The Legacy Of Darkness

by Darkness 1

Seeking The Griffons Help, Part 1

Everypony was still for a minute, till Silver Sky, snapped them all out of it, as he said, "Um, guys? Shouldn't we get out of this place, so we can figure out where we need to go?"

Rainbow Dash said with a chuckle, "You, know, usually I'm the one always saying that, but, Silver Sky beat me to it this time, but he is right though, we need to get out of here, and figure out, where we should go first, doesn't that sound like a good idea?"

Rarity said with a frown, as she glared at Rainbow Dash, "Okay, now you're just being sarcastic."

Applejack said, "Alright, ya'll, that's enough, we should get going, hopefully this door will lead us out of here, especially after all the switches, and and contraptions, just to keep it shut, I would think..."

Rainbow Dash cut off Applejack, and said, "This better be worth the trouble.."

Nopony said anything else, as they all walked up to the door, and saw, a long set of stairs going down, and Rainbow Dash spoke first, and said, "Great, stairs! Again! I'm getting so sick of stairs!"

Rarity replied, "Well, you could always stay here."

Rainbow Dash said, "Alright, alright, I'll go, but you didn't have to say it that way."

Twilight said, "Enough, we need to keep going, we have a lot to do, and probably not enough time to do it all in."

Nothing else was said, as they went down the long set of stairs, and saw a shining light in the distance, and everypony began to get hopeful, and they all picked up their pace, and as they got to the light, they came upon, an underground cave, that turned to a sharp right, nobody said anything, as they pressed on, went around the corner, and saw a small hallway down, and a just a little ahead of that, the exit out of the cave and out of the temple. Everypony was excited, and they as all began to run towards the exit, and as they came upon it, and exited the cave, they were greeted by a wondrous sight: a gorgeous sunset, inlaid with several hues of red, orange, and yellow, all perfectly put together, lush trees on either side of them, and several small hills here and there. A small gentle, but warm breeze hit them all, and some sat down, enjoying the nice weather, but Twilight said, "We shouldn't be stopping, although I do admit, it is quite nice here, we can't stop, we will have to rest up, when we get to one of three destinations, and by the way, Applejack, Darkness said something about that sword that he gave, he said that will give us a general idea, where we should go, where does it say we should start going?"

Applejack said, "That's right, he did say somethin about that, let me take out the sword here.."

As Applejack was done taking out the sword, it began to glow brightly, and the light pointed behind them, and then to the east.

Rarity said, "What could this mean? Does it mean we need to go back into that temple?"

Fluttershy said, "I don't think so...."

Rainbow Dash said, "Fluttershy's right, it wouldn't make any sense, when the sword hasn't a bit since, we've been in that place, no, there's something else here....but what is in that direction??"

Everypony were in deep thought when Pinkie Pie was the one that spoke, and said, "I know somepony, that came from that general area, just a few days before any of this started, and he had ordered some cake, a few assorted pies, and some party hats, and some...."

Everypony said, "Pinkie!!!"

Pinkie Pie snicked, and said, "Oh, right sorry, I got carried away, anyways, this customer, said he came from a southeastern bay area, I believe he called it, 'Horseshoe Bay'."

Applejack said, "It sound like a good place to start from anyways, plus, I think I heard every now and then, some captains of some the ships there, rent them out, to customers, to travel to any place, that cannot be reached by hoof."

Twilight said, "Well, looks like we got our destination, alright then, we head for 'Horseshoe Bay', but, like I said, we can rest when we get to one of the three places we need to get to, either that, or get some rest when we get on the ship, and on our way to whichever one of the three places we need to go to first."

Everypony nodded, and began to head in the direction the sword had pointed to, and as they were all walking along, Rarity began voicing out her thoughts, as she said, "You know, I think Darkness was right, I don't our self-confidence has fully returned to us, I mean sure, our self-confidence is back, but nothing like it used to be, because just now, I was kind of wishing Darkness had gave us more clues, as to where we should head to first, instead of a small clue."

