had responded to threats since the Elements of Harmony had appeared had only ended with the team’s broken bones and shattered egos. The dragon in Ponyville, the best young flier’s competition, Discord’s return, the changeling attack, and Tirek’s return. All had seen the kingdom’s elite flying force dismissed almost immediately and rendered useless. Why would now be any different? What could she do that Twilight and her friends couldn’t?
Spitfire lifted her head to find herself in perhaps the one building that could help her with these questions: the Hall of Honor. This was the place where all of Equestria’s fallen heroes were entombed, each one with legends larger than the building they were laid to rest in.
It was always a quiet place with not a lot of traffic. Tourists and students were the main types to come here, not regular ponies who just lived in the city. It was seen as a place of solitude, remembrance and quiet contemplation.
The exterior of the building reflected this purpose. It was a white marble exterior with thick veins of soft gray snaking their way across. It was probably the second tallest structure in all of Canterlot next to the palace itself. It stretched high into the air, its twin towers making a helix around a constantly flowing rainbow waterfall. The rainbows gathered in a small covered pool in the center of the two towers and offered as a resting area. Spitfire could only crack a content smile at the wondrous building.
“Watch it, featherbrain.” Spitfire’s peace was shattered by something shoving into her, the force spinning her almost completely around. Once she had gathered her bearings again, Spitfire located the source of the disturbance and prepared to launch a volley of insults. Instead her mouth hung slightly agape at the creature before her.
“What’s a griffon doing here…?” Spitfire said to herself as she watched the beast keep walking. Its hindquarters, the area that was that of a lion’s, was a pure silky black accentuated by white areas that stretched from the knees to the paws, and a bit of white standing out at the tip of her long and angry tail. Spitfire thought she spied a white underbelly as well, but she wasn’t entirely sure. The front was coated in similarly jet black feathers, but that was all she could make out from behind.
“Wait a minute…” The griffon, which Spitfire now identified as a female from the voice, turned to face the Wonderbolt. The griffoness’ golden eyes were framed by spiked circles of white feathers around them. “You’re that one famous pony, right? The one who flies?” The griffon advanced on Spitfire until a hardened beak met her muzzle.
“Yeah…” Spitfire would let the griffon off of the hook for not knowing who she was. It’s not like the Empire had access to Wonderbolt shows regularly. “...and you’re way too close.” Spitfire pushed the hybrid back with one hoof.
“You were attacked.” The griffoness stated bluntly. “By a pony, pegasus. About this tall-” The griffon raised her front claw to about the base of her neck. “-with a dumb accent and badly colored mane.” Spitfire blinked at the description of Spectrum Strider.
“Yeah, how do you know what-” The same claw that had been used as a rudimentary measuring tool was now clamped around Spitfire’s muzzle. In response, the Wonderbolt flared her wings and attempted to back away, but found the grip to be firm and painful.
“Shut it, I’m talking.” The griffoness leaned in again, her catlike pupils studying Spitfire intently. “Go figure you couldn’t catch him, you have no meat on your bones.” Quieting Spitfire just to insult her was not a way to get on her good side. The Wonderbolt kicked the griffon’s talons away with a hoof and glared at the hybrid.
“Alright, what’s the idea? You push me out of the way, shut my mouth and insult me? Who do you think you are?” Spitfire rose to her full height and puffed up her chest and wings. Even though it made her no taller than the griffon’s neck, it made her feel a little better.
“My name is Gasparde, and I’m hunting that pony that attacked your little circus.” Spitfire would’ve argued the fact that the stadium wasn’t a circus, but she knew that arguing with a griffon was pointless. Her father had been the one to drill that into her head. “He took something from me, and I’m going to make him give it back.”
“Okay.” She could believe that Spectrum Strider had made some enemies, but she was mildly impressed that some of them evidently spread all the way to the far north. “What are you doing in Canterlot, then? Last I saw him he was on an airship in Cloudsdale.” If this griffon, Gasparde, knew something about Spectrum Strider’s whereabouts, Spitfire needed to try and get it out of her.
“I know.” Gasparde shot back hatefully. “I couldn’t find the damn thing, and I figured I could come here and ask your Princesses about getting some help.” The griffon’s wings twitched with something that Spitfire could only recognize as frustration. “I saw him, though. He’s here. I caught a glimpse when I was flying over the city, but lost him. He was heading in this direction last I saw.”
“What?” Alarm bells started going off in Spitfire’s head. Her eyes searched the area immediately in front of her for the familiar pegasus. This was another monument, another target for him. It had to be. “You didn’t alert the guards?” Spitfire whispered to Gasparde.
