//------------------------------//
// A Long Way Down 
// Story: Finding a Home 
// by Jeckard Cain 
//------------------------------//

Chapter 2: A Long Way Down

Sparrow flapped his wings as he soared through the evening sky. Finally, he had found a reason to leave Griffinstone. He hadn't particularly wanted to stay there of course, but it was his home. That was what he was always told anyways. The wind whipped at his feathers as he stared out across the horizon, some clouds poked out around the mountainous area that was the Griffon Kingdom. Such a sad looking place, Sparrow thought, if only someone would find the Idol of Boreas, that would set things right.

The sun continued its downward slope into the shadow of the mountains as Sparrow continued flying. He knew to follow the general direction of the train and that would lead him to Ponyville. He also knew that the mountains liked to play tricks on poor travelers. Many a tale had been told to Sparrow about the mountains when he was a hatchling. 

"Don't go into the mountains little Sparrow, the rocks will come alive and eat you!" He remembered his mother teasing him.

Sparrow rolled his eyes at the thought, ya right, like a rock could do anything other than sit there. He was aware that going through the mountains could be dangerous of course. And that's why he was flying instead, he smiled at his idea, thinking he could trick the mountains. As the sun dipped below the horizon Sparrow could feel the wind immediately pick up. Not by much, but just enough to make flying a strain on his muscles. He continued to push through it as the stars started to shine brightly across the night sky and the moon came up from the horizon. Sparrow had always found an unspoken beauty in watching the stars and the moon. Like they were arranged in some kind of dance that only he could enjoy.
****

The wind continued to belt Sparrow as another hour passed. His wings were beginning to hurt from the gusts constantly billowing through. He didn't want to admit it to himself that he needed to land. 

He could take a beating, he'd flown through worse, he was strong enough for this. All these things he kept telling himself but one thing still stood out to his mind. He couldn't land. The mountains would swallow him up if he did. 

Without thinking, Sparrow looked downwards to the jagged edges of the rocks below and could see the sharp bits poking up, he imagined himself dashed against them and gulped looking back up and forward. 

"Come on Sparrow! You can do this at least!" he said to himself as he flapped his wings.

As Sparrow flew a particularly strong gust of wind shot through his wings, hyper extending one of them further back than he could take. He yelped in pain as he began to plummet from the sky.

His eyes wide with terror, he flared his wings again, excruciating pain assaulted his right wing an tears began welling in Sparrows eyes. 

"Not like this," Sparrow pleaded to the mountains "I can walk, just let me land, please!"

Right as Sparrow said that he felt the wind become calmer, like the mountains had actually listened to him. They couldn't have, no way Sparrow thought as he angled himself downwards and slowly drifted to a small clearing of rocks. Once he landed he dropped down to the ground gasping for air. His lungs burned from exhaustion and he lay his wings out on the ground. His wing hurt, badly. With no expertise in healing all Sparrow could do was reach up along his back and feel around his wing with his claw. Moving the wing in any direction stung like a manticore's poison. Of course it wasn't poison, and as he felt around the bones he figured it wasn't broken. Just sprained badly. That meant no flying for a while. That meant walking. That meant staying in the mountains.

Sparrow sighed "Stupid mountain wind trying to kill me" As he said that a few pebbles clattered along the cliffs around him and fell onto the ground. "Uh, I mean nice mountain for allowing me to land, ya, totally!" The rocks stopped falling. Okay no insulting the rocks here I guess. Sparrow finally looked around him to see the area he had landed in. It turned out to be a flat bed of stone perched atop other boulders with more rocks raising up around the area behind him. They almost looked like plants with how they were raising up, their own claws reaching towards the moon. 

Lifting himself from the ground, Sparrow folded his wings back and winced at the twinge he felt in his right wing. How long will that take to heal, how am I supposed to race if I can't fly. How am I supposed to win? Sparrow stepped lightly as he hopped down from the perch he had landed on. The cliff arched downwards in a natural slope with rocks strewn all around. One wrong step and Sparrow would turn into a griffon kebab on the sharp rocks pointing ever upwards. The wind was still blowing through the mountains and gently brushing against Sparrow's feathers. He appreciated the gesture, almost like the wind was apologizing for what it did.

