Twilight Sparkle walked alone through the dark hallways. Through the windows, some broken and others whole, she could see the night sky slowly becoming lighter and lighter as the time for sunrise approached.
Squinting her eyes, Twilight realized she had been walking for quite some time and had not reached the turning point. It was not visible in the distance either. The hallway just went on forever and ever, progressively getting darker and darker as there were no more windows or doors. The only sound was the echoing clatter of hooves hitting stone.
Twilight turned, hoping to see the way back to the main entrance, only to find the same empty stone walls stretching into the distance.
“H-hello?” She tried calling for anyone, but she received no answer. Her head lowered and her wings pressed further against her body.
Then, she fell to her haunches with a groan. She had only wanted to take a shower before going to bed to remove the tea from her coat, so instead of going to her bedroom, she went to the left wing of the castle where the shower was located, but this had to happen. The scent of vanilla was too strong for her liking, and the sticky sensation left on her made it extremely unpleasant to press herself against her blanket.
Suddenly, as if she had summoned the liquid, the air was filled with the smell of vanilla, soon followed by the sound of a… waterfall?
Twilight’s ears perked up. The sound came from behind her and seemed to grow louder and louder. When she turned around, she found a wave of tea crashing through the hallway, racing towards her. It didn’t take another second for Twilight to gallop as fast as she could and away from the tsunami of tea, shrieking as she went.
But her attempts were futile. The wave was faster than Twilight’s hooves, even if her alicorn transformation had made them slightly longer and stronger. She closed her eyes in anticipation, feeling drops of tea landing on her coat and hearing the roaring practically next to her ear.
Instead of being carried away by an overwhelming current of liquid, the equivalent of a bucket of tea hit her. Twilight slowly ceased her galloping and brushed her wet bangs out of her field of vision with a disgusted noise. She noticed her heart thumping fast and hard against her ribcage, and her accelerated breathing. Opening her eyes, she saw the dark hallway was back, as silent and uneventful as ever.
These ghosts had quite the nerve to be playing such pranks on her, Twilight thought with a deep frown. However, at least it seemed to be over since the hallway was back to normal, with its doors and stained windows. That is, until she looked closer.
The vines and plants were more abundant in the place, and she could practically feel the spiders on the ceiling crawling on her own coat. There was far more rubble scattered across the floor, some formed piles that forced Twilight to use her wings. It was as if Piece or Lord Talonhart had never cleaned this place up.
Suddenly, Twilight heard a bodiless voice.
I was a young griffon. My parents and I were running away. They didn’t say why at the time, but we had to hide here.
“Hello? Where are you?” Twilight was too focused to figure out what was going on to feel fear. She turned to every direction, scanned every dark corner, but no source could be identified. The young genderless voice came from everywhere… and nowhere at the same time.
I really loved magic. I liked to read about it. But griffons have no magic. I envied unicorns. Ponies in general, even. I still do.
A splashing sound echoed behind Twilight, which made her jump slightly and turn in its direction. She saw a small puddle of dark liquid in the shape of a claw print, soon followed by a paw print. Several more appeared, leading further into the hallway. Twilight recognized the path to the dining room and gulped, deciding to follow the prints.
My parents were poor. They couldn’t afford books for me. So I stole them. Stealing got us our daily bread and water. If they could do that, why couldn’t I?
Eventually, Twilight made it in front of the ancient dining room’s doors, which somehow looked even older. Before she could think of using her magic, an invisible force opened them for her.
She saw a griffon sitting at the far end of the table. Its tongue was stuck out in concentration as it scanned the page of the book in front and wrote notes down on an old piece of paper with a pen. There were two stacks of three or four books and an ink bottle resting on the table. The griffon stopped writing momentarily to scratch its own head, only to find the pen had broken. With a groan and a shrug, it stretched one of its wings and grabbed a new one.
“Um, hi! Can you hear me?” Twilight walked closer to the table with her gaze fixed on the unresponsive griffon. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and-“
I was brilliant. Nobody saw that. It was less likely that ponies would. They cast everyone who didn’t have hooves or muzzle away. Anyone who was different. But I was brilliant and I knew it.
“This has to work!” The young griffon said to itself and, before Twilight could react, it batted its wings and bolted out of the dining room through the door behind it.
“Hey! Wait!” Twilight followed with a powerful flap of her own wings. The fact that she was not an experienced flier, which forced her to go slower in the narrow hallway, was not much of a problem thanks to the castle’s straightforward design.
This mansion, or castle, was really strange. We lived in the first floor because the second one had a seal of sorts. You couldn’t fly and enter through the cracks and holes in the walls. I tried, then blacked out. Mom was really mad at me.
Twilight entered the main entrance and softly landed on her hooves. It didn’t take long to find the griffon at the top of one of the two staircases, staring at the door, then at its notes. The griffon brought its claw to its forehead and huffed, then flew down and landed between the two staircases.
This part of the castle had already been raided in the past. There was not much left for us. But I was sure nobody, or nothing, could’ve entered the upper floor before. So it must’ve been filled with food, or clean beds and a shower. The first floor had… disturbing things in its rooms.
The seal was magical, but I had no magic, only the knowledge of how to use it. I believed I had the correct runes. I double checked. The only way I could get any access to any form of magic was through prayers. It helped that I had not grown in my kingdom. Griffons are very proud of their gods, or very envious of the physical presence of yours.
