The Seventh Element

The Gryphons

Three gryphons landed in front of Princess Luna and Sir Klass with a thud as their powerful claws dug in to the dirt. The gryphon in the center stepped foreword. He was larger than the others, muscular, with white feathers on his head that slowly faded to black down the rest of his body. It looked as if he had seen a lot of fighting in his time; one eye was milky and had scarring around the edges, his beak had a deep cut going down its length and his legs had the occasional cut or burn scar. He spoke with a voice that sounded as aged and powerful as he looked.

"Alicorn, starry mane, and crescent moon cutie mark. I'm sorry Princess Luna, but I'm afraid I will have to take you in to custody."

"I am not here to cause any harm to you, I only-"

"Harm to us? Ha! You are inside Gryphon Kingdom territory alone, of course you aren't here to harm us- you couldn't if you tried! The only reason I can think for Equestrian royalty to be here would be politics, which is little of my concern. It is odd that you are here unprotected however..."

Luna was a bit flustered by the Gryphon, he had a rather coarse personality.

"Well I- Yes. We need to speak to your King Mr....?"

"My name is unimportant as is your reason for being here, either way I am required to detain any equestrians entering our territory. You will be taken to Talon Peak. Normally you would sit there until Equestria negotiated your release, however being the Princess I imagine our King doesn't want that for you.... As for getting there-"

He gave Sir Klass a nasty look.

"You can fly Princess, We'll just have to carry your friend."

Sir Klass was tied in to a harness that was clearly built for prisoners and suspended between the other two Gryphons.

"I- Um, I've never flown quite like this before, are you sure that it's-"

The Gryphons pushed off the ground as hard as they could, clearly trying to frighten Sir Klass. It worked...Luna could hear his muffled, slightly frantic, protests as she lifted off the ground herself.

They flew high above the cliffs and followed the valley that had now become a canyon. As they flew the land changed slowly from the rolling plains and gentle hills of Equestria to the Herculean mountains of the Gryphon Kingdom, their barren edges cutting the skyline.

Some of the first mountains seemed to be devoid of life, or at least recently abandoned. They saw the empty shells of dilapidated houses, near summits or along cliff faces and the occasional remnants of a small town. As they went deeper in to Gryphon territory the frequency of these ruins increase until they started to come across actual inhabited settlements. They were surrounded with guard towers and dotted with gryphons flying patrols around their borders. The guards seemed on edge and always put themselves between Luna and the town they were defending.

"Why all the security?" Her question was directed at the leader of the group, who's name she still did not know. After a short while of silence she decided he had no intention of answering her question.

They flew for another hour or two towards a mountain that dwarfed the others. It seemed to be split in two from the peak to midway down its side, making half of the mountain taller than the other and with water pouring out the crevice.

The gryphons ascended and Luna followed.

'I guess this is Talon Peak.'

Luna gasped as they reached the top of the lower half.

There was a crater in here! A crater that the Gryphons had built their city inside! It was beautiful, seemingly carved out of the rock and built using a tier system, the palace clearly at the top. It had a beautiful waterfall coming from the larger portion of the mountain, that fell down the crack between the two halves. The roar of the waterfall was deafening as it echoed off the walls of the crater. There was no way to reach the city, other than to fly.

They went straight for the uppermost tier and landed at the bottom of the stairs leading to an ornate marble building with gold trim and large iron doors. The gryphons unhooked Sir Klass.

"I am quite glad that I was not born with wings! I can not imagine doing that daily! I will be an ever so happy pony if I never leave the ground again." He smiled at being on all four hooves.

"How do you think we're getting off this rock?" Sir Klass turned a slight shade of green as he thought of flying again. The nameless Gryphon gave a sly grin to to the others.

"Come on you two! There's no point in bringing you to the dungeons, the King will have you out the second he hears you're here, might as well skip the pleasantries and take you straight to him."

"Sounds good to me."

At the top of the stairs were two guards in armor made from some sort of dark metal. The guards moved as if to stop them entering, but one look from their battle-scarred escort made them back down, instead opening the doors for them. Apparently he carried quite a bit of weight.

Behind the iron doors was a circular room that split off in to separate hallways all leading to different parts of the palace. The room had a domed ceiling that was (like the rest of the building) highly polished marble.

The gryphon lead them down a hallway that was straight in front of them and labeled with a sign carved in to the stone: "Throne Room"

Past the hall and in the throne room, the walls were lined with guards like the ones at the main entrance; wearing dark armor and standing at attention. The floors had been made, again, with marble, but of different colors, making intricate circular patterns on the floors, the ceiling held several chandeliers leading up to the King's throne.