Nopony said anything, because they all except, Snowshy and Silver Sky, felt deep down, for this to be true, and couldn't say anything, until Twilight spoke for the others, as she said, "I cannot lie, I felt the same way too, but just like Darkness also said, perhaps, we will find the rest of self-confidence within us, as we go to get some help from the other races for oncoming war, and if it's as bad as Darkness made it sound, everypony, and every race, will need to work together, when the time comes."

Rainbow Dash said, "Uh, yeah, I have a question, what about the villains, out there? You really think they will help us all, when the time comes?"

Twilight said, "They will have to, if they want to conquer the world their own way, and not let Arrovak, just kill it all or enslave the survivors, they will if they want a chance to rule the world their way, or they will die amongst the rest of us, so when it comes down it, I hope they pull through, and help us all...I hope..."

Rainbow Dash said sarcastically, "Well, that's comforting...but I suppose it's better than nothing."

Several days had gone by, when they came upon 'Horseshoe Bay', and also saw the entrance, and Twilight said, "We're not staying here for long, just long enough to find a ship, and a captain willing to rent it out to take us where we need to go, I once heard this place is full of thieves, and other unsavory types."

Everypony nodded, and continued on, and came upon the entrance, and went inside the small town. Everypony then began looking for the bay itself, and saw it just little ahead of them, and several ships, wilh some captains standing in front of three of them.

As they came upon the first one, they saw a sign saying 'Rented out for the day', so everypony went to the next and the captain greeted them with solid speech, as he said, "You all look like you are in need of a ship, am I right? Where you all headed? But I warn you, it'll cost you some bits."

Twilight spoke for the group, and said, "Money isn't a problem, but what routes are you willing to take?"

The captain replied," Well... if money's not a problem, just about anywhere you need to go! If fact, the closest port from here, is what's called, the 'Home Of The Griffons', a grumpy lot, them Griffons."

Everypony looked at each other, and nodded in agreement, and Twilight said, "Actually, that's where we need to go."

The captain said, "That'll be 50 bits then." Twilight took the bits out of her pack, and handed it to the captain, and captain greedily took them, smiled, and said, "Hop on aboard then! And welcome to the 'Silent Wind'! Let me get her ready for sail, and we'll be off in a few moments!"

He quickly untied a few ropes on either side of the ship, got aboard the ship, pulled up the ramp, and went to the helm, and stood in front of a large steering wheel, and began ringing a large bell as he took hold of the wheel, and he yelled out, 'All stallions! To stations! We have a new course! Get her ready for sail!"

Just then, about an estimated 40 or so stallions came from beneath the deck of the ship, and began scrambling everywhere, as some were lowering sails, others, uniting ropes, and others were moving things here and there, and then, the ship began to back out of the port, and as the ship was clear of the port, the captain turned the wheel, and the ship turned around, and faced the sea, and then captain said the Twilight and the others, "We'll be in the Griffons home, in about a day, if the sea allows us."

Rainbow Dash looked at the captain, and said, "And if it doesn't?"

The Captain said, "It'll only take us an extra day, that's all, my crew is one of the best when it comes to long journeys, don't worry, you're in good hooves, I usually quite picky about my costumers, and who gets on my ship, but there was something quite different about you guys, I dunno, something about you all gives off the air of some quest of great importance, but it's just a feeling I have, but I'm sure you all something super important that needs doing. And these feelings of mine are right, well, for the most part anyways." He paused for a moment, and he asked, "I never asked, but why do you need to go to Griffons anyway? Also, feel free to go below deck, if you need to, there should be few empty quarters reserved for customers, make yourselves at home."

Everypony looked at each other, as if to say, "Should we tell this guy?"

Rainbow Dash said, "What could it hurt? He'll need to know what's coming anyways."

