It took a while for Rain and his friends in order to try and find their way out of the giant metal dump of a maze that was the Garnet Scrapyard. There were massive piles of metal and machine parts, most of them being broken and beyond repair, scattered around the place and some were too big for them to simply just walk around. But it wasn’t just the trash that made this place hard to navigate through, nor was it the monsters that somehow happened to find a way to scurry through the facility and try to attack them at the worst possible moment.

The real problem was that there were a series of machines that were designed for cleaning up and recycling old materials. And upon detecting the presence of the crimson knight and his group, they mistook them for metal and materials that needed to be flattened and crushed before being recycled properly. Something that Rain… wasn’t exactly a fan of. Because out of all the things that he thought a knight would have to do, destroying a crazed recycling bot that was wanting to crush his spine was not one of them.

Plus, there was also the fact that having to fight through the junkyard really took away precious time that they were trying to conserve. They wanted to get to the Galewing shrine as quickly as possible and going through that entire junkyard really slowed them down. But it was when they were finally out of the scrap heap that they were able to explain to Hurricane everything that was going on, along with tell both him and Fidget everything that had happened on their journey so far. Therefore, it did not seem like Rain and the others were hiding anything from them.

Of course… the only one who wasn’t entirely a fan of this was Carbuncle. Mainly because of the fact that, like with Luna, Fidget also saw him as adorable and wanted to pet him like he was a common housepet instead of a mighty esper. But that was minor compared to the rest of the journey that was ahead.

“Alright…” Fidget said, taking a moment to set Carbuncle down as he decided to hide behind Luna. “Now that we don’t have to go through anymore trash heaps, we’re directly on course to where we need to go!”

“Well… That’s a relief I guess,” Shining Armor replied back, looking at a scroll that had the map of Griffonstone on it as he was trying to figure out their current location… along with how far away their destination was. He turned to the griffon, pointing at the corner of the map that had the name of the town they just passed. “So if we’re here… then which part of the map would have the shrine?”

Fidget herself walked over, pointing a talon at where Shining’s finger was at before gently dragging it across to the center of the map. “The shrine’s a straight and forward path from here! I told you that this would be easy!”

“Oh there’s no doubt about that,” They all heard Hurricane speak up now. He was originally flying above them to see if he can get a good view of the shrine from above them, only to touch down right around now as he looked back towards Fidget and the others. “But given the distance, I saw that the distance from start to finish is forty furlongs.”

Shining and Rain were both genuinely surprised by that estimate, especially considering the fact that Hurricane was known in legend mostly for his heroic acts and skills in battle. But nothing in it mentioned anything in regards to navigation. Though, for Luna and Fidget, both of them seemed a bit confused by what Hurricane was saying. “U-um… what’s a furlong?”

For that, Rain was quick to answer. “Oh that? It’s a unit of measurement that Shining and I were taught while training in the royal guard. A furlong is the equivalent length to that of two hundred and twenty yards, or around an eighth of a mile.”

“And eight furlongs would make up one mile…” Shining added on, scratching his chin as he crunched a few numbers inside his head. “Which would only mean that… from here to the shrine, we’re going to have to cover five miles.”

“F-five miles!?!” Fidget stammered at that. “I-i don’t think I can even fly that far! We gotta move before that Veritas creep gets there first!!”

“Slow down there, miss Fidget,” Hurricane stopped her before she could take off anywhere. “I said from start to finish it would be forty furlongs… Our starting point was at the scrapyard and we’ve already covered about two miles worth considering the stop at the Town of Gavel for supplies.”

“Meaning we’re two-fifths of the way there.” Shining clarified for them.

“Exactly, my friend! At the rate we’re going, we’ll be able to reach it in no time!!” Hurricane declared, a high amount of passion and optimism coming off of his voice as Rain and his friends began to follow him. Unlike most of the terrain that they have traveled through up until this point, there wasn’t a single tree or stone in sight. In fact, much of the land looked rather barren and dry. The earth that they walked on was cracked and the jagged stones scattered on the ground could easily hurt them if they were not careful.

