//------------------------------//
// S4 Episode 31:  Aitym's True Depressions 
// Story: JTHW: Journey To Hearth's Warming 
// by Lighttone GryphonStar 
//------------------------------//

On the far side of the giant blue hourglass, Lord Red’s airship came into sight of the entrance to the Pegasus Ilse. Starlight was so curious that she stuck her head out the window to take the winds and sights. A stark contrast from the heavy metal opening that led to the Batpony Canyons. Graceful light blues and kind yellow colors walls greeted them. While the lower dome was so foggy, the upper dome was so clear they could nearly see a mile inside it without even entering. Thousands of fluffy clouds held many buildings of ice as far as the eye could see.

“This place is even more beautiful than the Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus of my time.” Starlight covered her mouth of pure reaction. In the back of her mind, her teacher’s words were scolding her for speaking of the future. She stopped upon remembering she had already spoken of a lot more than her teacher would have allowed.

“Get your head inside!” Clovis the Coward complained. “Show at least some respect for the pegasi as we enter their lands.”

“Leave omnious pony alone,” Lord Red smiled at Starlight’s actions as she brought her head back inside.

While her thoughts of her teacher buzzed through her head, Starlight’s eyes came upon the one now advising her like a teacher in Twilight’s stead. Lord Red, the one seeking judgment for Twilight Sparkle was now helping her. She was still unsure about trusting him. But just as she found herself forthcoming with facts of the future so was he. For the longest time in her travels she never fully understood why beings in multiple timelines called her by these names: Omnious, Omni-pony, Omnious Pony. He spoke of her future, the clash of their fates but not what it meant to him or her, or what she needed to be ready for whenever that day finally came.

“Master, I don’t know why you are so kind to her?” Clovis worded himself carefully to ensure he did his best to not sound like he was berating Lord Red.

“Because she is a useful value,” his words varied every time, but he always put stock in Starlight completely. Starlight didn’t want to trust him, but his words brought such calmness to her especially lately.

Silver Pear was a different matter. As the entrance got closer, the earth pony found fear gathering in his spine. Starlight caught onto this pretty well, tapping him on the back, making him shake wildly. “Don’t do that lovely, we are about to… to…”

“Land?” Starlight’s answer for him was stopped as the airship shook. It connected to the entrance, and the doors opened. “Ha, ha! How the tables have turned?”

“What are you talking about?” Silver Pear boasted toward the doorway. “I’ve done fine in the airship plenty of times. Remember how I acted on the Titan Airship."

“Yes, but your fears aren't toward the airships at all but our destination.” She pushed him out and laughed at his falling.

Silver Pear screamed in fear, not realizing Starlight kept him in her magic the whole time. He stared blankly at the clouds and the soft floor of the entrance. “I don’t want to die like this?!”

“Calm down.” Starlight sat him on the cold floor. “You’re not even going up to the kingdom above.”

“I’m not.” Sliver Pear stood up in perplexity.

“Indeed, due to earth ponies' weakness to the clouds, my master deeded you would be the one staying behind to watch over the airship.” Clovis practically snarked as he passed by them, exiting the airship with no fear. A bold attempt at mocking them from the infamous coward.

“Don’t worry, he can hang out with us!” A green blur ran by and knocked Clovis to the ground.

A familiar griffin ran up and picked Silver Pear off the ground. “It is nice to see you, again. You have found some strange new friends since you have been gone from our sweet little town.” The griffin spoke so fast that Silver Pear could barely understand a single word.

However, the jibberish was clear enough for the earth pony to realize the obvious. “Hermes, what are you doing here?” Silver Pear cheered.

“We’re tagged along with Rainbow Dartz.”

“We--” Silver Pear was overjoyed to see Red Steel here as well. It was surprising at all ends.

“Wait, you said, Rainbow Dartz?” Starlight questioned through her own laughter.

“He was summoned by his sister to deal with something important,” Hermes spoke even faster, making Starlight slow down the voice with a simple spell.

“Could you repeat that?”

