Journey to the center of Equestria

by Rarity Belle

Chapter XLV

Griffon emperor Sharpbeak Razorclaw the Second was caught between a rock and a hard place. The words that Twilight Sparkle had said to him were a literal devastating blow to his entire plan. Rethinking the entire plan wasn’t an option simply because there wasn’t anything else that he could be thinking about.

The fact was so visible that even Fluttershy could be reading it right out of his eyes. He may not have lost his regal posture before the soothsayer, yet that glance within his eyes told her everything that she needed to know. There was no returning to a previous point in time, the griffon had screwed up big time.

All that he could be doing was to either admit defeat or tangle himself further into the web of problems he was in. The emperor released a deep exhale through his nostrils before he once more began to wander about. He just wandered around the room with his throne while the sun faded away within the clouds. Seconds turned into minutes as the rain became more and more apparent on the glass. The tide was turning, almost literally in their case.

Silence had taken over the room as Gilda remained in her posture against the wall. She looked over the group of beings just standing there as one of her lion’s paws was placed against the wall. She wanted to see action, she wanted to see blood being spilled, she needed an old debt to be settled. Time was her ally in the moment, yet nopony knew how much time they would be having.

“Alright, you say that you need this miserable lot to your assistance when you plan to go down there. Seems fair enough, but that leaves me being cut out of any deal we can be making. That’s a risk I’m not going to be taking here, soothsayer,” spoke Sharpbeak. He then pointed one of his talons to Twilight herself.

The soothsayer on the other hand just remained rather cool under the whole situation. On the surface at least. It was within her heart that she terrified for the pain those very talons could be inflicting on her. She had to stay tough before the emperor and show him that the anthronies wouldn’t go down easy. Not before him.

“It wasn’t my idea to be captured by your men in the first place. We just happened to be at the wrong time, at the right location,” said Twilight when she crossed her arms over each other. The unicorn soothsayer narrowed her eyes. Awaiting whatever words and actions would be done by the griffon. Bad it would be without a doubt, she just hoped it wouldn’t have been that terrible.

The emperor erupted out in a laughter which could be dubbed as comical. Sarcastic would probably have been a good choice as well. The laughter was sent through the whole of the cabin before he began to shake his head. All of the other anthronies didn’t have the slightest of clues about why he was laughing that hard or that much to begin with.

Yet Twilight could almost smell the words that he would be speaking. “Oh what kind of cruel fate has fallen upon you, cruel mistress. Finally the tables of your own faith have turned themselves against you! The goddesses you worship, no long have you within their eyes. You’re a broken toy to them, left at my mercy. Hmhmhm, and I promise them, by the holy divine, I shall demolish you!”

“You’re mad! Complete and utter mad!” Twilight exclaimed straight away. The mare couldn’t believe the words that were spoken by the emperor. One minute he could be calm and collected, the next he was a complete lunatic.

The emperor himself turned himself away from the group as he then hunched over to hide his face within his cape. “D-Don’t look at me! I, I tried to, hide, him. He’s not me, he’s not the person you have been talking to this whole time soothsayer. He’s the madmen while I, I’m the…griffon emperor.” Razorclaw said as his voice was mixing all over the place. One was low and gentle while the other was high pitched and insane.

Twilight couldn’t do much else then to blink a couple of times as she tried to place some of the logic behind the events. Though there wouldn’t have been much logic behind anything from that moment onwards. “This isn’t possible, you can’t be..? Right..?” she dared to ask. With care would Twilight approach the maddened griffon.

“I can’t be what? Worthy of ruling?” the emperor said as he still hid his face behind both a wing and the cape. “Speak your words, soothsayer!”

There wasn’t any doubt in the soothsayer’s mind. “You’re, a schizophrenic. And a terrible case as well. One side is the gentlemen you desire to be, while the other is who you really are. Gone mad with the power of the shaman’s,” said Twilight before she came even closer towards the deteriorating griffon. None of the other anthronies didn’t have a clue about what was going on.

Only Fluttershy seemed to have been able to make some form of sense out of the whole events. Her eyes suddenly sprung up wide as she couldn’t believe the theories that she came up with. “Oh no, no, no, no, Twilight!” she exclaimed before it was all too late.

