Prolouge - A Bitter Pill to Swallow
“Achoo!”
A frilly, white handkerchief soon found itself levitating in front of the monarch’s reddened muzzle, appearing with what could only be described as robotic precision.
“Are you sure you’re alright, Princess?”
Princess Celestia stared at the finely-woven cloth before her with burdened eyes, debating with herself over whether or not she should even bother with the thing. On one hoof, she had always found handkerchiefs to be a bit on the grody side of things. On the other hoof, she would hate to ruin her freshly-washed coat so early in the day. She probably would have kept this mental back-and-forth going for a few more moments had it not been for the growing trail of mucus running down her upper lip.
“Yes, I assure you, I’m —sniff— fine.” she replied, wiping the handkerchief across her face. “I’ve lived for over a thousand years. I think I can handle a cold.”
With a sigh, the butler took back the cloth and folded it up. ‘If you say so, your highness.” he said, contradicting himself almost immediately by taking a few steps backward to distance himself from the Princess as she let out another round of raspy coughs. “Your health is my number-one priority. Please do not hesitate to let me know if there’s anything you need.”
“Thank y-” She began, her words coming out rough and congested. Celestia closed her eyes as she cleared her throat, cringing as the inflamed passageway protested the action. “Thank you. Your concern is much appreciated. Now please, I would appreciate some privacy.”
The butler said nothing, nodding respectfully as he exited the bedroom.
The sound of Celestia’s complaining went hand-in-hand with the sound of the door closing as the butler made his way out.
“Ugh...” she groaned, cupping her aching forehead between her hooves. “This can’t be happening already!”
To an outside observer, her condition didn’t make sense - she was an alicorn. She wasn’t supposed to get sick. She was Princess Celestia, the millennia-old, divine ruler of one of the largest and most powerful realms in the known world. She was an alicorn, a prestigious race blessed with longevity, good health, and eternal youth.
Or, at least, that’s what she told everypony.
It was true — being an alicorn definitely had its perks, but anypony with the smallest notion of common sense knew that nothing, not even a god, can last forever.
She was getting weaker. The eternal life wielded by alicorns might seem like a blessing to the uninitiated, but the truth was that it came at a steep cost. Sure, powerful magic can allow an organism to never age past a certain point, but magic is energy, and if Starswirl’s third law is to be believed, energy degrades over time.
There was a reason why Celestia had begun taking students under her wing. Her magic was getting weaker, and Equestria would soon be left defenseless. Of course, Luna would still be there to take her place, but she would soon succumb to the same circumstances as well. So what was she to do? The answer was simple enough: Find another pony with just as much intelligence and virtuosity as she once did, and pass her remaining power down to her.
After thousands of years, the magic infused into her at her birth had at last run out, and she had become mortal. Her flowing, ethereal hair would soon begin to gray. Her smooth, flawless face would become rough and wrinkled. Then, like she had watched her thousands of years worth of peers do before her, she would perish.
But Princess Celestia did not fear death — she was much too wise to do something as silly as that. She feared for Equestria.
She had thought that Twilight’s coronation would be the end of the dark cloud of anxiety and uncertainty that constantly loomed above her. She had thought that she had had it all figured out, and she could pass on in peace without having to worry about the future of the land she cared for so much. But now, after the unfortunate chain of events that lead to Twilight’s abdication, she wasn’t so sure anymore.
Sure, she had a good fifty years left in her to fix it, to find another to take her place. But unicorns with Twilight’s abilities only came around once in a century.
I have to get Twilight back before she does anything drastic, no matter the cost, she thought to herself, pen hovering over the bottom of the scroll laid out before her.
She could easily do the same thing Twilight had done to find her missing friend, but if she was correct in her assumptions of her whereabouts, sending troops into Griffon lands, even unarmed, would surely be seen as an act of war. Her recent diplomatic trip had taught her that much.
A glob of ink dripped off of the tip of the feather as it hovered in the air, tarnishing the pristine penmanship of the mobilisation order underneath with a splatter of pitch blackness.
The alicorn gasped sharply, the feeling of wet ink on her skin breaking her out of her trance. No, I can’t, she scolded herself, placing the feather back into its well and crumbling up the document. Just give it time, Celestia. There has to be another way.
* * *
“Many thanks to ‘ya, sir. Ya’ll come back, now, ‘ya hear?”
Igneous Rock rubbed his eyes, watching Celestia’s sun as it slowly ducked behind the grove of trees on the horizon. With a sigh, he closed the cash register, its signature ring signaling the end of another busy day of business. Kicking up the brakes that held the wooden cart in place, the old stallion bit down on an old, tattered bag filled with the day’s earnings and loaded it into the back.
The bag in question was much heavier than usual, and Igneous winced as his neck strained to hold up the heavy burden. If only Maud were here, he thought, grunting as he set the bag down into the cart. I’m gettin’ too old for this.
The old stallion hung his head with a huff as soon as his neck was relieved of the bag’s hefty weight. Then, with everything ready to go, he closed the cart’s back panel and fastened the harness over his shoulders. Here we go again, he thought to himself, dreading the brief, but laborious journey back to the rock farm.
The first step was always the hardest. Igneous shifted his weight forward with all of his might, using almost every muscle in his aged, yet muscular body to pull the heavy load behind him. His hooves firmly gripped the dirt underneath, working in harmony with his four legs to push themselves off the ground. In only a few short moments, his efforts paid off, having produced enough momentum to move the wheels of the cart and shift the brunt of the work to them.
