They were outside the nest they were offered for the night in no time flat and roaming freely through the streets. Griffons could be found just as readily out here, watching with passive curiosity at what the equines got up to with every step. Though they were clearly being watched, animosity wasn't the problem, just curiosity.

"You don't have beaks."

Amber jumped, coming down facing a little griffon child. "Oh, hello. You do have one, and what a nice beak it happens to be."

The child giggled, hiding his beak behind his claws. "Thanks. Name is Kaltor." He fluttered his wings briefly. "You're so short! Do all ponies have manes?"

Misty circled around the child. "We're taller than you, and about the same size as most of the griffons around here. But, yeah, manes are a pony thing." She ran a hoof through her own frizzy mane. "Pretty neat, huh?"

"It looks weird," remarked the youngster, hopping backwards in mock terror. "It's fluffy." He shook his head. "Not right to have fuzz there. You look like a sheep."

Amber imagined herself as a sheep a moment. "We're not quite that fluffy, but I suppose fluffier than a griffon overall. Nice to meet you, Kaltor. Mind showing us around your village?"

Kaltor gave Amber a firm nod. "Yeah! This way!" He took flight and headed off, flying low through the street. "No market today." He waved to a place with stalls and tables, but no griffons at that moment. "They'll be back tomorrow at the first crack of light."

They passed close by the center of the village and the mudbrick buildings surrounding them. Most seemed like average homes, places to lay down and rest one's head after a hard day of hunting or relaxing.

Misty edged closer to the chick. "Question! Do griffons perch? We saw a few poles in the room we're sleeping in."

Kaltor nodded eagerly. "Yep. Sometimes you gotta just find a good spot and go with it."

Amber frowned, thinking back on that room again. "Makes sense." She paused, focusing on a single part of that response. "But only sometimes?"

"Sometimes." Kaltor twirled around to face the ponies. "Ponies don't? Weird."

"I know!" Amber bounced excitedly. "I want to hear more."

Comforting was between Amber and Misty were she was not but a moment before. "You two look like you're having fun!"

Misty darted aside to avoid bumping into Comforting. "Of course we are." She looked around the village and its residents carefully. "A bit quieter than Maretime Bay, but so cool! Kaltor, what do griffons do for fun?"

Amber cut in, waving eagerly. "Or what are the best parts about living here?"

Kaltor grinned and shrugged. "Being together! Being near the others in our village is what matters most."

Comforting clapped together her hands. "Aw! Griffons sure have mellowed out over the years, that's so nice to see."

Kaltor flicked his tail curiously, glancing over Comforting. "How long have you known about us?"

"A couple thousand moons, give or take a century." Comforting chuckled, spinning around on the balls of her feet to regard Kaltor. "One thing hasn't changed, you're all still adorable. It's just easier to approach now than it had been before. A real shame, that. We were friends with all sorts of other people and races in the distant past."

Kaltor shrugged mildly and bounded towards the forest. "Want to see the trees we get to hang out in?"

"Yeah!" Misty darted after him with a laugh, followed swiftly by Amber who waved back towards Comforting.

The trio traveled along a well-trod path heading into the forest, following it for many minutes. This ended at a place where the trees grew tall and straight with nary a bough until high above.

Amber whistled at the sight. "You'd have to be good at climbing, or have wings, which we do not, to enjoy these trees. Look how tall they are!" She held a hoof against the trunk of the nearest, patting the solid wood.

Kaltor flew up into the canopy of leaves. "Are we really all that different? Same body shape. Four legs, two eyes, claws instead of hooves, a beak instead of a muzzle, and I don't think your tails are used for steering. Otherwise, you seem pretty similar to a griffon." He dropped back to the ground.

Amber and Misty moved their legs in near tandem, matching pace for pace. The unicorns let themselves get lost in thought at Kaltor's comments. Amber caught up with Kaltor. "We're all creatures in the end. It's nice to meet another." She put a hoof to her chest, just to pause. "Actually, we haven't shown you what we can do. You've shown us griffon tricks, it's only fair."

