The journey through the San Palomino desert was boring and uneventful. Not that that was a problem; the more uneventful the journey leading up to finding Blazer, the safer they were.

When they arrived at the border, the Recon unicorn pointed out a path for them to follow and then started back home. They had taken a couple of days to make the journey, and he seemed eager to get back to his family. It almost had a sense of irony to it, but no one was paying enough attention to possibly notice it.

The group stood before the path silently. There was no turning back now; the only way they would get home was to get the job done and then head home either through Fancy calling in his airship or by going home legally, which would have all kinds of hurdles. They just had to hope that his airship would eventually be able to sneak past the border patrols of both nations.

“So. Here we are,” Ryan said, looking forward contemplatively.

“Indeed we are,” Fancy said.

Soarin’ flapped his wings and jumped into the air. “Ryan, I’m gonna-”

“Harkness,” Ryan replied. “I’m Harkness here. You’re Osprey, Mac is Whopper, and Fancy is Gatsby. Try to remember; the last thing we need is for the bad guys to follow us home.”

“Right,” Soarin’ said with a sheepish smile. “So, uh, I guess I’ll head up into the sky and watch for any movements ahead of you guys.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Ryan replied.

Soarin’ nodded. “I’ll stay in touch.” He keyed his mic to make sure it worked on his way up and flew high into the sky, well beyond the visual range of either the stallions or man.

Ryan shrugged his pack on his back. “Let’s ge tmoving,” he said. He started forward into the valley, followed by the two earth-bound stallions walking alongside him.

They started on their way along the barely-existent path with heavy hooves and trodden feet. It was a steep slope, being on the side of the first mountain of an entire region of them, and they had to carefully watch their steps as they went. Dirt and rocks shifted constantly underneath them, threatening to throw them off balance, and every time a rock rolled away, it sounded like an avalanche to them. No one wanted to make too much noise, as the consequences could be catastrophic.

At the top of the path, far from being the top of the mountain, they took in the landscape before them. Ryan had been expecting a massive valley, bordered by craggily mountains and deathly falls. Instead, there were only clouds over the valley, blocking it and anything in it from view.

Ryan keyed his mic. “Osprey, you there?”

“Yeah, I got you,” Soarin’ replied.

“It looks like we’re going into the Wetlands, lots of cloud cover,” Ryan explained. “We’ll stay above the cloudline as much as we can, but if we dip below, you’ll have to come down and join us if we want to stick together. Try to stay in the clouds if you can, without moving any of them.”

“Got it,” Soarin said. He kept his watchful eye on the group and the area around them, ready to swoop down and save the day if need be.

Ryan put his hand in his cloak and felt for his pistol. He had two magazines, only fourteen shots, so he would have to use it sparingly, if at all. Even so, he kept it loosely in its holster so he could rip it out if any enemies came by. On his lower back, he had put the obsidian knife Rarity gave him, though he would rather have out it elsewhere. He couldn't risk being an armed foreigner here, though, so it all had to remain as hidden as possible.

Ryan wasn’t sure where exactly they would go. He wasn’t even sure if they would end up going into any major cities. He had done his research and found that the faction they were looking for liked to hang out in the Wetlands and the tribal region to the east. The caves were well-liked by this group in the Wetlands, though, so the search would mostly be here. It had some convenience to it, but given the enormous size of the region and the unknown number of caves, it was hardly convenient at all.

The group started into the valley with watchful eyes. They wanted to avoid going below the cloudline, as it would be substantially harder for them to spot enemies and get any heads up on them down there. Up here, even if it was hard to hide, they would at least see enemy gryphons coming.

“R- Harkness, Ah’ve got a question,” Mac said as he stepped carefully on the mountainside.

“Yeah?” Ryan replied.

“Where did ya get these names for us?” Mac asked.

“An Osprey is a bird, so up there is Osprey” Ryan explained, trying his best to avoid real names. “It makes sense. He’s Gatsby, for reasons involving finances, but you guys wouldn’t get the reference. And you’re Whopper because of another cultural reference back home.”

“So each name is based off of something you knew about from yer home?” Mac asked.

Ryan nodded. “That’s right. These gryphons can’t possibly go to my home, so they’re good references to use. And if they did, even if they brought a small army, a small police force could probably take them without trouble, so the people would be safe.”

“Makes sense to me,” Fancy said.

Mac harrumphed. “Ah still don’t understand Whopper,” he said >Ryan and Fancy chuckled and the group kept on walking.

The paths along the mountainside were treacherous and difficult to navigate. The guys had to take their time in traversing the mountainside, staying certain to keep their footing and avoid falling over. It took several hours for them to navigate this first section of mountain, all the while staying on the lookout for enemy patrols or legitimate government patrols. No one was on their side here, but the number of gryphons they could fight was not the same as the number of ones they had to avoid.

After a time, they were able to get off the side of the mountain and onto a decently beaten path. It wasn’t even, rather torn up by gryphon claws, but it was something. They were just above the cloudline now, where they could feel the moisture from the rain and the static from the occasional bout of lightning.

“Osprey, we’re on a path. Any idea which way to start going?” Ryan asked.

“Not sure, Harkness, but I-” Soarin’ paused for a second. “Wait, no, whatever you do, do not go West! You’ve got a group of gryphons, five strong, armed and armored. Suggest you guys climb up the side of the mountain to stay hidden.”