“Whew.” he heaved, staring down the path before him as he started towards home. He had walked the worn, beaten trail countless times in his life, and knew it like the back of his hoof. It was almost a part of him. Over the many decades of his life, he had made countless memories here. This was where he first traveled to Ponyville with his mother and father, and as well where he first did so with his own children.
To him, this trail was a happy place. For years, he had always traveled down it with a tired, but nevertheless satisfied grin on his face. Yet for some reason, today, Igneous Rock felt only emptiness in his heart as he passed under the familiar shade of the evergreen trees that he had watched grow ever larger as the years carried on.
In the aftermath of his daughter’s death, his family’s dinky little farm had received a huge amount of attention. Ponies from far and wide flocked to the Pie family’s little corner of Equestria to lend their support, and every day the Pies would wake up to another few gifts laid on their doorstep. For a while, the constant stream of sympathetic notes, colorful bouquets, blue-and-yellow balloons, and, of course, small donations seemed almost endless. But now, a month later, it finally seemed to be slowing down.
As a result, the farm had seen a massive boost in sales, as well. While before, the Pies could only manage to sell enough gems, gravel, and raw stone blocks to get by, they now had to work overtime to meet the massive demand. Thanks to the Pie’s newfound fame and comparatively cheap prices, ponies from all over Equestria flocked to the farm. Now, Pie family stones could be found in countless places across the realm, from the grand façades of massive buildings to the humble gravel paths of a grandmother’s garden.
Like most lower-class ponies, Igneous Rock had always dreamed of attaining vast wealth. He had always thought that money would bring him and his family happiness. He had thought that all he needed was a few hundred thousand bits, and all of his worries would vanish into thin air.
This thought, however, couldn’t have been farther from the truth.
No matter how much business the farm received, no matter how many gifts they were given, there wasn’t a single earthly possession that could even begin to fill the void left behind by the passing of his beloved daughter. Even with all the new, shiny tools his family could now afford, the new storehouse they could build, Igneous still found himself weeping at the end of each day.
Lately, he found himself traveling to sell his crop in Ponyville more than ever, as he could barely even stand to be at the farm anymore. Everywhere he looked on that rocky patch of land triggered a memory of times gone by. He would look at the far end of the west field and remember the very first time he taught his little Pinkamena how to break apart a geode, and the look of pure, unbridled excitement on her face when she first laid her eyes upon the beautiful crystals inside. He would gaze out the dining room window every morning, noon, and night, and recall a time when he would gaze through the glass to see his four lovely daughters playing in the fields.
No matter how much he thought back to the happiness of the past, he couldn’t bear to work up the slightest semblance of a smile. No matter how sweet the memory, it was always crushed by the fact that somewhere on that very farm, that sweet little filly was buried six feet underground.
“Damn it, Igneous…” he cursed, stopping to wipe the budding tears from his eyes. “Don’t you know that stallions aren’t meant to cry?”
* * *
A bright violet glow lit the otherwise pitch black that shrouded the mountain pass in darkness. Twilight Sparkle squinted her eyes, a slight huff of warm air leaving her snout as she nervously inched forward, making each movement as careful and precise as possible.
Though she had been on her hooves for hours, it seemed as though her neck would be the part of her that would be most tired in the morning. Up and down went her head, constantly moving to both light the way forward, and to make sure she wouldn’t accidentally step off the cliff.
The narrow ridge led to a rather large plateau, visible only by the dim light that radiated from the small cluster of buildings that called it home. “Thank goodness…” Twilight breathed, carefully following the slippery, worn-down stones below her. Each and every step she took was carefully planned, as, though its true depth was not visible in the darkness of the night, one misstep would send her tumbling down the rocky chasm below.
She probably would have complained about the utter lack of proper safety measures had she not been forced to dedicate the majority of her attention to compensating for it. The high altitude didn’t help, either; though she was barely exerting herself, she was utterly out of breath, her lungs having to work extra hard to extract oxygen from the thin air around her.
Next time I’ll just…
She took one final, nervous step forward, establishing herself on the safety of the flat plateau.
...Take the train.
Twilight sighed. At long last, she had arrived. The old, dilapidated buildings before her weren’t by any means a sight to behold, but in her current state, they may as well have been five-star hotels. With new found energy, she galloped as quickly as her aching hooves could carry her, wanting nothing more than to collapse onto a nice, warm bed.
“Hello?” she greeted, peeking herself through the door of — if her Griffonese was still up to par — what appeared to be an inn. From there, she could see an older griffon snoozing rather ungracefully. His face was planted firmly on the surface of the desk, and the only indication that he was still alive was the obnoxiously loud sound of his snoring.
“Hello?” She said again, raising her voice. Despite her best efforts, however, the griffon didn’t budge.
Twilight puffed out her cheeks and huffed. I’m too tired for this, she thought, levitating her wallet out of one of her saddlebags. She placed a few hundred-piece coins on the counter and made her way down the poorly-lit hall, trying her best to ignore her stomach as it tied itself into a knot. It’s better than sleeping outside, I guess, she thought to herself, peeking into a door left ajar.