They approached the throne and bowed to the King.

"Your majesty, this is Princess Luna of Equestria and her companion, Sir Klass. She wishes an audience with you."

"Princess Luna? What a surprise! Thank you Captain." The King was just as large as their unnamed escort, but that is where the similarities ended. The King had golden feathers over most of his body, except for a streak of black that traveled from his forehead, down his back and over the top of his wings. His beak was also black at the front, fading back in to a golden color. He stood before them, regal and proud with a curious look on his face and a slight smile.

The Captain bowed again and left the room taking the other two gryphons with him.

"Welcome Princess Luna, to the Gryphon Kingdom, and more specifically, to its capitol, Talon Peak. I am King GrimFeather. To what do I owe the pleasure, princess?"

"It is a pleasure to meet you King GrimFeather." Luna gave the King a bow. "I have come seeking assistance, your highness. I would also like to know why our two kingdoms are in this state of... Distrust... You see, I've been gone for quite a while and I would like to mend any wounds."

GrimFeather gave a hearty laugh.

"'Gone for quite a while'? Yes, Princess I'd say a full millennium is quite a while! We gryphons live a long time Princess, your story is only a generation old. Many of us remember well enough, or at least our parents did, to know that you were banished by your sister to the moon. Of course it seems that the pony before me is not the one who was banished, so I would say it is safe to keep you around." He looked at the guards around the room. Most of them seemed to relax and others went back to their posts; apparently they were getting ready for Luna to start attacking.

"Well that certainly does save a bit of time explaining, your Highness."

"Please, Princess, call me GrimFeather. The formality is killing me." He sat back on his haunches and stretched out his claws. "Now. I imagine you don't know what went on between our Kingdoms?"

"No GrimFeather."

"Well Princess it isn't very complicated to be honest. After your banishment, your sister closed the borders to our people. It wasn't the end of the world, not a very friendly move mind you, but we would survive. A few short years afterwords however, she severed all diplomatic ties and trade routes with us. She built that wall of hers, put a garrison inside it and began building up her military. She did everything she could, short of declaring all out war with us, all while keeping most of it a secret from the Equestrians. Since then we've had small border skirmishes with your military when they would test our defenses and on occasion she would send covert units to hit towns near the border. I'm sure you saw some of their remains as you flew in."

Luna listened intently, a look of concentration on her face, unsurprised by her sisters actions. She was starting to see that her sister was not the Princess she once was.

King GrimFeather sighed heavily.

"Of course lately she has become more aggressive. Over the past two centuries she has been more ruthless and cunning, we've had to send our best team more than once! It would always return with less gryphons than it started and a terrifying story to go with the losses... It really took a toll on their leader, BlackTalon. He took every death as a failure on his part." He gave a pause, remembering his friend.

"Anyway, her military has been steadily growing for the past two hundred years or so and with its increased strength comes increased attacks on us, both in frequency and intensity."

"That is why I am here GrimFeather, I have noticed, as of late, the actions of my sister and I am here to change them. I can not let our Kingdom be ruled by her, your story alone is reason enough, not to mention her recent reformation of the country in to her Solar Empire. I am here asking for your help in the fight against the evil she has become, I need to take control of the throne back from her, but I can't do it without the help of the gryphons."

Grimfeather gazed at Lunat, a regretful look in his eye.

"Again, as I'm sure you've noticed, our settlements are all guarded by daily patrols and ever vigilant watch towers. We've had to adapt our defenses as the threat has grown and It has taken a toll on my people, both in morale and economy. We have very few resources, our mountains grow nothing but rocks and trees and trees and rocks and water. We can and do mine, but my people are not exactly built for it; we have wings, we are meant to be in the open air, not underground. If I were to pledge my support to you, my people would not only be left more vulnerable than ever, and our coffers would be drained. I would love nothing more than to help you Princess, especially if it means our people can live together as we once did, maybe even become closer allies than we ever were, but we simply can not afford it, in bodies or our pockets."

"But King GrimFeather, if we can't get your help, we will lose. We have no defense against the pegasi of Cloudsdale and if we can not hold our own, there will be nopony left to stop my sister; she will surely invade your Kingdom and take control! You can't let that happen! It may mean sacrificing a little now, but in the long run you would be helping your Kingdom to survive."

