‘Dear Gabby,
I hope this letter reaches you- I know the postal system (other than you of course,) can be a bit hit or miss.

So, that freaky blizzard apparently was a DOOZY! Somehow it became magically charged and just spun out of control, kind of like if it was over the Everfree Forest. Oh, that’s a place where ponies don’t control the weather. It’s one of many odd events that have been cropping up lately.

Staying sort of busy here. My enchantment shop has a steady flow of customers, and I’ve been repairing my wings in the meantime. How are things in Griffinstone?

Your friend,
Aid Chaser.’

‘Hey Aid!
Um, I haven’t written that many letters, so I guess this is how it goes?
That blizzard stuff sounds crazy, and would explain it, I guess! Weather isn’t really controlled here, so it seemed pretty normal to me. Well, there was an odd tingle, but I guess that was the magical part?

Anyhow, got your letter, (duh) and you are right though. Postal service other than yours truly can be a bit tricky. But so far so good!

Things are…well, doing ok. The town is slowly (like, lazy turtle slow,) becoming more passable as a, well, town. So that’s a plus! A new eatery opened up that actually serves nice food. Oh! Speaking of shops, you have an enchantment shop?! I know you mentioned it once in the cave, but how does that work?
Sincerely,
Gabby.

“Whatcha writing?” Tourny chirped, the mare munching on a large apple fritter as the team sat around the ‘dangerous’ bonfire they had been dispatched to.

The impromptu party had been in full swing when they arrived, and Dispatch had given them the evening off- especially since the ‘urgent’ call had been on everypony’s overtime.

“Gabby, that nice gryphoness I mentioned.” Aid replied, rolling his eyes as Wind Sheer drifted over with a grin.

“Uh huhhhhhhhhhhhh.”

“Wind, if I look over there, and see that massive grin on your face-”

Sure enough, a completely unashamed smile was dominating Wind’s features, the Pegasus poking his friend’s shoulder.

“Soooooooo?”

“What? She’s a friend! Not often you meet a gryphoness who’s so nice!”

“Possible special somegriff; good for you. She sounds nice.” Fast Splint rumbled, the massive pony prompting a round of chuckles from the other members of the team.

“SHE’S NOT-”

“Exotic tastes, can’t say I’m surprised though. I can imagine a certain allure…” Heart Shocker added, the unicorn poking a bit of the bonfire with a stick.

“So, when can we meet her? We did the same thing when Splint got his then-marefriend!” Tourney chimed in as Wind Sheer let out a laugh.

“Let’s not overwhelm the poor guy!” the Team leader proclaimed, then flying close to Aid’s ear.

“Besides, he did just find his special somegriff!” the cheeky Pegasus whispered.

Aid let out a groan at the round of chuckles, glaring at his teammates over a bite of an apple fritter.

“I hate you all.”

Such words had no venom of course, especially since there were smiles all around as Aid returned to writing before they headed back to Canterlot.

Dear Gabby,

Got your letter, and it looks good! Not like there’s a ‘right’ way to write a letter anyhow! Well, maybe in school, but bleh.
Looks like it takes about three days for a letter to be sent and received- that’s a lot faster than I thought for cross-ocean! I guess there’s an airship that ferries supplies then, if I had to guess.

Anyhow, glad to hear Griffinstone is slowly being built up! More good eating locations is always a plus! Do they still have that hole-in-the-wall pastry place on the main street? I was hesitant to buy a roll from there when I visited, but WOW was it good!

My enchantment shop? It’s really just a hole in the wall on one of Canterlot’s streets. I can’t do really energy-intensive spells, but I specialize in smaller, more complicated ones. Like I can enchant a broom to sweep a hallway once a day for a week, or a pen to dip into ink whenever it’s low. Little things like that which require regular recharges. It’s kind of fun having all sorts of little challenges and creating magic for such tasks.

How goes the postal delivery stuff? No big jobs here for the EDRF, only had to scramble once for a big smoke report, which ended up being a false alarm.
Well, there was a fire, but it was a festival and the apple fritters are fantastic. (It’s where I’m writing this actually.)

Your friend,
Aid Chaser.

Dear Aid,

Three days? Wow! That’s pretty fast indeed! And I’m glad I’m doing this right, I really enjoy writing a friend! Well, having a friend too of course!

Oh, that shop isn’t a hole in the wall anymore! It’s the top producer of pastries other than Gilda’s shop. She specializes in scones though- they make an amazing fish pastry. Probably not the best for ponies, but they have vegetarian options that taste really good and still pack a punch with the spices!

