Moonlit Eternity

Chapter 13

Steel Anvil, Rainbow Dash, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack and Rarity arrived in Griffon Territory and were suprised at just how much it really did look like Equestria. The air had a chilly tinge to it's usual balm on account of the season of Autumn making it's presence. The Griffons that welcomed the groups of ponies visiting and Griffons returning home from vacations at the docks were nice and cordial, something the group did not expect. Steel overheard a pony couple talking about their visit to this foreign land as they got in line to approach the passport gate.

"You see this, dear?" The mare said to her mate, showing him a map and a stylish looking brochure. The couple looked to be middle aged, so Steel assumed them to be married. "We're going to Featherbound Springs. It's supposed to be the prime vacation spot in Griffon Territory for pegasi." The stallion sighed heavily and rolled his eyes.

"You know, we live in Manehattan. Cloudsdale is a decent trip away from there. We could have just...y'know...gone to Cloudsdale. I mean, that place is great for Pegasi too. We didn't have to come all the way to Griffon Territory." He moaned in apathy. His wife glared daggers at him as she spoke with a distinct venom to her voice.

"You know, you could just be happy we're going somewhere together!" She hissed. He sighed.

"Yes, I know, honey." He said. "Let's just get moving." She looked away from him, annoyed as they approached the gate and showed their passports. The female Griffon smiled at them as she opened the gate and they passed through.'At least they're on vacation.' Steel thought to himself. 'If only Rainbow and I could have that luxury.'

"Geez, nice couple. You think we'll ever be like them?" Rainbow asked from behind Steel, interrupting his contemplations. He turned to her and smiled.

"If we do, you'll have to stomp my brains in." He said as he turned back around and faced forward. "Though, I doubt we will when I'm with the most awesome pegasus in Equestria." She blushed at the comment, and giggled quietly to herself before puffing out her chest and smoothing her mane.

"Yeah, I do tend to live up to the expectations." He smiled at her as he approached the counter.

"Passport, please." The Griffon said. Steel nodded and reached back into his saddle bag and returned with his passport between his teeth. He put it on the counter. The Griffon regarded it with a small level of disdain. Steel smiled at her and laughed nervously.

"Sorry." He said. She smiled back at him and opened the passport and stamped it.

"Go ahead in, welcome to Griffon Territory." She said to him. Rainbow Dash was the next to pass through, though she already had the passport out and ready to go. The griffon stamped it and let her in. Applejack came after Rainbow, who had to fiddle around in her saddlebag for a good few minutes before finally finding the small book. When she finally laid it on the counter, she smiled warmly at the griffon.

"Sorry about that. Knew the little varmit was in there somewhere." The griffon nodded, stamped the book and let her pass. The feeling of relief the griffon felt as she noticed that Twilight Sparkle and Rarity, two unicorns, were the only ponies left in the long line before a long line of able-clawed griffons was like a tidal wave, cooling her off inside. Twilight and Rarity already had the passports levitating in the air as they reached the counter, the griffon stamped them without ceremony and let the ponies pass. Twilght and Rarity then left the gate and greeted their friends.

"Alright. Who's ready to-" Twilight started.

"Attention to all visiting ponies in the lines. Please have your passports out and ready before you reach the gate. Thank you." The announcement from the same griffon that passed them through interrupted her. Rainbow smiled.

"I guess we didn't make it too high on her 'nice travelers of the day list.'" She said.

"I don't know, I'm pretty sure I charmed her until she was weak in the knees." Steel responded. Rainbow socked him in the shoulder. Applejack laughed.

"Ah'm probably the one that got her ornery the most! Took me dang near five minutes to find that blasted passport." She said. "Ah figured she could just wait." Rarity nodded.

"Well, that is her job, after all. At least she was courteous." Rarity said, raising an eyebrow. "I always thought that Griffons were prejudiced to ponies."

"There's actually no proof of that." Twilight responded to the white unicorn's statement. "Our nations have had friendly relations for a long time. Though, there will always be hate in the world, no matter the source."

"Very wise, Twi." Applejack said. "But let's go ahead and get on the train to Lost Child Canyon. We probably got some time, but do y'all remember how close it was the last time?"

