Arcane Equilibrium
by Prane
Chapter 6
The Sun was emerging over the horizon, slowly revealing its bright face and bathing Equestria in warm rays. It heralded the beginning of another day for ponies in Ponyville, who were soon to wake up and start their usual daily routine. But for some of them, such as a well-known trio of fillies, the day had already started.
‘Why are we doing this, again?’, Scootaloo asked, rubbing her purple eyes and helping Apple Bloom climb up one of the thickest branches of the library-tree. The spot their unicorn friend had chosen was well concealed and had a great view on a moored pink balloon, which was patterned with stars and had golden finishes here and there. The balloon that was supposed to take off any minute now.
Even when Apple Bloom was seated, the pegasus had to hold her, as she was dangerously tilting back and forth.
‘And ah’d like to know…’, Apple Bloom mumbled, but the rest of her sentence disappeared in an incomprehensible yawn. She stared at Scootaloo for a few good seconds. ‘Y’know what ah mean?’
The yellow filly was a perfect picture of a pony who had been awoken too early, with her barely opened eyes, amaranth mane in an absolute mess and a slightly smiling expression of a pony taking a nap.
‘Yea… not.’, Scootaloo answered, then turned to Sweetie Belle – the only one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders who looked fresh and full of energy this morning. ‘What is so important that it cannot wait until daytime, say, noon?’
‘Because at noon my sister will be far away from here,’, the white unicorn explained. She took a pair of binoculars out of her bag and gave them to Scootaloo, who passed them to Apple Bloom, who was clueless on what to do with the object. ‘Along with Twilight, Mr. Sunseeker and Trixie.’
‘Oh no, not this again!’, the orange pegasus yelled. ‘Are you, like, obsessed!? You’ve been trying to put a conspiracy theory on that Trixie ever since we saw her in Canterlot for the first time!’
Indeed she had. For some reason, the case of the azure mare was bugging her more than anything else. At first glance it was perfectly ordinary – after all, Trixie could have been visiting Twilight for books and her sister for dresses, just like dozens of other customers, and the white stallion could have been her brother, for example. But Sweetie Belle had a feeling there was something… elusive about the mare.
‘We saw her many times after that, always with Mr. Sunseeker, often with Twilight and sometimes with my sister. Don’t tell me that it’s just a coincidence.’
‘Wait, y’say Trixie is in town?’, Apple Bloom slowly asked, still not fully awake. ‘Coinci-what?’
‘Go to sleep, Apple Bloom.’, Scootaloo said, then turned back to Sweetie Belle, who pulled a scroll of parchment from the bag. ‘Seriously, every time she shows up you go… what’s that?’
The unicorn filly unrolled the scroll. There was a grotesque picture of the azure mare wearing a dark blue cloak, surrounded by probably everything Sweetie Belle had ever learned about her, starting from Trixie’s general description and ending at comparison tables about where and when she had appeared.
‘This is my Comprehensive Guide to Possibly Dangerous Ponies.’, she said. ‘Work in progress. As you can see from this chart…’
Scootaloo waved around. She didn’t want to have another lecture, so she gave up.
‘You know what, forget it. Just do whatever you need to do and let’s get out of here. Which reminds me, how long are we going to sit here?’
‘Not for long.’, Sweetie Belle assured. ‘Now be quiet, somepony is coming!’
The fillies looked down from their hiding and saw Rarity chatting lively with Sunseeker, who was holding two cases with his magic.
‘…have to admit, it was quite amusing.’, the white mare said. ‘Not the mud, of course, that was dreadful, but the idea of setting an obstacle course for sisters to run is undeniably engrossing.’
‘You must really love your sister.’, the stallion replied.
He put the cases on the ground and knocked on the library’s door. The ponies were now directly below the Cutie Mark Crusaders.
‘Why yes, yes I do. Do you have any siblings?’
‘A sister, back in Hoofington. She’s probably at Sweetie Belle’s age.’
‘You should definitely take her to Ponyville someday.’, Rarity suggested. ‘When we’re done with our little quest.’
The door opened and Trixie and Twilight came through.
‘Hello everypony!’, the azure mare greeted the rest of the team with an unusual joy. ‘Are you ready to go?’
‘Have scarves, will travel!’, Sunseeker saluted and pointed at the cases, which Twilight immediately raised from the ground. ‘Rarity made them for us in case of cold weather in the Griffin Kingdoms.’
‘I have to admit, it is so much easier since Rarity told us she’s aware of the Conclave.’, the purple mare said, closing the door and walking towards the balloon with the rest of the group. ‘We don’t have to hide anything at all.’
When the balloon flew away, Sweetie Belle grabbed a pencil with her mouth and wrote a single word on the parchment.
‘I got what I wanted!’, she joyfully exclaimed, with her voice cracking a little.
