The Nowhere King

Sandbar was going to need a hooficure. It was a strange thing to think at a time when every ounce of his being was otherwise devoted to worrying about Gallus. He had been chewing his hooftips and now they looked mangled. Did hooficures hurt? He wondered deliriously what color he would get them painted.

A burst of cyan and white magic filled the Headmare’s office.

“Twilight Sparkle? I came as quickly as I could.”

“Princess Luna!” the smaller alicorn leapt forward and bowed.

Luna smiled and lifted Twilight with a hoof. “No bowing from a friend, please.”

Twilight blushed and cleared her throat. “We need your help. One of my students vanished in thin air. Literally. Sandbar seems to think Dream Magic may be at fault.”

Luna blinked slowly. “I do not see how unless…” Her gaze flicked to Sandbar and her eyes widened. “It was the griffon? Gallus of Griffonstone?”

Sandbar threw himself to the ground. “Yes! Yes, Princess, it was Gallus! Please! Please tell us you can help find him.”

Luna nodded slowly. “Take me to where it happened.”

Princess Luna studied the air beside the dormitory hall. Her horn lit and she prepared a spell.

Headmare Twilight cleared her throat. “I’ve already scanned it. No unusual magical traces whatsoever.”

Luna regarded her coolly. “None that you have been trained to detect, certainly.”

Twilight’s eyes went large.

Luna’s magic passed through the space. She clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“What is it?” Sandbar asked. “Is it bad?”

“It’s nothing,” Luna said, a hint of irritation in her tone. “No weaknesses in the liminal walls between the Realms; no evidence of temporal anomaly.”

“I would have detected time magic, at least,” Twilight said with mixed pride and irritation.

“Indeed,” Luna said with a small smile. “You have had more than your share of time travel misadventures.”

“But Gallus?” Sandbar pleaded.

“If he vanished here, as you say, then no unicorn magic was the cause.”

“Then how?” the earth pony begged.

“I believe he may have entered the Umbral Realm without unicorn magic. A feat accomplished by only a few in the last 1,200 years.”

Sandbar felt fear choking him. “So what, he’s lost in a dream somewhere? You’ve got to help him!”

Princess Luna nodded calmly. “We shall.”

Headmare Twilight balked. “We?”

The older alicorn nodded. “I require use of your student and a strong draft of valerian root tea.”

“Me?” Sandbar asked nervously.

Twilight nodded at Luna. “Of course. But what about me?”

Luna lay a hoof on her cheek kindly. “You, dearest Twilight, should attend to your school.” Her hoof gestured to the growing group of ponies and other creatures that had gathered to gawk.

Headmare Twilight blushed and then cleared her throat. “Alright, everyone! Back to class! Move along!”

Luna shifted her attention to Sandbar. The earth pony nodded at her nervously.

Sandbar drank the rich, earthy tea with a grimace.

“Once you are asleep,” Princess Luna said to him, “I will enter your dream and bring you the Umbral Realm.”

“Why do you need me?”

“Because you are close to our missing griffon. Perhaps the pony who knows him best. And that may well prove useful.”

Sandbar set down the teacup. He could already feel the draught working on his body, and he yawned.

“Sleep well, little pony. Your griffon friend may be counting on it.”

Sandbar shuddered in apprehension.

Gallus appeared in Griffonstone. It felt different than normal, and it took a moment for the griffon to realize that the usual, whipping winds weren’t chilling him. No wind in the Umbral Realm, it seemed. No gloriously direct rays of sunlight either, though. That would have been nice.

He walked through the jewel of the Griffon Kingdom, such as it was. He’d heard Grandpa Gruff tell of a time when the city had been a wondering sight to behold, but all he’d ever known was roughly-patched houses and makeshift gardens, both guarded with equal zeal by their owners.

Gallus tripped over a gnarled root that snaked into the road. He landed roughly, bruising a leg. Stupid, he chided himself. He needed to find his way back to the real world instead of wandering around in the Umbral Realm.

“The dreaming griffon!” The unexpected voice caused Gallus to freeze. A pegasus with a dark blue coat floated down from a nearby building. A color-shifting cloak fluttered in the air behind him. “And that senile old shit claimed you didn’t live here anymore. My, my, you’ve saved me a good deal of looking by coming to me here.”

Gallus’ heart raced. “Who are you?”

The pegasus landed smoothly and bowed low on one hoof. “I am known as Midnight.” His voice was rich and melodious. He stared up at the griffon with cold gray eyes. “My King has use for one with your skill. You will come with me.”

Gallus shook his head and backed away.

The pegasus grinned, showing teeth and no hint of amusement in his eyes. “That was not a request.”

A steel cage shimmered into place around Gallus. He struck the metal with a claw and the metal clanged loudly. “No!” he shouted, imagining himself free. The cage shattered and disintegrated. The pegasus leapt forward, a spear in one hoof. Gallus dodged to one side.

“Where are we?” Sandbar asked, taking stock of the strange, half-lit world in which he found himself.

“The answer is two-fold,” the Princess replied. “We are in the Umbral Realm, but it would also be true to say we are on the grounds of your School of Friendship.”

“But there’s nothing here?” Sandbar said, looking around the field of grass. The proximity and angle of Princess Twilight’s castle was right, but there were no buildings. But then, when he looked again, there were. It was as if they were only there when seem from a certain angle.

“The school is yet too new to reflect here fully, it seems. But I promise, this is the location where our Dream Strider entered the Realm.”

“But he’s not here,” Sandar said, his pulse racing.

Luna clicked her tongue. “No. I had hoped he would have the good sense to stay put.” She drew a long, slow breath. “Instead, we shall hunt.” She lit her horn and spun a complex strand of white magic. The tangled web hovered in the air and then slowly settled down on top of Sandbar’s form.

