Neither Created Nor Destroyed

by Sage Runner

Chapter Four - All the Time You Need

"Pinkie Pie, are you awake?" Rainbow Dash nudged her unconcious friend.

"Five more minutes, papa..." Pinkie replied groggily, a bead of drool sliding down the side of her face. "Then I'll go rotate the rocks..."

"Pinkie Pie!" Rainbow Dash shouted, jolting her friend awake.

Pinkie yawned. "Morning, Dashie!" She sat up and wiped her mouth. "So today I was thinking we could check out the—"

"In case you haven't noticed, we're not in our hotel room." Rainbow Dash gestured to the area around them. Pinkie scanned the room they were in carefully.

The stone that comprised the walls and floors of the large room were as gritty as they were unfinished, being covered by a thick layer of dirt. Their sleeping space, Pinkie noted, had been partitioned off by a wall of metal bars, and it was one of several spaces in that room constructed in a similar way.

The only comforts she could see in their small holding area were a chamber pot and a pair of concrete slabs suspended against the wall by chains, one of which Pinkie had been sleeping on. Finally, her eyes settled back upon Rainbow Dash who, upon closer inspection, was wearing some sort of brace around her torso that kept her wings locked at her sides.

"Hmm, I think you might be right," Pinkie said, scratching her chin carefully, her gaze narrowed. "What'd we do last night after we drank that cider?"

"I don't think we did anything," Rainbow said. She stood on top of her concrete bed and hoisted herself up to a small, barred window above it. "Nothing to get us thrown in a place like this, at least." She gazed out through the bars.

"Ooh, ooh!" Pinkie exclaimed, jumping up and down. "Whadaya see, Dashie?"

"I see... a lot of mountain tops," Rainbow said, squinting as she tried to see beyond them. "We're pretty high up. And way, way below us, a lot of desert. None of this looks familiar. We need to see if anypony is around."

"Hey, is anypony here?!" Pinkie shouted, causing Rainbow Dash to jerk backwards and fall to the floor. As Dash stood back up, massaging the back of her head, a loud creaking sound signified a large door being opened. They were approached by a griffon in a suit of armor.

The griffon stopped in front of their cell. "Finally awake, eh?"

"Where in the hay are we?" Rainbow Dash asked, tilting her head to the side.

Pinkie Pie frowned. "We didn't damage any public property, did we?"

"Pinkie, we were not drunk and disorderly!" Rainbow said, squinting toward her friend.

She turned away from the guard and glared at Rainbow Dash. "How do you know? Do you remember how we got here?"

"Well, no, I guess not, but come on, I think I'd know if that's what was going on here," Rainbow said.

Pinkie gasped. "Unless you were so drunk that you blacked out and forgot everything!"

"That didn't happen!" Rainbow Dash yelled, leaning toward Pinkie Pie authoritatively.

Pinkie gently placed a hoof on Rainbow's shoulder. "Dashie, the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem."

"If we're in here for drunk and disorderly conduct, that means you have a problem to!" Rainbow said.

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Omigosh, you're right!" She fell to her knees. "I've let myself slide down the slippery slope!" She sobbed.

"No one got drunk!" the guard shouted, grabbing the bars with his talons and grinding his teeth. "What's with you two? I'm standing right here, just ask me what's going on!"

"What's goin' on?" Pinkie asked abruptly, giving the guard a wide, toothy smile, her eyes half-open. The guard, in turn, smacked his forehead with the palm of his talon.

"You're in the Griffon Kingdom, in the palace dungeon. We've been waiting for you to wake up," he answered, taking a step back.

"The Griffon Kingdom? That's a long ways away from where we were," Rainbow Dash said. "How did we get here?"

"After you were neutralized by our agent, a pair of knights brought you here," the guard said.

"Agent?" Rainbow's eyes widened in shock. "Are you... talking about Gilda?"

