Piece of Parchment

by Metemponychosis

Out of Time

Princess Twilight whined in the groaning dark of their wobbling wagon. An oil lamp hanging from the roof barely allowed her to see the ponies taking care of her. Hooves held her still, soft, and caring, while a female voice soothed her with the experience of a healer used to taking care of others. The sudden fright vanished, and she let herself relax. Her foggy thoughts and a slurred voice followed the medications they had given her as soon as they fled from the warehouse. It was a bit of a blur, but they carried her and put her on soft straw bedding covered by a fine cloth. Such was the extent of what she remembered after the fight. She probably dozed off at some point, as the smells of salt and fish were gone.

“Please, don’t move, princess. This could have been serious,” the pony with the messy, gray mane told her while her hooves applied a greasy and acrid-smelling ointment to Twilight’s tortured forelegs. “This could have been much worse! The thorns missed large vessels by a hair’s breadth. You’d think that monster was trying to kill you!”

“That may not be too far from the truth…” Twilight said with a tired whimper and the smell of her own blood in the nearby wet rags infesting her nares.

Cadance had collapsed the moment they helped her into the vehicle and didn’t wake up again. Twilight wished she hadn’t either. Her legs were killing her and the medicine they gave her was worse than death. She muttered harsh and unfriendly words about that pony under her breath and she wondered if her clouded mind was not also the product of blood loss, too.

“Where is Naminé? She was there, wasn’t she?” Twilight asked the funny pony with the messy mane.

The pony wearing the tattered business suit responded instead. “She went ahead. Naminé needs to get things ready at the Grotto for the ritual. It’s ah… her home. She doesn’t live in the city, but in a nearby grove.”

“Ah, Naminé is eccentric. She is older than she seems, and she is also quite wise. You would not notice it at first. There is no way of explaining this other than showing it. So, I urge you to be patient.”

“I see. Where are you taking us now? Not the hotel. It would be too conspicuous.” Twilight’s voice strained. Talking was difficult. Her breath was too short and the words wouldn’t come to her.

“Indeed,” the pony agreed with a courteous nod. “We are taking you to reunite with the others in a house outside of the city. Don’t worry yourself, princess. We took care of everything.”

Rarity had gone ahead with Naminé, and Twilight would see her soon enough. The pegasus mare with the messy gray mane offered a comforting smile and a bowl of liquid that smelled of grass. It would help with the pain. It tasted like a sweet lemon balm tea and Twilight needed a second before she realized she had just accepted something to drink without knowing what it was from a pony she didn’t know. Regardless, a comforting cold spread through her like a wave of numbing tenderness. The tightness of pain and the constant dulled stings under the ointment fell into a void. Twilight knew of medications that synergized with each other for potent effects, but there was more than the usual everyday magic involved in that. Her eyelids felt like heavy stone, and she convinced herself she was among friendly creatures before she surrendered to sleep.

Twilight woke up. Her legs were still hot with soreness, and the thousand prickling punctures still stung, but the sleep had reinvigorated her mind and had done away with the fog. It was not what had woken her up; it was Rainbow Dash’s racket and Fluttershy trying to calm her down.

They had laid Twilight down on a rustic, but comfy bed of raw wool and white cotton sheets over straw, for some unfathomable reason, surrounded by a thousand petals of lavender. The smell intruded on the scene of Fluttershy standing in front of their friend, open wings and a meek voice, trying to stop the pegasus. Standing up, surprisingly easily, Twilight told them she was fine.

The surrounding ponies practically pounced on her and caused Twilight to take a step back, looking at her frantic friends talking over each other. About the griffons, about Naminé’s ponies. About the food, and weird smells. They gotta do something about the griffons, and about Spike, too. The weird ponies were creeping them out, and they had offered them fruitcakes without frosting—Pinkie Pie’s priorities—and somepony offered Rainbow Dash a freaky doll of herself.

“Everypony! This isn’t helping!” Twilight yelled. “Where are we?!”

Exchanging guilty glances, the others stopped talking and gave Twilight and Fluttershy space as the yellow pegasus approached and spoke softly again. “Naminé’s ponies took care of you, Cadance, and Gray. They were already up, but you needed some rest. Are you feeling well? They said it was a tough fight.”

While her thoughts were still spinning up to speed, Shining Armor stepped closer with a worried smile. “How do you feel?”

“I’m fine.”

“I’m really glad you and Cadie are okay, Twily, but I don’t like any of this. They are also very aggressive to the griffons… It’s gonna turn into a problem. We gotta deal with Naminé’s ponies or…”

“They got Spike!” the cyan pegasus yelled above all the others.

“What do you mean, ‘they got Spike’? Who are they?” All the serenity was gone, as was Spike. He was supposed to have returned with Starlight Glimmer after meeting Naminé’s ponies at the sundial. “And where is Rarity? And Cadance?”

“Now, calm down, Twilight. There is no need for all this fuss.” Applejack said with patient annoyance. “Rarity has gotten herself infatuated with this Naminé feller. Real piece of work, that pony… you better see for yourself. And Spike… well, they got him. And by ‘they’, I mean whoever attacked her and Spike while they were looking for Naminé’s ponies by the sundial.”

The orange pony’s hoof directed Twilight’s eyes to the approaching Starlight Glimmer and her sheepish frown, despite all the surrounding agitation. “I’m sorry… They were too strong and almost caught me as well. I only got away because Naminé’s ponies helped me, but Spike was not so lucky. Nopony knows who they are, but the big griffon soldier guy said it’s too much of a coincidence, and that they must be working with that monster that attacked you in the harbor.”

