Chapter 11: Into the Maw
“Twilight, must we move so quickly?”
“Maybe if we took a break?”
“Jeez, stop whining you two! We’ve barely been walking for five hours!”
“Oh, sorry, I didn’t mean to sound like-”
The bickering of her friends fell on deaf ears as the lavender unicorn pushed forward at the front of the group, ignoring the soreness in her own legs as she continued to the top of the latest hill on their trip. While she was slightly disappointed with herself for neglecting the wishes of Rarity and Fluttershy, the current situation helped her to rationalize ignoring them. They had no way of knowing how much time they had before the griffins tried to use Ice Crystal for their attack, and she was entirely focused on making sure it never happened.
“Twi, maybe we should rest, just fer a few minutes. Get some water and maybe try ta’ come up with a plan fer when we finally get there.”
With a quiet sigh Twilight agreed. They had been in such a rush that she had forgotten to even think of what to do when they finally reached the griffin capitol of Thunderbluff. That and she was feeling a bit parched herself. She stopped and set her saddlebags down at her side before sitting in the grass beside them.
Behind her, each of the Elements of Harmony did the same, with Rarity being the last to sit once she had gently unfolded a sheet from her bag rather than sit in the grass. While Applejack and Rainbow both pulled out a bladder of water for a drink, the others pulled out a piece of fruit, or in Pinkie Pie’s case a cupcake, to get a quick snack.
“So,” Applejack broke the brief silence as she placed the water back into her saddlebags, “what’re we gonna do when we reach Thunderbluff?”
Twilight took a moment and thought to herself, “Well, first we definitely need a distraction. There’s no way we’ll be able to get inside with the guards there, unless this King doesn’t expect anyone to come for Ice.”
“He’d have to be a complete feather brain then” Rainbow commented as she stretched her wings. “Let me deal with the guards.”
“No Rainbow, we might need your help once we get inside” the lavender unicorn argued. “I think Pinkie might actually be the best distraction.”
“Oh come on! What’s she going to do? Get them all to sing as we sneak by?”
“It wouldn’t surprise me if she did” Rarity added from the back of the group.
“Oh, oh! Do you want me to do that? I can finally sing my distraction song!”
“You have a distraction song?” Fluttershy asked quietly.
“Duh! I have a song for EVERYTHING!” the party pony shouted as she pulled a piece of parchment from her bag listing out all of her songs.
“Girls, focus!” Twilight shouted to end Pinkie’s usual antics, “Pinkie Pie, I don’t care how you do it, but find some way to distract them.”
“Yes sir! Ma’am! Sir!”
“The rest of us will make our way into the main castle as Pinkie distracts the guards and search for Ice. I’m willing to bet she’s being kept in the dungeon, so we’ll need to find that as quickly as we can, and get out of there.”
“What about the Princess? Won’t she already be there?” Rarity asked as she folded her sheet back up and levitated it back into her bags.
“I don’t think Typhoon would just give Ice over, if he even acknowledges having her. We’ll just have to wait and see” as she spoke Twilight stood up and levitated her own bags onto her back, turning back to the path they were following toward Thunderbluff. As they continued forward, she mumbled to herself lightly under her breath, “I hope it’ll be that easy.”
A small drop of blood plopped down into the puddle laying beneath the pony’s scarred face, sending a small echo through the cell which she had been returned to. The guard before her groaned in near-pleasure as he stopped for a brief moment, though she wasn’t sure if it was due to the pain he inflicted or the sight of her beaten body.
She was unsure exactly how long she had been unconscious, but she wished it had been longer. Within only minutes of her waking the guard had attacked, slicing into her face with his claws. At first he had made the blows quick, but once he slowed down, the cuts grew more and more painful as his talons tore through her skin with the sting of heated metal.
It hadn’t taken her long to recognize the guard as one of the few which had been present at most of the attacks within the past years. That was the point that she grew even more fearful, hearing his voice again after so many years. That same demon, the first one which had begun the misery which plagued her life, the one who killed her parents. She was certain that this griffin had asked to guard her, and she wasn’t surprised that Typhoon had granted the request. With each blow the burning in her chest grew, and the collar was once again beginning to grow unbearable as it crushed each surge of magic within her body.
The griffin turned back to her after a moment of rest, slowly pressing a talon into the skin just beside one of her eyes.
Suddenly, the door to the cell swung open with a squeal and the talon pulled back. “What do you think you’re doing?!”
“As I was ordered Highness, the prisoner is to be prodded in order to ga-”
“You know as well as I do that angering her will only lead to throwing those confounded shards at us again Praetus.”
