Chapters Sunburst groaned as he finished going through the mail. Yet another letter from his mother. Of course. Even after heading down to the village to resolve his relationship with her, she just couldn't help herself. At least she wasn't insisting he spend more time trying to get on Princess Twilight's good side anymore. After Sunburst became Vice Principal at the School of Friendship, Stellar Flare had backed off on trying to advance her son's career. However, she still wrote with great frequency, just to "check in." He tried to keep up, but sometimes, she sent another letter before he even finished responding to one. He loved her to death, but it was obnoxious.
Sunburst levitated up the letter, popping the seal with his magic. But before he could grab the actual letter, a stream of words began to emanate from within the envelope at a very high volume, forcing the unicorn to slam his hooves over his ears. His magical grip on the letter released, dropping it to the ground.
"SUNBURST WHY DO YOU NEVER MAKE TIME FOR ME I NEVER SEE YOU ANYMORE WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM SON WHY DO I DO ALL THIS WORK WHEN YOU NEVER-"
Frantically, Sunburst tried to slam the envelope shut with his magic, but the screaming was so loud it actually pushed the seal open every time he tried. Desperate, he slammed one hoof down on the top of the letter, muffling the sound a bit, but it was still pretty loud. Just as he was beginning to lose hope, he heard another voice come from behind him.
"ENOUGH!"
A blindingly bright burst of magic came from behind Sunburst, causing the offending letter to fly out from under his hoof. However, the screaming from within the envelop had stopped, and the letter, to Sunburst's great relief, twisted up into a paper knot, and popped, sending scraps of paper flying in all directions. The unicorn released his breath, having realized exactly what was going on. Of course this was just a bad dream. He turned around to face his savior.
"Thanks, Prin-er, Luna, I mean, I—" Sunburst cut himself off at the sight that awaited him. Facing him was not Equestria's resident ruler of the dream realm (and former diarch of Equestria), but a familiar purple figure. She looked a bit different, though. Her entire body was surrounded in a white aura, and white dots like stars were sprinkled across every visible surface. In addition, it looked like her body was slightly transparent."Twilight? Since when did you learn to dream walk?"
"I am not Twilight Sparkle, " replied the glowing alicorn. "I am the embodiment of the Tree of Harmony." She gestured to herself. "I merely take this form for the sake of convenience."
Sunburst's mind shot back to when Smolder, Sandbar, and the others had told him about their dreams in which they'd been contacted by the Tree, not long after it'd been destroyed. It didn't seem like such a stretch to assume he was simply having a similar experience. Either that, or his brain was being really creative in his sleep.
"But how are you here?" he asked. "The Tree was destroyed. Come to think of it, how'd you contact those kids in their dreams after you were destroyed?"
"Only my physical vessel was destroyed," said the spirit. "Harmony, true Harmony, can never be destroyed. If even the smallest portion of Equestria keeps Harmony in their hearts, part of me will live on."
"Okay," Sunburst finally managed to respond, "but that begs an obvious question: Why are you here? Why come to me?"
"There is a crisis coming that only you are capable of solving," replied the Twilight avatar, "and without my physical form, the Cutie Map no longer functions. You must undertake this quest."
"W-wait a minute!" Sunburst tried to interrupt her. "Not that I don't wanna go on a friendship quest or anything, but I'm a vice principal now, and I've got responsibilities, and—"
But the form of Twilight ignored him and continued to speak. "You must go to Griffonstone. There is a plan amongst the griffons. A plan to use the legacy of King Grimm to cause terrible things to occur. You must prevent this."
"What?!" exclaimed Sunburst. "But why me?! I don't understand—"
"Good luck to you." With her last word, the Twilight avatar was consumed with white light, and exploded in a massive burst of pure magic. Sunburst had to shut his eyes to keep from being blinded—
—and promptly bolted up in his own bed, sweat running down his horn. The unicorn glanced around, trying to gather his surroundings, as he took fast, shallow breaths, afraid he was freaking out again.