"We are a notoriously proud race, Princess Luna. We can not simply abandon our own homes in the defense of our neighbors. Neighbors, mind you, who have treated us poorly for the last thousand years! Again, Luna, I wish I could help you, but it is not within our means to do so."

"Excuse me, if I may, your Highness-es. We of Manearola are funding the Lunar Republic and last I checked, we were still well within our budget. Not to say that helping your Kingdom would be easy King GrimFeather, but if the ponies of Manearola have to sacrifice some tea and crumpets to help our Princess... Well those stuck up snobs won't like it, but..." He pulled out a large piece of parchment and began scribbling on it. "Since they weren't put in charge of the entire city, I guess it isn't really up to them, now is it?" He gave King GrimFeather a cheery smile and handed him the parchment.

GrimFeather took it and began mumbling under his breath as his eyes darted across the paper.

"Full access! That is very generous Sir Klass, but I think even with all of your money, your town can't support our army." He tried to hand the paper back to Sir Klass.

Klass refused it.

"Please, your majesty, keep reading."

GrimFeather seemed a little annoyed, but humored Klass anyway. His jaw then promptly dropped to the floor.

"Sir Klass! There is no way you have that many zeros in your account!"

"Luckily, your majesty, Manearola is close to the border. If you would please give me an escort and send Gryphons to collect, I am sure you will find that there are indeed, 'that many zeros' in our account."

The King looked at Luna, still in shock.

"He's funded everything for us so far, trust me he has that much. Did I mention we're headquartered on the moon?"

The Gryphon fell backwards on to his throne, clearly floored by Sir Klass.

"You two!" He pointed at the guards nearest the door. "Please find Sir Klass transport to Manearola and send an envoy with him and whatever he thinks will be needed to carry back the bits he is willing to give us."

The two saluted, one left the room while the other waited for Sir Klass.

"Thank you your Majesty." He tipped his top hat and started towards the exit, before abruptly stopping in his tracks and turning that slight shade of green again. "I have to fly, don't I?" The guard nodded and Sir Klass left with him, a sickly look on his face.

"Well Princess, that is definitely the money we need to supply an army! I don't want to make it seem like it is all about money Luna, I am fully committed to the cause! The price was just a roadblock."

"Completely understandable GrimFeather! Oh and don't worry about protection, we will divert any troops you deem necessary for your defense."

The King smiled at Luna.

"Princess Luna, I look forward to becoming great allies with Equestria. We will make sure you win back your throne!"

"Thank you, your Highness."

"No need Princess, I should be thanking you after all." He bowed to Luna. "Now Princess, the fight is not here, so I shall send you back with a squadron of my best fliers! It is only a start your Highness, but as soon as our envoy returns with the funds, I will personally meet you on the battlefield. Good Luck Princess Luna, for the Lunar Republic and to new friends!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

They were almost done with the long flight back to the border and back to the wall where Mustang's men would be accompanied by soldiers of the Solar Empire. Luna had already briefed the contingent of Gryphons that followed her on the situation at the wall and they were more than ready to do their part so soon after joining her.

As they got closer to the border, Princess Luna saw smoke in the distance. This wasn't right, Colonel Mustang was supposed to wait until she got back! Something must have forced them to start early. When they were in sight Luna could see that most of the Solar Empire was outside the wall and that Mustang's stallions were firing magic bolts at the pegasi. The only pony that seemed to be getting anywhere near hitting them was a unicorn that seemed to be launching fireballs at them!

The gryphons were tensed, ready for battle.

Luna turned her head and yelled behind her. "UP!"

She led them over the battle, the Pegasi hadn't noticed their approach. They circled, each picking targets, Luna hovered between them. She made eye contact with the gryphons and nodded. They waited for the right moment...

There!

She said it calm, but firm. "Now."

The gryphons dove toward the Pegasi followed closely by Luna, firing magic bolts from her horn and taking out two or three before passing the gryphons. She was heading straight for the wall, trying to help the ponies on the roof. She looked to her right as she dove past a pegasus, a look of surprise on his face and fear in his eyes.

As she passed, almost in slow motion a gryphon who had been diving straight for the unfortunate pegasus, swooped in and grabbed him by the shoulders. The gryphon dipped her wing, rolling her body to the right, starting a violent spin. She let go of the pegasus at the top of her barrel roll, tossing him at one of his brethren, knocking them both out of the sky.

Luna sped straight towards the defenders, the aerial battle flying past in a blur of gryphon and pegasus.