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- >One wonderful walk through a long series of tunnels later, and you’re in a large chamber.
- >The griffin guard had forced you to your knees the moment you’d reach the center, and left you there.
- >In front of you stand three griffins.
- >One is wearing heavy-looking gold and blue armor, and has a scar running along its beak.
- >It’s spending most of its time glaring at you, and flexing its claws.
- >Looks friendly enough.
- >The next griffin is old, and has somehow managed to grow a beard out of feathers.
- >You’re impressed.
- >And not just a little confused.
- >The last griffin to your right is wearing a set of very circular glasses.
- >His clothes are silk, and he has the largest gut you’ve yet to see on a griffin.
- >Not that you’ve seen that many.
- >The older griffin clears his throat.
- >”Welcome, friend. I trust you found your treatment was kind?”
- “Er, yes? Not bad, at least.”
- >”That is good to hear.”
- >The scarred griffin cuts in.
- >”You’re lucky these two are too curious for their own good, or I’d have you in my cells until you talked.”
- >”Gareth, settle yourself. I won’t have you threatening our guest before we know anything about him.”
- >”Hah! What do I need to know, Don? I’ve never seen a creature like it before. How do we know he isn’t a changeling spy?”
- >”A spy being chased by its own comrades?” the fat griffin says.
- >”A ploy to earn us its trust. You most of all should know a bluff when you see one, Abban.”
- >D: “Gareth, you are too paranoid. I know your warriors have been catching spies more than ever, but your fear will get us nowhere with this human.”
- >G: “You think me scared?”
- >D: “I don’t know. What I do know is you are not normally so rash!”
- >G: “Rash? You think concern for our people is rash?!”
- >Gareth has stopped glaring at you, and is now glaring at Don.
- >Don meets his gaze, his eyes cold.
- >A: “Now, you two, stop this bickering. You are scaring our guest.”
- >Don and Gareth look back at you.
- >You didn’t feel scared before, but with both of them staring at you, you can start to feel it.
- >Those are some intense eyes.
- >Abban sighs.
- >A: “I am sorry for my fellow council members; they’re often conflicting in how they believe things should be done. I like to think that’s why I’m here.”
- >Abban smiles at you.
- >A: “I hope you’ll excuse our rudeness. Now, I must ask; who are you?”
- “I’m Anonymous, sir.”
- >G: “I don’t care about your name, fool! What kind of monkey are you and what were you doing in our territory?”
- >Abban and Don glare at him, but neither admonishes him.
- >They look to you, waiting for an answer.
- “Well, sir, I’m a human. I’m not a species from this world; a while back I fell through some kind of rift, and when I woke up, I was in Equestria.”
- >Don’s eyebrows rise, but Gareth glares even more.
- >G: “You were in Equestria before you were here? I’ll give you ten seconds to explain why you came to our city, or I’ll cut you down on the spot.”
- >He reaches down his side, and unsheathes his sword.
- >It’s made out of a black metal, and is curved.
- >The hilt is plain, and the blade has many cuts running along its service.
- >How often does he use that thing?
- >D: “You will do no such thing, Gareth. However, Anonymous, I as well am curious to hear your answer.”
- >You clear your throat.
- >You don’t see why you should lie.
- >A few minutes later, and your quick recap is over.
- >You left out the part about Greg saving you, simply saying you managed to find an exit from the changeling hive on your own.
- >Gareth still looks angry, but he at least sheathed his sword.
- >Abban and Don are simply looking at you.
- >Abban is smiling sadly.
- >“It is a shame that your friends would betray you in such a way. You truly have been through much these past few days. Don, Gareth, I would suggest we allow this… human, as he calls himself, to stay in the city for the time being. If only as a moment of reprieve after so much.”
- >Gareth sputters, but Don cuts him off.
- >”I see no reason not to. It would be foolish.”
- >He puts emphasis on the word foolish, shooting a glance at Gareth.
- >”To give up a chance to learn more of Anon’s species.”
- >Abban and Don look at Gareth.
- >After a moment of glaring, he grunts.
- >G: “Bah! It is clear you have made up your minds. The human can stay. For now.”
- >Abban personally escorted you to your temporary house.