Sunburst's breathing slowed down as he took everything in. He was in his own room in Ponyville, which looked untouched. Nothing had been disturbed. He relaxed back into his pillow, calm and secure, knowing that everything was safe.
Then he remembered the dream.
"Uh-oh," Sunburst muttered to himself.
Sunburst hadn't had the chance to meet Daring Do in real life before, though Rainbow Dash had told him stories. It was quite a shocker to learn that the most popular fictional character across Equestria wasn't fictional at all. Sometimes, Sunburst wondered if Rainbow had been, in fact, pulling his leg.
However, he dismissed that as possibility, considering that the pony in question was right in front of him. The same tan coat, pith helmet, and compass rose Cutie Mark that was on the cover of every one of her books. Daring turned her head to look him in the eye, giving him a smirk and a wink.
"Don't worry, pal. I got this."
Greer, having recovered from the earlier blow, climbed back onto all fours, an angry sneer finding its way across his beak. He spread his wings and dug his talons into the dirt, as though trying to intimidate the pegasus in front of him.
"I'm giving you once chance to back off, pony," he spat. "Or else you'll suffer the same consequences as your friend back there."
"Well, technically, we're not friends," Daring replied. "We've only just met and...wow, was that really the best I could come up with? Must be an off day."
Greer must've interpreted that as 'no,' as he crouched down and sprang off his back legs, talons extended. Daring Do was more than prepared for his clumsy attack, however, and leapt upwards, her wings flapping and carrying her higher into the air. As Greer's pounce went under her, Daring stomped with one hoof, catching him on the head and sending him face-first into the dirt. Greer's shout of pain was cut off as his beak filled with earth.
Sunburst wisely decided that now was a good time to get away from the edge of the cliff, and scurried past the downed griffon. Greer snarled with fury as he pulled his head free, rounding on Daring Do. The fact that the adventurous pegasus was still smiling only made him angrier, and he lunged with a ferocious swipe, which she ducked under. Whirling around, Daring bucked him in the chest with all her strength, sending the griffon tumbling backwards off the edge. Sunburst was about to freak out, before he remembered that griffons could, in fact, fly.
Sure enough, Greer came zooming above the cliff seconds later, somehow even angrier than before. Daring Do just smirked, as the griffon came down in a swooping dive towards her, taking off to avoid it. Daring made a loop in midair, swerving around and tackling the griffon from behind again, slamming his body into the earth. Rearing back, she delivered one final punch, knocking Greer unconscious.
"Whew!" she breathed. "Nothing like a good workout." Getting off the incapacitated griffon's back, she turned to the unicorn. "So I'm guessing you must be Sunburst, right?"
Sunburst blinked in surprise. "Well, yes, actually. How'd you know? Thanks for the save, by the way."
Daring Do took a deep breath. "Okay, you may not believe this, but I've been searching for the Spear of Grimm for the past few months. Then, last night I had this dream where I saw Princess Twilight Sparkle, who claimed to be the embodiment of something called the Tree of Harmony, and she promised me I'd be able to find it, but only if I looked for you. She even showed me exactly what you looked like." She tipped her hat. "And you're welcome."
"Yeah..." Sunburst replied, feeling a little apprehensive. This was a bit above his pay grade. He could recite facts surrounding the energies and functions of magical artifacts all day, but when it came to tracking down ones that had been lost for ages, Sunburst wasn't your stallion.
Something else came to mind. "Uh, we should probably do something about him," he stated, pointing to the unconscious Greer, "and he's got a boss that's also after the Spear. That could be problematic."
Daring Do nodded. "Of course he's got a boss." She trotted over to Greer, lifting the griffon onto her back. Sunburst used his magic to lessen the load a bit. "Any idea where we're gonna take him?"
"I might have something..."
The two ponies dragged the unconscious Greer to Gilda, who'd immediately recognized the griffon as a wanted criminal. The three proceeded to tie him up until the griffon law enforcement could come. Sunburst and Daring Do then informed Gilda exactly what was going on.
"I should've known Grapple was up to something," Gilda growled, pounding one clenched fist on the wall. "He gives griffons a bad name."
