//------------------------------//
// Champion 
// Story: Expedition to the Cloudbreak Islands 
// by Starglider 
//------------------------------//

In the cavernous central chamber of the Temple of the Four Winds, a mismatched band of creatures had been waiting nearly two hours for their respective champions to be tested in the trials. The native griffon, Amber Thermal, had sadly only completed one challenge, failing the second then rejoining her family. Her parents, Indigo Burst and Emerald Downpour, had struck up a conversation with the smaller Equestrian griffon Gustus, while the young male Cerulean Mist had been playing Summer Scribe at a game he called 'Skystones'.

The unicorn had quickly learned the game, a simulation of combat using magical stones that projected tiny images of fighting creatures, and with a little help from her fellow unicorn Sprocket, she'd finally brought down the feared Chompy Bot 9000 and won a round. "Hey! Two critical hits in a row! You just got lucky!" Cerulean complained.

Summer chuckled smugly: "I played to my outs! If my only option is getting lucky, then that's what I'll do!" That said, the prospects for getting the win-rate into the double digits weren't promising; it might be time for a break? She held out a hoof to shake with Cerulean, "Good match! Fun game, once you wrap your head around what it wants you to think about." With that she turned away and trotted over to Indigo and Emerald.

Time to break the ice! "So, something I'd like to ask about! Have the Drow been much of a problem for you, lately?" 

Sprocket's ears perked up at that, having only caught a glimpse of the creatures herself. She looked up from her attempts to min-max the 'Skystones' game for Summer, hopeful but not with great expectations, given what she'd heard about how the fish creatures just sat there and tried to endure the raids. Gustus watched closely as well, curious to hear what the native griffs had to say about this. He'd fought that one arsonist on the ship, then faced down a whole group at the bridge. According to his mate Grenelda, they had a whole island base and an enormous flying warship; he knew that a further confrontation was almost inevitable.

"Drow?" the green griffon asked, looking startled. "We haven't seen those little beasts in Windsheer Cliffs since... not in my lifetime, I think. Which is just as well as the trolls and their kin cause us no end of trouble without drow helping them out." 

"Drow are just elves that are honest about what they want." Indigo added, with a look of disgust. "Sure those wood elves are all smiles and light, 'til they trick your chicks into signing up for 'the cause' so they can steal 'em away."

Summer Scribe pondered this response: well, they had appropriate feelings about Drow, though without the pressing threat the Gillmen had to live with. Still, they might have a shot here. "I ask because they've been harassing us ever since we got to the Cloudbreak Islands - they captured our scouts, attacked us on airships and tried to raid our base. They're nothing short of outright hostile, and frankly, I don't know if we'll be able to handle it if they keep escalating." 

The unicorn lowered her head... put like that, the situation was pretty concerning, wasn't it? "So, I was wondering if you'd have any interest in helping fight against a common foe - can your people can spare some fighters? Even if not, I'd be thrilled to know we have kinship."

A silent nod from Gustus; Sunburn had made quite an impression on him, when he made that point about the drow they'd had beaten being the weaker ones. They'd yet to really face a tough drow, and the griffon could feel that was coming.

"Oh, that's a shame." Emerald said. "You unicorns... ponies... seem nice." She sighed. "Alliances are a nice idea and all but they don't seem to work out these days, not like they did in the stories. Hard enough to get griffs to go help another flock, much less another species."

Summer Scribe nodded, her eyes sad: honestly, she wasn't expecting this to be a game changer. Testing the waters more than anything else, getting a sense for how bloodthirsty these strange griffons were. "Understandable! We'll figure it out some way or another."

"Haven't you lost any of your peeps to the drow sky traps?" Sprocket asked the nice griffon with a puzzled look on her creamy-furred face, "That was how they almost got us, when our fliers got too close. So I heard anyway."

Indigo's ear tufts perked up. "Traps? What traps? Say... where is this drow base anyway? You said your main ship is nearby?"

Summer perked up at Sprocket's interjection; the engineer made a good point. She levitated Melonwater's map onto the floor and unfurled it for Indigo, pointing out the EAS Harmony docked at Blissful Pastures, the shattered islands holding the drow base's location, the gillfolk's sky river and finally their current location, the Temple of the Four Winds.

"Oh, you are right out on the fringe." Emerald said, peering at the map.

Summer nodded, "Yeah, we just made it through the storm wall and pretty much crashed there. Didn't have much of a choice!" 

Sprocket's irises narrowed, and she said in concern, "Oh no, you shouldn't go anywhere near their base. They have these traps that pull fliers in from a distance, using some sort of attractive magic conducted down giant chains. Their whole base is surrounded by 'em!"

