Over the Mountain

by Boltstrike58

Chapter One: A Lost Legend

"Are you sure you'll be okay running the school without me?" Sunburst asked, his hooves fidgeting nervously. "I mean, I can still cancel, I'm certain the Tree can find somepony else—"

"Sunburst, relax," replied Starlight, laying a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "You've been on friendship quests before. Besides, the Tree's always picked the right ponies for the job in the past. You can do this."

The two unicorns were currently waiting at the Ponyville train station, where Sunburst would begin his journey to Griffonstone. Sunburst's bags were packed and sitting behind him (thankfully, he usually traveled pretty light). Starlight, after hearing about Sunburst's dream, had been fully supportive, giving him plenty of time off to get to Griffonstone, fix whatever was going wrong, and get back to the School of Friendship.

"So do you have any idea what the problem is?" asked Starlight. "After Rainbow and Pinkie's first mission there, back in the day, I doubt the Griffons have started ignoring each other again."

"Unlikely," Sunburst agreed. "Anyway, I asked Gallus about it, and he said he hasn't noticed anything off recently. Then I asked him about this 'King Grimm' the Tree mentioned, and he was able to give me a little bit of information. Apparently, King Grimm was one of the most militaristic of all the griffon kings, and he prided himself on his power. He used to carry something called the Spear of Grimm. How much of an egotist do you have to be to name your big weapon after yourself?"

"Rainbow Dash?" Starlight suggested, and the two unicorns shared a small laugh.

"I'm gonna ask Grandpa Gruff more when I get there, that guy seems to know everything when it comes to griffon history."

"Good thinking," agreed Starlight. She looked down the track, seeing the train approaching from the distance, which was slowly decreasing. "Just be careful, okay? You're not the greatest fighter, remember."

"I'll be careful," Sunburst promised, and the two unicorns shared an affectionate nuzzle, before Sunburst boarded the train.

---

The train ride to Griffonstone was fairly uneventful. Sunburst spent most of it going over the Griffon history books he'd borrowed from the library, the few that there were. Even with the increased integration of other species into Equestrian society, spearheaded by the School of Friendship, trade wasn't as far along, and it would take time for the histories of every other society to find there way to Equestrian bookshelves.

The train came to a stop just outside the Griffonstone station, and Sunburst stepped out with ease, having only packed a few books into his saddlebags. Standing on the platform, waiting for him, was a female griffon, with bright white feathers and brown fur. Sunburst had used a spell with similar effects to Spike's dragon fire to send a letter ahead, letting her know of his intentions.

"Hello, Gilda," said Sunburst, holding out a hoof, which Gilda shook. "It's great to finally meet you in real life."

"Back at ya," replied Gilda. "If Rainbow Dash says you're good, you're okay by me."

The two of them walked along the central path of the village, heading for Grandpa Gruff's hut. "So are you sure you want to go to Gruff for this?" asked Gilda, once the building in question was in sight. "I mean, he's...y'know."

Sunburst looked at her quizzically. "Um...no, I don't, actually. Besides, it's not like I have a choice. If the Tree of Harmony says it's important, you'd better believe it. Is there something wrong with him?"

"No, he's perfectly healthy. Just...you'd better see for yourself."

She clenched one fist, raising it and knocking on the door. In a few seconds, it was answered by a balding, elderly griffon, with only a few scattered black feathers on his head, and faded gray hair on the rest of his body. He had a thin scar running over his greyed left eye. A red fez sat on the top of his head.

"Hey there, Gilda," he barked. He then took notice of Sunburst, who put on his best smile. "Ah! You must be the pony she told me about."

"Yes, sir," replied the unicorn. "I was hoping you'd tell me about King Grimm—"

But the older griffon seemed to have tuned him out. "Y'know, I remember the first time I ever saw a pony," he muttered, looking thoughtfully off into the distance. "I was so baffled by them. I mean, what kinda species doesn't have digits on their feet?" He flexed his talons, as if to demonstrate. "Being young, and not quite as smart back that, I always wondered how they managed to turn doorknobs! But then I..."

As he continued to rant, Sunburst turned to Gilda, his expression one of quickly growing horror. Gilda just shrugged.

---

Sunburst was quickly discovering that he'd been right to seek out Grandpa Gruff for more information. The elderly griffon was more packed than the Griffonstone library. If you had a question about griffon history, this was the griffon to go to.

Unfortunately, getting him onto the right track was a different story.

Gilda was serving scones while the two of them spoke. Well, perhaps spoke was a poor choice of words. Gruff was rambling on and on, while Sunburst tried (and mostly failed) to keep him focused on the topic of King Grimm. It wasn't that he was in the wrong place mentally or anything, he was just really into telling stories.

"So there I was, surrounded by dozens of timberwolves on all sides!" the elderly griffon continued to caw. "My talons had been worn down from fighting 'em all day, but did I let that stop this griffon? No!"