To her luck, the room was empty. That fact was the only thing ‘lucky’ about her situation, however. The room in question was filthy and decrepit. Shredded, yellowed curtains flanked each side of a broken window pane. The walls were covered with scratch marks, and a faint odor of rot filled the entire space. The bed was nothing spectacular, either, consisting of a lumpy-looking pillow that rested atop a few bales of visibly moldy hay that had been pushed together. It was, to put it bluntly, a hole.
It wasn’t glamorous, or even acceptable, but in her current exhausted state, Twilight found it difficult to care all that much. With barely any hesitation, she collapsed onto the bed, making sure to cast a health bubble around herself before she drifted off to sleep.
* * *
The Joy of Geology
Chapter 22 — The Rock Cycle
The Rock Cycle is the process through which rocks of one type transform into another. It is a fundamental part of the formation of the earth’s crust, and the reason behind the amazing geological diversity we can observe in the world today.
There are an indefinite number of steps in the rock cycle, ranging from as little as four to as many as nine stages. This is due to the fact that the cycle relies on random events above and below the planet’s surface. These stages are triggered when one type of rock; either igneous, metamorphic, or sedimentary, is removed from the conditions in which it was formed.
The origin of every single rock that exists in the world is the magma in the planet’s mantle, and so too is the the rock cycle. Magma exists as —
“Time to go, Maud!”
“Hm?” Maud hummed, marking her place with a bookmark before closing the fat textbook and looking up toward the mare who had called her name.
“We’re in the Griffon Empire! C'mon, Professor Feldspar wants us to meet her at the mountain in a few hours!” said her classmate, motioning for her to follow her.
“Oh.” Maud replied, gathering her saddlebags. She stopped to make sure Boulder was secure in her pocket before following her classmate into the middle of the train car.
“Geez! What a trip, right?” said the bright yellow unicorn, her periwinkle hair bouncing about as she walked through the car door and onto the train platform. “That took, like, forever! I thought it was never gonna be over! Am I right?”
“Mmhmm.” Maud mumbled, looking ahead at the city of Talonston around her as she met her friend on the platform. It wasn’t exactly a huge city. There were no tall skyscrapers like in Manehattan, nor any beautiful marble structures like she’d seen in Canterlot. Talonston was a minor port city in the Griffon Empire, and its appearance reflected that fact. Only a few tall steeples dominated the skyline, with the majority of the rest of the buildings consisting of only a single floor. It reminded her of her visit to Ponyville, where her sister, Pinkie Pie lived.
Pinkie… she thought to herself with a worried frown. I hope she’s still doing okay.
“...Right, Maud?” She heard her classmate say, breaking her train of thought. Maud never really cared for most of her classmates, but Silver Spelunker was a rare exception. She was the only pony she had met in her many years of study that was just into geology as she was, and the only one who could actually teach her something new about it. Despite this, Silver still managed to rub her the wrong way occasionally. Maud wasn’t really one for conversation. Silver was.
Maud looked up at her and nodded. “Yeah.”
“Right?” She said again, a bright grin exaggerating the thickness of her freckled cheeks.
Maud resisted rolling her eyes, wondering what percentage of Silver’s lexicon consisted of the word ‘right’.
Silver Spelunker levitated a neatly folded piece of paper out of one of her saddlebags.“Right, so according to the itinerary, we have to meet Professor Feldspar at Mount Silver Tail National Park at 2 O’ Clock sharp. Which gives us…” Silver stopped to look around for a time-telling device of some sort. “Um…” she said, putting a forehoof up to her lips and squinting her eyes to catch a glimpse of a passing stallion’s pocketwatch, “Exactly five hours and forty-three point fifty-five minutes! Plenty of time!” she giggled.
“Nice.” Maud replied flatly. She followed the peppy hoofsteps of her classmate as she made her way into the city proper. She was glad to finally be finished with her long journey, but couldn’t help but get an uneasy feeling being in a city with so many griffons.
She had no prejudice against the race, but the griffons here sure seemed to have one against ponies. Everywhere she looked, she could see the residents of the city eyeing her. Griffon society was relatively homogenous, so she would have wrote this off as curiosity had the expressions on their faces not been so disgusted-looking.
“Mmm…” Silver purred, stopping to smell the air. “Wow! That smells delicious!” she announced, turning to Maud. “I don’t know about you, but I’m like, super famished. You wanna stop and get some food before we head off to the mountain?”
“That’s okay.” Maud replied, despite the poorly-timed rumbling of her stomach stating otherwise. “I had a big breakfast.”
Silver scrunched up her muzzle. “You did?” she said, raising an eyebrow.
“Yes.”
“What? There was a breakfast buffet on the train? And nopony told me?”
Ugh, Maud moaned in her head. She didn’t like to lie, but she was growing increasingly uncomfortable with every second she stood out in the open in this city. “I tried to wake you, but you were fast asleep.”
“Hmpf.” Silver pouted, “Well, try harder next time, okay? In the meantime, I’m gonna eat up! I’ll meet you at the mountain, I guess! See ya!” Silver Spelunker waved goodbye before excitedly galloping toward whatever smell she had picked up. In the blink of an eye, the unicorn had disappeared into the crowd of griffons in the city’s main square.
“W-” Maud sputtered, lifting a hoof in Silver’s direction. “I-” She stammered again, looking around at the plain, wooden buildings surrounding her. Perhaps it would have been a good idea to ask her how to get to the mountain, she thought. Maud bit her bottom lip, feeling her stomach tighten as she felt hundreds of hateful eyes staring her down.
