MAR 7 Saturday.

It's been a week since the park incident and nothing has come of it so far. After what happened I decided to stay a little more low-key for the rest of my vacation, this has resulted in me spending all my time at the beach swimming or reading through books at the library.

That's what I'm doing right now, reading through a Griffin book about different herbs. It has several herbs that I've noted for future reference and study. When I'm done with the book I put it back and find another book to read, this one seems to be an old research journal.

As I read through the first page I got far more interested in this journal. It's several decades old and didn't seem to get much notice at the time, it's about griffin runes. Not many ponies practice runic magic, and even fewer griffins use it. This study was about the few runes we know were not just used by griffins but made by griffins.

But runes are pretty universal as long as you know the meaning and context. So while the journal did have a few interesting things including a few runes to copy I didn't learn much from it and moved on not much longer, a little disappointed. I keep reading through books looking for anything that could be of use.

I've learned that a lot of Griffin books here are just history or medical books. So after that journal, I focus on medical books and pick out a few to go through. Griffin's biology is significantly different from pony biology, and I've mostly studied ponies and I should learn more about the second most common species in Equestria.

There are several differences, such as different plants that ponies can use as medicine just fine that can be harmful to griffins. A few of these plants are also used as seasoning in pony dishes and while it probably won't kill a griffin it can mess them up pretty badly if they eat too much.

Treating a wing injury on a griffin is different as the wing bones are in different places and need to heal in a different way. On top of all of that, hippogriffs also have different biology to both and thus have different needs. I like the idea of healing others, and to do that I need to learn all of this, so I settle in to read through as many books as I can.

After reading through several books and wasting most of the day I see something moving towards the table I'm reading at in the back of the library. I picked this spot because it's out of the way and was quiet. I glance over and see something that makes me panic slightly.

Phelix is walking through the library shelves towards me. I don't know why he is here, but I don't think I have too much to fear as I didn't do anything negative to him. I also have Entropy, I rather the world does not know about her but if I have to decide between my safety and a secret I know what I'm choosing.

Beyond even that Celestia knows where I am and when I'm supposed to be back, if anything happens to me then she will come looking. As I take in Phelix's appearance I'm even more reassured of my safety, he's not wearing anything beyond a single dagger and he's alone, all that sends a pretty clear message.

He wants me to know he's armed and that he's serious. And it also tells me he's powerful enough or has the right connections to find me in a city this large. It's best I just try and talk my way out of this if I can. I move the books I was reading out of the way and wait.

He walks up to the table while looking around the table filled with books, I give him a light nod as he sits down on the other side of the table looking back at me. He says nothing for a while and just keeps looking me up and down for nearly a full minute before finally speaking.

Before he speaks I cut him off a little by drawing my own dagger and gently setting it on the table with my hoof. He looks at it for a moment and does the same with his dagger before looking back at me, "I've asked around, you aren't from this city are you?"

I should try to be truthful and not lie if I don't need to, lying will just get me caught in my own web of lies I'd have to make to cover for other lies. I keep eye contact as we talk, "No I'm just on vacation. Why are you here?" I ask back.

His face doesn't change in any way as we speak. "You don't know me, and you helped me. Why?" His deep and dry voice sounds out while he moves a book over to look at its cover.

"You're right, I don't know you. But I know a filly doesn't deserve to get involved in whatever this is." He looks back up at me a little sharply, he just stares at my face with narrowed eyes seemingly looking for any hint of dishonesty or malice.

I don't back down and just keep staring back, after a moment he speaks up again. "What do you want?"

"From you? Nothing. Like I said, I'm just a pony on vacation." I answer back. Again he stares me down for a moment.

"And from others?" He asks back.

"Many things, I suppose. What do you want from me?" This is devolving into a tick-for-tack situation, we just keep swapping questions and it's making me a little nervous about what could happen next.

Again he says quietly and looks at me for a while, he takes off the sheath for his dagger and places it on the table next to his dagger. "I came for three things. To know why you helped me. To give you some advice. And to give you this dagger."

I give him a confused look as he sheaths the dagger and slides it over the table to me. I pick it up and look it over as he keeps talking, "What's the advice? And what does the dagger mean?" For the first time I see his face change expression, he gives me a very small smile. This helps with my building anxiety slightly.

"The advice. You made someone angry, I recommend you leave the city within a few days. And the dagger." He reaches a talon across the table over to me and holds it out. "That means you're a friend to us." I look at his talon and after looking at the dagger I notice a symbol on the pommel of the dagger

I don't recognize it but I can find out later. I look back to his talon and shake it with a hoof before putting the dagger in my saddlebag. "I'll be leaving the city tonight. I do have a question." He stands up and nods at my first statement and focuses back on me again at the second part.

