//------------------------------//
// Day 25: In a Distant Land 
// Story: NaPoWriMo 2014: A Compilation of Pony Tales 
// by Fluttercheer 
//------------------------------//

	The time machine flew, steered by Discord, through the space-time continuum back to Ponyville.
Scootaloo was again sandwiched between her friends, Discord and Fluttershy, though, much more comfortable with it now than before. They had seen amazing things during their travel with Discord; ancient civilizations, exotic creatures and even dinosaurs! All these things made it worth to be squashed in a time machine that was smaller at the inside.
Scootaloo could feel the rumbling of the time machine in the mysterious realm between space and time. It was also producing a quiet, humming sound, that had something soothing to it. Scootaloo let herself getting carried away by the relaxing sound and almost slept in as she suddenly felt a strong eruption. The time machine had stopped.
“And here we are!”, Discord said proudly. “Back in good old Ponyville!” He proceeded to open the door of the time machine to get them all out of the narrow chamber. “As promised I brought all of you back, safely and in one piece!” The door swung open and Discord looked outside, a grin on his face. And then he froze.
In front of him, between yellow sandstone houses, gryphons walked around, pursuing their daily business, some of them curiously looking at the unexpected appearance of the big, brown box.
“That doesn't look like Ponyville.” Fluttershy looked outside of the time machine too now, an unpleased expression on her face.
“I agree with you, my dearest Fluttershy”, the draconequus said. “Looks like I took the wrong turn, but this is not going to be a problem. I will adjust our route and then we will reach our–“ Suddenly, the humming of the time machine turned into an elongated, distorted sound and slowly died away until it had completely stopped. Discord pulled at the levers and hit the buttons, but nothing helped. The time machine had stopped to work.
“Discord? What is wrong?”, Fluttershy asked him worried.
“I don't know”, he answered. “But I'm sure I can solve this problem somehow, don't worry about it!”, he said confidently then, as Fluttershy's face took on a concerned expression. He continued to examine the panel in front of him to find a solution.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle decided to get out of the time machine to look around a little in the meanwhile. They squeezed themselves past Discord and Fluttershy and set hoof on the unfamiliar land. Their eyes big as plates, they fascinatedly looked around on the big plaza – apparently a marketplace – of the town in which they were now stranded. Especially Scootaloo liked the sight in front of her eyes, with all the majestic, winged creatures she had only seen in books so far.
“Where are we? Is this the Gryphon Kingdom?”, she asked excitedly.
“It does look like it”, Fluttershy answered her question, a hearable tremble in her voice. She still remembered her encounter with a certain gryphon in Ponyville two and a half years ago and so she decided to stay in the time machine instead of walking around with the girls. “Don't go too far away. We don't know how quick Discord will get the time machine to work again and we don't to stay here longer than necessary”, she told them.
“Oh, I'm sorry, Fluttershy, but I think this is going to take a while. The problem seems to be more complicated than I thought it would”, he added to Fluttershy's advice, causing a frown to appear on the forehead of the pegasus. Discord continued with pulling at the numerous levers, sweat on his face. The time machine he “borrowed” was much more complex than he expected it to be and he had no clue about it what to do in a situation like this.
The three Crusaders didn't mind it. In fact, they hoped it would take Discord some hours to get everything to work again. It would add another exciting destination to their travel. And even though they weren't in the past, it would definitely be interesting to explore this desert town.
A market stand in some distance caught their interest and they happily trotted up to it to check out which goods were sold there. Maybe they could buy some souvenirs as mementos for their adventure today? They had not taken any money with them as they headed to Fluttershy today since they wouldn't need it for watching animals anyway and because they had no idea what was awaiting them, but maybe Fluttershy had some with her? They had reached the stall and looked eagerly and with gaping mouths at the assortment of things there, as they suddenly heard the humming of the time machine again.
“Oh, I guess now it's working again!”, Discord said. “Come girls, I think it's time to leave. I can understand that you would like to stay a little while longer, but it looks like Fluttershy won't agree on it.” The pegasus was cowering in fear in the corner now, her teeth clattering and her body shaking.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle hung their heads disappointed and proceeded back to the time machine, unwilling and slowly.
All of a sudden, a white light emerged from the time machine. “What is wrong now?”, Discord asked surprised. “It's too early to start, you impatient little thing!” He pulled at the levers again, but it did not stop and the light became brighter. He turned towards the three fillies and waved them over. “Girls, I think you have to hurry. I don't know why but it seems this machine wants to leave without you three.....”
Hearing this, they yanked up their heads again and dashed for the entrance of the time machine. They liked this place, but staying behind was not the way they wanted to get an opportunity to spend more time here. Ten meters distance were between them and the entrance. They had almost reached it as Sweetie tripped over a stone and fell flat on her face. Scootaloo and Apple Bloom stopped in their tracks and lifted up their friend. They pulled her with them and proceeded to jump into the entrance. A white light engulfed them and then they landed in the dirt. They groaned over the hard impact with the ground and then slowly rose to their feet, their faces covered in yellow sand. They brushed the sand off of their coats and then looked around. The time machine was nowhere to be seen and neither were Discord or Fluttershy. They were alone. Truly stranded in this unknown place now.
Scootaloo was the first who expressed her worries. “The time machine has left without us. What are we going to do now?”
“Nothing”, Sweetie Belle answered her question quickly. “We just wait here. The time machine works again, I'm sure they will return soon to pick us up.” That was just logical. Now that the machine worked again, they would be back soon. They just had to wait.
The three fillies just noticed now how hot it was here. They began to break out in sweat and soon, their coats were completely drenched. They saw a wall that threw a shadow at the ground before it at the opposite side of the market place and trotted over to it. There they took seat. Carefully eyeing the spot where the time machine had disappeared they began to wait for it to come back.

Five minutes passed and Fluttershy and Discord did not return.

Ten minutes. No return.

Fifteen minutes. The fillies pulled up their legs to their chest and rested their heads on their hooves, staring boredly at the middle of the marketplace.

Thirty minutes. Some young gryphons ran over the marketplace, but no time machine.

Fourty-five minutes. A white light shone into their eyes and they jumped up in anticipation, but then they saw that it was just the reflection of the sun in a mirror and disappointed, they dropped back at their haunches again.

Sixty minutes. Now the fillies became nervous.

“Does not look like they'll return.....”, Apple Bloom began.
“Yeah, we're sitting here for too long already.....”, Scootaloo confirmed her worries. “Do you think the time machine broke again?”
“Ah don't know. Maybe Discord also just took the wrong turn again.”
Scootaloo looked around the marketplace. It was crowded with gryphons. There were female ones who bought food, maybe for their children or husbands, male gryphons who sat on barrels in front of one of the stalls and talked with each other while drinking a brown, strange looking drink from big mugs and children who roamed the several stands, excitedly looking at the goods there, similar to how she and her friends did it a little more than an hour ago. Especially one stand with exotic looking food was drawing their attention. The marketplace was busy, but no one paid them any mind. The little pegasus sighed. “And what are we going to do now? We don't even know where we are exactly. And who knows how far it is from here to Equestria..... How should we get there?”
