A Renewed Ending

Thursday, September 23, 1007 Anno Luna, Gryphonia, One Month After Emperor Jason Wright’s Invasion of Equestria

Gryphonstone was in shambles.

The many buildings that had once been pristine and clean were now covered in all manner of filth. Massive trees that had once been spread throughout the city and were once green with life were either dying or dead; the small houses and huts on each branch threatened to fall to the ground below. Some already had, causing serious injury or even death to a few very unlucky gryphons. The city smelled of rotten sewage, mostly due to the fact that the sewers had not been tended to for far too long. Plumbing was a hit or miss in the city itself, with half of the faucets providing somewhat clean water. Over half the city was sick with previously preventable diseases thanks to this. Nobody could go five feet without hearing the crying of a young gryphon cub, the coughing of a gryphon sick or dying, or an argument between two or more gryphons about food, money or some other matter of life and death. All throughout the city, buildings were falling apart, mothers were barely able to feed their young, and the gryphons within were miserable, although, in a perverted show of pride, they would never show it to outsiders, or even among themselves. And the worst part was that nogryphon wanted or desired to help anyone else because they were so caught up in their own problems that others weren’t of any consequence.

Ever since the Idol of Boreas, now regarded by most of the gryphons as a myth, was stolen and fell into the Abysmal Abyss, Gryphonstone and Gryphonia as a whole had been on a steady decline, but nowhere was it worse than in the nominal capital of the Imperium itself. All of the continent of Gryphonia was undergoing an economic depression, and even the outermost sea cities where fish was plentiful were experiencing less and less traffic from any neighboring nations.

Among the filth and wretchedness surrounding every gryphon, a singular mailgryphon female flew through the skies. She was a rarity among her kind. Friendly, always smiling and eager to try and brighten anygryphon’s day with a kind word or gesture.

Not that it would do any good, of course.

There was just too much underlying despair among them, hidden underneath a thick layer of so-called pride. It had gotten so bad that many gryphons had begun saving up enough money to escape to other smaller towns or to unclaimed portions of Gryphonia to try and find a better place for a house or nest.

Gabriella, or Gabby as she very much preferred to be called, had tried denying it to herself for years, but there was just no denying that Gryphonia was crumbling. The city really had no leadership to speak of, anyway. Everygryphon knew about it but they were too concerned with themselves to do anything about it.

It was Gabby’s weekend, and having had an extra-long week with her boss yelling at her, docking her pay for a few minor mishaps, and being once again ignored and scoffed at for her attempts to brighten the day of anygryphon she saw had taken a heavier toll on her than normal. And the only refuge she could even find in the area was near the edge of the Abysmal Abyss. Nogryphon ever went there because it was too dangerous, but Gabby loved it there. The grass was actually green there, the trees were growing tall and strong, and the strong wind that blew through her wings felt freeing.

It was here where she could let down her feathers and let the smile she kept on her face fade away. Trying to spread gryphony sunshine on her rounds as a mail delivery gryphon all the time was exhausting, even for her. She would come here whenever she had stress to relieve. And she would do so by screaming into the abyss.

“YAAAAH!” she screamed into the windy chasm before her, her voice being carried away by the winds, forever lost to them. She vented her frustrations. “I was just trying to help you, Griselda! Is it so wrong to buy you some food when you can’t afford it, Gary!? And I was only one minute late that day, Gus!! You didn’t have to dock my pay for one hour! Stupid, stupid, STUPID!”

She continued shouting her varying angry thoughts away, and as she did so, her heavy heart lifted. As she’d had a longer list than normal, she was there for about half an hour, repeating the same things over and over again. Finally, when she was finished, she stood on her two hind legs, spreading her wings and letting the harsh gales that constantly blew through the Abyss wash over her like some sort of cleansing bath of air. She definitely felt a lot better than she had before, and she fell onto her back, wings still spread.

She was still smiling when she saw the bright light.