Then there was the monsters. Normally on their travels, they would only encounter about one or two of them every so often. However, the closer that they got to the shrine, the more frequently they were attacked. And not just by single monsters, but monsters that roamed in packs who would normally stay far away from that of ponies or griffons. Whether they were mechanical contraptions that wildly roamed these planes amok like the Scolopendra or they were worgens (the leader of a pack of wolves) who were on the hunt, Rain and his allies took it upon themselves to combat them with everything that they had. Because the only way that they were going to be able to reach the temple at the rate they were going was through them.

Though, it did seem like there was some form of hope… because after a while, the griffon engineer that was accompanying Rain’s party soon noticed something. “O-over there! The Galewing Shrine!! It’s just past that barrier up ahead.”

“And with it, I bet you that Veritas of the Heavens will be waiting for us inside.” Shining added.

“Whatever the case, we need to hurry and stop him before he causes any more trouble.” Rain replied back, before looking to Fidget. “Fidget, you don’t have to fight alongside us. When we make it to the shrine, you can go find the crystal you need-”

“Sorry, but that’s not going to happen,” She shot back, interrupting him before he could even finish speaking as Fina shot a few arrows behind her. “We came here together as a group, so I’m sure as hell gonna take on this Veritas freak with you guys! Besides, not only does good company make the road shorter, but I want to find out who this Veritas is as much as you guys!”

“The Dwarf we saved at Griffonstone did say he saw under the villains mask, correct?” The unicorn knight asked, recalling the brief encounter with the heavenlord and the dwarf they rescued as he slashed at a wolf trying to blindside the two of them.

“He sure did,” Fidget nodded, before using her contractible hammer to smash the face of a wolf that tried to attack her. “I can’t imagine what would be under there that would make him so terrified. And normally, dwares are fearless in the face of danger.”

What the griffon said was a valid point… however, she didn’t really have the chance to continue what she was saying. Because around the moment that they were beginning to see the shrine, a new enemy took form in front of them. A deformed monster that had two faces, no legs and rather sharp fangs as it looked back towards them. And just one look at them had the griffon shudder. “N-no way, it c-can’t be!!”

“What’s wrong, Fidget?” Rain asked her as he stood firm and held his weapon in both of his hands. “Do you know about this fiend?”

“T-that’s a Typhon! The legendary eater of airships!!” Fidget said, startled a little and shaking in fear as she looked back at the monster. “T-the first Cid dedicated his life to stopping that beast!!”

“Yet, it appears right in front of us,” Hurricane remarked as he cracked his knuckles. “Which means the only way for us to get out of this situation is to go through it.”

“Are you crazy!?! Did you not here what I just said-!?” She snapped, before watching at the typhon let out a powerful gust of wind from it’s jaw. The attack had Shining Armor conjure some of his own magic as a method of pushing Fidget out of the way so she would not get hit by the blast of air.

“Fidget, I advise that you find yourself some cover,” The azure knight told her, joining up with that of Rain, Hurricane and Luna. The Crimson knight himself summoning Nimbus once more as the five of them got themselves ready for battle. “We’ll take care of this.”

Even with the remarks from Shining Armor though, Fidget wasn’t entirely comfortable with their odds here. If this really was the same demonic monstrosity that The Cid fought all those years ago, then the monster in front of them now must’ve been incredibly strong. Strong enough that a single snort from the creature’s nose could throw somebirdy several miles away. In her mind, she thought about telling them this… but fear was overtaking her as she tried to back away from everything that was going on.

She watched as the ponies that she was traveling with were throwing themselves into the fray. Fighting the Typhon with everything they got, but not knowing anything about what was in store for them or what it could do. Rain, Shining and Luna were all fighting tirelessly in order to try and defeat them. Even Hurricane himself was giving it his all… But she wasn’t doing anything… and to her, she felt so pathetic. She had to do something to help them. Something to help them overcome this monster.

Something to help them win.

“Everyone get ready! It’s doing something!!” She heard Rain shout, just as the griffon looked at the crossbow that was mounted to her wrist. If the Typhon was going to do what she thought it was going to do, then she needed to act fast. Charging up a shot, Fidget jumped from behind cover as the Typhon began to suck in air. Waiting for a opening.

