Chapters A brown griffon approached, by air, a border heavily guarded by pony soldiers. Pegasi intercepted the griffon as he descended towards the entrance in the guarded location. The pony soldiers were apprehensive and ready to attack. "Why would a single, meek looking, griffon approach the base by his lonesome? An messenger perhaps? Have the griffons come to their senses and wanted to parley a cease fire or maybe even concede the war?" They questioned, as in the whole time when this war was waged, closer to zero were similar events.
Upon landing, the guards on the floor could suddenly see why the pegasi didn't attack the griffon and it left them in awe. In his arms was a dark purple mare with short black hair, she was an unicorn but her horn was clearly broken.
"Her horn broke and she wouldn't stop screaming, I gave her sedatives to alleviate her pain and I've done what I could but I have no knowledge of unicorn anatomy."
The guards took the mare off his arms and the pegasi took her to their medics, the griffon was promptly apprehended and put in a jail cell. A few hours later he was cuffed and taken into a room, where an earth pony awaited his presence. In fear of the griffon being a spy, he was thoroughly questioned. He claimed to be a doctor but when prompted why he helped an enemy his answers were unsure and unconvinced, he was clearly not a spy but could be some kind of saboteur no less, so the interrogation continued. At one point the pony resorted to light torture to see if he could extract some information on the griffon's operation, to which the griffon claimed he knew little to nothing and was simply a doctor. At first he was simply hit multiple times with hoof punches on his face, had his face slammed into the metal table in front of him a couple of times and even threatened to have his beak smashed against the very table.
With swollen eyes, bleeding nostrils and multiple bruises, the griffon found himself breathing through his mouth with his face glued to the table. During the several hours long interrogation, he stopped bothering trying to answer even when hit, they wouldn't believe him anyway, his will was broken. Upon realizing this, the guards were ordered to toss him back into his cell, which they literally did, bruising him even further on the impact with the stone floor.
After a few days, the griffon laid towards the wall on a makeshift bed made of hay when he heard the clank of the cell door being opened. He heard the voice of a mare and flinched with fear, thinking he was about to go through another beating session.
"Hey, thanks for saving my life."
Upon hearing these words the griffon shifted his body and turned his head to the mare with the broken horn whom he recognized immediately. After a brief moment of surprise he calmed down.
"You're welcome. I'm glad you're okay."
The griffon said with a weak voice. The mare was somewhat shocked by his visage, the griffon did not only look beat up, but on the brink of death, with his skin clearly touching his bones.
"Are you okay? Have they not been feeding you?!" She said as she rushed to his side and helped him to sit up.
"They have, I just have been having a little trouble eating and sleeping. I could've done without the beatings to be honest but I expected worse."
"Don't worry, I'll work something out so they let you go home. After what you've done for me I doubt that'll be a problem."
"That won't be much better really. I'd think dying here will be less painful."
"Oh... Right." The mare understood that the griffon had become a traitor the moment he helped an enemy, should he go back now, a swift death would be a dream scenario. After a few seconds of silence the mare continued. "Why did you do it? Why did you save me?"
"At first I didn't know the answer to that, I just did. But I had time to think. I couldn't take it anymore, I was tired. Your agony terrified me and I wanted to help you regardless of anything... And as a bonus I hoped... Well, be able to really rest." The mare was a little thunderstruck.
The griffon's answer was sad but also confusing to her. She had been coming to terms with losing her ability to use magic properly. Daily mundane tasks had suddenly become nightmares to perform and she was struggling with it. If the griffon hadn't brought her to their base, she would've certainly died for when her horn broke, aural vessels were severed and she was practically bleeding her life force, something that can only be patched by magic. So she too considered if it was best for her to have perished instead, but she only needed to remember her father, mother and siblings to quickly shake off that feeling.
"I... I'm sorry to hear that. No matter the reason I'm grateful you saved my life, is there anything I can do for you? I don't think I can repay the favor but there's got to be a way for me to help you."
"To be honest... I haven't been able to sleep for days. If you-"
"I'll get you a nicer place to sleep promptly, don't worry."
"Oh, that's not really the problem." The mare stared at the griffon in confusion. "You see... whenever I close my eyes for too long, I can see it all again, somehow I can even hear it at times. I always thought I was tough, because I'm a doctor and I'm used to seeing blood and organs but-"
"War is completely different."
"Yes... I can't even imagine what it is like for you soldiers."
"I'm no soldier. I was a scholar of magic and enlisted to defend my country. I didn't know what I was signing up for. Don't get me wrong, I still want to protect the ones I love, but I wonder if I made a bad choice. Neither of us would be here If I didn't sign up."
"I'm so sorry. If it makes you feel any better I don't think I would've been much better with or without you. I don't even know what this darned war is all about."
"You don't?"
"Every time someone asked they just spouted some "Griffon Supremacy" nonsense. I assume it's about money. It's always about money with griffons." The griffon made an angry scowl, clearly showing he had a beef with his own people's behavior.
"They want to be the ones in charge of Equestria, control the Princesses and enslave ponies. At least that's what I've been told. It was what made me enlist."
"I wouldn't doubt that's true. I used to wonder if there could be a truce, a cease fire, some accord, but the time kept passing and only the number of bodies would change. Now I'm just tired... I don't want to think anymore, I just wanna rest. I would appreciate it if you could give me some medicine to help me sleep, if it's not asking much."
