Griffon the Heave-ho

by CrowMagnon

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Alternate Universe, Rainbow Dash, Original Character, Gilda, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life
Length: 49155

Eclipseverse: The return of griffon demigoddess Gertrude Snowheart prompts a visit from the Griffon Emperor which could have a serious impact on relations between Equestria and the Empire, as well as between Rainbow Dash and an old friend.

After the restoration of Gertrude's sanity and the awakening of the Snowheart clan, everything should be fine for the former Element of Generosity. Unfortunately, the Griffon Empire isn't sure that it wants to have to deal with an ancient, immortal ruler returned from a bygone era. A diplomatic envoy led by the Emperor himself has arrived in Equestria to determine exactly what place, if any, Gertrude and her followers have in the modern world.

Along for the ride is an old friend of Rainbow Dash's, who's apparently come back to make Dash's life miserable.

Published 2014-07-09 13:50:03 UTC
Last updated 2015-10-25 23:01:16 UTC

Part 2 - Twilight's Morning

My Little Pony, My Little Pony
Ahh, ahh, ahh, ahhh…
(My Little Pony!)
I used to wonder what friendship could be
(My Little Pony!)
Until you all shared its magic with me
Rich opportunities
An honest phrase
A helping hoof
And courage guides the way
The confidence
To raise your voice and sing
The spark of magic in everything!

You have my little ponies
Do you know you're all my very best friends?

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

For Lt. Sparkle, the day started wonderfully. Though it was late morning, the grass and flowers outside were still glistening with Spring dew. The town was peaceful and quiet with half of the working population out working in the fields, while the other half were getting their shops or market stalls ready for the mid-day rush. And for Twilight, herself? She had elected to step out of the Ranger's station and spend some time at the Bean There Done That while taking care of the best part of her job.

"I've never seen a pony grinning so widely over paperwork," Pinkamena mused as she set a mug of thick black coffee and an egg-and-spinach muffin down beside the stacks of parchment spread out in front of the unicorn.

Without a trace of sarcasm, Twilight earnestly replied, "What's not to love? The forms tell you exactly what you need to fill them out properly. I know precisely what's expected, so I can just take my time to get it done right." She picked up the muffin in her magic and devoured half of it in a single bite. "I even get to spend time having good snacks with one of my best friends while I double-check my work. And if I have time... triple-check!"

Twilight let out a happy squeak as she looked to Pinkamena with a blissful smile on her face. Pinkamena nodded and replied, "Well, I imagine it's nice to not have to make any stressful life-or-death decisions for a while."

Right on cue, a trio of terrified screams pierced the morning calm. Both Pinkamena and Twilight immediately turned to look out the large bay window in the front of the shop to see Rose, Lily and Daisy fleeing and wailing at the top of their lungs.

Without moving from their spots, Pinkamena and Twilight slowly looked at each other out of the corner of their eyes. "I'm sorry. I don't know what I was thinking, saying that," Pinkamena apologized.

"It's probably nothing serious," Twilight replied hopefully. "I mean... those three wanted the Rangers to deal with a ladybug infestation the other day. As long as nopony else is panicking..."

As she trailed off on that line of thought, the front door of the coffee house suddenly flew open. In the entryway, Caramel--one of her subordinates--struggled to catch his breath as he looked around, his eyes panning the interior of the building until he locked onto Twilight. "Lieutenant! Market square! Griffon! Sunburn! Fighting!"

Twilight stared back at him for about two seconds before she picked up her coffee and took a quick, deep swig of it as she stood up. Putting the mug back down on the table, she told Pinkamena, "Put it on my tab," and vanished in a flash of teleportation.

After a few minutes and a quick side-trip to the Ranger's station, a fully-armored Lt. Sparkle materialized near Ponyville's outdoor market. Most of the ponies had either already fled the area, or were hiding behind their stalls while looking up toward the sky. Twilight herself heard a furious roar and looked up to see Sunburn, a burnt-orange, blond-maned pegasus under her command, attempting to buck an armored griffon as the two of them repeatedly flew at one another.

At the first mention of griffons, Twilight's mind had gone to Gertrude and her followers, who had taken up temporary residence in a refugee camp at the base of Mt. Canterhorn. A single glance was all that Twilight needed to deduce that this one was not among their number. The majority of Snowheart griffons were civilians, not soldiers. The few who were wore armor of enchanted ice, crafted around themselves by their own magic.

Instead of the pale, icy white of the Snowheart clan's warriors, the griffon that was currently trading blows with Sunburn wore metal armor of a deep grey, which sparked at the pegasus every time Sunburn landed a blow against it. It was thundersteel, an alloy which hadn't been invented until centuries after the Snowheart clan's self-imposed hibernation.

That, as well as the Imperial crest emblazoned on the chestpiece, told Twilight that it wasn't one of the refugees.

"Corporal! Stand down! That's an order," she shouted up to the sky. Unfortunately, either she wasn't heard over the noise of both of them screaming battle cries at each other, or Sunburn was ignoring her. In order to get the attention of the two aerial combatants, Twilight focused her magic and waited for them to break apart and wheel around to come at each other again before shooting her flare spell between the two.

As the searingly bright, but otherwise harmless flash of magic went off between them, both Sunburn and the griffon veered away and started rubbing their eyes. Twilight took advantage of the momentary end to the fight to call out again, "I am Lt. Twilight Sparkle! By the authority invested in me by the charter between Luna's Rangers and the town of Ponyville, I'm ordering both of you to stand down!"

The griffon growled as she opened her eyes, blinking them until the spots faded from them enough for her to glare down at the armored unicorn. "What are you, the cops? This lame-o started it! I was just asking for directions!"

Sunburn ground her teeth together as she pointed a hoof at the griffon. "Don't believe her, boss! She was terrorizing everypony in the square! I was just doing my job!"

"If one of those weak-kneed ponies had just grown enough of a spine to answer a simple question, I wouldn't have had to get in their faces," the griffon retorted as the two of them slowly lowered themselves back to the ground.

"I'll show you who's got weak knees," Sunburn snapped, angrily digging at the ground with her foreleg. She looked ready to lunge at the griffon again until a purple barrier of magic materialized between them.

"That's enough, Corporal," Twilight told her. "I've got this. Go home and cool off," she ordered, pointing Sunburn toward the Best Pony Boutique.

Sunburn looked like she was going to argue the point, but the look in Twilight's eye made her think twice about it. "Yes ma'am," she replied through clenched teeth before flapping her way toward the balcony window of the apartment she shared with the BPB's proprietress..

Once she made sure that Sunburn went inside, Twilight turned her full attention to the armored griffon. "Alright... now I'd just like to know your name, and what business you have in Ponyville."

The griffon sat back on her haunches and crossed her forelegs across her chest. "Tough. I don't have to answer jack to you. I know my rights! I didn't lay a talon on any of you namby-pamby ponies until that dweeb started shoving me around. After that, it was self-defense!"

Twilight let out a sigh, seeing the griffon metaphorically dig in her heels. "Look, if you tell me your name and what you're doing here, maybe I can help you get it over with so you can be on your way. I know things run a little differently here than in the Empire, but in Equestria--"

"Pfft. Spare me. I know all about how things work here," the griffon interrupted, rolling her head back as she let out a weary groan. "Just tell me where to find this pony I've got unfinished business with, and I'll get out of your stupid faces! Her name's--"

"Gilda?"

"No, that's my name! I'm looking for..." The griffon trailed off and lowered her head again to see a light blue mare with an unmistakable mane approaching. "Rainbow Dash!"

Rainbow Dash grinned wistfully as she waved her good wing. "Hey, Gilda. I figured it had to be you who was kicking up a storm. But I didn't expect to see you in a uniform."

Twilight glanced between her friend and the griffon, Gilda, who seemed dumbstruck as she stared at the pegasus. "Rainbow, you know each other?"

Rainbow Dash nodded as she walked up to Twilight. "Twi, this is Gilda. Back in flight camp, she was my best buddy. Y'know, before everything went cruddy."

Gilda dropped back down onto all fours, her talons digging into the dirt road as she muttered, "Rainbow Dash..." Her stunned expression gave way to a low growl before she sprang toward the pegasus, talons outstretched. "I am going to KILL you!"

Author's Note

And here's Gilda in all her glory. As well as my attempt at an Eclipseverse theme song.

I've got to be honest. I have never sat through the entire theme song while watching the show. As much as I enjoy pretty much every other aspect of the series, I always skip over it. But here it is, and I kinda like it. I think I'll be using it in my Eclipseverse fics from now on.

Part 3 - Gilda's Morning

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Rainbow Dash's appearance had caused Twilight to let down her guard, so she wasn't prepared to stop Gilda when the griffon suddenly lunged. Gilda let out a feral shriek as she tackled Rainbow Dash...

... Who started laughing as the two of them rolled around in the street. Playful blows were exchanged until Gilda caught Rainbow Dash in a headlock and started grinding the knuckles of her talons against the top of Dash's colorful head. "What were you doing, leaving me behind with all the dweebs? Do you have any idea how bored I was?"

Twilight frowned and started to charge up a spell to separate the two. Before she could discharge it, Rainbow Dash reached up to start tickling Gilda under her beak, causing the griffon to visibly flinch as she struggled not to laugh, giving Dash an opening to slip out. Once she had her head free, she slipped underneath Gilda's larger body and leveraged her good wing.

"Sorry, G. You sound kinda blue. If I'd known I was taking all the awesomeness with me, I'd have left some for you," she taunted as she pushed. Despite Gilda's greater mass, Dash put everything she had into a quick, powerful shove upward that lifted Gilda's left side off the ground, causing her to overbalance.

Gilda was quick to make a cat-like twist before she could hit the ground, though, and landed on all fours. With a smirk, she retorted, "Shyeah, more like without you hanging around and being almost as cool as me, those lame-o's just realized they could never even come close."

She lifted up her talons and balled them up into a fist. Rainbow Dash lifted up a hoof, and they held out their forelegs to bump them together.

Finally finding her voice again, Twilight raised an eyebrow and stepped toward the two. "So... is this normal for you two? Because if you're planning on terrifying half the ponies in town whenever you want to catch up on old times..."

Gilda scoffed. "Pull the stick out, officer. I bet it hasn't seen the sun in a while," she snarked, getting a look of wide-eyed, sputtering indignation from Twilight. It also drew a snort of laughter out of Rainbow Dash, who failed badly to stifle it before getting a scandalized glare from her friend. Gilda ignored this as she threw a foreleg over Rainbow Dash's shoulder and said, "It's not like I had a lot of time to make you ponies stop being such sissies. I'm on a job, here!"

"Yeah? That have something to do with why you're wearing this?" Dash asked, tapping her hoof against Gilda's thundersteel armor. The impact caused a small spark of lightning to shoot off from the metal, where it traveled up the pegasus's hoof and made her mane stand on end. "Still plan on joining the Stormriders?"

"No, I plan on running the Stormriders," Gilda boasted. "But you know how it is. Can't join the best flying team in the Empire without putting in a few years of military service, first. It's so lame." She paused a moment to look pointedly at Dash's bent and mangled wing. "But if only one of us gets to live the dream, I've gotta give it everything I've got, right? Still, they've got me doing stupid stuff like flying ahead of the main group just to announce we're coming to your princess, even though she's already known for days!"

"Wait, wait..." Twlight interjected. "'We're' coming? Who's 'we?'" As she asked, a shadow crept across the sky overhead. Given that the weather schedule had promised clear skies all day, Twilight and all the rest of the ponies in the market square looked upward.

What they saw was a pride consisting of dozens of griffons, each of them armored and flying in formation around a blocky thundersteel carriage held aloft atop a small, but dense lightning cloud which was in turn being pulled by four soldiers.

Craning her head up to watch the other griffons flying overhead, Gilda swore, "Ahhh, hailstorms. Must've wasted more time on that other uptight dweeb than I thought. I gotta fly."

Gilda gave Rainbow Dash another noogie to further mess up her electro-shocked mane before letting go. "Don't get too used to me not being around. I'm gonna be coming back real soon," Gilda vowed, sparing Rainbow Dash a glance over her shoulder before flapping her large wings and pushing off in order to fly out in front of the pride.

Meanwhile, just outside Rainbow Dash's cottage, a white bunny grit his teeth as he tried to drag the unconscious Daisy inside. He had managed to get her about halfway there--which was an impressive feat for a lone bunny--but trying to drag an adult mare's worth of dead weight was slow-going, and there were still two more to go once he finished with her.

He almost got her to Rainbow Dash's mailbox when he heard her mumble and felt her start to stir again. The bunny let out a sigh of relief, figuring that he would be able to get her to wake the others, or at least drag them inside. Then he'd get the promised reward without having to do all the work of lugging them around himself.

The bunny tapped his foot against the ground impatiently as she slowly roused herself back to consciousness and rubbed her head. "Ohhh... oh, the horror... the horror," she whimpered, causing him to roll his eyes while she looked around. "Oh, thank Celestia, we're still alive," she said to herself while making her way toward the other two. "Hey, girls, wake up."

The bunny grinned, hopping along beside her. It was just a matter of inviting them inside the cottage where he could wait for Rainbow Dash to return. They wouldn't want to go back into town with the 'murderous griffon' about, and they certainly wouldn't want to run off into the dark, scary forest, so all he needed to do was point them toward the open front door and... and why was the sky getting dark?

He and Daisy both looked up at the sky, and the earth pony's body and mane became completely drained of all color due to sheer fright at the sight of the 'invading' pride of griffons. Her eyes rolled back in her head, and she flopped down alongside her fellow florists in a dead faint once more while the griffons simply passed by with barely a glance downward.

The bunny watched the armored pride fly overhead, then looked down at the ghostly-white mare who was once again laying beside her friends.

Right back where he had started.

Rendering the last fifteen minutes of heavy exertion completely moot.

One of the griffon soldiers looked to his wingmate and asked, "You hear something down there?"

"Yeah, sounded like an angry rat or somethin'. Why? You hungry?"

"If I want rat, I'll eat your mom's cooking," the first soldier retorted, and the two shared a laugh before noticing a young griffoness hurriedly flapping her wings to catch up. "Hey, Gilda! You know your job was to fly ahead of us, right? Guess you spent too long eating hay and knitting sweaters for all the cute widdle forest critters at that pony 'flight camp' to actually learn how to fly!"

The two snickered to each other while Gilda snapped, "Shut up! You slugs were just going so slow, I had the time to take in the sights. Had a nice stroll around the market. I'd have gotten you something you could really use, but they didn't have any diapers in your size!"

Both males laughed uproariously and started complimenting Gilda on her burn until both realized that she hadn't specified which one she was talking to. She put on a burst of speed and flew on ahead of them while they started arguing with each other over which one the insult had been meant for, leaving them behind as her smirk turned downward into a frown.

"So... that's one of your new friends, huh Dash? Well..." Her golden eyes narrowed dangerously as she clenched her teeth. "... We'll just see how hard you hold onto your friendships," she muttered to herself as she pushed ahead of the rest of the pride and flew off like a streak toward Canterlot.

Part 4 - Gertrude's Morning

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Gertrude Snowheart looked out upon the horizon from the spot where she, her grandson, and the reigning princesses of Equestria sat. The four of them, along with a small, ceremonial contingent of Royal Guards and four of her own Knights, watched as the Empire's aerial procession skirted around the edge of the Everfree Forest. She tilted her head in curiosity as her extraordinarily keen pink eyes took in the sight approaching them.

"When you told me that the Empire had invented a way to fly while encased in such cumbersome metal, I scarcely believed it," she mused to Celestia. "They've certainly come far without me."

"In some ways more than others," the aged alicorn princess conceded. 'Laugh lines' wrinkled around her eyes as she chuckled softly. "And certain griffons more than others, but you'll see that for yourselves once they arrive."

Gertrude nodded and took in a deep breath to steady her nerves as she held her head high. Though her own vision was considerably sharper at such a distance than even other griffons, she knew that it would not be long before the approaching fliers would get a good look at their former queen. From what Celestia had told her, griffons remained similar enough to those from her own era that it wouldn't help her cause to show any sign of timidity.

Her grandson, Gunther, had suggested that she take it even farther, and meet with the Imperial envoys fully armored. She had declined, electing instead to meet the dignitaries in a dress of snow white silk, which had been tailored on short notice by the griffoness who had once been her personal seamstress, assisted by several of Canterlot's tailors at the princess's behest. In truth, as she saw the descendants of her people draw ever closer, she found herself growing increasingly tempted to concede to Gunther's judgement and wrap herself up in the protective embrace of her own magical ice.

That very temptation, however, was why she chose to remain as unguarded as she was. Better to present herself openly and with integrity, she felt, than to hide in her armor. The closest thing that she had to a visible weapon, aside from those which nature had gifted her with at birth, was also the closest thing to jewelry or regalia that she wore on her person; a shard of unmelting ice in the shape of a spearhead, which hung from her neck on a thin platinum chain.

As expected, a single armored griffon flew ahead of the rest of the pride, streaking across the sky and flying low. Gertrude turned her gaze down, down to the base of the Canterhorn where the tents and hastily-built shelters that were provided for the Snowheart refugees lay. Despite her intention to remain stoic through the meeting to come, she dug her talons into the stone beneath her as she saw the swiftly approaching griffon's armor start sparking violently from the resistance of the air against the flier's speeding form.

Lightning arced off of the thundersteel and struck the ground below as she buzzed low, leaving scorched patches of grass and flowers in her wake. And she was heading straight toward the temporary lodgings arranged for her clan.

The Empire is attacking our people! That lightning will burn what little they have, came a stray thought in a voice close to her heart.

No, they are probing us. Testing our resolve, she mentally corrected. She remained steadfast, holding her wings tight against her sides, knowing that her Knights were only held back by her own restraint. Watch and see...

Despite her determination that this was the case, Gertrude couldn't help but look down at the Snowheart clan far below. Griffons, young and old, had all gathered outside to see the arrival of their Imperial brethren. The wind blowing up the mountainside carried their growing unease to her ears.

Fly! Intervene, that voice urged her. The lightning is drawing closer. It is your duty to protect them, isn't it? And you know that is why they won't move until the lightning is raining down upon them. Because they expect you to stop it before that happens!

Gertrude set her jaw. She felt Gunther tense beside her, his wings rustling anxiously. His Knights followed suit, each of them readying themselves to leap forth into action until Gertrude told them, "Stay where you are. This is nothing but a show. Just watch."

The solitary flier zoomed closer and closer to the refugee encampment, with the intensity of the lightning growing by the second. Gertrude could easily envision the destruction this would cause the temporary structures and tents in just a matter of moments... which is why she let out a sigh of relief when the armored griffon pulled up at the last moment, focusing the force of the lightning shooting from the thundersteel into a downward blast which harmlessly blasted a gouge into a dirt road while simultaneously propelling her straight upward before she could pass over the camp itself.

Moments later, the flier rose up above the waiting ponies and griffons, high enough that when she flared her wings to fully discharge the lightning in a burst of light and crackling energy, it did no more than make Gertrude's feathers tingle. The thundersteel-clad griffon then landed before her and the princesses, and lowered her head and wings in a bow to the alicorns.

In a tone that, surprisingly to Gertrude, suggested hours of very reluctant rehearsal and a staggering level of disdain for the occasion, the griffon recited, "Greetings to the citizens of Equestria. Greetings to the princesses who rule over them. On behalf of the Griffon Empire and His Eminence--long may he lead us--it is with gratitude and honor that we are welcomed into your lands."

Though Celestia couldn't have failed to notice the less-than-respectful tone, she chose to show no sign of it as she nodded and replied, "On behalf of the citizens of Equestria, I, Princess Celestia..."

"And I, Princess Luna..." the younger alicorn interjected when her sister paused.

"... Welcome the Emperor, and all who fly beneath his banner as our honored guests. You may return and tell him that he and his are as welcome in our home as if it were his own."

"Though next time, you should pull up a little sooner," Princess Luna added, surprising both parties as she went off the script and peered downward. Every pony and griffon nearby did the same, and saw that while none of the Snowheart griffons had been harmed by the herald's little show, she had passed close enough to their encampment that a stray bolt had struck and ignited one of the tents. The Knights down below were applying their own wintery magic to extinguish the flames before it could spread, minimizing the damage. "Sister, does this mean that we're at war now?"

Celestia let out a slow exhalation which nearly covered up the laughter under her breath. "No, Luna, just a reason for our young friend here to keep practicing her flying."

The armored griffoness gave a nervous chuckle back at the princesses, as well as sparing a look toward Gertrude and Gunther. "No lasting harm done," Gertrude assured her, though she noticed her grandson tightening his grip on his spear. The griffoness swallowed and then waved her wing to the approaching pride, signalling for them to come land.

In moments, the rest of the pride was setting down to form a ring around the largest patch of open space nearby, which is where the large thundersteel carriage was set down. The guards opened up the door to allow the riders to step out, and the first one to do so was a large, muscular steel-blue male wearing a black officer's cap and cape. The breast of the uniform he wore underneath that cape also happened to be decorated with enough medals that the glare of sunlight off of them threatened to blind anypony who looked directly at them.

As he stepped onto the stone, the griffoness serving as their herald announced, "Presenting General Gustav Airstrike, Secretary of Military Affairs!" The general approached the princesses, though he didn't actually look at them as he nodded his head toward them as a gesture of respect. Instead, his eyes locked onto Gertrude with an appraising stare. One which the former queen responded to by sitting straight and tall, meeting his judgement with her own gaze.

The next was a thin and very severe-looking griffoness who had a rusty hue to the coat of her leonine body contrasting the white of her feathers. While the herald introduced her to the welcoming party as Senator Gail Snaketail, Gertrude noted that as she crisply made her way toward the princesses to pay her respects, she pointedly avoided sparing so much as a glance toward the Snowheart griffons present.

Gertrude had thought that her days of being bothered by Winter's chill were long behind her. Senator Snaketail's icy dismissal of her very existence almost gave her cause to reconsider that thinking.

The third and last griffon to exit the carriage, however, managed to be the most surprising to Gertrude, even as he was the one most anticipated. With a little "Hup," a slightly overweight, middle-aged grey griffon with a long, feathery beard beneath his beak, hopped out of the thundersteel carriage. Completely naked except for a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, he let out a loud yawn and stretched his wings. "Ahhh, so good to be out of there. I can't begin to tell you how stuffy it was getting, sitting in that big metal coffin for six hours," he exclaimed.

Gertrude blinked her large pink eyes as she appraised the grey griffon, who looked rather out of place beside the other two. She even spared a glance inside the carriage, but there were no other griffons. And surely enough, after actually rolling her eyes, the herald drolly announced, "Presenting His Eminence, leader of the Griffon Empire and all domains which exist under its banner, who guides our people through both strength and wisdom... Emperor Grigori Buckbeak. Long may he lead us."

"Long may he lead us," the other Imperial griffons echoed as the Emperor strode toward the princesses.

Once he was standing in front of the two alicorns, Grigori and Celestia met each other's eyes, and instead of merely nodding as the previous two dignitaries had, both of them simultaneously bowed in deference to each other. Gertrude saw Princess Luna glance between the two for a moment before dipping her own head downward, as if just remembering that she had missed her cue.

When they lifted their heads again--Luna needing a prompting nudge first--Celestia beamed and said, "Always a pleasure to see you, old friend."

"Likewise, Celestia," Grigori replied, cheerfully forgoing her royal title. "I was going to say that you've never looked better, but now that I'm here, I see that I can do so and actually mean it!" The two rulers shared a laugh before he turned toward Luna with a boisterous grin. "And this must be the reason. It's wonderful to finally meet you, young lady. I'm no expert on pony standards of beauty, but even I can tell that you're just as lovely as your sister has always said."

Luna blushed and giggled into her hoof at the compliment. When he pointed to her flowing, star-filled mane and added, "You know, I tried to get my beard to look like that, but the blasted fireflies kept buzzing away. You'll have to tell me how you get them to stay in there," though, the Princess of the Night snorted and completely lost her composure in a burst of laughter. One which Gertrude herself found herself echoing at the thought of the leader of the entire Griffon Empire trying to catch glowing bugs flying out of his beard. This break in her stoicism served as an invitation for the Emperor to turn his attention to her.

"Ah, and this must be the lady of the hour," Grigori mused as he walked up to Gertrude. "You know, I grew up on the legends of the fabled Queen Snowheart. And here I always thought it was historical exaggeration when they said you were a giant."

Gertrude bowed her head respectfully to the Emperor, which put them at eye level to one another. "A pleasure to meet you, Your Eminence. Princess Celestia has told me all about the foundation and success of the Griffon Empire following my... absence, but I am excited at the prospect of seeing it all for myself."

Grigori continued to grin, but as Gertrude watched his expression, the mirth dissolved from his eyes. "Yes, well, that's what we're all here for. Celestia, would you mind if your little ponies showed my entourage to our quarters before we get down to business?"

"Of course, Grigori. No need to jump right into it after such a long trip," Celestia replied. She nodded to the Guards, several of whom broke their statue-like posture and began guiding the griffons into the palace proper.

Once they were out of sight, Gertrude approached Celestia. "Well... you did warn me that the Emperor would surprise me, but I didn't expect him to be so... casual compared to his cabinet."

"And I didn't expect his forces to be so undisciplined and disrespectful," Gunther interjected. "That griffoness acted like the whole thing was nothing but a pain in her flank! What sort of leader allows someone like that to make the first impression for their people?"

Gertrude considered her grandson's question, and thought back to the herald's approach. "One who wanted to see how we would respond, perhaps," she theorized. "You know him best, Celestia. Is that sort of thing normal for him?"

Celestia shrugged her wings and began to walk inside. "Sometimes. He is generally honest, but he is a politician. Why do you ask?"

Because I felt it. Something changed in his heart when you spoke of the Empire, the voice close to her heart whispered.

"I just wanted to know what sort of griffon he is," Gertrude replied aloud as she followed her friend into the palace.

Author's Note

And here's Gertrude, the final one of our viewpoint characters for this story arc. Half the reason for this story is to explore Gertrude as she is naturally, without a Windigo lodged in her brain, and not just how she reacts to modern griffon society, but how they react to her after twelve centuries. Especially with a few hundred refugees devoted enough to her to freeze themselves until she could be cured of the insanity she displayed in Snowblind.

As far as the refugee camp at the base of Mt. Canterhorn goes, the purpose for this is twofold. Firstly, it's close enough to forested land that they can hunt and forage for themselves without needing an excessive handout (hoofout?) from the Equestrian crown, while also being close enough that Gertrude can easily fly between the camp and the palace in order to address whatever issues come up. Secondly, it allows Twilight an opportunity to stay involved if and when she needs to visit the Snowheart griffons, because it'll be quite a while before she feels comfortable returning to Canterlot proper.

Part 5 - A Challenging Friendship

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"Bwahahaha! Smooth moves, there!"

"Hey, Rainbow Crash, didn't anypony tell you flight camp's for ponies who can fly?"

"You keep eating the clouds like that, you'll turn into a blimp!"

The young filly growled as the taunts of the three stupidest colts in the history of ever rang in her ears. It didn't help that their mockery came immediately after she had slightly miscalculated her ability to pull a sharp turn at the speed she'd been going, planting her facefirst at the far end of a deep furrow her body had gouged into the cloudscape. Fuming with anger, she yanked her head free and spun around to shoot a challenging glare at the moron trio. "You wanna say that to my face? I can take on all of you!"

Instead of being intimidated by her bravado, or even accepting the challenge, all three of them took one look at her and erupted into uncontrollable laughter.

"Nice 'do, Lamb-bow Crash," Hoops said, snorting with laughter as he pointed a hoof at the white, fluffy cloudmass that had stuck to Dash's head.

"Yeah! You're a real baaaaaad-flank," Dumbell bleated.

Rainbow Dash fumed, her face heating up until the cloud around her head evaporated. At the same time, she dug at the cloud beneath her with one of her front hooves. As she got herself ready to launch herself at the colts, Hoops looked at her and immediately choked. He quickly nudged the other two, and their laughter died as they also immediately grew fearful. "Woah, hey, we were just having a little fun! N-no need to start any trouble," Hoops stammered.

Rainbow Dash was about to snap that it was too late for that, but instead a voice behind her whined, "Oh, come on! I haven't had a good fight in, like, forever!"

Dash spun around to see that bullies weren't afraid of her, but of the griffon that had set down on the cloud behind her. Gilda looked at the moron trio with a predatory gleam in her eye while she balled her talons into a fist and cracked her knuckles. "Just a little scrap? Come on, if you don't want to fight three-on-one, I'll let you bring more ponies!"

"Hey! Butt out, ugly," Rainbow Dash snapped, startling Gilda as the filly turned all of her ire from the colts onto her. "If anypony's gonna fight these dummies, it's gonna be me!"

Gilda snorted derisively. "Yeah, right. What were you gonna do, pint-size? Nibble their ankles off?"