"Let me guess," said Daring. "This isn't the first time he's tried to seize power."
"Nope. He's been claiming he should be the new griffon king for years. We haven't had a king in a long time, but Grapple sees himself as the only one worthy of that title. He wants to be even more of a warmonger than Grimm. Oh, and he hates ponies, dragons, all other civilization building species."
"Great," groaned Sunburst. "Please tell me that, if he gets the Spear, the griffons won't be crazy enough to follow him."
"Most won't," replied Gilda, "but some of the older ones, ones that remember the old ways...they'll see the Spear and think they have to follow him. I know, it's stupid, but griffons are really resistant to change."
"So, if he gets the Spear, we may be looking at civil war," Sunburst summarized. "Fantastic. As if there wasn't enough pressure to get this right already."
"That leaves us with one option," said Daring, "we get the Spear first. We have no idea if it really has the power legends claim it does, and I'd rather not go up against a crazy jerk with a powerful magical artifact."
"Neither would I," said Sunburst, "but I have no idea where the Spear is."
"Well, it's a good thing you've got an expert here," said Daring, reaching into her backpack and pulling out several rolls of parchment. "I've been researching King Grimm for a while now, but it wasn't until now that I got a lock on where the Spear might be."
"Oh thank Celestia," breathed Sunburst. Then he randomly had a thought as to whether he should've said thank Twilight instead.
Daring Do spread out a map on top of the nearby table. "King Grimm's main stronghold was on Mount Gale, on the east side of the Celestial Sea." She pointed to the mountain in question, a good distance away from Griffonstone. "I've already searched his palace, but it stands to reason that he'd have hidden the Spear fairly close to it. My best guess is that it's still on the mountain somewhere."
"There's a pretty interesting cave system on that mountain," said Gilda. "I could guide you through it. I bet we'll find the Spear somewhere inside."
"Great!" replied Daring, stuffing the papers back into her pack. "Let's go, I want to be sure that we find it before Grapple."
"Wait a minute!" Sunburst cut her off. His horn ignited, and he opened his saddlebags, fishing out a book titled "Magical Artifacts and You."
"Uh, do we really have time for reading?" asked Gilda.
"If by some chance Grapple gets the Spear first," Sunburst replied, flipping through the book, "I want to be prepared."
Gilda led the two ponies through the caves of Mount Gale, guided by a weak light spell Sunburst maintained. The trio had agreed that it was too risky to bring a lantern, considering the chance that they might run into Grapple, and they didn't want to alert him to their presence. They were steadily making their way towards the mountain center, where the Spear was most likely to be hidden.
"So," Sunburst began, turning his head to Daring, "what made you decide to look for the Spear? Aren't you usually chasing after pony artifacts?"
"Yeah," Daring Do admitted, "it's not exactly my forte, which is probably why it took me so long to track down. Anyway, the real reason is...well, Equestria's changing, isn't it?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that creatures other than ponies are coming to Equestria more and more. It all started with Princess Twilight's School of Friendship. Ever since she proved that ponies and other species are essentially the same, once you get down to it, those other nations have been sending their citizens over like crazy. And they've got undiscovered magical artifacts, too, so I mostly figured it was up to me to get with the times."
Sunburst shrugged. He supposed that made sense. Nopony wanted everypony else to think they only cared about pony affairs, unless they were some stuffy old 'traditionalist' like Neighsay had been. Especially considering how many species had been involved in saving Equestria from Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow.
"Plus, if I kept going, I'd just run outta pony artifacts," Daring laughed. "And I have no intention of retiring."
Daring and Sunburst shared a small laugh, but froze in their tracks, as Gilda held up a talon to stop them. Sunburst blinked in surprise at where they were. It appeared to be just a normal rock wall, with nothing to distinguish it from the surrounding area.
"Um, why have we stopped?" he asked.
"We've reached the mountain center, and...something's not right here," responded the griffon, eyeing the wall suspiciously.
Daring trotted up next to her. "What're you talking about?" she asked. "There's nothing—" Then her eyes focused on a particular spot. "Oh...Oh! That's not normal."
