XV
Betrayal
- - -
Dash watched Gilda's flight for the first time in five years. There were subtle intonations to the way she flapped, and the way her feathered head cut through the air. Rather than the grace of their youth, the armored griffon had given way to flying by sheer muscle, beating her way through the air one pump of her wide wings at a time. The little scarf around her neck trailed behind her like a second tail, darting up and down as her eyes glanced from side to side.
Those five years ago, Rainbow wouldn't have noticed anything was wrong with the griffon. Now she knew better. Though most of her motions were to maintain their wholly unnecessary speed, Dash could read her other actions as well. The glances from the edge of her eyes, and the soft twitches of her wings betrayed fear and paranoia. Something was wrong, and the trouble it placed on Gilda's soul left her only barely aware of the unexpected companion she had once called a friend. Dash followed in silence, watching and thinking on her own problems.
The sun rose slowly over the sheer rocky walls of Grivridge like a guillotine. They'd been flying down the chasm, without words, for more than an hour. It was past noon, and the shadows of the cliff walls had shifted to the other side of the paired rocky precipices. Given only a few more hours, the solar blade would hang at its full height over Luna's neck, and a simple drop would spell the failure of Dash's mission. Everything seemed fragile for the mare, as her mind raced in search of an answer to a riddle she couldn't really bring herself to believe in. Fallaner's dying words demanded that Rainbow find the right griffon, and the right question to ask. The goal seemed as futile as finding 'the right grain of sand' on a beach even without the time limit. It seemed that even the fastest pony in Equestria might not be fast enough to win this race.
Gilda stopped short in midair so suddenly that Rainbow didn't even notice until her muzzle plowed into the griffoness' armor.
"Smooth move, Dash."
"Thanks, G," Rainbow muttered back with equal sarcasm. "Why'd you stop?"
"We finally lost him, so we can talk. C'mere." Without further explanation, Gilda rolled sharply to the right and began a swift dive toward the cliff wall. Before Dash could even cry out, it seemed she would smash her face against the solid stone. Instead, her wings folded at the last possible moment, and her body ducked into a thin crag. After a moment of trepidation, Rainbow followed. Even despite her smaller size, Rainbow had to tuck her wings in to fit through the hairline fracture in the sheer wall of the ridge. Inside, the space was much wider, with enough space for four or five griffons to stand side-by -side in each direction. A rough table and a pair of seats were carved out of the same stone, while a wooden bed with a thin mattress dominated the far corner. A heavy metal chest defined the largest of the remaining features, which were scattered haphazardly around the messy and poorly-lit space.
Gilda glanced over her shoulder as she walked toward the chest. "This is my place, Dash. You can crash here for a minute." Then her talons set to work digging through the box. Without a word, the pegasus took one of the two cold stone seats beside the table, where she afforded herself a moment to catch her breath. In the pause, Gilda made her way back from the box with a pair of shoddily-crafted clay plates. One was topped with a rather meager selection of jungle fruits, while the other was a near-overflowing smelly pile that could only be near-rancid meat. "Eat up."
Dash looked down at the platters set before her, and felt her muzzle wrinkle with disgust. Rather than comment on the pitiable excuse for food, she lifted her head to look Gilda in the eye. "What did you mean back there? About 'losing him'?"
"Well…" Gilda paused to toss a scrap of rather rigid flesh into her beak, before continuing around the food in her mouth. "…the Legate sent her friend to follow us. That's why we're in here."
Dash glanced around. "So did you just find some cave?"
A muffled roar slipped through Gilda's chewing. She swallowed, sending a shockwave through Rainbow's gut. "This is my home, Dash. I dug this place out of the rock with my bare claws."
"Whoa, really?" Rainbow turned toward the walls, squinting in hopes of making out the scratches on the stonework.
"Well, fresh legionaries don't exactly make enough money to buy slaves." Rainbow's strange expression at the words was clearly noticed. "Yeah, that's what the Legate wanted you for. Just like all those cows and zebras in the Legate's forum."
Rainbow didn't express her shock or her offense for lack of any suitable words. Instead, after a long pause as her rational mind utterly stopped, she posed a simple question. "Why don't they run away?"
"Where to? Off the cliff?" Then Gilda did something which, in Rainbow's mind, finalized the rift between them. With a callous heart, she laughed. "Sometimes they do, but most of them would rather live."
"That's terrible."
"And it's not when ponies do it? Cows and pigs are too stupid to live their own lives."
Dash snorted. "We don't enslave them. We take care of them!"
"Yeah right. The only difference between ponies and griffons is that we don't bother pretending to be nice."
"You don't know what you're talking about, Gilda!"
"I don't know?" Gilda pushed herself up on the table, as her voice rose to a shout. "Look in a mirror, Dash. You didn't spend two years flying around Equestria looking for somewhere to live. You were safe being a total flip-flop in Ponyville with your lame friends and your rich grandpa. You have no idea what ponies are like!"
Dash looked straight into Gilda's eyes, though she maintained control of her own voice. "You're wrong, Gilda, but if that's what you want to think about me, that's fine. Just tell me where I can find a healer or something, and you'll never have to see this 'flip-flop' again."
Gilda stood up and walked over to the thin crack offering the room its only glimmer of light. Her body obscured most of the light, leaving Rainbow watching her silhouette from the shadows. Slowly, the griffoness peeked her head out and glanced left and right along the enormous walls of Grivridge. Her head ducked back in quickly, and she turned toward Dash once more. The motion seemed to have calmed much of her temper. "You can't leave now."
"Why not? Is he out there? And why do you care?"
"Cause I still owe you for flight camp." Gilda's expression hardened. "And that’s it. Now shut up and listen. A few days ago, a pony broke into the Palace of the Winds, and tried to kill the Emperor."
"Masquerade!" Dash gasped. "Is she still here?"
Gilda's brow rose. "Whoever it was got away, after killing one of the Praetorians."
"Yeah, I bet. She's a dark blue unicorn mare, with-"
"It wasn't a unicorn. Only aeromancers can get to the Palace of Winds." Gilda shook her head slowly. "That's why the Legate made such a big deal about the stallion you were with. The Praetorians probably think he did it."
"Reckoning couldn't have done it. He's been with me for three days."
"If you say so, Dash." Gilda shrugged. "But what I'm telling you is that if you're around when the Praetorians show up in this territory, they'll torture you, and then they'll probably turn you over to the emperor as a slave. You've got to get out of here."
"But I can't leave yet, Gilda! Not until I have a cure."
She groaned. "Don't be an idiot, Dash! Who cares if the princess dies? Wasn't she, like, evil or something anyway?"
"She's not evil!" Rainbow rebounded. "And I've come way too far to give up now."
Gilda stared for some time, before offering a frown. "Look, I can take you to see the Legion Apothecary, but after that, you've got to get lost."
Dash nodded slowly. "Thanks, G."
"Whatever." The griffon grabbed the rest of her food and tilted it into her mouth in a single swallow. Then, without further pause, she leapt out through the tiny crack of a door into the open air.
- - -
The pegasus and the griffon soared in tandem along the titanic stone trench of Grivridge, sparing each other mixed glances as their wings pumped together. They'd been flying for only a spare few minutes when Dash finally felt the need to speak up.
"So, how'd you end up as a guard, G?"
"Were called legionaries, Dash. We don't 'guard' things. Just fight wars."
Ignoring the grim undertone, Dash nodded. "Sure, whatever. I didn't think you'd care about a name. How'd you end up as one of those?"
A short sigh preceded the explanation. "Well, after you ran off from Cloudsdale, I flew around Equestria, trying to find a job. I worked weather a few places, but none of them really worked out. Eventually, I went back to your grandpa, trying to figure out where you'd flown off to. And then…" Her voice trailed off. "Anyway, after Ponyville, I went back to wandering. It took me two more years to give up, and everywhere I looked I saw your ugly mug on all the newspapers. The Young Flier Championship, Discord, the Changelings - I just couldn't take it. So I said 'screw the treaty', and I just flew back here. Took forever, since I didn't know the way. I jumped airships from Manehattan to Mareocco, and then walked and flew the rest."
