//------------------------------// // Chapter 99.25: Grover // Story: Griffon of Canterlot // by Electuroo //------------------------------// Griffon of Canterlot Chapter 99.25: Grover Fort Grimfeather was a box-shaped structure that lay nestled within an endless sea of trees with mountains to the distant north and the South Luna Ocean in the other direction. It was about a mile from one wall to another, and dirt paths from the east and west connected to two large wooden doors on opposite sides. Towers at each corner were manned by griffon guards that protected the small township within. Typical of such fortified towns, it contained a market square, shops, offices and so forth. Not so typical was an open area in the middle of the town that was five hundred feet long by fifty feet wide filled with troughs. Each large trough sat thirty feet apart from each other for a total of 420 feet. A group of griffons and ponies stood on a platform with a cloaked griffon standing in front of them all. A talon pulled out a pocket watch from under the cloak to look at the minute hand. “My lord... Wasn't it supposed to be here a few hours ago?” asked a pony wearing a forest-green ranger uniform. “Patience, Trail Blazer. The day is certain, the hour less so.” A female griffon tapped a talon against the wood impatiently. “Lord Grover, while we are waiting, can you go over what we need to do again? We don't want to make any mistakes here since time is of the essence, is it not?” “You’re correct, Gillian.” Grover turned around to face all of them. “When the submarine appears, we will have a very limited time to act. Team Leela – you will create the runes around the submarine the moment that it is practical to do so. Team Keeper – you will activate the runes around the fort. That will delay those who will be coming to check out the disturbance by blocking the daggerscale portal they will inevitably use.” “Got it!” the team leaders said together. “Team Grover will enter the submarine and find those alive within and get them out of the submarine before we run out of time. I cannot emphasize enough how time-critical this is. The runaway effect of reality magic within it will cause unimaginable damage.” A unicorn mare spoke up. “We have seen the simulations, sir. From what Keeper Sentinel and Leela showed us, the arrival of the sub and the runes will be like a massive beacon in the dark.” “I will face any punishment that is deemed since this was a mission I was given by Keeper two years ago, I w—” He was interrupted by several of those gathered there who all tried to talk at once. “We followed you Lord Grover when we had only day to day lives.” “Only knowing being a con artist and losing it all.” “Never really noticed by anyone.” Grover looked around at them all, each of them proud and determined. Gillian smiled. “You gave us all a purpose in life, something to work together to be a force for good that will save so many lives, even if we are not noticed for doing right for the wrong reasons.” She raised her talon up to Grover. “We face this together, Lord Grover.” He put his talon against hers. “Together.” They cheered, and then the happiness faded in an instant as they felt it. The all turned to face it together. The air started to feel charged up, the colour around began to shift into a blue tone of light even though the sun was high in the sky. Before them, an object started to form, covering the whole length and width of the troughs. They all partly shielded their eyes as a submarine, along with a large quantity of water surrounding it, appeared before their eyes. It landed on the troughs with a groan. Water surged into the waiting troughs while the overflow washed past their talons, paws and hooves all over the streets around the heavily damaged vessel. A wave of magical trans-dimensional energy raced outwards in all directions as the normal colours returned. The cloaked griffon trotted up to the hole in the hull as the water mostly flowed out of it. “Griffons on detail to aid those within standby. Everyone else – you know what to do. Get to work! We’ve got two minutes and fifty-two seconds.” “Yes sir/my lord/right on it!” they all said at once as he climbed through the hole. Most raced off in different directions preparing everything as planned. Prince Mark Wells accepted that paperwork was an inevitable part of the job, but sometimes it was more tiresome than others. His wish for a break in the tedium was about to be fulfilled. Twilight Sparkle teleported into his office without warning, nearly causing the documents that he had been holding in his magic to get ripped to shreds in shock. “Whoa, Sparkles! Aren’t you supposed to be holding Day Court right now?” “I’ve cancelled it,” replied the purple alicorn. “I just got a ping from the E.W.T.A.D.” The Early Warning Thaumic Anomaly Detector had been set up by Twilight at the behest of Mark due to all the magical threats that Equestria had endured. Never one to be satisfied with the status quo, he wanted to have time for the empire to mount a defense that wasn’t a last ditch effort as so many had been previously. “What