Twilight agreed, and said, "I suppose that's true."

At this point, mostly everypony went below deck, and only Twilight, Snowshy, and Rainbow Dash were still on deck, and Twilight, and the others turned to the captain, and Twilight said, "You're instincts are right, we are on a quest of planetary and universal importance, maybe you have not noticed, but haven't natural occurrences, seem a little....out of the ordinary, and more violent than usual?"

The captain pondered on this for a moment, and then he said, "I haven't even thought about it much, I just considered it the new normal day-to-day life, but yeah, it's not like I haven't thought about it and felt like something's just feels.....well...wrong about it all, it doesn't feel natural. You all seem to know what's going on, what's causing all of this? And by the way, what are your names?"

Twilight then introduced herself, and the others, including the ones that were below deck, and then began to explain Arrovak's arrival, at this point, some of the captain's crew began to listen in, as Twilight continued to explain what Arrovak has been doing, and how he is getting power, and that he is drawing power from all matter of things, including life around him, and time itself, and what this also might release from its prison, and what he plans to do: destroy, kill, and enslave, but he won't stop with just this planet, he will dominate the entire universe, or he might destroy it in the process, which is very likely he will, and not leave any survivors for his own personal vengeance, and amusement. She then began to explain, what is also coming: war, and all races need to work together, or all will perish, or be enslaved, which either option is not pleasant either way, and she then also explained the three races that will also be needed, on top of everypony else in Equestria, in order to have any chance in the oncoming war: The Griffons, for their aerial battle proficiency, The Gunpowder Smith Ponies, for their unique weaponry, and unusual battle tactics, and The Shipbuilder Ponies, for their superiority in naval battle and ship navigation.

As Twilight finished explaining, the captain was speechless, and horrified at the same time, and after a few moments, he said, "If what you say is upon us, and the war will be coming very soon, maybe sooner than anticipated, we cannot allow this to happen! I would have no business! Worse of all, be a slave to a lunatic like that? No way! Don't you all worry, you will get to home of the Griffons, and then from there, it seems all of our fates, are in your hooves." He then rung two bells from either side of him, and yelled out, "Attention, my mates, I've just been informed of some very grave news, and some of you may have heard what this pony here just said, we must do everything in our power, that they get to their destination! This is no longer a pleasure cruise, full speed ahead! Full speed ahead! Stop for nothing! Take every single risk that we can! We must get to the home of the Griffons, as fast as possible! Put your backs into it! It's not every day that we get the chance to be part of saving the world, and even the entire universe!" He then raised one hoof into the air, as the rest of the crew joined him, as the Captain let out a warcry, "For Twilight! For her friends! May you succeed!"

The rest of the crew did the same thing, as they said in unison, "For Twilight! For her friends! May you succeed!"

The crew and the captain, all kept saying the warcry for a few more moments, and then put their hooves down, as the captain said to Twilight, "We will do all we can, but I warn you, the ride is going to get a bit more bumpy now, you all may want to go below deck, and don't worry about me and my crew, we're used to it, we all were once part of the 12th naval brigade, a legendary battle fleet that won many battles, and made safe at the least, half of this world's oceans, but if we die, then that's fine with me, and my crew wouldn't disagree either, it is a sacrifice me and my crew are wiling to make. To be a part of this, is an honor, but then, it will be up to you all, just don't let our efforts be in vain."

Twilight said, "On behalf of all of us, we really do sincerely thank you all for doing this, and we will do our very best when it comes to our time."

The captain nodded, and said, "Then that's all me and my crew need to hear. Get below deck now, I'll call for you all, when we get there, get going! This is going to get hectic here in a moment!"

Twilight and the others nodded, and quickly went below deck, where the others were waiting in some quarters to the right, and when Twilight and others got there, Rainbow Dash asked, "We could feel the ship picking up drastic speed, what's going on up there?"

Snowshy replied, "Twilight told the captain what's been going on, what we need to do, and what races we are seeking."

