The deafening hum of the airship's magical engine assaulted Connie's ears as Kaid, the unicorn pony that Celestia had assigned to the crew for first aid, readjusted the thermometer in her mouth. "A bit high, Ms. Marsh, but you should be fine. Get some rest, and I'll let Sir Garland know that you'll be back in action in a day or two. It's just a fever. Our best action is letting it run it's course."
"Sure thing doc…"
The white unicorn left, his golden mane bouncing as he did so. Making his ways through the halls of the airship, he eventually found himself at the upper deck, where Garland and Twilight sat chatting over tea. "Sir Garland?" The knight turned to the unicorn, before reaching his hand out and materializing a third chair. "Kaid! Come sit, friend!"
"Of course sir." Kaid did as asked, sitting in the newly conjured chair. "Ms. Marsh seems to be running a fever. The best course of action is to let it run it's course."
"Run it's course it shall. Our first goal is to trace the magical residue Nightmare Moon left behind. HIGHWIND!" A brown pegasus sporting a grey vest and aviator goggles peaked up from behind Kaid. "Yes sir?"
"TO PONYVILLE, AND WITH HASTE!"
"Of course sir!"
Highwind bolted off, leaving the three together again. Twilight poured a third cup of tea before speaking. "We can't thank you enough for joining us Kaid."
"It really is my pleasure, I'm honored to be part of something so important."
Garland chuckled as Twilight passed the cup to Kaid. "Don't get in over your head boy. This is a treacherous journey, one that will dictate the fate of the world." Twilight nodded in agreement, and the three continued to chat.
Meanwhile John stood towards the front of the ship, watching peacefully as the ground miles below blurred past at an almost nauseating speed. Never in a million years would he have expected himself to be in this situation, and only now it dawned on him that this wasn't a dream. What did his parents think? What we're they doing now? He didn't have long to ponder as a fluffy hand tapped his shoulder. "You alright? You seem a tad down."
"How could I not be?" John answered, sighing. "Everything I know and love is gone. I'm stuck here on an airship with ponies, a giant knight, and….Ralsei."
Lily giggled, adjusting her hat. "Would you feel better if I made a bunch of yummy cakes?"
"Garland would more than likely go crazy over you wasting our food supply." He stood straight up, walking towards the entrance to the bowels to the ship. Stopping just shy of the door, he looked upwards to the sunset. Turning back, he headed into the airship. Lily frowned as she watched from the railing of the deck. "I don't understand it either, but…we can only hope it all comes to pass." She peered over the railing again, eyeing the sunset.
Meanwhile, John ventured further into the bowels of the ship, searching for the room belonging to him and his sister. Pushing a door open, he peered inward, finding a dark room devoid of much decoration aside from a few pictures of the two princesses the group had met the night before, and a few books. "Self help for Royal Guards? Dungeons and Dragons Official Rulebook…Dr. Sweet Hearts' Guide to Confession…? Wha…" A sneeze from the next room over broke him out of his thoughts. Leaving the mysterious room, he quickly made his way to the one next to it, knocking this time.
"Doors open." Connie called out, leaving John to gently open the door. "Hey, you alright?" He asked, sitting on his own bed.
"I'm running a fever, but sure."
"Anything I can get you?"
"Maybe some water?"
The boy got up, leaving the room. Connie groaned, her headache pulsating. A split second image of a dark humanoid figure at the foot of her bed made her jump, her cranium colliding with the top of the bed as she did so. Rapidly examining the room around her, she found no one. Mere seconds later, John re-entered the room with a cup in his hands.
His eyes widened at the sight of his sister's paling face and shaking hands. "Connie..?" Breaking away from her shock, she gazed to her brother, quickly accepting the glass that had been extended to her.
"You alright?" He asked, watching her gulp down the cold water. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Setting the empty cup on her bedside, she took a deep breath. "Maybe I have…"
John shrugged. "Either way, I'm here."
