Helpless To Help

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 2

Chapter 1

The bumping cart jolted Twilight awake. Her wings shot open in surprise, one of them hitting an unsuspecting Pinkie Pie next to her. Her eyes shot around for a second before she focused on the journal she had opened on the table. Drool stained the left page. Annoyed, she closed the book and placed it back into her saddlebag.

Somepony snickered. Another burst into hearty laughter.

‘You—you looked like a seal!’ Rainbow hugged her sides as she continued to chuckle.

‘Yeah!’ Pinkie seconded while she somehow managed to recompose herself. ‘A big, lavender seal!’

‘Very funny.’ Twilight rolled her eyes. ‘Are we there yet?’

Laughter died down as Pinkie's and Rainbow's faces became sullen. Although the train still rattled forward toward its destination, it shouldn't be too long before they reached it. Shouldn’t it?

‘We should've been!’ Pinkie groaned. ‘It's taking even longer than last time!’

‘The train has stopped like five times!’ Rainbow growled. ‘They keep asking for our passports! Start, stop, passport! Start, stop, passport!’

‘And you—’

‘Relax, Twi! Of course we got them your passport!’ Rainbow suppressed her laughter. ‘To be honest, you looked better sleeping than you do in that pic—’

‘I know.’ Twilight sighed and silently reminded herself to prepare for the flash the next time she went in to renew her passport. ‘It’s just a good thing that I figured out that we needed passports to enter Gryphoniya now, otherwise this trip wouldn’t have happened at all!’

‘It’s weird...’ Pinkie looked out the window at the approaching mountain range. ‘We didn’t need anything last time.’

‘We needed bits,’ Rainbow reminded her. ‘Hopefully that’s a practice they learned to do away with.’

‘We didn’t need too many bits—’

‘Pinkie, we didn’t have enough to return to Ponyville!’

‘I don’t remember getting anything back,’ Twilight recalled, ‘and that was half of my stipend from Celestia… What did you buy?’

‘A story and a rope.’ Rainbow’s eyes darted toward Pinkie twice, who kept her mouth shut tight.

‘Right…’ Twilight sighed.

‘At least we'll have some of those delicious griffon scones!’ Pinkie smiled.

‘And we’ll be able to visit the historic sites of Griffonstone!’ Twilight added.

Pinkie and Rainbow groaned in unison. This did little to dissuade Twilight, who set off into a fantasy about what she’d discover: old Griffon fortresses, the surrounding villages, the monoliths… the libraries!

The train jerked to a halt, catching Twilight off guard. Something moved outside the window—no, some things. Twilight and Pinkie looked out the window. Rainbow opted to fold her hooves and pout. ‘Again? Twilight, couldn’t you have gotten us the express? This is way too slow!’

‘Not too comfy either!’ Pinkie complained too.

‘I didn’t think to ask Celestia if we could. I just got the tickets,’ Twilight responded. ‘Besides, it’s not too bad—’

Twilight was interrupted when she saw a few griffons on their side of the cart pushing past with the brutal griffon invention: their slug-throwers. The sight unsettled her, but she knew that there wasn’t much those could do against her magic. Besides, she figured that nothing nefarious would happen anyway. After all, she was the Princess of Friendship—

The compartment door to the cart slammed open. A generously-sized griffon wearing an officer's uniform, flanked by two thinner griffon soldiers, stepped inside. The officer waddled up the aisle, calling out, ‘Papers, please!’

The other passengers in the cart held up their documents to the officer. The three griffons seized them and started to scan the tightly printed lines with gazes of steel. Twilight looked at her friends. When they produced their passports, she took the documents up with a quick levitation spell and proudly filed and displayed the documents. One of the soldiers skulked up to their row and grabbed the papers out of the air.

Twilight watched the soldier thumb through the pages of the passports quickly. His claws followed under the lines, though his eyes didn’t look over the document. Did he even examine it? The griffon closed the passports, looked toward the officer, and, unlike the rest, held them tightly in his claws.

He spoke, but it wasn’t Ponish. She couldn’t speak Griffish, but she knew Rainbow picked up on a bit—

‘What?’ Rainbow blinked. ‘That’s horsedung!’

The soldier stuffed the passports into a bag he had strapped around his body. The other soldier did the same. Twilight was about to object before the officer spoke in clear Ponish, ‘We are taking your passports. They will be returned when you leave through this checkpoint. We will issue you tickets of entry. They expire in a week.’

‘You can’t just—’ Another pony tried to say, but the protest fell on deaf ears. The soldiers and officers marched out.

Twilight pressed her hooves against the glass and watched as the officer signalled the train to leave. Rainbow was already on her hooves, but Twilight motioned her to sit back down.

Her thoughts were running wild, but she drew in a deep breath. Breathe in, breathe out. Relax. Everything was going to be okay.

She didn’t even realize she said that out loud. All eyes in the cart were on her. She couldn’t admit her next thought out loud.

This was bad news.

Today wasn’t a day to write home about.

After spending three hours at the train station trying to obtain their “entry tickets,” Twilight realized they were far off schedule. She rushed Rainbow and Pinkie along to where they were supposed to stay the night, only to find that the innkeeper remembered they reserved a room a hundred bits later.

By this point, Rainbow and Pinkie were complaining that they were hungry.Twilight capitulated.

After a long meal, they were only seven hours behind schedule. Twilight figured they could at least visit the ruins of the old Griffonstone Castle—but even that was sectioned off. So they headed to the only establishment that they knew was open: a small local place that offered the local cuisine of Gryphoniya. It didn’t have anything that was suitable to an equine diet, so they settled on something “palatable”.

‘Well, today was great!’ Rainbow huffed. ‘Seriously, what’s their problem?’

‘They weren’t such party-poopers last time!’ Pinkie exclaimed as she sipped from her bronze cup.

‘I’d think that Gilda would’ve figured this all out by now. When she puts her mind to things, she can get stuff done quick—’

‘Friendship isn’t that simple.’ Twilight closed her journal. ‘Especially for a nation that lost its identity. Sure, everything isn’t going exactly according to plan, but—’

‘Twilight, nothing went according to plan!’

‘Yeah, I’m surprised you haven’t gone all cuckoo yet!’ Pinkie added, before looking down at the food she only took one bite from.

‘I don’t go “cuckoo” when things don’t go according to plan—’

‘You do!’ Rainbow snorted.

‘I do not!’ Twilight put her hoof down on the table. ‘Besides, if we can’t figure out what to do, we can just visit Gilda—’

‘How do you know her?’ an unfamiliar voice asked.

The three looked at the intruder. They didn’t expect anygriffon to butt into their conversation. He looked young. He had a bit of a crooked beak. His feathers were slicked back, his fur a spotted brown. The griffon prowled over to where they sat and looked at the three, his eyes lingering on Twilight.

He… smiled.

‘I, uh,’ Rainbow stammered, ‘we’ve been friends since the Junior Speeder’s flight camp. Why do you ask?’

‘Oh, I’m just surprised some ponies knew her. She’s a bit tough to get along with, but once you crack the shell, she’ll never let you down!’

‘Right...’ Rainbow glanced at Twilight, noticing the griffon staring at the princess. ‘Who are you?’

‘Me?’ The griffon took a seat beside Twilight. ‘Name’s Gat’.’

‘I’m Twilight Sparkle! It’s nice meeting you! And this here is Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash!’

‘Yeah.’ Rainbow half-smiled back. ‘Nice to meet you too.’

Pinkie didn’t respond.

‘Well, that makes three of us!’ Gat’ shrugged. ‘What brings you out here?’

‘Just visiting Griffinstone. Seeing our friends here and going to a few of the attractions.’ Twilight sighed. ‘W-well, we wanted to, but we haven’t yet.’

‘Why’s that?’

‘Just some, y’know, roadblocks—’

‘These griffons aren’t letting us do anything!’ Rainbow interrupted. ‘They won’t even let us go into the old castle!’

‘Yeah.’ Gat’ rubbed the back of his neck. ‘The Interims have been giving a lot of griffons trouble the past few months.’

‘The Interims?’ Twilight blinked, unfamiliar with the term.

‘The sitting government. Ever since we lost the Boreas and the Kingdom shattered, we’ve been dealing with an emergency state that hasn’t been the nicest.’

‘That’s one way of putting it.’ Pinkie raised an eyebrow, her contribution a surprise.

‘... Right. So, they’ve been changing the rules recently. It’s been hard for everygriffon, but we’re surviving. The future can only be better, right?’

‘That’s right!’ Twilight smiled. ‘You said you know Gilda. Perhaps you’d like to join us?’

‘Gilda’s out of town.’ Gat’ waved his claw. ‘She’s on some business elsewhere.’

‘Why did she go?’ Rainbow raised an eyebrow. ‘Gilda doesn’t travel a lot.’

‘She’s native to Gakkovo. It’s nice this time of year.’

‘I thought she said she’s native to Griffinstone,’ Pinkie replied.

‘No, I remember her talking about Gakkovo.’ Rainbow dismissed. ‘Shoot! It would’ve been nice to meet up with her…’

‘Well,’ Twilight said, ‘you could still join us!’

‘Oh, I’d love to—but I don’t want to intrude!’

‘No, it’s really no problem! It’s not like our plans are going, well, according to plan…’

‘What did I say?’ Rainbow snickered at Twilight’s remark. ‘Anyways, Gat’, we’d appreciate the company. It’d be nice to practice my Griffish, too!’

‘Ah-ha!’ Gat’ laughed. ‘Then it’s a party!’

‘This isn’t a party—’ Pinkie tried to say.

‘Pinkie!’ Twilight chided. ‘It will be a party!’

‘Oh...’ Pinkie kept her eyes locked on the griffon. ‘Will.’

The griffon cocked his head to one side—puzzled?—then looked toward a waitress and muttered something in Griffish. She glanced at Rainbow, who seemed unphased by what their new friend was saying, before dots appeared to connect in her mind. Dash perked up, smiling.

‘Wait, they have cider here? I can barely get any back in Ponyville!’

‘It’s an expensive import.’ Gat’ shrugged. ‘But it’s a taste nogriffon can resist.’

‘What sort of taste—’

‘Pinkie! You know what cider tastes like better than anypony!’ Rainbow shook her head. ‘I didn’t even see this on the menu though. How did you know?’

