Beyond A Cloud
 
There was once a popular children's  tale that tells of a magical land far beyond where the pegasi reside. A land where only the young, adventurous and open-minded can visit (Which in turn wasn't a complete lie, but pretty much anyone with a strong heart can visit). Its stories of riches and creatures lulled the hearts and minds of many young foals, fillies and colts. Days where they would play pretend with each other in the playground or backyards, pretending to be the navigators of the sky or if you have wings, a brave explorer that can cast the illusion of reaching beyond the stars. A new world to see, monsters to battle and a place to hide from parental nagging. Such were the dreams of a young filly named Cherry Berry, a little pink earth filly with golden hair who spent late nights with a flashlight, drawing pictures of the magical dimension with her crayons. She had embraced the idea of the tale, and the idea was not too far away. Earutan was its name, both in title and in universe, and it was her fantasy. The book that depicted the adventure of a young bumblebee who ran away from home to find a place far away from his close personal grievances, and flew far towards the sun and moon during the phenomena of when the lunar satellite blocks out the solar star, and went through it without a care. Into a portal visible by teal gusts of sparkles, he came onto the world of Earutan where he waged war against the corrupt, found love with a mantis-black widow chimera and saved his new home from its impending destruction.
 
The adventures echoed in her head every time she felt bored at daytime or whenever she would find a little bee getting pollen from a flower. That little filly looked up to the pale moon light and pretended that it was within her grasp, reaching to it with her hoof. Her mother had caught her up past her bed time multiple times and lightly scolded her little girl, to which the filly ran up to hug her mother as if  it were some sort of cure for midnight grumpiness. Her mother gave in to her daughter's adorable actions, and tucked her in while kissing her good night again. Her nights had her struggling to sleep since she had gotten a bit of adrenaline from her mother catching her every now and then, and like always she decides to stay awake, playing with her thoughts until she tires her eyes. She would grab her flashlight and look at the drawings she made. Flying machines and such that she could use to fly up to her fantasy land. During one instance of her nightly mischief, she would take a deep breath and sneak out the room, making sure she made no noise whilst passing her parents' room. She reached the storage shed where her mother would practice her rock sculpting. More than just chisels and hammers, a number of junk she used for several other hobbies was there, perfect for the days to come where the filly would create the wonders she had illustrated. For Cherry Berry, the sky's the limit, and she wants to reach it.
 
Ah the sweet younger days of youth, her mother thought, looking out the window to see the light in the shed on, before going downstairs to her daughter.
 
Part 1: Pie In The Sky
 
It was a bright summer day somewhere in Equestria. The whiff of pies and pastries filled the air over at the annual picnic festival held at Ghastly Gorge. Critters from the trees and bushes rubbed their hands in delight as they prepared themselves to be appealing as possible to win the affection of its attendants (whilst trying to steal a chunk of their delicious deserts). While everyone else was enjoying the festival to their hearts delight, some of the attendees could not be bothered to smile. One of which being a particular mare who, once was a dreamer in her childhood days, now a young hot head with the impatience and temper that burned with the passion of a blacksmith's forge, but in better days can cool down like ice for a glass of milk.
 
"COME BACK HERE, YOU FLYING RAT!"
 
Cherry Berry flew to the festival. Yes, that wasn't a typo. The earth pony with the angriest face in Equestria (at current) flew in a helicopter she dubbed "The Cherrycopter Mark 32". It was a bike propelled by two spinning rotor blades on each side. The whole thing was shoddily made, and it even had a stand fan powered by a battery stuck at the back as she reasoned to her concerned friend that it "gave her more wind". She had plans of vengeance against a flying squirrel. Despite the mediocrity of her flying machine, it went fast and steady enough to fly through a considerably lengthy distance from Poniville.
 
The prey she was eying exceeded at where she failed, which was maneuverability. The squirrel glided all the way to the gorge, expertly leading Cherry to crash into a mango tree. The rodent escaped a pony's wrath, and Cherry was left to fall out of the tree with her valuables. Neither she, nor the pastry she had with her was harmed.
 
"I'LL GET YOU ONE DAY!" she cursed, dusting herself off with one hoof.
 
She took one last look at the tree she crashed into. The 'Cherrycopter' was beyond repair, and concerning her, it wasn't worth the time to take out for proper disposal.
 
"There goes #32." she sighed as the machine spontaneously bursted into flames.
 
She looked behind and smiled a bit. While the chase might have been a waste of time, she managed to land near the event that she was planning to go to. She repressed all negative thoughts she had in that moment and trotted along the path leading to the festival. Cherry went along up the road between the hill and the gorge while carefully carrying her cherry pie. The families were already there, and everyone was happy. She breathed a sigh of relief that no one saw her crash, lest she be charged with murdering a tree and littering. It was a very important day for the mare, but not for the same reason as her younger self would guess. When she was younger, she never thought herself to be like all the other mares out there, entering food contests as a side hobby. Cherry walked through, minding her own business until a yet to be identified flying object came crashing towards her face.
 
"WATCH OUT!" yelled a filly, too late in her warning.
 
She let out a mild grunt. The mare nearly dropped her pie out of surprise.  She waddled to keep it in balance as she shouted.
 
"OY! WHO THREW THAT?"
 
"Oh goodness, I'm so sorry about that!" an older pony said, pushing the filly behind her.
 
Cherry rubbed the pastry off her face, trying to identify the talking pony. All  the while passively tasting a possible competitor's entry. She recognized the owner as the daughter and current owner of one of Poniville's most successful ranches.
 
"Just be more careful next time, Applehat! Someone with apple allergy could sue you!"
"It's Applejack." She corrected. "And again, I apologize. My little sister and our dog sometimes can't help themselves."
 
Cherry peeked behind Applejack to see the little filly and her dog playing with each other, pretending to be mutant clowns for the day.
 
"Ugh. Children." Cherry said, sucking the last bit of pie from her hoof.
"Well, at least you got a taste of our apple pie! By the way, on a scale of one to ten, how'd you reckon it would be scoring on the pie competition?" She enthusiastically asked.
 
Cherry couldn't be bothered to give her opponent the optimism and certainty of her pie.
 
"It was alright." She said nonchalantly.
 
Although in retrospect, she thought it was the best darn pie she ever tasted. Even better than what she had tasted at a Crystal Kingdom bake-off.
 
"Oh."
"Yeah, I mean it's practically nothing compared to my entry." she smirked.
 
She then proudly brandished her pie as if it were a one-hoofed weapon. A neatly designed cherry pie, complete with a candy flower on the middle. Its crust, textured to look like a bee hive adds to its uniqueness compared to the other entry pies. Applejack scoffs at her competitor, raising an eyebrow to her competition.
 
"Eh, not bad...for an amateur." she grinned condescendingly.
"Them fighting words!" she rebuked.
"Sure enough, girl. But I guess we'll have to let the three other judges decide."
 
Cherry spotted a line up the hill. More than five others expressed interest in entering their pie.
 
"Huh. More than last year."
"Entrees? I noticed too. Apparently the prize money more valuable than before."
 
"Whoa whoa whoa, prize money? What prize money?" she excitedly inquired.
"Well, the winner gets to go home with 500 bits!"
 
Five hundred bits, she thought. It was a number she didn't think a simple pie contest would give as a prize. With five hundred bits, she could rebuild a new flying machine. Better, faster, stronger than the past thirty two. Cherry's eyes sparkled with intrigue and optimism.
 
"What the heck am I doing here?"
 
 Cherry quickly trotted up the hill, eager to enter the pie already while trying to avoid spilling it on the ground. Applejack chuckled at her enthusiasm. The mare huffed from her nose, annoyed at how high up the contest was while somewhat excited over the prize. She daydreamed of the things she would buy, the things she could build.
 
Along the way she felt a light breeze going through her pink coat. Looking around the place, she noticed that a lot of kids with cardboard boxes and weird looking sunglasses. Walking along the way was a small purple pony carrying some sort of mechanical doo-hickey, who bumped into Cherry's side.
 
"Oof!"
"HEY! CAREFUL THERE!" Cherry nagged. "You'll make me drop my pie!"
 
The child did not respond. Acknowledging the mare with just a lift of her eyebrows, she swerved around her and went about her business.
 
"Ugh. Children these days." she said once more.
 
Cherry noticed that the filly dropped a book on the ground. One that poked a bit of her nostalgia. She blew the dirt off and read the title.
 
" 'Prancing Discontent', huh? "
 
Two things had caught her attention from the book, but she cared less about it at that time. She kept the book in her pouch and continued up the hill, enduring every second that her pie is on her hoof and not on a stable table. Down near the gorge, the young purple filly was reviewing the notes she had written from the past months. With determination and milk money, she bought a ton of junk that she turned into working unstable machinery. It was nothing for this little purple prodigy. The filly wiped the sweat off her forehead, scratching her blonde hair as she was repairing a short range transmitter.
 
"Honey, it's about to start! Get over here before you miss it!" Her mother called out.
"Don't worry mom! You and dad go put on the shades. I'll be there in a second!" She lied, tidying up some of the boxes of junk she brought.
 
The competition uphill has had Cherry Berry eyeing the other pies. All of them looked delicious. Three ponies from afar had to restrain a pink chubby pony from "taste testing" every single one of them. She looked back at the crowd of ponies again, and their cardboard boxes and weird shades has had very curious.
 
"Hey Applehat."
"Jack. It's Applejack." She emphasized.
"What's with all the junk lying around?"
"Oh that? Didn't you hear?"
 
Cherry's face was blank.
 
"There's a solar eclipse coming!" she answered.
 
Ah, the solar eclipse she thought. In a world full of magic and mystery, the solar eclipse is one of the phenomenons of interest in Equestria that spawned a hundred tales and poems, many concerning Nightmare Knight back when she was imprisoned in the moon (or on the moon as other tales tell). Others involved the rising of a dragon or demon that would devour the sun. Of course the one story she always remembered about it was the tale of Earutan. Cherry remembered that she had picked up a book that the little filly dropped. The author, Glyde, was the same griffon who wrote her favorite childhood adventure. The book she has right now was another story irrelevant to the adventures of the bumblebee. It had been ten minutes, and Cherry grew tired of waiting. Eager to kill some time, she decided to find the little filly and make her apologize in exchange for the book. Unbeknownst to her as she went down the hill, the judging was about to start.
 
"Hey Cherry! Where you going? Don't tell me you don't have the stomach to lose!" Applejack teased.
"Mail me the prize money when they name me the winner!" she winked back at her.
 
Cherry went down the hill while everyone else was getting ready for the eclipse. She spotted the little filly tinkering with a little rocket, seemingly disinterested with the astral phenomena. The little one aimed the rocket right at the sun, and checked her little checklist judiciously. Her pupils moved like they were twitching. On her end, she wanted everything to be perfect, no room for errors. The rocket itself was large, twice the size of a full grown pony.
 
"HEY KID!" Cherry called out.
 
The little filly did not respond.
 
Chatter amongst the crowd suggested that the eclipse was already starting. The children went wow, while the adults silently enjoyed it all with the family. Even the pie judging was delayed to enjoy the sun and moon's combining.
 
"HEY!" Cherry yelled out once more.
 
The little filly finally raised an eyebrow to notice, but she had not taken a serious notice of the angry mare. Cherry, tired of being ignored by a child, decided to stand in front of the rocket itself, clearly annoyed. At that point, she wasn't going to be the only one.
 
"Hello? Are you deaf or just plain rude?"
 
The little girl's heart had beaten fast as she made a shooing gesture. The experiment's time is now, she thought.
 
"Out of the way, mare! You're going to ruin it!"
 
Cherry raised her eyebrow, even further than the filly did.
 
"Ruin what? Your little firework rocket?" Cherry sarcastically replied.
"IT'S NOT FOR FIREWORKS! ARGH!"
The little filly threw her checklist on the ground and tackled the mare with all her might. Unfortunately for her, she didn't have the strength to push Cherry down.
 
"Are...Are you hugging me?"
"WHAT? NO! I'M TRYING TO MOVE YOU BEFO-"
 
There was a short explosion, and it came from the rocket. A gust of smoke came blowing from underneath. No one noticed either of the two ponies and the craft, not even the filly's parents. Cherry noticed that the rocket had fired from its stand, and was heading towards her.
"HOLY SMO-"
 
The surprised mare threw the filly off of her and ducked out of harm's way in the nick of time. The filly, less relieved at not being hit with the rocket, grunted over the rocket's trajectory which wasn't in the precise direction she wanted because of the mare's interference.
 
"ARGH! DARN IT! THE AIM'S TOO LOW!"
 
The rocket had flown from its stand, smoke blurring the girl's sight. The filly kicked some dust from the ground out of anger. She was going to scold the crazy mare, but that had to wait. She turned her head around, only to be surprised that the pony was not there, only a slight audible scream. Cherry's pouch caught up with one of the rocket's fins and carried the poor pony up in the air.
 