The unicorn filly looked at her friends. Apple Bloom must have taken seriously the pegasus’ advice, as she was now resting on Scootaloo, pillowing her head in the orange filly’s cerise mane.
‘You happy now?’, the pegasus frowned, trying not to collapse under Apple Bloom’s weight.
Sweetie Belle took a last glance at her Comprehensive Guide. Although she added only one word to the list of Trixie’s descriptors, she felt it was more than enough.
Conclave.
* * *
Sunseeker nestled his head deeper in a scarlet scarf. It helped a little, warming his muzzle and cheeks. They were flying for almost a day now, and the farther from the border they were, the colder it was. The wind was getting stronger, the sky became covered with dark clouds and it even started snowing a little. Luckily, they had food supplies and blankets which made the inside of a balloon’s gondola quite cozy. And they had magic.
‘Your turn, Twilight.’, Trixie said and the mares switched places.
Although Equestrian balloons were supposed to serve as short-range vessels for sightseeing or picnic trips rather than chasing sinister cults, there was a way to speed up the journey. By maintaining a simple spell, which Twilight taught Trixie, the unicorns could make the balloon move faster. The purple mare had even tried to explain how it worked, using terms like pressure, buoyancy and air currents, but her physics lecture found very little interest. The most important thing was that they were getting closer.
‘A little to the left, please.’, Rarity commanded with her eyes closed. She was doing that from time to time to ensure they were moving towards the emerald, a picture of which she had preserved in her mind. Twilight used magic to adjust the course and went back to manipulating the local air flow.
Trixie sat near Sunseeker and covered herself in a warm blanket.
‘So far so good.’, she said. ‘I don’t know how it works, but Rarity is a great compass. With that speed we’ll catch up with Moonwarden in no time.’
‘How can you be so sure he’ll be there?’, the stallion asked. ‘What if he sold the gem, or gave it away, and is now plotting elsewhere?’
Trixie chuckled.
‘He wouldn’t. He’s always chasing power, so if Feldora is onto something like Staff of Star Swirl the Bearded, he wouldn’t miss an opportunity like that.’
‘But… can we get to them before they’ll reach the tomb?’, he pressed on, not entirely convinced. ‘I mean, what if Feldora uses that power to take our magic away just before the confrontation?’
‘But she didn’t yet.’, Trixie replied, levitating two apples out of their bags. ‘Besides, Rarity said the gem was still moving, so they didn’t find the entrance either.’, she continued with confidence in her voice. She passed the fruit to Sunseeker and looked at him. ‘Don’t worry, we’re going to make it!’
There was something new in her eyes. Her beautiful, dark violet eyes.
The mare was still devoted to the cause, just like he had seen after her magic combat training back in Canterlot, but this time there was nothing terrifying in her stare. Instead, there were glimpses of hope, faith and trust. Even more, her eyes were smiling as much as her face did. Sunseeker didn’t need anything more than that.
‘You’re right. We’ll do fine.’, the white stallion smiled back and took the apple. When he started chewing it, he felt as if didn’t need the scarf and blankets anymore.
Suddenly, a shriek resembling a hunting falcon was heard. Something hit the balloon, but bounced away from it, thanks to a magenta shield.
‘Griffons!’, Twilight yelled. ‘I don’t know how many and I can’t protect the balloon from all sides!’
Trixie and Sunseeker stood up and prepared their magic, ready to repel the attackers, but Rarity had never trained combat spells. She leaned on the gondola’s rim and warmed up her hooves. She had seen a griffon only once, when Rainbow Dash’s supposed ‘friend’ was in town, but now she had a chance to look again at those feathery creatures, as about a dozen on them was flying in attack formation to get the ponies.
‘Steady, steady…’, Trixie said, waiting for them to get closer.
The griffons’ body was similar to a lion, but they also had strong wings, sharp claws and beaked heads resembling an eagle. They were known for their air superiority, matched only by the pegasi, indomitable hearts and the will to fight, hardened by the rough climate of the Kingdoms, as much as the unforgiving clan system of their societies.
They split up into three groups. The first one headed up and was led by a griffon wearing a black bandana, presumably the sign of leadership as no other griffon had one. The rest unsheathed their razor-like talons and aimed at the lines connecting the gondola to the balloon.
‘Fire!’
Trixie conjured two multicolored orbs and tossed them at the left group. They zapped a pair of griffons who broke the formation, but the rest was getting closer. Sunseeker guarded the other side of the gondola. He used his magic to create a fiery whip coming out of his horn, which tied around the attacking griffon’s arm and held him like a dog on a leash, resulting in a sharp turn around the balloon. The griffon was forced to fly around and eventually hit the group on the opposite side, taking one of their attackers down.
The merciless wind and the increasing amount of snowflakes in the air marked the beginning of a snowstorm. But the battle was not over yet, and although Twilight did everything she could to shield the balloon and the lines, the flying assailants found a way to cut one of them. The gondola tilted a bit.