‘Sometimes the things we’re looking for are not on the menu.’

The waitress circled back around, and set three mugs of cider between them before she immediately retreated. Gat’ fluffed his wings in anticipation and leaned in before he added, ‘Come! Drink! It’s my pleasure.’

‘Are you sure?’ Twilight asked. She looked at Pinkie, who kept a stern gaze on the griffon. Rainbow had already taken a gulp from the foaming mug and set it back down on the table. She observed Rainbow for a minute and wondered to herself whether—

No, she shouldn’t let Pinkie’s odd behavior set her off. Besides, when didn’t Pinkie act strange? She looked down to her own drink, then back up to Gat’s smile.

‘Please, it’d offend me if you didn’t drink!’ Gat’ responded. ‘After, I can show you the beauty of my homeland!’

Twilight took some comfort in that. After all, that’s what she and her friends were here for. He wasn’t going to let some mishaps sour her expedition. She leaned down and took a sip from the mug.

Chapter 3

Droplets dripped every few seconds from the ceiling into the pool below, sending ripples cascading through. The water settled, only to be disturbed again. Between Twilight’s desperate attempts to summon magic, she watched the droplets incessantly fall into the puddle collecting into a growing pool at the bottom of her cell.

It was useless. She couldn’t even illuminate her horn. Something clenched around it like jaws of death, nor could she move her wings. The griffons had bonded the best advantages she had at escape. They left her with nothing.

Breathe, Twilight commanded herself. Focus. You’ll get out of here at some point. After that, you need to find Pinkie and Dash. They will help you get your magic back, and then we can get out. Just stay calm, stay calm—

There was a pounding at the door. Twilight pressed herself against the back wall. She anticipated the guards again, who would whisk her away to her final destination—Freedom.

The metal door swung open with a painful creak as a beam of intense light crossed the threshold. Soon enough, that light was obscured by two griffonish figures: one a female with white feathers tipped with green; the other a male with spotted-orange feathers.

Twilight kept her distance, trying to evade the two griffons who fell in on her. The male managed to seize her wing brace and whipped her toward the door. She stomped her hooves down to hold herself in place, but to no avail.

‘Ah! Move your hooves, you mule!’ he demanded. ‘What sense does it make to delay the inevitable? The gates of Freedom are open to greet you!’

‘Comrade Gelen,’ the female said with a huff, ‘stop taunting the creature!’

‘Then you get the prod and give her a bit of encouragement!’

‘I can walk—’ Twilight tried to interject, hoping it’d provide some silence.

‘Shut up!’ Gelen roared, shoving Twilight into a wall. Her head whipped against the concrete, the thud drowning out the mocking laughter. She did everything to suppress her tears, but couldn’t stop her cry.

‘—Chicken!’ The female griffon lashed out, swiping with her claws extended at Gelen. His right flank was torn to ribbons, blood spurting out of the clean wound. Gelen cried and involuntarily released Twilight before he turned back toward his attacker.

As Twilight collapsed onto the floor, terror took hold. Like those claws were still wrapped around her, holding her captive, as her eyes stung with tears.

The female griffon pressed what advantage she had and tackled Gelen to the floor. Her arm wrapped as tightly as a python around his neck. She rolled, her snake-like movement breaking her free from the fury of her opponent’s talons. His shouts and taunts were silenced. Soon enough, Twilight couldn’t even hear his suppressed cries.

His legs no longer moved.

Twilight stared in horror and cried aloud as the griffon who smothered her companion looked at her. She closed her eyes as the female griffon pounced. Those same claws that silenced Gelen shot forward and covered her mouth, followed by a shushing that whistled from her attacker’s beak.

‘Quiet! I’m not going to hurt you!’ the griffon reassured. ‘Him, though? In ways that are ungriffish, he would’ve—no, we don’t have time to speak about that! Your friends—they’re being moved to the trains—’

‘T-to Freedom?’ Twilight asked.

‘I—I don’t know,’ the griffon admitted. ‘The Politburo isn’t being clear; you were going to be detained here for longer—’

‘I thought I was going to—’

‘Shush! Come on, we need to move! We can only whisper now. If we speak too loud, they’ll hear—’

Footsteps in a joining corridor confirmed the griffon's concern. The female took hold of Twilight as the two rushed down the corridor. Twilight still felt her hooves dragging on the floor.

‘They’re going to find—’ Twilight tried to warn.

‘Of course they will!’ the griffon whispered. ‘I’m counting on it!’

‘B-but they’ll find us—’

‘They’ll be too disorganized and confused to actually do anything! These aren’t geniuses we’re talking about; the guards and whoever pledges loyalty to the Politburo are certified idiots!’

‘The Politburo? Is that—’

‘That poor excuse of a parliament that ordered your imprisonment on fake charges? Yes.’

‘Can you stop interrupting me?’

‘Can you stop being so loud?’

Twilight suppressed an annoyed sigh, realizing this wasn’t the time or the place to resist. She allowed this mysterious—ally was too strong a word—griffon to guide her. The footsteps got louder, but eventually faded in the distance. There was laughter, the chatter of beaks, and that strange, guttural Griffish language.

She didn’t want to focus on that. No, she couldn’t focus on that—

Rainbow.

Pinkie.

‘My friends. Are you going to help them too?’

‘They’re already on the train we need you to take—this way! You all will be headed back west in specially marked crates. It’s there that somegriffon else who’s with the Interim will pick you up and take you the rest of the way to Griffonstone. Once you’re there, you’ll be greeted by the Equestrian military.’

Twilight ran the plan through her mind. There were too many risks, especially if they made a commotion. What if the Politburo stopped the train? What if they were discovered somewhere in their travel and apprehended again? If they were caught again, it might be a worse fate than imprisonment—

‘Relax, horse!’ the griffon warned. ‘You’re going to get their attention if you keep hyperventilating!’

‘I don’t know who you are, I don’t know where my friends are, and I don’t even know if we’re going to make it out!’ Twilight felt herself tearing up.

The griffon paused, then wrapped her wing around the princess. ‘We don’t have much time, but, look. Name’s Greta. I’m not sure if you’ve even heard about me, but your friends helped change my life. I’m not going to let them come in the way of harm, even if it meant I… y’know.’ Greta sighed. ‘Let’s just say “we need you.”’

Twilight froze under those wings. But that promise? It did something to ease her shiver—to warm that cold. Twilight looked up to Greta, who kept shepherding her to a location she didn’t know. Though the griffon tried to reassure her, as much as Twilight wanted to just believe her words…

Twilight tugged away from Greta’s wing.

‘Alright.’ Twilight’s thoughts immediately closed in on one thing that could absolve her of any doubt: removing whatever blocked her magic. ‘How are we going to get there? Can you get whatever is blocking my magic off my horn?’

‘Your horn? Can’t. It’s too strong for a griffon to break without the right tools. It’ll have to stay on.’

Figured as much, Twilight thought. When would it ever be that simple?

‘As for your first question, we can’t just parade you around,’ Greta added. ’That’ll raise too much suspicion. But they aren’t going to be looking for you. That’s the important thing.’

‘How do you know?’

‘Ponies can’t leave claw marks,’ Greta responded. ‘Besides, Gelen doesn’t have a long list of friends. I won’t be the first suspect.’

‘But you were—’

‘The management here is a complete joke. They never know who’s with who.’

‘And you know that how?’

‘Sometimes it’s best to not ask many questions,’ Greta warned. ‘An eagle’s eye reveals more than meager—’

Footsteps echoed down the hallway, closer and closer. The traitor griffon and the captive pony stopped in their tracks. The two skidded to a halt and hid away in the musky shadow of the hallway. The griffon covered Twilight with the full span of her wing, as a thief would an object they stole. Twilight felt Greta use her claws to fiddle with something, though she couldn’t exactly see what.

Her heart throbbed, worry creeping down her throat. Panic set in, but the only thing she could do was—no, no, no! She’d reveal herself even if she breathed; griffons’ keen sense of hearing worked against her. She did the only thing she could do in this moment—hold her breath and keep still.

«Chto delaesh’, Greta?» a callous and harsh voice demanded. «Ti snova igraesh’ so svoim klitorom?»

«Zamolchi!» Greta shot back with equal ferocity. «Razve ti ne dolzhen mit’ tualeti?»

Twilight kept her mouth shut tight, straining not to take as much as a breath. Her jaw started to feel sore, her entire body trembling, her teeth involuntarily grinding. She prayed to Celestia that this bandit would lose interest and leave her alone.

A possibility she didn’t want to accept crept up from the deepest recesses and fears that haunted her: Greta could just lift up her wing, revealing her. What would she do then? Run? No… she couldn’t do that. She wouldn’t realistically escape—not without her magic. Even if she could, how could she rescue Rainbow or Pinkie?

«Chto oo tebya pod krilom?» a second griffon squawked.

«Moya prachechnaya, eto nuzhna mit’!» Greta hissed.

«Zapakh soglashaetsya!» The first griffon laughed. «Ti pakhnaesh’ loshad’yu!»

The other Griffons’ paws ushered past with a laughter that Twilight had come to despise. Greta held still for a while before she ushered Twilight forward, still under the cover of her wing. Twilight took in a much needed breath, relieving the tension that had lasted for what felt like an eternity.

At least Twilight could depend on Greta to not surrender her to the others.

‘What were they saying?’ Twilight asked.

‘You stink,’ Greta answered. ‘And if we get somegriffs that are more inclined to pry, it’ll not end as well.’

Twilight ignored the rude remark. ‘S-so, they’re already suspicious?’

‘As suspicious as one rock would be of another. They just thought I was—’ Greta paused. ‘I really shouldn’t say.’

‘Why?’

‘I’m in polite company.’

Chapter 4

Twilight tried to make sense of the plan once more while Greta set to work, hiding her in a crate labelled with strange characters. The scent of some grain that had been poured into a section of the crate right above her completely overwhelmed her senses. She hid in a small compartment underneath grain, which conveniently provided the space necessary to keep her undetected from prying eyes.

Good. At least that checked out.

But there were still too many other factors. How did she know that guards hadn’t already passed by her cell? How did she know that Gelen’s body hadn’t been detected yet? They’d have expected her to try and escape at some point, and because ponies can’t travel too far, that’d narrow it down to an escape through rail.