Only one thing kept Twilight from imploding into a nervous breakdown. She remembered the warrior mare from the harbor mentioning Celestia.

Twilight nodded, looking back at the straw and wool bed she had gotten up from. A ring of tiny purple petals surrounded the shape of a sleeping pony and some of them had gotten stuck to her mane. The smell was nice, though. Was it part of some sort of healing magic? Shining Armor spoke again while she examined a fresh and very much alive petal in her telekinetic magic.

“These ponies are kinda creepy, Twilight.” He talked behind his hoof in a secretive tone. “They got really clingy to you and got way too excited to meet us. Only when Naminé told them to leave us alone, they let go. But, uh… they showered you with flower petals.”

“She is…” Starlight added with a frown. “She has this power of immersing you on what I believe are the soul memories the princesses mentioned during that dinner and that Cadance saw in her dream. It is shockingly convincing, and I think it is kind of dangerous. But more than that, she is very charismatic and compelling. I believe she uses the shock and power behind these memories to convince others of her interpretation of their meaning. This must be why Discord sent us to her, but told us to be aware.”

“They’re waiting for us in the main room,” Applejack drawled with a worried frown. “Just brace yourself, sugarcube… They’re a mighty strange bunch. And I reckon that Naminé feller’s the one pulling their strings, based on what Starlight here has told us. Not to mention, Princess Cadance ain’t acting like herself neither. All their pampering got to her, I’m afraid.”

Twilight nodded, and for the first time, paid attention to the room she was in. It had no door and no windows. A green and grass-smelling plant fiber mat covered the circular wall and a curtain of beads replaced the door. The little beads, seeds, shells and even some crystals clicked and rattled with Shining Armor’s hoof pulling the threads for her to pass and reflected the dim light from the other side. A discreet, soothing interior lighting immersed the whole place, and it conflicted with the bright interiors Twilight was used to.

The lack of a door separating the environments, windows, and the peculiar interior lighting were the same throughout the entire building. The house was not dirty or in disrepair; it defied the definition of rustic. Piled stone with a caked combination of moss and mud, held in place with a grid of bamboo, made up the walls while smooth stone and beaten dirt served as floor. Colorful rugs made of dyed materials and plant fiber covered most of the floor for ponies to sit on. A soft breeze carried the smoky smells out through a covered opening in the ceiling. Further away in the wide hall, a small dais supported Cadance, laying on a mountain of pillows, while a gathering of ponies listened to her talk.

Paradoxically, it was all as clean and well-cared for as a Canterlot mansion. The dim light—sufficient—came from shiny crystals, and not only torches, as Twilight had assumed. They stood at the top of little cones of wax, like rustic candles, which were also present in their traditional form and reinforced each other. All clustered on small tables or embedded into the walls, with the most careful and delicate craft, while some crystals even hung from the ceiling. The smoky smell came from the hearth in the center, right under the opening in the ceiling, which was itself a combination of a hardened resin and thatch. Several earthenware pots cooked what smelled of fruits and others dotted the hall as storage, along with neat piles of stuff. They ranged from consumable supplies to utensils and tools. It all straddled a line between chaotic and organized that only the shared resources of a living and active community could achieve.

The hall was a shared living space that connected all the individual rooms. Like a house for multiple families, several rooms connected into the wider area and stone and moss pillars held several abodes fused together. They were not in a building in the common sense of the word; it was a hole in the ground, which was later covered with a ceiling, which was itself a fusion of several ceilings. But not only that, none of the machined metals or treated wood was apparent. In their place existed only hoof-made items. Bone, cast iron, which were magically shaped, twines and wood.

Twilight also saw shells, animal materials other than bone too. Those ponies lived before the magical-industrial revolution that borne places like Manehattan and Fillydelphia. Mana batteries didn’t seem to exist to them, much less a mana connection to the city’s grid.

The residents did household chores that ranged from cleaning to maintenance and restocking. Like a normal house, but with several families, and it was easy to tell because ponies gravitated together, like foals and mothers, husbands, and wives. Although most of them were busy fawning over Cadance, even if they noticed Twilight and her friends. Others smiled and cheered at their arrival.

Starlight Glimmer smiled and came closer. “It is like a Neolithic community, Twilight. They all came from nearby places, drawn by Naminé’s teachings. None of them want anything with banks, streets, high-rising buildings, much less anything related to modern industries. They make everything they need by themselves. It is like the town you found me, but we did this sort of thing out of necessity. We were living off the grid. Here it is a choice.”

While she found Starlight Glimmer’s enthusiasm endearing, Twilight saw ponies lacking vaccinations, preventable stillbirths, rampant communicable diseases and parasitosis, congenital defects, and premature deaths or misaligned bones at every accident. Such notions might come from her histrionic nature, if she considered what they did for her legs after the grievous wound the warrior mare had given her. Progress had happened, though. If prehistoric practices were sufficient, ponies would not have progressed to modern magic and technology.

In the end, it was a similar feeling to traveling to the Crystal Empire. Different ponies, using different things and living in different homes, but all ponies underneath once you spent some time with them. It would be pointless to complain to Starlight Glimmer, her friends, or to those ponies. Twilight needed to talk to Naminé. She had one more reason to talk to the pony, and finding her would be a better investment of her time.