Kaltor glanced at Amber, tilting his head. "Show me what?"

"Magic!" Amber took a deep breath to steady herself and began to cast, the glow lighting up her horn until a full sized orb of raw, arcane power floated above her cranium. She threw her head down, bringing the magic down on herself. When the magic cleared, Amber had a beak. "Ta da!" Her words were slurred mildly, not used to having one of those.

Kaltor burst out laughing. "Your beak's all wrong! I can fix it." He climbed onto Amber's back, placing both talons on either side of the offending feature.

Amber froze at Kaltor's touch and how he balanced himself on her shoulders. "I don't, um."

Misty reached up to pat the small child. "She's just new to having a beak, is all. Give her a chance. Let's see if it works once Amber is settled in."

Comforting paced a wide circle around the ponies and their young griffon acquaintance. "Having fun without me?" She laughed without sounding that upset about it. "You three make a lovely group. Kaltor, hate to but in, but do your parents know where you are?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Kaltor waved it off dismissively. "They said I should make new friends whenever possible. Especially since that's important, and that I don't really have many. Or any, besides family."

Comforting brought a talon to her fuzzy chin. "Griffons really have changed."

"You're weirdly familiar with us." Kaltor glided off of Amber's back to the ground.

Amber shook her head, magic puffing out as her snout returned to its usual form. "We're here to make friends, just like you are. You've been nice, so why wouldn't we be nice too?"

"We're friends," confirmed Misty. "We'd be nice even if you weren't, really. We're the guests poking our noses into things. Don't want to be rude."

Amber shuffled to walk ahead of Kaltor and Misty. "Maybe we'll come back to visit sometime! The trip isn't bad." She paused with thought. "Actually." She whirled to face Comforting. "Where are we? You teleported us here. Are we close to home, or far away? There weren't really directions to follow. At least, I don't remember there being any."

Misty gaped. "I forgot you teleported us. Where did you even find this place? How?"

Comforting took a seat, crossing her legs comfortably on the forest floor. "It's just a spell, dear. And, not super far. No real directions."

Kaltor tilted his head to Comforting. "How far is not far?"

Comforting walked her fingers through the air. "Aren't you the curious little chick? If we just walked, it'd be, hm, a week or three?"

Amber's eyes went wide. "We're that far away?! But we have to get home to do research! To teach classes! To run my library!" She darted from foot to foot with nervous energy coursing through her. "Comforting!"

Comforting held out a hand. "Relax. We don't have to walk. We can always teleport back."

Amber sank to her haunches, panting. "Don't scare me like that."

Misty laughed gently. "You did ask. So, Comfie, could you draw us a map? We can't always ask you to teleport us, if anypony else wants to visit." She lifted a hoof into the air. "Maybe they want to visit Maretime Bay, or even Zephyr Heights. Travel makes new connections, and we all need those."

"Uh-huh! I want to go someplace else now!" Kaltor looked out towards the horizon. "There are pony towns? I want to visit! Please? Will you show me them?"

Comforting scratched at her cheek with a thoughtful expression on her face. "I would gladly create a map for you, but it will be by your own hooves, or wings, or whatever else that you actually make the trip. I'm only giving a delivery service to those two, and only promising this one time at that. Don't want people to get too used to Comfy rides."

Amber winced softly. "Can't expect you to just ferry us around everywhere."

Comforting shrugged. "I mean, you can. Just saying I won't do it all the time. You can't learn and grow if I'm your answer to everything, now can you?"

Kaltor spoke up. "And I can't come along?"

Comforting smirked at Kaltor. "You're cute, but I'm pretty sure your parents would rip me apart for snatching their kid away, and they'd have every right to do it. I couldn't even be angry. So, no, sorry. Ask them, nicely."

Misty nodded with a knowing look on her face. "She's right. I was taken from home when I was a filly, it's not fun."

Kaltor glanced sideways at Misty. "Sorry for mentioning it." He rubbed behind his head. "I'll just fly then."

