//------------------------------// // Apr. 2013 - Beyond All Thresholds - 4. An Old Acquaintance of Mine // Story: RoMS' Extravaganza // by RoMS //------------------------------// 4. An old acquaintance of mine The guards shivered in their horseshoes. Shouts echoed against the marble walls. Unbendable Scroll, the chamberlain, waited in the threshold of the room, silent as always. “War… Doth thou believe it? War!” Princess Luna yelled. “We should wreak chaos upon them, as Sombra would.” Arks of black electricity enshrouded her forehead. “Calm yourself, my sister. You know this is the Griffon’s tradition to declare war when their honour has been trampled. They never attack unless their grievances have fallen into deaf ears.” Luna threw a sheaf of papers to Celestia’s hooves, they scattered in the throne room. “Stop hiding from the truth, Ponies. Are. Dying! Our ponytarian forces in Saddle Arabia had to move to the North to protect our immigrants. Their sole role should have been to help the country with irrigation and well-digging.” Luna exhaled in anger then grunted, “Griffin citizens have gone mad, purging the… what they call the ‘pony scum’. And, as if that wasn't enough, We still don’t really know what is truly behind this. Why did they declare war upon us?” Celestia nodded, “There’s been foul-ups in our intelligence services, war isn’t something they are… trained to. But we are certain that a high-ranking griffon, one of the Emperor's relatives was assassinated.” Luna tried to keep hold of her remaining composure. “And our forces are just protecting the refugees. They haven't attacked any Griffin battalions,” Celestia added. “We won’t give the Prince-Electors a reason to move to action.” “This is what terrifies Us, We’re not ready if the griffons decide to invade, we are no match. And with the Elements missing… our proper reputation will be smeared if this comes to be revealed.” Apart of their magical usefulness, the Elements had the same role as regalia for ponies. The loss of such powerful symbols was tragic and Celestia already had some of her closest and most efficient agents tracking the path of the thief. “Not that the Elements would be useful now that we have one bearer dead and another out of commission,” Luna murmured through gritted teeth, a tear in her eye. “I sincerely hope they won’t move to attack…” Celestia paused. On second thought, she convinced herself that the Empire would not strike. “You know how the Griffin Empire’s politic works. It’s a huge imbroglio of conflicted interests. The Imperator is not even a guide in his kingdom. He is more of a putative prince. And it saddens me to admit it. They will fuel their own strives and the war will be forgotten.” A long silence settled down in the room, lasting for few minutes. Their exhaustion was evident in the Regal Sisters’ eyes, both looked out through the stained glass windows of the regal room. “Time to set the moon and raise the sun, I guess,” Luna sighed. “Another day, another step toward the End.” “Don’t worry Lulu, the Griffin Emissary will be arriving in two days,” Celestia smiled gently. Luna’s eyes narrowed. A usual trip between Equestria and the ‘Imperium across the sea’ took one week by boat. Either this meant that the Griffons had scheduled the declaration of war or… “Remember that in five days, the Gathering will occur.” Luna was surprised. A small smile cleared her face for an ephemeral moment. She even lost her etiquette for few seconds. “Oh… It’s been so long since I attended one.” “You were still banished when the last one occurred four years ago,” Celestia pointed out. “I just hope this one won’t be of ill-omen… again.” “We can only entrust you of such sayings, my sister.” And then, the two Alicorns walked through an arch, appearing on a balcony. Miles away, the first lights of Ponyville were switched on as bakers, milkponies and postponies started their long day of work. In the horizon the sun and the moon transferred their place. ϐ Ϙ Ͼ ϕ Ξ ϕ Ͽ Ϙ ϐ Erlier… Even before the sunset and the rise of the moon in the horizon, Scootaloo had already slithered out of her boarding school. Clouds had formed over Ponyville and an eerie wind had begun to blow through the narrow streets of the town. Weaving in and out between the patrols which were more numerous than ever before, she headed to the hospital. The townsponies wore expressions of grief from news that Scootaloo did not understand. She did not care in