The Silverfox Chronicles

Story three- Father to the Griffin

"Beautiful day,eh?" Diamondshine said, trotting through the forest that surrounded the castle. His companion Toxic sighed.

"Dia, we shouldn't just wonder off. No pony knows where we are. It's very dangerous." The black and green alicorn said disapprovingly.

His unicorn friend flipped and mane and scoffed. "Dangerous? We are both skilled in magic. Any creature would have to be suicidally stupid to attack us."

Toxic shrugged. "I guess you're right." He glanced around the forest. "But really, we shouldn't travel too far. Soon we will arrive in griffin country."

Diamondshine breathed in quickly. "...And that would be suicidally stupid."

A shudder passed through Toxic, ending at his tail tip. "They would eat as alive."

The two stallions continued to walk in silence. For about twenty minutes all was peaceful. Until suddenly, they heard a sharp cry for help.

"What was that?!" Toxic exclaimed, looking around him for the source.

Diamondshine pointed his horn east. "I think it came from there."

Silently but stealthily, the two stallions crept towards the noise. Toxic signaled at a bush, and he and Diamondshine both crawled into it.

Toxic opened his mouth to say something, but Diamondshine was quick to cover it. They stared at the horrifying sight in front of them in shock.

A griffin cub was being attacked by two adult dragons! The dragons played with the cub like a cat with a mouse, batting her up in the air then letting her run away a bit before attacking her again. A small stream of blood dripped down the griffin's head as she desperately tried to get away.

"Dia, we can't let them kill that griffin!" Toxic hissed silently.

Diamondshine looked flustered. "What can we do against two full grown dragons?!" He said back.

Toxic's shoulders slumped as the cry of the little griffin reached his ears. "Just...something!" He said, gritting his teeth. Magic flared at his horn as Toxic stepped out of the bushes. Instantly, the dragons turned to look at the alicorn.

"Oh, look a pony." One of the dragons sneered, the griffin hanging from his claws.

"Drop the cub and no pony gets hurt."

The other dragon threw up his paws, a look of faux horror on his face.

"Oh no! He's attacking us with overused stock phrases!"

Toxic was not amused. His eyes flashed completely green with power and magic blasted from his horn in wavelengths. The surrounding trees and shrubs died in response to the poisonous magic. The two dragons were thrown back, letting the griffin cub fall to the ground.

"What-what was that?!" One of the dragons cried. They both quickly pulled themselves off the ground and ran away, their feet crunching on dead leaves.

Diamondshine emerged from the now dead foliage, jaw practically on the ground. "Toxic," he said, "what did you do?!"

Toxic stuck his head down. "My talent is poison." He said simply, nodding at his cutie mark, a skull and cross bones.

"So that was a taste of alicorn power..." Diamondshine said cryptically.

Toxic shook his head. "No,no,no. It's not like that....I'm not the powerhouse you think I am." He swayed. "And I probably shouldn't have done that powerful spell...."

Diamondshine was quick to support his friend. Toxic leaned on him for a couple seconds, then recovered.

"Who are you?" A young voice squeaked out.

Toxic and Diamondshine both turned their heads toward the little griffin.

"I'm Toxic," he looks at Diamonshine, "and this is Diamondshine."

The unicorn smiled. "You can call me Dia."

Toxic approached the griffin. "What's your name?" He said gently.

The griffin shuffled nervously. "I'm....Kidka." She said.

Toxic sat in front of Kidka. "Well, Kidka, where are your parents?"

The griffin started to cry. "I don't know.....I got separated from them...."

Toxic felt a twang of pity and wrapped his wing around the cub.

"Dia, we can't just leave Kidka. We should take care of her until we find her parents!"

Diamonshine,however, was less jubilant. "Toxic, I understand your reasoning, but we can't do that." He said. "If the griffin's parents do find their child, I can assure you they won't welcome us with open arms. The griffins will think we stole Kidka and attack. I'm sorry, but as you said earlier, messing with griffins is suicidally stupid."

Toxic bit his lip. Diamonshine was right, he couldn't care for the cub. But, leaving her out on her own would be even worse.

Toxic leaned down and rubbed some blood off of the griffin's face. To his surprise, Kidka licked his hoof and smiled.

"Toxic!" She said rather cutely.

Toxic took a deep breath and looked sternly Diamondshine.

"Dia, I am going to find this cub's parents. Whether you come with me or not, that is your choice."

Diamondshine sighed. "I hate to do this, but I won't go. When you get back, I will be at the castle, with Silverfox." The unicorn cast one last glance at Toxic, then trotted off.

Toxic was too shocked to move. Diamondshine had actually left him. In silence, he watched his friend's form disappear.

"Where did Dia go?" Kidka asked, tugging on his wing.

Toxic swallowed. "He....he went away. It's just you and me now."

Kidka frowned, then suddenly swayed, exhaustion taking her over. The griffin fell at his hoofs.