His confusion only growing, Sunburst trotted up next to them, staring at the wall, until he discovered what Gilda's eagle eyes and Daring's trained gaze had settled on. There was a small hole in the wall, but inside, there wasn't the expected black hole of nothingness one would expect, but a flat, grey surface that looked almost neatly polished. There was a circular indent surrounding the grey, but nothing else was visible.
"What is it?" he asked, feeling he might already know the answer.
"If my years of adventuring have taught me anything," Daring replied, reaching forward with one hoof. She pressed down on the grey, which sank inwards as she did so. Somewhere behind the wall, there was a small click.
A loud shudder suddenly ran through the cavern, and the trio immediately backed away from the wall, nervous. From the switch Daring had pressed, a group of small cracks began to spiderweb outwards, climbing up with wall with frightening speed. Daring winced slightly as the cracking continued, until the entire visible surface was one giant crack.
With a sudden burst, the cracked brown wall shattered, falling free from the wall and revealing what lay underneath. The rest of the wall was the same color as the button, formed out of pressed brick, with the only thing marring the surface being a giant statue of a griffon's head, with both claws coming up on either side of it, and it's massive beak shut tight.
"Okay," Sunburst mumbled. "I think it's safe to say we found it."
"Yeah," replied Daring Do. "The only question is how do we get inside?"
"There's gotta be someway to get inside," said Gilda, running her claw over the surface of the griffon statue. "Grimm wouldn't have gone to all the trouble of setting this up if he didn't want any griffon to get the Spear."
"You'd be surprised. So many relics I've found have been hidden behind puzzles they thought no creature would ever manage to get past."
Sunburst ran his hoof over the edge of the griffon statue, trying to find anything abnormal. "There doesn't appear to be any opening mechanisms," he commented, dryly,."I don't suppose either of you know how to get through it?"
Gilda opened her beak to answer, but before she could, a low, thunderous hum reverberated throughout the cavern. The eyes on the griffon statue lit up, a brilliant blue color, and the statue actually spoke.
"What. Is. Best?" came the rumbling voice, shaking the cave and causing bits of dust and stone to drop from the ceiling. Sunburst actually flinched, before composing himself for the sake of his image. Luckily, neither of the others seemed to notice.
"Uh, what's he talking about?" asked Daring. "What is best? That's pretty vague."
"No, no, I know this," said Gilda. "It was something that Grandpa Gruff used to say. King Grimm, in life, always claimed that what was best in life was 'To crush your enemies, to reap the rewards, and to feel the thrill of victory.'"
Apparently, she'd said the right thing, because the statue's eyes began to glow again, only this time the light was colored deep, bright gold. There was a thunderous crack, so loud that the trio all slammed their forelimbs over their ears. Another low rumble preceded the lower beak of the statue beginning to slide down into the earth, slowly revealing what lay beyond the wall, inside the griffon's mouth.
The room inside was formed out of solid gold (or, at least it looked like gold). It was a simple, cone-shaped room, with a high roof, and a short staircase leading up to a throne. On top of that throne was a spear, formed out of a shimmering grey metal, with a simple arrowhead tip. Inscribed on the spear were strange runes Sunburst had never seen before, but he had little doubt as to their purpose.
"Sweet Celestia, I think we did it!" exclaimed Gilda, practically jumping up and down from sheer excitement.
"Great," said Daring. "Then let's grab that thing and get outta here before—"
She never got to finish, as a clenched fist clocked her on the back of the head mid-sentence. Sunburst met a similar fate, having his sensitive horn grabbed, and his head forcefully shoved into the dirt. Gilda, hearing their cries of pain, spun around on one paw, but Grapple was too fast, leaping over her and stomping on her head with his back feet in the process. Gilda's beak stabbed into the soft earth as she fell forward, Grapple flying over her.
Daring and Sunburst managed to get to their hooves, but they couldn't hope to catch the speeding griffon. Sunburst, desperate, fired a magical beam, but Grapple simply flew over it. The scarred griffon zipped across the small chamber, seizing the Spear of Grimm with one claw and holding it high above his head. The weapon sparked to life, waves of blue magic pulsing up and down the shaft, and electrical bolts zapping outwards from the head.
