10-On the Road Again
Chapter 10
Twinkle Drop paced the length of the Victory.
She marched back and forth, mumbling under her breath as she did so.
Sunny watched her with a slightly worried glance. “They’ll be fine, Twinkle.”
“I promised Princess Luna I would do what I could to keep them alive,” she said as she marched. “I also promised I would follow orders to the letter. So how am I supposed to do both?”
“Twinkle…”
“I can’t stay here and be there at the same time!” she said with a huff.
“Twinkle…”
“They’re behind enemy lines, have no support. They have little-to-no supplies, and they’re disguises are easily disrupted—”
“Twinkle!”
The half-vampony glanced over at the guard. He stood, walked over to her and began to drag her off the boat.
“They will be fine. They’ve been through the war, they’ve seen tough times. You, on the other hoof need to relax some.”
“But what about the—”
She was suddenly cut off by a pair of lips that pushed into her own, cutting her words of instantly.
Sunny pulled back, looking into the eyes of the two-hundred-and-forty-two-year-old mare. “They will be fine.”
She said nothing.
“Come on, why don’t you go take a nap, and then we’ll go get some ice cream?”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“...and that’s how my Paladin learned to never trust an earth pony cleric,” Shining finished.
Alan laughed.
The two sat on the drivers bench of the wagon, Twilight sitting inside while the two swapped roleplaying stories.
“If only he had let the Big Bad finish his monologue, we would have been fine!” Shining added.
“Okay, okay! My turn. So, I’m playing a dark, sci-fi, future game. Now, this system has insanity rules, because the things you see are supposedly so horrifying that it could make you go nuts. Anyway, so I was playing an assassin, and I had a space indi...well, space buffalo and a guy born in Tartarus in the party. We step in to this piece of massive floating space junk, and walk into the bridge of a ship in it. There we see a heretical artificial intelligence having been given form by the gods of Chaos, and my assassin begins to projectile vomit for two rounds at the sight of him.
“To this day, I regret not trying to aim my barf at the thing’s eyes to blind it.”
“You can do that?” Shining asked.
“I would have tried if I had thought about it. The Gamemaster would have probably allowed it.”
“Man, you have the best Gamemasters. Mine would call the figurines ‘dolls.’”
“Did he tell good stories?”
“Well...yeah...but he could railroad us times.”
“Well, don’t they all?”
“Yeah, yeah,” Shining said with a smile. “Great...now I feel bad for talking about him like that.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. He...he’s a good GM, no matter what I say. He let us had fun every now and then, especially later on in his Gamemastering career.”
“Well, we all grow up, you know?”
“Too true. Too true.”
The forest was growing thicker with each passing yard, making the air darker as the sun had to filter through more and more leaves and twigs.
“Still don’t get why you two picked the classes you picked.”
“What’s not to get about Sorcerer?” Twilight asked.
“What’s wrong with Paladin?” Shining asked.
“Okay,” Alan said, pointing at his wife as she stuck her nose out of the wagon. “You are nothing like a sorcerer. You are wizard, through and through. You study magic. You know magic. You playing a sorcerer is like taking Arthur, one of the best trained, greatest swordsmen of his day, and calling him a Barbarian.”
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Well, excuse me for relating to a young filly sorcerer who had so much primal magic violently flow through her that she accidentally transformed her parents into potted plants.”
Alan looked at her.
She stared back.
“Fair enough,” he said. “But you, though, Paladin? Really?”
“What’s wrong with Paladin?!” Shining asked.
“Well, mister Lawful Stupid, why don’t you tell me?”
Shining glared at his brother-in-law, and sighed. “Nopony get’s paladins…” he took a deep breath and then spoke. “Okay, look, a paladin is not someone who always does the right thing no matter what. That’s boring. Nopony wants to hear about that guy who never-did-anything-wrong. That’s not what a paladin is.”
He took a deep breath. “Paladins fail. They are meant to fail. Any good Gamemaster will make you break your Paladin’s code. What makes the paladin stand out is that they will try to do what is right, even if it hurts themselves. They will do their very best to do what is right, and grieve and be remorseful when they fail.
“A paladin will fall. They all do. What makes the paladin special is that they are one of the first to get back up again.”
Alan nodded. “Well...I still think they aren’t the best class.”
Shining sighed. “Nopony get’s paladins.”
Before another word could be said, however, a large red bulb on the puller began to flash red.
Alan growled. “Great. We need more coal.”
“A stop in a village would be nice,” Julius said, poking his head out.
“With an actual bed,” Silver added.
