General Ghrast stalked back to his tent with his cloak billowing behind him. The weather this far in the north was terrible. He had been in cold environments before when he was in training, and when he and his father went hunting for young wyrms on the peaks of the mountains. But this... this was starting to wear on his already thin nerves.

“My general, the scouting party has returned,” his lieutenant stated while landing next to him. Ghrast returned the salute and nodded. “I’ll have them report to your tent right away.”

“No, I’ll go meet them in the airship, no need to drag them out into this Matriarch forsaken weather.” Ghrast replied through his grey neckwarmer.

Several thousand gryphons were camped near the cliff of a large glacier. Passing the northern mountains of their kingdom, they were far beyond their borders and even the farthest reaches of the Crystal Empire. The only thing known to exist this far north was seemingly endless ice fields and the tips of the great northern sea. Still, the priests insisted that something was up here and demanded they investigate. Ziraal commanded Ghrast take the majority of the army to face whatever threat lurked here. The priests were convinced the threat was genuine, and Ghrast had never seen so many of them shaken up, or witness them agree on any one thing.

“General Ghrast,” the scouting party saluted as he sat down at their table in the ship's mess hall.

“Welcome back, what have you got for me?” Ghrast asked, wanting to get to the bottom of this as quickly as possible.

“The only thing we saw was a blizzard and the northern lights as we came back,” one of the gryphons replied. “Theres nothing up here.”

Ghrast nodded and prepared to leave when he felt a claw clasp his shoulder, “General, sir, thats not all.”

“Not all?” Ghrast asked, “What else did you see?”

The gryphon commanding the scouting party set his mug down on the table a little too hard, causing each gryphon to look at him, including Ghrast. “Oh, this again? Pay no mind to Farkas, General Ghrast. He was just imagining things.”

Ghrast looked into the young scout’s eyes and registered fear, “What did you see, Farkas? Tell me everything.”

The young gryphon shifted uncomfortably under the gaze of his fellow soldiers, “It was only for a moment, but I saw what looked liked ruins of some sort.”

Ghrast’s eyes widened, “Where? What did they look like? Describe them.”

“It was just before we were about to head back,” Farkas replied, “As I was scanning the ice fields the snow and wind parted for a moment showing ruined towers and buildings. I saw a collapsed wall and what looked like spires that had fallen to the ground. They looked as though they belonged to large structures.”

“You saw all that?” Ghrast asked while tapping his right claw on the table, “None of you thought this was important enough to tell me?”

Farkas spoke up again, “I- I only saw it for a second, then it was gone. I tried to find it, I even tried to fly to where I thought I saw it, but found nothing.”

“I see, well I’m glad you decided to share this with me, we’ll see what’s really out there once this weather clears.” Ghrast said while getting up.

“General,” a voice called to him, this time it was from the commander, “Sir, there is something else. While we were there, some us heard something. It sounded like... voices.”

“Voices?”

“Yes, they were faint, probably just the wind. But, sir,” the gryphon stuttered while momentarily averting his gaze, “At one point we thought we saw...”

“Saw what?”

“Tracks in the snow...”

“Are you sure they weren’t yours?” Ghrast inquired, “Surely in this blizzard you could have wandered over a previous path.”

“No sir,” the commander replied.

“No?”

“They were hoofprints, sir.” the commander said with a worried look on his face.

Ghrast looked out into the still raging blizzard, “I see... well, finish your food and get some rest, you earned it. We’ll know more about this tomorrow.”

The gryphons saluted him as he stalked out of the airship and flew to his tent near the center of the encampment. His own ship was deployed nearby but he preferred to be near the rest of his soldiers when camped out like this.

Hoofprints, poines? What in Matriarch’s brood could they be doing out here? Could it be the crystal ponies  are out looking for the same thing we are? Princess Cadance must be craftier than father imagined.

As Ghrast touched down outside the tent he saluted the guards and made his way inside. Ghrast’s mind wandered to thoughts of home and his younger sister, Iris. She was growing so fast, and Kathe had already taught her much about defending herself with a blade. He made it a point to spend more time with her when he returned.

The general sat down at his desk and began to study the maps of the area when he noticed a shadow move behind him. Ghrast immediately jumped out of his chair and whirled around, blade in claw. What stood at on the other side of the planning table near the end of the tent, was a pony. The stallion was average in size and sported a white coat with a light pink mane. But there was something wrong about it, upon closer inspection the stallion wore deep age marks. Creases of various sizes stretched under his tired eyes. Also strange, there was a smell about the tent. Ghrast sniffed at the air, it was sweet, like honey or candy.

There was something odd at play here, the stallion didn’t seem to notice Ghrast yet. It was lazily looking around the tent seemingly intrigued by the most mundane details. As the stallion finally turned to Ghrast, he noticed a gold liquid escaping the stallion’s mouth. It had a slight glow to it and began to drip to the floor. The stallion’s mouth was stained by the liquid in several places. Despite the odd situation, Ghrast hesitated to call his guards. The pony was several times smaller than him, and was an earth pony at that, which meant no magic. No, he would get answers from this pony.