"She's right." Rainbow agreed with her orange friend. "Better safe than sorry." They all agreed and departed for the train station. The green grass and blue skies made them feel like they were still in Equestria. All it took, however, to bring any one of them out of their respective false states of mind was seeing the vending booths being run by griffons instead of ponies. They felt like aliens, receiving strange looks from different individuals, regarding them as exactly that.

"Now Ah know how Zecora felt when she first came to Ponyville." Applejack said to her friends, who all nodded an affirmative. They reached the train station before long, paying a small amount of bits at the booths for their tickets to Lost Child Canyon. Exactly as Applejack had predicted, they had twenty minutes to wait for their train to arrive. Rarity went into the nearest clothes store, attempting to find some sort of classy garment to try on. She was morbidly unsuccessful, finding only boring, monotonous souvenir clothes saying things like "I survived Griffon Territory". Rainbow Dash and Applejack snuck up behind Rarity and pulled one of the ugly hoodies over her body. Rarity literally screamed and pulled it off to see Rainbow Dash and Applejack dying on the floor, Twilight snickering and Steel chuckling.

"Never...fails!" Rainbow said, gasping.

"Darn tootin'!" Applejack got out before they had another fit. They stopped when they heard the proprietor of the souvenir shop clear his throat. They looked up at the forboding-looking Griffon.

"Please..." He said in a gruff voice, rage seeping through the words like a thick syrup. "Hang the jacket back up and leave." Applejack and Rainbow laughed nervously.

"Yessir. Sorry about that. Just got caught up in the moment." Applejack said, standing up quickly.

"Yeah, we'll get it up. Sorry." Rainbow said.

"Please...do it...now." He barely said, surely struggling to keep himself from screaming at the two mares. They nodded and went to work hanging the garment back up. Rarity appraised them and harumphed, sticking her nose in the air and leaving the store. Applejack and Rainbow Dash giggled and hoofbumped quickly before they left. By the time they piddled around in several different areas of the train station, their train had arrived, which they boarded post haste. This train was similar to the one in Equestria, having several different cabins able to seat around six comfortably. Other than pony tourists and the occasional odd young griffon, the train was largely empty. They could sit wherever they liked. They eventually agreed on the center of the train and sat in the same positions as they did when they traveled to Fillydelphia. Rainbow could barely sleep however, as she anticipated what would happen in the coming days. She felt an all to familiar chill run down her spine as she remembered Discord's grim instructions on how Steel could cure himself.

"Yippee!" Steel exclaimed sarcastically. "More train riding." Rainbow laughed.

"Well, at least it won't be as long as the last one." She responded.

"I know, but if I go the rest of my life without riding another train, I will die a happy stallion."

"Well, I hate to burst your bubble, but we have to ride trains on the way back to Ponyville." She said. Steel groaned and put his hooves to his eyes.

"Why'd you have to remind me?" He said in between fake sobs. Rainbow giggled.

"Steel, ridin' trains used to be a luxury for me." Applejack said to the stallion. "Ah used to have to walk wherever I went!"

"Well you never really had to walk anywhere outside of Ponyville when you were a filly." Rarity said.

"That bein' said, Ah would always love the times Ah could go on a train to Canterlot, or Manehattan." Applejack said, looking at Steel. He nodded.

"I don't really mind riding on trains." Twilight said, not looking up from her book. "I just prefer chariots."

"I never lose sight of the importance of these babies." Rainbow said, flexing her wings. "They can take me anywhere I want to go in-"

"Ten seconds flat?" Her friends all nearly said in unison. Rainbow laughed nervously.

"I say that too much, don't I?"

_____

After a grueling three hour long ride, the train came to a halt in the city of Lost Child Canyon. The group stepped out of the train into the station and let out a collective groan of distaste nearly in unison. The station seemed to be worn down and poorly kept. The griffons of Lost Child Canyon obviously saw no need to capitalize on tourism, because there were no restaurants, no souvenir shops and worst of all, there weren't even any restrooms. They were the only ones getting off of the train there as well, further adding to the discredibility of the place's safety. Rainbow gulped at the deteriorating building and it's few workers, all seeming like they cared nothing about the environment.