"Yeah, we had a team try to fly through that area... it's trouble. We had injuries to deal with after that one." Gustus chipped in, wincing at the thought of Grenelda's injured wing.

At Sprocket's description, Emerald let out a little squawk: "That's awful! What do they do with them? Are they like the Reformers, fouling their captives with Darkness, making into them twisted reflections of themselves?"

Blinking, Sprocket said uneasily, "I uh... I just asked about the traps really. You'd have to ask Azure when she gets out. She was on that expedition, and talked to those things. I hear she even blew one of the chains all to pieces with her magic!"

Gustus nodded to Sprocket. "Yeah, I've heard the story from Grenelda, but she likes to focus on the fighting, not so much on what was said. Best to ask Azure herself... whenever she gets out, anyway." He looked towards the door; it had been long enough that he was starting to get worried...

Summer could answer this; she'd heard Reef Skimmer's report on the prisoner interrogation. "The one we captured told us - they make the trapped creatures fight in their arena! Terrible bloody stuff!" Griffons were more aggressive than ponies, but surely they'd consider turning their kin into enslaved gladiators to be barbaric?

"Just the other side of Witchway Marsh... where the gillfolk live." Indigo said thoughtfully, still taking in the map. "It used to be a stop on the pilgrimage, but the elders made it taboo after many griffs went missing there. Always assumed the gillies turned unfriendly, but..."

Summer looked shocked. "Oh no - they were probably being taken captive by the Drow, then. That's awful!" She was starting to put two and two together... maybe they had more common cause than previously thought?

The two adult griffons exchanged a knowing glance. "Do you think they might still be..." Emerald began.

Indigo frowned, "Long shot after all these years, but if they're catching any fliers..."

"Any of the other flocks might have lost somegriff! We can ask... tell the elders at least..." Emerald replied.

Indigo took a step towards Gustus, giving him an intense look. "Do you swear on your ancestor's honour, that what these ponies say is true?

Gustus shrank back under the giant griffon's intense stare. "Look, Indigo, all I can say, is that it matches what I heard from Grenelda." He didn't mention the dramatic re-enactment of her ripping apart a pair of drow with her claws. "But... you should really ask Azure."

"Grenelda... is another of your flock?" Emerald asked curiously.

Gustus chuckled slightly, looking a bit to the side before replying. "You could say that, yeah... mate, more like." He concluded. "Hence why I'm inclined to believe her story." Oh, maybe this would help: "The prisoners we captured, they were interrogated by a griff as well: Reef Skimmer. He's very thorough. If he says they have an arena, I believe him." No need to mention that the doctor was a hippogriff just now.

"A story..." Amber said nervously. "Look dad, you know Ebony Hail better than me. She's not going to send a fury off on to fight a whole nation of elves, on the word of a strange griff. Particularly a, um, northerner... um, not that there's anything wrong with... sorry!" She backed away from Gustus, putting Emerald between herself and the 'strange griff'.

Summer Scribe listened sympathetically, and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, no one wants to go to war on somepony's hearsay." She sighed. "It sounds risky, but... we might have to get hard proof that the drow are enslaving griffons. That'd be enough of an attention grabber, right?"

"You really need our help that badly?" Emerald said, giving Summer Scribe one of those unreadable bird-of-prey looks. 

The little unicorn blinked. "Well... Yeah! We only just got here and our lives are in peril if the Drow decide they want to wipe us out. We can't just sit around and do nothing!"

"To be fair, Emerald... they haven't brought out the really heavy troops on us yet. If we do, it's a valid question whether we'll have any chance at all." Gustus mentioned. "I mean, we're not bad fighters? But we're explorers, not soldiers."

"Just don't investigate too closely, because um... flier traps and..." Sprocket fells to silence, looking nervously in the vague direction the copter would be right now, up on that balcony back there. Her sensitive ears picked up the sound of wingbeats... large, powerful wingbeats... from the atrium, followed by the click of claws on stone. She immediately turned to face the entrance, lighting up her horn with amber magic. She didn't say anything because Summer would be the one yelling about it most likely. Just... needed to be prepared. The creamy mare didn't like how they were basically trapped in the inner sanctum, with no other visible exits.

Indeed Summer Scribe's ears swivelled to track the noise, the rest of her turning to look a moment later. Who was coming?