"No, no. Of course not, I'll get right on that. I'll do my best to help you with everything. Is there something you would like to eat?"
"Well... Do you guys have corn?"
"We sure do, I'll bring you some myself." The mare got up and headed towards the door. "I'll see you soon."
"Thank you, miss.."
"Moonflower. Your name is Leone, Right?"
"That's right. Thank you, miss Moonflower."
"Just Moonflower is ok, I'll see you soon, Leone. Hang in there." Moonflower got out of the cell and it's door was promptly locked."
"Moonflower?" The mare looked back at the griffon.
"Does it grow back?" The mare looked sad for a brief moment but forced a nice smile.
"I'm afraid not, but don't worry, I'll manage." She quickly turned her head and left as tears flooded her eyes.
I don’t know how long I’ve been in here. Sleeping is no longer a problem, I’m so tired all the time it became easier to sleep than to stay awake. I can’t see the sun setting or dawning, it’s always silent and pitch black, save from a few times where a torch or another is lit on the corridor. I tried to tell by the meals they gave me but it didn’t help. Sometimes it felt like they gave me 3 meals one days and none in the other, always the same thing: A tasteless ration bar and a big glass of water, in the beginning I could barely eat half of one, now I wished they gave me two or three instead of one, not because they were good, but because I felt ever more hungry. For all I know, I could be sleeping all day and staying awake all night, probably something in between. In such boredom, sleeping was the best way to pass the time. And strangely, I stopped having bad dreams or nightmares, I started to have good and pleasant ones instead. Every time I woke up, I just wished I could go back into the dreams I quickly forgot about when I awoke.
The mare never showed up again, good thing I was able to sleep and eat without her help. I honestly thought she would show up with corn, pillows or even get me out of here at once. Ho naive, I should know better at this point I’m not a lucky one. At least I give her the benefit of the doubt, she was only a low ranking soldier who had lost her horn, she might have tried to help me only to be pushed away. She was nobody before the war, now that she had lost her magic she meant even less to them. Despite all I hope she’s okay, she did a good job keeping up the positivity mask when she was last here, but it was obvious she wasn’t well. Maybe she even knew then she wouldn’t come back and was just trying to give me hope, if that was the case, I think I’d prefer if she hadn’t done that.
All I knew is that it’s been a while since I went through an interrogation session, I suppose they gave up getting any info out of me. My whole body still aches though, they were very effective in hurting me in a way that would only inflict high levels of pain but no serious wounds. Once I wondered why they hit me with their bare hooves before since their magic was so much more effective in torture, the answer came quickly to me, I was a griffon, their enemy. I was the perfect target for them to take out their frustrations.
It was terrible, of course, but nothing compared to this silence. Shouldn’t there be other prisoners in these cells? Griffon or otherwise? In this complete darkness, it felt like the silence got louder and louder until it was indistinguishable from the screams of agony in the medical bays. My heart would try to beat itself out of my chest and I would bang and shake the cell’s bars while screaming from the top of my lungs for help until I fell to the floor, exhausted. I don’t recall how many times I did that, all I remember is that somehow I felt the silence was louder than my screams, and no one ever answered, not a single noise of a opening door, sound of hoof steps or wing flaps, not even the dim light of a far away torch. They should’ve done this from the start, this was worse than any torture they had put me through, this made me wish I was never born.
The sharp talons on my claws that they clipped when I got here were growing again. The talon of my index finger was big and sharp enough to end my suffering. Three times, I touched one side of my neck with it and tried to muster the will power to make it pierce my skin and slide it to the other side. I was never able to. Even in this situation, I didn’t want to be in it for a second longer, but I couldn’t bring myself to end it all. The fear I felt whenever I tried, I can’t tell if it’s worse or less worse than others, but it certainly was unique. When I screamed for help, there was always hope that someone would at least hear me, even if no one ever did, in this, there was no hope, there was nothing. The furthest I got was shedding a single drop of blood, In that warm and stuffy place, I felt ice cold every time, my body would simply freeze. So I couldn’t forget if I wanted to, it happened 3 times.
The guards that brought me my meals never opened their mouths, even in my most desperate moments, where I claimed I’d anything for them to let me out, their muzzles remained shut, their gazes stoic. The only phrase they ever said was: “Back away from the door.” They would then pull the tray with food and water through a hole and leave. I tried not eating and drinking in hopes of getting any results, obviously I never endured long, I was always hungry, always thirsty, it was simply impossible to ignore. My mind kept going back to the fact that I was apparently alone in that dungeon. It probably had to do with the mare I helped. Maybe they didn’t want to know that griffons had hearts so their troops wouldn’t feel any remorse when ending the life of one. Their propaganda depicted us as baby eating monsters, this theory wasn’t so far fetched, which worries me, because if it’s in fact true, this is where I’ll spend the rest of my days.
Could that also be the reason why Moonflower never came back? Would they lock up one of their own kind to maintain an image? No, they probably just gave her a lot of money to keep her muzzle shut and sent her home as a war hero. I can’t blame her for that. In a way that should make me happy I suppose, I traded my life for her’s, if she’s well it was worth it. With or without the war it was never going to end up well for me, so that was probably a good deal.