“And scare him off? No, sue me.” Gasparde turned around and looked up at the double helix structure looming in front of them. “I think he’s in there, looking for something and I’m going to find him.” The griffon started walking towards one of the towers, leaving a baffled Spitfire behind.
“Gasparde!” She came to her senses and rushed after the hybrid. “Gasparde, are you crazy?” Spitfire jumped over the determined creature with the help of her wings and landed right in front of her. “Do you know what he did to my stadium? We don’t know what he’s doing here or what kind of help he’s brought!”
“First off, pony.” Gasparde loomed over Spitfire and glared down at her. “You don’t get to call me Gasparde. You’re not my king or my mother. Call me Gaz like everyone else. Second: that’s why I’m going in there and why, if you want to redeem your miserable failure at your circus, you should come with me.” With not another word, Gaz marched past Spitfire and ever closer to the Hall of Honor.
Spitfire put her hoof to her face and groaned. She couldn’t let some random griffon go into a national monument and possibly start a fight, and she definitely couldn’t let Spectrum Strider escape or do something dangerous.
“Wait up!” She was going to regret this, she knew it.
----
Star Shine was sat just beside the rainbow pool between the two twisting towers that rose to the sky. He knew that he was quite a distinct pony amongst the the bright pastels and glistening white coats that surrounded him, and that Strider would not miss him in such an open area. There was the problem of Strider, being visually outstanding in his own right, blending in. That was not Star Shine’s problem, however. His subordinate would have to figure that out himself.
“Alright, I’m here.” The middle-aged stallion became aware of a pony sitting a few feet away on the edge of the prismatic pool. Star Shine studied the pony from the corner of his eye: a baseball cap, most likely pilfered, covering a tri-colored mane and a dark brown jacket hiding the ponies wings. Even if he was blind, the voice gave away exactly who it was.
“Good, I was growing impatient.” Star Shine took a covered item from beside him and levitated it to his compatriot. “As requested, your food.” It was some sort of deep-fried death he had picked up from an ethnic fellow on his way here. Whatever it was, it was sugary, warm, and probably bad for anypony’s health. So it was perfect for Strider.
“How’d you know I love churros?” The pegasus took a bite from the treat and chomped happily, leaving a scowl across Star Shine’s face. He hated that he had caved to such unprofessionalism, but in order to get things done sometimes you needed to sacrifice a little dignity.
“Call it a lucky guess.” Star Shine replied with little mirth. “Now, we need to discuss our next move.” He did not give the pegasus even a moment to attempt to speak with his mouth full and instead continued his one-sided talk. “The next tablet is here in the Hall of Honor, amongst one of the statues. I have a few clues, but they are all vagaries and nonsense.”
“Okay-” Strider started out by swallowing the last of his food. “-so I go in, find whatever statue it is, tear it apart and get the thing. Easy enough.” Star Shine rolled his eyes at the pony and sighed.
“We have already destroyed one national monument today, let us not go for another one.” He didn’t like what he was about to say, but it was a cold hard necessity. “I will get it myself.” The canned, and frankly sarcastic, gasp that came from Strider earned him a glare. “As I was waiting for you to arrive, I spotted your friend Captain Spitfire enter the building with a griffoness. You are to act as a distraction while I find it.” It had been an off the cuff plan once he had seen the Wonderbolt and her hybrid friend, but he believed it would work. There was no juicier bait in all of Equestria than Strider at the moment, and it seemed that both of the females had a bone or twenty to pick with the pegasus.
“A griffoness?” Strider closed one eye and thought over something for a second. “Boy, she must really hate me, huh? Comin’ all the way down here just to get me.” The stallion shrugged and tossed the paper wrapper his churro had been held in to the wind. “Well I can’t blame her, I’d go to the ends of Equestria for me too.”
“Oh good, you know her. I was afraid you were making enemies of creatures you’d never even met.” As much as Strider annoyed him, Star Shine had to admit that the little rapport they had developed could be quite enjoyable and cathartic, that was if both of them were only focusing on belittling the pegasus.
“Yeah, she was one of the birds who was guardin’ the one you sent me to go get up in the Empire.” Strider stood and shrugged off his jacket, letting his wings flare wide. “Looks like she wasn’t too keen on me gettin’ away without a scratch. Guess she’s eager for a round two.”
“Yes, and I’m sure you’ll be happy to oblige.” Star Shine stood as well and focused on what he knew about the next key. “I will attempt to lure the captain away while you take care of the griffon. The last thing I need is one of those things on my tail.”
