"What are you staring at?" He was tearing into a steak. I am not exaggerating there. He suck his beak right into it and he pulled with his talons, rending the poor steak into several hunks that he got to snapping up, grease and sauce spattering from the effort. "Steaks bother you?" He looked almost pleased at the idea.

"Actually..." I was nibbling at my muffin, which was perfect, by the way. "You probably won't wanna..."

"Want to what?" He raised a feathered brow before chomping into that steak. "Mmm, beyond me how ponies even know how to make this, you know?"

"Search me." I honestly had no idea how that fit the usual pony palette. "Can I try some? A little?"

He watched as I licked my lips and he slowly set his steak down. "What?"

"I was asking if I could try a little." My eyes were locked on the steak. Minus being torn into, it was a fine looking steak.

"You're a pony," he reminded. "You should be asking for, what, wheat cakes and carrots." He threw a hand aside. "Not bloody freakin' steaks." I noticed other ponies had begun peering, not at him exactly. I was the odd one.

"Just a little." I smiled brightly. "I won't ask for anything for the rest of the day!"

"That's a lie." Despite that, he grabbed the food between two talons, digging those claws in and pulling apart, rending it in half, then one of those halves in half, offering me one of the quarters. "I want to see this. Since you asked for it..." He leaned in, a cruel smirk on his face. "You have to eat it all."

"Don't threaten me with a good time!" I grabbed for the quarter and, flop. Hooves were not super great at grabbing like that. I snatched it up in my mouth instead, the muffin forgotten for the moment. Mmm! The juices exploded through my mouth as I worked at it with great bunch munches. My new teeth were not quite as able to tear into it, but my jaws were nice and strong, making up for it. I was grinding that steak into nothing, my eyes closed as I thought about it. A good steak, the kind you'd paid $20 just for the steak. Who knew pony land would have such? I could remember not having that kind of thing often.

"That is freaky."

Oh, right, I wasn't alone. Gael was gaping at me. So was everypony else. I swallowed thickly, banishing proof of what I'd done. "Sorry..."

"Are you just trying to impress me?" Gael picked up the other quarter and dangled it in the air. "Or do you want this too?"

My eyes were on the wavering bit of meat. "Well, if you don't want it..." I didn't want to be rude to him, my owner, even if I still didn't quite grasp how things worked.

"You really aren't joking..." He slapped it down on my plate, sauce splattering on impact. "Go ahead. I wanna see."

"It's not that I only like steak," I deferred. "But I was just as surprised there was any."

He peered at his new pony. "So you don't want it?"

"Don't you?" I reached for my muffin, chewing softly. "Mmm..." The attention on me began to ebb away as I ate something far more appropriate for a pony to be enjoying.

He gave a bit of a huh, but went back to eating his food. With the steak abandoned, he eventually snatched that up too. I think he noticed that I never did flinch at how he ate, even if he was a bit of a slob. A hunky slob? Dang it! That's like the worst kind...

With a full set of bellies, we headed back to our benches and settled in. Sleep came not long after that, but not for long. Dang, he was cutting down a forest with how loud he was snoring. As much as whatever made me like him was glossing over everything else, that was a bit much.

Ah ha! I crept down from my bench and snuck closer, watching his tumultuous breathing. There was a trick I read once... I reached over with my hooves and slowly, so slowly, nudged him onto his side while humming a bit of a sleepy melody.

Thump, right onto his side. The noise abated significantly and he sank into the cushion. He was happier, I was happier. Everyone won! Victory swelling, I hopped back onto my seat, my wings folding up from my extremely short-lived flight. I watched him doze, sleep not coming as quickly a second time.

There I was, a mare, on another world (Equestria I assume?), owned by some random griffon? I had not signed up for any of that, I promise! What would my jobs think, with me just... vanishing like that. I had a break, right? I couldn't remember how long it was... Was Jessica alright? Why did I remember her name, but mine?

The answer to that came to me on its own. She had no new name. She was Jessica, to me. I was Ditzy Doo, not to be confused with some human name I went and forgot. Speaking of being a pony. I spread one wing, then the other. I wanted to try them... If you're going to get turned into a pegasus, you have to fly! It was in the rules, somewhere...

But he was asleep, and the leash was still wrapped up in his fingers. I was going nowhere. I mean, sure, I could yank him right off his bench, or maybe slip the leash out... But neither of those are things Ditzy, er, I, would do? I was pretty sure he'd deserve it, but I didn't do it.

We rolled towards wherever we were going.

Which turned out to be way less metropolitan than the city we'd left. We pulled up in the middle of nowhere. "We fly from here," he advised, hopping off the train and pointing with his free hand. "My town's just over there, not that far away. You can fly, so we should be there soon."