"Shut up! I can take all three of them with my hooves tied behind my back!"

"Shyeah, and I'm Princess Naglestia!"

If Rainbow Dash had been angry before, now she was seething. "Oh, you take that back! Nopony trash-talks the princess!"

Gilda leaned in close enough that she and Dash were practically butting heads as they glared at each other. "Guess what? I ain't a pony! What're you gonna do about it?"

Rainbow Dash pulled back into a low crouch, making Gilda think she was backing off. She wasn't. Like a coiled spring, she launched herself at Gilda, headbutting the young griffoness in the chest with enough force to knock Gilda off her paws, and the two of them soon became a whirlwind blur of hooves and talons.

Twilight blinked in astonishment as she accompanied Rainbow Dash back to her cottage. "Seriously? That's how you two became friends?"

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Nah, I was a real cocky brat back then, and she stole my thunder. I couldn't help but hate her. Friendship? That came a little later. Those three idiots slipped away, so when the grown-ups showed up, we were the only ones who got in trouble for fighting, and having to sit together waiting for our parents to show up couldn't have been any less exciting."

Rainbow Dash crossed her forelegs as she sat back in the cloud chair she'd sculpted for herself while stuck waiting in camp counselor's office. She glared across the room at Gilda, whose tail was lashing around from side to side as she agitatedly pawed at the floor. When the griffon turned her head to look back at her, Dash huffed and turned away. This went back and forth several times until they eventually made eye contact and stared each other down for several seconds.

"This is all your fault," the two girls simultaneously snapped at one another, followed by a mutually indignant, "What do you mean my fault?!"

Rainbow Dash shouted, "I could've handled those guys! You should've just kept your dumb, stupid butt-face out of it!"

"Maybe I would've, if I knew you were gonna be such a whiner! Ugh, you ponies are all so lame!"

"Lame?!" Dash hopped off her chair and flapped over toward Gilda, where she hovered in front of the griffon. "I'm gonna be Captain of the Wonderbolts when I grow up! You can't get any more awesome than that!"

Gilda snorted derisively. "Who cares? I'm gonna be Captain of the Stormriders! They're waaaaay more awesome than your dweeby Blunderbolts!"

Dash recoiled as though Gilda had smacked her with that comment, but was quick to recover. "Dweeby? Have you seen the Wonderbolts do the Dragon's Breath formation?"

Gilda hopped up into the air and hovered along with Rainbow Dash. The two of them started circling each other in the air as she shot back, "That's cub's play! You wanna see real flying, watch Captain Shrike do the Triple Gotterdamerung!"

"Slipstream's Sideways Silver Strut!"

"Geralt's Golden Gust!"

"Ha, I could do that one in my sleep!"

Gilda scoffed. "Yeah, right, a puny pegasus pony like you could never get that kind of wingpower."

"I totally can!" Dash retorted. "I'm the fastest flier in this whole camp!"

"Fastest pegasus maybe, but I'm, like, twice as fast as any pony here!"

"Yeah, well I'm three times as fast as you!"

"And I'm ten times as fast as you!"

The duo had been circling each other faster and faster in the confined space. Their eyes stayed locked on one another, both of them determined to not be the first to look away. Even when the air followed them, forming a small tornado between them, neither broke their impromptu staring contest. Neither of them cared when the whirlwind they had created reached up to the ceiling and tore open the cloud to let the light shine down. Instead of sparing a single thought to it, they simply shouted, "Alright, prove it," at each other, then took off through the hole as fast as their wings could take them.

-----

A few hours later, filly and griffoness both lay on their backs atop a cloud, their chests heaving as they stared up at the bright blue sky above.

"You sound... pretty tired..." Gilda taunted between gasps for air.

"Just... giving you... time... to catch your breath..." Rainbow Dash wheezed.

They were quiet for several more seconds, until Gilda said, "You were... kinda cool... back there..."

Dash blinked and turned her head toward the griffon in disbelief. "Wha...? You making... fun of me again...?"

Gilda took a deep breath and looked back. "Seriously. I've seen you around. Most of these ponies... they run and hide, soon as something challenges them. You don't back down. You don't give up. Heh... those three jerks were ready to make yellow rain, soon as I showed up, but you didn't even care. It was cool."

Rainbow Dash looked back up at the sky and admitted, "You were kinda cool, too. I mean, it's not like I needed any help, but it was pretty awesome seeing the looks on those dummies' faces."

Gilda snorted with laughter as she and Dash started to pick themselves up despite the protests of their aching bodies. "It totally was, wasn't it?"

"Yeah, you've got some speed, too," Rainbow Dash said with a smirk. "You almost caught up to me a few times there."

Gilda scoffed. "Puh-lease! What're you, blind? You were practically eating my tail the whole way out here!"

"You just didn't see me because I was so far ahead!"

"You're hallucinating from all that cloud you ate earlier!"

Gilda and Rainbow Dash glared at each other again, growling and baring their teeth. Both expressions faded into a determined grin as they turned back toward the camp and settled into a starting posture. "Loser has to hoof over her desserts for an entire week," Gilda said.

"You mean talon over. Three..."

"Two..."

"One..."

"GO!"

Rainbow snickered to herself as her cottage eventually came into view. "We still got in trouble for taking off like that, but convinced our parents that the fight was just a friendly scrap. Gilda's parents were cool about it. Guess it's normal for griffon cubs. And my folks... they were dealing with their own stuff, so I got off light."

Twilight nodded. "Well, I guess I can see why you two get along so well. So, did you keep in touch at all after you started living with Zecora?" When her friend didn't respond right away, she looked over to see Rainbow Dash looking down at the dirt path as they walked. "Rainbow...?"

Rainbow Dash didn't look up as she replied, "I... didn't want anypony I knew to find me when I was living in the Everfree, Twi. I especially didn't want to have to face Gilda. She didn't..."

Dash trailed off for several seconds before turning to look at Twilight with a hopeful grin. "Look, just promise me you'll give her a chance. I know most ponies think she's a lot to take, but she's cool. Just don't be lame and start going over spreadsheets or anything, and you'll get along great."

Twilight furrowed her brow. "Spreadsheets aren't lame! They're a very valuable organizational tool, and--" When Rainbow Dash cut her off by drooping her head and faking snoring while they walked, the unicorn let out an exasperated groan. "Okay, fine. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt, and I'll make sure Sunburn and the others do the same."

Twilight then turned her attention up the path again, and tilted her head at what she saw. "Rainbow... is that a bunny riding on top of a bear's head?" She squinted to get a better look. "And... what's that the bear's holding?"

Rainbow Dash looked up to see what Twilight was referring to, and groaned as she galloped ahead. "Hey! Harry! Twi and I have got this, so set them down! Hey, stop jabbering at me, rabbit! You know I don't speak demon-spawn, so just get down from there! I just don't want those three waking up and seeing--"

The pegasus was cut off as the screams of three timid earth ponies regaining consciousness in the arms of a large bear once again rang out, shaking the leaves of every tree for a quarter mile.

Part 6 - Before the Meeting

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"One hundred forty-four... one hundred forty-five..." Gilda grit her teeth as she pushed her way through the wing-ups that she had been made to endure by her superior after 'the worst introduction of an Emperor he'd ever seen'. If those stupid ponies had just calmed down and told her where she could find Rainbow Dash, it wouldn't have been a problem! She might have been able to keep her head in the game. Her rekindled anger toward those screaming cowards in the market gave her the drive she needed to finish the last few wing-ups.

"One hundred... fifty," she grunted, getting back up on all fours.

Her superior officer grimly looked her over as she stood at attention. "What're you waiting for, a medal? Fly ten laps around the mountain, then hit the showers!"

"Yes... sir," Gilda replied, stretching her wings out. They were already aching from the six-hour flight in full armor, and felt like they were burning after the wing-ups. Still, she could manage ten laps around a dinky little mountain and have enough left in the tank to fly her way back to Podunkville and meet her old friend in time for lunch.

Just before she could push off and start, though, her superior snapped, "Hold it!" When she did so and gave him an irritated look at being interrupted, he sneered back at her and said, "I'm still hearing an insubordinate tone. Discharge first."

Gilda clenched her talons. "What?! That's--!"

"That's twenty laps, now! Discharge!"

As much as Gilda might have wanted to tear the other griffon's throat out in that moment, she ground her teeth together and pushed all of the lightning magic that her thundersteel armor had stored up down into the ground. It would accumulate again over time, but the way that the magic interacted with a griffon's natural storm-shaping abilities was what kept it relatively light. The innate magic of the wearer essentially treated the metal as if it were an extremely dense storm cloud, allowing her to push it through the air.

Gilda slumped down as the metal plate grew heavier and heavier. Discharging the lightning out of the metal meant that until it recharged, the only thing holding it up was her own strength.

"Well? What are you waiting for? Start flapping!"

Gilda grunted and replied, "Yes, sir," with as much energy as she could muster before pushing off from the ground and spreading her wings to catch the wind. She stumbled at first, nearly crashing back down to the ground, but she managed to find an updraft at the last moment and flapped her wings as hard as she could in order to get enough height to sluggishly soar around the mountain.

Twenty laps... that's nothing, Gilda thought to herself, despite the growing pain and fatigue in her wings making a mere five increasingly unlikely. Nevertheless, she grit her teeth and fought against gravity's pull. Just twenty laps... Then... then I'll go see Dash and give her exactly what she deserves...

Gertrude looked out the window and frowned as she watched the herald who had introduced her to the Imperial envoys flew past.

Sensing a faint chill coming from his grandmother, Gunther came up alongside her and followed her gaze. "Well, I suppose somegriffon must have found that performance as disrespectful as I did. Still, what sort of world is it where a soldier can be led to believe that sort of behavior is acceptable in the first place?"

"A new one," Gertrude replied. "One that we are guests in. Whatever our place is to be among our fellow griffons, remember that, Gunther."

The younger of the two albinos glanced at his grandmother out of the corner of his eye and said, "Perhaps, but I don't believe that they will be inclined to view us favorably if they see you fidgeting when we meet." When Gertrude arched an eyebrow at him, he pointed a talon at the spearhead hanging from her neck, which her own talons were unconsciously grasping.

"Of course," she replied as she let go of the talisman. "No need for worry, Gunther. This is hardly my first time in the political arena, after all. And the griffons of our own time were far less charitable."

"The griffons of our time knew everything that you had done for them," Gunther countered. "Don't forget that I've also read the history of what our people went through after your fall from grace, grandmother... I've seen the legends that replaced the truth of your rule in the twelve centuries since. The way that the Empire has twisted your memory. You cannot tell me that there is no need for worry. We may be guests in their world, but are we welcome ones?"

Gertrude stretched out a wing to wrap comfortingly around Gunther as she let out a warm chuckle. "Gunther, do you remember the story your grandfather always told you of my return to the Snowheart clanhold?"

Gunther sighed and let out a quiet laugh in return. "I should. He repeated it often enough."

"Then trust me," Gertrude replied with a wan smile. "Trust me as you did when you and everygriffon in that camp down below decided to follow me into this era... I know exactly what I am doing," she assured him.

Liar, Gungnir whispered from its necklace.

Gertrude made no effort to correct it.

Author's Note

Just a short little transitional chapter this time around, hopping back to the griffon characters. The Gilda portion was mostly written when I posted the previous chapter. It was something that I had originally thought of including there, but it just didn't fit, so I used it here, instead.

Stay tuned, because next time, the actual negotiations start.

Part 7 - Opening Negotiations

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Gertrude and Gunther turned to face the door when they heard it open. When Princess Celestia entered, Gunther knelt down respectfully while Gertrude smiled and nodded once to her dear friend. To her mild surprise, though, she noticed that there was another alicorn beside her. One who wasn't Luna, but a lovely pink mare with a warm smile, wide violet eyes, and a tri-colored mane which, while lustrous and well-maintained, lacked the more ethereal qualities of the royal sisters.

"Ah, this must be Mi Amore Cadenza," Gertrude deduced as she walked over and bowed slightly out of habit. Not low enough to come across as submissive, but just enough to greet the young princess with respect. "It is a pleasure to finally meet Celestia's 'niece' in person."

Princess Cadenza's smile widened as she mirrored Gertrude's bow and replied, "It's an honor, your majesty! I would have come to meet you much sooner, but I had to be in Fillydelphia for--"

Gertrude interrupted Cadenza by raising her talon and shaking her head with a light chuckle. "Please, it's alright. I've heard all about how vital you've been in helping Celestia rule Equestria these past few years. And there is no need to call me 'your majesty', either. I may have been queen once, but now I am just Gertrude of the Snowheart clan. And this is my grandson, Gunther."

"A pleasure, your highness," Gunther replied with a formal gravitas that elicited a tinkling laugh from the pink alicorn.

"Well, you can just call me 'Cadance'. Both of you," she assured the griffons. "Even if you aren't royalty, you're still very dear to Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna. We're practically family!"

"Quite," Celestia interjected as she took a seat at the head of the table which they would soon be meeting their Imperial counterparts around. Letting out a contented sigh as she sat back onto the plush cushions provided for her, the wrinkles around her eyes crinkled as she shot a wry grin toward Gunther. "In fact, Gunther, after our meeting is done, you and Cadance should spend some time getting to know each other. She's always loved tales of dashing knights, and I know for a fact that you have quite a few exploits to share."

It would have perhaps gone unnoticed by most creatures, but one who was as closely attuned to temperature as Gertrude immediately felt a wave of heat radiating from the younger alicorn that, to her senses, was like a blast of desert wind. "Aunty! I don't need you shoving me toward every creature wearing a suit of armor," she complained. Immediately, she turned toward Gunther, her cheeks flushing with embarassment as she quickly clarified, "Not that I wouldn't love to chat some time, don't get me wrong! I'm just so busy with my diplomatic duties, I don't know when I'll have the time..."

Celestia leaned back and let out a long-suffering sigh that was far too exaggerated to be serious. "Is it a crime to not want to watch my own flesh and blood--"

"You adopted me."

"--Let her youth waste away, spending her every waking moment doting on a withered old nag? Is it truly so terrible to want to hear the pitter-patter of tiny hooves racing through these dusty palace halls before I dry up and blow away?"

"Please, we both know you're in no danger of that, and you still had a century or two in you even before Luna came back." Cadance brought a hoof to her forehead and apologized to the griffons, "I'm sorry, playing match-maker is one of her hobbies, now."

Gunther shook his head. "Trust me... Cadance. This is not a new development," he replied, looking to his grandmother, who was stroking the underside of her beak in thought while looking between Gunther and the young princess.

Seeing Gunther turn his attention to her, Gertrude asked, "Hmm? Oh, don't mind me. I was just thinking about how you two really would be able to make some beautiful hippogriff children if you happened to be inclined," Gertrude mused. When Gunther and Cadance both gave her a half-lidded stare, she smiled and asked, "What? Just because Celestia is getting younger, that doesn't mean that I am."

Cadance and Gunther both rolled their eyes while their immortal counterparts shared a laugh. Cadance then walked over to take a seat at Celestia's right side. "In any case, I hope you don't mind me sitting in on this meeting to help represent the Equestrian side. Aunt Luna would be here, but she's resting up for her nightly duties."

Gertrude nodded and took her own seat at the table. "It's alright, I completely understand." In truth, she was a little glad that Luna wouldn't be involved in the negotiations. She loved both of the royal sisters with all her heart, but it was clear that Luna was still in the process of recovering from a horrible ordeal. One that she had been forced to suffer without Gertrude or her other friends to protect her. If she hadn't been imprisoned in her own madness and misdirected hatred...

Before she could take that thought much farther, there was a knock on the door. "Come in," Celesta said, and one of the castle staff opened the door.

"The Imperial party is ready to see you, Princess."

Celestia nodded and stood, taking a moment to work the kinks out of a few joints along the way. "Let them in."

The servant bowed his head and pushed the doors open. General Airstrike and Senator Snaketail entered first, with Emperor Buckbeak and two of his honor guard coming in after them. The bearded griffon had apparently used the time to wash up and get dressed in a charcoal grey suit, giving off a more conservative impression than he had at their first meeting. He took the end of the table opposite Celestia while the other two dignitaries approached the spots at the table to either side of him.

Once every pony and griffon involved was positioned, the Emperor and Celestia nodded to one another and simultaneously sat down. Once they were seated, the others followed suit.

"Once again, thank you all for coming all this way," Celestia said to those seated on the Empire's side of the table. "Is there anything more that we can provide for you before we begin?"

"Thank you, princess, but that won't be necessary," the Emperor replied, resting his elbows on the table as he steepled his talons together. Gertrude felt the feathers on the back of her neck bristle at his curt demeanor. From the angle at which she was sitting, the lenses of Grigori's glasses reflected the afternoon light in an oddly sinister way, preventing her from looking him in the eye. "I doubt that this meeting will take long."

Celestia and Cadance shared a concerned glance with one another, as did Gertrude and Gunther. The pink alicorn in particular seemed confused by Grigori's bluntness. "What do you mean? Isn't the whole point of this meeting to negotiate an arrangement?"

"You say that as though you three have already come to a decision," Gertrude replied, making an educated guess as to where the Emperor was going with his statement. "But if you've decided out of talon to deny the Snowheart clan the right to assimilate into your Empire, then I will argue that there is much that we could contribute to your Empire in many ways.

"Among our ranks are many skilled storm-shapers who specialize in the magic of Winter. Knowledge that was lost to griffonkind after my imprisonment. I understand that some regions of the Empire have difficulty preserving food for long stretches of time. My clan can teach others how to freeze their meat and other foods without it ever going bad from being frozen for too long, and that is only one of the things that we can offer. We also have poets, artists and craftsgriffons who can recreate works that have been lost for over a thousand years. There are techniques that could allow your military to--"

Grigori cut her off by replying sharply, "I am aware, Ms. Snowheart. The contributions that your griffons could make to our society were exhaustively debated in the Imperial Senate the instant that we heard of your return. Despite the objections of some..." Senator Snaketail sniffed pointedly and looked down her beak at Gertrude and Gunther. "... It was agreed by majority vote and my personal support of the motion that we should extend an invitation to your clan, and offer them a place in the Empire so that they can share their talents and knowledge with all griffonkind."

Gertrude was taken aback. Given the posture that the Emperor had taken, she had assumed the worst. And yet, despite his good news, his grim demeanor continued, with no sign that he had been putting on an act to surprise her before revealing it all to be a harmless prank. "And what aren't you saying, Your Eminence?"

Grigori looked up, and the shifting angle allowed her to see past the glare reflecting off of his glasses. Looking him in the eye once more, she saw no trace of the mirthful cheer he had displayed during their first meeting. Instead, his eyes were as dark and foreboding as a storm cloud. "That invitation does not extend to you, Gertrude Snowheart. Whether or not your clan agrees to join the Empire, you will not... can not be accepted into our society.

"The only way that you will ever be allowed to cross the Empire's borders, is if you're willing to die first."

Author's Note

Mind your necks. There's a whiplash warning on this chapter.

So, in this universe, Cadance is what's known as a 'mortal' (or the less commonly used term, 'lesser') alicorn in comparison to Celestia and Luna. The royal sisters were granted immortality by the Elements of Harmony during a time period when reality itself was in danger of falling apart. In order to restore harmony to the world, the Elements turned them into living cosmic keystones through their connection to the cycle of day and night. The four Wardens of the seasonal cycle, of which Gertrude is one, also received their extraordinary power and agelessness this way. Also keep in mind that this was before they became full alicorns, which happened after the Wardens began to fall from grace, the Elements granting them each the strengths of all three pony tribes as a means of filling the vacuum created when the other Wardens failed to fulfill their duties.

Cadance and other mortal alicorns before her are, in a sense, the result of 'ripples' created by that original ascension. Instead of being transformed by the Elements directly, they have to first achieve a state of consciousness which connects them to a more pure state of being. This level of enlightenment is very rare, but it grants the new alicorn a strong connection to all ponykind, as well as to the trait which triggered their ascension. (And no, they don't get metal wings out of the deal. I'm totally not ripping off defender2222's abstracts, though I'm recognizing the parallels now that I'm actually typing it out.) In Cadance's case, it was through awakening the love in the heart of an evil witch when she was just a filly.

The other races connected to the Wardens, such as the griffons, have had similar phenomena occur among their citizens, though in a more limited fashion. This will be brought up later, as well as be a major factor in at least one future story.

Part 8 - Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Rainbow Dash let out an exhausted sigh. Feeding the animals in her care had taken a while. Twilight would have helped, but had been set on watch to ensure that the unconscious earth ponies didn't run off the instant they woke up again.

Getting the flower trio back to their stall in the market hadn't been much more difficult. Convincing them that no, Equestria was not in the process of being conquered by the Griffon Empire, and no, she wasn't just saying that because she and Twilight had been brainwashed into serving the Neo Griffon World Order... that had sapped the energy out of her. Energy that she was more than happy to replenish by accompanying her Ranger friend back to the Bean There, Done That for an after-lunch snack.

When they pushed open the door, the two of them found Pinkamena sitting at Twilight's table and reading a book while guarding her paperwork. "Hey, Pinkamena," she said as she walked past her to the bar counter. "Hey, I'll take one of those little tulip cakes and a mug of joe. For here, not to go."

The burly unicorn stallion behind the bar smirked. "Sorry, Rainbow, you know I love my wife too much for that. Let me get you some coffee instead," the proprietor, Mugga Joe replied.

Dash rolled her eyes, but chuckled a little at the lame joke as she got her sandwich and beverage, flicking a few bits onto the counter with her wing while she picked them up.

Meanwhile, Twilight settled back into her seat. "Thanks for guarding my things, Pinkamena. What are you reading there?"

"Creatures in Conflict: A Comparison of Cultures, by Fuzzy Thinker," the poet replied, taking a moment to show Twilight the cover.

The unicorn's ears perked up at the title, and she smiled at her friend. "Oh, wow, I remember that one! It's mandatory reading in the Guard's Officer's Academy. His essays on the role and evolution of conflict among different species is just brilliant. How far in are you?"

Pinkamena continued to read as she replied, "Oh, I'm just looking over the section on griffons. Did you take care of the one in the market?"

Twilight nodded and leaned back in her seat. "Yeah. Apparently, she's an old friend of Rainbow's who came in with a diplomatic envoy from the Empire. Now there's a griffon who needs to read that book. She says she was just asking for directions, but she was doing it by screaming at ponies, and got into a fight with Sunburn."

At that point, Rainbow returned and put her food and drink on the table next to her. "Come on, Twi, it's like I said. Gilda was just under a lot of stress, trying to find me before the rest of her pride showed up. Besides, Sunburn admitted she threw the first hoof."

"I know, I know," Twilight replied, using her magic to pick up a few papers and look them over to remember where she had left off. "Setting aside the fact that your friend doesn't have hooves to begin with, remember I was willing to give her a chance to calm down and get things sorted out even before I found out she was your friend."

Pinkamena mused, "It must have been interesting, having a griffon friend. Competition is such an integral part of the griffon psyche, especially at that age, before most of them start moderating themselves and focusing that competitive energy in more productive ways." She flipped a page, and her ears perked up with interest. "According to this, even their art is used as a venue for competition. 'Rapier' poetry was invented hundreds of years ago as a non-violent way of replacing honor duels."

"Seriously? How does that work?" Rainbow asked before taking a bite of her cake.

"Well, when two griffons get involved in a 'rapier battle', they get in front of an audience and take turns creating verses to attack their opponent and aggrandize themselves. This can go on for a set number of verses, or until one of them isn't able to come up with a follow-up. Once it's over, whoever did the better job of getting the audience on their side is the winner."

Rainbow Dash chewed on that for a bit before swallowing. "So you're telling me the griffons literally turned insulting each other into an art-form? Heh, Gilda must be a rock star over there."

Pinkamena glanced up toward the window. "Maybe you'll get a chance to ask. Is that her?"

Rainbow Dash and Twilight both looked up to see Gilda, no longer encased in her bulky thundersteel armor. She was peering inside, and after seeing the ponies look her way, she made her way to the door with a confident strut. Once she opened the door, Gilda grinned and greeted them by asking, "'Sup, losers? So, who do I have to gut to get a drink and a snack around here?"

"That'd be me or Mr. Joe," Pinkamena replied, marking her page as she closed her book and stood up.

"Hey, G," Rainbow Dash greeted with a grin as she pointed toward the pink earth pony. "Just in time for me to introduce you to another one of my friends. This is Pinkamena Diane Pie, barrista-slash-poet extraordinaire."

Gilda came up to the table the ponies were sitting and and looked Pinkamena over. As Pinkamena looked back at her with her usual stoic gaze, Gilda asked, "So... what's wrong with you? Somegriffon eat your puppy? Or are you just one of those snooty 'intellectual' types who thinks she's too cool to crack a smile?"

Dash's own grin slipped a litte. "Hey, ease up a little, Gilda. She's kind of sensitive about that."

Gilda turned her head to ask Rainbow Dash, "How can you tell? I've seen statues with more life in them."

"It's okay, Rainbow Dash," Pinkamena replied before turning back to Gilda. "It's true, I'm not the most expressive pony around, but I'm very happy to be friends with Rainbow, and I'm glad to get the chance to meet y--"

"Yeah, yeah, spare me the life story," Gilda replied with a dismissive wave of her talons. "Just get me some coffee. I like it like I like my exes. Hot, strong, and bitter."

Pinkamena shut her mouth and nodded as she went back to the coffee bar to prepare Gilda's beverage. Lt. Sparkle held her thoughts, but gave Gilda a stern glare as the griffon pulled herself up into a seat at their table.

Rainbow Dash, on the other hoof, frowned and said, "Okay, first off, not cool, Gilda. Pinkamena's a really nice pony and a great friend. Trust me, just get to know her a little better before you start ripping on her. And second... since when could you drink coffee without most of it being cream and sugar?"

Gilda puffed out her chest indignantly. "I just got more mature, okay? Besides, who's ripping on her? I'm just saying, Little Miss Beret over there might just be doing this job while she's waiting for her 'big break'..." Gilda paused a moment to make air quotes with her talons. "... But as long as she's stuck in this crummy gig, she might as well-- GAH! Ow!" Whatever Gilda was going to say was interrupted by cries of pain when one of her wings spasmed and started flapping around with a small green hanger-on clung to it.

"Ow! Owwww! Get this thing offa me!" Gilda shouted as Rainbow Dash and Twilight both recognized the 'attacker' as Pinkamena's pet, Gummy. The little alligator was latched onto Gilda's wing, and stubbornly refused to let go. As soon as she realized what it was, Twilight tried to grab hold of Gummy with her magic, but Gilda was moving too erratically for her to get a lock on, and a powerful flap of the griffon's wing caused Gummy to finally let go and start sailing through the air, straight toward the returning Pinkamena's face.

Realizing that Gummy was flying at her like a scaly little missile while she was carrying an order of piping hot coffee, Pinkamena braced herself and closed her eyes, but the impact she was expecting didn't come. Instead, she heard the tinkling hum of unicorn magic and slowly opened her eyes to see the alligator hovering in mid-air, courtesy of Twilight's aura.

Everypony in the room let out a sigh of relief at the averted disaster, and Pinkamena told her pet, "Gummy, I've told you not to come down here during business hours. What did you think you were doing?"

"Trying to gnaw my wing off, that's what!" Gilda snarled, wincing slighty as she pulled said wing back against her sides, and she came over to grab the floating gator in her talons. "I am going to turn you inside-out and make a boot out of you! I am going to eat your lungs while you're still alive to watch," she threatened while looking Gummy straight in the eye, though the reptile just stared blankly back at her.

"Stop it," Pinkamena interjected, snatching Gummy out of Gilda's talons and into her own hooves. "He didn't do any harm. He doesn't even have fangs, see?" She pulled back one of his lips to reveal the inside of Gummy's toothless mouth.

"I don't care," Gilda screeched before turning around. "I'm outta here!" With that, she stormed out of the coffee house, leaving the ponies behind to gather their thoughts. A moment later, Rainbow Dash got out of her seat and rushed out after Gilda.

Outside, she saw Gilda duck behind the building, and came around to find the griffon stiffly trying to work her wing. Still confused, Rainbow Dash asked, "Gilda? What was that back there?"

The griffon bristled, then replied over her shoulder, "What do you mean? You saw it. Your friend's freaky little pet tried to take a bite out of me!"

"I mean with your wing," Rainbow Dash replied, coming closer. "I know Gummy couldn't have hurt you, so did you get inju--"

"It's nothing," Gilda interrupted. "Just pulled it a little doing extra training. They don't let just any griffon into the Stormriders, you know. You've gotta give a hundred and ten percent just to get them looking your way, so I've been putting in a hundred and twenty."

Rainbow Dash leaned in to get a closer look and replied, "Extra training? Your wing joints look like they were under some serious strain. No wonder you were so in so much pain. Maybe it'd be for the best if you came back to my place and got some rest."

