The Travelling Argument

The group made it to the outside and ran to the edge of the battlements. Sky runner dived first, but Evening skidded to a halt and looked down over the edge.

"You expect me to jump down there? What if I miss?" asked Evening.

"Trust me, you won't," Willow reared her legs and bucked Evening over the edge, quickly following behind her. "It's for your own good, Evening!"

"If I die, I swear I'll haunt you Wil-" Evening was cut off as she hit the water with a gigantic splash.

"This was a really stupid idea!" said Sky. Her wings accidentally slowed her fall and were torn up even more. Sky hit the water shortly after Evening, with Willow falling last.

Maboo, however, walked down the cliff face using her suction boots. "You ponies are crazy, jumping from so high like that," she walked all the way down and into the water. "This water is so nice! I wonder how it's so clean. You girls okay over there?"

Willow resurfaced. "Fine."

Evening came out of the water splashing and struggling. "I CAN'T SWIM! HELP!"

"Calm down Evening, I gotcha," Maboo pulled out a suction harpoon and fired it at Evening. She swam to shore and pulled Evening along with her. "There, I've got some towels if you want to dry off too."

Evening coughed up some water. "Thanks, Maboo. Wait, towels?"

Willow swam to shore and shook off most of the water. "I'll take one if you're offering. Come on, Sky!"

"I always bring towels on my secret missions, you never know how much they could come in handy," Maboo shook most of the water off as well. She pulled out two towels, completely dry despite being fully immersed in the water. "Here you go. I've only got two so hopefully Sky won't mind. Speaking of Sky, she hasn't emerged yet. I wonder if she is alright."

Willow looked back at the lake in a panic. "Oh no... Sky Runner, you better be fine. I didn't fix your wing just for you to die on me!" She flew over the lake and dived back in. Willow finally found Sky and pulled her out of the water and back to shore. "Sky Runner, how are you feeling? That fall was a lot higher than I expected."

Sky coughed up some water. "Well, I've taken worse spills, but hey, it was my crazy idea! I hope you're not too hurt!"

"You know what I mean, Sky Runner. I could glide down, Evening is made of iron, and Maboo walked down the wall. How is your wing feeling?" asked Willow.

"Why, it feels..." Sky looked back at her heavily damaged wings. "Huh... looks pretty bad. I wonder why I haven't felt any pain yet. AGH, there... we go!" Sky fell down and writhed in pain.

"SKY! Hold on." Willow moved closer to Sky and tried to get a good look at her wings, but she wouldn't stay still.

"What's wrong? Why did Sky fall over?" asked Evening.

"Ow... ah... my wing's pretty broken. I guess the fall... hit me harder than I thought," said Sky.

"You should have tried slowing down before hitting the water, less injuries that way," said Maboo.

Sky looked at Maboo with a painful frown. "Huh... NOT hitting water at terminal velocity... you know, I never thought of that. Thanks Maboo!"

"Really? I'll try to remember that for next time," said Evening. "But then again, I didn't think it was that bad other than nearly drowning."

"Sky, try to hold still. I need to see how bad it is," said Willow.

"It's... pretty bad," Sky whimpered.

"Let me be the judge of that, Sky Runner. Doctor (unlicensed) Willow Leaf is on the case," Willow looked over her friend's two wings. "Now it looks like you landed on your right wing, and hyper-extended the carpal joint. On top of that, you lost some of your lesser covert feathers," Willow sighed. "You tried to fly, didn't you? After I told you to stay off that wing for a week! I knew I should have splinted it to your side. If I thought it would help, I'd bandage you from nose to tail so your brain could heal... but right now, I'm just happy that you are not hurt worse. You had me worried, Sky."

"Am I missing something? Why would Sky try to fly?" asked Evening.

"She's a thief. Wanting more mobility comes with the job description," said an anonymous voice.

"I guess that makes sense. But her wings been damaged for a lon- AHH! Where did you come from?" There was another pony standing next to Evening, wearing a special gauntlet that looked like it hid a knife.

