Now that I look back on the Gryphus incident I’m amazed that no one called me out on a lot of the things I did during the course of it. My reasoning was loose and my moral compass wasn’t pointing north a lot of the time. Out of fear for what my friends might say if they knew the full truth I have never revealed the full story to anyone. Better for them to see the hero they think I am rather than the avatar of vengeance I was during this whole endeavor. Perhaps if they had seen more than parts of the things I did things would’ve been different. Perhaps then they would’ve berated me like they had a right too. I did not know what was waiting for me in the future though, things that would make the actions I took in Gryphus seem trivial.

It was to a grey skyline that our airship crossed over shores of Gryphus. The air already felt colder, giving me a reason to actually use the scarf I had received what felt like an eternity ago. Now only hours remained of the trip that had felt so much longer than a couple of days, and our party was feeling the restlessness radiating from Gilda and me. The only silver lining was that we at least had a plan on where to start our search and a contingency to that should we end up without leads. Simply put we would first find Ranger and see what he had managed to learn and from there try to contact the guards that had been tied to the case of the deserters. They may be careful in dealing with them but at least we hoped that they could provide some information.

As for the current state of morale in our group, well it wasn’t the best but at least it wasn’t at rock bottom. Comparatively Twilight, Lyra and Bonbon were at seemingly neutral level, being the least affected. Rainbow was still slightly anxious around Gilda but had made vast improvements during the past days. Meanwhile Gilda, understandably, was the one most distressed. And finally I had myself to evaluate and it was not an easy task. Outwards I wore a mask of calm and confidence, letting it dictate my actions and decisions. However underneath it all a maelstrom of resentment and worry churned relentlessly, threatening to consume me should I ever let it. The worst part was that part of me wanted to let go and let my emotions control me once we had confirmation of Stella’s location.

I let out a long exhale before methodically cracking my neck to the right and then the left. I knew that I should return below deck to inform the rest that we’d be arriving in a few hours but given that it was barely morning I was having second thoughts about it. The only reason I was up and about was because of my nightmares. It was the first one I’d had in while and the uninvited return of it had left me somewhat shaken. A gust of wind rustled through my wings and caused the ends of the scarf, which were hanging along my back, to flap gently. Yeah it’s definitely colder in Gryphus. I thought idly. However the cold wouldn’t really be a worry, unless it went below freezing of course.

I didn’t think that my first time using the scarf I received would be at a time like this. I thought as another puff of wind grabbed ahold of the scarf again. Truly the only real problem that remained was Twilight’s control over her transformed body. And if I was going to be perfectly honest it wasn’t that much of a problem anymore. She had done well to master it to the current degree given the time she had had to practice. I will have to remember to tell her that she’s done a wonderful job. I told myself. It was a gratifying feeling to have friends that would go such lengths to help you. But how far would I go for them? I had to ask myself but almost immediately pushed it out of my head. I had been down that path many times already during this trip, and no matter how I tried to justify my actions to myself I always ended up in the same loop.

I would reason that I was justified in going to save Stella, while another part would argue that I should’ve at least told Celestia the full story. It always ended with me feeling miserable overall, and at this point it was too late to change anything really. I had played my first hand and now I could only wait for the next one. With a sigh I finally turned away from the scenery rushing past the ship and headed inside again. Perhaps it was time to wake the others after all.

Hours later our party stood gathered on the upper deck, watching the large dock of Sky reach come closer with every passing second. The first part of our journey was coming to an end, and now it was finally time to actually do something. Gilda impatiently kept resettling her wings which in turn caused me to do the same, and judging by the sighs and occasional pawing at the deck our impatience seemed to infect the others in our group. But no one dared to complain, or at least that was how I perceived the current situation. So we stood there in a determined albeit impatient silence.

Just as the ship was making its final approach to one of the docks the same pegasus that had overreacted when he had first seen Twilight walked up to us.

“It has been an honor having you onboard princess.” He addressed Twilight the griffin.

It had been something of a pet project of the crew to help Twilight out with her practice to move around as a griffin. And they had never asked any questions as to why she was doing it. I could only imagine what wild theories these sailors had come up with to explain why one of their princesses was traveling disguised as a griffin.

“Oh, no need to be so formal Tide. You and the rest should have learnt to relax a bit around me by now.” Twilight answered him in a friendly tone.

