The Travelling Argument

A small village lay at the bottom of Habichtheim mountain. Ponies were trotting around doing their usual business when three new ponies walked into town.

"That is a lot higher than I thought... I don't think I prepared for this," said Evening.

"Well, you're not wrong, that's one heck of a climb," said Sky. "There are griffin patrols and all that jazz. On the plus side, unlike the guards in Canterlot, the griffins aren't looking for us, which gives us the advantage."

"I won't like shucking this armor, but since neither of you can fly I will in case the winds knock one of you off," said Willow. "Which reminds me. Sky? What did you do with that rope I asked for?"

"It's in my saddlebag somewhere, let me take a look," Sky opened her bag and began rummaging around. "Hmmm... keys, more keys, lots of keys... hoofcuffs? What they hay were those- Ohhh, I remember now. That was a fun night. Aha, here's some rope!"

Willow chuckled. "When I first met you I would have questioned all that stuff, but now I expect it. Tie the rope to your belts, and loop it through mine. This way there's two ponies to catch you when you fall."

Evening looked at Willow confusedly. "You mean if we fall, right Willow? Willow?" Willow was too busy tying ropes together to respond. Evening sighed in defeat. "I knew it..."

"Don't worry Evening. You'll be quite safe with us!" said Sky confidently. "Besides, the sewerage grate should only be about halfway up this mountain. Just keep an eye out and follow the smell."

"I'm going to trade in my armor for some extra medical supplies," said Willow as she dismantled her armor. "Hopefully we won't have to use it much. I'll meet you at the base of the mountain."

Willow trotted off with her armor while the other two made their way to the base of the mountain, towering tall enough to cast a large shadow over the whole village.

"Alright. I'm ready," said Evening. "Time to defeat this mountain and rescue the bakers."

"Hold up, we're still waiting for Willow. I can see her coming now," said Sky. "Are your ropes tight?"

"As tight as ropes can get!" Evening replied.

Willow came up and tied all the ropes to her belt. "Sky, is everypony secure? We want to get up there before a storm comes out of no where."

Sky nodded. "Sure seems like it. Just hold on tight and yell if you're in trouble... but not too loud, the last thing we need is a bunch of those smelly feathered jerks coming out of nowhere because we gave ourselves away. Got it?"

"Good enough, let's get started," Willow began trudging up the steep mountain first, able to move much more quickly with her armor removed. "Try to keep up, Evening."

Evening's horn flashes some magic and she immediately caught up with Willow and Sky. "I told you, my magic isn't for spells. I think I could outrun you without trying."

"You guys are quick!" said Sky barely breaking a sweat. "I wouldn't have minded doing a few of my old Canterlot jobs with you!"

"Really?" asked Evening. "But I wouldn't know the first thing about working."

"Evening, are you for real? If you are, I so wish more of the guards back in Canterlot were like you."

The trio continued up the mountain, the paths becoming more treacherous as they went, but none of them fell or slipped. Around a corner they came across a pipe jutting out of the mountain like the mouth of a snake.

"There it is!" said Sky.

They carefully walked to the pipe and looked inside through the iron grating. The smells of waste and rotten food came from inside. All of them took a few steps back from the smell.

"Ugh! We have to go through that pipe?" asked Evening with disgust.

"At least this one seems to be dry, Evening," said Willow.

Sky waved a hoof in front of her nose. "It's not pretty, I'll admit, but it'd be less pretty if we took the front door."

Evening frowned. "If you say so... I'll go first then, in case there are any guards at the end." She stepped slowly towards the pipes, gagging every other second.

Sky pat Evening on the back. "Now now Evening, it's going to smell really bad, but it's better than the sewers that run under Canterlot prison! Tell you what, if you're a bit nervous, I can go first!"

"No. I said I will go first, and I will." Evening loosened her staff off her shoulders and held it by her side with her magic, also pulling out a small dagger and holding it in her mouth.

"We'll make a rogue out of you yet! Okay, let me just get this grate off... silly Griffins couldn't fix one of these if their lives depended on it," Sky walked up to the grate and used a small tool to pry it open. "There! So remember, follow the light, all right?"

Evening nodded and slowly crawled her way into the pipe. Willow began untying the ropes so she could move more freely. "She doesn't need you taking advantage of her impressionable nature, Sky," she said.

"Aw, come on! You know I didn't mean it like that!" defended Sky. "Just because I'm a rogue doesn't mean that I want EVERYPONY to be one, right? There'd be nothing left to stealllllliberate!"

Willow looked at her accusingly. "But there's no way you missed that she's very naive. If she starts picking pockets, I'll know where she got it. I have my eye on you. You get in the pipe first, Sky."

"Why would you accuse ME of such shenanigans? I'm an innocent bystander! A harmless friendly pegasus! This is because I'm crippled, isn't it? You're going to be just like all of the fillies at Flight Camp, laughing at me because they had to put me in a harness with a grown-up pegasus who COULD fly! You're mean!" Sky continued to protest as she climbed into the pipe after Evening.

"What?! I am a cleric of the Two Sisters! How dare you accuse me of such... such pettiness. I became a cleric because one of my fillyhood friends had a gimpy wing, and I wanted to help," argued Willow.

"Can you two pick a better time to talk about this?!" called back Evening. "What if we get- caught? So that's what a Griffin looks like..."

"Well done Willow. Your anti-gimp wing agenda just got us caught," said Sky. She turned toward the Griffins. "Hehe, hey fellas! We were lost and... and... ah, ponyfeathers." She pulled out a small hoof sized crossbow and fires, nailing the griffin in the neck.

"Wow! Nice shot, Sky!" said Evening. She casually whipped her staff around and struck the remaining griffin, sending him flying into the wall. "Adventuring is fun!"

Willow stared at Evening in awe. "Wow, Evening... Just wow. And what do you mean my anti-gimp wing agenda got us caught? You were the one shouting about me being suspicious."

"And your shouting about my shouting about you being suspicious got us caught! Come on, try to keep up!" Sky pat Evening on the back. "Nice work kid! You're doing great!"

"It's nothing... It was just a basic strike," said Evening.

"Okay, Sky. Truce until we get Evening's target?" asked Willow.

Sky sighed. "Okay, truce. When we've found these bakers, you can arrest me or whatever it is your order does, all right?"

"Arrest? We don't do that. We rehabilitate."

"Well, are you two ready? I think I can see where the food is kept," said Evening.

"Well, I'm sure ready!" said Sky. "Now, when we get up there, we're probably going to have the whole garrison to contend with. The trick is to stay in the corridors where they can't attack you from the sky."

Willow nodded. "Ready."

Evening smiled, ready to kick some more griffin tails. "Lead on, Sky."

Sky loaded her hoof-mounted crossbow with another sleep dart.  "Let's rescue some bakers."