Quickly sitting up, she looked towards the light. Across the abyss, a triangular light shone brightly as it seemed to appear from nowhere. She shielded her eyes with her feathers as she tried to see what was going on. The light was emitting a soft warbling sound like chimes and she saw pinpricks of light surrounding the triangle itself. As the sound increased in volume, a second sound became audible, and a dark object seemed to come in through the light. She was unable to see it clearly, but it had a boxlike shape and the sound it made was unusual, like some sort of roar. It sounded like a mechanical roar.

The object stopped when it came through and she thought she saw a bipedal figure come out of the object itself. As the light began to diminish, she saw that said figure was stumbling towards the edge of the abyss. Fear rose up in her as she cried out a warning, but the winds from the Abyss had incidentally risen so that her words became inaudible. To her horror, the indistinct figure tripped over a rock, then plummeted into the Abyss.

As the triangle of light vanished, Gabby rubbed her eyes and quickly but cautiously walked to the edge of the abyss, looking down. There, clinging for dear life onto a large ledge on the other side of the Abyss, sat an unusual creature. It had the look of a minotaur, only it was wearing clothes that were quickly being slightly torn by the winds. It had a small pack slung over its shoulders which was strapped tightly to it to not let it fall away. The creature didn’t have any claws like any other gryphons did. Instead, she recognized what it had as simple hands which were clinging to the sides of the ledge, which had begun to crumble around the being. As she took in the strange creature before her, she realized it looked more like a monkey or an ape than anything else, albeit smaller and with all the wrong proportions.

But it was the eyes of the ape-thing that stuck out to her. They were bright blue, and wide eyed with complete and utter terror. It was looking around wildly, trying to find a means of escaping the horrible position it found itself in.

She stood up quickly and gave a gryphon cry, which sounded identical to that of a bald eagle. The creature below flinched, looking up until it saw Gabby. Its fear turned to hope as it waved with one of its hands briefly before quickly going back to gripping the ledge. “Help me! Please! I’m begging you!” the creature called out in a desperate male voice.

Gabby quickly looked around for anything that might be used as some kind of makeshift rope. Her heart was racing, and she could hear the ledge slowly giving way to the creature’s weight. Turning back to the strange creature, she called out, “I don’t have any rope! And I can’t fly down there!”

Miraculously, the creature must have heard her cries, because he said, “There’s some in the back of my truck! And hurry! This ledge isn’t gonna last!”

She was a bit confused, but she then saw the creature quickly point up the cliff. Gabby looked over in the general direction and saw a strange contraption just sitting in the middle of the field. It had the look of a carriage, but only made of metal. There were four apparent doors on both sides, one of which still hung open. Behind it, there was a larger carriage, this one looking like some sort of strange small house on wheels.

“Stay still! Don’t move! I’ll be right back!” She spread her wings wide and flew high over the Abyss, landing next to the metal carriage in the front. She rushed inside the still open door and looked around frantically. The front row of seats was clear of anything, but the back row was covered with boxes and bags which she pushed aside as best as she could in the cramped space. She was trying not to let her panic get the better of her, but she knew that the creature only had minutes, if not more. At one point she saw that there was a part of the vehicle that she couldn’t get to until she opened a small window at the back, which she quickly did.

Once she crawled through the small window into the back compartment, she immediately saw a thick and sturdy rope coiled up on top of several heavy looking bags. Grabbing it, she climbed back out and ran over to the edge of the cliff. When she looked down frantically, her face went pale as she saw him now clinging to what remained of the ledge that had fallen away, swinging around in the wind as he held on for dear life. “I’m gonna let down some rope!” Gabby shouted, quickly undoing the twine that held the rope in place.

The creature looked up, the hope that had once been there quickly replaced with despair. “Can’t hold…help…” his voice was softer as he tried to call out, and sounded hoarse.