Rail… How many trains travelled through this point on a given day? What were their destinations? Would the stops be as frequent as they were trying to enter the country? If they were—

Calm down! Twilight demanded of herself. There’s little we can do. It’s either years at “Freedom,” or it’s...

Hard work? She could work hard! Work is better than the alternative!

Her friends. She still didn’t know where they were, or even if they were safe. Sure, they could’ve been on the train with her—that’s what Greta had said—but how could she know for certain? If she was alone in this, and Rainbow and Pinkie were abandoned in Gryphoniya without their passports—

Don’t think about it!

‘The breeze must be awfully strong if I can hear it,’ Greta grumbled. ‘I wish the Bringer of the Winds would cease it.’

Twilight checked her breath and tried to regulate it. Didn’t Greta understand? This was risky—too risky! Sure, it was unfair, and she shouldn’t have been subject to it, but this was a “be complacent or…” Twilight couldn’t think of a better way to put it. “A be complacent or die situation.” It wasn’t a way anypony should live. It wasn’t a way anycreature should live!

‘There… This should be good for shipment to Gandurino. The buckwheat will be enough to feed the population there,’ Greta muttered in Ponish, before her language became more harsh. «Otnesi eto v poyezd. Skoree! On ukhodit v sledyushchii chas!»

«Nu ladna.» Another voice sighed. «Poslat’ sekret?»

«Ne mne govorit’,» Greta responded. «Idti!»

Twilight held her breath as the crate she was hidden in was lifted off the ground. She couldn’t even see outside, save for one crack in the plank of wood. She curled up into as tight a ball as she could and commanded each muscle to keep still. The only thing she couldn’t command were her thoughts—a rushing torrent not even she could make sense of anymore.

The Princess hadn’t had to soothe herself like this for years. She… What could she do? She couldn’t save her friends! She was reliant on the good grace of strangers. And not just any strangers—traitors to her captors. Greta proved that she had the right intentions, but she also just delivered her into the claws of a griffon that could just as easily betray them.

Minutes of travel dragged on like hours for Twilight. Then, the movement ceased. There was a loud whistle, interspersed with the excited chitter of griffons. The air became thick with the fumes of burning coal. The box was set down onto a flat surface, before it was shoved alongside other things. Twilight could only imagine what was being placed into some sort of box car. She could feel items being placed around her own hiding place: burlap sacks, other wooden crates, maybe even some metal tools.

Stop thinking about it! Twilight demanded of herself, Focus on what matters! Focus on the fact that… that you can’t do anything at all.

For a sorceress as mighty as herself—for an alicorn—she had been reduced to something completely useless. She couldn’t even muster the strength of an earth pony; she couldn’t bring herself to be courageous as they were. Perhaps it was some stupid fear—that primal instinct of being an animal preyed upon by ferocious and unforgiving predators.

Why would they even do all of this? It didn’t make any sense!

She didn’t do anything wrong.

Her friends didn’t do anything wrong.

She laid still. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes and ran down her cheeks. Petrified—that was the word… But being turned to stone by a cockatrice was better than this. At least then she would be divorced from the world and its worries. In this state, she was completely exposed to it all.

A loud whistle startled her. After painful seconds of uncertainty, she realized that this sound wasn’t an alarm.

Twilight ignored the tug of movement. The train gained its momentum and came to life. She was at least on the move, but she couldn’t even guarantee how long she would survive. If she did survive.

Twilight couldn’t discern the noise she heard over the pained shriek of the rail. The train sped down the trail to a destination that Greta had called “Gandurino”. She shunned her own curiosity. Why should she investigate? It could be another trap for all she knew! There could be griffons that lurked in the cart, waiting for her to burst out from where she hid, their beaks morphed into smiles at their twisted game of cat and mouse. The joys of being a predator!

However, the more she listened to the strange noise, the more it sounded like sobbing. Surely, the griffons weren’t trying to appeal to her compassionate nature. How could they know, the greedy creatures?

‘Dashie!’ a faint voice hushed. ‘We need to be quiet! They have the ears of eagles!’

‘That’s not even how it goes!’

‘Well, they can’t see us! At least, I don’t think they can.’ A short gasp. ‘What if they could see through boxes?’

‘You’re not helping!’

Twilight’s heart raced. Those two voices she did recognize, meaning at least one thing: Greta had gotten them all on the same cart. If they all made it out alive, she’d need to find a way to thank the griffon—perhaps by helping her escape this wretched place. But she didn’t have time to think about that now! Her friends were right there—safe!

Twilight gave her first sigh of relief in what felt like a lifetime. She didn’t care if the griffons heard. That’s not what mattered now!

‘What was that?’ Rainbow asked. ‘Is there a griffon in here?’

‘I-I don’t think that was a griffon—’

‘It’s me!’ Twilight couldn’t contain herself.

‘Twi?’ both asked in unison.

‘B-but how? Greta told us that you weren’t going to be joining us!’

‘She said you were being taken to Prison Freedom—which doesn’t really make much sense, because how are you free behind bars?’

‘Greta managed to get me out of there,’ Twilight whispered louder. ‘We’re all going to get out of this!’

‘But how? We’re far east! Griffonstone is several thousand kilometres away from here!’ Rainbow replied.

‘Wh-what?’

‘Yeah! Gryphoniya is a really big place! You’d think we’d find a place without meanies after a while, but the chances are really starting to look slim...’ Pinkie’s voice trailed off into disappointment.

‘We just need to stay together.’ Twilight tried to take the initiative. ‘We stay together, and we’ll get through this.’

‘Yeah, unless the Politburo picks us off one by one.’ Rainbow sighed. ‘Look, as much as I’d love to trust Greta, we don’t know anything about this plan. We’re really in a bad position! I mean, she’s just going to trust us with a stranger?’

‘Greta did get us this far,’ Twilight commented. ‘But we don’t know anything about this place. If she was really going to screw us over—’

‘It’s not if she’s going to screw us over! She isn’t going to do that! But besides Gilda and Greta, who can we really trust?’

‘Well, I was going to say Gat’, but then I remembered—’ Pinkie added.

‘Ugh! If I ever see that peacock again, I swear!’ Rainbow interrupted. ‘He poisoned us! He tricked us! We should’ve known!’

‘I knew, but you weren’t listening!’

‘Next time, say something, Pinkie! It would save all of us from being abducted!’

‘Who drinks something a stranger gave them?!’ Twilight added, before she realized that was exactly what she did. ‘Pinkie’s right. I’m sorry, Pinkie. I guess I just thought we’d be able to salvage what was then just an awful vacation!’

‘Yeah, and we’ve just turned it into a nightmare.’ Rainbow sighed. ‘I can’t even move my wings! They’re tied or something!’

‘I-I can’t use my magic,’ Twilight said. ‘I don’t know what they did, but I can’t even cast a simple illumination spell!’

‘Griffons used to make a sort of cuff they’d put around unicorn horns to stop their prisoners from using magic against them. But it’s been decades since the last war. I thought the griffons would all be peaceful!’

‘The griffons in Equestria are peaceful! They make delicious éclairs!’ Pinkie complained. ‘I wish they would teach these griffons a thing or two about being good hosts!’

‘Well, they’re not good hosts.’ Twilight strained her neck to try to see her friends through the small gaps in the wooden crate. Beyond her was only darkness. It was almost like they weren’t together at all.

She prayed that this was all a cruel dream—that her cart was speeding along just fine. It’d just be a story for her nightmare journal. Yet, Luna wasn’t interrupting this trauma like she usually did.

Twilight didn’t even know if they would ever—

No! They came this far! They’d be back home!

‘So what should we do?’ Twilight asked. ‘Should we go along with Greta’s plan, or should we try to do our own thing?’

Neither Rainbow nor Pinkie dared answer. What options did they really have at this point? They didn’t even know the way back to safety. It would be a long walk for them to try to do on their own. And who knows how much the griffons explored the vast tract of territory? They could probably be found within a day if the Politburo were really looking for them. And then it was—

‘Nothing?’ Twilight sighed. ‘Well, I don’t have anything either. We can’t really do anything, can we? We’re stuck with what we’ve got.’

‘Girls?’ Pinkie raised her voice. ‘I-I’m sorry... I wish I would’ve said something. I just didn’t want to be rude.’

‘It’s okay,’ Twilight tried to comfort her. ‘We all could’ve done something differently there. That doesn’t matter now. We’re going to get through this, together, okay?’

‘I can’t do anything now!’ Rainbow spat. ‘Usually I’d be able to outfly these birdbrains! Distract them! Maybe even—oh, who am I kidding? They’ve got slug-throwers!’

Those two words got Twilight’s attention. Slug-throwers. If the griffons used those, she didn’t have her magic to throw up a shield, or even teleport them out of harm’s way. All it took was one well-placed shot, and they’d be… She didn’t even want to finish that thought. It scared her more than she cared to admit. And if she showed weakness now, she knew her friends would see it. The griffons would see it too.

‘We’re going to stay in these boxes,’ Twilight commanded. ‘The buckwheat will hide our scent. When we are picked up at whatever place we’re going to, we will stay hidden. Not a word! Whoever will pick us up will take us back to Griffonstone, and everyone there should be ready to take us back to Equestria.’

‘But what if we don’t—’

‘We don’t think about that, Rainbow!’ Twilight interrupted. ‘It’s all going to be okay. And... girls? I’m sorry. We should never have come here.’

‘Twi, it’s not your fault,’ Pinkie replied. ‘But let’s just focus on the good things. Like, we’re all going to remember this, right?’

‘How is that even a good thing?’ Rainbow snapped. ‘This shouldn’t have even happened in the first place!’

‘Pinkie isn’t wrong,’ Twilight responded. ‘We owe it to them to remember this. If it’s really this bad, can we just forget it? Do nothing about it?’

‘It’s their problem!’

‘Yeah... Yeah, it is, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help them fix it,’ Twilight replied. ‘Greta told me how much you changed her life. She really thinks that getting us out of here is going to save the griffons.’

‘Friendship is going to fix all of this, Twi?’