“Let's think about that later”, Sweetie Belle answered.
“Huh?!” Scootaloo gave her an awkward and surprised look, followed by Apple Bloom who did the same.
“Let's just look around in this town first. If Discord and Fluttershy haven't returned in a few hours, we can still worry about it how we can return to Equestria. And maybe we even find something that can help us get back in case they shouldn't return while we look around!”
That made sense again. The three fillies nodded in agreement and rose from their sitting position. Aside from stranded at this place they didn't know, they had to face another problem that seemed awfully mundane in their situation, but was of importance nonetheless:

They were hungry and thirsty.

They had a good breakfast today, but since they left Fluttershy's cottage a few hours ago in the early morning, they hadn't eaten anything. And the unrelenting heat in this town let them become completely dried out. Their tongues were stucked to their palates and with their sweating they lost more fluids. Luckily, they were at a marketplace, so it didn't seem that much of a problem to them to get something to eat and drink. 
They moved across the marketplace, aiming for the stall the gryphon children were clustered around. On their way there, the gryphons around them began to notice them more. They turned round curiously at them, their faces full of surprise, some others narrowed their eyes or even browbeat them and a few gave them even hostile looks. Ponies were a rare sight in these lands and the three Crusaders got the impression that they weren't welcome here. They looked around nervously, as they proceeded to the stall with the food.
As they had reached it, they forgot again about the glances they got and forged them ahead between the little gryphons to get a look at the stall with the tasty food. Anticipation filled their faces as they had made it forward and they looked eagerly at the table. But as their sight fall on it, they dropped their ears, their faces showing strong disappointment.The table was really full of food, but it was clearly not meant for them.
Arranged on plates and dishes, there were slices of meat in all imagineable sizes, forms and variations. They could even see some roasted animals, who still looked like they did when they were alive, only their skin and fur was missing of course. There were rats, lizards, small birds and other animals the three fillies never saw before. Their stomachs turned at the sight and disgustedly, they turned their back at the arrangement and left the stall quickly.
“We should have thought on it that gryphons prefer to eat animals”, Scootaloo said regretfully. “Do gryphons even eat flowers and fruits?”
“Ah don't know, but ah hope so. Don't know what to eat if they don't”, Apple Bloom said worriedly.
“We just have to look around more. There are a lot more stalls here. I don't think that's the only one with food”, Sweetie Belle tried to motivate them.
The two other fillies nodded weakly. Then they began to search the other stalls for something they could eat. They came to a lot of other stalls with meat dishes and stalls that were packed with all sorts of interesting things; they could see jewels, leather bags, knives with lavish decorations, clocks, rings and amulets..... But they had no eyes for these beautiful things. The desire to buy a souvenir that could serve them as memento for this exciting day had become replaced by the urge to eat and drink. Finally, as they had almost given up, they found a food stall that seemed to have the food they needed.
The dishes on it were garnished with long turnovers and an inquiry by them resulted that they were filled with fruits and not meat. It was a fruit they never heard of, but a fruit nonetheless and in their condition, they were not picky. The turnovers glistened and a delicious smell of baked pastry reached their nostrils. They took in the scent and drooled while eyeing the food in front of them. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo reached out for the food and wanted to stuff their mouths with it already as Sweetie Belle interrupted them.
“Uhm, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo..... Haven't we forgot something?”
The two other fillies looked at her cluelessly for a moment and then the realization struck. They had forgotten that they didn't have any money with them. They hung their head, a sad expression adorning their faces.
“And what are we going to do now? I'm almost dying from hunger.....”, Scootaloo said. Her stomach grumbled like it wanted to confirm her condition.
Sweetie Belle looked at her. “Maybe we could ask if we can put the food on the cuff? Fluttershy can pay for it later when she returns with Discord.”
“It's worth a try, I guess”, the pegasus filly answered. She looked up to the owner of the stall, a big, muscular gryphon with a grim expression. “Can we eat now and pay later? We don't have money with us, but our friend will come later to pick us up and then she can pay for it.”
The gryphon looked down at her, his face showing a stern expression. “Not a chance!”, he answered. “You will just eat and then run away and never come back! You pay first and then you can eat!” The fillies' ears dropped in disappointment.
Sweetie Belle came to Scootaloo's assistance. “Can't you make an exception? We haven't eaten something for hours and we don't know how long we have to wait before we can return home.”
“Yes and we say the truth. In a few hours our friend Fluttershy will come and pay for everything we eat!”, Apple Bloom added.
The stall owner raised an eyebrow. “Do you have any proof that your friend will come and pay for you?”
The fillies shared worried glances. “Not really, but–“
“Then stop wasting my time!”, the owner interrupted Sweetie Belle. “You can get something when you come back with money, but not before. And now go away, you block the way for my customers!”, he shouted harshly and pointed with his claw behind them.
They turned around and saw two other gryphons behind them, angrily looking down at them. The three young fillies lowered their heads intimidated and then proceeded past them and away from the stand, scaredly looking at them. As they had brought some distance between them and the angry bird creatures, they dropped down at the spot and cowered at the ground.
It was the last stall of the market and so they were run out of ideas where to get something to eat from now. They rested their heads on their hooves and sighed sobby, tears appearing in the corners of their eyes. Even if they had an idea what to do now, they were too weak to put it into practice and so they just lied there and stared at the ground, ignored by the masses around them. Their tongues felt as dry as the sandy ground underneath them and their stomach grumbled louder with every minute. The hungry and thirsty fillies panted heavily. They closed their eyes and could feel how their exhaustion let them slowly drift away into sleep as they suddenly heard sounds in front of them. Opening their eyes weakly, they saw three of the turnovers lying before them, spread out on a white packaging paper.
The three friends couldn't believe their eyes first. Did they just dream? Had they dozed off to sleep by now or let them their hungry state imagining food?
But the food was real. The delicious smell of it reached their nostrils once again. It lifted their spirits and they reached out for the turnovers and gulped them down hungrily. They even didn't take the time to chew them properly. Satisfied groans left their mouths as they were finished with eating. Feeling a little stronger, they got up, still a bit wonky on their hooves. It was just now that they noticed that they weren't alone anymore.
A tall, black and white-feathered gryphon stood in front of them, a pair of glasses adorning his nose. His eyes looked as cold as the eyes of the other gryphons, but a benevolent smile played around his beak. “Do you three fillies feel better now?”, he asked them. His voice was as friendly as the expression in his face.
The friends nodded awe-struck, their mouths gaping widely open from surprise.
“Thanks for helping us!”, Scootaloo said. “Who are you?”
“My name is Henry”, he answered. “How did you fillies come here? We don't see ponies often here.”