"Oh crumbs."
 
Somewhere up the sky, a flock of birds hurriedly flew out of the way as a rocket and a very inconvenienced earth pony flew through the skies.
 
"OH SCRAP! OH SCRAP! OH-"
 
The rocket littered its smoke across. Cherry panicked, began to contemplate if she's going to see the her life flash before her eyes for a few seconds before entering the other side. In a moment of clarity, she began to turn as to adjust her own body, painfully trying to unhook her pouch from the rocket as she hugged the sizzling body of the filly's craft. She hardly noticed that the rocket was able to carry her weight without even a noticeable drop in altitude. She thought either was extremely light or the rocket was very much built with the highest quality material and engineering. This surprised her in a way that a young girl was able to build something of this grade. It had her thinking of her own inventions, which felt mediocre compared to the one she's riding. Even though rockets and flying machines are two different things, she was still impressed by it. In the end however, she leaned towards the former, that she prided herself that while spending the past two days eating ruined pies, she had not gained a single pound.
 
Vanity works in such ways.
 
The sun and moon had combined. Equestria has gone into a temporary darkness, and Cherry herself was getting very dizzy to the point of almost passing out. Any normal pony would've screamed for the duration of the flight. However, the mare was not one to fear heights. As a pony who rides up high for a hobby, three things kept her awake on her voyage. One was that she had a tight grip over the rocket. She can easily turn it to arc all the way to a large body of water. Two, she was very much used to heights thanks of her hobbies in creating and riding flying machines, the third, was that she was heading towards the sun and moon. The creatures and civilians below mistook Cherry and the rocket for a fireworks special. Cherry herself hoped that the rocket will not explode, taking the filly's word to heart. Along the clouds, she re-adjusted the direction to go 45 degrees down. She was nervous about it, but remained calm, holding on to the rocket with every limb of her body. At that moment, she saw the bright burning star and the moon. She had never seen it up so close. Memories of her younger fantasies flashed before her. It was a feeling of nostalgia that went on for a total of twenty seconds. She tried not to stare too long, but she continued to imagine that she was about to enter the magical land of Earutan.
 
"H-Here I come!" She joked to herself.
 
Cherry noticed a beeping sound coming from inside the rocket. Either it was about to explode or it was having an engine failure. She had a mild heart attack because of it. Cherry immediately set the course for the river down below, slowly lowering the rocket to another 45 degrees. As the rocket went down, she noticed an eerie noise coming from nearby. The book she picked up from the hill flew out of her pouch and onto the sky. Cherry tried to grab it, but decided not to pursue it any further as she lacked a balance on the rocket should she pursue (along with the lack of monkey fingers to grab it with one arm raised). A small seagull managed to grab the book in the sky. Cherry's couldn't believe her eyes as to what happened next. The bird flew through the skies, gracefully approaching the eclipse, and in a moment's notice, vanished at a puff of teal smoke. She lacked proper emotions to react as she was preoccupied with holding on tight to the rocket as she came crashing down the river. She had finally let out a scream until the next thing she heard was a sploosh.
 
"WELL, that was a wonderful six minutes, wouldn't you say, honey?"
"I still think it's overrated."
"Now you're starting to sound like our little daugh-..."
"...Err..."
"W-Where's our little girl?"
 
The rude little filly galloped across the gorge, following the trail of smoke that came from the sky. In her pouch is a homemade tracking device, currently in a buggy state. She was extremely concerned over the state of the rocket (Less over who got a free ride on it).
 
"Where is it? Where is it?" she kept whispering to herself.
 
The filly felt a tad bit guilty over leaving her mum and dad over at the gorge, but a girl's priorities are her priorities. Sunset had come, and she went on trotting toward the river she saw her rocket and the mare crash into. The two safely washed ashore. The dizzy pony coughed up a group of sardines and yelled bloody murder over the bruises she got. The concerned filly went straight to the rocket and hugged it like it were a teddy bear.
 
"OH MY BUMBLE-03! YOU'RE A WRECK!" The filly said, before turning to Cherry with wide angry eyes.
 
"YOU!"
 
"Oh goddess, my arse. I think I landed on a sea cact-" Cherry uttered before noticing the blow fish stuck to her behind.
 
She quickly threw the fish back to the river. Within a second of doing so, she would hear a mouthful from the light-purple filly.
 
"What in the world were you THINKING? GOING IN FRONT OF A ROCKET IS THE STUPIDEST THING ANYONE WOULD DO!" The filly shouted.
"OH EXCUSE ME KID, sorry if I was being POLITE enough to go back and return a book you RUDELY dropped back there."
 
The filly groaned.
 
"I WAS CONDUCTING AN EXPERIMENT! ALL THAT ALLOWANCE, WASTED!"
 
Cherry was a bit surprised, thinking that such a nice piece of work was done on a pittance.
 
"Wait, you made that rocket with stuff you bought with a kid's allowance? Jeez, your parents must be filthy rich!"
"That's Diamond Tiara's parents and no, I did not buy all of this with my own money."
 
The filly went and salvaged what was  left of the rocket, hoping that the one important thing inside wasn't destroyed on impact.
 
"So...you stole a bunch of parts?"
"I wasn't stealing it!" She defended herself. "I was secretly borrowing it and planning to repay them in the future! Secretly of course!"
"Ah, just like how great Grandpa Pocket Lint would do." Cherry mumbled to herself.
 
The filly opened the rocket, and much to her surprise there was a little yellow light beeping. The speakers had been ruined thanks to the water, but the more important parts have been made waterproof and fireproof, as planned.
 
"It...it beeped!"
"Yeah, I heard it beep." Cherry Berry added.
"YOU HEARD IT WHAT?"
 
Cherry stretched a bit, making her aching body crackle to help ease the pain.
 
"Yeah, back up there where the birds were jealous of my no-wings flight. I heard your rocket beep." she said as she scratched her head. "Though I swear I thought it was about to explode."
 
The filly screamed in delight, prancing around the mare and the broken rocket.
 
"Whoa hey, calm down before you push me!" Cherry twitched from the soreness.
 
"THAT MEANS IT'S REAL! IT'S FREAKING REAL!"
 
The filly grabbed a crowbar from her tiny side pouch and continued to pry her rocket open.
 
"H-How did that crowbar fit in your-"
 
Cherry's questioning was interrupted once the filly had pulled out a mechanical device. In it was a screen and a thermometer melted brashly onto what seemed to used to be an ammeter. If anything, the filly had surprised Cherry enough to make her forget how rude she was earlier.
 
"What the heck is that?"
"It's a device I built myself!" She proudly said. "Something that detects magical and radioactive anomalies within a 20 foot radius."
"What on earth were you thinking of putting it on a rocket? Were you going to measure the sun or something? Hunt for aliens or whatever?"
"If I told you the truth, you would think me to be silly!"
 
Cherry raised an eyebrow.
 
"Kid, you made a rocket that was strong enough to carry a fully grown but totally fit mare through the skies. You created some sort of detection device for it and best of all, you knew how to steal stuff without anyone noticing. If you told me you were going to prove that a portal to a universe that's totally not a ripoff of 'Neverland' exists, I wouldn't COMPLETELY doubt you."
 
There was a short silence. Based on the filly's expression, Cherry guessed her motive correctly.
 
"You were trying to see if Earutan exists, huh?" the mare asked with an eyebrow raised.
 
"H-How did you...."
 
"The book, egghead. It was the same author of the book of 'Earutan'.
 
The filly started to smile.
 
"Gotta say, you were more motivated than I was. I'm impressed you had taken a fictional book so seriously."
 
The filly didn't know if she was being sincere or sarcastic. She took it as both.
 
"I wouldn't have taken it seriously if it wasn't for...well, you know."
"You know what?"
 
The filly looked sideways, thinking if she should tell the stranger her reasons for making a rocket. She thought to herself that the mare seemed to understand. She continued on with her story.
 
"The story of the author's disappearance."
 
Cherry's heart had a heavy beat, like being told a long distance relative had passed over to the afterlife.
 
"W-What disappearance?" She asked.
"Well years ago after his last book, there had been some rumors and stories about him being completely unhappy with his life. Glyde was growing old, and his neighbors said he was starting to grow delusional. Until one day, he just vanished..."
 
"Err..."
 
"Did I mention that he vanished at the event of a solar eclipse?"
 
It came as a surprise. She didn't know whether to believe the words coming out of the little girl's mouth or to ridicule her for believing in such. She was leaning on the former but would rather just shut up about it.
 
"Plus, gathering several of his published books, I was able to pinpoint oddities that may be codes that need be deciphered in order to -"
"I'm going to stop you right there, filly."
"Dinky."
"What?"
"My name's Dinky."
"Right, Blinky. Anyways, I think you're taking the author a bit too seriously. I mean rumors, I can take, but hidden codes? Be serious."
 
Dinky scrunched for a bit, her right hoof making a subtle swaying gesture.
 
"Look, I'm not crazy!"
"Yet..." she grins.
 
The filly scrunches harder.
 
"J-JUST GIVE ME THE BOOK I DROPPED! I'LL SHOW YOU AN EXAMPLE!"
 
Cherry hoofed her pouch before remembering what happened to the book.
 
"Uhh yeah, about that."
"What?"
"A seagull stole it and disappeared."
". . ."
"What? It's true. It fell off my pouch, the bird stole it and disappeared in a mist of bluish colors." Cherry said, not as bothered as she should be by what she just said.
 
The filly looked at her once again, dropping the annoyed look for a bright smile.
 
"W-What? Was it something I said?"
 
Dinky grabbed her by the arm, her heart beating with delight.
 
"DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS?"
"Seagulls are witches? I owe you a new book?
"Glyde's book mentioned that the hidden portal to Earutan glimmered with blue gusts similar to a unicorn activating its horn's magic! The book specifically had a color close to blue!"
"Hence 'close to blue', not necessarily accurate."
"A coincidence perhaps? Maybe we're onto something! I was prepared for just being happy with the detector to beep, but...but y-you're a witness of it!"
"I...I don't know if I saw it correctly!"
 
Despite Cherry's uncertainty, Dinky shook her body intensely.
"Doesn't matter right now. A seagull disappeared with my book in a gust of specific color. That's all I needed to hear."
 
Cherry was slightly put off by the filly, but decided to limit her questioning as she feared she felt that she was 'one of the tinfoils'. Still, the rocket, the beeping, the disappearing bird and her crazy findings. She was interested, almost as intrigued as her younger self would be with this subject. Dinky passively threw the large rocket in a trash bin and walked with Cherry back to the gorge.
 
"Let's just go back. I'm sure your parents are looking for you." she said, fazed by the story she had heard.
 
Dinky on the other hand shaked and giggled like a filly on the eve of one's birthday. Cherry decided to inquire further on the motives of her new companion.
 
"So what exactly do you plan on doing anyway? Don't tell me you're..."
"You know exactly what I'm planning."
"You can't be serious!"
"I spent enough money that a filly shouldn't have had at my age. You darn well know I'm serious!"
 
A look back at the river, the mare came to remember about the times she dreamed of going to Earutan. The filly had the same enthusiasm as she did, but not the same aptitude for taking the tale seriously. It's true that Cherry in her younger days before had spent the time building prototype contraptions of sorts, but it took a long time before one of her machines actually hovered off the ground. It was a combination of sweat and broken bones. Mostly broken bones.
 
"Hey listen." the filly said. "Sorry about earlier. I'm normally not as rude to anyone besides my big sister, but this experiment was really important to me."
"Why this, though?"
"W-Well..."
 
Dinky struggled to think of a proper answer. She spent most of her life being ridiculed or taken less seriously for her endeavours. However she trusted the mare a bit more after finding common ground.
 
"The thing is, I've always wanted to go to faraway places. Meet new and exciting creatures..."
"But you can do that here, on earth. There's like a hundred different countries and a thousand more islands in this vast (waste)land. Why risk and spend days for a place that's fan-"
 
Cherry paused for a bit, remembering the blue glimmering sparkles from the sky.
 
"...that's possibly fantasy?"
 
The two ponies reached a place near the gorge. Dinky looked at all the ponies up by the hill.
 
"Because I want to make a name for myself, like the bumblebee did."
 
 
Cherry understood what she felt, but her motive was inadequate.
 
"Not to brag, but I'm smarter than most ponies my age. In turn, I don't make many friends at the very least."
"Well, even if you weren't bragging, you still sounded like you're bragging."
 
Dinky chuckled a bit. What the mare said was similar to what her own mother would tell her, she thought.
 
"But wouldn't it be amazing to see your own name in the papers? 'Youngest filly to find an alternate universe'. Everyone would treat me as more than a filly with a hyper imaginative mind. When I heard of the stories pertaining to Glyde, I figured this was something I can pursue."
"So you built a rocket..."
"I built a rocket to see how good the rumors were. I got results that exceeded my expectations." she smiled while looking at Cherry.
 