‘There’s too many griffons!’, Sunseeker shouted, heating up a nearby cloud and soaking a diving griffon, who became immediately frozen.
‘We’re on their turf! What’d you expected, Diamond Dogs!?’, Trixie yelled back, still tossing flashing bolts of radian light. ‘Though I have no idea why they’re hostile!’
A sound of the balloon’s fabric being ripped off was barely audible among pony shouts, griffon shrieks and the general noise of the snowstorm. The unicorns felt the gravity pulling them down.
‘We’re falling!’, Trixie screamed. ‘Rarity, behind you!’
Rarity didn’t even turn around. There was a griffon there, from the upper group that was now trying to tear the rest of the balloon apart. He, judging by a harsh look of reddish feathers, reached inside the gondola only to receive a strong two-legged kick in the beak from the mare. With his tongue sticking outside, the griffon flew away discouraged.
‘No, behind YOU!’, Rarity pointed with her hoof.
Trixie was pulled by an iron grip and fell out of the gondola. For a second she struggled to hold the griffon who grabbed her, one with the black bandana, but she was eventually shaken off and thrown towards the ground. The griffon leader followed the falling mare, encircling her in the air like a predator.
‘TRIXIE!’
Sunseeker jumped out. At the same time the griffon attackers cut another line, which caused the gondola tilt to the side, with Twilight and Rarity trying to hold on.
The stallion reached Trixie about halfway to the snow-covered plains below. The azure mare was desperately trying to use her cape to reduce the terminal velocity they were falling at.
‘You idiot! Now we’re both gonna…’
‘Grab me!’
Trixie took the stallion around his neck, and he conjured another fiery whip to grab the flying by griffon leader. Over the years he had learned to control the amount of magic flowing through the whip, so it could cause anything from real burns to painless zaps. This time he relied on the latter – he didn’t want to make their lift faint.
Trixie spotted that the leader was surprisingly a she, with her orange-amber coat, slightly darker wings and the black bandana standing against the background of her white head. The agents were now bounded with the griffon, and, despite her attempts, she was not able to fly up with the load of two ponies. So they were all approaching the ground, but at a much safer pace than before.
Ten seconds later they hit the surface with much less impact they were bracing for. The fiery whip melted the snow between Sunseeker and the griffon, as he by no means released the leash. He was holding her firmly, fueled by the feeling of Trixie holding him just a minute ago.
‘Leave me alone, dweeb!’, the griffon shouted, trying to break the magical bond.
Trixie jumped and pinned her down to the ground, sticking her beak in a snow pile.
‘Why did you attack us!? Did Moonwarden hire you?’
‘The archeologist? Kinda, he passed us about an hour ago. NOW GET OFF ME!’
‘Was he alone?’
The griffon shrieked in rage and threw off the mare. Trixie rolled to the side, then conjured three blinking spears. The griffon was breathing heavily and even though she’d probably wanted to fight on, she knew she had been outmatched. She looked at the stallion, then back at Trixie with her golden eyes and sighed.
‘Tell your coltfriend to let go and I’ll talk.’
The azure mare nodded, and Sunseeker released the griffon.
‘Don’t you dare flying away, birdie. I’ll catch you.’
‘Fine, whatever you say, knighty.’, the mocking answer was heard, then the griffon stood up. ‘We have honor, you know.’
‘Was the grey unicorn travelling alone?’, Trixie asked, jumping straight to business.
‘Nah, there was that green pegasus girl with’im.’, she said. ‘He told us they were Equestrian archeologists…’
‘He lied to you.’, Sunseeker cut in.
‘How should I know? He was kinda persuasive. Anyway, they were archeologist on the run from some bad lame-os…’
‘We’re not lame-os!’, the stallion protested.
The griffon gave him a murderous look, which was even colder than the wind that was still blowing, although with less intensity than up in the air.
‘Would you kindly shut up, dweeb? I’m telling the story. The girl asked if my squad could hold off the chase, and since they were paying with bits… why not. They also asked if there was a cave nearby where they could hit the hay, so I sent Goriel, my second-in-command, with’em.’
It was good to know that even the night-loving pony himself needed some sleep. But on the other side, Trixie could use some rest, too. And a shelter for the upcoming night. She wondered if the griffon had any reason to lie. The cult’s advantage of one hour corresponded with Rarity’s feelings on the emerald’s proximity. There was a pegasus mentioned, most likely Feldora, the cult leader herself. They had sold the story of being a pair of archeologists… which was true, from a certain point of view.
‘You’re going with us.’, the mare said. ‘We’re trading you for our friends and a safe passage to wherever those archeologists went.’
‘You balloon fell somewhere… there.’, the griffon looked around and pointed the likely crash site. ‘We’d better get moving, unless you want your friends to be eaten by some of my guys…’
The griffon leader walked a few meters, then turned around at the ponies.
‘You guys have names? Cause mine’s Gilda, by the way.’