“Or actual food,” Spike said.
“Well,” Alan said, “we are definitely going to have to stop for coal, but I don’t know about sleep.”
A groan sounded.
“But we can get some food.”
“Yes!” Thunderlane roared in triumph.
Alan chuckled. “Trixie?”
“Yes sir?”
“Start running them through the show, we need to be prepared.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
Malgonticium was a decent sized town, much bigger than a village, but still far smaller than a city.
It sat in a griffon-made clearing in a copse of tall pines, smoke from the small hearthfires inside trailed up into the sky. The smell of cooking game and pine sap hung heavy in the air, leaving the air feeling almost thick.
The main road, a dirt and cobblestone highway, ran down the middle of town. The empty space left a large space for a climatic western shootout scene if the need arose.
It was down this road that a griffon lioness, with pink-tinged feathers, large blue eyes, and the biggest smile a griffon could possibly muster strutted down the street, leading a mechanically pulled wagon, singing as she went.
“Oh! We got a show,
Got a show,
Got a show, show, show!
We got a show,
Got a show,
Got a show, show, show!
We got show,
Got a show,
Got a show, show, shoooow!”
Show! Showy-show!”
The bouncing griffon laughed and smiled, waving and hugging anygriff that got in her path.
Something cracked and fizzled, and a shower of spiraling colored sparks erupted from the wagon’s back end.
Two griffons shot into the sky, one, a lion with blue plumage, the other, a lioness that looked like a macaw breed of griffon.
A large griffon lion with a guitar appeared on the side of the wagon, playing slow songs as a crowd began to form.
Small hatchlings poked their heads out of small windows cut into stone houses, and their eyes lit up at the sight of the wagon that was rolling into town.
More fireworks went off, lazily arcing into the sky before exploding into shards of fire.
“Ladies and Gentlegriffs!” Alan said, standing on the bench while Applejack drove in her disguise. “You are in for a treat! Tonight only! The Stone Poets will perform for the entire town for a small admission fee of food and fuel.”
The crowd’s eyes began widened as two more griffons stepped out of the wagon, juggling balls as they walked around the wagon.
“And so,” Alan continued, “if you would allow us, let the fun begin!”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“And for my next trick!” Trixie said, disguised as the young lioness Bellona Magetalon. “I shall transform this griffon into a dragon!”
A disguised Spike stood on the platform next to her.
The dragon, looking like a griffon with green-tinged plumage, wore nothing but his goggles and was smiling mischievously.
They had been playing so many little tricks in their show it was almost funny.
Twilight and Shining “juggled” balls by levitating them at each other in large arcs. Soarin’s and Rainbow Dash’s little airshow was also a huge success when Soarin's disguise burst into flame temporarily.
The only truly “honest” shows were Fluttershy and Rarity’s puppet show and Big Mac’s slow country music.
Up went the small, circular curtain that blocked Spike from view, and he felt Trixie drop the illusion around him.
“Markle Darkle Dribbledy Do! Turn to a Dragon, I command you!”
Spike smirked, before he began to make the most convincing grunts and growls he could manage. He gave fake pained yelps and cries, as though he were undergoing a terrible transformation, before they began to morph into feral growls and roars.
Suddenly, Spike burst from the small curtain, breathing fire in an impressive display of pyrotechnics. The smaller hatchlings shrieked in a mix of fear and excitement, while the adults looked on with wide eyes.
“Behold!” Trixie said. “A dragon!”
Spike walked forward slowly, letting the crowd take in his entire being.
Some of the younger, braver ones reached out to touch him.
“And now!” Trixie said, walking forward until they were standing in the middle of the crowd. Up went the curtain again and the dragon smiled. He slipped on his goggles then quickly activated the stealth gem.
“Warggle Narggle Blippidy Blight! Go, quick, disappear from sight!”
The curtain dropped again and the gathered griffons stared at what looked like empty space.
Spike did his best to keep silent.
Applause broke out amongst the crowd as they still stared, jaws hanging open. “Thank you! Thank you!” Trixie said with a bow. “Remember to show your kindness through generous donations to our humble little group.”
“Ladies and Gentlegriffs, Bellona Magetalon, Mistress of the Eastern secrets!” Alan said, ending the act. “But now we have a special treat for you! We’ve given you music, magic, puppets and more, so now, for our last act, we are going to give you something a little more traditional.”
Pinkie jumped forward, mandolin in claw.
“Tonight we have Aello Talekeeper, who will regale you with ancient stories and legends. Fables of heroes and villains, sagas of brave lions and lioness, and epics of good versus evil. How does that sound to you?”