I do not like this.
* * *
Pokey Pierce made his way down the wide cobblestone streets of Talonston, scanning the seemingly endless line of shops for any sign of food. He cringed, cursing under his breath with every step he took.The rough cobblestone below him was clearly not suited for the sensitive bottoms of hooves.
Such a mild inconvenience was the least of his problems, however.
“Ugh…” He complained, feeling a familiar tingling sensation in his body as his heart rate began to rise. He probably would have taken a deep breath of the fresh afternoon air to calm himself down had it not been for the griffon behind him slamming into his rear.
“Hey! Get out of my way, pony!” Pokey heard a rather irritated voice call out from behind him.
“Oh, u-uh, so sorry.” he apologized, swiftly moving himself out of the way.
“Freaking immigrants. Go back to Equestria!” the griffon huffed before continuing on his way.
“Heh…” He awkwardly laughed, sidestepping toward the edge of the thoroughfare.
Now that he was out of the way, Pokey stopped to take that breath. Looking around once more to make sure he wasn’t in anypony’s — or, rather — any griffon’s way, he closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. The briny, salty air of the sea overwhelmed his senses, whisking him away to a world without worry, if only for a moment.
Unfortunately, a simple breath of fresh air wasn't nearly enough to get his unfortunate situation off his mind. He was a wanted pony, and, if the age-old stereotypes held true, the griffons who inhabited this land would love nothing more than a bag of gold in exchange for his head.
Pokey would have much rather ran off to another, safer country, such as Bovina, Cervidaevia, or even Yakyakistan, but he hadn’t much time to plan his escape, and the dire circumstances had forced him to act quickly. The only international voyage that day had lead him here. Pokey just wished that he had been able to go to a more pony-friendly area of the world.
This wasn’t totally a bad thing, however. Equestria and the Griffon Empire didn’t exactly have a history of friendly diplomatic relations, so even if he was recognized, it wasn’t likely that the government here would put much, if any, effort into capturing him. If anything, they would praise him for killing off so many ponies.
He eased a little at that thought. Sixteen kills, he thought, chuckling quietly. He could only hope to continue his life here, doing the thing he loved.
Sixteen victims… His inner-monologue continued. That thought had forced a devilish grin onto Pokey’s face. I hope griffons are just as easy to torture than ponies, he thought to himself as he made his way into the city’s central plaza. Then again, I’m sure there are still plenty of ponies living around here.
“Heh.” he laughed. I can’t wait to make somepony scream...
“Excuse me.”
“Gah!” Pokey yelped, earning the attention of more than a few bystanders. They each cast a hateful glare or stifled a laugh towards the tall, shrimpy unicorn before returning their attention to their respective errands.
Pokey had never been a shy pony, but now, given his reputation in Equestria, every set of eyes that glared at him felt like a knife stabbing him in the back. He couldn’t cower forever, though, and Pokey soon found himself forced to slowly turn to face whatever creature had called out to him and pray it wasn’t a bounty hunter.
As soon as he did, however, his heart only jumped even further, but for a much different reason.
If the beautiful-looking earth pony had been startled by his reaction, she didn’t show it. “Do you know the way to Mount Silver Tail?” she continued, her stoic expression matching the droning, monotonous way she spoke.
“I...uh, um…” Pokey stammered, barely able to hear himself over the sound of his heart pounding away in his chest. “I, um…”
A strange blend of emotions stirred around inside of him. Fear took hold of his heart and his hooves, the former shaking wildly as the latter pumped away furiously. At the same time, relief washed over him. The mare clearly hadn't recognized him, but the anxious feeling still lingered on in his chest. But most importantly, Pokey felt a familiar urge deep inside of his blackened heart - the urge to kill.
Here he was, alone in a city full of griffons with another of his kind. A young mare who looked not a day over 20. Four strong, sturdy legs that gave way to a full, yet still slender body. So powerful, yet so helpless. So willing to follow without question. Just waiting to be controlled.
Pokey held back the urge to reach for his knife and slit her throat right then and there. He wanted to kill. He wanted to hear her scream and beg for mercy. But he couldn’t. Not now.
He had lost everything he had in Equestria. No cabin, no cells, and no tools. If he tried anything now, he would almost certainly get caught.
Pokey smiled. But I suppose that just makes it all the more thrilling.
“Y-Yeah.” he finally answered, putting on what he hoped was a convincing, non-threatening smile. Sixteen and counting.
Though Pokey had tried his best not to come off as creepy, it seemed as though the mare had done her part to fill in the gap, and then some. The stoic, almost apathetic way she stared back at him was strangely unnerving.
“Well?” she said with a little more force, her purple bangs shifting as she tilted her head. “I don’t have all day.”
“Oh, uh, yes. Of course!” Pokey replied, pointing a hoof in the direction of what appeared to be a dense forest in the distance. “Lucky for you, I, uh, know this place like the back of my hoof. Follow me.”
She shook her head. "That's okay. I would rather you just give me directions."
"Oh..." Pokey blinked. "Well, to tell you the truth, I, uh..."
Think, Pokey! Think! he berated himself, wracking his brain to think an excuse.
"I'd, uh, better not, honestly. I'm actually pretty terrible when it comes to directions. I promise can lead you there without a hitch, though!"