level?” Mark asked. “Level One!” Twilight replied earnestly. The prince gasped. That was a world-threatening event! “What are we standing around here for?” he asked rhetorically as he raced out of the office with his co-ruler on his heels. Queen Chrysalis was already getting up from her desk when her herdmate emerged. “What is the situation?” she asked, having noted the emotions coming from both the alicorns. “I’m calling a FRAG alert. You know what to do,” Mark replied as Penumbra, his batpony bodyguard herdmare, grabbed the saddlebags she always kept handy for emergencies. The changeling queen certainly did because she was integral to the Fast Response Assault Group. Her link to the hive-mind allowed her to send messages to several key members of the group who would in turn alert other non-changeling members. And she could do it at the same time as accompanying the others as they galloped to the portal room. “Did the EWTAD narrow down the location sufficiently?” Mark asked as the four scattered anypony or other being who happened to be in their path. “Yes. It was at or near an isolated township called Fort Grimfeather in the Undiscovered West.” “Doesn’t ring a bell but we should have a daggerscale portal to there. And Chryssy – remind me to do something about getting that area’s name updated. It may be mostly uninhabited but it sure isn’t undiscovered!” The changeling queen merely rolled her eyes at the non sequitur. They arrived at the portal room to find the first of the team had already arrived. Most of them were the changeling soldiers, of course, but that was rapidly changing every moment as pegasi, unicorns, griffons, and earth pony Royal Guards joined them. Twilight sought out the daggerscale portal staff suitable for a large number of users and readied it for use. A flash-bang of teleportation heralded the arrival of another unicorn. “Starlight! Glad you could make it,” Mark said. “Thankfully, I wasn’t tied up with Headmare business,” Starlight Glimmer replied. “What’s the situation?” “Level One magic event. We’re heading there right now. Open the portal, Twilight!” The alicorn activated the daggerscale and stepped through the hole in space-time. She was immediately followed by Mark Wells, Penumbra, Chrysalis, and Starlight. The rest of the FRAG members came as quickly as they could funnel through the portal. Mark looked around and saw nothing but trees. “Something is very wrong. This sure isn’t a township.” Twilight already had her horn lit. “I’m detecting a ward. It has deflected the portal opening roughly half a mile from the target.” She pointed a hoof. “Thataway!” The alicorn prince frowned. “Someone doesn’t want visitors.” With a magical tweak that had become second nature, the small alicorn stallion transformed into a much larger alicorn mare, a doppelganger of the Solar Princess but for the cutie mark. Now in what she called her Marklestia form, she was a much faster and maneuverable flyer. “All those who can fly, follow me. If you can carry someone, do so. Everyone else, make your best time to join us.” She then leaped into the air and rose above the treetops while lifting Crimson Boulder, her earth pony alternate bodyguard. Princess Twilight was close behind, and all the changelings, griffons, and pegasi were right on their tails. Starlight Glimmer levitated along with them, easily keeping pace. The fortified town was easy to spot from high up and the group arrowed toward it. “That anomalous arcane event is growing stronger,” Twilight reported. “However, I don’t sense any overtly hostile magic.” “Appearances can be deceiving,” Mark reminded her. They had both been duped in the past and they had no intention of repeating their mistakes. She turned to look back at their retinue. “Don’t start anything, but be prepared to defend yourselves. We’re looking for answers rather than a fight.” Turning back, Mark could now start to see within the fort’s walls. Her eyes widened in disbelief. “What the buck…?” Glacier kept her Sub-Sonic up at the griffon before them. “Keep your weapons trained on him, this could be a trap or a trick.” The griffons turned their heads toward Grav. He didn't like the idea pointing a weapon at this one of all griffons, but he couldn't take a chance. With a nod to them, they did so. The griffon could see how tense it looked – a silver dragon with white flames seeping out the maw, the changeling horn lit, many griffons with weapons trained on him. “Nightingale... Grovelia... Solarclaw.” Glacier lowered the Sub-Sonic. “You've got my interest. Continue.” “Last time I saw her was when she was not even a day old, taken from us by the power of wish magic. For years, I thought she was gone… we thought she was lost forever... I and my wife Celestia. Then, one day when in the vault looking at that gold statue holding the sphere we discovered, I found out my child was alive and trapped within it! Living a lie... A false world.” “King Grover – so it really is you.” Octicovix canceled out her magic and walked up to the griffon. “But you look—” He interrupted Octicovix. “Young? Yes, that’s with help from Keeper Sentinel, the