“You are in the command tent of a gryphon general. How you got in here without notice I don’t know, but you’re going to answer my questions if you value your life.”

The stallion paused before coughing lightly, “My life has little value... A... command tent... of a general? Is there a war?”

“No...” Ghrast answered, “Who are you? What is your name? Why are you here?”

The stallion seemed to look past Ghrast, then examined his own hooves. “My name? I- I don’t remember. Strange... I remember other things, but not my name... I’m sorry.”

Ghrast tightened his grip on his blade, “Why are you here?!” he asked with a snarl.

The pony examined him then coughed up more of the gold liquid, “I don’t recognize you... what are you? You said a ‘gryphon’? How long have your kind been here?”

Ghrast began to feel uneasy, why didn’t this pony know what a gryphon is? Furthermore, why doesn’t he feel threatened. Ghrast knew himself to be intimidating, but he seemed to have no effect on this stallion.

“Yes, I’m a gryphon. We’ve lived here on Equus as long as the ponies have. Are you from the Crystal Empire? Did Princess Cadance send you here to spy on us?”

For whatever reason, that question got the stallion’s attention. He ceased looking around the room and snapped his focus directly at Ghrast.

“Ah, that got your attention? So who do you serve?” Ghrast asked with a smirk.

“I serve our people and maintain the gift.” the stallion replied while hacking up more gold liquid.

“Who is your princess? Cadance? Celestia?”

“Our princess is no more.” the stallion replied. Ghrast saw a small smile flicker across the stallion’s face before vanishing. “There are pony kingdoms? Several of them? Ruled by alicorns, yes?” The stallion coughed up more gold liquid and began to advance around the table. “Then... they have yet to receive the gift, and still live under tyranny...” the stallion muttered, as if arriving at a foregone conclusion.

Ghrast backed up a few paces, he hadn’t noticed the stallion was slouching before. It now stood fully erect making it much more imposing, despite its small size. “You seem more talkative now... good,” Ghrast said, “Now we just need to get you talking about the things we want to know. I think some time in the brig will help with that.”

The stallion continued to advance as it now stood on the same side of the table as Ghrast. “You are a war leader with experience,” the stallion said, “You will be of use to us. We have need of a leader and emissary to spread the gift to our fellow ponies. Of course, we are generous. I offer you the gift as well, General.”  

Ghrast had heard enough, he stepped forward and hit the stallion hard in the face with the hilt of his sword. The stallion made no effort to move, and thus received the full force of the blow. It collapsed to the ground with a bloody gash in its forehead.

“I appreciate your generosity, but I think I’ll decline your gift. Guards!!” Ghrast yelled.

Within moments, two armored gryphons entered the tent, crossbows at the ready. “Sir, how did this pony get here?”

Ghrast smiled, “Never mind that, just take him to brig and lock him up.”

The guard nodded and stepped over to the collapsed stallion. Both guards grabbed his hooves but the stallion began to resist. In response, one of the guards reversed his crossbow and brought the butt down on the stallion’s head with a sharp crack.

The stallion blacked out, and the guards began to haul it away. Just as they were about to exit the tent, the stallion stirred and disappeared in flash of golden light. He reappeared next to Ghrast and touched a hoof to his shoulder, causing him to go limp and fall to the floor. The guards snapped their crossbows at the stallion and loosed their bolts, which deflected off a barrier and fell harmlessly to the ground. Each guard was seized in a magical field and levitated in front of the Stallion.

Ghrast watched in horror as a cracked horn materialized on the stallion’s head. “I remember now... thank you for that blow to head.” The stallion said while making a small bow. The gryphon who struck him convulsed in the air as his body bent in ways it was never meant to. The other guard followed suit and a few moments later both dropped to the floor never to move again.

The stallion approached Ghrast but halted and crouched to the floor coughing violently. More of the viscous gold liquid sprayed from its mouth as it turned away. Ghrast felt some strength returning to him as he reached for the desk and grabbed his blessed amulet. The Matriarch’s blessing flowed through him and restored all his strength allowing him to get to his feet and unsheath his sword.

The stallion ceased coughing and wiped away the gold liquid as he turned on Ghrast. “You’re able to move? How? Wait... it’s an object of some kind. Your sword? No... smaller, more powerful. Your ring? That amulet?”

Ghrast shouted for more guards, but ceased when the stallion sat on its haunches and laughed, causing more gold liquid to escape its mouth.

“They can’t hear you, General. But thanks to your guard’s blunt force attack, I’ve remembered my name,” the stallion said. “I am Seiros the Luminous.” Ghrast gripped his amulet tightly and looked for ways to escape the tent as the stallion continued. “Once Arch Curate of the everlasting light, but now only a glimmer remains. Still, it is a gift. A gift for all ponies, and I am more than willing to share it with your kind as well.”

Ghrast spat on the floor and raised his amulet, “Take your gift and shove it up your flank, pony.”

Seiros nodded solemnly, “I see, you react in such a way because you have yet to taste the light, to bask in its brilliance. Fear not, for even a glimmer can light the darkest darkness.”