She worked faster, practically tearing the twine off, then looked around for something to tie the rope to. She noted the connection between the vehicle in front and the carriage in back. Hastily, she tied the rope to the connection, tested the grip of the rope to see if it would hold, which it did, quickly tied the other end of the rope around her midsection and rushed back over to the edge of the cliff. There, she began lowering herself down, gripping the rope with all of her strength as she did her best to move down to where the creature was clinging. Unfortunately, as she did so, some rocks came loose and fell directly towards the creature. “Look out!” Gabby shouted.

Luckily, all that happened was that the rocks glanced off of the being’s shoulders and he temporarily lost his grip on one of his hands, which he quickly pulled back up. His hands were white from tension, save for the deep cuts on his knuckles which were staining the ledge and making it harder for the being to hold on with any semblance of a grip.

Fear overcame Gabby, and the self-preservation part of her began to demand that she abandon this strange being, but she quickly suppressed this urge. She wasn’t just any gryphon. She was Gabby, and she just couldn’t leave anygryphon, or anycreature for that matter, in need when she knew she could help.

Finally, she reached the ledge where the creature was clinging and held out her claw to him. “Give me your hand!” she shouted. “Hurry!”

The being turned, astonishment in his bright blue eyes. He looked back at his hands, then back at Gabby. “If I let go, I’ll fall,” he said wearily.

Gabby frowned, then slowly moved over. Wrapping one of her wings around him, she said, “I’ve got you now. I need you to wrap your arms around me and don’t let go for anything!”

He looked at her fearfully. “I…I can’t…” he whimpered, “I can’t move!”

Gabby tried calming down. She knew that any creature who saw fear could feel that same fear in them. “I promise, by the Idol of Boreas itself, I won’t let you go,” she said, using one of the more ancient pledges of her kind. She tightened her grip around him. “Just hold onto me. Hurry! The wind’s picking up!”

He swallowed hard, then closed his eyes. “God help me…” he said before he slowly opened them again, moving closer to her exposed stomach. In one weakened motion, he wrapped one arm around her stomach, then quickly the other joined in. His grip was tight, but Gabby could feel that it was growing weaker.

Quickly grabbing the rope again, she began hoisting herself back up towards the surface, her throat quivering with exertion as she began to feel the excess weight around her. She pulled up as fast as she could, but not so fast as to knock her new passenger off of her. For extra support, she wrapped her tail around the creature’s midsection just in case.

It was a good thing she did, too, because not ten seconds later, a large gust of wind blew through the gorge. The rope swayed and Gabby felt a sharp pain in her rear as the creature’s grip on her stomach failed. She screamed in pain and looked down. The creature had lost his grip and was now clinging for dear life to her tail. He was swaying harder in the wind and with each swing, it felt like her tail would tear loose and fall into the ravine with its unwilling passenger. She resisted the instinctive urge to reach down and claw at him while at the same time she tried pulling him up by the tail so he could reach her legs at least, but she was unable to move.

“Climb up my tail!” she shouted. “Grab onto my legs! HURRY!”

Thankfully, he must have either heard or understood the franticness in her expression as she saw him try his best to climb up towards her legs, but just as he was about to reach one of the legs, his grip slipped due to the blood on his hands and he slid back down to the tip of the tail. Once more, however, he tried, and this time he managed to grasp the bottom portion of her left leg. With that grip, he managed to take a hold of her other leg with his remaining hands. “Don’t let go!” she shouted as she now began pulling herself up using only the strength of her arms.

There were a few close calls, but in the end, she managed to grasp the grass, hoisting herself up and clambering farther out onto the grass. When she was sure that the entire creature was out of the ravine, she collapsed onto her back, panting heavily. The rush of adrenaline was quickly fading, and she could feel the post adrenaline trembling coming on.

That, and she could hear retching noises coming from behind her.

Weakly she turned, and saw the creature who was holding himself up with two trembling arms, vomiting violently onto the grass. She was too weak to go over and check on him, and could only watch sorrowfully as the being expelled whatever it had eaten last before falling. After an eternity, he collapsed onto his stomach, and eventually she could hear the soft sounds of sobbing coming from him.

