Misty stirred before dawn. She got up silently, easing away from her companions. She knew she had a bit before they'd be waking, but she still tried to let them rest for now. There would be time enough for activity and talk later on. For now, she wanted to consider in detail what her final day here would involve, especially the return home.

With nearly silent wings, an owl of a griffon landed before her. "Oh, one of the ponies." He considered her with brilliant eyes. "You are up late, or early. What troubles your dreams that you needed to fly away? Come on, out with it."

"Uh..." Misty froze in surprise. "Um, nothing! I mean, hi!"

"Hello." The night-eyed griffon purred softly. "So what brings you out here? Planning out the day ahead?"

"Well... Yes, actually." Misty turned in a slow circle, taking in the sight of the pre-dawn streets. "We're leaving today, and I wanted to see all that I could before we did." She sagged a little. "But it's so early."

The griffon chuckled softly, a low noise. "So early few are awake, and no stores are open. Little pony, you should finish resting. Get all of your sleep out." He reached to tap at her horn with one sharp nail, clinking it off the edge. "Sleep until the others wake. Time and tide wait for none."

Misty shook herself, then snorted softly at the griffon. "Hey. Listen to me. Okay, maybe you're right. Sleep would be best, and it's still dark. There's no shops or anycreature open yet, and I could spend the entire day here and not learn enough." She sank to her haunches, talking reason to herself. "So, uh. This isn't fair. I want to see so much more."

He patted her head. "If you really want to experience our little community, visit again. We'll let you come back, if you want."

She perked up considerably. "Really?" But that elation faded. "It's not up to you, but thanks. Comforting took us here, and she'll take us back. Getting here on our own would be a really big trip." She looked up at him. "Unless griffons fly super-fast and it'd only take a couple hours? Or teleportation spells exist..."

"We can fly rather quick, for a few minutes or so." The owl inclined his head. "I haven't seen a map to where your nests lie. Maybe tomorrow, I'll ask Floraugh for the route. We could compare times that way."

Misty sagged again. "Well, thanks for thinking about it at least. Anyway, I guess it's too bad." She shuffled in place. Gathering her will, she spread out her arms at the new griffon.

He looked confused a moment before it started to become clear. "Oh." He stepped in and wrapped his arms in kind, embracing the pony. "Ponies are more tactile than griffons normally are."

"I'm a unicorn. We use magic a lot, but I also like touching. You're soft, warm, cuddly, even when you have talons like yours." Misty felt reassured, breathing easier.

He snorted at that, closing his talons just enough for her to feel it through her pelt without harming her. "I am not cuddly." Despite his words, he was doing just that, cuddling the upset pony. "Go on to bed. Hurting yourself, or startling sleeping griffons, won't help."

"Oh, sorry." Misty reluctantly let him go and stepped back. She gave the owl-griffon a single nod. "Um, thanks, for listening." Then she turned, walking away.

Before she made it five steps, he called after her, "Safe travels!" His voice was light, friendly. "Perhaps I'll see you soon."

She smiled, looking back over her shoulder. He wasn't there, leaving just as quietly as he had come. "Good luck out there. Don't run into any tree branches!"

There was no response. Only the rustling of leaves marked his departure.

Once back inside her temporary home, she laid in her blankets with Amber beside her and Comfy curled up at their backs.

When the sun rose later, Amber was the next to stir, and wasn't long in gently shaking the others, only to find Comforting shaking her back before she could finish.

"Good morning to you too." Comforting hugged Amber gently. "Now, your friends are missing you, back home. Ready to head back?" Comforting slipped into the middle of the room, beckoning the others to join her.

Amber groaned. "We barely said goodbye. Can't we have breakfast with the locals? I'd like to say bye to Floraugh at least. It feels awkward, leaving this suddenly."

"We will have breakfast, yes. But I suggest sooner better than later." Comfy hugged the others tight, both at once. "The longer we stay, the more attached we could get to this place and the creatures in it."

Misty huffed gently. "Too late for that. Just look at me; I'm a bundle of feels!" She hugged herself to emphasize her emotions, before throwing her arms around the other two instead. "Let's get breakfast in town and get the chance to say goodbye."

Comfy chuckled lightly at Misty's antics. "Very well, have it your way. Come on, breakfast awaits." She led the way out, holding open the door for the other two so they could precede her. "A chance to say our byes isn't a terrible thing."

"Bye?" Floraugh landed next to them. "Heading out so early?"

Amber bowed her head politely to Floraugh as she stood tall. "Yes, it is time. Comforting brought us here and has offered to take us home today, and she feels the need to do it before the morning advances too far, apparently. Breakfast first. Where are you headed, Floraugh? We can join you for that."

He smiled gently. "I'd like that. Thanks. The central street has lots of options. Lots of friends, too. Let's go find 'em." With a wing flick, he eased them down the lane, pointing out stalls already opened, or opening, for hungry griffons trying to start their day. "Breakfast isn't a heavy meal. How about some veggie-cakes?" He pointed to where it seemed pancakes made of vegetables were being cooked on a flat iron.