"Yeeeah, why don't we get out of here?" Applejack said.

"Agreed. I feel like I'll catch something if I stay here longer." Rarity added.

"Let's go." Steel said, eyeing a crotchety-looking old griffon, eyeing his female friends with a hint of lust in his eye. They walked through the dank, poorly-lit building, appraising the cracked walls, roaches crawling in and out, the disgusting, dark version of Equestria's parasprites. When they left the building, their view didn't improve very much. Gone were the beautiful green grass and full, lush trees they saw when they first arrived in Griffon Territory, replaced with a harsh-looking desert-like landscape. The small, sparse patches of grass that littered the ground were light brown from intense dehydration, and what remnants of trees they saw were cracking, drooping, decaying frames of what they once were. The many, unused buildings in Lost Child Canyon also had a heavily-dilapidated look to them, poorly kept shells of what were once most likely thriving establishments of businesses and families. Few buildings actually remained active to serve the ever-shrinking population of the old town.

"It's a shame." Steel said. "Back in it's heyday, this town must really have been a nice place." He winced at the large, bright sun. "Dear Celestia, that sun is intense." Rainbow frowned at her coltfriend's obvious discomfort.

"Let's go ahead and find some shade." She said. The group agreed and walked to a small bar that seemed to still be open. They entered the place and looked around at the sparsely seated griffons having a drink. They walked through the place, receiving not-so-subtle stares of hostility from the drinkers. They walked to the counter as the bar tender looked at them rudely.

"Five waters, please." Steel said. Every griffon in the building laughed. The bartender just continued to stare at them rudely. He went and withdrew five cups and began filling them with tap water with a yellowish hue to it. He set them on the counter in front of the ponies.

"Y'know..." They heard a mean-sounding voice from behind them say. "It's not often that we get ponies here in Lost Child Canyon..." He said. "And the ones we do get can usually hold their liquor. Water all ya can take? Poor little ponies." These words burned Steel inside like fire. He turned to the griffon, who was a head taller than he was and looked into his eyes.

"I never said that I couldn't hold my liquor." Steel said. "How about we have a little drinking contest? Just for fun." The griffon raised his eyebrows and smiled crookedly. The girls gasped.

"Just for fun?" The griffon said and guffawed again. "Maybe you don't know how we do things 'round here, stranger. We bet on this kinda stuff. A hundred bits minimum. And if ya can't pay it..." A venomous tone laced his voice as he leaned in toward Steel and dropped a bag of what Steel assumed to be a hundred bits onto the table. "Let's just say some kinda...bad accident usually befalls 'em." Steel nodded.

"Wouldn't have it any other way." He responded.

"You gotta pair on you, boy." The griffon said as he pulled a chair up to the table. Steel sat down across from him. Rainbow pulled Steel out of the chair and whispered to him.

"Are you kidding? This guy can probably drink you under the table and a hundred bits is pretty much all we have!" She said.

"We won't be able to get back to Equestria!" Applejack added.

"Steel, we all know you can probably hold your liquor, but this guy looks like he's had a lot of experience. Just think about this." Twilight said. "You don't have to prove anything." Rarity nodded in agreement.

"Guys, just trust me." Steel said calmly and confidently.

"You might wanna listen to your pretty friends there." The griffon said. "They're speakin' the truth."

"The contest is going on as planned." Steel said, sitting down at the table. The first shot of whiskey was in front of him. The griffon grabbed his and downed it instantly. Steel repeated the griffon's movement, also swallowing the liquor with no hesitation. He grimaced slightly at the fiery taste.

"This 100 proof?" Steel asked the bartender as he brought the second round of shots. He nodded slowly. Steel and his competitor took their shots and continued for the next five shots. The griffon didn't even seem tipsy, but neither did Steel. Rainbow was amazed. She could hold her liquor well, especially for a lightweight pegasus such as herself, but it didn't take more than five shots of whiskey to at least get her swaying. Steel didn't even seem fazed. Six shots later and the griffon was feeling it. He began to look tired and he swayed his his chair slightly.