Then, she found it. Just as the pegasus that Rain summoned earlier noticed her. “What the? Hey, what are you-?!”

“Everypony, cover your eyes!!”

Rain himself wasn’t sure what Fidget was trying to do, but the next thing he knew, a beam of sunlight went off from the crossbow that was on the griffon’s wrist. Hitting the Typhon and causing the attack that it was channeling to release prematurely. Going in the direction that was opposite of where Rain and everyone else was. Making the crimson knight wonder what exactly did Fidget just do to gain this kind of advantage.

“Fidget, what was that?”

“I just fired off a sunbeam from the crossbow that I have. It might not do much to damage it, but the attack should blind the Typhon,” Fidget told him, before glaring at the others. “Now don’t just stand there! Tear that beast to shreds!!”

“You heard the lady! Let’s go!!” Hurricane cried, charging his fists with lightning at he lunged at the Typhon. Landing a direct hit with two solid strikes to the monster’s face. “Hit it with everything that you got!!”

“R-right!!” Luna herself responded, aiming her bow up towards the sky as she channeled some magic into her arrows before releasing her grip on the bowstring. “I hope t-this works…” As the arrows flew into the air, the small swarm began to rain down on the typhon as the beast cried out in pain.

At first, the pegasus known as Nimbus Dash thought that it would be the perfect time to attack the beast. But just as she was about to land a powerful hurricane kick, the Typhon let out a powerful snort. Catching the pegasus and throwing her into the distance as Rain looked back towards where she was and called her back. Leaving only him and Shining Armor to try and finish off the beast. Charging their magic through their weapons as they both slashed through the Typhon, tearing it to shreds.

As they placed their blades on their backs, both Rain and Shining Armor looked back at Luna and the others as the Crimson Knight motioned his arm. “Come on, we gotta hurry!”

“There’s no telling if Veritas of the Heavens is already inside, so we have no time to lose here.” Shining Armor added on, prompting everyone to start rushing towards the entrance to the shrine. When they were getting closer, they saw that the barrier on the front of the gate was gone. Which, to Rain, was not a good sign at all after remembering the original encounter at the Everfree Shrine and what happened when the barrier on that shrine was gone.

But there was something else that… did not feel right. There was a scent in the air. A putrid and vile one that was present in the air as they approached the entrance hall. But what they found… shocked all of them. Including Hurricane himself. “Dear sweet Celestia…”

What they found were griffons… dead griffons. Not just one or two, but enough to make a small battalion. They were all suited up in armor and who looked to have been part of the Griffon Kingdom’s military because of the sigil on their shoulders. All slain as their blood soaked into the ground, their armor torn to pieces and their weapons broken in two. In Rain’s mind… this was more than just a battle that took place here. This… was a massacre.

“He… slaughtered them all… like it was nothing…” Rain said, gripping his hands into a fist as he looked at the devastation in front of him. “Unforgivable…”

“This is… terrible…” Luna gasped, covering her mouth with her hand upon seeing the dead. “How could anypony… do something like this?”

“Wretched fools…”

The voice that echoed on the wind was the same voice of the one they were searching for. Veritas of the Heavens. However, when the five of them looked around to try and find him, he was nowhere to be seen. And he was still speaking as they stood there. “When those who crawl upon the earth dare try to spread their wings to reach for the heavens… Death is the only reward suitable for them.”

His words… only made Rain more furious. “That’s… enough! Enough out of you! Who the hell do you think you are to take away someone’s life so willingly, anyway?!”

“Must I repeat myself?” The words of the Veritas echoed again. “You should look upon the heavens with awe and wonder… lowly creatures of the dirt that you are.”

“Well, you know what I think!? You’re a coward; that’s what you are!” Rain snapped back, grabbing the grip of his blade as he pulled it off of his back. “Stop hiding and show yourself! I’ll bring you down to earth because you’re lower than dirt, you hear me!?”