fact. She wanted to see her “big sis”. Rarity and her friends had said she was doing well, recovering swiftly, she was wishing for it. However, she was also truly scarred by the traumatizing experiences of the previous night; when she faced this screaming remains of the one she adored. She passed by SugarCube Corner and surprised to find herself staring for few minutes at the creepy place, fearful of what lay beyond the black threshold. The many yellow police strips surrounding the place had been ripped off by the wind and the shutters of the cottage were slamming on their hinges. If she had ignored the former function of the building, Scootaloo would have mistaken it with a haunted house. The perfect pace of horseshoes on the next street alerted her to the imminent presence of a guard patrol. Scootaloo leaped to the closest shortcut and disappeared into the shadows. The night was rapidly approaching and if Scootaloo was afraid of anything, it was surely to be left stranded, alone in the dark. She jumped over a fence marking the border of the town. She regretted having forgotten her scooter; the trip would have been faster. ‘No, it was a good thing’, she thought, she usually made a racket on her beloved vehicle. The hospital stood there in the pitch black. Only the lights of the entrance indicated the presence of the rectangular building. Scootaloo was standing at the same position as last time. She first thought about infiltrating it by hijacking the back door again, but the guards should now know about it… since her two friends had been caught there. Same place, different plan. She had only one solution, climbing the façade. Twice she made a circuit around the hospital. She fought back a feeling of helplessness at the sight of the smooth, plain, walls, void of anything she might use to climb up. Sitting on the grass she challenged her mind, searching for a solution. She remembered seeing a shed neighbouring the promenade in the surroundings. The Hospital had a huge park filled with flowers of every colour, it was necessary to get the services of a full-time gardener, therefore, she reasoned, the shed would hold some interesting and useful tools. Her suppositions proved to be accurate. Opening the shack, she went over to a huge stepladder. It took Scootaloo fifteen minutes to understand how to work it, and ten minutes more to finally find a way to move it from the shed to the hospital soundlessly. She smiled. The moon rose into the night sky. In her bed, alone and yet surrounded by the stench of antiseptic, Rainbow was struggling with her wounds. Moving a mere inch would bring her agony. She sighed. She wished to stretch her wings, to fly high in the sky until she could touch the twinkling stars. These kinds of thoughts were, in the end, just another repugnant reminder of her current condition. Groping her chest, she frowned and started sobbing. This feeling of agony running beneath her skin was coming back and forth. It was unbearable, driving her into bouts of madness. She wanted to keep her grasp on reality, but she had nothing to rely on. Helplessness and pity were the only things popping in her mind when she was picturing herself. She wanted to ask for a painkiller. Unfortunately, nopony was around, and shouting out would be a waste of breath as a painful and useless call for assistance. It would not worth the effort and the torment. She started at a noise. Something had just knocked on the windows. Rainbow heard a slight grating, like those of rusty hinges. A cold breezed licked her face. She started shaking. “Who?” She coughed, spitting lumps of clotted blood on her white bed sheets. “Who is it?” She heard something falling on the ground. A groaning echoed in the room. Blind and helpless, Rainbow shivered. Had her tormentor returned? She wished for the strength to scream but she was only able to squeak miserably. Then her twitching ears caught the high-pitched voice of a young filly. “It’s me Dash, Scoot’!” The voice of Scootaloo made something click in Rainbow’s mind. She started crying, but instead of tears of distress and suffering, tears of joy and respite slid down her scarred cheeks. Jumping onto the bed, Scootaloo’s fear vanished when Rainbow embraced her. “How did you get here?” “I climbed… the wall… with a kind of… ladder… I’m suffocating… Rainbow!” Rainbow Dash released her foster sister from her deadly embrace, first due to Scootaloo’s complaint, second due to the