Gilda let out a groan of disgust. "Ugh, when did you stop being cool and turn into my mom? I just need to stretch 'em out a little. See?" She started to spread her wings to take off, wincing as she did so, but Rainbow Dash immediately jumped onto her back and pinned the huge eagle-like wings to Gilda's sides. "Hey! What're you doing?"

"Settle down and shut your yap! If you try to fly like this, something could snap," Rainbow Dash exclaimed, reaching around to hold Gilda's beak shut until she made her point. Her voice was firm and it was clear that she would accept no argument as she told her friend, "Now we're going back inside. Pinkamena'll apologize for Gummy, and you'll apologize for threatening to eat him. Then I'll take you around so you can meet the rest of the gang. Sound cool?"

"Yeah... sure..." Gilda replied. At least, that was what it sounded like with her beak muffled.

Rainbow Dash grinned and was about to get off Gilda's back when they both heard a feminine voice exclaim, "Girls! She's over here! And Rainbow Dash has her pinned!"

Both looked to the source of the voice and found Fluttershy hovering and pointing to them while shouting to somepony else, who turned out to be Applejack and Rarity, the latter of whom had Spike clinging to her back. "There you are," Rarity growled, literally snorting purple smoke and flame from her nostrils.

"Hold that hooligan down! Don't let her get away," Applejack exclaimed.

After a moment of stunned silence from both Gilda and Dash, the griffon asked, "Oh, these are your friends, too? Heh... I might've already bumped into them on the way back here."

Author's Note

Not much for me to say on this one, so I'll leave you guys with a little something. If you haven't seen this video yet, do so now! It's a sequel of sorts to "Once Upon A Time In Canterlot", so be sure to watch that one too.

Part 9 - Unreasonable Reasoning

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"What do you mean by that?!" In an instant, Gunther's magic had wrapped his body in a suit of icy plate armor. A chill breeze blew through the room as he spread his wings, but just as he started to created a spear in his talons, his body froze. The other ponies and griffons in the room could hear the young Knight-Captain struggling within his own suit, but the armor didn't budge. The reason for that was the talon that Gertrude had placed on his wing, her own magic overwhelming Gunther's control over the ice. "G... grandmother?"

"I'm sorry, Gunther," she said regretfully as she forced him to sit down again. Her tone grew a touch colder as she turned her attention back to the bespectacled griffon at the end of the table. "But under the circumstances, I think we should give the Emperor an opportunity to clarify his statement."

"Yes! Please do, Grigori," Celestia added sternly, the undertone of her own voice as heated as Gertrude's was cool. "I never took you for a griffon who would make threats against one of my friends while under my own roof!" At her side, Cadance simply stared at the Emperor with a stunned expression.

Despite Gunther's reaction and the angry glares of two demigods directed his way, Grigori remained unmoved. This was more than could be said for Senator Snaketail, who had leaped back, nearly tumbling out of her seat when Gunther rose up, or General Airstrike who had reached into an inner pocket of his uniform to slip on a set of thundersteel knuckledusters at the first sign of hostility. As if none of that had happened, the Emperor elaborated, "No threat was meant. I certainly wasn't advocating that Gertrude's death would have to be immediate, or even literal. I was simply relaying the decision that the senate and I have arrived at; that Gertrude Snowheart's immortality is a complication that must be addressed before we can even consider allowing her into our nation."

Gertrude scoffed, "Why? Are you afraid that I might try to take over? I may be stronger than the average griffon, but hardly powerful enough to conquer an entire Empire by myself. I don't even want to rule over you. I have no interest in interfering with how you run your government."

Senator Snaketail laughed bitterly at that as she reclaimed her seat. "Forgive me for some of us finding that difficult to believe, considering the cult of hundreds down below us. For a griffon who wants nothing to do with leadership, they're certainly loyal, to freeze themselves for twelve centuries. Fanatically so, you could say."

"One could say that," Grigori interjected, looking askance at the senator. "And even if we were to take you at your word, Ms. Snowheart, the fact remains that as things stand, you have ample time to change your mind. Perhaps none of us here have any need to be concerned, but what about the leadership fifty years from now? Or a hundred? Or five hundred? The Empire was founded on the refutation of permanent or dynastic leadership."

General Airstrike nodded. "Our Empire has grown strong by being able to change with the times! Every griffon on this side of the table was either elected to their position, or appointed by those who were. Sometimes you need to build your nation up. Sometimes you need to get your knuckles bloody and fight. Whatever we need at the time, that's what we look for in our leaders! A griffon who never dies and never changes would lead the Empire to stagnation!"

Though still immobilized for the moment, Gunther growled at the accusations. "I can not believe what I am hearing! Are you cowards truly so terrified of the one to whom you own your very existence? If your system of governance works so well, and your people are so proud of being ruled by mortals, then what do you have to fear?"

Gertrude nodded, granting Gunther control of his armor again as he seemed more willing to argue with his words, rather than his spear. "I just want what is best for my clan. If it would assuage your concerns, I would be willing to forswear any form of high political office."

"You could make that oath," Grigori replied, "but what if the citizens came to you, asking you to break it?" Snaketail snorted derisively at the idea, but the Emperor continued to posit, "A number of my predecessors have not been what you might consider the ideal leaders. Corrupt... vicious... some even turned out to be outright insane after working their way into office. There have been times when the Empire was placed on the precipice of ruin. Imagine such an Emperor came into power. Who would the citizenry turn to? In times of strife, every creature seeks out safety. Stability. Who better exemplifies that than a wise and beloved immortal? If, in their desperation, thousands came to you begging for you to take the place of a wicked Emperor, can you honestly tell us that you wouldn't answer their call?"

Gertrude's mouth hung open as the Emperor's question battered against her mind. Well... he has you there, Gungnir whispered. After you went to the effort of saving me, could you possibly say no to even a single one of your own people in need?

"No," Gertrude eventually replied honestly. "No, if even a single griffon came to me seeking help, I can't say that I would refuse them."

"Nor should she have to," Gunther interjected, using the table to raise himself up. "Why should any griffon, let alone my grandmother, suffer the leadership of a depraved ruler?"

As if he had been anticipating that very question, Grigori smoothly replied, "Because we have survived depravity before. We have suffered cruelty and incompetence, but even after reaching our lowest points the Empire survives, and like a forest set ablaze by a lightning storm, we have grown stronger and wiser in the recovery. We hold our past leaders up as historical examples, both the good and the bad. A griffon who has only one lifetime to give in service to the Empire has ample opportunity to leave a legacy for good or for ill. For those who have the ability to not only see how their memory affects future generations, but to continue to shape it, the temptation is all the greater to whitewash away past mistakes."

"And what would you have me do?" Gertrude asked after thinking on this for a bit. Regarding Grigori and his companions, she mused, bringing a talon to her breast. "If you are going to ask me to surrender my immortality, don't bother. My agelessness and connection to Winter aren't just powerful magic, they are an obligation. There was a time when this entire realm was in danger of collapsing in on itself."

Senator Snaketail rolled her eyes. "And now the messiah complex is out on display."

"Think what you like," Gertrude replied, "but the Elements of Harmony chose us. They changed us into what we are now. You all have duties to your people, and I understand that. This is mine, and I wouldn't even know how to surrender it. Perhaps if the forces of Harmony chose another creature to replace me as Warden of Winter, I would accept that, but until then, this is what I am."

Gertrude sat up straighter, with regal dignity as she continued, "And that puts us at an impasse... because unless I've guessed wrong, you still aren't saying everything that you mean. You can't allow me to join your Empire as things stand, but you can't afford to allow me and the rest of the clan to remain apart from the Empire, either."

"We certainly can," Senator Snaketail shot back before Grigori could reply. "We don't need you!"

"But you do need to keep me from supporting Equestria over the Empire's interests," Gertrude suggested. She saw Snaketail glanced toward General Airstrike, who had clenched his talons somewhat in response to her comment. "That's it, isn't it? I have read a history book since my return, you know. I know that the Empire and Equestria have, for the most part, maintained a sense of equilibrium. Especially with the lone ruler of Equestria falling into old age, albeit much more slowly than other ponies. That equilibrium could have survived Celestia regaining her youth, and maybe it could even survive Luna's return, but if three immortal wardens of the forces of nature were to formally join forces with no counterbalance in the Empire, griffons might begin to get nervous about the Empire's position in the world."

Gertrude felt sure that she was on the right track, but had to pause a moment to think on it further. "What still confuses me is why you would suggest that I would have to die. You have to know that, if I were to do so, whether it be by your talons or my own, that my friends wouldn't allow that to stand. Relations between Equestria and the Empire would be irrevocably damaged. Your citizens and your own public image would suffer dearly for it."

The corner of Grigori's beak quirked up in a sly grin as he looked Gertrude straight in the eye. "To clarify, Ms. Snowheart, what I said was that you would have to be willing to die. It isn't a perfect solution, but there is one path to compromise that I can think of."

The doors to the meeting room flew open so hard that they slammed against the walls as Gunther stormed out of the room. His armor had grown fierce and jagged, leaving frozen paw- and talon-prints on the floor with every step. "That smug, honorless, conniving vermin-eater," he growled.

"Calm down, Gunther," Gertrude said as she followed him at a calm, steady pace. If one were to look straight into her eyes, however, they would find her gaze dull and distant.

Her grandson turned to face her, his anger causing his control over the ice surrounding his body to waver. Even as it grew out from his body in jagged spikes, bits of it cracked away from his face. A single pink eye looked back at her, burning with a fury she had not seen in a very long time. "Calm down?! Grandmother, that piece of filth has offered us nothing but unreasonable, impossible choices! We cannot possibly have any dealings with him or his ilk!"

When Gertrude simply continued to walk by without saying another word, the rest of Gunther's armor began to crumble away into chunks of ice littering the palace floor. "... Grandmother...? No... you cannot possibly be actually considering it," he said as he watched her walk away, his voice having dropped from a raging roar to a stunned murmur.

Gertrude made her way to the nearest balcony exit, and once she was out in the fresh air and sunshine again, the former queen looked down at the tents far below. "Just... give me a little time to think," she said in a soft, but firm tone while spreading her huge wings wide. "I'm going to go down and spend some time with our clan."

With that, she pushed herself over the edge and began to glide down the mountainside.

Gunther grit his teeth and let out a gutteral, frustrated sound while behind him, the doors slowly swung back into position, and the rather dazed guards who had been stationed at either side of the doorway flopped out of the pony-shaped dents in the walls that the Knight-Captain's violent exit had created.

Author's Note

Woo! Fast update! Heh, even I didn't expect that, though I suppose it helps that most of the points and counterpoints brought up during this meeting were things that I had been mulling over ahead of time.

Fun fact: In the Griffon Empire, the title of "Emperor" is not an inherited position. Rather, the emperor is elected by the Senate, who are each in turn elected to represent the various regions of the Empire. The emperor has great political power, but the Senate serves as check and balance against that power, along with a set of constitutional laws designed to avoid repeating the excesses of previous emperors whose actions proved to be particularly unpopular or detrimental to the health of the Empire.

Some of these laws are so overly-specific, though, that they are utterly worthless the majority of the time. A frequent example is the law drafted after the reign of Glenda the Prude that no, the Emperor does not have the authority to require that all ducks in the Empire must wear long pants.

Part 11 - A Quick Patch-Up

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

When she said it, Gertrude had truly intended to go down and visit among her clan.

That had been twenty minutes ago, and the former queen only flew farther and farther away from the mountain.

A traitor and a liar... and now a coward, too.

"Is that your thought or mine?" she asked Gungnir.

Yes, the Windigo replied.

The little bell over the Bean There, Done That's door jangled repeatedly as three mares stormed out, taking their anger and frustration outside. Inside, Rainbow Dash pulled herself out of her seat to hurry after them. "Girls, wait! Wait up!"

Soon catching up to them, Rainbow Dash pulled ahead and then spun around to block their way. "Okay... so, I know she's kinda of hard to get along with at first. Gilda's not so great at making a good first impression." Seeing the still-simmering anger in her friend's faces, she added, "Alright, she's pretty much the worst. But there's a lot more to her than you've seen at first glance. Please, she was my best friend before I met you guys. I need you to give her a chance."

The rainbow-maned pegasus looked to each of her friends, her rose-colored eyes so wide and pleading that they were taken by surprise. Rarity looked to her friends, then replied, "Rainbow, you know we all love you dearly, but it is very hard to be the bigger pony when she won't even apologize!" The other two scowled and nodded. As did Spike, though probably less in agreement than simply because everypony else was.

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath and scuffed the dirt with her hoof. "I know. Believe me, I know, but... this is really, really important to me," she said quietly before pointing to Fluttershy. "And who was it who decided to be my friend, even after I tried to scare you all out of the Everfree?"

Fluttershy looked down at the ground for a bit. "Well... I did," she admitted, and when she looked up again, she gave Dash a warm smile.

Rainbow Dash returned the smile before turning to Applejack. "And who, out of everypony here, is all about second chances?"

The businessmare sighed. "Oh, sure, use that against me," she replied, shaking her head. "But since you put it that way, I suppose that I could give her another opportunity to make a good impression."

Finally, Dash turned to Rarity, who lifted her hoof to cut her off before she could speak. "Stop... I know where this is going. Yes, I forgave you after all the years of pranks you pulled on everypony in Ponyville. That was different. You put your life on the line to save Equestria."

Rainbow Dash shot the unicorn a wry smirk. "Oh, so the only difference between a friend and a stranger is whether you've both been in mortal danger?"

Spike giggled at the rhyming pegasus while Rarity made a small frown. "Now Rainbow, you know I didn't mean it that way."

"Look, girls, I'm just saying that yeah, your first time meeting Gilda was pretty... bad-starty. Why don't we try starting fresh later? You can all come over to my cottage for a welcoming party."

The others reflexively winced at their friend's assault on innocent grammar, but they looked among each other and shrugged. Having relented to Rainbow Dash's request, Fluttershy set down on the ground beside her friend and placed a wing across her back. "Okay, Rainbow. You obviously really care about her, so I think we can all try to start over tonight. Will she be able to stick around for that, though?"

Rainbow Dash scoffed and nuzzled her friend's cheek in gratitude. "Don't you worry. If she even thinks about ducking out before making things right, I'll make her sorry."

"You mean like she's trying to do right now?" Applejack asked, pointing a hoof at the side of the Bean There, Done That, where Gilda could be seen trying to crawl out a window too small for even a pony to fit through. The griffon's attempt at stealth was further ruined when she tried to squeeze her wings through, only to let out a pained squawk as the windowframe pinched them.

"What were you thinking?!"

"Ow! Watch your hooves! I just-- Ow! I thought you didn't want me giving your prissy pony pals a hard time!"

"So you figured you'd avoid 'em by climbing out a window? Have you been drinking?"

After a rescue effort that involved Twilight and Rarity using their magic to help dislodge Gilda, Rainbow Dash had insisted that the griffon come back to her cottage before she did any more damage to the tendons in her wings. Despite Gilda's protests, Dash had made it abundantly clear that refusal was not an option.

Gilda clenched her teeth as Dash massaged some sort of ointment into her wings and shoulders. Whatever it was, it smelled like an amorous weasel and made her wings feel like they were on fire and freezing at the same time. After the mixture set in, it did have the effect of numbing the pain from the strain she had put on her wings, though, so she found it hard to complain. "Huh. Guess there actually is something to this voodoo witch stuff. And I thought you'd just run off to be a hippy flower-child."

Despite her frustration with Gilda's earlier behavior, Rainbow Dash let out a snort of laughter at that. "Not in the Everfree, where half the flowers want to eat you. Nah, I'm a survivor, thanks to my teacher."

"Yeah. You're really livin' the life," Gilda replied. An awkward, pensive silence permeated the cottage before she broke it again by asking, "So, what's with the rhyming? I thought that mopey waitress was the poet."

Dash rolled her eyes. "Ugh, I know, but I just picked up the habit. My mentor's a zebra, so--" She got interrupted by an insistent tapping on her hind leg, and looked down. "What do you want, rabbit?"

The white bunny glared up at her and pointedly tapped his foot against his food bowl.

Rainbow Dash frowned. "Yeah, I don't think so, rabbit. You can wait for dinner like all the other critters."

With a predatory grin, Gilda leaned in close to the bunny and interjected, "Ah, come on, Dash. The little guy's just telling you it's snack time! I know I could go for a snack right now."

Arching an eyebrow, Dash replied, "Uh, G? You don't wanna get too--"

Unimpressed by the griffon's threatening demeanor, the bunny glared right back at her and reached for the edge of his food dish. Gilda just barely saw the dish being thrown straight at her face in time to pull her head back.

"--Close," Rainbow Dash finished, wincing when the dish cracked one of the cottage's windows.

Gilda blinked in surprise, looking at the window before turning her attention back down toward the bunny, who used his paw to make the universally recognized gesture to "bring it."

"Oh, so that's how it is, huh? Yeah..." Gilda narrowed her eyes and bared her talons at the bunny. "Let's dance, cottontail."

"Wait! Don't--" Dash shouted, but Gilda was already pouncing toward the bunny. Moments later, the cottage was filled with the sound of dishes shattering and furniture breaking apart.

At the same time, Gunther found himself wandering the castle halls. Unable to think about anything but the Emperor's proposal and his grandmother's reaction to it, he paid little heed to where he went. Only that his body kept moving forward, even as his mind raced around and around in circles.

Perhaps some part of his subconscious sought out the company of his fellow warriors, as when he did look up, he found that his meandering path had taken him in the direction of the training grounds of the Equestrian Royal Guard. It was a welcome sight, particularly when he glanced across the training field and saw the purple armor of the Captain of the Guard. In the short time that Gunther had been awake in the modern era, Gunther had found Shining Armor to be a worthy peer, so the griffon Knight-Captain decided that if he were to ask any pony around for their perspective on the matter weighing upon his mind, there were none better to be found.

Before he could approach Shining Armor and hail him, though, another pony quite literally swooped down beside him. Gunther immediately recognized the pink alicorn, Cadance, who had offered to help with the negotiations, only to remain pensive and silent. Anger at the princess's earlier inaction flared in his heart, and he began to make his way toward the two ponies.

Cadance and Shining Armor were facing away from him as he drew closer, so they couldn't see him coming, but Gunther saw them exchange greetings before Cadance beckoned Shining Armor to lean in closer as she asked, "Shiny, how well do you know Emperor Buckbeak?"

The unicorn shrugged and replied, "I don't know... not very. I've met him a few times and he seemed okay. Why are you asking?"

Cadance bit her lower lip and hesitantly replied, "Well... I just got this feeling during the meeting. It was so unexpected, I couldn't say anything because I wasn't absolutely sure, but... Ugh, I'm sorry, Shiny. I don't even know how to put it. I probably shouldn't even be talking about it right now, but it's been bothering me, and..."

When the princess trailed off, Shining Armor smiled warmly and reached up to place a hoof on her shoulder. "Hey. Cadance." When she looked him in the eye, he continued, "Look... you can always tell me anything. That hasn't changed. When you figure out what you need to get off your chest, I'll be here for you. Until then, you don't have to say a thing to me if you aren't ready."

"Maybe you should say it to me," Gunther replied, startling the ponies with his presence. He cast an icy glare at Princess Cadance, though it slowly melted into concern as he beseeched her, "Please... tell me. Help me save my grandmother."

Part 12 - Offers

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

After dispensing a few quick orders to his subordinates to continue the Royal Guards' training in his absence, Shining Armor led Cadance and Gunther away to his private office. It was a simply appointed office by Canterlot standards. His desk, carved from rich, elegant mahogany by one of the city's premier artisans a hundred years ago from wood that was enchanted so that even after all that time, it didn't have so much as a scratch on it. Its craftsmanship and condition made it worth roughly the same as a mid-sized house in a town like Ponyville.

Aside from the stacks of papers occupying its surface, the only other decorations in the room were an assortment of pictures including a group photograph of his family, pictures of himself and his sister taken after they had each graduated from their Royal Guard training, and a crudely-drawn crayon drawing of Twilight beside a light blue unicorn filly, both of them smiling above the caption, "BEST FILLY FRIENDS FOREVER!"

Once inside, Shining shut the door and offered his guests a seat. "So, why don't we start from the top?" he asked, casually leaning against the desk. "What happened in that meeting that's got the two of you so freaked out?"

Gunther and Cadance shared a look, and the young alicorn gave Gunther a nod as she gestured for him to go first.

"Alright. Well... I can't speak for what the princess saw, but the Emperor made my grandmother an offer."

Earlier...

"'Death of Identity,'" Grigori said as he looked straight into Gertrude's eyes. "It's a form of exile within the Empire. If you accept this compromise, Gertrude Snowheart will 'die' in the hearts and minds of the Empire's citizens. You will be marked so that every griffon who sees you will know that you are 'dead'. As such, you will be stripped of all rights as a living creature. You will prohibited from any form of communication or interference with the daily lives of the citizenry. You will survive only on what you can scavenge, or what is left as an offering, but you will be watched to ensure that you do not purchase or steal or ask anything of any griffon. Attempting to contact the living in any capacity will be met swiftly with 'exorcism.'"

"What?!" Celestia was on her hooves, the cool colors of her pastel mane growing brighter and more intense to the point that it was growing painful to look directly at her. "You can't be serious, Grigori! You're talking about inflicting a punishment intended for criminals on her!"

Joining her in outrage, Gunther bellowed, "It's absurd! She has done you no wrong, and you would turn her into some sort of... of living ghost? Just because you are afraid of losing your precious authority?!"

Despite the wrathful fury being directed at him, Grigori and Gertrude held each others gazes in a contest of will and unspoken communication until the Emperor said aloud, "Ten years. I can offer you ten years of life to oversee the Snowheart clan's integration into the Empire. Once your time is up, you will 'die' and be required to leave your clan behind. Still, you would be able to continue to exist as the Warden of Winter, if nothing else, and I am sure you will be able to find a newspaper from time to time if you want to know how they are doing without you."

"... You are asking me to abandon my clan," Gertrude quietly said. "They froze themselves for centuries, and after a single decade, you would have me forsake them to protect your power."

"It's a more generous offer than most would get," Senator Snaketail muttered venomously.

The Emperor added, "And correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't it ten more years with them than you expected to get when you awoke in this era?"

Gunther balled his talons up into fists and slammed them down on the table, freezing the wood where he struck it. "This is insanity! You can't expect the griffons of the Snowheart clan to stand for this!"

General Airstrike crossed his forelegs over his chest and replied, "Well that's up to the one who's at the center of this whole mess, isn't it?"

Gunther snarled at the Imperial griffons and turned to his grandmother. At first glance, he was heartened to see that she was calm and unyielding, as stoic as a snow-capped mountain in the face of the Emperor's "offer." But then he looked into her eyes, and clenched his teeth as his anger grew exponentially. He didn't even notice as jagged, unruly tumor-like growths of ice formed on his armor, and he practically launched himself at the doors while Gertrude calmly stood and followed him out.

Shining Armor blinked a few times as Gunther slowly regained his composure. Merely the act of re-telling the meeting's conclusion had caused the griffon knight to lower the temperature of the room several degrees. "Dang. It's kind of hard to believe Emperor Buckbeak pulled something like that. Princess Celestia's never had anything but good things to say about him before, but this..."

Gunther clenched his teeth in frustration. "After all this time... after everything we've been through, the Empire chooses to destroy us like this!"

Shining Armor reached out a foreleg to punch Gunther in the shoulder. "Hey. We've got your back, alright? I'm sure the princesses will stand by Gertrude, no matter what. Even if the Empire goes crazy enough to send an army to get you guys."

Gunther let out a groan and snapped, "Don't you understand? They won't have to! Grandmother is going to do it for them! She is going to accept... and when she does, it won't even take the ten years she was offered before she dies, and the clan with her."

"Okay, seriously, are you trying to get yourself killed?" Rainbow Dash asked as she finished mixing some herbs into a paste.

"Well it's not like you told me he was some kind of Tartaros-spawned demon," Gilda grumped as her old friend brought the concoction over.

"But I did try to tell you not to get too close." It had been tough to find an intact bowl after the griffon and bunny had exhausted themselves tearing Dash's place apart, so she used the bunny's food dish as a substitute in defiance of the glare he shot her way. Smearing some of it onto her hoof, Dash got to work rubbing it into the cuts and bruises that they had given each other in their tussle.

Gilda hissed at the contact, expecting the disinfecting paste to sting, only to be surprised when she felt a pleasant tingling sensation instead. "More zebra voodoo witch doctor stuff?" she asked while Dash applied it to a bite on her leg.

"Yeah," the pegasus replied with a wistful grin. "One of the first things Zecora taught me to make. Good thing too. You wouldn't believe the kind of spills I used to take. Let me tell you, falling into a blackberry bush really stings, but eventually I beat it into my head that I couldn't just fly over everything."

Gilda winced while Rainbow Dash turned to apply the herbal paste to the bunny. Her talons clenched as she asked, "So this is what you do, huh? Spend all your time chanting and frolicking in the woods, kissing critters' boo-boos? I can't believe you actually did it."

"Hm? Did what?" Dash asked while tending to the bunny's wounds.

"Turned into the lamest pony alive," Gilda snapped, startling both Dash and the bunny with her vehemence. They turned to look at the griffon as she paced around the cottage and ranted, "And you've got some serious competition there, because those new friends of yours have to be some of the most boring, uptight and uncool ponies in this whole boring, uptight, uncool country!"

Gilda looked around and gestured at the room. "Just look at this place! Cozy little cottage in a podunk town? Playing veterinarian? The Rainbow Dash I knew would've gone crazy if she had to live like this! She was fun to hang around with, and now you're just some... rhyming weirdo who's forgotten what it's like to be cool!"

After her outburst, Gilda took a deep breath and turned back to Dash and saw the pegasus's ears flatten. She saw Dash's body tremble ever so slightly, her eyes watering. The bunny beside her just stared in disbelief.

And then Rainbow Dash snorted and burst into laughter, and both Gilda and the bunny felt their jaws drop open as Dash started pounding her hooves against the wooden floor. Tears of mirth stained her cheeks as she let out a startling guffaw.

"Oh... oh, nice try, G," Dash replied as she reared up on her hind legs. "Might've been a good burn, except you forgot something. Who here's got hooves and helped save Equestria from a body-snatching shadow demon?"

Gilda's beak moved as she tried to sputter something out, but Dash interrupted by pointing to herself with her front hooves. "This mare, that's who. And don't you forget it! And as for boring..." Dash came up beside the gobsmacked griffon and wrapped a foreleg around her shoulders. "You and the rabbit start cleaning up this mess, and I'll go set some stuff up. We'll hit the town and you can start fresh with my friends, who you will like when you give 'em a chance."

With that, Rainbow Dash let go of her old friend, who needed a moment more to get her thoughts in order. "I... wh... what? That's not... you're... what are you talking about?"

Dash looked back over her shoulder and shot Gilda a devious grin. "I mean we're going to prank some ponies. Zebra voodoo witch doctor style!"

Part 13 - Coffee Break

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

The philosophy of a 'warrior race' is one in which honor and glory are to be found on the battlefield, and to die in battle is the greatest honor of all. The downfall of such a philosophy comes when it is brought to its logical conclusion. For those who believe that glory can only be found in war, war must be created when it does not naturally exist. For those who see death by one's enemies as the best way to end one's life, self-destruction becomes necessary to attain honor.

This was the tragic fate of the capricorn and peryton civilizations, both of which were known and feared throughout the realm as warriors without equal. When the Dalk Lord Arlok made his presence known within our realm, they were the first to send their mighty armies to halt Arlok's incursion. So overwhelming was their strength and so righteous was their cause that there was no doubt that victory would be swift.

Tragically, it was their ability to rally the majority of their population to war against Arlok which led to their extinction. The Dalk Lord's army of chaos swept across the realm, ravaging whichever lands they touched with such senseless brutality that the very fabric of reality began to unravel. Against such a obviously existential threat, there were very few among the capricorns and perytons who possessed both the ability to fight, and the capacity bear standing by with the knowledge that others would be meeting the enemy on the front lines.

So eager were they to defeat the enemy at their doorstep that few thought to question the origin of Arlok's forces.

By all existing accounts, both races fought hard and fought well, with five of Arlok's beasts slain for every fallen defender. Victory seemed assured. As it turned out, however, the Dalk Lord was using his own forces as expendable pawns to seek out the leaders and greatest warriors of the opposing armies. In the case of both races, who valued personal strength and honor in their rulers, these were one and the same. Lord Tydal of the capricorns and Polar Vortex of the perytons each led their armies from the front, slaying numerous invaders.

Martial strength did not protect either of them, however, when the Dalk Lord sought them out from the shadows and struck them with his insidious magicks. Along with their strongest cohorts, the leaders of the defending armies were corrupted by Arlok's dark spells into twisted, perverted abominations trapped in the Dalk Lord's thrall. These once-noble warriors quickly set upon their own former subordinates, throwing the lower ranks into chaos and despair as Arlok continued to turn the tide. Those who survived the ensuing slaughter long enough to draw Arlok's attention found themselves transformed against their wills to join his armies.