"Oh, you look like you've had enough. Would you like to lie down?" Steel asked him. The griffon shook his head and slurred-

"Ohoho no, ya 'lil poneh. Wer just gettin' starded." He said as he quickly downed the next shot. Steel downed his and nodded to the bartender. They continued doing shots and the griffon just got more and more drunken as time passed, whereas Steel looked like he had when he started. The griffon's speech was unintelligible as he stood up to walk over to Steel. Halfway around the table, the griffon fell flat onto the ground. Steel stood up slowly.

"Guess that means I win." He said. Rainbow cheered out loud and threw a hoof up into the air. She ran and grabbed Steel in a hug. Applejack's, Twilight's and Rarity's jaws were all dropped in amazement. The other griffons in the bar looked at him astonished as he took the bag on one hundred bits from the table where the griffon had dropped it. He put it on the counter in front of the bartender. "For the drinks." Steel said. The bartender shook his head.

"When it's a contest, the loser gives the winnings away and the drinks go on his tab." The bartender said. Steel nodded.

"Fair enough."

"Mister, I'd assume you'd be dying of alchohol poisoning right about now." He said to Steel.

"Back home they say I'm a medical miracle." Steel responded.

"Can't argue with that." The bartender said. "What brings you to this dump of a town? I would figure that you and your friends here would be at one of the resorts."

"We're not on vacation." Steel said. "We're actually looking for a pegasus. Name of Brick Smasher. He's an old friend of mine." The bartender nodded.

"Figures you'd know him. He owns a hardware store further down the street." The griffon said.

"Thanks a lot." Steel said as he turned to leave. Rainbow, Applejack, Twilight and Rarity all gathered around him outside.

"That was amazin'!" Applejack marveled.

"Indeed, I've never seen anything like it!" Rarity exclaimed.

"Even calculated with your body mass index, you shouldn't have been able to drink that much! You should be dead of alchohol poisoning." Twilight said to him, counting something on her hoof.

"How did you do it?" Rainbow finally asked him. He chuckled and smirked at them.

"Did I ever tell you guys that being a vampire makes it impossible for me to get drunk?" He whispered. They all looked at each other and bursted out laughing. "Looks like we're going home with some money, girls!" He said. They all cheered. But then stopped as they saw Steel looking down the street at what was surely Brick Smasher's store.

"We're coming with you." Rainbow said. The girls nodded.

"I wouldn't expect him to attack you guys with so many possible witnesses and in the middle of the daytime. But still, stay behind me and don't say a word. I'll protect you all with my life." Rainbow kissed Steel on the cheek and they all nodded. They than started down the street with Steel in the lead to confront his family's killer.

_____

Steel Anvil, his marefriend Rainbow Dash and their friends walked down the long, cracked, destitute street. Steel began to ponder what it would be like to see the monster's face again. He wondered if he would fly into an animal rage and attack him on the spot, or go according to plan and challenge him like Discord said. The screams of agony of his family rang about in the confines of his skull, wracking his brain with the grotesque images that he had tried so hard over his 172 years of undeath to forget. His eyes finally landed upon the small hardware store that Brick Smasher owned in the city. It looked relatively well-kept in comparison to the rest of the city, actually having clean windows and a sidewalk free of dying weeds. Outside the store, they stopped to prepare. Steel looked back at Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack and Rarity.

"Remember, no matter what, stay behind me. If he tries anything, run." Steel said. The girls nodded and Rainbow hugged him.

"You can do this." She said to him. Steel was not afraid, but he understood what she meant. He nodded and turned back toward the door. He pushed it open and walked in, followed by his friends.

"Take a look around, I'll be right with you!" A friendly sounding, familiar voice called from the back of the store. Steel remembered the voice, in a pleading fashion, beg to be let inside his house for warmth. Steel just stood there at the counter and did not move. After the sound of clattering and banging from the back of the place, the pegasus that Steel knew all too well came ambling to the counter.