In one swift motion had the maddened emperor turned himself around and drawn his sword. A sword that was set at the chest of Twilight. The tip had landed just above her beating heart. The anthrony came to a sudden stop before she released a gulp. She looked at the tucked away head of the emperor and feared what kind of horror laid behind it. “Don’t, take another step,” he said in his gentle but demanding voice. “Twilight huh? So that’s your real name than, soothsayer. The wrong time at the right place you said to me, earlier.”

“Well this is new…” the soothsayer muttered under her breath. To her it became more of a chore than anything else that something was pointed at her. Weren’t it flintlocks, it were swords. Weren’t it swords, it were talons around her throat. “Yes, I did say that. Is that of any significance for you, emperor Sharpbeak?”

The griffon released a chuckle or two that sounded so creepy that even Gilda got out of her relaxed stance. She hadn’t seen the emperor that mad for a long time. Something had gone terribly wrong within his mind and they could only sit out the hell he would be thrusting them all in. “Significance, you say? Oh yes. Yes it is of great importance for me. For it tells me you want something that is on that mountain. Soothsayer Twilight, what is it, that you require from that very mountain?” he asked of her. He wanted to know what she knew about that place.

“You sure the other guy won’t come back?” the mare asked almost casual. Twilight then took a step or two away from the blade. She just wanted to be out of the range to be actually safe from anything. If needed, she could just teleport out of the way and reappear behind him.

“Oh he won’t come out, but please, tell me…” He then turned his head back towards Twilight and that ice cold stare had returned to his eyes. The gentlemen had oppressed the madmen, but for how long remained the silent question. “I do not like it, to be kept waiting.”

“Don’t tell him anything Twilight!” Rainbow Dash yelled after which she became the attention point of the emperor’s blade. His body turned itself around with the hunch still in his back. The crooked appearance he gave them all was terrifying to say the least. A look like that, with eyes as cold as ice and a blade that sharp were just a downright recipe for disaster.

The eyes of the emperor were glancing over the pegasus’ whole body before the glance of remembrance came with his eyes. Twilight wanted so badly to just walk up to him and knock him out from behind, yet the chance to do so wasn’t really given to her. She could try all she wanted but the guards still formed a problem.

“You, I do remember you very well but not very fondly,” said Sharpbeak towards the major mere split seconds before the blade was set upon her throat. “So many years down the road of madness after that last raid. So many years upon this wretched throne! You have any idea what it does to a mind like this?! You remember me, don’t you. Tell me, you remember me!”

Rainbow was silent and baffled in the moment. She couldn’t tell how scared she was with his voice piercing in that higher pitch and the cold steel upon her neck. Anything could be happening in the moment but she also had to remember the facts as they were. Something in the past connected the pair of them, something about a raid.

Being a major in the air force had she helped to stop just so many raids and she quickly went past each and every last one of them. Certainly there must have been one inside of her mind that told her something with griffons.

“Answer me, soldier!” Sharpbeak shouted towards the pegasus to add to the pressure.

There it then was. The single memory where she was looking for. The one memory that could have been placed at the right time and the right place. A terrible memory in which new enemies were created as the rain poured out of the skies like it was nothing. The pupils of the major shrunk to their smallest size possible as she could only whisper one word. “No…”

“Oh yes,” the emperor replied straight away. “You do remember it, don’t you?”

“Y-Yes.” That was the only thing Rainbow could say against him before her attention was shifted over towards Gilda. The feelings of both hate and love rushed through her body as she saw her standing there. Perhaps the reason why Rainbow could be finding it so well with Rarity was because they had gone through the same. More or less, the same.

Her mind brutal enough, her body weak enough, the memories of that terrible and wretched day were returning towards her as if they had only been lived the day before. Finally had the key been found to the chest with chains. The chains were removed and the box, the dreaded box was opened inside of her mind.