Ryan looked west. “How far are they?” he asked.

“They’re about a thousand meters back, walking, but if they start flying, you’re screwed,” Soarin replied. “Sooner is safer, get moving.”

“Got it,” Ryan said. He turned to Mac and Fancy. “Guys, get your climbing hooves on, we’ve gotta scale this little mountainside.” Ryan pointed at the slope behind him. “Gryphons coming this way.”

The stallions looked up. “Well, what’re we waiting for?” Fancy asked.

They all ran to the slope and started making their ways up. Ryan had the easiest time, since his body was more built for climbing than those of the stallions, and helped them to get up whenever he could. All the while, Soarin’ was counting down the distance that the gryphons were from them, effectively acting as a timer for whether or not they would get far enough.

When they were only a hundred meters out, the guys stopped moving and sat completely still, pressing against the slope and remaining as small as possible behind some rocks. They were only about thirty feet from the path, and when the gryphons finally passed, they could hear them talking.

“So, what are your plans tonight?” one asked.

questioned one clicked his tongue. “I got screwed, my friend,” he said. “I get to pull prisoner duty tonight. Some old dude from the war or something.”

“That’s unfortunate,” another one said. “That war ended a long time ago. If he is still fighting, then he should just be eliminated for the safety of us all.”

“No don’t be saying that, he could still be useful...”

Ryan tried to listen, but the gryphons left earshot too soon and he couldn’t make out the rest of their conversation. They were clearly talking about someone they had captured some time ago, during the war between the gryphons and Equestria, but who it was was questionable. It could be Blazer; or, it could be legitimate government patrol gryphons, talking about another gryphon they had in prison.

“You guys catch that?” Ryan asked. He raised his head to watch the gryphons go.

“Yes, I did,” Fancy replied.

“Me, too,” Mac said.

Ryan keyed his mic. “Osprey, can you follow those gryphons, see where they go?”

“I can,” Soarin’ said.

“Do it, they might lead us somewhere good,” Ryan said.

Soarin’ replied in the affirmative and tailed the gryphons while the guys made their way back to the path. Ryan wanted it done quickly, so they all slid down the side, sending rocks and dirt flying in the air as they went. At the path, Ryan did a quick scan of the area and a check of himself to make sure he didn’t lose anything he was carrying.

“Let’s get moving guys,” he said. “Osprey, which way to follow?”

“Go east, Harkness, and stick to the path. I’ll tell you if anything pops up,” Soarin’ said.

“Got it,” Ryan replied.

Ryan led Fancy and Mac along the path in the direction that the gryphons were heading in the hope that it would lead them to one of those cave cities or cave complexes he had read about. If it was an enemy held cave, they wouldn’t be able to enter; that would be suicide; but if it was a city, they could at least find a place to stay for the night and gather information regarding the gryphons they were looking for.

They kept on walking, at a speedy pace, trying to catch up a little to the gryphons. Soarin’ had eyes on them, but if for any reason Soarin’ were to lose his sight of them, he would have to come down and join the guys so they could follow together on foot.

Ryan heard a mic key. “Harkness, Osprey, they just went underneath the clouds. Los sight of them.”

“Shit,” Ryan said. “Alright, get us to where they entered the cloudline and come down and join us there.”

“Got it,” Soarin’ said.

The guys picked up their pace and ran down the path. In the distance, they could just see where the path started to dip below the clouds. The clouds were black and ominous, occasionally sending a flash of lightning into the sky as if to warn them to stay out. The warning went unheeded, though, as the group came back together before the end of the path above the clouds.

Ryan, being the slowest runner, was winded by the time they reached the clouds and had to take a moment to catch his breath before continuing forward. The guys waited patiently for him, none too eager to head into the dangers that lay ahead. When Soarin’ landed by them, he looked cautiously to the clouds.

“it’s gonna be rainy down there,” he warned. “I won’t be able to fly much. Even if I stay in the clouds, it won’t be easy.”

“Then you should stick with us,” Ryan said. “It’ll be dark, too, so perhaps planning for you to fly in the clouds wasn’t the best idea. We’ll stay together, walk single file. Hang onto each others’ tails, and whoever is behind me, the hem of my pants.”

The guys all exchanged a look. “Harkness,” Fancy said. “There’s a little something about that...” Ryan waited for the answer. “Generally, only special someponies are supposed to nip at or bite tails...”

“I don’t give a damn about that stuff right now, and neither should you,” Ryan said. “We will do what we have to in order to be safe and stay alive. Unless you guys don’t want to return to your special someponies...” Ryan glanced around at the now guilty-looking stallions. “I thought so. Now get in a line and follow me.”

Ryan took the lead, followed by Mac, then Fancy, then Soarin’. The lightest ones took the outer areas because they would be the least likely to drag someone else down or the whole group if they fell. Soarin’ would be able to do a little something with his wings to keep from falling, but Ryan would just have to hope Mac had a strong jaw.

They advanced into the clouds and were instantly assaulted with extreme moisture and cold. Their clothes and exposed fur quickly grew wet before they were even all the way out of the cloud, and the frigid mountain air was only multiplied by the water. When they did get to the other side of the cloud, it was pouring rain, and the clouds must have had some sort of magic to them, because only then did it become deafeningly loud.

