Over the Mountain

by Boltstrike58

Chapter Two: Alliance

Sunburst hadn't had the chance to meet Daring Do in real life before, though Rainbow Dash had told him stories. It was quite a shocker to learn that the most popular fictional character across Equestria wasn't fictional at all. Sometimes, Sunburst wondered if Rainbow had been, in fact, pulling his leg.

However, he dismissed that as possibility, considering that the pony in question was right in front of him. The same tan coat, pith helmet, and compass rose Cutie Mark that was on the cover of every one of her books. Daring turned her head to look him in the eye, giving him a smirk and a wink.

"Don't worry, pal. I got this."

Greer, having recovered from the earlier blow, climbed back onto all fours, an angry sneer finding its way across his beak. He spread his wings and dug his talons into the dirt, as though trying to intimidate the pegasus in front of him.

"I'm giving you once chance to back off, pony," he spat. "Or else you'll suffer the same consequences as your friend back there."

"Well, technically, we're not friends," Daring replied. "We've only just met and...wow, was that really the best I could come up with? Must be an off day."

Greer must've interpreted that as 'no,' as he crouched down and sprang off his back legs, talons extended. Daring Do was more than prepared for his clumsy attack, however, and leapt upwards, her wings flapping and carrying her higher into the air. As Greer's pounce went under her, Daring stomped with one hoof, catching him on the head and sending him face-first into the dirt. Greer's shout of pain was cut off as his beak filled with earth.

Sunburst wisely decided that now was a good time to get away from the edge of the cliff, and scurried past the downed griffon. Greer snarled with fury as he pulled his head free, rounding on Daring Do. The fact that the adventurous pegasus was still smiling only made him angrier, and he lunged with a ferocious swipe, which she ducked under. Whirling around, Daring bucked him in the chest with all her strength, sending the griffon tumbling backwards off the edge. Sunburst was about to freak out, before he remembered that griffons could, in fact, fly.

Sure enough, Greer came zooming above the cliff seconds later, somehow even angrier than before. Daring Do just smirked, as the griffon came down in a swooping dive towards her, taking off to avoid it. Daring made a loop in midair, swerving around and tackling the griffon from behind again, slamming his body into the earth. Rearing back, she delivered one final punch, knocking Greer unconscious.

"Whew!" she breathed. "Nothing like a good workout." Getting off the incapacitated griffon's back, she turned to the unicorn. "So I'm guessing you must be Sunburst, right?"

Sunburst blinked in surprise. "Well, yes, actually. How'd you know? Thanks for the save, by the way."

Daring Do took a deep breath. "Okay, you may not believe this, but I've been searching for the Spear of Grimm for the past few months. Then, last night I had this dream where I saw Princess Twilight Sparkle, who claimed to be the embodiment of something called the Tree of Harmony, and she promised me I'd be able to find it, but only if I looked for you. She even showed me exactly what you looked like." She tipped her hat. "And you're welcome."

"Yeah..." Sunburst replied, feeling a little apprehensive. This was a bit above his pay grade. He could recite facts surrounding the energies and functions of magical artifacts all day, but when it came to tracking down ones that had been lost for ages, Sunburst wasn't your stallion.

Something else came to mind. "Uh, we should probably do something about him," he stated, pointing to the unconscious Greer, "and he's got a boss that's also after the Spear. That could be problematic."

Daring Do nodded. "Of course he's got a boss." She trotted over to Greer, lifting the griffon onto her back. Sunburst used his magic to lessen the load a bit. "Any idea where we're gonna take him?"

"I might have something..."

---

The two ponies dragged the unconscious Greer to Gilda, who'd immediately recognized the griffon as a wanted criminal. The three proceeded to tie him up until the griffon law enforcement could come. Sunburst and Daring Do then informed Gilda exactly what was going on.

"I should've known Grapple was up to something," Gilda growled, pounding one clenched fist on the wall. "He gives griffons a bad name."

"Let me guess," said Daring. "This isn't the first time he's tried to seize power."

"Nope. He's been claiming he should be the new griffon king for years. We haven't had a king in a long time, but Grapple sees himself as the only one worthy of that title. He wants to be even more of a warmonger than Grimm. Oh, and he hates ponies, dragons, all other civilization building species."

"Great," groaned Sunburst. "Please tell me that, if he gets the Spear, the griffons won't be crazy enough to follow him."

"Most won't," replied Gilda, "but some of the older ones, ones that remember the old ways...they'll see the Spear and think they have to follow him. I know, it's stupid, but griffons are really resistant to change."

"So, if he gets the Spear, we may be looking at civil war," Sunburst summarized. "Fantastic. As if there wasn't enough pressure to get this right already."

"That leaves us with one option," said Daring, "we get the Spear first. We have no idea if it really has the power legends claim it does, and I'd rather not go up against a crazy jerk with a powerful magical artifact."

"Neither would I," said Sunburst, "but I have no idea where the Spear is."

"Well, it's a good thing you've got an expert here," said Daring, reaching into her backpack and pulling out several rolls of parchment. "I've been researching King Grimm for a while now, but it wasn't until now that I got a lock on where the Spear might be."

"Oh thank Celestia," breathed Sunburst. Then he randomly had a thought as to whether he should've said thank Twilight instead.

Daring Do spread out a map on top of the nearby table. "King Grimm's main stronghold was on Mount Gale, on the east side of the Celestial Sea." She pointed to the mountain in question, a good distance away from Griffonstone. "I've already searched his palace, but it stands to reason that he'd have hidden the Spear fairly close to it. My best guess is that it's still on the mountain somewhere."

"There's a pretty interesting cave system on that mountain," said Gilda. "I could guide you through it. I bet we'll find the Spear somewhere inside."

"Great!" replied Daring, stuffing the papers back into her pack. "Let's go, I want to be sure that we find it before Grapple."

"Wait a minute!" Sunburst cut her off. His horn ignited, and he opened his saddlebags, fishing out a book titled "Magical Artifacts and You."

"Uh, do we really have time for reading?" asked Gilda.

"If by some chance Grapple gets the Spear first," Sunburst replied, flipping through the book, "I want to be prepared."

Comments

[Scyphi]

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Not in-show specifically, (though I think it's vaguely implied), but I know the show's staff have said this was the case.