I laughed thinking about how I don’t even know why this war is about, I’ve been told more than one reason by my people, and apparently so did the ponies. Money some said, don’t both sides have enough money? Why do they need gold so much? What could they possibly need to buy that they don’t already own, and who was selling something so expansive that justified not only the price but also the spilt blood? Maybe land? There was at least enough fertile land to grow food to feed the royals, so that couldn’t be it. Considering that the monarchs cared at all about anyone other than themselves would’ve made me laugh even harder. If they were worried about food before, there’s probably half less creatures to feed at this point, so surely by now there would be enough food.
The only consistent information was that we started it, we attacked first, but then it became ethereal once more, some said they forced the king’s hand by invading griffon territory, others claimed it was because the ponies kidnapped several griffons. I laughed even more when I realized that no matter any of the reasons given, none could justify the war. All the deaths, all the bloodshed… It became funnier and funnier. I’m going to die in this little piece of oblivion for saving the life of what they told me was an enemy, and that is hilarious, I can’t stop laughing.
Two unicorn guards stood in front of a cell where the brown griffon apparently passed out on the floor. One of the unicorns opened the door of the cell and stepped in, calling for the griffon to wake up. The griffon remained immobile as the guard kept calling for him with an increased tone every time, he could see the griffon was breathing and therefore not dead, out of patience, the guard poked the griffon’s ribs with his hoof with significant force as he called for him to wake up one last time.
The griffon shot himself backwards with widened eyes, half in confusion, half in terror.
“You’re being moved, get out.”
After a moment of hesitation, the griffon slowly exited the cell. He wondered why no cuffs, no restraints, no ropes, no magic was being used on him this time. He was kept on a very tight leash from the second he arrived in pony territory, why did being “moved” excused the use of those things? The unicorn left the cell right after him and stayed behind him.
“Private Fury will lead the way, you follow him. I’ll be right behind watching your every movement, it’s not in your best interest to try anything foolish, so I advise you to behave. The day might end up well for you.”
“What’s happening? Where am I being moved to?”
The unicorn identified as “Private Fury”, started to walk, the unicorn on the back simply refused to answer the griffon’s question and told him to move. He walked between the two unicorns past other empty cells, past the door that led to the place where he was thoroughly interrogated, and walked up a very long staircase until they reached a door. The staircase kept going up, but the unicorn opened the door in front of him and stepped out, holding the door open for the griffon and the other unicorn to pass through. Once they did, he closed the door behind him and resumed his position in front of the griffon. They were once more in a corridor, but this corridor had several doors on it’s left side, various decorative cloths but most importantly windows, where Leone could the sky, and the sun shining brightly up above.
Leone didn’t care about what was about to happen, he was breathing fresh air, seeing the light of the day, to him if felt like he was in the land of the dead and came back to the land of the living. Even if these were one of his last moments, he was glad to be able to experience it one last time. Despite the presence of the guards, it all felt so calm, the silence was no longer one that screamed terror, but it was filled with noises from small animals, he couldn’t remember the last time he was in such a peaceful place. He didn’t realize he and the guard had walked a good part of the corridor until Private Fury stopped in front of a door and simply pushed it open. Leone entered the door that led to a large hall, with many decorations, some doors and stairs on both sides that went upwards and downwards. Private Fury passed in front of Leone and used his magic to open the two doors on a big doorway in the middle of the hall. Leone could see a huge table, full of food, on the other side and confusion struck him once again.
“Go on.” Said the unicorn behind him. He walked inside as the unicorn followed him. Once inside, he studied his surroundings, but the first thing his eyes gazed upon was the unmistakable white alicorn, the monarch and goddess of the ponies, Princess Celestia. She sat on the edge of the table and looked at him with a kind smile. Leone’s beak was hanging open, unable to avert his gaze and decide whether he should be happy or terrified. He felt a strong impact hitting him, making his heart skip a beat as he let out a short scream of terror. After a short while, he saw the broken horn mare hugging him.
“I’m so happy to see you.” She claimed with watery eyes. The ambient was warm, but Leone could feel the body heat of the mare that had him in her arms, it was different, it was warmer but something more, something comforting. He snapped out of his shock and gently hugged the mare back, feeling even more of her body heat. He didn’t understand what this was, he only knew that he wanted this. He needed this.
Leone and Moonflower held each other for a good while, until Celestia’s voice caught their attention.
“It’s nice to meet you, Leone.”
Both creatures broke their embrace to look at Celestia, Leone looked at Moonflower, who nodded to him with a gentle smile. He turned his gaze towards the monarch, who towered them even from a distance while sitting down.
“Likewise… Your Highness.”
“Please, take a seat next to me and help yourself to any food, you must be famished.”
Leone looked once more towards Moonflower for validation that it was safe, and she looked at him with the same gentle smile from before. He was unsure why suddenly he was now being treated as a guest instead of a prisoner, he assumed the likeliest reason was that Moonflower had convinced them to do so, somehow.
“Thank you, your Highness.” Leone said and he slowly approached Celestia. He looked back and he could see Moonflower walking right behind him, and the unicorn from before following them from a distance. He sat a few seats away from Celestia and for a brief moment he was unsure on what to do next, split by the presence on a deity that could end his existence in a split second, plentiful, mouth watering food displayed on the table in front of him, and the pony sitting by his side, the reason why he was here at all. All his thoughts were interrupted by the monarch’s voice.