Cherry was again in the middle of belief and disbelief at the twilight of the day. During their walk, she would sometimes zone out while Dinky continued on blabbering about her theories regarding the author named Glyde.  As they walked, they both pass by the tree that the mare had crashed into earlier.
 
"What happened to that?" Dinky said, observing the poor burnt tree.
"Ah, well I flew into that because....I was chasing a terrorist."
 
It took five seconds for Dinky to process what she had said. She looked at her body and found no wings.
 
"YOU FLEW?"
"Yeah. I build flying machines." She gently answered, expecting praise of sorts.
"OH WOW."
"I mean, it's nothing like your rocket but it's all part of my life's goals and purpose."
 
Dinky looked up to the mare with eyes that cried 'please replace my sister'.  
 
"Did you try to...well..."
 
Cherry  looked at her, and with a guess at what she wanted to ask, nodded.
"I once did...or twice. Days turned into months, months into years. I wanted to go up there, same as you. Difference was, I had no actual basis on knowing if Earutan existed besides my childhood innocence and adventurous spirit."
 
"But...why did you stop?"
 
Her eyes closed as she pulled a grin.
 
"I simply grew up."
 
She looked back down to the filly and explained.
 
"Besides being too dangerous even for a pegasus or a griffon, I became a bit of a realist. Instead of risking a trip to the sun and permanently blinding my eyes, burning myself or crashing down, I decided that I was better honing my skills of building other machines using cheap junk I find. I also had another motive for it as well."
"What was it?"
 
Cherry showed a spark in her eye. She looked at Dinky with a determined face and shook her hoof.
"To show those pegasi featherbrains that we earth ponies can equalize with them!" she proudly shouted.
 
Dinky laughed. Her motive also reminded her of the bumblebee who wanted to make a difference. Even for different reasons, they were a bit alike. For a moment, something flashed in the filly's head. An idea that would benefit her and Cherry. The mare was an inventor just like her. She understood her. She knows about Glyde's books and for once, treated her with a bit of seriousness more so than other ponies her age.
 
"Hey..."
"Yeah?"
"I know we just met, but I want you to help me."
"H-Help you?" Cherry stuttered.
"Help me fly to Earutan the next time we have a solar eclipse!"
The mare shook her head, her eyes staring at the filly.
 
"UH-UH. NO WAY."
"W-What? But..."
"Kid, it's one thing to ride a rocket and survive. It's another to do it all over again."
"But we're not going to need a rocket! You said you build flying machines!"
"Machines that barely make it out the day functioning. I mean look at that tree!"
 
While the burnt tree held parts of the recently discarded 'Cherrycopter', it was still visible to anyone that it was cheaply made and had very little durability.
 
"Well that's nothing!" Dinky said, trying to be positive. "I can help you. We can help each other! We can discover the secret land Glyde wrote about!"
 
"Dinky..."
"Think about it! What wonders lies ahead of that hidden portal? How accurate were you in imagining the place when you read about it?"
 
While Dinky continued to talk, the other was having self doubt, which surprised her considering she believed she was a realist. It's true that she believed that she and the smart kid can build a good flying machine. But in terms of the safety precautions, she was skeptical. Cherry placed her hooves on the filly's shoulders to tell her  what she thought.
 
"Listen, kid. I think you need to rest up a bit. It's already sunset, and I'm sure your parents are worried. Go home. Eat dinner. Sleep on the idea."
"Uhh..."
 
The filly couldn't think of a response. Cherry's tone and serious face had her at a blank. However, the mare was still filled with self doubt. She wanted some time to think.
"Now go." she told the girl.
 
Dinky walked up the hill to her worried family. Cherry closed her eyes and resisted the urge to say one last thing to the filly. She lacked the conviction to do so and waved at her.
 
"Hey filly!" she yelled.
 
Dinky looked back with wondering eyes.
 
"I'm honestly considering it."
 
The filly smiled, her hoof holding tight with the device.
 
"And my name's Cherry Berry. I live near Sugarcube Corner. Visit me sometime!"
 
Dinky nodded and responded with a goodbye. Her parents heard her voice and came towards her, scolding and hugging her for the ordeal she caused them.
 
"Stay safe, kid." she said before walking away from her.
 
Cherry proceeded to go up the hill to check if the pie competition had ended. The community service crew were the only ones left, cleaning up the trash. Without anything left that interested her, she went back home, still tingling from excitement and the thought of the smart and a somewhat rude little mechanic. Half an hour walking home, Applejack was at her door, knocking. Cherry's mind had been preoccupied and took more than a second to realize that there was a guest at her door.
 
"Grapplejack?"
"It's App-...ah forget it." she tried to correct.
"What are you doing at my door?"
"Looking for you! Honestly, I thought you had more moxy to stay for the awarding."
"I...got caught up with something. Literally."
"You sure did." she said with a hint of sarcasm.
 
Applejack handed over a small blue purse. Cherry looked confused at it.
 
"For winning second place!"
"Second...oh. That. Wait, who won?"
"I did, of course."she proudly announced.
 
Cherry nodded as she took the pouch of coins from her competitor.
 
"Heh. You sure I didn't win first and just switched the prizes?" She jokingly stated.
"Hey, I'm no liar, nor a cheater."
"Ah well. There's no room for doubt.  It's getting late too."
 
Applejack scratched her head.
 
"Speaking of late, where'd y'all go during the judging anyway? Last I saw you, you were going for that little filly by the gorge, and then a few minutes later I see that filly runnin' after something alone."
"Ehh...It's a long story that involved several death defying moments and a blowfish to the behind. Trust me, it's better that you don't know about it."
 
The pony noticed Cherry's bruises and scars. Concerned, she asked if she needed some bandages or if she was ruffled by bad ponies, to which Cherry responded otherwise. She asked again about it and the story she seemed to have been avoiding, but the mare was wasting her time. Finally bidding goodbye, Cherry went inside her home and took comfort in the comfiest broken wooden chair that she owns. Looking up to the ceiling was the only thing she did at that point while looking back at the past, and  the recent events. She couldn't believe it. Could the dimension of a foal's fantasy book truly exist? Could the childhood dream still be fulfilled? She went back and forth imagining and blocking the silly thoughts at the same time despite having been full Dr. Strangelove for half an hour during the afternoon. She grabbed a box of milk and began getting drunk on calcium and protein before eventually passing out two feet away from her bed. The last thing she saw before dozing off was a small box under her bed. A box that contained some things from her childhood years. She slept with a smile, one hoof touching the box.
 
A  summer day from the past was what she dreamed, and she saw the filly named Cherry in the backyard, 'advanced model Cherrycopter Mark II' in the backyard. Contrary to its name, it neither had rotor blades nor a tail. Helicopters had not yet existed in Equestria, but several variations of it existed in both toys, comic books and flying machines. Her mother went out the backyard to fetch her daughter.
 
"Honey, time to go with mommy to the market!"
"BUT MOM!" Cherry frowned. "Can't I stay here? I want to work on my Cherrycopter!"
"You're too young to be left home alone, sweetie. Besides, if you be a good girl, I'll buy you an ice cream."
 
Cherry's early sweet tooth and the heat of the sun had persuaded her to go.
 
Her mother had been eager to go to the market, as it was only a month away before the annual pie contest, at that time held near town hall. Cherry had started to regret not putting up a fight, as her mother had taken an hour and a half at picking out the best ingredients she can find in the market. She was a perfectionist you see, and wants everything to go smoothly as she only had one goal in mind; To defeat her rival pegasus neighbor.
 
"Honey, which do you think is redder?" she asks her daughter, holding two cherries with her hooves.
"They both look the same. Besides, can't we use the cherries in our backyard?"
"It's not the right time, sweetie. They aren't ripe yet, and time is against us in this kind of battle."
 
Cherry let out a quiet sigh. When her mother started to barter for the prices, she knew it would take another half hour for her to finish. She quietly backed away and lingered around to ease the boredom. She eventually found herself near a bush of flowers. A bumblebee had just gotten its pollen, and is about to flutter its wings. She observed, letting the beauty of nature entertain her for a while. Sadly the moment did not last long as two colt pegasi landed on the bush after a flight stunt gone wrong. Cherry gasped, and the other two moaned in dizziness.
 
"Hey Hoops, you alright?" the pegasus asked.
"I'm fine. I'm completely....OW!"
 
The colt flew up from the bush and inspected his toosh. The bee's stinger got stuck behind him. He tried to conceal the pained expression from his face and quickly shoved the poor bee away.
 
"Haha, butt buddies." the other laughed.
"Oh shut up, Score."
 
The two looked up and saw a pegasi filly and her griffon friend laughing at the two. They flicked with embarrassment and anger, and flew right back up to the clouds after the filly and her companion.
 
Cherry both admired, envied and hated flying equines such as them. One such trait she got from her mother's neighborly rivalry, but her motives were much different.
 
"Such a poor bee." an elderly griffin beside her commented.
 
Cherry was surprised to see someone else sitting near her. The griffin picked up the recently deceased bee with his finger. Cherry felt that he was one of the more respectable citizens of Equestria. He wore round thick glasses around his tired eyes. The feathers on his head was slicked back. He had a small white beard under his beak. He looked at the sky, eyes nearing to where the sun is. The filly kept quiet, and looked up the sky as well. The sun was setting, and the griffin smiled.
 
"An eclipse is coming." he whispered to himself. Cherry heard all too well.
 
Before the filly could have a chance to say anything, her mother came walking down to fetch her. Her hair was already scruffed up by her insistent haggling. The stress must've gotten to her. By the look on her face though, it appeared that she had won.
 
"Cherry Berry! Where on earth have you been, young lady?"
"Ah...just looking at the sky."
"Well don't wander off like that! You know how much I worry. Come on, now."
 
The little filly and her mother walked away from the griffin. Cherry felt something about him. She couldn't put her hoof on it, but she had a feeling. The thought was disposed in the coming hour, as she and her mother went through the whole night baking test pies.
 
 She had not gotten her promised ice cream.
 
Part II: The Road To The Skies.
 
It had been a week since the festival, and nothing of interest has happened to Ponyville thus far. Cherry went down to the nearby pawn shop owned by an old friend of hers. Although for both her and the pawner, they haven't exactly been good friends. There was a ring on the door. The owner was busy sweeping up the shop. As she heard the ring, she rushed back behind the caged counter and buzzed the customer in.
 
"Heeyy..." Cherry said in a somewhat enthusiastic manner. The owner frowned.
"Cherry Berry..."
"Oh come on, Green. Is that a way to treat an old..."
"You're late for your payment. Either pay up now or I get to keep your family heirloom." she asserted.
"Oh hush, my angry pony." She calmly told her, holding a blue pouch. "I'm sure this will do well, plus interest."
 
Green had her suspicious look on. She scattered the coins on her desk and proceeded to count, while checking if they were genuine coins.
 
"Oh come on, don't you trust little old me?"
 
She returned with a grunt. Without protest, she went back to her and returned her heirloom.
 
"At least you finally paid up."
"Of course! I'm a mare of my word."
 
Cherry took her precious heirloom and bid Green good day. She walked out the door while she hummed a tune.
 
"And it only took you two weeks past our agreed deadline. Darn mare should keep her word more oft-"
As Green continued to talk to herself, a new customer rang the door. Green immediately buzzed the customer in.
 
"Welcome to Green Jewel's pawnshop, where all your pre-"
 
Green stopped herself as she looked at a mare with a moustache come in.
 
"HERRO THERE. I WOULD LIKE TO PAWN MY PRECIOUS POCKET WATCH. DID YOU KNOW THERE'S ONLY TRWO OF A KIND IN THE WHOLE WORLD?"
"Goshdarnit Cherry! Are you going to pawn your watch again?!"
 
Cherry took off her 'disguise' and talked frankly with her.
 
"Well it's better than going beyond the deadline again. I don't think I can handle much more of your interest rates."
 
Green scrunches her face up. Cherry lets out a grin.
 
"I should deny you my service." she mumbled.
"But what about our friendship?" She asked, putting on a pouting face.
 
Green scoffed at her as a response, readying to give back 90% of her coins back.
 
"Sides, why do you even need money again?"
 
Cherry leaned on the counter, grinning auspiciously.
 
"I'm on to something, Green. I can feel it. Something that would make the explorers of the world feel jealous."
"And what is it that you're on to? Some new innovative invention? A hidden treasure perhaps?"
"Let's just say it's a project that I've put some thought into. Something big."
"Well Cherry, you know I'm always here if you ever need someone to laugh when you waste all that money on a failed project."
"Bite me." she bawled.
 
As Cherry was about to go outside, she noticed a peculiar book on display. It was old, dusty, but it seemed to be in good condition. The title was in bold letters was the one that got her interest, more than the body of the book itself.
 
"Prancing Discontent?"
 
