Twilight jumped as the door to the Oranges’ apartment slammed shut in her face, and she took a few dazed steps back.
“That was… sudden,” she thought aloud.
“I’m fearful that a pattern is starting to emerge,” Solaire added.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t stick,” Twilight frowned uneasily.
They stood in the hallway, unsure of what to do. A second ticked by, followed by another. Twilight shifted on her hooves and looked up to Solaire. Rather, she tried to, but the brim of her hat made it difficult to look so far up.
“Do you think they’ll let us in?”
Shouting erupted from inside the apartment, fierce enough to cause both Warriors to stagger back in shock.
“I… would hardly think it so,” Solaire admitted disappointedly. “I fear we may not be welcome here after all.”
Twilight chewed on her lip as she stared at the door. This definitely presented a problem. If what Applejack said was true, then they were already in the heart of the city. They would be at a disadvantage without a place of refuge, and Applejack was their expert of the land.
She shook her head. They didn’t have time for this. It was clear from the shouting that they wouldn’t be welcome here, even if Applejack convinced her aunt and uncle to open the door. With the Manehattan Guard on high alert for them, they couldn’t afford to stay out in the open like this.
“Come on, let’s go back to Applejack’s trailer,” Twilight offered. “We can wait in there while we think of a plan to find Evening Twinkle.” She moved past her companion to and walked back down the hallway. “I think we still have some food left in the—”
She cut herself off with a yelp. The griffon from before had returned, and she was blocking their path. Twilight took a step back towards Solaire, who had already taken a defensive step forward. He reached into the folds of curtains draped around him and felt for his talisman, the sole means of protection he allowed himself to carry; although he prayed he wouldn’t have to use it.
“You two sure are talking a lot about Eve,” the griffon noted. Her tone was threatening. Twilight almost missed what she had said because of it.
“Eve?” Twilight repeated hesitantly. “Wait, do… do you know Evening?”
The griffon frowned. “Who’s asking?”
Twilight winced from the harsh tone, but she gathered her nerves and took in a breath, as Solaire had taught her to before all of her speeches. “I’m Twilight Sparkle,” she introduced herself. “And this is my friend, Solaire.”
“Never heard of you,” the griffon deadpanned. Twilight flinched.
“Well, our quest is rather new, all things considered,” Solaire offered, hoping to diffuse the tension in the air. “Perhaps word of our travels hasn’t spread as far as we thought. We are the Warriors on Sunlight.”
The griffon snorted. “‘Warriors of Sunlight’, huh? That’s a cute name. Which one of you two came up with that gem?”
Solaire frowned. It was becoming difficult to discern the point of this interrogation, whether it was curiosity or pure hostility on the griffon’s part. What could they have possibly done to offend her so? Twilight, on the other hoof, was becoming slightly more than annoyed.
“What’s your problem?” she demanded. “Did you just stalk us so you can insult us? We’re practically on the same side!”
“Hey, don’t assume you know what I want,” the griffon snapped. “My problem is that the Guard here started cracking down harder than normal on us griffons lately, and it’s all thanks to these two ‘rebels’ that are supposedly stopping by.”
Twilight took a few more steps back as the griffon advanced towards her. Solaire pulled out his talisman and prepared for the worst, but she only stopped a handbreadth from his summoner. He stood by Twilight, attempting to look as imposing as his camouflage would allow, but the griffon didn’t seem to pay him any mind. She reached out with a claw and flicked Twilight’s hat off to get a better look, and the unicorn flinched away.
“And next thing I know, two ponies and a giant are walking around town in the middle of a lockdown,” the griffon continued. “And one of them won’t stop chattering about Eve. So all I want to is what you want with her.”
“We want her help,” Twilight said sternly, but with a shake of her head, her meekness began to slowly creep back in. “Or, to help her, I guess. We may have found a way to stop Nightmare Moon.” For once, the griffon didn’t have a comment to interrupt her. If there was any doubt in her mind before, Twilight knew she now had the griffon’s full attention.