“First of all, I’d like to personally thank you for saving one of my precious little ponies, Leone. It breaks my heart to even think how many creatures, both pony and griffon, were hurt in this conflict.”
“I… I feel the same, your highness. That’s one of the reasons I tried to help Moonflower, I suppose.”
“I’m very glad to hear that-”
“But… You don’t really- What you did to me, harmed me plenty. You could’ve just sent me to a labor camp, forgive me for being so blunt, but… There’s no need to keep up the charade.”
Moonflower stared at him in shock, she wondered what exactly he was put through while in the dungeons. She looked at Celestia, who now wore a saddened expression.
“I assure you, Leone, there is no charade or tricks at play here aside from your own. You must understand that during these times, extra care is needed to ensure safety, and the circumstances of your arrival were rather unique. It raised a lot of suspicion and paranoia, and I’m not the only in charge. My sister loves our ponies just as much, if not more so than I do, she’d do anything to ensure their wellbeing. Even then, I apologize for all the harm we caused you. If possible I would’ve liked to have avoided this conflict all together.”
Leone sat in silence as he tried to process Celestia’s words, he tried to figure out if or which of them were lies and which were truth.
“Leone…” Moonflower softly called for his attention and he turned his gaze at her in confusion. “I’m really grateful that you saved me, thanks to you I was able to see my family again. When we last talked I was still unsure if I should’ve enlisted, now I know for I shouldn’t, I was overconfident and in fear, and because of that we both paid the price. But thanks to you I’m still here, you have no idea how much that means to me.”
“It’s okay, Moonflower. I wasn’t being a hero like you might be thinking. I wanted to help you, of course, but I thought of you as my ticket out of that infernal place. It wasn’t the altruistic act I’ve made it to be. But it comforts me to know that it wasn’t in vain, you lost something important but you’re doing well, that’s good enough for me at least.”
“I could’ve lost more. I was sure I was gonna go back home victorious, I didn’t stop to think that If I died, I wouldn’t be able to see my daughter growing up, I wouldn’t be there for her if she needed me, and how she would suffer if I had…” Moonflower looked at the floor with her smile gone, Leone worried about her as he waited for her to continue. “I’ve seen when they deliver the news to a family… To think I could’ve put my daughter and family through that, because of my sheer arrogance no less, I just can’t… Thank you, Leone. I’m sorry I wasn’t able to help you sooner but I promise I’ll do everything I can to repay you. I won’t let you suffer anymore, I promise.”
“Oh, you have a daughter…”
“Yes, thanks to you we can be together again.”
“It never occurred to me… Griffon females with cubs aren’t required to enlist.”
“Nopony is required, I enlisted out of my own sheer free will and stupidity.” The mare giggled, trying to improve the mood however she could.”
“Huh… Her father is out there?”
“No, no. He’s in Equestria but… Far away from us. And… with another family.”
“Oh. That is… Good. I mean, he’s safe and all.”
“Yeah, he’s a great guy, we just… weren’t made to be together it’s all. Maybe one day you can meet him.”
“Leone, please help yourself, we prepared this banquet for you.” Celestia suddenly said, interrupting the conversation between Leone and Moonflower. Leone looked again at the table filled with all types of foods and drinks, and he decided he was going to indulge himself even if the food was poisoned, as long as it tasted good. But before doing so, he had some questions.
“For me? Why?”
“As an apology for your initial reception, as gratitude for your sacrifice, and as a welcome to our land.”
Moonflower picked up a bottle of wine with her hoofs and tried to pour some into a cup in front of Leone, her hooves trembled as she struggled to hold the bottle. Leone gently helped her by holding her hooves together, once the cup was filled, she pulled her hooves away and carefully placed the bottle back on the table.
“Are you okay, Moonflower?”
“Yes, it’s just… I’m still getting used to handling some things with hooves.”
“I’m sorry… Losing a limb is-”
“It’s fine! Don’t worry, I’ll get the hang of it eventually, earth ponies and pegasi do fine without magic, so can I. I didn’t lose a limb, I lost an appendage at best.” The mare said with a clear forced smile and she sat back down.
“Still, it was part of you. I have no doubt you’ll get over it but… it’s okay to be sad, you know? Bottling up your feelings is not healthy. I’ve seen griffons trying to hide their pain with a facade of strength or play it off as a joke. I understand they did it because they didn’t want to worry others or look weak, but anyone could see they were suffering. It was sad that they forced themselves to suffer alone, they didn’t have to, their pain was more than justified. What I’m trying to say is… You’re not alone, no one will judge you for being sad or for complaining. Sharing your pain… can alleviate your suffering and make you stronger.” The doctor in Leone took control as he looked at her with a saddened expression, his instincts making him briefly forget he was trapped in hell for what felt like an eternity. The mare’s smile vanished as she looked away from the griffon.
“I’m fine… really.”
Leone wanted to comfort her further but he knew these things take time, and he was barely a stranger to her, he thought maybe it wasn’t his place to go any further. He snapped back to reality, his current situation. He took the cup of wine in front of him and drank it all in one go, but slowly. He was able to savor the taste of the wine, he wondered if that was the best wine he ever drank, or it was just regular wine that tasted a hundred times better now because heavens knows how long since the last time he was able to drink wine. After finishing and putting the cup back on the table, he stared at the cup, pondering about time.
“How long was I down there?”