“I said, Rainbow Dartz was summoned by his sister more than a month ago!!” He screamed, not used to the spell. “We went with him, but due to me being a griffin, we have been stuck out here ever since!!”

Starlight rubbed her ears in annoyance. “Okay, okay. I heard you!”

“I guess I’ll keep you two company,” Silver Pear conceded.

“Come on, there is a bar in the waiting room!”

“What?!” Starlight was just as perplexed now, too.

Hermes dragged Starlight and Silver Pear away before another word could be given. Lord Red smirked at the actions and the complete ignorance of him and Clovis. However, soon enough, Lord Red followed slowly behind.

Deep within the hallways was something totally unexpected. Starlight’s eyes went wide at the sight of a luxurious wooden bar built into the side of the entrance. Standing in defiance of the graceful blues and kind yellows was the soft calming brown wooden establishment known as Crooked Wings. Named as such by the broken giant wings that adorned above the front doors.

Starlite felt anxious under them, yet she couldn't discern why. It was a strange feeling like something deep within her told her to both respect them and fear them. She moved carefully under them, following the others.

Lord Red also noticed them but for another reason. A sense of familiarity echoed within him as he caked the dust off. "Surprising how much time has passed since then." 

Inside sound music played which matched well with the peaceful environment. Inside was a soft golden wood with small traces of green draping the top in the ceiling. Tables were a rougher darker wood and sitting beside them were many species. The arrangement almost reminded Starlight of her times with the Wolf's Apple. Joy filled up in her as she reached the front bar. Hermes waved over the bartender, " oh oh can we get some drinks?"

"We don't exactly have time for that," silver pear joked. "Aren't we busy with a mission?" He was in a much better mood to be on much more Solid Ground even if it was just wood.

"Yeah but..." Starlights stopped. Her eyes traced over the Lord Red.

"No, it's fine." Lord red placed down some money. " I'll cover the first round myself."

"Just don't overdo it," Clovis commented as he took a seat.

The bartender came over. It was a pegasus with soft gray hair folded all the way back and brown fur. He wore a white jumpsuit and red overalls. "Hello, I'm the Red Baron, the current owner of this fine establishment, but you can call me Peppy, and this here is my pet rabbit, Hare." He pointed a rabbit walking over to them with the notes the bartender needed to take their order.

"Peppy, Hare? Huh, what do you recommend?" Silver Pear questioned.

"The barrel roll: one and a half ounces white gin, one-fourth ounces spice liqueur, half an ounce pineapple juice, one ounce clarified coconut water and a few drops of vanilla bitters." The bartender took pride in explaining it. "Your griffin friend has already gulped down ten of them." Hermes's laughter echoed over him.

"Great..." Starlight laughed with the echo. "At least, he isn't drunk..." Her sarcasm with laid on thick. "I'll take just one."

"Same," Silver Pear repeated.

"Hard root beer," Clovis asked.

"And I'll take a Bloody Deacon," Lord Red answered.

"Wow, it's been a while since somepony has ordered that beast of a drink." Peppy left to make the drinks.

After a few moments, Starlight got curious about the strange name, "Bloody Deacon?" She questioned.

"Oh, a simple drink of hot sauce and absinthe with a stick of bacon to stir."

"Powerful stuff," Silver Pear commented.

"Yes," Lord Red nodded at the bartender as he brought the drinks over. "Stronger than my preference but I thought it was suitable to take in his favorite drink after seeing them."

"Them?" Silver Pear was now just as curious.

"The wings outside..." Clovis deadpanned as he took his hard root beer."

“Yes,” Lord Red confirmed. “Those are not pegasus wings."

"What? No way, I thought they were just a design choice, you know like the wolf head on the Wolf's Apple?!" Hermes's laughter echoed in the background again as he quickly gulped down another barrel roll.

"Close, very close," Lord Red was able to keep up with the griffin's quickfire words. "This place was once known as Red Angel High. However, things changed several millennia ago when those very real wings were mounted."