The source of this intrusion was a big surprise to the blind unicorn as she listened to the two bicker among themselves. She had hoped for relief, but she never expected it would be Gilda to stop her torture, especially not after all of the trouble she’d given the griffin.
“How do you recommend I proceed then?” Praetus finally asked angrily, even if he had tried to hide it from the daughter of his king.
“Use your imagination; tell her some story about what we’re going to do once we use her to take over Equestria or something. Whatever you think will make her sad.”
Cryssy’s slightly lifted hopes sank like a rock at the request Gilda had made. Rather than physically scar the unicorn, she deemed it necessary to further destroy her already scarred mind. She wished this would end, that the guard had just killed her in his anger, but it seemed that she was in for a future of torment and fear.
“Very well Highness.”
With his compliance, the door slid shut with a groan, and was punctuated by a loud click as the lock was latched. After a moment a warm flow of air passed close to Cryssy’s ear as the griffin knelt down close beside her, “Would you like to hear a story?”
Just down the hall a new neighbor had moved into the dungeon with the blind pony of Snowhoof. Her brilliant pink mane fell lifelessly across her face, only being diverted by the pointed horn sticking from her forehead. Luckily for her, this new guest had been placed under strict protection; she was not to be cut, bruised, or even touched by anyone but the king himself. Though these words were normally ‘forgotten’ by the guards of the dungeon, in this case it was understood that disobeying the order would lead only to a quick death.
Her eyes slowly peeled open, at first only showing her a blurred image of her surroundings, but after a few moments her eyes adjusted to the darkness of her cell. The only light was the flickering orange glow of a torch just inside the door, casting eerie shadows along the walls. Just beneath the torch was the guard, a large griffin which she almost mistook for a statue with how still he stood.
At her movements the guard ruffled his feathers and nodded to someone just out of view, likely a second guard meant to inform Typhoon of her waking. True it was a quick assumption, but it was the same method her own guards would use if a high-profile prisoner was ever detained. Celestia could only assume that her guard was not the first to think of the idea.
As she waited for someone to address her, the Princess quickly reached to her neck, finding a cold metal which was all too familiar to her. The brace around her neck sizzled with arcane power as she ran her hoof over the inscriptions carved into the metal. The same device she once created along with her sister over a thousand years before, just after the defeat of Discord and their ascension to power in Equestria. But they had long since been sealed away, replaced by newer enchantments on the cells which were made to house unicorns in her own kingdom should one be brought to justice. This was cruel magic, which was supposed to have been locked away centuries ago, hidden from any who may use them for evil.
The solar princess hesitated for a moment before even using her own magic in an attempt to escape. Though she had been the crafter of the device, it had been Luna that cast the enchantment, a dark spell which only she had known. While it was known between both of the alicorns that Celestia was the stronger with magic, no matter how much Luna denied it publicly, her sister had never told what spell she had used to empower the metal of the collars. Without that knowledge, the princess had little faith in her ability to break the enchantment.
After a brief moment, she attempted to wrap her magic around the collar, hoping to negate the powerful feedback. Unfortunately, it failed, and a blast of magic was shot into her neck, tearing her concentration down and countering the spell.
“Now Celestia, you of all ponies should know that casting a spell while in this beautiful necklace is not a good plan.”
The princess whipped her head to one side, seeing that Typhoon had stepped into her cell, a large smile behind his beak at the sight of her pain. The griffin king stepped slowly around to her front, keeping his wings erect as he spoke to her as a show of dominance and power.
“Don’t be worried my dear Princess, the overthrow of Equestria will not injure any of your precious ponies” a small chuckle gave away his lie, “unless your foal of a sister should try to resist.”
“Why are you doing this Typhoon? We’ve always had peace with your kingdom in the past.”
“That’s what you call it? Peace? Then why are my subjects seen as intruders whenever they enter your lands? My own daughter was driven from Equestria after only a few days of trying to meet an old friend” as he spoke the griffin wrapped his talons around Celestia’s collar and pulled her face close to his own.
“She was rude to them, you cannot blame the ponies there for disliking her” she responded confidently, without hesitation.
Typhoon’s eyes burned with anger at the alicorn’s slander of his child, “How dare you insult my family!”
His talons dug into the flesh of her neck, drawing blood with little effort as his grip tightened. A wince of pain flashed across Celestia’s face for a brief moment eliciting a change in mood from the king.
“Look at you,” his grip released, dropping the princess to the ground beneath her, “not so powerful without that precious magic are you?”
Typhoon turned to the door of her cell, only stopping to shoot one last quip over his shoulder before leaving the solar princess to the cold stone, “Try not to disturb my other guest, she needs her rest.”