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle taxed their brain for an answer. They couldn't exactly tell him the truth. He wouldn't believe them anyway, or would he?
But they couldn't think of anything else in their weakened state, so they just went with it.
“We were on a time travel with a friend of us, but something got wrong and we stranded here. Then the time machine left without us and now we wait for his return”, Scootaloo explained him the situation, accompanied by approving nods of Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle.
“Time machine?” An unbelieving expression graced his face suddenly. The fillies could see that he didn't believe them and prepared themselves innerly for distrustful questions.
But then he just shrugged his shoulders. “You should come to my house with me”, he said then. “All of you look exhausted. I heard what you said at the stall, so I guess you're still hungry. And I bet you girls are thirsty too.”
This was an invitation the three little fillies accepted without thinking twice about it. Usually, they didn't just went with strangers, but the griffon seemed friendly and as hungry and thirsty as they were, they weren't in the mood to ask too many questions. “Thanks, we'd like to come with you!”, they said.
“Okay, then just follow me! It's not far away from here.” He sat himself into motion and the fillies followed him.
They went into a side alley at the left side of the plaza. He led them through the dusty streets between the white houses of the town. They met barely any other gryphons on the way. It seemed to them that Henry's house lied in the outskirts of it. Or the town was just smaller than they thought.
“Oh, by the way, how are your names?”, he asked them underway.
Scootaloo took the word again. “I'm Scootaloo!”, she introduced herself. “And these are Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle!” She pointed out at her friends that walked right and left from her.
“Nice to meet you, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle!”, he answered with a smile.
After not more than ten minutes, he stopped in front of a small house. “Here we are”, he said. “That's where I live!” He swung open the door and they entered it together.
The room they were in now was only furnished spartanic.
There was a round wooden table in the middle of it, left from it a desk, filled with books, papers and quills that were arranged in a messy way, and on the right side of the room a fairly big bed and a wardrobe. At the outer wall, they could see an open fire pit, with a black cauldron hanging over it. At the side of it, on the wall, were two cupboards. The room seemed to be the only one of the house. The only door they could see was a hatch in the ground. Henry closed the door behind them. Noticing the looks on their faces, he said:
“It's not much, but all that I need to live.” The fillies could swear that a touch of sorrow swung in his voice, but they weren't too sure in their condition and so they didn't waste thoughts on that. “Just sit down at the table. I'll get you something to eat”, Henry continued.
He didn't have to tell them that twice and the three friends gathered around the table and took seat on the small wooden chairs. Henry went to the desk and took off the bags he was carrying and then he proceeded to the hatch. He pulled at it and it opened with a loud creak. As it was open, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle could smell the stench of more food coming from below. Under the hatch was his cellar storeroom.
He climbed down a ladder and brought up food and drinks from it, spreading them all over the table until it was nicely decked with a variety of treats. On the table were bread, butter, small pies they've never seen before, several fruits and more of the turnovers they unsuccessfully tried to get at the market. In the middle was a huge mug full of yellow juice, apparently from one of the strange fruits on the tables. Their mouths became watery while they stared at the table.
Henry handed them three glasses and put another one in front of himself and then they began to eat. They filled their glasses with the juice and gulped them down and then the three starved fillies darted at the food. It was a quiet meal they shared with Henry since all they could think of was filling their empty stomachs. They eagerly stuffed themselves with the tasty food and bread, fruits and pies entered their hungry mouths in quick succession. As they had enough, they gulped down another glass of juice to satisfy their newly developed thirst and then they leaned back happily. Now they felt good again. Getting this food really happened in the last second. The three fillies satisfiedly stroke their stomachs and sighed relieved. They felt like in heaven now.
The black and white gryphon at the other side of the table chuckled. In just a few minutes, they had eaten a big amount of the food he served them. He never saw someone eating so much, especially not children. Restocking his supplies would cost him quite an amount of money, but he was not concerned. Feeding these fillies would pay off for him very soon and then he would have enough money to buy new food. Not to mention the price he would get for each of them, he thought. A grin flashed over his face.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle began to yawn and to rub their eyes. Now that their hunger was appeased, they felt tired. Sweetie Belle already wanted to ask him if it's okay if they stay a while longer to get some sleep, but Henry pointed to the big bed behind him, having guessed her thought already. The tired fillies got slowly up from their chairs and trotted towards the bed. It was not a very large bed for gryphon standards, but since griffons were quite a bit bigger than ponies, they had no problems to fit in the bed together.
It was still hot and getting close to noon, they knew that it would be even hotter soon, so they refrained from slipping under the covers and just lied down on top of them.
Each of them curled herself up. They yawned again and after a few seconds they were all fast asleep. As Henry noticed their snoring he walked up to their bed and just watched them sleeping for some minutes.
These fillies were like a godsend present. A smile appeared on his face; now that they couldn't see him anymore, his expression looked dark and sinister. The young ponies in front of him were the key. With their help, he would soon get his well-deserved reward.....


~*~


Scootaloo opened her eyes and was without orientation for a moment. She saw Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle lying besides her, but she did not know the place she was in now. Had Fluttershy and Discord returned and picked them up by now while they were asleep? Did the time machine screw up something up again and now they were in another place they didn't know? Scootaloo yawned and for a moment, she expected Fluttershy and Discord coming through the door. But then her memory returned. She remembered how they almost fell asleep from weakness on the marketplace, how Henry came and how he took them with him to his home where he invited them for lunch. How long did she sleep? She couldn't guess the amount of time. But she felt refreshed and completely awake so it must have been quite a few hours. She stretched herself and yawned again. In this moment, Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle awoke too. After doing some stretching and yawning on their own they got out of the bed. They saw that the table was empty again now. Henry was sitting on his desk behind it. He seemed to work on something.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle trotted over to him. They wanted to thank him again and to say goodbye to him. It was time for them to return to the marketplace to see if Fluttershy and Discord are back.
“Henry?”, Apple Bloom said. The gryphon turned around. “Oh, good morning you sleepy heads!”, he said friendly. “How was your nap?”
“It was fine!”, the filly answered with a smile. “Yeah, for me too! I haven't slept that good for a long time. Your bed is really soft!”, Scootaloo added.
“Me three!”, Sweetie Belle chimed in.
Henry laughed. “I'm happy that your sleep was so good!”, he said.
“But now we have to go”, Sweetie Belle continued. “We have to see if our friends Fluttershy and Discord are back!”
“Oh, yes, your friends!”, he answered. “I have seen them.”
“You have?”, Sweetie Belle looked surprised at him.
“Yes. I had to went to the marketplace again while you were asleep, because I forgot something to buy when I was there the first time. There I met them. I remembered what you said, Scootaloo, and so I went over to them and told them where you are. They were really worried, but relieved when they heard that you're in my house!
They also said that the time machine has stopped to work again and that they need to fix it. I described them the way to my house and to the old ruin outside of the town and they said they will come and pick you up when the machine is ready.”
