//------------------------------//
// Grim News 
// Story: Echoing Shadows 
// by LordSiravant 
//------------------------------//

Chapter Two: Grim News



The Gryphon Prince Irontalon and his two escorts flew high above the clouds, their feathers insulating them against the biting cold of the high altitude above the frozen north. The prince could not help but be excited; Shining Armor was one of his closest friends, and they had often visited with each other when Shining was off-duty and King Swiftwing and Princess Celestia were conducting diplomatic business. According to the envoy's report, the Crystal Empire was an exceedingly-beautiful place. Irontalon couldn't wait to see it with his own eyes.

And as the clouds parted, see it he did.

And he immediately questioned the envoy's definition of beauty.

The Crystal Empire was now an unholy mess. All the plants and grass had died, and great black crystals surrounded and permeated the city. But the worst part was that the civilians were all chained together and working in vast mines near the castle. They looked absolutely miserable.

"Wha--? What happened here?!" Irontalon's first bodyguard, Lionheart, gasped.

"I-I don't know," Irontalon stammered. "We're going down there. Be on your guard. Something's very wrong."

"Yessir!" both escorts saluted before following the prince downward.

The three Gryphons touched down on the main balcony leading to the conference room. "Shining Armor!" Irontalon yelled. "I demand to know the meaning of this..."

He trailed off as he realized the unicorn glaring in mock amusement at them was most certainly not Shining Armor. Irontalon narrowed his eyes. "Who are you?" he demanded.

The unicorn smirked. "I am the ruler of the Crystal Empire, King Sombra."

Irontalon's face paled. "No...no way. Shining said you were killed by the Crystal Heart!"

"Shining Armor was wrong," Sombra answered coldly.

Irontalon took a threatening step forward, but Sombra didn't even flinch. "Where is he?" he yelled.

"The prince? Where he belongs. As a rather pleasant statue accentuating my personal chambers, along with his wretched wife. The Crystal Empire is mine again."

Suddenly a group of crystal ponies emerged from the shadows, glaring daggers at the Gryphons. Their fur was jet-black, hard and glossy, like stone. They were encased in jagged, intimidating armor, and their eyes matched Sombra's. Lionheart and the second bodyguard both hissed and got into fighting positions. "Like them?" Sombra asked. "They were once good, innocent crystal ponies. But I have perfected Discord's 'discording' spell, and here you see the results. They are my Obsidian Guard, mindlessly loyal and obedient to me. Their hides are also as hard as dragon scales, and their armor is resistant to magic."

The Obsidian Guardsponies slowly advanced on the Gryphons, the Pegasi stretching their now razor-sharp wings, and the unicorns lowering their horns threateningly. "You know, I've never seen my Guard fight Gryphons before. Time to test how powerful they truly are. Try to keep it interesting for me, would you?" Sombra mockingly requested.

"Prince Irontalon!" Lionheart yelled. "Get out of here! We'll hold them off!"

Irontalon shook his head. "No! I'll stay and fight! For Shining!"

"Milord, you must go!" the other bodyguard, Eagle Eye, yelled. "Someone must warn the Equestrians! They are our best chance of stopping this fiend! GO!"

The Obsidian Guard descended on the Gryphons, cutting with their wings and goring with their horns. Talons and beaks flashed, clawing and tearing at the brainwashed ponies. Irontalon threw one unicorn off of him, sending him crashing into an approaching pegasus. The Gryphon Prince spread his wings and took off into the sky, unable to bear the thought of looking back. He did not notice the Obsidian pegasus take off after him.

Lionheart and Eagle Eye fought bravely and with all their strength and skills. Lionheart had managed to succeed in killing one of them, breaking open its head on the hard floor. But the durability and numbers of the Obsidian Guard eventually won out, and before long, both Gryphons succumbed to their many wounds. Both warriors lay on the ground, Eagle Eye dead and Lionheart mortally wounded. The Crystal Tyrant approached the dying Gryphon and sneered. "Any last words, cur?"

Lionheart gritted his teeth, lifted his head up...and spat in Sombra's face. "Long live King Swiftwing!" he yelled, defiant to the end.