Ghrast raised a claw to his eyes as the space inside the tent glowed brighter and brighter, until he was blinded by light.

---------------

As Aldus strode into his study he noticed strange clouds forming outside, they were pink... Rigel and Polaris said there were curious brown puddles on the ground as well. Very strange, Aldus didn’t know what to make of it until balloons and party poppers appeared out of thin air. Then he noticed he was wearing a party hat.

“Discord, you should really save these antics for when the children are around. I bet they’d love it.” Aldus said while scanning the room.

 “Don’t you love it?” came a voice near the bookshelf.

Aldus smiled and picked up a party blower from his desk and blew it a few times. “Who doesn’t love a good party and some crazy fun now and again?”

Suddenly a white flash appeared on a stack of Aldus’ books depositing a pint sized draconequus, “I know! That’s what I tried to tell Celestia and Luna one thousand years ago! And look what happened...”

“Stone for one thousand years,” Aldus said while he put a hoof to his cheek and sighed into the blower, making a lackluster sound. “Celestia doesn’t respond well to change... she wasn’t too keen on everlasting night, either.”

Discord smiled and teleported on top of Aldus’ head. He performed a handstand at the tip of his horn, “I see I’ll have somepony to talk to when Celestia inevitably gets on my nerves.”

“Oh, naturally. Come find me whenever you want to chat. But I thought you’ve been reformed, no more chaos and all that? Don’t you have to play nice with Celestia now?”

Discord let out a resigned grunt and snapped his fingers, appearing in front of the desk in his full form. “Yes... ‘reformed.’ They can think whatever they like, but chaos is what I am, Aldus. I’d have as much luck not being chaotic as you would have not scheming.” he said with a grin and raised eyebrow.

“Scheming!? Me!? Preposterous!” Aldus exclaimed while reaching across the desk for the bowl of cotton candy. He helped himself to a liberal amount and stuffed it in his mouth. “Scheming... hah,” Aldus said between chewing, “Don’t know what you’re talking about...”

“Where’s my book?” Discord asked, uncharacteristically straight to the point.

“Oh... “ Aldus said with a hiccup, “That scheming...” He swallowed his cotton candy and opened the drawer at the right of his desk. Aldus produced a large multicolored book bound by a lock on the front cover. “Here you are, just as I said.”

Discord took the book and inserted a talon into the lock until Aldus heard a click. He opened it and flipped through a few pages. “Everything seems to be in disorder,” he said with a smile, “Thank you for retrieving this, Aldus.”

“Never really figured you for a book spirit.” Aldus said while reclining in his chair, “What made you want to write a book?”

Discord snapped his fingers and reclined in his own chair, still styled as a throne, “You think I wrote that?” he asked, pressing a paw to his chest for effect before bursting into laughter. “No, young one. No...” he said wiping a tear from his eye. “No, the book of chaos was written by the scribe Autumn Leaf during my rule. She did an excellent job, but lost her mind in the process.” Discord said as he conjured a glass of chocolate milk for himself, “She was a lot more fun after that.”

“You know, Discord.” Aldus said as he leaned forward, “I’ve always wondered what you were like. As a child I used to study in the statuary garden quite a bit. A few times I even sat under your statue. I always wondered what it was like trapped in stone for such a long time. I even tried to talk to you a few times, but I doubt you remember.”

“Oh but I do.” Discord said with a smile, “Over the course of those years, many ponies came by to look at me and stare. They would always talk about me, but few ever talked to me. While most of the things you said were dreadfully boring, one thing was apparent. I knew you were the type of pony to go places.”

“Yep, straight into a soul separation prison for a thousand years, give or take.” Aldus said as he rolled his eyes, “But that means a lot, Discord. Thank you.”

“So you were imprisoned too, eh?” Discord mused, “Celestia really is no fun...” he said in a dangerous tone.

“No, she isn’t.” Aldus agreed. “Discord, I just wanted to let you know that I appreciated you listening back then, even if you didn’t have a choice. Whether you’re serious about making friends now is your business. But if you are, you could always consider me a friend.”

Discord laughed and threw the chocolate milk out an open window where it exploded on the lawn. “It would be quite the boon to have a spirit of chaos on your side, eh boy?”

“That isn’t what I meant,” Aldus said, “I-”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Discord snapped, “You can’t manipulate me. One snap of my fingers and I could turn this place, and you, inside out. But... I won’t. No need to worry.”

“Well, that’s good.” Aldus said.

“The children are out then?” Discord asked with a frown, “From what I’ve observed, they’ve had enough chaos in their lives recently. There is such a thing as overkill. But I think they could have some more fun in their lives.” The draconequus said with a wink, “I don’t like seeing sad ponies, especially children. I’ll do my best to make them a little happier. Consider it payment for retrieving my book.”

As Aldus and Discord were chatting, a portal opened in the wall and Selene walked through to find the draconequus staring at her with his mouth agape. “You... what are you doing here? You’ve returned?!”

“What are you talking about?” Selene asked, “Oh you must be Discord...?”