She squinted, looking Pokey up and down. There was something about the frail, wimpy stallion in front of her she didn't like, but she found it difficult to pin down. She didn't have very much of a choice, however. Thanks to Silver running off, he was the only pony around, and it seemed highly unlikely that any griffon would want to help her. “Fine.” she sighed, casting her gaze downward.
"Great!" Pokey smiled, gesturing the mare to follow him. "Let's go, shall we?"
The mare simply let out another sigh in reply. Watching him closely, she followed after Pokey, the slightest frown finding its way onto her face as she watched the stallion begin to awkwardly weave his way through the crowd. However, despite the uneasiness she felt around the stallion, she kept herself close to him, probably because of the fact that he was the only one in this city besides her fellow classmate who didn’t seem disgusted by her presence.
The city’s cobblestone pathways ended abruptly as they approached the city limits, devolving instead into an unpaved dirt path showing where millions of hooves and talons had worn down the grass over time. From there, the path branched off in a few directions, each separate pathway becoming increasingly narrow the further it went.
“Come on, uh…” Pokey began, “This way.” he said rather indecisively.
As soon as they entered the forest, Pokey began diligently scanning his surroundings, searching for a secluded area of some sort. Despite this fact, however, he secretly wished the mare would say something, if only to break the awkwardness. “So, uh...if you, ah, don’t mind me asking, what’s your name?” he finally said, turning his head slightly to meet her gaze. To his surprise, the mare was already staring at him.
“Maud.”
“Just Maud?”
She exhaled sharply. “Maud Pie.”
Maud...Pie? Pokey thought to himself, his hooves stopping mid-stride. There’s no way that-
“Is something the matter?” Maud said, interrupting Pokey’s train of thought. She looked at the unicorn quizzically, watching his face go through a slideshow of expressions.
“N-nothing.” Pokey replied, shaking his head. “There was, uh, something in my eye.”
A short “Hmm.” was all Maud offered in reply before turning her attention to the variety of rocks that lined the path below her.
Just a few more minutes…
Twilight Sparkle lazily turned to her side, a soft, content smile brightening her face. Though the persistent heat of the early morning sun on her face insisted she begin her day, the princess, it seemed, had other plans in mind.
She protested with a lazy moan as she stubbornly clutched her pillow. I can afford to sleep in, she reasoned with herself, her mind still trapped in the delirious limbo between dreaming and wakefulness.
Like any overworked soul would attest to, it was near impossible to argue with a good night's rest. Three days of hiking through the mountains, sleeping outside and all the bug bites that came with it had taken its toll on the alicorn. It came as no surprise that her body would stop at nothing to hold out for as long as it possibly could.
Even if her body was in perfect condition, however, the weight of the day ahead of her would have kept her pinned down regardless. For once, it seemed that everything was going her way. All she had to do was stay in bed, and she would remain inside this small bubble of perfection. There were no responsibilities to worry about in her run-down room. No guilt, no angry crowds, no pressure, no judgemental glances. Though she knew that running away from one's problems was a fool's errand, it seemed, at least for now, to be the best decision she had ever made.
Twilight yawned as she rolled over again. Though the circumstances certainly could have been a lot better, it had been a long time since Twilight had slept this soundly. In fact, it probably would have been the best rest of her life if not for the fact that it ended with a swift smack to her face.
“Aah!” Twilight shrieked, her eyes flying open to be greeted by an angry-looking griffon looming far above her, broom in talons.
“Who are you?” he squawked, grabbing Twilight’s forehoof and forcefully lifting her off the bed. “Why are you here? Who let you in?”
“Uh, I, I, um…” Twilight stammered, her mind still reeling from the rude awakening. “I’m so sorry! I tried to wake you up last night, but you wouldn’t budge! I-I left you some money on the counter!”
The innkeeper leered at Twilight as he held her in the air, his sharp talons digging into her skin as he held her foreleg in a tight grip. His fierce, rageful scowl was almost as painful as his claws, glaring into her eyes like an eagle eyeing its prey.
“Feh.” he huffed, releasing his grip and letting her fall back onto the bed. “I thought as much.” he said, crossing his arms. “But I don’t appreciate surprise guests.”
Twilight stood herself up, rubbing her slightly-bloodied forehoof where the innkeeper had broken the skin. “I-I’m so sorry, sir” she apologized again, cringing as she scooted her way off of the bed.
“Hmph. You’re lucky I’m nice.” He said, pointing a razor sharp talon in front of Twilight’s muzzle. “Most griffons these days aren't too keen on ponies.”
Twilight shrank back, nervously eyeing his talons. She flinched as the innkeeper lowered his arms, “I, uh, didn’t underpay, did I?”.
“On the contrary!” he laughed. “Though I’m flattered that you think my inn costs 200 bits per night. Should I just assume the extra 190 was an unsolicited stay fee?”
Twilight winced. “Oh.”.
The talons hurt a lot less than that.
Putting on an awkward smile, Twilight slinked her way around the innkeeper and made a beeline toward the door. “Well, um, thanks very much for your understanding.” She said, using her magic to open the splinter-filled door. “You have a lovely place here.”
Just as Twilight took her first step, the innkeeper's tail smacked her in the face. “Oh no you don’t! Where do you think you’re going?”
“Ow!” Twilight said, rubbing her cheek. “Would you quit-”
Pushing his guest out of the way, the innkeeper made his way through the doorway and into the dimly-lit hallway. “Come with me.” he said, gesturing down the hall to a very confused-looking Twilight.
