Back in Griffonstone…
After a long delay finally rectified by arduously defrosting the train tracks, Twilight and the search party finally arrived in the capital city of the Griffons, the Royal Sisters in company. The locals weren’t terribly excited to see a large group of ponies suddenly in their city, but they at least had the dignity to bow to the princesses. Cheerilee had instructed her class to stay with her at all times while in this foreign city.
Looking around the shambled city, the princesses couldn’t help but to feel a little heartbroken at the state their neighbors were in. They knew it wasn’t their place to intervene in the well-being and infrastructure of a foreign nation, but their natural instinct to support others was always present.
Eventually, the group reach the entrance to Griffonstone Castle where they were stopped by the two guards stationed at the door. “Halt!” One of them commanded. “Princess Celestia, I don’t believe we ever received word of you arriving in our land.
“I know.” Celestia said. “And we apologize for our unannounced visit, but we must speak with your king regarding an urgent matter.”
“What matter is that?” the guard asked.
“We believe there may be a group of foals runaway from our kingdom that is now here. We’ve been searching for them for some time now.” Celestia answered.
“Foals?” The other guard asked. “You’re not talking about the Battle Foals, are you?”
“Battle Foals!?” Everyone said simultaneously.
“Yeah! Those mercenaries that helped Valkyrie defeat Councilor Skadi!” the guard said.
“You idiot!” the first guard said. “They’re not mercenaries; they’re just…travelers, I guess, who just happened to be in the area…or something. Ok, I don’t know the full story either.”
“Then please let us speak to somep-…uh, someone who does!” Cat said. “One of those foals is my son.”
“Your son?” the first guard said. “Can you prove that?”
“You may take my word as a Princess of Equestria that she speaks the truth.” Celestia said.
“Well, if you say so, Your Highness.” The guard said. “But I’m afraid that anyone else unaffiliated will not be permitted inside.
“What!? But we’re all affiliated!” Scootaloo blurted. The guard glared down at her, pretty much shutting her up.
“It’s their castle, dear.” Luna said. “But perhaps you can speak with the local populace instead. I’m sure they’ve at least seen Fire Fight and his new friends.”
Scootaloo sighed. “I guess you’re right. Sorry…”she said. Cheerilee led her class back into town while the princesses, Spike, Sky Strike, Cat and Fist were allowed into the castle.
*****
A few guards directed them to a meeting hall where they were told to wait for the king, so they did. The silence during their wait was a bit crushing for the parents, whom had never thought that they’d have to go as far as travel to a foreign nation to find their children. They felt blessed to have the princesses there to help them communicate and not potentially start a war.
Moments later, the Griffon’s king entered the hall escorted by two guards. He sat at the meeting table on the opposite side of his guests. His smile was a warm, but he was understandably surprised to have visitors, especially given who they were. “Greetings, Princesses of Equestria.” He said. “I cannot recall the last time we actually met in person.”
“It’s good to see you too, King Grover. We’re terribly sorry to visit unannounced, but there’s an important matter that we must speak with you about.” Celestia said.
“And I have an inkling that I know what it will be.” Grover said.
The ponies were slightly shocked at his statement. “So…you’ve met Fire Fight, Your Highness?” Fist asked.
Grover nodded. “I have, and the Battle Foals as a whole. They did my kingdom, and possibly the whole world a great service.”
“‘Battle Foals’ again…” Twilight muttered. “And what were they doing here? One of your guards seemed to think they were mercenaries.”
Grover chuckled. “They’re certainly qualified.” He commented. “I know not their exact purpose for coming here other than to travel, but whilst here, they uncovered a plot by a now former councilor to strike a coup against me and claim the throne for herself.” He went into more detail about the bizarre technology Skadi had discovered and managed to hijack, and Cat found herself trying not to faint.
“Our kids…..went up against THAT!?” Sky Strike exclaimed.
Twilight lightly nudged him. “Shh.”
“Sorry…”
“You’re their parents?” Grover inquired. “Well, you must quite proud of them. I must admit that I never saw your people, as great as they are, to be ones for practicing the art of war, but the talent those foals have is unparalleled.”
“We…are proud of them…” Cat muttered.
“We just never told them…..or for that matter ever knew…” Fist mumbled gloomily.
“But that’s why we need to find them.” Sky Strike said.
“I see…” Grover muttered, remembering what the foals had explained to him during their feast together. “Pardon me for straying from the topic, but how did come to conclude that the Battle Foals were here recently?”
“Last night, we witnessed a cosmic anomaly that we believe that one of the foals caused, a filly named ‘Spiral Galaxy’.” Luna answered.
“Ah, yes. That was quite frightening.” Grover said. “Apparently, the filly unleashed that cataclysm to destroy the fortress used by Skadi. It left her unconscious until the following morning, but she is otherwise in good health, I assure you.”
“Oh, good.” Cat said.
“Yes. The dragon that accompanied them was kind enough to carry her in his arms until they safely returned from beyond the mountains.” Grover said.
“Dragon!?” Everypony bar Luna exclaimed.
“You are not aware?” Grover inquired. “Amongst their ranks is a young dragon whom oddly breathes ice rather than fire. I believe his name is ‘Frostbite’.”
Twilight turned to her teacher. “Princess Celestia, I had no idea dragons could breathe anything other than fire!”
“Nor I! In all my years, I’ve never heard of anything of the sort! I’m just a surprised as you are.” Celestia replied, and they all looked down at Spike.
Spike just shrugged. “Don’t look at me!” he said. “Huh….Wonder if I could do that someday?...”