A fire-feathered quadrupedal shape emerged into the temple's rotunda; close to a griffon in appearance, but with the rigid crest and plated belly of a dragon. Sunburn walked over to the group, staring at his surroundings as if more interested in possible threats than the spectacular architecture. "Are you secure here? Any casualties? I don't see Azure Feather or... your captain, Set Sail." he asked, in a low voice not far from a growl.

"Azure's doing the trials, right now. I believe this is the last one, in fact!" Summer Scribe informed him, with a hint of pride. "If we're lucky, we'll have a Champion of Wind on our side, soon! ... As for Set Sail, she's back at the ship. She didn't like hanging around here - something about the air."

"I'll admit she seems pretty weary?" Gustus mentioned. "Flew right from the third trial to the final trial... either very focused, in a poor mood, maybe both. Can't tell with ponies sometimes."

"You're... you're Sunburn!" Cerulean Mist exploded. "The Skylander! Teal's got a Skystone of you!" he shouted, flapping up into the air to get a better look at the newcomer. "You're really real?! Really a real phoenix-dragon born in a volcano, I mean!?"

"Hey kid, yeah Sunburn's the name, don't wear it out." the avian dragon admitted. "Still a few Skylanders around, not enough to do much good." he said with regret. Meanwhile Gustus was smiling at the young griff's reaction.

Sprocket heaved a sigh of relief at such a friendly face coming through the door, delighting her horn and turning to look up pensively at that final fourth door, wondering when Azure would emerge.

Turning to Summer, the Skylander said distantly "The trials... I remember, places like this, they could... unlock potential. Help a creature align more closely." He stared upward, as if trying to make sense of the wisps of mist twisting and flowing there. "Never got on with spirits myself. Wouldn't say no to a tactical advantage though."

Summer Scribe nodded back. Curious, she asked "Did you have to do any trials yourself? Or did you just always have your Fire powers? What's your story?"

Sunburn cocked his head, staring at Summer for a few seconds, as if reminiscing. "Nah... nothing like that. Yeah, when I finally made it to Dragon Peak I took the Path... the Fire Path, obviously. The others insisted. Didn't do anything of course, meant for whelps not adults." Another pause. "I was fully aligned from the day I hatched; took a long time though, a lot of fights, to understand what that meant." 

"An actual Skylander..." Emerald murmured, "...and you're fighting for these unicorns?" 

"Just helping out. While their techie helps us out." Sunburn explained. 

"You've been a great help so far!" Sprocket said with an appreciative smile, "You're so fast and fiery! Did you really take down a whole ship all by yourself?"

"Yeah." Sunburn said, glancing at Sprocket before looking away. "Thanks, but it was no big deal. Just a gang of cyclops Reformers. Not even a real warship. Took a couple of hits, nothing serious, just had to... rest up for a bit."

"Don't be so modest," Sprocket said jokingly to the phoenix dragon, "You're helping just by being here. You even know what these temples are all about! I didn't even know they helped align you with an element. That means Azure's gonna be able to cast even bigger Air spells after this!"

Summer Scribe addressed Emerald again: "Hmmm, so... the Gillmen might know more about any possible griffon kidnappings - they still have to contend with regular kidnappings of their own folk, and they live in fear of the Drow. Might be worth an ask?"

The green griffoness looked at her mate. "We could check in on the way back? Just look, maybe talk, not stay."

"If we keep our guard up... I suppose. Worst Ebony can do is yell about it." Indigo admitted.

"Um, yeah and you don't even have to tell her unless they know something about the missing griffs, right?" Amber suggested, tearing her eyes away from Sunburn, who she seemed rather taken with.

Gustus's gaze had gone back to the door to the last trial chamber. Azure had been there for a while, and with this being her fourth and final trial... he was just hoping she could get it done by this point. So damn close now...

Summer Scribe noticed the griff staring. "Yeah Gustus, I know... she didn't even rest when she was passing from Trial 3 to 4, but... That's how she gets when she's focusing on her work. Azure's a bit of a worrier and she likes to immerse herself in her duties to put it out of her mind. So doesn't mean anything bad on its own... look, I'm hopeful."

Suddenly, with a loud crack followed by a long creak, the oversized doors to the western chamber swung open, revealing a blue, butterfly-winged unicorn, trotting forward on tired hooves. Reaching the elevated threshold, Azure Feather flapped into the air, drifting into the rotunda. High above, more and more streamers of mist poured into the chamber from the open pipes, swirling around the perimeter of the space, orbiting lower and lower as if drawn down by some force.

"Oh, Azure! Azure!" Summer Scribe perked right up, animated and excited as she trotted over. "How was it? Did you get it done?" One last yes before she could let herself be overwhelmed with joy and relief! Though it seemed like something had started happening already, with the mist gushing in...!