“There’s these artifacts, the Elements of Harmony,” Twilight explained. “All I know is that they were once used to banish Nightmare Moon from the beginning, and I haven’t been able to find anything else on them. We were told Evening came to Manehattan looking for more information on them. That’s why we’re here, to help her find and use them against the Princess.”
The griffon looked over them with scrutinizing eyes. Twilight wondered what more she had to say to convince her they were on the same side.
“Alright, if we’re going to keep talking about this, it can’t be out here,” she huffed. “Too many loose ears. We’ll take you to our hideout and continue the questions there.” Her eyes narrowed, “And believe me, there will be a lot.”
“We?” Twilight blinked in confusion.
The griffon looked up and past the Warriors. “Bag them up. Let’s get moving.”
Twilight barely had time to look up. Two other griffons fell from above, each armed with burlap sacks. She didn’t have time to react, and her world was quickly plunged into darkness. The weight of a griffon pinned her down. She couldn’t resist. She couldn’t breathe. She was starting to panic.
She heard Solaire throw his weight and his assailant against the wall, resulting in a heavy thud. Surely, he was strong enough to overpower his griffon. He would be able to save her.
“Are you crazy?” the first griffon hissed. “If you keep making noises like that, someone’s going to alert the Guard! Now quit resisting and do as you’re told.”
A claw pressed against the back of Twilight’s neck and pushed her forward, and she took a few shaky steps. “S-Solaire?” she called out.
“I’m here, Twilight.” His lumbering steps followed after her voice. “Are you alright?”
“I… I’m fine. You?”
“Oh, quit your whining, you two,” the first griffon snapped. “We’re not going to hurt either of you. We’re just making sure our secret base stays a secret.”
“You didn’t have to jump us and shove potato sacks over our heads,” Twilight protested.
“Watch out for the stairs,” a soft voice warned next to her. Twilight’s hoofsteps became more cautious as she felt for the imminent drop of a step. The talons across her back suddenly didn’t feel as forceful as she thought. They helped guide her as she blindly stumbled forward, but even with that small assurance, it did little to make her forget her situation.
“Right, we’re going to show two strangers the way to our hideout so they can rat us out to the Guard once they have what they need,” the first griffon sneered.
“Why, we would never stoop so low,” Solaire’s muffled voice protested behind Twilight. “We’re practically on the same side. What have we to gain from such ill intentions?”
“I don’t know,” the griffon admitted. “But I’m not about to take that risk.”
“Speaking of risks, are you sure this is a good idea, Gilda?” the griffon next to Twilight asked.
There was a silence, filled only by the echoes of their footsteps as they continued down the stairwell. “No,” the first griffon admitted; Gilda, Twilight assumed. “But if they’re friends of Eve’s, then maybe they might be able to help us.”
Twilight stumbled as she reached for a step that didn’t exist. They must have been at the ground floor now. She heard a door open ahead of them. And the griffon next to her gently pushed her forward. “Wait, so Evening is with you?” she asked as they took a sharp turn. “Is she alright? Does she have a plan?”
“Oh, will you calm down?” Gilda groaned. “It’s… It’s complicated.”
“What does that mean?” Twilight pressed.
“It means it’s complicated,” Gilda growled. This pony was really starting to get on her nerves. The group came to a halt; although the Warriors could not discern why. Gilda stalked closer to Twilight and lowered her voice. “Now listen; we’re about to go outside. If you really are who you say you are, then I’m sure the Guard would be real happy to find you, and I won’t hesitate to drop the two of you if you draw any attention to us with all your talking. So shut up and follow our lead, or you’ll have to find another way to get to Eve.”
Twilight promptly clamped her mouth shut and nodded, a gesture that was difficult to discern through the sack over her head. Gilda sighed in relief. One problem down, although the next would be far more complicated. She opened the door, glancing outside to ensure they were safe, and motioned for her companions to follow, and they entered the hostile streets of Manehattan once again.
They must have been walking for well over an hour. Twilight tried to make sense of whatever she could during their journey for her own sake. Understanding the situation always brought her some small comfort.