Discord arched an eyebrow and snaked out of the chair, “What? ‘I must be Discord?’ We’ve met before... wait... you don’t remember, do you?”

“Remember what?” Selene asked, now slightly irritated.

“You don’t remember! Hahaha!!!”

Selene looked at Aldus, who shrugged his shoulders.

“We met before? When? Where? What are you talking about?” Selene asked while she tapped a hoof impatiently.

“Oh you probably don’t even remember your real name! Ha! HAAA!!! This is fantastic! Why create chaos when the perfect storm is right here?! Oh no, I’m not telling. It’d spoil the fun. But I think its best to let things like this run their course anyway. And its not like there isn’t any chaos in the works already... I imagine your student and the little gryphon will have quite the story to tell when they get home,” he said with a wink to Aldus. “Thanks again for the book. Ta ta for now.” and with that, the draconequus vanished in a flash of bright light.

“What just happened?” Selene asked Aldus.

“I have no idea... but now I’m worried about the children.”

---------------

Frost trotted down the street with his saddlebags full of supplies as Ruby joined him from a corner shop. Aldus had agreed to teach Ruby some basic alchemy skills since she revealed an interest in cooking and potions. As they turned onto another street, Antares flew down to meet them with tears in her eyes.

“They’ve taken her! They’ve taken Iris!”

Frost and Ruby looked at each other while they calmed down Antares. “Who’s taken her? Where are they?”

Antares dried her eyes and let out a sniffle, “Other gryphons, five of them, they said they’re going to take her home. But Iris didn’t want to go.”

“Where is Black Star?” Frost asked, “He’s supposed to be protecting her.”

Antares shook her head, “He tried to stop them but the big gryphon, the one with a blue cloth around his shoulders, he attacked Black Star with some sort of lightning and knocked him out.”

“I’ll go try and help stop them,” Frost said as he raced off in their direction, “No gryphon is going to steal Iris away from us. Ruby, stay here with Antares and call the royal guard.”

Ruby nodded and consoled Antares, “They’ll be fine. C’mon, there is a guard post this way.”

--------------

“Stop squirming, brat.” the blue priest snarled. “If you keep this up you’ll end up tied in a bag for the rest of the trip home.”

Iris bit down hard on the arm of the gryphon restraining her. He screeched in pain and dropped her, but Iris was immediately grabbed by the priest who swiped a claw across her face. Torn feathers and blood trickled down her beak as tears escaped her eyes. “Thest can rot for all I care, he’s a murderer! Matriarch burn him alive!!!”

The priest’s eyes went wide as he brought a knee to Iris’ stomach, winding her. “How dare you speak ill of Lord Thest.”

“Hey, you! Fat ball of feathers!”

The priest looked up to find a blue unicorn galloping toward him. “Sir, the rest of the children are still here too.” a gryphon said.

The priest followed what his subordinate was gesturing at. Two of the gryphons were trying to scare off a blue earth filly and a blue pegasus filly with a silver earth colt at her side. “Get rid of these children!” the priest snapped.

“Let her go right now!” Frost shouted, “The royal guard are on their way!”

The confrontation was happening in an alley away from the main populated areas of the city. Still there were likely a few ponies around who wouldn’t take kindly to a fight. The royal guard would take time getting here though. The priest knew they had to leave now.

“We’re leaving, get Iris and lets go before their guard shows up.” the blue priest commanded as he handed Iris to another gryphon.

“Help me!” she wailed.

“Hey!” Andromeda shouted before charging a bolt of blue magic and unleashing it on the closest gryphon. It struck him in the backside and erupted into fire. He yelped and tried to put it out while another gryphon stepped forward and reached for something in his town clothes. He produced a small wooden device that quickly unfolded into a single handed crossbow. The gryphon aimed at Andromeda and fired.

“No!” Pyrite pushed Andromeda out of the way at the very last second and caught the bolt in his chest. The force sent him flying backward through a low broken window in a condemned building.

Frost and Blue Bell had no words... it happened so fast.

“NOOOO!!!!!”

It was difficult to tell which was louder, Iris or Andromeda but both foals wailed as the gryphon put away his weapon and rejoined the others. Andromeda disappeared inside building and Iris’ struggling was halted as the priest knocked her out. Blue Bell ran forward but Frost grabbed her tail with his magic.

“No, get out of here Blue Bell. Go for help, get anypony you can. I’m going to deal with them.”  Frost said through gritted teeth.

“What?! What can you do? You can’t take on five gryphons!” the blue filly exclaimed.

“No... but I’ve learned a few things from Aldus, and taught myself a few tricks too. I can stall them. But you have to leave. Get out of here! Go!”

Blue Bell nodded, “Be careful, Frosty.”

“Hey bird brain!” Frost shouted, “Think fast!!”

Mere seconds after turning around, an ice spike was lodged in the gryphon’s throat. An expression of surprise played across his face as red liquid gurgled in his mouth. Seconds after that, his eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground, dead.

