The God Particle

Chapter 40: Interrogation of a Griffin

The unicorn guard unlocked the heavy reinforced door to the stairs leading down to the dungeon, the clang of the bolts holding it shut echoing off the high stone walls of the castle. Twilight Sparkle proceeded down the stairs, along with her guard escort. Arriving at the bottom, of the stairs, the guard pounded on another door with his forehoof.

"Lady Twilight Sparkle is here to interrogate the griffin, Gilda," he called out.

Another clang as the locking bolts slit backwards and the second door opened, the two of them entering the dimly torchlit corridor, passing through two more reinforced doors before entering the dungeon cell block proper.

Twilight looked around at the torchlight flickering off the iron bars of the dungeon cells. Most of the cells were empty; crime serious enough to warrant a dungeon sentence in Equestria simply wasn't that common. Most crimes were dealt with using less harsh means such as community service, or simple fines.

She made sure to stay close to her guard. It was easy to get lost or turned around down here; something she thought was probably an intentional design feature to prevent prisoners from being able to determine exactly where in the dungeon they were, or where they were in relation to the outside world. Twilight had only been down in the dungeon once before. And that was to interrogate James on the first day he had arrived, when he had actually been a prisoner down here.

She thought more about him now, and what he had said to her on the chariot when they'd argued. How she'd kissed him and told him that she would never push him away. She knew she couldn't deny the fact herself. Yes, she loved him. That was why she'd been jealous of the amount of time he'd been spending with Theory Point. It was why she'd become upset when he told her he was writing a paper with Theory Point and asked her for magical advice. He was supposed to be working with her! Writing those papers with her! No, he couldn't do those things with Theory Point! Because he was hers! Hers to hold onto forever! And she would never let him go! And yet, she knew in her mind, he never would be hers; that she could never have him. He was on the Royal Council. And as far as she knew, Council members could not have personal, romantic relationships like that. And even if they could, she knew it would never work anyway. What would her parents think? What would her friends think? What would all of Ponyville think? Granted, Equestria was very tolerant. But would most ponies accept a pony having a relationship with an alien being from a completely different dimension? Were they that tolerant?

She frowned and tried to push that out of her mind for now. There were more important things to worry about right now. Like Gilda, and how they were going to get the princesses back. After all, if they couldn't do that, nothing else would matter, because there would be nothing left of this world.

Turning the corner, she stopped and looked into the cell in front of her. Even behind iron bars and restrained with chains anchored to the wall, Gilda was an imposing and intimidating sight. When Twilight stood on her hind legs, she was taller than James. But when Gilda stood on her hind legs, she guessed she must be twice James' height. Her powerful, muscular body must weigh at least as much as two ponies together, and her eagle like beak could easily crush through bone.

She attempted to swallow the fear that was rising within her. She had to be strong. For Equestria, for her princesses … and for James. Raising her head and forcing a look of confidence onto her muzzle, she proceeded forward, using an assertive trot. The griffin glared back at her, saying nothing, but Twilight had no doubt that if Gilda could attack her right now, she probably would. The look in her eyes was one of hot iron; pure rage and anger. Finally, the griffin spoke in a loud, obnoxious tone.

"And what are you doing here, dweeb? I expected one of the Royal Guards or something. Or did you just come down here to gloat that I got captured?"

Twilight winced at the griffin's outburst, but quickly recovered, narrowing her eyes and stomping a forehoof once, her tail flicking in anger. She answered in a firm, confident tone. "I'm here because I'm the regent. The current ruler of all of Equestria. And I'll ask the questions here, Gilda. And you will answer."

Gilda raised an eyebrow and laughed briefly before responding. "You're the regent? The ruler of all of Equestria? Hah! Whatever. Ask all the questions you want. You won't get answers from me other than what you already know."

"Well, lets start there then. You say you went to Ponyville to warn us? If that's true, why such hostility now?"

The griffin scoffed and shook her head slightly. "I went to Ponyville to warn Rainbow Dash. I couldn't care less about the rest of you dweebs. But Rainbow Dash is still my flight school colleague, and we stick together. Even if we had a falling out last time."

"And so the griffin king was after the Elements of Harmony," Twilight stated, more as an observation than a question.

"Yes. He was," Gilda responded simply.

"But why? Didn't he know we had left Ponyville? Our flight back to Canterlot was attacked by multiple griffins, and several dragons."

She scoffed again. "They didn't know the Elements of Harmony were in that convoy. They just figured it was a Pegasus Guard convoy, and it was worth going after. Especially with the dragons to help them. They didn't even know it had come from Ponyville."

"Why was he after the Elements of Harmony? Why?" Twilight demanded.

