Quete

by Comrade Bagel Muffin

Le Deuxième Rêve

Escutcheon was back at the mountain that the griffons called home. The holes caused by the storm hadn't been fixed, in fact there were more holes now. Hundreds of griffons flew around the mountain. Several more worked the farms at the base growing wheat and other greens. And ranching prairie dogs, that were being raised for slaughter. He found Gilda and Gildan. They were talking to Pace, Griffa was standing next to her grandfather. Gilda pointed up at the sky, he wished that he knew what she was saying. Pace nodded and hugged the two of them and pointed to the North. They nodded and patted their younger sister on the head, before heading off in the direction Pace had pointed.

***

Reality flashed away, and he was at Storm Peak. Several griffons were looking up at the sky. One of them flew into the cave. Several griffons came out of the cave and watched the aurora that danced around the dark star studded sky.

***

Again Everything flashed away. He saw Dusk, he smiled she was alive, that was where his joy ended. She was bent over crying. She must have still been hurting. "I'm sorry Dusk." Her father walked over to her, and put his wing around her. "I'm sorry Nebula, I didn't mean for her to get hurt."

***

Reality flashed him away again. He was in his room. It didn't fill like his anymore. It was clean, he looked over his stuff. His home, it felt alien to him. He heard voices from down the hall. His mother's friends were here. He saw one of them walk past the open door. He was afraid to leave, afraid that he might be flashed somewhere else. Afraid that he wouldn't be and instead would see something he didn't want to see. "Mother?" He asked as he cautiously stepped into the hall.

"Come on. It's okay 'scutcheon's going to be okay. He's a tough colt."

"He's just a colt. He should be here!" His froze mother's voice was hoarse. "He should be here with me and his father, and we should all be down stairs."

"Come on sugar cube. It ain't that bad."

"I can't even remember the last time we played. It was always lessons, or meetings, or public events." A guard rushed through him.

"Word from the Captain. Nothing was found in the bad lands. King Thorax has sent his brother and four other of his best trackers to go further south."

"It's okay, he's doing fine." He chuckled mirthlessly. If only you knew what I was doing just a little bit ago you wouldn't be saying that.

"How do you know?" Mother's voice was full of hope.

"See silly. The Aurora is back. That means he's okay. And it's closer. That means he's getting closer to home." His ears perked up at this. He looked out one of the hall windows. Just like Mother's friend said, the Aurora was closer, not by much, but closer. Mother was saying something, but everything was fading away, back into darkness.

***

"My aren't you a cute little stud, of a stallion." He felt naked, sure he rarely ever wore close, but he never felt like this vulnerable, exposed, ashamed of his lack of cloths. "Strong shoulders, good hips. I can't wait to try you. Please don't keep me waiting, if you do you'll find I can be a bit of a tease too."

***

Again he was back in the pyramid. Dusk was still where she was when he first saw her. She hadn't moved. This time he was much closer to her. "Be okay. Please be okay," she pleaded between sobs. He looked over to see what she was talking about. In her hooves was a pale white unicorn. He looked weak, sick, tainted even. Around him were four unicorns. The mint green mare from before and Quadratic he recognized. He didn't know the other two though. Suddenly he couldn't see Dusk anymore everything was black. He couldn't see her, he felt her, her hooves around his body. Her tears falling on his cheeks.

"Dusk." The word was stuck in his throat. It took all of his strength to open his eyes. She was curled around him four separate unicorns' magics working on him. Numbing the pain making it manageable. "Dusk."

"Escutcheon!" She pulled him into a hug your alive. He smiled as his vision again blacked out. She was safe, and in her hooves he was too.