Not good. Not good, not good, not good. The pink party pony pondered over their predicament as she paced. Night had fallen over the forest and they still had no idea where they were. Pinkie’s initial assessment that she would have them home in no time was premature. She paced back and forth, exactly twelve-and-a-half steps from one ridge, over the stream, to the other ridge of the glen. She shook her head, tossing the curly pink locks of her mane back and forth in time with her steps. She could feel her sugar reserves getting low. It always started with her ears, a twinge that wouldn’t go away. But even that seemed like a small thing.
She glanced every now and then at her little herd of bronies. They slept, huddled together on a large patch of the sempresuckle under a protective blanket of more pine branches. After repeated attempts to see if the brony camp was anywhere nearby, the pegasi were tuckered out. They were all tired from their mad dash to escape the phoenix. Only a day in the Everfree and already they were a sorry bunch. One flier down, another suffering burns, one unicorn injured and the other sick, and she was running low on sugar.
Twilight would say, in fact she already had--several times--that she was addicted to sugar. Pinkie refrained from observing that Twilight was addicted to books. So whenever Twilight said something like that, Pinkie would spike most of Twilight’s food with sugar, just to see her run around like a maniac. Pinkie slowed in her perpetual pacing, a frown pulling at the corners of her mouth. She could really use Twilight’s help right now. She could be boring, uptight, and awkward but she was the best friend a pony could ask for, and a good leader. Pinkie was not a good leader. She was good at parties and helping ponies smile, not planning and leading ponies.
She had volunteered to keep watch for the first part of the night; there was no telling what nasty things lurked in the dark. She also was hoping to get a glimpse of the butterponies, somehow. Thinking about them got her pacing again. It wasn’t right, not in the least. No pony, no matter how small, should live in fear. Syglia said she would come find them. How, Pinkie could only guess. But, what could she do? Using her powers, especially when she hadn’t had much in the way of sweets, drained her. If she were to somehow help the butterponies, she would need help herself. But the bronies were in no state to do much. She didn’t want to try anything risky without magic to fall back on, and both Radiant Star and Lexicon were without theirs.
The damage to Starsky’s horn was enough to incapacitate him in that regard, but Lexicon’s illness was more worrying. He was weak and cold to the touch. He shivered as if freezing to death despite all they did to keep him warm. Pinkie stopped again in her pacing, staring at her new friends. Lexicon shivered still, in the midst of their huddle, sleeping fitfully. It could have been the slump now taking hold of her, or it could have been her lack of sleep lately, but she felt an uncharacteristic weight of guilt as she looked at them.
This was all her fault.
For the first time in a very long while she found herself regretting something she had done. Bits and pieces of what the bronies had endured in their world had drifted to her over the past week. Because she had only bits and pieces, it was hard to get the big picture. It was clear though, the bronies were not welcome in their own world. Even so, was it her place to disrupt their lives like she did? She had known, after returning through the golden doorway for the final time, that they would come someday. It was a day ten years in the making, one that she had awaited with much anticipation. Perhaps her dreams had sweetened reality too much, perhaps enough to turn it sour.
She sat down heavily, rustling the leaves of a sempresuckle patch. “Oh Celestia,” she whispered, “did I do the right thing? Luna, have I made a nightmare out of a dream?”
“Do the Ancients hear you, Great Pinkie?” a tiny voice drifted to her.
She turned to the voice swiftly. “Syglia? Is that you?”
The emerald butterpony glided into the glen, fluttering to a soft landing on a moss covered log. She took a few tentative steps towards Pinkie. “You seem troubled, Great Pinkie. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Pinkie couldn’t help but smile at the generous offer from the little pony. “That’s okay, Syglia. I’m glad to see you though.”
Syglia gave her a weak smile in return. She opened her mouth, frowned, then turned away from her.
Pinkie furrowed her brow. “What’s the matter?”
The butterpony turned back, surprising Pinkie with tears in her eyes. “Great Pinkie, I-I...” She looked down and hoofed at the log. Finally she snapped her head up and squared her shoulders. “I am your loyal thayn, from this day until my end. Be it in love or pain, I will all your needs attend. A debt the Gods decree, that I alone cannot fulfill. For this my destiny, to give all to your will.”
Pinkie stared at the emerald butterpony. What did it all mean? It had the feel of something practiced. Especially in the way she said it, taking pauses in between the parts and almost chanting the words. Some of her confusion must have shown on her face for Syglia looked down again and spoke to her hooves.
“The Great Pinkie is my master now. Y-you saved my life and now I must serve to to the end of my days. My life is now yours, and... my foals’ lives, if I am to be so lucky.”
Pinky shook her head slowly as if trying to catch the meaning of it all by scooping it up into her ears. “I... don’t get it, Syglia. Why am I your master?” She shifted on her seat of soft leaves, uncomfortable with the notion of more responsibility.
“It is the way of my kind. Since time immemorial it has been so.” Syglia shrugged, fluttering her wings. “We have always had a master, one who holds our loyalty. It is in us, deeply, to honor those who preserve life. Kilnlik was my master at sunrise. But as the moon rises, thou art my master.”
Pinkie scrunched up her nose. “How could that nasty troll be your master?”
Syglia finally sat next to Pinkie with a sigh. “Long ago, the old ones say, Kilnlik came to this forest amidst a terrible storm. My ancestors were trapped, the rain beat them to the ground and the waters raged around them. But Kilnlik saved them.There were very few of us then, he may have saved our entire race. I am descendant of those Kilnlik saved, I owed my loyalty to him because he had saved them. Had he not, I would not be here. But today you preserved my life, even from him.” She peered up at Pinkie through her gossamer mane. “I owe all that I am to you. Any command you give, I must obey. That is why you are my master.”
Pinkie studied the pink streaked leaves of the sempresuckle. It was an odd feeling, somewhere between awe and dread, which clutched at her chest. No pony owed her anything. Everything she did was for making others happy; she didn’t want anything in return. Seeing the smiles was all the payment she needed. “What… what if I commanded you to be your own master?” she asked quietly. She instantly regretted it, for Syglia’s face fell, a hurt expression marring her beauty.
“Dost thou not want me?” Syglia’s voice trembled.
“No… erm yes, uh…. I-I would love to have you, as a friend. I just… it doesn’t feel right. Everypony should be able to make her own decisions.”
The little pony’s face relaxed, a relieved sigh stirring her mane. “I am happy to serve, Great Pinkie. It is our way. But you need not do as Kilnlik does.” She spat the troll’s name as if it left a bad taste behind.
Pinkie blinked in surprise. “Why? What does he do?”
Syglia tossed her head. “He controls everything, and he claims it is for our own good. But I know it is retribution for our being slow in our task. As payment for his generosity, he commanded my ancestors to build him a grand palace. Many generations have passed and we are still not done. We are… compelled to complete it. We have no choice. He seems to think that taking away our other choices will make us faster so he chooses everything for us, what work we do, where we go. He even chooses our mates for us and the names of our foals.” She fell silent, her angered tirade losing heat. “I did not know anything else. I did not know what freedom was,” she whispered.