- >It was in a rundown part of the city.
- >He’d also given you a small badge to place on your shirt.
- >He’d said something about how no one in that part of town would dare harm you as long as you wore it.
- >It was silver, with some kind of hammer and sickle engraved into its surface.
- >You made sure it was safely fastened, and had begun looking at your new home.
- >It was fairly small; not even half the size of your Ponyville house.
- >But hey, at least it wasn’t a small cave.
- >And no one wanted to kill you.
- >Except maybe Gareth.
- >But no ultimatum this time!
- >Only good times ahead.
- >There is one problem, however.
- >It’s boring as hell for you right now.
- >Abban had mentioned that you were free to stay for a while until you departed, unless of course you wanted to join their society.
- >He had said if that were the case, to come back to the palace and ask for him.
- >You weren’t really eager to stay though.
- >You were kind of hoping you’d find a place where you weren’t likely to die.
- >You know, survival instincts and all that.
- >Of course, you don’t really know anything about the city.
- >Perhaps you should go out and explore…
- >”Phew! That was close, eh Anon?!”
- >HOLY SHIT.
- >You fall back as a pen falls out of your pocket and turns into a changeling.
- >Oh right.
- “God dammit Greg, you scared the hell out of me!”
- >Greg looks at his feet sheepishly.
- >”Sorry, Anon. I was just happy we made it through all that.”
- >Bah.
- >He’s too cute to stay annoyed.
- >Curse this world.
- “It’s all good, Greg. Just be a bit more careful when you decide to come out. Wait, you can talk while in inanimate forms?”
- >”Yeah, what makes you think I can’t?”
- >You think about the fact that most inanimate objects don’t have lungs.
- >Or mouths.
- >Or even brains.
- >Greg cocks his head slightly.
- >Nope, too adorable.
- “Don’t worry about it Greg.”
- >He cocks his head the other way, looking confused.
- >After a moment, he simply nods.
- >”So, what’s the plan now? Are we going to stay here, or what?”
- “I don’t know, Greg. I don’t really like the idea of you having to hide all the time…”
- >”Oh no, I don’t mind at all! I slept for a good part of it, and it was fun hearing everything happen!”
- >You stare at him.
- >He smiles at you.
- >You shrug.
- >Seems genuine enough.
- “Well, then, I guess we don’t really know anything about this place. Why don’t we explore?”
- >Greg’s smile widens at this, and he turns back into a pen.
- “Er, Greg? Don’t you want to see the city as well? You won’t be able to in my pocket.”
- >”Oh, well, I guess that would be nice.”
- >You pause.
- >He sounds unsure.
- “What’s up, Greg?”
- >”Well, I don’t really want to intrude on you or anything, that’s all. I’ve never had a friend before, so I don’t want to be too pushy or anything.”
- >This changeling.
- >He’s really growing on you.
- “Don’t worry about it, Greg. Just turn into something that will let you see things as well. Like a hat or something.”
- >You tap your head for effect.
- >You wince; you had forgotten it was still a bit burnt.
- >Greg thinks for a moment, then shifts.
- >He takes the shape of a small hat.
- >You pick it up, and the form shifts a bit as you position it.
- >After a moment he settles, and the hat fits snugly on your head.
- >Well, that’s convenient.
- >You make sure the badge is fastened, and head back out into the city.
- >After a bit of wandering, you find yourself in some kind of bazaar.
- >Merchants yell from all sides.
- >Some notice you and give you strange looks.
- >Some try to sell you things.
- >Most ignore you.
- >One notices your badge and quickly backs away, almost bowing.
- >Hm.
- >Oh well.
- >Feels kind of good, to not be too much of a freak for once.
- >At least, compared to Ponyville.
- >You turn bitter at the thought, and focus on distracting yourself.
- >You look at the wares.
- >Silk seems to be popular.
- >One stand has meats of all kinds, smothered in salt to stop them from going bad.
- >Another, a bunch of seasonings.
- >You try to ignore your stomach growling, and move off to another section.
- >After a bit you see an actual stone building.
- >Above it is a symbol you recognize even now.
- >A test tube and a beaker.
- >You’ve found yourself a chemist.
- >You walk in and gasp.
