The National Treasures of Equestria

by Robert Emerald Fountain

The clue in the Abyss

On the way to Griffonstone, Neighsay reached out to Gallus.

"How did your region better its relations with the ponies?", he asked.

"That's a good question. Professor Dash was friends with one of the griffons when she was a filly, but broke up when she was older. This griffon's name was Gilda, and did some mean things to some of Dash's friends, which caused her to split off their friendship. Later on, when Dash and Pinkie Pie were called to Griffonstone for a mission, Gilda told them about our early days. Griffonstone used to have a centerpiece called the Idol of Boreas, but it was stolen and got lost in the Abysmal Abyss. Dash tried to retrieve it, but it fell deeper. She and Pinkie gave a recommendation to Gilda that they should treat each other more nicely, but we are continuing to struggle.", Gallus explained.

After reaching Griffonstone, Gilda met them on the platform and asked if she could help them descend into the abyss. The group agreed and then set up camp for the night. They were up early in the morning and they started descending. It was pitch black after they had gone a certain depth. Even with headlamps, it was extremely hard to see anything. They reached the bottom of the chasm after two hours of constant and arduous rappelling. Gallus picked up the lost idol and put it in his backpack to later take to the surface. They searched for twenty minutes until Silverstream noticed a faded painting of a place she knew in a heartbeat. The final clue would be underwater in Seaquestria.

"We must go to Seaquestria and swim into the catacombs beneath Queen Novo's palace. The last clue is somewhere in the forgotten halls.", she explained.

Neighsay was unsure of how they would get out of the chasm because they wouldn't be able to see where they were going if they tried to climb back up. However, Gallus noticed a set of steps cut into the wall of the chasm. Using them as a ladder, they carefully made their way up to ground level. After returning the idol, they boarded a train to the hippogriff territory.