"Afternoon, friend! What can I do for ya?" He spouted with a pleasant grin on his face. Steel merely stared at him. He stared at this pegasus as if he was burning holes in his forehead. Brick Smasher gained a look of puzzlement on his face as he waved a hoof in front of Steel in an attempt to rouse him from his apparent trance. Rainbow looked at him and cleared her throat. Steel shook his head slightly and smiled at Brick Smasher.

"Uh, yeah, I'd like to purchase some screws, please." Steel said to the pegasus. Brick Smasher nodded and smiled at him.

"Yessir. Right this way, I'll show you." He said as he walked from behind the counter. He looked back at Steel for a moment. "It's so good to actually see some fellow ponies around here. Been ages since I last saw any of my own kind." Steel nodded, but his thoughts were different.

'No, you're one of a kind, monster.' He thought.

"So what brings ya around here?" He asked.

"We're looking for some culture." Steel responded flatly.

"Culture in Lost Child Canyon? Well, you'd be luckier finding an Ursa Minor living in Princess Celestia's castle."

"Even so, we want to see everything."

"I guess so." Brick Smasher said as they came to the nails at last. "So, we got one and a half-" He began as he looked at Steel. He stopped himself when he locked eyes with him. "Have we met before somewhere?" Steel smiled at him and nodded.

"One-hundred and seventy two years ago. Fillydelphia." Steel said. Brick Smasher laughed.

"A hundred and seventy two years?" He said. "Son, I'm old, but I'm not that old."

"Hearth's Warming Eve...you were cold, tired..." Steel said as he was filled with anger. "We let you in, out of the kindness of our hearts...and then you killed my family." Brick Smasher's eyes widened as it came back to him. But then his expression changed to one of a condescending nature.

"Oh, yeah..." He said. "You're the one I let live. You're the one I turned."

"No." Steel responded. "You tried to kill me."

"You're still here, aren't you? No, I turned you. You had heart, so I spared your life. But now, in hindsight, I really should have killed you along with your mom, your pop, your...uncle I would guess and your little sister." He said evilly, his personality now taking on the form of what exactly it really was. "It was smart of you to come during the day."

"You're a monster." Steel said. "Why did you do it?"

"Why did I enjoy slaughtering your family? I don't really know. So, yeah, I guess I am a monster." Brick Smasher replied with a disgustingly wry grin. "You made a good choice by coming during the day. Now what is it you want?"

"I want to end this." Steel said. "Once and for all."

"Sounds fun." Replied the pegasus. "So...what, you just wanna do it here and now? You think your little entourage there is gonna help you?" He gestured to the girls.

"They're not taking part." Steel said. "Tonight. You and me outside the city. We'll be at our strongest then."

"So you want an organized fight between the two of us?" Brick Smasher said. "Why?"

"So it'll be all the more satisfying when I end your worthless life and make the world a better place." Steel responded promptly, meaning every single word of what he said. Brick Smasher raised his eyebrows at the earth pony.

"Oh?" He said. "Alright. You got it. I'll show up and we'll tear each other to peices. I'll even be fair about it and not pull any cheap tricks, since you're all good and pure about it. And I'm gonna enjoy killing your little friends, there, too." He said as he looked at the girls and nodded his head at Rainbow Dash. "That blue one, in particular." He began to laugh. Rich, evil peals of laughter spilled from his throat as they walked out of the store. Rainbow walked up beside her love and nuzzled him under the chin.

"That went well." He said sarcastically.

"I thought you were awesome." She said to him. He looked over at her and smiled appreciatively.

"So...worst case scenario, I die tonight and this entire journey will be a tragedy and a waste of all of our respective times." Steel mused. "Best case scenario, I kill him, get cured, and live how I want to live with you." Steel said, before placing a kiss on top of Rainbow's head. She giggled.

"You won't die." She said to him. "There's no way." He chuckled.

"Even so..." He stopped her and turned her head toward his. "I don't want you sticking around for that fight. If I lose and he kills me, he'll come straight after you and kill you all." He said, looking up at the group with the last few words.

"I understand, babe." Rainbow said. "I'll be far away when it happens." He nodded at her.