With one sharp claw, the griffon began to carve runes into the moonlit cobblestone. The strength and precision of the claw amazed Twilight, who had walked closer to look over the griffon’s shoulder. When the griffon was done, it clasped its claws together, and after a few seconds, it vanished into the air. It had taken a second or two for Twilight to realize, being too focused on examining the runes. She took a few steps backwards when the moonlight drastically changed into sunlight, and the griffon reappeared inside the chamber to redraw the runes and pray once more.
I prayed to the moon and to the sun. I did this for three days.
Twilight watched with a slack jaw and wide eyes as the griffon appeared and disappeared, redrawing runes and praying.
And eventually, I was heard.
As the griffon prayed to the moon, the air above the carved runes began crackling with white energy, and this same white light began tracing each line. The runes began floating from the ground and further up into the air, leaving the floor intact. Then, each line and curve began reorganizing itself, jumping from rune to rune to form new ones, and the new shapes began floating towards either door.
“There are two different seals... and they have to be broken with the same spell…” Twilight whispered to herself in realization. The griffon had stood from its place and stepped backwards, almost next to Twilight, to watch the spectacle with a smile on its beak full of excitement.
However, as the runes inched closer and closer to the doors, they disappeared into thin air, one by one. The smile on the young griffon gradually disappeared, until all that was left was a deep frown. It groaned, stomping the floor with its claws and paws, and flew out of the castle, leaving a wrinkled sheet of paper behind.
Twilight shook her head to wake up from stupor. She had seen everything, from the floating runes to the angry griffon, and it had all shaken her. Noticing the piece of paper lying on the floor, she walked towards it and levitated it with her magic closer to her eyes.
The messy writing and nonsensical sketches reminded her of her own, which brought a small smile to her face.
“Twilight Sparkle.”
Twilight flinched and lifted her gaze from the paper to find Princess Luna walking towards her from the other side of the room. Eager for some responsive company and answers, Twilight finished closing the distance between them.
“Luna! Do you know what’s going on here?”
“I do.” She giggled. “This is how the spirts communicate with us.”
“So this griffon is one of the spirits?” Luna nodded.
“Though I believe it has not finished its story just yet.”
Those doors were not worth what I had done. It was all my fault.
More tea prints appeared on the floor, leading to one of the doors that led into the hallway. The mares followed them until they arrived at the kitchen. Dust, spider webs, and plants robbed this place of the hygiene that was essential for cooking. However, in the darkness, both princesses recognized an item that seemed to shine in the darkness. A pure white teapot.
My parents had been arguing. I knew something horrible was going to happen, but I was in denial. Mom was tired. Tea always cheered her up, so I left her side to prepare her some with whatever I found.
The griffon materialized into the room with a candle in its claw. It searched every cabinet, until it found something in which to boil the water. Next to the teapot, a worn out box of tea appeared. Twilight and Luna watched the griffon’s every movement as it prepared its mother’s tea. It grabbed a slightly bent tray to put the teapot with the prepared tea and a teacup on, but just as it wrapped its claw, which Twilight noticed right that instant had a malformation that was easy to overlook, around the teapot, it suddenly gasped and fell limp onto the ground with a loud thud.
Twilight gasped, forgetting that the scenario that played before her was not real, but just before she could jump closer, a pony walked out from the shadows. The fire that fell from the griffon’s claw and now spread through the room illuminated its features. There was a malice in its eyes, a thirst for revenge, and a pride in its smile that Twilight had never witnessed in such a normal looking pony.
“L-Luna.” Twilight glanced back at her companion with shaky, shallow breaths and a thumping heart. Luna’s teal eyes were grimly fixed on the scene before her, the fire reflecting in her eyes. She shook her head; there was nothing they could do.
I wish I had died right then and there.
The darkness around them consumed the whole kitchen, until the fire dimmed into nothingness.
Silence ensued, until more splashes could be heard. The new prints led towards a pair of tall ornate wooden doors covered in vines, which Twilight faintly recognized. She and Luna shared a glance and followed the unspoken instruction.
It was the door that led to the courtyard. They found the griffon facing away from them, standing in front of two fresh graves. It turned around slowly and faced them both. Its tired, emotionless gaze was making Twilight increasingly uncomfortable and nervous, but just before she could speak up, the griffon beat her to it.
“We were runaways. My parents had stolen from a nearby village. Had I not stolen those books from those nobles, nobody would’ve ever known. But we were soon blamed for each and every incident. More than half of the cases were not ours.” As it spoke, their surroundings faded into black again.
“So the village took justice in its own hands. An angry mob entered the castle. It was easy to do this, there were plenty of holes in the outer walls. While I was only knocked unconscious, my parents were both killed.”
“What about you?” Luna asked with an even voice. Its bluntness earned a surprised stare from Twilight.
“I didn’t last any longer without food.”
Silence passed between them. The griffon just stared at them, emotionless, and Luna held its gaze. With a shaky voice, Twilight spoke up.
“I-Is there… anything we can do for you?” The griffon huffed and rolled its eyes.
“Stay with my research notes. I just want those seals undone.”
Twilight couldn’t help but quirk a brow. She had expected something deeper and heavier for a last wish, but what tied this soul into their realm was a very underwhelming desire. The griffon turned around and walked away into nothingness.
“So… what now?” Twilight asked Luna, but she received no response. “Lu-“ But when she looked beside her, she realized she was alone in the dark emptiness.
However, a familiar roaring sound reached her ears and, when she turned around, she was met with another tall wave of vanilla tea.
“Not again…”