We walked in silence until we got out of the caves, when I pointed out to Gibbous that it would be faster to go over the forest than through it. Then we flew in silence.
"Well," Gibbous finally said, "this is it." She glided in a lazy circle toward a small cliff and landed gently.
I touched down beside her and released my levitation magic. Waves broke against the rocks in front of us. Beyond that, the ocean stretched out toward the horizon.
"Where is the next island?" I asked.
Instead of answering, Gibbous took in a deep breath and let it out.
"You're a jerk, you know that?" she said suddenly.
"Hm?"
"You came to us for help, then when Otis tried you threw it back in his face!"
"His idea was ridiculous," I replied.
"Do you have a better one?" Gibbous challenged me.
"No, but that doesn't make Myotis's any more credible."
"That's not the point!"
I tilted my head. "That is exactly the point. I was looking for help. Myotis was not helpful."
"But he tried!" Gibbous shouted. "He had no reason to help you, but he tried anyway because he's a good person. You can't see that because you're... not."
Her words hurt me somehow. They caused a sort of stinging, burning pain in my stomach. Some kind of magical attack? I couldn't grasp its nature.
"Where is the next island?" I asked. It would be best to leave before she struck again.
Gibbous drew a strangely sharp breath. "You don't even care, do you?" Fluid leaked from her eyes. Was this another attack? Toxic secretions of some kind?
I took a half-step back and prepared to defend myself.
"Fine!" Gibbous's voice cracked oddly. "If all you care about is finding the griffons, then just go!" She pointed out over the ocean. "Follow the tip of the Alicorn's horn for ten miles, and you'll see the island on your right."
"Alicorn?" My translation spell couldn't parse that word.
"The constellation!" Gibbous cried.
"I don't know these constellations," I answered. "Where is the Alicorn?"
"It's... ugh, look." She pointed toward a vaguely rectangular group of stars. "See? Those six form the body, the one above them is the wings, and those two to the left are the horn."
"I see. And the leftmost star of that constellation leads west?"
"Yeah. Almost perfectly." She scoffed. "Looks like the bats who live in a cave on an island know more than you do."
"You know some things I don't, that is true," I acknowledged. "The world is not how I remember it."
"Wait, I thought you didn't remember anything at all?" She sniffled, and wiped the strange secretions from her face.
A thoughtful rumble emerged from somewhere deep in my chest. "I know basic facts about the world. Rather, how the world should be. I know what a pony and a griffon are. The word 'Equestria' is familiar. It's the details that elude me."
"That must be really frustrating," Gibbous said.
"It is," I replied, "but I will find my answers. If not with the griffons, then in Equestria."
"It's going to be an amazing adventure," she sighed.
"Adventure? It will be a simple journey westward."
"For you, sure. You've probably traveled all over the place with your magic. I've never even left this island. I wish I could come with you."
I narrowed my eyes in puzzlement. "You can."
"What? No I can't!"
"You can fly," I reminded her. "You can leave anytime you want."
"But the colony is expecting me to come back. They'll be worried if I don't."
"And that prevents you from leaving the island? Strange." I truly did not understand batpony magic. "If I sent a message to Myotis by magic, would that allow you to leave?"
Gibbous's already huge eyes bulged even further. "You would do that for me?!"
"It is a simple matter," I replied.
"I... um... wow." She sat down heavily in the grass. "I need to think about that."
"I am leaving shortly," I said. "If you would like me to send this message, tell me now."
"I, uh. Um." Her eyes darted frantically around as she thought. After a moment, she took a shuddering breath. "Yes. Please."
I nodded. My horns glowed red as I charged them with magic, and a bolt of light went streaking off toward Mount Enyo. "It is done."
"Okay. Wow. That was easy." Another shaky breath. "Okay then."
While the batpony babbled to herself, I cast another spell to render myself weightless, then lifted myself with telekinesis.
"Right!" She leaped to her hooves. "Sorry, you're in a hurry, aren't you? Let's go!"
What in the name of the moon and every shining star am I doing? What had possessed me to follow Grogar off the island? He just seemed so lost. For all his power, he was like a foal leaving the caves for the first time, and I couldn't ignore the instinct to help him.
The moon was dipping below the horizon by the time we came within sight of land again.
"There's the island," I said. "I've heard Otis talk about his trips to Griffon territory. There should be a colony—sorry, a town—somewhere along the coast where the ships dock. We need to land there and find shelter before morning."
Grogar grunted. "Why is that?"
"I'm a batpony, remember? We don't like the sun." It would hurt my eyes and burn my wings, or so I'd been told. However, the predawn glow was ideal lighting, and I quickly spotted a cluster of... something... near the shore. "Look there."
Grogar nodded and angled towards it. I corrected my direction with a slight adjustment to my wing angles, and grimaced as a burning ache shot through them. I would be very happy when I was on the ground again.
"Wow!" I gasped as we drew closer to the town. Low, wooden buildings clustered close together, with roads of hard-packed dirt allowing for easy travel between them. Enormous platforms stretched out into the water, large enough for the griffons' ships to sit beside. There were two such ships there right now, resting easily in the water, held in place by ropes and chains thicker than my legs. "This place is amazing!"
Grogar looked over his shoulder at me. "It is only a small port town."
"This is a small town?"
"Of course. If there are more than a few hundred griffons here, I would be surprised."
"A few hundred?!" I squeaked. "That's the size of my whole colony! How many are in a big city?"
Grogar shrugged. "In the world I knew, thousands. Here? Impossible to say."
I nearly choked on the air rushing over my muzzle. Thousands?! That was like if every tree on my island were a griffon, and they all lived together. I could barely imagine it.
At long last we came to the docks, the nearest part of the town. Grogar landed with a gentle click of hooves on wood, while I set down with an exhausted thump.
"Now what?" Grogar asked me.
"Oh, right," I panted. "So, there's this thing called an inn where Otis stays when he's here. I'm not sure if that's a ship, or a building, or what, but it's always the first place he goes."
Grogar snorted. "It is a building. Come." His magic lifted me and set me gently on my hooves. "We'll ask the locals where it is."