As the door squealed closed Celestia took a few deep breathes and rubbed the punctures in her neck left by the tyrant of Thunderbluff. The guard across the room remained completely still, hardly even looking at her once the king was gone.
She had to get out of here and stop whatever it was that Typhoon was planning, and the first step was to undo the spell which powered the collar around her neck.
“Ready Pinkie?”
“Ready” the pink pony replied in a loud whisper, showing that she would rather have yelled if stealth was not part of the plan.
“Okay, go ahead.”
The five mares lay low as their eccentric friend bounced from their hiding spot, happily bounding toward the gate into the griffin capitol.
“Twilight, are you certain this will work?” Rarity asked from beside the lavender unicorn as they watched Pinkie approach the city.
“It’s Pinkie Pie, of course it will work” Rainbow answered for her, waving her hoof toward the city.
They had arrived a bit later than Twilight had wanted, and she hoped that the griffins hadn’t taken Ice Crystal somewhere else by now. If they had, the plan would be pointless, especially since this was the only lead they had. And if it didn’t work, this would be the worst possible action to take on the griffin nation, especially if Typhoon really was planning on attacking Equestria at some point.
“There’s the signal!” Applejack broke Twilight from her thoughts as Pinkie waved from the top of the city wall, apparently having reached the top while the others weren’t paying attention.
The five Elements crept toward the city, remaining as low as possible as they hid in the grass of the field. As they neared the city, an outburst of noise showed that Pinkie had been sighted, hopefully without being captured already. The ponies lined up just outside the gate, hiding along the wall as they waited for Pinkie to somehow raise the metal grating.
“What’s taking her so-” Rainbow began to ask as a loud noise cut her off.
So spread your wings to the sky,
And shake your flank from side to side!
Because even city guards,
Need a break from working hard!
“Pleeease tell me this is a joke.”
Because it’s a distraaaaaaction!
Each of the five mares waiting outside the gate smacked a hoof to their heads at the latest line in Pinkies song, both from the fact that she was actually serious about having a song for the situation, and because it actually used the word ‘distraction’. Twilight was seconds from moving to plan B, but was stopped as a few guards began to join in.
No need for action on this day.
I say distraaaaaaaction!
No need for work it’s time for play.
To everypony’s surprise, the gate suddenly flew open as the song continued, leaving each of them dumbstruck.
“How does she do that?” Rainbow whispered after a brief moment of silence, answered only by slowly shaken heads.
They quickly shook themselves back to reality and tiphooved through the gate, hugging the wall as they snuck toward the castle doors.
The sight of Pinkie dancing around in a circle of armor-clad griffins gave the entire situation an unreal feeling, which was only intensified when the ponies noticed a few guards dancing and singing alongside her.
Come on now, follow along.
This must fun just can’t be wrong!
If you’re short, or you’re tall.
Ignore the ponies inside the walls!
At those words every guard froze for a moment before spinning around, their gazes falling onto the five sneaking ponies behind them.
“Oops.”
Despite Pinkie’s own mistake, the plan was doomed to fail regardless of what she had done. As the guards began approaching each of the mares the castle doors swung open, revealing 3 large griffins clad in obsidian armor.
“What do we have here?” the center griffin spoke, a hint of joy in his voice. “Oh, hello again Rainbow Dash; it’s been years.”
A low growl escaped the cyan pegasus’ throat as she glared at the griffin who had addressed her, “Hello sir.”
“As polite as always” Typhoon offered joking flattery to the mare. “I was so hurt when I heard you were no longer friends with my daughter. You two were so close in flight school, I hated to see such good friends torn apart.”
Rainbow gave no words in response, only continuing her growl as her wings slowly spread to the sky. Before she could lunge toward him a set of talons forced the wings back to her side, and pushed her to the ground. Each of the other mares were put through the same treatment at the claws of Typhoon’s guard. Only Rarity offered any resistance as the guard attempted to force her to the ground, complaining about getting her coat dirty.
“Take them to the dungeon, keep them separate.”
“Sir, what of the unicorns?”
“Give them collars of course. Did you just wake up, or are you really dumb enough to ask me that?”
“N-no sir, I apologize sir.”
“Good, you have guard on the pink one. Now, go.”
Each of the guards rendered a salute before dragging the ponies through the castle doors.
Before losing sight of the sky, Twilight noticed a wing of soldiers taking flight above them, a perfect formation headed north toward Equestria. She wondered what they were planning as the warriors whooped and hollered above, acting like they had already achieved victory. Her questions were answered once she noticed a certain blue body hanging beneath one of the feathered warriors.