A couple days passed uneventfully. I had been spotted a couple times by some civilian dogs. Not soldiers, but miners, crafters, even some puppies. Apparently, Fia was true to her word, at least in this aspect, and they saw fit not to antagonize me. They even greeted me pleasantly, though with a small undertone of fear. Nobody called the guards, and the guards that were guarding the marketplace kept their eye on me, but just to make sure I didn't cause any trouble.

I managed to get a hold of a string and an iron nail, the first of which I tied a knot around the second so it'd hang. Then, I went to go see Gilda. This was a little more difficult, considering they were pretty much under lockdown.

"Halt."

"I'm here to see Gilda."

"The prisoners can have no visitors. We cannot allow you to speak to them." The guards stated.

"And why not?"

"You may attempt to inform them of a plan to escape."

"Oh for fuck's sake, she's pregnant with my child. You can come with if you want to make sure I'm not doing anything sneaky." The pair looked to one another, the first nodded to the second, who accompanied me into the holding area.

"By the way, this goes both ways, try and capture me, and you're dead."

"The lady has ordered that we do not act with hostility." Was his reply. No acceptance of my threat, no reaction at all, merely stating his alpha's orders.

"Good enough for me."

"Gilda, there you are." She turned to look at me, teary eyed.

"Griffin, I..."

"It's okay, I'm here alright?"

"I'm... sorry, you trusted me and..."

"Don't worry about it."

"Can you let me finish a fucking sentence?" She growled.

"Sorry."

"It's just.... I've been underground too long. It's got me on edge. I just keep remembering, back then. At least this has some space and lighting. If it was cramped and dark I would have gone crazy already."

I held her head against my chest. "Listen, I'm going to get you out of here okay? All of you." The guard with me growled. I rolled my eyes. "I negotiated with the alpha. She's going to let you all go, if I turn myself in."

She immediately pushed me away and protested. "But they'll kill you!"

"Which is why I asked for five days to find a way out of this. The alpha is stuck up against a wall. If I get away, she's got a death sentence. I asked for some time to try and find a way that'll work for both of us. That's the only way she'll let me go. Besides, I think you've got someone more important than me to worry about." She looked down, to take a look at her stomach. I held out my hand. "Uh... can I?" She nodded quietly. I ran my hand along her side and slightly under, feeling the mass that had gotten ever larger in the time we had been apart. Every so often, I felt a slight kick, and couldn't help but smile, despite the other circumstances.

"I'm sorry it took me so long to get my shit sorted out." I held her in a warm hug. "Nobody should have to go through pregnancy, or raising a child for that matter, alone. I just needed to get my head on straight and stop acting like a brat."

"And I'm sorry I was so selfish. I'm like this in the first place because I didn't consider your feelings, and wanted to serve my own needs, and I'm stuck down here because I didn't listen back in Canterlot when you told me to stay."

"Maybe, but then the rest of the crew would be stuck here, and I don't know if I could leave you to go after them." We just held each other for a time, listening to each other's heart beat, breathing, enjoying the warmth that seemed so scarce under the cold, dark ground.

"Gilda, can you lay on your back for a minute?"

"Hmm? Why?"

"Just... just in case I don't make it out. There's something I need to know."

"Okay."

She rolled over onto her back, her stomach up in the air.

"I know it's probably uncomfortable, but just try and relax okay?" I pulled out the nail and string, held the string by the end, and let the nail dangle ever so slightly above her belly. After a couple seconds, the nail began to swing back and forth like a pendulum, moving towards her head, and then towards the tail. Holding the nail to stop it's motion, I moved it above her chest, after which it started moving in a very distinct circular pattern. I moved it back over her stomach again, just to be sure.

"It's a boy."

"What? How do you know?"

"Old earth trick."

"How does it work?" She asked as she got back to her feet.

"Magnets." I replied.

"Pfft, fucking miracles."

"You better watch your tongue Gilda, our son's listening, and we don't want him to grow up to be a sailor."

"That goes double for you mister." She booped me on the nose with her claw.

"Um.. I heard that if you sing a lot while you're pregnant, the baby will be smarter and happier when they're born."

"Alright, that's enough." The gruff guard nearby proclaimed.