She could not simply go, however. An eclectic combination of earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns greeted her and friends with unrestrained enthusiasm. Among them were also the occasional kirin, crystal ponies, and thestrals, and all of them stared at Twilight. Egregiously, intrusively. Like ponies often did to Princess Celestia, or Luna, when they arrived somewhere. She immediately turned into the centerpiece of the room, drawing adults and foals that all wanted her attention. They greeted her, expressing their unbridled happiness at her presence. They missed the sophisticated words one would hear in Canterlot, or the endless babbling of Ponyville, but they made it up with fervor. It quickened Twilight’s heart, and she suppressed a grimace. The others, following her and practically hiding behind her, didn’t help.

It was even worse, though. Twilight missed something other than the regional oddities. It was not because she had ‘power’, the ears of the Mare or a title. Twilight found the bowing and reverent, adoring stares hard to ignore. It was not like ponies usually did, like before they left Ponyville. Those ponies didn’t see a royal, special pony in her. Not even her powerful magic or the avatar of Friendship. They saw something else. Something that scared Twilight, even if she was not entirely sure why. It filled her with a strange eagerness she didn’t know what to do with.

The princess stumbled on words, never truly having gotten used to being treated like royalty, much less whatever that was. “Hello, everypony.”

The way they exploded in cheers with clopping hooves, squealing foals, pirouetting pegasi, and magical fireworks in the confined hall startled her even more. With a hoof raised from the floor and flopped ears, Twilight smiled the best she could and thanked everypony a few times before they finally settled down again. Not because of Twilight’s thanks and pleas for calm, but because Cadance told them to calm down. It was like she spoke their language and Twilight did not.

“Everypony, please contain your enthusiasm and settle down. Twilight is not quite used to this manner of furor,” she called majestically, raising her hoof and mimicking Celestia’s ‘regal tone number 1, variation B,’.

The purple princess’ eyebrow cocked. Cadance was lying on her belly, on a small pool of pink and white pillows on a raised dais made of wood and covered with white and yellow petals. Delicate things with curly and soft edges, like someone had carefully harvested and exceedingly dead-headed a thousand daffodils just to shower her with. The worrying thing was that Celestia used that tone because the pompous and exceedingly fancy ponies of Canterlot expected it of her. Cadance, while Twilight tried to make sense of the scene before her, rejected a platter filled with grapes.

“Dates,” she said. “I would greatly appreciate some dates, please!”

“Right away, Amore!” the blond earth pony grinned at her before she dashed away with the rejected grapes.

“Ah… Are you okay in there, Amore?” Twilight asked with an accusing frown.

“Yes, quite. But you shouldn’t worry about me! Worry about your legs,” Cadance missed her sarcasm and brought Twilight’s attention to her own injuries. “We must hold Princess Celestia responsible for what that mare did to you!”

Before Twilight could respond, the pony in the tattered business suit came out of the gathering of adoring ponies and gave her a polite bow. “Please, make yourselves at home while we prepare the meeting. Naminé has asked for certain things, but the ritual should start soon.”

“Ritual?” Rainbow asked. “What ritual? I thought we were going to have a conversation. Aren’t things going a bit too fast?”

And when Rainbow Dash said things were too fast, Twilight knew things were, indeed, too fast.

“Whoa. Hold your horses, mister. What ritual? What in tarnation is actually going on here?”

Their host chuckled. “Lady Applejack, with all due respect, there is only one reason ponies come to see Naminé, and it is to steal a glimpse into the past. Reasons vary, but given who you are, your company, and the quite important happenings around the world… This is a turning point and we are very excited. But that is not for me to babble about. You are here to see Naminé. And that is exactly what is going to happen, but there is no rush. Preparations are in order, and you are our guests. Distinguished guests of honor. Please allow us to take care of you properly. Let Naminé do her thing.”

Applejack huffed and adjusted her hat. Twilight’s lips tightened. It would be rude to reject their hospitality. Just because they were weird and different didn’t mean they were bad ponies. They had just saved her and the griffon, after all. Which reminded the princess…

“Where are Grigory and his friends?” she asked the pony in the ragged suit.

“Well, princess… they are not really welcome here.” He let his voice take a sad but honest tone. “The only reason we didn’t shun them away is that you are friendly with them… and one of them needed help. They tried, but we didn’t let them see you. We were very accommodating, but there are limits. They are griffons, not ponies.”

Twilight could not complain. Especially after they had taken care of her injuries and brought her friends by their own initiative. It bothered her more that all the graciousness they had showered her with did not extend to other creatures. A moment of sarcasm made Twilight wish she had a hippogriff around to gauge their reaction…

He differed from almost every single pony Twilight had ever seen. Except for the Flim Flam Brothers, and that was an inauspicious start. Like somepony had smashed Mister Filthy Rich with Fluttershy’s friend, Tree Hugger, into a dirty and dynamic pony that could sell her anything. It was the business suit that stood out the most, an old thing, but legitimate. A Giddy-o Armane suit, to be specific, the kind one could not find in a random store and would likely not fit anyone else other than the original owner. It was the mane-do that looked intentionally messy, and the charismatic, commandeering attitude that made him seem in charge. He was a lot more likable than the brothers, though.

“Do I know you, mister?” Twilight frowned. “You look curiously out of your element.”

“Well, I would proudly say that I found my element, Princess.” He put a hoof on his chest, speaking through a proud grin. “I… ah… I left my business under my foal’s administration because I found a higher calling. I can be more useful by assisting Naminé than filling the land with mines and refineries.”

“And they just went with that?” Rainbow asked.