It wasn’t long before they were lowered into the sewers. It had to be the sewers, Twilight was sure of it. The sound of metal grinding against cobblestone rang in the air after they briefly paused, and the griffons lifted and carried them far lower than the street they were originally on. It was then she learned the names of the other griffons, as the one leading Solaire, Galahad, needed assistance picking him up. It was the griffon carrying Twilight, Gertrude, that offered to help after setting her down far below. They sounded as though they were struggling against Solaire’s weight, but Twilight was relieved to hear his feet safely land next to her.
A rotten stench hung in the air, one Twilight was unfortunately familiar with so many years ago. It penetrated the sack around Twilight’s head, suffocating her as it clung to it. She tried counting the turns to keep her mind off the smell, but as they came few and far between she resorted to counting steps, but the nausea was too overwhelming to be ignored. She had to focus to keep it down as she mindlessly marched forward, and even then, there were more than a couple close calls.
After what felt like an eternity, they came to a stop, and Twilight heard the sound of metal scraping against stone once again. The griffons lifted them once again, and Twilight’s heart soared even higher at the thought of finally being away from the putrid smell of the sewers. The stench had seeped deep into her mask, though, and even though her hooves had returned to the surface, the fresh air could not save her. She stumbled blindly ahead as a claw eased her forward.
Twilight coughed. “How much further until we’re there?” she pleaded.
“Hey, quiet,” Gilda hissed. “This district is supposed to be abandoned.”
“We’re close, I promise,” Gertrude whispered into her ear. “Watch our step through the doors.”
Before Twilight could ask, a piercing, rusty screech filled the air. “What did I just say about being quiet?” Gilda demanded.
“The wind must have caught it,” Galahad sarcastically lied. “Honestly, when was the last time we had to walk someone in, anyways?”
“Just shut up and get them in!”
Twilight nearly tripped when she entered what must have been the doorway. The ground shifted up a half-step and changed to tile. Solaire sounded as though he struggled with the transition, too, but Twilight was comforted to know he was right behind her. They continued further in a few paces before coming to a stop.
“Alright,” Gilda sighed. A silent message was relayed, and the sacks over the Warriors’ heads was thrown away. “Welcome to what’s left of the griffon rebellion.”
They were in and old and desolate factory. A film of dust and grime covered the floor and machinery long abandoned. There wasn’t another soul in sight. Not on the floor, not along the catwalks that lined the walls or the offices they led to. Twilight looked around in confusion. “But… I don’t…” Her voice trailed as her eyes trailed up, and her heart skipped a beat.
They sat in the rafters, looking down upon them like vultures. Twilight’s tongue became stuck in her throat. She had never seen so many griffons in one place. She had never seen a griffon at all until this night, and her lack of knowledge about them only made their hostile eyes all the more intimidating. Despite her fear, though, one fact stood out above all the rest.
There were so few of them.
One leapt downward with a heavy beat of his wings and landed before them. He was large. It took all of Twilight’s will to not lose her nerve. He looked over the party with cold eyes and focused on Gilda.
“I thought you said you were just going to be watching them,” he growled.
“Ease off, Grady,” Gilda bit back. “I know what I’m doing.” She motioned for the group to follow her and tried to brush past the larger griffon, but he moved in the way, never taking his eyes off her.
“You’ve been bringing a lot of ponies here,” Grady accused. “Starting to make me think you’ve forgotten whose side you’re on.”
“I said ease off,” Gilda snapped. “If I had forgotten, I wouldn’t have brought them here in the first place. They say they know how to beat their princess.”
Grady scoffed. “So did the last pony you brought in here. Where is she again?”
Gilda growled through her clenched teeth. Up above, the griffon onlookers leaned in as the aggression rose beneath them. Twilight wondered if this was a common occurrence.
One of the griffons that led the Warriors here, Galahad, Twilight thought, put himself between the two and then pushed them apart. “Alright, you two, that’s enough squabbling,” he chastised them both. “We’re taking them to Evening’s room,” he told Grady in a stern voice. “They think they can help her.”