The moon was fully in the sky now as Sparrow picked his way through the terrain. It had been two hours and he couldn't tell where he was going, just that he was heading downwards and attempting to stay in the direction of Ponyville. It probably would have been wiser to try and return to Griffonstone, but being wise was not one of Sparrow's strong suits. As Sparrow walked, he was ever aware of the pain in his wing and did all he could to keep it still. Any movement was painful and he hadn't wanted to hurt himself any worse than he already had. 

Sparrow had heard stories about griffons injuring their wings before. If the injury was bad enough, and they didn't get to a hospital quickly enough; the wing might not heal correctly and they might be stuck on the ground forever. Sparrow shook his head at the thought. No way I hurt myself anywhere near that bad. I've just got to find my way out of these mountains and try not to mess my wing up any worse. While Sparrow was pre-occupied with his thoughts, he didn't notice something peaking around one of the rocks nearby. It wasn't until the thing had moved away that Sparrow noticed the movement. It was already gone by the time Sparrow had turned his head to look.

"Okay, officially creeped out at these mountains now." Sparrow unconsciously began shivering.

"Goooo awwaaaay..." the voice carried along the winds

Sparrow looked around him once again, now getting unsettled. "Wh-who-'s there? I'm a griffon you know! Sharp talons and claws with a beak to match!" He stepped faster down the mountain hopping from rock to rock and stumbling every once in a while when one would give out beneath him. He jumped back and yelped as he pressed himself against a rock wall. His wing ached as he pulled himself closer to the wall.

A voice called out right next to him from the stone "Geet ooooouuuut..."

Sparrow jumped and started running down the cliff. Stupid stupid stupid; I should have just kept flying. Now the mountain is talking to me, I know I'm not crazy! Darting between the rocks and boulders was becoming a challenge and Sparrow needed to stop and rest, he couldn't though or the mountain would get him he told himself. 

As Sparrow rounded a corner he came face to face with a large slab of stone. There were walls on both sides of him as his eyes darted around looking for an escape other than back the way he came. He couldn't go back, he had to keep running forward or the mountain would catch him. 

He used his talons and claws and began to climb. His body strained in the effort but he managed to pull himself up and over the slab. He swung himself to the other side and dropped down. His wing  screamed in protest from the sudden movement on landing. He had to keep moving though.

It had been well over thirty minutes of running through the mountainous terrain and Sparrows lungs burned as he gulped down a few breaths of fresh air. He hated running. Flying was so much easier. Flying, you just pick a direction and go. With running you could do the same thing yes, but you had to avoid obstacles and other annoyances. 

Like griffons wanting to steal your books and tear the pages out. Sparrow's breathing began to slow as he caught his breath. He focused on a breathing technique his mom had taught him for when he was tired or angry. Breath in, hold for four seconds, breath out, repeat for however long it took to calm down. Sparrow did this for a few minutes as he sat down and leaned against a wall. His body ached all over from moving for so long, not to mention his injured wing. His nest sounded awfully comfy right now as he closed his eyes thinking on it. Sparrow yawned and didn't feel himself lowering to the ground and curling up, unfurling his left wing and wrapping himself in it's warmth. I should be moving right now but, Sparrow yawned again I'm sure the mountain monster won't mind if I just catch some sleep for a bit Sparrow's breathing slowed as the world slipped away from him, lulling him into a deep sleep.

****

Sparrow opened his eyes slowly and groggily rose up. Yawning and stretching he remembered his wing. "Ouch, why does it have to hurt still." he complained. Rising from the ground completely it was only then that Sparrow noticed the rocks. He remembered clearly falling asleep with his back to a large stone, now there were boulders stacked all around him only giving him enough room to turn around. He looked up to the sky to see the moon staring back at him with the stars blinking gently. Why does this mountain want to kill me so badly Sparrow thought as he sat down, yawning again, well this is obviously bad, guess I'll climb out again. 

As Sparrow stood up and giant voice boomed across the rocks, echoing all around him "LEAVE NOW OR SUFFER THE CONSEQUENCES!"

"To Tartarus with this mountain!" Sparrow yelped and jumped at the rocks attempting to claw his way up. He had pulled himself up halfway when he lost his grip and slid back down to the ground. 

His heart was beating heavily in his chest and he tried again to climb up the rocks. Once again almost by some magical force, his talons couldn't find any grip where he had plenty before. "Come on! I've gotten through worse!" Sparrow said it to reassure himself somewhat, even though he knew for a fact this was the worst situation he'd ever been in. 