Sprocket blinked at the streaming mist, lighting up her horn again, but what was going on here? "Looks like you won?" she said, backing up uncertainly, "You didn't break the whole temple, did you?"

A faint smile graced Azure's face as she landed among her friends, her eyes drawn to the central plinth. It was clear that things weren't all sunshine and rainbows to her. "...Yeah. Four down. The trials are done, all that's left is to..." Her voice trailed off, still looking at the altar. "The temple's fine. This is just... the temple's way of pointing its..." She coughed, shaking her head a little before continuing. "...its 'Champion' to the podium to receive its blessing... I guess." Her words were strained; her form trembled with stress, the memory of the doctor's transformation all too clear at that moment.

"Blessing?" Sprocket looked at Sunburn questioningly, albeit within earshot of the native griffons, "Do you know what that is? It's not going to fuse her with all the griffons or anything is it?"

Summer Scribe looked puzzled at the idea! She imagined it'd give you some fancy new wings, maybe a beak, but... her feeling was that the only reason the Water Temple Incident involved so much fusing is because the worms had sent it off the rails. "I dunno about that... I think we're going to see Azure get the blessing of the Wind element, done right."

"What's this 'fusing' you keep talking about?" Emerald asked curiously. "It doesn't make sense. The blessings of Air are the command of the weather, focusing wind to serve as a shield or a spear... gifts of that nature. Amber her could summon quite a breeze already..."

"Mum!" the griffoness in question retorted. "...yeah, I can do a little with Air. Maybe more now! I can't wait to try... b-but I'm sure I'm not as good as you, Azure."

Wings... that would be nice, wouldn't it? Azure could only hope, and at Summer's mention of a beak... hey, it was an extra weapon, right? That'd be a start. Maybe the Water Temple did go wrong. Just maybe this wouldn't be so bad. Every creature seemed so confident this would go well! Maybe she should just go and receive her gifts. After all, she did the trials, this is just the next step, right? At Amber's response, though, she looked to the young griffoness: "...You're still learning. You'll get to this level pretty quickly... you just have to know that well... not everything is sunshine and rainbows. Things get ugly sometimes."

"Like I said, the spirits help creatures align... when they feel like it." Sunburn frowned, thinking back. "Sometimes they look a little different afterwards... fusing, huh. Only heard of that happening once, undead eyeball guy and some magic armour joined together. Don't think spirits were even involved with that though."

"Oh yeah, so maybe those evil worms were like a magic armour, and Reef's all magic armoured up now!" Sprocket continued to speculate wildly, gazing curiously up at the windy altar. "His magic uhh worm armour was uh, pulling his pieces back together, or something when he came back— it was freaking nuts!" She didn't seem to notice any effect she might be having on Azure's anxiety level.

Summer Scribe stuffed a hoof in Sprocket's mouth like 'shhh'. "Speculate later: let's watch what Azure gets first!" She settled in for the show, giddy and excited!

Sunburn ignored the other unicorns; his eyes never left Azure. "If you beat all their silly games on your first try... then you've gotta be a good fighter Azure. The spirits test their... supplicants... in lots of different ways. Strength. Cunning. Resolve. You must've impressed them." he said, giving her an admiring look. "Spirits can be... tricky, but they're trying to help."

"They weren't all on the first try, Sunburn," Azure admitted. "Two were - the other two needed a second chance." She grunted. "I wasn't happy with one finish. Demanded a replay to get it right." Sprocket's words just got her to shake her head before looking to the plinth again: her mind was made up. "Enough... goodness, I can't run now. This is happening, whether or not I'm ready for it. I didn't go through these trials for nothing." With that her butterfly wings unfurled and she was flapping up into the exact centre of the great hall.

As Azure Feather approached the altar, glowing lines formed on the stone floor of the rotunda, spreading and linking to create inscrutable, arcane patterns. A breeze formed out of nowhere, tossing the pony's manes and ruffling the griffons' feathers. Azure was drawn in by the air currents, hovering over the altar even though her magical wings are now still, her purple mane streaming out behind her. The unicorn's eyes were closed as she strained to listen for something only she could hear.

Summer Scribe looked all around at the glowing lights, the rushing air, the tantalizing attraction - yep, this is classic ancient magical temple chic. "It's starting!" She tapped her hooves giddily, unable to look away! Sprocket meanwhile had started a recording spell, just in case they need to look over this in detail later.

Azure knew it was too late to turn back now. She had no desire to fly away: for better or worse, this was the next step for her. All that was left was to go with the currents... and part of her dared hoped it would all turn out alright in the end.