“About two weeks. You would’ve been moved out sooner but… intriguing details came up regarding your identity.” Celestia answered his question.
“His identity? Was that why they wouldn’t let me see him?”
“Yes. Despite all the… Methods we had to make one tell the truth, Leone was strong enough to never drop his disguise. Which we only found out by coincidence, and only let him out after we confirmed there was no ill intent behind it. Should’ve he dropped it sooner, we would be having this delightful meal a week ago.”
Moonflower looked at Leone, who was clearly disturbed and still staring at the cup, without saying anything. “Leone? ...What is she talking about?” Moonflower wanted to just scream at him, asking why he lied and what he was up to, but she gave him the benefit of the doubt, she wanted him to be the savior she thought he was.
“Don’t worry, Moonflower, Leone lied about who he is but only to protect himself. Why don’t you tell her your real name, Leone?”
“That explains why you’re here. You think I have value.”
“Everycreature has value, to others and to themselves. But in a way, yes, I’ve taken the time to be here due to your lineage. Even if you have no value to them, you were important to many, and especially to Moonflower.”
Leone looked distraught and in silence once more. Moonflower was still confused, but Celestia’s words gave her some relief, fears of him being some sort of spy now gone. She gently touched his claw with her hoof and gave him her gentle smile once more. He looked at the mare and found some comfort, he was afraid but it was obvious they already knew the truth, there was no point in lying anymore. After taking a deep breath, he proceeded to talk.
“My real name is Grover...” He said, still gazing towards the table, avoiding eye contact.
“Prince Grover.” Celestia added.
Moonflower was dumbfounded. “Prince?! You’re a prince?! Son of the griffon King?!” She shouted as she suddenly sprang into all fours. Grover’s attention and gaze were now fully directed towards Moonflower.
“Y- Yes. He is indeed my father, but It’s complicated, I’m not-”
“Why?! Why did you… What’s your goal?”
“I have no goal, I just wanted to leave, the furthest I got…” Grover averted his gaze once more as he failed to finish his sentence.
“Well?”
“Moonflower, calm down. Leone, or rather, Grover, lied to protect himself. We investigated his actions thoroughly to be able to confirm he had no ill intent. And as short sighted as his father is, I’d say it’s unlikely he would make such an elaborate plan with some goal of sending him to us in order to sabotage us from within.”
“He thinks I’m dead, apparently when he heard the news he just believed it and went on with his day as if nothing happened.”
“Why- I don’t understand, why does he think you’re dead and why in heavens would he not care?” Moonflower asked, now calmed once more by Celestia’s words.
“I’m a bastard, my father would have me killed when I was a cub, but his wife didn’t let him, she forced him to take me in as his son because she knew he hated me. I was his punishment for his betrayal, and because of that, he only ever saw me as a nuisance at best.”
“Why did he hate you? Shouldn’t his wife be the one who hated you instead?”
“I never knew, I assume it had something to do with my mother. That somehow being with her brought him great shame, and I was a living reminder of that.”
“I see… What about your mother, is she...?”
“They told me she was exiled, but I suspect either the queen or the king had her killed not long after I was born.”
“I’m sorry, Leone- Uh, I mean Grover.”
“It’s okay, Moonflower. You can call me Leone if you want, I took this name after lazely faking my own death and fleeing, which is why he and everyone think I’m dead. My hunch was right, no one cared to question or investigate, they were probably glad I died and moved on, maybe they even knew I had just fled and it made no difference to them. I was not much different than a butler to them or a punching bag for my half siblings.”
“I’m sorry, Leone, that sounds terrible, but why were you in the war if they hated you so much? And were you not recognized by the other griffons?”
“Every griffon is supposed to enlist, and if they want you, they send you. I studied medicine and healing growing up so I was sent as a doctor. As for my identity, maybe some did recognize me, but none bothered to question me about it. What would a supposed dead prince be playing doctor in the war, after all? Still I was afraid of my so-called family finding out I was alive and hurting me for some reason. Which when I saw you...”
“You thought it was a chance to get away once and for all.” Moonflower said in a sad tone.
“Yes. I swear I really wanted to help you, but I also saw it as an opportunity. I’m not as altruistic as you might have thought. I’m sorry.”
“No… Don’t apologize. You saved me and you were trying to save yourself as well, no one can blame you for that. I’m still grateful, besides, you still spent two weeks in a dungeon for it. Which… Now that I think of it, why didn’t you tell the truth when they questioned you? You would’ve stopped being a prisoner and become a hosta- A valuable guest instead, you wouldn’t have to suffer much beyond that.”
“It wasn’t because of strength like Celestia said… I was just scared. I thought about it, but of all the outcomes I could think of, there was only more torture and death . Even if I became a hostage, a hostage with no value is as good as dead. And believe me, I have no worth to them, neither as Grover or as Leone. I’m a nuisance in one identity and a traitor in the other.”
“Well, that’s not the case, prince Grover.” Said Celestia, snapping the attention to her.
“Why not?”
“You are still a prince, even with your lower status amongst your family, you can help to stop this war.”
“How? My word means less than nothing to them.”
“You would only need to convince them you were captured by us and be allowed within their home once more.”
“So I can feed you intelligence for you to massacre my kind and win the war? Even if I would agree to that, they’d never let me get my hands on any sensitive information. I wasn’t even allowed in several parts of the palace.”