The alicorn looked awkward, the realization that he had no idea how to care for a cub hitting him hard. Thinking fast, Toxic put the griffin on his back and rushed into the forest. While running, he tried to coo Kidka with cheerful words and a soft voice. His only reply was a tired moan.

Soon, Toxic arrived at his destination- the river. He gently dropped Kidka on the grass on the bank. Bitting off a bit of fabric from his cloak, Toxic soaked it in water. He quickly brought the wet cloth to Kidka and sat it on her forehead. Toxic wasn't sure if she even had a fever, but the cool water bring her to, he reasoned.

He was correct. Kidka opened her eyes and blinked a couple times.

Toxic sighed with relief. "Oh good, you're awake." He murmured.

The griffin stumbled up and looked around. Suddenly, her stomach grumbled. She let out a little giggle.

"You're hungry,eh?" Toxic said. "What do you want? Some kind of flowers?"

The griffin frowned.

"Right,right..." He said. "Griffins are meat-eaters, correct?"

Kidka jumped for joy. "Squirrel! I want a squirrel!" She squeaked.

Toxic looked utterly confused. How could he hunt a living creature? For Kidka, he said to himself, for Kidka.

"Okay, I need you to stay here and don't move." Toxic said firmly, backing up into the forest, still watching Kidka. When he saw the griffin wasn't moving, he finally turned around and trotted off deeper into the forest.

Toxic went over his plan. First, he would find the squirrel. Then, he was going to simply pick it up with magic. Lastly, he would give it to Kidka, letting her kill it and eat it. Of course, during this last step, he would be turned around.

Sharply watching the trees, Toxic spotted a squirrel. He quickly levitated it to him, the little animal squirming in the magic. Satisfied, Toxic strutted back to the river, only to drop the prey when he saw the horrifying sight.

Kidka was playing in the river!

"Kidka!" He said sharply, "Get out of there!"

The griffin looked at him, surprised. She tried to wade back to the bank, only to slip on a rock and fall on the river with a yelp.

Toxic screamed in fright and plunged in after her. The cold water soaked him to the skin, but this didn't matter to Toxic. He had to get Kidka back. Ponies were naturally good swimmers, so getting her wasn't a problem. The problem was that griffins weren't good swimmers. Kidka struggled and kick wildly as Toxic tried to pull her on his back. He finally succeeded in this, Kidka was now clinging on his back, digging her claws into him a bit harder for comfort. But it was far from over. When Toxic heard the telltale roar of water up ahead he let out a groan. Please don't let there be waterfall, he prayed silently.

Sadly, Toxic's feeble prayer could not bypass the laws of fiction. The rough current came into sight quickly, and he braised himself.

"HOLD ON!" Toxic screamed over the roar of water. Kidka understood and clung tightly to his back. Right as they fell over the falls, Toxic took flight. The alicorn went directly towards the bottom of the falls, on the bank, where he saw a small cave. Toxic struggles in the air, mostly because of his extra passenger and the weight added by them both being soaking wet. He finally crash landed in the cave floor, hitting his side. Kidka crawled off his back and touched him with a claw.

"Toxic? Are you okay?" Kidka said, cocking her head.

Toxic didn't answer, he just lay panting, trying to catch his breath. The entire stress of fighting off the dragons, arguing with Diamondshine, and the river accident weighed down on him all at once. He pitifully coughed up a bit of water and half-closed his eyes.

Through his dazed state, Toxic saw Kidka walk to the corner of the cave, plucking something from the ground and dropping it in front of him.

It was a blade of grass.

"Pony feed!" She squeaked happily.

Toxic smiled and nibbled on the grass. It was dry and wasn't even close to solving his problems, but it was the though that counts.

~

"Ellar, come back over here!" Radar exclaimed, fluttering over the blind pegasus. Embane had requested that he take Ellar for a bit of fresh air, so Radar was chaperoning the seer through the forest. However, this activity was....harder than expect.

Radar cast his glance at Ellar, who was sniffing a flower. He groaned. This was the worst command ever! Radar wasn't even aloud to fly free and fast! He had to foalsit nearly grown stallion.

Radar did a double take at Ellar. That flower he was smelling was poisonous! He let out a dramatic cry as Ellar opened his mouth to nibble on the toxic flora. Thinking fast, Radar swiftly bit the seer's scraggly red tail and jerked him back.

"No! We don't eat the poisonous flowers!" Radar scolded.

But Radar's upbraid had gone over Ellar's head. The pegasus sat on his haunches, his eyes completely glazed over. Radar trotted to him curiously, waving his hoof in font of Ellar's face.

"Heeellllooooo?" He questioned.

Ellar suddenly jerked awake.

"They're coming!" He screamed, clinging to Radar, shaking furiously.

"What are you talking about?" Radar exclaimed, trying to pry off the quivering seer.

