Welcome to Aethia, a land far to the east well outside the orderly gaze of the alicorn princesses; a land filled with ten scoundrels, loose cannons and low-lifes for every one respectable citizen. From here hail the griffons, who soar and pounce throughout their homeland in strong numbers, unlike in Equestria.

Days ago, our would-be heroine sought out a famed hunter regarding a notorious mountain range rumored to contain untold riches. Not wanting to pass up this particular griffon's knowledge, she recruited two other "experienced" ponies to investigate. However, not everything in this region is as it seems. The rocky depths have an age-old habit of hiding all sorts of ancient dangers from the surface...