"That's a long distance."
"You think I don't know that?" Gilda snapped, before shaking her head. "A hydra almost ate me, but another griffon bailed me out. A centurion named Gaius. When he heard who I was, he took me back to see my family." The griffoness flared her wings suddenly, but this time Dash was fast enough to stop a head-first collision. "This is the place."
The pair swooped through the carved archway of the griffon legion barracks, only to earn the surprised glares of no fewer than forty griffon forms. Most were male, and heavily armed, but their numbers were great and chaotic enough to make their distinctions unclear.
"A pony!" One of them yelled.
"Hold your horses, Merro; she's with me." Gilda flared her wings to accompany the utterance.
One of the other legionaries gave out a short caw that Rainbow only later recognized as an expression of humor. "Hah! Agildania brings one of her friends into Grivridge. The Centurion was right; she is more pony than griffon."
"This is no laughing matter," another stated, drawing a short, thick sword. "Have you not heard of what happened at the Palace?"
"Back off!" Gilda flared her wings and roared. "I've got her on the Legate's orders! She has to be checked before the Praetorians arrive." A few of the griffons stepped forward, and she answered by audibly scraping her leonine claws against the stone floor. "If you doubt my words, you can take it up with her." The legionaries held their places for a moment, but ultimately relented. Seeing her victory, Gilda barked out another demanding question. "Where's the apothecary?"
"He will return to his quarters when he returns, Agildania." The cluster of soldiers parted, allowing Dash and Gilda to walk together, slowly. The pegasus couldn't help but draw close to her old acquaintance, finding fear in the hungry eyes and hateful talons of the horde of young, violent griffons. Keeping up her part, she folded her wings stiffly and walked tall with the military posture Thunder Crack had taught her in one of the few lessons she'd bothered to recall.
The passage of multi-layer palm bunks beneath heavy stone passed by what seemed aptly described as a legion of griffons, before finally reaching a long narrow hallway lit by little balls of luminescent moss. Their blue-green aura gave the series of small offices carved from the rock an ominous appearance, hanging above Rainbow's head at a height too great for the comfort of ponies.
The second to the last carved archway on the right opened to a room of strangely shaped glass jars and cabinets. All these objects were centered around a stone slab which seemed oddly bare without the living pony sacrifice Rainbow almost expected to be present. The bloodstains were there, after all.
Trying to take her mind off the uncomfortable setting, Dash turned back to Gilda. "What did they mean about 'more pony than griffon'?"
The topic clearly angered Gilda, as she sat down on her rump and folded her arms across her chest. "They think it's funny. I'm the 'pony-griffon', and the 'vegetarian', and all sorts of other dumb shit that griffons say when they think they're better than you. It all started with my dad."
"Your dad?"
"Yeah." Gilda laughed. "You're not the only one with awful parents, Dash. After Gaius helped me fight the hydra, he took me back to my family. My dad was pretty surprised to see me, but he figured out pretty quick that I wasn't 'exactly what he wanted'."
Dash cocked a brow. "Uh, like…?"
"It's weird to see slaves and meat when you grew up with ponies." Her words were awkward, stilted and forced. "Anyway, he shipped me right off to the legion, to 'prove I was a real griffon'. So here I am."
"Uh…" Dash watched Gilda with a mixture of empathy and regret. "Sorry."
All the lights went out abruptly, followed by a sharp, short, and terrible scraping noise, eliciting a small jump and a spreading of wings. The sound ended in a burst of flame, wrapping around an outstretched talon. "Apologies. I was not expecting guests, least of all an equine. Allow me a moment." Behind the talon, in the orange glow of his own flaming limb, was an ancient male griffon. Though a thick coat of feathers covered what would otherwise have surely been a wrinkled face, the bushy rough white beard on his jaw was enough to testify to his age. A pair of perfectly rounded spectacles hung low on his beak as he squinted. With a callous flick of his hand, the fire on his talon shot off in a tiny ball, colliding with a pile of logs set into the far wall. When they ignited, Rainbow recognized a fireplace. "I normally just let the moss work, to avoid the smoke, but I confess it can get rather cold within the office. Now, set her down on the slab and I'll get to examination."
"We're not here for me," Dash muttered.
"Oh? Then tell me, what is a pony doing in Grivridge? In the midst of legion quarters, no less. How can I possibly be of assistance to you?" His voice croaked and creaked as his bespectacled eyes wandered the room, glancing at jars.
"I need to know about how to cure something. Like, a poison, but not a poison."
The strange words got the old griffon's attention. "Is it or isn't it? Am I expecting a disease or poison? A parasite, perhaps? Vitamin deficiency?"
"Well, we thought it was a poison, but Fallaner said it wasn't."
The griffon's reaction was sharp and pointed. "Do not defile this place of healing with that name. He knows nothing of proper healing. Bloodletting, ichors, the four humors - all are lost on him in the interest of his magic. I would imagine he doesn't even know how to treat a common cough." The rambling ended with an upturned beak and a snort. "I frankly do not care about what advice that creature gave you. Describe the condition."
Dash recoiled as the griffon's face moved slowly closer to her own. "Uh, okay. Um, she's getting older. Like, aging to death."
"Wings molting? Beak decay? Or merely internally?"
"I don't know. She's not a griffon, doc."
"Doctor?" The griffon smashed a talon upon the table, eliciting a sharp crack. "How dare you? I am an apothecary!"
"Whoa, calm down!" Gilda demanded, stepping between Dash and the furious healer. "She didn't mean anything, apothecary. Relax."
After a moment of panting that devolved quickly into painful wheezing, he nodded. "Of course. I should have expected a pony would fall for the trap of near-synonimity, given their relative intellectual capacity. I-"
"Hold on," Dash pressed. "Are you calling me stupid?"
"Well, not so bluntly, but I suppose so. It’s a well-established fact that griffons have larger brains than ponies, and-"
"Hey!"
It was Gilda's turn to focus on Dash, and she did so by swatting the pegasus on the nose. "We don't have time for this, Dash. Just tell him what he wants."
After rubbing her sore muzzle, Dash nodded and continued. "Right. So, it's not a griffon. The sick pony is Princess Luna."
"Princess? One of your political leaders, then? Of course, I should have suspected. Who else could have the clout to send one of your kind on a journey here?" The griffon adjusted his spectacles. "So, this pony is suffering from aging? I suspect the implication is that the effect is unnatural. Tell me, what is her age?"
"Oh…" Dash stopped to think, as her mind wandered back to Celestia's begging request that was now almost a week old. "Like, eighty-thousand."
The griffon cocked his head. "Do ponies measure time in simply days? I suppose that would be reasonable. But, no. That still makes…" His talons twitched in the air, performing a silent calculation. "Two-hundred nineteen and a few years to spare. Yet most ponies live only half that. Are you certain the subject is not an Elk?"
"No," Dash explained. "And that was years. Eighty-thousand years."
"I don't take kindly to fiction. No creature lives that long."
"She's Celestia's sister. The Princess. Like, uh, Magnus."
At those words, the apothecary lowered his spectacles, looking at Rainbow from above the round frames. "So an immortal god, like the Emperor, is aging to death? Because of a poison that is not a poison?"
"Yeah. I know it sounds crazy, but-"
"Madness and magic are two very different things. Tragically, my experience lies in the first, and you have clearly described the second. I can tell you this. There is no magic, or at least none within the power of mortals such as we, which can control time. Neither is there any plant or mineral which can do the sa-" He stopped. "Well, not in the sense you've described. I understand the dragons have a type of rare gem which can congeal time, but that is neither here nor there. Regardless, the concept of aging some creature to death is an impossibility, even before one considers the idiocy of trying such a concept on a god. I cannot offer you a diagnosis, but I might be able to offer you a prescription."