He gives another small nod for me to continue. "Was that filly in danger? And is she still in danger?"

He stays quiet once again for several moments. "Yes. No." With that, he walks away and I keep my eyes on him until he's out of my sight. Once he's gone I wait a few minutes before sighing in relief and relaxing some, it seems I got out of this one alive.

:By magic I really have a way to bumble my way ass-backward into things like this, don't I?: Talking to Phelix took up some of what time I had left, I still have time to read more but I think it's best if I just leave this city as soon as I can. I place every book back and leave the library with my cloak hood drawn over my head.

I go to the inn I stay at and give them back the key before heading to the train station. I stop at another restroom to let Entropy out and disguise her before continuing. I walk into the large brick building and sit down on a bench to wait for my train, it won't be here for a few hours.

As I sit down I let my mind think over what happened more as I wait. I don't think Phelix had any reason to lie to me, then again I wouldn't really be able to know, still, I think he told the truth. If he did then I have no regrets over the situation, even if it comes back around I still wouldn't change what I did.

If he's not lying then Silvis was in danger, then I'm happy with my actions. I still don't know if Phelix was on the good side, if whatever this is ever had a good side to begin with. I open a pocket on my saddlebags to look at the dagger I was given.

I wasn't paying much attention to the way it looked at the time. The handle is a dark wood shined to a great degree and with a flat metal pommel. The complex engraving on the pommel depicts a rose bush with thorned vines and flowers wrapped around an even smaller engraving.

It's hard to see in the dark lighting and the shade from the bag it's in, so I leave it alone to study more later. I spend a few hours waiting for my train while organizing all the notes I've made in the past two weeks.

When the train arrives it's dark and night has fallen, I board the train and find a compartment to sit in before relaxing. I look out of the window as the train leaves New Trotten. I don't plan to visit this city again anytime soon, but despite what happened I had a good time.

time skip

MAR 8 Sunday.

I step off the train in the early morning as I once again step back into Canterlot. I walk through its familiar streets and get to my apartment building, I get my key from Thistle Rush and walk up to my apartment before entering. I let Entropy out of my shadow and she happily flies over to her perch.

I'm happy to be home and take off my saddlebags before setting them to the side and checking on a few things. I check on all my plants to make sure they are healthy, I check and all the plants are fine. I also check that everything else is as it should be.

I take my saddlebags into my workroom and sit down at a desk before grabbing some paper and an envelope. I write about the more mundane things that happened on my vacation and that I'm back, before asking Entropy to deliver it to Celestia. Entropy returns a minute after disappearing then she goes back to her perch.

I walk back into my workroom again and start putting everything away and organizing it all. The new seeds I got, two new daggers, and a few small trinkets I found. Once everything is organized I start work on adding my notes and cross-referencing all the things I've noted down.

It's noon by the time I'm done. I find the dagger I was given and spend some time looking over it in better lighting and with a more critical eye. The blade is made from one piece of solid steel with a tang that goes all the way through the handle and then it becomes the pommel.

The whole thing is a single piece of steel with a wooden handle wrapped around it. It's very fine metal work and would cost a good amount to buy. The blade is curved and it reminds me of a Scimitar, with a blunt back and a razor-sharp cutting edge.

I look over the engravings again and look through the smaller engraving. I look through it closely and it seems familiar, I feel like I recognize it from somewhere. And after thinking about it I realize where I remember it, this is the emblem of a griffin royal.

:How the fuck does shit like this keep happening to me!?: I find the notebook that has everything important I know about griffins that I might need in the future, after flipping through several pages I find what I'm looking for. The emblem belongs to the royal family of GriffonStone.

I sat there for a while, a little stunned over the whole situation. I just sigh, "Well shit." I leave to make some tea and relax my now tensed body, while I try and look at the upsides. Sure I may have potentially affected the future, again, but I now know Phelix wasn't a criminal.

I slump down in the main room to drink some fresh tea and sigh while looking out the window. I'll need to look into them more when I have time. And it's not all bad, I did get their favor in some way, and I never remembered them from the show so maybe Phelix and Silvis could just be relatively unimportant members of the royal family.

After thinking about it for a bit I decided to practice my ability to feel life magic and ignore this for a while.

Author's Note

The vacation arc is over, It may have been a little boring but I had fun writing it.

Thanks for reading.