"Yes, now come with me," he said, producing a key and opening the cell door as Rainbow Dash lowered her head. "His Majesty demands an audience with you at once."

"Might as well find out what this is about," Rainbow Dash muttered as she and Pinkie Pie followed the guard.

Pinkie leaned in close to Rainbow and whispered, "Who's Majesty and who does he belong to?"

"No, Pinkie," Rainbow Dash said, "he's talking about their king. We're going to meet... the King of the Griffons." The realization suddenly overtook her.

"Who's the King of the Griffons?" Pinkie asked, as the guard closed the dungeon door behind them.

"I can't remember his name, but they say he's huge, even for a Griffon, and that he's some kind of legendary warrior."

"Cool!" Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash smiled. "Yeah, I guess it is pretty cool."

***

"Your Highness!" the guard said as they entered the large throne room. "Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie of Equestria are here!"

The throne was visible at the other end of the chamber, a long, red carpet leading right to it. There were no walls here, merely a long chain of pillars connecting the floor to the ceiling, the room itself exposed to the open air and overlooking a vast mountain range. Rainbow Dash couldn't help but marvel at the view.

Once the two ponies were close enough to the throne, they beheld the King of the Griffons. True to the rumors, he was the size of a full-grown grizzly bear. Battle scars adorned his body, and a small chip near the tip of his beak gave it a jagged appearance. His eyes were golden, and his protruding brow was low and imposing. Surprisingly, Dash noted, no crown adorned his head.

He spoke loudly, "I am J'aggerdov, King of the Griffons!" He rose from his throne and walked toward them, each step echoing loudly. He spread his wings, their span appearing to be almost triple what was considered average for a griffon.

"I'm Rainbow Dash, future Wonderbolt and world-class athlete," Rainbow Dash said.

"And I'm Pinkie Pie, can I use your bathroom?" She smiled widely.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow hissed, glaring sideways at her friend.

"What?" Pinkie replied, recoiling from Rainbow's tone. "I haven't gone since yesterday!"

"That is not the kind of question you ask a king!" Rainbow said, covering the side of her mouth with her hoof.

"Yah-huh!" Pinkie nodded. "I've asked Princess Celestia that question before. She always just says 'yes'."

"Oh, really?" Rainbow said.

"Yep!" Pinkie replied, smiling.

Rainbow Dash stroked her chin thoughtfully. "Huh, maybe it is an okay question, then."

"Silence!" J'aggerdov barked in what could only be described as speech combined with a dull roar. "I don't know how your Princess does things, but in my presence, you will speak only when spoken to, and you will mind your tongue!"

"Now wait just a minute," Rainbow said, stepping forward, "we didn't ask to be here, y'know! You kidnapped us, and since you're gonna be such a jerk about it, now I just wanna know why!"

"My patience is tested," J'aggerdov said. He nodded to the guard. "If she acts out again, kill her."

"WHA—" Pinkie began to shout as Rainbow quickly placed a hoof over her mouth, her face pale.

"That's better," J'aggerdov said. "As for why you're here, you're prisoners of war."

"...of war?" Rainbow Dash asked softly.

"Indeed." J'aggerdov nodded. "The day is fast approaching when Equestria will belong to the Griffon Empire."

"Why you—" Rainbow stopped herself off when she saw the guard reach for his dagger. She clicked her tongue and stared at the floor. "Okay, so why bring us here? Why tell us this?"

"I would think the answer to your first question would be obvious." The king raised an eyebrow. "You two wield Elements of Harmony, and it would make things far more difficult for us if you were to use them during the invasion, so you've been preemptively removed from the conflict. As for why I'm telling you, I believe it's only polite to tell a prisoner why they've been imprisoned."

"And what happens to us now?" Rainbow hissed, beginning to grind her teeth, but not daring to make eye-contact.

"You'll remain in my dungeon and behave yourselves. So long as you do that, you'll be fed three times a day. Make any trouble for us, and you will be eliminated. Is that clear?"

