Ignition Point.

The female griffin stood up, shaking the water off her frame (and quite a few singed feathers in the process).

“Yes, and you are...Osfrid?”

He nodded, limbs still shaking as he looked around.

“Yes. Are you alright?”

The female griffin stood, shaking off the excess water, nodding briefly.

“It would seem so. Any idea what happened? My bet is Luna's teleportation spell malfunctioned.”

Osfrid couldn't help but nod in agreement. He had heard of such things happening with pony magic...

Silla then made her way to shore, tail flicking back and forth in thought.
Her dark tan fur bore a few singe marks, and the white feathers appeared to have a few grey and black feathers that weren't of natural color; but otherwise, she did appear fine. Her eyes were the color of rusted sandstone, and quickly narrowed as she realized Osfrid was still looking at her.

“Yes?”

The male griffin's own brown eyes widened and he shook his head briefly.

“Sorry. Give me a second, and I'll see about getting some supplies.”

He walked over to the flattest part of the large clearing, still close enough to hear the displeased muttering from the other griffin.

“Males. Go figure. Help the poor female find some supplies...”

Osfrid bit back a retort that threatened to expel itself. There wasn't reasoning with some griffins.

As he unbuckled his armor, a few charred feathers fell to the ground, and a disturbing shiver ran through his frame. A few sights flashed in front of his vision. Flames, smoke....rubble. Sounds foreign to a forest also reached his ears: screams, shouts.....

As abruptly as the disturbance had begun, it ceased, and once again Osfrid was left in the clearing. He could dwell on that later. Getting supplies was the first order of business.

And to think, they all thought I was crazy for this. “Why would you need a spell for that?” They said...

Osfrid let himself have a mental I-told-you-so moment before retrieving a few crystals from his belt. They were small and rectangular blue cubes, each with a gentle light burning in side of them. The final crystal he retrieved was of long, needle-like appearance, and colored a deep violet.

Placing the cubes a short distance from each other, Osfrid rapped the violet crystal on each cube twice, nodding approvingly as it disintegrated upon the final tap. In a few seconds....

Nothing.

Upon inspecting the cuboid crystals, Osfrid determined that the spell was active, for the light inside each was now a deep purple- so why wasn't it....

The suppression spell.

The griffin sighed, walking back to Silla, who had apparently been watching his antics with some amusement.

“I didn't know you had the diet of crystal ponies...”

Another retort rose at her jab, but Osfrid shook it off.

“We have to wait here.”

The female griffin shook her head slowly, glancing around suspiciously.

“Why is that? It's clear that we're somewhere across the border, judging from the vegetation, and there isn't a lot of cover in this clearing.”

Ok. So she was smart.

Very. Very smart. Osfrid you featherhead...

On the plus side, this would make surviving much easier.

“Those crystals I activated are keyed to some supplies in my room. Ordinarily, they would have transported here, but the suppression spell is lengthening the time. We need to wait for them to arrive.”

No sooner had Osfrid finished his explanation than a blow knocked him on his back, and a very sharp object nicked at his throat.

“You had supplies waiting? How convenient. I don't know who you really are, but I would start explaining things very quickly. Why else would you have supplies with a remote teleportation spell unless you knew this would happen? How interesting you also happen to have full battle gear, at a research facility. Well? Explain that! How long have you worked for them? ” Her tone lacked any civility, and reminded Osfrid of a hardened soldier.

At first, an simple explanation rose to mind, but Silla's last comment pushed that aside. A low growl rose in his throat, Osfrid's enraged gaze meeting hers. A quick twist, and his hind legs swept hers aside. As she brought the dagger to bear, a beak clamped down on her arm, hard. With a surprised screech she dropped the weapon, then finding a very angry male griffin standing over her.

“If I were you, I would not ever suggest I work for those scum again! Do I make myself clear?” His tone was drenched with the same hatred and contempt that had colored his mind at the facility. Rage began to bubble up, eager to be released.