Cherry zoomed in with one eye. A manuscript of sorts. An unedited edition of Glyde's book binded with string. There's still a bit of coffee stain on the spine. The cover's design itself is very simple.
 
"Yeah. Not for sale though if that's what you're thinking."
"You bought this?"
"Someone sold it to me. Was bought at a generous price, and given most manuscripts and edition-zero works, I'd say I got the better bargain."
The mare lost all interest in making sarcastic remarks to Green. The dusty cover and the handwriting suggested that it was one of a kind. Not many manuscripts existed in more than three copies. This one was signed by Glyde himself. It had a small decal of a bee on the lower left side of the cover, and a solar eclipse-like drawing on the upper right side. She thought it was weird considering that the book never referenced Earutan, nor was it a spinoff from the story.
 
"Who the heck sold this?"
"Ah some catbird from Griffinstone. Said she needed travel money to get out of the city. Heard it wasn't too good up there."
"She?"
 
So it wasn't Glyde who sold it, she thought.
 
"Anyways, some museum folk bought it for a pretty large sum. Enough for me to buy my own fast food franchise." she smiled, thinking of the next successful line of food service named 'Exotics'.
"Can I get the name of who did?"
 
Green shook her head.
 
"Can't do it, Cher. Confidentiality."
"Ah fine." she said,  a bit disappointed. She decided not to barter for it as she was already in Green's bad side.
 
Cherry went trotting back home to make a list of things she needed to build a somewhat more decent flying machine. The 'Cherrycopter Mark 33' as she would name it. She passed by the local market in ponyville. She stopped for a moment, trying to remember an old memory that had an elder griffin in it. The market had changed over the years, and so had the ponies in it. A bee casually passed by in front of her nose. It had just gotten its pollen from the bush nearby, and it happily flew through the air, without a care in the world.
 
"Soon, we'll be like the bee." Cherry uttered to herself.
 
However, something else was stopping her from going home. The thought of the elder griffin froze her, as well as the other thing the little filly from before said. Glyde the author disappeared the day of the eclipse. Now it's no secret that Cherry saw a seagull disappear from before, but the circumstances regarding Glyde's disappearance got her interested. She was still cautious in believing the filly, but right now she had become interested in anything related to Glyde because of it. Cherry galloped back to the pawn shop and rang once more.
 
"Cherry? You again? I'm starting to think you're just coming here to pester me."
"Well, that's because you have something of interest."
"Listen girl, I was specifically given extra bits for confidentiality."
"Well..." Cherry smirked, holding 30 bits. "I guess I'll have to settle for something less...sensitive then..."
 
There was loud banging on her door the next day. Cherry had just finished her blueprint, which had been slightly ruined by her sleep drool.
 
"CHERRRYY! CHERRRYY!" Yelled a filly from behind the door.
"Ugh...what...time is it?"
The sleepy pony opened the door and saw Dinky carrying scrolls, maps and blueprints. Her eyes twitched, and her breath smelled like caffeine. Cherry wondered if coffee was good for a girl her age.
 
"CHERRY!" she shouted in joy. "OH GOOD, I GOT THE RIGHT HOUSE THIS TIME!"
"Got the...wait, have you been going through the town knocking at ponies' doors and screaming my name?"
"YEP. TOOK ME THREE TRIES!" she said, still shaking.
 
Dinky walked under Cherry's body and threw her bags near her drawing table. Cherry was still rubbing her eyes after waking up at eleven thirty in the morning.
 
"SO THIS IS YOUR HOUSE? WOW, IT'S A DUMP!"
 
The mare grouched.
 
"Did you just come here to insult my home?"
"It's technically not insulting if the house in question really is a mess." she jeered.
Dinky went to Cherry's chair and started looking at the designs she drew. What she saw was a perfectly good drawing of a flying machine, but still lacking in good measurement and weight calculations. Meanwhile in the kitchen, Cherry took out a cold glass of coffee from three days ago and gulped it down, trying to get herself to stay awake.
 
"You know, I've been wondering, why didn't we just go hire some pegasi to fly us there again?"
"Cherry come on, you know those trips are expensive as heck!"
"Not as expensive as making our ship."
"Well I don't know any pegasi, you don't know any pegasi. W-wait, do you know any pegasi?"
 
Cherry scratched her head.
 
"Well I know pegasi citizens. I'm not much in the friend-zone with them..."
"Well there you have it!"
"Huh...I really should've made more friends..."
 
The fact that pegasi and griffins can easily fly towards the eclipse was one of the reasons for Cherry's speciesm against flying species, specifically pegasi. However, it was still a safety hazard for regular ponies to fly towards the sun, even with an eclipse. While Cherry contemplated on her life choices as to having only a filly and her neighbor as friends (well, she's not sure if she counts the filly as a friend as much as she counts her as a business associate), Dinky on the other hand went on to edit her calculations, before getting her other scrolls and blueprints from her bags.
 
"What's all this?" Cherry asked.
"I stayed up all week making these sick designs for our weapons system, shielding systems, even other things we might need!"
 
Cherry went to look at the filly's blueprints.
 
"A titanium cup holder? An engine for maximum overdrive? A NITROGEN FREEZER?" Cherry could do nothing but look in disbelief.
"What? We might have nitrogen-related emergencies!"
 
The mare shook her head. "Kid, we're not going to need any of these. Maybe a few of these other stuff I haven't seen but not these!" she said, pointing at the other unread blueprints.
"What?! Cherry, I thought you were taking this seriously!"
"I AM! But these things are just luxuries. What we need is some sturdy materials in case we crash land through the portal. Besides, these things are very expensive. Costs more than my house!"
 
Dinky groaned in response.
 
"UGH, fine. But if we run into a cryogenically preserved unconscious body of Glyde, I'll blame you for letting me leave him there!"
"The odds of that happening is lesser than my chance of finding a perfect coltfriend."
 
As Dinky continued on to scribble onto the blueprint, Cherry took a small saddle with her and put it on her back. She put a small notebook on her pouch and a recorder for good measure. Finally, sunglasses for the road.
 
"Hey kid."
"...transpose the variables of...wait, were you talking?"
"Yeah."
 
The filly turned around and saw Cherry in her gettup.
 
"Are you going somewhere?"
"No, you and I are going somewhere."
"Huh?"
"Do you know where Glyde's family is at present?"
 
Dinky paused, trying to remember the little bits of facts from last year's 'investigations' she conducted.
 
"Last I heard, he lived up with his daughter in Griffinstone before his disappearance."
"Yeah well, I did a bit of research yesterday and found that she moved out from Griffinstone and is now living in Dodge Junction."
"Dodge? Like that Appleloosa town?"
"Yeah."
 
The filly scratched her head.
 
"I don't get it. Are we going to visit them?"
 
Cherry nodded, and Dinky was still confused.
 
"Why!? We know Glyde's not there with his family anymore, so what's the point of meeting his relatives?"
"Don't you think that it's better we actually find out if they know what actually happened to Glyde? The griffin practically disappeared!"
"...and when his brother was interviewed by some newspaper folks, he only gave vague inconclusive answers..." Dinky added.
"Exactly. I know it will put off our schedule,  but I really think that this visit's going to be important, if not for us, for the mystery of Glyde's disappearance."
 
Dinky hopped off the chair and circled around a bit. Without anything to lose but a few days' time, she decided to agree with Cherry.
 
"So it's settled then?"
"Yeah. I mean, I've been stalking their family last year, but I never did get the chance to ask them about it."
"Hm? Why didn't you?"
"I figured his brother would've just pushed me off or call the police on me. Having an adult gives me a better chance to get some answers!"
"Hmm..." Cherry mumbled to herself.
"What?"
"Well...I mean I know his daughter's in Dodge, but I wonder if her uncle's living with her too..."
"W-Well, can you talk to his brother if he is there?"
"I..."
 
Cherry suddenly had second thoughts, but at that moment, she could only think that if there was nothing ventured, there would be nothing gained.
 
"I think I can persuade."
 
If Appleloosa and Applejack's farm had a child, it would be the place called Dodge Junction. The place was a homey little village that consisted of intense heat and fresh crop stock. Rarely did it have any buildings, nor corporate big leagues that would milk and abuse it for what it's worth, as people always viewed it as discount Appleloosa. Because of this, the place was infamous for being a sought out place for retired famous creatures, be it pony or otherwise. If there was anything in there that would give the town good publicity, it would be Cherry Jubilee's ranch, as well as being one of the places the famous performer Cheese Sandwich had graced himself for the town's entertainment.
 
In one of the trains leading to Dodge, Cherry Berry and Dinky sat at the third car, awaiting its arrival.
 
"I can't believe your mother let you actually go with a stranger onto a faraway town!"
"Hey, let's just say that it was tough, but after several minutes of intense negotiations, I managed to get her to agree."
 
The mare looked at her with suspicion.
 
"Is there any reason to doubt little old me?"
"...You didn't tell her the truth, didn't you?"
 
The filly gave a mischievous grin. Cherry saw herself in the filly once more.
"Ah whatever. So long as we don't get into trouble where I'd be accused of fillynapping."
 
With a flip of a page, Cherry continued to read a yellow book that pertained to Dodge Junction.
 
"Still trying to find where this girl lives?"
"Heck, still trying to find out her name, for the goddess' sake. You sure you never found out her name back then?"
"Nope. Glyde's brother was the only one I managed to get a name. Glyde's daughter and wife? Kept them low profile."
"Huh. What's his name?"
"Uhh...Grotto."
"Grotto huh?"
 
Cherry continued on looking through the yellow book, hoping to find something or anything about griffins living in Dodge.
 
"Well, if you can't find any of them there, we could always ask around. Not many griffins living in Equestria outside of Griffinstone anyway."
"I guess so. Feels weird that there's so few of them here."
"Well, I think most of their kind lives in Brussia or Neighterlands. I vaguely remember something about it from a book."
"Hmm."
 
Half an hour had passed, and the conductor has announced that the train has arrived at its destination. The two ponies exited the door to see the town with their eyes.
 
"Ahh, Dodge Junction."
 
Cherry took a big whiff of air and had a blissful smile. From beyond the train station, it was a warm sight to see for the two. Ponies transporting fresh fruits and hay from one store to the next, the warm weather which was just right compared to the scorching sun of Appleloosa. For Dinky, it was another boring old town with tumbleweed. For Cherry, it was a sight for sore eyes.
 
"They advertise it as a small town, but it's actually pretty big." Dinky commented. "We could probably get lost in this town."
"Just keep close to me Dinky and I can assure you that neither of us will waste time."
"You seem to know this place."
 
The mare nodded.
 
"Back when I was a filly, I spent a whole summer here, forced by my mother who enlisted me without my consent."
"Oh, summer camp."
"Something like that."
" Did you hate it?"
"Hate it? I was disappointed as heck, but I learned a lot of stuff. It's where I got my cutie mark after all."
"Oh!"
 
Walking through the town, Cherry bought two sandwiches from a nice street vendor and gave one to Dinky. She figured it was going to take them until the whole night or so to scout out the place looking for Grotto or his niece. It was a longshot for the former, as they did not know if Glyde's daughter had any relatives living with her. Fortunately for her, she knew the place like it was the back of her hoof. Sadly, not too much as where she had been less socially interested with the other ponies she knew back at summer camp.
 
"So, what's the plan then, Cherry?"
"There's an old restaurant by the side of town. I knew the old folks who worked there. Friendly ponies. If we're lucky, they might know if there were griffons around town that seemed new."
"Good thing your mom forced you at summer camp."
"Ugh. I still wish I had it my way and joined the young builder's summer camp at Hoofington."
 
Dinky giggled. Dodge had many sights to visit, but neither of them were interested in anything, save for the restaurant known as Dove's Nest, owned by Dainty Dove. Contrary to the belief of many, it wasn't a restaurant for rich folk like its owner. Cherry used to sneak out the camp to eat there while in turn, she would fix some of their broken gadgets and commodities. Of course Cherry wasn't the best mechanic at that age, but she still managed to do a good job with fixing things there like with the radiator and broken cabinets in which she had received plenty of praises and favors. The two girls approached the restaurant, and Cherry was dismayed to see it in bad shape. The walls were plastered with ripped off posters, rats near the canals. The lights for the name flicker for most of the letters. Even some of the customers doesn't seem too satisfied with the food either.
 
"Wow, this place is only slightly better than your house."
"Oh how the days of my youth slowly rusts away." she dramatically laments. "Come on."
 
Inside the restaurant, the place seemed to be better than what it shows on the outside. The floor had been kept at a cleaner state, but the ceilings were crowded with cracks and spider webs. The place itself felt like a wooden tavern that had been raided by pirates. The waiters and waitresses are well groomed, but they couldn't disguise their tired bored eyes and monotonous tone. So far the only one who seemed remotely happy would be the bartender, who seemed content cleaning mugs and chatting with ponies suffering from their personal despair.
 