“Rain, stop! Calm yourself!” Shining then snapped, trying to get his attention. However, his words did not exactly work as Rain did not even turn around to look back at him when he responded.

“You think I’m going to stay calm in the face of this butchery!?” The crimson knight grit his teeth. “Those griffons… their lives are seen as no more than insects under their feet!!” At this point, he put the blade away… but his tone had not changed a bit. “Isn’t that why we went on this journey in the first place, Shining… To stop them from hurting more lives?! So why… why do we have to witness a scene like this? Why do we have to witness this and feel like you could’ve done something to save them… but failing to do so?”

Rain himself began to look down on the ground. Contemplating everything that he was feeling right now and trying to process everything that was happening. But… what he did not anticipate was to feel not a hand on his shoulder… but a claw as he turned to see Fidget standing next to him. “So that’s what this is all about… Well… I hope you have some deep pockets, because I’ve decided to make this a long term engagement. I’m going to see this through to the end, no matter what happens.”

And before the knight could respond, she added one more thing. “And once I finish my airship, I’ll let you guys go wherever you need to go. How’s that?”

“You will? Really, Fidget?!” Luna said, shocked and surprised by what the griffon just proclaimed.

“You bet!” Fidget exclaimed, before looking back at the knight once more. “So listen Rain. Pull yourself together… We’re gonna make sure and stop them now, aren’t we?”

That was when Rain finally turned around and looked back at everyone. A look of determination on his face as he responded back to Fidget. “Damn right we are.”

“Then we can’t lose our composure here now, can we?” Fidget told him. “Let’s go find that creep in the Galewing Shrine and stop him, once and for all!”

Upon entering the temple, they all saw what looked to be broken segments in the floor. The columns and support beams that once held the temple in place were also broken and ravaged as if a battle had transpired inside the shrine. As they made their way inside though, everyone was quiet… and at one point, things seemed fine. That was, until Rain placed his left hand in front of his companions when they approached a rather large opening in the floor. A sign for them to stop walking as Shining Armor looked back towards his friend.

“Rain, is something wrong?” The unicorn’s words were met by silence as Rain raised a finger to his lips and let out a small shush. A couple of moments passed as the air in the temple began to rise and fall. The Crimson Knight’s right hand slowly moving up to the grip of his blade as he closed his eyes for just a moment.

“There!” When he opened them, he unsheathed his Crimson Saber and swung forward. His blade clashing with the spear of the one they were looking for as Veritas of the Heavens rose from the hole in the ground. Floating in the air with the winds themselves swirling around him as the figure stared blankly at Rain and his companions.

“Veritas!” The azure knight said, before watching Rain put his sword away as he looked back at the armored foe in front of them.

“What was that supposed to be? Some kind of test?” The knight asked.

“If it were such a thing, then you would’ve failed,” The Veritas glared back at them. “You took far too long to notice my presence…”

“What?! What the hell are you talking about?” Rain countered, only for the question to be ignored as the Veritas continued to speak to them.

“If the Darklord were my opponent, he would have been immediately aware of my presence and not hesitate to strike.”

That statement had Rain wonder something else now as he looked back at the Veritas. Thinking of a new question to ask as he looked back at them. “Hold on… Darklord? Are you referring to Veritas of the Dark?”

However, the knight’s question went unanswered as Veritas of the Heavens ignored Rain and continued to speak. “You will not be able to defeat me… You lack the adequate amount of power to join the battle of Aldore and Hess.”

“What?” Shining Armor blinked in response. “Aldore and… Hess…? What are you talking about?”

“If you value your trivial lives, then I will permit you to withdraw from this place.” The Veritas spoke, again ignoring another question that was said to him as he looked back at everyone now. Before disappearing in a gust of wind.

“Like hell we are! There’s no way we’re turning back now after coming this far!” Rain snapped, before he and his companions began to proceed further into the shrine.

“You said it best, young Rain!” Hurricane responded afterwards, moving alongside the knight and his companions as they began to navigate through the halls of the Galewing Shrine. Though, once they got farther in, the pegasus then decided to ask a question. “So this Veritas… you told me that you have encountered him before. Is there anything I should be aware of before you clash blades with him again?”

