25

Fall

When Thunderhead first saw the colossal Tree of Griffonstone, something of a celebration broke out. Victory was in sight. Then the eastern mountains erupted; griffons, cascading virtually out of every crevasse and peak they could hide in and behind, assaulted the supercloud for three straight days. For every two miles Thunderhead trudged forward, a hundred griffons would attack, slowing them down and pushing them back a mile.

Thunderhead began losing pegasi at an astonishing rate, for three pegasi could scarcely kill two griffons with one pegasus limping back. The two other superclouds, Typhoon and Cyclone, were unable to send any support northward to Thunderhead, since they both had been bogged down at the coastline since the war's onset.

The nights only served to further torment Thunderhead. Only occasionally did the moon shine bright enough to where an oncoming attack could be noticed. Even so, the griffons never stopped, sometimes with only ten minutes' time between their attacks. Everypony became an insomniac within days, and soon nopony had the capacity to do anything with great effect.

Many refused to sleep simply for fear of a claw grabbing them through a cloud or a spear jutting up from below. After one unfortunate pegasus fell from the sky in sheer exhaustion, falling asleep became as much of a fear as fighting the griffons themselves. The ever-distant Tree was no longer a beacon of the war's end. It tantalized them, mocked them, dared them to progress, was always within sight but never reach.

After two long weeks, however, the pegasi's luck finally began to turn. The griffon's attacks became less frequent, allowing Thunderhead to progress without opposition for a few precious hours, something that many a tired pegasus took advantage of. When attacks did occur, they were small and disorganized. Some pegasi theorized that they were simply running out of griffons and that they were perhaps throwing the inexperienced leftovers at them.

After another week, Thunderhead broke through the griffons' lines, beating them back to their Tree, and not long after, Typhoon and Cyclone finally left the ocean's air and were above ground. They corralled the griffons, boxing them in. No more griffon attacks came. The Tree, which had caused so much pain and devastation, was about to be felled.

Princess Luna, once receiving word of the air forces' arrival at Griffonstone, cloaked the entirety of the city and much of the eastward Griffon Kingdom in a perpetual solar eclipse. Her moon would play catch-up with the sun, and nary a ray of light hit the griffons. The Tree regained some of its ominousness, now a skeletal silhouette against the twilit horizon. Thunderhead, however, stayed lit, staying just shy of the moon's shadow, and the precious light gave the pegasi on board confidence and determination.

After being vouched for by Rainbow, Gilda was allowed to stay on board Thunderhead under the condition she would be supervised. When Greta was rescued, she too was able to stay. Though grateful at first towards Rainbow, Gilda quickly returned to giving her the cold shoulder. Rainbow wasn't sure if Gilda would ever forgive her for what happened with Gwen, but right before the invasion of Griffonstone, she was afraid there wouldn't be another chance.

Telling Soarin' she would only be a few minutes, Rainbow ran to the two griffons' room. But, when she actually saw the door, her mind stumbled. What would she say? She slowed to a walk. What would Gilda say? How on earth would she approach the subject? Before she knew it, the door was right there. Closing her eyes, wishing she had more time, Rainbow knocked on the door twice. After a small pause, she heard Greta say, "Come in."

Rainbow opened the door slowly, peaking inside. Gilda and Greta were at a window, and they both stood and turned to look at her. Rainbow walked in about a pace, cleared her throat and said, "Hey," quietly.

"Hi," Gilda said coldly, staring at Rainbow.

Rainbow met her gaze for only a moment before at Greta. "I'm just... dropping by," she said. She mentally groaned at her inability to bring Gwen up. "We're about to go, and I wanted to check in with you."

"We're doing fine," Gilda said before Greta could say anything.

Rainbow regretted everything. "Good, good. Um... I actually better get going. See you around." She began walking to the door.

"Wait, Dash," Gilda said. Rainbow glanced back, her hopes rising and eyes widening. Gilda seemed to hesitate, thinking about something. She shook her head and smiled. "Good luck out there." Rainbow, her guilt flooding back, quickly smiled at them and hurried out.

There was an eerie silence as the various squadrons approached Griffonstone. There weren't lights of any kind from within the Tree. There was no sound except the rushing of air and flapping of wings. The air chilled sharply—nothing their armor couldn't help with, but noticeable nonetheless. Blues, pinks, and purples mixed and swirled together to make the clouds and sky above look like some spectacular marble. One by one, stars were popping into view. Then, all at once, the flock passed into the moon's shadow, and they couldn't help but be awestruck.