The box that contained one of her most harmful and darkest memories.

~~~~

With the rain that was splashing in her face they all stood there, ready to take on whatever would have been thrown in their way. They would be able to take it out no matter what. They were ready for the attack. They were ready to defend their homes. They were ready to defend, Cloudsdale itself.

And within the pouring rain they came like hornets. Hundreds of griffon soldiers all came from the darkened skies as the soldiers of the air force were shooting up. Battles took place left and right of her as those wounded fell down from the skies like flies. Some landed on clouds, others just went straight to the ground.

It was the worst assault they had yet gotten from the griffons but the worst had yet to come. Among their midst was Rainbow Dash fighting for her life and home. Until the biggest sledgehammer hit of them all came. For out of the dark clouds they both came like phantoms. Both dressed in armor and avoiding the muskets out of Rainbow’s trusty flintlocks.

Punches and kicks were both given and dealt by all three of the beings until Rainbow almost couldn’t take it anymore. Only then they revealed themselves to her. One of them was nopony else then her old fillyhood friend, Gilda the griffon.

The other never said a name of some sort, but those striking blue eyes would be haunting her for the rest of her life. Devastated by the facts of just who she would be battling, it only seemed better in the eyes of Rainbow to admit her defeat. Her heart was crushed and they didn’t care. Words weren’t exchanged as she only dropped herself out of the skies. To only fly away from the battle and leave everything for what it was.

~~~~

“Ten years it has been, since that last raid on Cloudsdale. Ten years it has been since you dropped yourself out of the skies. Ten years it has been, since you dropped your loyalty for the city of pride. Words have it you tried to redeem yourself ever since. Perhaps why you want with this quest of madness, perhaps?” Razorclaw taunted the pegasus as he could see that she was mentally breaking.

“Have they ever told you, how exactly the battle was ended, hm?” he then continued. It almost seemed like he was willing or wanting to drive Rainbow down into the abyss of madness in which he had fallen such a long time ago.

“N-No, I don’t want to, I don’t wanna know,” managed Rainbow to say to him. Her mouth tried its utmost best not to fall into a stutter.

“Too bad, I’m going to tell you anyway. We lost, because some good-for-nothing anthrony had spilled out all our secrets towards her commanders. All of our tactics and techniques were just laid bare for you pegasi to use them against us. Not only are you a deserter, but you’re a traitor! A deserting traitor, tsk, tsk, tsk, never thought I would be getting across that,” revealed the emperor.

“This is madness!” Twilight interrupted without a warning. She was having more than enough of the events. Rarity placed her hand before her face while she let out a short but loud exhale. Applejack was calculating on what she could be doing best. Fluttershy got to know a side of Rainbow Dash only few had seen. A side even less dared to speak about as hell broke loose in the cabin.

“Madness?” the emperor countered. His eyes shifted away from Rainbow and towards Twilight. “This, is, Griffon Empire justice!”

“Justice?! How can this be justice?! You’re mentally devastating the anthrony before you. Are all of your subjects loving you, or have you gone mad with the powers that they gave you?” Twilight asked through. She didn’t seem to be scared about anything the emperor could be throwing at her.

He was mad, deluded perhaps. She knew that a mad creature could be making some strange hops. But she also knew the little fact that everything had to come back down. The soothsayer only had to wait for his sanity to come back to him, no matter how long that would have been taking him.

“It’s justice, in my way. We, have a debt to settle,” he said in a stone cold tone. His eyes shifted back towards the major of the air force. But then he went eerily silent. A silence that hadn’t come from him earlier. It caused the rest of the mares to almost be even more uncomfortable than that they already happened to be.

Something inside of the mind of the deluded emperor told him that he had made not only a great mistake, but perhaps an even more powerful enemy. The exchanges of looks that both him and Rainbow made as the tears travelled down her cheeks were powerful to say the least. “No,” he could only whisper to himself.

Within those magenta red rimmed eyes he saw the fires burning. The fires of the destruction where he had hungered for such a long time. They were suddenly used against him and it terrified him to near death. A thing that was unexpected and he didn’t saw coming.

But time wasn’t his friend anymore and the madness that had been flowing through his body a moment ago, had all been released with terror. While it was true that his own blue icy eyes could strike fear, it were those magenta red rims that truly terrified him to the core both there and then. The fires were still burning within them the longer he stared within them. As terrifying as the experience was, time seemed to have been slowing down to a near crawl.