Such was the fate which nearly befell the griffons, but for the fractious nature of the clans which existed in a state of perpetual skirmishing with one another. Individual clans fell swiftly to Arlok's advance, but their refusal to join under a single banner prevented their entire race from falling at once. Even so, it was only a matter of time before this would have occurred if they had not finally unified and adopted the strategies which allowed the griffon race to survive. Ironically, it was the clan most notorious for pride in the strength of their warriors which slowed the previously unstoppable juggernaut of Arlok's forces by--

"Excuse me, young lady," an unfamiliar male voice spoke up, pulling Pinkamena out of her reading. She tilted her head up to see a bearded grey griffon with spectacles that gave him a somewhat owlish appearance as he smiled down at her. "I apologize for interrupting your reading, but could I trouble you for just a moment?"

Pinkamena marked her place and closed her book shut. "Of course. I'm sorry, I didn't hear the bell ring. My name is Pinkamena, and I'll be your barrista. Would you like some coffee, and maybe a small snack to go with it?"

"That would be delightful, Miss Pie, but I'm actually looking for a relative of mine, and it's likely that she came by here." When Pinkamena narrowed her eyes suspiciously at the use of her last name, the griffon chuckled and explained, "It shouldn't be that much of a surprise, Miss Pie. We do get newspapers over in the Empire, you know. I, for one, can't thank you and your friends enough for facing that Eclipse monster."

Pinkamena's look softened, or at least flattened as she nodded to the griffon. "Oh, of course. I'm sorry for being apprehensive, it's just that..."

The griffon grinned in understanding and sat down across the table from her. "For the ponies of Equestria, the so-called 'herd mentality' manifests itself as an instinctive desire for safety in numbers, and bonds of community that are stronger than those found in most other races. To many other creatures, particularly to those of a more aggressive temperament, ponies may seem timid and standoffish as a whole, while those few who demonstrate the greatest bravery do so as a bulwark standing between their more skittish brethren and those perceived as being threatening outsiders."

After finishing his recitation, the griffon pointed a talon down at the book on the table. "Fuzzy Thinker's work may not be as popular in the Empire as it is here, but it does have a bit of a following in diplomatic circles." He glanced around and saw the lack of customers inside at the moment, then proposed, "You know, if it isn't too much trouble, perhaps we could chat a bit."

"Ohhh, you're a diplomat from that envoy we saw pass overhead a while ago? Sure, I'd like that," Pinkamena replied. She reached up under her beret and pulled out a notepad as well as, surprisingly, a quill pen with a nub that was wet with ink. Holding the pad in her hooves, she asked around the feather in her mouth, "But don't you have a relative to find, mister...?"

"Grigori, but you can call me 'Greg' for short, if you like." the griffon replied warmly. "And it's no rush. She's been looking forward to visiting Ponyville for several months now. I'm sure that she's having a wonderful time in your lovely town."

"... Really?" Pinkamena quizzically cocked her head, then shrugged. "I see. For a moment, I thought I might know who you were talking about, but the only other griffon I've seen today didn't seem like she enjoyed being here."

As much as she didn't want to be, Gilda was having the time of her life.

Together, she and Rainbow Dash had pranked a swath across Ponyville. Through a combination of plants from the Everfree, a pouch full of powder that Dash seemed to be able to control in ways that completely baffled Gilda, and Gilda's own knack for thunder magic, the two of them had practically turned the town upside-down, laughing the whole while.

But behind the laughter, Gilda was growing increasingly frustrated. At first, she'd relented to join in on Dash's fun because she figured that it would be a good way to make ponies furious. Instead, no matter what they pulled, once the initial surprise of the prank was over, ther 'victims' had started laughing with them instead of breaking out the torches and pitchforks.

Even when she'd pranked that hot-headed dweeb... what was her name? Sunspot? Gilda had been fully expecting to kick off round two of their fight when she'd pretended to apologize, only to hide a miniature thundercloud in her talons when she reached out to shake the Ranger's hoof. Instead, after looking like she was going to go at it with Gilda again, Rainbow Dash told Sunbeam that it was all her idea, and the two pegasi had started cracking up like old buddies.

Which led them to where they were at the moment, getting set to cap off their pranking spree with Queen Uptightius Maximus herself. They had caught Lt. Sparkle on her way back to the Ranger's outpost with her saddlebags full of papers. Rainbow Dash distracted the unicorn by making small talk while Gilda was at her other side, a sheaf of blank paper hidden under her wing.

Rainbow Dash got Twilight's attention by gabbing on and on about something that threatened to put Gilda to sleep... Seasonal animal migration or something. Whatever it was, it was doing the trick, and Gilda was able to stealthily swap out the forms for the blank pages.

Gilda smirked as she got away with it, tucking the paperwork out of sight under her wing. She could just imagine the look on the unicorn's face, and imagine how mad she'd be when she opened her saddlebags, just to find all her work gone.

But then Gilda imagined how it would go after that. Rainbow Dash would pull out the real papers and hoof them back over to Twilight. The unicorn would probably give Dash a speech about not pulling tricks like that, but she'd be so relieved that they'd make up immediately. And then one of them would say something about how Dash and Gilda were such good friends, and they'd keep insisting on her being at that stupid welcome party, and they'd all forgive her and go on and on about how they were all best buddies, even though it'd all be a big fat stinking LIE!

Gilda let out a squawk of frustration, startling the ponies as they turned to look at her. "You okay, G?" Dash asked.

How can you even ask that, you moron?! Gilda thought. But what she said through clenched teeth was, "My wings just keep wanting to stretch out. Seriously, is this what it's like to be you? If I couldn't fly anymore, I'd kill myself!"

Dash winced, and Twilight shot an angry glare Gilda's way, but Dash quickly covered it up with that fake cheer she'd had ever since Gilda showed up. "What can I say? I've still got too much awesomeness to share with the world," she replied, shrugging it off. It made Gilda's guts twist, and she was so distracted by the surge of anger that welled up inside her that she almost didn't notice she was walking close enough to the edge of a small creek that one misstep would send her sliding into the water.

She almost didn't notice it, but she did. Just as she remembered that she was carrying papers that Twilight had probably been working on for hours. And that even if the current didn't carry them all away before the ponies got them back, they'd be way too soggy for the Ranger to use.

"Whoops!" Gilda exclaimed as she 'slipped' on a patch of wet ground, and sent herself tipping over into the water.

Part 14 - Breaking Strain

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

And how long are we going to remain here?

"I don't know... Until the sun burns down to a cinder, and the moon crumbles away into dust, perhaps?"

How disgustingly poetic, Gungnir mused. You must have finally seen fit to punish me for my crimes, dangling all of this despair and self-loathing in front of me after depriving me of the ability to enjoy it. This... this thing you put inside of me...

Gertrude smiled wanly as she looked down from the cloud she was perched upon. "Your heart, Gungnir. It belongs to you, and everything that comes with it."

But it came from you, the Windigo retorted. I was meant to be a parasite, not to possess things like sympathy or compassion.

"There was a hole in you," Gertrude replied, thinking back to what little she remembered of the time a mere week ago when she and Gungnir had both been on the receiving end of the Elements of Harmony. "All I did was offer you something to fill it with. If you hadn't wanted to accept those feelings, you could have just allowed the Elements to turn you into an ordinary Windigo."

... Yes. I could have, Gungnir conceded. But you have had a heart much longer than I have, and look at what you're doing with it, now.

Gertrude closed her eyes and let out a soft sigh. Visions of Gunther and the rest of her clan flickered through her mind. "I know. I have to return to them. They deserve to know what is going on, and..."

The albino griffoness trailed off as her sharpened senses, though dulled by the warmth of Spring, nevertheless picked up on something that felt entirely too familiar. "Gungnir, did you--?"

Yes, I felt it too.

Gertrude nodded and pushed herself off of the cloud in order to soar down toward the ground below.

"Come on, Twilight, any of us could've slipped into that creek."

"She stole papers out of my saddlebags and dropped them in the water! Do you have any idea how long it'll take me to fill out replacements?"

"That was my idea in the first place! And since it's you, about twenty minutes, so don't shriek."

"I am not shrieking!" Lt. Sparkle shrilly protested. Right into Gilda's ear, in fact, as the griffoness was stuck between the two bickering ponies. A position that had been firmly established by Rainbow Dash, who had dragged her back to the cottage with a determination and strength that would have put most earth ponies to shame, just so Dash could towel her off after her spill. "But after everything she's pulled today, I don't believe it was an accident!"

Gilda would have had a more difficult time hiding her smirk at that if it weren't for Rainbow Dash practically trying to beat the water off of her with her towel. "You don't know what it's like, Twi. Having wings and not being able to use 'em... it just threw your balance off, right G? I mean, when your body's telling you to flap and you can't get the lift--"

Gilda grimaced and pushed herself to head for the door, shoving Dash out of the way. "Whatever! I'm fine, so you can stop mother-henning me like I'm some kind of cr... some kind of crybaby!"

"Don't give me that, Gilda. Winter Wrap-Up was only a week ago, and that water's still barely above freezing! You wanna go back to your pride sick and wheezing?"

"Just let her go," Twilight replied from behind Gilda. "Ever since she got here, she's done nothing but cause trouble, and hasn't even apologized once. Your other friends and I have put up with a lot today because you asked us to, but this has gone way past the point of culture clash."

Rainbow Dash's ears flattened against her head as she looked past Gilda. "Twilight, please, I just--" She was cut off, though, when Gilda turned around and whapped her pegasus friend in the face with her thrashing lion tail.

"What's the matter, Duchess Tight-plot? Don't want me in your little nerd-herd? Afraid I'll remind Dash what actually being cool is like?"

"Now hold on, G. Let's just--"

"Being a self-centered jerk isn't 'cool', and Dash knows that! She actually cares about other creatures!"

"Wait a second, Twilight, I--"

"Maybe she'd be happier if she cared about herself a little more!"

"Hey, I--"

"She was perfectly happy until you showed up! Why don't you get back on the train and--"

"SHUT UP!" Rainbow Dash's shout caused both of her arguing friends to flinch, and she followed up on it by jumping up and flapping her good wing in order to drop down between them. "Both of you, just shut up!"

Her eyes blazed like roses on fire as she jabbed a hoof against Twilight's chest. "Twi, the prank was my idea! It went bad and I'm sorry, but takin' it out on Gilda doesn't change anything!" She then spun around and reared up on her hind legs to look the griffoness straight in the eye. "And you've got no idea how awesome and radical my friends are. All of them! So shut up, sit down, and--"

A knock on the door interrupted Dash, who growled as she quickly went over and practically pulled the door off its hinges when she swung it open. "What?!"

Outside, the rest of Rainbow Dash's friends were waiting with Iron Will standing behind them, a large bowl balanced in one hand. The ponies and minotaur shared an awkward look between one another until Fluttershy asked, "Sooo... are we early for the party?"

She reached back with a hind leg to tap her husband's shin. Momentarily startled by the cue, Iron Will coughed awkwardly into his hand while using the other to hold out the bowl. "We brought fruit salad," he said, trying entirely too hard to be casual about it.

Rainbow Dash felt her face flush a light purple as she pointed her good wing back into her home. "Ah. Uh... thanks, big guy. So, yeah. Come on in." One by one, her friends shuffled their way inside while trying to pretend that they hadn't heard her blow up just moments ago.

It wasn't until Pinkamena stopped and asked, "Can he come in, too?" that Dash noticed the grey, owlish griffon who had seemed to fade into the background.

Giving her a warm smile, the griffon stepped forward and took Rainbow Dash's hoof in his talons, shaking it in greeting. "Hello, Miss Dash, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. I'm Gilda's uncle Greg, and Pinkamena said that I would most likely find her here."

"Oh. Sure, she's here. Make yourself at home. It might be a little cramped, though."

"Not to worry," Grigori good-naturedly replied. "I'll do my best not to get in the way." He stepped inside, leaving Dash and Pinkamena outside.

Before stepping inside, Pinkamena just looked Dash in the eye. Dash quickly felt uncomfortable under the still, unwavering gaze of her friend's blue eyes and reached a hoof back to nervously rub the back of her neck. "So, uh... yeah, sorry about snapping like that. It's been a great day, having Gilda back, but there've been some... pretty lousy moments. Seriously, I'm glad you guys all showed up, and..."

When Dash started to trail off, Pinkamena wrapped her forelegs around the pegasus in a tight hug. "... He told me about what happened when you left Flight Camp. I'm sorry," Pinkamena told her.

For a moment, Dash's widened in panic, but after letting it sink in, she leaned into the hug and let out a resigned sigh. "That's... really personal. Do the rest of 'em know?"

Pinkamena pulled back and shook her head. Dash nodded in reply and said, "Can we keep it that way a while longer? It was a long time ago, and... and I don't want to hurt G. any more than I already have by bringing that up in front of everypony."

"They won't hear it from me. Pinkamena promise," the poet replied before they both steeled themselves and stepped inside.

And once again, we're perched on a mountain, plotting our next move.

"The irony isn't lost on me," Gertrude replied as she focused her keen vision on the small cottage that she had just seen Emperor Grigori enter. "I wouldn't call it 'plotting', though."

Of course not. Because that would imply that you know what you're going to do.

Gertrude frowned. "I'm fairly certain that you didn't get this sarcastic streak from me."

I am developing my own sense of individuality. Aren't you happy that you gave me a heart, now? When Gertrude didn't reply, Gungnir added, Also, I get cranky when a buffet is placed in front of me, and I'm not allowed to partake. So please, if you aren't going to just go down there, then fly us back to the castle.

... Of course, you aren't going to leave. You can't, can you? It's your nature to meddle in the affairs of creatures who haven't even asked for your help. If you didn't, then you wouldn't be in the position you're in now.

The corners of Gertrude's beak curved up in a small grin. "Very true."

Her smile faded slowly as she felt the chill of Winter radiating from the small house down below. "Please put up with it a little longer, Gungnir. If things continue as they seem to be, I think that you will be eating soon."

Author's Note

Oy, this one took longer than it should have. It went through a few re-writes of the second scene when I kept writing myself into a corner. And then when I finally felt that I was on a roll, and had a good momentum... I lost a sizable chunk of what I had done, forcing me to re-write again from memory.

This is sort of the tipping point of the story, though. The next few chapters will be the climax that will tie everything together. Thanks for still reading, everyone.

Also, part of the lateness of this update was brought to you by Wasteland 2. If you don't know what I'm talking about, go look for it! And if you like what you see, buy it!

Part 15 - Flashpoint

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

There were certainly more thundersteel-clad griffons milling about in the Snowheart clan's camp than Cadance had expected when she had gone down there looking for Gertrude. After Gunther had aired his concerns over his grandmother's impending decision, she had joined him in visiting the refugee camp in the hopes of finding her and addressing Gunther's fears.

Instead of Gertrude, however, they found a considerable number of Emperor Grigori's soldiers milling about the camp. So far as she could tell, there was no overt conflict between the Imperials and the Snowhearts, but she didn't need to have a special talent tied to emotions in order to sense the tension just beneath the surface.

"Where do you think she is?" Cadance asked. "It doesn't sound like anygriffon's seen her since you split up."

Gunther let out a grunt as he looked around, trying hard to keep the worry from his face in front of his people. "She must have gone off on her own to think. Hopefully, she's considering other options, but I'm afraid she'll just use this time to convince herself to accept the Emperor's conditions."

"I'm sorry, I'm still not entirely sure why you think that would be so bad for your clan, though," Cadance mused. Realizing how that might sound to Gunther, she quickly added, "Of course, I'm going to do everything I can to help you and her find another way. It would be horrible for her, but at least if she did go through with it, it would be to help your clan, wouldn't it?"

Gunther stopped for a moment, then pulled Cadance off to the side, away from other griffons. He then rubbed his beak and let out a sigh. "Right. Let me try to explain. My grandmother... she just isn't like other griffons. And I don't mean because of her powers or her role as the Warden of Winter. In her heart, and the way she thinks, she's... well... in many ways, she's more like one of you," he said, pointing at Cadance.

The princess blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Like a pony? Is that a bad thing?"

Gunther shook his head and replied, "Usually not, but it's a difference of viewpoint. You have seen our clan's loyalty. How we were willing to be frozen in time in order to be reunited with our ruler. We gave up everything that we knew and entrusted our future to her because we believed that when her madness passed, she would once again be worthy of following. Can you imagine how betrayed they will feel if, after all of that, she abandons us into this false death she's been offered? It would crush their spirits and shatter their very sense of identity. If grandmother doesn't have the will to fight for herself, then to every griffon who placed their faith in her, everything we've done will have been for a lie."

Cadance considered this and hung her head slightly. "When you put it that way, I suppose I can understand your point of view. But then why would she even consider it, if it would hurt you so much?"

Gunther looked around to ensure that there were no griffons in earshot before he told her, "Because the Emperor couched it in the context of being for the best for the clan. My grandmother has a particular sickness, Cadance. For the sake of her people, she hides it from all but her closest family and friends, but the truth is... the fact that she was brought up as a pariah still influences her decisions today. Deep down, she believes that she does not deserve the blessings she has been given, so she would not hesitate to destroy herself if she thought for an instant that it would benefit those she loves."

Rainbow Dash didn't even bother asking herself how everything had gone so wrong. It was a question that she had known the answer to for a long time. She had stubbornly fought to keep the proverbial eight-hundred pound manticore from coming into the room, ignoring that it was already there. That it had always been there, ever since that day all those years ago, when she and Gilda had originally parted ways.

And thanks to that willful ignorance, Dash had created a situation for herself where that eight-hundred pound manticore was joined by an equally oversized chimera. A chimera named Lt. Twilight Sparkle. And that tortured metaphor was distracting her with a mental image of Twilight with a second head sticking out of her back, and a third on her tail. Wow, that was weird. No, no, she had to focus.

Thankfully, the surprise arrival of Gilda's 'Uncle Greg' had defused the tension a bit, as Twilight and some of the others were over by him. While the rest were getting won over by the older, more diplomatic griffon's charm, Twilight seemed to be hanging back and glancing suspiciously between the two griffons. Rainbow Dash really wasn't sure what to make of it, but she wasn't about to turn him away when his presence seemed to be helping smooth things over with most of her friends.

Meanwhile, Iron Will was chatting it up with Gilda, which actually seemed to be going pretty well. "So they finally let me out of the cast two days ago," Will said, referring to the broken leg he'd gotten on Waking Night. "Still gonna take a while to get back to a hundred percent, but I can't wait to get back on tour."

Gilda snorted and took a swig of the drink she held in her talons. "Pony doctors aren't worth the paper their phony-baloney diplomas are printed on," she scoffed, turning her head to glance toward Rainbow Dash, who quickly looked away and started nodding to make it look like she was focused on whatever it was Fluttershy was talking about.

"--but that's up to her. What's up to you is whether or not you have the courage to be honest about how you feel about her."

Rainbow Dash stopped in mid-nod and blinked, taken by surprise when she looked at Fluttershy and found the perky pegasus looking at her with unusual intensity. "Uh... what?"

Fluttershy blinked back and replied, "What I was telling Pokey. About asking out a special somepony for Hearts & Hooves Day? Wow, I didn't think I was that boring." She gave Dash a teasing pout as the blue pegasus realized just how long she'd been zoned out.

Bringing a hoof to her forehead, Dash replied in rhyme, "Sorry, Flutters... I didn't mean to ignore what you have to say. It's just been one heck of a day."

Fluttershy's pout morphed into a gentle smile as she leaned in to embrace Dash with her wings and give her an affectionate nuzzle. "Awww, that's okay. I know how badly you've been trying to help us to all get along. Come give your aunty Fluttershy a hug."

Rainbow Dash had to let out a laugh at that. "You know you're only a year older than me, right? But thanks again for coming by tonight." She reached up to give her friend a pat on the shoulder.

"So, when your wife's making out with her friends, do they let you join in, or do you just watch?" Gilda snarked to will, pointing a talon at the pegasi. She snickered to herself when this made the minotaur do a spit-take and spray punch into the air. "What? You mean you didn't pick up on her being a total closet-case?"

"Hey!" Literally quick as a flash, Twilight teleported over to the other side of the room to challenge Gilda with a fierce glare. "Fluttershy may be a little flirty, but she and Will are completely devoted to each other!"

"Yeah!" Fluttershy flapped over to Will to wrap her forelegs around his neck and shoulder, nuzzling him affectionately. "I love my big, silly bull more than anything in Equestria. Of course he joins in," she said before giving her husband a possessive hug.

"Don't think that was the point Twi was trying to make, Flutters," Will replied as he brought his drink up to sip what was left. Fluttershy just giggled and cutely stuck her tongue out in response.

There was a bit of laughter around the room, but Rainbow Dash just groaned inwardly, sensing that this was just an opening salvo. She was about to say something to Gilda about it when Grigori beat her to the punch, approaching from the other side of the room with a calm chuckle. "And this is why my niece isn't a diplomat."

Gilda's smirk shifted into a faint grimace. "I'm not even your niece, 'Greg.'"

Grigori shrugged and waved it off as he explained to the others, "Fifth cousins thrice removed, technically... or was it third cousins five times removed? I can never remember." Turning his attention to Fluttershy and Will, he added, "And I think you two are a lovely couple. It's entirely too rare for creatures to find kindred spirits among other species. That's why it's so gratifying to see it when it happens. Heh, I still remember back when Gilda first introduced me to Rainbow Dash."

Gilda's talons tightened around her cup. "Shut up, Uncle Greg... nopony wants to hear it."

Pinkamena replied, "Actually... I do." Everypony but Rainbow Dash and Twilight nodded in agreement.

Tilting his head back in thought, Grigori stroked his feathery beard and mused, "Gilda's parents are in the weather industry, and were in Cloudsdale for several months as part of a cultural exchange program. I've always been very good friends with her father, so I went to visit when I had an opening in my schedule. The instant I step through the door, I almost get tackled off of the cloud by this little bundle of energy and a tiny body so fast and colorful, I think I'm seeing fireworks in the middle of the day." He let out a hearty laugh at the memory, and Rainbow Dash felt a smile return to her face as well.

Gilda was less than amused, however, as she hissed, "Shut up! What do you think you're doing?"

For a moment, a dangerous glint of light shone off of Grigori's spectacles when he turned his head toward his 'niece'. But that was just a trick of the light as he let out a jovial laugh. "Well, as family, it's my prerogative to tell embarrassing stories. Especially if they help your new friends here get to know you better!" He wrapped one wing around Gilda, the other around Rainbow Dash as he told the others, "Gilda was always a bit shy, you know. Tended to keep to herself as a cub, but when I came to visit that day, she told me, happier than I'd ever seen her, 'This is my pegasister, Rainbow Dash. Don't let the look fool you, she's really a griffon in a pony suit.'"

"Awwwww," was the reply of most of the mares in the room. Even those who had been most angered by Gilda earlier that day now looked at the griffoness with softer expressions, starting to see her in a different light. The only exception was Twilight, who continued to look at Gilda with a flat stare, as if waiting for something. A stance which proved justified when Gilda clenched her talons around the wooden cup she was holding hard enough to crack it.

The griffoness closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. When she let out her breath, it was with a quiet, bitter laugh as she said, "Heh, yeah. Good times, right? We were a couple of real trouble-makers, back in the day. Hey Dash, remember the time we snuck into the camp cafeteria, and I had to get my stomach pumped?"

Rainbow Dash did indeed remember that incident, but wasn't sure where exactly Gilda was going with it. Then she saw her old friend smirk in Applejack's direction, and felt a cold chill in the pit of her gut when she put it together. "G, knock this off! You don't need to--"

"The camp had just gotten a shipment of fresh apples, and I was munching on 'em like crazy. I told Dash I could eat a hundred of 'em, and this brain-donor dweeb of a colt starts going on about how that's impossible. So Dash here, she gets all in his face and goes, 'If my girl G. here says she can eat a hundred apples, then she can eat a hundred apples!'"

Silence descended on the room. Grigori raised his eyebrow in confusion as Gilda focused on Applejack with a vicious glint in her eye. "And they were soooo good. Even when I felt like I was gonna explode, I kept on eating because they were just so juicy and delicious. Just like the ones I ate earlier. You Apple ponies made such a tasty pie, I almost couldn't smash it on the ground, but the look on your faces were so worth it. Seriously, I can't believe you bought that bit about hating apples. I mean, hello, it was obviously an apple pie."

Rainbow Dash was screaming internally, but her body felt completely paralyzed. Like she was watching a horror movie and shouting at the survivors not to run down into the basement. As Applejack stared back at Gilda, the businessmare's expression slowly darkened with rage. "My baby sister... You made her cry... for FUN?"

"No... no, girls, you don't understand..." Dash tried to say. Her throat was so dry, though, it was no more than a whisper. She tried to lift her hooves and interject herself, but after all of the effort she had put into keeping things from exploding so far, she just couldn't summon up the strength.

Off to the side, the pegasus heard Twilight say in a tone so icily calm that the temperature inside the cottage dropped ten degrees, "Your Eminence, one of your soldiers has been harassing Equestrian citizens. In accordance with the treaties between our nations, I request the right of singular redress."

Dash's vision grew dim as her heart and mind were overloaded, struggling to find a way to stop the explosion that had been building up. But it was much too late for that. Every excuse she had made, and every attempt to defuse it had simply been the efforts of one little pony standing in the path of a fireball that had been hurtling toward her and growing in its fury ever since she had gotten her cutie mark.

With a heavy sigh, Grigori replied, "I suppose I have no other choice. Your request is granted..."

And just like that, every hope Rainbow Dash had of resolving things without a fight vanished in a flash of light.

Author's Note

Let the swan-dive into madness begin!

Part 16 - The Explosion

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Gilda clenched her eyes shut and shook her head to clear it. The last thing she had seen was a flash of light, accompanied by a sense of vertigo. As her talons and paws shifted to steady herself, though, she could feel the grass and dirt beneath them and immediately realized that she wasn't inside Rainbow Dash's cottage anymore. She opened her eyes, and when the afterimage of the teleportation spell started to fade from her vision, she was able to see that she was in a meadow near the cottage with Lt. Sparkle glaring furiously at her and digging at the ground with her foreleg.

Smirking at the wrathful unicorn, Gilda tauntingly asked, "What? Was it something I said?"

Twilight ground her teeth, her anger so powerful that it seemed to form an aura around her that lit up the evening dim. "You weren't just being a jerk on accident. You targeted us, didn't you? You've spent the entire day, deliberately picking on Rainbow's friends, and I want to know why!"

Gilda snorted and replied, "Because her taste in friends sucks. The sooner she realizes that, the happier she'll be. What're you gonna do about it?"

Twilight responded by charging magic into her horn.

Iron Will looked around with everypony else in the wake of Twilight and Gilda's vanishing. After confirming that those two were the only ones missing, Rainbow Dash reared up on her hind legs in order to place her front hooves over her face. "No no no nononono!" She then rushed over to Grigori. "Why did you do that?! Don't you know what's going to happen?!"

"Yes," Grigori replied sternly. "Gilda is finally going to get what she's been asking for all these years. What you've been denying her this whole time."

Rarity stepped forward and asked, "I'm sorry, Greg, I don't really understand what's going on here. What is this 'singular address' Twilight asked for?"

"Redress, dear," Applejack interjected. The businessmare looked warily at Grigori. "Basically, it means that even though Gilda is a guest in our country, she has made such a nuisance of herself that Twilight has permission to settle matters one-on-one without causing an international incident. But the only one who should have the authority to grant that permission... is the highest-ranking griffon in the visiting party."

All eyes within the cottage immediately focused on Grigori, most of them wide with surprise. Rainbow Dash's weren't among those. Instead, she stared at him in a mix of disbelief and anguish. "She's your niece... she's hurt, and you let her pick a fight with a ticked-off Twilight Sparkle?!"

"Distant cousin, technically," he reminded her, tilting his head down as he loomed over the rainbow-maned pegasus, the lenses of his glasses shining down on her like blank, burning eyes. "But if you think that I'm allowing this because I don't care about Gilda, you could not be more wrong. It's simply past time to stop play-acting and face reality. You know why she's here, so if you are going to do something about it, then do something about it!"

Rainbow Dash's body tensed up. She pulled back a front hoof and seemed ready to strike Grigori with it. Instead, she let out a frustrated groan and spun around to rush out the door while the others instinctively followed after her. "Do we even know where Twilight teleported to?" Pinkamena asked as they galloped out the door.

It was a question that was quickly answered by a shockwave that almost knocked them off their hooves.

From within her reading room, Princess Celestia's voice called out, "Come in, Captain." Shining Armor stepped inside, giving a nod to the two guards stationed outside the door as he passed by. Once he was inside, Celestia shut the door behind him with her magic and asked, "So, what brings you over here, Captain Armor?"