The sun was just barely visible as a pure-white, almost ethereal ring around the moon. There were little wisps of light dancing on the pure circle of shadow. The air was now cold like night, rather than the late morning the pegasi had just left. There appeared to be a complete ring of sunset on the horizon, and stars now peppered the sky. The flock, everypony now silhouettes to one another, had slowed down, and all heads were turned heavenward.

"Woah," was all Rainbow could quietly utter.

Soarin' nodded. "It's beautiful."

"And think," Rainbow said, "the griffons have had this for a few days now."

"Hm. Dunno if they think it's so beautiful now."

"Well, it'll make finding the Crystal Heart that much easier."

Soarin' scoffed. "Like they'd keep it out in the open..."

"Hey, I'm just trying to be optimistic."

Below them was smattering of dilapidated straw and timber houses. The quality of the buildings went up the further up in the Tree they were. Sitting at the top was the capital building, casting a foreboding glare to all who gazed upon it. There were no lights coming from within, and Rainbow and Soarin' nodded to each other, breaking off and flying to it without much apprehension.

They heard someone from the main force yell, "Dive, dive!" Other pegasi started to yell, and with their yell growing stronger by the thousands, they all dove, crashing into Griffonstone like a wave. Two other similar waves hit other parts of the city, and fighting broke out almost immediately. Entire branches played host for dozens of little dogfights, weaving between houses and smaller branches. Pegasi and griffons would take turns playing the cat or the mouse as they darted to and fro. Many fights would end up inside a house, where a victor would emerge only moments later to rejoin the fight.

Hovering around the top of the capital building, Rainbow and Soarin' silently motioned to one another to stay quiet. They found an ajar window and slowly forced it open. Creeping inside, they entered a large, dark room near its ceiling. Pulling out their flashlights from their saddlebags, they found themselves in a hastily abandoned throne room, scantily adorned with banners and suits of armor. Their lights hit an elaborate but worn throne up a small flight of stairs, and right in front of it was a large tree stump.

"Hm," whispered Soarin'. "An empty throne room. What're the odds?"

Soarin' looked around the throne itself, but Rainbow was drawn to the stump. After examining it carefully, she noticed it had a triangular notch carved out of its top. It looked to be the perfect size for the Crystal Heart.

Rainbow groaned. "Are you kidding me?" she whispered angrily.

"What?" Soarin' said, flying to her.

She pointed to the notch. "I guarantee you this is where the Heart would be, but there's nothing here."

"I bet Gale took it. Couldn't bear to part with his greatest treasure."

"Great. Now we gotta find him in this fiasco."

Soarin' motioned to the window and started flying. "We'll find him. This place couldn't have been abandoned for long, and the whole city is basically walled-off."

"He better have it," growled Rainbow, following Soarin'.

The two quickly left the building through the window, putting their flashlights away. They soared high above the conflicts below, scanning diligently for a blue glow. After only a few minutes, Soarin' started and pointed at a spot a ways below them. "Is that it? Over at the far edge of the city."

Squinting, Rainbow saw a flutter of a cape and a blue glow dart behind a building. "Yeah!" she yelled, speeding up. "Let's go!"

"Quietly!" Soarin' whispered.

The two kept their altitude, waiting until the griffon was below them. Nodding to Soarin', Rainbow inverted and dove, quickly closing the gap between her and the griffon. Glancing back, Soarin' was still right behind her. They were away from most of the fighting now. They slowed down and landed quietly behind him. They snuck up to him, one on either side of him. The griffon glanced behind himself, saw the two, and jumped, nearly dropping the Heart.

"Easy," Soarin' said, a hoof outstretched. "Gale, right?"

"Y-yes," he stammered, "but you s-stay away from me!"

"Just come quietly. We—"

Gale suddenly screeched and flew towards them. The two ducked as the griffon swiped at Soarin' and flew off. The two took after him, staying on his tail. He flew up the mountain, weaving through and around branches, houses, and other fights. His flight stopped at the edge of the Abysmal Abyss. He peered over the cliff and shivered. He whirled around to face the two, the glowing Heart clutched to his chest.

"You're through, Gale!" Rainbow barked. "You've lost! Hoof it over!"

Gale's eyes darted behind him, and with a gasp Rainbow realized why. He spun around and held the Heart above his head. Both he and Rainbow shouted "No!" before he cast the Heart down into the black abyss. Rainbow flew at Gale, but he took off, a small cloud of dust left behind. Rainbow hit the ground near the abyss' edge. She watched the Heart hit something far below and shatter, its blue glow snuffed by the darkness. She could hear the thousands of shards raining downwards, hitting the walls and spreading out, their quiet tinkles eventually becoming engulfed in the howling wind. It was gone.