Had my mind not been preoccupied with other things I would probably have admired Twilight’s ability to make new friends. In her own way she was quite possibly more skilled than Pinkie in acquiring friends, or at least on par with the pink pony.

“Ah, sorry about that princess but I must insist in this case. Direct order from the captain you see. More to the point, he wishes to extend a standing offer to travel with The golden chance whenever our paths cross again princess. Also he has pretty much told us that if the crew as much as breathes your name to anypony outside of the crew they will lose their job faster than you can say salty sea breeze. So you can rest assured that we won’t tell anypony that you’re here princess.”

Twilight turned her head towards me before deciding to answer and I gave her a near invisible nod. “Thank you Tide, I’ll keep that offer in mind. And extend my thanks to your captain, both for the offer and for the foresight to keep my presence a secret.” She told the pegasus sailor.

“Think nothing of it Twilight, we were just happy that we could help you and your friends.” He told her in a sincere voice before turning towards me.

“I’m sorry for how the crew has acted around you sir, but they are an easily spooked bunch.” He told me, catching me off guard. I hadn’t expected him to address me directly, and quite frankly I was surprised that he cared at all.

“Apology accepted.” I said, unsure if I should’ve said more. But the pegasus that was apparently named Tide just nodded before walking off. My eyes lingered on him for a few more seconds before I turned to address the ponies in our party.

“Alright, once we dock we will be following Gilda to where her father currently is. We will be keeping a rather high pace so make sure that you don’t fall behind.” I told them and was met with determined faces.

No more words followed, just a tense silence. I think that the reality of the situation may have begun to sink in for the others besides Gilda and me. So when the ship docked and we were allowed to disembark Gilda led us, at a brisk pace, through the streets of Sky reach until we ended up on the same road that I had traveled months ago. However even though we kept a high pace it would take days to reach the town Gilda had brought her father too. I knew this from experience having had to travel these roads myself, and Gilda knew it for the very same reason. The ponies on the other hand seemed to expect us to arrive within the end of the day and I had not found it in me to break the news to them yet. The morale of the group was higher than it had been during the past few days, well at least for the ponies, so I didn’t want to destroy that quite yet. I knew that I soon probably would have many serious discussions, and tough decisions to make. So while it lasted I wanted to just focus on the road.

When the light of the first day on Gryphus had dropped to the level where further travel would be difficult for a group we made camp to the side of the road. The ponies where informed of the actual distance we needed to cover and that we were going to keep the high pace the next day. Again there were no complaints and for that I was grateful, having planned an early start for the next day our party went to sleep early with me taking the first watch. The night passed without anything out of the ordinary happening and come sunrise we were already making our way down the road again, expecting to reach the first small town on the road sometime during midday. To be perfectly honest we probably would’ve have traveled faster had we flown, but seeing how two of our party members lacked wings that wasn’t an option. All I could really hope for was that we reach our destination sometime tomorrow.

The day went by in a blur, and we only made for short break to resupply on water and other necessities in that first town we reached. If my estimations were anything to go by we held roughly the same pace as the one I had held when I left Gryphus the first time. While we wandered we were spared from rain but a relatively strong wind kept howling and the skies remained in a steel gray state. In the monotony of our walk my thoughts turned inward as I pondered what possible courses of action I was willing to consider as actual options. If possible it would be nice to avoid direct conflict, to arrive at the place where Ranger waited to find that the situation had already been resolved. But such hopes were unlikely and were bound to only lead to disappointment. Thus I considered possible scenarios we could come to face and what I could possibly do here to find Stella as fast as humanly possible.

Although no matter how much I imagined possible scenarios I was well aware of the fact that all the thinking I was doing would probably be of no use when things got real. They say no plan survives first contact and all that. Even though I realized this I kept running scenario after scenario, if anything it was a way for me to keep myself focused.

The second day ended just as we reached the second settlement on the road, deciding that it would be better to regain our strength rather than push onwards. With a bit of luck we would be able to reach the town where Gilda had left Ranger tomorrow. And so we resumed our journey early again, the sun nothing but an orange glow on the horizon. By now I could tell on the ponies that they were tired, they weren’t used to this type of continuous high pace. Well the exception would be Lyra, it would seem that she hadn’t lied about her being a former guard if her stamina was anything to go by.

