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My Little Pony: Where Griffons Go to Die
Chapter 2: Twilight
The air was dry here.
Over the sea, it had been moist. Over the sea, he had felt the sun above, and the warmth of the water below, storing the sun's light. But here, although it was warm even as the sun set, it was dry. The air was dry. The land was dry. If not for his destination, he might have settled down now and then.
But yet he still flew, driven by the euphoria of approaching death.
Vultur did not know how long he had flown. Three days? Four? His diminished senses, along with the need for food and water, did not lend themselves to marking the passage of time. The sun rose, the sun set, but he had barely been aware of the events. Like Borensisia, he felt timeless. Yet unlike the land below, he was not eternal. His end would come.
It was the reason he had travelled here.
Up ahead, he saw his death site. Mount Altai, or at least so it was called by griffons. What the peoples of the land below called it, Vultur did not know. But as his mind drifted under the summer sun, he reflected that it did not matter. He would be alone up there. His last day. His last evening. Not even the flock of flamingos in the airstreams below would join him in his hours of contemplation. In fact, the entire scrubland looked deserted. Apart from the lone zebra that was.
Straining his eyes, Vultur focused his gaze on the creature. Young, seemingly female, and given that she was wandering alone, possibly quite stupid as well. Maybe it was some quaint tribal task or something. At any rate, it was irrelevant. He was a griffon. A lord of the sky. Above bird and pegasus. Beyond phoenix and dragon. A griffon experiencing his last day in this world, but up here, in the air, he was still king. The-
Vultur stumbled in his flight. King indeed…
Tightening his beak, the griffon flew on. Altai was in sight. He couldn't stop now. He had to reach the summit. Carry out his death flight. Such was his purpose here.
He had come to where griffons went to die.
It was dangerous being out in the scrubland by oneself. Awambi was setting. Her children were not protected by her glow. Lions, hyenas…it was their time now.
And as far as Oromo was concerned, her own as well.
She'd only recently escaped Crawshay's lesson, and what her father didn't know wouldn't hurt him. There was nothing left for her to learn concerning herbs and remedies. She knew it all. There was no challenge. No adventure. Anyone could heal, and for all of Crawshay's praise, Oromo didn't feel exceptional. No. What would be exceptional would be to find her own path. Her role. Hopefully a unique one. To receive Awambi's blessings. But still her flank remained bare. She was bereft of a sun mark when the sun goddess was high in the sky, and she was still bereft of one in these hours of twilight. Bereft of purpose. Of freedom.
Moving along the scrubland, her mind wandering, Oromo briefly glanced up at the sky. It would be best to head back to the village soon she reflected. If she was going to prove herself a warrior, it would be best to do it under Awambi's light. Soon Yemayelti, the moon goddess would shine over the land instead, and while the Quagga bore no ill will to her, Awambi was the true power in the cosmos. Legends stated that Awambi and her sister had come to disagreement once, and that Awambi now guided the moon instead of Yemayelti. Oromo supposed the tale was true, but at the end of the day…well, it was the end of the day. Awambi blessed them. Protected them. Gave them their sun marks. Radiated her benevolence right to the end of twilight, piercing through the shadow in the sky.
Wait a minute…
Oromo looked up. And gasped.
Some…thing…was flying in the sky. Something dark, something large, and something like no creature she had ever seen. It was dark feathered, dark tailed, dark clawed…suffice to say, it was dark. And ominous. Something that made its way through the sky swiftly, apparently immune to Awambi's light. Something that made its way to Mount Uhuru.
This…can't be good.
Oromo took out her staff, leaning on it as she strained to track the creature's movements through the increasingly dim sky. Uhuru was sacred to the Quagga. It wasn't the tallest mountain in Borensisia. Indeed, one could make a return trip to its summit in less than a day, provided your hooves were steady enough. Yet such trips were few and restricted. Uhuru was where Equiferus the Radiant had received his sun mark. So blessed by Awambi, he had led his fellow zebras to form the Quagga Tribe. Uhuru was for the Quagga, and the Quagga alone. Not for giant feathered fiends that no doubt meant ill.
Father will need to hear about this… Oromo thought to herself. He…
Or maybe he didn't.
She was closest to Uhuru. At the least, she could reach its base before Yemayelti reached her highest point, and if Awambi's light through the moon was strong enough, perhaps she could even make a head start. If the thing was intent on staying, she could confront it. Prove herself. Drive it off or, in the event of its absence, still boast about her feat. Not all the Quagga would be impressed at her audacity, her father least of all, but maybe…maybe it wasn't needed. Maybe this was it. Her moment. The point in time where she would seize her destiny and receive her sun mark.
Strapping her staff across her back and moving across the scrubland, Oromo galloped off to find out.
Update (18/07/14): Made some writing corrections.