“Old ruin outside of the town?”, Sweetie Belle asked surprised. “What are you talking about?”
“It's where I work”, the gryphon answered her surprised question. “I'm an archeologist. I'm doing some research in a ruin not far away from here currently and I told your friends how to get there, because I need to check something there and I better take you with me. I can't lock the door of my house and I rather not want you to spend a few hours here alone.”
“I see”, Sweetie Belle answered.
“Wait, why do you not want us to stay alone here? And why can't you lock your door?”, Scootaloo asked sceptically.
“I lost the key for my door a while ago and I can't afford a new one right now”, the gryphon explained. “And why I don't want to leave you alone here.....” Henry thought for a moment and seemed to search for an answer. “Not all gryphons here in the town are as nice as me”, he said after a few seconds. “And gryphons don't have the best relationship with the pony race unfortunately. We don't get often pony visitors from Equestria and some of them.....”
He paused for a moment, letting his eyes wander over the faces of the three fillies that eyed him curiously.
“Some of them disappeared suddenly during their visit. Because ponies are such a rare sight here, they reach a high price on the black market. Some ponies who come here get captured and sold there as slaves and sometimes even to–“
He stopped mid-sentence. He couldn't tell those little fillies everything. Realizing from which creatures some of the meat that they saw at the marketplace were could be too much for them. “It's just too dangerous”, he continued. “My neighbours have seen you entering my house and so they know that you are here. And some of them are shady characters. It's better you come with me to the ruins while I work there.”
What he told them left the three fillies shuddering in fear. Now they understood and he was right, it was really better to stay at his side, considering this circumstances and so they agreed with him.
“Good, then let's go!”, he said. He reached for his bag, hung it around his neck and then they left the house. Henry closed the door behind him and then led them down the street, just in the other direction this time. He told them that this street led directly out of town and to the ruin he mentioned.
While on their way, the three friends noticed here and there gryphons standing in front of the door of their houses or the roofs that not just looked curious at them, but also eager. These gryphons eyed them like a predator his prey, shortly before he jumped and killed it with one precise attack. Looking into the expression of their eyes, one could already guess that they imagined how tender the meat of fillies must taste. Henry didn't tell them the whole truth and so they could not know that was going on in their heads right now, but the way they looked at them frightened them nonetheless.
Henry noticed how they looked around scaredly. “Don't worry”, he said in a calm voice. “Just stay at my side. They won't do anything to you as long a you're with me.” He gave Sweetie Belle, who shuddered the most, a little noogie and smiled.
A few minutes later, they had left the town and the gryphons were out of sight. All three of them sighed relieved. They were in a desert now. And as Henry had told them, there was a ruin in the distance. While they trotted closer, they could see that it was built of grey brickstones. The ruin was partially covered by a big dune, but the entrance was free.
As they entered the ruins, Sweetie Belle noticed drawings of ponies that were carved into the bricks above the entrance. “Did ponies built this ruin?”, she asked Henry. “Yes. You know, it weren't always gryphons that lived in these lands. A long time ago, this whole continent was populated by ponies. But they disappeared one day and the gryphon race took their place. No gryphon knows why. I try to find out what was the reason for it, but so far I have no conclusion on this question.”
While they talked, they walked down a narrow tunnel that led downwards from a small room that was behind the entrance. Torches were on the walls to banish the shadows and lighten the way. The tunnel seemed to lead deep into the earth. The walls were full of glyphes. Apple Bloom looked around interested. “What was this ruin for in the past? Have you found it out?”
Henry shook his head. “I don't know yet. The archeologists here are discordant about it's purpose. Some say it served to bury their decedents, because we found a few sarcophagi down here, but some others say it was built to store their treasures. I have not found an explanation for the sarcophagi, but I share the view that it's a treasure chamber. You will soon see why.”
They had reached the end of the tunnel now and stood in a big hall. It was a long-stretched room. In the middle of it, at the wall to their right was a gigantic door, one could almost call it a gate, that led into another room. It was open and the door's valves were adorned with jewels and gems, that were arranged in a way that they formed a beautiful pattern. The walls around them were thickly covered with yellow glyphes. The three Crusaders looked around in awe and with widely opened mouths. An adventure like this was exactly the right thing. They were really glad now that Discord had such big problems with the time machine.
As Scootaloo did a closer look at the glyphs in the walls, she noticed that they were not only yellow, but made of pure gold! Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle had seen it too. The fillies were fascinated over this discovery and looked at the walls with gleaming eyes. Now they understood why Henry thought that it's a treasure chamber.
Henry called for them suddenly and pulled them out of their fascinated trance. He stood in front of the gate and waved them over. Eager to make another exciting discovery, they trotted over to him, their eyes still reflecting pure amazement. Having reached the open gate, they looked into it with anticipation. Another long-stretched room was behind it, covered with the same, golden glyphes. Or at least they thought that it was a long-stretched room as well. They couldn't tell for sure, because it soon ended on a wall that reached almost up to the very high ceiling of the room. There was a small gap between the wall and the ceiling, barely enough room for a pony to stand on top of it. It was just no normal wall and so they doubted that the room already ended here.
In small gaps were sharp-looking spikes embedded in the wall. And before the wall, there was no stone floor, but soil instead. Some small plants grew there. Apple Bloom looked up. It was weird. There was no hole in the ceiling through which the sunlight could shine through. “How can these plants grow down here?”, she wondered.
Slowly they entered the room. Apple Bloom noticed something on the left wall. The drawing of a pony was there. It seemed to bury with it's hoof in the ground and in front of it, long and slim vines rose up. The drawing was made from the same gold as the glyphes.
“This is the mystery I try to solve here” Henry said, discontent in his voice.
“I'm sure behind this wall is something.” Scootaloo pointed at the wall with the spikes.
Henry smiled and nodded. “Right”, he said approvingly. “You are a tough little filly.” He walked up closer to the wall. “The glyphes in the other room say that there are three trials in this room that have to be overcome to find the secret treasure of these ruins. What we see here is the first one.”
“And you couldn't figure out how to do that yet?”, Scootaloo asked.
The bird-like archeologist shook his head. “I could figure out how to surpass the trials, but it's not so easy as you think, young pegasus.” He walked over to the picture of the pony on the wall. “That's the picture of an earth pony”, he said quietly.
Apple Bloom looked at him. “An earth pony?”, she asked interested.
“Yes, an earth pony”, he repeated.
Apple Bloom began to fell uneasy all of a sudden. Was it because they were so deep under the ground?
“The glyphes in the other room also say that the trials can only be mastered by ponies. It's the magic of the three pony races that is needed to surpass the trials.”
Now all three fillies looked at him, curious expressions on their faces.
Henry let his claw glide over the picture of the pony, deep in thought. “The first trial can only be mastered by an earth pony and it's plant growing magic. The second trial needs the magic of a unicorn. And the third trial can only be surpassed by a pegasus.” He slowly turned around to them. “I haven't told you the whole truth. There is another reason why you had to come with me in this ruin. I need your help to surpass these trials and to get the hidden treasure. I can't do this as a gryphon. I need a pony from each race and it's magic and you fulfill the criteria.”