All reservations Frost had about violence and taking a life were thrown out the window when he saw the bolt enter Pyrite’s chest. The priest stood staring at Frost with a mixed expression of awe and anger. One gryphon ran toward him with murderous intent, while another produced a crossbow of his own and loosed a bolt. Seeing it coming, Frost teleported away and reappeared under an awning. It had rained last night, so the awning hung low under the burden of a large amount of water. As the gryphon charged past it, Frost tugged the awning down with his magic and launched the water into the air.

Aldus had given him what amounted to a crash course in manipulating readily available resources for elemental magic. This was best used when a unicorn’s raw magical reserves were low or depleted. Aldus demonstrated with air particles used to form lightning and fire. He quickly discovered Frost’s affinity for water, and particularly ice. In just a few short hours, Frost had mastered slowing down particles in water to form them into solid shapes of ice, impressing Aldus.

Frost maneuvered the water in position then dropped it onto the gryphon, freezing it as he did so. In only a few moments the gryphon was frozen solid just a few paces from Frost. In a fit of anger Frost grabbed some bricks from a nearby scaffolding and hurled them at the frozen gryphon, shattering him into a hundred pieces.

The gryphon with the crossbow fired again and Frost teleported away, this time to the roof of the building on the left side of the alley. However, he failed to see that the priest had taken to the air and was now right on top of him. Claws wrapped around Frost’s neck as he was hurled into the ground with the weight of a fully grown gryphon on top of him. Frost wheezed in pain as the impact fractured some bone, but he didn’t have the energy to scream.

“You unicorns love your magic, don’t you?” The priest growled. He bent down to whisper in Frost’s ear, “Did you know I have magic too?”

Frost winced as the gryphon pressed his head to the ground and flashed a ring at him. The next moments were of excruciating pain as electricity surged through him. Frost whimpered as the gryphon picked him up with a single claw.

“What’s that?” the priest chuckled.

“I killed two of your companions... and I only just started learning magic.” Frost muttered as he coughed up blood, “You gryphons are pathetic.”

The priest threw Frost to the ground and unsheathed his sword, placing it at Frost’s neck. “Too bad you’ll not be learning any more magic, boy.”

A sound of metal banging against metal came from the building nearby. The priest stopped and looked at the condemned structure. Another clang, then another, and another. The sound became louder until the source revealed itself. A pony stepped out into the open and stared straight at the priest. It was about tall as the average mare, but the strangest thing was its appearance. The entire surface of the pony was armored in what appeared to be silver plates. But it was not like it was wearing a suit of armor, the plates looked as if they were part of the pony’s frame itself. As if the muscle sinew was exposed as solid silver metal. In small slits between the plates, a blue mesh could be seen as the pony moved. It’s face and head were protected by the plates except for it’s blue eyes, which were narrowed in a fierce slanted expression, not unlike a war helm. Two plates slid into place around its mouth covering it to create a tight V shape, giving the pony a more sleek dangerous appearance.

“Pyrite?” Frost muttered as the priest let him go and turned his full attention to the newcomer.

“What have we here?” the priest mused. “What’s that armor?”

“Leave Iris alone and get out of here, now. This is your only chance.” the silver pony said with a voice of steel. There was no doubt, the voice belonged to Pyrite, but he sounded different. Older, more experienced.

“I don’t think so,” the priest said with a laugh. “Kill him.” he commanded to his remaining gryphons.

The gryphon nearest Pyrite aimed his crossbow and fired. The steel bolt impacted Pyrite directly in the face and bounced away like a harmless twig.

“Hahaha!” Pyrite laughed under his protective mouth plates, “HAHAHAHA!!!”

As the gryphon reloaded Pyrite closed the distance between them with surprising speed. He brought an armored hoof to the gryphon’s midsection, shattering ribs and causing him to double over. With deft movement, Pyrite relieved the gryphon of his crossbow then pulled his head back with the free hoof. He jammed the crossbow into the gryphon’s mouth and squeezed the trigger. The bolt ejected from the gryphon’s head as Pyrite dropped the body at his hooves.

Enraged, the last gryphon charged Pyrite with sword in claw. He swung the blade in an arc to decapitate the silver pony. The blade broke in half as it impacted the armor protecting the colt’s neck. Pyrite grabbed the tunic at his shoulders and slammed his armored head into the gryphon’s face. Frost watched Pyrite continue to do it seven or eight times before the gryphon slumped to the ground, twitching.

The priest spat on the ground and snarled, “You will pay for your barbarism!”

Pyrite crouched low as the priest flapped his wings and lifted slightly off the ground in a charge. He brought his sword down on Pyrite’s head which snapped it in half, just like his companion’s. The gryphon cursed as he flapped his wings again and jumped backwards. When he landed Pyrite was on him, he slammed a hoof into the priest’s chest and prepared to strike another but stopped as the priest grabbed his head with a claw. Pyrite screamed and backed away, head steaming.

The priest panted and stood up. He extended the claw which had the shining ring, then retrieved and amulet from inside his tunic and blue sash. In a fluid motion the priest grabbed a lightning bolt from the air and hurled it at Pyrite, striking him square in the chest. Pyrite screamed in pain as he was thrown backwards. Frost couldn’t see any damage to the armor, but saw electricity skitter across Pyrite’s body as he fell to a knee.