Dash's eyes widened in surprise. "What, like a cure?"
"Not a cure, per se, but at least something which will treat the condition until you can identify it. You see, griffon legend speaks of an ancient pony secret, called the Fountain of Youth."
Dash's brow quirked, recognizing the name from Daring Do. "Where you drink the water, and it makes you younger?"
"Many had thought it was a mere rumor, until our legion learned that its guardian had arrived on the edge of Grivridge."
"Guardian?"
"There is a pony who bears the map to the fountain on his very flesh and fur. We call him the Guardian, though his true name is-"
"Dead Reckoning?"
The apothecary removed his spectacles from his face, folded them gently, and set them atop the stone slab. Only when the laborious action was completed did he finally speak. "-unknown to us. Though, I suppose, that statement is no longer true."
Dash, for her part, sat stunned with her mouth hanging loosely open. "The Fountain- The Fountain of Youth? Deadeye's cutie mark is a real map?"
"Do not quote me, pony, but that is what our kind have learned passed up from pony to zebra to griffon."
Dash turned to Gilda slowly, and the griffoness responded with a blank look. "This… is…"
"Awesome! This has got to be what they meant!"
Gilda rolled her eyes. "If it'll get you out of Grivridge, that's fine with me. Let's get going."
"Yeah!" Dash darted to the door, turning back only momentarily to offer a parting "Thanks" to the apothecary who had returned to adjusting his eyewear.
As the pegasus made her way back down the long hallway of the legion quarters, the joy in her heart turned to fear. Rather than the griffons awaiting her ahead, however, her spirit was concerned with the idea of confronting Reckoning again. She wondered if his madness had finally settled, or if it even could. There were too many unanswered questions, but like all so many of her problems, the only answer was to confront him head-on. She forced thoughts of his bloody empty eye-socket from her mind as she strode past the griffon legionaries and their bunks, setting her shoulders with determination.
She was prepared to leap straight out into the air when Gilda forcefully grabbed her by the mane. The pain in her neck was emphasized all the more by the momentum of her flapping wings. "Ow! What the hay, G?"
"Look!" the griffoness hissed, pointing with her free talon. Dash followed the extended limb, staring out into the air.
A half-dozen enormous but unarmored griffons cut through the air like blades. Their distance and speed made it hard to pull apart individual details, but Dash recognized the huge swords they carried between their wings.
"Those are the special guards, right? Magnus'?"
The pegasus was rewarded for her memory with a curious glance from her former friend. "You recognize them? Well, whatever. They're the Praetorians. The best legionaries. They work for the Emperor personally, and they hate ponies. If they're here, they'll be expecting me to bring you back to the Legate soon." Gilda took a deep breath, waiting for the warriors to pass out of sight. "Listen up, Dash. I bailed you out here, so now we're even, got it? There's nothing left between you and me, and I don't really want to see you again. Now, you fly back out to that jungle and you go cure your Princess or go back to your lame friends or whatever, but don't come back here."
There was a hardness in Gilda's gaze that didn't leave a lot of room for discussion. Nevertheless, something in Rainbow's heart stirred. She hadn't wanted such a blunt parting of ways. "I'm sorry, G."
"Whatever, Dash. Just get lost."
The simple, blunt words were a bitter pill for Dash to swallow.
- - -
Shining Armor barreled up the main streets of Canterlot with such speed and force that the noble ponies screamed as they leapt out of the way. He passed three hospitals without so much as a hesitation, knowing that the mare resting across his back could only be treated by the best. Normally, those ponies worked at the hospitals he left behind, but he knew where they had been summoned to, and what patient they were serving.
He offered the palace doors no more courtesy than he had the civilians milling about in his way. A burst of magic quite literally slammed them open, and he ran through before the same force swung them back shut again.
His hooves screamed for rest, but somehow, his mind thought that a single second might be the difference, and so he ran on. The stairways did not slow his speed, and corners did not give him pause. In his time of need, he would have put the guard's fastest sprinters to shame.
He spared magic altogether and bucked open the doors to the palace infirmary.
"What are you doing?" a doctor shouted, furious at the sudden noise.
"She needs help!" the captain answered, carrying Going Solo's burnt form to the nearest free bed and setting her down gently with magic. "Please, doctor!"
Seeing the stallion's obvious distress, and the relatively little change in the Princess' condition, the doctor made his way over. Upon getting a better look at the mare, he gasped. "What happened to her?"
"She was in a fire in Baltimare, a few hours ago."
"Hours? Don't they have hospitals in Baltimare? She could have died on the way!" The physicians protests were accompanied by a very rapid set of tests and glances at the various burnt parts of her flesh. His horn ignited briefly and he spoke aloud. "Get Dr. Graft and a burn trauma unit to the Infirmary, stat!"
"Wait!" Shining leaned forward.
"Please let me do my job, Captain."
"You don't need a burn team for this. Its magical trauma."
The doctor simply stared for a few moments, and then his horn ignited again. "Dr. Asclepius, we need you urgently." When the glow faded, his face was blank. "I… I've never heard of anything like this. Fire magic?" Then he took a deep breath and turned to the captain fully. "I'll have to ask you to leave now. The risk of infection is already higher than I would like."
"But-"
"Out! Now!"
Shining nodded grudgingly and made his way into the hall. There, on a convenient bench, he finally found a moment to sit down, pull of his armor, and take a long breath. And on that bench he waited, until a pair of simple words cut through his thoughts like a chilled wind.
"Captain Armor?"
His breath froze in his throat. It took all his willpower to turn his head toward the all-too-familiar voice. "P-Princess?"
She sighed, knowing the answer to her first question simply by the tone he had addressed her with. "I take it you found no cure."
"No, Princess." Lowering his head, the captain of the Royal Guard gave a sigh of his own. "I was unable to apprehend Masquerade, or Soldier On. I got a civilian wounded, and I-"
"-did your best."
Shining looked up as a huge wing wrapped around his shoulders. He had to admit, much of Celestia's form had returned. Only the very base of her mane retained its mundane tone. What surprised him most, however, was that her sagacious words of comfort had returned.
"With respect, Princess, my best was not enough."
"Sometimes, nopony's is." Celestia shook her head. "But there are still ponies who can save my sister, and I have faith in them as I do in you."
Unsure what to say, Shining nodded. "How long does she have?"
"At least until tonight - tomorrow morning, I suppose. After that, nothing is guaranteed." The Princess glanced to Shining and then leaned close to him. "What about yours?"
"I made a stupid mistake," he answered. "She was a contact on the trail to Masquerade, and I let her come along, and she got hurt." He pondered mentioning Red Ink's role, but ultimately held his tongue. There were reports for such complaints and accusations, but neither had its place in that solemn hallway.
Celestia smiled, but the look on her face was sadder than that of any bawling filly. "Your sister once came with me on a trip to northern Zebrica, to meet with the Governor. While we were there, I gave her some money, and she used it to purchase a local fruit she had read about in a book, from a local market. I felt such an exercise would be good for her. Unfortunately, it was less than clean, and less than ripe. She became very sick, and I feared that something terrible would happen. But when I tried to take her back to Canterlot, she wouldn't let me. She told me that I still had a job to do. I still had to go talk to the Governor." Celestia's smile grew less sad with each passing word. "She proved she was the strongest little filly I had ever met, in her own way. And I remembered a very old lesson."
She leaned over to Shining's ear, and though there was nopony else around to hear her words, they came in a whisper. "Everypony gets hurt, but how we get better is what makes us better ponies."
Shining nodded, though he wasn’t sure he understood perfectly. "Why not just heal her, like you did Rainbow Dash?"
