It took the mares and dragon two hours to get to Griffonstone to arrive outside of the gates of the rural city by way of carriage. Rarity stepped out and onto the cobblestone path. She glanced past the gates and recoiled in disgust at the condition the town was in. Applejack looked around at the modest city, astonished at the hay roofs and humble structures.
For once the mare with the most luggage wasn’t Rarity. Twilight insisted on bringing the elements of harmony as well as several heavy books and Rainbow Dash’s overnight bag. Spike was the unfortunate one to have to carry all of her things.
Twilight marched through the town with the determination of a mare on a mission. This mare’s mission was to get her friend (and dare she say daughter) back.
“Twilight slow down!” Rarity huffed from behind her. Twilight stopped suddenly and spun around to face her friends behind her.
“We don’t have time Rarity! Dashie could be hurt, in danger, or worse!” She yelled at them, attracting attention from the residents of the griffon city who stared at the intruders with malice. “We have to get to the king and demand he tell us everything he knows!”
There was a brief moment of silence between the mares as they were all stunned by the tone that Twilight took. It was one none of them had ever heard before from the alicorn.
“Twilight…” Applejack spoke up for the bewildered bunch. “We understand you’re upset about this, but ya can’t be acting all brash and not thinkin!” She snapped before sighing sadly and muttering to herself, “that’s Rainbow’s job…”
Twilight rubbed her temples in frustration and exhaustion. “Alright.” She sighed deeply. “How should we ask him?” She asked their opinion. It was rare that Twilight asked the opinions of her friends in such a dire situation.
“We can’t just walk in and ask?” Spike had finally caught up with them and set the bags down. His innocent question irked Twilight.
Applejack shook her head. “It ain’t that simple.” She stated. “We can try and get an audience with ‘em. Maybe if we tell ‘em what’s goin on, he’ll understand.” She said optimistically, plastering a smile on her face.
Fluttershy looked in between Twilight and Applejack and whimpered meekly. “And if he doesn’t?” She asked, barely audible. All eyes turned to Twilight.
--
If Rainbow didn’t know any better, she thought herself to be blind by how dark it was. She had no idea how long she had been locked in the tiny cell of this dark room, but it felt like eons.
That wasn’t even the worst part; the worst part was she could make out voices from beyond the dank door. Strange voices echoed to her ears, the most unrelenting was the scratchy voice of the griffon who called herself Gilda. The muffled conversation didn’t offer many details.
Rainbow Dash shivered in the cramped cell. She was hungry; all she had to eat was some bread and water, and she didn’t remember when she was last given food. When she had the chance to sleep (which she couldn’t tell if her eyes were even closed for it) she dreamt of her mommy, being wrapped in her arms, kept warm and safe from wherever she was.
The door of the dark room was flooded with light as a silhouette entered the room. “Mommy?” The trembling pegasus choked out, as the silhouette got closer.
“Would you stop whining already?” Growled the same scratchy voice, as the griffon came into view of the pegasus. “You’re embarrassing me for ever knowing you.” Gilda took the plate of bread that sat between her shoulder blades and shrugged it to the floor; where it fell with a clang just out of reach of the tiny pegasus. She then grabbed the cup of water that was balanced between her wings and slipped it through the bars of the cage. Gilda then fed the bread through the bars of the cage, not wanting to risk actually opening it up and risking the small pegasus escaping. She was much too smart for that.
“Where’s Mommy?” Whimpered the frightened filly, looking up at her captor with fear. Gilda growled.
“She’s not coming.” Snapped Gilda, turning and leaving, slamming the huge door behind her.
Rainbow Dash curled her legs beneath her and shivered. She stared at the crumbled bread and started crying. One tear turned into two, then many, as they fell onto the cold metal floor of the cage. “Mommy…” She cried until she was too exhausted to cry any more.
--
“I am very sorry girls, but there is nothing I can do.” The King of Griffonstone, King Guto, sighed.
“What do you mean nothing?” Rarity, in all of her poise, had a few hairs out of place, as she was tired of the runaround the king was giving them.
After Twilight had forced her way past a guard (who also caused several hundred bits of damages to be billed to Princess Celestia, and a very apologetic Fluttershy) the six of them marched down the halls of the dilapidated castle to the throne room of the meek king, who had nothing regal looking about him.
“I mean that this uprising has me with my wings tied.” He stated, his meek, slender form puffing up in an attempt to appear statelier. Instead, it only accentuated his malnourished form. “With the griffon kingdom in ruins I’m working overtime to try and snuff the small factions.” He sighed; it was evident now that he hadn’t slept in days. “So I’m sorry. I can’t do anything to help your friend.” He stated, sounding defeated.
“Do you have an idea of where their leader would be? Any information on where they might be hiding out would help.” Rarity tried to persuade.
The king sighed. “I’ve heard rumors through some informants that their leader might be hiding somewhere up in the mountains north of here.” He sighed, his tired mind starting to wonder.
“Do you know the name of the leader?” Twilight asked, stepping a bit closer to his throne.
The king’s tired eyes turned to the alicorn. “I was told the name of the leader is Gilda.” He didn’t expect the reactions from the mares. Their look of shock, anger and hurt painted over their faces made him perk up. “Do you know this griffon?” He asked them carefully, gauging their reaction.
“We do.” Pinkie Pie’s voice was raspy and shaking. She hadn’t spoke at all since they arrived.
The king nodded slowly. “Alright. I will do what I can to help you.”