The priest conjured another lightning bolt and raised it high in the air, “In the name of the Matriarch, die pony!”

Pyrite looked up as the bolt impacted him square in the face sending him tumbling backwards. “Pyrite... no...” Frost muttered as he tried to crawl toward his friend.

The priest conjured a third bolt and lifted off the ground, preparing to finish off his foe. Pyrite shakily got to his hooves and stared defiantly at the priest, then clutched his stomach. “No!” Pyrite yelled, “Stop!”

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the priest hurled the lightning bolt at Pyrite, only to have the earth colt deflect it away with a single hoof.

“How?” Frost murmured.

The priest shouted some gryphon curse and conjured yet another bolt, “Just die!”

“NO!” Pyrite shouted as the plates protecting his mouth opened and he threw up black liquid onto the ground. “Stop it! Stop it!” He fell over clutching his head with both forehooves, “AAAAHHHH!!!!”

Black liquid exploded from the slits in Pyrite’s armor and consumed him. The blue priest backed up a few paces and Frost managed to summon enough energy to teleport to Iris, who was still unconscious. He dragged her out of the way by a bunch of trash cans to hide.

Where Pyrite had fallen, there was now a bubbling black puddle of liquid. From its depths a claw reached out and scratched at the concrete. What emerged from the liquid was a large three headed black and blue gryphon. To Frost, it looked like a super gryphon. Of course, there was no such thing. But whatever this creature was, it had four wings, one pair under the regular pair, three heads, and three long writhing tails. The middle head stared at the priest with blue eyes and a neutral, pitying look. The two other heads wore different expressions, the left one held an image of pain and sorrow, while the right one smiled wickedly. Each had glowing green eyes that were all too familiar to Frost.

The priest backed up more and more until he was right in front of Frost, who witnessed the sheer terror displayed on his face. The priest gripped his amulet tightly and ripped it off his neck. “I- I don’t believe this ... It can’t be...” he stuttered as the three headed gryphon stalked toward him like a cat hunting a mouse. “M-matriarch preserve me, protect me...”

The gryphon lunged at the priest and swung it’s massive right claw in a brutal cleave, slicing off part of the priest’s tail as he jumped out of the way. He flew into the air and hurled three lightning bolts at the monster, who took all three hits with a grunt. The priest conjured another as the monster disappeared.  He screamed as the monster reappeared beside him and threw him to the ground. Frost heard bones snap as the priest landed, he guessed at least one his wings were broken. The monster landed by the dead gryphons and reared back as all three heads vomited a green liquid onto the bodies. Within moments, they began to move pick themselves up off the ground. As the priest saw his fallen comrades shambling toward him, the smiling gryphon head began to laugh sadistically.

The blue priest recovered as quickly as possible and pulled a dagger from his belt. With a cry of pain and perhaps horror, he fought his reanimated comrades, expending what little energy he had left. After he dispatched his comrades, he held out the amulet and formed a shield of light around himself. “You should be dead! You should be dead! Why are you here?! You killed her!!!”

“And her children,” all three heads spoke in unison, “And now you as well. Do you know how many of them met their end at these talons?” the monster asked as it raked a claw across the nearest building. “Die now in terror, and join your Matriarch in oblivion.”

Frost leaned against Iris and conjured what little magic he had left to form a field around the amulet, and snatch it away. As the shield of light disappeared, the priest looked at Frost, who sneered at him. “Goodbye, priest.”

“You bastar- ahh!!!” the priest yelled as he was tackled to the ground by the three headed gryphon. Frost looked away as the screaming continued, accompanied by the sound of rending flesh and snapping beaks.

When the sounds stopped Frost held Iris protectively as the three headed gryphon approached them. Each head bent down to examine Frost and Iris. To his credit, Frost did not shy away from their gaze. The middle head spoke and pointed to the amulet in Frost’s hoof. “Your intervention in taking that amulet from him was... appreciated.”

“Who are you?” Frost asked in almost a whisper, “What did you do with Pyrite?”

Each head retracted, this time the sorrowful one replied, “He is with us, he is safe.” The gryphon placed a claw to its chest. For a brief moment, Frost saw a small colt curled up inside the beast.

The three headed gryphon looked up as the sound of armored ponies approached. The smiling head leaned down to Frost and whispered, “Looks like the authorities are almost here, took them long enough. I think we should get out of here, sticking around to explain all this won’t be much fun.” It said with a wink.

The three headed gryphon gently picked up Frost and Iris in one claw, then retrieved Black Star in another. With a flap of its wings they lifted off into the sky. Frost knew they were flying back to the manor. He looked at Iris and rested his head against her breast. At least they were safe, for now. He succomed to the pain and shut his eyes.

------------

After what seemed like forever, Frost woke up to find Willow hovering over him, “Hey little guy, you’re finally awake.” she said in a sweet tone.

Frost struggled to sit up but was gently pushed back by Willow. “No, no. You’re pretty banged up, Frosty. Not the best idea to be moving around just yet.”

