Endings And Beginnings

Two Weeks After Starlight's Arrival In Griffonstone...

“Wait, wait, wait! Hold on a second,” Gregory said, raising his hand so he could be heard. The five other griffons at the council table stopped and gave him their full attention. “I’m no expert in this area,” he admitted as he looked around at the gathered griffons, “but creating your own currency instead of just using bits will take years.”

It had been two weeks since Gregory had been made not only a citizen but had gained a plot of land and a good sum of bits. During that time, he’d been stunned to hear that nearly every griffon in the city had donated to the construction and his monetary reward. There had been enough there to earn him not just any house, but a mansion. About five days after he’d been rewarded, a group of griffons stopped by with three plans for his house. He really had wanted to choose the smallest option available, which would still have been four bedrooms and three and a half bathrooms, kitchen, living room, dining room, alcohol cellar and a large attic, but Gabby had warned him quietly that to accept anything other than the recommended plans would be rude in griffon culture. He’d quickly begun learning that to even politely refuse griffon generosity was an insult unless one was offered the choice. Which he wasn’t.

He was recommended a two story mansion with one master bedroom, seven spare bedrooms, a large attic, cellar, a large living room with a massive fireplace, dining room large enough to sit twelve, a kitchen, and a space for an office. He’d felt so guilty about receiving such a gift that he’d all but begged Gabby, Gilda, Gracie, Gallus and even Starlight Glimmer (who he’d seen regularly every day and who he’d begun to build a rapport with) to move in with him.

Gabby had immediately accepted and practically hugged him in a death grip. Gilda was a little more hesitant since she claimed she didn’t want to feel indebted to him, but he insisted. Gallus had accepted more readily and Gracie had graciously accepted.

Starlight, on the other hand, had been the most hesitant. After her release from the hospital Gabby had invited the recovering unicorn to stay at her place with her and Gregory. Even then she’d been reluctant but eventually she’d accepted. It was a tight squeeze for all three of them but they’d made it work. While Gregory and Gabby worked their shifts at the post office, Starlight had remained at the house recovering but had expressed an interest in trying to help once she’d recovered enough magic. When Gregory had asked her to move in to his new place when it was finished she’d replied that she’d like to think about it.

In regards to his offer of a job as Chancellor, he had looked over the pamphlet he’d received. On paper the job did seem a bit easier than he’d anticipated. In essence he would become not only a full fledged member of the council but he’d be its head. In short, he’d be the highest ruling authority in the empire. A prime minister of sorts.

And that prospect frightened him deeply. However, despite that, he’d returned to the council a week later and put forth a request. He asked if he could instead of being a chancellor at first sit in on council meetings and participate when he wasn’t working at his other job or helping to rebuild on the weekdays. A trial run, of sorts. The council, which had added two more griffons, agreed to his terms.

Which was how he current scene before him had come to pass.

Gregory reached into his pocket and pulled out a bit. “Look at this. It’s pretty much solid gold. What are you planning on doing? Recalling every bit in the Empire, melting each one down and remaking them into, what did you call them again?”

“Talons,” Grandpa Gruff replied.

“Talons,” Gregory repeated. “A good name for currency, I’ll admit, but I think if you’re really wanting to help change the Empire for the better you need to focus on fixing up our country’s infrastructure first.” He picked up a few pieces of parchment. “I read over these reports from the outskirts of the realm itself before the meeting started. They’ve barely got enough to help feed themselves, and we sit here in our refurbished throne room protected against the rain and wind. Despite what you all might think, Griffonia is still in a state of emergency. Families and entire towns are having a hard time out there.”

“What do you want us to do about it?” Grandpa Gruff asked, looking at Gregory with his good eye.

“Here’s my advice: the government needs to prepare aid for these villages,” Gregory said as he pulled out a piece of paper. “I’ve looked over Gwendolyn’s figures on the amount of bits in the imperial treasury. You can actually spare a decent amount of funds for the reconstruction and feeding of several fringe towns at least. Especially the ones near Bug Bear territory up north.”

“And what of the other towns nearer?” One of the newer members of the council, a dark mauve furred and light red feathered older female griffon named Ginna, asked. “I’m from Clawsdale, and my parents live in that town. They’ve been telling me that conditions there are even worse than what they’ve been here.”