"Yeah, I better go." I waved goodbye, then left the chamber.

I paced around my chamber as I thought about what he had said. Five days. Five whole days. Three had already passed. If he had a plan, he'd make his move on day five. But what could he be planning? He has spies hidden inside, and two of his crew members are unaccounted for. Did he manage to get in contact with them? Did he have an escape planned? Or, would he let himself get caught, then simply escape again with the help of his allies? No... I had to make sure I didn't come out of this with nothing. It's like I could feel him breathing down my neck, watching me from the shadows. I felt all my fur sticking on end, and had large numbers of guards watching the entrance to my chamber day and night. Despite how he had inspired admiration from his cause, he terrified me just as much. Would he attempt an assassination? He already proved himself capable of it.

No. I had made sure of that. I appealed to his good nature. I made myself out to be a reasonable person, who's gotten themselves stuck, someone he'd try to help. But did he mean it?

It'll give me time to think of a way we can both get through this.

I couldn't trust him, not completely, but I also couldn't help but feel the sincerity in his words. What could he possibly offer me that would get me out of this mess I got myself into?

I remembered a few years back, before all this, before that wretched Gold Trim arrived, furious because 'some damned fool' was ruining his profits.

"My fellows! Brothers and sisters! Hear me! Less than a decade ago, we all languished under the tyrannical rule of our old king. When I took up the throne, there was doubt, but look now! We have had prosperity that you will be hard pressed to find in any other clan. By strengthening this castle, a relic from the ancient times, we have had safety from bandits and rampaging dragons. By the pursuit of wisdom, which has been shunned by others in favor of brute strength, which we have found hidden deep within these stone halls, we have progressed from pointed sticks and thrown stones to hardened steel, to great works of crafting, and a better life!"

A chorus of cheers echoed through the hall.

"Things have not always been perfect, but I am honoured to say that you, my clan, my pack, my family, have given me your support in the most dire of times, with the faith that I would lead you through the dark to a brighter tomorrow. And now? Because of your hard work, and diligence, we now stand as a fulcrum of power in these lands.

Cheers once again rang through the stone.

"And now, my brothers, I tell you, that it is not fair."

They seemed confused by this statement.

"Look around you! Look at the other clans, do you not see how they suffer, just as we have? How their children are forced to beg, just to survive, just as I have? You see our prosperity, but how fair is it that we should let our cousins stay in anguish?"

They stayed silent for a moment.

"One day soon, the time will come to unite all the clans of this broken Dominion, indeed, all the clans of even Gem Fido, to unite them under one rule, so that ALL can enjoy this prosperity! So that we can reclaim our place in this world! This is my promise to you, a promise of a bright future!"

And they cheered. They barked in approval, clanked their mugs in toast, and howled the songs of their ancestors.

I could still hear their voices, even now, even as they worked, not in slavery, but in passion, till they had no breath left, and slumped to their beds in restful sleep. And all the time, Ringo had stood by my side. His armor, as dusty as it had always been, had of course never been washed, as he never removed more than the helm. Despite that, it never stank. I even remember, as a child, trying, and failing, to wrap my arms around that bulky steel, so he'd laugh, pick me up, and put me on his shoulder so I could hug his head instead. I always wondered why he never took it off, but he'd just do the same thing as when I asked him how old he was. Just smile and laugh. Ringo had always been a happy dog. He was a good dog.

One day, he came to me, bearing news. He proclaimed that, according to many of the clans of Gem Fido, a griffin had come and raided them, freeing their slaves and stealing their gems. At first, I thought it was merely some band of bandits, as we had dealt with time to time, but my mind was changed when I heard his message. That we were to change our ways, or be swept away. Of course, it wasn't worded like that, but the message was clear. So, I decided to keep an eye on him. Soon, it became clear that his goals were in line with my own.

Some time later, Ringo came to me again, this time bearing news of an ancient prophecy. The 'Lunar Legend', had appeared. I wasn't sure whether to be terrified, or ecstatic. It seemed he had also formed some kind of bond with Griffin as well. I was not certain whether the time had come to make an alliance, so I decided to wait.

