//------------------------------//
// When Day Came Early 
// Story: The Olden World 
// by Czar_Yoshi 
//------------------------------//

Slipstream, Gerardo and the other griffons advanced under the cover of night, following the railroad tracks. Griffonstone was far behind them to the south; they were advancing northwest with the foothills of the Aldenfold on the horizon. Gerardo was counting landmarks and bridges; within the hour they would be leaving the coast behind and flying the rest of the way.

The five griffons kept close vigils on their surroundings and each other, professionally holding their silence. While they had squabbled further inland, this far to the north they seemed on edge, working more smoothly as a team.

"Far from your normal turf?" Gerardo whispered, disheartened by their lack of infighting.

"Yes and no," Blue replied, some sixth sense detecting Gerardo's noble blood and manifesting as courtesy... or he was just being polite to get under his allies' skin. "While we do haunt this territory occasionally, a ways north of here is a fortress of ponies who hobnob with the inferior griffons across the pass. I have a personal quarrel with them, and am dearly hoping to provoke an ambush."

He appraised Gerardo keenly, looking for a reaction to what he had shared. Gerardo thought quickly, trying to weigh what the griffon was looking for. "A fortress, you say. Pretend we're new to the area."

This seemed to whet Blue's interest. "Haven't heard of them, hmmm? Then chances are they may not have heard of you. Hopefully the base where your friends are waiting isn't well-visible from the air, I say. With a treasure hoard like you're rumored to be hiding, I'd hate to see it parted from you by anyone unwilling to give you a fair deal. Alas, the Equestrians aren't as well-versed in business etiquette as a gentlebird like myself. Do take care to hide your assets properly until the time comes when you're interested in spending."

"Don't listen to him," Violet disinterestedly droned, walking near. "He's about to offer an investment service to keep your money safe for you."

"You make it sound unflattering." Blue winced. "I'll have you know that through my patented schemes, not only will I keep your money safe and sound, I'll turn a profit just for you. Someone of my pedigree knows how to make a sizable investment like yours grow healthily..."

"Shut up about money," Red growled. "You're getting paid for this work, now do it!"

Gerardo cleared his throat, glancing earnestly at Gunther, looking for confirmation that whatever this payment was, it wasn't being expected out of him.

"All of you, stop blabbering on and move your tails." Gunther shook his head, returning the glance as he did it. "Or do we need a break so the investment banker can properly advertise himself?"

"I wouldn't mind a break," Slipstream panted, carrying the lightest load of the group yet flagging the hardest. "Not gonna move for a week after this..."

Gunther looked at her like she had just answered a rhetorical question the wrong way. "Fine. You have fifteen minutes. Gerardo takes watch with me."

Chartreuse giggled as Gerardo excused himself from the other griffons. "Oooh, Blue, the whole reason you wanted a break is walking away..."

"I did not call for a break." Blue turned his beak up at her. "I merely know how to follow orders when it is my imperative to do so."

"You didn't say you didn't want one..." Chartreuse singsonged. "Lazy Blue, lazy Blue!"

"Please refrain from singing." Violet shook her head. "The acoustics in this place are terrible."

"Well, if you wanted to build me a concert hall, it wouldn't be the meanest thing anyone's ever done for me..."

"Ahem! Don't let Chartreuse pressure you into such things, Violet, dear. We wouldn't want you to have to take out a loan to finance them backed by my oh-so-pointless investment service, would we?"

Gerardo drew away from the group with Gunther, keeping his voice down. "You want to speak with me alone, I take it?"

"More like I wanted to see if you wanted to speak." Gunther kept his posture stiff, standing on the tracks and scanning the horizon. "If you have a plan you're letting me in on, I have yet to hear of it. Like I said, I'll play along, but don't think I'll be fooled too. And I won't be any more effective keeping the others off your tail if I'm in the dark."

"Well, you've got your priorities, I'll give you that." Gerardo kept his posture straight as well, giving no indication from the rear that he was talking about anything other than keeping watch... but if the rest of the griffons were half as smart as he was giving them credit for, they'd already suspect he and Gunther were in cahoots.

Gunther narrowed his eyes. "That's a polite way of saying no."