The streamers of mist descended further, orbiting closer and closer until they were swirling around Azure herself. With the mystical patterns complete, the spiral symbol of Air itself atop the altar glowed brighter and brighter, bathing the unicorn in a blue-white radiance. Her butterfly wings popped and disappeared into glimmering dust that immediately blew away in the wind, yet Azure remained floating, the air itself holding her up. Light seemed to pool at her shoulders, creeping out into the form of coverts, then pinions, real flesh and feathers appearing and solidifying in the wake of the magic. The sight of the wings being woven into existence was so dramatic that none of the onlookers spotted the hairline cracks spreading over the unicorn's horn.    

Finally the wings were complete, sparkling in the shifting light, twitching as the pony truly felt them for the first time. For a single second, Summer Scribe and Sprocket see a new princess floating above them, before Azure's horn shattered, cracking apart into sparking fragments that slowly drifted apart, before losing cohesion and blowing away in the wind. Lost in the rapture of a dream achieved, Azure didn't even feel it; there was no blood, no stump, just a little patch of darker fur to mark where a horn had once been. Slowly the mists withdrew to the ceiling, the sigils faded away and Azure lowered to her hooves. A pegasus now stood on the altar, opening her eyes to meet the shocked stares of her companions.



Summer Scribe stared in awe. She was witnessing a magical transformation the likes of which seen rarely in Equestrian history: magical wings brimming and coalescing into full physicality! "Woaah, Azure!! You're an alico..." C-crack, shatter! ..."Pegasus?!?" Well, I guess it was too good to be true, right? She quirked her head with curiosity... could one not receive without giving? Why was that the trade-off? Still, she allowed herself to look hopeful. Maybe being a Champion of Air would more than make up for it! "Your new wings look beautiful...Try them!" she urged Azure with a hoof!

Sprocket just stared, too stunned to utter a word.

As Azure's eyes opened, the first word that registered clearly in her mind was Summer's: 'pegasus'. Pegasus? What do you mean 'pegasus', she's always had a- Then it hit her, as she tried to bring forth the most basic magic spark. Where was her horn. Where was her magic... what... what?! Through it all... she stayed stock still on that podium, eyes closed again, mind trying to comprehend... What. Just. Happened?!!

Oh. That's not a good reaction, Summer Scribe thought: Azure clearly had as little idea this was coming as the rest of us did. Summer tried to be reassuring, though she couldn't hide her concern. "Azure! Open your eyes: look at your new wings. This is what the temple gave you! They have to be special, right?"

Sunburn looked curiously at the transformed equine, unsure what to make of this. Summer and Azure seemed to be busy, so he asked Sprocket: "Huh. She's... the other kind of pony now. Is that normal for you guys?" 

Sprocket's mouth dropped open, but she had no answer for him. It fell to Gustus to explain: "Sometimes they turn into alicorns, but those have wings and horns. And... it's only happened like twice in the last century, and they have to be super-friendly or super-sexy or something like that."

Thinking back to her trials, one thing stood out in Azure's mind: Set Sail's words at the end of the second challenge. 'My wings are your wings,' she'd said. Pegasus wings: they were hers now. Her life-long dream realised, finally she could fly like her childhood idols! Now... if only that achievement wasn't wrapped inside what might turn out to be a nightmare.

Still standing on the altar, Azure lifted a forehoof, reaching up to her forehead, and trying, hoping, praying to Celestia her horn would still be there! That it was just numb, or intangible, some kind of trick! But Summer's words rang true in her mind: pegasus. No horn. Her magic... had left her, she realised.

Azure's mouth opened as if to say something, but it just hung open for several seconds before closing again. Her eyes darted to the ground, picking a spot within jumping distance. The new pegasus would just take that leap without much of a thought. After all, she was a soldier, she was tough, right? After landing fairly heavily, there was just one thing left to do now, and that was to trot out of the temple...

"Azure?" Summer Scribe called out with concern, a frown creasing her face. "You're not going to try your wings...?" Clearly Azure has been really shaken by her loss... maybe she needs a moment to regroup?

Sprocket was so glad she started up that recording spell. Reviving from her awesome-induced catatonia, she watched Azure quietly trot out of the inner sanctum, then cautiously followed after, not wanting to miss documenting anything about... whatever the hay just happened.

Amber sidled over to Gustus and whispered "Is she gonna be ok?" Gustus just looked at Amber, then at Azure trotting out into the atrium. "...She'll live, if that's what you're worried about." He'd seen the soldier staying quiet most of the time, that part didn't surprise him. But... he knew unicorn, watched them use their magic to handle nearly every aspect of everyday life. Whether she'd be okay with that aspect ripped away from her...