"This is bad. None of these ponies worked here years ago." she whispered.
"Well duh, you'd think anyone would stay in this place? I've visited boiler rooms more presentable than this."
"Alright. So the bartender looks a bit chatty. I'll try my luck with him."
"What are you going to do, flirt with him?" Dinky raised an eyebrow.
"Just watch and learn." she says, cracking her neck.
 
As the mare swerved through the roaming waiters, something  caught Dinky's eye. From the window, she could see a large hooded individual entering a bookstore just the opposite of the restaurant. Cherry on the other hand decided to sit by the counter along with three other gentlemen.
 
"Well well, I don't think we've seen you around these parts." The bartender noticed.
"Visiting an old town I used to hang out with. I'll have a malt cider, please."
"Malt cider? You mean the one with mixed with yeast, malt and hop mashed in a fermenter and stored in a cask for the ponies and griffins having rainy days in their lives, thus needing a what ponies call a 'fixer' to get through the night to do or have done a very difficult task and sometimes to drown away the bad feelings of regret of their past that would sometimes haunt ponies in their sleep or bug them for the rest of their lonely nights where they never even found a romantic relationship that would set them for life?"
"...Y-yes."
"Bit too early for that, don't you think?"
"After the last few days, I might as well say it's a bit too late."
 
The bartender does a small stunt, flipping mugs and rolling cups. Within a minute, he pours her a drink with a small apple slice on the side. "Cheers. Enjoy. Bottom's up!" he said as he offered it to her.
 
"Many thanks, handsome."
 
Cherry began gulping the cider down without stopping. Dinky is both intrigued and disgusted by her ability to gulp it all down at once, but not as intrigued as she had when she saw her own neighbor Berry Punch drink three pints in a minute. She looked back at the window, curious as to the large individual who had entered the bookstore wearing a jacket and some boots. Boots not made for pony kind.
 
"So...mister...err..."
"Marble."
"Right." Cherry smirks, smitten by his dashing dark hair and mug-spinning feats. "So Garble-"
"...Though my friends call me Marb. My full name's Rolle Marble, with my first name being based on my mane. I tell ya, I had to use like ten cans of hairspray every month for this beautiful puff on my head. You know, I haven't had a cream puff in quite some time. It must've been three months since those girl scouts ever set hoof in this here town to sell desserts. Oh how I miss those-"
"...I'm sure those girl scouts will come back soon. Now, I need-"
"Oh I doubt it, Madame." he disagreed, drinking a glass of water as he did. "All kinds of misery's been going on around town. Heck we haven't even had a group of new tourists. Just a bunch of singles who either got lost or got off the wrong track. Bah. Look at this, now I forgot to put some nuts in this mug. Now where did I put those nutcrackers? Oh who am I kidding? Why would I need those when the delivery for those chest nuts haven't even arrived? They're all nuts, I tell ya. When the..."
"CHERRY!" Dinky whispered aloud. "We're not getting anywhere with this guy!"
"Don't you hear this colt? He practically knows what happens around the town. A bit nutty if you ask me, but he's our best concierge we've got in this scrapheap of a town." she said as the veins of annoyance throb on her forehead.
"Listen, I think I saw griffon going in that bookstore!"
"Well if you *think* you saw one, than get on over there! It's literally across the street!"
"Then you're staying here?"
"Better off hunting split up than going as a group, I suppose." she said as she tries to tongue out any remaining cider in her mug. "Yo Garble, another mug!"
 
Dinky shakes her head in disappointment over what she sees as Cherry prioritizing her drinks. However, she made a point over splitting up. She might find some useful information in that chatty bartender, she thought.
 
"Alright, I'm going out. We'll meet back here, alright?"
"GULPGULPGULP"
"Sigh."
 
Dinky went outside the restaurant. To her, it felt more like a tavern anyway. She took a look at the bookstore across. A small but cleaner place than Dainty Dove. It's her kind of place, she thought to herself. Pushing the door, the bell hanging up the top rang. It startled the hooded customer she was seeking. The hooded unfamiliar seemed content browsing over at the science section. The filly began trotting quietly to the shelves behind the being, watching any body part that poked out of her clothes. It became more obvious that she wasn't a pony the closer she was to her target. A few feathers peeped out of the boots. the front limbs had golden claws. The tip of  the beak extending whenever she sees the side of her head from under the hood. It was no doubt that she was a griffin, and not someone like a small dragon, or a chimera. Dinky went to the children's fiction section to find any book relating to Glyde. A old weathered second-hoof book titled 'The Flowers of Inspiration' was what she found. The book had an interesting development, as it was supposed to be a prequel to Glyde's Earutan book. However for some odd reason, he changed it to an original story without the familiar cast. She took it from the shelf and quietly approached the griffin from the right. The filly 'dropped' it from her hoof onto the heel of the griffon's boot.
 
"Oh."
 
The bird eyes the cover. The name of the author brings a second of sparkle to the griffon's eye. Even with her hood, it was something Dinky succeeded in noticing.
 
"Sorry." the filly apologized. "Clumsy me!"
 
The bird picked up the book and handed it over to Dinky. The little filly stared intently at her shadowy face, pretending to look like she's recognizing someone. She guessed that the griffon was a female. The griffon shook, as if she had gotten herself into a trap. Her eyes dart left and right to see if the filly's not alone. She put the book she had been browsing back to its shelf as  the griffon slowly but surely made her way to the door before sprinting away.
 
"HEY, WAIT!" she shouted as she galloped after her.
 
The cashier on the other hand blows the bangs on his head, commenting to himself that everyone just comes in to browse.
 
"WAIT, PLEASE!" Dinky shouted.
 
Surprisingly, the griffon did not take off the jacket, which meant that she' wasn't in a position to fly away. For whatever reason she has, it's in Dinky's favor. She made due of having fingers, and parkours through the Junction market, swinging from low-hanging beams and such. Dinky's smallness made her agile in going through small holes in market stands. The griffon noticed that her acrobatic efforts were wasted, and decided to impede the filly by throwing anything she could find at her. Baskets, vegetables, even oversized hats. You name it, she's not paying for it. Luckily, Dinky was a smart unicorn, and her telekinesis came in convenient. Trying to outrun her pursuer in ever alleyway she could swerve into, she eventually ran out of energy and breath. She runs into a dead end, and she looked behind to see the small purple filly, panting and coughing.
 
"P-Please! I mean you no harm!"
"WHAT? AM I SUPPOSED TO EXPECT GOLDEN GLORY TO APPEAR?"
"Golden who?"
"HAVEN'T YOUR FRIENDS DONE ENOUGH?" The griffon grabs a 2x4 and points it at the filly's direction. "S-STAY BACK!"
"Calm down! I didn't mean to frighten you!"
"Then what about that book you dropped? You didn't think that I noticed that you were testing me?" she said, her voice shrivelling up.
"I didn't...I mean, I wanted to get a good look at you. I'm looking for someone. A griffon to be exact." Dinky said, trying to take things slow.
"Why? Why do you need a griffon?"
 
Dinky's mouth stutters. The griffon takes off her jacket to prepare her wings for flight.
 
"Because...BECAUSE..." Dinky took a deep breath and told the shivering bird her motive. "BECAUSE WE WANT TO BRING GLYDE BACK!"
 
The alleyway was quiet. The dumpster cats scuttled away. Tensions rose and dropped in those moments. Dinky slowly looked up, afraid that the griffon might've flown before she had the chance to hear her out. Instead the griffon was there. Her wings slowly folding down her sides. Her eyes trying to comprehend what she said. 'We want to bring Glyde back'.
Glyde. They want to bring him back.
Her old catbird.
"M-My dad?"
 
  Three mugs on the side of Cherry's right hoof. Her left hind leg tapping impatiently at the counter. It had been five minutes since Dinky had gone to the other store, but to her it felt like an eternity with this blabbermouth.
 
"...and so I said 'THREE EAGLES'? Girl, you are scamming  me for sure. No eagle has set foot in this Junction for months! The last time we had exotic birds come in, it was migration season and poor old Cherry Jubilee had to arm her employees with weapons just to defend her orchards from being ravaged by those-"
 
The other ponies sitting with her in the counter is intrigued by his story. She however took one of the mugs and slammed it down.
 
"GOSH DARNIT! I ASKED ABOUT GRIFFONS AND ALL YOU'VE GIVEN ME ARE EAGLES!" Cherry felt a bit tipsy, and her sudden outburst was heard across the restaurant.
 
"S-Sorry."
 
Somewhere hidden behind the pillars sits one other customer who seemed to have had his ear twitch at the sound of someone looking for griffons. He takes one last sip of his tea and finishes his fillet dish, before leaning over to look at the bar counter.
 
"Look Marbles. You're a nice guy, so I probably won't have to get medieval on you once I finish this fourth mug. However, I will ask as slow and precise as I can. DO. YOU. KNOW. ANY. GRIFFON. LIVING. HERE?"
 
She eyes him like a hungry predator eying his prey. He's suddenly intimidated by her gazing eyes and cider count.
 
"I...Well I don't, but I have a regular who's a griffon! He comes around every Thursday!"
"Good! Wait, today's Thursday!" she realized.
"Yep, and he's right behind you!"
 
As she gulps down her fourth, she turned around to see a large fit catbird staring at her with suspicion and discontent. She's startled by the stranger, but she doesn't break her eye contact out of being intimidated. Instead, she brought  out a drunken smile and greets the large griffon.
"Hi there."
 
The griffon stayed silent. The last drop of her cider entering her mouth.
 
"So...I'm looking for a griffon. Female, probably around middle-aged and may or may not be the daughter of a book author. Know her?"
 
He spits out some fish bones and cracks his knuckles.
 
"So." he ominously says. "They brought a drunk to find us now?"
"Brought a what?"
 
Before Cherry could retort, the griffon grabbed the pony and brought her to his scary face.
 
"Listen, my little pony. We just want to live in peace, so I suggest you go back to that madmare and tell her that the next one she sends after us, I won't let him return without a black eye!"
"Ugh. With your breath, he might just die before he could return, whatever it is you're talking about."
"DON'T PLAY DUMB WITH ME!"
"Don't worry! We have ol' Marbles for that!"
"Hey!" Marbles exclaimed.
 
The griffon exhaled aggressively. Cherry refused to break both her smirk, nor her eye-contact. The other customers are already lifting their tables to the side, fearing a fight might break out.
 
"Look mister big guy, I'm not here to fight. I just need to know if you know this griffon I'm talking about. She's the daughter of this author. Writes children's books. Father's name is Glyde."
 
The griffon's eyes widen. Cherry lets out another smirk, while keeping up an oblivious facade. She already suspected that the griffon could be Glyde's brother.
"You don't happen to know if her uncle's living with her?"
 
It was the last straw. The griffon shouts once more at the mare. "I TOLD YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM-" was what he managed to say before a drunken Cherry headbutts the griffon. With three mugs, she had not been thinking too clearly. She was drunk, but self aware drunk. She was bored, and wanted to liven things up. Her infamous temper hiding behind the facade of a condescending smile.
 
"ACK!"
"Hoho!" the mare staggers on two hind legs. "Seems I had a bit too much to drink!"
 
The griffon pinches his beak in pain, checking if it was cracked by the insane mare. He growls at her and tries to tackle her down. For Cherry, there never was a need for such a brawl to take place, but her bored drinking got the best of her. She spun to the right and had let the griffon slip up to her side like a bull chasing a red cape. She pranced in the middle, taunting the griffon.
 
"Come on, brother. All I ask is some answers. Are you the girl's uncle? Do you know Glyde? Just say yes and I'll end this- WHOA!"
 
The griffon threw a chair, with her getting lucky he had bad aim. The impact on the wall was enough to cause one leg of it to break.
 
"OH GOSH!" The bartender exclaimed. "P-PLEASE TAKE THE FIGHTING OUTSIDE!"
"Isn't there a guard or something around here?" asked a customer.
"N-NOT SINCE WE LAID OFF OURS TWO WEEKS AGO! I mean we're practically getting broke by the mon- OH DEAR, NOT THE FLOOR!"
 
The griffon piledrived the mare to the ground. Cherry rose up and the two wrestled, one trying to beat the other senseless and the other trying to get some sense knocked in. The poor bartender is petrified by the event. The same cannot be said for the audience, as they seemed to be enjoying it (even the waiters and the cooks)! The first exciting thing to happen in weeks, and it's a fight between two species. They cheered and yelled, and Cherry's enjoying it. The ciders had  gone to her head, and the griffon's just had enough of her grin. With both of them were on the ground trying to strangle each other, a purple purple filly busts up in the restaurant and yelled out her friend's name.
 
"CHERRY!"
 
Everyone in Dainty Dove had paused, startled by the voice of a child. The griffon on top who's strangling Cherry looks to his left to find another griffon in the restaurant, only this time accompanied by the filly.
 