"I know you are. One of few I can always count on."
《♤♡◇♧》
The large griffon smirked as he exited the small town armory. Pulling a bag of bits from beneath his left wing, he chuckled. "To easy. This is getting boring!" Letting out a long sigh, he went on his way.
This was Fefnir, a smalltime crook in the townlike outpost of Kyüle. Not that he had always lived here.
As he passed a group of unicorn foals he tossed them a few bits, smiling as he did so. A necklace bounced off of his chest with each step, the small crystal pendant hanging off of it pulsating lightly, then stopping. A hum was heard overhead, catching his attention. An airship, about seven miles above the town. And yet he thought nothing of it until he spotted the brightly colored sun emblem plastered on the sails above the ship.
"Guess I won't be bored much longer."
With a mighty flap of his wings he took to the skies, racing towards the ship at breakneck speed. Despite his speed, it was several minutes until he finally caught up, gripping into the wood on the side of the ship, well away from any windows. Slowly crawling up the sides of the airship, he kept an ear out for footsteps. Finally the griffon crawled over the edge and onto the deck, dashing towards the entrance to the bowels of the ship. Sneaking in, he smiled.
"Still all to easy."
《♤♡◇♧》
"Easy or not little griffon, I think you'll find it much harder to escape." Garland cracked his knuckles, and looked to Kaid at his side. "Alert Ms. Lavender we have an intruder."
"Yes Sir Garland!" Kaid scampered off, leaving Garland to enter the ship alone. Holding out his hand, translucent black bars appeared over all entrances to the ship's innards, before dissapearing.
"Yes, much harder."
《♤♡◇♧》
Fefnir stalked through the ship, carefully planning esch step. Peaking through a doorway he found a fluffy bipedal figure adorned in green whipping away at a mixture of batter. At least he found the kitchen.
Sneaking past the door, he failed to notice the figure perk up, tiptoeing behind him.
"Now intruder, I think you've come far enough." Garland's voice boomed, leaving the two to jump.
The griffon whipped his head towards the voice, eyes widening at the sight of the gargantuan armored figure before him.
"You will leave my ship immediately or perish within it. Ultimately, it is your choice."
Lily went into a defensive stance alongside Garland, still holding the bowl of batter in her arms. Fefnir carefully surveyed the situation, before doing what any logical being in his situation would do: Smirk and lower his upper body, preparing to pounce.
Garland waited patiently (yet not long) for the griffon to attack, thrusting the flat of his sword forward as Fefnir pounced towards him, knocking the quadruped backwards and following the attack with a heavy fisted right hook. Realizing he stood no chance against the knight, Fefnir rushed past him only to be knocked off course by the batter Lily had launched towards him. Garland let out an audible wheeze, clearly entertained by the girl's impeccable aiming. Fefnir swiftly corrected course, zooming through the halls and out of sight. Lily took off after him, with Garland turning around and walking through the hall in the opposite direction.
John exited his shared room, narrowly avoiding the feathered being that bolted past him and into the engine room. Summoning Crescent Rose and stepping forward, Lily collided with the boy's back, knocking both of them forward. "….ow…"
"Sorry!" The girl meekly apologized, lifting herself, and then John, up. "It's alright. Let's just find out what that was. It went into the engine room."
Lily nodded and John led the way through the door, traveling deeper into the room. Inside of the engine room was nothing short of amazing, a maze of pistons and gears lining almost everything in a room seemingly bigger than the ship itself, all surrounded by a familiar lavender glow. "Isn't this Twilight's magic?" John questioned, before jumping at the sound of a thump. Behind him he found a large griffon, presumably the flying….thing that had passed him just moments before. With it's left claw, the griffon drew a rapier from beneath it's right wing. "Alright lad-" Fefnir's eyes fixated on the crystal lodged within his Keyblade's chain. "-hand over the crystal in that there keychain! It'll make a fine companion to my own!"
