Griffinstone United

"Wow."

They all just gazed upon the grisly scene, the tree branches overhead swinging furiously in the howling wind, the two poles barely rooted to the ground as the sign they held with rusted chains swung back and forth. The soldiers that had been guarding the camp lied about, the snow splattered with crimson. Or at least what was left of them.

"What happened here?!" Ellie blurted out, rushing over to the lower half of a gored, mangled corpse. With the powerful gust, the upper half of it dangled and swung from the branch of a tree, hanging from a long intestine that had been wrapped around the branch. Blaze had refrained from looking, but Benedict just gawked. Big Mac and Amethyst both kept their opinions to their selves, quieter than the lifeless forest itself.

"Wait a second," Ellie muttered, almost to herself. She poked and prodded with a claw before wiping it in a clean patch of snow and rising, turning her head back towards her companions. "These corpses are fresh."

"You m-mean whatever d-d-did this is s-still here?" Alexander stuttered, quivering. Carolyn smirked from behind, mouthing the word 'coward,' though Blaze was practically hiding behind a tree.

"Yeah, and it's right behind you, ooooo," Carolyn waved her claws in the air, making a spooky face. Alexander frowned, this time elbowing her for a change.

"We'll need to stay on guard," Benedict said, addressing the others. He'd sort of been the self-appointed leader of the group ever since they'd woken up, and Amethyst was in no way pleased. "Maybe we can find something that'll shed some light on this whole thing."

"Oh, like a scavenger hunt," Ellie said, her somber mood turning back to a more upbeat one. It kind of disturbed Benedict that she saw it that way, but everyone had their own ways.

"The camp is large though, how are we gonna cover it all? We've gotta meet that Banana gal tomorrow," Alexander whined, shivering and pulling his coat tighter.

"We could split up," Benedict suggested.

"Seems plausible," Amethyst spoke up. "Red Gear soldiers, do any of you know the layout of the war camp?" She obviously didn't think highly of them, the way she addressed the three. Although, she didn't think of anyone highly, besides herself and the large red stallion beside her.

"Yes, 'Academy Mage Pony,' I've visited here before," Carolyn spat. "There's a big lake, the cabins and bunks, and a large field for the fledglings to practice fighting."

"I'll check out the supervisors' cabin," Benedict offered, Ellie perking up.

"Can I come with?" she asked, giddy. In the long flight, she'd been in awe of him the whole time, asking him questions nonstop.

Benedict hesitated before saying "Yes," making her squeal, Carolyn rolling her eyes. "Who'll take the lake?"

Everyone just looked at one another until Blaze raised his hand. "I can go if no one else wants to," he said in a hushed tone.

"We'll check the battlegrounds and the location of the frozen griffon," Amethyst proclaimed, her silent companion nodding his agreement.

Alexander raised his hand suddenly "I'll go with Carolyn," he stated, slyly wrapping an arm around her.

"Oh, hell no," she said, throwing his arm away.

"Well, there's nobody else to go with."

Carolyn looked hopefully towards Benedict, who just shrugged. "You two seem to know each other, why not?"

She opened her beak but faltered, instead muttering a curse and stomping back towards Alexander, a smug grin of victory on his face before he spoke. "We'll check out the perimeter and bunks."

"Alrighty," Benedict said, clapping his hands together and rubbing them together, "we have a plan, then. We'll all meet up at the frozen griffon?"

Alexander flashed a smile. "Sure."

"If it's what you want," Blaze said in a near whisper.

"Alright, let's go." And at that, they all split up, Ellie following him as they flew their separate ways, besides the two earthbound ponies. None of them even noticed the near invisible creatures who watched in the distance.

***   ***   ***

The cabin groaned along with Benedict as he opened it, the shack of timber logs threatening to collapse as he slammed the door shut.

"Nothing," he said, Ellie pouting.

"Are you sure? Maybe you missed something, I can go look-"

"No, I'm sure." He moaned, leaning against the wall that croaked in protest. After an hour of searching the dusty old place from top to bottom, he'd come up with nothing. Under the floor boards, behind paintings, underneath the desks. Absolutely nothing. He doubted that Ellie's assistance would've helped. At the rejection, she visibly slumped before perking up again.

"Wait, maybe there's something around the cabin! I'll go look," she said, dashing away.

Benedict just sighed. "I doubt it."

He stood there for a while listening to the wind's cry. There had been near to no snowfall yet, but the wind had been picking up. Darker clouds loomed in the distance, crawling at a slow but steady pace. A blizzard would be coming soon, so it'd be best if they found something before it wiped away any possible clues. Assuming there are any, he thought, snagging a piece of beef jerky from his pack and biting at it. His fingers trembled from the frigid temperatures as he held the brownish stick.