The smile faded altogether, and the Princess' face became stern and cold. "We will all speak of that soon, one way or another, Shining Armor. But know that you would never want me to heal your sister, or your friend, as I did Rainbow."
Shining stared at his ruler until a doctor came charging into the room. As the doors swung open and shut behind him, he could see Luna's face in the farthest bed. Her cheeks seemed skeletal, caved in to deep pits, and her eyes were sunken and wrinkled. It was hard to understand how she was even alive at that very moment, and his hope for how long she could continue faded with each slow twist of the swinging doors.
- - -
The safari shirt clung to Rainbow's chest, stained with sweat and mud and torn by twigs and undergrowth. She'd been looking for hours, but she didn't pretend to be a master tracker, or even particularly perceptive. She knew she would have been having a hard time, even if Reckoning's hooves were somehow restrained to the ground. She'd seen a few clumps of his hoofprints, marking his passing, but they were unconnected and even their direction seemed to point randomly.
All the while, her heart jumped at every stray noise and twisted against every odd note of a bird's song or a monkey's call. Worst of all was how few they were, as though the usual animals had been replaced by something larger, smarter, and deadlier. Was he watching her? Waiting for her to appear, or to leave herself vulnerable?
Her wanderings had twice brought her to the edge of Grivridge, and both times she had shied away before some griffon could sneak up behind her again. Another of her little jaunts had found her way back to Fallaner's swamp, where now lifeless skeletal corpses had gathered in a clump against the dam left behind by the frozen river. The place had lost much of its unnatural appearance, but Rainbow still couldn't stand to be in its presence any longer than she absolutely had to.
Instead, she ran along what she thought was the edge of the ridge, keeping in mind that Gilda and her scouts had seen him somewhere nearby. She kept within the tree line, away from griffon eyes, but every step bore the omnipresent weight of mortal danger.
Her path had continued for some time, but it stopped bluntly when the pegasus ran unexpectedly out of the thick shrubbery. A huge circle of trees, at least a mile across, had been cut down. They left behind dry and dusty tan dirt and rough gray stone. Wind ripped through the enormous clearing, rustling Rainbow's mane and leaving her feathers twitching. The nearly gale-force winds would be hard to fly in for the average pony. Her head turned toward their obvious source, and her jaw dropped.
Hanging in the air, unsupported by bridges or foundation, was an enormous palace. The structure resembled the architecture of Cloudsdale, if marble were chosen as a replacement for clouds, and everything were scaled up to double its usual size. Beautiful pillars of pure white supported a slanted roof upon which were built terraces of the same pale material. From between the pillars came billowing winds that force Rainbow to squint as she beheld the structure.
Struggling against the wind, failing to even get out over the edge of the cliff, and elderly pegasus panted with a machete clutched tightly between his teeth. Even with the blood matting his already rough coat, Rainbow would have recognized him anywhere. She didn't pretend to know what to expect, and so instead folded her wings and walked toward him.
"Hey! Deadeye!" Her shouts barely pierced the wind, but the second was enough to gather his attention. The old pony turned, revealing a grisly sight. Shards of glass still stuck out oddly from his empty eye socket, and the blood they had left behind had filled the three scarring lines down his cheek. Upon seeing Rainbow, his gaze grew hard and cold. His neck twisted suddenly, sheathing his machete, and then he stomped toward her.
"You brought them here?" It took Rainbow a moment to realize that Reckoning's fury was directed over her shoulder, rather than directly at her.
"Who…" The words simply failed Dash as she turned back. Seven griffons approached, and in their own ways, all were familiar.
"Your plan worked," the figure in the center of the formation observed, glancing to his right. "Impressive, given the short period you had to think." Considering his company, he was a surprisingly small griffon. Plain brown fur and white feathers left him difficult to separate from the rest of his species. His defining traits were the short, broad blade that was slung beneath his left wing, and the scarred stub of an elbow that marked the premature end of what otherwise should have been his left hand. Balancing on his remaining talons and two broad paws, he offered Reckoning an analytic gaze. "Did your legion do that damage to him, Gilda?"
Her answer wasn't forthcoming, however, as Rainbow spoke first. "Gilda!" The pegasus mare's thoughts were overridden by rage. She leapt into the storming winds and pointed herself down to strike the being she had once called a friend. Her motion was too fast for the griffoness to follow, and would have been a solid blow, were the two alone. Instead, however, reality reflected itself in the form of the three-legged griffon's intervention. He moved quickly, lunging forward and thrusting out a long wing. Its bony, striking crest collided with the mare's forelegs, cutting off her momentum and sending her spiraling toward the tree line.
"Sorry, Dash," Gilda muttered unapologetically. "I knew you'd find him."
"You betrayed me!" Rainbow's words were pained, and ferocious.
"I-" Gilda was cut off when Gaius wrapped his legs around her and pulled her to the side with a massive beat of his wings. A moment later, the space she had filled was sliced in two by Reckoning's machete.
The other five griffons, who had previously made no move whatsoever, stepped forward and drew the heavy blades they kept between their wings. Rainbow recognized their large, muscle bound forms as the Praetorians, and her heart skipped a beat before settling into cold focus.
Seeing the threatening forms, Reckoning reacted by flapping his wings. Rainbow could see the thick fog clouds that his Empatha gathered together, but they were no match for the heavy and pervasive wind. Desperation entered his one-eyed gaze like a cornered animal, watching as the Praetorians surrounded him.
"Hold!" Gaius yelled, balancing surprisingly well on his hind legs as he motioned an open palm toward the mare. "Rainbow Dash, correct? Gilda, the Legate, and I have negotiated your release. You're free to leave Grivridge." Without waiting for a response, he turned to Reckoning. "You - pony! - drop your sword and surrender. We promise you a fair trial."
Reckoning growled, as his focus flitted from one griffon to another, and then another. Then, to Rainbow's surprise, his mouth opened, and his bloodstained blade fell to the dust. One of his wings twisted to his back right leg, around which he had cinched the half-saddlebag that had survived in recent turmoil. As it fell to the ground, freeing him of an unbalancing weight, his focus shifted to Gaius. "Why would you bother with a trial in war?"
Gaius clawed at the dirt beneath his own feet. "A war? So you admit it, then?"
Rainbow saw what was coming and spoke up. "You don't understand! He has flashbacks. He doesn't mean-"
"Save your breath, Easy Breeze." Reckoning spat the words with fury, before drawing back his head and spitting literally on the dusty rocks. "Take your friend's gift and get out of my sight."
Gaius nodded. "Gilda, take your… acquaintance, and leave."
"No way!" Rainbow ran toward Reckoning, hooves kicking up a storm of dust. She only stopped, with a sudden pain, when Gilda's arms wrapped around her torso. The griffoness' claws drew little drops of blood, but they were in no way the source of Rainbow's fury. "Get off me!"
"You'll thank me for this!" Gilda answered through a gritted beak. Her wings carried them out over the jungle a good several hundred feet as her greater size and strength contained Rainbow's struggles. Finally, in a mixture of desperation and fury, the mare punched at Gilda's wing, and the two fell through tearing branches and battering leaves in a tangled mess of fur and feathers. When they rose, covered with mud, their eyes met in fury.
"Get out of my way, G!"
Gilda answered by rising onto her hind legs and calling out in equal fury. "I owe you a debt, Rainbow, for when we were kids, but now it's over. I can't let you try and save that pony."
Rainbow stepped forward, flaring her wings. "You can't stop me."
Gilda shook her head. "Bet I can." Her next action came without warning, as she lowered herself onto all fours and broke out into a full-on charge. Dash leapt into the air, but Gilda had built up too much momentum to be avoided. The pegasus was tackled out of the air, and the griffon pinned her to the ground. There, she pulled back a fist of talons, and brought it down on Rainbow's nose.