The events that happened next all went down in a flash of lightning. For Rainbow didn’t care about the pain that she would be getting. She wanted her own pain, the pain that was tearing her heart to literal pieces to stop. With one hand she got a hold of the sable and made certain she would be having a firm grip on it.

Afterwards she just yanked it out of the emperor’s hands like it was nothing. She then grabbed the feathers by his throat and pulled him towards her before the blade was set upon his throat. Literally within a second or two had the emperor been held hostage by the debt he wanted to settle of so long ago.

Of course he could try to reason with the madmare, naturally he wanted to do so. But he also knew that it wouldn’t have been any help for his side. There was no actual reasoning with the mare who held him on his spot. With the cold steel of his own blade set against his own neck, all he could be doing was to demand the wishes of the mares.

The guards had already aimed their spears to the pegasus when she began to shift her body from right to left. Almost like she wanted to warn the guards not to came any closer. A signal that they all well received and actually stayed their ground.

Only Gilda was the one who dared to take a couple of steps closer towards her emperor. “Commander, I order you to halt you pace!” ordered Sharpbeak in his demanding tone. But the commander didn’t stop coming closer. Instead she only seemed to have increased her pacing. Rainbow Dash her eyes began to twitch the closer the commander had gotten. “I’m ordering you, halt your pace!”

But the words were spoken into the ears of deaf beings. Gilda didn’t stop and she could almost touch the nose of the emperor if she wanted to. She walked blindly past Twilight and Rarity. Her eyes weren’t even diverting from her targets. The only thing she saw were both the maddened major and the pleading emperor.

How wonderful the scene was set up, it almost seemed to have been too good to be true within her own eyes. The beak of the commander curled itself up to a nasty grin before the words left her throat. “And so does the era of Razorclaw the Second come to an end. His life taken by at his own ship, by a dweeb. Oh this is just a humiliating story!” she spoke up in a sickened pleasure before the chuckles left her mouth.

“Ah’m gettin’ sick and tired of this nonsense,” the admiral of the Equestrian navy muttered to herself. Then she gave the commander a massive kick with her metal leg. The kick wasn’t received all too well by the body of Gilda and she was flung both backwards and down to the floor. She crashed into it with her back as she began to have trouble breathing.

The kick was powerful enough to have shattered at least one or two ribs inside of her ribcage. At least it felt like they were shattered. Gilda was out for the count and all it took was one unexpected kick. Though it also made Applejack wonder how much time they would be having before any other griffon would have gotten the scent that something was wrong.

So her eyes shifted over to Rarity who looked back and they both nodded. The two of them were thinking at the same thing and they would be the ones to execute it. The pirate captain darted away towards the door that was leading to the cabin of the emperor and she began to do her job.

The job that she had to do was to listen for any griffons that would have been going their way to cause perhaps that little extra bit of trouble that they wouldn’t be needing whatsoever. Anything was shaking in the moment and everything could be happening if they didn’t watch out. Trouble could come from the least expected corner as madness was constantly transporting itself from one being to the next.

With the ears of Rarity firm at the door and her horn charged up a little bit, Applejack took it upon her to watch through the window constantly, while Fluttershy didn’t know what she needed to do. Which then resulted in her just standing there. Twilight was watching the scene that was playing out before her, the sheer madness that Rainbow irradiated was terrifying to say the least.

“You have made me angry, very, very, very angry,” spoke Rainbow through her gritted teeth She placed the sword even closer to the neck of the emperor. The cold steel was barely cutting through his skin when he prayed to everything holy that she wouldn’t end his life there and then.

“I, I’m sorry, I didn’t know, w-what was happening to me! I didn’t mean to, to bring back such terrible memories for you. I, I honestly didn’t meant to do it. B-But I can’t control him, you know. He’s, he’s my biggest enemy, I’m my biggest enemy!” Razorclaw pleaded for his dear life as the eyes were closed firmly.