Eventually, Ellie returned, her expression creating a spark of hope inside Benedict. "What'd you find?"

She was more than happy to respond. "A trail! It's behind the cabin, you can barely see it but its there!" She waved a hand for him to follow as she flew up and over the snow wrapped roof. He landed right beside Ellie who was pointing at the ground. "Look!"

He crouched over it, squinting. Sure enough, there was a faint mark of a griffon's claws and paws. They continued down a snow-laden trail, the trail growing more visible as they went farther from the cabin.

Maybe this search will turn out well, Benedict thought as he hovered over the trail, Ellie following, a grin on her face. She was almost always smiling.

It continued on for a while until coming to an abrupt halt and turning back around, though the trail indicated that whoever fled  had actually flown. It took him only a second to find the frozen griffon. The giant brick of ice was pretty obvious.

"You found anything?" a voice from the side whispered, Benedict jumping and putting a hand to his daggers. His muscles relaxed when he saw two familiar ponies coming out from the bushes.

"Yeah, a trail." Benedict thought that he saw the ghost of a smirk on Amethyst's face, but it turned to her normal glum expression as quickly as it had come.

The purple unicorn turned her head past the paralyzed griffon, nodding. "His tracks continue for a little while, just before a cave, before turning back. There's bigger spacing between the steps on the way back, so I assume he was panicked and fleeing from something." Her head turned down and then rose along with a small book that had floated out from one of the pockets sewn on her coat, encompassed in a purple aura. It lowered in Benedict's waiting hand.

"It's a journal," she stated. "Presumably his."

Benedict absentmindedly nodded his understanding, flipping the pages of the small book. He didn't understand why she was so formal. Nevertheless, he began to skim through the pages silently as Ellie inspected the griffon popsicle.

... believe I got hired! I...

...the little guys are adorable...

...broke his arm again...

He only stopped to actually read the final sentences. That thing's been lurking around the camp again. I didn't want to alarm Gare, so I've decided to go check it out for myself, telling him I was picking berries. It's probably nothing. Soon afterwards, his words written in ink stated quite the contrary.

Some sort of spy for Griffinstone or something. One of their pegasus ponies, she's really tall. She's been trotting through the forest like she owned the place. I'm going to follow her. She's in this cave, and I'm waiting for her to come out so I'll get a closer look.

Obviously, he failed at that last goal. Otherwise, he wouldn't be frozen in ice. Benedict turned towards Amethyst and Big Macintosh. "Have you read it?"

"Eeyup," Big Mac responded, Amethyst nodding.

"Who do you think the pegasus is?" Benedict asked, Amethyst shrugging. "Maybe it was some rogue Elemantic from the Academy?"

"Not possible. The Academy always keeps track of who signs up, and nobody who has signed up has left. Everyone has been accounted for." Benedict frowned at this. What else could it be?

His thoughts were broken by the rustling of bushes. Everyone tensed, Amethyst's horn glowing with a purple orb, but it fainted when Carolyn scrambled out from a bush, Alexander soon popping out afterwards. It reappeared, however, when Benedict gasped.

Their coats were tattered and ripped, strips of cloth hanging. Both breathed in ragged, shallow breaths, panting, Carolyn holding her revolving musket. Ellie turned with a start, but Alexander held up a hand.

"We're... Okay... Focus on them," he breathed, pointing a claw behind him before leaning on Carolyn for support, and this time she didn't shrug him off and move away. Big Mac ushered them behind him as they leaned against the ice block, Ellie returning her attention to the frozen griffon after casting a dome around them, only shooting mere glances at the two. Amethyst and Benedict, however, stood at the ready, horn glowing and blades unsheathed.

Silence. Nothing came. Benedict slowly lowered his daggers. "Who is-'"

Multiple things happened in a single moment. In a blur of movement, figures dashed out from the white topped bushes, sending snow flying. Amethyst's expression faltered for a mere fraction of a second before she lowered her head, horn facing towards the creatures, and let loose a raging inferno, the creatures whimpering in response. Benedict had jumped backwards in surprise and instinct, dropping his daggers. He recovered quickly to hastily search for them amidst the action.

From behind, Carolyn's rifle rang out as a metal ball whirred by Benedict and into Amethyst's blazing light show, a dull thud sounding through the crackling and popping of wood.

The creatures eventually backed away, but more had come. Burning logs and a puddle of ashes that had mixed with the melted snow lay on the ground. Amethyst gasped at the sight of the wolflike creatures as they all stared. "Timberwolves."

"Timberwolves?" Benedict whispered, confused. Their descriptions did fit the name, however. They had the build and shape of a wolf, but they were made up of white birch wood. They all growled, snouts contorted in gnarled snarls. Each of their eyes shone like an emerald.