The force was incredible, even given the griffon's greater size. Rainbow's vision blurred for a moment, and she tasted blood in her mouth. Before Gilda could bring about another attack, however, Rainbow struck. Four punches of fury and necessity struck Gilda's throat, just above the neck of her armor. Recoiling and gasping for breath, she released her hold on the pegasus. Rainbow wriggled free and began to flap her wings wildly as she broke into a run. The mud flew from her, but Gilda recovered before the mare could take flight.
The sound was strange and foreign. It came as a sort of thumping that passed through the air in a circle. She didn't recognize it as it flew toward her until a cord wrapped itself around her left wing. Three times it coiled, until the heavy weighted balls at both ends of the cable came together in restraining her. Behind the pegasus, Gilda shouted.
"Don't you get it, Dash? I'm saving your life! Those are the Praetorians! They'll tear you apart!"
"And what about Reckoning?" Rainbow turned around to face her betrayer. "Why, Gilda? Why stab me in the back? We were friends"
"Maybe because you screwed me over!" the griffoness roared back. "Do you think I like being the 'pony-griffon'? If I help bring him down, I'm a hero. I'll finally be done with ponies, and you and I can be out of each other's lives forever. Why do you care about him anyway?"
"He's my friend!" Rainbow answered with equal force, before lowering herself and pawing at the ground. "Though I guess you wouldn't understand that."
Gilda opened her mouth with a response, but the young pegasus had decided that the time for words was over. She charged forward with her wings pinned to her sides. Gilda answered by rearing up onto her back, readying both her fists of talons for a fight. She loomed over the approaching pony, but Rainbow had forgotten fear. She only saw red.
Had Applejack seen what transpired, she would have been proud. Rainbow leapt by her legs alone over one Gilda's hands. Her fur stood up with the force of its passing. Before a second attack could be made, the mare's hooves were on the ground again. She pressed both forehooves into the ground together, rotating her body around the pivot they made. Even as her momentum carried her sliding in the muddy jungle soil, her hind legs were brought to bear on Gilda's exposed torso. A single buck was all it took to throw the griffoness off balance.
A tree shuddered from the sudden collision, but it did not break. Rainbow ran forward, throwing attack after attack at Gilda. She caught herself quickly, blocking some kicks with her might wings and allowing others to strike against her armor. The vicious battle ended with a swift backhand that threw Rainbow onto her back.
"Leave!" Gilda shouted.
Wiping the dirt off of her bloodied muzzle, Rainbow answered simply. "I don't leave my friends behind." Then she ran again.
Gilda's armor was too strong for the mare to best without a weapon, but her mind knew in its own little way that she had one. Wrapped in a tight bolas, her left wing bore just the force she needed, and so she brought it to bear. The strike crumpled Gilda's guard and left a dent in her armor. Both combatants howled in pain.
Thunder Crack's angry words echoed in Rainbow's mind as she staggered backward. "Griffons can swipe with their wings because they have a solid ridge of angled bones at the crest. If I were wearing my helmet when you went for that blow, my head would be fine and you'd have shattered your wing." While his threat hadn't come true for breaking her bones, the pain was all too real. She shook her head and folded her wings again.
Gilda cracked her talons aloud, shaking her head with a sneer spread across her beak. "Did you forget who taught you how to fight, Dash? This is the last time I'm gonna warn you."
Dash nodded and closed her eyes, thinking back to the first day she'd become a guardspony. Lessons taught by a furious pony through a curriculum of bruises and shouting came flooding back into her hooves.
It was Gilda's turn to go on the attack, and she did so with the furious pounce of a griffon legionary. All four of her legs were brought to bear, ready to claw and rake at Dash's wings until the mare gave in. She was expecting running, or standing to fight. The pegasus chose neither. Instead, a small and altogether subtle step was enough to avoid the first of Gilda's attacks, leaving the mare in the low space between Gilda's belly and the jungle floor. There, she lashed out in short, swift strikes. Her targets were flesh, anywhere she could see. Knees. Elbows. Neck. Thighs. She rolled and attacked and squirmed, striking again and again until the tips of her cyan hooves took on a tinge of a different color. She only stopped when Gilda's wings flared to leap away.
Rainbow rose once more, and turned away from the muddy mess and her former friend. Her wing began squirming free of the bolas as she hustled toward Reckoning.
"Damn it, Dash!" The words didn't stop the mare, but the hissing of steel leaving a sheathe did. Gilda clutched in her talons a small dagger, no longer than the hair of the pegasus' mane. "Don't make me do this!"
Rainbow turned and shook her head. "You don't have to."
"Yes I do!" Gilda's words were as hateful as they were desperate. "What else do I have left?"
Gilda moved, and Dash did as well. The pegasus was, as always, faster. Her hind legs bucked on an instinct she didn't know she had, a dozen feet away from what would have been her target. White light spread across the trees, and a crisp crack split the air. Then Gilda fell, alongside gentle breathing and the scent of burnt hair. Dash shook her head, wishing she knew the answer.
Rainbow's mind was too concerned with Reckoning's fate to spare further thought for Gilda. She was still alive, and the mare could no longer bring herself to care about anything more. She finally broke the cable on her wing, and took off toward the wind-swept clearing.
As she shot past the tree line, her eyes took in a thankful sight. The Praetorians were fighting Reckoning, who danced between them with an agility that their larger bodies struggled to match. He had felled one, but the panting of his chest clearly displayed his fatigue.
On the far side of the clearing, near the sheer edge of the cliff, Gaius's wings were on fire. The talons of his sole hand held a bowl of water, which stirred in the roaring storm behind his back. As Rainbow ran forward, his appendages met the bowl, bringing forth a cloud of sheer white steam that billowed thicker than any cloud.
"Look out!" Rainbow shouted to Reckoning. The old pony turned just in time to see massive talons of mist reach out for him, and a pump of his wings carried him out of the way.
"Breeze? I thought- nevermind. Thanks!" The words were offered well through the machete the scout had gripped tightly in his mouth, though whatever else he might have said was cut short by the oncoming blade of another of the Praetorians.
Rainbow ran forward to join the fray. It was a heroic motion, but also one that wasn't perfectly thought out. She leapt into the air toward the griffons, and then stopped to the sensation of what could only be called a warm chill gripping her body. She looked back to see Gaius' steam wrapping around her.
"Breeze!" Reckoning shouted, as Rainbow's plight stole his attention. The mere moment of distraction was enough for his blade to be knocked away, and the Praetorians to fall upon him. He roared in fury, struggling beneath their grip, but even a young pony had no hope against the strengths of the four might griffons.
"There is no point in struggling, Rainbow Dash. Only a stronger Empatha can break the cage, and you lack the discipline to control such potent emotions."
Ignoring his words, Rainbow struggled against the veil of steam, but against her hooves and neck its durability rivaled solid stone. Only her wings were free to move, but even their rapid flapping could do nothing beyond lift her hooves a few sparse centimeters from the ground. Neither the little gusts they produced nor the fierce storm sweeping over the clearing from the depths of Grivridge could do anything to disperse the dense cloud.
Instead, Rainbow was left to watch, helplessly, as Gaius turned back to Reckoning. The old pony struggled against the griffons pinning him to the ground, and all the while, his fury was echoed as much in his eye as the aged yellow teeth he revealed behind peeled-back lips. The prelate looked down with calm and respect, and in return he received hatred and malice. The griffon drew his short sword and weighed it gently in his sole remaining hand of talons. A few calm steps balancing on his hind legs by the use of his strong wings brought him to where Reckoning's machete had fallen. He placed a paw down on it heavily, considered it for a moment, and then kicked it along the dirty stone ground. It bounced twice, with soft metallic clanging that barely bested the noise of the wind, before coming to a rest a mere foot from Reckoning's face.