Twilight was about to chide Rainbow for her question, but relented. It was a valid question. Her friends and their actions had helped change the course of the world, sure, but this entire situation seemed beyond even her understanding. She’d figure something out in the time that they had. By the time they got back to Equestria, she’d be able to explain this to the other Princesses. Then they'd be able to work something out between the griffons and settle this whole mess—whatever it was.

‘I don’t know,’ Twilight admitted. ‘But I’ll figure something out.’

‘You always do!’

It was meant to be a comforting remark, but, in that very moment, it cast something very different:

Doubt.

Chapter 5

Minutes passed after the train came to a stop. Twilight had been holding her breath since that moment, praying that Pinkie and Rainbow would too. She could hear and feel the thunderous steps of the griffons that moved around the crates, though they seemed unaware that there were stowaways aboard. She didn’t know if they’d physically inspect all the crates; she hoped and prayed they wouldn’t.

Greta had provided buckwheat to mask their scent—something that she learned from studying was a delightful smell to griffons. Under normal circumstances, she’d figure the griffons would ignore them. But she had also learned that griffons were greedy creatures. What was stopping them from taking a peek, expecting to nab some grain, and, to their surprise, find the escapees? The word must have been out by now!

Her crate started to move, anxiety welling up in her again. She’d expect Pinkie to make a noise, but, to her surprise, hadn’t heard anything yet.

All she heard was what was definitely laughter. Laughter. Maybe they had already figured out where they were and were stringing them along!

Almost as soon as Twilight’s crate had been lifted up, she was set down. Suddenly, the top of the crate seemed to jerk open—just enough—and her heart filled with dread.

They were caught. It was over.

Through it peeked what she supposed was a young griffon. His feathers were much more fresh than most of those she had seen, his features a lot less jagged at the edge. He looked at her, kept silent, and winked.

Winked?

Twilight was left dumbfounded. She tried to find words adequate enough to explain how lost that simple gesture left her, but, before she could, the lid of her crate was sealed again. This time without the nails that had boxed her inside.

Relief washed over her like the rushing waters of a great river. This was the griffon that Greta had mentioned. That meant that they were headed straight to Griffonstone.

There were a few moments of still silence. Then, she lurched forward on a much more bumpy trail. All she could hear was the spinning of old wheels on stone and dirt.

Twilight commanded herself to relax and breathe normally. It’d take a bit more travel, but they were on the right way home. This entire nightmare was almost over.

‘It’s safe to talk,’ the griffon said. ‘This is a long track of road with no listening ears!’

Twilight hadn’t noticed she had dozed off. For how long, she couldn’t tell. Still, she needed to stay awake despite how tired she was. She silently chastised herself, despite what she would have otherwise considered a rude awakening.

Surely this griffon wasn’t serious? Anycreature could be listening. Even if they weren’t, she was certainly in no mood to chat. Considering that neither Pinkie or Rainbow had spoken to him, it was a safe assumption that they weren’t either.

‘The name is Grisha,’ the griffon added after a moment. ‘I must apologize for my brothers’ actions… This is all truly terrible.’

Silence.

‘Do you ponies not speak Ponish?’ Grisha asked.

‘We do. We just don’t talk to griffons—’ Rainbow growled.

‘Rainbow! Don’t say that!’ Twilight chided.

‘Well, she’s got a right to be upset. What little good we’ve done in the midst of so much terrible… ness?’ Grisha paused. ‘This is a word?’

‘Y-yeah, it is,’ Twilight responded, still skeptical as to why this strange griffon wanted to talk.

‘Excellent! It has been far too long since I’ve spoken Ponish. The Politburo generally does not allow for this to be spoken. They prefer—oh, what is the term?— griffonification!’

‘Griffonification?’ Twilight blinked. ‘Like, enforcing Griffish as a language?’

‘The Politburo is worried that our fellow griffons are being corrupted by the influences of Equestria. They seek to correct this by forcing all creatures that inhabit our lands to speak only Griffish. Truly a terrible thing! You see, Ponish is one of the most beautiful languages! A vast wealth of songs and writing! Should we all forsake this just to maintain a dead national identity?’

‘Songs? Books? Why would you care for that?’ Rainbow snorted. ’You’re a griffon!’

‘Aha, so you would say! But we do have a librarian back in Griffonstone, and we do keep records, though not as complete as they used to be… At least not since our royal dynasty failed.’

‘Die nasty?’ Pinkie scratched her chin. ‘That sounds terrible!’

‘So it was,’ Grisha agreed. ‘After the armisapi stole the Boreas, our nation had been doomed to cycle in violence. All until—’ he gestured around the scene— ‘this happened.’

‘Well, we know that the griffons lost the Boreas! Gruff told us how that led to the Empire’s collapse,’ Rainbow responded.

‘Ha! If only it were as simple as that old story! Power and legitimacy were certainly tied to the Boreas, but does rule depend on the existence of an object of supposed power?’

‘We live in a world of magic,’ Twilight stated.

‘Yes, yes! But does magic make the creature? Or does the creature make the magic?’

‘Silly griffon! It’s—well…’ Pinkie paused. ‘Hey, that’s not a fair question!’

‘The creature makes the magic—if we’re not talking about supernatural phenomena, that is. But the magic enables the creature. If it weren’t for unicorn magic, we’d be at the mercy of… of creatures like you.’ After a moment, Twilight realized fully the implications of what she had said.

There was a long history between the griffons and the ponies that was rarely discussed. For Equestria, it was an ugly mark on their history. Long before the unicorns met the pegasi and the Earth ponies, the latter two tribes were controlled by the Griffon Empire. They were said to have been “serfs in the fields, servants in the courts,” of Gryphoniya. It wasn’t until the unicorns arrived and helped their pony brothers and sisters break the iron chains of slavery that they became fully independent.

Since then, tensions between Equestria and the former Griffon Empire were always high… Even now, years after the collapse of the Griffon Empire, Equestrian-Griffon relations were sour.

‘Now, let us take this and put it in another way,’ Grisha broke the silence again ‘Let us replace the word “magic” with the word “identity.” You see how murky the water becomes? For what is a creature if it has no identity—much less a nation? So, tell me, is it the identity that makes the creature, or the creature the identity?’

‘I don’t get it…’ Pinkie admitted.

‘Griffons are griffons. Ponies are ponies.’ Rainbow grunted. ‘I don’t see how that is relevant!’

‘And what are griffons? What are ponies?’ Grisha asked.

‘Ponies come from a place of unity and friendship. We’re a peaceful and charitable race. Our nation was founded on dependent co-existence. Griffons had a mighty empire that failed because of their own greed—’ Twilight paused. ‘No offence.’

‘None taken! But this is identity, is it not? You know griffons as ruthless and cruel creatures— and we are not doing ourselves any favours with this whole debacle—but I see ponies as careless.’

‘Careless? Careless! We trusted one of your kind, and this is how we are repaid?’ Rainbow nearly shouted.

‘Ah, but why did you trust “one of our kind?”’

‘He…’ Rainbow paused. ‘Well, he approached us smiling! Bought us a drink! Everything looked friendly!’

‘You trusted a smile,’ Grisha said smugly. ‘Careless!’

‘I didn’t!’ Pinkie objected.

‘But what did you do? Had you done anything, you might’ve avoided this whole nightmare! But I guess you took no initiative. Careless!’

‘What does this have to do with anything?’ Twilight asked.

‘It is a history that perhaps isn’t spoken of much, but it’s a history that proves these points of a griffon’s greed and a pony’s carelessness.’

‘We don’t need a lecture, pal! Besides, what do you know? You’re younger than us!’ Rainbow exclaimed.

‘Youth isn’t foolishness, just as age isn’t wisdom. Experience—this is the only way to know ’ Grisha said.

‘Yeah? And what do you know, eaglet?’

‘I know that I know nothing.’

‘Exactly! So just shut up!’

That statement just then. Those words? Twilight had heard them before. ‘Grisha, where did you hear that?’

‘I read it from… Starswirl, I believe?’

‘Conversations of Starswirl the Bearded? That’s an incredibly rare book! We only have a few in the Royal Canterlot Libraries, and we can’t even take them home. Where did you read that book?’

‘In Griffonstone, in our library.’

‘You’re joking!’ Twilight couldn’t believe it. It had to have been impossible for some griffon to have happened upon one of the influential books written by one of the greatest pony philosophers of ancient times! Grisha must have heard it quoted by somecreature else.

‘No, no! I did. It was something my father had taken, which I decided to read. Many of the books in our library are dusty things in foreign languages: Ponish, Hippogriffian, Yakish. Sure, I was not one to read much when I was young, but there came a time where it… Well, where it helped me to stop thinking about this. So no, I know nothing —save that I know nothing— and all I have to live by is what I have lived through before.’

‘Has it really been that bad?’

‘The War of Feathers ended messily, but the Civil War that followed has yet to end. It has been terrible… This is what we are left with.’

‘Two wars?’

‘The first was our last Emperor’s quest to restore glory. He claimed that, though we may have been a hundred years removed from the object of power, the power the griffons had was through conquest. We saw the ponies and the hippogriffs. Saw the vast territories they controlled and the wealth they possessed. And, so, we set to war…’

‘Yeah, I remember hearing about this! You got your butts kicked!’ Rainbow finished curtly.

‘Rainbow—’ Twilight began.

‘No, she is right! We could never get beyond the border cities. Our occupation was horrible. We figured the fear we’d strike would be enough! Ah, but partisans have nothing to fear and everything to lose, so we experienced defeat after defeat. Griffon soldiers committed treason, mutinies became commonplace, but this was not all.

‘Back home, food was in short supply. We starved, left to battle for the scraps that fell from the Emperor’s table. Eventually, we looked up with eyes as greedy as ever, and demanded for the first time in our history—change. We petitioned for the war to end. We wanted to see change. We wanted to have a life free from serfdom…’

Grisha paused. The Griffon that seemed to have no end of words was brought to a sudden, unexpected silence. Twilight waited impatiently for him to continue, to tell her about a history she hadn’t learned in the books back in Equestria. But when he failed to speak, she could feel an odd sense of despair.

‘Oh, come on! Don’t get soft now! You’re a griffon!’ Rainbow tried to tease.

‘Rainbow!’ Twilight chastised.

‘Do you...’ Twilight heard the crack in Grisha’s voice. ‘Do you, uh, are you thirsty? There is a river up here.’