His own? John snuck a glance at the griffon's upper chest, and sure enough a necklace rested. Not just any necklace however, a crystal necklace not unlike the ones Lily, and Twilight possessed. "Well brat, I ain't got all day!" The boy surveyed his surroundings, noticing Lily's absence. Had they split up? The room seemed to expand and clear out, yet John couldn't really tell. Hadn't it always been like this?
The griffon lunged forwards, and John ducked, swinging his Keyblade upwards into Fefnir as he did so. The griffon recovered midair, and grounded himself in front of John, swinging his rapier wildly. Blocking each strike, John concentrated his thoughts.
In mere seconds, Fefnir had gone from the offensive to the defensive as he narrowly dodged a point blank lightning strike. He circled around John, who's Keyblade lit a dim yellow. Again, lightning emerged from nothingness, this time surrounding the boy and clipping Fefnir's wing. Letting out a scream the griffon lost control, crashing directly into an armored figure. The very same armored figure he had escaped not ten minutes ago.
"As I said, your choice."
《♤♡◇♧》
After strapping the griffon's wings to his body, and being alerted of the crystal he possessed by John, Garland stood against the railing of the airship holding Fefnir by the back claws above the rapidly moving sea of forests and towns. Twilight now held a second crystal around her neck, hiding her laughter at the scene unfolding before her.
Garland shook the griffon lightly, resulting in a scream. "I'll ask you again, who sent you."
"No one! I saw your ship overhead and had planned to ro-VISIT! Yeah, visit!"
Another shake. "ALRIGHT, I WAS GONNA ROB YAH! PLEASE PUT ME DOWN!"
"As you wish."
Garland let go, and the griffon quickly plummeted towards the earth below. Twilight's eyes widened as she rushed fo the edge of the ship. "GARLAND-"
A portal appeared below the griffon just before he met his end, his momentum dying just before he fell through, tumbling into a dimly lit stone cell, the roar of an engine piercing his ears as he fell into unconsciousness. "…I'm gonna….stab that prick…."
《♤♡◇♧》
The sounds of crickets echoed through the night sky hours later, our warriors having finally found themselves on the outskirts of Ponyville.
"I told you I had the situation under control."
"I DIDN'T EXPECT YOU TO ACTUALLY DROP HIM!"
"He's in a cell in the bowels of the ship! He'll be fine."
"Maybe physically, but that poor griffon is gonna remember that drop for a looooong time."
Garland scoffed, him and Twilight continuing down the ship's exit ramp and into the town, John and Lily following suit. The four passed through the sleeping town unaware of the cloaked figure stalking then nearby. One could faintly spot the blue fur of the stealthy pony as he avoided the streetlights of the town.
"Who was that anyways?" John asked, shivering as a breeze graced the cool night air.
"That-" Twilight began; "-was Fefnir. A smalltime crook that seemingly emerged from nowhere. That isn't a joke either. He has no government records, no traceable bloodline…even Griffonstone can't find anything on him."
"Indeed." Garland commented. "The fact that he also has a crystal concerns me. We've no room for distrust." The group of four was now just outside the Everfree forest, leading the stalking pony to raise an eyebrow. Sure, he had been in the Everfree several times before, but only seldom had he seen anyone brave enough to travel into the forest without a guide. Looking closer, he could just barely make out a lavender hue he knew all to well. "…Ms. Lavender?"
The group continued onwards, stepping foot into the Everfree forest and out of the stalker's sight. "Well…darn. It's gonna be harder to follow them now." Shaking the cloak off, Blur spread his wings, each an impressive five feet. With a single flap, Blur took to the skies above the Everfree. "The only thing of note in the forest is Zecora's hut, aaaaand….Yeah, they've probably got their sights set on the old castle." With mighty strokes of his wings the cobalt pegasus quickly made it to the castle in the forest, landing gently just above the deteriorating throneroom.
《♤♡◇♧》
An hour of trekking the forest was all it took for the party of four to reach the decaying castle. Stepping off of the bridge, Garland stopped his companions.