"At last..." Grapple laughed, "...it's MINE!" He spun the spear in one claw, cackling with demented glee, before stabbing its blunt end deep onto the floor. A tremendous bolt of pure magic thundered from the spearhead, blasting a hole clear through the mountain, exposing the cavern to a small amount of daylight.
Daring Do blinked in sheer shock. "Tell me you saw that," she mumbled.
"I felt that," Sunburst replied.
Grapple continued to laugh, twirling the spear between his talons. "Hm. Lighter than I expected," he commented, "but I suppose it doesn't matter." He faced down his trio of opponents. "Honestly, after all the trouble you went to to find this for me, I ain't even mad that you're still alive, pony." He pointed the spear at Sunburst with malicious joy in his eyes. "That's a problem I can correct right now."
"That doesn't belong to you!" shrieked Gilda, spreading her wings and flying towards Grapple, baring her talons. Grapple merely tutted, and swung the Spear in an arc, sending out a shock wave of pure magic that slammed into Gilda, knocking her out of the air and sending her flying backwards, where she nearly crashed into the ponies. Sunburst managed to telekinetically catch her just before she did.
"Honestly, I'm not even sure whether it's worth the effort to finish you three off," Grapple pondered. "I mean, conquering the griffon kingdom with this baby will be a snap!"
Meanwhile, Daring and Sunburst managed to help Gilda back onto all fours. "Are you alright?" Sunburst tentatively asked.
"Kinda," grunted the griffon. "Man, that hurt. I think I can still fight, though."
"Okay," Daring laid out. "So worst case scenario has come to pass." She turned to Sunburst. "Please tell me you came up with a plan for this."
Sunburst looked at Grapple, who was too busy playing with his new toy to pay them any attention. "Well, there is one spell that should do it. Even with the Spear, I don't think there's anything that he could do to counter it."
"I sense a 'but' coming on."
"You two will have to distract him while I power up the spell."
Gilda shrugged. "That sounds possible—"
"For five minutes. And considering exactly how much power is inside that thing...well, just do your best."
Daring groaned. "What did I do to deserve this?!"
Nonetheless, she spread her wings, Gilda doing the same. Sunburst bent down, charging the magic in his horn, orange energy racing up and down the cone-shaped appendage. Gilda and Daring took off, flying towards Grapple, who finally ended his grandstanding and took notice of his opposition.
"Like the griffon said," Daring shouted, zooming towards Grapple, "that ain't yours! It belongs in a museum!"
"Oh, that's just precious," Grapple cackled, raising the Spear once again. Another massive blast erupted forth from the tip, but this time, Gilda and Daring were ready, and they darted to the sides, allowing the magic to pass harmlessly between them. Not put off, Grapple fired more blasts, putting more holes in the mountain.
Meanwhile, Sunburst was making good on his word, building up the necessary magic that would be needed to cast the spell. At the same time, his brain was working at full blast trying to work through the formula of the spell, arranging it so that it would work exactly as he wanted it to. Otherwise, it could have no effect, or blow up in his face.
"Okay, just gotta take the Artifact Empowerment Spell, then reduce its power by seventeen percent...remember to invert the Limbo Vortex..." he muttered to himself, barely managing to keep his concentration above the chaotic clatter as Grapple continued to blast.
The scarred griffon in question was growing frustrated. Daring and Gilda were zooming through the air around him, never coming together so he had a chance to take them both out at once. He'd tried sending out another shock wave, but it was thin, meaning they could avoid it by going over or under it.
As he launched another blast at Gilda, Daring saw her opportunity. Turning in midair, she dived towards Grapple's turned back, attempting to ram him and hopefully knock the Spear out of his grip. She did manage to land the blow, but Grapple maintained his hold on the Spear. Pinning him down, Daring started punching the back of his head, trying to knock him unconscious. Gilda rushed to her aid, reaching for the Spear with one claw.