Before answering, Shining glanced around the room and sniffed the air, the faint scent of sunflowers wafting to his nostrils from a steaming teacup held in Celestia's magic.

"Cadance came to see me, along with Gunther Snowheart," Shining said as he approached his ruler. "They were worried about your friend. And considering you save the sunflower tea for either celebrations or when you need a pick-me-up... I'm guessing you are, too."

Celestia smiled at his concern and took a long sip of her beverage. "I knew there was a reason I appointed you Captain of the Guard besides your ability to stand around looking pretty," she mused with a smirk that accentuated the laugh lines in her grandmotherly face. A smirk that faded as she set down her cup. "But you don't need to play the detective role here, Captain. I'm not so much worried for Gertrude's sake as I am angry at Grigori. He should know better."

"The Emperor? What makes you say that, Princess?" Shining Armor moved toward a cushion sitting opposite from Celestia, but didn't sit down until she nodded her permission.

Celestia let out a soft sigh and took another sip of tea as she stared off into the distance, reaching back into her memories. "When he was younger, Grigori actually spent a few years attending university here in Canterlot. And you probably wouldn't think it, as timid as my little ponies can be sometimes, but he had an extraordinary talent for fitting in and making himself at home everywhere.

"Far from engaging in the sort of chest-thumping that young griffons tend to do, he put ponies at ease and made friends almost instantly. I was so impressed by his insight and ability to understand other creatures that I even took him under my wing for a while, thinking that he might have been one of Gertrude's successors." Celestia laughed softly and shook her head. "He wasn't, as it turned out. A little too ambitious and manipulative, by his own admission, but he did take a great interest in Gertrude and those very few griffons who have since been born with her... affinities. I can remember spending many evenings discussing culture, and how unjust it is that griffons like Gretel Preystalker and Glacier are honored as heroes in Equestria, but ignored or even vilified by Imperial historians."

Shining Armor considered this with a small, thoughtful frown. "You don't say? And what about now?"

Celestia looked down into her teacup. "Now, I'm starting to think that maybe he learned a little too much from me about keeping one's cards hidden. I was so, so certain that of all the griffons in the Empire, he would find a way to accept my friend and her clan. I suppose it was simply more politically expedient to make that 'offer' instead."

Shining Armor looked at his princess, who raised and lowered the sun on a daily basis and had ruled with wisdom and patience for almost as long as Equestria had existed. He knew that there were precious few ponies in all of that history who had ever been given the opportunity to see her so vulnerable. Rather than feeling honored to be shown Celestia's most guarded feelings, however, Shining merely saw it as a call to perform his duty as protector of the royal family. "Princess, there's something you should know. Cadance told me that during the meeting--"

Whatever his next words were, they were drowned out by a powerful rumbling that shook the windows. It was a loud, sustained crash like thunder, even though the Canterlot weather schedule said nothing but scattered clouds and morning mist was planned for. As a result, his very first thought was that some of the Imperial soldiers might have been showing off their storm-shaping prowess or getting into a scrap with some of the Snowheart griffons, but as he rushed toward the windows to see what was going on, he realized that there was a voice within the explosion of noise that sounded incredibly familiar.

Furrowing his brow, Shining Armor opened up the reading room's window and looked out through the evening dim toward a certain cozy little town. "Twily...?"

"STUPID! STUPID! STUPID! AND THOUGHTLESS! AND VERY STUPID!" Twilight clenched her eyes shut as she shouted her frustrations at the top of her lungs. Her vocal chords, already well-trained in the art of shouting orders clearly and loudly, were further boosted by the amplification spell she had learned from Vinyl Scratch after the DJ used rock music to break the shell of ice that Gertrude had used to entrap the occupants of Sugarcube Corner just a week ago.

Whatever worries or reservations she would normally have to prevent her from directing what was essentially a sonic siege engine toward a single griffoness, they were utterly negated by the sheer anger she felt over Gilda's betrayal of her friendship with Rainbow Dash.

"HOW COULD YOU?! RAINBOW ALREADY WELCOMED YOU INTO HER HOME! SHE MADE EXCUSE AFTER EXCUSE FOR YOU! AND THIS IS HOW YOU REPAY HER FRIENDSHIP?! EXPLAIN YOURSELF! DON'T YOU REALIZE HOW MUCH HER FRIENDS MEAN TO HER?! TELL ME HOW YOU CAN JUSTIFY MAKING HER SUFFER LIKE THAT! EXPLAIN!"

Twilight let the spell fizzle out as she caught her breath. Still, the echoes of her furious ranting rumbled like distant thunder.

"I understand your frustration, Lt. Sparkle, but I think you forgot your own strength there," said a voice that Twilight immediately recognized. Not the griffoness that she had been browbeating, but...

She opened her eyes and gasped when she saw Gertrude Snowheart looming protectively over Gilda, her wings encased in frozen armor as they wrapped around the smaller griffoness. Surrounding the two griffons, the ground was shaken up and littered with the shattered and slowly-melting shards of an icy shell that the Warden of Winter must have erected to shield them from the brunt of her magically-amplified shout.

Shocked out of her righteous anger by the sudden intervention and the sight of the harm she had nearly done, Twilight staggered back. "G-Gertrude?! I..." Looking down at the flattened grass and ruptured earth around her, she felt her guts twist. "Oh, sweet Luna...! I... I didn't mean..."

"Grahhh! Get off of me, ice queen! What're you even doing here?" Gilda growled at Gertrude, letting out a hiss of pain when she tried to use her wings to shove the larger griffoness away, only to exacerbate her injury again.

Gertrude responded by doing so, then touching a talon to the base of Gilda's wings. Almost immediately, the pain was numbed to almost nothing as ice spread from the point of contact and encased the sprained muscles. "If I hadn't been, you might be deaf right now. Something you should consider before you try to pick a fight while injured and unarmed."

Gilda ground her teeth together and snapped, "You think I'm gonna be grateful? Stick your beak where it belongs! This fight's between me and her," she proclaimed, pointing a talon at Twilight, snapping the unicorn out of her dazed state.

"Wait... fight?"

"Gilda! Twilight!" Twilight, Gilda and Gertrude all turned toward the sound of Rainbow Dash's voice as the pegasus raced across the grassy meadow with her friends and Grigori not far behind. Completely ignoring the Warden of Winter's presence, Rainbow Dash hurried over toward Gilda and immediately started looking her over. "G! Thank Celestia... are you okay? You didn't blow out your eardrums or anything, did you?"

Startled by Dash's attention, Gilda just blinked in surprise before pushing Dash back with a talon and snarling, "I'm fine! This fight's between me and Captain Bullhorn here, so stay out of it!"

"I'm not going to fight you, Gilda."

Somehow, this statement struck Gilda even harder than the verbal explosion that preceded it, and the gobsmacked griffon turned back toward Twilight. "What?! That's what you teleported us out her for isn't it? So we could settle this! Flaming tornados, you asked Uncle Greg for singular bucking redress!"

Twilight surveyed the destruction around her and replied, "Well, yeah, I... I went overboard, but I just wanted to get it through your thick skull that the stuff you've been pulling today was out of line, and I wasn't going to yell at the Emperor's relative without permission." Regaining her footing, both physically and verbally, Twilight narrowed her eyes at Gilda. "Don't get me wrong, you've got a lot of apologizing to do, but I wasn't going to actually hurt you over it. Just explain. What is this all about?"

Gilda's eye twitched. She reared back to let loose a shriek of raw anger and frustration that rivalled Twilight's own, even without magical assistance, before dropping back down to all fours.

"I can explain..." Dash said, stepping in between Twilight and Gilda. "I'm sorry, a lot of this is my fault. I knew what Gilda wanted when she came here, but I hoped I could get away with just ignoring it." She gave the griffoness a hard glare that was equal parts anger and sadness as she explained to the others, "She wants me to make a choice between you and her. I hoped that my old friend wouldn't treat my new friends this way, and you could all just get along. I hoped that I wouldn't have to abandon any of my friends. But I do. If this is gonna stop, I've gotta take a stand."

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and took a long, heavy sigh. "With a clear mind and silent, serene heart... it's time I do what I should have done at the start. Gilda, this whole time you've been causing the best mares I know pain and strife."

Rainbow Dash opened her eyes and looked straight into Gilda's own, her rosy eyes boring the conviction behind her stare directly into Gilda's soul. "But if I have to choose one over the other, then I'll stick by you for the rest of my life."

Everypony's jaw dropped to the ground.

The quiet hush, silent but for the faint breeze rustling the grass, was only broken when Gilda exclaimed, "What?!"

Author's Note

Sorry about the wait. Aside from the usual reasons, I actually had it done a while ago, but I wasn't entirely happy with leaving the chapter off right there, so I decided to hold it off until I'd gotten the next one done so that I could post them back-to-back.

Part 17 - Broken Wing, Broken Heart

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"Are you crazy? Are you stupid?"

"G..."

"Is this some kind of sick joke to you, Dash?!"

Gilda clenched her talons into fists and smashed them down into the ice littering the ground around her, cracking it where she struck while every pony, griffon and minotaur surrounding them simply watched, dumbstruck by her reaction.

"It's no joke, G. If I have to choose between you and them," Dash replied, pointing her hoof at her pony friends, "then I'm sticking with you."

"Rainbow Dash... what are you saying?" Rarity asked, frowning as she reached up with one hoof to tug worriedly at her braid.

Fluttershy flitted over to the other pegasus and pouted at her with wide, watery eyes. "You'd really leave us? After all the good times we've had?"

"I thought our friendship was worth more than that," Applejack said, scuffing the dirt with little regard for her hooficure.

"And what about the Elements of Harmony?" Twilight asked worriedly. "It's not like we can just replace you, Rainbow... you're too important to us. To Equestria itself!"

"What about what Gilda wants?" Pinkamena asked, tilting her head toward the fuming griffoness. "Even she doesn't like the idea."

"You're bucking right I don't like that idea!" Snapping her head from one pony to the next, Gilda harshly demanded, "What the flaming tornados is wrong with you dweebs?! Why are you being so mopey when you should be getting mad?!"

Gilda looked about ready to rip her headfeathers out as she ranted at the ponies with an increasingly wild and desperate glint in her eye. She got right up in their faces and shrieked at them, "Don't just stand around, you grass-chewing geeks! Don't you get it? I'm the bad guy here! I'm the enemy! All I do is make everyone suffer, even when I'm not trying to!" Everypony she faced reflexively shrank back, except for Twilight, who took the rigid stance of the Royal Guard instead as Gilda only grew more unraveled.

Iron Will attempted to push himself into the middle of it when Fluttershy was rocked back by Gilda shrieking in her face, only to be held back when Gertrude stretched a snow-white wing out to block his path. "Wait..." she whispered, narrowing her soft pink eyes as she focused her sight on Gilda. "Do you see that...?"

Seeing the mares back away from her seemed to only break Gilda down further. She continued to rant, but the strength was slipping from her form as angry tears welled up in her eyes. "For buck's sake, I don't even want to take Rainbow Dash away from you, and you lame-os are getting ready to break up anyway! Doesn't that make you mad? Dash is the most awesome mare I ever met, and you aren't gonna fight for her?! For buck's sake, why won't any of you fight me?! Hit me! Hit me! Banish me from your stupid little town! Make it so she doesn't ever have to even think about me again!"

This opened the floodgates, and tears began streaming down Gilda's face. Most of the ponies were now staring at her open-mouthed, too shocked by her ranting to notice the thin coat of frost that had started to form at the tips of her feathers all over her body. Gilda herself didn't pay it any mind as she wiped her face with the back of her talons and blubbered, "You're all just stupid... l-lame... weak little ponies! D-don't you get it? I crippled your friend! Why... why don't any of you want to hurt me...?"

The griffoness felt a hoof place itself gently on her shoulder. Even though it didn't touch her anywhere near her wings, she flinched and turned away. Despite that, she heard Rainbow Dash's voice say, "You're already hurting, G. Come on... turn around and look at me."

Gilda clenched her eyes shut, tears dripping down her beak onto the grass below. She stubbornly kept her head turned the other way for several seconds, but Rainbow's hoof lingered and soothingly rubbed small circles over her friend's fur. Slowly, reluctantly, Gilda turned her head to look at Dash and opened her bleary eyes.

The instant she did, Rainbow's other hoof slammed into her face hard enough to rock the griffoness back. Rubbing a talon over her beak, she let out a bird-like squawk. "Wha-?!"

"Did that feel like a punch from a crippled mare?" Rainbow asked, dropping back down to all fours. Her rose-colored eyes were focused on Gilda in a challenging glare.

Gilda didn't feel anything broken, so she shook it off and snapped, "You... No, I'm not gonna fight you, Dash! I can't! Your wing..." Her gaze slipped toward the twisted and mangled wing on Dash's back, only for the mare to take advantage of her reluctance and launch herself forward and cuff Gilda on the side of the head with just enough force to return her focus to Dash's cocky smirk.

"What about it? You can't use yours either, so it's totally fair," Rainbow taunted. She then brought her good wing up and tickled Gilda's sides with her feathers. "Actually, I've still got one I can use, so I think you're just scared you'll lose!"

Despite herself, Gilda started laughing as Dash hit a ticklish spot. Her face reddened with embarassment when she realized she was being taunted and made a fool of in front of everyone, and not even on her own terms. "St-stop that Dash," she protested while fighting the giggles. "I-I'm not... I'm not..."

The pegasus smirked as she kept up her assault. "What was that, G? You look stricken. I see your beak move, but all I hear's the clucking of a big, overgrown chicken."

This made Gilda clench her teeth, and gave her the focus needed to plant her talons against Rainbow's chest and shove her old friend away. "I'm not messing around, here! You really want to do this?! Fine!" With a ferocious roar, Gilda's leonine hind legs launched her like a coiled spring toward Rainbow Dash.

All the while, Rainbow's friends found themselves incapable of doing anything but staring in shock at what was going on. While Rainbow and Gilda started trading blows with more enthusiasm, knocking a faint, misty puff of frost from Gilda's body every time she took a hit.

Eventually, it fell upon Iron Will to say, "Okay, since nopony's asking, what the buck is going on here?"

Without turning to look away from the fight, Grigori asked, "Did Rainbow Dash ever tell you about why she rushed off to live in seclusion after she earned her cutie mark?"

"Zecora saved her life," Twilight replied, her tone and gaze distant. "Rainbow wanted to repay her kindness."

Grigori smiled faintly and removed his glasses as he replied, "I don't doubt that. But that is not, in fact, the complete story."

"Hey, Dash! Wake up!"

Rainbow Dash groaned, rolling over onto her back as Gilda's voice pierced her drowsy mind. "Uuugh... what?"

It had been a lazy day at flight camp up to that point. About half of the counselors were in bed with food poisoning, thanks to some veggies from their personal stock going bad. Rainbow Dash would never name names, but she did recall Gilda stumbling around back when they were gathering the apples for her wager, and the puncture marks in the sealed bags imported from down-below had been about the same size as Gilda's talons.

As a result, the remaining counselors were spread thin, which meant a lot of young pegasi were pretty much left to do whatever they wanted. Dash had spent some time keeping tabs on the Moron Trio to see if they'd start something that would give her an excuse to intervene. Aside from a little petty heckling, though, none of them went over the line of picking on somepony who couldn't give as good as they got. Ever since Dash and Gilda had teamed up and joined forces, the three bullies found that there was a growing shortage of easy targets.

Instead of feeling proud of herself, though, Rainbow Dash had mostly just been bored out of her young skull. She'd burned off some energy earlier practicing her flying, then settled onto a nice fluffy cloud for a nap. Then, after it felt like she had just closed her eyes a moment ago, she found her griffon friend shaking her awake.

"Check it out. The weather team over there's making a wicked thunderstorm," Gilda said, pointing her talon over toward a dark mass of cloud off in the distance. It was far enough away that Dash had to squint to see clearly, but when she did, she gasped in recognition.

"That's no weather team! That's the Everfree," she exclaimed.

"The what?"

Dash looked at the griffoness, stunned by her friend's ignorance. "The Everfree Forest," she replied, carefully enunciating every syllable. Seeing an abject lack of recognition on Gilda's face, she explained, "It's the most dangerous place in Equestria! It's full of ghosts and pony-eating monsters! They say it's always as dark as night in there, even in the middle of the day! The forest even makes its own weather that nopony can control!"

Gilda blinked, her eyes widening at Dash's description. "Woah, seriously? Wow... that sounds... bucking awesome!" A wide, almost manic grin spread across her face as she flapped her wings and launched herself off of the cloud.

Quickly righting herself, Dash got to her hooves and shouted, "Hey, where're you going?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've gotta see this," Gilda replied with a laugh. She turned around and kept flying backwards toward the distant clouds while she tauntingly shouted back, "Come on, you wanna check it out too, right? Unless you really are just like the rest of the chickens around here!"

Rainbow Dash gulped nervously, her eyes darting back and forth between Gilda and the distant storm. She took a glance over her shoulder, almost hoping for an adult to be around who could stop them from flying too far away, but there were none in sight.

"Fine," Gilda called out in a mocking tone. "Guess I was wrong about how cool you were. You can chill out there with the rest of the dweebs, but don't expect me to hang out with a coward when I get back!"

Looking back, Gilda could see Dash flinch as if the words physically hit her. The young filly, obviously still nervous, nevertheless swallowed her fear and retorted, "I'm just giving you a head start! Last one there's a smelly griffon!"

-----

"We'll be right outside," Gilda's father told her as she stared blankly at the hospital door. "Gilda? Gilda, it's okay. We'll be right out here if you need anything."

Gilda didn't respond. She didn't even show any sign that she really heard him as she slowly reached out to push the door open. She didn't even blink at the brightness of the sun shining directly in through the window as she slowly marched toward the other end of the room. As she moved through the harsh glare, there wasn't any movement on her face whatsoever until her eyes locked on to the one source of color in the otherwise sterile white room.

"G? Hey, what took you so long?" Rainbow Dash asked with a tired smirk.

She had always been small compared to Gilda, but as she just stared at her pegasus friend, Gilda thought that Dash looked smaller and more delicate than she ever had before. The hospital bed looked large enough to simply swallow her up. Bandages covered up various parts of Dash's body, particuarly wrapping around her barrel and holding one of her wings pinned against her side.

"So... yeah..." Dash murmured while Gilda just stared at her. "You're... kinda creeping me out, G. Come on, it's not like you're the one who crashed." When Gilda still failed to say anything, Dash's eyes started to well up, her voice slowly becoming more frail. Frail and scared. "G, please... I need you... Come on, just... just talk to me."

Gilda's beak opened slightly, but all that came out was a whispered, "Dash..."

Rainbow Dash grinned weakly as tears started dripping down her cheeks. She found herself stammering through her words as she spoke, her throat catching and hiccuping. "Heh... there you are. Thought you might've turned into a zombie or somethin'. See? I'm okay. You're okay... I'm okay... it was a st-stupid... stupid mistake, but... but we're both... okay... And those doctors are full of horseapples, alright?"

Rainbow Dash reached a hoof around to her bandaged wing and winced. "They... they don't know what they're talking about. I'm gonna get better... I'm... I'm gonna be out of here and... and fl-flying again... before you..." She trailed off, trying to say the words. Trying to let the lie out in the vain hope that it might come true. Instead, it died in her throat and lodged there, choking her. Her body practically convulsed as any attempt to speak on her part was drowned out by loud, wracking sobs, and she threw herself forward to wrap her hooves around her dearest friend.

Even then, Gilda barely moved. When she did, it was to slowly, mechanically raise her talon. She very gingerly brought her talon closer, wanting to embrace Dash, but fearful of breaking what was left of her friend. She almost... almost managed to hold her friend, pull her close, and promise the filly that no matter what, she would always be there for her.

But then she looked down. She saw how, even under the bandages, Rainbow Dash's wing was unnaturally bent and twisted. And beyond that was something that had never been there before.

Rainbow Dash had gotten her cutie mark. Though not a pony herself, Gilda had sat through Dash ranting about how amazing her mark was going to be when it finally came. That it was a sign of a pony's destiny and defined a pony's entire life, so an awesome mare like she was going to be would need an equally awesome cutie mark.

What Gilda saw on Dash's flank was the symbol that would be with the pegasus for the rest of her life; a broken rainbow, barely held together with bandages.

When she saw that, Gilda lowered her talons and whispered two words:

"Kill me..."

Part 18 - Percussive Therapy

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Fluttershy whimpered sadly when Grigori briefly paused. She had fluttered back to her husband while he was telling his story, and had her forelegs draped over Iron Will's shoulders as she clung to his back. "Gilda told Rainbow Dash to kill her? That's awful!" Suddenly, her eyes widened and she let out a high-pitched squeak. "Eep! Does... does that mean Gilda's a ghost?"

When everyone turned to stare at her in disbelief, Fluttershy blushed. "What? It's a fair question. We've seen vamponies and a shadow demon!"

"Good point, dear, but I'm pretty sure that Gilda isn't a ghost," Applejack replied.

Gertrude looked thoughtfully toward Gilda and Rainbow Dash, who were still fighting with as much energy as when they began. "The young griffoness certainly isn't a spirit, but there are other kinds of death in the Empire, aren't there, Your Eminence?"

Grigori blew on the lenses of his glasses, then wiped them against his chest feathers before putting them back on. "Indeed..."

As silence descended over the group once more, but for the sounds of combat coming from the grounded pegasus and griffoness not far away, Iron Will awkwardly coughed into his fist and asked, "So... uh... Gertrude. Great to seeya and all now that you aren't crazy, but... erm, why did you even come out this way?"

Gertrude reached up to touch the frozen spearhead hanging from the chain around her neck. Her eyes never left the two old friends as they battled. "Perhaps because this is something we needed to see."

Rainbow Dash ducked and weaved to the left. Gilda was coming at her hard, obviously wanting to finish things as quickly as possible. Dash, though, she wasn't about to quit any time soon. It helped that whatever training Gilda had gone through, wrestling with Rainbow Dash had made her technique regress back to when they were children, and the greater size difference between their adult bodies was a double-edged sword.

On the one hoof, Dash was proportionally smaller compared to Gilda than she had been, but also stronger and more used to nimbly dodging larger creatures with very limited use of her wings. Still, Gilda was even stronger and no slouch in the speed department, so she had to stay on her game to avoid taking hits. A vicious backhanded blow swung toward her head, and Dash leaped back to avoid it.

Dash pushed herself away from Gilda, recoiling in shock at what she thought she just heard. "What?!"

Gilda growled as her strike whiffed through empty air, but she continued to press the attack. Dash jumped back to keep out of reach, so Gilda sprang forward to tackle her to the ground.

"Kill me," Gilda repeated, her voice croaking with grief. She stepped toward Dash, backing the filly up against the wall. "It's my fault... You were gonna be a Wonderbolt, and... and..."

Seeing Gilda bear down on her with a wild look in her eye, Dash rolled over onto her back. When the griffoness pounced on her, Dash planted all four hooves against her friend's chest and pushed upward with all her might, sending Gilda tumbling over her.

"No! No, shut up!" Rainbow Dash shook her head and reared up, pressing her front hooves against her temples. "I don't want to think about it! I just want my best bud to--"

Unable to right herself before she hit the ground, Gilda landed hard on her wing. But even as fresh pain stabbed through her body from the abused limb, her tail whipped out and wrapped itself around Dash's neck before the pegasus could get back up. The surprisingly nimble appendage took Dash by surprise before she could even try to stop it from grabbing her, and she found herself getting yanked toward Gilda.

Before Dash knew it, Gilda's talons were on her, pinning her back against the wall by her throat and unbroken wing. "I am not your 'bud!' L-look at me, Dash!" Not that Rainbow Dash had much of a choice in the matter. The filly clenched her teeth and struggled against her friend's grip, but Gilda's talons wouldn't even budge. All she could do was look into Gilda's eyes, and what she saw there frightened her almost as much as the storm that had claimed her wing.

There was rage in Gilda's eyes. Dash had seen Gilda angry from time to time. Mostly out of annoyance at the 'lameness' of the average pony. She had never seen Gilda look so much like she genuinely wanted to rip a living being apart with beak and claw, though. "Look at me... I... I got you h-hurt! I c-cost you your dreams," she stammered, choking on her words. "How can you call anyone who'd do that your 'bud'?!"

Gilda loosened her hold on Dash and backed off a little, giving her room to move again, but also started shoving Dash from side to side with her talons to keep her off-balance without hurting her further. "Kill me... Kill me in your heart! Come on, hurt me back! I know you want to! Take it out on me, and then I'll go back to the Empire where you'll never have to see me again! The griffon who hurt you... she'll be dead forever... and you... you'll..."

Rainbow Dash couldn't grab Gilda's tail very easily with her hooves, let alone pry it off as she wheezed for air. The tail wasn't constricting around her throat tightly enough to choke her, but the sudden yank had momentarily cut off her air, and now Gilda was moments away from pinning her down with her greater strength and mass.

The tufted end of Gilda's tail was close enough to tickle Dash's nose, however, which also meant that it was close enough to bite. Dash clamped her teeth down hard, and was rewarded with a pained yelp as the tail reflexively loosened its hold.

Off in the distance somewhere, Rainbow Dash heard somepony screaming. Calling out for help. The funny thing was, it sounded a lot like her own voice.

Shapes appeared. Ponies, mostly, but there was a male griffon, too. Gilda's dad. He was pulling Gilda away. More screaming. Mostly from Gilda now, but it sounded so dull and far away. Gilda was fighting back. Reaching for Dash. All the while, the strangest thing was happening.

Gilda was crying. A chilly mist came out of her mouth when she screamed, and the tears falling from her beak crystallized into tiny little teardrop-shaped hailstones that bounced off of the linoleum when they hit the floor tiles.

Rainbow Dash rolled up onto all fours and spun around to face Gilda as the grifoness did the same. Gilda inhaled deeply and unleashed a terrible leonine roar. Despite the distance from Ponyville, Lily, Daisy and Roseluck simultaneously felt their ears prick up, quickly followed by an inexplicable urge to hide under their bed.

The fact that they were already there thanks to Lt. Sparkle's magically amplified browbeating a few minutes earlier simply encouraged them to huddle closer together and wait for either dawn or the end of the world, whichever came first.

Despite it not being likely to have global ramifications, though, the trio of florists would certainly have fainted if they had been present to see the battle between Gilda and Rainbow Dash intensify in that moment. The two locked their eyes on one another in a fierce staring contest. Gilda's body tensed, preparing to pounce again while Rainbow Dash dug at the ground with her hoof.

There was a long moment that seemed to stretch out for entire minutes as the onlookers stared, waiting for one or the other to make the first move. In the end, it was Dash who bolted from her spot a mere fraction of a second before Gilda did the same. The young mare let out a war cry at the top of her lungs to match Gilda's own as the two combatants charged each other.

"Stupid... stupid, stupid Gilda..."

Rainbow Dash's tiny body trembled as she dug at the cloud beneath her hooves. After the craziness was over, and Gilda had been dragged away, there had been a lot of shouting outside her room. Mostly her parents yelling at Gilda's dad, from what she could make out. As for Dash herself... she'd been numb. In shock from what she had seen. Her best friend in all of Equestria... in all of Harmonia, begging to be punished. No, more than that... for the death of their friendship. For Dash to pretend that none of it had ever meant anything.

She couldn't do it. She just couldn't. How could Gilda even ask for something like that? Right when Dash needed her friend the most? The twisted part was that there was a part of her that wanted to punish Gilda for talking her into flying into that storm... but not forever! Not... not in a way that'd make it like all the awesome stuff they'd done together never happened.

Less than a week ago, Rainbow Dash had been the coolest filly alive (no matter what three moronic colts had to say about it). The filly who wasn't afraid to face down bullies or practice stunts that most adult pegasi struggled with. She'd even found the courage to face the terrors of the Everfree Forest. And she had paid the price for it. And now her best friend wanted her to throw away the one amazing thing she had left...

It was too much, and it had pushed Dash to cross a line that she had never thought she would ever have to cross.

She was running away without a fight.

She hoped that her parents wouldn't flip out and start blaming each other when they saw the letter she left behind, even though they totally would. She hoped the authorities wouldn't waste a lot of time and ponypower looking for her. Most of all, though, she hoped Gilda and everypony would understand. She hoped that her friend would be able to let it go, and that some day they'd meet again, both of them older and awesomer, and Gilda wouldn't even think about asking for something so stupid ever again...

... Assuming Gilda could ever forgive her for being such a lame, weak little coward in the first place.

Dash clenched her eyes shut, which proved to be a bad idea as the small patch of cloud that she was resting on finally detached from the larger cloudmass. Her front hooves passed through into open sky, and her body pitched forward. Only by rapidly flapping her one good wing did she manage to right herself instead of tumbling down toward the ground below. She did get herself settled, though, and with her heart pounding frantically in her chest, she reached out a hoof to push herself away from Cloudsdale.