‘Please! I’m dying of thirst!’ Rainbow seconded.

Twilight understood why the young griffon suggested they drink water. It had been a long time since any of them had anything to drink. She nodded, though she knew that Grisha didn’t see it. She said softly, ‘I’d like that, Grisha.’

Twilight and her friends had been let out of their crates under the trees that Grisha thought would provide ample coverage from prying eyes above. He expected them to stay behind the cart, so that any passerby from the trail wouldn’t incidentally spot them. Twilight was grateful for the opportunity to stretch by the stream, since she hadn’t had much opportunity to stand on her own.

Pinkie was splashing around in the water, sending little ripples that travelled downstream. Rainbow stretched all but her wings, lounging under a particularly shady tree. Off in the distance sat Grisha, who kept his arms folded and his eyes on the trail.

Twilight had only taken a precursory glance of the griffon when he first picked them up; she hadn’t realized how big he was. Even though he was considerably younger than any of the ponies he was supposed to rescue, Grisha was still at least a head taller than them. Still, his face was young. There were no scars or scratches that she’d come to associate with the characteristics of a griffon.

Nor was his expression as hard as she’d imagine it would be. Grisha looked troubled, to say the least.

Finally, after a few minutes by the stream, Twilight felt the need to approach Grisha. Pinkie turned and looked at Twilight, before she glanced at Grisha. Pinkie was the first to trot toward the griffon, followed by Twilight.

‘Grisha,’ Twilight said, then paused. She didn’t know what to ask. But now that his eyes were on her, she couldn’t just back out.

‘Yeah?’ he asked, waiting for her to continue.

‘Can we stay here for the night?’ Pinkie asked excitedly. ‘This is a really nice place! We can build a fire, and roast marshmallows, and—’

‘Marsh… Mellows?’ Grisha blinked a few times, confused.

Pinkie gasped. ‘You don’t know what marshmallows are?’

Twilight facehoofed.

‘No.’ Grisha sighed. ‘No, I don’t. But we can’t stay the night. We should get moving.’

‘Aw.’ Pinkie looked down.

‘Grisha’s right. We should get moving.’ Twilight nodded. ‘I guess that means back in the crates?’

‘Unless you want to be seen,’ Grisha replied. ‘Back into the crates.’

‘Can’t we stay here a little while longer?’ Rainbow complained. ‘I just got in the perfect place to nap!’

‘We need to move, Rainbow. You can nap on the way there,’ Twilight responded.

‘But it’s so uncomfortable!’ Rainbow cried as she lifted up from her spot and dragged her hooves back to the cart.

Twilight hopped back onto the cart with Pinkie, followed by Rainbow as she crawled back into the crate that Greta had hidden her in. She laid down on the hard wood as Grisha placed the lid of the crate over her, covering her from sight once more. A few moments passed before the cart started to roll forward again, that same awkward silence punctuated by the noise of the cart bumping occasionally down the path.

Twilight finally considered her question, waiting for a moment, before she asked, ‘What happened then?’

‘What?’ Grisha asked.

‘You earned freedom, right?’

Grisha fell silent once more. That silence lasted longer than the last time, leading Twilight to believe that she may never hear the rest of the story.

At last, Grisha did speak, his tone more solemn than ever before.

‘The King ordered they open fire on his subjects. Hundreds were killed in the first strike. That’s when the Civil War started. The soldiers who committed the atrocity were sick to their stomach, and turned against their King. The Interim was established. It was a short coup, and it should’ve stopped there.’

‘But it didn’t?’

‘The Interims didn’t want the war to end. They saw an opportunity. Though we couldn’t fight, they were hoping to strike some legitimacy with you ponies and the hippogriffs. A peace deal.’

‘And that was it.’

‘If it were that simple, we wouldn’t be here today. No, Equestria’s response was this—’ Grisha paused. ‘As a poet of ours said best, “Like a culture of typhoid, the Equestrians sent the poison of Gedeon.”’

‘Whoa, whoa, whoa! You’re going to accuse us of this mess?’ Rainbow demanded.

‘I don’t accuse your Empress of doing this, but I will say what it was—careless.’

‘You should probably consider your sources, Grisha. Maybe—just maybe—what you’ve heard is some anti-Equestrian sentiment,’ Twilight warned. Her suspicion returned with what the young griffon suggested.

‘I wish I could say this, Your Highness, but… Gedeon—the Politburo—had been exiled to Equestria long before the start of the War of Feathers. He was a dangerous revolutionary, a traitor, and well… You’ve seen all that he’s done. So, how was he able to return?’

‘He could’ve just taken the train there,’ Twilight suggested.

‘But coming here with Equestrian tools and magic?’ Grisha countered.

‘He could’ve stolen that!’ Rainbow dismissed.

‘When the Interims failed to provide their promises, griffons were naturally lured away by the false hopes of Gedeon's Party.’

‘Party? What party? Everygriffon looks really sad or angry—that’s not a party!’ Pinkie pointed out.

‘Party as in politics, Pinkie,’ Twilight said.

‘Oooh… So party poopers.’

‘Yes, this is what could be said. “Party poopers.”’ Grisha agreed. ‘I wish it were different. If only the party made sense.’

‘A party?’ Twilight could practically see Pinkie bounce up and down. ‘I know a lot about parties! Well, not anything about griffon parties, but I know griffons have really delicious scones! What about a scone party?’

‘A party?’ Grisha paused. ‘I… I don’t think I’ve ever actually been at a party.’

‘What?’ Pinkie gasped. ‘This has to change! When we get back to Griffonstone, I’ll get everything in order!’

‘Ah, you would celebrate a party so early?’

‘We celebrate being alive all the time, right?’ Pinkie giggled. ‘I’d think that escaping some meanie griffons and getting home safe is a good reason to celebrate!’

‘Pinkie, we’re going straight to Equestria after this,’ Twilight responded. ‘That’s the plan, right?’

‘I don’t know.’ Grisha sighed. ‘As far as I’m concerned, I’m just getting you to Griffonstone.’

‘Well…’ Pinkie paused. ‘We can always invite Grish-Grish to Ponyville! We can throw a party there!’

‘Grish-Grish?’ Grisha muttered under his breath, amused. ‘Well, I wouldn’t object!’

‘Pinkie—’ Twilight tried to interrupt.

‘Twi! We have to! Greta could be there too! And Gilda! Ooh! There’s also this very nice grey mailgriffon! We can invite all of our griffon friends!’

Twilight was left without an answer. It was a sweet suggestion from her party-loving friend, and one that definitely seemed deserving of the griffons that were trying to overcome the evils they were accustomed to. However, after everything that Grisha had suggested, it didn’t seem as if he had a high opinion of ponies. On the other hoof… the young griffon seemed friendly enough—misinformed maybe—but friendly.

‘Woah! Hold on!’ Rainbow protested. ‘He just said that Princess Celestia would just ruin a peace settlement to get back at the griffons? And you want him to come to Equestria? What he just said sounds like a load of horsedung to me.’

Grisha sighed. ‘Perhaps it was pressure from the Hippogriffs. Perhaps it was a favour required of Gedeon. One will never be able to tell. I should not question the wisdom of your Monarch, for their reasons and designs are well above the simple matters that concern a commoner like me.’

‘Well, maybe you should look more into it, Grisha. I don’t think—’

‘Your Highness—’

‘Grisha, please, I’d like to say—’ Twilight retorted, determined to get a word in now.

‘Your Highness, now is not the time!’

Twilight couldn’t see anything beyond the small crack her crate offered her. There was something ahead—as was a flicker of light that came from a lamp or a torch. Considering the grave seriousness in Grisha’s voice, it was definitely a patrol.

That fear she hoped she had expunged at the start of this cart ride returned.

‘They aren’t supposed to be here! There wasn’t a checkpoint before!’ Grisha exclaimed.

‘Wh-what?’ Twilight said, failing to keep herself from stuttering.

‘Shoot! Now what?’ Rainbow asked.

‘If everything goes smoothly, nothing.’ Grisha’s voice became hollower with every step he took. ‘If it doesn’t, I will make a distraction. A big distraction. When that happens, you run as fast as you can westward. Don’t stop until you find Interims. The Politburo will be hunting you.’

‘B-but...’ Twilight tried to suppress her fear, doing everything to take command and respond rationally. ‘How do we know where to go? Who are we looking for?’ She paused. ‘You’ll be okay, right?’

Although she couldn’t see him, she imagined the griffon’s expression was stone serious. He knew he wasn’t going to make it out alive—and that they had little chance of surviving themselves. She was waiting for some reassurance— a promise—that everything would turn out okay.

But she knew those griffons at the checkpoint had slug-throwers. As soon as they were tired of playing cat and mouse, they would—

«Akh, tovarisch Grisha? Vy prishli v straniy chas!» one of the soldiers asked.

This language! This damn language! Twilight cursed to herself. Dread took hold. She wasn’t breathing. She couldn’t breathe. Breathe, breathe, breathe! Her friends were here now. They needed to get out together—or, at the very least, get out alive.

How could she know if they were hidden enough? What if the buckwheat didn’t hide their scent enough? She was nearly caught with Greta!

Trust! She needed to trust… But a stranger? Some young griffon that accused her ponies of starting this whole debacle? What if he worked with the Politburo? He would just give them over!

«Dostavka bila pozdnyaa, drug! Nu seychas u nas est’ mnogo grechki!» Grisha laughed. Twilight sensed a nervousness in his tone.

«Pochemu vy govorili na ponishkom?» a third griffon snapped. «My v strane grifonov!»

«Kakoy?» Grisha didn’t try to feign a laugh this time. «Vremya ot vremeni ya bormochu sebe pod nos! Eto ne problema!»

Twilight sensed the direction this conversation was going. The deathly silence that followed whatever he said told her that this was about to get really ugly. She held still and tried to regain control of her frenzied mind. Her eyes fell to the gap that revealed her two friends held still like—

Well, she was about to think of “corpses,” but…

Okay, Twilight told herself, we’re running. We’re running! Against creatures that fly! When I don’t have working magic or wings!

West. They were going to run west until they reached the Interims. There, they would be rescued and returned home. They would be safe. She would see her friends again, her family, her mentor, her…

She needed to see them all again. She wasn’t going to die. Her friends weren’t going to die. They were going to run. They were going to run fast.