“Even after the Idol was returned?” Geoffrey asked as Gregory pulled out the latest map of Griffonia (which was about fifteen or sixteen years old) and looked for Clawsdale, which he found was across the Hyperborean Mountains, nestled against the eastern side of the mountains themselves.

“They only have about two hundred and fifty odd griffons there,” Ginna replied. “I’m not saying things aren’t worse up near Bug Bear territory, because they definitely are, but we should consider the smaller towns nearer to us too. I mean, aren’t you from Shell Falls, Gael?”

The fifth member of the council, an older black furred and gray feathered griffon male named Gael, nodded. As Gregory looked on the map for Shell Falls, he spoke and said, “That town has about seven hundred griffons there and a few farms outside it, but lately the weather down there hasn’t been kind and the farms can’t provide the meat and other foodstuffs the town needs.” Looking over to the human, he said, “Eastern portion of the Hyperborean Mountains, sir.”

Gregory did so and found a small town labelled Shell Falls nestled against the eastern portion of the mountains a bit south of Clawsdale. “I get your point,” he said as he put the map down, “but those towns need as much assistance as the others do. Maybe more.”

“It’s not a terrible idea to send aid to other towns and villages,” Gwendolyn nodded. “But as you said, sir, our budget is limited. We can’t do much. Not unless we ask for foreign assistance.”

Gregory saw the griffons at the table grimace at the option. He had learned during his first few sessions in the council that despite their new and improved attitude, griffon pride could have a downside: stubbornness. They hated the idea of accepting help from outside sources. Help from other griffons was fine, but from a non-griffon source? They were reluctant to accept it.

Gregory, however, wasn’t a griffon. He sighed. “I know you don’t like the idea of asking for any kind of aid, but which is more important? Pride? Or helping the suffering and exposed griffons throughout the empire? I say we ask for aid from another nation. The worst they can say is no. At least we can say we tried, right?”

The room went silent again as the five griffons pondered his words. To his surprise, it was Grandpa Gruff who spoke out a half minute later. “We can’t ask for help from Equestria…not with the borders shut.”

“I actually wasn’t thinking about the ponies,” Gregory said, turning the world map around and pointing to a land mass below Griffonia. The one marked Dragon Lands.

“The dragons, huh?” Geoffrey asked. “Last time I was there, they looked like they were living even worse than we were.”

“And they’re flush with bits,” Gregory replied. “Bits that we can desperately use. Bits we can use to help our nation. And if they say no, we can always try something like a donation program.”

“A donation program?” Gwendolyn asked, sounding intrigued.

“Yes,” Gregory replied. “We start a program where we ask more well off griffons to donate bits which can be then sent to towns and villages that need it. Each and every bit donated will go to these towns. No secret embezzling.”

“We might have greedy tendencies, but we’re not heartless,” Gael said, sounding offended.

“I’m thinking about stuff that has happened back where I’m from,” Gregory replied. “Some government run or even private donation programs have embezzled funds. A program like this would have to be seriously maintained.”

“Could we try that first before we try finding assistance from outside?” Ginna asked. “I get what you’re saying, sir, I really do, but part of our pride in being a griffon is being able to say we did something without help from outside.”

“I still think it’s a good idea to do both,” Gregory said, “but we could at least try some kind of donation program.”

“I can work on the details,” Gwendolyn, the most organized and detail oriented griffon Gregory had met, said as she raised her claw.

“So, are we all agreed to this donation program and to at least consider asking for foreign assistance from the Dragon Lands?” Gregory asked. When he received nods and mutters of affirmation, he nodded. “And about the currency changes? Should we postpone that until we have our priorities in order?” Another round of affirmation. The human nodded as he looked down at the meeting agenda. “Good. All I see here that remains is the reorganization of government spending. So…thoughts?”

“Long day at the office, huh?” Starlight, who was lying on the couch in Gabby’s home with Gregory’s iPad in her hooves watching Dark City, one of the many movies and other entertainment that he’d downloaded before coming to Gaia, said in a sympathetic tone as Gregory trudged in and hung up his jacket on the rack before collapsing in a chair near the fire.

“I went from a clerk in a grocery store which sucks the life out of its employees to a potential chancellor of an entire nation,” he sighed.

Gabby, who was making some of Gregory’s favorite steaks for him and her and some vegetarian lasagna for all three of them, came up and put a claw on Gregory’s back. “You could always say no, you know,” she said softly, putting a wing around him gently. “They gave you an out, something that griffons rarely do.”