“Well, there’s not really a lot to say if I were to be honest,” Rain replied back to the Commander. “As you saw just now, he controls very powerful air magic and when we encountered him before, he used that same magic to propel himself into the air before dropping down to attack us with his spear.”

“Oh, so he fights like a dragoon hunh? Never thought I would still see that combat style in the present day.”

Both Rain and Shining almost stopped in place upon hearing Hurricane say that, before the unicorn asked the first question that came to his head. “Wait… you know how the Veritas fights?”

“Why of course! The moment you mention that he fights with a spear and attacks by jumping into the air, I kind of put the pieces together,” Hurricane explained as they went over a huge hurdle that was blocking the hallway. “Back when I was alive, I had a few of my soldiers be dragoons. They were skilled with a spear or lance and were very versatile and powerful combatants. Of course, they were only needed when we had a huge beast running amok in Equestria or if my soldiers needed backup on the front lines… Though, something about this Veritas makes me think he’s not like the dragoons that I once had under my command.”

Now that made one other pony curious as she now decided to speak up. “What’s that, Hurricane?”

“The use of magic. That’s what’s different,” He replied back. “When my dragoons would jump into the air before diving back down, they would use their wings and take off into the air that way… If this Veritas is using a method that’s much different and relies on magic, then there must be a limit to how much magic he could use at once because a dragoon was never somepony who would use magic.”

“Because they didn’t need it… they had their wings, so there was no point to use magic.” Fidget added on.

“Exactly…” The pegasus commander replied. “If we get this guy to burn out his magic too quickly, then we can be able to keep him on the ground. Though, I would also think that he has a plan for if he runs out of mana, so we need to keep an eye out for that.”

Both knights nodded in response to that. Given how Hurricane was well respected as a Commander back when he was alive, both of them thought that it would be best for them to just listen to the pegasus and try not to ask too many questions. Besides, his experience when it came to combat did give him a certain level of expertise.

But as they were exploring, there was one thing that Rain felt that he needed to say. Not to Hurricane… but to the griffon that was following them. “Hey, Fidget… I know that we said that we were going to help you with trying to find the crystal you needed for your airship, but I think we’re going to have to hold off for right now.”

“What are you apologizing to me for? I’m fine with that,” The Griffon replied. “Besides, we need to focus on kicking this Veritas guy’s flank first! Then we can get the crystal I need.”

She may not have been a pony, but Rain almost mistook her for one of Twilight’s friends given her overwhelming determination right now. But as they ventured through the shrine and began to combat the monsters that were lurking inside, the knight was really concerned that the Veritas had already reached the crystal. And he did not want the same thing that happened at the Everfree Shrine to happen here.

At one point though, as they were closing in towards the back of the shrine, that was when the knight heard Luna say something that was able to help them. “W-wait! I-i think I can feel us getting c-closer to Veritas!”

“How can you tell?” Fidget then asked out of curiosity.

“The presence I f-feel… I-it’s similar to when he f-fought us in Griffonstone…”

“Which would only mean that he’s expecting us… Be ready for anything!” Rain then added on, placing a firm grip on his blade as they pushed forward. The door to the crystal chamber was already opened and by the time they made their way inside, they saw Veritas of the Heavens facing the crystal… that was, before he turned his head towards them.

“Hmph… It would seem that you place little value over your lives,” The Veritas’ words were matched with an equally powerful gust of wind as it turned to face them directly. Shortly before it’s spear and shield came into its hands as the Veritas glared directly at them. “Therefore, as promised, I accept your challenge! Have at you, denizens of the earth!”

“Alright, get ready!!” Hurricane proclaimed, cracking his knuckles and stretching its wings. “If it’s a fight you want, it’s a fight you’re going to get!!”