His tone didn’t leave any room for compromise. Grady looked between them all and growled through his grinding teeth. “Fine,” he spat, launching himself into the air with a beat of his wings. “Just don’t come crying to me when they abandon you like the last one.”
He took off to the rafters, leaving the factory floor to the Warriors and their escorts. Gilda led them to the old, rusted stairs on the other side. Twilight finally managed to build the courage to speak up when they reached the catwalk.
“What did he mean about us ‘abandoning you like the last one’?” Twilight asked. “How many other ponies have been here?”
“Besides you? Just one,” Gilda deadpanned.
Twilight’s brow furrowed. “Wait, but what about Evening?” Even as she asked, she quickly realized her own answer. “I thought you said she was here!” she said incredulously.
“I said it was complicated,” Gilda reminded her.
“Then why did you even bring us here in the first place?” she demanded.
They paused outside a door leading into the offices. The Warriors stood defiantly on the other end, Twilight’s eyes demanding answers before going any further. Gilda was quickly losing her patience, and Gertrude was quick to notice. She reached past her friends and pulled open the door.
“Because you might be able to help us find out where she went,” she said sternly.
Twilight eyed the open door skeptically. After a few stressful seconds passed, she took her first hesitant steps forward to the darkened room. She summoned a small light, used once upon a time for late night readings, and pushed it ahead of her to chase away the darkness.
“Careful with that light,” Galahad warned as he followed her. “Don’t want anybody outside thinking this place isn’t abandoned.”
The others filed in one after the other. Gertrude left the door ajar to let in what little light could trickle in from the outside. Meanwhile, Twilight allowed her candlelight spell to drift around the room, and she took in as much detail as she could.
Near the entrance sat an old office desk stacked high with historical books, some of which were left open. Off in the corner rested a dingy mattress with some blankets, and at its feet was a smaller bed made as though for a pet. A simple nightstand stood next to it, boasting a single scroll and an inkwell with a quill. The light drifted further back, and Twilight felt her blood run cold.
Pages of the remaining few books of the Solar Age were stripped unceremoniously from their bindings and pinned to the far wall. Strands of red ribbon connected them as if to make it a web. The pages themselves were annotated heavily, some of the markings bleeding into and obscuring the last copies of these scripts. It twisted Twilight’s guts to think her idol could have treated them so poorly.
“We haven’t touched a thing since she left,” Gertrude continued. “We never knew if she was coming back.”
“And when it was clear that she wasn’t, we still didn’t,” Gilda added. “I knew she was working on a way to stop Nightmare Moon. Figured she had the plans for it laying around somewhere, but all this stuff does is talk about the Elements of Harmony.” She heaved a heavy sigh and shook her head. “She was obsessed with them. There were all she would talk about. She kept trying to explain them to me, but pony magic always went over my head. I don’t even think she knew what she was saying half the time, either.”
Twilight took a few steps closer to the atrocious wall, trying to take all the information in. Her mind couldn’t comprehend it. Surely Evening Twinkle, the personal student of the Princess, couldn’t have been capable of this.
“We think Eve may have left a clue where she was going somewhere in her notes,” Gertrude said, derailing Twilight’s train of thought. “A lot of the pages on the wall mention pony cities.”
“Gilda is our residential Equestria expert,” Galahad added. “She went to a flight school here when she was younger. We figured if anyone would know where to start looking, it would be her.”
“Problem is, I’ve only really ever been to Cloudsdale,” Gilda admitted. “And I don’t know a lot of other cities outside of that. Doesn’t help that I don’t even know where to start with that thing,” she grumbled, motioning to the wall.
“We were hoping it would make more sense to a pony,” Gertrude offered, stepping forward. “A lot of it is magic-talk about those ‘elements’; a little hard for us griffons to really follow,” she added meekly.