They could hardly see through the rain, but thanks to the hood on Ryan’s cloak, he could at least make out details on the ground in front of him. The path was mostly stone and rocks, now, with all the dirt washed away by the rain. Over the thousands of years, the rocks and paths under the cloudline had been smoothed out by the constant rainfall, making for a clear picture of just how deadly the area was.

Ryan led his friends down the path slowly, like a snail on a twig hanging precariously from a tree branch. One misstep, and Ryan could slip and fall down the smooth mountainside. It offered him no chances to grab at something to stop himself, nor any way to slow his descent with his feet. To fall here was certain death, as there was no way anything could stop him.

The group moved along the path for a time, with Ryan trying to see ahead for any gryphons or any sign of life and the others just trying to keep their footing. The rain pounded at their bodies in massive drops, beating them like a massage pony using a hammer made of ice. It was a miserable place to be, ad no doubt even harder to live in.

“Do you see anything?!” Fancy yelled over the rain.

Ryan looked as far ahead as he could. “No!” he shouted. “It’s too dark! I can’t see more than twenty feet up!”

“This may help!” Fancy yelled.

Fancy Pants leaned sideways and shot a light forth from his horn, illuminating the area before them. With the new source of light, Ryan was able to see a good fifty feet up, maybe more. Nothing was clear, it couldn’t be with all the rain, but at least he could make out shapes.

“Nice, Gatsby!” Ryan shouted.

With the new light and the ability to see far ahead, they continued on forward. As they went, the sloped mountainside next to them started to get steeped, until it finally turned into a vertical wall of nearly polished granite mountainside with the occasional random gem here and there.

“I’m no gemologist, but I don’t think gems are generally located inside granite,” Ryan thought. Learn something new every day.

The wall went on for a while, but at one point, Ryan noticed a black spot on the wall, and of a good size. As he and the guys got closer to it, he realized that it wasn’t a spot on the wall, but a hole in it. The light from Fancy’s magic poured into the hole. Ryan slowed to s stop and turned to face the group.

“Gatsby, turn out the light,” Ryan said as quietly as possible in the rain. A moment later, the light was out.

“What is it?” Mac asked through his teeth on Ryan’s pants.

“I think I found a place for us to rest,” Ryan said, pointing forward. “There. Let’s go.”

Ryan made his way to the hole in the wall with his friends just behind him. He was in a mild state of euphoria about finding a way out of the pounding rain, as were the guys. Without the light, Ryan had to feel along the wall until he felt the wall disappear and turn into a hole. The rock was smooth, like it had been polished, and felt cold to the touch.

When they reached the hole, Ryan ducked in immediately and started to shake his cloak off. Behind him, the guys came in and started shaking themselves off as well, sending water flying all over the place and onto each other. After a few minutes of that, everyone was as dry as they would get, so they circled up in the middle of the new zone.

“So, what is this?” Soarin’ asked. “The start of a cave system?”

Ryan looked behind himself into the hole. It was a long tunnel they were in, one that was long enough that they couldn’t quite see the end. Fancy cast a light spell and sent a ball of light down the tunnel. The guys watched quietly as it went, waiting for it to stop. Eventually, it did stop but it was a good three hundred or so feet in before it finally stopped.

Mac whistled. “Ah don’t think this is just a cave,” he said.

“No kidding,” Soarin’ said.

Ryan stood. “If this is more than a cave, then it is exactly where we need to be. It’s a good bet that those gryphons from before came in here, and they’re probably in whatever room is at the end of this cave.”

“What if they aren’t friendly?” Fancy asked. “It wouldn’t be wise to attack them in their own lair.”

“And we won’t, if it is a lair,” Ryan said. “We go to the end of the tunnel, see what we see. If they look bad, we leave or wait until it’s safe to go in. If not, and it’s one of those cities, we go in and search for clues to find Blazer. Sounds good?” Everyone nodded. “Then let’s get moving.”

Fancy cast a new light spell from his horn to illuminate the area immediately around them and they started walking down the tunnel. The group moved as quietly as it could, though that wasn’t very quiet, seeing as they were dripping wet and three of them had to walk with hooves on stone. Ryan had his hand behind his back the whole way, ready to pull his knife. He didn’t want to use a gun in such a confined space because it could easily deafen him and his friends.

When they arrived at the end of the tunnel, they found themselves in front of a very large door. The door wasn’t a regular door, it was a sliding door, made of what was probably five inch thick steel. No one could bust that open without high explosives, which would be grossly unsafe in the tunnel anyway. To the right of the door, there was a metallic rectangle sticking out of the wall with a button in the middle. With a hard gulp, Ryan steeled himself and pressed the button.

A speaker crackled to life. “This is Kasteel city. Who is out there?”

Ryan pressed and held the button. “We are travellers, from Equestria! We’re going around the world exploring! Please, let us in!”

Ryan stepped back from the speaker and waited. “Alright,” the voice finally said. “Step back from the door.”

Everyone took a step back from the door and watched in awe as it began to open. Slowly, it slid to the left, revealing behind it a good-sized cavern with small buildings here and there and large sections cut out of the walls. In those sections sat at least two gryphons, armed with crossbows and armored with steel plates, sitting and watching. On the ground, the gryphons carried swords and lances, and watched intently as the human and stallions entered their city.

When the group walked in, they stopped at spear point and told not to move while the commander came. They obeyed without question and remained almost motionless. While they waited, Ryan looked at the individual guards before him. They all wore war paint, though each one was different. Some had stripes on their faces, others had colored wingtips. They all looked extremely aggressive and ready to stab the possible intruders if they so such as sneezed.