- >Chemicals and testing equipment fills the shop.
- >It feels cluttered, but at the same time, it’s organized down to a fault.
- >You wander through, examining the different chemicals.
- >You recognize most from your work in Twilight’s lab.
- >One of them is a key ingredient in your flying ring formula.
- >As well, some are the same from Earth.
- >Mercury, liquid nitrogen, etc.
- >But there are ones you’ve never heard of before, in either world.
- >”Quintonium.”
- >”Enevera.”
- >”Lin.”
- >…
- >Lin?
- >You wonder if that’s the name of the person that discovered it…
- >One chemical catches your eye.
- >It’s a deep blue, but that’s not what interests you .
- >It seems to be sitting at the top of the vial container.
- >You lean in, trying to figure it out.
- >It’s quite literally rejecting gravities pull.
- >You reach for the vial.
- >You hear something clear its throat behind you.
- >You snatch your hand back and turn around.
- >An old griffin is looking at you.
- >He doesn’t look angry, so that’s a plus.
- >He looks amused.
- >”I see you’re a curious one.”
- >You nod.
- “Well, yes. I’m curious about that chemical behind me; how does it float like that? I’ve never seen anything like it.”
- >"You’re not the only one who has been confused by it. It is liquid magic; magic in its purist of form. Very difficult to make, and very potent."
- >Liquid magic.
- >Well then.
- >You look back at the vial.
- >The idea of magic in a physical form astounds you.
- >If you could figure out its properties…
- >There’s no telling what you could do.
- >You look back to the shop owner.
- “So, I’ve got to ask. Aren’t you curious about what I am?"
- >The old griffin smiles.
- >”I already know what you are. A fellow chemist, and that’s all that really matters.”
- >You smile back at him at that.
- >You think you hear Greg make a soft ‘awww’ sound, but you aren’t sure.
- >You stick out your hand.
- “The name’s Anon.”
- >The old griffin sticks out his claw and grasps your hand.
- >Too be honest, you weren’t sure if handshakes were customary for griffins.
- >But you figured they could grasp things, so it was worth a shot.
- >Clearly, you were right.
- >”Arthur.”
- >After talking to Arthur for a bit longer, you told him you weren’t sure if you were going to be in the city long.
- >He nodded at that, and told you that if you did stay, you could always work with him.
- >He put accent on the word with.
- >It felt good.
- >You head back outside to explore more of the city.
- >You enter a different section of the city.
- >Its pristine, many of the houses adorned with silver.
- >They seem big on silver here.
- >You see a couple of griffins marching towards you.
- >They both have heavy looking armor on, coloured silver and blue.
- >One is glaring at you.
- >The other is simply walking with its partner, appearing bored.
- >The angry one seems to be female.
- >”Hey! What’re you doing in here, ape?”
- >Haven’t heard that before.
- “I’m just exploring the city. What’s the problem?”
- >”What’s the problem? I’ll tell you what the problem is! Commander Gareth doesn’t like it when potential spies are free to walk around the city, and neither do I!”
- >Ahhh.
- >So Gareth told his underlings about you, it seems.
- “Well, I wasn’t aware I had been told to stay put, either”
- >The bored griffin perks a little at this.
- >The female one, on the other hand, only gets angrier.
- >”Well, you do! Now get out of here, before I cut you down right here!”
- >Ooo, you can see Gareth in her.
- >Probably not a good idea to make her angrier.
- “Alright, alright, calm down. I’ll head back, ok? No need to get so upset”
- >Her partner chuckles at that.
- >The female whirls on him, glaring
- >He only laughs harder.
- >”Shut up, Ron!”
- >She turns back to you.
- >”You think you’re clever, huh?”
- >She unsheathes her sword.
- “Whoa, whoa no! I’m trying to avoid conflict here, not start it!”
- >You put up your hands to try and get your point across.
- >Ron decides this is a good moment to intervene.
- >”Gilda, don’t be too hasty. Commander Gareth said to watch him and stop him from doing anything suspicious. The council voted to let him stay as a guest, and we can’t go against that. You know this”
- >Gilda takes a deep breath.
- >She sheathes her sword, and you breathe out in relief.
- >You didn’t even realize you had been holding your breath.