Sombra wiped off the spittle and glared furiously at Lionheart. The massive stallion then raised one great hoof and brought it down on Lionheart's head, crushing the Gryphon's skull. Sombra regarded the two Gryphon corpses and growled, "Get these abominations out of here! Burn the bodies! And bring the maids in here to clean up this blood."

The Guard proceeded to follow their orders while Sombra retreated to his personal chambers, gazing fondly at the statues of his enemies. Besides that little blurb, everything was going his way. He was rebuilding his army, the Heart was sequestered in an even more heavily-booby-trapped area of the palace, and his people had finally remembered who was in charge. Yes, this was a glorious day indeed.

However, looking at the statues, Sombra knew there was something missing. One enemy still remained who had been instrumental in his previous defeat. He did not know where that baby dragon lived, but when he invaded Equestria, he would make it a point to find the damned lizard and exact his revenge. After all, the intervention of that dragon was the only reason his traps and security devices had failed. He had been the one thing Sombra couldn't have planned for.

But that was different now.

Now, if his enemies attempted to pull the same stunt, his traps had been modified to account for extra bodies. No one would get the Crystal Heart now, Sombra was certain of that. The wicked tyrant snickered.

XXXXXX

Irontalon beat his wings with all his strength, trying desperately to stay ahead of his pursuer as they got closer and closer to Equestria's borders. His muscles ached, but the Gryphon Prince pressed on, knowing his life was on the line. The Obsidian pegasus was drawing closer despite Ironheart's best efforts, and showed no signs of tiring. Irontalon knew he needed to lose his enemy, or else he wouldn't make it.

The Gryphon then pulled upwards into the clouds, the Obsidian pegasus following behind. The pegasus punched right through the cloud cover and glanced around for his prey. His search was cut unceremoniously short as the pegasus felt talons wrap around his body. Irontalon then spun around before throwing the dazed pegasus downward towards earth. Seizing these precious moments, Irontalon took off, flying above the clouds, weaving about every so often to throw off his pursuer. He looked behind him just in time to see his enemy emerge from the clouds a fair distance back and catch sight of him.

Irontalon put everything he got into his wings and dove downwards, his enemy promptly following suit. The clouds had begun to break, and the air was growing warmer. Irontalon looked down and saw forests and green fields below. He had made it to Equestria. However, the Obsidian pegasus was once more slowly closing the distance between himself and the Gryphon prince.

Irontalon was starting to panic. He was still at least a hundred or so miles from Canterlot, and he was doubting he'd make it before the pegasus was upon him. By now his enemy was just a few yards behind him. Thinking quickly, Irontalon made a desperate gamble; he caught the wind in his wings and pulled backward, slamming his back legs as hard as he could into the Obsidian pegasus's face.

Momentarily dazed, the pegasus spun in, and Irontalon took off again. It wasn't long before the pegasus was once again on his tail. This bastard just won't give up, will he? Irontalon thought bitterly to himself.

Irontalon looked ahead of him and caught sight of the distant spires of Canterlot. He was in the home stretch! If he could just...

Suddenly Irontalon felt a sharp pain in his back. His brief moment of distraction had allowed the pegasus to reach him and slash at his back with his wings. Irontalon could not prevent the scream of pain that followed as he began losing altitude. As the pegasus descended upon him, Irontalon suddenly heard what sounded like a sonic boom ring in his ears.

XXXXXX

Meanwhile, a cyan pegasus with a rainbow mane and tail performed brilliant maneuvers and tricks a safe distance from her home, congratulating herself each time she succeeded. Rainbow Dash was once again training for the Wonderbolts, but this time it was likely she would actually get in this year. She was certain to wow them with her tricks.

Taking a short break, Rainbow hovered in the sky and smugly folded her hooves. "Heh heh, not bad. Not bad at all," she boasted to herself.

Suddenly she caught sight of an astonishing scene. A Gryphon was flying towards her, fleeing for his life from a pitch-black, armored pegasus. "What in the hay?" Rainbow whispered to herself.

Suddenly she saw the mysterious pegasus slash the Gryphon's back with his wing, who let out a cry of pain and fear as he began losing altitude. Rainbow gasped in shock. That pegasus was trying to kill somepony. She had to stop him!