That sounds AWESOME! I’d love to see how you did that sometime. Magic is just something so…interesting. We obviously don’t have much of that here other than few gifted gryphons now and again, and it’s nothing like unicorn stuff.

The postal stuff is going well! Steady work, but it does get a bit boring sometimes. I guess that blizzard made me appreciate a bit of excitement!
Ooooh. Apple fritters sound good.

Talk to you soon!
Your friend,
-Gabby

p.s. It’s later than normal, but I think that Canterlot delivery is coming up! I’ll let you know more!

Dear Gabby,

Huh. Two days this time! Not that I’m complaining of course. Maybe they’re sending bulk batches by magic?

Whoa! Really? I’d love to try some of that food. I don’t think mailing one would be a good idea, otherwise I’d totally send you some bits for it! I’ve always enjoyed the spices Gryphons put in their foods. Just not the fish, obviously.

I’d be more than happy to show you around whenever you visit! Let me know about that possible trip, and I’ll schedule a day off for a tour. I’d love to see Griffinstone too whenever I can get some time to get back there!

Talk to you soon,
-Aid

p.s. I was about to send this, but heard some news about Griffinstone. Is everything ok? Something about a big fire? We weren’t called in, so maybe not that bad?

Dear Aid,

Sorry for the late letter, its been a bit crazy here. Shorter note this time, sorry. There was a fire- and it swept through dozens of houses within moments. Nogriff was hurt, incredibly enough, but there’s hundreds of gryphons now homeless, and we’re about to get a nasty cold snap next week. Just trying to find a place for everygriff to stay, especially the hatchlings, but there’s just not enough space. The council has asked for aid from Equestria- but I don’t know if it’ll come in time. Do you know any creatures who could help?

Still working on the Canterlot job date, gotta go though.
Your friend,
-Gabby.

Aid stared at the letter on his small workshop desk, re-reading it a few times. His eyes narrowed, flickering over to a massive stack of papers, barely held together with twine. Ever since talking with Gabby in the cave, Aid had poured over his future plans and re-packed it all, the idea refusing to leave his mind. Aid wrote a hasty reply, putting the simple letter in the mailbox before returning upstairs to think.
I just lack the money to start it all up, there’s no getting around that.

Reading the letter again, Aid took out a communication’s crystal, tapping it with a specific magical sequence.
I don’t have the means to start helping everycreature, but I can do something about a couple hundred cold gryphons. The government won’t move fast enough; they’ll freeze to death.

“Aid Chaser? Its been a while! How have you been?” Crowbar Stash’s voice echoed through the crystal, the cheery earth pony always seeming to have time for Aid’s odd requests.

“This a friendly call, or do you have a job for me? I love searching out your contracts, I have to say! An entire warehouse? Pile of tables and chairs? Whatcha got for me?”

Aid stared at the note, a determined smile meandering onto his features.
“I’ve got an anonymous job, a few stages to it though. It has to be done within a few days. Find me the fastest ship to Griffinstone first, and a lot of cargo pallets.”

“On it! I’ll call you later today with an update if it takes that long!”

As his supply agent cut the communication, Aid looked over to the pile of papers, shaking his head slowly
If I can stop a few deaths here…

Gabby wiped off some sweat from her brow, taking into the frigid air and looking around after dashing to nearly a dozen houses to check on their occupants. The sudden cold front was nearly here, and they still were trying to find homes for the displaced gryphons. Even if every shop and house was doubled or tripled up, there still wasn’t room- and that was forgetting building codes. Many dwellings were barely standing as it was, let alone insulated for the cold winters.

And that’s why every year, we lose…

She shook her head, the gryphoness refusing to think about the morbid truth. The numbers were going down, but it was still far too many lives lost to the brutal winters in Griffinstone. A nation with shoddy infrastructure and negative temperatures just didn’t mix without yearly casualties.

With a sigh, she fished out the latest batch of letters, having been more preoccupied with trying to find shelter than delivering the mail at times. She still delivered the post of course- but it had been a tad late.
“Wait, this is…”

Unrolling the scroll, Gabby’s ears perked up as a single line dominated the parchment, hastily scrawled across the letter.
‘I know somepony. Help is coming.’
-Aid’

As though spurred by some cosmic cue, a faint rumble caught Gabby’s attention. A black dot was drawing closer with every passing moment, prompting the gryphoness to land on the nearest roof.