Eventually, the commander arrived, though he took his sweet time. His war paint was very unique; it covered his entire face and extended along to his claws, which were painted red. He carried a blade as well as a spear, and was only armored on his torso.

“Well, I never expected to see something like this,” he said, seemingly unhappy.

“Equestrians, adventuring into gryphon territory?” Ryan answered.

The gryphon grunted. “That, yes, but you... Who are you? I have never seen you or someone like you before.”

“I’m Harkness, a human,” Ryan answered. “I come from very, very far away. Found myself in Equestria, made some friends. They-” Ryan pointed at the stallions- “are Whopper, Osprey, and Gatsby. Now they come with me on adventures.”

The commander grunted again. “That makes as much sense as it can,” he said. “But you see, I still have a problem. I have never faced an issue like this. I don’t know if I can trust you, or your friends, so I am torn as to whether or not to let you into my city.”

Ryan lowered his cloak hood to reveal his head. “Sir, I can assure you, we would be totally obliterated if we were to try to cause trouble with your city guard. Nothing to fear from us.”

The commander looked with squinted eyes at Ryan and stepped toward him. he stepped right up to Ryan and stared him right in the eyes. Ryan never moved, only stared back as softly as he could. He could see that the commander was trying to decide on multiple options. Let them in, but watch them. Let them in, who cares? Send them away. Or kill them so they aren’t a risk any more.

He stepped back. “Very well,” he said. Ryan took in a deep breath and let it out slowly. “You may enter my city. But be warned; any trouble, and you will be removed from here.”

“Understood,” Ryan said.

With that, the commander turned around and walked away, and the rest of the guard went back to their posts. Ryan looked to his friends, who all let out enormous sighs of relief, and got their attention.

“I guess that we’re good to go,” Ryan said.

The group started into the city with small steps and feelings of being watched by hawks. Possibly literally. Everyone around them, from the very start, was staring at them, some curious, others distastefully. There was a clear feeling of distrust towards those from outside the city, or maybe just non-gryphons. Given the number of battles Ryan read about here between Equestrian forces and gryphons, it was a safe bet that the wouldn’t be the biggest fans of ponies here. The sooner they finished up here, the better.

The group went a ways into the city, then decided that they would need to find a place to stay before they kept on going. It was growing late, and they would want to be rested for this mission. Any rest they could get would be a blessing.

“Before we find a place to sleep, Ah suggest we find some food,” Mac said.

Ryan felt his stomach growl at the mention of food. “Ya’ know, that sounds like a fantastic plan,” he said.

The group scoured the city for a place to eat. Nothing was labeled anywhere, not even named. Gryphons went into buildings and came out of them with whatever they went to them for and simply knew which was which. Few of the buildings in the main cavern of the city they were in had windows, seeing as they were pointless inside a cave. When the guys didn’t find anything in the main cavern, they went off into a side tunnel to check out what might be there.

The side tunnel they went in had restaurants, but most of them wouldn’t serve them. No one trusted the stallions, and they were extremely trepidatious of Ryan. Half the time, they weren't even through a door before they were sent off. A few gryphons tried to pick fights, but the guys simply left to avoid causing trouble and being thrown out of the city.

Their salvation came in the form of a small, hidden away, one story building in a dark corner of the tunnel. The guys didn’t like it, but given how hungry they were and the lack of food on them, they had no choice. When they entered, they were hastily shown to some seats and given menus.

Ryan picked his up and read through it. “Uh, guys,” he said. “I don’t think this menu caters to you very well.”

“Not really,” Soarin’ said with a look of distaste. The menu was mostly meats and fish, “caught locally”.

“Well, they have something else,” Fancy pointed out. “They have a small assortment of breads and greens that we can eat, chaps. We can survive off that.”

Ryan nodded. “You’ll have to, by the looks of it,” he said. “But tasty food isn’t really a big issue for us. If it’s edible, eat it.”

“Amen to that,” Mac said.

A waitress gryphon came over to them. “Would you like to order?” she asked worriedly.

“Certainly, fair lady,” Fancy said. She beamed at the news and quickly pulled out her little notepad. From the way she was acting, Ryan suspected that this restaurant was struggling, and pretty badly.

The guys placed their orders and the waitress left them at their table toward the side of the room. There were only a few other patrons in the restaurant, either ignoring the guys entirely or watching them with contempt. Ryan kept a close eye on the more angry-looking ones while the stallions just tried to ignore it and tried to look like it didn’t matter.

One of the pairs that Ryan was watching shifted, catching his full attention. They stood from their chairs and started walking toward the door, but then changed directions and moved toward the guys. Ryan knocked the table with his knuckles to warn the stallions, a warning that they all received instantly, and everyone got ready for a fight.

“Yo, equines,” one of the gryphons said. He was a tall guy, with long talons and a protruding beak.

No one responded. “Hey!” the other, smaller one said. “We’re talking to you!”

“We know that,” Ryan said.

“When someone talks to you, it’s considered polite to talk back,” Long Talon said.

“Why emphasize the ‘one’ in that statement?” Ryan asked. “Just curious.”

Long Talon huffed. “Because I don’t think that we should be changing our vocabulary just to cater to some fucking ponies, that’s why,” he said.