Still, on occasion, we were raided by bandits, which turned out to be a flock of starving griffins, simply trying to feed themselves, and their young. They were brave, fierce when fighting, but after their defeat, they lost their hearts and passion. They were terrified and wept. When I learned that the reason was because they thought their children to be doomed, I sent expeditions to find them. I had taken them in, under our care, but in return, the fighters had to swear loyalty to me. I made them drink the water from the well, which ran straight down to the river Acheron in the underworld. As for how I know this, it was Ringo who explained it to me.

You know of the magic the ponies wield, and how they say it comes from within. They are not wrong. The essence of magic is the soul. The river, down below, is the river of pain. Spirits linger there, trapped in it's water. They lose their sense of self, their consciousness, and all that remains is their anguish, their shattered hopes, their broken dreams, and their unfulfilled longing. To drink from the Acheron is to take their pain, and in doing so, they shall lend you their strength. Indeed, they would give anything to cease the torment, which is why you see the waters rush towards anything that bears the spark of life, threatening to drown it. Of course, we all possess power, but it is the ponies that have learned to use it, and have a far greater affinity.

When I asked Ringo how he knew all this, he just smiled and laughed. I came to learn that when he did that, the answer I sought was either right in front of my nose and I should find it myself, or I was not yet meant to know it.

The water had, for a long time, been used as a method of torture. It would break the spirits of the weak willed, and allow them to be moulded. It was through this that I came to learn of my gift. Ringo had already taken me in by that point, when I stepped out of place and insulted the alpha. He saw fit to use the well to break me, to turn me into his plaything, a pawn. He intended to make me a concubine for his son. He did not expect my mind to be strong enough to withstand the strain, nor did he expect the sudden surge to awaken my gift...

Having given the bandits a small dose, and informing them that more awaited them, and their children, should they ever betray me, lead them to become fanatically loyal. They lived their own lives, but when out on the battlefield, they became silent. They would not voice their fear, after all, they truly did fear conflict, and only did what they did out of necessity. They reigned in their emotions, so as not to let anger or terror cloud their actions, and instead trusted wholly the instructions of their riders. To them, obedience became life itself. The advent of the griffin rider led our clan to gain a great deal of influence in these lands. Other clans tried, but none knew the method we used, so when they attempted to ride the once proud race, they were thrown off to their deaths.

The use of well water largely fell out of use after I took the throne, other than use on bandits, which too became largely unnecessary, except in a few, extreme cases. After all, despite having the power it would give us, we had no method of controlling the outcome, that is, until Gold Trim came.

Only a few months ago, that swine arrived, offering us the knowledge of magic. We already had the power, but with his offer, we'd finally be able to control it. This power would let us rival the self styled Griffin Pirates, or the newfound Clan Nanashi. I could take his offer, become subject to his will, but finally have what I needed to unite the clans and end the ceaseless infighting, the cycle of misery. Had I known it was merely a matter of using gems for a purpose other than food, and a basic understanding of an ancient tongue, if I had known it was so simple... Unicorns make it happen just by simple desire, or, perhaps there's a poem they recite in their head, or perhaps even errant thought. Of course it had to be simple!

But no, not with Gold Trim. He didn't want to unite the clans, he was filled with selfish ambition. He wanted to rule. He wanted to amass wealth, to fulfill his crude desires, and I defiled myself to that end. Truly, how desperate was I? I had taken unpleasant deals that went against everything I believed in. I lowered myself to a moaning whore, just to gain an advantage. Was I truly fit to lead my clan anymore? They who trusted in me? Who brought them happiness? And Ringo... he stopped smiling. Well, he still smiles, just, not so often any more, not at me. When he looks at me, I usually can't see his face, and on the rare occasion he takes off that helmet, his eyes are full of sorrow. He raised me, and look what I've become...

"Fia, I have news." Ringo entered my chamber, and broke me from my reverie. "A message has arrived from Clan Nanashi." Curses, what could it be now? He passed me a sealed scroll. Unrolling it, I found the message was written hastily, with angry strokes, such that the ink had flowed in certain places more than intended, and the lines were harsh and thin.