"Um, o-ok, but..." Amber trails off, uncertain what this means. Meanwhile Sunburn glanced up at the mists still circling near the ceiling, frowned, then followed silently after the ponies.

"Come on. Let's get out of here." Indigo says firmly. With that, the griffons also made their way to the atrium, leaving the spirits alone in their temple. As they leave a bright glow and ringing sound came from the entrance. Sprocket looked back to see the barrier Amber had removed ealier re-materialise, blocking the way back into the temple with the familiar blue disc. The unicorn engineer could only give the rematerializing seal a dazed stare. She was gonna have one heck of a story to tell, once she managed to comprehend the sight of a unicorn becoming a not unicorn.

Summer Scribe trotted quickly, catching up with Azure. She wanted to help, but if Azure preferred to be alone, she couldn't impose on that. She looked over her shoulder as the seal faded back into existence. "I guess that's it for the temple, huh?" she said: it was hard to believe that it's was over kist like that, with Azure in such low spirits! Wasn't this meant to be a triumphant result?

Azure Feather kept quiet all the way down the hall, all the way across the plaza and up the steps to the balcony, until she arrived at the parked Second Chance. She just stood there, not heading on board yet: instead she just stared out into the sky, her expression telling the story. Her mouth hung slightly open as she tried to figure out just... what her next move would be. Her entire life had just been shattered like her horn: now what?!

Some way behind, Gustus, couldn't help but sigh as he walked with the other griffons. "It's as if someone took away your wings, and replaced them with a magical staff on your forehead, Amber. Azure's just suffered the reverse. I hope she'll be okay. I really do. I just can't say that with certainty."

"Yeah. I guess that'd be... weird. But if I was really into Magic, like so much that I'd gone all the way to the Enchanted Library and read all the living books... I guess that would be what I wanted?" Azure replied, still uncertain. She unfolded a wing, looked at it, then shivered. 





The Second Chance. That's what they named their purloined mode of transport, that had brought them all this way. The blue haired Set Sail spread her brown fletched wings and placed a forehoof on the belly of the beast. It could fly far, without the pegasus flying it becoming exhausted in any way. It didn't even need to be a pegasus anymore. Could she have flown this far on her own? Flying up to land on deck, she checked the controls, but they were as smooth as ever since Nutmeg's crew had re-engineered the mechanisms within. The pegasus squeezed out of the pilot's cabin to pace on the little foredeck, as she had been doing fitfully since coming out here.

She felt the movement in the air before she saw it, peering around the ship to see ponies and other creatures emerging from that terrible temple: Sprocket, Gustus, Summer... even Sunburn, they were all there, with Azure Feather in the lead.

"Azure, you're okay!" the brown pegasus declared in relief, flapping down to the ground to approach the pony who was just standing there now, her back to Set Sail. "You're-" Azure turned to face her, and Set Sail stopped cold, just short of hugging Azure. Taking a step back, she looked sideways at the purple and blue mare, saying "Oh. You're a... pegasus."

Azure turned to face her commander... only to have her blood run a little cold at her last words. "Yes, Captain," she finally spoke, though it sounded like she had to force the words out. A pause, then she managed two more: "Excuse me." With that she turned away, staring at her hooves.

"I—I mean that's great!" Set Sail added uneasily, staring at Azure's posterior, "I can't think of a better thing to happen to you! That temple really uh... d-did a good job." Her praise might be easier to accept if she hadn't been backing up while saying it. She was so oblivious that she practically trampled the newly arrived Gustus, running into him ass first. "Oh, I'm sorry!" she said over her shoulder to Gustus, "I'm..." She gave Azure a tortured look, then said "I'm just gonna g-go stand over there." The pegasus hastily trotted to a random spot on the other side of the balcony, putting the copter between herself and... Azure.

Sprocket wasn't having it: she charged over to the captain, shouting "What the hay is wrong with you?! You should be happy for her!"

"I am!" Set Sail protested in frustration, "It's just... I just... have a really bad feeling about that place, and I'm happy that she got out and... that it... did something to her, but it's not bad! I'm sure it's—"

"Just the air is wrong, right?" Sprocket replies, "You keep saying that, but I don't get it. Is there something wrong with Azure?"

Sunburn looked from one pony to another, bemused by their strange behaviour. Quietly he asked Gustus "Are we done here?"