"Well, when a mare and a stallion love each other very much... In any case, it does not matter. I take the name of Swift Blade. I provide certain... services to those who would prefer not to get their hooves dirty doing it themselves."

"Well whatever dirty hoof services that we might require, I'm sure we could handle them ourselves," said Maboo.

"Why are you here anyway? This is a griffin fortress."

"You collect groceries for dirt-fearing ponies?" speculated Evening.

"A client of mine wished that the leader of the group inside this fortress be removed. He paid handsomely, and I don't ask questions," answered Swift.

"But she's not evil! I won't let you hurt that griffin. Though if you find one big male covered in scars, you can do whatever you like," said Willow. She focused back on Sky. "Stop squirming, Sky! It's only going to hurt worse."

"Her alignment isn't my problem, and I won't hesitate if you get in my way. If you want to know the reasons behind the contract, have fun trying to find the stallion that hired me," said Swift.

"Let me guess... was it Mr. Snarky-Pants Armor? Or Mr. Hot-Orange-Balloon Shield? If you told us, maybe I could find him," said Maboo.

"I told you before, I don't ask questions. All I know is the guy had a brown coat and a black mane, a bit spiked up. He looked a little out of it, to be honest, kept tapping out a four beat rhythm on the table. It got kind of distracting. Besides, the guards don't know who I am, so they don't come looking for me for any reason," explained Swift. "So, that's my question quota filled for the day. Now I ask of you; what are you four doing here? As you say, this is a griffin fortress, and, no offense, you don't exactly look to be assassin material."

"Assassins? We were on a rescue mission... but it didn't work out," answered Evening.

Swift rolled her eyes sarcastically. "Clearly."

"My master... lied to me." Evening began sobbing softly.

Willow noticed and looked over at her. "Evening? Are you hurt?" She looked at the assassin enraged. "What did you do to her!?"

"I claim no responsibility for this. We were discussing what you four were doing near a griffin fortress, next thing I know she's leaking everywhere," explained Swift.

"She's having a crisis of faith right now, and doesn't need you reminding her," scolded Willow. "Needless to say, we will be leaving soon. As soon as I can patch everypony up."

"Sure. If you need me, I'll be inside the fortress, doing my job."

Willow stood up threateningly, using her wings to gain a bit of mass. "I told you what would happen if you harm the one that carries a book. The rest of the Talons I will not object to."

"Do you honestly think you could take me on? What would your 'Sisters' say to deliberately harming a pony?"

"I don't think I could take you, Swift Blade, I know I can," answered Willow with even more fire in her eyes. "And if you know about the Sisters, then you know that wrath is just as close to my heart as compassion."

"Willow! What are you doing?" asked Evening.

"She's being a fool. I have defeated clerics, wizards and sorcerers who were twice as powerful as you. But, if that is your wish..." Swift extended her hidden blade.

"What's the harm in letting her go, Willow? Those griffins are bloodthirsty killers that torture pegasi. You said it yourself," said Evening.

"And most of them are! But she's trying to change that. In a year's time, she will have replaced the old members with younger ones sympathetic to her cause," argued Willow.

Evening smiled. "That sounds noble enough for me, Willow Leaf. You have my support. Swift Blade, if you challenge Willow then you will also be challenging me. Have you ever faced one of my kind before, assassin?"

Willow returned her focus onto Sky, trying her best to calm her down and fix her wings.

"I have, and I will admit that yours have given me a little more trouble than most," answered Swift. "But you have not faced my kind before, novice. I'm willing to bet that this is your first time out of your cage."

"How did you know? Er, I mean... none of your business!"

"Simple, your eyes. Every inch of your face says you want to fight me, but your eyes show your true feelings. You want the fighting to end," explained Swift.

"You... I... is that true? Am I the coward?" asked Evening to herself.

"A coward? Certainly not. If that were the case, you would've backed down a long time ago. But you are naive, thinking that you can end all fighting, all conflict," Swift chuckled to herself. "There will always be a war, a battle to look forward to."