pain flooding her hooves and arms. Doubts started invading her mind. She had cast away her friends so harshly, only a few hours ago. And now she was greeting Scootaloo as if she was her sole friend. ‘What a poor loyalty bearer I am’, she thought. A shadow covered her face. The despair she felt was evident in her expression, even beneath the bandages. She was pitiful. “I've lost everything and what I could have kept, I threw it away. Scootaloo, tell me what I should do,” Rainbow sobbed. Small and still very young, Scootaloo could hardly understand Rainbow’s doubts. But seeing her idol in such state was painful. Misery was contagious. “But you’ve got me. You said you would take me under your wing when we went camping with everypony. I’m not gonna let you down,” She assured as she nestled up to Rainbow Dash. A thankful whisper crawled out of Rainbow’s thirsty mouth. From her position, Scootaloo saw the black strand of mane dangling under Rainbow’s gauzes. “You changed your manestyle?” She asked childishly. “Hue… Yeah, kind of,” Rainbow giggled. The nurse, Healing Rhyme had told her one of her locks had turned black. “Tell me Scoot’, what happened today. There’s been much agitation around her. I have no clue.” “Dad is dead and mom’s lost somewhere outside… Rarity and the others have said we’re at war. She paused. “I don’t want to lose you Rainbow Dash,” She said simply, sadness was audible through her voice. “I know, I know…” Rainbow tried to give back courage to her little filly. Rainbow’s mind faded as she thought of Cloudsdale. Once again, she felt useless. During the epoch her homeland would have needed her most, she was bound to a bed, assumed guilty of murder after escaping a serial-killing freak. “I want to search for for mommy,” Scootaloo mumbled. These words sparked something in Rainbow’s mind. “There's nothing left for me here or anywhere in Equestria. I’m free to go,” Rainbow stated, clearly knowing what this was implying. “But I still can’t move… I hate waiting.” She thought herself as a coward. ‘Blind and wrecked… what help could I offer?’ she kept repeating in her mind, trying to convince herself of her powerlessness. She was actually afraid to make a choice… the choice. She needed something, somepony to force her making it. Scootaloo was the trigger she expected. “Come with me!” Scootaloo genuinely jumped for joy. “We’ll travel and explore dark places like Daring Do!” “Like Daring Do…” Rainbow giggled but a harsh pain burned her ribs, killing her laughter in the womb. A small tear rolled from her eye and, in each other's embrace, both mare and filly went on the unstained lands of peaceful dreams. ϐ Ϙ Ͼ ϕ Ξ ϕ Ͽ Ϙ ϐ Twilight woke up with a sensation of fur coating her mouth. She had drunk last night after coming back home. The previous day’s revelations had shocked her and she had carelessly emptied her wine cave, paying no attention to Spike. He must have suffered from seeing his friend hitting a new low. Somepony once said that a hangover was just like having a peacock inside of one’s head. Absolutely wrong, at least from Twilight’s point of view. The truth was far more horrible. Her head was aching, unable to remember the last bribes of the night. Her thinking was wreaked by an awful ear pop and she felt uneasy on her four hooves. Toddling, she went to the bathroom and had a long, long… very long shower. Curled in the bathtub, surrounded by thick volumes of steam, she felt slipping away. She vomited loudly. She solemnly promised herself to never drink again. Sitting on the drain, she paid no heed to the rising water. The bath, as hot as Tartarus, numbed her mind. She closed her eyes, smiling. A firm grasp brought her back from under the water's surface. She gasped greedily. She felt somepony haul her out of the tub. Her hindlegs fell hard on a wet floor. She heard the same person turn off the running water which was flooding the room. “Snap out of it, Twilight!” The small shout hurt her ears and made them ring. She curled up, begging for a rest. She was on the verge of bursting into tears. Opening her eyes, she saw Spike, picking up towels into an attempt to dry the ground. The floor was flooded. His face was pale, angry at least, and he was tired. She must have put him through Tartarus last night. “I’m sorry,” Twilight mumbled. “You’re the least of my worries,” he said, sighing. “I received a letter from the Princess early this morning. She wants you and everypony to go