She gazed up at Pinkie, auburn eyes glowing in the moonlight. “He has not paired me with a mate. I am old enough that I should have been, but he did not. The others thought I had somehow incurred his displeasure and shunned me.” Again her voice faltered. “All but Koli. He was my friend when no other was. He loved me when the others feared. I loved him, but, we were not a pair. If ever Kilnlik discovered, we would be doomed.”
Pinkie was enthralled, staring at the little pony as she unraveled the sad tale.
“We spent time together, in secret, during the dark watches of the night while Kilnlik slept. I was happy.” She wiped at her face with a foreleg. “One day, I still don’t know what came over him, Kilnlik commanded, then Koli questioned. For his disrespect, Kilnlik… took, he tore… Koli’s beautiful wings. He was cast into the mine, banished to toil in the dark until the end of his days.” Syglia took a shuddering breath. “I have not seen him in months, none are allowed to seek the banished out. Forsooth, we do not even know where the mine is. I fear for his life, to lose one’s wings…. It will kill him.” Syglia turned to Pinkie, prostrating herself, tears streaming down her face. “Do what you will, Great Pinkie, but please save him. Take us away. If I could I would give thee my life thrice over again for the hope that he still lives.”
Pinkie put a hoof over her heart, making sure it was not broken. She could not imagine anything more hateful, more heartless or more horrifying than this. She wasn’t so worried about herself or even if they could find their way home. She could not live with herself if she didn’t do something. Pinkie chewed her lower lip, her gaze flitting about the sleeping bronies. Then again, she couldn’t live with herself if something happened to her friends. This Kilnlik was a dangerous one, that much was certain.
“Syglia.... I... I don’t know.” She flinched at the crestfallen look on the little pony’s face. “Uh, b-but I’ll think of something. I will...” If only they knew more about the troll. Lexicon seemed to be the only one who knew anything about it, but he was unconscious at the moment. A wide yawn issued from her before she could reign it in. “Mehhh! Is there anything you can tell me about Kilnlik? Like, I don’t know, what does he do all day? Is there a way we can... sneak in?” She stifled another yawn with a hoof in her mouth.
Syglia got to her hooves then fluttered to Pinkie’s shoulder. “Little is known about him, despite his being our master for many generations.” Her voice was flat. She sniffled now and then, still drying her eyes. “He goes to some unknown place come the height of day and there he stays until sunset. After observing what we have done in our toil, he retires to his rooms in the back of the edifice we build. He is not seen until morning. Every morning we gather, to hear his instructions and to receive our tasks for the day.” She opened and closed her butterfly-like wings slowly, sighing. “He leaves us mostly to ourselves as we work, though he has returned unexpectedly from time to time. If you wish to enter the village secretly, Great Pinkie, under cover of night is best.”
Pinkie’s head sagged on her shoulders, eyelids drooping. She snapped her head back up, pulling herself out of her exhausted stupor. “Sorry, I-uh, almost dozed off there... Night, huh? You think you can figure out where Koli is? Do you think it’s the same place Kilnlik goes all day?”
The butterpony shrugged. “Perhaps it is, perhaps it is not. I have searched for it when I could, but Kilnlik is very powerful in his concealing magic. I cannot follow his footsteps, or at least, I could not. Perhaps now that his command no longer binds me, I could follow him to his sanctuary.” She paused, lifting off from Pinkie’s shoulder to flutter in front of her. She looked into her eyes, then away at the ground.
“Is... there something wrong?” Pinkie asked slowly.
“Thou art a kind one, Great Pinkie. But, I can see that thou art in need of rest... would it offend if I were to ask why thou dost not sleep?”
Pinkie rubbed at one of her tingling ears, a wry smile curving her mouth. “You can ask me anything you like, I don’t mind. I’m not sleeping because I have to keep watch. They were all so tired after running from the phoenix, they pretty much fell asleep on their hooves. And... one of them is sick. I don’t know what to do.”
Syglia drifted over to the sleeping bronies, alighting on a pine bough over them so softly, she didn’t make a sound. “The one who trembles as if cold?” she asked, looking down at them and flicking her tail. “This is... strange.” Her eyes were closed, voice but a whisper. “I am one blessed with the magic of healing, but this ailment I know not.” She jumped down from the branch to land delicately on Lexicon’s trembling shoulder. Immediately, she took to the air again with a gasp. “He freezes even as I touch him!”
She flitted from side to side and hovered over his face, prodding the poor unicorn as if searching for something. “Great Pinkie,” Syglia whispered and waved her hoof. Pinkie trotted over to the huddle of sleeping ponies. “There may not be much that I can do.... May I try?”
Pinkie rubbed at her ear again, holding back a yawn. “Sure, anything is better than nothing.”
Syglia nodded. She hovered over Lexicon, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. With every flap of her malachite wings, a white glow grew around them, pulsating like a heartbeat. After a few seconds, the butterpony exhaled. From her mouth came a vaporous white cloud that Pinkie could only describe as being the most simple yet complicated thing she had ever seen. As the cloud left her, Syglia’s wings lost their ethereal glow. The strange magical cloud twisted and contorted into a thousand different shapes, all at the same time. It flew through the air until it was inhaled by Lexicon’s shuddering breaths.
Gradually, his shudders tapered off, his breath coming more naturally. The red unicorn relaxed with a contented sigh, snuggling into the sempresuckle leaves. Syglia landed on his shoulder, a little shiver running through her. “He is still not well, but I suppose this will do for now.” She turned back to Pinkie, her eyes widening in alarm.
Pinkie turned to see what surprised Syglia. Was it a timberwolf, cockatrice or a manticore? She turned perhaps too fast. The forest spun, sky and ground melting into one and then suddenly breaking apart sideways. She gave a soft groan, wishing the trees would stop dancing. They weren’t supposed to do that. Dancing was her job.
“Great Pinkie! Art thou alright? Please, speak, Great Pinkie!”
Pinkie blinked at the emerald blur that talked to her. “I... Imma fine, I jzuss got a bit... dizzy.” she slurred through a pounding headache.
The emerald blob, that somehow had Syglia’s voice, bobbed around and prodded at her. There was something important. What was it? “Syglia?” Pinkie’s tongue felt slow. “Hey, there was... something important.... Wait...” She let her aching head flop back to the ground. “Snkk! HA! That... ticklezzz...” She giggled lazily as the the little blob, now suddenly a pony, prodded at Pinky with her tiny hooves. “Wutcha... doin’, hehehehahaha!”
“I’m trying to find the leylines that control your hair, Great Pinkie. ‘Twas what caused my alarm, it was flat. But there are so many leylines that I can feel... they change too much.” The little butterpony squinted at Pinkie constantly moving side to side, running her hooves up against her coat.