"Release him," the prelate commanded. Reckoning was released, as the griffons spread their wings and pulled away from their prisoner.
Even in his fury and his madness, Reckoning could see some sort of danger in the griffon he was facing. Gaius was calm and patient. He walked back and forth, eyes always locked on his opponent. The pegasus rose to his hooves with deliberate and slow motions before claiming his machete. His empty eye socket, already half-collapsed on its glassy contents, narrowed in hatred.
Then the peace shattered into pieces. The old pony charged as fast as he could manage. Rainbow had to begrudgingly respect the blur of gray as it slammed into the griffon. For a pony of Reckoning's age, such motion ought to have been impossible. Gaius, however, was expecting nothing less. In fact, as sparks flew from the thin line where the blade of Reckoning's machete met the flat of Gaius’ gladius, the griffon seemed almost disappointed. With the force of his wings and the weight of his shoulder, he leaned into the parry. The old pegasus was thrown backward, landing on his hooves in the dust a few feet away.
Their parting was short lived. The prelate took his moment of advantage to lunge forward at Reckoning. Rather than locking their blades together, he attacked in a furious storm of strikes, forcing his foe's neck to bend at odd angles to deflect his more dexterous wrist.
Rainbow could see Reckoning recoiling with every strike. There was magic in Gaius' strikes; Endura that seemed unnecessary given Gaius superior size and youth. In desperation, Reckoning took a leap backward, allowing the prelate's blade to pass just under his throat. The motion was risky, but it should have given the pegasus time to react. That time, however, was nowhere to be found.
Gaius spun on one hind leg, and drove his other paw forward in an immense kick - a buck ending in a deadly claw. Two short lines of blood appeared on Reckoning's right shoulder, staining his gray coat as he was tossed backward again. This time, in a gasp of pain, the old soldier failed to catch his hooves.
Sensing weakness, the prelate lunged like a feral predator. Reckoning rose toward the attack, twisting his neck to bring their blades together. The motion seemed futile, to Rainbow. There was too much force behind the plunging strike of the griffon for Reckoning to stand any chance. No pony's neck could stop that strike.
Steel met steel not with a ring or a clang, but instead, with a crack of thunder. For just a moment, the air between the blades compressed. What followed was an invisible explosion of force that changed the direction of the howling wind for a moment. It was Gaius' turn to be thrown off balance. His sword skipped from his talons as he spun head over tail, landing in the dust.
Reckoning's advantage lasted only moments, however. As he flew forward on tired wings for a killing blow, Gaius' talons traced a circle in the ground. The dirt and loose stone rose up, sending what might have been called a small sandstorm into Reckoning's eye. A coughing fit accompanied by the screaming of a thousand pebbles grinding at his empty socket sent the machete bouncing to the ground. This time, Gaius felt no need to re-arm his opponent. Even before the magical storm had stopped, the griffon had brought a rear paw around in a wide kick. Adding to the pain of the blinding storm, the old pegasus was thrown through the air like a ragdoll by the sheer force of the attack. He landed crumpled on his side, struggling desperately with both hooves to clean the mess of dust and rock from his face.
He was not fast enough. Gaius pounced atop him, and lifted the same rear leg. It came down once, twice, and then three times upon Reckoning's left wing. Each strike was audible in force above the constant storm. The stone beneath the wing cracked under the force, and on the third blow, the pony's flesh broke as well.
The sound, crystal clear despite the howling wind, seemed to Rainbow like that of a branch freeing itself from a tree in a roaring autumn storm. It was crisp, and clean, save for the scream of unbridled agony that shot forth over Reckoning's tongue. A shard of jagged white bone thrust its way free of the feathered flesh of the pegasus' wing, accompanied by a small burst of blood.
As Gaius' talons closed around Reckoning's throat, Dash could see tears pouring from behind both his closed eyelids. Her heart screamed in empathy, but all her struggles could do nothing to stop the choking grip of the prelate as he carried the scout to the edge of the ridge.
The griffon leader spoke loudly, calmly, and with a solemnity that a less distraught Rainbow Dash might well have respected. "For the crimes you have committed against the Griffon Empire, you are given to the Great Chasm. Have you any words before your final flight?"
Reckoning nodded slowly, and squeezed open his good eye. As tears ran down his broken face, the old soldier turned his gaze away from the prelate, and toward the distant form of his young partner.
"Tell the Princess 'I'm sorry'… Rainbow."
The surprise of her name stole the air from the mare's lungs, and she was given no time to gather her thoughts. Gaius thrust Reckoning forward, and spoke loudly and clearly. "Fly, now, elder, if your wings will carry you."
Gravity seemed to react slowly as Rainbow screamed. Reckoning slipped downward. His wings fluttered helplessly against the air, but his shattered side could not carry his weight. And so he continued downward.
The edge of the ridge first stole his hind legs from sight. The gray fur seemed more faded than ever before, as if he were nothing more than a frame from an old film. Grayscale. Blurry. Unable to move beyond a single pose. His tail went next, short and stubby and still filled with the brambles and dust of his adventurous life. Then his cutie mark, the sole remaining color on his weary coat. She had forgotten all about the map, and in watching it disappear, she felt a hope fade along with it.
She flapped her wings as he went further and further. Every beat took the greatest ounce of her energy. Her cage may have protected her body, but it was tearing apart her soul. In agony, she cried out again, though the winds stole her words.
His brown shirt, stained red with his own blood, was swallowed up by the void. The rough mane and the poorly-shaven roughness of his neck's coat passed next. And in a moment, all that was left was his smile, and his one smiling eye.
Her heart skipped a beat as she realized what she had seen. His smile was the same one he had worn the first day she had met him, when he thought it funny to pop his glass eye out and scare her. It was the smile he wore when he turned a splash of water into icicles and earned her amazement. It was the smile that he had worn on his face when she first erupted from Fallaner's river, and he saw that she was still breathing. In a few tightened muscles and a subtle upward twist, his muzzle spoke more volumes than any library. And, in a single instant, it too was gone.
As tears met Rainbow's face, she felt something in her wings. It was a sensation she hadn't felt in five years, borne of emotion, and magic, and desperation. Her mind recalled Luna's fall, and the mare could only think that she would not fail again. And so, wielding Loyalty even in the face of death, she flapped once.
The explosion was louder than all the world, and yet to Rainbow's ears it was silent. She flew as fast as she had ever before, mocking the griffon's ideas of possibility, yet to her own mind she was barely moving at all. Reckoning was still falling, and she still could not see him.
Gaius barely turned in time to see the streak of rainbow. Dash merely pushed him aside. His jaw shattered and his body was thrown back amongst his kin. Rainbow saw nothing; heard nothing; all her mind was focused on the dive.
Below her, plunging into the eternal, dark void, Reckoning fell. She stretched herself toward him, and to her surprise, she sped up. The motion seemed to take eternity, as she reached in futility for the falling pony. His eyes were closed again, but he still wore that smile.
Then she felt something - a heavy force, gripping her sides. It pulled back, and even the might of her wings and her sorrow were not enough to stop it.
"Let him go, Rainbow Dash."
She answered with tears and a shaking of her head, but her body was helpless to resist. She watched as the gray body was slowly swallowed by the black. All the world's noise was gone.
- - -
Rainbow existed in a state of hollowness, drifting between waking and sleeping. In recent days, she had seen death. She had even dealt it herself. But never before had it been to a pony. Never before had it been to a friend.
Magnus had pulled her back from the void by force, and her tiny body was no match for his enormous strength. She was so far gone in shock that she hadn't even recognized the griffon ruler until he pulled her back to his palace, floating alone in midair above Reckoning's shadowed resting place. There, she had struggled, screaming and fighting to try and dive back down until Magnus's magic simply placed her into sleep.
