The North is Frozen for a reason. You don't go there unless you really need to. The ponies keep to their sparkling cities, the griffons have their own business in the mountains, and other nations have no business even being near. It's not an enviable proposition, to live on the border between the ever expanding Equestria, the reclusive Griffon Empire, and whatever roams the wailing tundra.

It's a good place to hide. And a good place to look. You may have lost limb, life, and honor, but you won't lose direction if you follow well enough. As long as the contract holds.

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Part of a prequel one-shot series to a much bigger fic, currently in the works. Draws heavily from certain materials, but does not act as a cross-over.

Same series as VIS_016.evi, Vermillion, Nick and Penny and Styx Enterprises.

Marked Alternate Universe because of how different the Griffons are between this story and the show. The rest in the series aren't marked because this detail doesn't concern them.