“That’s not the case, prince Grover. You see, the only reason why this war hasn’t ended yet is the same reason why it started. Me and my sister alone could easily wipe out the griffon royalty, along with several hundreds of their troops within a few minutes, yet we are unable to do so because your father holds an artifact that can drain us of our magic. Which is why this conflict started in the first place, your father wanted to control our power.”
“That does sound like him… But even though I hate him, removing the only deterrent that stops you from, as you said, wiping out my kind or worse, enslaving them, doesn’t sound like a good idea, if that’s what you want me to do.”
“Leone! Princess Celestia would never enslave anycreature, she is the kindest ruler alive!” Moonflower said while slamming her forehooves on the table and drawing all attention to her.
“It’s okay, Moonflower, he makes a fair point.” Celestia turned her gaze towards Grover and continued. “Unfortunately, I can only give you my word that I have no intention to cause further harm to your kind. I simply want to cease this conflict and keep my kind safe. I believe you want the same thing, so if you want to keep the artifact as a deterrent against me and my sister, that would be acceptable to us, as long as you can keep it safe.”
“That doesn’t sound bad, but I doubt I would be able to get my hands on such an important item, let alone keep it safe.”
“That’s why your title of prince will be needed. Whether you’re able to get the artifact without causing any harm, or by any means necessary, we would ensure you became king of the griffons. And before you protest, no, we do not intend to control or manipulate you in any way, we prefer to collect friends rather than enemies. We want you as an ally, we already have enough things to worry about in Equestria, managing another empire would not do us well.”
“I… I don’t see that ending well for me. Do I have a choice?”
“Well, you do but, none end up well for you, as you say. Setting you loose on Equestria would certainly mean your demise, as would sending you to a p.o.w. labor camp. In one instance you would be harmed by ponies, simply for being a griffon, and on the other you would be harmed by griffons, once they find out why you’re there or who you are. Moonflower requested that you were set free under her care, but that would mean that not only you, but her and family could also become targets. You could also go back to the dungeons and we’d arrange some better living conditions as gratitude for saving her, it wouldn’t be an optimal life, I must say. Unfortunately, these are all your choices.”
“Couldn’t you just let me free in someplace I can fly away from here, never to return?”
“I suppose that’s also an option… If you really want to flee and leave it all behind, that can be arranged. But would you be in peace in a place far away, knowing a meaningless war still rages amongst our kingdoms?” Grover looked at Celestia in silence, pondering all that had been said. Unbeknownst to him, Moonflower sat by his side with a sad expression, worrying about his future.
“In the very unlikely scenario I’m able to get the artifact without getting killed, what about my father, the queen and my siblings?”
“That would depend on their actions. Unfortunately, the further they resist your claim as the new king, the stronger we would have to retaliate. We also cannot allow any of them to jeopardize your rule, to be blunt, the best outcome for them would be exile, but most likely incarceration. We think your kind would appreciate the change in management, even if it’s supported by ponies, your father has been less than kind or considerate towards them, as did his father before him.”
Grover stayed silent once more, with an expression of worry and a little fear, he held one of Moonflower’s hooves with his claw, which made her blush in surprise. He then stared at her face, she made an effort to give him her gentle smile. The more he stared at her, the more she blushed, she moved her eyes to avoid further eye contact in embarrassment. She was unsure what was going through the griffon’s head. He looked at her and found himself proud for having saved her, not only she wouldn’t be there comforting him, but her daughter would be without her mother by her side, he was also taken by surprise by how much he admired her appearance, her mane style and colors, her coat color, her eyes, but most of all her smile. Seeing her smile made him calm, made him feel like nothing that happened before mattered, her smile made it all worth it somehow. He wanted her to keep smiling, and he wondered if he was going to be able to see her smile again after that day. After a while, he looked back at Celestia.
“I have no real reason to trust you but as you pointed out, I don’t have many options, and it beats being lynched to death or going crazy in a cell, I guess. So I’ll hope you are the benevolent ruler Moonflower says you are and that you have the best interests for my kind as well as yours.”
“King Grover, I assure you, only good things will come from our friendship. Together, we will end this moronic conflict and see our nations thriving and in peace. I promise.” Grover smiled at Celestia and Moonflower smiled happily, seeing him smile like that for the first time. He then let go of her hoof, studied the food on the table before grabbing a pear and biting into it. With his mouth still full, he asked:
“So, what’s the plan?”
In front of a palace, surrounded by a city, several griffon guards armed with spears patrolled the ground and the sky. The city had a large river running through it, the water flowed south and it met a waterfall just outside the city. Around that particular region there were many sloped terrain and entrances to caves. The city had several houses made of wood, mud and hay. Some were one directly into the ground, some stood on trees, which each tree could have from 1 to 5 houses in them. Big corridors around the city that lead towards the palace, acted as marketplaces for the citizens, farmers, travelers and alike. Griffons walked and flew all over the place, but not dared to fly too close to the palace or approach it on foot without a good excuse. Which was surprising for many guards to see a brown griffon in the air heading towards the ground inside the palace walls.
The guards quickly darted towards the griffon, who was able to reach his targeted landing spot, albeit in a less than gracious way, tripping on himself as soon as hit the ground, making him roll on the ground for a few feet. After he stopped rolling, lading with his belly on the ground, he opened his eyes to see the base of several spears pointing at him being held by the guards.