"Good." He said. "Now let's find a place to rest up. I'm going to need all of my strength tonight." They all agreed and headed for the bar they just came from where Steel defeated that rather large griffon in a drinking game. Rainbow had, in fact, agreed to stay away from the fight, but she had always been a good liar.

_____

The bar was, at least now, the safest place to be in Lost Child Canyon at the moment. The bartender had taken a liking to the group and gave them drinks on the house. Steel spent most of his time in the bar in pensive thought about fighting techniques he had learned over the years. After about an hour of deliberation, Steel stood up and looked at the girls.

"I'm going to get some fresh air." He said to them. They nodded as he left the bar. Rainbow Dash immediately looked at her friends.

"Okay, guys." She said to them, almost immediately gaining their attention. "Steel wants us to stay away from the fight in case that other guy wins and comes after us. But if he wins, he'll definitely kill Steel. I don't want to let that happen. I think we should follow him and watch from afar and if he loses, we can try to help him. Sure, he won't be cured, but he wont be dead. No matter what, I don't want to see him dead." Applejack nodded.

"Ah agree." She said simply. Twilight nodded as well.

"If he does lose, perhaps Rarity and I could keep Brick Smasher at bay with our magic while you and Applejack carry Steel out." Twilight said. "It's risky, but we should be willing to take that risk for our friends." Rarity smiled.

"Hear, hear!" Rarity said. "But why are we putting so little faith in Steel? He's shown himself to be more than a capable fighter."

"It's not that we don't have faith in him." Rainbow said. "We just need a backup plan. I've never been this scared about anything in my life." Rarity looked at Rainbow's hoof on the table. It was shaking. She looked closer at Rainbow's eyes. She was tearing up. Rarity placed a hoof on it hers, as did Applejack, then Twilight.

"Don't worry, sugarcube..." Applejack said. "We'll get through this."

"Just like we've gotten through everything." Twilight said.

"We defeated Nightmare Moon." Rarity said.

"We took on Discord." Applejack added.

"And we've stopped Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra." Twilight finished for them. Rainbow sniffled slightly and smiled at them.

"Thanks, guys." She said as Steel walked back into the building. He looked at them all.

"It's getting dark." He said simply and grimly. "I'd better go soon." The girls nodded. Rainbow Dash stood up and walked to him. The girls recognized that this could be Steel and Rainbow's last heart-to-heart, so they departed for the other side of the bar and started their own conversation.

"Well..." She said to him. "I guess this is it."

"No." He said. "This isn't it, Rainbow." He put a hoof under her chin and brought her face up to his. "I'm going to kill him. And when I cure myself, we're going to finally be able to be with each other normally. I can love you during night..." He kissed her. "And day."

"I wouldn't want it any other way." Rainbow responded, smiling up at him, a tear falling down her cheek.

"Yay, you made a rhyme! You get a gold star." Steel said, smiling. She laughed and kissed him.

"Come back. Please." She said, putting her forehead to his. "Come back so that we can be together with nothing holding us back."

"It's a deal." He said as he turned to leave the bar. As he left, Rainbow Dash felt as if something was missing from their potential final interaction.

"Steel, wait!" Rainbow exclaimed as she went after him. Outside the bar he stopped as she caught up to him. He turned and was immediately met with a passionate kiss from his love. After almost a minute, she broke the kiss and looked into his eyes. "I love you."

"And I, you, Rainbow Dash." He said. "I'll be back in ten seconds flat...or maybe a bit longer." He turned and walked down the street away from her, knowing full well that he may never see her again. Rainbow shed more tears, but did not sob once. Because sobbing wasn't her style of course. Applejack, Twilight Sparkle and Rarity exited the diner and brought their friend into a collective, comforting hug. A few minutes passed until Steel Anvil was out of sight.

"When did you want to start following him?" Rarity asked Rainbow.

"Right now."

Obligatory End-of-Chapter Author's Note: Oh, damn. It's about to get real. I had to add those "D'AWWW" moments in there. Come on, I had to. The final confrontation is coming up and it's going to be chaotic, loud and epic. Things are going to get pretty hectic and frantic. I'm extremely tired, so I'm just going to end this author's note here. Be sure to leave a comment telling me what you think so far! Cheers!