"We aren't alone."
Twilight's horn blinked her signature glow, and she nodded. "Right. Pegasus above the throne."
"Rainbow Dash, perhaps?"
"I doubt it Garland. Rainbow wouldn't have much reason to be this deep into the forest."
A howl resonated through the area, the group jumping at the sound. "Quickly, into the castle!"
John and Lily rushed fowards the stone structure, Twilight and Garland keeping an eye out behind them as they followed.
Blur simply chuckled, his smirk turning into a frown as a mass of brown scales rised above the treeline.
"O-oh Faust! I gotta warn Twi!"
A short walk to the throneroom, complimented with John nearly falling through an old wooden staircase on the way, and the four began their search. Pulling a small vial from within her cloak, Twilight approached the throne. "If anything survived the Element's blast, it'll be around this area. Spread out and look." The other three did just that, each pulling out a vial of their own. Hours of overturning each and every stone ensued, finally stopping once Lily let out a tired yell. "I found…something!" Making her way behind the throne, Twilight's boredom turned quickly into excitement. There, barely noticable in the darkness, was a black ooze leaking from the cracks of the floor. Scooping some of the mysterious substance into her vial, Twilight embraced the glass tube with her magic, a faint pop sending it back to the airship.
《♤♡◇♧》
To say Princess Celestia felt peaceful was an understatement. Here in the garden she layed bathing in the beauty of her sister's sky, gazing up at the statue of The Good Knight. What had weeks ago been a bittersweet feeling as she crossed this particular sculpture, now sent butterflies flying wildly through her stomache. She knew how she felt after all, she wasn't a foul. The pitter patter of hooves from behind her caught her interest, and she slowly turned to face her sister. "We've not seen this statue in centuries. We are glad it's been so well preserved."
Luna layed next to her sister, gently nuzzling up against her. "We've missed both of thee dearly."
"We missed you too Luna, we missed you so much."
"So, is this how you spend our nights? Gazing upon the statue of your beloved, admiring his chiseled form in a way you cannot when meeting him in person?"
"Luna-"
"You make it blatantly obvious sister! We've known since the battle against Sombra. We're certain only he hasn't noticed." Celestia sighed, her sister chuckling much to her dismay. "I don't know what to do. I want desperately for him to rule beside us as a prince, but we've only just reunited. What if he doesn't reciprocate my feelings?"
Luna hummed, finally exiting Celestia's personal space. "Perhaps thou could call upon him once his journey to Ponyville is complete? We shall mask the event as a feast, celebrating Garland's return, only for thou to confess at the end of the night."
Celestia's cheeks glew a light pink, as she nodded. "Yes, that could work. I would bring him here to the garden, and confess to him. Your a genius Luna!"
The princess of the night smirked. "We know."
Celestia rolled her eyes, embracing her sister.
"I wonder what he's doing now…"
《♤♡◇♧》
Garland's sword collided with the scaled beast, leaving burn marks with each strike. The brown monster was huge, standing at an astonishing thirty feet, it's two trunklike legs held it's massive orblike body upwards as the four warriors barraged the abomination with unrelenting force. The mighty beast refused to fall, even shrugging off hit after hit of Twilight's alicorn magic from above. It's single red eye placed dead-center in the middle of it's spherical torso winced as the monster flung it's right fist at the knight and knocked him backwards. Lily rushed to his aid as John continuing his own assault on the beast's left leg. "HIGHWIND, GET THE DAMNED SHIP STARTED ALREADY!" Garland commanded, almost toppling the goat-girl over as he stood up again. The monster's eye glew a blinding white as a hot red beam blasted from it, aimed straight towards the the Keyblade wielder. An armored hand threw the boy backwards, and the beam made contact with Garland's sword only to disappear. The airship hummed once more, slowly lifting off. From above the alicorn's voice called out; "GET TO THE SHIP, I'LL HOLD IT OFF!"