We forged onward to the third and last town on the road that I knew of, this would be were Ranger was. But as we reached the small clinic where Gilda had left Ranger, before rushing off to find me, we were informed that ranger had excused himself only a day after he had been treated. I could see that the information was starting to get to Gilda so I took her aside and did my best to calm her down. In the end I managed to get her to a relatively calm state, telling her that Ranger probably just headed back to the inn, and so we had new destination.

On my order we didn’t stay in the town but continued walking after a quick break to eat. I could tell that the atmosphere had changed in our party now though. Gilda’s increased worry was starting to affect the ponies to a greater degree now, especially Rainbow. But at this point in time there was little I could do to alleviate the tension. My only hope was that Ranger actually had gone back to the inn and was waiting there, or at the very least had left us more information there at least. Quite frankly I was surprised that he hadn’t left a note or anything for us at the small clinic, but seeing how he had to just as worried as Gilda I understood how that could have slipped his mind. The night had already fallen over the Gryphus badlands when we spotted the large forest where the Rusty feather inn was located. At the sight of the forest Gilda hopped into the air and hurried ahead of the rest of the group at a frantic pace.

“Ah, damn it!” I cursed before launching myself into the air.

“Cloud wait!” I heard Twilight call out from behind me.

I stopped midair. “Just follow the road and you’ll reach the inn. I have to catch up with her, it could be a trap!” I called out hastily before chasing after Gilda.

The cold night air rushed past me as I flapped my wings furiously, trying to keep up with Gilda’s barely visible form. Almost subconsciously I reached towards my forearm, getting ready to summon Imagination at a moments’ notice. Before me I saw Gilda vanish into the forest and a few seconds later I also crossed its border. In here the darkness was almost pressing as the trees, which had yet to drop their leaves, shut out the light from the stars and the moon. However in the distance I could see a hint of a light, a light I hoped was coming from the inn. With a few more rapid, but mighty flaps, I shot past the last few trees that had obscured my vision. Before me and quickly approaching was the Rusty feather inn, looking exactly as I remembered it. Just before I was about to crash into its walls I flared my wings, coming to an abrupt halt.

Despite the fact that there was a light coming from inside and that the door was left open, most likely from Gilda barging in in a hurry, I felt a need to take every precaution possible. With a practiced motion Imagination shimmered into existence, and with spear at the ready I slowly made my way into the building. At first I heard nothing so I strained my ears, seconds passed and then I thought that I heard faint voices coming from upstairs. Keeping my guard up I made my way over to the staircase and started to ascend towards the second floor. However as I got closer to the source of the voices I could clearly tell that they belonged to Gilda and Ranger. Breathing a sigh of relief I let my weapon dissipate before continuing onward, the previous tension I had felt fading. Once on the second floor I saw light from an open room spilling out into the otherwise dark hallway. Coincidently the voices were coming from the very same direction.

Naturally I headed towards the room, and rounded the corner just in time to catch the last few words of something Ranger said.

“…not going to be able to help myself, but I did manage to find something.” The older griffin was telling Gilda as he held gently stroked the feathers on her head in calming manner.

I cleared my throat to announce my presence, causing both griffins to turn their heads towards me. An expression of relief flashed across Ranger’s face as he saw me while Gilda wore a slightly sheepish look.

“Hello again Ranger, I wish this reunion could have been during happier times.” I addressed him, and before my eyes he seemed to age twenty years as worry returned to his features.

“You and me both Cloud, you and me both. Come I’ll tell you everything I’ve managed to learn.” He said, sounding incredibly tired.

“I know that you want to do everything you can Ranger, but I have to ask that you hold that thought. We have four more that are coming here to help. They should be arriving at the front door in just a few minutes.” I told the older griffin.

“Okay, let’s head downstairs then we can discuss it all in the common room when your friends arrive.” He said, moving to stand up.

I followed him and Gilda downstairs to wait for the others to arrive. I had caught glimpse of the cast on Ranger’s wing but I had opted against mentioning it. Something told me that it was nothing but a sore reminder of the current situation to him. Fortunately enough my prediction that the ponies were a few minutes out proved to be correct, meaning there wouldn’t really be any impatient silence to speak of while we waited. They announced their presence long before we saw them though as I could clearly hear their hooves thundering down the road before coming to an abrupt stop. If I had to guess it was probably because they had spotted the inn. A few seconds later I heard Twilight call out from the entrance.

“Cloud? Are you in there?”