Amber laughed at that. "After you ask your parents, I hope. You are too eager to run away from home. You are an egg in griffon terms." She tapped Kaltor's chin softly, making sure he was looking her in the eyes. "Stay safe. Then go find the fun. The rest will follow."

The sun was drawing high in the sky, and the ponies remembered that the day's explorations were building a powerful hunger. They decided to return to the village proper. Thankfully, this was just a matter of following the path backwards. Back within the griffons' homes, they found food already prepared.

It was laid out in baskets before each house, fruits and roots of several varieties piled high. Comforting looked at them with some mild confusion. "I somehow figured griffon lunches would have more meat involved. Have they gone veg?"

Amber hunched down to grab at one root, chomping on it with pleasure. "Surprisingly delicious." She chewed with a smile. "For not being cooked, pretty good."

Most of the food was filling if plain fare, lacking in spices or any real adornment save the variety inherent to each root or fruit.

Kaltor was gone, as if he'd just wandered off, but he was a child, and they weren't above doing just that. Fortunately, another familiar griffon landed. Floraugh was there, holding an apple between his claws. "Welcome back. Glad to see you've gotten into lunch already." He tossed his apple high to grab it beak-first.

Misty lifted her head. "We were hungry. You eat raw vegetables? This seems really unprepared compared to breakfast."

Floraugh waved off the concern with his wing. "Breakfast was more important. Now what's that I heard about meat? That's for special meals. Meat isn't easy to get."

Misty leaned towards Floraugh. "So you are still hunters?"

"We catch fish." Floraugh's face screwed up briefly. "Or did. Not much water nearby, sadly. We can hunt game too, but a lot of animals aren't keen on getting hunted, and can make hunting them interesting for the hunter."

Amber's hoof hovered around the stem of a single berry. "Well, you could trade for it. Ponies would love to trade with you."

He looked shocked at that. "Ponies have meat?!"

Amber shook a hoof quickly. "Not game meat, but we do catch fish. We came from Maretime bay, they do lots of fishing."

"I love fish!" Floraugh sat upright quickly with a grin on his face. "Do they salt them? Make them last?"

"Yes!" Amber bobbed her head and glanced sideways. "Not sure how many bits it would cost, but they have dried fish available at stores."

He got a scheming look on his face. "Then I'll have to stop by. Maybe we could trade a thing or two. So, uh, where is this place?"

"Just ask Comfy." Misty jerked a hoof at Comforting.

Floraugh looked to Comforting. "Miss?" He dipped his beak politely.

Comforting looked up from her cartography desk, which surely hadn't been there a few moments before. "I'm working on it! Do you have any idea how hard it is to make a good map?! It takes time, work, effort, dedication, and talent!" She wiggled her digits in the air. "If anypony asks, it was magic. Maps don't make themselves." She resumed her scribbles on parchment.

Amber licked crumbs from her lips. "The important bits are done though, right?" She was watching the work carefully. "See, this here is Maretime Bay. Here's the path along the sea cliffs, then we go inland, wind around those mountains, through the, hm." She followed the path with her eyes. "It's a bit of a journey, but it doesn't look impossible."

Floraugh trotted up beside Comforting to join Amber and watch the drafter's progress. "A map is all we need, right?"

"I'm adding a few notes." Comforting drew a mountain symbol in ink. "It'll be up to you to copy this masterpiece once I'm done with it." She kept scratching in notes and details alongside the paths that led back to Equestria.

Amber focused on Comforting's writing with a studious glint in her eye. "Writing it all down means remembering it better." She clopped her hooves. "And it'll be a lot easier to copy once we're back home." Visions of a photocopier danced in her mind. "But I don't see one of those around here. Floraugh, can you make a copy? For yourself or future griffon explorers?" She smiled softly. "We've enjoyed meeting you already. I'd like to see griffons around Maretime Bay, someday."

Floraugh stared down at the map for a long minute before nodding his head firmly. "Yeah. Of course, I can do that." He gave a little chuckle. "Leave it to me." He got out his own paper and started scratching a quill against it.

Author's Note

Griffons? But we have those at home.

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