With no choice but to comply, Twilight followed the innkeeper down the hallway, keeping her head down to make sure she didn’t step on any loose nails. She didn’t know whether to be afraid for her safety or for her wallet, but the tacky, peeling wallpaper around her certainly didn’t do anything to console her.
Within a few seconds, they had reached the lobby of the inn, a tiny space sparsely decorated by what could one could only guess was eleventh-hand furniture. “Sit down.” the innkeeper commanded, haphazardly throwing a few pieces of silverware onto the most sturdy of the lobby’s old wooden tables. “You’re not going anywhere without some breakfast in you.”
Whew, Twilight sighed, That could have been a lot worse.
Twilight smiled and shook her head, opening the front door with her magic. “That’s very generous of you, sir, but I’d really better be on my wa-”
“Generous?” The griffon cackled, placing a single dandelion in a cracked stone vase. “I don’t know how they do things in pony-land, but there’s no such thing as ‘free’ here in the Empire. Don’t think I didn’t notice that fat purse of yours.”
Taking a deep breath of the dry, stale air around her, Twilight shut the door and slinked her way over to the table. “Oh. Right.” she said, pulling out a chair for herself.
“Now,” the innkeeper began, placing a tattered napkin in front of his unwilling guest. “Something tells me you’re feeling particularly hungry this morning. How does everything on the menu sound?”
Twilight gulped. “That sounds wonderful...”
“Great.” the innkeeper smiled, making his way back over to the table with a pre-prepared plate of griffon scones. “Now, why don’t you tell me a little about yourself?”
* * *
Maud’s breath blended seamlessly into the humid air of early spring as she made her way up the steep slope. She ascended the rocky shelf in an impressive show of athleticism, jumping gracefully from rock to rock without breaking a sweat. Then, having reached the top, the mare let out a single, hard breath from her muzzle before turning to face her new acquaintance behind her.
“Whew…” Pokey gasped, looking up at Maud from the bottom of the hill. He soon let his head fall again, staring down at his hooves as he stopped to catch his breath.
Maud planted her rump down onto a large, mossy rock embedded into the ground. "Are you sure you take this route every day?" She said, narrowing her eyes as she watched Pokey struggle to make it to the top without collapsing from exhaustion.
"Y-Yes..." Pokey replied between breaths, having at last reached the summit. “But I, uh, usually...um…”
Maud raised an eyebrow as she watched Pokey scramble to come up with a legitimate excuse. “Usually what?” she said, running a forehoof across a series of long grooves left by years of erosion on the rock below her.
Pokey’s eyes darted around the landscape. “I, um…” he babbled, feeling his legs become weak. Son of a pegasus, he cursed to himself, feeling Maud’s eyes cutting into him.
They had been walking down this path for well over an hour now, and, despite his efforts, Pokey had been unable to find a single secluded area. No ridges, no caves, no nothing. All he saw for miles upon miles were rocks and trees. Stupid, boring rocks and trees.
It seemed like such a solid plan at first. All he had to do was find a cave, lure her into it, and slit her throat. What Pokey seemed to have overlooked, though, was the fact that he was no longer in Equestria. Unlike his native country, with its mostly flat terrain and gently rolling hills, the Griffons lived in the mountains, which, as he had learned, were slightly more difficult to traverse.
Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw it.
Looks like I spoke too soon.
Pokey shook his head. “Sorry, I, uh, kind had a mind block going there!” he laughed unconvincingly.
Maud, who had since turned her attention to staring at the rock she was sitting on, looked unimpressed.
“As I was saying, I usually have trouble with this slope. But thankfully, there’s a shortcut through that cave over there!”
Maud lit up despite her suspicions. “A cave?” she said, wasting no time in getting up and trotting ahead of Pokey. “That’s perfect. I’ve been dying to get a glimpse of this continent’s lithosphere. I don’t think I could wait another few hours until the rest of the class arrived at the site.”
Pokey picked up his speed to meet up with the suddenly talkative Maud. “Litho-what?”
“Lithosphere.” Maud corrected, her normally monotone voice now filled with purpose. “You might know it as the crust, the first layer of our planet's composition. Caves and other subterranean openings allow geologists to look inside of the lithosphere without having to excavate.”
Pokey formed his lips into an ‘O’ shape and slowly nodded his head. “Oh.” he said with a slow drawl, not even attempting to act like he knew what she was talking about.
“I guess I should thank you for taking me here.” Maud said, ducking down as she entered the mouth of the cave. “I apologize if I was cold at first. I’ve been going through some family trouble and-”
Maud’s monotonous parade of words ended abruptly with a gasp. “Woah.” she gushed as well as she could, quickening her trot to reach the rightmost wall of the cave.
“What?” Pokey said, following closely behind her. He cast a simple light spell to compensate for the lack of sunlight in the cavern, covering its rough, rocky walls in a faint blue glow.
“Do you see this?” Maud said, placing a forehoof on a point between two differently-colored sections of the wall. “This is the K-T boundary, the border between the Cretaceous and the Tertiary eras of geologic time. I can’t believe I’m finally getting to see it with my own eyes."
Pokey raised an eyebrow. She sure seems ecstatic about it, he thought to himself, watching her peer stone-faced at whatever it was she was going on about. "Oh." He said flatly. "Cool."