“What happened?” Frost wheezed, “Where is Iris and Pyrite? Ruby and the girls?”

“Shh shh,” Willow whispered as she planted a kiss on Frost’s forehead. “Iris is right over there, and Pyrite is down the hall with Ruby. The rest of the girls are with Polaris and the royal guard discussing what they saw.”

Frost found Iris laying on the bed next to him, asleep. He tried to get up again and pushed away Willow’s hoof, “I’m fine!” he snapped. “I want to see Iris!”

Willow recoiled and frowned at the blue unicorn. Frost instantly regretted the outburst, “I’m sorry, Willow. I didn’t mean to snap at you.”

“It’s fine, Frosty. I understand. Here, hold still.” Willow enveloped Frost in a magical field and gently placed him on her back. She trotted over to Iris and climbed onto the bed next to her, allowing Frost to be close.

One of the gryphon’s eyes opened, “Hi Frost, what happened? What happened to the gryphons? Pyrite! What happened to Pyrite?!” she screeched, remembering what happened.

“Pyrite is fine, the gryphons are dead...” Frost said as he lowered his head. “We killed them, Pyrite and I.”

Iris paused before she got up and hugged Frost around his neck. “Thank you,” she whispered before pressing her beak to his lips in a light kiss.

Frost closed his eyes as the rough edges closed around his mouth. He smiled as she pulled away. “They weren’t going to take you, Iris. You belong here now.”

“He’s awake?!” a voice shouted as the door to the room flew open revealing Aldus and Rigel. “Come with me Frost, we’re going to see Pyrite.”

Willow got up off the bed and trotted away with Frost and Aldus, leaving Iris alone with Rigel. He trotted over to her bedside and ran a hoof through her feathers. “You’re one tough kid, you know that Iris?”

“Thanks, Rigel,” Iris said with a smile, “Does Aldus know? Did you tell him?”

“He knows... But don’t worry, we’re going to take care of this.” he said with a wink, “You’ve never seen Aldus in action when it comes to politics, I’m sure he’s eager to have some words with the golden gryphons.”

Black Star jumped up onto the bed and sat down next to Iris. “I’m sorry,” he said, “I didn’t know the gryphon with the blue sash could use magic... I failed you.”

Iris placed a claw around Black Star and nuzzled him, “No you didn’t, and don’t think I don’t want you around anymore. You’re not getting away that easy.”

----------------

Aldus entered Selene’s room with Willow and Frost in toe. Selene sat on her haunches while she cradled Pyrite in her hooves. The young earth colt was still crying. Aldus took Frost from Willow and levitated him to sit next to Selene. He knelt down on all fours and whispered to Pyrite, “Hey buddy, Frost is here now.”

“Frost?” Pyrite whimpered. He turned away from Selene’s chest and looked down at the blue unicorn.”Is everypony alright?”

“We’re all fine, buddy. Thanks to you.”

Pyrite shook his head and squirmed in Selene’s hooves, wanting to get down. “No, not thanks to me. I killed those gryphons. Frost, Aldus, Selene, I killed them and ... I wanted to. What’s happening to me?!” He wailed, jumping down from Selene and running over to Frost and Ruby.

“Shh its okay,” Ruby cooed as she held her baby brother, “Nothing is happening to you. You’re still my little brother.”

“Frost, Pyrite... listen to me very carefully.” Aldus said in as a calm a way possible, “I want you to tell me what happened.”

“The gryphons tried to take Iris,” Frost began, “Antares found Ruby and I then told us what was happening. I told them to go find the royal guard while I went to try and stop them.”

“Then what?” Aldus asked.

“When I got there I told Blue Bell to get the guards as well. Black Star was knocked out and Iris was being taken away. Andromeda shot one of the gryphons with magic, which caused them to fire back at her with a crossbow. Pyrite knocked her out of the way and was struck by the bolt instead.”

Selene and Willow gasped while Aldus put a hoof to his mouth, “Go on.”

“I- I didn’t think after that, I used what you taught me about forming solid objects with ice and killed two of the gryphons. After that... Pyrite....”

“That’s when I came back.” Pyrite said with a sniffle.

Selene picked him up and planted a kiss on his forehead, “What did you do? What did Andromeda tell you?” she asked.

“Getting hit with that thing hurt, Selene. It hurt bad. Like a bunch of really bad bee stings. I started to get tired and everything got fuzzy. Andromeda said that she’d make it feel better if I just took her hoof. She told me to let go. I didn’t know what she meant, but the more I thought about something else the more the pain went away, so I closed my eyes. After that I woke up in the void, but I wasn’t alone, Andromeda was with me. She was bigger, all around me, she said that together we’d save our friends. Then she told me to open my eyes. I was different, bigger, stronger. I killed the two gryphon’s with her help and tried to kill the third, the one with the blue cloth. When I couldn’t, she said she would take control from there. She began to shut me away, to lock me up. It hurt. I told her to stop, but she wouldn’t listen. She said all I had to do was sit back and watch, that I’d be safe. I don’t remember much after that.”