Oh, wait, we got to fly? My estimation of the day leaped up and my wings spread out. "Yes!" I mean, I had no practice, but a big part of me really wanted to fly. I began to bounce up and down, my wings flapping eagerly. At the apex of one of those jumps, my wings came down at just the right time and I soared forward! Just for the leash to go taught, my neck to get yanked back, and down I went in a great big pile. "Ow..."

"Moron." Gael stepped over me. "We go together or not at all."

I rolled to the left and stood up. "I'm not running. Flying, you know, leashed, is gonna be hard."

He looked at me, the leash, and onwards to his out-of-sight town. "Huh..." He stepped closer and suddenly yanked my down by the collar. "I'll be really mad if you make a break, and I can fly faster than you."

"Which I won't," I firmly assured, standing as tall as I could with my head being pulled down. "You own me."

"Yeah, I do..." Still, my saying it seemed to calm him down. With a soft click, metal against metal, he undid the leash and pulled it away. "Alright, follow me."

Soon, we were doing it! I mean, sure, he was doing it, but who cares?! I was flying along! The world was a blurry mess, but I kept focused on his back end as the wind blew over me. The resistance was stronger when I was directly behind him, and I soon took up the traditional V position where it felt like the wind was blowing least on me. My wings adjusted a little left and right without my thinking about it, keeping me in the air, giving a powerful flap to keep my height steady.

It was wonderful!

I remembered aged advice. Ponies like me favored one eye. One. I closed one eye and looked around, things coming into better focus. I could see the griffon town we were approaching. It was just as run down as I distantly remembered seeing it somewhere. Where was it? Had I been to a griffon town before? That seemed unlikely. "Is this your home?" I shouted ahead towards him.

"It ain't much, but it's our home now." He began to land and I came in with him, focused on keeping the distance steady. It was all going great, until it wasn't. The ground came up so quickly! I swear it was sneaking up, ready to pounce! I slid and thumped against the ground, rolling several times until I came to a halt, my head twirling.

"Nice landing." Gael pointed to the right. "That's my house, where we'll be staying."

I shook out the dizziness and could hear other people talking?

"Gael," shouted down a female. "What is that behind you?"

"Want me to scare it away?" asked a male.

"That's a pony ain't it?" called a third.

I could see Gael did not live in a proper 'house'. It was more of a griffon apartment that he shared with other griffons, and they were looking at us curiously. "Hello." I waved at them, a hoof going left and right. I hurried to keep up with Gael, who was ignoring his neighbors. "Don't get involved with them," he advised quietly.

"Why not? They seem nice enough." Not that I'd seen much of them, but I gave them the benefit of the doubt, an idea that seemed to ring true with both Ditzy and my original self. "Saying hi can't hurt."

"You'd be surprised." He pushed open a door at the ground floor and shoved his way inside. "Nevermind that. Welcome!"

It was... not glorious. He had a nest-bed? And something that could vaugely be called a kitchen? "Um..." There really wasn't a lot else. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Huh? If you need to wash, the river's that way." He pointed the direction. "You don't stink yet."

Well, that was good! "I meant, you know, when you have to... go?"

"You don't go anywhere unless I tell you to." He lifted from the ground and landed on his next, looking down at me. "I thought--"

"I meant, you know, squatting?"

"Oh! Oh." He inclined his head, looking at me confusedly. "You can go outside for that. People get angry if you do it too close to the house. Whatever."

I would... just let loose like a wild animal? I made quite the face. "Oh..." Which meant he probably wasn't providing any toiletries either. How did they live like that?!

"Why are you looking so weird?" He leaned off the side a bit. "Look, you're here to teach me, got it?"

Ah ha, a hint! A purpose. "Teach you what?"

"How to win."

Well... that was vague. "Win what?"

"Ugh." He rolled out of his nest and hit the ground on all fours, facing me. "The pony you're a copy of is really great at making people want to give them stuff. Make me good too."

I tried to process that, sitting down on my new haunches. "I make ponies smile by getting them what they want."

"And how do you do that?" he prompted, looking so hopeful.

"I--" I pointed at myself. "Work at the post office. I take ponies packages and deliver them where they're needed and ponies get really happy to get their mail!" I felt giddy, happy, to be talking about the mail. "I don't always get it right, but I try my best! They appreciate that. And I smile!" Oh, how I smiled, beaming at him. "A good smile can make the day better."

"Right... but we don't have much in the way of mail around here." He rolled his eyes. "Besides, Gabby has that locked down, and I'm not getting involved with her. Ugh, she gives me the creeps. A griffon should not act that way." He prodded me with an avian talon. "So come up with an idea that doesn't have a post office in it."

An idea... "Well... to start." I turned back towards the outside. "You could get to know your neighbors. They're friends you haven't finished making!" I bounced a little in place, not fully rising from my seated position. "You could talk about griffon things!" What did griffons talk about? I really had no clue, but they could talk about it! Whatever it was.