“Halt, Invader! Identify yourself” Said a dark purple griffon that just landed on front of him just as the guards made space for him to do so. He looked at the griffon on the floor, trying to get up, grunting in pain, clearly hurt from the fall but he also looked starved and weak. This made purple griffon less worried about him being a potential threat.
“What…” The brown griffon was able to get up but struggled to talk, trying to catch his breath after a long journey and the rough landing. “What do you mean…” He took a few more breaths. “I’m Prince Grover, Captain Gestalt.”
“Liar!” The purple griffon screamed as he took out a sword from its sheath across his back, and pointed it towards Grover, and in doing so, making all other guards push their spears closer to him in unison. “You may look like him pretender, but prince Grover died months ago. Identify yourself at once or die, I will make no ceremonies on killing you during these times.”
“I am prince Grover! And I didn’t die, I was captured by ponies because you were too incompetent to do your job.” Grover scowled at the captain as he spoke in anger. “Now lower your damned weapons and take me inside, before I die on my own out here.” The captain examined Grover with an worried expression as his sword slowly lowered towards the ground. The guards maintained their position but some quickly moved their eyes towards the captain and the brown griffon.
“Throw in him a dungeon, get him food and keep your eyes on him at all times. I’ll verify if he’s indeed telling the truth, and you are, I apologize, prince Grover, I’m sure you understand I simply can’t let my guard down during these war times.”
“Fine, but bring me good food, not prisoner trash, and a lot of it, and my family will probably be enough to prove my identity, hopefully one of them will even be happy I’m back, or at least curious.” Grover started limping past the captain just as he finished talking, the guard’s spears followed him. The captain sheathed his sword as he looked at Grover simply ignoring the guards, common behavior of royals. He was almost convinced the griffon was indeed the thought dead prince, his death was handled rather unusually, maybe “they” knew the truth, but he didn’t, so he couldn’t risk some sort of copycat spy taking the prince’s place on his watch, as unlikely as that sounded.
“Three of you escort him to a cell, two of you go fetch him what he asked, two of you come with me, and the rest of you go back to patrol.” After seeing the alleged prince being escorted into the palace, the captain took flight, followed by two other griffons. “Go to the cave they said the prince died and look around, then go to the mortician and ask him if a body was indeed burnt, if he sounds convinced, ask what the body looked like. Tell no one and report back to me.” The griffons saluted by clenching their right claw into a fist, bringing it to their chests and quickly throwing it forward, they then flow away from the captain, who flew towards higher quarters in the palace, while wondering to whom he should talk to first.
Grover ate to his heart's content, and currently was chugging wine straight from the bottle’s mouth, in his current state he almost forgot he was in a dungeon cell. He was only made fully aware again by the sound of the entrance door opening followed by the sound of many footsteps echoing in the corridor. He kept drinking, hoping he could finish the bottle before someone came to him, which would probably be someone of his family. He knew this moment would come but he was not looking forward to it, at least he would be bailed out and if he was lucky, be treated to a hot bath before being questioned about what happened.
“High chancellor!” Shouted one the guards in surprise, as him and the other two guards saluted him.
Grover questioned in his mind: “Of all griffons, how would the freaking, king loving, ass licking prick, high chancellor be the one to confirm my identity? Maybe he knows my death was faked somehow?” . Grover finished drinking from the wine bottle and looked at a griffon, who had mostly white feathers, except from a few black feathers adoring his head, chest, wing tips, and black fur with white stripes on his lower back and tail, with a white tuft of fur at it’s tail end.
“L-Luca? You the high chancellor now?!”
“Prince Grover, it’s really you!” The white griffon commanded the guard to open the cell and leave, one of the guards questioned if he was sure they should all leave and Luca almost aggressively dismissed him. After the guards were gone, Luca addressed Grover again. “Come, we need to talk, are you okay?”
“A little weak and roughed up but well enough, I thought I’d never see-”
“Come, we’ll talk somewhere more comfortable.”
Grover nodded and followed Luca out of the dungeon, picking up on why Luca interrupted him. He was now able to walk without limping but his body was feeling heavier, maybe from the food, maybe from exhaustion. If he dared to lay down he would fall asleep without doubt. Luca led the way as they climbed up stairs and walked through corridors carefully, making sure no one of importance saw him and claimed his attention and along with it, the attention of the dead prince. Once they reached a certain door on higher levels of the palace, they stopped and Luca took a key from a collar on his neck, hidden by his feathers. He opened the door for Grover to go in, after he did, Luca checked for other griffons once more before going inside and locking the door.
Being cramped inside the small supply closet, with brooms, buckets, and materials, didn’t matter much for Grover as Luca hugged him tightly. Grover hugged him back, truly glad to see Luca again, but a question burned in his mind and he had to confront Luca about it.
“Luca… Why a supply closet?”
“It’s the most private place I could find in the palace. The door here barely lets any sound out for some reason, if we talk quietly no one would hear us even with their ears on the door.”
“I see. My room used to be private enough since no one cared about me, is it still there?”
“It is, but you are wrong, there are spy holes in your room. They kept an eye on you from time to time. I’m pretty sure your father knows you ran away, which, why did you come back? He might kill you if you don't give him a good excuse.”
“I know, but I had pretty much no choice. How much time do we have until every-”
“About thirty minutes I’d say.”