“I’ll… I’ll see what I can do,” Twilight said uneasily, looking back to the wall. As she inspected it more closely, it began to dawn on her. This was more than torn pages and string on a wall. It was Evening’s thoughts laid out before her. The annotations and writing within the margins were her own notes. It was as though she had a window into the mind of the Princess’ personal student. “I’ll definitely see what I can do,” Twilight repeated, this time with more vigor.
As Twilight studied the wall, Solaire gave her her peace. After all, magic was her domain; far be it from him to pretend that he could help. He turned to the griffons, their captors-turned-hosts, with newfound interest.
“So, tell me, how was it that Evening happened to be here?” Solaire asked. “By our reception, it must have been a unique circumstance that your compatriots allowed her to stay.”
Galahad and Gertrude glanced to Gilda, and she felt the attention drawing on her. She grumbled and looked to the side, but eventually she sighed.
“She… saved my tail from the Guard a while ago,” Gilda admitted, almost painfully. “I made a stupid mistake and got cornered by a bunch of ‘em; should’ve been done for.” She huffed and shook her head, and Solaire noticed an almost respectful look in her eye. “She was just a bystander,” she grinned. “More than that, she was a newbie to Manehattan, probably only heard stories about us griffons from the outside. But she came to help anyways.
“Turned out she was sympathetic to our cause. A pony. Crazy, right? Never woulda thought one of them would have the spine to stand up to their Princess.” She blinked and looked past the Giant to Twilight. “Eh, no offense.”
The unicorn looked away from the wall and saw that all eyes were on her. “Huh?”
Gilda paused and rolled her eyes. “Anyways, Eve really helped turn the fight,” she continued. “Magic is a lot less annoying when somebody on your side starts slingin’ spells around. She knew how to handle herself in a fight, too. Took down five guards all by herself.”
“Funny, last time you said she took down seven,” Galahad jabbed.
“I said we took down seven,” Gilda bit back. “And she only got the first two because it was a sneak attack.” Solaire chuckled to himself over their bantering, and Gilda was reminded of her audience. “But yeah, afterwards she spilled the beans on her whole life story, said she was a student under your last princess or something and that she was looking into a way to overthrow Nightmare. She just needed a place to lie low for a while to do some research. I figured I owed it to her to take her here.”
“Grady wasn’t too happy about that, though,” Gertrude added. She looked to the side and rubbed her foreleg with a claw. “There used to be a lot of ponies in our resistance, a lot more griffons, too. We trusted them; we thought we were all part of the same side, but then the Guard kept finding our hideouts, and more griffons kept getting captured.” Gertrude had a grim look in her eyes, Solaire noticed. She let out a disappointed sigh. “Turns out some of the ponies were snitching on us to save their own flanks.”
“But Eve was different,” Gilda interjected. “I could see it in her eyes. She was tough as nails, and just as sharp. Even better, she had a plan, and the will to go through with it. And she knew she needed our help.”
“But when she suddenly disappeared like the others, there was some unrest between our brothers and sisters,” Galahad explained.
“How could she have vanished without anyone knowing?” Solaire asked. “Surely someone must have spoken to her as she departed.”
“That’s just it, though. She teleports; like, a lot,” Gertrude answered. “But she would always tell Gilda if she was going somewhere. This time she just vanished without a word.”
“I think I found something!” Gilda’s expression had been growing more and more sour as they continued talking about Evening’s disappearance, but Twilight’s announcement had pulled everyone’s attention. They gathered around her as she leaned into the wall, forelegs standing on the desk as she read aloud. “There are six Elements of Harmony, but only five are known: Kindness, Laughter, Generosity, Honesty and Loyalty. The sixth is a complete mystery. It is said, the last known location of the five elements was in the ancient castle of the royal pony sisters. It is located in what is now…”
A lump formed in her throat as she tried to say the last three dreadful words.
“The… The Everfree Forest...”
Solaire felt a heavy chill fall over the room. Even the griffons seemed to freeze at the news. As worried glances were cast between eyes, he couldn’t help but wonder what caused the sudden tension. After all, they knew where these mystical Elements were located and, by extension, Evening Twinkle.