“You got it, boss. When I see her alone, I’ll take the shot.” With a little salute, Strider soared off towards the top of the tower to do Celestia knew what. Star Shine only hoped it was to set up for something that would either injure the bird or both her and himself.
----
“So what is it you do in the Empire, exactly?” Spitfire had always been fascinated by the griffons and their culture. It was a holdover from her father being the ambassador. They were very militaristic and lacking in any real culture other than violence, which made them almost the antithesis to Equestria. Any chance to gain even a little insight into what the strange creatures were up to nowadays would be welcome.
“I’m a guard at The Temple.” Gaz answered through a semi-clenched beak. Her raptor-like head was on a swivel and constantly keeping an eye out for her prey. “It’s one of the only heritage sites left that wasn’t looted in the civil war. It held the ancient manuscript that named Gideon the first High King. That featherbrain Spectrum or whatever you called him stole it.”
“What did it look like?” Spitfire had a suspicion that this manuscript wasn’t exactly what it seemed. If Spectrum was after it, that meant it might be like the stone from the stadium. She didn’t like thinking that the troublemaker already had one of those things in his possession.
“I don’t know!” Gaz started walking faster to get away from Spitfire, her claws clacking against the marble floors. “It was our most valuable treasure, we weren’t allowed to look at it. All I know is that I was sent here to get it back.” Spitfire would point out the obvious flaw in logic that Gaz couldn’t exactly retrieve something if she didn’t know what it looked like, but that might lead to an argument.
It was then that the realization hit the Wonderbolt. If Spectrum was here, then it had to have something to do with another one of those stones. It couldn’t be a coincidence that both he and those things had been at historical structures or monuments. Spectrum had a map and he was following it, this was the next ‘X’ that marked the spot.
“Excuse me, Spitfire?” She was snapped out of her thinking by somepony giving her shoulder a slight tap. Both herself and Gaz spun to see a dark blue unicorn with a shocking white mane smiling at the captain. “Ah, I thought it was you!”
“Hello...Mr….” Spitfire tried to recall a name to put to the face, but nothing came up. “I’m sorry, I don’t think I know your name.” She tried to be as polite as she could to the ponies who approached her, especially those in Canterlot. She had been told a long time ago that it was these noble-types that paid her salary and she couldn’t bravado her way through them.
“Oh, of course. How could you? I’m sure you meet so many ponies on a regular basis.” The stallion held out his hoof and spoke with a voice as smooth as silk. “My name is Star Shine. Head of the Canterlot Astronomer’s guild and president of Hard Target Armor Manufacturing. We met at the Grand Galloping Gala last year.” Spitfire had no idea who this pony was, but she would go with it just to make a fan, and taxpayer, happy.
“Right, Mr. Star Shine!” She smiled and gave her best chuckle. “Sorry, it’s been a bit of a rough day-” A low growl let her know that Gaz was getting fed up with the distraction. “-Gaz, you go on ahead, just yell if you find anything.” She turned her attention back to the stallion. “She’s a bit impatient.”
“Oh, that’s fine.” Star Shine waved at the griffon. “I work with her kind often, I know how they are.” The stallion looked around at the various larger than life stallions. “What are you doing here, Captain Spitfire? I figured you would be resting after that dreadful turn of events at your show.” Well news traveled well in Canterlot, they always said. Spitfire was surprised that it wasn’t already a known fact that she had met with Celestia or she hadn’t eaten yet.
“Y’know, I just wanted to take a little break and sorta walk around.” At least she wasn’t lying. This had all started out as a calming exercise and had just devolved into a wild goose chase. “I just like looking at the statues, I guess. They make me remember why I do what I do.”
“How noble.” The stallion mused as he eyed one statue of Starswirl the Bearded particularly closely. “Do you know what my favorite thing to do is while I’m here?” She didn’t care to know, but she knew that he was going to tell her anyway. “Look for inaccuracies in the works.” He pointed towards the depiction of the legendary mage. “Like Starswirl’s cloak: you can clearly see Orion on the backside but his belt contains four stars instead of three.” Star Shine chuckled and Spitfire did the same, albeit weakly.
“Yeah, that’s...interesting.” She stated disinterestedly. Gaz was around here somewhere and was liable to get into trouble if Spitfire wasn’t near. “Can I get going? I have some stuff that I have to do.” She started to walk away but found her tail encased in a magical vice.
“Oh, but do come on, Captain.” Star Shine chided. “Tell me what you see, there has to be something here that catches your eye. Some little detail that drives you mad.” Spitfire suppressed a groan and figured she would indulge the unicorn for a minute.