She awoke in a small room, with a glorious platter of greens and plants, and a comfortable cushion on which to sit. A large window of clear polished glass showed her that the sun had set over the ridge. It had been two days of stress and outright battle since she had eaten a proper meal, and yet rather than hunger, she felt almost sick. She just stared at the plate, hollow and quiet.
It took her a long time to admit that she barely knew the stallion. She'd seen into his mind, and his past, and more besides, but in the end, it had all been three days. Why, then, did she feel so attached to him?
Perhaps it was that with him gone, she felt completely alone. Her eyes were dry as she asked herself what she was supposed to do next. She had no map, no cure, no solution; only two words from a dying stallion, and a little smile. They seemed too little.
She barely turned when the room's door creaked open. The enormous form of the griffon emperor came first, but the creature that followed brought creases to her brow and rage to her heart.
"Why are you-"
"He wishes to offer his apology, Rainbow Dash." Magnus gestured to Gaius, who nodded slowly. A huge, bloody bruise on his jaw was the only change from his earlier appearance. Slowly, he prostrated himself before her, bowing his beak until it touched the floor.
"Why doesn't he say something, then?"
"You broke his jaw, as I understand," the emperor responded. "You fly with more strength and spirit than any of my own kind."
"I wasn't fast enough," Rainbow answered sullenly. "Again. Why did you have to kill him?"
Gaius lifted his head, but Magnus held out an arm to pause the prelate. "You have done as you must. Leave us, now." Gaius nodded, and then reached beneath his wing. Rainbow watched as he placed a single familiar pouch on the floor, and then turned toward the door. It was Reckoning's. Rainbow moved toward it, ignoring the retreating griffon. The ruler waited for his servant to pass through the door before continuing. "Today's death was regrettable, but unavoidable."
Rainbow looked up from the pouch in her forehooves with a wounded expression. "You could have let him go!"
"No, I could not." His rumbling voice sounded for a moment regretful. "He killed eight of my wards this morning, and another only minutes ago. Whether he did so from madness or hatred is irrelevant. Would you have me face my subjects and tell them that I forgave their killer? To let him go on living would be to start another war between your kind and mine. I have no intention of seeing such bloodshed, but my hand can be forced."
"But… he didn't want to; he didn’t have a choice."
"The world is cruel, Rainbow. I can look in your eyes and tell that you know this. At times, we make cruel choices, in order to spare harm to the ones that we care for and guard. My prelate made such a choice, but he did so with honor and respect."
"He broke Reckoning's wing and threw him off the cliff!" Rainbow screamed.
"As is our custom. When a griffon grows so old he can no longer fly, how is he to navigate the ridge? And so such a beloved elder makes his final flight, diving to the depths and embracing the world I have made for my kin."
This new perspective stole some of the barbs from his parting, but Rainbow still hurt inside. Her hooves flicked open the pouch, and watched as a bunch of petty supplies fell out. Most were perishables - random plants and fruits and seeds. Only a little compass, and a yellowed map, left with a wavy texture from drying after a dunk in Fallaner's river, seemed to bear any of the spirit of the fallen pony. She tucked the things away again and leaned the open bag against her leg before answering Magnus' words. "So… he's gone then? To where griffons go when they die?"
Magnus shook his head. "His soul goes to your Princess, Rainbow Dash. As the sun shines overhead, he will go to be in Celestia's care. You can ask her if you wish to know more; I do not judge the souls of your kind. I will not do you the disservice of pretending to know more."
"I…" Rainbow honestly had no idea what to say, so she instead looked up at the emperor and nodded. "Thanks."
"For the Bearer of Loyalty, I would do nothing less." The enormous griffin rose, and his back cracked twice. "Forgive me; I spent too much mana in coming here, and my body shows a mortal age for it. Rest, preen, and eat. Your body shows fatigue. When my youth and your health are returned, I will spare you a wind to travel back to your homeland."
At first, the words passed through the young pegasus' ears without reaching her mind. A subtle nagging hint, however, broke through the ice of her sorrow. "Age? I thought you didn't…" Rainbow's words trailed off as she noticed the gray tinges on feathers that she recalled having formerly been a sharp black.
"For myself, as well as your Princesses, our immortality is tied to our magic. Perhaps you recall the appearance Celestia bore recently, with a mane of plain pink. That is her mortal form, revealed by potent magic. I too have spent my share in walking along the winds to arrive here from the land of the Elk so quickly."
The nagging thought progressed, remembering Celestia's letter. She opened one of the breast pockets of her muddied safari shirt, only to pull forth an unreadable mass of soggy parchment. A sigh escaped her lips as she dropped it on the plush, luxurious carpet. "If you spent all your mana, what would happen?"
"Perhaps you misunderstand the magnitude of our power. I cannot imagine such a feat of power, though perhaps Krenn might..." The emperor looked away momentarily. "I imagine we would face a mortal death."
"So if a poison took away all your magic-" A hint of excitement blurred with the melancholy in her voice by the time he cut her off.
"You concern yourself with Luna?" Magnus nodded. "Just as you said before, yes. Though I was not told of age, I assure you that Celestia knows this fact as well as I; she would have been aware of such a reality. But she and I both know that no such poison exists."
"Are you sure?"
"I would not lie; I have no more intention to see the young Princess die than you do."
Rainbow nodded. "Sorry. I just-"
"Do not dare apologize for the sacrifices you have made, Rainbow Dash. No true griffon could accept such an apology. But know that your life is important as well - or do you think Discord would have spared my kind?" Magnus stepped up to the doorway and offered a flourishing bow. "I see in you a true warrior."
"What?" Rainbow looked down at herself, muddy and bloody and beaten, having been unable to save her partner and her friend. "Why?"
"Because when you fight, it is to save lives, rather than to end them."
As the door creaked shut, the Magnus' words shifted in Rainbow's mind until they were different words entirely.
"You were trying to be a good guardspony. You were trying to save lives. My life. Your princess' life. Sometimes, that means making choices."
"No," she answered aloud, wishing to turn and see Reckoning standing behind her. "No, I chose wrong. I couldn't save you, and I can't save Luna."
"She's lucky to have you looking out for her."
"I failed!" Rainbow moaned. "Even if I found a cure tomorrow, I couldn't get back in time!" Her hooves smashed against the table, spilling her platter of perfect greens across the floor. A few grapes and nuts rolled into the still-open lid of Reckoning's sole remaining saddlebag. Her hoof moved in, trying to sort out the food from his keepsakes. Her hoof stopped on a rough brown canvas bag. She nearly skipped over it, but then turned for a second look.
"A poison… that isn't a poison…"
A shining ray pierced through the icy surface of her sorrow. She called it hope. It put a tiny smile on her face, and part of her heart hoped it would look the way his did. Then she cinched the saddlebag to her leg, turned to the door, and took flight. Magnus would have to give her the wind early.
- - -
The little bell above the doorway of the Carousel Boutique rang gently, as a mare stepped out of the rain. It was rather too late for such a customer, but the truth was that the owner hadn't been sleeping. Rarity could hear it pouring even from her workspace, upstairs above the main showroom. "I'll be with you in a moment," came the owner's call, rather more deflated that one might usually expect even at the unreasonable hour. She carefully stitched the last bit of black thread for a dress she intended to wear herself, and then walked down the stairs.
She knew she wasn't looking her best, and hoped the customer could forgive her. What point was mascara if one knew it was going to run?
"Welcome to the Carousel Boutique," she began, as her hooves met the ground floor. Across the room from her was a young indigo unicorn mare, wearing a black mane with blue and purple swirling highlights. Though she had no intention of saying it aloud, Rarity always detested the combination of black and blue. It was the nagging of an old rule of fashion that she couldn't seem to get out of her head. Instead, she took note of the water sopping the mare's coat, and shook her head. "I'm so sorry for the weather. Can I get you a towel, perhaps, or a heater?"
