The Steadfast Sky

by Greytercakes

~~~ Overcast Remnants ~~~

Overcast Remnants

~~~

Don’t much care for night. Day’s nice when the sun’s nice and high, minding its place above you. But heck if I like staring at the sun when it shows its first face, pecking at your eyeballs right when you’re getting nice and cozy with dawn. Blast that sun right out of the rutting sky if I could, make it not shine so bright and cocky. For now, it’s a stare down I can’t avoid, and can’t win.

Heck if I’m going to lose it gracefully.

“Oi Calder!” Wind roaring in my ears, I could hear Garrik’s approach, flapping and clattering like a pile of pots and pans caught in a tornado. Some days, I wonder how the heck Garrik ever learned to fly in his overburdened plates. You see, he’s just so darn small! “Calder, you cloud-snorting skarn! Where the heck do you think you’re friggin’ going?!”

“Gotta report, don’t I?” I screeched back. “You want our Glorious Employer to get his news late, do you?”

“Send a snotball to deliver the news! You don’t gotta do everything yourself anymore, you soft-headed, uh—”

I banged a fist against my helmet, feeling it ring around my ears. “For land’s sake, just drop the freaking small talk. It’s too early for this crap. I just want to deliver a freaking report, and go to freaking bed!”

“Calder. Calder, I hate your parasite-filled guts, you know that right?”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever. I’ll try to come back alive.”

“Better be with a drinking story, Calder!”

“Screw you, Garrick!” I squawked.

And up I heaved my wings. Only in the mornings, only when I’ve been up all night do I feel my blasted armor’s weight. All shifted and uncomfortable, feathers ruffled. Metal freaking jabbing into my wings as I rise and fall. Jab, scrape, jab, scrape, jab, scrape… I grabbed my helmet, my sword, and I just tumbled through the air, flipping over and over trying to straighten the darn thing. But of course, now my rutting scarf was twisted around my rutting face…

Least I didn’t need to see to land, not here. I tore at the stupid thing and slowly descend onto the pearly, pearly balcony. Prettiest darn thing in this whole freaking city, nice shiny gold-and-white tower just jutting out from the black hunk of rock they got everywhere. If I didn’t know how solid this rock was (and I kicked the darn thing several times to make sure), I would’ve sworn it was made from the purest white of the fluffy frigging clouds.

Course...

I chuckled to myself, thinking just how odd it is. Prettiest little white tower holds the darkest of the shadows in the city. Wouldn’t our Glorious Employer be happier surrounded by the stone as cold as he was?

Well, maybe the nice, bright, downright cheery location will make him a bit more charitable about the bad news. I finished tossing my scarf into place (Equestrian skies are just stupid cold at night), ripped off my helmet and tried to use the reflection to not look like baked roadkill. I managed to get myself looking like an ugly crow’s nest. Good enough, I guess.

No point in delaying this anymore.

I stared at the opening, a glass set of double doors glinting in the sunrise. Blinding me, again. Should probably get inside now, tell him the news I got.

Hrm.

Yep. Probably should have gotten a snotball to do this.

Too late, no time like the present, a million other pony adages, let’s get my stupid feathery butt in this tower and get the Glorious Employer what he needs to hear, nice and quick. Quick and easy. Fast and—

Calder. You are a coward and you make me sick.

I slammed my shoulders into the glass double doors and they popped open, bouncing and rattling around in their hinges. It was dim in here, near black with all the curtains drawn. Pony chairs and couches, all dusty and funny smelling. I would’ve waited and let my eyes adjust, but I’d already played the part of a chicken once today. Glorious Employer wasn’t here, so who gives a crap, keep moving your stupid feathery butt, Calder.

The hallways were dead quiet, so of course he knew I was here. Plates in my armor clinked and clattered no matter how tight they’re packed together. And the echo in this place! It was downright offensive. I could’ve probably heard a finch fart from a hundred paces.

I glared into each room briefly as I passed. No, not here, not there, best not to pry, let’s get this over with, let’s go. C’mon, Calder, keep looking… Even if you don’t want to particularly find, keep moving, keep yourself moving.

“O… Hello?” Best I was polite, right? Ponies, they've got all these rules about how to talk to who, and if you do it wrong, they get offended. You'd think, leader of these little ponies, he’d care the most about how he’s talked to. They’d have laid down some special protocol.

But the only way a griffin knows they screwed up if they don’t come back. It feels like being an actor on one of those stages. Except, instead of getting a bad review if you mess up, you get iced. Not like that’d happen to me. I don’t even have real bad news. I can make it sound like normal news. Change of plans, that’s all. That’s nothing to be offended by, right? Won’t swear about it or nothing…

I noticed, I’d been staring at a room for a long time. He’s not there, Calder. Keep walking. Keep your stupid, feathery… No, best to scrub any insults from my brain now. Don’t want one to accidentally slip out…

“Glorious… God of the Shadows… Stallion?” Oh, if Garrik heard me sounding so much like a baby chick… “I have an important message for you! … Sir?” All my feathers feeling a bit on edge, I was neither approached, nor notified of anybody’s presence. “Your Majesty, Sir? Any, uh, anypony home?” That was polite, right? Mentioning ponies? I heard some of those spineless little… Pegasus (no more rude thoughts no more rude thoughts). They drop ‘pony’ into half their words, that’s how these things go, right?