Now everything dawned upon the fillies. They frowned and their faces took on an angry expression.
“So this means you only saved us because we are of use for you!”, Scootaloo bursted out. “Why should we help you then?”
“This is true”, Henry said. “I've tried to figure out for a while now how I could get past these trials without ponies, but nothing worked. As I saw you on the marketplace today, I knew that this was my chance. It was my only chance to get access to this treasure and I had to take it!”
“And what if we wouldn't have been of use to you? Had you still saved us? Had you still gave us something to eat and invited us into your house so that we can rest there?”
Henry looked into Scootaloo's eyes. He thought for a moment to cook up an excuse to make them believe that he would have saved them anyway, but on their angry expressions and Scootaloo's angry talk, he could figure that it was useless. These fillies had looked behind his facade and figured it out. He really wouldn't have helped them and just ignored them like the other gryphons on the marketplace if they weren't useful for his plan and they knew that now. They would never believe a made up excuse, no matter how good it would be. So he just stood there and said nothing.
Scootaloo looked at him for a few seconds, expecting an answer. As nothing came, she turned away from him and proceeded towards the gate. “Come, let's go!”, she said to Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, anger and disappointment in her voice. “Let's better go back to Fluttershy and Discord. I'm sure they're already waiting for us.”
Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle followed her suit. As the fillies trotted out through the gate, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo heard Sweetie Belle screaming in fright. They stopped and turned round and their eyes grew wide in shock.
“Sweetie Belle!”, they shouted fearfully.
Henry suddenly had a knife in his right claw. He had Sweetie Belle lifted off the ground and pressed her against him with his other claw. The knife he held closely at her throat. “I won't let you go now”, he said, his voice having changed, from the friendly one they knew, to a threatening, evil one. “If you want to help your friend, then you will help me to get through to the treasure. If you don't do what I want, you will never see her again.”
Sweetie Belle whimpered in fear. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo taxed their brain desperately to find a way to stop him and to free Sweetie, but the circumstances were completely against them. The knife was just inches away from Sweetie's throat and if they would try to attack him now, it would be over. They had no choice than to surrender for now.
Scootaloo gulped, the worry for her friend written over her face. “Okay, we do what you want!”, she said agitatedly. “Just don't hurt her!” Her body trembled and desperation and fear swung in her voice.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo carefully trotted over to the wall, eyed by the cruel archeologist. “That's fine”, he said satisfied. “Just don't make a wrong movement and nothing will happen to your friend.” Then he looked at Apple Bloom. “It's your turn first, earth pony. Use your magic and let these vines grow. Then you climb up the wall on them and press the button that is up there to let this wall sink into the ground.”
Apple Bloom approached one of the vines and stepped with her hooves on the soil. She was unsure what to do. She had seen a few times how Applejack let grow apple seedlings faster using her earth pony magic, but she never did it by herself and she never asked Applejack how to do it. She thought back at the last time when she watched Applejack doing it. There was no magical glow when Applejack used her magic. She just placed her hoof at the spot where a seedling was buried in the ground and seconds later, a little plant broke through the soil and began to grow bigger. Apple Bloom had no other explanation than that Applejack just concentrated on the plant to let it grow, so she touched the little vine, closed her eyes and imagined that it gets bigger. She was not sure if she could do it, but for Sweetie Belle she had to.
The earth pony filly concentrated all her thoughts just on that one imagination and hoped it worked. Minutes seemed to pass without anything happening. The more Apple Bloom concentrated herself, the more she broke out in sweat. Her head began to hurt.
“That's it, continue to concentrate”, she heard the eager voice of Henry suddenly.
Apple Bloom opened the eyes and saw that the vine had began to grow and to make her way up the wall. It had also become thicker. She closed her eyes again and continued to concentrate. Stronger and stronger became her imagination of how the vines grew up the wall until it seemed to her that she could feel how they grew.
“You did it!”, Scootaloo exclaimed a few minutes later.
Apple Bloom stopped and opened her eyes again. The vine in front of her was a lot thicker now and coiled up the wall. And not only that, all the vines at the wall had grown now. Was that really her achievement? Was her concentration that strong? The little filly couldn't believe it.
“Now climb up!”, the gryphon at her side threw her out of her thoughts.
Apple Bloom's hooves trembled as she set them at the wispy ramifications of the vine. The spikes pointed menacingly at her, ready to impale her if she should lost the grip of the vines, and there was only a very small room to climb up the wall between them. Apple Bloom pulled herself carefully up and set her backhooves on the wall too now. She exhaled sharply. The first step was done. Hearing Sweetie Belle's whimpering behind her, she pulled herself up higher and higher, heavy concentrated on it to avoid the spikes. As she was halfway up, she could feel that her hooves had become sweaty. It was harder to grasp the vines now. Apple Bloom clenched her teeth and began to climb faster.
A few times, she almost lost her grip and was dangerously close to hit one of the deadly spikes, but eventually, she made it. She pulled herself up a last time and then stood on top of the wall. Apple Bloom looked around and searched for the button Henry had mentioned. It was right from her. She trotted over to it and pushed it.
An eruption went through the room and the wall as an ancient mechanism was activated. The spikes got retracted in the wall, leaving only round holes in it, and the wall sank slowly into the ground, exactly as the gryphon had explained. As the wall had brought Apple Bloom almost back to the ground again, she jumped down the remaining height and landed at Scootaloo's side.
As the wall had sunk completely into the ground, they could see an arrangement of mirrors on the other side. The mirrors reflected magical beams that came out of three holes at the left wall. The holes were at different heights and every mirror was positioned in a way so that it reflected the beams in a different direction and to another mirror. The reflections of the mirrors created a complicated network of the magical beams that made it impossible to walk to the other side.
Henry pushed Apple Bloom and Scootaloo forward. As they approached the mirrors, they could feel that it became hotter. The temperature around them had increased and the beams seemed to be the reason for it, because the metallic frames of the mirrors were glowing red, obviously heated up by the hot beams. At the left side of the construction was another golden drawing on the wall. This time, it showed a unicorn. In front of it was a drawing of a mirror. Wavy lines around the unicorn's horn and the mirror suggested that some sort of magic had to be used here.
Henry was no unicorn, but he figured it out immediately. “Now you will use your magic, unicorn”, he said sharply to Sweetie Belle. “Use your levitation magic and turn around these mirrors to reflect the beams in a direction that makes it possible to go through here.” He tightened his grip around her chest to enforce his words.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo looked with concern at their friend.