Grapple, having had it with them, screamed in fury as he gripped the Spear, causing the runic lines on it to glow with power. A dome-shaped burst of energy blossomed outwards from the Spear, hitting both Daring and Gilda, sending them flying backwards into the walls. Getting up, Grapple pointed the Spear at each of them, launching horseshoe-shape projectiles that slammed into them, pinning them against the wall. Both struggled, but they were held fast.
Grapple, his victory seemingly assured, howled with laughter. "Did you really think you could take me?!" he demanded. "When I've got the Spear of Grimm on my side?! All your efforts were for nothing!"
"Oh, they weren't meaningless," came Sunburst's voice. Grapple turned in the direction it emanated from, finding the unicorn standing there with a smirk on his face, his horn shining white with power. "They bought me all the time I needed."
Grapple raised the Spear, but it was already too late. Sunburst bent his head and fired, sending a massive beam of pure magic towards Grapple. The griffon held the Spear lengthwise to try and block the attack, but the magic simply latched onto it. White energy lines crept up along the shaft of the weapon, and it vibrated in Grapple's claws. A small black hole appeared in the air, and a trail of white energy snaked out of the tip of the Spear, flowing into the hole as the spell did its work. Suddenly, there was a blinding flash of light, and it was all over.
Grapple stood, holding the Spear, a look of horror beginning to grow on his face. "What did you do?" he demanded. "What did you do?!"
Sunburst smiled. "I released the magic of the Spear and sent it into another dimension," he laughed. "You're holding an ordinary spear."
Grapple's beak dropped, and then he sputtered as his brain tried to process this new information. He weakly pointed the Spear at Sunburst, but, as expected, no blast of magic came out of the weapon. That was enough for Gilda, who flew down and clocked him on the back of the head, knocking him out and sending the Spear flying out of his grip. Daring Do snagged the weapon before it could hit the ground, a satisfied smirk on her face.
"Well," she said, holding the Spear with one hoof. "I guess that went about as well as it could've." She held the Spear out to Gilda. "You should have this. Put it in a museum."
"Thanks," said the griffon, taking the weapon. "Kind of a shame we had to depower it, but it's probably for the best. We could never display this thing in public if it could still destroy whole armies."
Sunburst smiled with content. Even without the faint pulse from his Cutie Mark, he knew he'd accomplished the mission the Tree of Harmony had sent him on. Now to go home and sleep it off.
Author's Note
Chapter One: A Lost Legend
"Are you sure you'll be okay running the school without me?" Sunburst asked, his hooves fidgeting nervously. "I mean, I can still cancel, I'm certain the Tree can find somepony else—"
"Sunburst, relax," replied Starlight, laying a comforting hoof on his shoulder. "You've been on friendship quests before. Besides, the Tree's always picked the right ponies for the job in the past. You can do this."
The two unicorns were currently waiting at the Ponyville train station, where Sunburst would begin his journey to Griffonstone. Sunburst's bags were packed and sitting behind him (thankfully, he usually traveled pretty light). Starlight, after hearing about Sunburst's dream, had been fully supportive, giving him plenty of time off to get to Griffonstone, fix whatever was going wrong, and get back to the School of Friendship.
"So do you have any idea what the problem is?" asked Starlight. "After Rainbow and Pinkie's first mission there, back in the day, I doubt the Griffons have started ignoring each other again."
"Unlikely," Sunburst agreed. "Anyway, I asked Gallus about it, and he said he hasn't noticed anything off recently. Then I asked him about this 'King Grimm' the Tree mentioned, and he was able to give me a little bit of information. Apparently, King Grimm was one of the most militaristic of all the griffon kings, and he prided himself on his power. He used to carry something called the Spear of Grimm. How much of an egotist do you have to be to name your big weapon after yourself?"
"Rainbow Dash?" Starlight suggested, and the two unicorns shared a small laugh.
"I'm gonna ask Grandpa Gruff more when I get there, that guy seems to know everything when it comes to griffon history."