“I feel like I’m doing good there,” he admitted, leaning back to look at Gabby’s upside down face. “Griffonstone is just one city, Gabs. There’s an entire nation out there.”

Gabby smiled. “You need a break, Gregory. I know this great masseuse who can help soothe all your troubles and cares.”

“Without puncturing skin?” Gregory asked curiously.

“Definitely,” Gabby said.

Gregory sat up and turned to face her. He noted the worried expression in her eyes and, to a lesser extent, a similar look in Starlight’s eyes. He nodded slowly. “I suppose I haven’t really had a decent break since coming here,” he admitted. “It would be nice to do something to unwind. But as long as you both come with me, along with Gallus, Gilda and Gracie.”

Starlight grinned. “Finally, something to do! I’m getting sick of being inside. No offense, Gabriella,” she immediately said, looking at the dark blue griffon.

“I told you, call me Gabby, Starlight,” Gabby smiled, “and I understand. Being cooped up in here can’t be easy.”

“No shit,” Gregory chuckled as he stood. “Okay, tomorrow is a day where we can all rest.”

“I’ve been resting since you took me in,” Starlight said, “I just need time outside to stretch my legs, And maybe you can finally take this damned ring off my horn,” she added, pointing to the magic suppression ring that the doctor had insisted remain on for at least two weeks.

“I think we can do that,” Gregory said. “Tomorrow’s the deadline where the two weeks is up. But the doctor did say that you should take it easy with your magic even then.”

“I’ll be fine,” Starlight said stubbornly.

Gregory stood, walked over to the unicorn, and knelt beside her. “Make me a promise, then. Promise me that if you start feeling weak or unsure of hoof, you tell me or anyone else immediately.”

Starlight sighed, but slowly nodded. “Fine…fine…you’re such a worrywart.”

Gregory grinned. “Someone has to be worried.”

She smirked. “You’ll make yourself bald over that.”

“A small price to pay to make sure you’re safe,” Gregory replied. He turned to Gabby. “So, where in Griffonstone are we going tomorrow anyway?”

“Actually, we’re not going anywhere in Griffonstone,” she said.

That made Gregory raise an eyebrow in confusion. “Okay…so where are we going?”

“To this little town on the valley floor just west of here,” Gabby said. “A little town of about…oh, about seven hundred or so townsgriffons. A town called Griffonville.”

Griffonville was the closest town or village to Griffonstone, located nestled smack in the center of the forest directly to the west of Griffonstone. In fact, if one were to look directly east, the massive city could be seen even from that distance, nestled snuggly on top of the mountain.

Once Gregory was put down after having been flown there in Gabby’s arms, he took in the surprisingly clean and quaint town in awe. Much like the architecture of Griffonstone, Griffonville’s houses looked a lot like birdhouses from Earth, with thatched or even wooden slanted roofs with holes in the top and perches just outside of the holes. There were larger buildings that, to Gregory’s surprise, had their own unique styles and architecture. He even saw many buildings that resembled Golden Oaks Library scattered liberally throughout the city. He grabbed a few of the acorns from one of the trees and placed them in his pocket, an idea forming in his head for the Griffonstone Public Library.

As he and the others walked through the town, he saw plenty of griffons working on rebuilding or demolishing old decrepit buildings that needed to be just rebuilt and not refurbished. There were other griffons flying through the air as well, carrying food or stacks of wood in their arms. From the air, Gregory had actually seen a good number of farms surrounding the town itself, each of which was bordered by the dense forest surrounding the town.

When the griffons in town spotted them, they rushed over to greet the newcomers, but especially Gregory, who was practically inundated with friendly greetings and even some gifts of food from the farms nearby. He received a basket of assorted fruit, a freshly killed and plucked turkey, and even a few loaves of what felt and smelled like freshly baked bread and some cheese as well. He almost refused, but remembered just in time the griffon tradition of accepting gifts.

This was how they arrived at the Griffonville Spa, each one of them laden with gifts of food from the nearby farms. Gregory was surprised at how blessed this town had become, especially once he’d sampled each of the fruits, the bread and the cheeses and found them to be of exceptional quality. He didn’t doubt that the turkey, too, was of good stock and Gabby promised to cook it the moment they got back.