Pinkie gave a half-hearted snort, rolling her head on the ground--it was very light and moving it made the trees look funny. “Leylines are for unicorns, silly, hahahaha! Unless I’m a unicorn with my horn ground off,” she snorted her way through some more giggles, “but I think I’d notice a hole in my head, phhsskkkk haaaaa hahahaha!”
“Great Pinkie,” Syglia declared, “thou art delirious.” Pinkie dissolved into a wheezing fit of tired laughter. “You need rest, mistress.”
Pinkie’s mirth subsided, lucidity breaking over her head like a raw egg. “No... I can’t sleep. I have to keep watch. There’s manticores and cockatrices’es’es... timber wolves, bats....” The short bout of clear thoughts fell apart.
Syglia picked up the list for her. “And phoenixes, wood whumps, sacis, nagas, kobolds, moss wights, wyverns... hmm, there are a lot of nasty things that go bump in the night. But worry not, Great Pinkie, I can conceal you from them. Many of these creatures do not venture to Kilnlik’s part of the woods, they fear him too greatly. Rest easy.”
Rest? Easy? After that laundry list of scary critters? As if she could sleep now. Stubbornly she got to her hooves, only swaying a little. Her ears felt like they were being stabbed by thousands of tiny needles. She rubbed at them vigorously. “Syglia, I appreciate the help, I really do. And what you did for Lexicon over there. But I don’t want you to get in trouble for leaving. You may not have to, ‘obey’, Kilnlik anymore but he could still hurt you. Besides, if you don’t go back, he might get suspicious and that will make it even harder to help Koli.” She blinked, running through everything she just said. It was the straightest explanation she had ever uttered. She really was tired.
Syglia flew in a small circle around her head. “I don’t understand, Great Pinkie. Dost thou not trust me? I would understand if you did not, I have known you for only a short time.” She stopped her orbit of Pinkie’s head, giving her a considering look. “Canst thou make thyself beyond the eyes of those thou wishest not to see? Is it not true that thou canst move in mysterious ways?”
Pinkie was so startled, her ears forgot to hurt. Eye twitch, knee wobble, tail jerk. There was a very important decision here. But what? Did she trust Syglia? Of course. But could she actually save anypony? Rainbow Dash would know how, but Pinkie had no idea. She looked once again at the sleeping bronies, guilt crushing her chest.
“I... wish I could help,” Pinkie whispered, “but I don’t know if I can.”
Syglia fluttered past her vision and hovered above a patch of pink streaked leaves. “I believe in you, Great Pinkie. You saved me, you can save Koli. You can do anything.” Her little voice was so full of conviction, Pinkie could almost believe her.
Pinkie walked over to the little pony and sat on the patch of sempresuckle with a sigh. “Thank you, Syglia.” She gave the little butterpony another half-smile.
“You don’t believe.”
Pinkie only stared at the ground. “It’s not that I don’t want to,” she mumbled, “it’s just that... I don’t know if I’m doing the right thing.”
“Troubled day to restful night... the morrow brighter to know what’s right.” Syglia sang a cute couplet and smiled at Pinkie.
All the pink pony could muster was a tired twitch at the corners of her mouth. She never noticed the teal cloud of sinuous magic drifting to her, and was surprised, yet pleased, to find herself sleeping soundly. The humble humming of a little pony ferrying her across the way to lighter dreams.
“Pinkie, pisssssst! Hey, Miss Pinkie.” Somepony gently shook her shoulder. She ignored it. “Guys, she’s out of it.”
“Cut it out, Silver. Let ‘er sleep, she was probably up all night watching out for us,” another voice said. Shadowflash, it sounded like.
“Yeah, but what are we gonna do with all this food?” That sounded like Spearmint. “I mean, we could eat it....”
“I wouldn’t,” Shadowflash warned. “We don’t know where it came from... it could be a trap.”
“Uh-huh.... Riddle me this, Admiral Ackbar, if somepony, or something, wanted to poison us or trap us, why didn’t they just jump us in our sleep?” Ribbon pointed out.
“She’s got a point there, Shadow,” Radiant Star interjected.
“No, you’ve got a point, she has wings... and sass.”
“Cute,” was Ribbon’s flat reply.
“So... can we eat it, then?” Spearmint ventured.
A long pause answered Spearmint’s question. Finally, Silver Lining spoke again. “What’s taking Azure so long?”
“I could go look for him...” Shadowflash offered.
“Mmmm, I don’t think that would be the best....” Radiant Star said.
“He’s been gone an awful long time,” Shadowflash persisted. “How ‘bout I go looking around. Ten minutes. If I don’t find him by then I’ll come back to see if he’s here.”
“Sounds fine to me.” Spearmint mumbled.
“Yeah, go ahead, Shadow,” Ribbon sighed. “I don’t know why you all looked at me. It’s not like I’m in charge or anything.”
“Nopony is really in charge. Well I guess Miss Pinkie is, kinda, but...” Starsky trailed off as small gusts of wind buffeted Pinkie
“I’m gonna go find Azure, you can figure out who’s in charge without me.” The last of his words faded as he flew away
“Hey, Starsky,” Ribbon called.
“Hmm?” He sounded very preoccupied.
“Quit drooling at the food. Spearmint’s doing enough for all of us.”
“Hey! I can’t help it if I’m hungry in the morning. The food’s right there.... I don’t get why we can’t just eat it.” Came Spearmint’s indignant reply.
“Whatever. Starsky, come ‘ere and lay on Lexicon’s other side, he’s shaking like a leaf.” There came a shuffling of hooves and a rustling of leaves, a surprised grunt then a giggle. “Whoa now, Starsky, don’t hurt yourself. Wutcha doin’?”
Somepony flopped to the ground next to Pinkie. “I can’t help it, that darn headache still hasn’t gone away, and I’m kinda seeing double.”
“Does your horn still hurt?”
“Not as bad as yesterday, but yeah.”
“Uh, should you be so close to him? We don’t know what he’s got, it could be contagious.” Spearmint said.
“I don’t think it matters. Besides, he’s freezing. I’m not going to let him freeze to death.” Ribbon replied.
Pinkie tried to open her eyes, they ignored her. She tried to move a leg, it ignored her too. She tried to speak, and stayed stubbornly quiet. Pinkie was vaguely aware of what was going on around her; she could hear the bronies talking, but not all of what they said was making a lot of sense. Wait. Why was she asleep? She didn’t want to sleep. She was supposed to have stayed up all night to keep guard... but she started talking to Syglia, then got really tired... for no apparent reason. Hold the frosting! Syglia cured Lexicon. She distinctly remembered seeing him breathe in some sort of Butterpony magic type stuff and he stopped shaking. But that didn’t explain why she was so tired she couldn’t wake up all the way.
Pinkie tried once again to wake up but it was like pounding her hooves against a four-sceptre-thick wall. She yelled inside her head, she mentally kicked and pounded at the inert form of her body, not even able to muster a grunt.