"Wow, this place is that old," Starlight took her first drink of the barrel roll. She quickly pulled back at its intense sweetness.

"An ancient alicorn, one of the oldest in existence had a laboratory near this area. He was in alliance with the pegasi, the batponies, the umbrums, and even the griffins."

"In fact, I head, it was this alicorn who helped the umbrum design the giant hourglass itself," Clovis commented.

"Yes, so the rumors say. He would come here every day and enjoy this same drink." Lord Red held up the drink, carefully mixing the bacon. "He would enjoy it with royalty, friends, and even common folk. All trusted and revered him." Lord Red took the bacon out and gave it a quick bite before continuing. "But, unbeknownst to the four species, the mysterious alicorn had been kidnapping ponies and committing experiments on them."

"All while visiting this hub of kindness and grace, drinking in the claiming wood as if it was normal. He was even praised among the patrons despite the horror he committed in the shadows." Clovis spoke with disdain toward the depiction as if this alicorn highly offended him.

"That's terrible," Starlight felt uneasy to the point that the sweetness of the barrel roll no longer bothered her.

"It is even believed by some that his experiments led to the birth of freak species like the changelings," Clovis gave his final comment.

"What happened to this alicorn?"

"A clever trickster leaked the truth to all four species. A war broke out so strong that even the other alicorns got involved. They hunted him down to this very pub fought him and defeated him." Lord Red pointed to the doorway and the sight of old rusted bolts hanging above it. "In the end, his body was chained down to the front of the bar and his wings were ripped off by the very pegasus and batponies that served him so loyally. Despite escaping, his body was later imprisoned within a blue crystal amulet with his soul left to wander the world. The alicorn... abandoned and forgotten by all." Lord Red held the drink up to the direction of the wings and took a drink in honor of it. "After that, the bar was rebranded. The wings were held above as the biggest victory for the pegasi and the batponies. From that point on the two species have been in an unbreakable alliance."

The ending of the story brought pride to Starlight. She was impressed by the two species' determination to never break something forged under such dire reasons. She held up her drink and nodded the others to do the same. "Okay, to that I suggest a toast to the pegasi and batponies." The others followed her actions. "They've faced far greater terrors than I ever had. Hopefully, the coming talk of peace proved to be just as fruitful."

"Yeah!!" They all cheered and toasted.

******

Down below in the Batpony Canyon, a soft beeping cooed out within a hospital room. The weak and frail Princess Platinum laid upon a bed unconscious. She was hooked up to several machines. Vanity, the loyal ifrit doctor to Frost's armies, was doing whatever she could to keep the unicorn alive. Never before had she seen such heavy wounds. "This is going to take all of my painkillers. And I need it more for myself..."

She examined the shoulders of the princess once more. Though the arms were gone, the shoulders had finally sealed up. "That's good, less work to deal with. Hopefully, she doesn't fuss. I should be able to remove the stitches now." She grabbed her scalpel and slowly cut each string before pulling out the staples with a pincer. The princess and her unconsciousness struggled in pain. Luckily the strap kept her down. "Careful! I'm not as good at this work as my grandmother was when she removed your wings."

The door opened, and another ifrit walked in, "I would like to meet this grandmother if she's that good."

“Hello Sage, are you done with your politics above?"

"Not quite, though things would be easier if I wasn't dealing with a bunch of mindless monsters."

“They're not completely mindless they just now have a different understanding than before." Vanity leaned back against the table, cleaned up her tools, and pulled off her gloves.

"I guess that's a better way to put it." Sage’s eyes wandered over to the vase filled with ashes. "Have you found a use for it yet?"

"Truthfully, I'm unsure why Lord Frost told us to bring it. But I guess it is better than leaving it with that family of mine."

"They never respected your sibling." Sage took a chair, walking around the city was getting tiresome on him.

"More like they could not trust her life choices?"

"Trust... ever since I've started working with Lord Frost, my perceptions on trust have changed greatly." Sage posed what they were both thinking. "I'm unsure whether we can trust him anymore."