And it was right about then, I noticed the smoke. That smoke. That curling, hot smoke that always follows at our Glorious Employer’s heels. I prayed to the Saints that he heard me coming. I don’t want to test whether or not he likes surprises.

So... I just followed that smoke. And it’ll lead me right to him. Plain and simple.

The room I found, well, I would’ve sworn up and down that it was his room. High ceilings. Gigantic, golden double doors, both open. Really regal. It was covered in black cloth. But not just any black cloth, it looked like shadows themselves sort’ve… twisted and lifted, sucking the light from everything and everywhere. They spilled from the roof, flowing to the floor in big mounds. And right in the middle of it they seemed to twirl into a single point…

I thought I saw a little line of blue, just a sliver floating in that dark. I, well, I had to take another step forward, just to make sure…

And just one of his eyes popped open. A neon point, practically glowing. Staring right at me.

I nearly knocked my helmet off, with how hard I saluted.

“Your Lordship!”

No, stupid, Calder! Not polite enough, not nearly polite enough! He remained silent, didn’t even move to the sound of my voice. Didn’t even blink.

“Reporting!” Saints shoot me if I stutter… “On my regular rounds on the north side of the city, I saw the escaped Draconequus! The one with the golden necklace!” I had dared to joke about that once, with Garrick, with Grenda and Brent. Funny little thing to want, a necklace. But it wasn’t. Not funny. Not my business to laugh. Calder, Calder, keep going you fool! “He and his two companions seemed to be heading North Easterly! My own team is still scouring the area, and we’ve sent messenger ponies up to both Greindbrent and Aldrychmoor. We’re just awaiting orders now, Your Almighty, Glorious Lordship!” Yes, better, much better conclusion. Please, let it be enough!

He didn’t even move. And I couldn’t look away. I stared into that one unblinking eye, watched as smoke and shadows curled past it…

And in a flash of green, the double doors slammed shut.

The boom echoed around me for the longest time, my deathbell. I was frozen in place, convinced the cold hand around my heart was going to make me drop dead in an instant. But the echoes died away… and the blood was still pumping in my ears.

So I spun right around and hightailed it as fast as I dared to depart.

Well, well that wasn’t so bad! Nah, it was freaking easy! Gave my report and walked away without a tail feather out of its rutting place! Heck yes, this is going to make one heck of a bar yarn.

Comments

[Greytercakes]

Just a short interlude today... Next chapter is still in drafting mode, it's starting to look a little bit sizable.

[Calen]

I think it's pretty good.

[flyingcheese143]

I always pictured Calder's voice to be Irish for some reason.

[Greytercakes]

1467704
Always as in... Griffins sound Irish?
Well they all have Old English names...

[Öthnæar]

Interesting... I'll read it later. I must ask though, was the Deltora Quest series by any chance inspiration for this? The description makes it sounds similar. Could also just be coincidence.

[Greytercakes]

1467932
I can honestly say I have never heard of what you're talking about People keep coming up with references in my story that I never actually intended...

[revilO]

I guess that we will see more of these "named" griffins, right?

[Sixpack]

So Mr. Evil Overlord has everything planned out and our little heroes are running off of his skript? Evil! (And I like it!)

[Thegodhand]

I love how mysterious you make the shadow stallion. I also can't wait to see what 'nightmare' he fell to. It was one thing with Luna becoming nightmare moon since her evil goal was pretty in line with who she was, so I wonder what could have made kindness into just about the most cruel villain around. dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_TwilightWut.png

[The Mop Is AFK]

AH HA and the plot thickens dun dun dun great chapter

[Doom]

Wow... Doom takes his hat off to you sir.

Doom has just finished reading 45 chapters and so far Doom is impressed. Doom likes how each character has, well, character and they are consistent with how they would behave. The plot is interesting and the world is very well thought out.

Now for the less serious bits:

Doom got too many d'aww moments from Woona. It hurts Doom's cold dead heart.
Celestia behaves like a best pony should, Doom approves.

You have Doom emotionally invested in your story. See that you continue in such a fantastic fashion or Doom will be forced to hasten your demise with the Human Blender.

[Zero Moment]

Five bits says Calder is an Element of Harmony.

[ThatPoemGuy]

Shit! They've been spotted by griffins!
It's okay they escaped before, right? They can do it again, right?
Right?
Oh, I'm so afraid to read the next chapter. I love the characters too much.

This is Australia...

[CometandAqua]

Hear a finch fart? Really? You couldn't use something that wasn't so funny?

[Brancake]

I'm completely convinced. The Shadow Stallion is King Sombra.

[drake geargrinder]

1513418
.......is "This is Australia" your callsign thing or something? cuase where I am its 'Murica