“It meant they could have my fortune if they just catered to a few old pony eccentricities.” He waved a playful hoof at the two. “They expect me to go back any day. They, ah… lack my business instinct. Which is precisely what landed me here.”

“It’s alright. Just remember, the griffons are our friends too.” Twilight said but groaned internally at how trite her words resonated even with her. Starlight Glimmer was right that she was often too moronic with the whole friendship thing. She just couldn’t help it, and she was right anyway! “We appreciate it, we truly do, but I would like to see Grigory and his kin. As you said, one of theirs fought at our side and suffered injuries trying to help us.”

Her words gave the pony pause, and he took a hoof to his chin. “Yes. That is true. Well, it is not like you are prisoners—or they, for that matter. Naminé just doesn’t want them inside the grotto.”

“What is her problem with them griffons, anyway?” Applejack rolled her eyes.

Rainbow responded with a cocked eyebrow and a groan. “Maybe it is the fact that they want Griffonia to separate from the rest of the confederation? That they want to start a war? Or maybe that they openly hate us and the hippogriffs?”

“Oh, it is worse than that, Lady Dash.” Suit inhaled to go on, pleased at her introduction, but Rainbow interrupted him.

“Don’t call me Lady-anything…”

“Right.” The pony coughed into his hoof. “Sorry. So, it is a much more ancient and deep-rooted problem than that!”

“Oh, I wonder who told you so,” Applejack said with the powerful sarcasm of her farm-pony wit.

Before Twilight could intervene, their host rose a paw defensively. “Now, now, I know this could be considered a form of conflict of interest, but… but… Miss Naminé is special. Just like our beloved princesses. Singled out by Harmony to perform a duty which requires her to have certain privileges. Privileges that fill ponies with a sense of reverence. Which is completely deserved and commensurate, mind you. But the griffons, they are dangerous.”

Twilight cleared her throat. Obnoxiously loudly before anypony could further the drama. Which Cadance did anyway from her petal-covered dais, like she was the beacon of reason in that room. “I would appreciate it if my little ponies would remember that we are in this situation solely because of the actions of our dastard leader, Princess Celestia. This situation is her responsibility, and our station has saddled us with tending to it.”

Twilight probably ground a millimeter off her teeth just listening to her.

“Therefore,” Cadance went on, spinning her hoof slowly, “we should welcome the griffons’ willingness to assist us. As long as their objectives align with ours. We are not traitorous savages, after all. And as far as Princess Celestia is concerned, whatever comes will be well deserved for her ploys. More importantly, it is up to us to remedy the situation properly. She is one of us. That said, if the griffons wish to assist, we have the obligation to allow them. It would be folly to disregard such assistance in the face of the hardships we are still to face. Please, I urge you to grant Princess Twilight swift access to the griffon guests.”

“Princess, are you feeling alright? Do you want some water?” Pinkie asked with a worrisome grin.

“Oh, no. I have never been as lucid before as I am right now,” Cadance replied, all pomp and sophistication. Including a small, condescending smile.

Their host coughed into his hoof again. “Ah, I understand. Well, the griffons are in the guest room, by the entrance. I doubt the guards will stop you, but I urge you to be careful, princess.”

“Right,” Twilight said through her teeth. “Shining, you stay here and… ah… help Cadance. I’ll be seeing the griffons with the girls.”

“Exactly!” Applejack and Rainbow Dash agreed at the same time.

“Have fun!” Pinkie added, already bouncing away and closely followed by Fluttershy.

He said something, but Twilight blocked it out, squirreling away with Starlight chasing after her. Once out of earshot, the group of friends spread around Twilight while Shining talked to Cadance and the surrounding ponies.

“That was weird.” Pinkie said. “And a bit worrying.”

Twilight rubbed her forehead with a hoof and let go a deep, dramatic sigh, with her eyes at the thatched roof above. “Cadance’s been cross at something. I’m not sure what it is. Something about this goddess nonsense got to her, and she thinks Princess Celestia held her back. Or something. It all makes no sense to me!”

“Well, maybe she is right.” Rainbow shrugged, half avoiding Twilight’s stare, half grimacing. “I mean, with all the stuff she’s told us. About the last stand against Discord and her dream about the past… I don’t like this crazy stuff anymore than you do, but… Maybe she’s right.”

Twilight shook her head. “We’ll figure this out later. I just want to talk to the griffons and make sure Gray is alright.”

“These ponies would never treat the griffons poorly, Twilight.” Fluttershy said. “Even if they seem to really dislike them. I don’t think they have it in them.”

‘Ideology has a tendency to make otherwise moral creatures do immoral things.’ Twilight thought, but never allowed the words out of her mouth. The worry in her eyes seemed enough to convince the others they needed to see if the griffons were alright instead. The local ponies had surrounded them again, and the group navigated among the greetings and requests for ‘blessings’. What was she supposed to tell them? She simply said, ‘bless you’ without thinking about it, and it was sufficient for them. Fortunately, they moved along before the whole thing became too overwhelming.

Once the ponies understood Twilight and her friends were busy with something, they turned their attention back to Cadance. A short walk later, following directions, took Twilight to her destination. It seemed to be the same as where Twilight had woken up, with a curtain of plant fiber and clicky, shiny doodads for a door. Different from the other rooms, three burly earth ponies and a trio of unicorns sat there. With weapons. Modern weapons too, that screamed in the face of the rustic ambience; Short swords and heater shields for the unicorns, hoof-mounted spring-blades and leg-strapped bucklers for the earth ponies. Expensive quality stuff too; the sort of gear used by mercenaries and bounty hunters. Their reverent greetings and cheery manners didn’t fool the princess: they were guards, and the griffons were prisoners, no matter how they put it.