to Canterlot the day after tomorrow. There is no matter of urgency apparently.” He shrugged, war made everything relative. Twilight groaned, still lying on the tiled floor. After having been dried by Spike, she was conducted to the kitchen where the kind dragon served her a strong cup of coffee. She never drank coffee or ever possessed some, how… “I went to the market while you were still out,” Spike answered the forthcoming question. “Thanks…” She muttered, gulping the bitter brown liquid, her face contorting in disgust. It was awful. Celestia, who usually was drinking a lot in the morning, always said ponies did not drink it for the taste, but Twilight was not prepared for such flavour. “I told you it was strong,” Spike said, drinking his own. “You drink coffee? Since when?” “Since we arrived to Ponyville, you know it’s hard to follow you a whole day and restart the same journey over and over again. Being an assistant is not a sinecure…” “Eh…” “At least, I learn new words every day.” “True…” She finished her cup and asked for another. Spike held out the percolator to the purple pony who could barely open her eyes. Her migraine was reluctant to go away. It was nearly ten in the morning and a familiar shadow passed by the veiled windows of the living room. A series of knocks followed. Twilight tried to get up but Spike forbade her to move. “Don’t bother; you’re in no shape to walk.” He disappeared in the hallway. Spike’s voice rose up, greeting the welcomed guest. Hoofsteps narrowed and not one but two mares entered in the room. They were none other than Applejack and Rarity. They both looked tired. “Let me guess…” Twilight grumbled. “Applebloom an’ Sweetie Belle ain’t given us rest last night,” Applejack answered, sick of the exhaustion. “Spike! Pour these two rag-slouches a cup, and a new one for my sorry ass.” It was apparent that the alcohol was still affecting her. Rarity gave a look at the surroundings, an amazing pile of empty green glass bottles were resting in a corner. “Don’t ask,” Twilight hissed. Rarity gave her an arched eyebrow. “Where is Fluttershy?” Twilight squeezed, knocking back her cup. “She is still in her cottage,” Rarity answered first. “I think she had enough misfortunes for the moment. She wants to keep calm.” “The calm won’t last,” Twilight said, twisting her mouth. “Celestia want to see us in a couple of days.” A long silence welcomed this statement. For everypony, something was fishy. But none of them would confess this feeling. “First time you’d got drunk, Sugarcube?” Applejack guessed with a smile on her lips, trying to ease the situation. “No… but first time I blacked-out…” Twilight said, holding her head between her hooves, hiding her eyes from the sunbeams going through her curtains. “How is Rainbow doing?” Spike asked eager to change the subject, unwilling to keep trotting out last night events in the library. “She…” Another knock on the door rose up. Twilight complained and before even Spike had moved a finger she was up. She stumbled on her first step but went to the door without knocking over and breaking anything. ϐ Ϙ Ͼ ϕ Ξ ϕ Ͽ Ϙ ϐ “Ow, ouch, ah!” The little filly cried. She was dragged along the way by a powerful guard. His shiny armour, as with the houses all around, reflected the light of the rising sun. He was whistling an old well-known song of New Owleans. The young filly, a small Pegasus with an orange coat and a burgundy-coloured mane was fighting against the stallion’s grasp. She gave him a buck in the flank, making him stop his song. “What is this obsession you fillies have with Rainbow Dash?” He grumbled. “Don’t you dare insult my sister!” “Rainbow Dash has no sister, it’s written on her report, you little liar,” He sniggered. Scootaloo’s face lost some of her composure. “She’s more of… a… foster sister,” she mumbled, turning silent. “An’ my name’s Scootaloo.” The guard celebrated, in his mind, his victory against this noisy and agitating urchin. “Where do you live?” He asked. “Where do your parents live?” These two questions made Scootaloo lock herself even more in her muteness. The guard was now eaten up with remorse, knowing he had broached a delicate issue and callously hit a nerve. “Take me to the sch… to the Golden Oaks Library,” she asked, disappointed. “Please.” And so be it. They passed by Colgate’s office and bumped into Derpy and, in the end, they faced the library. Without correctness, the guard had Scootaloo sit up and