She didn’t know how long she took to process this, how long the griffons had chattered with Grisha, but it became clear they weren’t going to let them through.

West. Run west.

«Nyet, eto problema!» The first griffon growled, «Zapreshcheno govorit' na chem-libo krome yazika grifonov!»

Twilight didn’t see what was happening. She couldn’t see the griffon’s claws extend, their claws tapping the trigger of the slug-throwers. Nor could she tell if they even saw her. Her heart beat fast. She couldn’t hold her breath anymore, her breathing rapidly accelerating. She was lightheaded and shivery, things she hadn’t felt in unison since the days of her fillyhood when Shining Armor told her scary stories—

Even in the times she had stood up to tyrants, she had a cool confidence. Right now, she had no control, no method of overcoming the odds—

She fell.

The motion caught her off guard as she screamed in shock. Her crate was knocked off the cart and burst open. She rolled out onto the dirt alongside Pinkie and Rainbow. The pegasus was the first to get on to her hooves. Twilight didn’t have time to think, rushing to stand up as her eyes lingered on Grisha. The young griffon pushed back the soldiers from the Politburo. He threw fists and left scratch marks. It was suicide!

‘Twilight!’ Rainbow cried. ‘Come on! Run!”

«Poni?» a griffon growled. «Chyortov predatel’! Ostanovi ikh! Ubey evo!»

Twilight’s heart pounded. It was the only thing she could hear as she ran with all the strength she had. West! They were running west!

Her hooves slid down a gravelly hill. The dust choked and blinded her as she ran towards the river she could barely make out through the stinging tears in her eyes. River? They couldn’t cross that! The griffons undoubtedly chasing them would be able to snatch them out of the water. This was suicide!

‘Girls!’ Twilight called out. ‘There’s a river—’

‘We’re going swimming?’ Pinkie asked, already out of breath.

Twilight didn’t have time to tell her friend that they wouldn’t be. Pinkie slammed into her at full velocity and sent Twilight into the river with a splash.

Twilight struggled to get her head back above the waters, gasping and choking. Pinkie held onto her. Within a moment, Rainbow joined them. The rapid waters tore them away from the shore and spun them around as the griffons scurried to the river.

«Blyat!» one of them roared. «Vyzvonite komendanta! Podnyat’ trevovu!»

‘What did he say?’ Twilight gagged and looked desperately for Rainbow. ‘What did he say?’

‘He said—’

There was a sound of thunder. A loud, unnatural thunder. Twilight immediately looked overhead, but did not see a single cloud in the star-ridden sky. She couldn’t tell what that sound was and looked back toward—wait.

She had heard a similar sound before during Equestria’s war reenactments. It sounded eerily like the cannons they had used during the show. But they didn’t have cannons, not that she saw—

A pit of emptiness filled her heart as it dawned on her what it was.

Grisha wasn’t going to attend any party now.

Chapter 6

Twilight dragged herself up onto the shore after her friends. Her coat and down feathers did nothing to keep the icy water from reducing her to a shivering mess. She didn’t know how far they drifted down the river, or how they were able to evade griffons for so long. Their scent would’ve been hidden by the water, and with how quick the river ran and how dark the night sky was—

They had been so close to death. By some miracle, they made it into the water before they were grabbed by the griffons. Her heart was still heavy, miserable knowing that one of their rescuers had been…

Dammit! Twilight had to remind herself that there was still a chance that Grisha had survived, and that the young griffon was… Yet, how was that a better fate? He would probably be executed anyways.

Twilight didn’t even know where they were. The faint glimmer of the sun out in the horizon behind her was the only indication that they were on the western side of the river. The “plan B” they were given was to just head west until they met the Interims, but she didn’t know how far out they were from the line of contact. It could still be a few thousand kilometres away from safety. Now that the Politburo knew they were within a certain vicinity, it’d be much harder to evade the piercing gaze of griffon murders.

Murders. Twilight shuddered at the very thought. The term was Equestrian—a label used for the squadrons of griffons to define their effectiveness in the field. The Royal Army during the War of Beginnings wasn’t much of a match against the Imperial Griffish Army. If not for the unicorns’ magic, they would have long been under the claws of the griffons.

Twilight didn’t want to remind herself of her own inability at this point. They were living on borrowed time unless they could find the Interim.

Rainbow shook herself dry, her wings still bound by the strong cord. Pinkie sat near the entrance to the forest, her usually curly and frizzy hair flat and tamed. Twilight shook her legs dry first, before shaking her head and mane clear. She was still frozen, but knew they didn’t have time to stop.

‘Come on, Pinkie,’ Twilight muttered. ‘We need to get going. Who knows where the griffons are—’

‘Twilight, that wasn’t a party cannon.’ Pinkie replied bitterly. ‘Don’t tell me they—’

‘They did!’ Rainbow growled. ‘And they’re after us! They’re going to…’ Rainbow’s voice drifted off as she turned away from her two friends.

Twilight looked down at the dirt underhoof. She drew in one deep breath to calm her nerves. She couldn’t be weak. She couldn’t break down. Not now! They needed to go west! They were afforded this opportunity through somegriffon’s blood. They couldn’t waste it by sitting around.

‘Come on, girls.’ Twilight’s own voice was weak. ‘We need to go west.’

‘And if they find us?’ Rainbow asked.

‘They aren’t. Not if we keep low and move fast—’

‘Twi, you know we aren’t going to last a minute out there! Especially if there are griffons overhead! They’ll— they’ll catch us and send us back. Or worse.’

‘We could end up like—’

No. Twilight wasn’t going to let her finish that thought. ‘Pinkie! Knock it off! We’re going west and that’s final!’

‘I wasn’t going to say we shouldn’t—’

‘Don’t say it! I don’t want to hear it!’

‘Twi, this is worse! So much worse!’ Rainbow cried out.

‘How is this any different from Nightmare Moon? Chrysalis? Any of the other villains we’ve fought?’ Twilight wasn’t sure if she was trying to reassure her friends or herself at this point. ‘We overcame them. We’ll beat the Politburo too!’

‘Beat?’ Pinkie croaked. ‘Twilight, we don’t have anything helping us right now! We at least had the Elements of Harmony before, or the help of the other Princesses! We’re here without as much as a bag of confetti!’

‘We’ll figure something out! We just need to get to the Interims—’

‘We don’t know how far that is!’ Rainbow shot back. ‘We could starve before then! A-at least with the others, we had a way to fight back! Even if we get out, the only way we’re gonna fix this is if we use the Equestrian Army! It’ll be another war!’

Twilight hadn’t considered that. The only way to fight an army seeking to conquer and control was an army to oppose it. Clearly the Interim was struggling if the Politburo had infiltrators as deep as Griffonstone. But Equestria owed it to Greta, to Grisha… They had put themselves at great risk to make sure Twilight and her friends could escape.

Twilight was the first to start walking the direction they were instructed to go. She didn’t know what to tell her friends, what comfort she should give… So she kept on walking, praying that they would follow.

Soon enough, she heard their hoofsteps behind her, headed to a destination she prayed would be home.

Twilight looked at what she hoped was a village.

But it wasn’t a village. It was the remains of one, a corpse left to rot in the open. The jagged wooden beams stuck out like exposed ribs. Mortar and stone were scattered around the scene, shattered into pieces that baked near a series of fires that still burned.

It was clear to Twilight what had happened. That meant they were still far behind enemy lines. It also meant that the Politburo was committing crimes far beyond the scale of illegal apprehension and abduction.

Twilight couldn’t look at the scene for much longer. Neither could Pinkie. While the earth pony turned away immediately, Rainbow stared at the carnage. Twilight glanced over to see the pegasus’s face contort with confusion and pain before she trotted forward.

‘Rainbow, we need to go around—’

‘There could still be somegriffon alive!’ Rainbow shot back. ‘We need to see if we can help—’

‘We need to help ourselves!’

Rainbow didn’t respond. Twilight didn’t want to stop her friend, but she couldn’t just let her walk into the village. Her mind ran wild with the possibility that there were Politburo soldiers still on the scene, that they were going around and executing innocent griffons as they had done Grisha—

‘Rainbow! You come back this instant!’

When she saw that Rainbow wasn’t going to listen to her, Twilight turned back to Pinkie. Pinkie still looked away from the dead remains of the village. If Rainbow wasn’t going to come back, then she couldn’t let Pinkie sit on her own.

‘Pinkie,’ Twilight said, ‘come on.’

‘But you just said—’

‘We can’t let Rainbow go in alone!’

Pinkie remained still for a moment before following after Twilight. It was then Twilight realized how bad Pinkie trembled. How had her friend’s bubbly attitude been “popped?” She wanted to reach out with a wing to comfort her, but her bonds restricted her. Even directly outside the grasp of those twisted griffons, her movement was still restricted. A simple gesture was now impossible.

‘You’re shaking,’ Twilight said. ‘I know it’s hard, but is there anything—’

‘Can you do anything?’ Pinkie asked, her words unintentionally piercing. Upon realizing what she had just said, Pinkie stuttered, ‘S-s-sorry, I wasn’t—’

‘It’s fine,’ Twilight dismissed. ‘I just want to make sure you’re okay.’

‘How far do you think we are? I know Gryphoniya is really, really big, but we can’t be too far away. Right?’

‘I hope we aren’t, but we don’t know where we are, or how far out we are from anycreature who can help us,’ Twilight replied. ‘I-I think at least the Interims are working with Equestria. If our friends know we’re stuck out here, I’m certain they wouldn’t hesitate to come and help us.’

‘But could they find us?’ Pinkie asked.

‘I think they could. Like Applejack! She’s got to know how to find us.’

‘She’s really good at that. Then we can have a party for Grisha.’ Pinkie nodded.

Twilight tried to not cry any more than she had. Pinkie had the right idea. They’d get back home, honour the memory of that young griffon, and then they’d work out a solution to make sure this would never happen again.

So that no more villages had to suffer this fate.

If what she was looking at would happen even one more time, she didn’t know if she could handle it. Her hooves crossed the border of the village. As she attempted to navigate around the broken glass and thorns that littered the ground, she found that the earth was still hot. Why—

Twilight looked at something—something terrible. She looked away immediately, suppressed her cries, and bit her lips as her skin pricked with that awful, unexplainable sensation. Awful! Terrible!