Any second could have been his very last and each of the mares in the room knew that. The dead serious look that Rainbow was having within her eyes told them all more than enough. Even though each of them were also having a different task to fulfill, they constantly were looking at Rainbow as well. She had become a true danger for not only the emperor, but also for the group. They needed to try to reason with the dangerous side of the anthrony before they could be doing anything else with her. That was a job where Fluttershy perhaps could be helpful for.

Twilight gestured with her head that she needed to go over to the maddened pegasus and try to help her. It was an anthrony in the need of medical assistance, so why would Fluttershy deny her that very help? The doctor nodded one powerful time before she carefully walked up to Rainbow.

The closer she got, the more she could hear the near animalistic growling that the pegasus constantly did. Something didn’t seem to have been right whatsoever. A pegasus shouldn’t be growling in the manner that Rainbow was doing. It only indicated to Fluttershy that she was gone, far gone for that matter. A strange case it happened to be, but there was no time to investigate it.

Yet it still didn’t stop her from placing a hand upon a shoulders. The mouth was brought over to the ear of Rainbow. Silent words were then whispered within it. Words that nopony else then Rainbow could be hearing. Not even Sharpbeak could hear anything from what Fluttershy was whispering within the ear of Rainbow.

But it somehow managed to do the job that it was needed to be doing. Within the eyes of Rainbow did the fires die down. The anger, the rage and the cropped up emotions of the pegasus all seemed to just flow out of her body the more Fluttershy spoke to her.

Twilight could only watch over the scene as she was trying to figure out what kind of magic was possibly used to calm the pegasus down in such a manner. Only to discover that there wasn’t any magic in the room outside that of Rarity. And Rarity wouldn’t have the knowledge or the know-how to calm a rampaging pegasus down like that. Not from what she had seen anyway.

The soothsayer was fascinated by the daring actions of the yellow skinned pegasus. And the whispers just continued to be spoken. Whether or not they were repeated didn’t matter, it managed to calm the pegasus down even further. So calm even that she began to blink with her eyes about what had happened.

“W-What? W-Why am I..?” Rainbow asked when she finally was back in the land of the wake. Or at least in the land where she needed to be. Her eyes went down to see the blade set on the throat of the emperor before Fluttershy finally took her mouth away from the ear.

“Keep him like that Rainbow, there’s one more matter I like to discuss with the little emperor right here.” Twilight said as she then came in closer. Rainbow did what was asked of her right away, but she still had the questions inside of her head.

Questions that were shared by Twilight while Fluttershy just calmly removed her hand from Rainbow’s shoulder and then walked back as if nothing had happened. “What has she done to me?! What has any of you done to me?!” Rainbow exclaimed to them. It was no secret that became only more terrified about the matter. She wasn’t angry at all, but she was scared to death about what happened. She needed to know, to give her mind some form of closure on the matter.

“We’ll explain once we’re off of this ship, first I need to have one last little talk with him over here. Trust me Rainbow, everything is going to be alright for your mind and memories,” said Twilight to her. Then she finally stood before the emperor. Her hands were placed behind her back and her eyes stared down right into his icy cold rims.

Even though the shiver travelled down her spine, there wasn’t any form of motion given off by the soothsayer unicorn. Within the eyes of the emperor she didn’t saw the mighty ruler he thought to have been when they first entered. Instead she saw a weak and feeble creature that didn’t knew what to do. A creature that was split into two pieces. One which was both regal and proper, while the other was mentally insane.

A deep exhale was released through the nostrils of the mare before she began to shake her head. “How have you lived with yourself, for such a long time and not caused too much damage? You lock yourself up in here, don’t you? You’re not the real emperor anymore. So what’s your game? Trying to win back the throne at home?” Twilight asked him firm. Those were the only answers that she would be needing out of him. Or the only ones that she wanted out of him.

But the emperor perhaps made the smart decision not to answer any of the questions that were asked to him. Their little game of an answer for an answer had been thrown out of the window. Instead of that, was it Twilight who stood in the demanding position. She knew that the griffon was still a being of both honor and dignity. Which was going to be the way in which she would be treating him when she came to her final demands.