"We owe our allegiance to him," Vanity clarified. "He said he would help us complete our dreams."

"Yes, he said we all will have a use in the plan." Sage crossed his arms more annoyed. "But what is my use? You fix up the bodies, Carnival spreads his will, but what is my use."

"I would assume the alathar. After all, it was your family that watched over our species' piece." Vanity's eyes leered over to a certain direction knowing that the pedestal was in that direction. "And yet we know nothing on the readouts of the current alathar."

"Thule knew where the Heart of Darkness was supposed to be. So why is it missing now? And if he knew about this one, why doesn't he find the others on his own?!" Sage's frustrations got louder.

Vanity walked over to Sage and cupped his hands in her's. "I understand your frustration. But, Thule is an ancient being far more ancient than anything we ever heard of," Vanity posed. "Many things might have changed between the time of them being placed and the time of our search."

"Some of them but not all of them. That makes even lesser sense." Sage pointed it out. "I'm unsure what kind of creature Thule even is. An octopus, squid, or some sort of tentacle abomination." He pulled it off in another direction. "And what's with that other being. The mysterious alicorn hiding in the flesh of a siren filly." Sage was sickened by the words he was using but it was a reality he had to accept.

"I'm unsure on that thing either I only know it by a name... a name that keeps changing." Vanity step around Sage and behind his chair. "What I do know is we can at least trust each other in this." She placed her arms over the sides of the chair. The closeness brought warmth to both of them. They were beings of fire, after all, they didn't exactly enjoy the coldness of these canyons but lately. They've been needing to depend on each other more than any other. "Let's forge a friendship, no, something stronger."

Sage conceited, "I will stay if you will stay."

******

Rainbow Dartz's eyes widened at the sight of a dead griffin of medium size in front of the elevator. The three carefully exited around the corpse. Rex inspected the griffin closely. He had seen plenty of grizzlier scenes through his visions of death, more than the other two but even this scene left him shocked.

The griffin wings were broken in many places and twisted into a seemingly nonsensical range of directions. A knife had cut both its arms and face up; the beak itself had torn off the jaws. Yet brutal force alone clearly didn't match the broken wings. "No grip marks..." He noted aloud. "His attacker didn't break these wings but clearly fought against the face and arms."

"What? That makes no sense at all.?" Rainbow Dartz was just was concerned. "Maybe they were broken through magic?"

Rex's horn glowed. "There is a magical signature, but not..." Rex stopped his scan and pulled back in fear. "Impossible..."

"What's wrong?" Clover rushed over as Rex fell back. She jumped as much as she felt the trembling through his body.

"Very ancient magic... Something I haven't felt for millennia." Rex adjusted himself and stood strong. "What happened here?" he demanded the pegasus to answer.

"I don't know?" Rainbow Dartz looked back and forth between the gruesome scene and the elevator. "We have been at war with griffins for so very long and yet..."

Rex caught onto what he was thinking. "If this griffin got in, what made him run away?" He turned his attention to the rest of the pathway.

The first hallway was just as opaque and clean as the upper hallway was. The only distinction was the body lying in front of them and the small smears of blood on the floor leading to it. Not much changed beyond it other than more hallways. Before things were empty, now this scene had presented more eeriness. Rex leered back at the pegasus. Trust had faded completely in his eyes. Even if the pegasus was telling the truth, there was no way to know if anything he said afterward could be useful.

"Return to your kind. I and Clover shall go on ahead on our own."

"Do you really expect me to leave after seeing this?" Rainbow Dartz argued back.

"Your mission is complete. Leave now."

"No, I cannot--" The pegasus was stopped when he saw Rex's chains flow out around him.

"We need as much help as we can get," Clover placed her hand on Rex's shoulder.

"He'll provide nothing and only slow us down."

Clover caved, "While I agree he won't have much information on this attack, he does have more information on Twilight than we do." She found herself hesitating at speaking the next part. "Despite having been around her for over two months, I'm ashamed to say we know so little about her... personally." Seeing her reasoning wasn't getting through to him she tried to rephrase it, "Rainbow Dartz, what would Twilight do in the situation?"