The griffin hesitated for moment, but then responded. "He claims some creature called an aisling contacted him. Said the aisling promised to give the Griffin Kingdom rule over all of Equestria if the griffins would help it. But first, the Elements of Harmony had to be taken out of the picture."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. She didn't know very much about aislings or The Beyond from which they came. But she did remember what James had told her about them. "And he believed the aisling? Everything an aisling says is a lie. They are incapable of telling the truth. Everything they say is a lie intended to deceive and manipulate."

The griffin only scoffed, glaring back at her and saying nothing in response.

"There were griffins involved in the attack on Princess Luna's convoy. Where is she, Gilda?" Twilight demanded in a stern voice.

"I'm not telling you anything more than I've already told you, dweeb!" Gilda shouted back.

"Where is she Gilda? Where is Princess Luna!" Twilight shouted back just as loudly, feeling anger growing inside her, like molten lava building underneath a volcano, waiting to erupt to the surface. She narrowed her eyes and stomped her hoof hard on the floor, the sound echoing off the walls. Her ears laid back on her head aggressively.

"You think you can intimidate me, dweeb?" Gilda shouted, lunging for the bars on the cell, the chains attached to the wall quickly tightening and yanking her backwards with the sound of metal scraping roughly against metal. Her face was one of rage now, her eyes burning with anger.

Twilight jumped backwards a step, nearly losing her nerve. Could she actually intimidate the large, powerful griffin? She wasn't sure. But the griffin could intimidate her. No, she can't! she thought to herself with resolve. She can't intimidate me. I have to be strong. I'm the ruler of all of Equestria now.

With that, she took another step forward, glaring back at Gilda, anger and determination filling her. She spoke with a firm coldness in her voice now.

"This is how it is, Gilda. I am never letting you out of this dungeon. You are spending the rest of your life down here. At your age, that's an awfully long time of captivity to look forward to." The griffin tried to hide her fear, but her eyes started to widen and she seemed to shrink slightly. But Twilight wasn't about to let up now. She took another menacing step forward and spoke even more coldly, her words like ice water aimed directly at the griffin. "In fact, I suspect you will live longer in this dungeon than you would free. Because you won't be able to do any potentially dangerous things. Like say … flying." The griffin visibly winced now. But Twilight still didn't let up. "That's right, Gilda. You will never fly again. When you are allowed outside at all, it will be in a cage, with a roof so low you will barely be able to stand up much less fly. That's the life you have to look forward to from now on, Gilda. Because I am never letting you out of this dungeon. You are spending the rest of your life down here."

Twilight stomped her forehoof angrily, as a judge might pound a gavel when pronouncing sentence. Then she turned and started trotting away from the cell.

"You can't do that!" Gilda called out loudly. If it had been an attempt to sound angry, it ended up sounding more like desperation and fear. "She can't do that … can she?"

"Actually, yes she can," one of the guards answered. "She is the regent of Equestria. She has all the power that the princesses have."

"You can't do this to me!" she cried out again. This time the fear in her voice was clear.

Twilight stopped and turned her head back over her withers, glaring at the griffin again. "Maybe one of the princesses would have more mercy on you. Perhaps they would even be willing to overturn my harsh sentence and give you a lesser one … But I guess the only way we will ever find out, is if we can find one or both of the princesses and restore them to power." She turned her head forward again, and resumed trotting away.

For a moment, there was nothing. But then Gilda spoke again, this time in a quieter voice. "I wasn't involved in the attack on Princess Luna's convoy. I don't know where they took her … But the king does." Her voice sounded resigned and even a bit submissive now.

Twilight stopped and hesitated for a moment. It worked! She turned around and started trotting back towards the cell, glaring at the griffin again, speaking in a voice that clearly left no doubt she was serious.

"If I let you go, you will go to the griffin king. You will find out where Princess Luna is. And you will report back to me as soon as you know. Is that clear?"

"Yes," Gilda responded in dejected and resigned tone. Her eyes were lowered towards the floor slightly, as if she were actually intimidated by the unicorn now. And she was afraid. Twilight could sense it; smell the fear coming from the griffin. Yes, Gilda was afraid. And now, it was time to make sure she stayed that way.

"Good. And just to make sure you don't even think about going back on our agreement." Twilight's horn started to glow with a lavender aura. Gilda's eyes went wide again and she recoiled backwards as her chest and neck started to glow with the same lavender aura.

"What are you doing to me?" she said in a panicked voice. "It tingles! It feels … What are you doing to me?" she demanded again.

Twilight didn't answer. The glow continued for a few more seconds, before dissipating. She glared at Gilda again, a slightly sinister smirk on her muzzle now.