stamped the door with his metallic horseshoe. His jaw dropped when the door opened. Scootaloo, turning about, mimicked her temporary guardian, shocked. Twilight Sparkle, former Princess of Dusk was standing in the wide open entrance. Her mane appeared dishevelled and washed-out and the light pink strand looked stranger than usual. It shone with a dark-green reflection which plagued the yellowish-black circles around her eyes. One of her ears was straightened up while the other was dangling, hidden by her mane. A light blue mug was magically hovering over her head. On it was engraved the quote “Best Princess”. A drop of coffee stained the ground. Her enormous bloodshot eyes radiated exhaustion as they narrowed and pierced the uncomfortable stallion. Sweat fell off his chin. “What’s the fuss?” She said, simply. A strong smell of coffee and alcohol mixed and sprawled in the air. Both of her interlocutors frowned in disgust. Twilight blinked. When she opened her eyes again, one of her eyelids got stuck in the middle of its path. She went all Derpina. And as once said Rainbow Dash, “Never go full Derpina”. The guard turned to Scootaloo. “You sure this is her, the one you want to be guarded by?” “Y… yeah, today is Saturday. I have nothing to do at the School.” Applejack, Rarity and Spike appeared. The latter returned Twilight to her chair in the neighbouring room. After talking with the guard, he let Scootaloo enter and got back to his routine work. “What have you done this time?” Rarity growled. “I just slept next to Rainbow last night. I wanted to see her. I didn’t want to fall asleep but I did…” She took a pause, her hoof on her lip. “… and the guard woke me up this morning.” The guard’s story did not matter, she had seen Rainbow. Scootaloo was assaulted by dozens of questions. Rainbow had been withdrawn when her friends went seeing her. Applejack asked about her wounds, Rarity about her appearance and Twilight ‘strangely’ was grumbling on her chair, griping over her nausea and headaches. Scootaloo answered gently, replying that Rainbow seemed in better shape than the time she ended up screaming but that she was really depressed. She even mentioned that she was sorry for being mean with everypony. For a moment she hesitated, wrapping her chin. Then, thinking that truth would be better than hiding the fact she said. “She wants to leave too… And I would like to go with her.” The revelation struck every pony in the room. A heavy silence settled. They all looked at the hooves. Seconds passed, worsening the atmosphere little by little. “Did she really mean it?” Applejack queried. “Do you?” “I think so… Dad is… dead,” She shivered, the remaining happiness faded away from her face, her eyes tearful. “And I would like to see my mother… Or at least know where she is right now.” Nopony questioned her logic. It was depressing but true. Twilight spoke. Her voice was a distorted grave imitation of Bon-Bon’s, “She does what she thinks the best… I won’t hold her back. I felt like we abandoned her that night.” “Don’t you dare say that!” Applejack cried. “Rainbow Dash would not abandon us.” “Don’t tell lies, she will leave. I don’t see her staying her, having everypony remind her of… her condition. You’re wrong thinking the opposite.” “It’s t’ue!” “It’s not!” The conflict kicked-off, curses flew in the air. Rarity smiled, the scene was similar to any sitcom she liked to read or watch when she travelled to Manehattan. The strife died as Spike separated the two upset ponies. “Can’t you stop jumping to conclusions? You won’t decide for her.” He settled down the heated discussion. Spike was holding his forehead in his claws. Applejack breathed out loud and calmed herself. She changed the discussion topic. “So… how about Celestia’s appointment?” the orange pony asked. “We’ll see tomorrow… I booked train tickets for tomorrow evening for every one of us.” Spike’s cheeks inflated like a frog’s and he belched an emerald-green flame. A scroll bounced on the ground, a regal red symbol sealing it. Spike opened it and started reading out loud. “Dear Twilight, I know this is far-fetched and thrown in your hooves but I must raise your awareness about an issue of the utmost importance. Besides my request for you to come at Canterlot I am sorry to announce you that the Elements of Harmony have disappeared from their chest…” “Wait, wait… what?” Twilight shouted. “No, the Elements, I have had them since we reformed Discord…” Twilight