Rainbow felt hollow. Her heart beat slowly, thudding against her chest and in her ears. She stared into the void in disbelief, tears welling in her eyes. "No," Rainbow finally croaked. "It c-can't have... A-all those ponies..." She shakily got up and looked up at the retreating silhouette. "You bastard..." She took a deep breath and pounded the ground with her hooves. "You bastard!" She leapt in the air and pumped her wings furiously, and Soarin's pleas to stop went unheard.

Gale had punched through a layer of low-hanging clouds in his escape. Rainbow followed through the same hole but lost him on the other side. She wildly looked around, caught sight of him much further off, and took off in pursuit again. She knew she could easily close the gap between them, but she didn't want to overshoot her attack. She sped up and paid mind to how Gale was flying. He was going south, unvarying. She flew below him and sped up, trying to catch him in his stomach.

Gale quickly looked back at Rainbow and started to climb. Rainbow groaned and pulled up in an attempt to cut him off. She slammed into his back, holding his wings and front legs to his sides. Rainbow couldn't keep both of them airborne, and they began to slowly fall back downwards. Gale, managing to rip a claw free, elbowed Rainbow's visor and caused it to spiderweb. Stunned, Rainbow lost her grip, and Gale kicked her away.

Rainbow regained her balance and slammed the visor open. "How the hell?" She shook her head and continued her pursuit. Gale continued to climb and fly farther from Griffonstone. A feeling of unease began to fester in Rainbow's mind. She glanced behind her, but Soarin' wasn't there. Her heart quivered. She looked forward and saw that she had lost ground. She urged her wings to go faster, and she quickly caught up again.

She grabbed the hem of his cloak and yanked it toward herself. She threw a punch at his head as he passed, but he took hold of her hoof and hurled her forward over him. He then flew at her head, aiming a swipe at her now exposed eyes. She ducked, the claws scraping the top of her helmet. She punched him in his stomach and followed with another punch at his chin. She attempted to kick at his chest, but he grabbed ahold of it with one claw.

She tried to kick it away, but the claw might as well have been a clamp. With his free claw, he pulled Rainbow to him by the bottom of her helmet. She attempted to wriggle free, pushing him away, but he jolted her once. She glanced down at his neck and gasped. He was wearing the Alicorn Amulet. His eyes flashed green and red, and she looked at them. They stared at each other for a moment, him with contempt and her in fear.

"Leave."

Rainbow stiffened, images of Trottingham returning. The back of her head began to throb. It was him. He was there, talking to her. Gale twisted her leg and shoved her head away, sending her spiraling, and he again started to fly further away.

Rainbow stabilized herself and stared after him. Her heart beat violently as though it were trying to escape. Questions began to pepper her mind. The Alicorn Amulet? How did he get it? Wasn't it at Zecora's? How was she supposed to fight him? It was bad enough he was a griffon, but now with the Amulet... And his eyes. Trixie's eyes had changed, but not like that. Had she seen those eyes before?

She again looked around for Soarin', discovering instead she was unable to see the ground anymore. She looked back at the far off griffon and hesitated. Coming up with no alternative, she continued her chase, catching up quickly. Gale glanced back, and Rainbow saw another glint of green and red in his eyes. He turned around, throwing his wings out and slowing himself down, his cloak enveloping him completely in black. The Amulet glowed red, and an instant later, Rainbow's eyes were flooded with bright light, and she too threw out her wings. Blinking away the white, she could feel rain and something else on her face; her helmet was gone.

"Wait, what the...?" She felt the three long furrows along her cheek and winced. They were sticky with blood. "What?" Her brain tingled as if she hadn't been breathing. She forced her eyes to see, and, squinting at her hoof, she saw scarlet dripping down the sides, interrupted by patters of raindrops. Her attention now drawn to the rain, her mind scrambled for context. "Wh... how...? What? How did he...?" She looked at her hoof, now mostly cleaned off. She looked around, sweeping every cloud, and spotted a figure where Gale was moments ago. Her insides grew cold.

"Soarin'?"

"Dash?! Dash?!"

Soarin' flew erratically over Griffonstone, glancing at everything that moved. He zipped past the few remaining pockets of fighting, barely giving himself enough time to look at any one place. Princess Luna's moon still blocked the sun above. The fighting had slowed to a crawl through the city, and many griffons had surrendered already. Soarin' kept calling out for her name, muttering curses at himself. He checked every pegasus body strewn about that he came across only to grow more frustrated and scared.

Someone shouted his name, but he ignored them. A talon grabbed his hind leg, and he kicked wildly.

"Soarin', stop!"

He turned around and could barley register the griffon's face in the darkness. "Gilda?" he said. She let go of his hoof, and he turned faced her. "Gilda, what're you doing here? I thought you—"

"Greta's fine," Gilda said. "I came here when I heard about Dash."