Twilight now had to account for yet another new member of the ‘Battle Foals’, an ice-breathing dragon, as crazy as it sounded. “I see. And who again is this ‘Valkyrie’? I feel like I heard that name”
“She is a griffonlet not much older than the Battle Foals, whom she encountered whilst on a mission far away. She wields our greatest treasure, the Valhalla as she is a descendent of Siegfried, the greatest warrior in our history. As such, she is destined to ascend to great heights as a warrior of Griffonkind.”
Twilight then remembered that it was the griffonlet that Aesir had mentioned. She had read a little about Siegfried, but she’d never heard of this apparent treasure. “The Valhalla?”
“Essentially, it is the Griffon’s equivalent to the Elements of Harmony.” Celestia explained. “Though it’s magical properties are no doubt drastically different, it was forged long ago as a means of defense and source of prestige for these people.”
Grover nodded. “Yes, and only those who are of Siegfried’s bloodline are capable of wielding it.”
“So…she’s with our kids, sir?” Fist asked.
“She is.” Grover said. “Last I saw them, they set out to the west of here, perhaps wanting to return to their homeland. Valkyrie is merely escorting them back to the border. I don’t know how long she’ll be.” He felt terrible for having lied to another royal, but he had knew that if he really told them where the foals were, they’d make every effort to try and stop them, and he had a deal with them, not to mention a great deal of respect.
“Really?” Cat said. “I think we would have seen them from our train. I mean, don’t the tracks go over a narrow strait that just barely separates our nations?”
“Well, perhaps you were simply unfortunate and missed them, if you’ll pardon my presumptuousness” Grover said.
“Sir, with all due respect, why didn’t you have them sent back to Equestria!?” Cat demanded. “They’re still our kids!”
Grover sighed. “I realize I might have been irresponsible in many ways, and for that I apologize, but these foals prevented what could potentially have been a great catastrophe not even at our behest by intention. To banish them so would be to essentially punish them for their valiance.”
Hearing him say the word ‘catastrophe’ got Luna’s attention. Perhaps the forewarning gnawing at her had already been solved, and the ice monsters Fire Fight had described to her were a separate issue after all? …No. She still wasn’t sure for some reason, so she decided to keep her guard up until she knew all had been resolved.
“We understand that you only meant to respect them, King Grover, and we thank you for sharing what information you have.” Luna said.
“Y-Yes…certainly.” Twilight stammered, still a little dumbfounded at Grover’s actions or lack thereof.
“You’re welcome.” Grover replied. “Rest assured, if I had no reason to regard the Battle Foals, I would have had them returned to you. I’m truly sorry that events had to transpire like this, and I hope you resolve your conflict with them soon.”
“Us too…” Cat said.
They all got up from their seats and bowed to Grover, who followed suit. “Thank you for your time, King Grover, even if our visit was abrupt.”
“Nonsense. Our kingdoms may not always see eye to eye, but you are far from our enemy, and us royals should be cordial with one another anyway.” Grover said.
They bid their farewells, and Grover’s guests left his castle, leaving the avian royalty stricken with guilt. Surely this would drive a wedge between him and Equestria’s rulers, but the Ponies were known for being forgiving to a fault, so perhaps he wasn’t…..royally screwed. He only hoped that they’d decide to be understanding when the time came.
“I do wonder how those foals are faring?”
Back on Heimr Island…
With their aerial recon complete, the foals and their griffon hosts could now begin their venture into the island, having a good feeling that at least the densely vegetated areas were safe enough to survey, so they got into their assigned teams and went into opposite directions. A few guards prepared to fight accompanied them, including Captain Frigg, who went with Fire Fight’s group.
Air Slash, Frostbite and one of the griffons helped hack away the excess flora help clear a path. The three of them together helped make a wide path. Shadow Shroud and Kickback kept a watchful vigil while Zebota listened for any increases in activity from the island’s ‘consciousness’.
All was quiet for a while, but the haunting atmosphere was crushing. It felt like at any moment, someone or something could appear out of nowhere and ambush them, and the prison itself towering over them only added to the island’s intimidating presence. Ghostly whispers could just barely be heard on the looming breezes
“It is…observing us.” Zebota muttered. He drew his tomahawk. “Be ready.”
Opposite of the first group was the second, whom were also accompanied by guards, and they came an area of the island that was far rockier than it was vegetated. Quantum Tech was immediately able to conclude that it was mostly a mass of rubble from a collapsed part of the prison, which did nothing to mitigate how creepy the vicinity was. Shrapnel took point so he could sniff out any trouble, and Quantum hung in the back and let her scanners go to work.
She could tell that Shrapnel was on edge about the whole situation, and she was picking up consistent readings of a magical anomaly originating from within the prison. The collapsed structure opened a massive hole in its wall for them to pass through and investigate, but when she zoomed in, she caught a glimpse of two silhouetted figures peeking from behind one side of the hole, their eyes glowing an unsettling shade of purple. The anomaly seemed to be…feeding them somehow.
Shrapnel turned his head towards the eyes and started growling ferociously.
“Is…he okay?” one of the guards asked.
“He says ‘the darkness just beyond hides evil’.” Crazylocks explained. “Pfft! Happens on a regular basis!”
“And just what is this evil?” Valkyrie asked as she drew her sword.
“Well, scanners show that- <GASP!>” Quantum Tech was cut off when a massive spike in energy caused alarms to go off in her cockpit, and a symphony of demonic howls and cries resounded as the silhouettes charged from their hiding place….and a mysterious purple energy cracked the ground around them…