The crowd cheered.
Alan laughed. “Then without further ado, Talekeeper!”
Pinkie slid forward, and strummed the mandolin. “Hi, there everygriff! My name’s is Aello Talekeeper, and I like to party!” She strummed happily. “And because I like to party, I spent a little, itsy-bitsy bit of time learning stories from all over the world. So let’s play a little game here, okay?”
“Okay!” A little hatchling in the front row answered.
The crowd laughed.
Pinkie smiled. “I want you to name a song, and then we’ll see if I can remember it, okay?”
“Okay!” the hatchling said, this time with a few of the adults joining in.
“One, two, three, go!”
The adults began naming songs from their past, songs sung by bards and parents from a long time ago.
“Ribbons in her hair!”
“Sixty ways to Die!”
“Song of the Night Wind!”
“Tale of the Black Griffon!”
“Yeah, the Tale!”
“Tale! Tale! Tale!” the crowd began to chant.
“The Tale of the Black Griffon it is!” Pinkie said before she strummed on the small instrument again.
“There once was a knight, strong and proud,
Who served a Mighty King.
His claw had a grip of iron,
And there was no match for his wing!
In battle he had no equal!
In war he had no match!
No enemy could outrun him,
There was no hunt he could not catch!
The people they did love him,
He had the favor of his king,
But there were those who did not like him,
And they set a trap to spring.
A noble they did kill,
Framed the knight for the crime,
The king sentenced him to death,
And there was very little time.
An escape he did plan!
To try and clear his name.
But he was caught again,
And only found more pain.
The day of judgement came quickly,
The day of doom at hand,
But he met the gallows with pride,
And as they killed him, he did stand!
Death was quick to embrace him,
But bravery he did not lack,
‘Cause though Death now hugged him,
He would not kiss it back!
His soul, it fought to live
Amongst the Aether, it did flow,
His soul, it searched for justice,
And then it began to grow.
The soul it grew a body,
A form of vengeance and hate
His fur was as black as night,
And his claws the color of slate.
He began his hunt for the traitors,
He searched high and low,
He brought his anger against them,
And his hatred dealt a blow.
He hung their heads on pikes,
Thier wings he left to rot,
And using his deadly, ghostly blades,
He gave the criminals their lot.
But when he tried to go back,
And have his eternal rest,
He found the way blocked up,
He was an unwanted guest.
And so he swore an oath,
He gave himself an aim,
For every traitor that he would find,
He bring their name to shame.
And so the knight, did wander,
With feathers the color of dusk.
So be sure your loyalties are strong, children,
Or you may find your body a husk.”
The crowd applauded, followed by more requests.
“Copsi goes to Tamran Town!”
“Off to find my fortune!”
“Sing A Terrible Bore!”
“What’s going on here!?” A voice called.
Everyone went silent.
All eyes went to a small company of griffons, and a smaller company of changelings.
“Who are they?” the leader of the griffon asked, pointing at the Pinkie and the wagon.
Alan quickly stepped up. “Simple travelers, Milord! Trying to make an honest living entertaining small towns. No trouble.”
The changelings were giving them an odd look.
“No trouble, my eye!” the leader hissed. “The likes of you are likely draft dodgers, trying to get out of the army.”
A silver knife formed behind Alan’s back, hidden to the crowd. “No, no good sir, not at all! We are...we are merely offering the Iron Crown a service of a different kind.”
The changelings blinked at that.
The griffon’s eyes narrowed. “Are you now?”
“Yes, Milord,” Alan said smiling, “we are keeping morale high, letting the people know that the Iron Crown cares for them.” He turned to the crowd. “Isn’t that right?”
“Yes!” A griffon in the crowd yelled loudly. “It is so kind of our rulers to give us such a lovely night.”
A quick rumble of agreement made its way through the crowd.
“And my cousin is a Liger!” the commander yelled. “You are nothing more than a bunch of—”
“Captain,” the lead changeling hissed.
The lead griffon turned to him, eyes nothing more than slits. Clearly he did not like being interrupted.
The changeling buzzed, flying over to the griffon before it began to whisper in his ear.
“These griffons are in a disguise. They are not what they seem.”
The griffon smiled, “I knew it! I’ll have them put in stocks, before I—”
“No,” the changeling said.
“No?” the griffon asked.
“No, This One thinks they tell the truth, the magic of all them tastes the same, it could be that they are from a smaller hive, annexed by the Queen, and on strict orders. And neither you nor This One would want to interrupt a mission from her Highness.”