Twilight sensed the Warrior’s confusion, and she looked to him with dreadful eyes. “They say when Nightmare Moon came back, she found a fortress in the Everfree Forest. She made it the capitol, and the whole area is now called Everfree.” Her mind was running a million miles per hour. “It-It… The ancient castle, it must be the same one she found. She must have known the elements were there, that they were the only things that could stop her. She probably has them under heavy guard.”
“I’ve heard the stories, too,” Galahad added. “That forest is like a natural barrier surrounding the castle. It’s full of feral animals. To try to reach the castle without the aid of an armed guard is a death wish.”
“But that didn’t stop Eve from going,” Gilda interjected, the usual confidence in her voice shaken. “She was obsessed with them. If she found out where they were, she would have gone after them, no matter the risk.” She hesitated, realizing what she was saying. “She needs our help,” she said sternly. “We need to go after her before she puts herself into more trouble than even she can handle.”
“Maybe that’s why she left without telling us,” Gertrude meekly piped up. “Going to the castle would be dangerous. Maybe she didn’t want any of us to get hurt.”
“Hurt?” Gilda scoffed. “She knows I can handle myself in a fight. Shoot, she even came to us for help! Why would she leave without any?”
As the griffons began to bicker amongst themselves, Twilight stepped down from the desk, her mind in a daze. Solaire reached after her to help as she walked away from the wall, but the griffons came in between and impeded his progress. Twilight was feeling lightheaded. How could she have not thought of this? Possibly the most powerful artifacts in Equestria from all she had read, powerful enough to defeat Nightmare before. Why did she think the Tyrant wouldn’t try to keep them under lock and key after her return?
She tried to gather in her surroundings to tame her reeling mind, and her eyes fell upon the nightstand next to the bed, more specifically, the single scroll resting on it. Curiosity took over, and she summoned it towards her and opened it, eager to put her mind to something else.
As her eyes scanned over the paper, she realized it was more than an ordinary scroll; it was a letter. More importantly, it was a letter to Evening. “Guys.” She read over it a second time, confirming that she understood just what was in her hoof. “Guys,” Twilight called again, and the griffons quickly silenced their bickering. She looked up to the group and saw all eyes were on her. She swallowed the anxiety that was building within and cleared her throat. “Listen to this…”
Evening,
It appears you were correct about the artifacts. They were right under our noses this whole time. If only we had known before the Summer Sun Celebration. I have a plan, although I would prefer it be spoken face-to-face. There are some finer details I know you would do better at perfecting.
Meet me in Ponyville. The mayor is on our side. Do you remember the old library you stayed at? She has promised to keep it vacant for your return. I will visit once every weekend until you arrive. Regrettably, my circumstances prevent me from coming more frequently, as I am sure you are well aware.
Your Faithful Friend
“Ponyville…” Twilight thought aloud. She looked up to Solaire and the griffons. “She must have left to Ponyville. This letter makes it sound like she had an informant there.” Something itched in the back of her mind, and she looked at the letter more curiously. “But… how did she get this? I thought the Manehattan Guard looked through all the mail entering the city.”
“Dunno,” Gilda offered with a shrug. “I always figured it was pony magic. We never gave her anything.”
Twilight frowned. She wasn’t familiar with any magic used to transport letters. Although that wasn’t to say it was impossible. Perhaps it was just a branch of teleportation magic. As fascinating as it was, she never could understand its intricacies, but there was no doubt in her mind that it was elementary to the personal student of the Princess.
“So, where is this ‘Ponyville’ anyways?” Gilda asked, cutting off Twilight’s train of thought.
She looked back down at the letter, as if there were some hidden directions she had missed. “I… don’t know,” she admitted. “It sounds familiar, but I don’t know why.”
Gilda’s look made it obvious she wasn’t satisfied with the answer, but she knew she couldn’t press anything more out of the unicorn. Solaire folded his arms across his chest and hummed, tapping his foot on the dusty floor. The name did sound familiar, even to him. There had to be a reason for it.
