Chapter 3: Back to Grifforia
Rainbow Dash and Gilda flew through the skies on their way to Grifforia. Both of them were incredibly nervous. They were by themselves on a very daring rescue mission. It didn't help that both of them were hated by griffons. Rainbow Dash was a pony and therefore an enemy of Grifforia. Since Gilda was Rainbow Dash's friend she'd be in the same boat as the pegasus herself. Their plan wasn't perfect but it was the best that they could do. None of Twilight Sparkle's spells would be able to disguise either of them for long enough. They also couldn't risk bringing the alicorn too close to Grifforia. The duo had taken a train to the nearest possible town in Equestria in order to save as much of their energy as they possibly could. However the country of Grifforia was still a decent flight away. Gilda and Rainbow Dash could make it without any trouble but they didn't want to drain their energy by flying too quickly. Getting into Grifforia would be extremely difficult. Getting out along with Princess Luna without attracting attention would be borderline impossible.
"Just remember Dash." Gilda said. "We gotta lay low as much as we can. Don't hurt anyone."
"I know G." Rainbow Dash replied. "But why can't we fight our way out?"
"Because if we attack them nothing good can happen." Gilda replied shortly.
The duo flew through the skies and soon they saw Grifforia. They flew to the capital city and touched down outside of the gates. Gilda made sure that her mask was on properly and then the duo walked to the entrance of the city. The gate was closed and a very serious looking griffon stood guard in front of it.
"Hold it right there." he said. "No ponies allowed in Grifforia."
"She's not a pony." Gilda replied. "Some punk unicorn cast a spell on her. Turned her into this. We're trying to see if we can get her back to being a griffon."
Gilda and Rainbow Dash held their breath as they waited to see if the guard would believe their lie. They did not want to have to fight anyone if they could avoid it. Being stealthy was the best thing they could do and they wanted to do that for as long as possible.
"Lousy ponies." the guard mumbled. "Bad enough they start that war years ago, now they gotta attack us too." He glared up at the sky before he returned his gaze to the two fliers. "All right go on in."
The guard opened the gate and allowed the two fliers to enter the capital city of Grifforia. The two of them gazed in astonishment as they looked around. The city was more like a military stronghold than anything else. Guards patrolled the area frequently and many buildings had searchlights on them. Gilda and Rainbow Dash knew that getting Princess Luna out of a place like this wouldn't be easy. They realized that they didn't know which building would hold The Moon Goddess. Thankfully they saw two griffons walking and they heard a snippet of their conversation.
"Did ya hear about how that pony princess got captured last night?" one griffon asked his friend.
"Yep." the second replied. "Saw her get taken to the prison myself. Right in the center of town."
"Do ya think there's gonna be a war?" the first one asked his friend.
"I don't know." the second replied. "But if there is I can't wait to kick some wimpy pony tail."
The two of them walked away laughing as Gilda tried to restrain Rainbow Dash from lashing out.
"Come on G let me at 'em." Rainbow Dash snarled angrily as she struggled to get to the two griffons. "I'll show them who's a wimpy pony."
"No!" Gilda replied firmly. "We don't wanna start anything."
"Why not?" Rainbow Dash demanded.
"Because these guys could start a war if we hit them." Gilda said.
Rainbow Dash's eyes widened in surprise as she heard this.
"You're not serious are ya G?" she asked quietly.
"Dead serious." Gilda said. "It's bad enough we're saving Luna. If we fight them we might as well declare war."
Rainbow Dash nodded and from that point she kept herself from lashing out towards any griffons. Neither of the two fliers wanted to see a war break out between Equestria and Grifforia. Such an event happening would be a dreadful catastrophe. The two walked on as they made their way to the prison that held Princess Luna. It sat in the center of the city according to the two griffons so Gilda and Rainbow Dash had a decent walk ahead of them.
Gilda meanwhile was having a fierce battle inside of her head. However it had nothing to do with the situation that concerned Princess Luna.
Just tell her. she thought to herself. You know you're in love with her just say it.
But what if she hates me? another part of her mind asked. She'll ditch me. I lost her once I can't lose her again.
