You Old Charmer

High in the mountainous regions of Equestria, far beyond the reach of most ponies, it was a land of cold and hardship. Few in the lowlands would ever wish to go to such a place, and yet, there was life here. The griffons. For in the furthest and most remote parts of those mountains, there lay the great kingdom of Griffonstone. Long ago, there was a time when the griffon people cared for nothing more than gold, with greed at the very heart of their being. But, that all changed when their leader, King Grover, united his people as never before, through the discovery of a great golden idol, which henceforth brought great pride to all of their kind. Now united, the griffons were a force to be reckoned with, and a noble kingdom to be admired. Where once there was greed, now there was solidarity and unity. And at the centre of it all was the mighty royal palace, where their renowned king, Grover, took up residence. In the vast throne room in which he sat, there stood, at the base of the chamber, the beloved golden idol of his people, surrounded by many griffon guards. Grover himself was a noble and regal-figure, standing tall and proud, bearing a dignified posture and expression. Though his feathers were grey, he was no elder, and was still very much in his prime, with his crown sitting well upon his head. Yes indeed, one only had to look at this figure to know that this was one to be respected and admired.

Today, the sun was shining brightly through the large and ornate windows at the side of the throne chamber, and Grover looked on proudly at the idol at the base of the steps leading up to his throne. His people were content, his kingdom was safe and secure, and he himself was admired by many, even the ponies. And yet, if you looked into his eyes, there could be seen a sadness of some kind, a deep longing. However, mere moments later, he turned his head, looking to a shadowy corner of the room, wherein he could have sworn he saw a figure moving in the darkness. At first, his instincts were to call the nearby guards to investigate, but, after looking to the shadows further, realisation dawned on him, and soon, his expression morphed into that of an affectionate smile. However, he soon regained his composure and cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his guards.

"Um...if you would all be so kind as to vacate the chamber for a moment, I have some things I need to think over in solitude."

Naturally, this earned more than a few odd glances form the guards, with the leader of them stepping forward to address his king.

"But your majesty, it's a guard's duty to..."

But the griffon had not the opportunity to finish, for Grover then cast him a dark glance, sending a shiver up his spine. No words passed between them after that, but the king's message was nevertheless clear, leading to the guards all nodding in agreement before making haste out of the chamber. Grover watched as they left, waiting until the great doors of the throne room were shut tight before breaking out into a smile again. He turned, unfurling his wings and flapping them, gracefully gliding down to the lower level of the chamber, after which he approached the shadowy area of the room.

"That was a close one. But it's alright, you can come out now."

There was silence for a few moments, but inevitably, someone did emerge from the darkness. It was an earth pony, light pink in her fur and a darker shade in her large and poofy mane, bearing a cutie mark of three balloons. The mare approached the king, bearing a wide and affectionate smile, far larger than the one Grover himself now wore.

"Oh, Grover, I thought they'd never leave!"

Before the older griffon could react to that, he was taken aback by a sudden rush forward by the pink mare, who embraced him in a tight hug. Although somewhat winded by this, he soon recovered, smiling just as before as he returned the embrace.

"Dearest Pinkie...I cannot tell you how much I've been thinking about you lately."

The mare smiled further upon hearing that.

"Me too. I've missed you since the last time we met."

Eventually, the two parted, with the king looking down at his companion with great affection.

"Never, in all my life, have I ever met another who so expertly captured my heart as you did, Pinkie."

The pink pony blushed fiercely upon hearing those words, turning her head slightly.

"Oh stop! You're just saying that!"

But Grover shook his head, taking a step closer to her.

"I mean it! You bring such joy to others, and to me. When you are near, I can smile in a way that I just can't do otherwise, especially around my own people. You are truly a special mare, Pinkie, and I am honoured and privileged to have you in my life."

But, contrary to how Grover might have wanted her to react, the party mare seemed a little concerned about all this. Eventually, she began to speak up again, and, in an odd twist, started doing so in a dramatic manner that few would have ever associated with Pinkie if they knew her.

"But...can this really work? You and me? I'm a party planner from Ponyville...and you're a super-special and loved king from centuries ago. I'm a pony, you're a griffon. I'm alive...and all that's left of you is a statue. Can this...can we really work? Will the world let us?"

Grover frowned at that, moving closer to her and placing his claw upon the side of her face, guiding her to look upon him once more.

"To blazes with the world! We will make this work! I care not for the stares of others, only for you, my dearest lady! I don't care if this doesn't make sense, you and me together. Time, reality and even simple logic are all conspiring to keep us apart, but as long as I wish it, we will be together. This...I swear!"

Pinkie looked to him, at the sheer determination upon his face, and knew that he meant every single word of it, prompting her to well up with tears of joy. Grover to begin to look at her in a completely loving way, and the two simply stayed together in silence for some time, knowing that, however little sense it made for them to be together, in this one moment, they were together. And to Pinkie, that was all that mattered. After a lengthy time of simply staring into each other's eyes in a romantic fashion, Grover gained a somewhat amorous look, after which he reached down and held onto Pinkie's hoof. Although confused at first, Pinkie then gained a similarly-amorous look in her eyes as she saw the older griffon lower his head in an almost bowing motion, before planting a tender kiss upon her hoof, leading to her turning her head and smiling, all while keeping her eyes firmly locked on her beau.

"Oh, Grover...you old charmer you."

Raising his head, Grover smiled right back at her.

"For you, my dear...anything."

In the safety and calm of the royal palace of friendship, nestled at the edge of Ponyville, Pinkie was sound asleep in the throne which bore her cutie mark, smiling happily to herself as she slumbered. Unbeknownst to her, two of her friends were nearby, Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash. Although both of them had been content to simply let her rest there for some time now, they had both taken something of an interest when they saw the big smile that had crept onto her face in the last few moments. They watched her with some confusion, seeing her occasionally twitch her hind leg, much like how a dog would when they were dreaming. After some time of nothing but silence between the two, Twilight turned to Rainbow and spoke to her, keeping her voice lowered to a whisper so as to not disturb her sleeping friend.

"So...what do you think she's dreaming about?"

But the cyan mare merely shrugged her shoulders.

"Who knows? She was pretty pooped after that long walk back from Griffonstone. Although..."

A ponderous look crossed the mare's face as she considered that.

"...I do remember her having that same smile as we left the place, but she didn't tell me what it was for."

Twilight opened her mouth to speak further on the matter, only to be interrupted when Pinkie spoke out in her sleep.

"Oh...Grover! You hunky griffon you!"

Naturally, both of the observing mares raised an eyebrow at that before slowly starting to back away from their friend. In the end, Twilight turned to her pegasus friend with a somewhat worried look.

"You know, Rainbow...on second thoughts...maybe it’s best if we don't know what she's dreaming about."