"What … what did you do to me?" Gilda said again in a voice as timid as if she had just been told she were about to be hung.

"I put a recall spell on you," Twilight responded in a cold, assertive tone. "That means I can magically force you to return to Canterlot any time I want. You will have no choice in the matter. When I call, you will come." She narrowed her eyes again. "You're mine now, Gilda. You're a dog on a leash. And I'm the one holding your leash. So don't even think about betraying me. And don't even think about trying to run away. No matter where you go, I can always recall you to Canterlot with a simple command, and you'll have no choice but to instantly return. Do you understand me?"

Gilda winced but kept her eyes slightly lowered, speaking in a broken and submissive tone. "Yes … I understand."

"Good," Twilight responded her voice still like cold iron. Then she turned to the guards. "Let her go. And make sure she finds her way to the border with the Griffin Kingdom."

"Yes, milady." The guards nodded respectfully.

Twilight turned and trotted away from the cell again, turning a corner in the corridor and making her way towards the door and the stairwell leading up from the dungeon.

As she walked, conflicting emotions ran through her, like two small armies fighting for control of an open field. She was proud of herself that she had stood up to Gilda; that she had done what she needed to do for both Equestria, and for her princesses. But at the same time, she felt a twinge of remorse and guilt run through her. She found herself almost feeling bad for Gilda. Had she gone to far? She had broken the poor griffin. And the sight of the once proud creature, now a broken shell, gave her a slightly sick feeling; like a taint of mud on top of what she had accomplished. She hadn't actually lied to Gilda. After all, she was prepared to keep her in the dungeon cell indefinitely until she agreed to cooperate. But had Gilda even committed any crime? She wasn't involved in either the attack on Luna's convoy, or the attack on Ponyville. Had she gone to far in her threats to the griffin? No. We're at war with the Griffin Kingdom. She's a griffin in touch with the king and she can get information that we desperately need. I did what I had to do as ruler of Equestria. I did what I had to do for my kingdom … and besides, she'll get over it. And I wouldn't have had to get so assertive if she'd just cooperated, she reassured herself as she continued, leaving the dungeon and returning to the main level of the castle.

. . .

Despite the cold and ever decreasing temperature outside, the air inside the Council meeting room felt hot and muggy, as if the meeting room were in the middle of a rain forest. A heavy feeling of tension hung in the air, pressing down on the room as James listened to Moon Song talk about the latest report he had just received from the unicorns patrolling the magical barriers. He stopped talking at the sound of the door opening as Twilight Sparkle returned.

Welcome back, milady," Moon Song said. "How did the interrogation of Gilda go?"

Twilight shook her head slightly. "She doesn't know very much. Only that one of the aislings promised the Griffin Kingdom rule over Equestria if they would help it. And it was an aisling that convinced the Griffin King to attack Ponyville looking for the Elements of Harmony. The Griffin King does know where Princess Luna is though."

"But if Gilda doesn't know, how does that help us?" Moon Song asked.

"I let Gilda go. I sent her back to the Griffin Kingdom to find out and told her to report back to me as soon as she knows anything."

Moon Song raised an eyebrow and gave her a dubious look. "And what makes you think she will comply?"

"I put a recall spell on her. To force her to come back to Canterlot by magic at my command. So she knows she can't run and can't escape."

James thought about that for a moment. He wasn't aware of any spells that could do that. He wasn't an expert on magic, of course, but if such a spell existed, wouldn't it make sense that Princess Celestia would have put one on him and the other Council members? So that if they were on leave, and a crisis demanded their immediate return to Canterlot, she could simply magically recall them instead of having to send an escort to go physically get them and bring them back? He looked at Twilight questioningly.

"Will the recall spell actually work?"

"Actually, it probably won't," she responded. "But I have Gilda very convinced that it will. And as long as she believes it will, I don't think she will betray me."

"Clever," Moon Song responded approvingly, but then frowned. "Unfortunately, milady. We have another problem. One that I was just informing the Council members of."

"Go on," Twilight responded.

"The magical barriers that keep The Beyond out of our world are weakening much faster than they were just a few days ago. At this rate, it's only a matter of time before they break completely and The Beyond is able to enter our world. And when that happens …"

He didn't finish. He didn't have to. Everypony in the room knew what would happen if The Beyond broke free. It would plunge to the core of the pattern and spread out from there, destroying their entire dimension.

Twilight frowned, but seemed to keep a calm composure. "And why has the rate of weakening increased?"