- >Gilda glares at you again before turning away.
- >”The council may have let you stay as a guest, but watch yourself. If you take one step out of line, I’ll gut you myself.”
- >With that she stalks off.
- >Ron smiles at you lazily before following her.
- >You sigh and turn around.
- >So, don’t spend time in the silver section of the city.
- >Not exactly a friendly warning, but at least that Ron griffin saved you.
- >That Gilda though… she’s almost a clone of Gareth.
- >You don’t really know much about griffins, but you’d say they look more alike than most other griffins.
- >Not that you’re one to judge.
- >The sun is starting to set at this point.
- >You head back to your temporary home.
- >Greg pops back into his normal form and curls up into a ball in the corner.
- >"I think, next time, I'll be something more in the shade... I can't stand the heat"
- >You laugh, and Greg smiles, curling up tighter
- >He's out like a light moments later
- >There’s no bed, but there’s a mat on the floor and a small blanket.
- >You look at Greg in the corner.
- >You hear him whimper suddenly.
- >You smile sadly, and drag the mat over to him.
- >You take the blanket and cover both of you the best you can.
- >You turn away from him lay down your head.
- >You fall asleep thinking of how your friends back in Ponyville are doing.
- >You are Fluttershy.
- >You’ve convinced your friends that perhaps they were too hasty with their banishment of Anon.
- >It was hard to believe they fell for it so easily.
- >One moment you’re convincing them it was for the best with tears in your eyes, the next you’re saying it was a mistake, and they instantly believe you?
- >This whole “element of kindness” thing really works in your favor.
- >You smile as Twilight gathers everyone close for the teleportation spell.
- >A moment later, you’re all in the wastes again.
- >It’s deathly silent, not even a wind is blowing.
- >You get a hold of your bearings for a moment and begin to look.
- >After a moment, you catch them.
- >Anon’s footprints.
- >After a bit of sniffing, you manage to get just a bit of his scent.
- >You head out, your friends following you.
- >They don’t even question why you have such a good sense of smell.
- >You’d spent days memorizing Anon’s scent.
- >You knew it better than you knew your own.
- >Normally you’d use Twilight’s magic to track him, but Anon wasn’t from this world, so he didn’t leave a signature.
- >At most he’d leave a small trail from his clothes, but Twilight couldn’t track that little.
- >It would just mix in with the rest of the residual magic.
- >Whatever that meant; Twilight tended to yammer on with her explanations.
- >You walk for what feels like ages.
- >Twilight and Rarity use their magic to keep everyone at a stable temperature.
- >Twilight keeps most of the group and herself at just above room temperature.
- >Rarity keeps herself at just below.
- >You stop following the tracks after a moment.
- >The smell has gotten faint.
- >There’s too many other smells mingling in with them.
- >You don’t know any other smells that well, so you aren’t sure what it is.
- >Rainbow Dash suddenly flies down from where she was looking out for signs of Anon.
- >”You guys won’t believe what I just saw. Follow me!”
- >She leads the way, going the same way you were following Anon’s scent.
- >After a few minutes, you see it.
- >A massive mountain in the middle of the wastes.
- >It’s filled with holes.
- >You hear Twilight gasp behind you.
- >You hear a loud buzzing; the sun has begun to set.
- >A black cloud bursts from the mountain, filling the sky and making an early night.
- >”The Changeling Hive…” Twilight whispers behind you.
- >The cloud churns for a moment, and then part of it splits off.
- >It zooms towards your group.
- >Rarity screams, and Twilight yells for everyone to get close.
- >A burst of purple later, and you’re back in Ponyville.
- >Without any preparation time, the teleport dazes you.
- >Twilight recovers first.
- >”Fluttershy… Anon’s tracks were faint, but he was headed towards the hive…”
- >You begin to hyperventilate.
- >This wasn’t part of the plan.
- >You were supposed to save Anon.
- >He was going to love you.
- >He wasn’t meant to get himself killed by the Changelings.
- >You hear a sniffle behind you.
- >Rainbow Dash is starting to cry.
- >Her, of all ponies, is crying first?
- >You follow suit, and soon all six of you are weeping.
- >Twilight sits down hard.