Trapped like a bird in a cage, with nowhere to fly to with an injured wing. He slid back down to the ground and began whimpering "Please don't kill me"

The voice echoed again "FLY AWAY FROM HERE!"

Sparrow cried out "I can't!" he punched lamely at the rocks trying to get them away. Stupid mountain he thought as tears streamed down his face.  Suddenly the rocks began to shift, Sparrow saw claws reach through a crack in the boulders, and begin moving them apart. "What in Grover's name-" Sparrow was cut short as an almost ten foot tall bipedal creature stepped through the new opening it had created. The being had two large horns like a goat sticking out behind its head. Along with a very large mouth with a few sharp teeth sticking out Sparrow noticed. And one large yellow eye in the center of its head. Sparrow remembered the story of the creature that had stolen the Idol of Boreas and began trembling. Standing on its hind legs and looking down at Sparrow the creature looked...confused.

No longer having an echo but still a powerful voice the creature asked "Why do you not fly away griffon?"

It took Sparrow a second to comprehend that the creature was actually speaking to him. Opening his beak Sparrow responded, once he started he couldn't stop "I was flying over here and the wind picked up and hurt my wing. Then after I fell I started moving through the mountains and then I started seeing these creepy shadows, and then the rocks started talking to me so I ran away and when I finally thought I escaped I wake up to find myself surround by rocks and there's no way out. And then you show up and what are you and are you going to eat me? I promise I don't taste good at all." He finished, out of breath and gasping. The creature stared back at Sparrow with its large eye. It looked puzzled for a moment before it leaned its head back and began, laughing.

"Griffon thinks it is rocks talking to him so he runs." the creatures laughing dies down and it grows serious again, "We have had griffons land here before; but never one who does not fly away. I will not eat you little griffon, do not worry."

Stepping a little closer Sparrow tilted his head at his new acquaintance "So are you related to Aramaspie at all? Cause you look just like him from all our story books. And for the record I didn't think it was the rocks talking, more like spirits of the dead trapped in the mountain." Sparrow concluded.

The creature shrugged "I do not think so but our people all look relatively the same. He left us a long time ago and never returned, good riddance I say." taking another look at Sparrows injured wing the creature asked "Do you need help little griffon? I have some healing supplies I could use, they will not fix your  wing right away, but if given a few days you will recover."

Sparrow felt wary of this creature but still, his wing really hurt, "If you wouldn't mind sharing the supplies I'll take all the help I can get right now. What's your name by the way. I'm Sparrow." He held out his talons to shake the creatures hand.

"I am known as Auronipsie," he took Sparrows talons in his hand and shook once before letting go and moving to his side. He pulled out some kind of bottle and popped open the cork on it, it smelled horrible to Sparrow and his gizzard lurched at the thought of having to drink it.

Auronipsie laughed a little at Sparrow's expense as he poured some of the mixture onto the griffons wing. "This will help with the pain, and once it seeps into the skin under your feathers it will begin healing the muscle underneath. You are lucky you did not hurt your wing worse little Sparrow, you have sprained the muscle inside the wing. If you had exerted the wing any more you could have torn the muscle completely. That would take months to heal."

Sparrow shuddered at the thought of not being able to fly for that long. A few days he could handle though. "So first you try and scare me away and now you're trying to help me? Why?"

Auronipsie shrugged again, then he smiled a toothy grin at Sparrow and thrust a thumb towards its chest "Because if I, Auronipsie, do not help a griffin escape the mountain, it will trap him here forever."

Sparrow's eyes grew wide "So the mountain actually is alive!?"

Auronipsie continued to grin "Of course, why do you think they have grown so tall? How would they move the rocks around you?"

"You mean," Sparrow realized "the mountain was the one using the rocks to catch me, and you were trying to just get me out of here so it doesn't trap me?"

Auronipsie nodded as he continued to spread the poultice on Sparrow's wing "My people are strong enough to move the rocks away to find food hidden in the caves. The mountain does not like other visitors though and tries to trap them. We think it believes it is a game but we have never figured it out completely."

Sparrow shivered and looked up to the stars.  What have I gotten myself into he wondered. Sparrow looked back at Auronipsie wrapping a bandage around his wing. Once the giant was finished Sparrow folded his wing back and he felt the warm healing herbs taking effect, it felt much better than it had a few hours ago. "So what now?"