The griffon scowled. He glared at the band of traveling rogues and growled. “Fine.” He turned back to Alan and said loudly. “Are you done?”
“Y-yes, sir. Miss Talekeeper was our finale. After that, we were merely going to collect a humble payment of food and fuel and be gone.”
“Good,” the captain said forcefully. “Everyone get back to your homes, the show is over!”
The crowd vanished.
“You!” the captain said, pointing at one of his guards. “Get them whatever they need, and then get them out of my town!”
“Yes, sir!” he said scrambling.
The captain growled. “Get your stuff, and get out.”
<<<|Ω|>>>
As the party sat around the campfire that night, Julius finished counting the guineas they had made. “Two hundred,” he said, finally. “Two hundred guineas, coal, food and our lives. Not a bad night, I’d say.”
Pinkie wasn’t really excited about it though. “They didn’t let me finish! How could anypony, anygriff, and anybody just end a party like that!?”
Soarin did his best to console her.
Alan, though, was deep in thought. Why did they let them go? What had that changeling said? Were they being watched now? Or had they been incredibly lucky?
Whatever the case, Alan took the opportunity to set up watch.
<<<|Ω|>>>
War.
Alan was caught up in the middle of it, standing side by side with alicorns.
Hundreds of alicorns.
They were all pure white with blank flanks, their eyes equally so. Every one of them had a golden mane and tail, and each held a sword of pure white metal in their white magical auras. They were a little taller than him, but far smaller than Celestia.
Before him was a mix of a cloud and an abyssal mass of horrors.
The legion of alicorns descended upon it, swinging their swords with all their might.
Alan was with them, swinging an identical sword at the creature.
Leading this battalion of alicorns was a tall black, gaunt alicorn, far taller than the others, beside him was a large scythe. “Hold the front line!” Death yelled. “Hold it here! It will not come against the gates of Paradise!”
The legion surged forward, the white warriors leaping against the black mass.
Alan surged with them.
And then a hoof rested against his shoulder.
He turned to see Luna, standing there amongst the war. “Stay a moment, Pendragon. This war is long over.”
Alan blinked.
“You are dreaming, Pendragon. Dreaming of a war that is far more ancient than Equestria.”
Alan shook his head, and he watched, suddenly detached from the chaos around him. “Where are we?”
“This is the War of Paradise, where the Two Thousand White Legions of the Alicorn Angels did battle against the Hatred.”
The sounds of war slowly began to fade as Alan focused on the Lunar sister. “Well, it’s a cool dream and all, Princess, but why am I here?”
“I cannot say why, Alan,” Luna said. “I know for what reason, though.”
“Isn’t that the same thing?”
She smirked. “No, it’s not. Those who have seen our Mother have had their eyes and minds opened to spiritual realm. Nothing will remain the same for them. Dreams will either bring visions of times out of time, or bring your sins to the forefront of your mind. As it is, I have done my best to ensure your sleep is not too troubled.”
“Wow,” Alan said, looking around the dream again, noticing how the field they stood in was very reminiscent of the Shadows in front of Paradise.
“Wow indeed,” Luna said. “It was for this reason that our Mother used a prophet to speak to the living,” Luna frowned. “Or...did, at least…”
She shook her head, “However, now is not the time to dwell in the distant past, I come now to speak about the present. Tell me, Pendragon, how goes your quest?”
“Well enough, Princess. We are making excellent progress, we should be arriving at the Onyx Keep within the week.”
Luna nodded. “This is good news. Stay safe, my little pony, but now you have to wake up, it’s time for your shift.”
“What?” Alan asked.
“Wake up, Alan,” Luna said again, her voice changing tone. “It’s your turn.”
Alan blinked.
“Al! Wake up! It’s your turn,” Spike said, shaking the Pendragon from his slumber.
“I’m up! I’m up!” Alan said wearily. “Just give me a second.”
Climbing out of the wagon, the Pendragon yawned, looking up at the starry sky.
Well, at least he knew the Princesses were worried about them.
It made him feel a little better.
<<<|Ω|>>>
The next town they saw was much, much larger. Surrounded by thick forest, the city of Obrazor dwarfed the the previous town by hundreds of buildings. It was a trade city, a hub of roads and streets that could not be avoided without raising questions.
And Alan was hating it.
Every roof had a small, mixed squad of changelings and griffons. Every corner had an armed guard. Every merchant stand was watched by both insectoid and avian eyes.
This town was still active, but at nowhere near the level it should have been. Only a handful of griffon civilians traded and bartered, whereas normally the entire square would be full.