"Hypothetically, if we did have a plan, consider this," Gerardo muttered. "Breaking anyone else's desire to stake us out won't work if anyone suspects you're profiting from it without them. If you look like you're expecting our plan, it will smell. So, not to cast doubt on your ability as an actor, but I'd rather keep your response as genuine as possible."

"Quite the impeccable logic you have there," Gunther muttered. "Now I'm looking forward to the surprise."

Fifteen minutes weren't up, so they maintained their vigil, staring at the hills and the sea. Arguments alternately started and were silenced behind them, and Gerardo found himself staring at the distant curve westward of the shoreline following the mountains, trying to judge precisely how far south they'd flown from the pass... when a bright pinprick of light appeared on the horizon.

Gunther's eyes immediately narrowed. The light was moving.

"Train," he hissed, the light sliding along the shoreline at speeds that made Gerardo certain it was magically enhanced. "Train! Hide, you fools!"

Gerardo found himself grabbed by the scruff of the neck, yanked heavily into the tall grasses far to the tracks' side. The other four griffons ducked in as well with practiced reflexes, Violet grabbing Slipstream and yanking her along too.

"Pardon? You mean using these tracks?" Gerardo whispered, the other griffons shedding their loads into a neat pile hidden beneath the grass, all five of them pressed low to the ground. "What about this merits hiding?"

"Shut up and do it!" Red pressed him against the ground as well.

"The train goes to Griffonstone, right?" Slipstream breathed, still panting slightly from the walk. "I don't get it. Shouldn't we want them to see us? They could give us a ride..."

"Perhaps I should clarify," Blue muttered. "When I said there was bad blood between myself and the ponies in the fortress, that applies to all five of us. The trains are Equestrian property, ergo, there is enmity between us and them as well. And we have no wish to waste our time hunting or hijacking trains."

"Are you sure?" Chartreuse tilted her head in confusion. "Because Red looks like he's practically drooling at the idea."

Gunther spread a wing, beginning to creep toward the edge of the grass to monitor the train's progress. "Knock it off, all of you. That has nothing to do with any of-" He froze. "They're slowing down."

"I beg your pardon?" Blue crawled up next to him.

There was a light cling, and Gerardo turned to see Red holding an axe, twisted and expertly formed so it could fit in his suit against his body with no outward presence whatsoever. It had an attachment on the head that looked like it was for spewing something, and he admired his reflection in the blade. "Is it going to come to blows?"

The eagerness was palpable in his voice, and Gerardo and Slipstream crawled forward to get a better look too. The train was decelerating rapidly, a long, cylindrical machine that trailed smoke from above and held a brilliant front-light in the shape of the sun, coming to a stop about three hundred meters away. Around it, air shimmered, and a roofed boarding platform materialized out of thin air.

Gerardo furrowed his brow, and Gunther whistled. "Hello, unexpected. Leave the cargo. We're going to check this out."

He took off at a low, fast soar, sticking to the valleys as everyone else gave chase. They reached the platform just as the train ceased its motion, steam discharging from various pores all along its wheel assembly. All seven fliers pulled up in the shelter of a last hill before the station, keeping carefully out of the train's beam of light.

A sleek double-door slid open along the carriage sides, a collection of black and white pegasi in blue-plumed armor stepping forth. Some of them held reins, and they unloaded a winged chariot, cushioned and golden and emblazoned with the motifs of the sun. Then the train's interior shone with daylight, and a mare emerged, so tall that the doors had clearly been crafted just so she could emerge without bowing.

Her coat was white and immaculate, with a faint pearly sheen. Golden regalia covered her chest and her hooves, the horn on her angular head long enough to rival Chrysalis's. Swan-sized wings rested at her sides, big enough to eclipse anyone save Wallace Whitewing, and her cutie mark seemed to animate slightly with the light of impending dawn. And her mane and tail flowed in colored clouds, more mist than solid, their only likeness that Gerardo had ever seen being Starlight's form when she used the Tyranny Module.

"Friend..." Gunther stared, his breath a bare whisper on the wind. "If this is part of your plan, consider us badly outplayed."

The look of response on Gerardo's face said all that needed to be said. They were in the presence of a god.