"Uncle!" the griffin called out, surprised at the situation he's in. "Glenda!" he replied, covering his beak as if he had made a mistake. The drunken mare took the opportunity to deliver a punch to his left temple that caused him to stumble onto the ground.
 
"I WON!" she blurted out, before realizing she wasn't in a competition of sorts.
"Cherry! What in the goddess' name were you doing with him?" Dinky asked, helping the mare up to her three hooves.
"I...was...totally doing my job! Look, a griffon!" she pointed out, and then getting confused over the sight of another catbird in the vicinity.
"Yes, well I found one too, and my method hardly used strong cider, or your brand of interrogation...or whatever you did to start a fight."
 
The other griffon, Glenda, went to help her uncle up to his paws. The hit he received wasn't nearly as horrible as Cherry thought she had delivered, but it was enough to bruise his cheek.
 
"Uncle, didn't I tell you to stop fighting at public places? You're going to draw attention."
"If it wasn't for that darn mare poking her nose around..."
 
Dinky raises her hoof in their defense. "Look mister, we're not here to take you back to...wherever you guys thought we're going to take you. We just want to ask some questions."
"WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU?" the uncle objected. He was about to rant some more but was stopped by his niece trying to comfort him from behind.
"Uncle Grotto, let's just take this elsewhere. The filly's alone, or at least innocent. She's a safe one."
"But I don't trust that mare she's with!"
 
Cherry was already staggering over the counter and paid the bartender for the four mugs of cider she had.
"Keep the change, handsome." she said with a wink.
"But there isn't any change!" he corrected. "Besides, you need to pay for the damage you've caused in this-"
"Ahh don't worry about it, Garble. That big bird will pay for it."
"WHAT?" Grotto exclaimed.
"Honestly uncle, if the mare was actually working for Golden, she wouldn't be this careless."
 
The mare shot the griffon with a winning wink. Dinky kicks her leg out of annoyance. Grotto observed the two ponies. One with a flower on her head, and is certainly not as cheery as she seemed, and the other is a little filly unicorn. Years of paranoia built up on him, and his niece's trust and explanation seemed fair. They aren't working for the mare named 'Golden', but he disliked the company of the rowdy earth pony. Wanting to know what business they had in trying to find the two of them, Grotto decided to let bygones be bygones at that, and paid for some of the property damage they've caused before heading home.
 
Home was where the heart is, but to these griffons, it's disheartening to look at.
 
"Wow. This place is even more of a du- MMPH!" Dinky managed to comment, before a sobering Cherry covered her mouth.
 
The apartment was located only a few blocks away from the restaurant. They lived at the last floor, fifth and had a decently-sized room to themselves. Despite Dinky's impression, their flat was tidy and neat, save for the kitchen and dining room which still had a lot of unclean dishes and spilled condiments. Cherry moved in to glance at the photos nearby. There was one with Glenda and male griffon, possibly a friend or a lover back in Griffinstone. Another one on the counter was a picture of Grotto opening up a small open eatery, with three other griffons waving. He was smiling in it, and his eyes weren't as tired or weary as he is when the two ponies met him. Finally, there was one that was hung on the wall. Grotto and an older griffon holding a book.
 
"Is that Glyde over here?"
"Yes. It's the last photo we had of him." the old one replied.
 
Glenda went back to the living room holding a tray of tea and cookies. She's a bit shaky on her delivery, almost had her glasses dropped.  Dinky and Cherry let down their bags and sat by the couch. Dinky noticed that the uncle had his suspicious eyes on her, rather than his sparring partner. It made her feel uneasy. Cherry and Glenda were oblivious to this, and the mare decided to soothe the atmosphere with pleasantries.
 
"This is a really nice apartment. Big, spacious and not as many cracks as the halls downstairs."
"We got lucky. The flat is pretty cheap, and we can afford to live here for months if neither of us can find a living." Glenda answered, pouring some of the tea into the cups.
"Listen, about earlier..."
"Yeah, what the heck was that all about, Cher?"
"Drunken fight. I may or may not have insulted him and his mother."
"You did neither. At least not the latter." Grotto clarified.
"Oh."
 
Grotto scratched his head, wanting to stop all this casual talk. He was still suspicious of the two ponies, and he did not want to let his guard down.
 
"Alright, enough with this nonsense. Who the heck are you two and why are you looking for my brother?" He said with an audible growl.
"Uncle!"
"Look Glenda, it's bad enough I had to pay for the fight I had with this mare in a bar, and now I'm letting her and her friend in my home?"
"They said they want to help find my father! It's not like they're-"
"What? Not working under her?" Grotto began pacing around, checking every window judiciously. "They got to be up to something..."
"Mister, we're not up to something, nor are we working for 'her'!"
"AHAH! YOU SAID HER. YOU KNOW SOMETHING!" Glenda began restraining her uncle. Dinky went near Cherry out of fear. The mare herself seemed unfazed by him.
"Calm down uncle! We just mentioned 'her' a few seconds ago!"
 
Cherry took a sip, her face still blank while she looked at Grotto.
 
"Can any of you tell me who this...'female' is and why does she seem to get your uncle on the edge?"
"Yeah!" Dinky added. "I think you mentioned a name before. 'Golden' was it? "
 
Glenda handed her father a stress ball to ease him. He sat by the window to keep his mind off the two guests.
 
"Golden Glory. She and my uncle were...prone to disagreements."
"DARN STRAIGHT!" her uncle affirmed.
"Did she have something to do with Glyde's disappearance?"
The griffon drank the tea in one go. "Maybe I should ask you two first something."
Cherry took a guess. "You want to know why we're interested in looking for Glyde."
"Yes." her gentle voice barely fading. "It just seems so odd that two strangers out of the blue would come in Dodge one day looking for my father." she said, suspicion lingering in the tone of her voice
"Call it a drunken dream turned a reality."
"Excuse me?"
"Let me explain." Cherry offered. "Weeks ago, we found a strange anomaly during the lunar eclipse. A sea gull disappeared in the midst of the eclipse, leaving only a trail of blue magic dust (or whatever those unicorns call it), disappearing into the unknown."
 
Glenda and Grotto looked at each other, the latter in disbelief.
 
"You saw all that through a telescope? You two must be a lot more dedicated than I imagine."
"M-More or less. We didn't use a telescope, per se." she said, to the griffon's increasing confusion.
"Cherry rode a rocket to the sky." Dinky blurted out.
 
"Y-You..."
"Rode a rocket?"
 
"The idea wasn't mine, mind you, but it in the end, it all worked out. Both of us wanted to be...err... explorers of the mystical and unknown, and it just so happened that we hit the jackpot that was kinda linked to Glyde's fictional adventure book, or previously fictional adventure book."
 
Grotto threw the stress ball back into the basket with the yarn and needles.
 
"This is unbelievable. A rocket-riding pony? My brother's books gone to life? P-Preposterous!"
"That's what I thought initially, but there's no reason for us to lie."
"Unless you're here to extract SOMETHING from us!"
"Uncle!"
"Glenda, listen to her. Would you believe a word of w-what they're saying? Disappearing seagulls my tuft! If their story is any bit fact, it might as well be their imagination. Who's to say they didn't j-just imagine it?"
 
The bird wiped the sweat off his brow. Dinky noticed something peculiar with Grotto. He was talking too much, though it's nothing surprising given his initial paranoia.
 
"There's a reason why we came here, and that is to find out if Glyde thought so too."
"What are you t-talking about?"
"It was a winter day." Dinky mumbled out loud. "An eclipse happened that day. Truth be told, I couldn't remember whether it was a solar or a lunar. All I remember was that two days after, a newspaper reported the disappearance of Glyde, the writer of the newspaper acknowledging the connection with eclipses."
 
"It's a coincidence! Just because that happened doesn't mean that my brother-"
"Oh goddess, we're not getting anywhere with the old bird, Dinky." Cherry said, getting annoyed already by Grotto's confusing words. The filly put down her cup slowly approached the entrance of their rooms with the two griffons focused on Cherry. The filly then proceeded to sneak around their rooms. "Don't suppose you're a better conversationalist, Ms.Glenda?"
"I...I'm afraid I don't remember the day of my father's disappearance. Well, not much at least. I was very young, and my memories of those days were a blur. One thing was consistent however."
"And that was...?"
"Golden Glory. Her and her dark-dressed pony entourage."
"Not another word, Glenda!" her uncle yelled. "These ponies have no business in our business!"
"WE CAN help find your brother, Grotto...err...sir." she hesitated, remembering to control her tone as she was a guest in their home. "I've seen it first-hoof."
"But why? Why on earth would you want my brother back? You don't know him! We here barely did!"
"Uncle, please!"
 
Glenda attended to her uncle once more, trying to calm him down. He stumbled on the rug, trying to get a hold of himself. Dinky later came back, already putting her bag on.
 
"Dinky? What are you..."
"Excuse me, but I think we should go." the filly said in haste.
"Wha-"
"Can we visit tomorrow? I mean, when things calm down, Ms. Glenda?"
 
As Glenda retrieved her uncle's stress ball, she attended to the ponies, wondering if they had a place to stay.
 
"Well, we kind of thought we'd be done with everything for the day..." Cherry lamented.
"Well obviously we thought wrong."
"Ms. Cherry. Ms. Dinky. Can you two come outside for a moment?"
 
The two nodded and went with the griffon. Dinky took a last look at the uncle, who was squeezing the ball with his right and his left hand on his face. The griffon closed the door and tried to get things straight.
 
"Well, that turned out less worse than the bar fight."
"Cherry!"
"Oh. Darn it, now you're rubbing off on me."
"Ms. Glenda..." Dinky said, putting her hoof on the griffon's arm.
"I never knew my father very well. For a children's book author, he never spent time with own daughter."
"I...I'm so sorry."
"But I still don't know why the two of you would want to find my father."
"We both have our reasons, but in the end we're working together because he was an inspiration to us, and that we stumbled across what could possibly be a new discovery, that links us to another curiosity."
"One that concerned his disappearance, and the existence of alternate worlds." Dinky added. "If we just had any information on how he prepared, how he wounded up disappearing on the eve of an eclipse, we can..."
"Find Earutan." Glenda finished for them.
"Yes."
 
There was a moment of silence in the halls, before Glenda teared up.
 
"A-Are you okay?" the filly asked.
"Yes I...I'm so sorry, but I guess we've been running away for so long that...revisiting this part of us...it's just too much."
"Hey! We're just a bunch of crazy ponies trying to prove that we're not crazy in pursuing this." Cherry fretted.  
"B-But it would be...it would be nice to talk to my father again. I doubt he's still alive though."
"Why wouldn't he?"
"It's been years. It's been so long. I've been engaged once, graduated and had gotten a medal, first place for a local sport. I've done so much in a decade, and not once did he show up for the years that had passed by."
 
The two ponies looked at each other, and then at Glenda. They tried comforting her, hooves on her shoulders and some nodding on the side.
 
"If what you discovered is true, then he could be just stuck in another world. Maybe crippled or imprisoned by...something!" Glenda shivered, trying to block out any thought of her father being dead.
"And that's why we're here. We want answers. About him, about this other world, and...some third other thing."
"What third other thing?" Cherry asked.
"I don't know! We always have three things for some reason!"
"...Oh yeah..."
 
Before they could talk, Grotto interrupts them by yelling from the inside.
 
"GLENDA! ARE YOU STILL TALKING TO THOSE PONIES!"
"J-Just a second, uncle!"
"No! No more seconds! Just stop talking to them! They could very well be working for that witch!"
 
Glenda sighed, and felt that her uncle has been very hostile with the guests she accepted.
 
"That griffon." Dinky grouched. "He knows something."
"Look, Ms. Glenda. Can we...talk tomorrow?"
"I would like to. There's a coffee shop near Jubilee's fruit ranch. Name's Beanie Beans."
"We'll be there at 10." Dinky shook her hand. "Thank you for...not being like your uncle."
 
 
Glenda nodded silently, then went back inside. Audible noises of her protesting uncle were heard, but they both were uninterested by the same repeated comments about 'Golden Glory' by him. The two ponies walked downstairs. It was 8:00 in the evening, and it was very late for two visitors of another town. They muddled around under a streetlight, lamenting on being so near yet being so far.
 
"Darn. I was hoping they'd invite us in for the night."
"So now what?"
"Well, there's a cheap hotel that I used to sneak into years ago. Had bad food. The rooms were worse."
"Better than nothing."
 
The two nodded and travelled down to Moe's Motel. A small cheap lodge for cheap individuals. The room they rented wasn't half bad on their standards. One bed, one bathroom and a radio. Only a few cracks and rust on the wall. No mini-fridge, but there was a small bucket of ice near the lamp for some reason. Dinky put down her bag while Cherry inspected the whole room, suspicious that she had wounded up in those murder motels she's seen too much on the movies.
 