He was eyeing me critically. "You don't get it, but I know how to fix that." Uh oh. I wasn't sure I liked the way he said that. "You can meet them for me." Wait, that wasn't... so bad? He went for his door, chuckling the entire way. "Hey, jerks!" He opened the door to find a griffon hen right there, falling forward. She had had her head held up to the door. "What the-- Gelly! Get up!"

Gelly scrambled to her feet with a winning smile. "Hey! I saw you come home with a pony and I got curious." Her eyes went to me. "Aw, she's cute and she looks lost."

"And she's mine," emphasized Gael.

"It's true," I remarked, unable to deny that simple fact that had become a corner of my life.

"Wait." She tapped her chin with a finger. "Are you that lonely, you went and got a pony girl?"

Gael blinked so slowly. "What? No. Look. She actually wants to talk to you." He put a talon right on my butt and shoved me forward, hooves sliding against the dirt. "Here you are, one friend you haven't made yet."

My own words, turned against me! I smiled at the hen. "Hiya! I'm... Ditzy. I used to deliver mail." Wait, no, I used to do customer service. That was related, right? Still talking and making people happy while getting them things they needed. "But now I'm here."

"Ditzy?" Her eyes wandered, skipping from one of my eyes to the other, which were different places. "Your eyes are crazy. I'm Gelly." She hiked a thumb at herself. "Want a look around?"

Actually? "Yes please! Gael, can I go with her?"

Gael looked to Gelly instead of me. "I want my pony back in one piece, got it?"

"I'll take good care of her." She threw an arm over my withers and led me outside. The moment the door was shut, she twirled me towards herself. "Did that scuzzball buy a pony so he could take advantage of her? I mean, they're his bits or whatever, but that really gets my feathers in a knot."

She was angry. Upset, for me? Aw. "Thanks." Maybe she was a nice bird?

She thwipped me across the snout, my nose wrinkling as I fell back. That hurt! "Ponies are pansies, compared to a griffon, but that doesn't explain why you haven't run off by now."

By now? "I just got here."

"We're standing outside. He's not here." She leaned in, eyes wandering and homing in. "What's that?" She grabbed my collar, her fingers trailing along it. "You're a pet?!"

Well... "Kinda? Gael owns me." That much I knew as iron clad fact. "So you live above?" I turned my gaze away from the irate hen towards the upper levels of the house we were in front of.

"Look, if you want to, I won't chase you." She let go of my collar. "Doubt anyone else would care either. Just saying..." But I wasn't running away, or flying. "I don't get it. Right, that one's mine." She pointed at one of the crannies of the building. "I got that nice big green ribbon."

Oh! I could see that one. "It's pretty."

"Isn't it?" she said, a proud smile on her face. "Now, look, I don't know you--"

"I'm Ditzy, you're Gelly," I reminded her.

"I didn't forget that." She rolled her eyes. "Ponies, I swear... I don't know you."

"You could?" I offered, extending a hoof towards her.

"Maybe..." She spread her wings wide. "The fountain's over there. Bet he didn't bother to tell you." He hadn't. "Don't drink from the river, good way to get sick. People wash in there, or do other stuff."

Good to know! "Thanks." I didn't get my shake or hoof bump, as she was fleeing, so I just waved and headed right back to Gael's place. The door wasn't locked, so I went right back inside. "I'm home."

"That wasn't long." Gael was back in his nest. "So, how'd it go?"

"We just met, but she seems nice." I rubbed behind my head a little. "I think she's new to ponies."

"That goes for everygriff around." He huffed softly. "But she didn't pick on you or nothing?"

"No." Was that a concern?

"Good." He sat up and gestured towards the kitchen. "You can eat breakfast and lunch when you're hungry."

Yay! Wait... "What about dinner?"

"We eat dinner together, or you don't eat dinner at all." He crossed his arms over his chest. "You still owe me lessons."

"Well, I did make a friend," I proposed. "Did you learn anything from that?"

"Pretty sure there's more to it than that..." He flopped in place with a grunt. "I'll have to go to work soon."

He had work?! "What do you do for work?"

"Huh? Oh!" He polished his front, looking suddenly smugly satisfied. "I'm a local tour guide."

I had to tilt my head at that. "Why didn't you tell me about the water fountain?"

"You didn't ask," he said in a tone that implied he thought his logic was not only iron clad but kinda obvious. "Duh."

I pointed to myself with a little smile. "As a mail mare, I would be upset if I gave bad mail information." How much mail information did I actually have? I don't think I was a mail person before!

"I don't need you to tell me how to do my job!" he huffed.

"You had Fetlock call me to do that."

He raised a finger for a silent moment before it fell. "Right..."