Mustering what little strength she had left, Gabby crawled over to the being, placing a comforting wing around him. “Shhh…you’re safe now,” Gabby said gently. Now that she had a clearer view of him, she took in his unusual features without the weight of fear over her mind. The apelike creature was wearing a pair of light blue pants, something over its feet to cover it, and a thick green hoodie, around which still hung the smaller but full looking pack. He had pale skin and a somewhat long head of brown wavy hair. His hands were still bleeding from the cuts, but she hadn’t brought any kind of antiseptic or bandages for him to use.

All she could do was hold the being close to her, trying to warm his freezing body up. He instinctively curled up and continued crying for a little while before finally growing too exhausted to even do that. They stayed like this for a little while until he tried to sit up. Gabby, who by now had recovered more of her strength, sat up with him and helped him into a sitting position. She took his hands in her claws and looked at them carefully. There were three large gashes in the knuckles of his left hand, and two others on his write. His palm was cut open as well and covering his hand in blood. Quickly, she pulled his sleeve up and pressed it against the wound to staunch the flow. “I’m sorry about your shirt,” she said apologetically.

The creature waved his hand dismissively. “I’ve got others,” he said, pointing to the objects nearby. He winced in pain. “Fuck…”

“Are you hurt anywhere else?” Gabby asked.

“Just a few bumps and bruises…” the creature said, feeling himself over a bit with his free hand. He then looked up at Gabby with tear-stained eyes. He wiped them, then said, “Listen…thank you for saving me. I owe you my life.”

“You don’t owe me anything,” Gabby said. “I just did the right thing.”

“Nevertheless, I still owe you something,” he said. “What’s your name?”

“Gabriella, but you can call me Gabby since we’re friends now,” Gabby said with a weakened smile.

The creature smiled back tiredly. “Gabby, huh?” he said, and there was something in his tone that caught Gabby off guard. Almost like he knew her already. However, it was gone when he said, “I’m Gregory. Gregory Graystone.”

Gabby smiled. “Nice to meet you, Gregory,” she said, holding out her claw.

He took it in his free hand and shook it, although it was still weak. “Nice to meet you too, Gabby.”

After the clawshake was over, Gabby decided now was a time to at least get one of her many millions of questions answered. “Um…what exactly are you?” she asked. “No offense, but I’ve never seen a creature like you before.”

Gregory just laughed a bit. “That’s fair,” he said, “I’m not from around here. I’m a human.”

“Human…human…” Gabby rolled the words around on her tongue, trying to get a feel for it. She’d never heard of a human before, and she doubted that this creature would be lying to her about that. “I’ve never heard of a human before.”

“That makes sense,” Gregory said as he slowly removed his pack and lay on his back, staring up at the sunlit sky above. “Like I said, not from around here.”

She lay beside him, still covering him with her wings. She wanted so badly to ask so much more of him, but she also knew that he was more exhausted than she was. Once they were recovered enough, she would try and take him back into town.

Gregory looked at the rope that was around Gabby’s waist, then back at the truck. He chuckled and nodded. “Good call,” he said, “tying the rope to the trailer hitch.”

“Ah, well, I didn’t have anything else to tie it to,” Gabby said, “and I couldn’t find a grappling hook.”

Gregory chuckled a bit dryly as he slowly stood. “I do have one,” he said, “but it’s in a bag somewhere in the back of my truck.” He reached into his bag and pulled out a large metal bottle. He pulled on the top, which seemed to open up. He put his lips to the part of the lid he’d pulled out and then seemed to suck from it. He rinsed his mouth out, then downed a healthy amount of it before he unscrewed it and passed it over to her. “Water?” he asked.

Gabby accepted the bottle gratefully, lifting the metal bottle to her lips. She hadn’t tasted water so pure in ages since most water in Gryphonstone was slightly murky at the best of times. There was even ice in it. She savored the taste as she swished the liquid in her mouth before swallowing and giving it back to Gregory. “Thank you,” she said.