Rainbow flew back a fair distance before diving downward, the air bending around her as her speed increased. And then an explosion of rainbows heralded a Sonic Rainboom as Rainbow Dash came to Irontalon's rescue. The pegasus looked up just in time to see Rainbow slam her body into him, the force so great he careened into the side of a mountain with the force of a cannonball. Rainbow didn't take time to savor her victory, instead flying down and grabbing hold of the falling Gryphon, her breakneck speeds keeping Irontalon aloft. She didn't stop until they reached Ponyville, where Rainbow slowed down and dropped Irontalon onto the ground. A crowd quickly gathered and began whispering to each other. Rainbow Dash touched down in front of the wounded prince and said, "Okay, now can you tell me what the hay that was about?"

Irontalon stumbled to his feet. "I...I need to see...Princess Celestia..."

The Gryphon then fell on his side, exhausted and losing blood. "Whoa, you need help first, dude! Somepony get Nurse Redheart!" Rainbow cried.

The pony known as Lyra Heartstrings nodded and ran off towards the hospital. "Listen," Rainbow said quietly to the Gryphon prince as he struggled to his feet again. "I have a friend who has a direct line to the princess. Anything you need the princess to know, just tell Twilight."

Irontalon blinked in surprise. "Twilight...? As in...Twilight Sparkle? Shining Armor's sister?"

Rainbow nodded, assuming that this Gryphon apparently knew Shining. "Alright, then," Irontalon wheezed. "Find her. She needs to hear this too."

XXXXXX

A few hours later, Redheart and several unicorn nurses busily stitched up the gash on Irontalon's back. It wasn't until they were done that Redheart left the room to deal with the two ponies that wanted to see him. Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash looked expectantly at her. "His condition is stable," Reheart explained. "We've stopped the bleeding and stitched up his wound. However, he was also suffering from exhaustion and some slight dehydration."

"Can we at least talk to him, nurse?" Twilight begged. "He said he had something really urgent to tell me and Princess Celestia!"

Redheart sighed. "I suppose it won't do much good to interfere with royal business, but make it quick. He needs his rest."

Redheart led the two mares down the hallway to the Gryphon's room. "He's in here," she indicated. "You have ten minutes."

Twilight and Rainbow nodded their heads in thanks before entering the room. The Gryphon was laying in a bed with several IV needles poking out of him. He opened his eyes and looked at his visitors. "Are you Twilight Sparkle?" he asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, and this is Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow inclined her head as well."Thank you for saving my life," the Gryphon said. "I owe you on behalf of the Gryphon Kingdom."

The two ponies blinked in surprise. "My name is Prince Irontalon of the Gryphon Kingdom. I'm an old friend of your brother, Shining Armor. When we found out the Crystal Empire had returned, and that Shining was its new prince, my father sent me and two bodyguards to go pay a visit and establish relations with them. However, when we arrived this morning, something was horribly wrong."

Twilight's eyes widened as she felt her heart thumping against her chest. "What happened? Is...is my brother alright?"

Irontalon lowered his head in sadness. "I was not there when it happened, but...the Crystal Empire...has been reclaimed by King Sombra."

A heavy silence permeated the room afterwards. Rainbow's mouth was hanging open in shock. Twilight suddenly felt very weak in her legs. He world began to spin around her. "B-but...that's impossible," Rainbow whispered. "Sombra's dead! H-he was blown to bits by the Crystal Heart!"

"I saw him with my own eyes, Lady Rainbow Dash," Irontalon responded. "He was very much alive and well."

"My...my brother...?" Twilight meekly asked.

Irontalon looked at her, and his eyes misted."I'm sorry, Twilight...Your brother...was turned into a statue by the king. As was Princess Cadance."

Twilight's breath left her as she fell back on her haunches. Rainbow caught her and cried out her name. Twilight stared ahead, hyperventilating, as Irontalon's words sunk in. Then the unicorn mare collapsed in Rainbow's arms and let out a wail of pure emotional agony and heartbreak. Redheart immediately burst in and demanded to know what was going on, and only found Twilight sobbing into Rainbow's shoulder as the pegasus stroked her friend's mane and spoke quietly to her, while Irontalon looked on with an expression of pure devastation.