Her eyes widened as vaguely-Equestrian airship roared towards Griffinstone, then neatly parking at the main gates as large gangplanks thudded to the ground. Appearing to be a refitted Storm King vessel, ponies quickly flooded out from within, levitating massive boxes and bound packages. Members of the Griffinstone Council were already there, Grampa Gruff apparently rendered speechless for once in his life. Gabby landed nearby, hearing the brief exchange between the gryphon and large earth pony in charge.

“What is this!?” Gruff squawked, as massive pallets began to be levitated down the side ramps.

“Supplies, rush delivered.” The pony replied, reading from his clipboard.

“Let me see here….You’ve got a lot of military surplus items from the Equestrian Royal Guard and their training camps. A few hundred cots, a metric ton of heavy blankets, clothing, spare blanket fabric, tents, some basic medications, basic woods stoves, oh, and some emergency rations. There’s some bits and pieces added in there, but here’s the total list.” The pony rattled off, handing the list over to Gruff.

“We never ordered this, nor paid for it! Wait, is this from the Equestrian Government? They barely had processed our request last I checked.” The gryphon grunted, eyes widening as he saw the itemized list, including the cost.

“The government? No, it has all been bought and paid for by a private party. I can’t say who though, because I don’t know. I was just told to say it’s from ‘a friend.’”

Grampa Gruff stared at the checklist and then the supplies, waving to some guards lazing around near the entrance to the city.

“OI! Get your feathery butts over here! We’ve got supplies, and if I catch you skimming any off, I’ll strap you to the airship and send you back to Equestria!” he crowed, Gabby stepping in to start help carry the items into the city.
Thank you Aid, whatever you did.

As the winds began to howl the next evening, not one gryphon was left out in the cold. The supplies ensured not one hatchling needed to endure a cold night alone, and Gabby made sure to pen such in her latest letter. Snow swirled outside her home as the gryphoness wrote, Gabby not able to resist a smile.

‘Dear Aid,

I don’t know who you talked to, or what you did, but thank you. The supplies arrived just in time; and I was right, the government barely got approval for the stuff by the time the cold hit. Everygriff is safe and sound- and we’ve got enough supplies for winters to come.

I don’t know what to say other than thank you. Whatever you did made sure we didn’t lose anygriff to the cold- which happens every year.

Thank you, Aid. I think I’ll be visiting at the end of next week.

Your friend,
-Gabby

p.s. Can you tell me who sent the items? I guess the pony didn’t want to know though, so I can understand that if that’s the case. I’d just like to thank them personally, as would the Council. (Well, other than the resident Grampa Grump, but he is thankful)’

Aid’s eyes teared up, the unicorn taking a shaky breath. Putting aside his lunch, Aid swiped away the moisture at his eyes. An image from his first visit to Griffinstone surged to the fore; a simple snow-colored alleyway with a few lumps under the white powder.

The guide Gryphon had hurried them along, casting a pitying look to both Aid and down the alley. He explained that it was just piles of clothing somegriff had left out.

Aid wasn’t stupid though, and that moment had further shattered his view of the perfect world of Canterlot Nobles as a young colt.
Piles of clothing didn’t have frozen feathers and fur.

He took a shaking breath, brushing some more tears from his eyes as one dripped onto the parchment.
Not today; they’re safe.
I wasn’t too late for them, not this time.

Aid wrote a quick reply, marking on his calendar the end of next week. He then returned to his work- in this case, wrenching a stubborn bolt onto his mechanical wings. The unicorn’s gaze drifted to a set of smaller mechanical wings hanging on the workshop wall, the creative pony letting out a sigh.

I suppose it’s time to file that patent for sale again. But the likelihood I can get the specific buyer….
He busied himself with his work, focusing on the task at hoof.

‘Dear Gabby,

Knowing the supplies got there in time makes me happier than you can imagine. Just- I visited Griffinstone in the winter. So, I understand what happens. I’ll be sure to pass along your thanks for sure. I don’t know if I can tell you, honestly. The pony I spoke with doesn’t want to be seen any differently, so they’d prefer to remain nameless. I’ll ask though.

Next week? I look forward to it! How are you holding up? Sounds like it was a really stressful moment there.

Your friend,
-Aid’

“So? Who’s it from?” Gilda asked with a grin, prompting Gabby to grumble as her friend sat down next to her. Frequenting Gilda’s scone shop was a regular occurrence when in Griffinstone, at least when things weren’t too busy. The recently-built wooden shop was one of many that had sprung up on Griffinstone’s cobblestone streets, and certainly one of the most popular.

“Just a note from a friend.” Gabby replied, Gilda raising an eyebrow.

“Uh huh.”

“What? He is!” Gabby remarked, head tilting out of curiosity.