As the two lay there, recovering their strength, Gabby’s thoughts wandered. She went back to the few minutes in her memory. The bright triangle light was still a bit visible in her mind’s eye, so she decided that she’d ask about it. “Hey…that light triangle I saw before you appeared…was that your doing?”

Gregory looked over at her. He had just sat up and was brushing his clothes off. The pack he once wore was sitting nearby on the grassy plain. His hands were still trembling a bit as he cleaned himself. “Well…yeah,” he admitted as he uncertainly stood on two feet, brushing his backside off.

“Do humans know magic?” she asked as she too slowly stood, shaking the dust off of her before stretching out her front claws, then her back paws.

Gregory didn’t answer right away. He was instead watching her with curiosity and a bit of bemusement. When she gave him a raised eyebrow in confusion, he shook out of it and shook his head. “Ah, no. We don’t know any magic. I used some technology to-well, suffice to say, I can’t do that again,” he said, a somewhat sad smile on his face.

Gabby walked up beside him and looked up at him. “You okay?” she asked in a worried tone.

“Yeah…yeah, I’m alright now,” he said, the sadness going away as he brushed a few blades of long grass off of his clothes before turning to look down at her. “I can’t thank you enough for saving me. I could have died.”

She smiled up at him. “You’re welcome.” Her smile then faded. “What happened? Didn’t you see the cliff?”

Gregory’s smile faded as well. “Well, I did, but I didn’t register that it was there,” he admitted.

“What do you mean?” Gabby asked.

Gregory sighed. “It’s…not something I was expecting to happen.” He then launched into an explanation. Apparently, the moment he’d come through the portal, which was what he called the triangle, he’d suffered a severe reaction of some kind. He was dizzy, unable to focus, and had temporary memory loss. He’d gone into autopilot, which he briefly had to explain to her, in turning off the truck before leaving. It had been the fall that had jarred him back to his full senses, and by that time it was too late. The rest they both knew.

“Are you feeling better now?” she asked again after he finished his explanation.

“Much,” he said.

The moment of a new friendship forming between gryphon and human was interrupted by the sound of flapping wings approaching from Gryphonstone. The two turned and saw two gryphons in city watch armor fast approaching. Gregory reached quickly for his bag and held it close to him. “Am I in trouble?” he asked.

Gabby shook her head, but even she was unsure. The city watch were the only remnants of the once great Gryphonian Imperium, which had been long defunct. The city was enough of a historical sight that being in the watch was actually a viable job. It paid decently enough as well. Gryphons highly respected the watch because it seemed that each member held onto a semblance of the pride that had once been such a major part of their culture during the times of the emperors.

When the two landed, they looked at Gabby and Gregory with suspicious frowns. They looked like they may have been fraternal twins, or at least been part of the same litter. They were both light gray with white feathers and bright yellow plumage. The only difference was their eyes. The male had a dark orange pair while the female had a dark yellow pair. The male stepped forward. “What happened here?” he asked.

The female then sniffed the air. “Did somegryphon vomit?” she asked with a frown, spreading her wings and hovering in the air.

“That’d be me,” Gregory said in a sheepish tone. “Sorry about that.”

The male watchgryphon, who had joined his partner in the air, eyed the human with suspicion. “Who are you, and what are you?” he asked.

Gregory gave the two watchgryphons a friendly smile. “My name’s Gregory Graystone, and I’m a human.”

“Where did you come from?” the male asked again.

“Very far away,” Gregory explained, “so far away that you’d probably never have heard of it.”

“Try us,” the male said.

He shrugged. “I’m from a nation called the United States of America,” he replied.

“A-mare-ica? Is that a pony nation?” the female asked.

Gregory shook his head. “No, it’s a human nation.”

“And what in Gaia are those?” the male asked, pointing to the vehicle that Gregory had called a truck.