Seeing as Maud was busy staring at rocks, Pokey turned away from his partner, trotting further into the depths of the cave. He heard the echo of Maud’s dull voice slowly fade as he advanced further.
Focus, Pokey, he silently commanded, I need something to do the job with. He squinted as he scanned the floor of the craggy grotto. In all of his plots over the years, this was by far his most spontaneous. He barely had time to figure out where to stash the body, let alone how he would go about the actual killing.
Something tells me this one’s gonna be a bit of a challenge to subdue, he thought, the memory of her display of physical fitness still fresh in his mind. I’ll need to find something blunt to knock her out with.
Pokey’s head hovered close to the floor, searching fruitlessly for anything he could use as a weapon. The longer he searched, however, the more obvious it became that he had apparently chosen the most featureless cave on the face of the earth to do his work. Not a single rock or loose stalactite decorated the gray, barren surfaces around him.
He took a few more steps forward, feeling the rock below him give in slightly to his weight.
“Watch out.”
“Wha- Woah!”
Holding in a yelp, Pokey exhaled hard from his nostrils, sending a cloud of dirt and dust into his face. “Bleh!” he hacked, rapidly shaking his head before taking a few wide strides backwards.
A few more dusty coughs and eye-rubs ensued before Pokey looked ahead of himself, then back at Maud. “Uh, t-thanks.” He said, standing back up on four hooves.
Instead of acknowledging Pokey, however, Maud simply stared ahead of herself, mouth agape.
A few feet in front of them, the ground abruptly ended, forming the mouth of an enormous chasm. In fact, the only thing separating the two from the seemingly bottomless pit was a ring of loose rocks that served as a border between the hole and solid ground.
Along the interior walls of the chasm, a thick layer of cloudy, milky white crystals of various sizes covered every inch of the wall. They emitted a dim light that partially illuminated the area around them, though, despite this, the bottom of the pit, if it even existed, was still shrouded in utter darkness.
Pokey gave a quizzical glance at the mare beside him. Sure, it was pretty sight, but at the end of the day, they were just rocks. Well, this is just wonderful, he thought, gritting his teeth. Of course my ‘shortcut’ is a dead end.
Then, suddenly, the stallion's teeth lessen their grip on one another. The scowl on his face transformed into a grin as his eyes darted between the chasm and the mare standing on its jagged lip.
Pokey stifled a chuckle and began backing up. Perfect.
Though he would have liked to torture her for a few weeks before he killed her, it grew increasingly evident that at the moment he would be unable to do so. Instead, he would have to sneak up on her and kill her quickly. Sure, it wasn’t as thrilling, but a kill was a kill, and Pokey wasn't about to pass up the opportunity.
Pokey’s head darted back and forth as he backed up, keeping tabs on both Maud and the area behind him to ensure he wouldn’t trip and blow his cover. Sure enough, Maud was still fixated on the crystals. "Amazing." She whispered, taking a cautious step forward to get a closer look. "I've never seen anything like this. It’s beautiful.”
“Yeah…” Pokey mumbled, taking a few final steps backwards before establishing himself in a running position. He felt his chest swell with determination as he stared at Maud and her vulnerable position at the edge of the pit.
Now's my chance. No hesitation.
Galloping towards her at full speed, Pokey quickly advanced through the long tunnel that lead to his prey. As soon as he was close enough, he leaped through the air, slamming his full weight into Maud. Shoulder against shoulder, their bodies collided, the force of the impact sending them both in opposite directions.
It was quickly apparent, however, that Pokey had both overestimated his own strength and underestimated Maud's.
Acting without hesitation, Maud firmly planted her hooves into the coarse rock below her, shifting her weight backwards to stop herself from careening over the edge of the cliff. "Hey!" She gasped, barely able to hear herself over the sound of her heart beating as she jumped backwards to safety.
“What’s wrong with you?” She scolded between heavy, shaky breaths. “You could have killed me!”
Maud scowled as she watched the unicorn wobble back and forth on the brink of the chasm, his four legs scrambling to find some sort of balance after the unexpectedly unyielding impact. “I-I…” He babbled, looking in every direction. "I must have tripp-gah!"
Pokey felt his stomach drop, both literally and figuratively, as one of his hooves sank much lower than the other three. In fact, it never even touched solid ground.
"N-No!" He screamed, his other back leg sharing the same fate as the other as he scrambled to regain his footing. With the lower half of his body dangling off the cliff, Pokey could only watch in horror as he quickly slid backwards into the abyss. "Help me!"
"Woah!" Maud cried, diving forward onto her belly and grasping one of Pokey's hooves in two of her own. She grunted as she landed, the rough floor of the cavern scraping hard at her bare stomach.
Maud immediately felt herself slip forward as Pokey slid further down. "Hold onto me!" She screamed, gritting her teeth as she attempted to lift both Pokey and herself off the ground. Her awkward position on her stomach, unfortunately, actively worked against her, sending her two inches forward for every one inch she pulled away.
But Maud was nothing if not strong. Her muscles were lean and capable, and as the battle raged on, she soon found the tide shifting in her favor.
At least, it had seemed that way. Maud was a muscular pony, and while dense muscles were capable of great feats of strength, they also weighed a great amount more than normal. With her belly resting on the stone below her, the heavy weight of her fit body on top of Pokey’s caused the already loose stones to give way.