stumbled over her hooves, galloping to her personal library, picking up the Elements book and opening it with an assertive stare. Empty… absolutely empty. “Alicorns know better, it seems. Oh, faux pas!” Spike teased her up. Twilight sent him a wicked stare, she was a princess now but sometimes she was trying to convince herself that she did not had signed up for this. “Girls! I made up my mind,” Twilight said, ironically hesitant. “We leave for Canterlot now!” Spike, Rarity and Applejack eyeballed their friend, taken aback. Twilight, using her magic, turned her maniacally-tidied home into shambles and, standing in front of her door, she shouted for everypony to come with her. Her voice was still high-pitched and hoarse. “And what about Fluttershy?” Rarity asked, uncomfortable. With her magic, Twilight grabbed each of her friends and dragged them to Fluttershy’s house. She took hold of the animal caretaker without any further ado and pushed everypony to the train station. ϐ Ϙ Ͼ ϕ Ξ ϕ Ͽ Ϙ ϐ On her bedside table was already piled up two books to read, but Rainbow had asked for the Daring-Do books. Nurse Red Heart brought her one, the last of the series, making Rainbow Dash smiled a bit. The nurse was an angel, always trying to distract Rainbow from her current condition. Praiseworthy, but ironically it was making Rainbow feel worse. Being cradled was the last thing she ever wanted. However Rainbow was still blind, for at least a couple of weeks more. Having books she was unable to read was a heart-rending sight. “You’re getting better, Miss Dash, you’ll be able to stand up with some help in a week if not few days,” She stated. “Healing Rhyme’s magic is absolutely wonderful, painkilling, coagulation, recovery and scarring over. She won’t admit it but we’re all glad to have her here.” “Could… Could you read me a story?” Rainbow stuttered. Without working eyes, the crippled pegasus did not see the nurse looking down, avoiding a direct stare to the bed. It was her turn to stutter. Her hoof started shaking silently, worried. “I… I am sorry, but other patients need me. I will try… to find somepony to keep you company. I can’t promise anything.” Somepony called for Red Heart from outside the room. She went out a moment and came back. “You’ve got mail Rainbow.” Looking at the grieved face of the Pegasus, well hidden behind the bandages she went mute, opened the letter and started reading. It was a letter from Spike. ‘Dear Rainbow We are currently on our way to Canterlot to attend an appointment with the Princess. The girls will not lie to you but everything has been very awkward around us since your incident and they haven't had much time to be with you with all of the escalation in Equestria. The Elements have been stolen but apparently that is not the main point of the meeting. Everything aside, we all hope you'll recover and be back on your hooves as soon as possible. We know how you feel and we’ll be always at and on your side. Your friend Spike’ “Thanks Red Heart, just… put the letter on my table and leave me alone.” She did so and Rainbow found herself, again, alone in her cold and antiseptic-smelling room, crying. She felt like a drag, a burden her… friends tried to take care of, but finally having to leave her behind. This feeling was overwhelming, ‘was it egotistical of her to want to have her friends next to her? And not just a bunch of few compassionate nurses and letters?’ Resentful, she was. Spiteful, she was. Revolted, she was. Stricken, she was. She felt so full of self-loathing. ϐ Ϙ Ͼ ϕ Ξ ϕ Ͽ Ϙ ϐ The trip to the Castle had been awkward. Everypony had been silent all the way, staring out of the windows. Twilight was trying to avoid being sick. Rarity had been mumbling she had not been given the time to take her most beautiful and fashionable clothes. Applejack was finally napping on one of the first class seats and finally Fluttershy and Spike was staring at everypony, waiting for something to happen. The situation brightened once they stepped onto the Canterlot train station platform. Spike had sent a letter to the Princess, making her aware of the unscheduled arrival of her faithful student and friends. Celestia, protected by two guards were waiting for them, greeting everypony with a gentle and radiant smile. They all felt better from seeing a familiar face which was not affected by despair. Twilight, still sick from the trip, walked to her teacher and as usual embraced