“Everyone, get ready!!” Rain called out to his allies as he unsheathed his crimson saber, the blade roaring to life as he channeled his power through it. Shining Armor himself did the same thing when he drew out his katana as the two knights readied themselves for a rematch against the Veritas of the Heavens. Luna herself began to channel her power into her bowstring again to fire a barrage of holy arrows at the Veritas while Rain and Shining charged in head first with Hurricane following not that far behind. Both knights attempted to attack the Veritas from both sides in front of him, with Shining focusing on his shield and Rain focusing his attacks on the enemies spear.

The plan was to try and find a way to disarm their opponent of his weapons, which could provide a potential opening for Hurricane to charge in and strike. Of course, that was the plan in theory. The only problem was that their opponent was a highly skilled warrior who could control the very winds with a twist of his fingers. But that still didn’t stop Rain and Shining from trying, especially when they were getting backup from both Luna and Fidget as they were trying to distract the Veritas of the Heavens and heal the knights in case if they get injured.

At first, they thought that the plan was working… However, the damage that they were dealing were nothing more than mere scrapes on their opponent’s armor. “Detestable!” The Veritas roared, sending a wave of wind to push Rain and Shining back before lunging at them with his spear. “You think that you lowly earth dwellers can rival my strength?! Perish like the griffons that came before you!!”

Of course, what the Veritas did not anticipate was Hurricane swooping in between them, grabbing hold of the spear shaft and yanking it forward. Making the enemy lose its balance before striking him in the chest with his palm and knocking him backwards. “If you think strength alone will help you win a fight, then you have already lost.” The pegasus shot back as both knights got back on their feet. Rain was going to thank the commander for helping them, but before he could say anything, Hurricane looked back at both of them. “Both of you, make sure to not let your guard down for a moment. All of you, don’t give him the chance to get up in the air.”

“Y-yes sir!”

By the time that they had regrouped with that of Commander Hurricane, the Veritas was already back on their feet. Brushing off the blow that he just felt as he glared directly at them. “You dare strike an entity of the heavens?!!” The armored foe began to put it’s spear behind them as the ferocious winds in the room began to pick up. “I shall make you pay for your insolence!!”

Swinging the spear upward, the Veritas was able to kick up a powerful gust of wind that obscured the vision of the commander and the two knights. Providing an opportunity for the dragoon to leap into the air. However, just as he was close to the ceiling, he was forced to move out of the way when a blast of holy magic almost hit him. Making him look down to see that Luna was using her magic to protect her eyes so she could be able to throw the Veritas off. Which caused the winds that he conjured to die down and reveal his location to the rest of her allies.

“Why you-!!”

“Rain, above us!!”

“I see him!” The knight replied, placing his hand on the floor as he looked back to Hurricane. The commander himself was not sure what Rain was planning, but with the Veritas beginning his downward descent, he had no other choice but to judge Rain’s judgement.

“Stonga!”

From under the commander’s hooves, a pillar of rock and stone quickly began to take form and push Hurricane upward. Getting an idea, Hurricane used the forward momentum of the pillar to take off into the air and head straight towards their opponent. Veritas of the Heavens anticipated the pegasus to try and attack him while he was coming down, but when he thrusted his spear forward to intercept him, Hurricane disappeared. Reappearing behind the armored figure as he spun forward into a somersault kick, sending his opponent plummeting into the floor beneath them.

“Don’t let up!!” The commander ordered, which prompted Shining to charge in now as the unicorn used his wind magic to push away the Veritas’ buckler. When the armored foe reclaimed the grip of his spear and attempted to attack the unicorn at close range, the knight used his katana to parry the strike and turn it into a disarm that sent the spear flying into the left side wall.

“Take this!” Shining declared, channeling as much power as he could into his blade before dashing forward and striking the Veritas as a pillar of ice formed under the foe before shattering. The unicorn appearing behind him for a few brief seconds before regrouping with his allies. “Azure Sky!!”

“Rrgh!!! How dare you-!? You can think you can make a fool out of me-?!!” Veritas of the Heavens howled out in rage. Only to realize something as he looked at the opponents in front of him. He remembered that there were five originally… but now only four remained. Where was-?