Evening looked at Swift with a frown. "You are a very negative pony. There will come a day when ponies won't need warriors. Maybe not during my lifetime, maybe not in the near future, but one day. If that makes me naive, then so be it. I think it is better to be naive than to live for the next fight."

"As far as I'm concerned, as long as two beings wander this world, someone is going to want someone dead. And if they do not need warriors, then there is no reason for either of us to live. Your master knows this better than yourself."

Evening took a deep breath. "You're probably right. She is very wise, and probably felt the best way to teach me this lesson was for me to fall. Or maybe... just maybe... she sent me away before I could become like you, Swift Blade."

"We shall see. But I doubt that Sky Runner will get any better while you stand here arguing with me. I will finish my task, stand in my way if you wish." Swift pushed Evening aside and marched up towards the fortress in search of an entrance.

Evening was about to turn and go after her when Willow stopped her. "Evening, leave her. She has a point. Sky is not looking so well. I'm going to need you to help me hold her still."

"Ah come on, you think this is bad? You should have seen it when I got this thing buggered up in the first place," said Sky. "Ow, ow, ow."

"I told you to hold still, didn't I? Evening, give me that stick you're carrying. I'm going to splint her wing down," said Willow.

"I can't... This "stick" is an heirloom!" said Evening.

"I'm fine, really! Look, I can fly!" Sky attempted to take off but Willow bit down on her tail and pulled her to the ground.

"No! You are not fine! Your wing is very injured, and because you tried to fly away like that you hurt yourself even worse," said Willow. Her voice became softer. "I'm going to need to splint your wing down for it to heal. I'm sorry."

"That's really not necessary, honest!" cried Sky.

"Sky, is there a reason you are afraid to have your wing splinted?" asked Willow.

"I kind of have a thing about ponies touching my wing, or going near me with big pieces of wood," answered Sky.

"I understand, but... don't you trust me?"

Sky sighed. "I guess... when you put it that way."

Willow smiled. "Excellent! I promise it won't hurt too much."

"Wait... too much? Should I bite down on something?" asked Sky nervously.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to reset the joints. I can give you something for the pain, but it will still only deaden the pain," answered Willow. "You might want to bite on something while I set it."

Maboo popped out of nowhere once again. "Wait wait wait! While you were all conversing I was out searching for some firewood, because hey, it's getting dark! But as I was wandering I bumped into an old friend that I believe could help heal Sky's wing! I would like to introduce you to Valhalla. He's a Zebra!"

A zebra stepped out from behind Maboo. "Greetings, ponyfolk. I have heard from your friend Maboo here that you are in quite the dilemma. If you would permit, I would be happy to assist. I have a tonic that would help ease the pain much faster than what your healer might have."

Sky looked up at the zebra. "Yes please..."

Valhalla took out a small vial and lifted it to Sky's mouth. She drank the contents and swallowed, quickly dropping her head back onto the ground. "Just get over with it, Willow, and try not to kill me."

Willow nodded. "I'm sorry, Sky Runner," Willow began popping Sky's wing joint back into place then splints the wing down as quickly as possible. "I'm done... but the rest is up to Sky."

"You're going to be a-okay Sky! Wait uh, is she falling asleep?" asked Maboo.

"The painkillers she's received cause dreariness, but she will be alright," answered Valhalla. "You've done an excellent job, healer. I don't believe we have met. I am Valhalla, an alchemist, inventor and traveler from the far lands to the east where my tribe resides."

Willow smiled. "Thank you, Valhalla. I'm Willow Leaf, and I represent the Two Sisters. To hear praise for my healing is nice, especially from a zebra."

"It was my pleasure, Willow Leaf. I've had some encounters with other followers of the Two Sisters, quite good ponyfolk they were, although they were confused why I wasn't rhyming with everything I say. I do not follow the poetic traditions my tribe holds like I used to," Valhalla looked up at the sky. "Perhaps we should make camp, give our injured pegasus friend time to rest."

"I already got the wood for the campfire!" said Maboo.

"I'll take first watch," said Evening. "The rest of you rest."

"Thank goodness for that... talk about a long day," said Sky, half asleep.