“Ah, yeah,” Gregory said as he slowly stood and walked over to the truck. He placed his hand on it as he said, “This is called an automobile,” Gregory explained patiently. “It lets me travel long distances in a much shorter time than if I were to walk. This type of automobile is called a truck. And this,” he added while walking over to the white house on wheels, “is a camper. It’s like a miniature home I can take anywhere.”

The two looked at each other while still hovering in the air. There seemed to be an unspoken exchange between them before the two landed again, although not before looking to make sure they weren’t about to step in vomit. “Listen, Mr. Graystone,” the male watch member said, “you’re not in any trouble yet, but we’d like you and this female here to come with us to answer some questions.”

Gregory nodded. “I understand,” he said. “Could you give me a bit to grab a few things before we go, though?” He pointed back to the truck. “I want to take a few things I don’t want taken.”

“If you’re worried about that, one of us can remain behind to keep watch over these vehicles,” the female said.

“Wait, I hear somegryphon else flying over,” the male said, head cocked.

Sure enough, two other members of the watch approached and landed next to them, wings bristling a bit as they settled down. Gabby saw that these two were two larger males, the taller one speaking up quickly. “What’s going on here? What is this creature and what are these vehicles here?” After listening to the four of them giving the explanation once more, he nodded, then turned to Gregory and Gabby. “My partner and I will watch over your vehicle, while these two-” he gestured to the male and female, “-will escort you and this female to Gryphonstone. Like they said, neither of you are in trouble, but we need to investigate what has happened.”

“I understand,” Gregory said, “and I’m grateful that you’ll watch over my truck and camper. I was just about to grab a few things before I left. I’d also like to move my truck and camper to a safer location. Is that okay?”

“Very well,” the taller male nodded.

Gregory went to the truck and pulled out a larger bag which he slung onto his back. It looked like it was full as it bulged out a bit. He placed it on the ground, then got into the truck, shutting the door. A strange roaring noise was suddenly heard coming from the truck, a sound that resembled a roaring creature. Then, to the astonishment of everygryphon there, the truck actually began to move. It moved forward then turned slowly to the right. About five minutes later, Gregory came out of the vehicle, having moved his truck and trailer further away from the cliffside and onto a flatter surface of grass. When he came back up, he asked, “Is there a bridge that would be safe for my truck and trailer to cross?”

“Not nearby,” the larger male said.

“Damn,” Gregory said. “Well, that’s a problem for later.” He turned and walked back to the vehicle, going to the back and opening a hatch that Gabby didn’t even know was there. He climbed into the back and rummaged through his belongings before he pulled out a large white suitcase with a red symbol on it that looked like a lower case T with equal sides. A plus sign, she believed it was called by ponies. He opened it up, pulled out several items, and began to treat himself. He winced in pain as he poured some liquid onto the bleeding cuts, then he wiped the cuts before covering them in bandages.

When he was ready, he locked the doors of his car, slung his bag over his shoulder, and the four of them left the scene, leaving the two male watch members behind, Gabby fell into step with Gregory as the two first watch members lead them towards the Abyss. Since Gregory couldn’t fly over, Gabby and the two watch members carried him and his largerbag across, landing him gingerly on the pathway towards the former capital of the Imperium.

When they were out of sight of the truck and camper, Gabby heard Gregory fumbling around with the smaller pack, which he had slid around so it was on his chest. Looking up, she saw he was reaching inside. “Gregory? What are you doing?”

He looked down at her. “Well, when I was down there in that canyon, I saw something that really caught my eye. Here, have a look.” He reached into the bag and pulled out a large and very familiar golden object, a spiral wing surrounding a glowing pink sphere both placed on a pedestal. Gregory held it up to the sunlight, letting it see the light of day. It glistened in the sunlight and despite having been lost for centuries, it hadn’t lost its golden sheen.

“The Idol of Boreas…” Gabby gasped in awe.

This caught the attention of the two watch members, who stopped and turned around. Their eyes both widened as they too approached. “Where…did you get that?” the female asked, eyes as wide as saucers.