“Veritas!!!” At that, the Veritas looked up to realize that the fifth one, the knight in crimson, was falling down towards him. His blade surging with overwhelming power as he swung it forward and struck the armored warrior in the helmet. He was so focused on the pegasus, white magus and the unicorn that he wasn’t even paying attention to him. “Blazing… STORM!!”

The attack caused up a cloud of smoke that obscured the vision of Rain and his friends for a few mere moments. And in that time, they thought that the Veritas that they were facing was no more. Defeated by the very things that Veritas of the Heavens had despised. However… when the cloud of dust began to fade, all five of them were shocked to see that the Veritas was still able to stand. Even with his helm severely damaged, he was still firmly standing his ground.

“How?! We just hit him with everything we had!!” Rain shouted.

“Keep your guard up! Who knows what he’s trying to pull!” Hurricane shouted, which had Rain and his companions ready themselves as they looked at the Veritas. Who… wasn’t really doing anything at the moment.

If anything… he was speaking. “I-it cannot be… How could you contemptible, dirt-eating lowlifes… wield such power…” The Veritas was trying to stand firmly on it’s own as the cracks in his helmet began to grow in size. “I… simply do not… believe it… Ngh.”

Then, the helmet crumbled to pieces, revealing the face of the one who was under the mask. Seeing that of a griffon with dark grey feathers, black beak and brown eyes. But one crucial detail had the griffon that was with them stare in disbelief as her eyes began to widen.

There was a scar on his left cheek. “Wha…? No, n-no it can’t!” She turned around, looking away from the armored griffon as she continued to speak. “Y-you can’t possibly be-... T-there’s just no way…”

“Fidget, what’s the matter?” Rain asked, sheathing his blade now as both knights turned towards the griffon. “Do you recognize him?”

However, the one moment that both of them let their guard down… the veritas they faced rose from the floor. Channeling whatever power was left within him. “Though you may have bested me… I will not fail at what must be done!”

“Oh crap! No!!” Rain turned around, attempting to grab his blade. But by the time they turned around, it was already too late. With a slash from his spear, the Veritas of the Heavens had completed the goal that he intended to do. Shattering the Galewing crystal to pieces as he disappeared with the wind. “Dammit! The crystal…”

“What… have you done…?” Was the only thing that Shining could ask as the entire temple around them began to shake. It felt like an earthquake was rumbling under their feet as pieces of the temple began to fall around them.

“This is bad! We need to get out of here before this collapses!! Run!!” As if on cue, everyone began to immediately race towards the exit. Even going at far as slicing, shooting and smashing through fallen debris that blocked their path forward. However, the crimson knight realized that someone… or for that matter, somebirdy was not with them as he turned to see Fidget still standing there. As if she was frozen like a statue.

“Fidget, come on!” The knight called out to her, running back in order to try to snap her out of her trance. Once the griffon noticed him, both of them began to run immediately for the exits. Unaware that the one who was responsible for this whole catastrophe was still lurking in the shrine. Watching them run and escape as he reclaimed his shield.

“Hmph… If the crystal is destroyed, then the seal that Aldore placed on it will also be broken,” A grin began to form on the old griffons face as he rose into the air and out of the shrine through the holes that were in the shrines ceiling. “And with it… the heart of the Invincible will finally be able to beat once more.”

They were only able to catch their breath once they retreated to a plateau that was far above the mountains, but by then, the two knights from Canterlot were able to let out a collective gasp of relief as they looked out over the plains of the Griffon Kingdom alongside their companions. “H-hah… Somehow, we were able to make it out of there alive… I-is everyone okay?”

“Y-yeah, just… shaken…” Fidget softly replied. Luna herself nodded and Hurricane followed suite. Making the crimson knight feel relieved that everyone was able to make it out of there okay.

Yet, not everything was okay. Especially with what Shining was seeing in that very moment. “Rain, above us. Over there.”

When the knight looked up, that was when he saw the same ship that was originally in the docks at the airship factory, now flying high in the sky. The factory itself was nothing more than a collapsed pile of steel and metal as the numerous different contraptions began to break down and collapse.