“I wish we had a blanket or something to put over him, just lying next to him doesn’t seem to be helping as much as it did yesterday,” Ribbon lamented.
“If wishes were horses... wait, we’re horses. Guess that phrase doesn’t work anymore.” Radiant Star chuckled to himself.
“Spearmint, you look like a hurt puppy... go ahead and help yourself. Geesh, I hope I don’t have to tell you guys every little thing to do. I’m still not in charge, and I wouldn’t want to be if it means babysitting you.” Ribbon blew out her chops.
“Indeed, you may eat the food, master Spearmint. I gathered it for the friends of the Great Pinkie.” Syglia’s little voice suddenly pierced through the soft rustling of the wind in the trees.
Somepony started coughing and spluttering.
“Oh dear! Did I startle you?”
“N-kugh! No,” Spearmint wheezed. “Some juice--gaaah--just went down the wrong tube--kugh, kugh! I’m fine...”
“Very well.” A tiny breeze wafted over Pinkie and then little hooves perched on her shoulder. “Hmm, she has not woken already? Perhaps the Great Pinkie was in dire need of rest, ooooh, this is not good.”
“Why, what’s wrong?” Starsky asked.
“I, um, used some of my magic to soothe the Great Pinkie to sleep. I did not intend for her slumber to last so long.”
“But,” Ribbon said, “why is that a bad thing? I’ve slept in sometimes.”
“There are strange creatures that roam the sky this day. I would have come sooner, but Kilnlik spent the morning concealing the village and his palace from the creatures aloft. He was very agitated. I heard him say that there were unwanted eyes in the forest. There has been a watch set and I fear they may venture in this direction soon.”
“Aren’t they just other butterponies? If you tell them we’re your friends, won’t they just let us be?” Ribbon asked.
“Mmmm, they would not listen. I am... not one of them as of now. Kilnlik is no longer my master, but he is still master to the others. They would not listen, they would inform Kilnlik immediately.” Syglia said grimly.
“Why?” Radiant was appalled.
“They cannot help it. We are compelled to obey our master.”
“Can you wake her up? I don’t know how much good that would do, Azure Clouds and Shadowflash aren’t here,” Ribbon said.
“I will try.”
Pinkie felt little hooves prodding at her and running along her coat. This time, she could tell that there was a sort of pattern to Syglia’s movements. It was like she traced that pattern over her. Syglia’s hooves did not waver, the lines she followed precise and sure. Pinkie felt the tingling return to her ears, but stronger than before. It had advanced to her legs, like countless icicles digging into her. She felt her face scrunch up in a grimace and slowly opened her eyes.
Bright sunlight bathed their little glen. The sun glinted off of the babbling stream, throwing shimmering flecks of light at the trees. Her tired eyes focused sluggishly on the ponies around her, the residual sleepiness giving everything an odd halo. She blinked a few more times, clearing away the fog.
A sheepish emerald pony fluttered into view. “Syglia...” Pinkie muttered, “don’t do that, unless I ask, mmkay?”
The butterpony blushed and ducked her head. “As you wish, Great Pinkie.”
Pinkie laboriously got to her hooves and cast her eyes around the glen. Ribbon and Starsky laid next to a shivering Lexicon. Spearmint munched happily on an apple as he sat next to a sizable pile of assorted fruits, vegetables and grains. Silver Lining sat next to her, eating what appeared to be the last sempresuckle in the glen. Which would explain his being so quiet. She squinted at the canopy of the forest, swaying slightly from side to side.
When she looked down again, not exactly sure of what she was looking for in the canopy, she narrowed her eyes at Lexicon. “Does he look... washed out, to you?”
Everypony turned to study the shivering unicorn. The longer Pinkie looked, the more certain she was. His coat was a deep red yesterday, now it had a grayish tinge to it, making it several shades lighter.
“Yeah.” Radiant Star cocked his head to the side and studied the other unicorn more closely. “His cutie mark even looks faded.”
“What’s his cutie mark?” Pinkie asked suddenly.
“Uh, you don’t see it?”
Pinkie shook her head, and then wished she hadn’t, the trees started dancing again. “Nope.”
“Well, it’s a MRMRrrmrmrmrMRMmrmrmr.” Starsky said.
Pinkie blinked at him and rubbed her ears. “Sorry, what was that?”
His eyes shifted side to side looking at Ribbon and Silver. They both shrugged. “I said that his cutie mark was a MRMRrrmrmrmrMRMmrmrmr.”
Pinkie turned to Syglia, hovering next to her, and was met with a confused expression that she guessed was also on her face. “Nevermind... So, how come Azure and Shadow left?”
“They--mnomnomnom--wanted to see if they could spot the camp. This is some great stuff, Syglia!” Spearmint informed her through mouthfuls of food.
Ribbon rolled her eyes at the green-haired pegasus. “I don’t think they’ll see it. We don’t know how far off we are of course but, well, I have the feeling we’re lost pretty good.”
“Is this what you spoke of earlier, Great Pinkie? This, Camp is your home?” Syglia alighted to Pinkie’s shoulder.
“For now, it’s where the bronies live. I live in a town called Ponyville but it’s close by. Have you ever heard of it?” The chances were slim, but it couldn’t hurt to ask.
The little pony shook her head. “I have heard a story that Kilnlik possesses a device that tells him of what happens in the forest. Perhaps it can tell you how to get home.”
“Stories,” Silver said, “so you don’t know for sure.”
Syglia nodded. “Some of the old ones claim to have seen it with their own eyes, better still, they claim to know where he keeps it. One of the large rooms that has been finished of his grand palace, bears no window and opens to no door. It was made so, explicitly, by his instruction. I looked at it very closely today, pretending to mend a chink in the wall. There is magic at work, but none that I can discern.” She looked up at the canopy, her eyes widening. “Oh, my. We have lost much daylight. Hurry friends, eat. We must make haste as soon as the others return.”
“Where are we going? What about Lexicon? I don’t think he will be able to walk far, he hasn’t even woken up yet.” Ribbon tapped Lexicon on the side of the head with her nose. He didn’t react.
“I will see what I can do. Please, eat. You will need your strength.” Syglia jumped from Pinkie’s shoulder and fluttered to the sick unicorn, beginning her strange, almost ritualistic, prodding and tracing.
Pinkie jerked her head towards the pile of food, urging Ribbon, Starsky and Silver to go over there. Reluctantly, Ribbon and Starsky rose. Pinkie followed them.
“So, what’s with Syglia, is she some sort of magician? I can’t see a horn.” Starsky whispered to Pinkie.
“She said she’s a healer and I believe her. I guess you don’t have to have a horn to do magic...” They reached the pile of gathered food, Spearmint moved to the side to make room for them. Pinkie ate ravenously, even though she hadn’t felt very hungry only a moment ago. As she ate, she couldn’t help but ponder over her own words, they echoed over and over again in her mind. You don’t have to have a horn to do magic.