With only one wing and a less-than-aerodynamic cloud perch to stand on, it would be slow going. Much slower than she was used to flying, sure, but it would be hours before anypony even realized she was gone. Plenty of time to make her way downward to the trail leading into the Everfree.

Plenty of time along the way for regrets.

But the time for regrets was over. Rainbow Dash wasn't a scared little filly anymore with her entire world crumbling around her. The time for running away was long past. She and Gilda were charging toward one another, and this time, she would face her old friend head-on.

Gilda's talons stretched out in front of her when they got close. The griffoness intended to grab Dash using her superior reach. Instead of letting her, Dash leaped into the air, flapping her good wing to get just a little bit of extra lift, then redirect herself in mid-jump so that she passed over Gilda's grasping talons and shoot straight for the griffoness herself.

In this way, Rainbow Dash succeeded in facing her old friend head-on very, very literally.

Author's Note

Dash, what are you doing? You're not a goat!

Anyway, this was a fun piece to write. Emotionally ravaging, yes, having the feelings of these two culminate in a slugfest, but it's sort of like that shonen anime trope of 'putting their feelings into their fists'. And this time, Rainbow is willing to go all-out to make her case.

I've also finally decided to reach out and see about opening this little universe up to other contributors. If anyone is interested, please take a look at my Help Wanted blog post and respond there.

Oh, and one little detail pertaining to the story. For those wondering what 'Harmonia' is, my vision regarding this particular iteration of Equestria is that it isn't located on a planet as we know it, but a patch of order known as a 'realm' surrounded by a sea of chaos. There are numerous realms which periodically brush close enough to each other to touch.

Harmonia is the realm where Equestria, the Griffon Empire, and a few other civilizations are located. It's the largest and most stable realm thanks to the presence of the Tree of Harmony. The realm of the Breezies is another one that has a regular 'orbit' which creates a portal between their realm and Harmonia at regular intervals, for example. And then there's Dream Valley, the ancient homeland of the pony tribes before they migrated and founded Equestria. Just a little touch of world-building there for you.

Part 19 - Out of the Frying Pan...

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"Why, mutant...? Why would you do this...?"

Gertrude looked down at Sir Grabthar as she lay down over him, careful to keep her weight from re-opening his wounds. Her wings wrapped around the rest of his body, forming a soft, warm cocoon around his shivering form. As one of the knights of the Snowheart clan, he had seemed so terrible and imposing, always looming over her, even when not using his higher status to abuse the wretched little albino she had been with his talons or his war hammer.

Now, though... now he seemed so much smaller, and badly injured. Not simply by the fall, either, which had claimed the life of what had once been a peryton, but died a mindless beast as it dragged him with it down the mountainside. It was plain to see that he was hurt and confused by her decision to dig him out of the snow. To stop his wounds from bleeding by sealing them with her enchanted ice. To keep him from freezing to death by sharing the warmth from her body.

She looked down into his eyes and saw the fear in his heart. He was afraid of being at her mercy. Of being made to suffer retribution for his actions, now that she had the power to visit every ounce of pain and degradation that he had brought upon her.

"Well...? What are you waiting for...?" He swallowed nervously, turning his head to break away from her gaze. In doing so, he practically offered her his throat to her. "I hurt you... now you're strong enough to hurt me back. That's the way of our clan. Come on... get it over with, monster... You should've died the day you were born..."

When she finally replied, Gertrude told him, "You're right. By the code of the Snowheart clan, my parents could have killed me the instant I was hatched, looking like I do. Instead, my mother made a choice to spare my life. To claim that it was not my father who had sired an impure griffon, knowing that we would both spend the rest of our days living as pariahs within the clan. She made that choice... because for whatever reason, she thought that the life of a mutant wretch was worth more than her own status. That's why I need to value the life she gave me, and make it mean something that's worth more than petty revenge. That's why I forgive you."

A small smirk formed on Gertrude's beak when she saw the look of confusion on Grabthar's face when he asked, "... Are you insane?"

"Perhaps," she replied. "But now, we're the same. Both of us, griffons who should have died, but didn't. Your life is a gift, Sir Grabthar. Treasure it, and make it meaningful."

"Some things never change," Gertrude whispered to herself as she pulled herself out of her memories and watched Rainbow Dash and Gilda collide, wincing slightly at the sound of their skulls meeting.

You mean in terms of your species being full of prideful imbeciles? Gungnir snarked.

Gertrude hesitated a moment before mentally replying, No... You know what I mean. In any case, did you enjoy your meal?

This time, it was Gungnir who hesitated before speaking. Strangely enough... yes, even though there is no genuine hatred in their conflict. I know in my mind that I should be fostering animosity between them to chill their hearts, yet by devouring the barriers between them instead... The only way that I can describe it so that you would understand is 'spicy', but somehow I am able to bear it. Something else I got from this thing you put in me, I suppose.

Gertrude had to stifle a giggle so as not to alert the other creatures nearby to her silent conversation. Don't look at me, she thought to the Windigo. I can't stand spicy food.

"Nnghuuhh... Was that... the best you had...?"

"Mmmph... knocked you... on your rump... didn't it?"

"Shut up... I just... don't want to hit you... when you're down..."

"I'm ready... for round two... whenever..."

Rainbow Dash and Gilda each lay on their backs. With the adrenaline of the fight no longer rushing through their systems, they panted heavily while the pain from the injuries they had inflicted on each other gradually seeped into their consciousness. Especially the last one.

Reaching up to rub the bump rising up on her head, Gilda winced and groaned before letting her talons flop back down to her side. "Owww..."

"Yeah... no one wins in a headbutt."

There was a moment where both of them simply caught there breath, which ended when Gilda snorted and replied, "Tell that to a goat."

Dash couldn't help but laugh. "Okay. Most creatures don't win in a headbutt," she corrected, and the two of them shared a tired laugh.

When the laughter faded, Gilda moaned in disgust with herself when she failed to stop it from transitioning into crying. "F-flaming h-hailstorms, Dash..." she stammered, bringing a talon up to her eyes to try to wipe the tears away. "Why'd you h-have to make this so hard?"

After a moment of thought, Dash panted out, "Because... we're both idiots. I should've just said... what I really wanted. And you... seriously? Make my friends... hate you... to make me push you away? That is... that is just the worst plan. Ever. Of all time."

Gilda grumbled. "Don't blame me... Got the idea from... this stupid book he made me read..."

"Perhaps if you had finished it, you wouldn't be laying there right now," Grigori groused in reply, reminding the duo that they had an audience. This momentarily broke the tension that had been holding everypony else back, and a herd of concerned mares came rushing over to surround Rainbow Dash and help her back up. The Emperor approached Gilda and offered his talons to do the same for her, but Gilda stubbornly elected to stay on the ground. At least, she did until a purple glow surrounded her, and she felt Lt. Sparkle's magic pulling her back upright.

"Are you alright? You aren't feeling any symptoms of a concussion, are you?"

Gilda blinked in confusion at the unicorn's question. "Wha...? Wh-why do you care?" She turned her head away, only for Lt. Sparkle to grab her head between her hooves and firmly twist it back so Twilight could check Gilda's pupils.

"Just settle down and let me make sure. I still feel bad about nearly blowing out your eardrums," Twilight explained with a stern tone, but she softened a bit and added, "And despite everything... well, now I can see why Rainbow Dash cares so much about you. You wanted to do what you thought was just for the sake of your friend. Even if you were totally wrong-headed about it, I can sort of understand where you were coming from."

Fluttershy flitted over and wrapped her forelegs around Gilda's shoulder, taking her by surprise as Gilda found herself getting nuzzled by the affectionate yellow pegasus. "Yeah! You really just wanted to make Dash happy, but you were all twisted up inside for so long, it all came out wrong." Fluttershy then blinked and realized, "Brrrr! Gilda, you're all frosted over! Eep! Don't tell me you have a Windigo in you!"

Gertrude almost interjected, but Rarity was the first one to reply, "She doesn't." The purple-maned unicorn met Gertrude's eyes, and both of them nodded slightly to one another before she continued. "It isn't Windigo influence. It all came from her." For emphasis, Rarity concentrated on her own mimicked form of Gertrude's Winter magic. It was clear that she hadn't practiced much since their last encounter, and that the changing of the seasons greatly weakened her efforts, but she was still able to form an icy shell around her horn without bringing her any discomfort from the cold.

"And that's why you didn't complain about the cold when you fell into the creek," Twilight realized. "Then that means--"

"--That the Emperor and I have a good deal to talk about," Gertrude interrupted before turning her head to look down at Grigori. "Doesn't it, Your Eminence?"

"I wholeheartedly agree," Grigori replied with a nod, but he heard the crackle of lightning, and looked up toward the sky. "But I think we'll have to put that off for the time being. It would seem our ride back to Canterlot is here."

His observation was punctuated by a series of loud booms as several thundersteel-clad griffons dropped out of the sky, followed by General Airstrike. The armored griffons immediately formed a protective perimeter around Grigori. Facing the emperor, Airstrike sighed in a long-suffering manner that suggested annoyance more than actual concern when he asked, "Are you alright, your Eminence? When we heard that loud racket coming from this area, you might imagine our worry when we you were nowhere to be found, unaccompanied by an escort. Again."

Grigori adjusted his spectacles, then smiled broadly at the uniformed griffon. In an instant, he was once more taking on the persona of the jovial uncle as he let out a deep belly laugh and replied, "Unaccompanied? I don't know what you mean, General, I was being escorted by one of your finest cadets the entire time." Gesturing with a wing to indicate Gilda, the battered griffoness grunted and did her best to stand straight and salute.

Gustav took one look at Gilda and grimaced. "And what happened here? You look like you were attacked," he said, casting a baleful gaze around the clearing. Focusing on Gertrude, he asked, "Was it you?"

In a flash, Twilight immediately teleported in front of Gertrude. "No, that was me!" The armored griffons immediately pointed sabers and spears crackling with electricity at her, to which she hastily added, "b-but it wasn't an attack! I asked for personal redress to settle something!"

Gustav glared at the purple unicorn, but then turned his attention toward the similarly battered Rainbow Dash. "I don't think so. I'd say that she was the one who got in the fight. And since you're covering for her, she didn't get the right of personal redress, did she?" The way that Twilight went pale and gulped nervously told the general that he was right on. "Men, seize that pega--"

"That won't be necessary," Grigori interrupted, his spectacles flashed dangerously in the moonlight as he reclaimed his fellow griffons' attention. But all it took was a slight tilt of his head to restore his jolly, disarming smile. "It was hardly a fight. Just a tussle between old friends. Isn't that right, Gilda?"

Gilda, fatigued from the emotional exhaustion and physical injuries catching up to her, replied? "Huh? Oh, yeah. Yeah!" Reclaiming her focus, Gilda moved to stand firmly in front of Rainbow Dash. "First one of you who lays a talon on my friend here, I slice their throats open! I don't care what your rank is!"

The armored griffons didn't seem impressed by Gilda's boast, especially seeing how beaten she already looked. Nevertheless, between their general's orders and the Emperor's comment, they turned to Airstrike for confirmation. With a dissatisfied grunt, Gustav shook his head and told them, "Stand down, then. Wouldn't do to sully the Empire's pride by flipping out over a... tussle between friends, as the Emperor puts it. Long may he lead us," he added.

As the soldiers reflexively replied, "Long may he lead us," in chorus, Gustav shot the Emperor a wary look and whistled sharply up to the sky. Moments later, a few more armored griffons came down to earth, drawing the Imperial Envoy's transport. "Well. Now that that's settled, let's get you back to Canterlot. We still have negotiations to conclude tomorrow... I assume."

"And you assume correctly," Grigori cheerfully replied, leading Gilda toward the sky carriage. When General Airstrike raised an eyebrow and shot a meaningful glance in Gertrude's direction, Grigori looked confused for a moment, then scoffed. "What, her? Oh, she just happened to arrive shortly before you did, and we've barely spoken ten words to each other. The negotiations tomorrow will proceed as planned."

As the Emperor firmly ushered his momentarily-flightless relative into the carriage, he made a point to tell her, "And as for you, young lady, next time I loan you a book, I expect you to actually read the whole thing before acting on anything you find there. Honestly, it should be required reading." With an exaggerated shake of his head which allowed the Emperor to shoot a meaningful glance toward Gertrude, he got inside after Gilda, who looked out the window toward Rainbow Dash with regret in her eyes.

The Imperial soldiers kept their perimeter around the Emperor's carriage until it took off into the sky, then followed suit to leave everyone else down below.

Eventually, Rarity turned to Rainbow Dash, Twilight and Gertrude and asked them, "Alright... can any of you please explain what is actually going on here? I haven't felt this lost since that time Rainbow pranked me with those 'magic' brownies!"

When Rainbow Dash snickered at the memory, Rarity rolled her eyes and added, "Sure, laugh it up. You aren't the one who spent half the day burying her silverware in the hopes of growing a spoon tree."

Twilight, on the other hoof, simply looked to Gertrude, who shook her head. "I honestly wish that I could explain, but... I am almost as confused as you are. It seems like every time I meet that griffon, it's like speaking to a completely different person." Thinking back on their first meeting, followed by the negotiations with the Empire's representatives, she mused, "I can't say that I know what, if anything, is the truth."

While she ruminated on it, a sound reached her sense of hearing before any of the others could notice it. She looked up in time to see a white body flying toward them, and in moments it was her grandson who landed in front of her. "Grandmother! There you are!" In stark contrast to the general before him, Gunther's voice was filled with genuine relief. "Grandmother, please. You need to come back to the encampment. The clan needs you."

A chastised look crossed Gertrude's face as she replied, "You're right... I'm sorry, Gunther, I never meant to make you worry. If this is about how we will proceed with our negotiations with the Empire..."

Gunther quickly interjected, "No, I mean we need you now. That senator... if we don't hurry, there could be a riot."

Author's Note

Well, one side's issue has been, if not completely resolved, then at least addressed. But Gertrude and her clan still have to sort things out with the Empire. Thank goodness for the Thanksgiving weekend coming up. I'll try to use it to get a follow-up to this chapter out without taking multiple weeks.

Part 20 - ... Into the Cold

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Earlier...

Cadance and Gunther stepped back out into the open, the griffon's concerns weighing heavily on both of their thoughts. Neither were granted much time to dwell any further on Gunther's worries, however, because the distant sound of angry shouting and growling reached their ears. His reflexes honed by years of training, Gunther immediately responded by taking wing, leaving Cadance behind to catch up while he summoned his ice armor and spear.

A short flight was all it took for them to see the source of the unrest. At least half of the Snowheart clan's knights stood in a line with their wings outstretched to form a barricade between their clansmen and a single all too familar griffoness.

With Cadance right behind him, Gunther dropped down to land in front of his people and caught the Snowheart griffons by surprise enough that they backed away and gave him several seconds to take in the scene. "What is going on here?" He then turned toward the griffoness at the center of the unrest and asked her, "Senator Snaketail, what are you doing down here? I was under the impression that you weren't very fond of us."

"I'm surprised you didn't come with an escort," Cadance added, noticing the absence of any other griffons beside the senator.

Snaketail let out a short, derisive laugh at the princess's concern. "Why? Is there somegriffon here that I need to protect myself from?" With a haughty look, she gestured toward the crowd who were, out of a reluctant sense of duty, being held back by the Snowheart knights. "I was trying to spare them the uncertainty you left them with and let them know the truth. That they followed their mad queen for nothing."

If Gunther and the knights under his command weren't in full armor, Senator Snaketal would have easily seen their feathers ruffle at the suggestion. As it was, she succeeded in agitating the crowd into jeering and shouting at her again. Between clenched teeth, he told the smug griffoness, "Mind your tongue, Senator. You have no idea what we've been through, or what my grandmother has endured!"

"I know that your cultish devotion has blinded you," Snaketail replied, callously disregarding the anger in the mob, or even in the griffons who had taken it upon themselves to shield her despite her venomous words. Looking Gunther in the eye, she asked him, "You think the way she betrayed you twelve hundred years ago was the end of it? And don't even try to blame it on some mythical 'intelligent Windigo', either. We've seen her kind crop up every now and then over the last twelve centuries. Griffons who use that... that freakish power are just fundamentally different from those of us in the Empire. They just come out of the egg wrong, and always end up as criminals, hermits or lunatics!"

Cadance reminded the surrounding griffons of her presence by stomping her hoof and pointedly interrupting, "And heroes! Two hundred years ago, one of those 'freaks' helped save aunt Celestia, along with all of Equestria!"

Senator Snaketail scoffed. "Who? Glacier? The bipolar coward who talked to fruit bats? Thank you for helping me make my point, Princess," she said with a mocking smirk.

"Were they born mad?" Gunther practically snarled beneath his helmet, allowing it to melt away so that he could lock eyes with the politician. "Or were they driven mad by griffons like you? Whatever flaws you may see in my grandmother, if it were not for her, you would not be here to look down upon us today! Your entire Empire should strive to be one tenth as worthy of our pride and devotion as Gertrude Snowheart!"

This drew a rousing cheer from the other griffons, from the knights to the bakers. Despite this, Snaketail remained unimpressed as she waited for the din to fade before asking, "And where is her pride and devotion? For that matter... where is she at all? Because our soldiers saw her fly away with her tail between her legs after our meeting, and nogriffon's seen fur or feather of her since."

This time, Gunther had no response to the senator's accusations. She saw his hesitation and pounced, asking him, "Well? Where is your beloved cult leader?"

Gunther growled and began to seriously consider telling the clan to make the senator regret ever taking a step into their camp, but before he could say another word, a thunderous explosion of noise overshadowed everything else.

Presently...

"... And once that died down... well, even if I did not know where you were, I knew that you would follow the noise to ensure the safety of our pony friends. Princess Cadenza offered to ensure that the senator returned to her guest quarters, so I told our clan to let her leave without further harassment, then flew here. By the time I got here, I saw the Imperials collecting their Emperor and..." Seeing one of the nearby mares react strangely, Gunther asked, "Grandmother... why is the purple one hiding her face behind her hooves?"

While Twilight groaned in utter humiliation, Gertrude also sighed. "I am sorry, Gunther. I shouldn't have made you or any of the griffons in our clan worry." She reached out toward her grandson and wrapped her forelegs and wings around him. "I wish that I were truly worthy of the love you all have for me... but the senator's words, poisonous as they are, only caused unrest among our people because there was enough truth in them to cause you distress. Gunther... the world has changed, and you were right, what you said to Princess Cadenza."

She took a deep breath and released Gunther from her wings, holding him at arm's length so that she could look him in the eye and admit, "Gunther, I... I only ever took the throne because the clans needed a leader to unify them. Now, the Empire is that unifying force. Celestia told me all about their history and achievements, and despite today, it's mostly been a good thing for griffonkind. With the Emperor's offer, I finally have a chance to step down."

Gunther grimaced. "Don't say that! After everything we've been through... everything we've lost, it can't have been for nothing! Grandmother--"

Gertrude interrupted her grandson by placing a talon on his beak to hush him. "It's past time for me to step aside, child. You and the generations to come deserve the chance to forge your own futures instead of fussing over an old lady's past glory. That said..." With a small smile, Gertrude looked down at her grandson, but the sense of defeat that he got from her words was countered by the fierce glint he saw in her soft pink eyes. When she spoke again, the tone behind Gertrude's words was one of solid conviction. "If anygriffon thinks that I'll just roll over and let them decide what is or isn't right for my family, then I'll personally show them a fight that should remind them what a 'real' griffon actually is!"

Gunther felt a smile spread across his face upon seeing his grandmother get fired up. When she turned gesture toward the light blue pegasus with the broken wing, she continued, "I just watched two friends fight with all their hearts for each other. And before that, a young mare brave enough to stand up for her friend, even if it meant starting a fight with a griffoness that she knew to be related to the Emperor himself." Gunther saw the pegasus grin at that and put her good wing over the shoulders of her mortified unicorn friend. Gertrude smiled as well at the sight and told him, "If I did any less for my own people, it would be an insult to everything we've ever stood for! Tomorrow, we will meet with the Imperials again, and I will make it clear just how hard I will fight for the pride and dignity of our clan."

Gunther put a talon over his grandmother's foreleg. "And that is why we would follow you into the deepest pits of Tartaros all the way through to the other side," he said with a proud smile. "As soon as we return, we can plan our approach for tomorrow!"

Gertrude gave a resolute nod. "And if we make our case well, I believe we can sway the Emperor to our side. As many masks as he seems to wear, I think that I may understand him a little better, now." A small, confused frown crossed her beak as she tilted her head in thought. "Though I still have no idea what he meant by 'required reading'. I felt as though he was trying to give me some clue, but I have no idea what he was referring to."

After a moment of silence, one of the mares spoke up. "Oh, I think I do," the dour pink earth pony replied, tilting her beret up slightly so that she could reach up and produce a book from underneath it. Gunther looked at the book, then did a double-take when he realized that it shouldn't have been able to physically fit under that hat without showing signs of being there before. Pinkamena ignored his sputtering attempts to ask how it was possible, though, and flipped through the pages until she reached a particular section, which she held out for Gertrude to read. "We met at the coffee shop while I was reading this. Maybe it'll help you?"

The griffon demigoddess carefully took the book in her talons and glanced at the title before glancing over the pertinent section. "Creatures in Conflict: A Comparison of Cultures... Hmmm... This is... oh my. Oh my!" Looking up toward Pinkamena, Gertrude asked, "And they still do this in the modern era?" When Pinkamena nodded, Gertrude couldn't help but laugh. "I see. I suppose some things never change. I don't suppose you would be willing to help me prepare?"

Pinkamena looked up at Gertrude in return and shook her head. "Sorry, but I have to work tomorrow. Mr. Joe only gives me so many 'saving the world' days off, but Rainbow Dash would be great help."

Hearing her name, the pegasus raised an eyebrow. "Well, I guess so, if that's what Pinkamena believes. Might even get a chance to see Gilda again before she leaves. But I don't know squat about diplomacy, so what help could I possibly be?"

Gertrude just grinned at her and said, "Perfect. Let's get back to the camp as soon as possible, and we can start our preparations right away."

Author's Note

Oy, for such a short chapter, I had trouble getting the first part the way I wanted it. At first, I had Snaketail being accompanied by an escort of Imperial guards, but as I was writing it, it didn't feel right that they would be allowing her to agitate the Snowhearts like that, given that Snaketail's antagonism toward them and General Airstrike's desire to have their Winter magic under Imperial control are at odds with each other. As a result, I rewrote most of it, putting her there alone with the knights protecting her from the mob due to knowing how bad it would look for the Snowhearts to get whipped up into any sort of violent action against another one of Celestia's guests without personal redress authorized.

Glacier is one of the player characters in a Pony Tales: Aspirations of Harmony campaign I run. As alluded to by Snaketail's description, he is a timid griffon with ice powers who has the ability to talk to animals, including his fruitbat companion Duri, who is basically Glacier's version of Angel bunny.

Part 21 - A Nest Divided

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"Really, Gustav, I should think that you of all griffons would recognize strategy at work. You never box in an enemy force completely, because then they will simply fight all the harder to hurt you as much as they can before they fall. Provide them with a window of opportunity. A sliver of hope. That way, you can herd your adversaries exactly where you want them to go." Grigori leaned back in his seat and let out a jovial laugh. "And if you do it right, they'll think it was their own idea."

"Sometimes I wonder exactly who it is you consider the enemy, Your Eminence," General Airstrike grumbled.

Gilda kept looking out the window on the ride back to Canterlot. The conversation between her Uncle Greg and General Airstrike was pretty well tuned out. She was too focused on thinking about what had happened back in Podunkville, and anyway, she'd been around those two enough to know how it went.

Gustav would accuse Uncle Greg of trying to sabotage the negotiations without actually putting it in those words. Greg would start by pretending he didn't know what the general was talking about, and then he'd spell out, word for word, exactly what he'd been doing while denying he'd done any of it. Then Gustav would catch something solid to prove his point, only for Greg to turn it around and explain how it actually worked to the Empire's benefit.

It was the same old song and dance she'd heard a thousand times before. What consumed her thoughts instead was the feeling of Rainbow Dash's kicks and punches. Her talons gingerly rubbed over some of the bruises, and she found herself getting choked up as she recalled the strength and conviction behind the blows her old friend had dealt her.

"Buckbeak!"

Gilda jumped a bit in her seat as the general snapped out her last name like the crack of a whip. Granted, it was her Uncle Greg's name, too, but even Airstrike wouldn't use that sort of tone with the Emperor. Sure enough, when she turned her attention toward her superior, he was staring straight at her. "Yes, sir?"

"What were you actually doing down there? According to your superior, you skipped out in the middle of your punishment."

Despite speaking to her commander, this accusation drew a loud, indignant squawk out of Gilda. "What?! I did every single lap that lying sack of rat-turds gave me! With discharged armor, and I've got the wing strain to prove it!"

Airstrike narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "If that's so, then why did you leave the city without reporting your injury to the medic?"

Gilda hesitated for a moment before defensively replying, "It's no big deal... figured I could just walk it off."

"I think we both know that Gilda isn't typically one for introspection and foresight," Grigori joked, though his glasses flashed as he focused his attention on Airstrike. "Is this going somewhere, General?"

Gilda blinked in confusion and started to feel a little nervous. This wasn't how the banter between the two older griffons usually went. "Yeah... I didn't think it'd be a problem."

Airstrike's scowl deepend as he kept his stare locked on Gilda. "A griffoness who constantly goes on about how she's going to be captain of the Stormriders, the most elite flying team in the Empire, and she chooses not to seek medical attention when she hurts her wings? One could possibly chalk that up to youthful stupidity if she didn't have such a frosty history."

Grigori instantly dropped all pretense of joviality as he snapped, "That is over the line, Gustav! Gilda's connection to Winter is irrelevant here."

"And you know that I would have agreed with that if the circumstances were anything other than finding you meeting with the mad queen herself!"

"Woah, hey, I didn't even know she was gonna be there," Gilda hastily replied. "And I didn't give a flying fart when she showed up, either! What, you think because I've got this... thing that happens sometimes, that I went off to tell some giant, million year old bimbo a bunch of government secrets I don't even have? Buck that!"

Gilda's talons curled into a fist that slammed against the side of the carriage in frustration. Unimpressed, Airstrike retorted, "Interesting choice of curses there. But you don't need to have given them secrets, just an impression that works against our goals. It's bad enough that the senate forced us to drag Snaketail along for these talks, but she's an obvious crank."

Turning his attention back to Grigori, Airstrike "So long as we can convince the Snowhearts that joining the Empire according to our terms is still the best option, then the Empire will be better off for it. We can work toward a future where Winterborn griffons are seen as valuable members of the Empire who strengthen us. Then we can finally share the truth with everygriffon, but not if they're all afraid that the Snowheart demi-goddess and her followers are in a position to tear down everything we've built over the last twelve-hundred years!"

Grigori met the general's stern, steady gaze, and without blinking from it, reached up to remove his glasses and look Airstrike in the eye without the glass lenses between them. "Gustav, I can assure you..."

Before he could finish his sentence, however, there was a jostling thump as the carriage came to rest on the castle's landing zone once again. "Ah, well it looks like we're back. All I ask is that you continue to treat Gilda well, Gustav. You and I still share the same ultimate goal, and she's done nothing to jeopardize that."

General Airstrike grunted, and as the door opened to allow the Emperor to step out, he muttered under his breath, "You timed that, didn't you...?" With a shake of his head, he said to Gilda, "Might as well get the medic looking at you, but you will be telling me what you and His Eminence were doing!"

With that, Gustav exited the carriage and left Gilda feeling even more lost than she usually did after sitting through one of her commander and her "uncle's" political arguments. But at least it didn't seem like she, personally, was going to get chewed out any more over it, so she decided to just call it a wash and pull herself out of the carriage after him.

Just in time to see one of the thundersteel-clad soldiers leaning in to whisper something to the general. Something that caused Airstrike's entire body to tense up before shouting, "The senator did WHAT!?"

Author's Note

And the story continues! It's in the final stretch, and I'm sorry it's not much. I've just been a little overwhelmed with the holidays, which haven't been as conducive to creative works as one might hope for, along with many other little distractions adding up. But progress continues to be made, and it won't be long before this story wraps up.

Part 22 - To Secure Peace...

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

The bunny watched as Rainbow Dash busied herself with preparations. It wasn't that she would be gone for long, but she still needed to ensure that her animal tenants would be fed and cared for in her brief absence.

To that end, Rainbow was running her friend Fluttershy--the only one who didn't have pressing responsibilities the next morning--through the feeding schedule. She didn't seem all that bright, always smiling and cooing over how cute all the "critters" were. The bunny hated that about the yellow pegasus, but it meant that his caretaker would probably have to go over it several times, and that meant she would be distracted while he snuck into the cabinets where she kept all the food.