Sweetie looked at the mirrors. If she would move one mirror, this would just reflect the beams onto another mirror. She had to move only certain mirrors to not make it worse or even impossible to walk to the other side at all. It was a riddle. The little unicorn examined the mirrors carefully. She imagined for several mirrors how she turned them around and which effect this caused for the beams to figure out how she had to do it.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo could see how Henry slowly became impatient with Sweetie Belle. He tightened his grip around her once more. “Don't try to buy yourself time. I won't let you go, no matter how long you delay it, and if you don't do it soon I will lose my patience with you.” Enforcing on his words again, he brought the knife a little closer to her throat, putting pressure on it with the dull-edged side.
In fear, Sweetie began to cry and activated her horn. She hadn't figured out the solution yet, but she had to start now. Trying to put all her concentration into using her magic, she turned around one of the mirrors that was near the middle one of the beams. It changed it's direction and the beam was reflected to a mirror under it, which reflected it across the network to a mirror at the other wall.
With sweat on her face, Sweetie moved mirror after mirror. Sometimes she made progress and the beams started to point into a direction in her favor, at other times she made it worse and the arrangement became more complicated again.
The little filly tried out many different combinations and strategies, some of them thanks to tips from Apple Bloom and Scootaloo who helped her figuring it out.
Eventually she found the right one. With every moved mirror, the network of beams started to look less complicated and more predictable. But with every mirror she turned around, Sweetie also felt weaker. The riddle was almost solved and as she turned around the last mirrors, her head began to hurt suddenly. It became a lot harder for her to concentrate and every time she ignored the pain and used her magic once again, her head felt strangely dull for a moment, before the pain returned. She knew what this meant. It was magical over-exertion and Twilight had warned her from it.
The unicorn filly remembered her words well. “No matter what you use your magic for, when you get a headache, you must stop immediately. This state is called 'magical over-exertion' and it happens when your brain is overburdened from keeping the concentration on your magic up. If you continue to use your magic anyway, you will become unconscious or worse. Always stop when your head starts to hurt, otherwise, you bring yourself in danger.” She could hear Twilight saying this to her in her head, but she had no choice than to continue. There were only a few mirrors left now.
She quickened her pace in turning them. As she was about to turn the last mirror, one that was near at the ground, her horn stopped to glow and the magical grip around the mirror vanished. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo who noticed it looked at her friend and saw her collapsing in the arm of the gryphon suddenly. Her legs became limp and were hanging down now and her head fell over.
“Sweetie Belle!”, they exclaimed in shock and ran over to her.
“Stop! Not another step!” Henry pressed the knife with it's dull-edged side against Sweetie's throat again. The other two fillies stopped in their tracks, tears forming in their eyes.
Then Henry turned his attention to Sweetie Belle. She was not dead. He could feel how her chest was rising up and down. She was still breathing, although only very flat.
And of course, he did not care about her condition. He was just one step away from getting through the second trial and thus one step closer at the treasure and he would not give up now!
“Wake up, you brat!”, he yelled in her ears.
Sweetie Belle did not react. He put the knife in his beak for a moment and gave her a strong slap in the face with his now free claw. Sweetie's head yanked around, but the filly still didn't wake up. He reached back for another slap, but Apple Bloom and Scootaloo interrupted him.
“Stop! Don't hit her anymore!”, they cried out with desperated expressions, tears streaming down their faces now. “We're going to turn the last mirror around, you don't need her anymore!”
Henry looked surprised at them for a moment, then he put his claw down, took the knife out of his beak and hold it at Sweetie's throat again.
The mirror was exactly in the middle of the room, between the walls. It was in a horizontal position currently, under the last beam and unable to reflect it. This last beam reached to the other wall over the whole width of the room and blocked their way completely, but if they brought the mirror in a vertical position, it would be stopped and reflected back at the wall it came out from.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo trotted up to the mirror. Despite that it was not touched by the beam for a few minutes now, it was still glowing fire-red. They swiped the tears out of their eyes and then the two fillies grabbed the mirror and screamed out in pain immediately as the hot metal buried itself into their hooves. But the worry for their friend drove them and so they clenched their teeth, trying to resist the pain, and pulled at the mirror together, using all their strength, and managed it to turn it around with their combined effort. The beam hit the mirror and was reflected back. Their way was free.
The little earth pony and the little pegasus removed their hooves from the mirror and held them in front of their face. They could clearly see where their hooves had touched the mirror. Their fur was burnt black there and the skin under it showed a white burn wound. Around it, the skin was deep red. And it hurt more than everything they ever felt. They blew on it, but it didn't help.
“Good”, the vile griffon behind them said, still a surprised expression on his face. “It seems your friend means much more to you than I thought. Keep up that attitude and do what I want and you will get her back soon.” He pushed them forward, not paying any attention to the condition of their hooves.
Every step they did felt like torture to them and they were a lot slower than usual, but Henry just ignored their from pain grimaced faces and the tears in their eyes and continued to push them forward mercilessly. With their from tears blurred view, they could see another wall in front of them. No spikes where in it. It was just a flat wall.
As they had stopped in front of it, Scootaloo looked up. The wall did not reach up to the ceiling completely and there was enough room for a pony to stand on. But one thing was different this time. In the gap between the ceiling and the top of the wall were five black clouds. It were storm clouds and occasionally, small bolts flashed out of it.
Henry, still grasping the unconscious Sweetie Belle, walked over to the left wall as he did before. The third drawing showed a pegasus manipulating clouds. It was the last of the trials and it was Scootaloo's turn. Henry pointed at her. “And now you! Fly up there and change these storm clouds into normal clouds and then shove them out of the way!”
Scootaloo twitched. “I-I can't fly”, she said quietly. She looked nervously at him, her eyes now red from the crying earlier.
“Nice try”, Henry answered unimpressed. “But I know that you're lying. You are old enough to fly. Get up there now!”
“But it's true!”, Scootaloo bursted out. “I'm not lying, I really can't fly.....”, she added more quietly again.
“Don't test my patience. I know you can and you will fly up there now and do what I want. Or else.....”
He turned around the knife, the sharp side facing Sweetie's throat now, and pressed it slightly against it, while Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked at him in terror. A thin trace of blood ran down her neck, clearly visible in her white coat.
Breaking out in tears once more, Scootaloo did a quick step forward, her face scarred by fear. “But I'm not lying! Really! I'm sorry, but I really can't fly! I never could!”, she bursted out in a tearful voice. Then she collapsed to the floor, her legs giving in, and she buried her face in her hooves, crying unrestrained.
Apple Bloom trotted at her side, bent down to her and put a hoof around her neck, holding her distraught friend. Her eyes were full of tears too, but she tried to maintain her composure. “It's true. Scootaloo was never able to fly. Ah know it. She told me that her wings are weaker than the wings of other pegasi”, she said as calmly as she could.
“It's..... it's a disability”, she said hesitantly after a short pause. Apple Bloom eyed the griffon, looking sternly at him.
He answered her glance with a ice-cold expression. “Fine”, he said coldly. “It's not good for such little fillies like you to be so stubborn. Maybe you'll learn to listen when I make you a duo.”