"Well. No masked maniacs or hidden cameras so far."
"What?"
"Nothing. If it's anything, the whole day wasn't a complete waste of time. I mean we found Glyde's relatives, though they haven't been completely insightful whatsoever. "
"Eh. I predicted as much."
"Know-it-all." the mare let out.
 
"Fortunately, we have two that would be willing to tell us about Glyde's disappearance."
"Two? The old bird didn't even want to talk to us!"
 
The filly shook her head, a glimpse of her smirk caught Cherry's eye before Dinky took out a small book from her pouch.
 
"TH-DEHH" she uttered, carrying the book with her mouth. Cherry was about to ask about the book when she noticed some feathers poking out of the pages, as well as Dinky's short disappearance in the griffons' apartment.
 
"Oh no you didn't..."
"Oh yes I did!"
 
It was a journal belonging to one of the griffons. Dinky immediately confirmed that it belonged to Grotto, and that it smelled of cheap cider.
 
"Where did you find this?"
"A lucky find, actually. I was looking in their room and I 'stumbled' upon a box hidden underneath one of the tiles of their apartment which was had a tripwire I 'accidentally' disarmed." she gloated.
"What were you even trying to find? I doubt you actually knew the old geezer had a journal."
"I didn't. But someone like him who keeps shaking and shivering, hiding information and such is bound to try and keep his sanity by either talking to someone like a therapist or maybe recording himself as if he were talking to another."
"And you got a lucky find."
"Lucky indeed. I had practice back at home when my sister was such a greedy sod, so I usually sneaked into her room to try and play with the dolls she doesn't let me have. Fifth time around, I accidentally stumbled upon HER journal."
"Remind me never to rent you a room if I ever I decide that my house be open for renting."
 
Cherry put aside her curiosity for Dinky, as there were more important things at hoof. The two stared at the book, which was laid out on the floor of their room. The tension was intense. Dinky wanted the moment of excitement to last. Cherry had no idea what was taking Dinky so long to open it, so she went on and flipped the cover herself. The two looked in awe, not because it was beautiful but because it's a mess. Pages have been hardened, possibly by water as Dinky thought to herself, and there's a faint scent of cider in some of the pages of the journal.
 
"Alright, let's skim quickly. Set your eyes to find anything that has the words 'Glyde' and ' Golden Glory'."
"And Earutan!" Cherry added.
"That too."
They spent the next minute flipping through every page, eying for relevant pages. Most of the earlier accounts just had the heartbroken uncle lament on his past failures as a lover to his two ex-fiancés. Cherry let out her tongue in disgust over what she was reading. Dinky's eyes however stuck to what's important, and skimmed through like a robot looking for keywords on a wall of text. Her nose and right ear twitches during the moment, and Cherry was left trying to erase the embarrassing scenes in her head that involved very cringe-worthy things that Grotto did. Two minutes later, they reached something worth reading about.
 
Winter, November 21st.
 
The old one-bird band did not go so well with my effort to bring back the spark I lost with Glessa. It seems that she had truly left me for someone richer, more handsome and more successful. I should've just done plan D, which was hide in her closet and surprise her with a serenade while wearing a clown gettup. Oh how I remembered how she loved to go to the circus with me back when we were madly in love. Now she's just mad at me. What did I do wrong? Was it because of the time I threw a pie at her every morning? I know she loved that joke when we went to the circus. Maybe it was the time I showered her with butterflies that I caught a week earlier in a bag. I didn't know they all died when I woke her up. Darn ants and tiny maggots ruined everything. Oh maybe I should just give her a large 'I'm sorry please accept me again' card to try and cool things over between us.
 
Just got back from across the street. My brother used up all the glue he had trying to fix something belonging to some pony named Golden. I swear, if my brother keeps being nice to all these ponies, he'll end up marrying one. He'll never find happiness with some pony. Eh. Then again, it's not like he needs help finding someone to marry. Widowed and all. I guess Gan's death took a toll on him. He hasn't shown a lot of emotion to his daughter. Not like he ever did even when Gan was still alive. He always just sat there, writing or drawing something. If not that, he'd go back and forth to the bank and pawn. That's just sad of him, but what's sadder is how he never seemed to notice his own daughter alot too. Bah, enough of him. I should just break out a few bits to buy some from Get's supply shop. Goshdarn him and his capitalist prices!
 
"I swear, that guy just doesn't know when to quit." Cherry commented. "Find me another page that's less gag-worthy."
 
Dinky flipped through the next few pages, trying to see whether the tone changes.
 
Winter, December 1st.
 
First day of the new month, and only 48 months to go before the restraining order expires. I'll get over her eventually, but the thought lingers of what if she gets over her dislike of me? Would it be wiser to wait for three years until I can make my move again or simply move on? I'd probably end up like my brother if I didn't. Like I wrote two days ago, I had a one on one chat with him, and for those forty seconds of silence, he only mentioned on how he never forgave himself for not being there when his wife needed him. Harsh for him, but it's probably the malt cider making him talk. I went there just this morning to see if he passed out on the floor or something. To my surprise, he was still on his desk, writing on this large blue paper, with unopened envelopes on his left. His daughter told me he hadn't slept at all. Always busy. Always writing. So as a caring brother, I decided to ask if he needed someone to talk to. He was silent. I pondered on whether or not I should read that one letter on his table, but it did not matter, as Glyde finally snapped out of his silence and asked us if we could ready some tea for a guest coming. I joked to him if it was a lady friend, but he replied in a tone too serious that it was a business associate. A mare. I went in the kitchen and helped Glenda with the tray. I would've suspected that he was seeing some pony in a romantic sense, but with his leery eyes and grouchy voice, I thought otherwise. Then when we actually finished setting up the living room, the old coot asked me and his daughter to leave the house! Can you believe that, Journal? His own family! Now, I didn't want to argue so we both quietly went outside. Of course neither of us really went too far. We waited. Two hours later, a carriage appeared and out came this golden pony that reeked of riches and pretention. The whole house was guarded by her colts in suits and shades. In the end, neither of us knew who the mare was. A lo
 
"Err, what's with that end?"
"No idea. Probably got distracted and forgot all about it." Dinky speculated.
 
Cherry grabbed the journal and began flipping the page. Dinky wasn't pleased with Cherry's sudden enthusiasm to read, but she put it aside to climb over Cherry's shoulder to read the next page with her.
 
Winter, December 2nd.
 
Noticed some ponies in suits in the neighborhood again. None of them were disturbing the peace, and everybird else doesn't really care about them. Went in to deliver a mail to the judge to repeal the restraining order. Left the envelope in the postal box and went about my business. It wasn't until I went back to where the postal box was when I found out that my mail had been ripped open, or so the mailmule said it was. Stamp was still on, and no one saw what happened. I was dismayed over it so I checked every corner for anyone looking suspicious. Probably griffins I know. The only one that looked remotely suspicious was the pony in the suit nearby. He didn't bat an eye when I gave him the stare. He only seemed keen on keeping an eye out near Glyde's house. Glyde wasn't home that day. I need to talk to him.
 
"Oh man, the story's getting somewhere!" Dinky exclaimed.
 
Cherry had put the book down to grab the sandwich she bought earlier. A thriller is best read on a good stomach after all. Dinky flipped to a few more pages, as the next few simply filled up their suspicion of Grotto in small amounts.
 
Blizzard, December 12th
 
Too coold to write. Been looking throuugh wi--dnow a lot. Glyde's lady friend has been visiting alto latellly. He has been {incomprehensive smudge} throuhg the nights. Talked to one of the ssuits. Told me to bakc off. Something's up {incomprehensive smudge}.
 
Winter, December 18th
Blizzard is gone. The suits are not. It's been weeks since they've been keeping tabs on my brother. They stop me from visiting, and worse is that they're trying to separate my brother from his own daughter. Those pony arseheads! What the heck has my brother gotten himself into?
 
Winter, December 19th
{Brownish smudge}mn ponies gave me a black eye! Worst of it was that Glyde didn't even have my back on this. Nearly broke my beak too if I hadn't scuttled away. {Brownish smudge} this.
 
Dinky continued eating her sandwich. The excitement in their hearts strengthened. Whatever page they were on, they reckoned that they were reaching the climax.
 
Winter, December 21st
Decided to sneak in his house and hide by the kitchen. Try to see if I can find out what the heck my brother is doing. Can't let his daughter know. Can't let him know. I hid by the closet close to the refrigerator. Goddess knows why he keeps an empty closet in the kitchen. I was close to his living room, where he works all the time. The mare's carriage was outside. I knew because it was a noise I was all too familiar with.  The scar on my cheek still hurts, but not as much as the black eye on my right. The front door opened. I stuck the side of my head to hear what they had to say.
 
"Glyde, dear. It's been months."
 
My brother could only mumble.
 
"The eclipse will begin in a fortnight. We NEED results."
"Oh bug off, lady. You've been pestering me time and time again, using my daughter as leverage. This kind of work takes time, and I don't think you understand-"
"I understand that time is of the essence. There's a world out there and we need your foreknowledge and expertise to reach it. I already offered you the best researchers and henchmen to help, but you insist on refusing!"
 
I heard the sound of a lamp being thrown on the wall.
 
"Forget your griffins and forget your bloody deadlines! I can't risk building this for your ponies. Not when there's too many complicated matters to calculate on!"
"...Mr. Glyde, may I remind you that-"
"and MAY I REMIND YOU, MS. GLORY that I will not have anyone give their lives up for an error that I...that WE WERE so careless to ignore. This requires perfection, and I won't allow for any less." my brother yelled, literally putting his foot down. I think the floor made a crack.
 
There was a long silence. I heard hoofsteps coming closer to the closet. I peeked through the keyhole and found a clearer view of the mare. The yellow pegasus  had red swirling hair on her head. Her tail had swirls as well, counting three. She wore a cozy but fashionable jacket, and earmuffs hanging around her neck. She had faint makeup on her face, and a scent that was unmistakably close to something lemony. Her eyes looked tired, and she doesn't seem like a bad mare, or at least not as villainous as those evil rich-folk movies I watched. She signalled her men to go out the door, and had a final say to my brother.
 
"Two weeks."
 
She left. I tiptoed out the closet and flew out the window. I need some time to think on this.
 
"Golden Glory, huh?" Cherry uttered, taking a bite out of Dinky's sandwich.
"Well at this point, he just knows her as 'Glory'."
 
The mare nodded, then circled around the room, peeking through the window as a way to contain the excitement she felt when they were reading it.  Dinky noticed something in the next few pages. The ones from December 22 to 28 were ripped off, albeit cleanly and barely noticeable. Te filly noticed it only by staring at the middle of the book closely. The next few pages were covered in smudges and dirt.
 
"ARGH!"  
"What? What happened?" the concerned mare asked, trotting to the filly's shoulder.
 
"PAGES! MISSING PAGES!"
"Well just read the next ones!"
"I don't think we can! I mean, just look at it!"
 
Winter, December 29th
 
Golden Glor--- {brownish smudge} her wanted to chase his fairy ta {brownish smudge}
 
 
 
"...wait, that's it? What's the next entry say?"
 
Dinky shook her head, and showed the mare the rest of the other entries. All of them ended in a single sentence. Sometimes two if they counted the small tiny dots that might be periods. All that leads up to the next two weeks.
 
 They've reached the entries of the day that Grotto has done what they wanted him to do. All the previous entries were incomprehensible, only mutters of names, pieces of metals and phrases.
 
Winter, January 4.
 
Fire on brother's house. Can write a bit betterrr now. Darn doctors don't think I can- write with beak. I'l keep short. Niece visit me in hosptal. house their h- no longer standing. Two- weeks till the casts in my arms legs come off. Don't know where brother is. Bored in hospital. Journal only saving moments. Niece doesn't know where her dafather is. Darn it
 
Winter, January 5.
 
Doc said I can leave in a few days. Took the straps on my arms off. Can write better than yesterday no doubt. Still aches but better than reading the dull magazines they have. Police came in and told me the news. My brother is nowhere to be found. The house is completely burned down. Glenda is crying outside. I told them to go search for a mare named Golden Glory. I lie in this bed hoping that something good will come once I wake up. Where could he be?
 
The filly's hoof felt the next page as the last page. The last entry he wrote in the book, she thought. She hopes that for whatever lies in the next page, it better be worth the ink he used.
 
Winter,  January 7
 
No news of my brother from the police. However, Glenda had been asking around. Three days since the house burned down. She said too many of the griffons were enticed by the eclipse that afternoon that they had not noticed a grouchy griffon or a mare with a ton of suited bodyguards. They did however hear a loud explosion. Glenda said they didn't know if it came from their house or somewhere else. Eitherway, there was something consistent with what everyone she questioned had said. A small glimmering flying object had flown to the eclipse. Everyone thought that it was a bird carrying a piece of metal. Glenda said it was just like the books her father wrote. I called it malarky and a coincidence. But looking back to the time I tried to look at the blueprints he made (and ended up getting beaten up for it), it somehow just...connected.
I don't know. It just did.
 