"There were others among us that knew her better. To me, it always seemed like she would scan every detail in a situation."

"I already have scanned every detail. You are not needed here." Rex turned away.

"And she would certainly not abandon a friend." Rainbow Dartz affirmed.

"... fine." Rex conceded and retracted his chains. "You will accompany us. However, if my visions prove your death I will not save you." the umbrum's words were so cold that it actually made the pegasus backtrack at least one step.

Yet Rainbow Dartz held his ground where he could. "Shall I continue leading you forward?"

"Please do," Clover asked kindly.

They made their way through the main building to the outside. Yet no matter which hallway they took or what rooms they saw there was more and more dead. Pegasi, batponies, and even other griffins. Just like the previous body bones were broken and twisted and had strange directions that made no sense at all. Their assortment was even more bizarre. They laid in random directions with an unclearness on whether they were running away or charging forward. They didn't appear to be slaughtered in large amounts, rather it was like they were each individually killed.

It wasn't even clear which ones were killed first, and which ones were last. Decomposition made no sense at all as some parts of their bodies were fresh and others parts were rotting and peeling away. The scenes were even arranged randomly in their graphicness, some more instant kills others were far more grizzly. And yet no matter how many they found they couldn't discern the cause or even if they were defending or being attacked. Deaths also varied, just like with the Griffin; some were broken beyond repair, others seem to be chopped up, some were stabbed over and over, and others were blunt force trauma, especially on the skull.

Despite the variations in all of them, one thing was exactly the same. This strange magic was completely unfamiliar to both the pegasus and unicorn, yet to Rex it brought fear. He knew he had sensed this magic before but he could not place where he had sensed it last. Nor could he place what this magic was even called. It was if everything within him was telling him to forget everything he saw and sensed. Not to run away, but to deny the magic's very existence.

Soon enough, they reached the exit. Opening the door revealed the outside was just as grizzly as the inside. Another thing that finally became more noticeable now than they were outside was the complete lack of sound. "No birds are chirping, not even crows and vultures are feasting. The wind is not even gusting and the air is stale with the smell of so much blood."

"Impossible," Rainbow Dartz noted. "There are vents throughout the giant hourglass that allows air to go through effortlessly. Even hurricane-like winds can sometimes get in."

"I know my kind created those vents." Rex looked up in multiple directions. "Vents in the north, east, west, and south." Each direction only brought more staleness to his nose. The smell of blood was almost getting poisonous like in its thickness.

"Could they be sealed?" Clover asked.

"Possibly, but that would take a lot of magic." Rex leered back of the pegasus.

"Especially if the pegasi themselves didn't know what was going on down here." Rainbow Dartz confirmed.

"Maybe they do know and you are just not told everything," Rex mocked. "You have been gone for a long time."

"... That is very likely," Clover agreed.

"Either way, we won't get answers from this city." Rex didn't need to scan much of the side of the surrounding building. "All of them are shredded and covered in bodies."

"We can't stay here long. We should find the nearest city with any sign of life."

"Which direction is the capital?" Clover asked the pegasus.

"Întuneric? Its..." Rainbow Dartz took a moment to think back.

"Ten miles due east," Rex answered for him. "It's been a few thousand years but am I still right?"

"Yes, more or less." With that last word the three left in that direction. It was unclear what else they might find. But what was clear was more chaos and even more darkness lay ahead of them. And yet they did not know what they left behind.

Back with the griffin, the first creature they found strewn apart. A soft echo finally broke the silence. It repeated with a more harsh echo. And then another far louder echo. The source was coming from the wings as they moved without warning. They twisted and broke even more. The movement was far more erratic and random, but there was some sense as they stabbed into the ground and pushed the body upward. Despite being long-dead the wings had unknown holds of strength still left. They pushed more and more, breaking with the force of the body's weight. The eyes of the corpse popped open and an insidious roar bellowed out.

******