Scootaloo yanked her head up. “NO!”, she screamed. “Please don't do it! I do everything else you want! But please don't kill our friend!” Her last words were almost swallowed by her sobs.
Henry didn't listen. He held the knife at Sweetie's neck, pressed and moved it towards her throat. Another thin trace of blood was soaking her coat.
“NO! Please let her live!”, Scootaloo cried out desperately, while Apple Bloom watched the scenery, her eyes shrunk from fear and unable to speak from the terror she saw.
Suddenly, Henry stopped. The knife was just a few millimeters away from Sweetie's throat. His face lit up, like he just had a sudden afflatus. A thought had just hit him. “What if it's true? What if she can't fly?, he asked himself.
The greedy archeologist became unsure. If it was true that she couldn't fly and he would kill her friend now, then everything was useless. He could still fly her up if that was the case, but if he killed her friend despite that she said the truth, she probably would be completely unwilling to help him through  the last trial then. No. He had to handle this situation differently.
Henry put the knife away from Sweetie's throat and turned it around, so that the dull side pointed at it again now. “Today is your lucky day”, he said. He turned his side to the crying little pegasus. “You climb on my back and I fly you up. And then you will finally do what I demand!”
Scootaloo sobbed and Apple Bloom helped her on her hooves. Assisted by her friend, Scootaloo trotted over to the griffon slowly and climbed on his back.
Henry spread his wings and flew the still crying filly up the wall. As they reached the top, Scootaloo left his back and stepped on the wall. Henry flew down again after having brought her up.
The storm clouds were directly in front of her. Now she needed a happy thought if she wanted to turn them into normal, harmless white clouds. But in her condition, this was easier said than done. She just had to witness one of her two best friends and her very first one, that she knew since she was a much younger filly, getting killed almost. And before Henry flew her up, she saw that more blood was pouring out of Sweetie's neck with the new wound he had brought her and she wasn't sure how dangerous this injury was, which didn't help. But now she had to keep herself together. She had to it for Sweetie Belle. If something should went wrong, Henry would really kill her then.
Scootaloo wiped the tears from her eyes and tried to bring the sobs under control. Just one happy thought. One happy thought would be enough to turn the clouds into normal ones. Scootaloo concentrated herself and thought back to the moment on Winsome Falls, when Rainbow Dash accepted her as her little sister.
At first, she was in fear of dying herself. She was falling down a huge waterfall, without anypony there to help her, but then Rainbow Dash came, catched her in the fall and flew her back on safe ground. Scootaloo already saw her short life flashing in front of her in this moment and brimmed over with joy as her idol and the pony she wished to have not only as a friend, but also her big sister, saved her life. And then it got even better. With Luna's help, she managed it to tell Rainbow Dash her deepest fear and everything she felt for her. And unexpectedly, Rainbow Dash did take her under her wing then. She became her big sister in this moment and her life had become much better since then.
The little pegasus reached out with her hoof slowly, aiming for the cloud.
Feeling a little better, she continued to think on everything she had experienced with Rainbow Dash since then; getting cheered up by her in a moment of need, after Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon picked on her for her disability and her friends abandoned her for a while, how they helped decorating the town for the animal fundraiser together and at the time they spent together at the Equestria Games.
Scootaloo touched the cloud and hold her breath. If it didn't work, not only Sweetie Belle was in danger again, she would probably also die, shocked by a bolt from the storm cloud in front of her.
For a moment, nothing happened, only tiny bolts flashed around her hoof. Then the cloud changed and became white. Scootaloo smiled for the first time since Apple Bloom managed it to let the vines grow. She quickly trotted from cloud to cloud and turned it as long as she could held up the happier mood she brought herself in with thinking on Rainbow Dash. As all the clouds where white, she proceeded to shove them out of the way. Under one of them, a small button appeared. Scootaloo knew what to do and hit it and as earlier with the first wall, the wall she stood on sank down and disappeared in the ground. As it was gone and Scootaloo saw Sweetie Belle again, she held a hoof to her mouth and began to cry again.
Her unicorn friend was an awful sight. Not only that her head was still hanging motionlessly down and that her legs were still limp, as they were the whole time since she lost her consciousness, there was also more blood pouring out of the deeper wound in her neck now. It flowed down her neck and her chest in a thicker stream than before, drenching the beautiful white fur. At some spots, it was even already dried and had took on a brownish color. Apple Bloom had noticed it too and walked at Scootaloo's side, putting a hoof around her shoulders comfortingly again.
The only one who paid no attention to her condition was Henry. Instead, he stared at the end of the room that had appeared in front of him as the wall sank into the ground. His eyes glistened and a greedy expression was in them.
There on a pedestal stood the thing he waited to get so long. A big statue of an Alicorn, wings majestically stretched, standing in a noble pose, one hoof slightly lifted up, her head raised into the air with a proud look in the face. It was almost as big as his head. And the whole body was covered with jewels. They glistened, but even the glistening of all these jewels was no competition for the greedy glimmer in his eyes.
“There you have it. Now you can let Sweetie Belle go”, Scootaloo said with a cracked voice. She would sob again, seeing the terrible condition her friend was in, but she felt weak and couldn't. She had used up all her energy in the breakdown that she had a few minutes ago. The young pegasus just hadn't the strength to sob anymore. Her tears were flowing down her face silently.
“Yes, give us back our friend now!”, Apple Bloom demanded, her voice sounding similar weak.
Henry gave them no answer, his eyes still fixated on the treasure in front of him. But he put down the knife. With his left claw, he carelessly pushed Sweetie Belle aside and then walked up to the pedestal with the treasure.
Scootaloo reached out with her hooves and catched Sweetie before she could fall to the ground. With sorrowful expressions, the two fillies looked at their friend. Scootaloo pressed Sweetie Belle against her, giving her a tight hug. She knew that she couldn't feel it, but it was something she had the urge to do after the terrible things that happened. Her own coat became drenched with Sweetie's blood now.
“Is she..... is she still alive?”, Apple Bloom asked Scootaloo, fear in her voice.
Feeling Sweetie Belle's heartbeart and her flat breathing at her chest, Scootaloo nodded. Then she released her friend. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo shared another nod and then Scootaloo lifted Sweetie carefully on Apple Bloom's back. Finally being united with their friend again, the fillies proceeded to leave the ruin.
Making sure that Sweetie Belle wasn't falling from Apple Bloom's back and pressing her hoof on the still bleeding wound in her neck, Scootaloo trotted alongside Apple Bloom as they headed for the exit of the long room and passed the places with the former trials. As they were almost at the gate, Scootaloo saw a shadow flying over them. Henry landed in front of them.
“Not so fast!”, he said threateningly. “I only said I will give you your friend back. Not that I let you three go.”
Scootaloo could feel the fear rising up in her again a little. But what just happened had also made her braver. They had so much to fear in the past minutes and they got out of everything. She would not present Henry with any more fear.