“Help! I’m slipping!” Pokey cried, trying his best to not look at the endless darkness below him. This proved to be difficult, unfortunately, given the huge amount of tiny, loose stones that poured out from the cliff below her, pelting him in the face.
"No!" Maud screamed, listening in horror to the sound of crumbling rock as she continued to slide forward.. "No, no, no! Please, no!"
Maud’s face contorted into a look of pure anguish as she felt herself slip further and further off the edge, her back legs kicking violently in every direction in an fruitless attempt to find leverage
She could easily let Pokey die and save herself, but she would never forgive herself for something so selfish. “P-please, no! I don’t know what to do!” she begged, tears budding in her eyes as she struggled to pull up the unicorn.
The brittle rock below her was in no mood for negotiation, however, and despite her terrified screams that would soon echo off the crystalline walls of the chasm, Maud soon found herself and Pokey careening into the darkness below.
* * *
Twilight put a hoof in front of her lips, fighting to keep her breakfast down as she listened to the familiar clink of ceramic against stone. A thick trail of steam drifted up from the plate of freshly-baked pastries, coating her crumb-covered snout in a thin film of condensation.
In most other circumstances, the young princess would have taken one whiff of the doughnuts’ intoxicating aroma and wolfed them down like a starving animal, but after three plates, she would be fine with never seeing another pastry for the rest of her life. And for an alicorn, that was saying something.
She held back another retch as the innkeeper pushed the plate forward. “Ugh…” She moaned, rubbing her overfed stomach to dull the pain. “Please, I’m begging, no more…”
The innkeeper let out a dry chuckle from his seat across the table. “Had enough, Princess?” he laughed, swiping up one of the doughnuts for himself and taking a generously-sized bite .
“Yes…” Twilight gasped, quickly thereafter raising a forehoof to her face to stifle a belch. “Yes, please, I’m full. I was full two plates ago…”
“Hmm.” he nodded, smiling as he felt the weight of his wallet. “Yes, I suppose I can let you go now.”
“Really?” Twilight gasped, her face lighting up like a torch at the Equestria Games.
“But I’m not about to let my hard work go to waste.”
Twilight’s face fell. Celestia help me...
“I suppose for an additional charge I could put these last dozen in a box for you. You’ll need it for the road if you want to make it to the capitol in time to see Emperor Garion.”
“Fine.” She huffed. Without so much as lifting her head to look, Twilight levitated a few bits out of her wallet and let them drop down on the table.
The innkeeper smiled widely, leaning over the table to rake in the money. “Wonderful! Wait right here.”
“Ungh…” Twilight moaned, feeling her stomach pounding as blood rushed to the organ to digest her massive meal. She thought about just running while the innkeeper was out of the room, but her bulging belly demanded she stay put. Even if she could move, she wouldn’t dare risk facing an early check-out charge.
“Here you are, your majesty.” The innkeeper snickered, watching Twilight’s violet aura encapsulate the cardboard box in his claws. “Good luck on your little pony quest!”
Twilight tucked the box into her saddlebags, making sure to keep it away from anything that could be ruined by its grease-soaked bottom. “Thank you for your, uh, hospitality.” She said, waddling toward the exit as quickly as her legs could carry her.
“Thanks for stopping by!” The innkeeper waved, watching his guest make her way through the door. “Come again so—!”
Twilight distanced herself from the door to give her enough room to slam it shut.
“Finally…” she breathed, feeling her breakfast slosh around inside her with every step she took.
The plateau looked much different in the light of day. No longer shrouded in darkness, Twilight found herself pleasantly surprised at the magnificent view offered by the
There, on the horizon, was her destination: The famed Imperial City, capitol of the mighty Griffon Empire. Even from miles away, the view offered by its massive monoliths was truly worth the grueling hike.
She had planned to leave much earlier, but thanks to the innkeeper’s ‘hospitality’, the sun had now reached its apex. If Twilight wanted to reach the capitol at a reasonable hour, she couldn’t afford to stop and look around. After one final glance at her destination in the distance, Twilight diligently began a brisk trot toward the bridge that would lead her to her goal.
It was quite a shame, however. Though her experience at the inn hadn’t given her the best first impression, in the light of day, the little mountain hamlet was actually a pretty pleasant place.
As she walked, she shut her eyes and took a deep breath of the chilly, yet humid air. Surrounding her were the sounds of civilization, a welcome change from the incessant sounds of nature she had grown familiar with on her long trek through the wilderness.
With a clear mind, she opened her eyes again and continued on her way. In a matter of seconds, she reached the boundary between the plateau and the adjacent mountain, a terrifyingly deep gorge that sent a chill down her spine by simply being in its presence. An old, crumbling stone bridge linked the two land forms together.
Twilight felt a drop of cold sweat run down her temple. She wasn’t sure what was more terrifying; the monstrous gorge itself, or the decrepit bridge that looked ready to collapse under the weight of one too many specks of dust.
Beside the bridge was a small, rounded stone sticking up from the ground. From a distance, it appeared to be a tombstone, but anyone even mildly well-traveled knew its purpose.
Twilight took a few steps forward, squinting as she struggled to read the stone’s faded inscription.
5m to I.C.
“Five miles…” She sighed, turning to gaze once again at the horizon. The view, which only moments before had filled her with wonder, now filled her with dread. Even after eight solid hours of rest, her tattered hooves still ached from the journey behind her. Well, at least I can burn off all these extra calories...