Before he could answer, Radar's wing twitched. His special sense! What his namesake was! Radar slapped his hoof over Ellar's mouth and searched the area.

"Whoever you are, come out now!" Radar hissed.

Diamonshine trotted out of the bushes. The unicorn sighed, shaking leaves out of his mane. "Calm down, Radar. It's just me."

The pegasus relaxed, letting Ellar go. The seer flopped to the ground but quickly recovered himself.

Diamondshine looked confused. "Have you seen Toxic? We had sort of a disagreement, and now I can't find him!"

Radar and Ellar shrugged. "We haven't seen him." Ellar said, not realizing the irony of him saying that.

Diamondshine sighed. "Alright....I'll keep looking."

Shoulders slumping, Diamonshine trotted back into the forest.

"We should get back to the castle." Radar said, taking flight. Ellar nodded and flew after him.

~

"They must have been here!" Diamondshine exclaimed, nosing one of Toxic's feathers.

He had followed Toxic's scent to the river. But the trail abruptly stopped there. He had briefly followed another trail that led into the woods, but it had doubled back around to this spot. He saw some hoof prints in the mud on the bank, which noted that Kidka was with him as well.

Slowly, the realization hit him. Those prints led into the river. Toxic and Kidka must have fallen into the river!

Chest heaving, Diamondshine followed the river along the bank. He let out a cry when he saw the waterfall. Diamondshine hung his head in grief.

Then it hit him, Toxic could fly! Maybe he was at the bottom of the falls, completely safe....or something could have kept him from flying, and his and Kidka's broken bodies were lying at the bottom of the crashing water. Diamondshine tried to forget about the latter.

Searching for a alternate way down, Diamondshine spotted a scrawny rock path parallel to falls. The unicorn carefully stepped from slick rock to the next, still panting. Suddenly, the rock under his hoof crumbled, and he flatted himself against the rock wall as half the ledge he was standing on fell to the ground. Eventually, Diamondshine reached the bottom and he immediately started to search the area.

"Toxic?" He yelled, "Toxic, you there?"

"Dia!" Squeaked a familiar voice. Diamondshine turned to see Kidka. The griffin was standing outside of a small cave, trying to usher him in.

Hopefully Toxic is there too, he thought to himself, walking towards the cave. When he arrived he saw Toxic slumped on the ground, unconscious.

"You're alive!" Diamondshine exclaimed, nuzzling his friend and laying down beside him.

Toxic barely opened his eyes and smiled.

"I guess I messed up pretty bad, huh?" The alicorn said weakly.

Diamondshine cuffed him teasingly.

"Yeah, falling off a cliff and such."

"Hey Dia?" Toxic said. "I'm pretty tired right now....so you think you can let me sleep?" He said with a bit of a laugh.

Diamondshine nodded and gazed at the now setting sun. "Hey Kidka." He called to the griffin, who was playing at the mouth of the cave. "Would you like to come and sleep with us?"

Kidka nodded gleefully and climbed between the two unicorns, instantly warmed by the combined bodies' heat. And so, the three slept there- forgetting about everything else, just happy to have some pony to sleep with.

The next morning, Diamondshine noticed that Kidka was no longer between them. A responsible pony would have looked for her, but Diamondshine, still in a sleepy daze, just mentally shrugged and closed his eyes, hoping to sleep a bit more.

"Yay! Mommy is here!" He heard her squeak, and he was instantly awake.

"Toxic!" He whispered, nudging his friend's side.

Both friends looked in horror as they saw a full griffin hunting party- with the alpha female in the lead. The fearsome creatures landed in the mouth of the cave, snarling and growling. The alpha female stepped forward, thrusting her face in front of Toxic and Diamondshine.

"What are you doing with my child?!" She roared.

Toxic looked nervous. "We,um, found her,uh, the forest. She needed some, um, care."

Kidka jumped up and down. "It was so fun! We fell off a cliff!"

The alpha griffin looked unamused. "What?"

Toxic's legs shook. "We fell in the river....then the waterfall. But, I flew us out before it got bad."

The alpha griffin glared at the two quivering ponies and gritted her fangs. After a frightening minute or two, she spoke.

"You are lucky I am in a good mood. I will let you live only because my cub is safe. Now go before I change my mind." The large griffin grabbed Kidka by the scruff, and turned around. Before the hunting party left, Kidka waved her paws wildly.

"Byyyeeeee Toxic! Byyyeeeee Dia!" She squeaked out.

Quickly, the griffins were gone. Relived, Toxic hung his head down.

Diamondshine patted him on the shoulder. "Well, crisis averted, huh?"

The alicorn nodded his head. "I'm ready to get back to the castle. I haven't seen Silverfox or Catfight since yesterday. Mother and Father are probably worried about me,too."

Diamondshine stretched and shook his mane. "I haven't taken a bath for awhile. I feel dirty."

And so, the two stallions trotted back to the castle, where they were met with relief they were back.

End of Story Three