Scootaloo looked at him with a defiant expression. “Just give it a rest, Henry”, she said in a confident voice. “You abused us for your own interests, you hurt one of my friends and you even got the treasure you looked for. What else do you want?”
Scootaloo did not await an answer and neither did Apple Bloom. They just walked past him, without paying him any more attention.
But Henry blocked their way again. He flung his knife in front of them. “If I let you go now, you will went to the police station in town and tell the officers everything that happened. I can't allow this. So I better keep you for a while and as soon as the wound of your unicorn friend has healed I will sell you on the black market, together with the treasure back there. You will bring in a nice, additional amount of money for me.”
But Scootaloo was not impressed. She rolled her eyes. “I don't even care what happens with you. I don't care if you get arrested or not for what you did. I just want to get out of here and bring my friend back home. She needs rest”, she said tiresome.
But Henry did not believe her. “You will come with me”, he just said. “But first, I will take care of it that you won't tell anyone what happened, just in case you should manage to escape.”
He grasped his knife more firmly and grabbed Scootaloo's mouth. The filly began to yank her head around, trying to get free, but his grip was too strong.
“It only hurts once”, he said and proceeded to shove the knife into Scootaloo's mouth. “Don't worry, slaves don't need to talk!”, he said cynically as he had sticked one of his fingers into her mouth and hold her tongue down.
Scootaloo looked into his face, a fearful expression and tears in her eyes once again now.
All of a sudden, his eyes broke and he stopped. A glazed expression was in his eyes and his mouth was wide open.
“Oh, Henry, you loser, you never going to learn it, aren't you?”, a strong, female voice said behind him.
Scootaloo shoved Henry's finger out of her mouth and shook herself free from his grasp.
“G-Gilda?”, Henry muttered.
“I told you that you should stay away from the things that belong to me!”
Another punch followed and then Henry was going down. He collapsed in front of Apple Bloom, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle, his knife sliding out of his claw, and was unconscious.
Gilda picked up his knife and then looked at the three fillies, a smug expression on her face.
“And what do you want from us now?” Scootaloo bared her teeth and looked grim at her.
“From you?”, the female gryphon asked surprised. “I don't want anything from you dweebs. I'm only here for the treasure.” With these words, she packed the knife into one of her bags and walked past them to get the treasure, paying them no more attention.
Scootaloo and Apple Bloom looked cluelessly at each other. Then they shrugged and trotted out of the gate, heading for the tunnel and the exit. They were safe now and all they cared for was that it was over finally.
Now they had to bring Sweetie Belle to a doctor. As they had left the ruins, the sudden sunlight blinded them. They headed back into the town and to the marketplace – accompanied by curious eyes of gryphons who wondered where they came from so suddenly and why one of them was hurt – and as they had arrived there, they asked their way to the town's hospital.
Of all gryphons they asked, it was surprisingly the rude owner of the food stall, who denied them to get something to eat from him as they were so hungry, who explained them the way to the hospital and even led them to it as he saw the state in which Sweetie Belle was.
As they had arrived there, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom bursted through the door. “Our friend needs help!”, they shouted over to the reception counter together.


~*~


An hour later, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat in front of a bed in one of the patient rooms. Sweetie Belle was lying in it. Her eyes were closed and a thick bandage was around her neck. Her filly scout uniform lied on a chair beside the bed.
Luckily, her injuries weren't as bad as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom feared. The wound in her neck was just bleeding as strong as it was to expect from a wound as deep as that and not life-threatening. The biggest concern of the doctor was raised as Scootaloo and Apple Bloom told him how Sweetie Belle used her magic before she fell unconscious. The doctor was a gryphon, of course, but he was familiar with magical over-exertion. He explained the two fillies how dangerous it was and this made them fear for their friend. But thankfully, it turned out that Sweetie Belle passed out before the worst could happen as the doctor examined her. Her brain had not taken any damage. A few days rest, he told them, and she would be fit again.
The doctor also took care of their burns. He rubbed a cooling gel on their wounds and wrapped them in bandages. Since they had to wait so long before they could treat the wound, scars would remain, but aside from that the wounds should heal fine, he said to them. Their coat at these spots would also grow back.
Now they sat here, in front of Sweetie Belle's bed, with the bandages on their hooves and waited for her to wake up.
As she finally opened her eyes, she looked around confusedly. “Where am I?”, she asked.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo jumped up from their chairs happily, as she was finally awake again.
“Apple Bloom? Scootaloo?”, she asked even more surprised as she saw them. And seeing her bandage contributed even more to her surprise.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo reached into her bed and hugged their friend. Relieved that she was really okay, tears of joy streamed down their faces.
Then they began to explain. They told her everything that happened; her fainting, how they passed the second trial without her, how she got the wound on her neck, how they passed the last trial, how Henry attacked them again after he had access to the treasure and how they were saved in the last moment. As Sweetie heard how much she was bleeding out of her neck she felt even glad that she passed out during the second trial.
Later on, some officers from the police station in the town came into the hospital, called by the doctor. The fillies told him everything that happened and gave him a description of Henry. But the police couldn't find him, as they should find out the next day. They broke open the door of his house and where in the ruin, but couldn't find a trace, neither of him, nor of Gilda. And the archeological faculty never heard of an archeologist with the name Henry. His whereabouts remained a mystery.
Apple Bloom and Scootaloo spent the night in the hospital with Sweetie Belle and on the next day, Fluttershy and Discord came to pick them up. It turned out that the time machine did indeed broke again and Discord needed a whole day to fix it. Fluttershy told them how much worried he was about them, even more so than her, and that he stayed up the whole night to fix it. He even returned remorsefully to the real owner of the time machine to get help for repairing it, which brought him into a lot of trouble with this pony. The Crusaders were amazed by it how much Discord cared about them.
And of course, what Henry told them wasn't the truth. Fluttershy and Discord weren't here on the day before and Henry had never spoke to them. It was all just a lie to lure them into security and to make them following him into the ruin.
What was true, however, was what he told them about the black market, as they found out by the police. There was indeed a black market for ponies in the Gryphon Kingdom and disappearing ponies was a huge problem the police and the monarchy tried to get under control unsuccessfully so far, because the ones behind the black market were organized too well and understood it perfectly to cover their tracks.
After the doctor had checked a last time on Sweetie Belle, he agreed to let her go and return to Ponyville, under the condition that she would take care of herself and staying in bed for at least three days longer and that she would not use magic for two weeks.
Then they returned together to the marketplace where everything began, Fluttershy carrying Sweetie Belle on her back. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo entered the time machine first, eagerly to finally leave this ghastly country that got them into so much problems, closely followed by Fluttershy, Sweetie Belle and Discord.
As they could catch a last peek out of the time machine before Discord closed the door behind them, they could see the owner of the food stall that brought them to the hospital. Smilingly, they waved at him. The gryphon waved back and then Discord closed the door.
He started the time machine and a few seconds later, it disappeared from the market place in the white light and they returned to Ponyville together.