My name is Eol. Consider this your only warning. Word has traveled to me that after a bout of fighting, you have captured Griffin's crew. Many have died, and more were executed, particularly the cats. I shall tell you this once, if the cat named Elsweyer lives, than you have nothing to fear from me or my clan. We shall arrive, remove her from that place, and leave just as we came, in peace. However, if she has died, do not try to hide, as I will find you, do not try to run, as I will follow you to hell itself, and do not try to talk, else I'll cut out your tongue. Under the Lunar Legend, I have grown immeasurably powerful, and I will use that power to grind your bones to dust with my bare paws. Your life is the same as hers, if she is dead, I will kill you. We are already coming.

I dropped the letter and glanced to Ringo, the fear unmistakeable in my eyes. I began breathing heavily, trying to retain control of my senses.

"SON OF A BITCH!" Ringo was startled by my outburst. "If things weren't bad enough with Griffin's escape, now I have to deal with the freaking Nanashi!

"Fia. Calm yourself."

"You're right, you're right... I just need to think. Okay, okay, so, they're on the far side of Gem Fido, if they left two days ago, it'd still be a week before they got here, traveling at top land speed. Thats fine. Yeah, in two days, I'll have Griffin back in custody, his crew will be gone, I can say 'I don't know, they're not here, I got your letter later' no shit, that won't work, they'll just track them down, find out, then come back, um.... GUARD!" A guard from outside my chamber came rushing in at my command, and gave a salute.

"Find out the names of the cats who died. Ask the crew members. I need to know what happened to the one known as 'Elsweyer'. Now go!" As he ran off to perform his duties, I kept thinking about all the variables. Okay, Griffin in two days, three days later, the clans arrive. Hmm... what if... wait... yes. Okay. I think that'll work. If she's alive, it's fine. If she's dead, I just have to postpone the execution. Wait for the clans to arrive, tell them whoever fights the fiercest against Nanasi when they attack gets the privilege of killing Griffin. Then I can still mop up whoever is left... unless we lose. Oh gods, what if we lose? I'll have to work triple time to get the clans that arrive up to date with magic, but that'll make them harder to wipe out afterwards. So, if I give it to them, I can't follow through with my plan, but if I don't, we're doomed anyways. Oh please oh please...

I paced around the room nervously. A lot was hinging on this. Damnit. Stupid fucking Gold Trim. I just had to let him have his fun. I figured I might be able to get a bit more use out of him, after all, I knew he was holding back some knowledge, he might have been useful, so I let him have his way, and because of that, now the entire plan is about to go up in smoke.

"M'lady!" The guard from earlier returned.

"Yes guard? What have you found?"

"The cat named Elsweyer is dead."

"...How?"

"It seems as though she poisoned herself."

"....When? Where? No... never mind. It doesn't matter. Thank you for your diligence."

"It is an honour to serve!" He proclaimed before running off happily, having been praised by his alpha.

"Well Ringo. I suppose this is it isn't it? I've gotten in over my head."

"Fia... come here my child." His voiced echoed out from within his armor. I climbed over and sat in his lap, leaning back against the curved steel suit as he wrapped his thick, armored arms around me. "For all these years, you asked me questions, and I would always look to you, smile, and laugh a hearty laugh. You were also such an inquisitive child. There were some things I had hoped you would never learn. Now, we can no longer afford the luxury of ignorance."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean that it's time for some answers."

Ringo lead me through the tunnels to a place that even I had never been. It was old and crumbling, and for the amount of effort it would take, and what it would give access to, it was deemed a low priority for restoration, and as such simply kept being put off. It was in some desolate corner of the old records room, through a crumbled hall. The titanic hound walked to the rubble and easily tossed chunks of it away, the centuries old stone crumbling as it collided with the floor. Once he had cleared the tunnel, he took a torch and guided me in.

On the walls were ancient carvings, filling every inch of the hall. What they depicted, I couldn't tell.

"This, Fia, is the history of this castle."

Taking a closer look, I found carving of griffins along the walls, bearing whips and chains, lashing dogs who dug in the ground. The next showed dogs carrying spears, being dropped from a great height. Finally, it showed a massive hound in an equally large suit of armor, having been run through by a multitude of spears, yet still hefting a very familiar club...

"Ringo... explain... I don't understand."