Ryan sat back in his chair. “Look, we don’t want trouble. All we want is a bite to eat, then we’ll be going.”

“You’ll be going, alright,” the small one said. “But you’re going hungry tonight. Pack your shit and leave.”

“Well, I don’t think that sounds like such a great idea,” Ryan replied. “We still need to pay, and if they prepare the food and it doesn’t get eaten, that’s a major loss for them.”

“In case you didn’t notice,” Long Talon said, leaning in and narrowing his eyes. “We don’t give a damn. This is our city, our hangout. We don’t want your filthy money here.”

Fancy chimed in. “Please, fellows, let’s not be-”

“Stuff it, horse!” Long Talon said. Fancy closed his mouth and furrowed his brow.

“Hey,” Ryan said, standing. “Don’t you talk to my buddies that way.”

Long Talon and the smaller one glared daggers at Ryan. “Or what?” the smaller one asked.

“I’ll be forced to change my order from salmon to fried chicken,” Ryan growled.

The gryphons stepped forward. “You better have a good knife, ‘cuz this meat ain’t gonna cut too easy,” Long Talon said.

“Oh, I don’t need a knife,” Ryan said. “I’ll toss you into the fryer as you are and rip into you with my bare teeth. With a little plucking, those feathers will prove excellent toothpicks.”

“You wanna go?” Long Talon asked.

“I couldn’t care less one way or the other,” Ryan answered. “Do you?”

Long Talon didn’t respond with words, opting instead to lunge forward and go for the grab on Ryan’s throat. Ryan was prepared for it, though, and fell back into his chair, putting his feet up for a tomoe nagi. The gryphon landed on Ryan’s feet and flew forward, over him, and rolled along the floor and into the wall.

The smaller one tried to jump in, but was stopped when Big Mac stepped in between him and Ryan. He tried to get around the stallion, but Mac was not letting it happen.

“You think you can take me?” he asked of the powerful stallion before him.

Mac didn’t say anything, only turned around and bucked the gryphon away from the table. The gryphon flew back and landed on another table, smashing it to bits and rolling away in the debris. Mac continued forward to see if the gryphon was down for the count, and was surprised to see him get back up after such a kick .The gryphon flew at him, but before he made it to Mac, he was tackled from the side by Soarin’ and sent into another table.

Meanwhile, Ryan and Long Talon were going at it over on the side. Long Talon was taking swipes at Ryan with his razor sharp talons, nearly cutting Ryan where it count a few times. Ryan always sidestepped the swipes or blocked them and countered them with his own strikes, frustrating the gryphon.

“Fight like a gryphon!” Long Talon shouted. He lunged at Ryan, but this time, Ryan put his hand in between two of the gryphon’s talons and stopped him.

“Why would I do that?” Ryan asked.

He gripped the middle talon of the gryphon and yanked him toward himself. As the gryphon flew toward Ryan, Ryan’s fist flew toward the gryphon, colliding with his throat with massive force. The gryphon went back to the wall, falling against it and clutching his throat. He slid to the ground, not breathing, about to lose consciousness and die.

Before that happened, though, Ryan hopped over and kicked him hard in the side of the neck. He had no idea if it would work, but he thought that he might be able to uncrush the gryphon’s larynx by hitting it at another angle to undo the dent in the front.

It worked, unexpectedly, and the gryphon started gasping for breath. This would never have worked back in Ryan’s world, but given the nature of this world, it wasn’t too shocking that it would work here. Ryan kneeled down next to the gryphon and whispered to him.

“I hope you know how lucky you are to be alive,” he said. “Regrettably, I have nothing to base calling you a terrorist off of, so you’re getting a pass this time. But if I find out you are, trust me, the next time, I won’t fix you.” Ryan stood up and walked away, leaving the gryphon sputtering for breath on the ground.

He looked over to his guys and saw that they were just wrapping up with their gryphon. He was in a beaten heap on the floor, surrounded by broken tables and chairs and probably covered in splinters. It was a shame that the restaurant was so damaged, but the fight hadn’t exactly been started by them.

Ryan walked over to his friends. “Looks we’re getting it to go,” he said.

They waited for the waitress to return so they could get their food and leave. It felt weird, waiting in the same room as the assholes they just outfought, but they weren't a problem. The gryphon just lay where they had fallen, waiting for the safe departure of the human and stallions.

When the waitress came back with the food, she gasped and nearly dropped it.

“What happened?!” she shouted.

Fancy Pants stepped forward. “I am afraid that we must take our food to go,” he said, levitating the food from the waitress. He and the guys turned to leave, but before they left, Fancy turned to the waitress one more time. “Oh, and terribly sorry about the mess. Here...” Fancy Pants levitated a sack of bits from his side bag and sent it to her. “For the trouble.”

The waitress had never seen that much money before and stood agasp at it while the guys left, eager to get away from the scene and into the relative safety of obscurity for the night.

****************************************************************

The next morning, the guys all woke up poorly rested and stiff. When they finally found a hotel that would let them stay there, it turned out to be a gryphon oriented one. That meant that the beds were all nests, made of branches, twigs, and leaves. There were no pillows, so anyone who wanted one had to pile the leaves together and use that.

Before they left their room, they had to discuss what they would be doing.

“So, what’s the plan, Ryan?” Soarin’ asked.

Ryan sighed. “Buddy, remember, fake names. You never know who’s listening.”