“It was sitting on the ledge where I landed,” Gregory explained. “In fact, I landed my butt right on top of it.”

The three gryphons slowly approached, gaping in wonder at the long-lost Idol of Boreas. Even Gabby stared in wide eyed astonishment as she approached. All eyes were locked onto the glowing crystal, which swirled from within with what could only be described as mists of pink and purple clouds. The three gryphons all stared at the Idol, unblinking and unmoving for the longest time.

Gabby reached out slowly, mouth agape, and touched it before anyone else could speak. It was warm to the touch, and she felt a swelling of pride the moment she did touch it. Her wings sprang up and she felt a wave of something wash through and over her, banishing all of her exhaustion. For the first time in her entire life, she felt like a true gryphon, like the gryphons of old. At least, that’s what she assumed it was in the moment. It felt amazing, and she stood taller than she had ever done.

The watch members came forward and they too reached out, touching the Idol that was still in Gregory’s hand. Gabby could tell that they, too, felt the same power flow through them the moment they touched it.

Gregory looked at them with confusion as he backed away. “Um…are you okay?”

And with that, the hypnotic spell was broken, but not the results. All three gryphons felt new life within them, a new sense of pride and not the foolish pride that had fallen onto all gryphonkind throughout Gryphonia. Gabby approached him. “Gregory, do you realize what this is?!”

“Um…you said something about an Idol of Boreas?” he asked, seemingly confused. “Is that important?”

“It’s only the most important artifact in the history of our species!” Gabby nearly shrieked with excitement, her wings fluttering behind her.

“We need to get this back to the Eyrie immediately!” the female watch member said.

“Well, if this is a piece of your people’s culture, then here you go,” Gregory said, holding it out for the watch members to take.

To Gabby’s surprise, the other two gryphons actually recoiled from it. “No,” the female said, then he pointed at Gregory. “You’ll have to come with us to the Eyrie, now. Again, you’re not under arrest, but you found the Idol. It’s your duty to place it back where it belonged.”

Gabby remembered the old tales about the Idol now, and one of them did state that if anygryphon were to actually find it, they had a duty to bring it back to the Eyrie, the former imperial palace of the Emperor, and place it back on the pedestal. “He’s not a gryphon, though,” the female said, not with anger, but with confusion.

“Oh yeah…you’re right,” the male said, gaining a thoughtful look in his eyes. “And he technically doesn’t have to give it back to us.”

“You can have it back,” Gregory said, “I don’t have use for it.”

“What about for money?” the female asked. “Couldn’t you sell it?”

“Yeah, if I wanted to be a greedy bastard about it,” he said plainly. “It’s not mine, so it should be taken back to this Eyrie you mentioned, but I don’t know the way.”

“We’ll escort you, sir,” the female said, and Gabby noted the new tone of respect that she had in her tone.

“I’d appreciate that, thank you.” He then paused and looked at the two watch members closer. “I didn’t catch your names.”

“I’m Garson,” the male said, before gesturing to the female, “and this is Gretyl.”

“Garson, Gretyl, nice to meet you,” Gregory said, “and thank you for showing me to the Eyrie.”

The two watchgryphons straightened and put their closed fists on their chests. “It’s an honor to help the Bearer of the Idol,” Garson said.

Gregory looked confused by this, but simply nodded. Turning to Gabby, he said, “Will you come with me?”

She nodded, a wide smile on her face. “I’m not missing this!” she declared.

He chuckled a bit nervously, then turned to Garson and Gretyl. “I’m ready to go.”

As the four of them walked up to Gryphonstone, Gabby looked up at the human. His skin did look a lot healthier than it had, and there was more color in it. He held the Idol in his less injured hand while keeping his other one underneath the pedestal. She inwardly smiled at the reverence he was showing the Idol, but noted that he had a somewhat worried look on his face. “Are you sure you’re okay, there?” she asked.