But all of that paled compared to the Cathedral.
Alan had wondered if the griffons worshiped Faust, and now he had his answer. Even so, he doubted she would approve of this.
The massive building, adorned with statues of alicorns and gargoyles, had it’s walls covered with small alcoves. From the alcoves hung chains, and from many of the chains hung…
“I was afraid this would happen,” Julius said, as they passed the groaning griffons chained to the walls by their wrists.
“That’s horrible!” Fluttershy said.
“It gets worse,” Julius said. “Those manacles are designed to break wrists given enough pressure. They force the prisoner to try and fly to keep his wrists from breaking until the point of exhaustion. After that, well, the wrist break, and are then in constant, stabbing pain. In the end, it just leaves them hurt and tired.”
Alan said nothing, but his claws gripped the reins tighter.
His eyes scanned the numerous griffons, most hanging limply, moaning in pain, while other flapped their wings frantically to save their wrists. Above many of them the word “Traitor” was written next to little black crowns.
“You know what?” Alan said aloud, “I think we should rent a couple of rooms tonight. Get some nice, comfortable beds.”
Those gathered looked at Alan.
His face was grim, and there was anger in his eyes.
<<<|Ω|>>>
The Open Cup Hall was filled with wood smoke and the stench of alcohol. Drunkards lay scattered across the inn’s tavern, along the bar and floor. Alan noticed a pickpocket snatching a coinpurse.
Yes, the Pendragon was fairly certain that if he wanted to find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy, he’d have to go back a long, long time ago, to a galaxy far, far away.
It would do for tonight.
The party found a table and began to gather around, staying close together. A griffon gave a high pitched wolf call as he leered at one of the girls.
It was lucky for him that none of the stallions could tell which mare he was calling.
A lioness came up to their table, “What’ll it be, hun?”
“Four rooms, fifteen meals,” Alan said quickly.
“Coming up, hun!”
“So what’s the plan?” Twilight asked.
“Everyone’s going to get some sleep,” Alan said.
Twilight raised an eyebrow. “And why don’t I believe you?”
Alan didn’t answer.
The others sat in silence.
“Alan…” Twilight said, her voice beginning to sound annoyed.
“Ysona,” Alan said with force, to remind her to use the fake names they had gotten for themselves. “You will know when the time comes.”
That seemed to satisfy her, because she went silent.
The food arrived shortly, plates of mashed potatoes and slabs of meat.
“Best hand the meat over to me,” Julius said. “You could offend the inn keeper, and the may throw us out.”
Alan poked at the steak. “You know, I’ve been meaning to do this,” he said before hesitantly cutting a piece off and popping it in his mouth.
The entire table went silent as they stared at him.
He let the small chunk of meat roll along his tongue before chewing and swallowing. “Not as good as I remember, but not bad,” Alan said.
Trixie’s mouth dropped opened. “I...what?”
Silver fainted.
Alan chuckled.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Alan, Twilight, Shining and Spike were all in their room. It was silent, with the exception of the random bout of gas from the Pendragon.
“Good grief, Al!" Twilight said, waving a hoof in front of her muzzle. "I don’t care how it tasted, you are never eating meat again!”
Alan smirked, as he prepared his bed. “Get some rest, all of you, we have a big day tomorrow.”
His wife, however, had not forgotten what he had said at dinner. “What are you planning, Alan?”
Alan looked at her, and gave her a gentle smile. “When the time comes.”
“Alright,” Alan said loudly, “good night, everypony, see you in the morning!”
The others followed his example, and laid in their own beds.
The light went out, and darkness filled the room.
<<<|Ω|>>>
The time came, apparently, at three in the morning.
“Stay quiet, come with me,” were his simple instructions.
Twilight wearily got out of bed, doing her best to remain quiet.
“Just you and me, Twi. No one else.”
She nodded.
The two unicorns snuck out the window, undisguised, and began making their way to the cathedral.
Turning a corner, Alan suddenly held out a hoof. “Hang on,” he said, freezing.
The few changeling guards watched the streets from the rooftops, their eyes almost glowing in the crescent moon’s light.
Their eyes slowly swept over the street, moving from one side to the other.
“On three,” Alan whispered.
He paused a second.
“One,”
A changeling yawned, before he started the scan again.
“Two,”
He sighed, before moving to the next street.
“Three.”
The two dashed across the empty street, moving like shadows in the darkness.
Across two more streets, and they came up to the stone church.
“What’s the plan?” Twilight asked, as they stood at the base of the tall building.