"No!" Set Sail protested, "No just— I don't know, I just—" and just like that, Set Sail took off into the sky, fading quickly into the ever-present fog surrounding this place.

Summer Scribe let out an exasperated sigh, seeing Set Sail essentially abdicate from her duties. What is wrong with her? Is becoming a pegasus all that bad? Sure, at the loss of your horn, but if those wings are anything worthy of the title 'Champion of Air', then why wouldn't Azure try them out...? She rubbed at her face with a hoof. Well, whatever. If Azure's not in the mood and Set Sail's not going to help, she may as well catch up on other affairs in the mean time.

The little unicorn trotted over to the native griffons, with diplomatic affairs in mind. "So, anyway - if you're not in a hurry, you might like to come back to Blissful Pastures with us. You can check out our airship and meet the rest of us ponies... and we have a captive drow you could talk to." She has a playful grin on her face. "It might be your chance to hear straight from the source what they've done with your mysteriously disappearing friends."

"Blissful Pas... oh, that island out on the fringe." Indigo said. "That's one heck of a detour, and right past that 'isle of misery' your friend was so scared of."

"Thank you, Miss Summer" Emerald added "but we've got to get the chicks back to the Cliffs. It's been hard enough on them anyway."

"Still not a chick, mom." Amber muttered. 

Seeing Summer's sad face, Indigo added "Hey, maybe I could round up a few griffs one we're back. Get a Fury together, do a little recon. The elder's won't ignore the chance of freeing enslaved griffs, will they?" he asked his mate.

"They won't want to leave the Cliffs vulnerable..." Emerald said uncertainly "...though maybe if the gillmen confirm the unicorn's story...". 

Summer Scribe looking down thoughtfully for a moment, but finally smiling and nodding. Sounds like it might not be a lost cause after all: "Hmm, okay, I understand! I'm sure once you griffons have hard proof that there's something nefarious ahoof, you'll want to take matters into your own claws!" She made a quick note: hopefully the gillmen know enough about the drow, and the griffons that disappeared on their island, to speak authoritatively on that.

"Give me a week... if things are as you say, and Emerald can knock some sense into the elders... I'll meet you at this 'Blissful Pastures' with a fury at my side. Then we'll see about these 'drow'." Indigo smirked.

"Yeah! Get 'em dad!" Cerulean enthused.

"Thank you! Look forward to it: I won't ask any more!" What else...? As Summer's notebook slipped back into her saddlebag, it bumped into something like a blue dinner plate. "Oh! The artifact!" She excused herself and went looking for Sunburn; he should be able to recognize stuff like this no problem!

The colourful griffons seemed surprised by her sudden departure, but soon went back to discussing the situation amongst themselves. Summer Scribe found the fiery draco-bird Sunburn standing alone on the edge of the wide stone balcony, staring into the swirling clouds surrounding the floating temple as if waiting for more enemies to emerge from them. 

"Hey, Sunburn!" Summer waved a hoof, clicking her bag open and pulling the plate-shaped artifact out, setting it on the floor with the glowing rune facing up. "Do you know what this is? Me and Set Sail found it in the temple."

The Skylander's head snapped around to give the mare one of those unreadable avian stares, before tilting his head and answering "It's a wish stone. You've never seen a wish stone? I guess they're pretty rare these days; haven't seen one in the wild for... a long time." 

Summer Scribe tilted her head in turn, "I don't think we have those in Equestria." It sure sounded too good to be true, but... "So, what exactly is a wish stone?"

Sunburn frowned, then stares into space for several seconds, before his eyes refocused on Summer: "I remember asking Ninjini about them, once. She said that they were like a chocolate chip cookie, 'cept the dough was runestone and the chips were imaginite." He shrugged his wings.

Summer Scribe furrowed her brow, looking impatient: that meant nothing to her! "No, no - what do they do? Do you make wishes on them? Do they come true? Are they good luck to carry around? Should I be excited?"

"Yeah you make wishes: right before you toss 'em in the well. If you've got the knack, the thing you wished for pops right back out. If not, the stone just comes back to you. Whirly used to love those things." He sighed. "Don't get too excited; I've only seen 'em make small stuff, like a clawful of gold or a fancy hat."

Huuuh. Summer Scribe propped the wishstone up on its rim and spun it like an oversized coin on the deck, thinking. "Small stuff? Maybe a beaker of hydrogen peroxide..." she joked to herself. "Can it make magical things, or only mundane things? You've got me tempted to push my luck. Who knows, I might have the 'knack', right? I can certainly knack lots of things!" she chuckles lightly.