"Creatures from Equestria," she muttered, almost to herself. "How did they end up here?"

There was no time to answer as one of the beasts lunged towards them, Amethyst throwing up another wave of fire in response. One, however, had leaped from the side, pinning Benedict down. He struggled with it, pushing against its snapping mouth with all of his might until a pair of red hooves smacked into the side of the beast's head, splintering it. It's head snapped back at an unnatural angle before the whole thing toppled over, Benedict wearily getting up and nodding his thanks to Big Mac as he galloped towards another timberwolf who was trying to sneak past Amethyst's blasts of fire.

As soon as he left, another timberwolf jumped out at Benedict, but this time he was ready. He leaped to the side as the creature skid across the snow, giving Benedict the opportunity. He jumped on top of the thing and wrestled with it with one hand while raising a dagger with the other. He slammed it down into the creature's eye socket, the strange glow dissipating instantly as it jerked and twitched.

Amethyst finally came to a stop, wiping sweat off of her brow and looking at the ashes and burning logs of the creatures. She was still bewildered, but she quickly hid her emotion under that flat expression of hers. She stared at the smoking piles for a moment longer before turning. "We need to leave, this isn't right."

"Wait," Benedict said, "Where's Blaze?"

Everyone's expressions went blank before they all rushed towards the direction of the pond, Carolyn and Alexander included. Ellie, however, stayed behind, seemingly unaware to their leave. Rather, she just stared up at the frozen griffon's face, contorted in agony and terror...

...until one of the eyes looked down at her.

She stifled a shriek and jumped back, the dark shadows from her hands extinguishing. Behind her, Benedict shouted for her to hurry. She backed away, taking one last glimpse at the griffon and mouthing the word 'sorry.'

***   ***   ***

"It was just wrong," Amethyst repeated as Carolyn set her down, Benedict releasing the large red stallion onto the stone roof of the building with a sigh of relief, then went to sit on the lip of the building and gaze at Stonetail City. The sky was blood red, the light of dusk piercing through the dark, rumbling clouds to create the hellish color. A light snowfall had begun, but if the clouds told anything, it'd only get worse.

"What's so wrong about it?" Benedict asked. "I mean, I know those things were weird, but I wouldn't say wrong."

"That's not what I meant," she snapped, turning away with a frown of concentration. "Timberwolves belong in Equestria, not here." She paused and looked up when the door's groaning hinges sounded, a tired Carolyn waving her farewells, Banana Toss passing by her and approaching the three; Blaze, Ellie, and Alexander were already inside.

She stared at Carolyn as she brushed past her, the shredded clothing not going unnoticed "I'm guessing that it didn't go well." Amethyst just sighed in response, putting her head in her hooves. Benedict still didn't understand what was so 'wrong.'

"Well," the headmaster began, "I'll be getting those two some new coats by tomorrow. But I came up to tell you some useful information for when you're passing by Thunder Gate. I've already told Alexander and Blaze, so those two should tell-"

"Wait," Benedict stopped, "Thunder Gate?"

She looked more confused than him before grinning. "Oh, it's the name of the canyon that crosses from here to the north, though the knowledge about it is ancient. I don't think anyone knows what lies on the other side of there, so you all are going to find out.

"But, there's some important things you should know." Amethyst and Big Mac looked up from their hushed tones, listening. "Now, Big Mac, since your a Geomancer and the strongest of the group by default, you'll be the one carrying the cart full of supplies through the canyon. You okay with that?"

"Eeyup."

"Okay, great!" she said, giddy to continue. "So, a couple things you need to know about Thunder Gate. The winds are always incredibly strong, so fierce, in fact, that if you even open your wings, you're going to fly away from the insane gusts. That's why you all will have to travel from the multiple trails and just hoof it. The cart is all set to go with more bits, the food and water as promised, and some more necessaries for your journey."

"Well, thanks for the info," Benedict said, looking back at the menacing clouds. "How long do you think this'll take?"

"Depends," she shrugged. "Could be just a week, or a month, depending on what's out on the other side. We stocked enough food for a month, though, so whenever you're running low, return back."

"Okay."

"Oh, great! Well, you three should sleep now, you've got a long journey ahead of you." And at that, she pranced off, a skip in her step as she headed towards the doorway. Benedict sat back down on the edge of the building, gazing at the horizon.

From behind, Amethyst asked, "Are you coming?"

"Hm, oh, yeah," he mumbled. "I'll be down in a minute."

And so he sat as the door shut, leaving him by himself to look at the ominous ceiling of clouds that approached at a slow pace. It wasn't just going to be a blizzard. It'd be a storm, and a big one.