Alan smiled. “Do you still remember your gravity spells?”
She smiled back. “Of course.”
“Well, I think it’s time my perspective shifted sideways.”
Twilight nodded, before her horn gave a faint glow.
The next thing Alan knew, he was starting to fall down, er...east, onto cathedral wall.
“Alright, I’ll be back,” Alan whispered. “Kiss for the road?”
Twilight smiled and gave him one. “I’ll be waiting.”
And with that, Alan climbed, er...walked along the wall.
He quickly approached the first griffon, and quickly got some support under him.
The griffon gave a relieved sigh, and his eyes cracked open as he woke. “Is it my time to die?” he asked.
“Are you a traitor to the Iron Crown?”
“I am a loyalist to the True King,” the griffon said, before turning to see the pony standing next to him.
Judgement was pulled from it’s sheath, and quickly bit into the iron chains.
“Then you get to live another day, come on.”
Alan quickly lowered the griffon back down to the ground next to Twilight. “Here’s the first,” he said. “Can you help him out?”
Twilight looked at his wrist, horn glowing. “I can’t fix him, but I can give him a head start.”
“Go ahead, he’ll need all the help he can get. I’ll get the next one,” he said, before disappearing up the wall.
Soon he was back down with another griffon, this one old and silver in color. “Here’s another,” he said before disappearing again.
The two quickly gathered more griffons, and before long, they had a group of fifteen gathered. “Alright, Twi,” Alan said, “this is a good group, let’s head to the forest before getting a second group.”
Twilight nodded, and with a pop, the fifteen griffons suddenly found themselves in the woods.
“Alright, gentlegriffs,” Alan said, “you should fly West, head for the Eagle Beak Isles. You should find some shelter with both your people and mine.”
“You want us to run, pony?” One of the griffons asked, rubbing his now-realigned wrist with a sore talon. His feathers were a mottled brown, and he looked more like a falcon than an eagle.
“I want you to live,” Alan replied, simply. “Live to fight another day.”
“You want us to become cowards! We should honor our leaders by fighting! We should take back our town!”
“And how will you do this with broken wrists?” Alan asked.
The falcon griffon snarled. “It doesn’t matter! We are going to take Obrazor back, and we will honor our—”
“Goodedge! Be quiet!” another, the old griffon with the silver fur and feathers, hissed.
“Why? Why should I bow to this outsider, Stonefire?”
“Look closer,” the older griffon said. “Doesn’t he look familiar? It only took me a moment to recognize him, and your eyes are younger than mine.”
The group went silent as they stared at the pony.
“He is the Pendragon,” Stonefire said, finally. “Brother to the True King by blood oath.”
Goodedge’s eyes widened. “Wh-what? No! No! Th-that’s impossible, you’ve gone nuts, old man. The Pendragon is dead.”
Alan smirked. “Not dead enough to be deaf to the cry of my brother’s people.”
The griffons looked at him in awe.
“Go, head West. You will be safe there.”
And with that, the two ponies popped out of existence.
They had more griffons to rescue.
<<<|Ω|>>>
Ysona yawned as the little wagon began to pull away from the inn stables.
“Rough night?” Thardor, who was really Alan asked.
The owl-faced griffon sent her husband a glare.
“My sympathies,” Julius said from the inside of the wagon.
Alan smiled, despite the fact that they were caught in traffic.
“What’s taking us so long to get out of here?” Shining asked, poking his head out of the wagon.
Before the little puller was a massive crowd of griffons, all of them looking up at the center of town.
Shining followed their gaze and saw the cathedral, it’s walls empty, and the limp chains broken.
From the cathedral roof hung a red banner with a golden crown, the flag of the True King, and under was written a few lines. “You will shoot your enemy once, to ensure he fights no more that day! You will shoot traitors twice, to ensure nothing less than their deserved death!”
“Would you look at that,” Alan said, “all those prisoners escaped. Who could have been responsible for that?”
Alan and Twilight shared a look, before they chuckled.
<<<|Ω|>>>
The cart bumped and rolled forward into the forest, Twilight sitting next to Alan as they rode forward in relative silence.
“It’s quiet,” Twilight noted.
“Oh, don’t say that…” Alan said.
“What? Why not?”
“Because that means someone else is going to say ‘too quiet...’ and then something is going to go horribly wrong.”
Twilight rolled her eyes. “Alan, nothing is going to—”
Three griffons appeared in the road.
“...go...wrong…” she finished with a sigh.
“Alright, gentlegriffs,” a large griffon said as he stepped forward. “I’ll be takin’ any money you’ve got on ya.”