"If you think I'm just gonna sit by and let you take over my home—" Rainbow raised her voice and stared down the king, a fire in her eyes.

"Guard, if she makes one more outburst, kill her friend," J'aggerdov said. Pinkie Pie recoiled as the guard nodded toward her.

Rainbow flinched and averted her gaze again. "...Yes, it's clear."

"Good, then we have nothing left to discuss," J'aggerdov said. "Guard, return them to their cell."

"Yes, your highness." The guard motioned for Rainbow and Pinkie to follow him.

"Well, he wasn't very nice," Pinkie Pie said once they were out of J'aggerdov's earshot.

"This is really bad, Pinkie," Rainbow said. Her voice was shaking. "I don't know what we're gonna do."

***

"Where did you even get that?" Rainbow asked, stretched out on her stone bed, her head resting on her folded elbow, as Pinkie continued playing her harmonica.

"I keep harmonicas stashed all over, in case of harmonica emergency!" She raised the harmonica to her lips again. Rainbow Dash shook her head softly, but smiled.

"We need to find a way out of here," Rainbow said, sitting straight up and leaning forward, supporting her head with her hooves. "We have to warn the Princess."

"Yeah, but how are we gonna escape?" Pinkie .

"Visitors aren't permitted!" said a nearby guard.

"Visitors? Didn't you hear?" a familiar voice called out. "I was named personal assistant to King J'aggerdov, now step aside!"

"Ah, my apologies, Lady Gilda."

"Gilda?!" Rainbow and Pinkie shouted in unison. They leapt to their feet and approached the bars.

"Dash, Pinkie, 'sup?" Gilda asked. "Are they treating you alright? Do you need anything?"

Rainbow Dash wrapped her hooves around the bars. "Don't talk to us like we're buddies," she said. "You're the reason we're here!"

"Look, it's not like I wanted to kidnap you." Gilda shrugged. "And they promised me you wouldn't be hurt."

"I do not appreciate being abducted without my consent!" Pinkie shouted.

"Listen, I came down here because I figured I owed you two an explanation," Gilda said.

"Well thank you for taking time out of your busy day to explain things to us lowly prisoners." Rainbow clenched her jaw. "But we're not interested. Why don't you get back to your fancy new job and leave us alone!"

"Don't be like that," Gilda said. "With my new title, I've got a lot of extra pull. I can get you two all kinds of cool stuff!" she added, leaning back and scraping her knuckles against her chest as though wiping away non-existent dust.

"You can start with our freedom," Rainbow Dash said. Both she and Pinkie gave a small nod.

Gilda shook her head. "C'mon, Dash, you know I can't do that."

"Then leave."

Gilda slammed her fist against the floor, causing Rainbow and Pinkie to take a step back. "I didn't want this!" she shouted. "I didn't want to have to choose between my country and my friends, but you know what?! I had to! Put yourself in my place! If Princess Celestia told you to kidnap me for the good of Equestria, you know you'd do it in a heartbeat! You're always going on about how loyal you are!"

"I'm loyal to Princess Celestia because she would never ask me to betray a friend," Rainbow Dash replied, shaking her head.

"Maybe so," Gilda said, hanging her head, "but my king still did, and he literally put my family's life on the line. Plus, it's not like our people aren't in trouble. It's always been tough growing anything here, and what little fertile land is in the Griffon Kingdom has been shrinking."

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow "So is that what this war is about? You want to steal our food or something?"

"If we don't do something, our people will starve," Gilda said. "My family got banished a long time ago, and I grew up away from here, so I had no idea how bad things were getting until I was brought back and saw it for myself. We have no other choice, Dash, this is just something we have to do."

"And you know that Equestria would help the Griffon Kingdom if they just asked," Dash replied as Pinkie Pie nodded.

"I'm sure King J'aggerdov tried that." Gilda said.