Four hours and a trek of ups and downs over forested hills and through rocky ravines, took Pinkie and her little herd of bronies to the mouth of an imposing cave. They traversed the forest and crags in silence, relying on Syglia’s magic to hide them from the butterpony patrols and the mysterious winged creatures. They spoke little, out of necessity, Syglia could hide them but she could not muffle them. The going was slow, mostly due to their collective fatigue, but also in part to Lexicon’s deteriorating condition. He was getting weaker by the hour and they had to carry him up some of the steeper climbs. Even worse, the others started to show signs of the same ailment, shivering intermittently despite it being a warm summer day. Syglia was constantly using her healing magic to speed up their trek. It took a lot out of the poor little pony, and she had taken to riding on Pinkie’s head, giving directions by way of landmarks in between short naps.
The sun was well past its zenith, orange rays piercing the clouds and casting golden blankets of light on the ground. From time to time, woodland creatures scampered through the trees and underbrush. They were not like the ones Pinkie knew near Ponyville. These critters were skittish and fearful, they did not come near the troop of ponies. Instead they watched from behind leaves and branches, ready to flee at the slightest hint of danger. The air itself felt heavy with danger, as if their doom lurked behind the next tree or waited in the shifting shadows.
They followed Syglia’s instructions, treading along an old, overgrown trail, until they came to a clearing strewn with boulders. A tall cliff wall of pale stone loomed over them, a large cave like a blemish yawning at the head of the old trail. The cave before them was exactly the sort of place that one could go and never return from. The walls were dark with moisture and blackened with mold. Shards of something white, that looked eerily close to bleached bone, were strewn about the rocky earth before the mouth. Stalactites hung menacingly from the roof, further adding to the illusion of a gaping maw, content to swallow them whole.
Pinkie wanted to dismiss it as her imagination, but a soft rustling seemed to come from the cave, as if something large were inside--sleeping just out of sight. She and the others crouched behind a large boulder. “Syglia,” Pinkie whispered. “Syglia.” She shook her head a little, trying to rouse the butterpony.
“Hmm? Oh, are we... here?” The little pony yawned.
“How come you brought us here?” Pinkie asked. She glanced behind her, all of the bronies’ eyes were glued to the mouth of the cave. She couldn’t help but stare at the cave herself. “I thought we were going to the village.”
“The village is not far, but you will be spotted for sure. This is the mine. Kilnlik rarely comes here. At sundown those that work the mine will bring the ore to the mouth of the cave, others from the village will come to retrieve it. It is a long process. The ponies that work the mine and those who move the ores are mutes, made so by Kilnlik so that they could not tell anypony where it was. The rest of us, we are forbidden to help them. I followed them here this morning, when they brought food to the banished ones...” She flew from Pinkie’s head to the boulder, gazing at the cave. She spoke in a whisper barely louder than the wind sighing through the trees. “… I did not see Koli.”
“That doesn’t look like a mine,” Silver Lining said under his breath.
“Indeed, it looks like a wyvern’s den,” Syglia said matter-of-factly.
“What’s a wyvern? I don’t like the sound of it.” Radiant Star ducked behind the boulder, but stayed where he could gaze wide eyed at the opening of stone.
“It’s like a dragon, only smaller. Th-they usually have wings, the b-b-body of a serpent, two front legs and a barbed t-t-tail. Right, Syglia?” Lexicon leaned against the boulder, little shivers running through him at random intervals.
The butterpony turned to the red unicorn, impressed with his knowledge. “Right you are, master Lexicon. They are vicious creatures, tenacious and ruthless. They almost never give up on prey when they find it. They will hunt for days, weeks, even months until they catch their quarry.”
“And you want us to walk right into the nest of one?” Spearmint’s eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.
“Don’t be fooled, master Spearmint, this is only an illusion. Kilnlik has made it appear that a wyvern still lives here. I am certain that one has not lived in this cave for many, many years.”
“So one lived here before?” Azure croaked. “Are the bones fake too?”
“No. Those are real, I’m afraid. But they are very old. Don’t worry, for no wyvern waits for us inside.”
“Okay,” Pinkie said firmly, “how many are in there, do you think they will try to alert Kilnlik if we go inside?”
Again, Syglia shook her head. “I don’t know how many reside in banishment. They are forbidden to leave the mine. But, if you save them, release them from their bonds, they will owe their loyalty to you.”
Pinkie studied the cave. It seemed that when this was all over, she would have a lot of new friends. “Okay, uh, here’s the plan. Lexicon, Azure, Spearmint, Starsky, and Shadow, all of you stay here and keep watch. When the butterponies from the village show up, um, try to catch them, okay? Be gentle. Ribbon, Silver, you are coming with me and Syglia. We don’t know how big this mine is, we’re gonna split up and look for the workers.... Ah, Syglia?”
“Yes, Great Pinkie?”
“How are we supposed to release them? Are they chained up or something?”
“I... do not know.” She tapped a hoof on the boulder. “I would imagine that they are not. Perhaps... perhaps if you merely promise to spare them, they will follow you. You are supposed to be dangerous giants, after all. Maybe Kilnlik’s lies will work against him.”
“Good enough for me.” Pinkie turned to her little band of rescue raiders. Operation: Stickin’ it to the Troll, had begun. “We’ll try to be a fast as we can. If the troll shows up... run. We’ll find you. Just get as far away from him as you can, split up, make it hard for him to catch you.” They all nodded at her words. She turned to the entrance of the cave and bravely started trotting towards it.
“Miss Pinkie!” Shadowflash called. She turned to him, still trotting. “Good luck!”
She smiled back at him. “You too!”
Pinkie, Syglia, Ribbon and Silver crossed the threshold of the cave. In the blink of an eye, the ominous stone orifice changed. The seemingly endless black was no more. Light from the setting sun sparkled off great mounds of stone strewn throughout the floor of the cavern. The faint rustling of a fearsome wyvern’s breath became the wind whistling through the tiny fissures in the rock. The bones, however, were still bones. Pinkie picked her way around the old bones and cautiously moved towards the center of the cave. Ribbon and Silver followed close behind, their eyes flitting about, trying to see in all directions at once.
Their hoofsteps echoed in the empty space. Unseen water, drip, drip, dripped away, deep in the bowels of the dank grotto. The sound of their own breathing seemed to roar at them, amplified tenfold in the irregularly shaped room. The stone floor sloped gently as they ventured deeper. The light began to fade. Pinkie blinked in the dark, trying to get her eyes to adjust. A metallic clink sounded at one of her hoof falls. She jumped back, startled, producing an anxious whicker from Silver. They all turned to him. In the dim light of the cave Pinkie could see a tiny flush to his cheeks.
Silver self consciously cleared his throat. “Uh... what was that?” he asked quietly.
Syglia landed on the floor of the cave and felt around in the dark. “Ah, this is the rail for the carts. We can follow this, it should take us right to them.”
The three ponies bent down to examine the cave floor. Sure enough, a tiny set of railroad tracks meandered around the various stone peaks rising out of the floor like miniature mountain ranges. Syglia hovered along the tracks, deeper into the dark.