Dinky closed the book and put it aside. The two ponies speculated at that time. It's 2:00 AM, and they're at the very least energetic.  
 
"What do you think, Cherry?"
"Everything just leads up to old Glyde disappearing in the pale moonlight, or pale moon eclipse  to be exact. "
"I reckon that the griffons really did see something in the sky. Not a bird, but a ship."
"The journal's vague on that, Cherry. The coincidence however is not. "
"Well I'm sure we can ask Glenda about that."
"Should we?"
 
Dinky raised her eyebrow.
 
"We stole a journal, and she said it herself. The day was a blur. I doubt we'll get something good out from her."
"Oh yee of little faith." the filly chuckled. "There's plenty of other questions, my friend. The thing we need to decide on is whether or not we tell the girl that we rummaged through her uncle's belongings and stole his journal."
 
Cherry and Dinky took a short moment to think about the pros and cons. No doubt that there's a chance her uncle knows that his journal's been stolen, they thought.
 
"If it's anything selfish, we might have to ask her about it."
"What?"
"The fire."
"But she said-"
"I know what she said, Cherry. But she seemed willing enough to find her father. Just maybe..."
 
Cherry sighed out loud. While Dinky might be less sympathetic to the griffon's feelings, she has a point.
 
"Besides, we're already one step closer to finding out the truth of what happened to Glyde. Do we really have the guts to stop pursuing this right here and now?"
 
The mare stayed silent.
 
"Yeah. We're going through with this."
 
 
 It was 10:30 AM, and the sky was as gloomy as ever. Withered flowers from across the street accompanied that part of the town where even the birds don't even carry the optimism to sing. The two ponies had ordered two beverages, coffee for the filly and hot cocoa for the mare. Dinky gave off a sinister smile that showed her bright teeth, which didn't have any deeper meaning other than trying to remain calm despite the adrenaline her drink had been giving her. Cherry was growing bored of watching the strong sweaty worker stallions inside Jubilee's farm. She kept on looking at the clock, wondering if the griffon would show up. It was a gamble, and they're running out of money for food and distractions.
 
"Are you sure you're fine with coffee? Aren't you a little too young to-"
"C-COMPLETELY. FINE." she said, shaking and blinking but trying to maintain a poker face.
 
Cherry paused for a moment, and then told Dinky that she "probably wasn't coming." Dinky rolled her eyes at her, both out of impatience and disbelief.  They grew tired of waiting, but their hope still remained, at least for the next two minutes.
 
Down the street came a figure, large and wearing a dirty blue coat and a rugged beanie. She coughed as she went towards the two ponies' table, eager to get this whole thing over with before her uncle would realize that she's not home.
 
"Glenda?" Cherry asked, before replying with a nod. "I'm so glad you cou-"
"GOOD GODS, FINALLY!" Dinky bursted out, much to the griffon's surprise.
"Apologies. She drank something not meant for kids her age."
"I'M FINE!" she retorted, but Cherry took away the mug of coffee nonetheless. The griffon even noticed that she barely drank half of what she ordered.
 
"I-I'm sorry." Glenda stuttered. "S-sorry that I was late."
"It's fine. Not like we're in a hurry!"
 
The griffon rubbed her left arm, feeling guilty over some feelings that she had from yesterday and before.
 
"I'm sorry about yesterday. I know we haven't been quite hospitable but-"
 
Cherry stopped her by waving her hoof as she shook her head sideways.
 
"No need for that too. What matters to us is finding out the mystery of your father's disappearance."
"I still can't wrap around the idea of you two spending time to find someone like him."
"Like my filly friend said before, finding him is just one part of our motive. The other half is finding out if another dimension exists, and that if that dimension is the one we've seen in the books he's made."
"IT'S ALL SO WEIRD, MS. GLENDA, BUT YOU CAN COMPLETELY TRUST US." Dinky shouted out.
 
"Dinky..." the mare whispered. "You're starting to sound like a guilty con-mare. Just calm down for a moment and let me do the talking."
"FINE..." she said, bowing her head and trying to get her heart to stop beating so fast.
 
The griffon smiled a bit, and something sparkled in her eye. A feeling of comfort to her, as it had been far too long since she had a conversation with anyone that wasn't her uncle or her old griffon friends, which she only kept in contact with as pen pals. She took out her bag and pulled out a small package, wrapped in white cloth and tied with a string.
 
"You said yesterday that you read about the fire in my hometown. It's true that he disappeared the night of an eclipse, but the circumstances of his disappearance were questionable. During that time, he wasn't the only one who had gone missing."
 
"There were others?"
 
Glenda nodded.
 
"We used to have visitors. Golden Glory, the mare my uncle blames for everything that happened, brought with her some of her body guards dressed in black suits everytime she visited. Almost like she was royalty. Well in any case, when the fire broke out, I was far away, watching the eclipse. Father wanted me to stay out. He was...teary eyed when he did. I mean Golden and her gang of colts visited almost weekly and father would usually tell me to go outside. It was a normal thing from those weeks before. The day of the fire was different."
 
"What were they doing in your house?" Cherry asked, scratching her nose to her question, one that she knew the answer to."
 
"They wanted him to build something. To research on something."
 
"Let me guess, a way to reach..."
 
"Earutan."
 
Dinky flinched a bit, gaining composure of herself. "Wait, even this Golden Glory knew it existed?"
 
Glenda shook her head. "I was just a little bird back then. When time passed after his disappearance, I tried putting the pieces together. My father was an engineer and a scientist, but leaning more on the former. I didn't know much about his job, but my guess was that they found Earutan before Earutan existed.
 
"Okay, I'm confused..."
 
"What I meant is, before he wrote children's books, he worked under Golden Glory's research division. Research for what, I do not know. What I do know was that he was fired before he published his books. From reading them, I discovered a connection."
 
"To Earutan?"
 
"To strange events." she corrected, as she took out another book. "I'm sure the two of you have read this?"
 
"Prancing-"
"-Discontent !" they blurted out. "That's the book I lost!"
 
"Tell me, what were the events that happened in this book?" Glenda smirked
 
Cherry had put her hooves on her forehead trying to remember while Dinky hyperventilated.
 
"Prancing Discontent was about a lone chimera, half-pony, half-lion named Kingson who went on building a ton of contraptions and whatever. Because he was a chimera, his pony family and neighbors feared and disowned him. Wanting to be loved, he tried to create and innovate, making a lot of fantastic inventions like a weather machine and a cryogenic container. Despite all he did, he was still feared by the kind he used to love because of his primal urges and thus fate gave him a bittersweet ending where years after his passing, his inventions helped move the world, and his legacy was remembered."
 
"...Oh now I remember that. I still wished he had delved deeper into how he turned into a chimera."
 
"One of the inventions Kingson made in the book was a small vehicle that can go through the most unforgiving places across the world, from freezing mountains to burning whirlwinds. He named it 'LEO'. "
 
"Okay..." Cherry shrugged. "What's that got to do with anything?"
 
"During my father's...well, detainment in his own home, he had been continuing work on several inventions and keeping them in our basement. One of them had a striking resemblance to the ship Kingson made in his story. Of course the one father was building had a lot of creative differences, it was no doubt the same as the one he wrote about."
 
"A ship like that can innovate the way us equestrians travel! Why on earth didn't your father pitch the idea to a wealthy company or something?"
"One can assume cost issues." Cherry thought. "Another thing is that he already pitched it most likely, to Golden Glory."
"Yes. One of the things my father was doing. He had other published books, and all of them were connected to whatever he had been doing under Golden's company, or at least books that satirized the ponies he worked with."
 
"DID GLYDE HAVE A THING FOR HIDDEN CODES AND MESSAGES? ENCRYPTED SECRETS THAT LIE IN HIS BOOKS?" Dinky asked aggressively.
"E-Err, no. He was hardly interested in hidden codes from what I remember. Not his cup of tea. I know my uncle was one for that, but not my father."
"Crumbs! My decoding was a waste of time!" the filly said with a scrunch. Cherry vaguely remembered her mentioning that she theorized about Glyde doing encrypted messages with his books.
 
"Wait wait, there's one thing I want to know."
"What's that?"
"Why on earth did your father write children's books about all this? A smart engineer-slash-scientist that can find work that pays above minimum wage and writes books for fillies on the sideline?"
 
"I'm afraid I'm blank on that matter as well." Glenda sadly answered.
 
"Maybe he wanted someone to find him or to continue his work."
"Dinky, that's just way too dependent on coincidence."
"Or...maybe he was just looking to find money on the side."
"More plausible than your last theory."
 
The two ponies looked at each other for a moment, and then back at Glenda. The information they've gotten was more than enough, and to Cherry, more than what they bargained for. All these talks about other worlds and secretive scientists had them on a roll, and for Glenda, it was a relief to get things off her chest. She worries however that her uncle is just nearby, hidden and eavesdropping like those radio dramas her uncle listens to every other night.
 
"The only thing I'm actually concerned about, Dinky, is that the ship old Glyde made is probably way too advanced for us regular ponies to recreate."
"Yeah. I mean Prancing Discontent only gave out the idea of such a ship, with a few mentions to certain construction materials like refractory metal and ice diamonds."
 
Cherry shook her head in disappointment.
 
"Ahh. This just got us to a dead end."
"Unless any of us were connected to rich folk, I don't think we'd have a shot at this."
 
"But you guys just said that you were eager to go to Earutan!"
"We were, and still are. Problem is we completely forgot to take into account how violent portals to other dimensions can be, or if they're even violent at all."
 
"I see what you mean." Glenda said, tapping her claw onto the package she had put on the table earlier. "Then I guess giving this to you would make a difference?"
 
The two ponies looked at it, surprised that they had ignored it from the start.
 
"W-What is it?"
 
"I don't know anypony or anybirdie else who can help me with finding my father, but you two, despite the inexperience, are the best that I have. If what you said was true yesterday..."
 
"About the rocket ride?"
 
"Yes, about the rocket ride, then I just know we have a chance at this. A chance to find Glyde."
 
"The fate of your father lies in the hooves of an intelligent brave filly and her subordinate." Dinky giggled.
"I just hope that this package can help." she said, nodding before standing up. She flashed the two ponies a smile and teary eyes before walking away. "If you need any help, don't hesitate to visit."
 
"Yeah. Thanks."
 
Before she could leave, Cherry asked one last question.
 
"Hey Glenda."
"Hm?"
"Why the paranoia? Why do you guys think Glory is up on your trail trying to track you down?"
 
Glenda stared at the mare, and briskly walked to her and whispered the truth.
 
"Not many of the things Glory and my father worked on were...legal. If anything, my uncle is afraid that someone would find out that Glory was guilty of some of it, and would in turn, put the blame on us. She had the money. We have nothing."
 
She turned and walked away. She was gone. Gone like the funds they had in the trip they took.
 
The train moved through the railway as the dark stratus clouds blocked the sun. The breeze through the ventilation was cooler than before, and the two ponies on board sat facing each other,  glad to be going home. The package they had received from Glenda lied on top of the small table in front of them. The chatter from their train carriage had come to a halt, allowing them a moment of peace.
 
As Cherry enjoyed the view from the window, Dinky slowly unwrapped the package.
 
"Well Cherry?" the filly said as if asking for permission.
 
The mare nodded, and the two of them took the white cloth away. The two ponies gazed upon its contents. Inside it were documents and folded pieces of paper inside a resealable bag. One of the things that caught Cherry's eye was a light-sensitive sheet with drawings and writings written in white. It was a blueprint, or rather, blueprints. The mare took it out and examined the three pieces she got her hooves on. The blueprints featured everything that the ship Glyde made had used, from the type of screw to the type of metal he had used. Full detail, he thought of everything, Cherry thought. Dinky on the other hand had documents regarding Golden Glory. Transfer papers, things she had before the fire incident at Glenda's old home. They both looked at each other, tired eyes and all, even if it was just 2:00 PM. They've gotten into something deep, something they didn't think they'd get into. What started as a curious experiment had gotten them both into a position that neither of them were seemingly prepared for. The young filly's optimism and intelligence, and the mare's amateur mechanical engineering skills were all that they had.
 
The birds up in the sky flew through the clouds. Cherry thought about the rocket ride she had. Another eclipse will happen, but in a later time. The two ponies contemplate. They could save a griffon's life, they thought. They would even have some sort of acknowledgement if this rescue mission to another dimension was a success. They were in over their heads, or at least Dinky was in Cherry's thoughts. Only the mare had thought that this isn't something the two of them can do alone. They have enough time to try, to research, and to gather materials.
 
A mare and her filly friend, about to go where no equestrian had escaped before. Cherry shivered at the thought of it, but Dinky was excited.
 
All the time in the world...
 
(PART ONE OF THREE)