Even though the struggle emerged inside of the emperor to break free out of the pegasus her hold, he knew when a battle was lost. Even though his guards could have easily taken the other mares out, what cost and sacrifice would he have brought upon himself? At worst, he would have died. That was the worst case scenario that he imagined before his eyes.

It was a risk he wouldn’t dare to be taking that very day. Not with everything that was told and shared with him. “Name your price, cruel mistress. Name the price you desire me to pay for you, as long as you allow me to live my life furthermore,” spoke Sharpbeak in a defeated tone towards her. “That, is my only desire, to be kept alive furthermore. Whatever else you want from me, I can get for you. Name it.”

The soothsayer listened to the words of the griffon. The ears of all the other mares had been turned over to the pair of them. In that very moment there was anything and everything that could be happening to them. There was everything that Twilight could have said to him if she wanted to.

She had managed to bring the emperor of the griffons down to the knees while she thought about the demands she could have. As well as keeping up her end of the bargain. Though all of them knew that there wasn’t all too much that they could be asking for. Even though Twilight could be looked at with a new glance, she still remained that kind soothsayer she portrayed herself to be.

“Your demand,” she began before she paced up and down in front of the griffon, “isn’t something unreasonable. I would have desired to end your life, just to end your torment once and for all. But if you desire to keep on living with it, it’s not my place to interfere. I shall honor your demand, emperor Razorclaw the Second, on one condition.”

“Name your price,” the griffon replied. He was relieved that she would be leaving him alive. Yet he was sad at the same time as it meant that he had to keep on living with his mental curse.

Twilight nodded calm before she came to a standstill. Her body was facing the rained down window that separated them from the air outside. The storm was still going on as everypony held in their breaths. They wanted to know exactly what Twilight would have asked from Razorclaw.

Then was the moment there. Finally there was the moment where Twilight would be speaking her demands for the group. Among the silence of the cabin she began to talk. Loud, clear and without any nonsense.

“You shall release us, all five of us and bring us back to the top of the mountain you picked us up from. No harm shall be done and our weapons are returned to us. In return, we let you and those who serve under you on this vessel live. The mission given to us, didn’t ask for this event to happen. We never asked about getting to know the plan you set up. But knowing what I know now, there’s only one last demand I can give to you.”

“And that being?” Sharpbeak dared to ask. The demands up to then seemed to have both fair and reasonable enough. Yet he knew that could change any second.

“Cease your activity here and return to your home. We might let you live, but who is to say the air force will once they find you?” Twilight added as she finally turned herself around to face the griffon. The stern look within her eyes told him more than enough. There was only one thing that he could be saying against the demands made.

~~~~

All five of the anthronies stood at the railing of the massive airship as it was sailing them all towards the mountain they had left from. Rainbow was informed about the events as they had happened and wasn’t really happy about it. Something about that whole ordeal just didn’t suit her one bit. Though she had to thank Fluttershy with the whole of her heart that she did what she had done.

“But, how do you call something like it?” Rainbow asked as she looked the mare in the eyes. The honest curiosity was something that was reflected and Fluttershy only allowed herself a giggle.

“There are more mysteries in the world then you know, major. Mysteries that perhaps are best left unspoken about until the time is there to truly reveal themselves. Besides, I’m a bit more mysterious as a doctor, when I don’t answer all of the questions,” the doctor replied before a little smile came to her face.

Each of them had been given back their weapons and once again they were locked and loaded. With the mountain inching closer to them while the griffons held up their end of the bargain as well. Rainbow had one last look behind her and stared right in the eyes of Gilda.

One last cutting look was given to the other before Rainbow turned herself back around. She wasn’t in the mood to argue against a griffon and all she wanted to was to the hell off of that vessel. Even though everything seemed to have been calm, each of the anthronies knew deep in their hearts that there was another attack just waiting to be coming.

They all suspected that it would happen one moment or the other. That the emperor would break his promise and send all of his griffons right at them. Perhaps they were misjudging the being, perhaps were they just preparing for a series of events to come. Nopony knew, nopony could tell. They lived by the second in that point of time. Some said it was the calm before the storm, others thought they were in the eye of it all. And then there were some who didn’t think of anything.