Soarin's heart thumped loudly against his chest. "I can't find her! Have you seen her? I've looked everywhere, and I can't find her! It's been over an hour, Gilda! I can't find her!"

"Soarin', you need to calm—"

"Dash!" he yelled, his eyes darting all around him. "Where are you?!" He began to fly up, but Gilda grabbed his tail.

"Get ahold of yourself!" She yanked him to the ground and grabbed his shoulders.

"No!" He tried to push himself away, squirming and flapping his wings. "Let me go! You don't understand! She's everything to me! I have to find her! Let me go!"

Gilda jolted him once. "Calm. Down. Breath. You aren't gonna find her acting like a lunatic." He tried pushing her away again, but she shook him roughly. "Listen to me, Soarin'! I know you want to find her, and I do too, so we're gonna work together. Alright?" She let him go with a shove. "Alright?"

"Yeah," he said, taking short, quick breaths. "Okay."

"I'll..." She grimaced and shook her head. "You're better at flying than I am. I'll look through the streets. You go for the clouds, alright? I'll find others to help."

Soarin' nodded, and, his eyes darting around again, he took off straight upwards. He stopped a few hundred feet up, chose a direction, and started flying. "Dash! Dash, where are you?!"

There was nothing. Nothing. Nothing but dark skies and darker clouds. He yelled at the sky and broke apart clouds. He called out again and again, but other than echoes, the sky and clouds gave him nothing. He strayed further and further from the city, the sounds of dwindling battles growing softer and muddled with the wind. He yelled out her name until his voice tore at his throat.

At one point he stopped, spinning around. Had he checked there? Had he checked here? Everything melded into one blur of black as his eyes watered in frustration and guilt. He wanted to scream, but his throat protested. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples. trying to think. He started breathing quickly, and it turned slowly into a raspy and mirthless laugh, then a small, piteous cry.

He looked around wildly. He had forgotten where the city was. He could no longer hear anything except himself. He flew in a tight circle but couldn't see anything past the darkness. "Where is she?" he muttered weakly over and over. "Where is she? Where is she? Where is she?"

He shook his head, clamped his eyes shut, and focused. He held his breath, trying to calm his heart. Then he heard something above him. A whimper. He burst through the cloud layer and looked quickly around. He saw her: a dark figure huddled on a small cloud. Aside from her absent helmet, she looked fine. He breathed a shaky sigh of relief and began flying over to her.

"Oh, Rainbow Dash!" he said hoarsely. "Thank Celestia! I thought—" He gasped. From between her eyelids, a soft green glow forced its way out. The glow partially illuminated her face, which was contorted in pain. A thin trail of purple smoke emanated from her eyes, and her ears laid flat against her head. She trembled heavily, and she held in her hooves and wings a cloud, her face half buried into it.

Soarin' stared for a moment, completely petrified. "What the hell did he do to you?" Almost afraid to touch her, he lightly landed on the cloud. He crouched down and shook her gently. "Dash?"

"S-Soarin?" she barely whispered.

"Dash, I'm right here." He rolled her towards himself. She continued to shake, grimacing. "Dash? Wake up, Dash." His heart leapt around. "Dash, please! Wake up!" He picked her up and held her in his hooves. She still clung to her cloud. "C'mon, Dash, wake up! I'm right here! Wake up!" He shook her again, and she didn't stir. He started to tear up. "No, please! Please wake up! Rainbow Dash!"

All at once, the purple smoke and green glow vanished, and she was still. Her eyes fluttered open and looked directly into Soarin's. "Dash?" he asked tentatively.

Rainbow launched herself onto Soarin' and hugged him. He hugged her back, caught off-guard. Her hug slackened, and she collapsed on him, sobbing weakly on his shoulder.

"Shh," he soothed. "It's okay, Dash, I'm here. I'm here."

She took a shaky breath. "Y-you were... I-I-I thought you..." She choked up.

"Everything's alright, Dash. You're gonna be okay. I'm right here." Rainbow tried to talk again, but it came out as more stammering. He pet her mane softly. "Shh. Just breathe, Dash. Calm down. You're gonna be alright. I'm here. You're safe."

They sat in silence on the dark clouds, hugging each other. Soarin' continued to gently reassure her. He could feel her heart slowly calm down and her chest stop heaving. Her crying subsided little by little, being replaced with sniffs and the occasional hiccup. She hugged him more tightly.

"I love you, Soarin'."

Soarin's ears perked up. Her voice was barely louder than the breeze. For a moment, he doubted, but warmth filled his chest. He wrapped his wings around her, holding her closer.

"I love you too, Dash."