“Alright, yeah.” From her spot in the middle of the tower, she could spy a statue of Firefly, the first true Wonderbolt. Every time she came here something about it bothered her but she hadn’t really ever told anypony. “General Firefly, she has Celestia’s medal of the Dawn on her uniform but it’s not right. The longest ray of the sun is supposed to point down, and that one’s askew.” Indeed on the uniform of the mare, there was a medal that was a facsimile of the sun, five rays all radiated outward from the core. The longest was at an odd angle and nowhere close to where it should be.
“That is very odd.” Star Shine mused as he trotted over to the edge of the room where the statue stood. Luckily for them both, the lowest ring of the tower was reserved for only the oldest of heroes, hence the presence of both Starswirl and General Firefly. If it had been anypony remotely newer, they would have to ascend the tower. “I say, doesn’t it appear as though that piece has been grinding against the statue?” Spitfire trotted over right next to the unicorn and observed the stone medal closely. It was true, she could see it wearing against the stone edifice of the General’s uniform, as if it wasn’t really part of the statue at all. “Hmmm…” The stallion vocalized as his magic encased the medal and began to maneuver it.
“What are you doing?” Spitfire hissed, getting in front of the unicorn to obstruct his view. “You can’t just go around defacing these things! They’re priceless monuments!” She was nothing if not patriotic to her core, and seeing somepony attempt to destroy yet another monument on her watch was not going to fly today.
“Captain-” An audible groan came from behind her, causing her to spin on her hooves and look up. The medal had swung on hinges she had no idea were even there and exposed a cavity in the General’s chest. “-I do hope you know that unicorns do not require line of sight to perform magic.” Well now she did! It was a handy lesson, but not one she had wanted to learn today.
“How did you know it would do that?” Spitfire wondered as she gazed at the hole in her hero’s chest. “There was no way you could’ve known.” She concluded without Star Shine even needing to speak.
“I didn’t know, you’re correct.” Star Shine stepped by her side and eyes the cavity as well. “I had a suspicion and acted on it. You would be surprised at how many things are hidden in these old places. My father had a knack for this sort of treasure hunting, so I suppose I picked it up from him.” She would question the methods later and take the results now.
Quickly, she rose up to the hole and looked inside. Tucked neatly away in the back was a rectangular stone tablet, the writing on it old and nearly faded. Spitfire reached her hooves in as far as they would go and pawed at the rock until she got a good grip on it.
“What is it, Captain? If it is gold, I recommend we split it evenly.” She rolled her eyes at the pony and focused on her prize. As she gazed at it, the writing started to faintly glow and restore itself to a more legible state. There was a compulsion growing inside her as it did so, the compulsion to read it. She attempted to resist it, but in the end failed.
“We are trapped here in this timeless space-” Her voice started to mingle with that of another’s. This other pony, a mare, was worried and in pain. Spitfire could feel that just from the words alone. “-my sister and I. We are being held here against our will and I fear that we may never be free. He is trying to break us, though. He is attempting to fool us with events that never transpired and truths that never were. He has told us that he is family, or someone dear. We know this to be false, the only family we have known for centuries has been each other and not even this monster can convince us otherwise. We will not fall to him, we cannot.” Spitfire nearly fell from the sky as the text finished. Simply reading it, channeling whoever was speaking through her, was exhausting beyond all compare.
“Interesting…” The stallion below her stated plainly.
*CRASH*
----
A few minutes earlier
Gaz had wandered into the other tower of this dumb monument. She wasn’t going wait around all day for Spitfire to get done chatting with her pointy friend and not to mention, there was a criminal to catch. No sightings of him yet, but she knew that he had to be around here somewhere. No way he would come anywhere near someplace this important when a whole country was after him without good reason.
“Heads up, Tweety!” Gaz’s head shot up just as a large piece of stone was hurtling down through the towers central chamber, it’s trajectory straight towards her! She dove out of the way just as the hazard impacted, causing the marble below it to buckle and give way. Dust from the two pieces of stone colliding kicked up and caused her to cough and cover her eyes with a wing.
Once the dust had cleared the stone face of one of the pony statues was staring back at her, a smile across its now shattered face. She looked up once again to see a familiar purple coat flying above her. Instinctively, her eyes narrowed and wings flared out wide.
“I didn’t hit’cha? I think I need to work on my aim!” The voice alone made her beak clench to the point of pain. This pony was the whole reason she was in this mess, the whole reason she was in this stupid country! She was going to take him down and drag whatever was left back to the Empire even if it hurt her while doing it.