I sat back, considering him. "Why is a handsome griffon like you not with a hen, anyway? Gelly's available." At least, her nest did not look big enough for two.

He went red rapidly. "None of your business. Fine! I get it, let's get back to business." He stormed towards the kitchen, tail swishing agitatedly behind him. "So how would you do it, if you're so smart?"

"Tell people about the town?" I considered that a moment. "There are lots of curious people who want to meet you. The drinking fountain is over there. The river is over there, good for washing and stuff, but don't drink that!" I struggled for more facts to throw, but... "I don't know much else. I'll keep listening so I learn stuff."

"That isn't much," he taunted. "Nocreature would want you for a guide."

"That isn't nice," I huffed, chest fluffing out. "I need to see how you work. When's the next time you go to work?"

"Whenever." He waved it off like it was nothing.

But it wasn't nothing! I could feel something boiling up. "When are you scheduled to go to work?" I asked more firmly.

"What does it--"

I crashed into him, my hooves on either side of his neck. "What does the schedule say?" I asked in tight tones.

"What do you care?!" He shoved me back and dusted himself off. "Last I checked, I'm on tomorrow, 10 in the morning."

"Great!" My smile had returned. "I'll be with you and we'll see how you do. Tomorrow, 9:45."

"I said 10," he gusted as if I must have misheard him. "Stupid pony."

"I said 9:45," I basically sang out. "If you're not early, you're late, and you're never going to be late again."

"You are mine," he reminded with a scowl. "You do what I say."

"And you said to teach you how to be better and get people to like you." I nodded with remembrance. "And I'm going to do that. When we're done, you'll be the best there is, and creatures will line up to get a tour from you. Your boss is gonna give you, like, a thousand promotions in surprise."

His rage petered out. "A thousand, huh?" The temptation of money got to him as he stroked his beak. "I like the sound of that..."

"Be ready!" I clopped a hoof down, determined about this specific thing. Though I quickly remembered. "I think it's lunch time." He said I could make my own lunch, so I headed for the kitchen to begin hunting for snacks. "You hungry too?"

He followed after me. "You are a strange pony. You know I'm a griffon, right?"

"Huh?" I peeked over my shoulder at him. Yep, griffon. 100%! "Yes you are."

"Griffons, you know, apex predators?" He rolled a talon at me, one brow raising. "We'd probably find a pegasus pretty tasty overall?"

"But you wouldn't do that," I counter argued with a little nod. "Because I am yours. Why would you eat your own pony? That would be silly." And a waste of money from what little I knew. "You didn't buy me just to eat me."

"Stop trying to be smart." He crossed his arms defiantly. "Besides, you don't know where the good food is."

"Will you tell me?"I had one ear turned as I dug through the fridge, searching.

"Maybe after I get that first promotion." His smile returned, almost a leer. "Earn your treats."

"Okay!" Earning a treat seemed entirely reasonable at the time, even if some part of me realized that was a bit off. "Ooo." I dug out some bread and set it aside. And some cheese... Lunch was coming together... Ah ha! "I am a pony."

"Yeah you are," he agreed, though looked confused. "Why?"

"So I will get some pony food to add to it. Be right back!" I trotted for the door and he didn't stop me from leaving. He did, however, trail after me.

I sniffed the air gently, letting the air fill me. Well, first, it smelled like griffon, which made sense. I was in the middle of a griffon town. For second, griffons were not as clean as they should be! So it smelled like twice as many griffons.

But, the third one. I smelled tastiness and wandered towards it with a happy smile. I tilted my head so my left eye was more on it. There it was, a nice batch of flowers that put out just the right kind of smell. Pony food! No griffons cared about it, so, yoink! I sank my teeth into the base and leaned back my entire body, ripping it free of the ground.

"You're going to eat that?"

I jumped in place, coming down facing Gael, who was looking between me and the dropped clump of flowers. "Oh! Hi. Yes. I didn't point hooves when you ate that steak." I stuck out my tongue a little and reclaimed the flowers. "Now I have everything to make a perfect sandwich." I wondered a moment how ponies did it back in pony towns. Were all flowers property of someone else, meaning you couldn't randomly pick flowers?

That sort of made sense. Lucky me, I was in a griffon town, so all the flowers were mine, mua ha ha ha ha.

"You look way too happy about those flowers." Gael was still trailing me. I wasn't nearly as surprised the second time he spoke up. "Do you eat them even with the dirt trailing off of them?"

"No!" I rolled my eyes with a little equine snort. "That's silly. I bet you wash your hunts before you eat them, don't you?"

"You didn't hunt that, you just picked it up."

"A fierce and savage pony hunt." I nodded, pointing at my catch. "It did its best to resist, but I was too much for it."

That settled, I headed inside to make my sammich!

Author's Note

Welcome to a little griffon town! Our protag is adjusting to their new life fairly well, I think.

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