"It's no issue," the mare responded as her horn ignited with misty blue magic, and in only a moment, all the water across her body was gathered together into a rather large raindrop at the top of her horn. She pulled open the boutique door quickly and tossed the ball away. "See? All dry."
"Yes, that's impressive magic. I could never maintain that level of focus. You might want to speak with Twilight if you're a mage."
"Tragically not," the mare answered, turning to the side to reveal her cutie mark. It was a pale white mask, bearing a frown upon its muzzle. Rarity recognized it from theatre as the symbol for tragedy. "I'm an actress of sorts. In any case, I understand that I might be a little late, but I was hoping to commission a dress."
Rarity knew she could easily finish such a project; the only concern was its purpose. "For tomorrow?" The mare nodded. "Then come over here and I'll take your measurements." Rarity's magic claimed a length of measuring tape and went to work.
"There is something else I've been hoping to do while I was here in Ponyville," the actress noted, as Rarity's voice found itself without the usual urge to chat up the customer. "Do you know where I can find a decent mailmare?"
"I can give you the address of the post office."
"I'm afraid this letter has very specific instructions." The mare called forth some more of her magic, and pulled a blank white envelope seemingly from midair. "It’s a will."
"Oh, I see. Well, there is a mare I can direct you to when you're done, Miss…"
The actress thought for a moment and then smiled. "You can call me Ms. Ball."
- - -
The sky was dominated by twilight; though the sun's light shone over Equestria ahead and to the left. The colors it painted across the sky reminded a tired, hungry and aching mare of the friends she had left behind not altogether too long ago. On the very edge of the horizon she could see a blur of pink, starting light and gentle like Fluttershy's mane, before devolving into the darker coat of Pinkie. The underside of welcome white puffy clouds bore the purples and lavenders of a dressmaker and a librarian. At the very edge of the light, a farmer's warm orange brought to mind the smell of apples.
She could see Ponyville if she looked down; it was a few dozen miles away still, but that would be an easy flight even on an empty stomach and a tired body. She knew, however, that her mission was urgent, and her package a desperate hope. She couldn't allow herself the distraction she longed for. Instead, her neck was locked toward the spire of the Mountain of Dawn. There, glorious ivory Canterlot hung and stretched forth, yearning for the sun. It wouldn't be long now.
Though her eyes resisted the temptation of home, they did wander to the horizon to watch the rising sun. The welcome freedom of flight without desperation or fear of death was almost a foreign sensation; the last time she had gone without practicing her stunts for so long was under the duress of a broken wing, years past. Now she was free again, and the cold morning air was the only thing managing to hold her awake and together.
Magnus' wind had carried her over the ocean at a speed she had never even imagined. Trailing a brilliant rainbow and outrunning the sound of her own passing, Rainbow had felt herself push against another, far stronger barrier . She had no idea what could have caused it, and so the question was tucked away for Twilight later. Luna's cure took precedence over all.
The tailwind had failed at the shoreline, high above Baltimare. From there, Rainbow took to a slow glide, feeling the resistance of her own body and magic after such an outpouring of energy. She knew she'd be in Canterlot by the time the sun pulled itself fully free of the horizon. A sideways glance was meant to affirm her idea; it proposed something altogether different instead.
The sun should have risen. It had been waiting on the edge of twilight for ten minutes, but the orb did not come into sight. A chill rushed down Rainbow's spine, but not for lack of heat. Celestia was never late. A slow breath filled her nostrils. "It's just some mistake. Lots of stress. Maybe I'm just getting worked up, like Twilight always says…"
She glanced over again, and saw no change. Nothing at all had moved. Her wings skipped a beat, and her stomach jolted as she dropped a few feet. Rather than recovering, she moved into a dive, pushing again with all her might. Something was wrong. Terribly wrong.
No matter how hard she worked, her body was too tired to bring forth another rainboom. Instead, she dove for all the speed that she could, and then pulled up with furious wingbeats. The speed was still impressive, but her fear was that she had been too late before she even began.
Rather than the steady pace of comfortable flight, Canterlot grew as if the mountain itself were coming forward to meet Rainbow. The wind ripped through her mane, leaving it flowing backward along her neck. She forced herself to ignore the aches for a few moments more, watching as the railroad tracks and the foothills passed on the ground half a mile beneath her.
Then, in an instant, she was over the city walls. Early risers looked up at the speeding mare overhead, bloodied and torn and seeming far older than she had been five days earlier. She didn't even notice them. Her body pulled down toward the huge wooden doors of the palace, flanked by a pair of guards. They saw her coming and glanced at one another, but she didn't have time even to explain. Her shoulder was lowered, and the doors flew open.
The shake that the blow dealt to her in own body in retribution was the final nail in her endurance, crumpling her wings and leaving her to slide across the marble floor of the entryway on her belly, struggling to pull up Reckoning's bag. The two guardsponies from the door rushed over to her fallen form, ready to bark orders. She spoke first between gasps for breath.
"This-" The world swam before her eyes, growing murky and distorted. "-'s Luna's…"
Sleep claimed its victim without further protest.
- - -
In a place devoid of time, a stallion spared himself a moment of irony. He had to admit that the image of a landscape of puffy clouds and glowing light had always seemed to his mind just a bit tacky. Nopony joined the guard wanting to see the world and then found themselves only satisfied by the perfect bits. It was the dirt and the rocks and the leaves and the water that made things feel real. Clouds always lacked that grit.
Something about what he was seeing was somehow different, though. The clouds seemed puffier, fuller, rounder than he had seen in years. He wondered what the cause could have been, as he closed his eyes.
"Dead Reckoning?" The voice was gentle and beautiful, but also clearly surprised. He recognized it instantly, and turned stiffly. His right forehoof snapped into a salute.
"Reporting for duty, your Majesty."
Celestia stood before him in all her glory, glowing radiantly with all the colors in her mane. A sad smile sat on her face. He decided immediately that he did not like it.
"You may call me Celestia, Reckoning. You've earned that right. And you owe no more duty to me, or anypony else."
He smiled, and laughed. "I'll always be a guardspony, Celestia. And you can call me 'Deadeye'." And at the name, he realized what had changed. Slowly, he brought a hoof in front of his face. His coat was a well trimmed green, fitting the jungle perfectly. He blinked, with both eyes, and his smile grew just a bit wider.
"Very well, Deadeye. You gave your life to serve, thankfully, and for that, you have my eternal thanks. You can go now, to the Summer Lands, and rest."
He cocked a brow over the eye he had been missing not long before. "To be honest, Celestia, I never really liked sitting around and resting. I signed up to the guard for adventure, and I wasn't done before." He flexed young, supple wings. "Now I feel like I could take on the world."
"Then perhaps adventure is what you will have, Deadeye. I cannot tell you exactly what awaits, for I cannot go myself." She offered him a little grin as she lowered her head to nuzzle the back of his. It was a luxurious feeling - the comfort she could never give to soldiers in life. "One way or another, things can be arranged."
"I'd like that," Reckoning answered, spreading young wings and rising into the sky. "I think I'd like that a lot."
Apologies for the lateness of this chapter; it seemed like every day something came up right when I sat down to get some writing done. Now that it's out, I'd like to give a special thanks both to my continuing pre-reader SatoshiKyu, and a new member of the WLL team, Roflknief. I can't stress enough how much of an impact a good pre-reader can make on a story like this; I couldn't produce what you read above alone. To I guess that's what I'm thankful for this time of year.
I'm also very thankful to have great readers who take the time to share their thoughts and criticisms with me; I encourage the use of the comments below, where you might very well find some of my own thoughts, if you're interested. As we move very quickly toward bringing Act I of Where Loyalties Lie to a close, I guess I'd like to close by saying that this has been as fun for me as I hope it's been for you.
-Loyal Liar