A sigh escaped Twilight, then she donned a smile and greeted the taller unicorn mare. She was pink and blonde, and almost as tall as Princess Luna. Very physical for a unicorn, but her red eyes shone with an adoring spark. The mare seemed to be the leader of their little detachment, and the biggest sign of that was her white-painted horn.

“I need to talk to the griffons,” Twilight said and received no arguing, but the unicorn mare was not happy.

“I don’t like the idea of all of you going inside together, princess. If you will allow me an opinion,” she pouted like a slighted foal.

Twilight expected something like that, and showed no reaction, saying she understood, and exchanged a stare with the others. Everypony silently agreed, and thinking fast, Twilight reminded herself the griffons had their own doctor. A quick glance and a nod of the head was all it took for everypony to understand she wanted Starlight Glimmer to come, and before long, she was on the other side of the door with her friend.

The griffon accommodation was nice, even if Twilight could not shake the feeling that they were prisoners. Had Twilight not seen the room they gave her, the griffon accommodations would be so squalid she’d consider the griffons at the right to sue for imprisonment. They had enough beds, one for each and even a couple’s bed for Grigory and Gallensa, at least. The food was another matter: jugs of water, roasted nuts, dried berries, several fresh fruits and jams, and a fruitcake. They seemed to have enjoyed the fruits, as several remains sat on a trash pile, and the fruitcake missed a few slices. Go figure.

If the ponies had ill intentions, the griffons didn’t seem to care much. Grigory and his wife, Gallensa, sat at one of the hide-and-straw beds and she showed a deeper scowl than usual. Grigory looked at Twilight, completely ignoring Gallensa. The caramel sharpshooter griffoness on the other side let escape a relieved sigh at seeing Twilight. The hanging impression was that Twilight and Starlight had walked into an argument, and the former already knew Gallensa enough to guess what it was about. Other than that, Madam Gehenna, the old griffon lady, claimed a place for her and just sat there with her eyes serenely closed. Like she could make herself invisible. To be fair, Twilight didn’t doubt she could. Their soldier friend was sleeping on his bed under watch from their doctor.

Grigory welcomed the ponies and waved that they sit closer to him. “I suppose you’re here to see if we are alright. We are. Thank you.”

Twilight nodded and stared at the big soldier griffon lying on his side, with their lanky doctor sitting by him. Grigory spoke again. “They gave Gray one of their pain-numbing medications that made him sleep. We don’t do this, but I appreciate they were genuinely trying to help.”

The princess thanked him like he had done her a favor by not fussing over that, and he talked yet again. “Before they put him to sleep, Gray spoke of your fighting prowess. He used words such as ‘tactical’ and ‘cool-headed’.”

“Those are words I seldom see him use for our own fighters.” The brown griffon sitting by their sharpshooter, the gunsmith called Gewehr, added with a note of admiration in his words.

“He also told us of the mare that attacked you, calling her a battlehorn,” Grigory added.

Somehow, Twilight knew it. Maybe it was Cadance’s description of the warrior mares from her dream, or just how dangerous that monster was. She stole another glance at the big soldier griffon to see him sleeping peacefully and a set of splinters and bandages around his right foreleg.

“So, that was a battlehorn…” Sour thoughts hounded Twilight that Cadance and her merely romantic interest in history had gotten that dream. That said, she’d trust the griffon with anything he said in that regard. Gray did not seem to be the lying type, so serious and no-nonsense, like the model soldier he was. In other circumstances, he could be AJ’s friend or a trusted royal guard. The issue, however, was not his reputation. “How would he know that?”

“Most of this is information from Lady Gwendolen. Ah… my mother. She secured a vast library of knowledge from the Holy Griffon Empire, and she herself knows much. She made us memorize everything there was to know about the Battlehorn Legions. Not because Celestia might bring them back, somehow, but because she imagined it would be invaluable knowledge that would apply to any modern takes on similar ideas. She supposed Celestia, once cornered, challenged in her supremacy, might appeal to old ideas.”

What followed was a series of details about formation, gear, and tactics. Mostly outdated things, as Twilight knew details about the Royal Guard armor which had more modern enchantments, compared to what Grigory told her. Things that seemed like a natural progression with the passing of time and a shift in purpose. It didn’t really help a whole lot as Twilight would rather know why a soldier from a unit that should not exist anymore attacked them. At least she now knew to ask Grigory for information if needed. How to feel about that was another matter. At worst, in the absolute lack of information she found herself in, it told Twilight the Princess was doing something.

Then Twilight chuckled at the griffon, remembering how her own mother would read cute fantasies to her rather than lecture on soldiers of the past. But her words held a hidden edge as she uttered them. “Honestly, I don’t envy your relationship with your mother.”

The griffon avoided her gaze for a second. “This is a malicious interpretation, princess. She is… She wanted all of us to be the best in our fields.

“For the greater good, right?” Twilight asked with a degree of sarcasm reaching stratospheric levels. “So that you can make the world a better place for everycreature with all your knowledge and resources. Right?”

“In a way, I suppose.” The griffon grinned at her. “That is what our lives will require of us. She has raised me to be an emperor. Like the old ones, supposed to know things. She could not afford to raise us like normal cubs. None of us could have afforded to be nothing less than perfect.”