“By Grover’s plumage, the Bearer himself and his companions! Here at our humble parlor!” a female voice called out from behind a curtained doorway. When the griffon who owned said voice came in, Gregory noted that she was a dark pink furred griffon with white feathers, each with a hint of purple on their edges. Her blue eyes were wide with joy as she rushed over to the human and his companions. “I never dreamed a day like this would come! Me or my sisters!”

With that, two other griffons poked their heads through the curtains. One had dark crimson fur and light pink tipped white feathers in her plumage along with red eyes, and the third had dark blue fur, light blue tipped feathers in her plumage and yellow eyes. The three griffon females all looked identical in appearance aside from their color differences. Almost like they were triplets. Gregory smiled and waved at them. “Hello there, you three,” he said kindly. “My friends and I came down because we’ve been working nonstop for a while and needed some relaxation. Well, except for my new pony friend, but she still deserves a nice day after what she’s been through,” he added, giving Starlight a smirk.

Starlight stuck her tongue out at him. “Yeah, yeah…”

“Oh, of course sir!” the first griffon sister said happily. “I’m Guinevere! These are my sisters Gloria and Gwen! Welcome to 3G Massage Parlor!”

Gregory smiled, holding back a smirk at the name. “Nice to be here. What kind of packages do you offer, if I might ask?”

“Here, have a look!” Guinevere grabbed a small brochure and handed it to the human.

“Hey, just a word of warning,” Gilda said, “Gregory here is more sensitive. His skin is weaker, so you be careful if you massage him, okay?”

Guinevere nodded. “Understood, we’ll be careful, right girls?” Here she turned to her sisters, who both gave thumbs up.

Gregory looked over the brochure, which had a layout of the spa itself. The spa was one big warm pool and four hot tubs at the corner. There were massage tables on the outer edges of the pool where the masseuses would go to work. There was also a sauna and an outdoor natural hot spring. All of which sounded incredibly relaxing to him. He showed this and the various packages, ranging from the basic which included a soak in the tub and an hour long massage to the deluxe package which involved an all day access to every amenity the spa had to offer. He pointed to the deluxe package. “If I’m gonna relax, I’m going all out. I can pay for everyone here if you want that.”

“Eh, I was planning on doing the same anyway,” Gilda said, grabbing her coin purse from her saddlebag.

“Same here,” Gabby said.

“I can really only afford the basic,” Gallus said with a bit of disappointment.

“Same here,” Gracie said.

“I can’t afford anything,” Starlight sighed.

“I’ll pay for you three then,” Gregory said.

“We all will,” Gilda said, giving Gregory a warning glance not to say anything about it.

He held up his hands. “Alright, alright, we’ll all pitch in.” Turning to Guinevere, he said, “We’ll take six for the Deluxe Package, please. And does anyone know how to massage a pony?”

“I do,” Gloria, who had a slightly deeper but still feminine voice, raised her claw. “I spent time in Manehattan studying how to massage ponies a few years back.”

“I can probably help you, sir,” Gwen said excitedly. She looked like she was the youngest of the sisters and had a higher voice. “I studied massaging bipedal creatures myself.”

“Just as long as you remember that his skin is sensitive,” Gabby said in a protective tone.

“I will,” she said.

“If you don’t mind, do you have a changing room where I can get into my swimming trunks?” Gregory asked a bit sheepishly. “Humans don’t really like going around naked.”

“I was wondering about that,” Guinevere chuckled. “But we do have a place where you can change. Head through the curtains and take a right. There’s a locker room where you can place your belongings. And it looks like you have plenty from the townsfolk,” she observed, looking at the baskets of food with a knowing grin.

“How much for at least two lockers?” Gregory asked.

“You have six lockers included in the deluxe cost,” Guinevere said. “The ones that are in use are closed, and the others are open, so just close the ones you pick.”

“Understood,” Gregory said, then he looked back at the companions. “Come on, let’s go drop off our stuff.”

After having dropped off their belongings in their six lockers, Gregory had closed the locker room door. Ten minutes later, he came out of the locker room, wearing a dark gray pair of swimming trunks. He stepped into the main pool room where he found Gallus and Gracie swimming around in the pool, Gabby and Gilda in one of the hot tubs and Starlight already receiving her massage. He grinned, made his way over to the pool and looked in. “How deep is this pool?” he asked Guinevere who was nearby.

“Seven feet at the deep end, two feet at the shallow end,” Guinevere said.