“Wait, was it not Applejack who said it was once her home?” he announced. He looked to Twilight, and her eyes widened.
“You’re right; she did! Maybe she can take us… there…” She brought a hoof to her face and shook her head. “We left her at the apartments,” she sighed. “And she just got back to her aunt and uncle. We can’t ask her to leave so soon.”
“Well, either she’s leaving or you two are going to be wandering around Equestria asking for directions,” Gilda pointed out. She started moving to the door. “You two stay here. I don’t want Grady thinking you two are running off to tattle on us. I’ll find your friend and bring her back here. Then we can all get out of this stupid city and take the fight to your Princess.”
“Wait, you want to come with us?” Twilight asked cautiously.
Gilda huffed and paused at the door. “Are you kidding? Your princess is the only reason the griffons united for the first time since our last king. She’s why we all came here in the first place. And now the only reason we’re stuck in this town is because of that same stupid sense of pride and unity. Nobody wants to leave our ‘brothers and sisters’ behind to rot in some cells, but there’s not enough of us to break them out. The way I see it, we’re all going to be joining them one way or another unless your princess falls, and if you ponies have a secret weapon that’ll take her down, I want in on it.”
“And you can count me in, too,” Gertrude added.
Galahad put a claw on her shoulder and nodded. “And me.”
Twilight looked up to Solaire. Their party surely was growing, and there was no mistaking the conviction in the griffons’ eyes.
“Very well,” Solaire smiled. “Far be it from us to turn down an offer of help.”
“Welcome to the Warriors of Sunlight,” Twilight nodded.
“Ugh, I refuse to go by that,” Gilda groaned. “We’re working on the name as soon as I get back with your friend. Galahad, Gertrude, keep an eye on these two for me. Last thing we need is Grady to think—”
She cut herself off, and her eyes narrowed as she concentrated.
“Did you hear that, too?” Galahad asked.
Gertrude shook her head. “That didn’t sound good.”
“What?” Twilight strained her ears, but silence covered the room like a blanket. “What are you talking about? I can’t hear anything.”
“Shh! There it was again,” Gilda cut in. Another second ticked by, and she looked up to the other griffons. “On the roof, now.”
It was a simple command, and her partners wasted no time following her. The Warriors stumbled after them, still at a loss to what caused the sudden tension. Twilight saw griffons hovering around the unfinished windows of the atrium, their hushed murmurs feeding the uneasiness in the air.
Twilight and Solaire raced across catwalk to the stairs on the other side. The griffons were faster than them. By the time they had reached the stairs, the griffons had already reached the top. Already Twilight thought she could hear the mysterious noise that had everypony else on edge. A distant sound, unfamiliar, yet it was enough to make her blood curdle.
Manehattan’s moonlit skyline greeted them as they burst through the final door. The griffons stood waiting at the edge of the roof, peering deep into the city. When the Warriors joined them, they heard the sound again.
A roar. A sickening, horrible roar. Off in the distance, they saw a silhouette to match it. Twilight’s mind was reeling.
“By the Lords,” Solaire breathed. He leaned forward, hoping a closer look would prove him wrong. “Is that…”
“A dragon,” Gilda confirmed.
Far away, an airship glowed in the light of the Mare in the Moon, like a knife in the sky. A voice from the ship carried a message just loud enough for the warriors to hear; a voice that made Twilight’s guts wrench, a voice that made her want to turn and run and never look back. She hadn’t heard it in years, yet it was all too familiar, like an old scar.
She took a step back, her eyes pinned on the ship with dread. She had to get out of here.
The voice chased her as she retreated back inside, hanging over her like a haunting memory, carrying the same message looped over and over and over.
“Attention, citizens of Manehattan, remain calm and stay indoors. Two terrorists are suspected to be in the area. For your own safety, do not attempt to interfere with Her Majesty’s Royal Guard as they work, lest you are confused as a rebel sympathizer. If you see any suspicious activity, notify the Guard immediately.”