Soarin’ huffed. “Fine,” he said. “I don’t see why in our room. But back to the question; what’s the plan?”

Ryan sat on the edge of his nest. “Well, I think that we can safely assume from last night that we won’t have very long before word gets out that we beat those goons up. And when it does, the city will hardly be a safe place for us.”

“Then why not leave?” Fancy Pants asked. “If it isn’t safe, we can just leave.”

“Not quite,” Ryan replied. “Those guys hated you because you’re ponies. And from what I’ve seen in the news and read of the history, the sentiments of the gryphons here are really only in two ranges; very positive, and very negative. And the very negative ones tend to be pretty vocal.”

“So?” Fancy asked.

“So, it’s a safe bet that the negative ones support the anti-government groups in the region,” Ryan said. “If we’re going to find information that we can use to find Blazer, this is the place to start.”

“And how are we gonna do that?” Mac asked. “We can’t exactly walk around askin’, ‘Who here wants to overthrow the government?’ We’d disappear from the streets in a heartbeat.”

“That’s why we have to listen more than we talk,” Ryan said. “People don’t mind people who like to listen more than talk.”

“So, what, we just go places and hope to hear something useful?” Soarin’ asked. “Won’t three ponies and a weird human look kind of suspicious in areas where ponies aren’t very welcome?”

“I thought about that, and I have a solution,” Ryan said. “We go as pairs. Whopper and I will go into the tunnels, where there aren’t as many guards, and you guys will go around the main cavern listening for things and looking for hangouts that these guys like.”

“Why are you and Whopper taking the tunnels?” Soarin’ asked.

“Look at us,” Ryan said. “Of the three of you, Mac is the least likely to be attacked, given his size and physique. I’m weird and scary, so they’ll naturally want to avoid me.”

“That doesn’t really answer the question,” Soarin’ said.

Ryan crossed his arms. “Well, if there aren’t as many guards in the tunnels, a fight is more likely to break out. You can fly away, Osprey, and Gatsby can use his magic to get away. In a tunnel, though, neither of those are options for escape. There is only fighting your way out, so Whopper and I will take that risk.”

Fancy Pants nodded. “I don’t like you two going so far into hazardous territory, but I suppose it makes sense.”

“Good,” Ryan said.

“What should we do if we find something?” Mac asked.

“If anyone hears anything, tell your buddy immediately in case he didn’t catch it. Then, you follow the guy when he leaves, but be careful to avoid being figured out. Act like a tourist. If they interact with you, disengage them and walk away. Try to find him after you lose him, but if you can’t, come back to the hotel.” Ryan pointed at the ground as he finished.

“And what about when he goes home or something?” Soarin’ asked.

Ryan cupped his hands together. “If you can figure out where he lives, or where he goes to sleep or spend personal time or whatever, come back here. Key the mic, the radio waves might be able to bounce through the tunnels. We all meet back here, share what we learned, and move from there.”

“And what does ‘move from there’ mean?” Fancy asked.

Ryan stood up. “That means we go to where the guy is, nab him when no one is around to see it, and we question him someplace private,” he said. “We get whatever information we can out of him.”

“Sounds like a plan to me,” Mac said.

Everyone stood. “This is hardly a safe place, guys, so remember, no piece of information is worth your life. If it gets too dangerous, get out.” Ryan looked around at each of his friends. “I thank you all for taking this journey with me. I wouldn’t want anyone else on my side.”

“We’ve got your back, man,” Soarin’ said.

Ryan nodded. “Thank you. Now let’s go and find out where our guy is.”

The guys paired up and left the hotel room, none certain that they would be back, but all certain that they were going to finish the task they had chosen.

*************************************************************************

Fancy and Soarin’ quietly and quickly made their way to the main cavern of the city. They did their best to stay off to the side of the street, staying out of sight and out of mind from most of the gryphons. There was no telling who was hostile, who might try to take them out for being ponies. They tried their best to hide it, but the tenseness of their situation was too much for them to just ignore.

It was fairly early in the morning when they set out, so the number of gryphons out in the streets wasn’t overwhelming. They mostly walked in pairs, some with an eyas, others just talking. Given the small number of individuals walking around, the stallions were easily noticed, and many of the gryphons avoided walking near them. Some would take flight after giving the stallions particularly nasty looks.

To avoid arousing suspicion by walking aimlessly through the city, Soarin’ and Fancy looked for a place that they could stop and do something, like eat breakfast or get the news. If they could just find a place to sit, they would be in a good way and they could listen for anything interesting.

After a long period of walking and searching, they finally found a place to sit. They were able to find a relatively empty area with benches and a surprising amount of plant life. No one would ever have thought that a park could exist inside a mountain, where there was very little natural light in the form of holes bored through the mountain, so it was the perfect place for them to sit. If ponies were going to hang out anywhere in a city like this, it would be somewhere pleasantly more green than the rest of the place.

The pair found a bench in a little secluded corner and started exchanging meaningless chatter, keeping their ears open for anything interesting. A few gryphons passed through every now and again, but the traffic in the area was very low, and it proved to be a poor spot for gathering information. After making sure they had spent enough time in the park, they left to try their luck elsewhere.

Unfortunately, being tourists in this city was difficult because there weren’t exactly brochures to tell them where they should visit. It was a safe bet that there weren’t any attractions at all, and that if they hung out in any one area for too long, they would look rather suspicious.