“Thanks,” he said, before turning and shouting, “Cannonball!” He jumped into the air, tucked his knees under his arms and fell into the water. He was rewarded by warm water surrounding him the moment he went below, and he instantly relaxed, letting himself float gently to the surface. The moment his head broke through the water, he spread his arms and legs and began treading water. “Wow, this is warmer than any pool I’ve been to back where I’m from,” he said as he began swimming towards the shallow end where Gallus was lazily floating. Gracie was nearer to him and was wiping water out of her eyes from his splash.

“We try and keep our pool temperature warm enough for everygriffon who comes here,” Guinevere said.

“It’s a bit cool for me, actually,” Gracie said as she swam to the edge of the pool and got out. She immediately turned to Guinevere and smiled apologetically. “No offense to you, but I’ve always had a different range of temperatures I find comfortable. Those hot tubs feel warmer, though.” And with that, she walked to one of the empty hot tubs, slowly got in and instantly relaxed.

When Gregory reached Gallus’ side, he stood and looked down at the relaxing griffon. “Someone looks comfy,” he said with a chuckle.

“I haven’t had a good relaxing day in a while thanks to all that work,” he said in his normal bored tone, but the smile on his face told Gregory he was anything but bored. “I needed this.”

“We all did,” Gregory said as he fell back, letting himself float in the shallow end of the pool. “And it’s just the beginning of our day, you know? We have the entire day to relax. One entire day.”

Six hours later, Gregory felt better than he had in months. The sauna and hot tub had been incredibly relaxing, especially when he went from hot tub to pool to sauna back to the pool. Despite the warnings from his new friends, the massage he’d received had helped him relax in ways he hadn’t realized he needed to relax.

After his massage, he decided to spend some time in the outdoor hot spring, where he discovered that it had begun raining. However, the hot spring was covered with a wooden roof, and the sound of rain falling around the foliage surrounding the spring itself helped with the experience. The others had come to join him, each having received their own massage and each looking as relaxed as he felt.

Gabby, who was sitting next to Gregory, inhaled deeply, then exhaled as she leaned against him, something she’d sometimes taken to doing whenever the two would come home and collapse on the couch. Gregory didn’t mind it, since it only happened on the rare occasion where their days were extremely exhausting. “I’ve never felt more relaxed in my life,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fly back home, now. Or even walk.”

“I know that feeling,” Starlight said. “Even if I knew the unicorn spell for teleporting, I don’t feel strong enough to cast it for everypo-pardon, everycreature here.”

“Hmm…maybe we should do something about that,” Gregory said, looking up past the foliage at the now invisible Griffonstone.

“Like what?” Gracie asked.

“Well, like a gondola lift,” he said. “A large box where you can sit and relax while you’re pulled up from ground level to Griffonstone.”

“I’ve seen a few of those in Equestria,” Gilda said. “But we don’t have the magic that they do, so we’d have to do it by claw.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Gregory said. “And I’ve heard that the ambient magic in Griffonia is a lot less than in Equestria.”

“That explains why I haven’t felt as much magic since you took that ring off my horn,” Starlight said as she pulled over a large tall glass of milk with her magic. Gregory watched her do so, fascinated. This was the first time he’d seen pony magic before, and unlike how it had appeared in the show, the magic that surrounded her horn and the glass looked more like a mist of color. He even thought he could see a very thin line of something extending from her horn to the glass. Starlight didn’t miss the look Gregory was giving her and gave him an inquisitive look of her own. “You okay, there?”

“It’s my first time seeing pony magic,” he said as he grabbed his own glass of milk and took a drink, “I’ve wanted to see it for a while.”

“Really? Because you wanted to travel to Ponyville and meet the Elements of Harmony?” Starlight asked, ears flattened.

“That’s only part of it,” he admitted. “Back where I’m originally from, magic was a myth. As a species, we can’t use magic. Assuming it exists there. Although, I guess what I used to get here could be magic.”

“How did you come here, anyway?” Gracie asked. “And how did you hear about Equestria, Griffonstone and all of that?”