At the sound of a fearful whimper, the emotions dissipated, and his vision clarified with an abrupt mental snap.

Instead of an beaten soldier, he saw a terrified female griffin, eyes wide as he held the dagger at ready.

He dropped the dagger as though it was white-hot, trying to force his claws to stop shaking. For whatever reason, the sight of Silla utterly afraid of him struck a painful chord in his heart. That feeling was quick to pass however.

“If I was allied with those.... things, then why would I have killed them?”

Against his will, Osfrid's vision grayed out, his beak apparently having a mind of its own.

“How could I ever work for the creatures who took everything from me?”

Silla sat a short distance away, watching Osfrid with a cautious eye. Just her luck. Transported who-knows-where, and the only griffin she recognized didn't appear mentally stable.

Well, he was a guard at the facility, that counts for something.

After a few minutes, it looked like the guard griffin had calmed down, so Silla ventured to try and open up a conversation with him again. The enraged look in his eyes when he had disarmed her still was in her mind, so Silla kept her guard up, ready to act if he snapped.

For what that was worth. The fact the guard had so easily disarmed her showed her slacking of practice of late.

Silla couldn't help but look on curiously as Osfrid's demeanor shifted, the other griffin shaking his head slightly as though to dislodge some dizziness. He walked around each of the cubes before sitting down again, glancing over her way.

“Sorry for scaring you.”

Of the things Silla had expected him to say, that wasn't one of them.

“Well...I did have a knife to your throat.”

What seemed to be a genuine smile twitched at the male's features as he nodded slowly.

“True. So much for a good first impression. As I mentioned, moving would be unwise, simply because we need to wait for the supplies to get here. So should we try introductions again? ”

He must have taken her silence for an affirmative. The truth was that Silla was busy trying to figure out what exactly to think of this griffin. His voice was becoming calmer and more friendly with each passing moment. An almost happy tone was beginning to accompany his words.

“Well, the basics first I suppose. I'm Osfrid Steelfeather, guard of the Equestria and Griffin Territories Research Facility. I've been there since its opening, so about...eight months? I knew of tensions arising, so I took it upon myself to accumulate a small stash of emergency supplies, hence these teleportation cubes.”

Silla still wasn't entirely sure of her view of this griffin, but decided to give him the benefit of the doubt...for now.

“Silla, one of Princess Luna's personal aids. I've helped her for a little over a year.”

Osfrid seemed to perk up slightly, nodding in almost an amused greeting.

“Well then, a pleasure to officially meet you Silla.”

Osfrid indicated the still-glowing cubes with a claw, eyes narrowing slightly with annoyance.

“Whenever these finish their spell, we'll be in much better shape. There is a locating crystal or two in the packs, so we can find out our exact location.”

He sighed, massaging a temple with one of his clawed hands.

“Sorry if I seem a bit out of it. I'm still trying to wrap my head around what just happened. Being one of Luna's aids, you probably have seen your fair share of odd stuff.” Osfrid didn't try to hide the frustration and confusion in his voice.

Silla shook her head in response.

“Actually, I'm as shocked as you are. Do you know who it was that attacked us? The Princess mentioned the Separatists...” Her tone conveyed honesty, but a fair bit of caution.

Osfrid could only blink at first, truly shocked that she had no experience with these sorts of matters. A part of him had hoped that she had seen something: a failed assassination attempt, an uprising, anything that could help.

Apparently not.

He sat down, briefly glancing up at the sky. With luck, the supplies would arrive soon. It would be dark in a few hours, and spending the night in the open, let alone without food or shelter, did not sound appealing. True, they were on the griffin territories side of the border, but with luck, they'd reach Equestria in a day or two.

Assuming the spell was a localized teleportation spell at least.