The knight nodded, opening his palm towards the monster. He could feel the heat building within the grip of his metal gloves as he cast a final blast of fire towards the creature. Grabbing Lily and gently throwing her over his shoulder, he rushed to the ship with John following suit. The boarding ramp opened just as Garland came within range of the ship, leaving him to rush up the ramp. With the ship gaining height however, John wasn't so lucky. Putting his all into his lower legs, he sprang upwards from his sprint, narrowly gripping the edge of the ramp. Garland reached out a hand and aided the boy up. "Let's go, we've got to get the cannons focused on that monstrosity and get Sparkle out of there!"
Now grounded once again, Twilight blasted the creature with her own magic, the glowing lavender beam searing through and severing the monster's right arm. "That'll teach you-!!" The sounds of cannonfire startled the princess, leaving her to hastily dodge a stomp from the scaled beast.
A blazing cannonball made contact with the scaled figure's torse, tearing through it in a ghastly and grotesque manner as the blood and guts of the creature blasted out from behind it. In all her years, even those spent on the run, she had never seen a creature stumble upon such a horrendous fate. She felt her stomach twist, and a burning sensation rising up her throat. Lurching forward, she could only let it out.
Garland breathed a sigh of relief from aboard the airship, simply grateful his- arguably -best friend would live to see another day.
《♤♡◇♧》
Twilight Sparkle enjoyed many things. She enjoyed those things even more when her friend's were involved. What she didn't enjoy, even with her newfound friends, was waking up late in the night to the sound of her door being pounded on by an obnoxious blue pegasus. Yet here she was, the sun barely rising over the plains in the distance as she and Blur stood outside the Everfree Forest.
"There was something big in there Twilight! Something that wasn't even normal by Everfree standards!"
Twilight sighed, Blur's hyperactive nature rivaling that of Pinkie Pie. "Alright, where was it?"
The pegasus began to trot in place, before phasing into a full on sprint and running circles around Twilight as she slowly drifted back into sleep, awaiting an answer. "RIGHT ASIDE THE CASTLE OF THE TWO SISTERS!" The unicorn jumped, Blur's sudden shout bringing her back to the land of the awake at full force.
"Fine, lead the way…."
《♤♡◇♧》
Highwind whistled a tune as he operated the ship, making sense of the endless array of buttons, knobs, and levers that graced the control panel. "The Princess has requested our presence at the castle-" The knight had ordered; "'-bring us there, and make haste my friend!"
The pegasus shivered with glee. The legendary knight had called him friend! Did he really think of the pilot as a friend? Highwind thought back to his foulhood, and his desire to become a part of the guard just like his father before him. It wasn't until after the initial training that Highwind had learned about The Good Knight and sought to make his father proud, modeling his philosophy after Garland's own.
Then the pilot frowned, remembering the turning point in his upbringing. Having passed (most of) the guard's exams with flying colors, he had received a letter from his mother. "Your father is ill High-Wee, please come home." Ignoring the silly nickname he had hated so much, he took his leave from the guard and journeyed home. As he trotted through the door carrying a bittersweet smile on the way in, his mother delivered the news. "He only just passed…he was asking for you, just moments ago…"
He had been to late. To late to see his father for the last time, to late to comfort his mother, and worst of all; too late to make his father proud. He stayed until the funeral, broken at the thought of not only his own failure, but the loss of his father. His best friend. Sticking around afterwards to care for his mother, Highwind dropped out of the academy, opting instead to become an airship pilot. It brought home the bits, keeping him and his mother fed.
But it never satisfied him. Sure, Celestia had loaded him and his mother up with bits after he had signed the deal to aid Garland and Ms. Lavender, but it wasn't fulfilling. The pegasus stopped whistling, letting out a sigh and a tear as the lights of Canterlot came into view.
He had a job to do, and Faust-be-damned if he didn't smile and nod as he did it.
"I'm gonna make you proud someday dad…"