Auronipsie smiled kindly at Sparrow "Now I will help guide the little Sparrow down the mountain and back to his griffon kingdom."

Sparrow began laughing "ahahaha, kingdom, hahaha!" he beat his talons into the ground as his laughing slowly died down "Auronipsie, we don't really have much of a kingdom anymore, it's become more of a shanty town I would call it. Anyways, I'm not heading that way. Would you be able to guide me towards Ponyville?"

Auronipsie crossed his arms and looked down to Sparrow until he stopped giggling "What do you mean shanty town little Sparrow?"

Sparrow looked at the giant in disbelief, he really didn't know "Um, Auronipsie, your Aramaspie came to our town all those years ago and stole an Idol from our kingdom, then we fell into disrepair after we couldn't get it back. It's been that way for as long as I can remember though. So about Ponyville."

Auronipsie's eyebrow furrowed "So that is what happened to him. It is a shame that one of our people was the cause of such sadness to your people. Alright, I will guide you little Sparrow. We will move faster than when you were walking on your own, the mountain will make way for me."

Sparrow shrugged at Auronipsie's statement "Hey it's no feathers off my back what happened in the past, far as I'm concerned Griffonstone was always just a boring town." He began following the giant before piping up "Oh and thanks Auronipsie, I didn't think you would help me"

Auronipsie looked back at the griffon "Why would I not help you little one?"

Sparrow looked disbelievingly at him "Because I didn't have anything to give you in return. No one in Griffonstone would have helped me if I couldn't pay them back somehow." Except maybe Gilda now. he thought to himself

The giant shook his head and turned around to face Sparrow " I saw someone in need of help, so I helped. It is disheartening to hear that your people have put so much power into money alone. But enough of that. Follow close behind me little one, I will take you to the base of the mountain and point you in the right direction."

Sparrow nodded and continued behind Auronipsie. As they walked Sparrow felt the cool breeze brush against him and it seemed to kiss his wing, still apologizing for what it did. The moon was high in the sky and Sparrow became entranced with watching it as he walked. Such a beautiful bright object, not unlike the sun. But again, unlike the sun, he could look at the moon and admire its brilliance. The crumbling of rocks under Sparrows talons and Auronipsie's giant hooves were the only sound as they walked.

Sparrow could swear that the rocks were moving out of their way naturally. He had believed Auronipsie that the mountain was alive, but not to this extent. He could see shifting movements along their path as they always walked forward, never twisting and turning, just straight downwards. Sparrow had been so focused on the rocks that he hadn't seen the sun begin to peek along the horizon and spread its pink light over the mountains. 

****
The sun was shining in the sky now and was almost blinding to Sparrow as he stood behind Auronipsie. He and the giant had shared little conversations throughout the evening as they went down the mountain. Mainly just each of them asking the other about their town's culture. Sparrow had explained how Griffonstone looked now and how greedy most of the residents were. In return Auronipsie told Sparrow of his culture, how his race had resided in the mountains for centuries always keeping an eye out for travelers who got stuck in the mountains and trying to guide them out. Mostly he mentioned how Sparrow was the first visitor to actually speak with one of their race though, outside of Auronipsie and his village residents just scaring the others away with their voices.

Sparrow began to feel grass beneath his talons and paws instead of rocks. Auronipsie turned back to Sparrow and smiled kindly once again "Here is where I leave you little Sparrow. It has been an-" he chewed his lip "interesting evening." He pushed his giant hand towards Sparrow and they shook once again. Sparrow smiling at the contact.

"I don't think I would have made it through there without you Auronipsie. Maybe if I come back through you can guide me again?"

The giant laughed " I would hope you could fly through at that point little one. But I would not turn away the visit. Your company has been, acceptable."

"Oh acceptable that's it? And enough of the 'little one' I'm a full grown griffon you know" Sparrow faked being insulted

The giant smiled and leaned down to Sparrow "Anything smaller than me I consider a 'little one'" standing back up to his full height Auronipsie turned around and started to walk back towards the mountains. "Goodbye Sparrow!" his voice boomed out.

Sparrow grinned and turned towards the open green expanse before him. Auronipsie had pointed to the southwest for him to go towards Ponyville. It would take a few days to reach it now. But at least Sparrow had found his way through the mountains. He was one step closer to his race with Rainbow Dash.

****