Moving with all the stealth that his small lapine frame afforded, the bunny approached the cabinet door. Slowly reaching out, he grasped the corner and--

"EEEEEEEEE!" The bunny winced at both the volume and pitch of Fluttershy's voice as her scream surprised him, prompting him to open the door just enough to slip inside and out of sight. When he dared to peek out and find out what she was shrieking about, he saw the dim-witted pegasus covered in writhing, coiling serpents. Despite that, she had the biggest grin on her face. "They're so cute and friendly! What are their names?"

Rainbow shrugged. "I never gave names to most of 'em. I used to, but I got the feeling they didn't like the ones I came up with. I mean, I thought 'Deathclaw the Mutilator' was a great name, but when a grumpy wolverine disagrees, you don't press the issue. The only ones who seemed to like theirs were Harry..." She paused for a moment to open the cabinet with her mouth. Once it was open, she leaned in to look at the food, then blinked a few times. "... And the rabbit," she concluded, narrowing her eyes upon catching him red-pawed.

The bunny gulped at being caught in the act, but quickly put on a tough face and adopted a fighting stance. He was still smarting a bit from his fight with that griffon earlier, but he was ready to rumble again and make his escape.

What he wasn't ready for was Rainbow Dash simply sighing and reaching in to pick up a small bag of food, then dropping it into his little arms. She then pulled her head back out to tell her friend, "Now, this little refugee from Tartaros is gonna try to scam you into giving him extra... So when he does, just give him the other bag that looks like this, but don't let him get any more out of you."

The bunny looked up at his caretaker suspiciously, then opened the bag. Sure enough, inside it was an assortment of greens and nuts. Enough for a hungry rabbit or several smaller critters. He looked up at her again with a quizzical expression.

For her part, the rainbow-maned pegasus looked back at him with a wry, self-effacing smirk. "Yeah, Angel. I know what you've been getting up to. And I should've said so earlier... I dunno, I thought maybe I was doing you a favor, making you fight for it, but if there's one thing this whole mess with Gilda's told me, it's that it's probably better to just say what you need to say instead of trying to act tough and dancing around it to protect someone's pride."

Rainbow leaned in close and picked up the bunny by the nape of his neck in order to pull him out and put him back on the floor. "So you and me are gonna have a talk when I get back," she said, shutting the cabinet door behind him. She then narrowed her eyes and sternly warned him, "Until then, you'd better cut Fluttershy some slack."

The bunny glowered defiantly up at her, but after several seconds of this staring contest, he faltered and looked at the bag in his paws. His gaze suspiciously shifted back and forth between that and his caretaker a few times, and each time, Rainbow's expression softened a bit until she was giving him a warm little smile.

Angel's ears flattened against his head. He clutched the bag close to his chest and scampered out of the cottage through the pet door, leaving the two pegasi behind. Rainbow watched him rush out, so she was taken by surprise when Fluttershy suddenly glomped her.

"Ack! Fluttershy, what're you doing?" Rainbow asked while the snakes covering her friend joined in on giving her a friendly nuzzle.

"Awww, I just wish I had a cute little pet like that. He's such a little sweety," Fluttershy cooed, putting an incredulous look on Rainbow's face. At the same time, one of the snakes perked up and slithered around to look at her with big, hopeful eyes. Seeing this, the yellow pegasus giggled and raised a hoof to scritch the serpent's chin. "Sorry... you're a sweety too, but my husband has a phobia about snakes. Even cutesy-wootsy ones like you!"

"Cutesy... wootsy?" Rainbow Dash shook her head, not sure if she would come back to find the critters walking all over her friend... or, based on how her compliment actually seemed to be making the snake blush, wrapped around her hoof.

She had other things to dwell on, though. After making sure that Fluttershy had memorized everything she needed to do, she stepped outside where Gertrude and Gunther Snowheart were waiting to fly her to Canterlot. Seeing the two griffons waiting expectantly for her... it made her think about Gilda, and hope that her friend was doing alright with the Imperials.

"Hey, Buckbeak! What's wrong with your wings? Don't tell me you got wrecked by one of those prissy little ponies!"

Gilda winced and fought the urge to groan in annoyance. After the day she'd endured, capped off with a visit to the Imperial envoy's medic, she was way too tired and sore to put up with the usual nonsense. According to the doctor, it would be a week or two before she would be able to fly again without risking torn ligaments.

But of course she couldn't actually say that without sounding weak. Instead, she turned and smirked at the male soldier. "As if! Maybe if a whole platoon came at me, I might chip a talon while kicking their tails." She paused, her thoughts drifting elsewhere for a moment before she added, "Now if it was you, yeah, I could see a pony totally annihilating you. Hail, they've got rabbits around here that'd destroy you."

The taunting griffon's friend snickered and jabbed him in the ribs with an elbow. "C'mon, this is Gilda we're talking about here. She's not gonna lose a fight with some weak little poniies. Not when she could be doing other things with 'em. Let me guess, you went to the local 'barbershop' and told 'em to give you the ponytail, if you know what I mean?" When she gave him a dirty look in response, he just laughed and held his talons up in a mock defensive posture. "Hail, you grew up with 'em. Nogriffon would judge you if you had a thing on the side."

"I would," the other one retorted.

"Yeah, okay. He would."

Gilda sighed under her breath. Under ordinary circumstances, she'd snark right back, but she really wasn't in the mood for flirting. Instead, she used what strength she had left to pounce the two males and trap them both in a headlock. "I just went down to see an old friend. She's cool, so lay off or I'll rip your wings off and glue 'em to your loser butts so you sweep the ground like a maid wherever you walk. Capiche?"

To show that she wasn't playing around, Gilda punctuated her question with a squeeze of her forelegs. After some gasping and wheezing, the other griffons conveyed that they understood her desire to drop the teasing by tapping out.

When she let go, the others rubbed their throats, but otherwise seemed fine. As she opened the door leading to the dorm for the visiting soldiers, though, the first one asked, "Hey, Gilda. Is it true, you and the Emperor met that psycho Winter queen down there? What was it like, seeing that freak up close?"

Gilda paused for a moment in the doorway before replying, "Like meeting a fussy old grandma with the body of a supermodel. Aside from that, she wasn't any freakier than I am."

With that, she slipped into the room and shut the door behind her.

Author's Note

I live! Sorry again for the long wait, and I wish that I could be sure that it's worth it, but I just hit a point in my writing where I realized that I'd written several different threads and had so few ideas for how to pull them all together properly without taking another ten-to-twenty chapters. But it is wrapping up soon, and those of you who've been following it this far will get a pleasant surprise. You're all important, and not just in that your continued support bolsters my fragile ego. You'll see what I mean. :twilightsheepish:

Part 23 - ...Prepare For War

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

The morning sun rose slowly, its hesitance matching the mood of the one coaxing it up into the sky. Princess Celestia sighed and took a sip of her morning tea before getting on with it and fully drawing the bright, warm sphere into its place in the heavens. This duty done, the princess stepped back inside, made her way to the washroom, enjoyed a brisk shower, then stood in front of the mirror while she toweled herself off and ran a brush through her mane.

Day by day, this last step was becoming more a matter of habit than of necessity. Most mornings, she would study her reflection and see the lines of age slowly fade from her face, and the life return to her colorful mane. Just the previous morning, she had run the brush through her mane and tail without feeling a single tangle. Whatever aspect of her being which made her hair shimmer and move with an ethereal grace was also amazing enough to prevent knots and split ends.

Unfortunately, the worries of the night before seemed to have caused a bit of regression as the creases on her face seemed slightly more pronounced, and her hairbrush met with some resistence before her mane recovered its life and shimmer. As a result, it took her a few minutes longer than expected to make herself presentable so that she could make her way to the private dining hall where Luna was waiting for her.

Luna and one other, as it turned out.

"And how are you coming along? There must be so much to catch up on."

"Oh, yes, but everypony has been so good about helping me to learn what I have missed. Just the other day, I found Captain Armor reading some poetry by a... Woolliam Sheepsbeard, I think it was. Are you familiar with his work?"

There, sitting at the breakfast table with Luna, was Emperor Buckbeak. Grigori managed to give his casually disarming grin, and without a hint of condescension, replied, "I may have heard the name once or twice. Never pegged Shining Armor for the poetic type, though. Which ones was he reading?"

Luna tilted her head in thought. "Let's see, I don't think he told me the title, but at my request, he read some of it.

In the old age black was not counted fair,

Or if it were, it bore not beauty's name;

But now is black beauty's successive heir,

And beauty slandered with a bastard shame."

Grigori leaned across the table, one eyebrow rising upward. "Oh-ho, the Dark Mare Sonnets? And what did you think of his reading?"

Luna took hold of her drinking glass with her magic and raised it to her lips. "I wish that I could say, but Captain Armor fell feverish soon after he started, and had to retire to his office." After taking a sip of juice, the Princess of the Night noticed Celestia's approach and perked up. "Felicitations, sister! I hope that you don't mind, but I took the liberty of inviting your friend to join our morning repast!"

Celestia was very well-practiced in keeping her emotions to herself when she wished to, so she maintained an entirely neutral expression as she took her seat. "I see. And what of Gertrude? Isn't she joining us this morning?"

Luna shook her head while the servants busied themselves with bringing out the dishes once Princess Celestia had taken her seat. "Neigh, sister. She said that she wished to take the time to make extra preparations for today's negotiations, though she would not elaborate further. I am most overjoyed to hear from Grigori that matters are well in hoof!"

Celestia leveled her stare in the portly griffon's direction. "Indeed? Because I was under the impression that matters were far from settled. It wouldn't do to make assumptions just yet. Some parties may not have thought everything through."

Grigori chuckled and picked up a fork in his talons when the breakfast was placed before him. "If that were directed at me, Princess, I think I would be offended... if it weren't so accurate. Perhaps if I had your famous prescience, I could afford to think things through to their conclusion, but I've never had the knack for my own kind's particular quirks, let alone yours."

Without waiting for his hostess to start, Grigori speared a bit of egg on his fork and held it in front of his face. "I might wield my influence to encourage a chef to accommodate my preferences, but I still can't completely control what gets put on my plate. Nor should I. I'm a horrible cook. I prefer to leave that in the talons of somegriffon I can trust to do things right."

Celestia frowned slightly at that. "Funny that you should say that, when your kitchen has several chefs who are unable to agree on what dish they should be preparing, and each of them believes that you are supporting them. That hardly seems like an environment that fosters trust. Your traveling companions were not particularly quiet or subtle in their argument upon your return, so tell me, Your Eminence... was Senator Snaketail lying when she said that her visit to the Snowheart encampment was at your request?"

Grigori looked down at his plate and took a bite of his breakfast. After chewing the bit of egg for a bit, he swallowed and replied, "Gertrude Snowheart is your friend, and you've just gotten her back after a rather vicious estrangement. I understand why you might take issue with some of Gail's more... stridently vocal opinions, but her presence is something of a necessary evil, forced upon all of us by circumstance."

Luna looked back and forth between her sister and Grigori while the latter spoke. With a pensive expression, she asked, "So... are you saying that you brought the Senator because she is a talented chef? Is that why she is so temperamental?"

At that, Grigori snorted so hard that he spent the next minute or so coughing bits of egg out of his lungs.

Meanwhile, in her private tent in the Snowheart clan's camp, Gertrude flipped through the pages of the book that Pinkamena had given her. She had put off sleeping all through the night in order to do so, but while the urge to sleep still came to her as it did any mortal creature, she felt that spending the time preparing herself and gleaning what insights she could gather from the text might far outweigh the nagging sensation of a missed night's slumber.

All in all, she had found the author to be rather astute in his observations, though it seemed that many of his assumptions and impressions of certain historical figures cast them in a quite different light than her own memories. Her feathers ruffled at the depiction of the capricorns as a race of swaggering bullies who treated death and murder as a casual amusement. Whatever disagreements she and her friends may have had with Lord Tydal, the grizzled old warrior and his followers had fought to the last to slow Arlok's advance, and paid for it in currency that no creature should have ever had to pay.

Regarding more contemporary matters, however, Gertrude could sense a far greater level of thoughtfulness and understanding in Fuzzy Thinker's work. In point of fact, it was his analysis of her own people which captured her attention.

In stark contrast to the ponies of Equestria, where those who undergo metamorphosis into alicorns are celebrated and typically granted a position of honorary royalty, the so-called "Winterborn" of griffonkind are ostracized by their brethren. To understand why this is, one must first understand what it means for a griffon to be considered Winterborn.

It is not enough to simply have a talent for working with snow and ice, as such things are natural weather patterns which fall under the purview of any griffon's innate storm-shaping magic. What differentiates one of the Winterborn from a common storm-shaper is that in the former case, the ice is not drawn from the surrounding atmospheric conditions, but created directly by the griffon themselves.

This specially crafted ice has numerous properties which differentiate it from its natural counterpart. As it is created by the wielder's magic, it is an extension of its creator's will, and can thus act as a medium for enchantments. Even as unusual as most griffons find this ability, this alone is not nearly enough to explain griffonkind's antipathy toward those who exhibit this unique gift. Indeed, the Winterborn would likely be celebrated in the Griffon Empire if not for the circumstances which gave rise to the Empire's creation.

Upon the fall of Gertrude Snowheart, numerous warlords rose up claiming to be the rightful successor to Queen Snowheart's throne, despite their brand of brutal tyranny being the antithesis of all that she stood for. As the warlords would soon discover, however, once generations of griffons had been raised in unity and freedom, they were not inclined to let it go so easily. While the larger, more powerful warrior clans sought to rule over all others, the smaller clans which had prospered under a unified banner created an alliance which would come to prove itself stronger than any opposition, and lay the foundation upon which the modern Griffon Empire would be built.

In the Empire's zeal to separate itself from those it fought against, however, the founders soundly denounced anygriffon and everygriffon who sought to make a rallying symbol out of the late queen or her clan. Even as they pursued revolutionary social changes which continued what Queen Snowheart began, the Empire publicly tarnished her name and made outcasts of any who claimed connection to her. As a direct result, even those who had no desire for political or personal power were decried as cursed if they demonstrated an affinity for the magic of the Snowheart clan.

Due to this prejudice which can trace its roots back to the very formation of their society, there is a peculiar blind spot in the griffon psyche. Considering themselves a proud and competitive people, they will rally to deny their Winterborn brethren an opportunity to prove their worth. It is a culture where strength of all types is respected, unless that strength comes from one particular source. Lay out the hypocrisy of this stance, however, and you will be met by stubborn denial by the masses who are the product of centuries of normalized prejudice.

Gertrude's eyes lingered a while longer on the pages before she shut the book and glanced at the date of publication. As she understood the modern dating system, it had been written over two decades ago, but those passages which she had read about the state of the Empire rang true with what she had seen thus far.

Still, she could feel that there was more to it than what was written in the collection of passages that she had spent the night ruminating over. That a relative of the Emperor whom he seemed rather close to should have the same power that their society called "cursed" certainly played a part.

Gertrude shook her head, and pushed such thoughts out of her mind. Last night, Gunther had helped her regain her focus. Returning to Canterlot and looking at the faces of the griffons who looked up to her had brought it all back into crystal clarity. Whatever the Emperor and his retinue wanted was nothing but a distraction. The only thing that mattered to her today was that she stand for her clan's interests above all others.

Even as she set the book down, Gunther would be preparing the knights to make their move with Rainbow Dash's help and support. Soon, it would be time to show the Empire that despite the vast difference in size, the Snowheart clan's strength of will was more than equal to the task of overcoming any adversary.

And if she was lucky, Celestia would forgive her for the battle that was about to be waged within her city.

Part 24 - Declaration of War

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Gunther carefully inspected the Knights under his command. Each of them were standing proudly at attention, clad in full armor and awaiting the Knight-Commander's next orders. Eventually, he took his position in front of the line and proclaimed, "Yesterday, the Griffon Empire sought to make fools of us. Their aim was to weaken our hearts and our spines. Today, we shall show them that the fruits of such labors are dead and shriveled. Behind the Emperor and his entourage stand millions of our kind, but today we show them that whether it is ten-thousand Snowheart griffons, or merely ten, or even just one last griffon standing against an unstoppable tide, we shall never forsake our clansmen. That is our honor. It is the vow that we made to our queen and to each other when we took up our knighthood."

Gunther's head slowly panned from side to side before he continued. "They think that we are less than they are. That our loyalty to our former queen means that we are not 'true' griffons. Today, we prove them wrong! Do you stand with me?"

In unison, the gathered knights shouted, "Yes, Knight-Commander!"

"Do you stand with Gertrude Snowheart?"

"Yes, Knight-Commander!"

"And why do we stand with her?"

"Because if we don't, she'll stand alone!"

Gunther nodded once. "Then be prepared to act on my signal. Today, we claim our place in this world! Dismissed!"

As the knights dispersed to take their positions, Rainbow Dash walked up to Gunther. "Nice speech there. You sure you aren't the Element of Loyalty?"

Gunther chuckled at that. "No, but I greatly admired the one who was. And as the Sun Dog did when he took a stand against his oppressors, so too shall we stand against even the most invincible of adversaries. I thank you for taking the time to tell us what we should expect from the Empire."

"Yeah, well... Gilda's the only griffon I really know, but what I learned from her back when we were kids should cover the basic tactics. You sure you guys don't need more time to train, though?"

Gunther shook his snow-white head at that, and grinned down at the colorful pegasus. "Wars are won by strategy and preparation, but battles are quick, brutal, messy things. Never fear, though. Though we knights are few in number, we have the entirety of the clan standing behind us, while their Empire is far away. It is the strength that they give us and our will to win that shall determine the course of this day."

Dash grinned at that. "Now there's some of that good old griffon pride I remember. You knock 'em dead!"

Gunther nodded resolutely. "Indeed... But first, I must meet a pony."

Dash nodded, and turned to walk away. "Yeah. I've got somegriffon to check up on, myself."

Princess Celestia furrowed her brow with concern as she walked alongside her friend. "Gertrude, I am sorry about yesterday's events. The correspondences between the Emperor and myself leading up to these talks... Grigori led me to believe that he wanted to work in good faith with us. While I knew him to be a natural-born politician, I never imagined that he would lie so brazenly in order to set a trap for you. Even with what Cadance told me, I..."

"Rest easy, Celestia," Gertrude replied with a gentle smile. "I'll admit that I was taken by surprise, but we Snowhearts are nothing if not resilient."

That smile took on a mischievous quirk as she cheerfully strode ahead and added, "I just hope that you don't mind me taking a few liberties with the negotiations from this point on."

Celestia raised an eyebrow at that, but before she could ask for elaboration, she saw her adopted niece coming toward them with a bounce in her gait.

"Hi, auntie! Gertrude, it's good to see you, too. Your grandson told me and Shining that you're doing much better." Craning her neck to look around Gertrude, however, Cadance furrowed her brow slightly. "It was strange, though. I didn't peg him as the sort of griffon who'd be interested in hobnobbing with the upper class. Especially now, when I'd expect him to be here with you. Isn't he coming?"

Celestia's eyes widened in surprise at that. "Gunther? Hobnobbing? Back in his day, the 'upper class' was whoever wore the strongest armor. Why would he--?"

Cadance shrugged to her adopted aunt in shared confusion. "I don't know, he wouldn't say. I'm sorry, he caught me before I'd completely woken up, so I just told him where he'd probably find Fancypants at this time of day. Can you tell us what this is all about, Ms. Gertrude?"

At that, Gertrude gave the alicorns an enigmatic smile. "Oh, we'll be seeing him soon enough. Ah, your Eminence! So good to see you again," she chirped as Grigori and his entourage came into view. She also spared a nod to Gustav and Snaketail, who were rather conspicuously keeping to opposite sides of the hallway with their emperor standing between them with a seemingly oblivious grin on his jolly face. "General. Senator. I believe that we will be making a great deal of progress today."

Blithely ignoring the caustic glares from his companions at this comment, Grigori pulled off his glasses and took a moment to polish the lenses. "Well, then I look forward to seeing what you bring to the table. Shall we go inside?"

"No, I don't think so," Gertrude casually replied, catching the alicorns at her side by surprise. Drawing herself up to her full regal height, the griffoness told the Imperials, "After all, I am no longer queen. Therefore, it is not my place to unilaterally decide the fate of an entire clan in some closed room. If you wish to make your case, then you are welcome to join me in our encampment so that we can debate the matter publicly."

General Airstrike scoffed. "And what makes you think that you can dictate terms to us? You would be wise to--"

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Grigori cheerfully interrupted. "It's been too long since I had the opportunity for some grass-roots politics with my fellow griffons, and I think the morning air would be quite refreshing."

While the general sputtered, turning a frustrated glare toward his emperor, Senator Snaketail smirked at him and added, "I concur. If the freaks want to join our Empire, then they should know exactly what to expect."

Celestia and Cadance looked to each other from behind Gertrude during this exchange. When the younger alicorn shrugged in confusion, Celestia took a deep breath and decided, "Very well. Since the Emperor and Gertrude are in agreement, we'll reconvene at the Snowheart camp in fifteen minutes."

"Well I'm not agreeing to this," Gustav snapped, pointing a talon at the senator. "We all know that she is going to use this as an opportunity to rile a mob. If we take these talks public, there could be a riot!"

"Then by all means, general, bring your soldiers with you for security," Gertrude casually replied. "Whether to protect you from my people, or my people from the senator, whichever you prefer. You won't need them, but the more the merrier."

With that, the snow-white griffoness bowed in respect toward the imperials and turned to leave. As soon as she had turned the corner and gone out of sight, her keen hearing picked up the general's voice asking, "Is this what you wanted the whole time, Grigori? Or have you gone over to Snaketail's side?"

"Well, I suppose we'll find out. Don't tell me that you're afraid of a little lively debate, Gustav? Back home, they still tell the tale of when you challenged the high school argument team after downing six pints of--"

So you've really decided to go through with this. But will it lead to what you want for your people? That's the question, mused a voice close to Gertrude's heart.

Her response was merely a smile as she stepped out onto a terrace and spread her wings to glide back down to her people.

"Armor up, you mangy feather dusters! General Airstrike wants you suited up to escort His Eminence to the freaks' camp, and he wants it done five minutes ago!"

Gilda groaned, her body feeling even more sore than it had the day before. Her muscles just didn't want to do what they were told, but she gave it everything she had to push herself out of her cot and keep her legs under her. An effort that failed miserably when her superior's voice shouted right into her ear, "Not you, Buckbeak!"

Startled and sent off balance, Gilda lost her footing and felt herself tumble to the floor. Looking up, she groaned, "Gah! What gives?!"

"What 'gives', is you skipped out on your punishment and went AWOL," the officer replied, leaning over her with a sneer. "The general might be fine playing along with His Eminence, but don't think I'm gonna be so nice just 'cause you're a relative of the Emperor's! Every griffon carries their own weight, Buckbeak, and as soon as we get back to the Empire, you'll be scrubbing latrines for the next two months. Without a brush!"

Gilda felt a growl forming in the back of her throat, and only barely swallowed it back before she told him what she would do with a brush, given the opportunity. Instead, she snarled, "I did every single lap... Every. Single. One. You'd know that if you'd done your job and stuck around to watch instead of flapping off with your poker buddies, so don't just assume I'm as lame as you are!"

Her superior's eyes widened, turning bloodshot as his feathers puffed up in anger. "Like I'm supposed to believe that! Who do you think you are? One of the Stormriders? You're just a loudmouth who ducks out of her punishment to go have prissy little tea parties with ponies and Winterborn, then tries to hide behind her family's connections! But this is the Empire, Buckbeak, and who you're related to doesn't mean squat!"

"Sure seems to matter to you, dork..." she muttered, but no matter how much she wanted to fight with the officer, going any further would have sparked a struggle for dominance that her body simply wasn't able to handle after everything she'd put it through the day before. Instead, as much as she wanted to do anything else, Gilda hung her head to signify that she was giving up the fight.

When her superior saw her back down, he smirked down at her and turned around to address the rest of the soldiers who were now in their armor. "Form up and move out!"

Before long, Gilda was left alone. A few of her fellow soldiers actually cast sympathetic glances her way, but she didn't pay any attention. Instead, she pulled herself back into her cot in order to rest her aching body while muttering increasingly colorful expletives.

Even this could only keep her mind distracted for a while, though, and when the quiet began to seep in like a cold draft, so did more introspective thoughts.

What am I even doing here? I got what I wanted... kinda.

Despite everything else, the memory of trading blows with Dash brought a smile to her beak. As much as she hated the fatigue from her 'punishment', every bruise her friend had given her was a gift. Something to remind her of what a strong mare her old friend had grown up to become.

Strong enough to find another dream. What'd I do? Just lay around, thinking about how to get her to kill the "me" that hurt her. That was the plan, right? Then we'd both get on with our lives... except she went and started up a whole new life years ago without getting stuck in that whiny 'woe is me, my life is so lame' garbage.

So, now what...? she asked herself as she stared up at the ceiling. It was supposed to be over after I met Dash. I was supposed to get back on track, but I don't feel like I am.

"I feel like I'm stuck in a story that doesn't know how it's supposed to end..." she muttered.

Gilda then blinked a few times as she heard her own words and started retching over the side of the bed. "Ugh! Lame! That sounded like something that Gothick dweeb down the street would say!"

In the midst of her griping, she caught the sound of snickering from the doorway. "That was pretty bad, G. You want me to pick up some black eyeliner for you?"

Gilda's head immediately snapped toward the door. "Dash?! What're you doing here?"

Rainbow Dash grinned as she walked over and rhymed, "Just happened to be in town to help out some friends, and wanted to check in on you before your visit ends." Upon reaching Gilda's bedside, she asked, "So, are you okay? I hoped you'd be feeling better after yesterday."

"What, this? Psssh, I hurt worse than this all through basic training," Gilda replied with a dismissive shrug, which only made her wince a little. After a brief pause, she asked, "Wouldn't have anything to do with why everygriffon else scrammed out of here, huh?"

Dash nodded with a grin on her face, then looked her friend over. "Speaking of, there's something I can't miss. You think you can come with? Trust me... you're gonna want in on this."

Gilda scoffed. "I feel like a chimera's scratching post, my superior had it in for me even before my little side-trip to Dweebville, and you want me to drag myself to who-knows-where for who-knows-why, where I'll probably just mess things up and make even more trouble."

Dash's ears flattened somewhat as she mulled it over. "Well, when you put it like that..."

"Dude, stop. Of course I'm in," Gilda interrupted, shoving Dash aside so that she could push herself out of the cot. Once her paws were on the floor again, she hobbled a few steps toward the door before stopping to looked back over her shoulder. "I wasted years of my life working out how to get you to kill our friendship. Instead, you killed the idiot who wanted you to. Whatever it is, I'm with you, Dash, so just tell me what you need me to do."

Dash's ears perked up again, her grin widening as she joined her friend. "Well, for starters... you could tell me when you picked up that sweet ice magic while we walk."

As the princesses rode their sky chariots down to the base of the mountain, Celestia looked down at the gathering that had already formed in the Snowhearts' camp. Gertrude and Gunther were easy to pick out by their white plumage, grandmother and grandson standing between their people and the thundersteel-clad Imperial Guard who were backing the Emperor and his entourage.

Representing an unexpected third group was a colorful herd of her little ponies who were standing off to the side and watching the two griffon factions with a wary nervousness. Even from such a distance, Celestia could hear discontented muttering reaching her ears, but nopony dared leave... or rather, nopony dared letting anypony else see them leave so long as the stallion in the center remained present.

"Set us down by the ponies, please," she said to the guards pulling her chariot, and they immediately adjusted their course to do so. It helped that, upon seeing her impending arrival, everypony immediately cleared out a patch of ground in the middle of the herd for herself and Cadance before bowing.

Once the chariots landed, Celestia stepped off and walked between the prostrate ponies. Nodding in gratitude to them, she continued for a few steps until reaching a certain stallion. "Hello, Fancypants. Would you be a dear and please explain what this is all about?"

So prompted, Fancypants stood back up to his full height. As was their nature, the rest of the society ponies surrounding them followed his lead. "Of course, Princess. I had just finished a lovely breakfast this morning when master Gunther arrived to tell me that the Snowhearts will be moving on, soon, and that there would be some sort of performance to express their gratitude for Canterlot's hospitality. I'm afraid he was rather sparse on the details, but I couldn't possibly say no."

Celestia smiled at that, but her brow furrowed ever so slightly. "I see." Turning her body to face the griffons as Gertrude and Emperor Buckbeak approached one another, she wryly muttered, "Well... let's see what my dear friends are planning..."

As casually as if they were meeting over afternoon tea, Gertrude stepped forward to greet the Imperial retinue. When she and the Emperor were within a few feet of each other, her eyes and Grigori's met, holding each other's gaze.

"Your companions seem rather nervous, Your Eminence. Did you not tell them why we're here?"