They walked in the inky blackness for what seemed like hours. There was barely light enough to see where to put their hooves. What little light there was trickled from crystals in the walls and ceiling. The air was chill and damp, making their breath puff out in front of them in little wisps of vapor.
Syglia stopped. “Do you hear that?” she whispered.
Pinkie strained her ears, wishing for the tingling sensation to go away. They stood in silence, barely breathing. Her heart pounded in her ears.
Skreak.
Pinkie blinked.
Skreak.
The squeaking of a rusted wheel sounded time and time again, slowly, methodically, lonely. It advanced down the tunnel in which they stood, growing louder at every iteration. From the murky half-light of the crystals, a boxish cart emerged. It may have been made of wood, or metal, or stone, it was very hard to tell. It approached at the same pace, steady and even. There was no evidence of whoever plodded along behind it.
Ribbon and Silver held their breath as the cart squeaked closer. Her eyes darted from the advancing cart to Syglia’s rigid form and back. All of a sudden, she saw the little pony pushing the cart materialize out of the gloom. His dark coat was matted and shaggy, some patches missing, giving him a very sickly appearance. His coloring was a dull grey dusted with shimmering debris. Her breath caught in her throat as he drew nearer. Just behind his bony shoulders, were the tattered stubs of wings. Pinkie could see the ridge of his back and his ribs from two sceptres away.
He had his head bowed, his neck up against the cart laden with ores. Oblivious to their presence, he continued at his slow, forlorn pace.
“Koli...?” The name wavered in the air as if stumbling under the weight of the emotions it bore.
The poor, tattered pony stopped dead. A final, long squeak issued from the cart’s rusted wheel as it coasted to a halt. Ever so slowly, the wingless butterpony raised his head, disbelief etched into his face.
“S-Syglia?” The wonder that shone on his face was nearly enough to make Pinkie forget that he looked half-starved and ready to collapse.
The emerald butterpony flew over to the skinny gray spectre and embraced him gently.
“How...?” he asked, closing his eyes and leaning into Syglia’s hug. At least that’s what Pinkie liked to think he was doing, not falling over from exhaustion.
Syglia released him and gazed into his eyes, smiling from ear to ear as silent tears streamed down her face. “The Great Pinkie made this possible.” She put a hoof under his chin and moved his head for him.
At first, his face scrunched up in confusion, then his eyes grew to what seemed twice their original size, his jaw dropping as soon as Syglia took her hoof away.
“Koli, this is the Great Pinkie. The Great Pinkie, this is Koli.”
Pinkie smiled at the little pony, even though all she wanted to do was cry. “H-hello, Koli. I’ve heard a lot about you. I’m Pinkie Pie.”
“B-bu-but...” the grey butterpony stammered.
“The Great Pinkie is my master now, Koli.” Koli’s head jerked back to Syglia. “Kilnlik has lied to us; the giants are not here to destroy us. They are here to save us... here to save you. Notice how you are able to speak to me? Kilnlik’s hold on you is already broken!” She wrapped her forelegs around him once again, speaking into his coat. “The Great Pinkie will get your wings back... I’ll heal you, Koli and then... then we can leave this place. The Great Pinkie will take care of us; she is going to take us home.”
“Miss Pinkie,” Ribbon whispered behind her, “I can hear something. Sounds like yelling, we need to go.”
“Yes, um, Syglia, Koli?” Pinkie said, getting on her knees next to the little minecart. “Are there any others here?”
Koli blinked. “N-no, Great Pinkie. I am the last. Avindir... died, a few hours ago. ‘Tis why I am so late in bringing the ores... Is it true, Great Pinkie, you can get my wings back?”
She gave him her biggest and happiest smile. “I’ll get ‘em. Pinkie Promise. C’mon we’ve gotta hurry. Syglia, can you put him on my back?”
Syglia nodded, wiping her face with her forelegs. She picked him up and lifted him to her back. Pinkie stood, being careful not to jostle them until they were situated. “Ready, Great Pinkie!” the emerald pony called.
“Hold on tight!” Pinkie set off at a canter, weaving her way around the sparkling mounds of stone. The light intensified as they made their way back to the mouth of the cavern, they had spent less time inside than she had thought. The light was a wan gold, fading quickly as they reached the large opening. She paused several sceptres from the mouth, squinting into the twilight outside. Nothing moved, not a sound stirred the air.
Pinkie turned to Ribbon and Silver, gesturing with her hoof for them to go farther to her right, away from her. They gave her worried expressions but obeyed. She took a deep breath, then crossed the jagged threshold of the cave.
Crack!
Pinkie’s head snapped to her left at the sound of brittle bone breaking. A hulking mass lunged forward in the murky light of the setting sun.
“Moss wights!” Syglia screamed. “Ru-mmmmmf!” Her cry cut off as strange claws seemed to come out of nowhere and surround Pinkie.
They snatched the butterponies from her back. She turned to face her attackers, but more hands appeared, grabbing hold of her legs, mane and tail. They pushed her to the ground, forcing her to kneel. She opened her mouth to scream, only to have her throat encircled by a large hand. The hand felt like cold iron against her coat, choking her. Her eyes bulged, and her lungs burned as she tried to breathe.
“So... you are the troublemaker.” The deep, rumbling voice sent shivers down her spine. The face of the troll, Kilnlik, materialized from a billow of black smoke as the edges of her vision began to fade. The hands released her as the troll picked her up and brought her face to his. A wide smile split his face, but did not touch his cold, beady, green eyes.
Pinkie gasped for breath on the floor in a heap. She lay like so many pink rags, tossed aside by the troll--apparently dealt with and of no further concern. Her throat burned even as she pulled sweet air into her lungs, the sensation of Kilnlik’s cold grip lingering on her neck. She tried to stand, but her hooves were proving hard to find. Through watery eyes she looked at the motionless forms of Syglia and Koli, not two sceptres away, alive or dead she did not know. Panting, almost sobbing for her inability to act, she turned her head. She watched Kilnlik advance on the bronies like a glacier, unstoppable, ruthless, cold and heartless. Bravely they planted their hooves on the stone floor, glaring at Kilnlik as he drew near. Lexicon whispered almost feverishly to himself, his legs barely able to hold him up as he swayed, shivering.
They were in a large room surfaced in large flagstone with tall, dark, wood-paneled walls. A massive door was set into the far wall, blackened iron bands held the large planks of the door together, fastening them to the large wrought hinges. A chandelier of brass hung from a long chain fastened to the peaked rafters of the wooden roof. It held large light-emitting crystals like the ones they had seen in the mine. They bathed the large room in a cold, bluish-white light. Sconces for torches lined the walls and flanked the two large windows above her, empty. The only flame in the room came from a single torch next to a massive hearth of smooth river stone.
The troll stood with his back to her, facing the group of bronies huddled together at the far end of the room across from the hearth.