Rarity, who was drinking some tea, coughed on it, and sputtered out some, as she said, "YOU DID WHAT!!!???"

Silver Sky spoke this time, as he said, "Relax, he had suspicions about what's been going on anyways, we just confirmed he worst fears...and then some."

Twilight then said, "Although, be I told the captain everything, he and his crew are now doing everything they possibly can, including even putting their lives on the line for us all, to get us to our first destination, as quickly as possible, even if means their deaths.."

Fluttershy said, "Why would they do this?"

Snowshy replied, "For them, to get us where we need to go, is the least they can do, for what we will all need to do, when the time comes, and the heavy burden this task weighs on all of us, as we keep going. If they die in the process, they can die knowing that they helped saved the world, and the universe, in the best way they could. Plus, the captain will call us to the deck, when we reach our destination."

Pinkie Pie could only say, "Wow.."

Rarity said, "Who would've thought there was some honor in these sailors? I sure didn't. I take back what I thought about them before."

Rainbow Dash said, "Well, it seems all we can do is wait now, although, it would be best, if we hold on to something, they are really going all out on this, I can feel the ship crashing against the waves."

Twilight said, "You're right, that sounds like a good idea, everypony hold on to something!"

Everypony held on the support beams, and waited, as the ride got bumpier, and rockier, as the minutes seemed to slip on by. After an hour or two, they all heard the captain's voice, as he began to call them to the deck and they all noticed that everything was still and silent. They wasted no time, one after the other, as they ran up the stairs, and onto the deck, where they saw that the crew, had come together in a formation, and were saluting them all, and the captain, who was still at the wheel, held onto the wheel with one hoof, and saluted them all with the other. The captain then said, "My crew and I want to thank you all, for what you have to do, and on my crew's behalf, save us from this disaster, I hope we all see each other again at sea, because as much I would rather not see the war break out, it would seem, that's not going to possible. So, when our greatest hour arises, and we all fight for our lives, the planet's and universe's survival, and when the fight breaks out into the sea, you can count on us, to join the fight! By the way, we have reached the home of the Griffons. We will come up to it, and we will not slow down, my crew will lower the ramp, and I will steer the ship as close to land as close as I can, and you will all jump off, we will be coming up to land very shortly."

Rainbow Dash said, "That's insane!"

The captain said, "True, but there is no time for plans, you all have a task to do, we have done what we can. It's up to you all now."

As the captain finished speaking, he steered the ship a sharp left, and the crew lowered the ramp, and the captain said, "Jump! Go Now!"

Rainbow Dash, Sliver Sky, and Snowshy went down the ramp, and when they saw an opportunity to jump to land, they jumped together. Next were Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rarity, and they waited for an opportunity to jump to land, and they too, jumped together. Then Twilight and Applejack went down the ramp, but before the they readied themselves to jump, the captain called out to them, as he said, "Hey! You two! Good luck...all of you....may the Sun and stars guide your way, and may the Gods Of Equestria help you all in your time of need..."
Twilight and Applejack nodded, and Applejack said, "Thank you, we will do whatever we can to stop Arrovak."

As Applejack finished speaking, Twilight and Applejack readied themselves to jump, and as they saw an opportunity, they jumped together, and landed on the beach of the home of the Griffons, and everypony rejoined, as they all watched the ship steer away from the beach, as the crew and captain could be heard cheering Twilight and the others on, until they faded from sight in the distance.

They wasted no time, they pressed on and as they were running along the path that lead upwards towards the town of the Griffons, Rainbow Dash asked, "How are we going to convince the Griffons to help us?"

Twilight said, "Honestly, I don't know, but we'll find a way, when we get to town, and address their ruler and all of them about this matter, we can only hope for the best."

Rarity said, "You and me both."

Nothing else was said, as they all continued up the path, unsure how this meeting with the Griffons was going to turn out.