Grigori grinned and waved it off. "And ruin the surprise? Perish the thought! Besides, Gustav here works best under pressure, isn't that right?"

"I have to with you in charge. What the hail are you up to, here?"

"The same as always, looking out for the Empire's best interests. Now, Ms. Snowheart, would you care to lay out your terms?"

Gertrude smiled and nodded once. "I have also been thinking about the best interests of my people. And, to be honest, if the Snowheart clan had nowhere else to go, then I would happily give up my status as a living being to see them integrate into the Empire and share in the prosperity of your nation."

Gunther's smile was more of a confident smirk as he added, "But that is far from our only option. We've been away for quite a long time, so we had a great deal of history to catch up on, but it's come to our attention that the region of the northern mountains that once belonged to the Crystal Empire are currently vacant."

General Airstrike scoffed in disbelief. "What? You must be joking! The northern mountains are completely uninhabitable!"

"Hardly, General," Gertrude replied with the gentle tone of a schoolteacher correcting a child. "You forget that we are Snowhearts. We were born of the Winter long before my ascension, and the memories of surviving such unforgiving climates are still very fresh to us. Still, it may be that the Empire will be slightly more accommodating than the frozen north, so I propose that we determine the best course of action with a public contest."

Senator Snaketail narrowed her eyes and asked, "What sort of contest?"

Gunther's smirk widened as he drew himself up and raised a talon. "Knights! Present arms!"

In an instant, the temperature in the area dropped several degrees as a line of Snowheart knights summoned their armor and spears. The thundersteel-armed Imperial soldiers squawked and looked ready to fight, forcing General Airstrike to frantically shout, "Stand down! Flaming tornadoes, stand down!"

Undeterred by the reaction of their Imperial brethren, Gunther calmly commanded, "Knights! Provide us with a rhythm!"

On command, the knights began to bring the butt-ends of their spears down against the ground in a simple, but coordinated beat.

While the pounding rhythm echoed throughout the area, Gertrude turned to address the ponies in attendance. "My friends, I thank you all for coming! The ponies of Canterlot have made us feel very welcome, but the time has come for us to move on! Before we go, however, we would like to share with you a piece of our culture. A friendly duel of rapier poetry!"

There was some stomping of applause from the ponies, some genuinely intrigued while others seemed rather confused. Gertrude looked to Celestia and smiled, silently asking for her friend's trust. The aged princess seemed unsure, but after taking a deep breath, she gave a single nod.

Gertrude beamed, then turned back to Grigori and his entourage. Under the cover of the beat provided by her knights, she said, "Here is how I propose we handle this. Each side will have three rounds to make their case. Afterwards, we will call upon the audience to declare the victors. If you win, then the Snowheart clan will become Imperial citizens under whatever terms you decide. If we win, then we will depart for the frozen north, where you will never find us. Are these terms acceptable?"

Senator Snaketail arched an eyebrow. "Haven't you rigged the judging pool? The ponies will just go whichever way their princess says."

Gunther replied, "Most of those ponies there have business connections in the Empire. Stuck between offending Princess Celestia and losing their profits, they're as close to impartial as I could find."

Gustav turned to stare at Grigori after hearing this, and when the Emperor looked back at him with a cheeky grin, the general chuckled under his breath. "I can't believe this. Alright, kid... I'm in."

Snaketail nodded with a calculating look on her face. "Me too."

With a jolly laugh, Grigori replied, "It sounds like we have an agreement! By all means, let's get this show started."

Author's Note

Griffons don't have debate teams, they have argument teams. Instead of discouraging ad hominem attacks, they refine insults into an art form. Naturally, this translates into rapier battles as well.

Part 25 - Epic Rapier Battle of History, Round 1

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

The herd of upper-class ponies surrounding Celestia and Cadance buzzed with a low hum of anticipation and gossip, and the sight of such a gathering also began to draw in those who lived and worked lower down the mountain. As a result, despite the impromptu nature of the upcoming "presentation", the audience began to grow as curious ponies trickled in. Cadance glanced around and brought a hoof up to her mouth to whisper, "Do you think Luna should be here to see this?"

Celestia stopped breathing for several seconds as she weighed her options. On the one hoof, her sister was still in a rather delicate stage of her recovery. Seeing one of her oldest and dearest friends in this situation could go badly if the tide started to turn out of the Snowheart clan's favor.

On the other hoof, Luna loved Gertrude and her family just as much as Celestia did, and she would probably resent being left out.

Celestia let out a soft sigh, and was about to ask one of her guards to fly back to the castle and inform her sister when she caught sight of a trio of mares out of the corner of her eye. Identical in every respect except for their tribe, a blue earth pony, pegasus and unicorn sat huddled together, looking this way and that. The instant that the pegasus happened to see Celestia looking their way, though, the other two immediately turned to look as well, and all three waved in unison with shy smiles on their faces.

Celestia raised her hoof slightly to give a little wave back. As she couldn't do any more than that without drawing attention, let alone ask how Luna happened to be there, she whispered back to Cadance, "Something tells me that my sister is already aware," before wondering, but was it Gertrude or the Emperor who informed her? There was no way to find out at the moment, however, so she turned the fullness of her attention back down to the five griffons facing each other.

With a jolly grin, Grigori looked to the others and asked, "So, who goes first? Shall we flip a bit?"

To that, Gunther stepped forward and replied, "Whoever chooses to go against me for the first round can decide which of us will start."

General Airstrike took the initiative and stepped forward to meet the albino warrior eye-to-eye. "I'll take you on, little boy. You go ahead and show us what you've got. It's the least I can do to give you a fighting chance."

Gunther smirked back without blinking. "Very generous of you, General, though in my experience, the one who goes second is at an advantage. Still, I have every intention of defeating you, no matter the handicap."

"You can intend whatever you want. Just don't expect it," Airstrike replied. To the other two on his side, he said, "Step back, I've got this."

"Give us a good show, Gustav," Grigori said, giving Airstrike a hearty pat on the back before he, the senator, and Gertrude all backed away from the two contestants.

At the same time, despite muttering to herself while doing so, Gilda hobbled up to the edge of the crowd while Rainbow Dash propped her up. "I told you, I just tripped a little."

"Relax, G, we're here. You won't be catching your feet on any more of this cobblestone street," Rainbow replied as she led her friend to a shady spot where they would have a decent view without drawing attention to themselves. Once she helped Gilda sit down (much to the relief of the griffon's aching body), the pegasus pulled out a bottle that she had tucked under her wing.

"What's that?"

"An ointment my teacher taught me to make. Perfect for pulled muscles, and any kind of ache."

Gilda started to reply, "Nah, you've done enough. I don't need--ow!" Her protests were cut off by a light blue hoof cuffing her lightly in the back of her head.

"Just let me put it on, already. Trust me, this stuff's a life-saver. I can't even tell you how many times I pulled something, running away from some huge monster that wanted to eat my face. Just imagine you're a Stormrider getting taken care of after a really hard race."

"Fiiiiine," Gilda replied as she looked past the herd of ponies, and Rainbow Dash applied some of the smelly ointment to her hooves in order to massage it into Gilda's fur and feathers. "So... what's going on? They going to fight or something?"

"Or something," Rainbow replied. "Remember when you were really into rapier poetry?"

Gilda's body tensed up at that. "Was that Uncle Greg's idea?"

Rainbow shrugged while she continued to apply the ointment and replied, "I dunno, Gertrude was the one who brought it up, but maybe she got the idea from him?"

Gilda let out a groan and brought a claw up to cover her face. "Gah, flaming hailstorms. Of course those idiots got the idea from him. First chance I get, I'm punching him in his stupid face."

Once they were given a bit of space, the two competitors turned to face the audience. Gunther then gave a brief bow before proclaiming, "Griffons, fillies, and gentlecolts, I am Knight-Commander Gunther Snowheart, representing the Snowheart clan in the first round of this duel!"

"And I am General Gustav Airstrike, representing the Griffon Empire! Ready whenever you are, boy."

Gunther nodded to the general, then gestured for his knights to resume the rhythmic thumping of their spears against the ground. Some of the knights, though, instead transformed their spears into flute-like instruments or cup-shaped cylinders which produced a tone when they ran their claws around the rim.

By altering the shape of the cylinders with their magic, they altered the pitch as they needed to in order to create an ethereal sort of music that had not been heard in Equestria for over twelve centuries.

All this to provide a background for Gunther, whose body moved ever so slightly with the beat until he was confident that he could follow it.

For twelve centuries now, our people have slumbered,

and the Empire has grown through those days un-numbered

I must pay my respects to the great griffons of modernity

And if I find one, I shall do so with utmost sincerity

One united nation instead of many clans at war.

Can anygriffon tell me where I have heard that one before?

We are Snowhearts, descended from griffonkind's worst

Yet all your greatness is built 'pon what we did first!

So instead of sagas and verses most epic,

I would say that you rate, at best, a limerick.

Zounds, you xenophobes whine vociferously

useless taunts slandering royal quality

presenting obsolete news, moldy lies.

Keeping justice in heart, Gertrude flies.

Empire defied, crushed by ability

The cheers of the Snowheart clan, who clapped their talons in support of Gunther, were accompanied by stomps of applause from the Canterlot audience. Even so, the jeers of the Imperial griffons did their best to drown the other two out.

In the back, Gilda groaned pinched the bridge of her beak as if she had a headache. "Ugh, what an idiot."

"Is there something I don't get? He just limericked his way backwards through the alphabet," Rainbow Dash replied.

"Yeah, in the first verse! You think anygriffon's gonna believe he just came up with that on the fly? He looks like an amateur, discharging his lightning early when he should be saving his best material for the second verse."

"Oh... well, I thought it was pretty awesome. I bet a lot of the ponies here will, too."

"Better hope so, if you want to root for 'em, because for griffons, it isn't about first blood. It's about scoring the kill."

With Gunther's verse done, the albino griffon bowed slightly and backed up a step to give General Airstrike the stage.

To the surprise of the ponies in the audience, the Imperial soldiers' jeers didn't transition into cheers for one of their own. Instead, they only lowered in intensity as Airstrike stepped forward, allowing the noise to roll off of him like rain off a duck. Holding himself with a stoic bearing, and with none of Gunther's musical backing, he only spared a few seconds to stare down his opponent before he began.

I've got to give you respect, you have true griffon pride.

You are a worthy adversary... no, I just lied.

That is fairly impressive; it must have taken you a while.

But back in the Empire, I'm the Lord of Free-style!

You think I've never been ambushed before? Think again!

I could stand alone against you and all of your men!

When you chose to battle me, that was your greatest blunder.

All you have is whitening. Now watch me bring the thunder!

I know that you've been sleeping, so your memory might be hazy.

The only reason that you're here is your grandmother went crazy!

You brag about your prowess, but it seems a little shady

When all your Knights were vanquished by a single old lady!

Gunther's eyes narrowed as the general's parting shot drew peals of derisive laughter from the Imperial side as Airstrike mockingly smirked and stepped back to grant him the stage again.

After taking a deep breath to center himself, Gunther stepped forward and nodded to the Knights, who once again resumed their accompaniment. After nearly half a minute of thinking to himself while glaring at Airstrike, he presented his rebuttal.

If 'tis the queen that you mean, then cease your prattle

And rejoice you face her not 'pon the field of battle.

You think to cow me by bringing up our darkest hour

Yet know naught of the pride that grants us our power!

And who taught us to master this magic that you find so hateful?

The one who ensured you're alive now to be so ungrateful!

Mark me, for when the dust has settled

Your steel will shatter before Snowheart mettle.

Where we hail from, the winds howl and moan

A cold so sharp it strips flesh from bone

But 'tis not our nature to cower in fear.

We took hold of the cold to forge our spears!

Hardened by Winter, shaped by a soul most generous

Like the spear in my talons, you shall never break us!

Again, Gunther conceded the floor to Airstrike, who stepped forward and waved his talons in front of his beak as if to wave away an unpleasant odor.

You sure try hard to act like you're a predator of great power

And it's obvious that you pre-date the invention of the shower.

Your gimmicks are weak! Your rhymes are antique!

I'll pit myself against your rhythm any day of the week!

You claim that you're a fighter in your feeble verbal spurts

But all I see's a little child hiding in your granny's skirts!

So what if she was queen? I have no time for such nonsense!

You're nothing but a pasty royal ass!

Toward the front of the Canterlot herd, a pale, well-dressed donkey exclaimed, "Excuse me?!"

No offense.

Your little icicles aren't enough to make me flee!

I've been dropping lightning from so far above you that you can't even see me!

Airstrike's the name, setting your ears on fire

For the pride and the glory of the Griffon Empire!

While he rhymed, General Airstrike reached into the inner pocket of his uniform to slip her thundersteel knuckles over his talons. When his verse came to an end, he punctuated it by punching the ground. An explosion of thunder and lightning rocked everypony and -griffon back on their haunches.

This explosion was soon followed by a second, which grew as the echoes of the first faded. This time, though, the source of the noise was applause.

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay. Aside from going on vacation for a bit, writing rap battles is hard. I hope you enjoyed it, though, and there's more to come.

Part 1 - Rainbow's Morning

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and took a slow, deep breath. Her wings were spread out behind her as she kept herself off the ground, but they provided balance rather than lift. Instead of hovering as most pegasi would, she stood on one hoof atop the head of a gnarled wooden staff.

"Clear mind... silent, serene heart..." she whispered, her body reflexively twitching and adjusting itself in order to maintain her precarious pose. "Clear mind... silent, serene heart..." Meditation had never come easily for Dash. So many times, her mentor, Zecora, had attempted to teach her to clear her mind of extraneous thoughts and open herself up to the flow of the realm's energies around her.

Sitting still and doing nothing had proven to be torturous for the young pegasus during her time living in Zecora's hut in the Everfree. Despite her eagerness to learn from the zebra shaman, her attempts to do so typically just resulted in her growing more and more tense, like a spring being wound too tight. The balancing staff, though technically intended for use by those who had already mastered the basics of meditation, had been a compromise to the hyperactive Rainbow Dash. One that saw mildly improved results as the effort of remaining upright gave her body something to do while she let her mind venture inward.

As she repeated her mantra, the twitchy, jerking motions that kept her aloft slowly calmed as she gradually found her center.

"Clear mind... silent, serene heart."

With her eyes closed, she could see nothing but darkness. In time, though, her balance stabilized to the point where her body was smoothly swaying and adjusting itself without having to devote conscious effort to it. With her wings outspread, she could feel a warm Spring breeze blow in from the open window of her cottage. A pleasant change from the Winter chill of just a few weeks ago.

The breeze wrapped around her, and despite the crippled wing which left her permanently grounded since childhood, Rainbow Dash felt as though the wind were lifting her back up into the sky. Up, up into the clouds where all three dimensions were hers to explore again, and nothing could constrain her. Memories of freedom blossomed like flowers in her mind. And speed. That sweet rush of zooming through the air without restraint or--

A small but very pointed cough seemed to grab her by the wing and yank her back down. Her body jerked, and nearly fell off the staff before she flapped her wings to right herself again. Opening up her eyes, she glared down at the source of the cough, which was a small white bunny who was grumpily tapping his foot next to an empty food dish.

Rainbow glanced to the nearby wall clock and replied, "Settle down, rabbit, and stop looking so sour. Lunch time's not for another hour." Taking a deep breath, she chanted, "Clear mind... silent, serent heart..." and attempted to return to where she had left off. Yes... yes, there it was. She was flying through the sky, without restraint or limitation.

Even though it was the gentlest of breezes that blew over her, within her mind, she was flying up... up through the very highest clouds and into the stratosphere, pushed aloft by winds that were not winds, but the very will of the universe. The vast, infinite blue of the sky as seen from down below peeled open into a vast field of twinkling stars, and even then she continued to race faster and faster.

Pinpoints of light turned into streaking lines as she shot through the vastness of--

The tapping of the bunny's food intensified into a loud, rapid-fire thumping, distracting her yet again. "Lay off, rabbit! It can wait," she asserted without even opening her eyes this time. "Clear mind... silent, sere--"

The bunny didn't even wait for her to finish the mantra before he began clanging two pans together, startling Rainbow enough to nearly make her tumble off of her staff. As she tilted toward a nearby bookshelf, she flailed around before stopping her fall by catching the edge of the shelf with her unbroken wing.

In doing so, though, her wing also brushed against a small picture frame standing on display, knocking it off the shelf. Rainbow let out a yelp as she saw the photograph, one of the very few keepsakes she had taken with her when she left home, tip over and fall toward the ground.

While straining to keep from falling to the floor altogether, Rainbow's forelegs stretched down as far and as fast as they could, just barely catching the picture frame between her front hooves before it could fall out of reach. She held her breath, terrified that it would still slip from her grasp, but she let it out in a relieved sigh when that didn't happen, and she looked down fondly at the photograph within. A tiny filly with a rainbow mane grinned cockily back at her from the picture, alongside a smirking young griffoness who had one foreleg wrapped around Dash's younger self, the other held toward the camera with two talons pointed upward in a 'V'.

Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw the bunny standing beside the base of her balancing staff, which was still propping up her hind legs even at the awkward angle she was now holding herself aloft. Narrowing her eyes, she asked, "So that's how you want to play it, huh? Maybe I won't feed you at all, tonight. How would you like that, not even getting a bite?"

The bunny responded by narrowing his own beady little black eyes of evil, then slowly turned his gaze toward the staff she was perched so precariously on.

"Don't. Even. Think about it," Rainbow muttered threateningly, realizing where the bunny's train of thought was leading. Indeed, as soon as she said it, he pulled back his hind leg and took careful aim...

... Only to get startled enough to flop over onto his face when they were both interrupted by a trio of ear-piercing screams. Rainbow took the opportunity to push herself back upright and hop to the ground, setting the photo down on her dining table on her way to the door.

Stepping outside, she saw three earth pony mares whom she recognized quite easily as florists that she had pranked on numerous occasions during her infamous stint as the 'Rainbow Witch of the Everfree Forest'. They could always be depended on to completely flip out over the most harmless prank, but seeing them screaming in terror while running toward her was a new experience for Rainbow Dash. "What the...? What's got you three so shrill? You're acting like there are dragons rioting through Ponyville."

Skidding to a stop in front of her, the trio started shouting in a panic, yet somehow did so without talking over each other.

"We're being invaded!" Lily wailed.

"A griffon swooped in and started terrorizing the market square!" Rose shrieked.

Rainbow Dash blinked in surprise. "A griffon? Oh no... Gertrude didn't go nuts again, did she?" she asked, thinking back to the Winter Wrap-Up of just over a week ago, which had been crashed by an insane, Windigo-possessed immortal. Thanks to Rainbow Dash and her friends using the Elements of Harmony to exorcise the Windigo and restore her sanity, they had been able to reconcile with the griffon, who had turned out to be one of Princess Celestia and Luna's old friends as well as the Warden of Winter, and a former Element bearer herself.

Daisy put fears of a re-match with the icy immortal to rest, at least, when she exclaimed, "No! This was an Imperial griffon, shaking ponies down and demanding to know where you are!"

"The Empire is going to take over Equestria!"

"They're going to capture us and turn us into livestock!"

"The horror! THE HORROR!"

Rainbow ignored the speculation in favor of the relevant points. "So a griffon from the Empire flew into town and started asking about me? And you came all the way out here to tell me that? Wow, that's actually really--"

Before she could finish, Rose gasped. "Oh my gosh, she's right! That griffon is going to be coming here!" The trio looked at each other, then let out a scream in unison before running off farther down the path.

Rainbow Dash gave a bemused look at the retreating florists before letting out an exasperated sigh and calling out after them, "If you keep going that way, you're just gonna run straight into the Everfree!" Realizing that this stuck them between the most terrifying forest in Equestria and a murderous griffon coming to devour their sweet pony flesh, the three of them let out another horrified scream and decided to simply faint on the spot.

Rainbow rolled her eyes upward, then felt an insistent paw poking at her leg. Looking down at the grumpy bunny, she replied, "Ugh, fine. Go drag those three inside, and you can have an extra serving for dinner. I'm gonna go into town and see what's going on." With that, she took off at a brisk trot toward Ponyville, leaving the bunny to look over at the three fully-grown mares, then start shaking his fist and chittering angrily at the retreating pegasus.

Author's Note

Hey! Trying something a little different with this one. I tend to write rather slowly, due to putting it off through the week and then trying to bang out a few thousand words on the weekend. Here, I'm going to be attempting to do smaller, more concise installments. We'll see if I can pull it off.

And as an added bonus, if anyone can spot the manga reference in this chapter, they'll win 500 obscurity points and an invisible toaster oven.

Part 10 - Old Friends & New

Griffon the Heave-ho
by CrowMagnon

"So I hopped on the train here to Pansyville--"

"Ponyville," Twilight corrected, sitting back in her seat with her forelegs folded across her chest.

Gilda just shrugged it off. "Whatever. Anyway, I see Old McDustbowl over there with her lizard, and--"

The griffon was cut off again when Rarity shrieked at a volume that forced Spike to bring his little hands up over his ears. "Old?! I'm not old! I just... I've been working very hard this past week, finding good 'seed' rocks for my crop, and haven't been getting as much sleep as I'd like..." Worry filled the white unicorn's face, and she started fretting with her braid before she shook her head and re-focused her anger on Gilda.

"A-anyway, Spikey is not 'my lizard'; he is a baby dragon, and he is my son! Not some sort of pet," Rarity continued, her voice full of righteous indignation. From atop her back, Spike smiled and waved to Gilda and the other mares. Turning to Twilight and Rainbow Dash, she explained, "She just came right up, asked if Spike knew any tricks, and then put a biscuit on his nose!"

"An' I coulda got it," the baby dragon proudly announced.

Rarity's mood wasn't improved any when she heard an unrepentant snort of laughter come from the griffon, who started whistling innocently as soon as she turned her glare back on Gilda.

"Ah, come on, how was I supposed to know?" Gilda eventually asked while Rarity continued trying to shoot death beams out of her eyes. "Hey, if I'd known you were married to a dragon, I'd have congratulated you, instead. That takes guts."

Rarity let out a frustrated grunt. "I'm not married to a dragon! I--"

"Oooh, deadbeat dad? That's rough," Gilda interrupted. She then looked and pointed between Rarity and Fluttershy. "So, are you two in some sort of 'getting freaky with monsters' support group or something?"

"Will. Isn't. A monster. He's a MINOTAUR!" Fluttershy seethed with an intensity that her friends weren't used to seeing in the normally-upbeat pegasus. "Rainbow Dash, you wouldn't believe what your 'friend' here said about me and Will! She said... that... uh..." She trailed off, stumbling over her tongue as she remembered that Spike was in the room. "That ponies and minotaurs aren't... umm... naturally compatible."

Gilda looked around. "Oh, come on. Like I'm the only one here who's ever thought that? Dash, back me up on this one."

Twilight and the others reflexively glanced toward Rainbow Dash, who slouched down in her seat in a futile attempt at camouflage. Seeing her brash prankster of a friend rendered so mortified, the Ranger had to force herself to keep her earlier promise to give Gilda the benefit of the doubt in mind. She let out a sigh and asked the last remaining pony, "Alright, Applejack... why are you so mad?"

Applejack narrowed her eyes.

Earlier...

Applejack smiled widely, her heart ready to explode with pride and joy as the Manehattan mare watched her little sister share fresh apple fritters, muffins, and other Apple family goodies with the Snowheart refugees. Not that they were starving or anything. The princesses had been generous with providing the time-displaced griffons with food and temporary shelter, but the treats that the two sisters had brought were filled with love, which the Snowheart clan clearly appreciated.

Even better was how the experience had given the sisters a chance to get to know each other better through working together. Applejack felt her Apple family pride blossom anew after spending some time with her earnest and guileless little sister, and Apple Bloom was getting a better idea of what Applejack was really like through seeing her big sister's charity work in action. It might not make up for years of absence, Applejack knew, but it was a fresh start.

"Sis! Sis! We're almost out o' turnovers an' fritters," the filly exclaimed, bounding toward her with a grin so wide and beaming, it was like looking at the sun. Applejack knew that her joy wasn't in that they were running out, but that the fruits of her family's labor were in such demand.

Applejack smiled back as a small pride of griffon cubs who hadn't gotten treats yet let out groans of disappointment at the news. "Don't worry, my little griffons. We've got a fresh batch cooling off in the baking tent, so just wait a minute and we'll be right back." With that, she started leading Apple Bloom back to the tent on the outskirts of the camp that they had borrowed for their baking.

Along the way, Applejack felt her little sister clinging to her side as the two walked, and she couldn't imagine the day being any more beautiful. As a result, the rumbling of thunder took her by surprise.

Worry set in as the crackling rumble of lightning didn't fade. In actuality, it seemed to draw closer. Applejack stopped, putting a foreleg out to stop Apple Bloom and hold onto her before the filly could either run off ahead or take off in the opposite direction. Lacking the wings of pegasi or the griffons around them, the two earth ponies found their view blocked by the tents until, with a deafening boom of lightning and thunder, they saw the shape of an darkly armored griffon shooting up the mountain, bolts of lightning arcing harmlessly away from their body.

"What in the hoof was that?!" Apple Bloom asked, clutching even more tightly to her sister's side while Applejack let out a sigh of relief.

"Nothing to worry about, sugarcube," the city mare promised, her smile returning as she did so. She didn't use that particular term of endearment very often since leaving the farm, but it felt very, very right. "It's how the Griffon Empire makes an entrance. They show respect to their host country by showing off what they can do in an intimidating but harmless display. Everything is just--"

Before she could finish, the acrid scent of smoke and burning apples touched her nostrils, and a griffon near the outskirts of the camp shouted, "FIRE!"

"Nearly an entire batch, ruined! Whatever didn't burn got frozen and soggy when the Snowheart Knights put it out with their ice magic."

Gilda gulped. "Oh come on, how did you even know that was me? That could've been anygriffon!"

Applejack's head snapped to face Gilda so fast that everypony else winced, afraid that the businessmare might give herself whiplash. Instead, Applejack simply stared in wide-eyed shock. "That was you?! I can't believe it!"

Rainbow Dash groaned, slumped low in her seat. "You mean there's more? Sweet Celestia, what were you angry for?"

Applejack hugged Apple Bloom as the two sisters waited at the station at the base of the Canterhorn for the train which would take them back to Ponyville. Apple Bloom was sobbing, devastated by the loss of all the treats they had been planning to give out, along with the ingredients to make more. The only thing that they had been able to salvage in any kind of edible state was a single pie that Apple Bloom had set apart from the others with the intent of sharing it with her big sister after a day's work. That sat on the bench beside them while Apple Bloom sniffled against Applejack's chest.

"There, there, sugarcube," Applejack whispered soothingly. "We did the best that we could, but sometimes accidents happen. If Granny and McIntosh will allow it, we can come back after you're done with school tomorrow and make sure that there's enough for everygriffon."

Apple Bloom hiccuped softly and looked up at her big sister. "Ya mean it?"

Applejack smiled warmly. "Of course, dear. Until then, why don't we enjoy that pie that you made, and we'll just--" She reached over to her side, but instead of finding the pie tin, her hoof blindly found only empty space. Realizing that something was amiss, she looked up to see a ragged-looking griffoness holding their pie in her talons.

Without even looking at them, the griffoness asked, "Hey, you're those ponies hoofing out free goodies, right? Thanks, I'm starved." She didn't wait for an answer, though, before she started scarfing down the pie while the Apple sisters could only look on in horror. That horror and disgust only grew when the griffon spat out a large bite of pie, coughing and spitting. "Gah! Ptooh! Ptooh! Blech, apple? I hate apples!"

With that, she dropped the tin, along with any remaining pie within, so that it splattered across the train station floor.

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Oh... G... you didn't..."

"Ah come on, it was just a pie," Gilda protested.

"My little sister put her heart and soul into that pie! She broke down in tears, and you didn't even have the good graces to apologize," Applejack replied, poking a hoof against Gilda's chest. "You scampered off into the train while I comforted her, apparently so you could go around and harass my other friends!"

Gilda looked down at the orange hoof and snarled, "Put that away, or you'll be pulling back a stump, uptown-girl."

"Just try me, you hooligan," Applejack sneered back.

"Please, don't fight," Pinkamena said quietly. Gummy was now riding inside her turtleneck, his head sticking out to blankly stare at the goings-on. "Not inside, at least. I live and work here."

Twilight sighed and felt a headache coming on as she used her magic to form another barrier, this time to gently push Gilda and Applejack apart. "No one is trying anypony right now," she said firmly as she tried to assert control over an increasingly unstable situation for Rainbow Dash's benefit. "Let's just calm down, and handle this reasonably. I think we can all agree that some apologies are in order."

Gilda nodded along with everypony else, followed by almost half a minute of awkward silence as the mares all stared at her expectantly. Eventually, Gilda asked, "Well? Which of you is gonna go first?"