her. “You smell funny, Twilight,” She giggled. “Reality backfires sometimes,” Her student replied. Celestia nodded, comprehending. “Follow me. I’m sure you have plenty of questions.” Accompanied by guards, the security had been enhanced since the latest developments had fallen into pony’s ears. They made their way to a meeting room adjacent to the North wing of the Castle. A huge table stood in the middle of it circled by at least twenty chairs. Each pony took a seat and listened carefully. “My little ponies, I didn’t expect you so soon but I think it might be for the better.” She mentioned the theft of the Elements but it paled in comparison with the second bit of news she had. “The Gathering will be held in four days,” She stated with a voice which could have been accompanied with a dramatic three tones music. Twilight’s jaw dropped, everypony else arched a brow. “We’re doomed,” Twilight gasped. What? Why doomed?” Applejack hurled. “Explain y’all!” “You truly don’t know what it is?” Twilight responded, disappointed by her friends’ ignorance. Everypony shook their heads. She sighed. “Aaaah… Okay, look. Equestria stands on this world as a neutral territory that no nations can harm because… ponies have magic and Alicorns are among the first born…” She started wandering off in a mountain-like pile of historical, political and economic considerations. Everypony lost her train of thought. Applejack cut her off and turned over, facing Princess Celestia. “An’ in Equestrian?” “In four days, every representative of each nation will come to settle down the conflicts which popped during last four years. And We, Luna and I, act as mediators. And it has been like this for eons.” “So why Twilight is so stressed,” Rarity asked, pointing her friend with her hoof. Celestia gave an amused smile to her student. “Well, apart from your inclined nature to paranoia…” Twilight frowned, crossed her hooves and turned her gaze to the next chair. Celestia restrained giggling. The princess looked back at Rarity. “… However she is right. The tradition requires that the opening ceremony has to be held by presenting to every ambassador the Elements…” She let out a long breath. “…This is why this is quite an issue. Elements are meant to be harnessed to fight mighty foes, and are our regalia. I fear that the Gathering will turn into a mess once every diplomat finds out that we're missing both the Elements and two bearers.” The day was passed searching for clues as to find where the Elements were, or at least who could have stolen them all. And, in the end, nothing was found. Twilight had in fact not so many hopes… The special services had already gotten ahead of them without finding anything relevant. The Elements seemed to have vanished. The evening was calm and everypony went to bed early, the next day would be a decisive and challenging one. And indeed, it would be. On the morning, a messenger announced the Griffin delegation would arrive at noon. The matinée was stressful for everypony as the first discussion, and negotiations about the war-to-be between Ponies and Griffons would be discussed. At noon, a flying chariot appeared in the horizon. ‘Only one?’ Celestia thought, standing with the remaining “Element bearers” and Princess Luna in the vast courtyard of the Palace. The ground was tiled of gold and silver, drawing a gigantic cardinal compass. Each was wearing their most magnificent clothes, ready to face the diplomatic mess which should be following the first contact. Twilight and Rarity tilted their head toward Luna and Celestia. “Aren't the griffons known for their exuberance, and compulsion to delusions of grandeur?” Rarity asked first. “… and the size of their delegations?” Twilight followed. Celestia nodded, perplexed. The chariot landed softly on the drawn compass and its four stallions neighed, finally able to stretch their limbs and wings. Every spectator gasped and held their breath, waiting. On the vehicle were two griffons, wearing purple and blood red togas sewed with gold and platinum. The first to step on the ground was young, very… “CELESTIA!!” The second one blasted out of the chariot and headed limping to the queen. The guards spread their spears. Only to see their weapons repelled by a dextral talon. Celestia gasped. The regal griffon hugged her. It was one of those familiar and friendly embraces, off-putting the audience. Jaws dropped, incomprehension could be read in each pony’s eyes.