Twilight frowned, despite her jest. Perfection was challenging to achieve. She would know, especially because she was the one demanding it from herself. Since a young age, she had struggled with her inability to live up to her own expectations. Her own demands. Her mother’s role had been the exact opposite, teaching a young filly that she didn’t need to suffer so much because she could not achieve something which was not achievable. Not to mention Princess Celestia, who taught her to set reasonable goals and break monumental tasks into manageable challenges.

“Grigory, if I assisted you and your father in ruling Griffonia, what would you do with it?” Twilight sat on the rug over the beaten dirt floor and her eyes aimed squarely at his. “That is what you want from me, right? To discredit the Equestrian Confederation, to question Princess Celestia’s rule, and to support a new griffon nation away from the icky ponies and hippogriffs. Right? But there is more. I doubt Lady Gwendolen wants you to stop there. She… You want, at the least, the old lands of the empire.”

Grigory sighed. “Most of Saddle Arabia. Yes. The Hader.”

Starlight frowned. “But you will not stop there. She’s not gonna stop there.”

“I am not an idiot, Grigory.” Twilight frowned too. “Lady Gwendolen is a lot more than a local, influential leader that wants to keep me from teaching Common Equestrian to the northerner griffons. And I find it peculiar how it is you she trained the perfect friends for, and not the Lion himself. She’s using him. To give you a stepping stone into becoming the Emperor because uniting Griffonia is only the first step, isn’t it?”

“What is going on?” she frowned.

“With all due respect, princess…” Grigory replied slowly. “You would not reveal any plans Princess Celestia has just because I asked.”

“I actually did a lot more than that, didn’t I?” she groaned at him before she sighed and took a deep breath. Discord’s strange message came back to her, in which he called his mother the Harpy, and that Twilight must stop her. Although not only was it a strange message to be coming from Discord, the Windigos and their minion relayed it. But she still would rather not reveal the actual message to Discord. “And that is just it. She is more than a queen or a respected leader. She is the Griffons’ Celestia.”

“Whatever that means…” the griffon prince shrugged.

“I am going to talk to Naminé, and she is going to show me something.” Twilight hardened her stare at the griffon, but he reacted none. “Given what you have been telling me, what our adventure has been showing me, the conversation we had with Princess Celestia. Especially with the message the Windigos sent me, the one from Discord… I think we should level with each other before I go meet Naminé.”

“Princess Twilight Sparkle, I have told you everything you needed to know to perform your duty and help us rid ourselves of the binds your beloved teacher has chained my race with and bring her to justice for her lies and machinations. There end our dealings.”

“Fine.” Twilight allowed herself a sigh and changed the subject. “Are these ponies treating you poorly?”

“Other than putting my friend to sleep and disregarding our complaints, I don’t think they could be cruel or inhospitable if they wanted.”

“Well, they have put royalty to wait in this dump.” Gallensa added in an acid tone. “I had thought the hotel would be the lowest for a while.”

“Gallensa is having trouble understanding they are treating us like guests, and this is where they house their guests.” Grigory explained quickly.

“One can see ponies are not very good at this…” the griffoness added with more vitriol. “We cannot leave, either. So, ‘guests’ is how you say ‘prisoners’ in Common Equestrian now?”

“Naminé doesn’t want you getting involved, does she?” Twilight ignored Gallensa and talked to Grigory. “I’m trying to build a bridge, but I don’t think she’ll cooperate.”

Or Grigory, for that matter, but that was another beast altogether. “I’ll try to get it over with Naminé as quickly as I can. We need to wait while the airship gets repaired anyway, and we will probably need their help to get it through the teleporter. Let’s hope there is nothing too damning in her message that is going to break our cooperation.”

“That sounded like a threat. Do not threaten me, Princess. We’ll be here, waiting. Do whatever you must. I doubt there is much we can do, anyway. You know very well that if it was up to me, we would already be in Snow Mountains. Probably arriving at Griffindell. But I suppose you are right, and as the situation stands, we will need their help. I am worried about the mare that attacked you, though. More than the ramblings of a pawful of dirty ponies.”

Twilight nodded. She was worried too, but neither of them could do anything about her. “She’s bound to show up again.”

“Whatever that mare was, I don’t like it. She spooked Gray.” Grigory said. “Just get your business with this Naminé done so we can move on, Twilight. Quickly.”

She could not have agreed more, but Twilight also remembered Discord had told her that Naminé could give them some important context. She was never sure of what he meant, but if Discord said it, then it was important. There was also his bizarre message, delivered by the Windigos’ minion. There was something terribly important going on that Twilight was missing. It reminded her of the dream and the conversation she had with Luna after they left Ponyville. Someone held a picture before her eyes, and she could hear it clicking and whirring behind, like it was a veil meant to keep her from seeing the truth. Whatever it might be.

And that was why they had sought Naminé. She was supposed to lift that veil, and it would probably be better if she stopped stalling. She excused herself, walked out, and away from the guards to a secluded spot with Starlight Glimmer. “What do you think of all this?”

Starlight Glimmer simply shook her head and let her ears hang, but Rainbow Dash approached them before she could say anything. “Twi, they’re ready to take us to Naminé. The others are getting Cadance and your brother. Rarity is already outside.”

Twilight looked at Starlight again. “Let’s go. One step closer to ending this adventure, and hopefully, saving the world again.”