"Somehow, I doubt he's the type," Rainbow Dash replied, as Pinkie Pie shook her head.

Gilda backed away from them. "I'm going to go see the king," she said. "Maybe I can make you two more comfortable or something."

"Gilda," Rainbow Dash said, grasping the bars again as the griffon began to walk away. "You know that what you're doing here is wrong. It isn't too late to help us."

Gilda stopped, her back to them, and lowered her head. "I'll see you guys later."

***

"Still don't get why you promoted your spy-girl," Clarion Call said, standing next to the occupied throne. "Doesn't seem like her heart's really in this."

"It isn't," J'aggerdov said, tapping his fingers against the arm rest and staring straight ahead. "That's precisely why I promoted her. I'm going to keep a close eye on her so that she doesn't do anything stupid."

"Well, that's your deal. Seems like everypony picked up their targets with no problem." Clarion grinned.

"And how are things on your end?" J'aggerdov looked at Clarion. "The invasion can't start until you find that little trinket."

"Yeah, I've been asking around, getting some leads, you know how that can be. Should have it pretty soon, don't you worry," Clarion replied, turning to J'aggerdov.

"And where is your master?"

Clarion pointed behind himself. "I left him back in Equestria, he has some business of his own to take care of before the horseapples hit the fan."

"He's an odd fellow, isn't he?" J'aggerdov raised an eyebrow as he said this. "I can't help but wonder what he has to gain by helping us all like this. He asked for so little in return."

"I don't know, he's crazy," Clarion said with a shrug. "Probably just gets off on making trouble. It's working out great for you guys though, huh?"

"Yes, I suppose it is," J'aggerdov said, "though I can't say I relish the idea of non-lethal warfare all that much. Having to spare all of our enemies will make the battle that much more difficult."

"Well, you know how it is," Clarion said. "The changelings demand that every single equine go into their nasty feeding pods, and Mahugpin's a big softie, wouldn't let you kill anypony, anyway."

"I know, and I suppose that with our combined efforts, things should go smoothly enough regardless. The land, at least, will still belong to us." J'aggerdov allowed himself a smile. "That will be all, Clarion Call." Clarion nodded and vanished without a trace as Gilda entered the chamber.

Gilda bowed. "Your Highness."

"You can dispense with the formalities when it's just you and I, Gilda," J'aggerdov said softly. "What's on your mind?"

"It's the invasion." Gilda glanced sideways. "I just... need to know that it's really our last resort."

"Of course it is," J'aggerdov said. "We tried to grow enough food to feed our people, but we aren't, so we're expanding our reach to include territory that's more fertile."

"I get that." Gilda nodded. "But why would Princess Celestia refuse to aid us?"

"Aid us?" J'aggerdov raised an eyebrow. "As if I would stoop so low as to beg for another nation's table-scraps."

"But then..." Gilda said, "do we really have the right to just take something that doesn't belong to us because we want it?"

"You're thinking like a pony, Gilda. No doubt a result of the time you've spent living among them. We'll have to work on that." J'aggerdov smiled at her.

"We must put the Pride before all else, for the sake of both our well being and our dignity. I assure you, this invasion would not be taking place if we did not absolutely need Equestria's resources to stay alive." He nodded. "We've never relied on the pity of others, and we're not about to start now. We can rely only on ourselves, and only if we're strong."

"But aren't we accepting the help of the changelings and diamond dogs?" Gilda asked.

"We are using their resources, just as we intend to use Equestria's. The success of our campaign hinges on the correct usage of all resources. In the end, it still falls to us."

"I see. I need to think," Gilda said as she looked away and quickly departed from the throne room.

"Take all the time you need," J'aggerdov said quietly. He relaxed in his throne.

Comments

[Jonah Fun]

And getting Equestria's aid wouldn't be using their resources? Twisted logic at it's finest.

[Bad_Seed_72]

I have a feeling the King better keep a close eye on Gilda...