"Yeah, that's great," Sunburst muttered under his breath. "Now, if we could get back to King Grimm—"

"Where was I? Now the first one tried to jump over my head and latch onto my back, but I was quicker! I spread my wings out, and caught him by the stomach, flipping him over and slamming him into the ground! Of course, taking out one of a pack only draws the rage of the rest, and so I started to swipe left and right and—"

"GRANDPA GRUFF!" yelled Gilda. "COULD YOU PLEASE TELL HIM THE STORY OF KING GRIMM?!" She inhaled very deeply several times to regain her breath immediately afterward. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear, and trying to keep him on a particular topic is like trying to sharpen your talons with a feather."

"Thank you, Gilda," Sunburst replied, honestly.

"Okay, okay," Gruff acquiesced. "It was centuries ago. As you've said, King Grimm was the most militaristic of the griffon kings, and a fairly large chunk of griffon land was obtained through conquest by his talons. He was smart enough not to take on the ponies, mind you, but he was still tough. One of the biggest mysteries of his rule comes from his primary weapon: The Spear of Grimm, like you said. Said to be enchanted with an incredible amount of magic, the Spear was apparently so powerful that Grimm could take down entire armies with it. The mysterious part comes from the fact that the Spear was lost to time. Of course, griffons from all across the kingdom sought the Spear, some for more altruistic reasons than others, but none ever found it. Even if its magic turns out to be just a myth, there's no denying its archeological value."

Sunburst got to his hooves. "Well, this has been informative. Thanks for your time, Grandpa Gruff."

"Eh, no problem, sonny," replied the older griffon. "Say, did I ever tell you of the time I once fought three manticores simultaneously at—"

But Sunburst, having learned, had already scurried out of the hut, munching on a scone wrapped in his magic, and his brain racing.

"If that Spear fell into the wrong hooves—or talons, or claws, or whatever—it could easily spell disaster. I can see why that would be considered a problem that needs solving...but why did the Tree send me? I'm not particularly skilled at finding magical artifacts or anything."

He continued to wander through the streets of Griffonstone, pondering what possible action he could take. He had no idea how to even begin searching for the Spear, and even Grandpa Gruff didn't have any idea where it could've ended up. His hooves eventually took him to the outskirts of the village, where he stared absentmindedly over the edge of the cliff, trying to think of something productive to do.

Until a single talon poked him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, pony."

Sunburst turned around, finding himself face-to-beak with a rather large, muscular, male griffon, his head decorated with grey feathers, which were cut off by brown fur on his main body. A jagged scar ran down his golden beak, and his eyes were a dark green, seemingly boring into Sunburst's soul. His talons were freshly sharpened, looking like they could slice through metal. The unicorn shivered under his gaze, guessing that this wasn't a griffon he wanted to mess with.

"Name's Grapple," snorted the griffon, anger fully visible on his face, and venom in his voice. "I heard you were asking around about the Spear of Grimm."

Sunburst bit his tongue. He hadn't considered that griffons might take offense to a pony snooping around as he was doing. Exactly what this guy was getting offended over, Sunburst couldn't say, but he didn't like the way he was being stared at. His brain kicked in, ordering him to bluff his way out of this.

"Oh, me? No, that was nothing!" Sunburst replied, talking a little too fast to be truly convincing. "I was just curious about griffon history, and—"

Grapple raised a clenched fist, cutting off Sunburst in his tracks. "Cut the lies, pony," he spat. "I heard everything you said in that old griffon's house, I know you asked specifically about Grimm's weapon. Which can only mean one thing: you're after the Spear, too."

Sunburst swallowed. Any other time, he would've denied the charge, but something told him that wouldn't fly in this situation.

"Now, see, I'm the griffon who's gonna get his talons on that Spear," snarled Grapple, "and that means I gotta remove any creature who's got similar thoughts." He snapped his talons, and another large griffon emerged from behind him, cracking there knuckles. "Take care of the pony, Greer."

"With pleasure, boss," Greer replied, smiling devilishly. Grapple smiled in return, spreading his wings and taking off.

Sunburst tried to back up, only to remember that he was standing on the edge of a cliff.

"Er, t-that won't be necessary," he tried to reason. "I-I can just get on the next train out of here and—"

Greer took a swipe at Sunburst, who only barely managed to pull his body back to avoid it.

"Sorry, pony, but when the boss says to take care of something," Greer laughed, raising his talons again, "I always deliver."

Sunburst swallowed.

And that was when the flying blur slammed into Greer from the side, knocking him off of his feet. The impact nearly knocked Sunburst onto his rear. The griffon rolled on his side several feet before coming to a stop, managing to climb back onto all fours. The object that had slammed into him zipped around and came to a rest in front of Sunburst, revealing...

"Daring Do?!"

Comments

[MyLittleBronyDude]

Ooh, getting spicy!