"A beaker of H2O2? Why would you want that?" Sunburn asked, surprised. Then, after a second, "Oh... to bleach your fur. Huh. So, yeah... I guess it can make magic: those fancy hats can sure help a creature run a little faster, or turn aside a blow. But not a lot of magic, you know? There's only so much in the stone."

Summer Scribe smirked: "No no, it's... an ingredient in curing Gillman fin rot. I don't know the details - I'm not a doctor or a chemist." She pondered: it can make minor magical items? "Interesting... I remember seeing a well in that abandoned village on Blissful Pastures." She thought on it for a moment the grinned, quite amused by the prospect. "I think everyone who came out on this expedition should take turns wishing: first one to succeed wins. It's only fair we all get a shot, right? I can round people up for it once we've settled in."

"Sure, knock yourself out." Sunburn said, without much enthusiasm. "I don't make wishes, any more."

Summer Scribe mused on that. "I think we could all use a bit of wishing these days, honestly. It's scary, not knowing if the Drow will wake up one day and decide to raze us to the ground... and with what happened to Reef Skimmer." She lowered her head. Should she include Azure? Azure was going to be fine, right? She's just shocked, is all!

"If the drow come for you ponies... they'll be going down in flames. You have my word on that." Sunburn said, with renewed purpose in his voice.

Summer Scribe put the wish stone away, before trotting over to embrace Sunburn in a gentle hug. "...Thanks. You have no idea how nice a little certainty is, right now." Her smile was innocent and sincere this time.

The Skylander stood stiffly, before awkwardly putting a wing around Summer. His feathers were, as you'd expect, very warm. "You're welcome."





The celebratory air was still tainted with unease, as the native griffons looked on with worry at the others talking with each other in frantic tones. The ponies were trying to figure out what was wrong with the captain, and how they were going to be able to find her in this fog. Set Sail didn't take too long though before she found them, sailing back in through the fog, alighting in front of the new pegasus who was so tortured by her own conflicting emotions. "Azure, I'm... sorry," Set Sail said carefully, "Just when you were feeling really good about yourself, I went and ruined everything. I just panicked... I should never have... done that to you."

Azure hadn't moved an inch since Set Sail had first seen her; her confusion and concern had only diminished the slightest bit. At the approach of the Captain, though, Azure managed to look the other pegasus in the eye again, showing Set Sail a mixture of emotions, with very little of it resembling happiness. "Why... apologise, Captain?" she asked, sounding sincere. "You... you did nothing wrong. You ruined nothing, and... panicked? What... can I help somehow?"

"Something so wonderful happened to you, and all I could think was that that place did something to you," Set Sail said, lowering her head in shame, "I thought it might... might do something horrible to you. I didn't think you'd come out at all. I thought you'd come out... wrong. I don't know what I was thinking. Here I am acting like a... a beautiful pegasus is some kind of monster. We all know how much you wanted... y-you have real wings now. Real wings! Can you feel them?"

Azure gave a rough chuckle as Set Sail voiced her concern; her response probably wouldn't be what the captain expected. "...You thought I was going to become a monster? Captain, I've been imagining that for the last three hours - I was scared the entire time..." A long pause as she stared into the distance again. "The entire time..." she echoed, before looking the captain in the eye again. "So... don't apologise for that... we saw what the first temple did to the doctor, it's an entirely warranted reaction and one I admit I shared! I..." Oh, Celestia...

"Well you're not," Set Sail said in firm relief, "You're okay! You... showed that temple who's boss. We'll figure this out, however we do. It's not so bad being a pegasus, is it? I mean, we have good things too." She straightened, looking off into the sky for a moment, saying, "The air here is... still, so maybe it's not the best place to show you. But I'm sure you can do a lot of tricks that some stuffy old unicorn wouldn't be able to do. Let's just... let's just go home, and figure things out from there, okay?"

Azure saw it in Set Sail's eyes: she really wanted to sell that being a pegasus wasn't so bad. And maybe it wasn't. But the newest Pegasus looked... very unsure of herself to say the least and the mention of 'stuffy old unicorns' may not have helped. At the mention of home, though, Azure nodded firmly. "The Harmony... yes, that would be best," she concluded. "Anything else, Captain?"

Set Sail subtly stiffened at that, but she said evenly, "No, nothing else. Let's just get the hay out of here. This place still gives me the creeps."

They all gathered on the little ship, with Gustus giving the family of native griffons a final bow before they took off. "We've got to get back to the main ship... but I hope you can follow through on that visit. Talk to you again then; Grenelda would love to see some new griffs, I'm sure of it!"