"In the far ancient times, before even the pony princesses, during the time of the three pony clans, when ancient fiends roamed the pony lands, the purple flood, the Demon King, the shadow thief, and witches, well known legends from ancient pony times, and were ancient pony problems, in our own lands, we had our own fair share of trouble. The ancient griffins were a simple people, and fell to a terrible greed. They became obsessed with precious metals and stones, anything that shone. The mere sight of a gem would make them starry eyed, like so many other birds. To that end, they came across the diamond dogs, and being incapable diggers themselves, forced our kind to do the digging."

"You mean... we were the slaves?"

"Correct." He motioned to the second carving. "Under such great oppression, we became clever, and cruel. We harbored such great anger, and created tools, spears and armor, such that the claws of the ancient griffins could not reach us. They had a terrible advantage, however, flight. They would merely lift us into the air, and drop us to our deaths. Yet, we became more clever still. We created nets that they could not shear through, and devised ways to rob them of their flight. In the end, we were victorious."

Ringo then motioned to the third carving.

"The leader of the rebellion, however, was not cruel, but kind. He was willing to forgive the oppressors for their sins, and to bring both their species into a new age of prosperity, he had high hopes for the future, and came with a promise of better things to come, but those under his command were not so forgiving. They still harboured great hatred of the griffins. They saw their leader's act of kindness as treacherous. There were whispers of corruption, that he'd sell his soldiers to the foe in return for personal gain, and so, they turned on him, impaling him on their spears."

"Ringo, that club and armor."

"Please, hush child... let me continue. So, it came to be that the diamond dogs, still brimming with rage even after liberating their own lands, set about laying siege to the griffin ones. The tides had turned, and now the griffins were the slaves. They could not dig, so they were forced to pull heavy carts until their breath left them, and then they were eaten, not through hunger, but to terrify the living. Such was the cruelty the diamond dogs had for their former oppressors, they could not see that they themselves had turned into the very thing they despised, and had suffered under for all those years."

"Ringo..."

"Eventually, the great armies arrived at the capitol of the griffin lands, and to their horror, they found that their former leader, who they had slain, walked among them. He pleaded with them to stop the senseless violence, and reasoned that it would only cause the cycle of violence and suffering to continue. His pleas fell on deaf ears. So, with a heavy heart, he took his weapon, and with terrifying strength, crushed his former comrades, weeping as he did so. And, no matter how much of his blood they spilled, and no matter how much of his flesh they carved, he did not die. So, the armies were driven from the griffin lands, which were established into a Dominion."

"But how did he come back to the land of the living?" I asked, curious.

"He had conversed with Hades, lord of the dead, in the underworld. Hades permitted him to return to the living world, but there was a restriction, he would have to dig himself out. A platform was built temporarily above the Acheron to let him start, and was demolished after. The reason for this was so that no other denizen of the underworld could escape and wreck havoc, as they'd have to enter the river to access the hole he dug, and no creature, alive or dead, would willingly toss themselves into the river of pain, as they would be drowned by the wretched spirits that reside within it, and languish for all eternity. The place he emerged was at a mountain, after which he met with the griffins, and helped them defeat the aggressors. For his actions, the griffins, with their own talons, instead of the claws of hounds, carved a castle out of the mountain, where he could live undisturbed for the rest of his days. The few survivors of the army he crushed lived with him there, until he grew weary, passed leadership to another, and slept for three thousand years."

"Slept? You mean he awoke after all that time?" Ringo wasn't making very much sense at this point.

"Indeed. Part of the reason Lord Hades did not want anyone from the land of the dead to depart it was that those who have already died cannot die again, except for in the flames of his own realm. Unless someone bearing the gift of the underworld were to immolate them, they would be immortal, though they would not degrade, neither would they regenerate, eventually withering to a skeleton should they sustain wounds, and even then, be unable to die."

With that, Ringo did something he had never done before. He reached around his side, and undid the clasp on his armor. He undid another, and another, until the heavy metal suit fell from his body, rather, what was left of it. What I gazed upon was not a healthy diamond dog, nor a withered old hound. It was a corpse. His body was riddled with wounds, belonging to various weapons. His abdomen was missing entirely, a gaping hole in it's place where half shredded intestines were barely held in by cracked and broken ribs. His right leg was naught but bone, while the left had chunks of flesh hanging from it, the calf muscles, instead of being attached at the hip, dangling down by his feet, and the shin muscle, while still attached at both ends, was distanced from the bone and hung loosely.