She's your best friend. She won't ditch you. You're just being paranoid like that time at the party.
She doesn't love me. I'm just her best friend.
Gilda's thoughts were suddenly interrupted as Rainbow Dash spoke to her.
"You okay G?" she asked in a concerned tone as she gazed at Gilda with her pink and purple eyes.
"I'm fine Dash." Gilda replied dishonestly hoping that Rainbow Dash wouldn't see through her lie.
"Just nervous?" Rainbow Dash asked.
"A bit." Gilda replied. She was thankful that Rainbow Dash hadn't picked up on the real reason for her discomfort.
"Same here G." Rainbow Dash said. "Same here."
I'm gonna have to tell her soon. Rainbow Dash thought to herself. But right now we've got bigger things to deal with.
The two of them then made it to the prison and they stared in shock at the massive secure fortress that stood before them. They hadn't seen many prisons in their lives but they were certain that none of the prisons in the whole country of Equestria would be anything like the one that they were looking at now.
The prison was a large and intimidating sort of building. The fortress was surrounded by thick black stone walls with searchlights placed at every few feet. There were dozens of guards patrolling all around the prison. Each and every one of them carried a weapon that Rainbow Dash had never seen before. Gilda quickly explained that it was called a bow and she then explained what it would do. Rainbow Dash looked a little bit nervous but Gilda told her to keep cool and stick to the plan. She assured Rainbow Dash that the guards were most likely terrible shots since bows were a new weapon for them. The duo walked to the gates and were stopped by no less than five guards. All of them glared suspiciously at the duo as they approached the fortified structure.
"And just what do you think you're doing?" the leader asked in a threatening tone. "You know ponies are not allowed in Grifforia under any circumstance. Are you a traitor or something?"
"There's been an accident." Gilda explained. "She's a griffon but she got hit by a spell and got turned into this. We want to get that pony princess to turn her back."
The guard leader spat on the ground in disgust.
"I hate ponies." he muttered darkly. "They always try to get one up on us. Normally I can't allow anyone near a high security prisoner but this time I'll let ya through." He opened the gates and then handed Gilda an identification card. "Show this to the griffon guarding her cell. She's on the lowest level."
The duo entered the building and they took the long flight of stairs down to the lowest level. Many griffon guards were patrolling the halls but none of them noticed the duo. This was a welcome bit of relief for Gilda and Rainbow Dash. They did not want to get in a fight if they could avoid it. They showed the identification card to the griffon and then they were escorted straight to Princess Luna's cell. The guard then motioned for the duo to stay back while he explained the situation to The Moon Goddess. Gilda and Rainbow Dash waited for a few moments until they heard the guard open the door to Princess Luna's prison cell. The two fliers waited as the guard brought The Moon Goddess to them.
Princess Luna walked out of her dark cell and stood in front of Rainbow Dash and Gilda. She looked surprised to see them but thankfully she stayed silent. Gilda had barely kept herself from breathing a sigh of relief. She had feared that Princess Luna might accidentally blow their cover by expressing her surprise at seeing two familiar faces. Gilda might have been disguised but Rainbow Dash certainly wasn't so they would have been in some serious trouble if The Moon Goddess accidentally let their true identities slip.
"Now I trust that you'll be cooperative." the guard said to The Moon Goddess. "You'll do everything that they ask you to do. Do I make myself clear?"
Princess Luna nodded curtly and the guard left the trio. After making sure that they were alone, Gilda quietly explained the situation to The Moon Goddess. The three of them headed back up the stairs and they tried not to show their glee. They were going to escape from Grifforia and none of the griffons would be any the wiser. Their rescue mission had been more successful than anyone could have hoped. The guards had bought their story and there wasn't a single alarm raised or a single guard alerted. The mission had gone smoothly. What could go wrong?
Little did they know that there was more to Princess Luna's kidnapping than there appeared to be. Her capture was just part of a diabolical plan that had been formed by two griffons. There was going to be something even worse in store for the three of them as well as all of Equestria. Something that was beyond the imaginations of anypony. This was only the beginning of the adventure for Gilda and Rainbow Dash.