"Good thinking," agreed Starlight. She looked down the track, seeing the train approaching from the distance, which was slowly decreasing. "Just be careful, okay? You're not the greatest fighter, remember."
"I'll be careful," Sunburst promised, and the two unicorns shared an affectionate nuzzle, before Sunburst boarded the train.
The train ride to Griffonstone was fairly uneventful. Sunburst spent most of it going over the Griffon history books he'd borrowed from the library, the few that there were. Even with the increased integration of other species into Equestrian society, spearheaded by the School of Friendship, trade wasn't as far along, and it would take time for the histories of every other society to find there way to Equestrian bookshelves.
The train came to a stop just outside the Griffonstone station, and Sunburst stepped out with ease, having only packed a few books into his saddlebags. Standing on the platform, waiting for him, was a female griffon, with bright white feathers and brown fur. Sunburst had used a spell with similar effects to Spike's dragon fire to send a letter ahead, letting her know of his intentions.
"Hello, Gilda," said Sunburst, holding out a hoof, which Gilda shook. "It's great to finally meet you in real life."
"Back at ya," replied Gilda. "If Rainbow Dash says you're good, you're okay by me."
The two of them walked along the central path of the village, heading for Grandpa Gruff's hut. "So are you sure you want to go to Gruff for this?" asked Gilda, once the building in question was in sight. "I mean, he's...y'know."
Sunburst looked at her quizzically. "Um...no, I don't, actually. Besides, it's not like I have a choice. If the Tree of Harmony says it's important, you'd better believe it. Is there something wrong with him?"
"No, he's perfectly healthy. Just...you'd better see for yourself."
She clenched one fist, raising it and knocking on the door. In a few seconds, it was answered by a balding, elderly griffon, with only a few scattered black feathers on his head, and faded gray hair on the rest of his body. He had a thin scar running over his greyed left eye. A red fez sat on the top of his head.
"Hey there, Gilda," he barked. He then took notice of Sunburst, who put on his best smile. "Ah! You must be the pony she told me about."
"Yes, sir," replied the unicorn. "I was hoping you'd tell me about King Grimm—"
But the older griffon seemed to have tuned him out. "Y'know, I remember the first time I ever saw a pony," he muttered, looking thoughtfully off into the distance. "I was so baffled by them. I mean, what kinda species doesn't have digits on their feet?" He flexed his talons, as if to demonstrate. "Being young, and not quite as smart back that, I always wondered how they managed to turn doorknobs! But then I..."
As he continued to rant, Sunburst turned to Gilda, his expression one of quickly growing horror. Gilda just shrugged.
Sunburst was quickly discovering that he'd been right to seek out Grandpa Gruff for more information. The elderly griffon was more packed than the Griffonstone library. If you had a question about griffon history, this was the griffon to go to.
Unfortunately, getting him onto the right track was a different story.
Gilda was serving scones while the two of them spoke. Well, perhaps spoke was a poor choice of words. Gruff was rambling on and on, while Sunburst tried (and mostly failed) to keep him focused on the topic of King Grimm. It wasn't that he was in the wrong place mentally or anything, he was just really into telling stories.
"So there I was, surrounded by dozens of timberwolves on all sides!" the elderly griffon continued to caw. "My talons had been worn down from fighting 'em all day, but did I let that stop this griffon? No!"
"Yeah, that's great," Sunburst muttered under his breath. "Now, if we could get back to King Grimm—"
"Where was I? Now the first one tried to jump over my head and latch onto my back, but I was quicker! I spread my wings out, and caught him by the stomach, flipping him over and slamming him into the ground! Of course, taking out one of a pack only draws the rage of the rest, and so I started to swipe left and right and—"
"GRANDPA GRUFF!" yelled Gilda. "COULD YOU PLEASE TELL HIM THE STORY OF KING GRIMM?!" She inhaled very deeply several times to regain her breath immediately afterward. "Sorry, I couldn't help but overhear, and trying to keep him on a particular topic is like trying to sharpen your talons with a feather."
"Thank you, Gilda," Sunburst replied, honestly.