The others waited for them by the exit, and it was the only proper door in the house. Soon Cadance and Shining Armor joined them under a luscious sea of twinkling stars in the velvety black above. Swaying trees on one side, and open hills on the other, Twilight found herself in an open field. It gave her a perspective of how big the communal house was and other structures, only large enough to be some sort of storage. Ponies worked on flat stones, cutting fruits and plants for the food and minded the ovens: two made of stone with chimneys and a few earthen ovens—literally holes in the ground. The food went in, protected by a layer of strings and leaves.

The city was somewhere past the hills, so far away its light didn’t interfere with the stars. The only noises were of the ponies working and celebrating by the torchlight. They talked like excited foals before a party, and the smells of roasted nuts and cooking fruit jams filled the breeze with smoky sugars. The sight of their guests of honor excited the locals even more, and they found time in between their chores to give Twilight that uncanny stare amid celebrations for the Princess of Friendship and her friends. Only when Rarity arrived from within those ponies that they relented.

“Oh, finally. Whatever took you ponies so long? Naminé’s community has been waiting since we arrived to meet the princesses.” She urged them onward, while shushing the locals back to work. “The sooner we are done with the meeting, the better!”

Twilight did not move. Instead, she cast a disbelieving stare at Rarity and her ‘attire’. “What in Equestria are you wearing?”

“Oh! It is a skirt of various vegetal fibers, and this is a delightful netting of weaved gossamer with the seeds of…” Rarity started.

“It looks like grass,” Rainbow Dash voiced Twilight’s thoughts. “And cobwebs stuck to glow sticks.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Vegetal fibers, and gossamer. Weaved by local tapestry spiders and adorned with the blinking seeds of fruits from the forest! The skirt is hoof-made by these ponies with proper fibers from the forest too! They can even make raincoats with different weaves!”

Dash was right, though. Twilight understood Rarity saw the finer details of their craft, but her skirt looked like Rarity was wearing grass. And while the gossamer netting on her neck and chest looked like shining drops of light with the multicolored glowing seeds, it also looked like those things the younger ponies would wear in the noisy parties. The crown of flowers looked delicate with the pastel petals and interwoven branches, though.

“It looks really pretty!” Cadance squealed.

“Oh, but don’t mind any of this!” Rarity grinned and her eyes sparkled like the stars. “Naminé is waiting for us. I was just helping her ponies put the final touches on the decoration. We’ll dine under the stars after the meeting, like our ancestors, thousands upon thousands of years ago!”

“Like caveponies?” Rainbow Dash lacked Rarity’s enthusiasm and matched Twilight’s lack of amusement.

“Yes, Rainbow Dash.” Rarity inhaled profoundly. “Like our ancestors, who were caveponies… I suppose.”

“Before the times of sugar, creams, chocolate, cakes…” Pinkie listed the items one after another, with a growing frown and while Rarity again inhaled and sighed, “candies, pies, cookies…”

“Yes, Pinkie Pie!” Rarity’s impatient yell finally interrupted her. “But I can guarantee you that these ponies are every bit the same as we are, with some added rustic charm. Their food is delicious, and they lack for nothing. Even in the sweetness department.”

“Should I start listing things that we use on a daily basis which would be missing from our lives if we lived with Namine’s rocks-for-brains ponies?” Applejack glared. “Things like doors in our rooms, floors and ceilings, and not treating Twilight like she’s the town’s goose of the golden eggs?”

Rarity groaned, unladylike and angry, rolling her eyes and hoofing at her brow. “Where is your sense of adventure? These ponies aren’t wrong. Not entirely. Twilight is special. They just show it differently from all the ponies that call her ‘your highness’. Is that so bad? It’s just awkward, but it is so honest and…”

“Creepy?” Pinkie offered with a confused frown.

“Yes!” Rarity admitted. “But also, so heartfelt. They don’t expect Twilight to sign their documents. They see her as important, and not because she could ‘princess away’ their taxes!”

“Just take us to Naminé, Rarity.” Twilight asked, trying to keep the argument from escalating. “I don’t like the way these ponies think of me, but I can put up with it while we sort this out. Just don’t let it get to your head.”

Twilight then turned to Cadance with a glare. “Either of you.”

“Yeah, did you forget Spike is gone?” Rainbow accused with a raised hoof.

“Not at all!” Rarity shook her head vigorously. “But I will have you know that Naminé’s supporters in Manehattan are looking for him as we speak!”

“Does it bother anypony else that ‌Naminé has some weird sort of parallel power?” Starlight Glimmer twisted her lips. “Like, ponies are a touch too reverential of her and her ideas. Kinda like she knows all the answers and teaches ponies things that are not taught anywhere else.”

“Well, it is not like Naminé is telling her ponies to do anything wrong.” Cadance spoke this time. “I can see why some ponies might be a touch too attached to the idea of how important the Princesses are, but given what we have learned on our quest… Is it not a tiny bit reasonable? Isn’t Twilight important? Am I not important?”

“We are important, Cadance!” Twilight blushed. “But not so important that ponies need to… Not so important that I can tell my hosts that I don’t want grapes, but dates instead! Or that they need to ask me to bless them, or… Any of these creepy things. I don’t even know how to ‘bless’ anypony. Is that even a real thing that alicorns can do? What does it even mean?”

“You are just overwhelmed, Twilight.” Cadance rolled her eyes with a waving hoof. “We can come up with something for them. If Princess Luna and Celestia did it however many years ago, we can figure this out!”

“Well, simmer down.” Applejack entered between the two with appeasing hoof gestures before Twilight could launch the tirade she had just brewed inside her head. “We can work this out whenever we’re not so strung up on important business. We ought to see Naminé and get this quest of ours sorted out. Then we can worry about this nonsense. There ain’t much we can do about any of that while we’re at odds with Princess Celestia anyhow.”