“Well to answer your first question,” he said, “humans are more advanced technologically than even Equestria. We have developed a means of sharing knowledge without the need of paper. We call it the internet. A lot of you have seen the advanced technology I brought with me. The iPad, my laptops, my kindles and my smartphones can all connect to this vast collection of human knowledge. Well, I was looking at a section of the internet that most humans don’t really access, and found this spell that could take me to Equestria.” He hadn’t told any of the others about the television show aside from Gabby, but he did want to eventually. “Lots of humans where I’m from knew about the adventures and some things about the lives of the Elements of Harmony. I decided to try it, even though I knew it wouldn’t work. At least it was something new in my dull life. Lo and behold, it actually worked! So I decided to save up and picked up extra shifts at my job so I could start preparing for a journey here through the portal. I bought a bunch of things, like you’ve all seen. But the second time I created the portal, somehow I ended up in Griffonia.”

“Do you…regret ending up here?” Gilda asked with an odd tone of concern.

“Hell no,” he grinned. “I’ve gotten to meet all of you, been treated very well, and even granted Griffonian citizenship, a house, a monetary reward and possibly a position in the Griffonian government. Not a lot of people back home can say that.”

Just then, Gregory heard the door to the inside slide open. Expecting it to be one of the three sisters, he turned to see which one it was. Only to pause in shock as a very familiar zebra mare stepped out onto the stone walkway surrounding the hot spring. Her deep azure eyes locked with his and she froze, eyes widened in alarm. There was a tense few seconds between them before she relaxed. Before Gregory or anyone else could say anything, an unsure smile crossed the zebra’s face as she said, “Apologies for my intrusion. I did not mean to cause a commotion.”

Gabby was the only one who seemed to notice the recognition that passed over Gregory’s face, so she was the first one to speak. “Not at all!” she said in her normal friendly tone. “You can join us if you want! Right, everyone?”

Gregory was the second to recover and he smiled. “Sure, there’s plenty of space for you. It’s not like we booked this as a private thing.”

The zebra, who could only be Zecora judging from her voice and gold rings around her neck and the earrings hanging from her ears, stepped in, wrapping a towel around her back section and found a set of steps leading into the hot tub. She slowly lowered herself into it and a look of contentment before lowering herself completely up to her neck right after removing her towel and setting it on the rocks surrounding the hot spring. She opened one eye, then the other, looking at Gregory curiously now. “If it is not too much to query, might I ask what creature you be?”

Gregory relaxed a bit. Seeing the famous zebra so far from Ponyville was another surprise to him, almost as big of a surprise as meeting Starlight Glimmer, but he’d begun to accept that the history he knew from the show was all kinds of messed up. “I’m a human being,” he said. “I’m from very, very far away. My name’s Gregory. Gregory Graystone.”

An odd expression passed over the zebra’s face, but it was gone before Gregory could fully understand just what it meant. Her polite smile returned and she bowed to him. “It is a pleasure to meet you, good sir. Zecora is my moniker.”

“Miss Zecora, it’s nice to meet you too,” he said.

“What’s a zebra doing all the way out here?” Gilda asked. “Aren’t your kind all in Zebrica?”

“Hey, rude much?” Gregory admonished her before turning to Zecora apologetically. “Sorry about my friend Gilda, here. She tends to run her mouth.”

“Fuck you too, bitch,” Gilda snarked, flipping him off once more.

Gregory repeated the gesture before being smacked lightly in the chest by Gabby. Zecora watched the exchange with curiosity before she waved a hoof. “There is no need for you to apologize, when I show up anywhere, questions will arise. In truth, I once lived across the sea, but troubles there forced me to flee.”

“Troubles across the sea?” Gallus asked with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The Everfree Forest was once my home, but with its invasion, once more I’ve had to roam,” Zecora said sadly. However, there was something in the way she said it that made Gregory pause. He knew she lived near Ponyville, so he wondered if the invasion of Canterlot and the destruction of Ponyville had anything to do with it. “Across the Celestial Sea I fled, and to this land my hooftracks led. Deep in the forest near is where I live, and now to this town my aid I give.”

“I’m sorry you had to flee your home,” Gregory said, and he meant it. Whatever this Jason Wright had done to Ponyville must have scared the poor zebra enough to actually run away from her Everfree home, but the more he thought about it, the less sense it made. He figured he was missing something important. “I’m actually a provisional member of the Griffonian Council, and as the first non-griffon citizen of Griffonia, I’d like to welcome you to our humble little country.”

“Ah, what the heck?” Gilda chuckled as she raised a claw in greeting, “Welcome to Griffonia.”