“Why don’t you come down here and face me like a stallion, coward?!” She hollered up at the pegasus. If there was one thing she knew about air combat, it was to never attack an opponent that was above you. She would bait him down here before she would take the laborious and dangerous process of climbing to get to him.
“Well for starters, I like it up here.” Spectrum quipped as he floated above her mockingly. “It’s my element, y’know because I’m a pegasus and not some hybrid.”
“A pegasus is a hybrid, you moron!” Gaz fired back at the stupid stallion, who seemingly just shrugged it away. “What, are you afraid that I’ll beat you to a pulp this time without any of your fancy distractions?” That got his attention, as the pegasus’ eyes glared down at her.
“What? Are you saying I didn’t beat you fair and square last time?” Spectrum hovered in place for a second. “Because the last thing I remember was my hoof hittin’ your face and you hittin’ the floor like a sack of potatoes.”
“Funny, last thing I remember was you ambushing me with my back turned!” It didn’t feel good to admit that, in fact it was downright insulting. “If you think you’re so mighty, why don’t you come down here and face me when we both can see each other? I mean-” Gaz turned her back on the pony. “-I get it, you know you could never take someone bigger than you in a fair fight.”
He said nothing, he didn’t have to. Gaz knew it worked when she head his wings stop flapping and instead the sound of wind whistling past a diving form. She turned just in time to see the pegasus barreling straight towards her.
Gaz planted her back paws on the ground and pivoted as he turned over in the air. She moved out of the way just in time for him to finish his roll and extend his hooves with all of the momentum he had gained. There was a sharp crack as hooves met marble and Spectrum Strider met the ground.
The griffon let her talons his the ground and shifted all of her weight to her front half. She coiled up her back legs in an instant and shot them back out at the pony. Her paws hit Spectrum in his side and sent the pony tumbling back into the decapitated head behind him.
Gaz spun and pounced, her talons ready to dig into the pony’s flesh. He wasn’t as quick as her and the sharpened points of her natural weapons found purchase in the muscle of the pegasus’ shoulder. She retracted her claws and went to strike again, but the pony opened his wings and shot up into the air where Gaz was only happy to follow him.
She stayed as close as she possibly could, following Spectrum as he circled around the vertical chamber and began to climb in a spiral. The problem when chasing a pony was that they could turn infinitely sharper than a griffon could given their smaller mass and more agile form, leaving Gaz wanting as the chase progressed and Spectrum figured that fact out.
His turns became tighter and he pushed into dives with much more ease than Gaz could manage herself. It went that way for a minute or two: she would get close on a straightaway and he would turn or dive and she would lose all progress. It was beginning to grow tiresome to the much larger griffoness.
Eventually though, she had him. He didn’t turn quick enough and found himself with his back against a statue whose head nearly brushed the ceiling of the tower. He couldn’t go up and if he tried to break to either side, she would be able to anticipate it and catch him either by the wing or tail.
“Stop this.” Gaz growled as her blood stained talons reached out to Spectrum. “You’re coming with me, dead or alive. Either way, your pelt will decorate the King’s wall by the end of all of this.” Anger and rage fueled Gaz at that moment, it was the only thing driving her.
“As appealin’ as that sounds…” Spectrum said through heavy breaths. “I think I’m gonna have to pass, bird-brain.” Instead of trying to escape either over her or to either side, the stallion did something she hadn’t thought of. He simply closed his wings and started into a free fall.
Immediately, Gaz dove after the pony. She closed her own wings and slimmed her form until she was like a bullet cutting through the air towards her target. He wasn’t doing the same, though. He was still in the upright position he had started in and was falling much slower than the griffon.
It wasn’t until the last moment that she figured out why. In one movement he flared open his wings and gave one mighty flap. Gaz had to do the same to slow her descent towards him, but couldn’t burn off enough speed in time.
A hoof, its force granted through her own momentum, collided with her throat and knocked every bit of energy she had out in one blow. She gasped and coughed as her wings curled and she dropped like a rock from the sky.
Gaz’s body hit the ground with a solid thud, the pain from her throat and side overwhelming her senses. That sneaky bastard was going to pay, pay for everything as soon as she got her claws on him.
“Aww, did the birdy fall down?” The pegasus hovered over her, a satisfied smirk on his face. “How sad…” His usually chipper voice turned venomous as the pony rose and made his way over to a statue on the third ring of the tiered tower.
Gaz pushed herself up onto all fours, her voice still failing her and her lungs working overtime to force air through her injured throat. Her eyes went wide as she saw another statue falling towards her, this time the entirety and not just the head.
The crash of it hitting the floor was the last thing she heard.