“P-Pyrite?” a whimpering voice came from the door. Andromeda opened the door and stepped inside. Her eyes were puffy and red while her cheeks were stained with tears. She shook uncontrollably and shied away from everypony glaring at her. “I’m sorry, Pyrite.” she sobbed, “I- didn’t, I didn’t mean to do that. I don’t know what happened. You shoved me out of the way from that crossbow and I- I didn’t know what else to do.”

Selene stroked Pyrite’s mane then looked at the blue filly, “Come over here, Andromeda.” She said in a calm voice.

Andromeda obeyed and sat next to Frost. “I don’t know what happened, Mommy. I- I really wanted to hurt those gryphons, hurt them bad.”

“So did I,” Frost spoke up. “Aldus, I don’t think I regret what I did. They hurt Iris and tried to kill Pyrite.”

Aldus moved over to sit beside his apprentice. He put a hoof around the colt and leaned down to him, “You protected your friends. This is why I’m teaching you magic, Frost. I don’t want you to regret what you did. What would have happened if you didn’t? Would we be having this conversation now?”

“No, master.” Frost said and bowed his head.

Aldus rubbed his shoulder and picked his chin up with a hoof, “You reached your limit though, didn’t you? Don’t worry, theres ways of dealing with that. We’ll take care of it.” he said with a reassuring wink. Frost grinned and hugged his master.

Pyrite whispered something to Selene and she let him down. He walked over to Andromeda and spread his hooves for a hug. “I don’t know what happened, but I’m pretty sure you saved me. I forgive you, Andromeda. I still love you, I know you didn’t want to hurt me.”

Andromeda burst into tears and took Pyrite in a death grip, “I love you too sweetie pie! I love you too! So much!” she cried buckets into Pyrite’s fur and showed no signs of stopping until Aldus touched Pyrite on the shoulder.

“Hey buddy, how about we go see Princess Luna, would you like to talk to her?”

Pyrite smiled and quickly nodded his head, “I’d like that.”

“Good,” Aldus said, “You’re coming too, Frost.”

“Sure,” Frost replied as Willow picked him up and placed him on her back. “Everypony else stay here until we get back, we won’t be long.”

-------------

Well into the night, the throne room was ordered vacate as Aldus stood behind Frost and Pyrite. A small order of food and drink was provided as they reviewed the events with Princess Luna.

Pyrite frowned and trotted up to the throne. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”

Princess Luna smiled an levitated Pyrite in front of her, “No, sweetheart. You’re not in trouble. The royal guard are investigating the matter as we speak. So far, your story matches up with what they’ve found. You and Frost acted in self defense, there is no crime against that.” Luna turned to Aldus, “As for the blue priest, there was almost nothing left of his body. Frost and Pyrite couldn’t have done that...”

“It’s under control...” Aldus reassured the princess.

“I see,” Luna said with a raised eyebrow. “You have nothing to worry about Pyrite, you’re going to be just fine.” she said while planting a kiss on his cheek. “But I think I’d like a moment to chat with Aldus alone, I’ll see you foals later.”

Willow trotted up to collect the foals and left the room, leaving Aldus and Luna alone together.

“I want answers, Aldus.” Luna snapped, “And I want them now.”

“The gryphon they were after was the runaway we collected from Manehatten. She was with Pyrite and the rest when we found them. Rigel recently discovered she is the daughter of King Ziraal of the Grey Wing gryphons.”

“What?” Luna asked, clearly in disbelief.

“It gets better,” Aldus continued, “Apparently she fled the kingdom after one of her father’s vassal lords staged a coup. A rival kingdom, The Golden Nest, now has control of her lands. Apparently, they want her back.”

“What of Ziraal?” Luna asked.

Aldus sighed, “There’s no way to know for sure, but it doesn’t sound good. He’s likely dead. By the sound of things, I don’t think it would be wise to send her back.”

Luna nodded, “I refuse to put her life in danger, and I’ve been informed that those gryphons were dressed as regular town and city folk. Their weapons were concealed. There are likely more around searching for Iris. I don’t think it’s safe for the children to be here right now.”

“What are you suggesting?” Aldus asked.

“They could have followed you back to the manor. I suggest leaving for the Silver Isles... tonight.”

“That’s a good decision, I think.” Aldus agreed, “The wedding of Desalia’s daughter is still a few weeks out, but I’m sure they can find something to while they wait.”

“You’re going too, Aldus.” Princess Luna commanded. “I’ll have a ship be readied to leave at once. It’s not wise to use the royal airship this time. The gryphons may be watching.”

“Princess, what about Thest and the Golden Nest gryphons? I’ll find out everything there is to know if you send me to speak with them.”

“No, Aldus.” This is political upheaval and a possible change in leadership in one of the more powerful non-pony kingdoms on Equus. Celestia and I agree this is a matter that requires our direct involvement.”  

Aldus paused before bowing, “As you say, Luna. I’ll get the children to start packing.”

--------------

At the manor, Iris was packing some things with the help of Black Star when Aldus appeared in her room. He sat next to Rigel and nodded. Rigel motioned her to come forward and sat her in his lap. “Iris... I want you to tell us about this Lord Thest.”