Why...? Why?

Pinkie stared at her, then glanced over her shoulder at what Twilight had seen. Pinkie froze in her tracks.

‘Twi, is that—what if this happens again?’ Pinkie cried.

‘N-no.’ Twilight tried to assure herself and her friend they’d never need to see something that horrible again. ‘No! It won’t, Pinkie. We’ll talk things over! We’ll—we’ll figure something out.’

‘I…’ Pinkie’s voice quivered. ‘And I thought Chrysalis was a monster…’

‘Twilight!’ Rainbow called out.

Twilight’s hackles raised as she started to charge toward her friend. No, no, she wasn’t—she couldn’t let that happen to Rainbow. She’d stop it! She’d stop it from ever happening again!

She ran into what seemed to be the old village square. A bronze statue of five young griffons dancing around a crocodile decorated the centre, miraculously still standing. She couldn’t see any griffon soldiers. All she could see was her friend. She pushed the hideous shapes that littered the square out of her mind as she trotted up to Rainbow.

‘Rainbow!’ Twilight exclaimed. ‘Rainbow! Are you alright—’

Twilight fell silent as she found what the pegasus was looking at. It was a small eaglet, who, clutching a shard of glass in his claws, pressed up against the statue. He stared up at them with widened eyes, breathing rapidly. He was a child—and the sole living griffon she’d seen since they entered the village.

Twilight’s mind ran with concern. Her heart beat faster as she sputtered something before she could properly think it through: ‘It’s alright. We aren’t going to hurt you. Are you okay—’

‘S-stay back!’ The eaglet trembled. ‘I-I know what you’re going to do!’

‘We aren’t going to hurt you!’ Twilight reiterated.

‘Liar!’

‘Even if we wanted, we couldn’t.’ Rainbow showed her bound wings and gestured to the ring around Twilight’s horn. ‘We need to move west—’

‘West?’ The eaglet balked. ‘N-no—’

‘Come on,’ Twilight replied. ‘I don’t see the Politburo here. We still have time to get out. You can come with—’

‘I’m not!’ His voice cracked as his little chest rose and fell rapidly, his eyes filling with tears. ‘Th-they’re evil! They’re monsters! They—they—they killed…’

‘And if we don’t move, then they might hurt us, too.’ Rainbow urged, ‘Come on, let’s—’

‘N-no, you don’t understand!’ the eaglet replied. ‘The Politburo are the heroes! They brought us food! They protected us! The—the traitors, they—they did this.’

Twilight stood quietly. The eaglet was confused! Everything she had seen the Politburo do was awful. The reason they were in this situation in the first place was because of evil griffons! There was no denying what the Politburo did to this poor village that had trusted them. Then again, he was young, barely ten or so years old. How could she expect him to understand?

Then, words that had been spoken only hours before echoed in the back of her mind.

Youth isn’t foolishness, just as age isn’t wisdom. Experience—this is the only way to know.

‘What do you mean?’ Twilight asked.

‘Twi, you can’t be serious!’ Rainbow objected.

‘Let’s listen!’ Twilight snapped, before turning back to the eaglet. ‘What’s your name?’

‘G-Gav…’ he whispered. ‘Th-the griffons had been under the claw of the King. We didn’t have books, we didn’t have schools—’ Gav spoke with the fury of a mind convinced of what it had been told— ‘Gedeon changed that! The Politburo wanted to make all griffons equal! B-but then the Interim shot innocent griffons! They killed us because we wanted change! And they’re still killing us!’

‘That doesn’t make sense!’ Twilight replied.

‘What would you know, pony?’ Gav demanded. ‘The Interim have killed us since the day the Politburo protested. They didn’t give us food! They didn’t protect us! Only Gedeon did!’

‘Gedeon abducted us!’ Rainbow snarled. ‘He wanted to exploit our nation! He made us toys in his little game! And you’re telling us he is a good griffon?!’

‘Gedeon has always cared about the griffons! He wanted a better future! The Interim responded with…’ Gav paused, his grasp on the shard of glass weakening. It shattered on the ground. . ‘Mama… papa! Th-they— they took it all from me! The Interim will not stop! Not until all griffons are orphans!’

Gav’s words pierced Twilight’s heart. A queasy feeling rushed through her as she looked toward Rainbow, who frowned with anger. Twilight shook her head at her, then looked back to Gav. ‘I—I don’t understand. The Interim did this?’

Gav nodded.

None of this made sense. She’d been told by Greta that the Interim would rescue them, that they would save them from the Politburo! The Politburo had shot a griffon in front of them, had sought to imprison them on false charges— abducted them to do so! They were definitely evil. But the Interim? They had gone out of their way to get them out of the Politburo’s claws—

But their passports. But the bribes. They had only seen the surface of what life was like in the land of the Interim. Gat’ had said that the Interim complicated the life of their people. Then again, Gat’ was a liar who did this to them!

Still, she couldn’t tell Gav he was wrong. He might have been brainwashed by a degenerate regime. On the other hoof, if the Interim really did this, then they had committed an atrocity unlike anything she had ever seen before.

‘Twi!’ Pinkie cried.

‘What—’

She looked up at a group of griffons that approached. She froze completely as they stepped forward—but shouted nothing. Each one held a slug-thrower in their claws, wool hats and metal helmets resting atop their heads. They chirped among themselves as they approached the ponies.

Twilight’s legs shook noticeably as they closed in on the group. Every nerve commanded her to run, but no matter how much she tried, she stayed frozen in place.

The griffons stopped a few metres from the group. Then, the one who led the approach stepped forward. His eye was scratched, discoloured, the feathers that decorated his head brushed into lines. He stood there, as if he was considering what to do with the three ponies. Or, at least, that’s Twilight thought, before she noticed he wasn’t looking at her at all.

‘Pl-please—’ Twilight whined. ‘D-don’t—’

‘Save your breath, Princess,’ the griffon said with a grunt. ‘Capitan Gabriel of the 45th Guards. You’re in safe claws now.’

Twilight blinked.

‘We’re the Interim,’ Gabriel clarified. ‘We were warned that there was a mishap and that you might be travelling on your own.’

‘Th-they killed—’

‘We will be escorting you back to Griffonstone. From there, the Equestrian Royal Army will take you back to Equestria. Understood?’ Gabriel commanded.

Commanded.

Twilight nodded before she looked back toward Gav. The small eaglet trembled, clearly afraid for his life as he turned away from the band of Interim soldiers. Seeing the poor griffon reduced to such a state invoked a deep uncertainty. Here she was: rescued and able to return home. They had found the Interim. Now they wouldn’t need to worry about the Politburo capturing them and doing something worse than sending them to “Freedom.”

But Gav swore the Interim would kill him. That they razed this village.

‘Okay.’ Twilight muttered, ‘Come on, Gav—’

‘The eaglet is going somewhere else.’ Gabriel replied. ‘Lieutenant, help the Princess and her servants—’

‘We aren’t—’ Rainbow growled.

‘Yessir.’ A female griffon stepped forward, followed by three other griffons. She peered down at Twilight, her gaze telling the alicorn all she needed to know about what the consequences of disobedience would be.

It didn’t seem like this was a rescue at all.

‘Where are you taking Gav?’ Twilight demanded of Gabriel. The Captain didn’t respond. A few other griffons pushed past her towards the eaglet.

His sobs became louder and more terrified with each cry. Twilight tried to look back.

‘Eyes forward!’ the female Lieutenant commanded. ‘We’re headed back to Griffonstone.’

‘What are you—’ Twilight tried to ask.

‘We’re saving you.’

‘And the eaglet—’

‘None of your business, pony,’ the Lieutenant replied callously.

Twilight planted her hooves in the ground, but they continued to pull forward. Her vision was obscured by the mass of griffons that flanked her and her friends, their slug-throwers shining with the glint of the noon sun. Her eyes lingered on the weapons. With each step, she grew more and more convinced that the Interim didn’t care if they were to use the weapons on the ponies they were tasked to save.

Greta’s words rang hollow with the promise that the Interim was going to rescue them from the Politburo.

This wasn’t a rescue operation. At least, it wasn’t one that the Interim was doing of its own volition. This was something different.

‘What—’

Thunder cracked again in the cloudless sky.

The griffons didn’t stop their march forward. When she tried to turn back around, she was pushed forward by a griffon behind her. He didn’t utter a command, but instead swung his slug-thrower from over his shoulder.

She didn’t need to be told twice.

Or ask.

Chapter 7

‘Twilight—’

‘We can’t just ignore what happened!’ Twilight cried out. ‘That’s— that’s just terrible! Those poor souls are suffering out there, and for what? A-and what happens if they do this to other ponies? It’ll be another nightmare for everypony!’

‘Twilight.’

Twilight finally turned back to Princess Celestia, who had spent the last few hours breaking whatever magic had sealed the ring around her horn. Twilight was surprised that griffon magic was that strong. According to Celestia, it was common during the early history between the Equestrians and the Griffons.

‘Twilight,’ Celestia said gently, ‘I understand that the past few days have been awful. But—I assure you—we will be having important conversations with the Griffons.’

‘Excuse me for saying this, but conversations aren’t enough! We need… we need to help them! There has to be some way to help them!’

‘Twilight, there isn’t a way we can without stepping in.’ It was Luna who spoke this time, agitated and tired after hours spent helping her sister remove the contraption from Twilight's horn. ‘So unless we want to send Equestrian troops into Gryphoniya, we don’t have a solution.’

‘Luna, that isn’t quite true—’

‘Tia, please don’t dance around the subject. There’s no hiding the fact that this is a problem with no easy solution.’ Luna glanced toward Twilight. ‘I’m truly sorry you’ve had to go through what you did, Twilight, but you must understand—’

‘Understand what?’ Twilight shouted. ‘There’s griffons dying out there! Ones that want what’s best for their kind! Are we really going to ignore them?’

‘Better they die than we do,’ Luna muttered.

‘Luna!’ Celestia’s otherwise motherly tone became immediately sharp. ‘Let’s avoid such a suggestion. If there’s anything I’ve learned in my few millennia alive, it’s that there is always a solution to a problem that doesn’t involve ignoring it or retaliating against it.’