“Aye! We’re right over here, just hang on a sec and I’ll come and show you the way!” I called back. And after giving Ranger and Gilda a small nod I hurried over to the entrance to meet with the rest of the group.

“Okay follow me and we’ll get started.” I greeted the group before they had a chance to say anything.

“I don’t understand what’s going on. Can’t you slow down and explain what just happened first?” Twilight questioned me.

“I’m afraid that’ll have to wait a bit Gilda’s father has information to share and that information takes priority right now.” I answered her truthfully.

“Alright, alright. I understand can I at least drop the transformation spell? I’m feeling rather drained after having had it running throughout the entire day.” Twilight asked.

“Even if it’s unlikely I’m not sure if Ranger has any guests here at the moment. If he does I’d advice against it. But tell you what I’ll ask him about that right away, for now though come along.” I answered, motioning the ponies and pony turned griffin to follow me.

As we reentered the common room I found Ranger talking in a reassuring tone to Gilda again, but he stopped as I led the ponies into the room. He studied the new arrivals one at the time, seemingly taking note of their pony type and coloration. His gaze rested a second longer on Twilight, as if trying to figure out how a griffin could have that color scheme.

“Okay so are these all the extras you were bringing Cloud?” He asked me and I nodded before answering.

“Yes, that’s all of them. Although before we begin I need to ask are there any others here beside us?”

“No there are no one else here beside the ones in this room right now.” He said, an unasked question hanging in the air.

With the inn being confirmed to be safe from prying eyes I gave Twilight a nod who proceeded to release her transformation spell with a sigh of relief. Ranger’s eyes widened visibly as the griffon before turned into one of four alicorn princesses. His eyes turned to me and I could see the disbelief written in those eyes.

“Is that a bloody alicorn Cloud? Just how did you?” Ranger managed to get out.

“Yes, this is Twilight Sparkle.” I began to introduce the ponies. “That is Rainbow Dash, Lyra Heartstrings and Bonbon.” I continued, pointing at the ponies in the order of introduction.

Ranger shook his head. “You know what I’m not going to ask how or why right now. What’s important is that there’s more help than I expected, further more it is high time that I shared what I’ve managed to find.” He said.

“Let’s see, where to begin? The day after Gil left to find you Cloud I reached out to the old contacts that I still have from being a soldier. From them I learned a bit about the group that took Stella from me and Gil. You already know that they are deserters but the group that has stirred up trouble for us is only about a fourth of the actual number of deserters. So in short there could be around twenty ex-soldiers where they have Stella. However I do not know where they are keeping her but I have managed to find a lead. In the first town after the road through the forest there’s a garrison. I have been told that there should be some kind of investigation team over there so that’s the best bet for more information.” Ranger quickly summarized.

“I take it there’s a reason you haven’t gone to ask them in person yet?” I asked Ranger.

“Well yeah there’s two reasons actually. The first one being that I’m not really in a condition to make the trip and the second one is that I wanted to relay the information to you and Gil.” Ranger replied.

“Aight, I understand. We will set out for this town at day break tomorrow.” I told him. I didn’t need to be a psychologist or anything to understand just how much this endeavor had to be draining him. My unconditional help was now not only due to the debt I felt towards the Rustfeathers but also because I knew what Ranger had been through already.

“Okay, I’ll be upstairs if you need anything. And to you ponies I’m sorry if I’m not the best of hosts right now but I’m a bit stressed out.” Ranger told us a group before heading out of the room. I exchanged a quick nod with Gilda before she followed after her father.

Silence reigned in the common room before it was broken by Rainbow Dash.

“So that’s Gilda’s father huh? She never really talked much about her family.” She said.

“No, she doesn’t.” I agreed, and soon after the room was once more engulfed in silence.

There had been no quick solution to the problem, but such wishes almost always ended up being pipe dreams anyway so I wasn’t taking the news to badly. At least we still had a lead and hopefully we’d able to find something of value to our search in the next town over. After all, this was not one of those times were I was allowed to give up.

“Come on, I’ll show you where you can sleep tonight.” I said to the ponies, once again breaking the silence in the room.

Author's Notes:

Well then here's chapter 16, still not much in the action department as you may have noticed. However that's about to change with the next chapter. Speaking of the next chapter, i'm unsure whether i'll be able to publish it before Christmas or not. I guess you'll just have to wait and see, instead of me making a promise I can't keep.

Next chapters working title is, A storm held at bay