They continued to walk around for a time, and more gryphons were starting to awaken and go about their daily business. This early, one might expect them to be groggy and need something to energize them, but that was not this city. Most of the gryphons were flying about, many looking for an exit. After a bit, those who came back usually had some dead animal in their beaks, so it was clear that they were leaving the city to hunt for their breakfast. Supermarkets weren’t much of a thing here, it seemed, and only a few restaurants were around. Bars were aplenty, though.

Even though it was early, Fancy and Soarin’ loudly said to each other that it was a good time to get a drink, and entered one of the bars. By the looks of it when they were inside, it was a popular site when the time of day came. There were very well-maintained tables and chairs, and the bar was pristine and squeaky clean. On the shelves, there were very expensive bottles of liquor and what looked like crystal glasses.

The barkeep was wiping down his bar when the stallions walked in. He heard them come in and looked up, then froze. He didn’t give them a look of contempt like other gryphons, nor did he say anything. He mostly just looked surprised that there were two ponies walking through his door. The stallions stopped and waited for the barkeep to say something, but when he just went back to cleaning, they walked in and found a table.

Shortly after they sat down, other patrons started walking in and taking seats around the place. They were mostly male gryphons, and many of them were wearing uniforms or construction outfits. It made little sense for them to be drinking before the job, but in an alien land, it wasn’t the stallions’ place to question the local culture.

Soarin’ and Fancy were sitting toward the wall, where they were easy to miss and wouldn’t find much trouble. None of the other patrons noticed them in their corner and went about their business like usual, which was perfect. The barkeep seemed to have forgotten about the stallions and was already serving the others in the bar.

“So, Gatsby, who do you think is the most likely in this motley crew to be who we’re looking for?” Soarin’ whispered.

Fancy scanned the room. “Over there, two tables from us, left diagonal behind you. They aren’t wearing any working uniforms.”

Soarin’ took a quick glance behind him to see who Fancy pants was talking about. He spotted them instantly. It wasn’t hard, they were the only ones who weren’t wearing anything and they had war paint on them. One of them primarily had it on his face, around his eyes, and had stripes on his arms down to his wrists. The other one, facing away from Soarin’, had paint all over his back and along the rear of his feathers.

“They don’t look too nice,” Soarin’ said as he turned around. “I wish they weren’t so far away.”

“Not a problem,” Fancy said. His horn glowed very faintly, just enough to notice if you were looking for it, and then stopped.

Soarin’ blinked. “Uh... what did you do?” he asked.

Fancy grinned. “I can hear every word that they are saying,” he said.

“When did you learn to do that?” Soarin’ asked.

“When you work in the cut-throat business of fashion and design, you have to know a few things to succeed,” Fancy said.

Soarin’ smiled and stopped talking so Fancy Pants could listen to the pair of gryphons talk. Fancy listened intently, blocking out as much other noise as possible. Soarin’ kept scanning the room while Fancy did his magic, trying to see if there was anyone else here who might be less than cordial to ponies.

After a few minutes, Fancy Pants let his magic go and sighed. “I am afraid that they are not saying anything incriminating,” he said. “I think they’re just punks.”

“Dammit,” Soarin’ said. “Well, I guess we can stick around for a little longer. See if anyone comes in.”

The pair continued sitting in their secluded corner. Both stallions scanned the room constantly for potential targets and threats. It was a miracle that they hadn’t been noticed yet, save by the barkeep, but he had forgotten them. Gradually, more gryphons were coming in while few left, but they all kept their conversations at an inside volume. They were very respectful toward each other when it came to conversation and politeness, it seemed. No one had to speak over anyone to hear.

That let others hear their conversations too, though. Fancy Pants and Soarin’ were able to listen with impunity to any and all conversation, and could easily switch from one to another by keeping their eyes in the beak movements and listening to the direction that the sound came from.

Soarin’ was listening to conversations behind him when he finally caught something. Before he said anything, though, he listened for a minute to hear if they were who he thought they were.

“So, how’s life been in the east lately?” one asked. It was a female, one that was clearly gruff and very independent.

“Good enough, I suppose,” the other said. This one was a male, though he sounded like he might have been smaller than the female, odd for gryphons. He sounded like an average guy, one you might give your order to at the coffee shop. “Things haven’t exactly been calm, but that is sort of the goal.”

“Seems more like a method,” the female one said.

“Hmm... I suppose you are right. Our goal is at the end,” the male said.

“How much longer before our goal is finally achieved?” the female asked.

“Ah, it’s hard to say... if the government gets help, it’ll be a while, maybe years or never. If not, though...” The male gryphon paused. Soarin’ waited with bated breath, hoping that he would incriminate himself right there. He could hear the gryphon sigh and shift in his seat as he remained in pause, much to Soarin’s displeasure. “If not, we’ll probably have the region in a few months.”

Bingo. That was what he was looking for. Soarin’ risked a glance back to see who he was listening to. It turned out, they were anything other than what Soarin’ expected. The male gryphon was huge, with wings that looked like they could span three times the width of the table he was sitting at. He had no paint on at all, which was weird, considering he sounded like a fighter. The female in front of him was short and looked rugged, to say it politely. Her feathers were matted and grimy, and from what Soarin’ could see of her, she seemed to sit oddly.