The earth pony flinched but felt nothing as the strands settled over his body. “What is it?”

“It is the reason you are here,” she said, unhelpfully. “It will only work between creatures that share a strong emotional bond. Hold an image of the griffon in your mind’s eye and say his name.”

Blue feathers, creamy belly fur, yellow beak. Sleek and slender and smug and sarcastic and sweet and smarter than he ever gave himself credit for. “Gallus.”

Nothing happened, and Sandbar frowned.

Gallus caused an enormous brick wall to spring up between him and the murderous pegasus. He needed to get away. It was usually so easy here, shifting and jumping without even meaning to half the time. Why was it so hard now?

A flash of light in the distance distracted him. A whisper of a voice emanated from that light. “Gallus.”

The griffon flinched at the sad and desperate tone of the whisper.

“Sandbar?”

An intense flare of heat in his side caused Sandbar to jump. It was as if he’d been branded by a hot skewer in his ribs. A small part of Luna’s web that hovered over that spot glowed red.

“Ow. OW! What was that?” The pain was gone as quickly as it had come. He rubbed his side, thankful and amazed that there was no lingering pain. His hide seemed to be intact.

Luna touched him with a hoof and the world shifted. The scenery twisted and churned, and Sandbar’s stomach echoed the movement. A nauseating second later, it stopped. They had moved, somehow. Sandbar plopped down on his flank, his head spinning. “I’m gonna be sick,” he whined. “This is even worse than teleportation.”

“Again,” Luna commanded.

The earth pony whimpered and closed his eyes.

Gallus ducked as the pegasus burst through the wall. The griffon watched the pony hurl the wooden spear in his direction. Gallus conjured a large, steel shield, which deflected the projectile. Midnight launched himself forward, kicking at the shield. Gallus let the shield go careering off, the pony’s momentum carrying him past his target. The griffon reached up one claw, raking the underside of the pony’s barrel. Gallus felt the meaty tug of flesh against his talons.

The pegasus screamed as he landed, but then laughed.

A new flash of light lit the horizon.

“Gallus!” There was Sandbar’s voice again.

The pegasus pony leapt again.

“Sandbar! I’m coming!” Gallus focused on the light, on trying to find the source of the pony’s voice.

“OW! Aw, why does it hurt so badly?!” Sandbar whimpered. This time the heat had moved forward towards his shoulder.

“It is a tracking spell,” Luna said calmly. “It is not really designed to work in the Umbral Realm, so it has some unpleasant side effects. Nothing permanent, I assure you. Now, this way,” she pointed with a hoof.

They shifted again, and Sandbar sat down heavily on his flank, fighting a fresh wave of nausea.

“Strength, young one,” Princess Luna said, her voice warm but commanding.

Sandbar took a deep breath and nodded. “Again?” he asked. Luna nodded, and the earth pony closed his eyes, bracing for the flash of heat and pain. “Gallus!” he yelled.

Gallus felt the air rush from his lungs. His body lurched as the pony bucked him in the stomach. As he hit the ground, the pain rushed through him. The griffon gasped for air.

The pegasus laughed. “Sweet Darkness, I’ve enjoyed this,” he taunted. He retrieved his spear from the ground and trotted forward, the weapon held at a menacing angle. “Now, again, I must insist you come with me.”

“Gallus!”

“Sandbar!” The griffon lunged desperately with his body and mind, angling himself toward the light and towards Sandbar’s worried voice.

Luna nodded as she inspected the fierce red glow on the web surrounding Sandbar.

“Holy,” Sandbar swore haltingly, in between pained breaths. “Holy. Fucking. Moonlight. That one fucking hurt.”

“We are getting close,” the Princess said.

As she lay her hoof on Sandbar, the air around them shimmered. The ground in front of Sandbar bent and swooped downward. The effect stretched nearly to the hills in the horizon, where that land lurched and the hills suddenly rushed forward. The two pieces of land connected, the hills suddenly right in front of the ponies, and a blue griffon leapt forward off the hill onto the ground in front of two astonished ponies. The land snapped back in a split second, the ground between stretching back into place.

“Gallus!” Sandbar cried. He leapt towards his boyfriend. Before he could close the gap between them, however, a blue sphere of magic surrounded the griffon.

“Hold,” Luna commanded. “We must be sure this is no trick.”

Gallus held a claw against his side and seemed to be breathing shallowly. His eyes regarded Sandbar sadly before turning his attention to the Princess. “We’ve got to get out of here. One of those crazy ponies attacked me.”

Princess Luna frowned.

“Come on! We don’t have time for this!” He stretched his wings wide, until his feathers stretched against the magic of the sphere around him. The magical energy bent and flickered, and after a moment popped out of existence altogether.

Luna gasped. “Impossible!” she said. She regarded Gallus with wide eyes.

Sandbar threw himself against the griffon, his front hooves squeezing him into a tight hug.

Gallus felt the warmth of the pony’s embrace and took a quick moment to enjoy the touch. He addressed Princess Luna without releasing Sandbar. “I’m me, not some trick. Now will you please help me get out of here before that crazy pony shows up?”

The alicorn pursed her lips but nodded. She lit her horn and a bright line of magic tore through the air. It split and widened until it was a griffon-sized portal. Sunlight streamed through from the other side.

Gallus pulled himself away from Sandbar and jumped through the portal.

As he emerged from the other side of the hole he was bathed in sunlight, bright and glorious and warm. He looked around in concern. He had no idea where he was, beyond being back in the physical world. He realized he was close enough to hear the sea. And those mountains to the east…

He groaned. He was in the foothills west of Griffonstone. A good half-day’s flight from the nearest train station, probably. Not that that mattered anyway, since he didn’t have any bits on him. He sighed heavily and took to the sky.