Alan turned to his wife, “Wow, can you believe this, Ysona? I don’t even see an actual weapon amongst them. They have two clubs in front, and then one talon cap in the back.”
One of the griffons to the side blinked. “How’d he know we were flankin’ ‘im?”
“Shut up,” the lead griffon whispered harshly.
“Well, don’t be too hard on them, Thardor,” Twilight answered. “It’s tough times on a criminal, they probably can’t afford a real weapon.”
“Shut up, you two, just hand me your money,” the leader ordered.
“Yeah, but still, they’re criminals. They should have just stolen some, and if they haven’t, then I just can’t gather the proper respect for them.”
“Your money, to me!” the griffon ordered.
“Yeah, but with the changeling’s watching they probably can’t do much.”
“Hey! I’m robbing you!” the bandit roared.
Alan turned to him. “Excuse me,” he said, “but I’m having a conversation with my wife. Just wait for a second, and then I’ll get to you.”
The griffon’s face went red.
The Pendragon turned back to his wife and said “True, but the changelings would also be hunting scum like this. They should be more prepared for this kind of stuff.”
“I said!” the leader roared. “I’m robbing you! Now hand over the cash!”
And suddenly, there was a sword at his throat.
“And I said I was talking with my wife, now why don’t you back up, and we’ll try again?”
<<<|Ω|>>>
“And then the monk breaks the phylactery, killing the filly!”
“No!” Shining said.
“Even after the wizard cheesed the game to save her!” Alan insisted.
“Wow, man,” Shining said, as he rode next to him on the wagon’s driver’s bench. “What’d you do to him?”
“Beat the snot out of him, both in and out of game,” Alan smirked. “The mage kept saying that ‘he cast fist’ on him.”
Shining snorted. “Cast fist. I’ll have to remember that one.”
The two smirked and smiled, swapping stories and such, overall, enjoying the scenery of the pinewood forest.
And then the forest ended.
The woods simply ended, leaving only the large, clear plain that the Equestrian army had occupied three years ago.
The Onyx Keep, carved into Mount Ebonrock, towered above them, casting it’s gargantuan shadow down on the plain and forest below.
Alan’s face went grim.
“Well, fun time’s over. Let’s get to work.”
--------------------------------
And Chap done!
“Whee! Another chapter’s finished, another chapter’s finished!”
Yes, yes, my little pink pony, yes it is.
“And now things are going to start being amazing?”
Yes they are.
“Ooooh. I got chills! I’m so nervicited!”
So do I, Pinkie, so do I.
“Next time: Into the Onyx Keep we go!”
To face the machinations of Ironclaw.
“be sure to comment and see ya next time!”
Bye!
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Views = 1
:D
Also MOAR!
I say! Simply exquisite!
Oh my. I do believe this is where the fun begins. :D
Keep up the good work. Deus tecum.
Looks like someone readsFriendship is dragons. Loved getting to see the party actually use their cover story. I just hope with all the guards in each town that the rebels will be able to make it to the Isles.
Oh and Shining's speech on paladins, man that brought back memories. Well said sir, well said.
A really entertaining chapter! Can't wait to see how the company's situation will play out on their quest!
Dun Dun Dun Duunnn!!! Also, loved the prisoner release... super awesome. Keep up the great work!
I love swapping "This one session of DnD..." stories. I think it's my favorite thing about TTRPGs
Is.. is Raxon going to show up next? Cause that would be traumatising for everyone involved. That man is insane.
Remember ponies. nothing has quite the ability to get attention like an over pressurized steam engine explosion.
3363199
Guilty as charged.
Man's it's a fun comic.
3363596
Sh!
Don't say his name too loud! Please! For the sake of everyone here!
...I think you meant Angels? :X
Also, being a paladin isn't about not falling. It's about making sure that when you DO fall, you fall so hard that you break through the Earth and come up standing on the other side.
3363922
Noted and fixed.
3363861
My bad, I forgot that if you speak his name he appears.
Love the references, keep up[ the awesome work!
You ever read Order of the Stick, O-Chul is proof Paladins, when done right, are just that badass.
One of the stories of a well played Paladin on the comics forums.
Now this is intresting. What the left hoof doesnt say, the right claw doesnt know happens oh so often as secrets are kept and confusion slowly builds till it reigns supreme.
As for taking the powerd vehicle inside an enclosed space. Oh dear. Especailly if Twilight casts a structural containment spell on the boiler, then a solar power spell on the firebox.
I now name this steam traction engine the Valley Forge. May she bring peace and prosperity.