"Well, this has never happened before, so we aren't sure, milady. But we think, that without the magic of either of Their Majesties to sustain the barrier, that it is basically solidifying and cracking. See, the barrier is normally in a liquid like state. It can flow freely, but things from beyond cannot break the surface tension and escape. But like a hot candle where the flame has gone out, the wax begins to cool and solidify. We think that's what's going on with the barrier. Without the flame of Their Majesties' magic to sustain it, it is cooling, solidifying, and cracking. Eventually, it will completely shatter. The Beyond, and all its minions, will come rushing through as through a broken dam holding back a river. And at that point, all the magic in the world will not be able to stop them."

The air in the room which had felt hot and muggy just a few moments ago, suddenly felt cold as ice; like a dark winter night that would never end. For several long seconds, nopony said anything as the magnitude of the situation sank in, like mud spreading through a pond, staining the water to a sickly dark color."

"And how long do we have before this happens?" Twilight finally asked.

"We honestly don't know, milady," Moon Song responded. "Nothing like this has ever happened before."

Twilight shook her head once. "That's not good enough, Counselor. Get me a better answer. I need an estimate, even if it's only a best guess."

Moon Song nodded "I'll go through the data, and I'll try my best, milady."

Twilight nodded once. "Thank you, Counselor Moon … Moon Song was it?. Please excuse me. As I don't have all your names memorized yet."

"It's not a problem, milady. And yes, that is my name."

She nodded once. "Any other news?"

This time it was Storm Runner that spoke. "Food harvesting operations are proceeding as planned. The pegasus weather teams are making good progress on the dense cloud cover. And we are trying to control public panic. The sun was scheduled to rise about a half-hour ago. So I suspect we've only seen the beginning of the panic problems.

Twilight nodded once. "I'll make sure Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie stay on that." She frowned again and hesitated, opening her mouth and then closing it. Her ears drooped back on her head as if she were afraid to say what ever it was she wanted to say next. She opened her mouth again, the worry evident in her voice when she spoke. "What … what news from Ponyville?"

James shook his head once. "Nothing yet, milady. Maybe we can hope that once the griffins figured out the Elements of Harmony weren't there, that they stopped their attack and left the town alone." Inside though, he knew that probably wouldn't happen. Griffin war parties were known to be fierce and ruthless. Once they figured out the Elements weren't there, they probably would have pillaged the town for all of its valuables, destroying everything in their path as they went along. He could only hope that the Royal Guards stationed would at least be able to keep the griffins at bay until Captain Swordstorm's reinforcements could arrive.

Twilight winced, but composed herself quickly, her ears going back up as she tried to resume a look of confidence and control. "I've been thinking of something else. If the griffins have figured out the Elements aren't in Ponyville, Canterlot is the next most logical place they will assume we are. Even if we leave, they will still assume we are here. Although griffins aren't a serious threat to a city as well defended as Canterlot is, dragons most certainly are. And we know that at least some dragons have been working with the griffins … I fear, that we need to expect and be prepared for dragons to attack this very city."

"We'll make sure the warning bell towers are staffed at all times. And that Pegasus Guard patrols are on constant lookout around the city looking for any danger," James responded.

"Good," Twilight responded and looked at all of the Council members. "All of you have been up for a long time now. And I know you must all be very tired. The desire to find our princesses is strong in all of you, I know. But we mustn't neglect our own rest in the process. If we do, none of us will be able to think clearly and do what we need to do find a way to get them home. And with the threat of The Beyond breaking through the barrier, it is more important now than ever that we be able to work efficiently and accurately. So I want you all to get some rest. Report back here in six hours. I wish I could give you more time than just six hours, but time is of the essence. Thank you, and you are all dismissed for now."

All of the Council members nodded respectfully, then began to file out of the room All except for James. He remained where he was and spoke once the other Council members had left.

"I'm actually not tired, milady. Not at all. Even though I only slept an hour or two before, something Luna did to me in her spell refreshed me as much as if I had slept an entire night."

Twilight forced a small smile. "James, when the rest of the Council isn't around, I'd rather you just called me Twilight. We don't need to use those kind of formalities."

He nodded. "Alright, Twilight it is then."

The unicorn nodded back and forced another small smile. "If you're sure you're not tired James, I'll not force you to go try to get some sleep. I suppose, the best thing you can do for now, is to keep looking through those thousands of pages of notes, and see if you can find any clues as to exactly who is involved in all of this, where Princess Luna is, and if there are any clues about how to bring Princess Celestia back to Equestria."

He nodded and stood up. "They're in the armory. I'll go over and start going through them again. If you need anything, Twilight … anything at all. Please come get me."

"I will, James," she smiled briefly, but her smile quickly changed back into a frown given the enormity of the situation they were all facing. "I will," she repeated.

James nodded respectfully once again, then turned for the door, and started on his way back to the armory.