Zecora’s eyes widened at the admission, but her smile returned, this one warmer and friendlier than before. “Your welcoming words are most appreciated, a warmer greeting I’ve never had.”

“What do you mean?” Gracie asked, suddenly very curious.

In her own rhyming way, Zecora explained how she had arrived in the Everfree, had found a tree she could redesign for her purposes. She explained in vivid detail how she was received by the ponies of Ponyville at first until the incident with the poison joke and the Mane Six. She’d been welcomed into town for the most part, but when she had heard about the destruction of Ponyville along with the way Canterlot’s government was reacting to the crisis, she’d packed up and left. She hadn’t even become a full citizen of Equestria during the years she’d been living there, only ever achieving the status of immigrant. More specifically, she’d left when she’d heard about the closed borders to any non-pony. When Gregory heard this, her reasons for leaving made much more sense, but he couldn’t help but suspect that there was something more. However, since he’d technically just met her, he didn’t ask.

Zecora told of how, when she’d disembarked from the ship and made her way into the forest, how she’d eventually stumbled onto Griffonville. She’d completely expected a similar treatment to how she’d been received in Ponyville, but was completely shocked when not only did the Griffons actually help her find one of the hollowed out oak trees in the deep forest for her to live, but helped her move in as well. In thanks, she had offered her services to the town as an herbalist, potion brewer and shamaness.

In much the same way, Gregory learned that the forest surrounding Griffonville, known as Evertide, was a lot like the Everfree. There were special plants and roots that could only be found in the forest. In fact, she actually provided the spa with some elixirs and potions that helped relax the customers. As she told her story, Gregory grew more impressed. He hadn’t left Griffonstone since he’d arrived, but he had heard that a similar attitude had spread to every griffon throughout the empire. To see it and hear about it from a non-griffon made his heart swell with pride. When she finished, the day had begun to darken and lanterns that were hung from the ceiling. He and the others were listening raptly.

There was a few seconds of silence before Gilda spoke. “Your rhyming aside, it was a nice story.”

“Why do you rhyme, anyway?” Gracie asked.

“An ancient tradition of my order. It keeps our minds away from disorder,” Zecora said.

“I think I read some obscure book about that when I was in my old town,” Starlight said. “I can’t remember the name, only that the author was named Opal something or other. She explained that there was this order of shamans who needed to be sharp because they couldn’t really record on paper since it was rare.”

“That is indeed true, and even today tradition dictates we rhyme that way,” Zecora said.

“Having to rhyme all the time must be excellent mental discipline,” Gregory said, “but aren’t there times when you’re tired of doing it?”

Zecora smiled at him warmly. “It has become second nature to me. It kept me sane while in Everfree.”

“I like it!” Gabby said with a gleeful smile.

“Same here,” Gregory said. “It’s pretty relaxing in its own way.”

Zecora chuckled. “I never waver from this manner of speech, unless the closest of friends are in my reach.”

“How would you define the closest of friends?” Gregory asked.

Immediately, he knew he’d asked the wrong thing. A dark shadow seemed to pass over Zecora’s face. “A true friend is not two-faced or cruel. Harmonious should be their rule.”

“Yeah, I agree with you there,” Gabby said. “Then again, we’re not ponies. We have our own way of doing things.”

“All differences should be celebrated, and never ignored, abused or hated,” Zecora snarled.

Gregory knew now that something else had caused Zecora to flee the Everfree, but he knew better than to pry into someone else’s troubles. He tried to change the subject by standing, wading over to the surprising zebra neighbor they now had, and held out his hand to the confused zebra. “I’ve made a lot of friends since coming here,” he said kindly, “all of them are in this hot spring. I know we just met and all, but would you be okay if I called you a friend?”

Zecora slowly looked around at the others in the spring, then back up at Gregory. She had an odd look in her eyes, almost calculating. However, she seemed to make up her mind only after about ten or so seconds and a smile once more graced her lips. She held up her hoof to his hand and touched it. As he wrapped his hand around her hoof, she said, “Harmony works in mysterious ways, for on a new friend my eyes do gaze.”

“I’ll be your friend too!” Gabby said, swimming quickly over to Zecora. “I’ve always wanted to meet a zebra!”

The others came up as well, even Starlight who touched hooves with the zebra. As Zecora accepted the friendship of griffon and non-griffon alike, underneath Gregory’s smile lingered a question:

What could have happened back in Equestria to make Zecora want to run away?