“Okay, I’ll try to make it quick. When I was fleeing, I made the mistake of going through a city, where I got drafted and dragged to the trenches…” Grover proceeded to explain everything that happened to Luca as fast as he could, which turned out to be very easy to sum it up. “So when a Griffon there recognized me, he and other prisoners at the camp found a way for me to escape, they made me promise I’d come to free them all.”
“Well, that’s not going to be easy. We’re not any closer to winning this war.”
“Do you know of this artifact their princess spoke of? Do we really have it?”
“Y-Yes, your father apparently possesses such a thing, I was made aware not long ago.”
“Why don’t we use it then? Is there a catch?”
“No catch, we just don’t know how to use it effectively yet.”
“What?”
“I don’t know where it came from, but it didn’t come with instructions. Sometimes they bring a unicorn pony in and try to use it on them. We learned that the artifact works, but it has proven fatal in many disturbing ways for both griffons who used it and ponies who it was used upon. The kind of thing…” Luca looked away with a frown for a moment before returning his attention to Grover “I was glad you weren’t here. I’m sorry it didn’t work out, Grover.”
“It’s my fault fault for being stupid, don’t worry about it, Luca. It seems like you’ve got your quota of terror to have nightmares about, yourself. I’m sorry I wasted the chance you gave me.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m glad to see you again. We should get out of here and I should report to your father, here’s what we’re going to tell him. You were-”
“Let's just tell him the truth, let's just leave aside that you helped me flee.”
“Uh… Are you sure? I don’t think he’ll like that you faked your own death to flee and got yourself captured saving an enemy, you know, treason. Besides, didn’t you tell the captain you were captured by ponies when you first arrived? If you fall back from that lie now it will make you look like a liar when it comes up, and that won’t end well for you.”
“You’re right, but you said my father already suspects I didn’t die, so telling him otherwise might make him ever more suspicious, and after I went to war, I was in fact held hostage by ponies. So maybe we say I got captured while trying to save one of our own instead of becoming a traitor?”
“Your logic is sound, let’s go with that then. It might even feed his ego a bit and make him more lenient on you.”
“About the artifact, should he know that you’ve told me about it?”
“Good point… Since you already knew of its existence, I might not matter that I’ve told you about it. Lets keep this story of ours as true as possible then. Lies are difficult to maintain and this approach may end up well for you somehow. You’re ready?”
“As I can be in my current state.”
“As soon as we make your return known, you’ll be able to get some rest, and try not to worry about this war, I can help you live a better life now. Sending little Grover to war is just plain sick.”
“Little Grover?”
“Well… You’re a… Sensitive guy not a-”
“You were going to say I’m a cry baby weren’t you?”
“Yes, but I admire that about you. Many of us lack any kind of compassion, but you don’t, you cared for animals, you treated your servants with dignity, and you… You risked your life for me after all I’ve done to you. Of course you would risk your life for a pony screaming in agony, sending you war is like setting you up to suffer, it’s sickening to think of you in that position.”
“It wasn’t a joyride but I’m stronger than you give me credit for, you know?”
“That’s why you’re special, you’re a cry baby and yet you’re the strongest griffon I know. That you’re standing here right now is enough proof.”
“Oh… I thought you were just mocking me for fun, sorry, Luca.”
“There’s the cry baby.” Luca giggled. “No need to apologize. Let’s go.” Luca put the key into the door and unlocked it, he grabbed the door handle but before he could twist it, Grover suddenly held his wrist.”
“Luca, wait.”
“What is it?”
“Listen… I might already be a traitor but I’ll never betray you…”
“Okay… Are you-”
“I didn’t tell you everything. I have to keep a few things a secret, and it’s not that I don’t trust you, it’s just… They have to remain a secret. You could end up hurt if you knew, or maybe I’ll be making a mistake by not telling you, but it’s what my gut is telling me to do.”
“You know, the more information I have the better, for both of us. Besides I’m more worried about your safety than mine right now.” These words hurt Grover, for they were exactly why he didn’t want to tell Luca said secrets. Grover thought that putting his life at risk without thinking things through was practically his signature move at this point, and it probably wouldn’t end well, but only for him, Luca would be sad but he would live if things went awry. Grover frowned and looked away, after a brief silence, he looked back at Luca.
“Don’t worry too much about me, whatever happens, happens. Just keep yourself alive, I didn’t risk my life for you to die young or be sad, and about these secrets, I might tell you about them if I need to. Otherwise just trust me that I have your best interests in mind, I will never betray you, I promise.” At that moment, the expression Grover had, the tone of his voice, it all reminded Luca of the day he became Grover’s friend, he knew Grover was going to attempt something stupid. Luca wondered if it was best to keep an eye on him to make sure he didn’t kill himself or to let him be, and maybe he’ll succeed in whatever it is he’s planning.
“Sure, at least you’ve told me that you haven’t told me everything, that’s better than nothing. I’ll trust you, but don’t go around being reckless.”
“Thanks, Luca. Let’s just keep on going and forget these secrets are even a thing, and don’t worry, I plan to take it very easy for now, as much as possible for as long as possible.” With that Grover removed his grasp from Luca’s claw on the doorknob.
“‘For now’, huh? Whose life are you trying to save this time, little Grover?” Luca thought as he smiled, staring at Grover. He then proceeded to carefully open the door and check for any living souls around. The coast was clear, but the storm was coming.