master of Grimormia Tower.” He noticed the shocked gasp from Octicovix and Glacier; they knew of the tower's existence! “He didn't like a grumpy old griffon in his halls, so with the power of magic and science, he regenerated my cells and made me young again.” “He’s good,” Glacier confirmed. He really was Grover for sure. The sailor griffons lowered their weapons. “How are you exactly here?” Grover’s smile faded. “I wish I could explain but we have talked too long already and we have so little time. How many of your sailors are alive?” Grav responded. “Twenty-two of us – many still in the hulls unable to move due to lack of food in the last three days, why?” Grover looked to his pocket watch and closed it up, he turned to the hole and whistled and the griffons rushed inside. “Because we’ve got under two minutes to get all of you out of this submarine.” Glacier didn't like the tone of voice being used, so she did a scan with the sub-sonic. The readings she got were through the roof. “The reality magic! It’s continuously feeding back on itself! We’ve got a runaway of reality magic building up throughout the submarine!” “I know. I have a plan. Dragon – you help the griffons to find the crew and get them out fast by any means possible,” Grover commanded. Silvite gave him a cold stare. “Don't need to command me, cub. I know we’re on the clock, griffons on me!” Silvite jumped through the hole above and the griffons followed her through. Octicovix helped up the general. “Let's get this lot, Glacier.” “Right.” Glacier turned to Grant to see him fly up to the hole. “Grant where are you going?” “Save what is needed. Get my father and the rest out of here,” he said as he entered. Glacier helped up a griffon with the aid from other griffons. “Let's get them out of here, we’re running out of time!” The rescue team worked as fast and quick as they could, grabbing the griffon submarine crew throughout the sub corridors. Meanwhile, Grant pulled off the wall the symbol and removed the photo from the office. He did his rounds to pay his respects to the twenty-five crew in the bags that hadn't made it. “Rest in your rightfully earned afterlife in Valhalla, brothers and sisters.” The clockwork griffon closed the hatch. He quickly flew out of the submarine landing at the market square where they had placed the crew. A griffon shouted out. “That’s all of them! We’re clear!” “Complete the rune spell!” Grover shouted out, knowing they were only seconds away from critical point of no return. The ponies wearing ranger green clothing completed the runes on the ground around the submarine. They quickly retreated as the rune magic came to life. They watched it create a solid arcane dome around the submarine. Glacier’s eyes shifted to the left and right, seeing the submarine glowing and breaking apart piece by piece. Grover looked to his watch, seeing the time tick away, and then back at the remains as they turned to smaller pieces. They broke down to particles of dust and soon were completely gone before their eyes. The runes burned away and the dome collapsed. All that was left was an oval-shaped mark in the ground where the sub and troughs once stood. In the corner of Grover's left eye, the east gate was open with ponies from the Equestrian Guard staring in shock at what just happened. Even the pegasi of the guard were just hovering there. “Now we face the music...” Grover turned around to see eclipsing the sun, the form of Celestia. Glacier’s keen eyes noticed an anomaly. “Am I seeing things? Or does she have a different cutie mark?” “I see it too, but I think we should be more concerned by the look on her face,” Octicovix whispered. Silvite punched a fist into her palm with white flames blowing out of her nostrils. “Let's see if she throws the first punch. That’s all I need to act.” “Don't do anything rash, Silvite,” Glacier said warningly. Silvite glanced at her. “Don't get your messy feathers in a twist. I'll only act if they act in violence first. That way, I have a right to defend myself and all of you.” Silvite crossed her arms looking right up at the tall alicorn. “Your move,” she whispered. While Marklestia garnered most of the attention, Twilight Sparkle was right there beside her co-ruler. Both alicorns’ horns were lit and throbbing with barely constrained power. Electric arcs were coming off Mark’s and the clouds above were darkening. Behind them were a changeling queen and a powerful unicorn that were also ready for anything. The atmosphere was very tense between the griffons and ponies of Fort Grimfeather and the Equestrian Guard plus two alicorns. Whatever happened at this moment could tip either way, sparking a fight or talk. Glacier held her sub-sonic tightly, hoping for parley over the mess they had just stopped from happening moments ago. She knew things would go very bad for them if it came to battle if things truly went south. Abruptly, the Celestial alicorn transformed into a much smaller green alicorn stallion who nevertheless looked equally pissed off. “Somebody had better have a bucking good explanation for what in Tartarus just happened here!”