“Heh. Look at thisssss,” Kilnlik sneered. “You haven’t the foggiest idea of what you have gotten yourselves into... humans.” He spat out the last word with as much contempt as he could. “What sorcery you employed to become... this... matters not, you will be dead either way.”
“Stop right there, troll!” Radiant Star took a step forward, arching his neck back and holding his head high. “One more step, and I’ll burn you to a cinder!”
The troll laughed.
It was the most unnerving thing Pinkie had ever heard. Not a drop of mirth was to be found in it. Around the room, it echoed, cold as the dead of winter. “Think ye a match for the great Kilnlik, do yeh?”
“Y-your phoenix didn’t stand a chance, I don’t see why I can’t do the same to you!”
“Is that so, little pony?!” the troll growled.
Faster than Pinkie would have believed possible for such a large creature, his hand shot forward and seized Radiant’s horn. The blue unicorn cried out in pain as Kilnlik jerked him forward, dragging his hooves across the floor and finally lifting him up off of the ground to stare him in the face.
“You think you are so sharp! But even the mighty sword is dulled in the cutting... I see my phoenix got a talon in you.” He tightened his grip on Radiant’s horn, the sound of bone grinding on bone issued sickeningly from his hand. Radiant’s eyes rolled up into the back of his head, sucking air through gritted teeth. “I could end it for you... you would thank me for it,” the troll rasped at the unicorn. “You would suffer a worse fate at the... mercies, of those demon witches, those cosmic sisters.”
Shadowflash reared up with a roar, launching himself into the air on a powerful swoosh of his wings. He kicked off the wall behind him, hurtling towards Kilnlik. The troll threw Radiant to the floor and brought up one massive fist, connecting it with the side of Shadow’s head at the last moment. Radiant and Shadowflash skidded across the floor in opposite directions. They did not move when they came to rest.
“S-stop it...” Pinkie hissed from the floor. The troll paid her no heed.
“There were more of you.” His voice grated on Pinkie’s ears.
She blinked back the tears in her eyes and noticed that Azure and Spearmint were not there. She prayed that they had somehow managed to escape.
“I will find them... oh yes. And you will help me.” He took another step towards Ribbon and Lexicon, the only two bronies still on their feet. “You see, my Orakluse is a very powerful oracle. But it needs a lot of energy in order to perform well. For too long, I have been relegated to using the tiny souls of these creatures so devoted to me. They just don’t have the same... fire, in them. But you, my dear... you will show me where your friends are, and then your friends with show me where my friends are.” He took another step towards Ribbon, backing her into the wall.
He made a grab for her. Ribbon turned and bit down, hard, on the troll’s offending hand. He roared in pain, jerking the hand from her mouth. He attempted to backhand her with the other but she deftly avoided the blow, spun, and kicked with all her might. Her hooves connected with Kilnlik’s stomach, earning a grunt.
The troll stumbled back a few steps. Ribbon cantered to the side, made a feint to the right then bucked again at the troll. Pinkie gasped as Ribbon’s hooves sank into the troll, and sailed through him as he turned into a puff of smoke. She tried to cry a warning, but it was too late. Kilnlik’s booted foot slammed into Ribbon’s side. She crashed into the wall and slid to the floor, coughing as the troll finished materializing out of thin air.
“You make this so hard on yourselves.” The troll bent down and took Ribbon by the muzzle, “You are lucky the Orakluse works best when the bones are not broken.”
“Princess... Celestia is looking for us... mmmf! She’ll find you... you’ll pay for this...” Ribbon managed to say through clenched teeth.
The troll chuckled, thrusting her head to the side as he released his grip. “This, witch, you so readily worship, that you think will save you, is nothing. I do not fear her. She trembles at my name, human. But I would not expect your puny mind to comprehend such things.”
Pinkie had finally found her hooves. She was stiff and achy all over but she could stand. There had to be something she could do to get them out of this. She fixed in her mind the image of the troll keeping his back to her. He was not concerned with a mere earthpony, she kept repeating to herself. A tiny smile quirked her lips as she felt energy seem to bleed off of herself and into the room. She made her way over to where Syglia and Koli lay. They had no obvious injury, but they couldn’t stay where they were, not if Pinkie was going to be successful at all in her budding plan. As gently as she could, she scooped the emerald butterpony up from the floor with her mouth and carried her to the other side of the room where a circular wall bulged inward. She returned and picked up Koli.
“What have we here?” The troll sneered.
Pinkie froze mid step, glancing in the troll’s direction.
He stood before Lexicon, his back still to Pinkie. An amused chuckle warbled from the troll. “This one thinks he can enchant me? HA! Try as you might, you will find your words have no...” His voice faded. Pinkie looked over from placing Koli next to Syglia in time to see the troll take a step back. “No... it cannot be,” Kilnlik whispered in a tone bordering on fear.
Lexicon trembled, eyes squeezed shut, his mouth working furiously as he whispered words whose meaning escaped Pinkie. Before her very eyes, his color seemed to drain from his coat, leaching towards his horn which glowed with an aura of white light.
Kilnlik grasped the edge of his strange translucent cloak in one large hand, staring intently at the once red unicorn. Pinkie suddenly found herself snatching the torch from the hearth in her teeth, a spark of inspiration setting her to some split-second decisions and a wild guess. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Shadowflash and Radiant Star stirring. She could no longer concentrate on her invisibility. Ribbon jumped as she caught sight of Pinkie suddenly in another part of the room Pinkie jerked her head at the large door. Ribbon nodded, wincing as she got to her hooves.
Everything was in place. She tightened her teeth around the torch.... Tail twitch. Her eyes snapped to the ceiling. With a mighty crash the ceiling exploded in a shower of splintered wood and creaking metal. Pinkie dropped the torch, the world slowed, suddenly she saw everything as if it swam through molasses. The chandelier swung over to where Radiant sat, dazed. She needed to be there--now. She was behind Radiant an instant later, her fore legs wrapped around his middle. With the last of her strength, she jumped backwards, pulling Radiant out of harm’s way as time caught up with her.
The chandelier slammed into the stone floor where Radiant’s head was only a second ago. The large crystals fell from their mountings and shattered, splintering the light they held into a million pieces, and the room plunged into darkness. The flickering torch guttering on the floor cast sporadic orange light in the shadows left by the faded blue light still bleeding from the crystal fragments spread all over the floor.
“Awww, man! I’m not gonna do that again anytime soon,” Azure Clouds groaned in the middle of the debris from the recently demolished ceiling. “Rainbow Dash made it look so easy....” He shook some dust out of his light blue mane.
A large, heavy timber shifted, revealing a livid troll. A low rumbling growl parted his sneering lips as a hammer with a very long handle faded into reality from a billow of inky black smoke.
“Azure, look out!” a new voice shouted from the hole in the roof. An eagle’s cry rent the air as a huge shape dropped from the ruined timbers above. Pearlescent raven’s wings flashed in the moonlight streaming into the room, razor sharp talons slashing at the advancing troll. Pinkie couldn’t believe her eyes. A gryphon, here?