“They weren't just Separatists. They were of the Blindweed Order. I'm sure you've heard of them, because they have shortage of anti-Equestrian propaganda. They are the terrorist group that the Separatist nation claims to be 'attempting' to destroy, which is false. They just do the dirty work.”

Osfrid shook his head slowly, settling down onto the cold grass as the weight of the situation began to settle in his mind.

“Those fools. If they hadn't forcibly broken from the territories eight years ago, none of this would have happened.”

And so much wouldn't have been lost...curse them!

He couldn't help but be distracted by his thoughts, but was thankfully snapped out of his stupor by a high-pitched popping sound, much like popcorn.

“Ah, finally! It's about time that spell worked!”

Strange purple sparks began flying from each of the cubes, filling in the space above each crystal like a strange puzzle. It took only a couple seconds before a series of large bulky bags appeared, landing on the ground with dull thumbs. There were two large duffel-style bags, two backpacks, and a three small satchels bundled together, all made of the same dark green fabric.

“Well, first things first...”

Osfrid rooted around in the bulkiest duffel bag, finally withdrawing a thick stack of paper and a fist-sized blue crystal, a piece of it breaking off and falling into his waiting claws.

“Here we are!”

Unable to restrain her curiosity, Silla walked over to look at the pile of supplies, impressed none of it caught fire like they did. Then again, the bags were steaming, so perhaps the fabric was heat-resistant?

“Stand back, and...um, try not to sneeze.”

Silla couldn't help but make a face at Osfrid's strange request. The other griffin then chuckled slightly, releasing the larger of the crystals.

“Obviously joking about that last part.” His voice petered out in the end, Silla's slightly-annoyed glare showing her lack of amusement.

The large crystal floated in place at about head height, sending out a beam of white light to the ground. Bright pulses began to run along the beam, increasing in speed and intensity. The light then stopped, and the center of the crystal pulsed three times, then dissolved into powder.

“That's it?” Silla couldn't help but ask, unimpressed.

Osfrid nodded, looking at the thin sheet of crystal that had detached prior to the levitation of the other piece.

“Yep. There are crystal locator beacons on the borders of Equestria. This smaller crystal pinpoints where we are in relation to them. With the coordinates displayed here, I can use the larger map to find out where we are. It's a one time use item though, and I only have three more of them.”

Silla walked over, unfolding the massive map. Osfrid appeared to be slightly startled by her willingness to be so close, but shrugged it off quickly.

“Well. I know how to read a map. What are the coordinates?”

Osfrid's brow furrowed, and he held the crystal out to her, shaking his head slowly.

“I don't understand. The symbols are faint, but getting brighter. It's like another suppression field is in place. I guess the teleportation must have damaged it.”

They both waited a moment in silence, the numbers slowly growing brighter on the crystal.

“Let me see, I think I can make it out....” Silla's eyes narrowed as she spoke, able to pick out some of the numbers.

“Alright, read them to me.”

Osfrid took the piece of graphite attached to the edge of the map and scrawled down the numbers, then busied himself with looking for the matching set on the map.

Ok. How does this work again? First find the length-wise coordinates, then....

His claws traced a path on the map, and after about a minute, he placed a small circle where the beacon located.

“There.”

He looked closer at the map, eyes widening.

No. There must be a mistake...

“Are you sure those are the right coordinates?” His tone was shaky, almost panicked.

Silla nodded, holding up the crystal for him to see.

“Yes. They are much easier to see now. Why? What is wrong?”

The forest they were in now seemed much more threatening. Osfrid's eyes scanned the skies and treeline, ears twitching at every bird-call that sounded. Without a word, he walked over to the other duffel-like sack, and began pulling out a series of metal parts.

“Osfrid, where are we?” Silla couldn't help but start to get annoyed at this odd griffin.

The other griffin's eyes were wide as he looked back at her. He simply pointed at the map before speaking. Silla looked down, then understanding why Osfrid was so shocked.

Circled in the fading light, was their location; deep in the heart of the Separatist nation.