Comfy edged her way over to investigate. "Sounds like a delicious plan. I'll cover our fare." She pulled coins from a bag to pay the cook.

Amber took Misty and Comfy aside to a table while Floraugh collected the meal. When he came back, they all shared out the food between themselves, chewing contentedly together.

Floraugh was watching them. "Wow, end of an age. I'll miss you crazy creatures. I have the map! I'll try flying that way." He shook himself gently. "Anyway, I'm glad to have met you all. You're all wonderful!" He pushed away from the table, turning. "Have fun, okay? Goodbye."

Misty grabbed him, hugging him from behind. "Wait! You're in such a rush."

Floraugh winced faintly. "Look, byes are hard, okay? I don't want to dwell on it. So. I'm leaving before it gets painful. Thank you for everything, though. I'm grateful." He shuffled back from her gently and stretched his wings. "I'll leave now, and we'll always have our time together." He smiled awkwardly. "Maybe I'll make that trip and we'll get more fun times. You can return the favor and show me around that pony town of yours."

Amber cooed happily, grabbing his shoulders to drag him closer to herself and Misty. "Of course we can! Make that trip, and we'd love to show you around our city, Maretime Bay." She leaned in to hug him alongside Misty, making the hug a triple-creature affair. "Thank you. You've been wonderful."

Floraugh sighed, patting her head and Misty's. "Yeah, yeah." He began to carefully extract himself. "Stay safe." He hurried off, wings fluttering a little as he did.

Comforting tapped at either pony. "That's our cue, I imagine. Shall we be off?"

"Yes please." Misty shuffled towards Comfy, ready to return to where they had started. "Time to go home. I wonder what our friends have gotten up to."

"One way to find out." Comforting wrapped her arms around them. To them, her arms were titanic, blocking out their view of anything a moment. When that hug ended, they were standing in front of the library, ponies already coming and going from it just like any other day. They were back in Maretime Bay, just like that.

"Well, I am off. See ya later." Comforting waved goodbye. Before either of the ponies could respond, she leapt up. A pair of ethereal, transparent wings flapped twice, carrying her higher and higher into the air, vanishing into the bright sky.

Amber stuck out her tongue at where Comforting had been. "That chaos spirit can be hard to predict at times." She waved into the library. "C'mon, Misty. Let's see how much we have to clean things up." She giggled, flicking her tail. "Or maybe see just how much they cleaned in our absence."

Misty nodded quickly. "Yes, we wouldn't want to keep customers waiting." She giggled a little and moved towards the library.

The two trotted inside to find that the library had, overall, kept running just as it would have on any other day. The other librarians were happy to see them, but nothing was on fire, and the books were on the shelves. Misty breathed a sigh of relief.

"Nothing at all went wrong." Misty turned in place, smiling. "They didn't need us at all."

"It doesn't seem so," agreed Amber, idly pacing through the hallways. "On one hoof, good! On the other, I can't help but be a little annoyed. What happens to the place if I'm gone for months? Probably nothing." She stomped her front hooves against the carpeting. "Where's the challenge!? Hah!"

A librarian mare stepped in front of Amber. "Only because you left us in a good place, ma'am. Thank you for your hard work." She raised a hoof to Amber's nose. "Please don't run away too soon. We're happy to have you with us."

"Thanks." Amber nodded slowly to her, then nuzzled against Misty, and tugged her away.

"You two seem close." The other librarian watched the pair trot off. "Are you alright?"

"Hm?" Amber turned an ear at the librarian. "We had an amazing trip. Have you heard of griffons? They're even more astounding than the books said!"

Misty nodded vigorously in agreement, shaking her whole body along with the motion. "I'd never heard of griffons before, but they were wonderful to meet. They may visit, sometime. I hope soon." She sighed at the thought of it. "Can you imagine Floraugh or another griffon poking their beaks in here?" She grinned. "They'll probably be impressed at just how many books are here."

Amber laughed lightly, rolling her eyes a touch. "Compared to their scrolls, this place would be beyond their imagining." She threw a hoof wide. "I'd be happy to show them around, the moment they arrive. But that isn't today. Today, it's us, back here. We should take care of our own things."

Misty grinned softly. "Yes ma'am, boss lady. Let's go check the catalog. I want to read more on griffons." Her hooves padded across the floor, towards her personal desk.

"Hm?" Amber trailed after her. "You just met them. You know more about griffons than most ponies who wrote about them in those books. What did you want to read about now?"

Misty winked back at Amber. "You never know what might be true, in those dusty old tomes." She fanned herself with her hoof. "If they're really bad information, I can at least take them down and start writing up corrections." She folded her arms. "It'd be a real shame if ponies only had bad information about them to go with."

"True." Amber tapped at a hoof against a stack of books, sending them tumbling. "Oh... Oops." Blushing, she got to fixing the mess of her own creation.

Author's Note

But you never come back the same person as the one that left.

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