Well, we all know where That will end up.
And now begins the black-ops level wetwo- what? What do you mean there won't be any awesome wall scaling, back-stabbing, super stealth times? >.<
3365071
...
Who said their weren't going to be black ops waterworks?
3366656 D: !
Wetwork*
3366854
...
...
That's what I said...
3366898 In the context, 'wetwork' is different from 'waterwork'.
In this case wetwork is knife play, usually from the shadows and such. Assassin work, essentially (getting your hands 'wet.'). Waterwork is Marine stuff, but I could be wrong. I've been wrong before.
3367022
I figured, I typo-ed, and was trying to save face, except facetiously.
3364217 I thought it was only if you said it three times in a row.
3367387
Best not take the chance.
Oh this will get epic...-er... I think... hope... know... lol
----------
Meanwhile, at western side of the forest (fanfic quickie for a fanfic):
"OH MY GOODNESS! PENDRAGON'S ALIVE?!"
The near yell of the light brown and white griffon was more than unwanted. There was no way of knowing if someone had noticed them missing. That wasn't enough to keep the tired but exited, young griffon any more silent.
"Yes, you've been saying that for two hours now, now shut up, Gilbert." an irritated voice with a hint of sore throat answered, belonging to a gray-ish brown griffon.
"But do you understand how big of a deal this is!"
"Yes, I do. Now shush! We need to hurry up if we want to get to uncle Batt's place..."
As the younger griffon silenced, the trees begun to spread open and appeared to be smaller. After a small while, a dark brown cottage, next to a small pond, came on their sights. The air was chill and mist was starting to increase as they got closer to the old, yet quite well kept building.
"Stay here for now. I'll make sure he's home." the older, mid-aged griffon said.
"Sure thing, Chapley!" The young griffon gave him a thumbs up, showing that he won't disappoint the older one.
"For a hundredth time, just Chap..."
The older griffon walked to the door, glanced around him searching for a place he knew the key would be in, if his old and friendly uncle hasn't left to somewhere, most likely into a town to gather supplies.
"There..." he whispered to himself as he reached to grab a slightly lighter peace of wood on the wall. He took it out and looked in the secret box, finding nothing.
"Nope, he's not home. We have to keep going on."
"I knew leaving the others was a bad idea..." replied Gilbert, his tone still exited, but serious.
"Why did you come then?"
"Can't leave a cousin hangin', right Chappy?"
...
"Whatever, lets just keep going..."
Chap put the piece of wood back to where he took it from, turning back to his annoyingly loyal friend... or cousin, even if he didn't like to be family with Gilbert, he still couldn't change facts.
"He's not that bad actually..." he thought to himself as they left, quickly disappearing inside the ever more thickening fog.
...
Don't ask, I just had a sudden urge to write a mini-fic in the honor of this amazing story that I'm in love with. Hope you're not going to kill yourself, since that was literally the first time I tried something like that xD
AND it's 3:33am, and I'm on mobile, lol
Good shit man... good shit... this story of yours.
Don't worry Shiny I understand paladins, I just prefer playing Fighter/Mages and sorcerers
Hmm, that was less dark than l was expecting. Fairly surprised that the gryphons strung up around the cathedral weren't corpses.
Continuing to love the D&D references.
3375995
If they existed? Yes.
Sadly, I'm not really musically gifted...I have a tune and rhythm and everything, but just in my head.
Let me guess, this "dark, scifi, future game" is Dark Heresy, right? Or is it Deathwatch?
3384231
Got it in one!
3384253 At least it's not Paranoia. Or Hobospy.
whoooooooooo this is so cool cant wait for the next one one of the best mlp fim fan fic's in all the enter web's you my friend are a master story teller my hats off to you
Was totally expecting this:
When you made the reference to the paladin. Good thing my expectations were not met.
The new scene is the robbing one?
Wasn't expecting the 40k roleplaying reference. Not a lot of people have played those ones.
3422849
Nopony indeed.
i so wish this were a chekov's gun.
this is a reference which i can't quite think of... argh! *bangs head against wall*
the burglary scene was hilarious! i loved every second of it.
5613013
Star Wars reference.
Mos Eisley spaceport, to be specific.
Kenobi: Mos Eisley spaceport: You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.
Why do I get the feeling it involves these guys...
wh40k.lexicanum.com/mediawiki/images/2/2d/HereticusInquisitor.jpg
7060719
Either that, or Dark Crusade.
Do you hear the poeople sing?
Singing the song of angry men,
It is the music of a people who will not be slaves again!