Gilda casually reached over and poked Gabby’s cheeks.

Her very, very fluffed-out feathery cheeks.

“The fluff doesn’t lie. Soooooo?” Gilda teased with a sly grin, prompting another grumble.

“I…erm…I dunno, honestly. I mean, maybe I know?” The gryphoness stammered, still holding the note in her claws.

“Oh, uh sorry to push, I was just having some fun. Greta totally teased me when I realized things about Gelvin.”

“Realized what?”

Gilda sighed, sitting down next to Gabby on a stool.

“What I actually felt, even though I didn’t even really know how to feel it. And also understood that it was ok to feel stuff.” Gilda said, shrugging her wings.

“Growing up in Griffinstone, or anywhere near here messes with your head. But I’m guessing you already knew that. I’m here to talk if you want…which is a weird thing to say now that I think of it.” the gryphoness continued to muse, then shrugged again.

“Is this that pony you got stuck in a cave with? The same one who got us those supplies?”

Gabby nodded, rolling the scroll up and leaning on the counter with a huff.

“Aid Chaser. Yup, same guy. He’s just…he’s nice, funny, quirky, just fun! I dunno.”

A sly grin slid onto Gilda’s beak as she looked over to Gabby.

“I think you do know. This is the guy you’ve been writing every other day for two weeks now? The same one you would not stop talking about when you first came to visit me last week?”

“….yes. Huh. This is weird.” Gabby mused, looking at the parchment.

“Huh?”

“Wet spots. Like the roof was leaking, but only a bit. And I guess we don’t know who sent those supplies.”

Gilda looked at the spatters on the parchment, the gryphoness then sighing.

“You really haven’t figured it out yet, huh?”

Gabby blinked, staring at the letter and then her friend.

“What?”

Pointing to the parchment, Gilda let out a slight huff to her slightly oblivious companion.

“You’re talking to a pony, one who has seen what it’s like in the winter here. Said pony also has a compulsive urge to help anycreature he can, and seems rather sensitive. Supplies show up just after you mention a crisis that basically mimics a rough Griffinstone winter?”

Shaking her head, Gilda sighed sadly.

“That probably scarred the poor guy. We grew up with stuff that’s a lot harsher than ponies ever had to deal with.”

Gabby didn’t say anything for a moment, finally letting out a slow breath.

“I always suspected it, honestly. I’ll ask him when I visit. But I wonder why he’d hide it?”

There was an audible ‘smack’ as Gilda slapped her talons to her face, the gryphoness letting out a groan.

“Oh boy. Gabby, you basically told me how you two were blushing messes in that cave, right?”

A fluffy nod was the gryphoness’s reply as Gilda continued.

“So, let’s say for a bit, he think’s you’re pretty neat. I’d bet money that’s the case by the way. Now, there’s a chance that if he told you, you might now see him in a different way of how he acted instead of who he is. The guy’s a noble! You told me he’s trying his hardest to break from that stuff. So, of course he isn’t going to tell you he sent the supplies! That’d be the noble-like thing to do, after all, a sort of low-bragging. If he likes you, or at least wants to get to know you, that’s the last thing he’d want to do!”

Gilda couldn’t help but cackle at seeing the look of realization that dawned on Gabby’s features, nor the blush that reddened her grey cheeks.

“Theeeere it is. The moment where she gets it!” Gilda crowed.

“So, go get your feathery butt ready to go to Canterlot! I wonder if I was this dense….” The gryphoness mused.

“You were, very much so.” A deep voice called out from behind an open door, a certain gryphon entering from the rear shop entrance.

“Shut up Gelvin.” Gilda muttered, her own face feathers fluffing as Gabby couldn’t help but grin.

“Welllllll I’ll leave you two alone. Gotta get ready and pack and stuff!” Gabby exclaimed with a smile, her usual peppiness returning in abundance.

“Talk to you later, Gabby.” Gilda replied, giving her a pat on the shoulder. She was quickly crushed by a hug from her close friend, Gabby not able to giggle as she darted off.

Meandering towards her simple home, Gabby began the mental checklist in her mind.

Let me see. It’s a job for a few days, so I’ll need some snacks, the packages of course, clipboard and such….

Throughout her checklist, and as Gabby began to pack, a pair of golden eyes refused to leave her mind.

That, and the anticipation of a hug.

Author's Note

These two are just too fun. Different format this time with the letters, and I hope it turned out alright, easy to read and follow and such.
Now we're able to get a bit of insight of both Gabby and Aid's past....hmmmm.
Poor Aid needs all the hugs Gabby can give him, it would seem.