My mouth opened and closed in a poor mimicry of speech, as no sound came out. I continued to gaze at his form, burnt flesh adorning his chest, both his arms a shredded mass of muscle, tendon and ligament that I could no longer decipher what was what, and the base of his neck had the bones jutting out at odd angles, as though it had been twisted around and broken several times. Despite all this, there was no infection, no rot, or anything of the sort. He looked as though he were a fresh corpse.

"The hole he had dug, coming from the underworld, had been made into a well, and the castle he had resided in came to be known as 'Ancientwell' after it. It had been taken over by a cruel individual, but the ancient titan decided it was not his place, as a relic of the past, to interfere with the present. He waited, taking in a child who had the scent of Lord Hades, and trained her in the ancient ways. She eventually, at a young age, rose up and defeated the alpha, claiming the throne for herself, and declared she would bring prosperity to all her kind."

"Ringo...."

"Fia, you used to ask me how old I was. The answer is three thousand, one hundred and sixty years... eh, give or take a couple. I'm rather old, and can't quite remember the exact date."

I stood there for what felt like hours, hardly able to comprehend what I had been told, despite the proof I was bearing witness to. Ringo, the one who had taken me in off the street, who raised me as his own, who protected me, comforted me, guided me, loved me, had been dead for as long as I knew him. What's more, he was an ancient hero, who had done something so very similar to what I was doing now. After so long silent, I finally managed words.

"Why are you telling me this?"

"Because, my dear Fia, soon you will have to make a desperate decision. Even now, after all these millennium, many diamond dogs still bear the bitter hatred of griffins in their hearts, and the griffins now bear the same hatred of us. Yet, among them, there are some who have seen past their rage. Both griffins and dogs, who, had they been there three thousand years ago, would have heeded my words, and finally ended what I tried to bring an end to. It was my greatest failure, somewhere you may yet succeed. They are the ones in this den, the ones held in captivity, and the ones that the lunar legend now leads to us. And yet, all the same, you, Griffin, and Eol of Nanashi find yourselves on opposites. Eol for the death of his beloved, Griffin for having his loved ones taken from him, and you for trying to make a better world."

"But what can I do?"

"I hold no false hope." Ringo sighed, an oddity, as I could see his one remaining lung take in the gasp of air, the rest of it flowing out of the hole in his chest. "The clan leaders that are coming will settle for nothing less than Griffin's death. Their hatred of griffins has been taken onto him, and they will demand that he dies. If you do not allow this, you will suffer my fate, however, there are more ways than by the shedding of blood. When the time comes, execute him yourself by throwing him down the well. This will not kill him, but to all those present, he will have died. Then, bring death to the other clan leaders. Finally, pass the rule of Ancientwell to me, and cast yourself down the well also. When the Nanashi arrive, I will proclaim your death, and turn leadership to them."

"What happened to uniting the clans? To bringing prosperity to our kind?"

"While it wounds me to say it... you are not the one meant to lead our people to this. As much hope as I had for you, I was wrong. You lost the path along the way. And while I will always love you..." He shed a tear. "I must be honest in that you have brought shame to our clan. The instructions I have given are the only way for you to escape now."

"But then won't we land in the Acheron and drown?"

"The river is part of Hades' domain, and it will not bring harm to his descendants."

"So then I'll be fine, but what about Griffin?"

"He will survive, for he too bears the scent of the underworld. He will also lose his way, just as you have, and then you must be the one to put him back on the path. Show the world that our kinds can coexist. He's already shown it with the New Dominion, now you must show our people. Once you reach the shore, you must head to the castle. Now, all we can do is pray that he does not do anything foolish, and is willing to listen to reason."

Author's Notes:

Surprise! Ringo actually knows the secrets of the universe!

Also, since you're all in a gambling mood, who wants to place bets on whether or not Griffin will be reasonable?

Aslo, if you have any questions, feel free to post them in the comment section.