Another large shape dropped into the room as the raven-winged gryphon grappled with the troll, followed by another, smaller winged something-or-other. “Azure! Get up! Help me grab Shadow!” Spearmint shouted over the din of breaking wood and coarse growling. The two pegasi jumped over to where Shadowflash lay under a few splintered boards.
“C’mon, Miss Pinkie! We gotta get you outta here!” Another gryphon ran up to her, grabbing a still incoherent Radiant from her grasp and slinging him over his shoulder. “C’mon! I don’t know how long Garret can keep that thing occupied!”
“Wait, the others!” she protested,
“We’ll get them, just c’mon!” He turned and ran for great door. Ribbon was pounding on it with her hooves, trying to figure out where the latch was. “Hold on little missy, let me lend a claw!”
Shattering glass caught Pinkie’s attention, she wheeled around to find the black gryphon struggling to free himself from a cabinet that had fallen on him, jars, empty and full, rolled around him. Many of them were broken. The troll stood in front of the trapped gryphon, raising his hammer up above his head. She had to do something! So she did what came most naturally to her.
A great pealing gale of giggles and guffaws poured from the pink party pony. The room fell silent save for Pinkie’s continued merriment. Kilnlik stood frozen in the midst of raising his hammer for a killing strike. He turned to regard her with his beady eyes. Pinkie continued to laugh, it all came out, the fear, the guilt, the stress--all of it. The incongruency of the whole scene had her in stitches, pounding the floor with her hooves as gale after raucous gale of laughter ripped themselves free from her throat.
Kilnlik turned away from the gryphon, lowering his hammer, perplexed by the display of what was obvious insanity before him. She fell to the floor, wheezing out more squeals of mirth as he approached. The troll avoided the pool of moonlight as he slowly crossed the room. Pinkie watched him closely even as she rolled from side to side. He held his cloak in one hand like a shield against the light. Then it clicked. She rolled to her hooves, her laughter dying down, carefully positioning herself on the other side of the moonlight pool.
“What is so funny, little pony?” Kilnlik hefted his hammer.
“Hmhmhmh! Oh, just you.”
“What?”
“It’s a pretty good joke don’t you think?”
The troll sighed. “I should have just killed you first and been done with it.” He took a step forward, swinging his hammer back.
“Garret! Grab his cloak!” Pinkie shouted.
Kilnlik’s eyes widened in surprise as a midnight claw flashed over his shoulder, cutting the cloak free of its silver chain. The translucent garment fell to the floor. The troll spun on his heel, sending the hammer whistling through the air at the gryphon.
“Gywent CALED!” A sudden gust of wind shot out of the corner of the room in front of Pinkie, hitting Kilnlik in mid swing and throwing him off balance. He stumbled into the pool of moonlight and screamed. He roared as if from the very depths of his soul, a bellow of rage as much as it was of pain. In the blink of an eye, the troll flashed to stone. Everypony, and gryphon, stood speechless in the rubble. Garret, the raven-winged gryphon, tentatively tapped on the statue standing in the moonlight. He circled it once, twice, then sat, glaring at the troll and flicking his tufted tail.
Garret looked around the room. “Omnus laudem Luna,” he said quietly.
“Omnus laudem Luna indeed, my friend,” the other gryphon replied.
A tiny gasp came from the back of the room. Syglia and Koli stared wide eyed at the statue. “The Great Pinkie has done it.... She has defeated Kilnlik! We are free, Koli! Free!” She cantered around in a circle, laughing.
“Woah, hey! Look at that!” the other gryphon said, trotting over to the little butterponies. “They’re like, little, little ponies. Haha!”
The two butterponies cowered in front of the gryphon. “Ah! Great Pinkie! Save us!”
“It’s okay, Syglia,” Pinkie said with a giggle. “He’s a friend....” She raised her eyebrows at him.
The brown and white gryphon straightened from his inspection of the little ponies with an embarrassed chuckle. “Sorry, where are my manners.... I’m Lesolan.”
“What are you two doing out here? Not that I’m complaining. You’re part of the gryphon bronies, right?” Ribbon walked around the statue, supporting a grey and very tired looking Lexicon.
“Yep!” Lesolan chirped. “We’re out here looking for you guys. We ran into Shadowflash and Spearmint there, literally, and they led us back here. There’s probably hundreds of pegasi out there combing the forest and everywhere else. Ah, speakin’ o’which.... Garret, you think you can find the waypoint on your own? I’ll stay here and keep an eye out for any of the other search parties. We’re kinda late checking in, make sure they bring everypony that can help. I think we’re gonna need it to get them all back.”
Garret nodded and launched himself into the air through the hole in the roof.
“Hey, Lex,” Spearmint said. “Was that you who pushed the troll into the moonlight? How’d you do it, how’d you know?”
Lexicon sighed. “I didn’t know, I just... had a hunch. I couldn’t get my magic to work... I tried everything I could think of. Then--then I remembered a book I read about the ancient druids, I tried a few spells from it... that one worked I guess.”
“I think I’ve had my fill of adventure for now,” Radiant Star mumbled by the door. He leaned against it, a sharp click sounded at the pressure as the latch detached. “Waa!” he yelped as the door swung open, depositing him on the floor. Moonlight spilled into the room through the open door. Starsky looked up, “Oh my... You guys have to see this!”
Syglia picked up Koli and put him on Pinkie’s back once again as everypony went to the door. They left a space for Pinkie to walk through. She put a hoof up to the massive wooden portal, and pushed. Her eyes widened, trying to take in the sight of hundreds of multicolored butterponies standing in the midst of a miniature village. At her appearance, they erupted in a clamor of tiny voices.
“That is the one!”
“Kilnlik is no more!”
“What will become of us!”
“The giants! They will destroy everything!”
“Look!”
“Doth mine eyes deceive?”
“That is Syglia!”
“Koli, the banished one! He returns!”
“What does this mean?!”
“Ancients preserve us!”
Syglia hovered next to Pinkie’s head. “Great Pinkie, May I speak with them?”
“Of course...” she muttered.
“My kin!” Syglia declared fluttering in front of the crowd of butterponies. “Now begins a new time! Long ago Kilnlik enslaved our ancestors, but the Great Pinkie has saved us!”
“How can this be?!” a few called from the crowd.
“Behold! Kilnlik is turned to stone! The Great Pinkie and her friends have saved us from him, for he intended to use us for his dark magic! All praise the Great Pinkie!”
“She speaks true!”
“All praise the Great Pinkie!”
“All praise the Great Pinkie!” The crowd took up the chant, many took to the air, celebrating their newfound liberation.
Pinkie and the bronies stared dumbfounded at the cacophony. Maybe it was the smiles that appeared on so many faces at once, perhaps it was realizing that she had done the right thing, or it could have been the familiar joy that always filled her heart when she made others happy; what ever it was, she couldn’t stop laughing.