"Okay, okay," Gruff acquiesced. "It was centuries ago. As you've said, King Grimm was the most militaristic of the griffon kings, and a fairly large chunk of griffon land was obtained through conquest by his talons. He was smart enough not to take on the ponies, mind you, but he was still tough. One of the biggest mysteries of his rule comes from his primary weapon: The Spear of Grimm, like you said. Said to be enchanted with an incredible amount of magic, the Spear was apparently so powerful that Grimm could take down entire armies with it. The mysterious part comes from the fact that the Spear was lost to time. Of course, griffons from all across the kingdom sought the Spear, some for more altruistic reasons than others, but none ever found it. Even if its magic turns out to be just a myth, there's no denying its archeological value."
Sunburst got to his hooves. "Well, this has been informative. Thanks for your time, Grandpa Gruff."
"Eh, no problem, sonny," replied the older griffon. "Say, did I ever tell you of the time I once fought three manticores simultaneously at—"
But Sunburst, having learned, had already scurried out of the hut, munching on a scone wrapped in his magic, and his brain racing.
"If that Spear fell into the wrong hooves—or talons, or claws, or whatever—it could easily spell disaster. I can see why that would be considered a problem that needs solving...but why did the Tree send me? I'm not particularly skilled at finding magical artifacts or anything."
He continued to wander through the streets of Griffonstone, pondering what possible action he could take. He had no idea how to even begin searching for the Spear, and even Grandpa Gruff didn't have any idea where it could've ended up. His hooves eventually took him to the outskirts of the village, where he stared absentmindedly over the edge of the cliff, trying to think of something productive to do.
Until a single talon poked him on the shoulder. "Excuse me, pony."
Sunburst turned around, finding himself face-to-beak with a rather large, muscular, male griffon, his head decorated with grey feathers, which were cut off by brown fur on his main body. A jagged scar ran down his golden beak, and his eyes were a dark green, seemingly boring into Sunburst's soul. His talons were freshly sharpened, looking like they could slice through metal. The unicorn shivered under his gaze, guessing that this wasn't a griffon he wanted to mess with.
"Name's Grapple," snorted the griffon, anger fully visible on his face, and venom in his voice. "I heard you were asking around about the Spear of Grimm."
Sunburst bit his tongue. He hadn't considered that griffons might take offense to a pony snooping around as he was doing. Exactly what this guy was getting offended over, Sunburst couldn't say, but he didn't like the way he was being stared at. His brain kicked in, ordering him to bluff his way out of this.
"Oh, me? No, that was nothing!" Sunburst replied, talking a little too fast to be truly convincing. "I was just curious about griffon history, and—"
Grapple raised a clenched fist, cutting off Sunburst in his tracks. "Cut the lies, pony," he spat. "I heard everything you said in that old griffon's house, I know you asked specifically about Grimm's weapon. Which can only mean one thing: you're after the Spear, too."
Sunburst swallowed. Any other time, he would've denied the charge, but something told him that wouldn't fly in this situation.
"Now, see, I'm the griffon who's gonna get his talons on that Spear," snarled Grapple, "and that means I gotta remove any creature who's got similar thoughts." He snapped his talons, and another large griffon emerged from behind him, cracking there knuckles. "Take care of the pony, Greer."
"With pleasure, boss," Greer replied, smiling devilishly. Grapple smiled in return, spreading his wings and taking off.
Sunburst tried to back up, only to remember that he was standing on the edge of a cliff.
"Er, t-that won't be necessary," he tried to reason. "I-I can just get on the next train out of here and—"
Greer took a swipe at Sunburst, who only barely managed to pull his body back to avoid it.
"Sorry, pony, but when the boss says to take care of something," Greer laughed, raising his talons again, "I always deliver."
Sunburst swallowed.
And that was when the flying blur slammed into Greer from the side, knocking him off of his feet. The impact nearly knocked Sunburst onto his rear. The griffon rolled on his side several feet before coming to a stop, managing to climb back onto all fours. The object that had slammed into him zipped around and came to a rest in front of Sunburst, revealing...
"Daring Do?!"