“W-was that… The invincible?” Rain was shocked to see that the airship that was once said to be impossible to get in the air was now flying above them. Soaring high in the sky as he looked back at them. “Is this because of the crystal being destroyed?”

However… instead of answering his question, Shining Armor went on to say something else in response. “Rain… Do you remember what Veritas of the Heavens said in the shrine? The two names, Aldore and Hess.”

Upon hearing him say that… that was when the knight in crimson realized something. “That’s right… now that I think of it, Luna mentioned those two names much earlier when we first arrived here…”

Now Shining had lowered his head for a moment, processing that as he responded back to his companion. “I’ve been wondering about what she had said since then… and more importantly, what could it all mean?”

Though, while they were trying to process all of this, it was then that both knights turned back to see Luna as she was trying to talk with Fidget. Or at least… find out something from the griffon. “Hey Fidget… Who was Veritas of the Heavens really? You seemed to recognize him…”

“Thank you for reminding me about that, Luna,” Shining spoke up. “It did seem like you had seen his face somewhere before… have you not?” At first, Fidget did not say anything. As if she was still overcoming the shock of what she had witnessed. Though… after a few moments, she finally answered the question. It was five words, but those five words were a powerful statement on it’s own.

“He was… the first Cid.”

That caught all of them off guard, including Rain. From everything that Fidget had told them about Cid, he lived almost several generations ago and was the one thing that she idolized more than anything. But to find out that the one figure that she hailed as a hero… was the enemy? That must have been a huge blow to her confidence and self esteem.

But there was one question that lingered on everyone’s minds as Luna spoke up. “If that Veritas was the first Cid… how exactly is such a thing possible?”

“Unless it was some vision of the past, I wouldn’t know what it could be,” Hurricane replied back. “Though… I feel as if I should take my leave. I know that this won’t be the last time I would be seeing you, but take care of yourselves now, ok?” With that, the commander and leader of the pegasi disappeared in a gust of wind, returning back into a crystalline form as the shard returned to Luna. Leaving just the four of them to try and process what just happened.

But through all of this… the knight felt as if he needed to apologize for another thing that transpired. Because of the collapse of the shrine, Fidget was never able to get the crystal she needed for the airship she was building. But when he was about to say it, that was when Shining spoke up.

“Fidget… I know that this is a lot to process… but I have something for you.” The unicorn explained, moving his left hand out of his coat pocket to reveal a crystal that was glowing with power. Something that almost… threw off the griffon.

“Y-you got it!? B-but how-?”

“During the fight… For a brief moment, I was behind the Veritas and found this crystal by my hooves. I didn’t think that I needed to pick it up if we had stopped him, but I didn’t want to forget either if something bad forced us to retreat,” With that, he placed the crystal in the griffon’s claws before saying one more thing. “See it as… my proper apology for what I said before about Mechabo.”

The griffon… honestly did not know what to say… but instead, just pulled in Shining for a hug. Something that he wasn’t really anticipating as he almost fell backwards, but responded by gently returning the hug. All before Fidget let out a deep sigh and looked back at them.

“Thank you… and with this, we can get ourselves back on track,” The griffon replied, noticing how Rain was trying to form a response and cutting off the knight. “Remember… I did say that this was going to be a long term engagement. That and I promised you that when I had my ship, I would let you guys go wherever you want.”

“W-what about… well… Cid? And your workshop?” Luna then asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” The griffon insisted. “I want to find out more about the first Cid… besides, we can’t just forget about the invincible either now that those Veritas freaks are in possession of it.”

“That’s a valid point…” Rain added on. “Shining, how are we doing on supplies?”

“Well, considering that it’s going to be four of us traveling instead of three, we might need to stock up on food and water before we go anywhere…” The unicorn replied back.

“So you already thought of a place to go? Alright, what is it?” Fidget then asked as they began to make the long trek back towards Granitebeak. And in that time, Rain had one answer.

“I guess a return trip to Canterlot is in order before heading off anywhere.”

Author's Notes:

With this, we... mostly conclude everything that transpired in the Griffon Kingdom. There's just one more thing that needs to be addressed... Next time, that is.
-Frost