- >”I… I didn’t want him to die. I just wanted him gone from where he could cause harm… and now…”
- >She sobs.
- >”I… I betrayed him…” Rainbow Dash whispers.
- >Before anyone can tell her otherwise, she flies off, leaving a streak of rainbow behind her.
- >You are Anon.
- >You’ve woken up to knocking on the door.
- >Greg shifts besides you, still asleep.
- >…
- >Oh shit!
- >You nudge Greg in the side.
- >He mumbles.
- “Wake up, Greg! Someone’s here!”
- >Greg’s eyes open, and he stares at you for a moment.
- >His eyes widen as he realizes what you just said, and he quickly turns into a chair.
- >You leave him in the corner and open the door.
- >It’s… Gilda?
- “Uh, hello Gilda. What brings you here?”
- >Gilda snorts.
- >”Don’t get so chummy with me, Ape. I’m just here to escort you to the council.”
- >She turns around and walks away.
- >You suppose you’re meant to follow her.
- >You rub your eyes and jog after her.
- >You make your way through the city in silence.
- >The sun has barely risen, and the merchants in the bazaar are only just setting up their wares.
- >Wait, the bazaar wasn’t on the way to the council room last time you checked.
- >After a bit, you realize where you are.
- >You’re in the silver part of the city.
- >Gilda is starting to look nervous.
- >What’s going on here?
- >You open your mouth to ask, but suddenly you’re jumped.
- >Several claws pin you to the ground.
- >Your face is pushed down, and you can’t see anything.
- >You feel a weight push down on you, and hot breath caresses your neck.
- >”Human, Ape, I don’t care what you are. All I care about is whether or not you are a spy.”
- >Your blood runs cold at the voice.
- >Gareth.
- >You try to crane your neck to look up.
- >You see Gilda looking at you.
- >She almost looks… sad.
- >A claw pushes your head back down into the dirt.
- >”Don and Abban may be so inclined to allow every suspicious creature into our city, but they are not tasked with its defence. I will do anything it takes to keep our people safe.”
- >The weight lifts, and you’re lifted up to your knees.
- >A large brazier is in front of you.
- >A claw is clasped around your bald head, piercing the skin.
- >You resist the urge to cry out.
- >Gareth’s voice returns.
- >”There’s one thing I know about changelings. It’s that they hate fire. Oh sure, they have their green flames for effect, but it is cold as ice.”
- >”They hate it so much, that they have troubles maintaining their transformations under high levels of heat.”
- >Oh no.
- >”I can’t risk leaving you alone in my city to wreak havoc. We will find out if you are changeling or not, right here, right now.”
- >With that, you feel the claw begin to push your face towards the fire.
- >You try to cry for help, but a second claw grips you around your neck, cutting off your windpipe.
- >You close your eyes against the heat.
- >You push against the claw, but it’s much stronger than you.
- >After a moment, your exhaustion catches up with you.
- >You lose all your resistance at once, and the claw pushes your face straight into the fire.
- >There’s no hair to lose this time.
- >Your mouth opens uselessly to scream as you feel your skin char.
- >This only makes the flame enter your body another way, and you feel your throat burn.
- >The claw pulls you back quickly, but the damage is done.
- >”So, you were telling the truth. Welcome to My City, Anonymous. Gilda! Take him to Don’s hospital. Tell him he had a mishap and fell into a brazier.”
- >The claws let go of your head and throat, and you gasp in a breath.
- >It stings your throat, but at least you can breathe again.
- >Gareth leans in behind you again.
- >”Now Anon, don’t tell anyone about this. I do this for my people. Don and Abban would not understand the burden of protection I bear. If I am thrown from the council, the city will come to ruin, and I will have been right all along about you.”
- >His voice lowers to a whisper.
- >”And if you destroy my city, I will destroy you. You can count on this.”
- >You try to nod, but the pain of moving your head is too much.
- >The other claws release your arms.
- >You black out before you hit the ground.
- >You wake up to darkness.
- >You can’t see anything.
- >You feel some kind of bandages on your face.
- >You try to move, but your body refuses to listen.
- >You hear a girl’s voice whisper beside you.
- >”I’m sorry”.
- >You fall back asleep.
- End
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