‘Then you must’ve forgotten Discord, Sombra, the Changelings… And the griffons.’ Luna shook her head. ‘No, empty words aren't going to fix Gryphoniya, nor will sending in a few armies to try to fight for or against whichever side you choose. It’ll be bloodshed. And with the state our Royal Guard is in—you know, the best of the best?—it’ll be worse for us.’

Luna’s approach deeply hurt what Twilight hoped would have been a solution to the problem. She, well, hated the Politburo for what it had done to her and her friends… But the one “good” side in that whole mess turned out to be as terrible as the one she already didn’t like.

Even if Equestria got involved, it’d have to choose between two evils. Fighting against both made little sense, and fighting against neither was pointless.

She had promised her friends there wouldn’t be a war. That nopony had to suffer like they did. What she didn’t realize was that, by forgoing the fight against either the Politburo or the Interim, she didn’t have a solution. The ponies would be safe, but the griffons would keep on dying and dying until either they were all gone or one side capitulated.

But how could she do that to them? They didn’t have to do anything to save her friends, but they chose to. There was still hope in Gryphoniya among those with good hearts. How would she fight for them?

She didn’t know.

‘Th-there’s got to be a way!’ Twilight pleaded. ‘There are good griffons out there who are suffering day after day! More than just one must’ve laid down their lives for us—’

‘Twilight...’ Luna sighed. ‘I hate to say it, but the only reason the Interim thought to rescue you and your friends was to force us to the bargaining table. Even if there was a good griffon among them, they died because their leaders saw them as a utility. My sister’s suggestion would’ve been to give weapons to the Interim on one condition—’

‘Give weapons to them?’ Twilight cried, turning toward Celestia with tears in her eyes. ‘A-after what they did to that one village? How they…’

She couldn’t finish that thought.

‘Twilight...’ Celestia’s motherly tone returned. ‘That’s really the only conversation we can afford to have at this point. We’ll negotiate some security for our own should they enter Gryphoniya. That, or completely shut down the border. We’ll transfer them some supplies—’

‘But weapons?’

‘No weapons. What you just said they did, Twilight, is a violation of Equestrian law. We will not stand for them to continue using such violence. Instead, we’ll give them aid. Medicine, food, clothes, those sorts of things.’

‘You know that the leaders will just pick those clean, Tia.’

‘Luna, that is enough,’ Celestia warned.

‘I-I can’t believe you…’ Twilight shook her head. ‘We can at least put in Peacekeepers? Have a zone where no creature is allowed to fight? I-it’d provide security to the innocent, maybe even facilitate peace negotiations, and no creature has to die!’

‘If that was enough for griffons, then perhaps I would agree.’ Celestia shook her head. ‘Unfortunately, they hate the Equestrians enough, Twilight. Just having foreign troops on their soil is enough for outrage. There are plenty of Equestrians in Canterlot alone who would despise the idea of sending their sons and daughters to help stabilize a nation that attacked us not even a decade ago.’

Twilight fell silent.

‘I wish we could do more, Twilight. Sometimes, the most peaceful solution is to not get involved at all.’

‘Oh, but it was alright to send Gedeon back? That’s when it is okay to be involved?’ Twilight snapped before she could control herself. ‘I’m sorry, but if I’m understanding what I’ve been told, this is all our fault! And we’re doing nothing to fix it!’

‘You have to understand that, after three millennia of being under their claws,’ Celestia explained, ‘and a few more being adversaries with them, that Equestria didn’t have many options, especially if it meant appeasing our allies in Hippogriffia.’

‘Sometimes it’s more complicated than black and white, Twilight,’ Luna seconded.

‘I don’t want to hear it.’ Twilight’s tone faded into a dismissal. ‘Thanks for helping get this thing off my horn. I’m… I’ll need some time alone.’

Twilight started out of the doors. Her mentors and fellow princesses did nothing to try to stop her. She composed herself until she was out of their sight, her emotions finally getting the best of her.

Tears formed at the corners of her eyes. Despite what she had told herself in the past, she did nothing to hold them back. She had failed. Everything she told herself—everything she had promised that she would do to help improve the situation back in Gryphoniya—meant nothing if she couldn’t do it.

What then? What now?

There was nothing. No easy answer. No satisfactory action. It was all the same. Even if Equestria at large knew of the atrocities in Gryphoniya, all that would do is encourage them to stay even further away from the civil war.

Nothing then. Nothing could be done.

Twilight resigned herself to the fate that some things could never be solved. And she, no matter how determined, had no power to change anything.

The tears finally rolled down her cheeks and onto the royal carpets of Canterlot Castle.

Chapter 2

Pins and pricks.

Twilight hated the sensation. Back when she did little more than read, she always managed to forget to get up and stretch. Either she was too invested in what she was reading, or she was furiously writing one of many research projects. In the process, one of her legs would fall asleep, only for that unbearable sensation to take hold.

She knew a spell for things like this. Something that Celestia herself taught her.

It was simple.

She tried to conjure some magic, still groggy from what was certainly a long night’s sleep… but nothing happened. It felt as if something was holding her back. Odd. She’d just try again, it was no big deal—

No. She meant to—

No!

The alicorn wrestled her eyes open and summoned what seemed like every ounce of strength to do so. It was still dark. Still? She didn’t recall it being dark before she went to sleep. All she remembered was that griffon, some cider, smiling...

Rainbow.

Pinkie.

Where were they?

‘Rainbow?’ Twilight croaked. ‘Pinkie? Where are you?’

Where was she? She didn’t remember having that much to drink. Cider. She had cider before. Sure, she was a lightweight—

Rainbow. Pinkie.

That griffon. Gat’? Where was he?

‘Girls?’

The pins and pricks didn’t matter anymore. Despite how dizzy Twilight was, she ignored them. Nerves getting the best of her, her mind buzzed with activity that her muscles couldn’t replicate. Where were her friends? Why couldn’t she use her magic? What was going on?

Hooves. She still had those. Maybe she couldn’t walk, but she could drag herself. A full-grown alicorn, and she was reduced to a clumsy filly!

That didn’t matter!

Where were her—

‘Get her up!’ a hoarse voice commanded. She wasn’t even aware there were other ponies in the room with her—

Claws wrapped around her legs and hoisted her up without effort, holding her upright. These weren’t ponies. These were griffons, and not particularly gentle ones at that—whatever that meant for their kind. She wanted to protest, but the disorientation of being swept onto her hooves was too great.

‘By the Boreas,’ the griffon to her left grunted, ‘what did they give this miserable thing?’

‘Grigory didn’t say, but said it cost a fortune,’ a calmer voice on her right muttered.

‘That and the cider! What a waste!’

‘Waste?’ Callous laughter. ‘No, brother, we’ve caught the biggest fish in the lake!’

What were they talking about? Cider? Fish? What about—

Focus, she silently commanded herself. Focus! Wake up!

The pain!

Pins and pricks!

Twilight tried to break free, thrashing her wings and legs at the creatures that flanked her sides. With every effort, she felt her strength evaporate, until she was left to hope that it was enough to drive them away. But the claws only gripped tighter. Her magic! Her magic… it didn’t even cross beyond the thought—

Her friends.

‘Where is Pinkie?’ Twilight demanded. ‘Where is Rainbow—’

‘Quiet!’ a griffon warned. ‘Save your breath for the Politburo! Your words mean nothing here!’

‘Where are my friends?’

They didn’t respond.

Light! Blinding light! Twilight’s eyes burned as she was dragged out of what felt like a pit before being thrust into some chamber. The air was thick with tobacco smoke. Tears brimmed at the corners of her eyes. She couldn’t tell if that was because of the light, or because of that insufferable smell.

Indistinguishable chatter. It wasn’t Ponish; it was something more harsh. Beaks snapped. A number of voices were raised, matched in number by those that were silenced.

‘There!’ a voice shrilled. ‘Bring it forward!’

‘Trespasser!’

‘Interloper!’

‘Silence! We haven’t resisted only to fall into disorder!’ a voice boomed. It rushed across Twilight like a cold wind. ‘Come, brothers! Let us see what our comrade has brought us!’

‘Grigory is certainly worth his measure,’ another hummed. ‘Bringing these foreign actors who try to intervene in griffon affairs to justice—’

‘What?’ Twilight croaked. ‘No! We weren’t—’

‘Quiet!’ that voice commanded. Her wings were involuntarily closed and hugged against her body. ‘Never speak without being spoken to, and especially never speak before those mightier than you! Never without permission! Only when they give you voice, shall you speak!’

‘It trespasses even in speech! What more needs to be heard?’

‘These three—all who have relation to Equestrian royalty, mind you—visit the country occupied by the monarchist-apologist Interims! What other reason would they be here? They seek to violate the will of the people!’

‘They are seditionists!’

‘They plan to steal the property of the people!’

Twilight’s head spun with every new voice that shrieked, her ears flattening. She didn’t know how to respond, how to make her case, to argue on behalf of her and her friends.What was she going to do? She tried to find one friendly face in the crowd, even one neutral expression if she must—

There were smiles. They were anything but friendly. They were almost... like Gat’s—

‘The capture of this Equestrian rabble rouser and its posse will do much to prevent further damage to our social cohesion.’ A larger griffon sitting at the head table puffed on his pipe. ‘And her imprisonment at the Freedom facility and eventual deportation will be enough to… “encourage” others to not test the unity of our people.’

‘You—you can’t do that!’ Twilight raised her voice, ignoring the chorus of outraged griffons. ‘We were drugged, abducted, and had outrageous accusations made against us! If anything about that is criminal, it is what you’ve done and what you are doing!’

‘She makes accusations against the Politburo?’ A griffon laughed. ‘She mocks the people! She mocks justice—’

‘You’re the ones mocking justice, with this, with this…’ Twilight searched for the right words. ‘Kangaroo court!’

‘She mocks our kangaroo comrades too!’

Twilight blinked.

‘Shall we let this trespasser speak?’ One at the head of the table wagged his head. ‘We have heard enough! Comrades! How do we find our defendant?’

‘What was my crime?’ Twilight demanded.

A concord of answers rang the hall, but none of them agreed with each other—save for the verdict.