“Gatsby,” Soarin’ whispered. Fancy looked his way. “Behind me, pair, male and female. Big guy, little girl. They’re the ones we want.”

“You’re certain?” Fancy Pants said.

“Positive,” Soarin’ replied.

Fancy glanced their way, then nodded. “Very well. We will follow them to see where they go.”

“Good,” Soarin’ said. “Let’s wait til they leave. No need to have them cause a scene if they spot us.”

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

Mac and Ryan strutted through the tunnel they selected like they owned they owned the place. The best way to avoid being targeted by bad guys is to look confident. No one wants to mess with a guy who looks like he won’t take any shit.

Gryphons had looked at them more with confusion than with distaste. Ryan had been expecting to have to avoid an all out battle royale, but it looked more like the gryphons felt that way than him. Mac noticed it as well, and both of them moved forward with hidden caution and quick steps.

The first place they checked out was furniture store, but there were no solid leads there. No one talked to them, only went on furniture shopping. The second place was another store, a spice store, but no one seemed to care one way or the other there either.

After that, Mac and Ryan mostly walked around and made their presence obvious. With what little luck they were having thus far with finding anyone, they had to try something. When bringing the gryphons to them didn’t work either, they continued deeper into the tunnel in the hopes that the gryphons they wanted liked hiding in the dark.

When they arrived at the very end of the tunnel, they only found a wall and a hole in the ceiling that led outside. They stood on top of a grate, and underneath the grate was a reservoir of rainwater. In the Wetlands, the rain never stopped, giving them indefinite water, though with the dirty human and stallion standing in the rain, it may have tainted it just a little. It smelled fresh and clean, much unlike the city they were currently residing in. Without indoor plumbing, the gryphons had to do their business in a bucket, then bring the bucket out for disposal. And not all of them left the city to get rid of it.

“We haven’t gotten anything,” Mac commented.

“I noticed,” Ryan said. The rain was cold, and even though it was hellish the previous day, it felt good after sleeping on branches and leaves.

“Maybe we’re searchin’ in the wrong place,” Mac said.

“That may be, but look at this city,” Ryan said pointing back through the tunnel. “We’re probably going to have to search through more wrong areas than right areas before we find something. We already spent an entire day searching through, evidently, the wrong tunnel. Gatsby and Osprey took the main room, which is most of the city, so their chances are much better than ours. Investments may give greater rewards when they’re risky, but the same doesn’t hold true for much else.”

“An’ here Ah thought ya knew what you were doing,” Mac said.

“I did it once, Whopper. And it didn’t work out too great for me.” Ryan chuckled uncomedically.

“Well, Ah don’t know about you, but Ah think we should head back,” Mac said.

Ryan nodded. “Sounds like a good idea,” he said.

The pair turned around and started walking back to the start of the tunnel. Still, as they walked, no one bothered them or even seemed to care about the pony and human. The amount of confidence the pair was exuding may have been too much to entice someone to try them, but they were done for the day and didn’t feel like fighting after walking what felt like miles. It may have been miles, too. They had no references points in the tunnel for distance.

Back in the main chamber, they walked back to the hotel they had been staying at. As unlikely as it was, Ryan really hoped that Soarin’ and Fancy had found something. If they did, they would be able to get the job done tonight and probably not have to sleep in those scratchy nests again. However, this was not due to their ability to leave, but their urgency to leave after finishing up. If they weren’t fast, the guards would inevitably find out about their activities and arrest them. Or worse.

Mac and Ryan used mostly side streets to get back to the hotel. Street peddlers harangued them to buy their wares, beggars asked for money, it was all stuff that you would find in any city. But there was something different about it, something that made it all seem out of place in this society. The guys ignored it as they went along their way.

When they reached the hotel, they didn’t waste any time getting back to their room. At the room, they hastily shut the door and locked it, then sat down in their sleeping nests. Neither of the two had anything to talk about, so they waited in silence for Fancy and Soarin’ to return.

Three knocks sounded at the door. “Who is it?” Ryan asked.

“Osprey, and Gatsby, open the damn door,” Soarin’s voice said.

Ryan got up and opened the door. “It sounds like you don’t have any good news,” he said.

Soarin’ grinned and walked in, followed by Fancy Pants. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that,” Fancy said.

Ryan raised an eyebrow. “Really?” he asked. “Do tell.”

Everyone took a seat. “Well, we started off in a park where we got nothing,” Fancy started regaling. “After that, we walked around and thought to try a bar. At the bar, we looked into several pairs of gryphons without effect. But then, we found one.”

Ryan waited. “Well, that sounds anticlimactic,” he said.

“In a way, yes,” Fancy said. “But we know that he is a fighter against the government who spends time in the easternmost region. We overheard that little bit of conversation.”

Ryan smiled. “Good. Did you follow him?”

“When he left, we tailed,” Soarin’ said. “We’ve got his address. He lives in one of the tunnels, nice and out of sight.”

“Do you know if he left after you stopped tailing him?” Ryan asked.

Fancy shook his head. “”We don’t think he did. He said he needed rest to get back to the east tomorrow.”

Ryan scowled. “Alright then,” he said quietly. “It looks like we have time sensitive information to get. Get yourselves ready, guys, and we’ll head out at midnight.”

Mac stood. “Ah hope this goes accordin’ to plan,” he said.

Ryan looked up at his friend. “It’s easy to act according to plan when the plan is being made along the way.”