They all agreed on that, and with a nod Rarity pointed the way. They walked as a group, following Twilight’s lead and Rarity’s directions as the unicorn talked. She explained Naminé and her ponies had occupied a protected area of original vegetation near Manehattan. Was that legal? Twilight wanted to know and all ponies other than Rarity understood her question was rhetorical. Rarity’s superior grin came up with something even more bombastic.

“Naminé is an original inhabitant of the region,” the white unicorn grinned even wider. “She was living here before ponies founded the city.”

Twilight’s first reaction was to claim it was impossible, but the truth of the matter was that the impossible was almost trivial whenever she got herself involved in the world-saving business. Rarity’s follow-up explanation proved weirder.

“Naminé is the oldest pony alive. She is immortal, and she was one of the original ponies created by…” she stopped walking and grimaced at Twilight. “Well… You.”

“Rarity, this is nonsense.” Twilight glared at her. “Even if what she claims is true, I am not… definitively not one of the Goddesses.”

“Well, that actually depends.” Cadance rested a wing over Twilight’s shoulder. “If you will remember our conversation back at the airship, Princesses Luna and Celestia disagree on whether we are the same beings. I would not believe it myself without that dream.”

Their arrival cut the conversation short. At Rarity’s sign, they walked out of a beaten path in the woods, surrounded by torches and stones, and came upon a lake. It was not large. Barely the same size as the lake in the park inside the monster of a city that was Manehattan. A rock formation of yellow-brown stone stood on the shore across the lake. Countless cycles of rain and exposure to the sun made jagged edges and rounded shapes, while a pair of torches by the entrance offered all the light they needed under the moonlight.

The lake shimmered softly, and waves lapped the sand Twilight and her friends walked over. It pulsated, like a beating heart, and its water was warm with magic. Alive with fish and miniscule life. Even near the shore, algae danced with the water. Underground caves probably connected it to the ocean, and that would explain a lot. Even if the water didn’t smell of salt, chelating sediments could explain it. It could be a physical manifestation of magic, but those were rare and even more rarely so overt. Twilight preferred to remain skeptical.

She caught herself hoping there was nothing special about Naminé and her ponies. That they were just the usual brand of cuckoo in the head ponies and her thoughts distracted her most of the way. Before she knew it, they stood before the mouth of the cave. It was not scary; it had none of the usual creepy elements like jagged stalagmites and stalactites. No whispering breezes, no dripping or plopping of water, bats or disgusting insects. Just a cave and nothing more.

Pretty crystals caught the moonlight and filled the smooth stone with a delightful kaleidoscope. Hardy plants grew in the damp air, claiming the cracks for themselves and filling it with life. The cave was surprisingly cozy, despite being filled with things that wouldn’t go into someone’s chambers or living room.

It would be alright. If a pony like Princess Celestia considered herself just a piece of something larger, then so was Naminé. She would not be the first haughty, self-important pony that Twilight met. The princess’ eyes hardened with the determination to face whatever their meeting with the pony of the ancestral memories would bring.

Comments

[WatchMeShadow]

Incoming another ancient flashback, (I think.) I wonder if Twilight is going to get multiple deaths or something else?

[Metemponychosis]

11882077
<rubs hands and laughs evilly>

[Jinnchin]

New PoP chapter lets gooooo!

Sorry Twilight, these ponies don’t view you as mere royalty, they view you as full-fledged Divinity. At least Best Pony is properly creeped out by this new found adoration, though that “strange eagerness” is a little concerning. And Cadence’s reaction to all this adoration is significantly more than a little concerning! That said I am VERY happy to see that Twilight has already done a good job piecing together The Harpy’s true ambitions, as well as what her role in all this actually is!

Can’t help but spot some parallels between Namine’s group and the Cult of the Harpy, not least of which is their immediate “Love Bombing” of their new arrivals, and their insistence on keeping members of other species at arm’s length when it comes to their rituals (granted some of that wariness is justified!) Also I find it kind of hilarious that out of all the Mane 6, the one that seems to be taking to their “rustic charm” the most is Rarity!

Speaking of parallels, the more we learn about Namine the more I find myself comparing her to Gilda in many respects. They are both the firstborn of their respective “deities,” they both possess powers unique to their species (or at least powers not all found within single individuals), and they both possess unparalleled access to their specie’s soul memories. Now I found myself wondering if Namine’s supposed immortality is literal, or if she’s simply a unique soul capable of retaining her sense of self after death?

All in all I am very excited to see where the next chapter takes us!

[Metemponychosis]

11882225
Writing Twilight in this kind of story can be hard because beyond keeping her in character, she is supposed to be so smart. I tried to keep most of the things you learn in the other parts of the AU a healthy distance from her until I could come at this moment and have her throw those words at Grigory.

The parallels are very intentional between the Cult of the Harpy, Naminé's group, and the Gray Dames. Twilight is experiencing the same thing as Celestia and she doesn't like it. And yes, Gilda nad Naminé are very comparable and are artifacts of how they deal with their position. Unfortunately for Celestia, Naminé is a 'special process' and she can't get rid of her. Although her views are sure to change as Gray Dames catches up with Piece of Parchment. The working title for this chapter was 'The Savage Daughter', since it would include Naminé and the all the visions, but I decided I wanted to spotlight her ponies and Cadance... doing that... before the main attraction.

[ArcaneGadget]

11893524
Yeah, kinda' suspected that might be the case...