Gregory looked down at her, smiling. “I’m feeling better, I promise,” he said. “I guess I’m just worried.”

“About what?” she asked.

“About what’s going to happen to me next,” he admitted. He chuckled a bit nervously. “I don’t have any money for a place to stay, and I can’t get to my truck without help. Truthfully, I was hoping that the portal would drop me off somewhere else.”

“Where?” Gabby asked.

“Equestria,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to see it. Especially this one town called Ponyville.”

“Oh…” For reasons she didn’t quite understand, Gabby felt sad. She’d just made a brand-new friend, and she didn’t want him to go. Then again, once he saw what Gryphonstone looked like, she wouldn’t blame him for wanting to leave. “I know somegryphon who’s been to Ponyville before,” she said, “and I’ve been there a few times.”

“Really?” Gregory asked eagerly as he turned to her. She was surprised to see the excitement in his eyes. “What’s it like?”

“It’s pretty quiet,” she said. “Clean, very clean, too. The ponies there are pretty nice to me when they see me, although there was that one time that Gilda went. They were scared of me for a bit afterwards…”

Gregory’s lips curled into a strangely knowing smile which vanished the moment she saw it. “Well, I’ve wanted to meet the Elements of Harmony for a while, now,” he said. “I’ve heard nothing but good things about them, and I wanted to say hi to them all.” His smile faded and he sighed sadly. “The only money I have isn’t worth shit here, I’m sure of it.”

“Really? What kind of money?” Goldy asked.

Gregory reached once more into his smaller back, opened it and pulled out a leather bound object, which he opened. He took out a few pieces of green paper and some coins from a smaller leather pouch, holding them up. “These.”

Gabby took and looked at the strange money curiously. There was writing on them and pictures of other strange looking humans on them. She could read the letters, and the coins and paper had an unusual feeling to them. When she gave them back and after he put them away, Gabby said, “I…could give you some talons.” She couldn’t hide the reluctance from her voice.

Gregory shook his head. “Gabby, as much as I’d love to see Equestria, I’d prefer to earn my way there, not just take advantage of you when we’ve just become friends.”

In response to that, the gem on the idol brightened, then returned to its normal glow. Gabby stared at it with awe once again, then looked back at her new friend. “I don’t know if we can get together some gryphons to help move your truck thing and trailer over to Gryphonstone,” she said, “but I can ask around later.”

“Thank you,” Gregory said, “but let’s get this Idol of Boreas back to where it belongs.”

She nodded, then pointed ahead to the city gates. “We’re here.”

Once the four passed through the Golden Wing Gate that led into Gryphonstone, many gryphons began to take notice of them, especially to what Gregory held in his hands. They all stared at it in wonder, and Gabby saw similar reactions to how she felt the moment she touched it. Soon, the streets that lead to the Eyrie were crowded with gryphons trying to get a glimpse of the idol itself. Gabby hid a smirk when she saw even Gilda, one of the crabbiest of gryphons, staring at the Idol. The crowd grew so thick that Gabby suggested to Gregory that he hold it up so that the gryphons could see. He did just that.

The streets got so crowded after Gregory started holding the Idol up that Garson went to gather more of the city watch, who helped keep the crowds of gryphons at a short distance so as not to crush the human and his entourage. They almost pushed Gabby away, but Gregory interjected for her, insisting that she stay by his side. Gabby heard murmurs among the crowds, calling him the Idol Bearer or just the Bearer, for the most part.

It took them over an hour, but eventually they made it to the dilapidated Eyrie, Gabby never leaving Gregory’s side. He looked nervous as they walked up a flight of wide but winding stairs that led towards the old and abandoned throne room at the top of the Eyrie itself. After a while, the guards, Gregory, Gabby and a large crowd of gryphons were in the room. The latter piled around, forming a circle around the purple tree stump where the idol had once sat.

When the crowd had settled down, all eyes turned to the human. Gabby could tell that even he felt very out of place and fearful, so she stood on her hind legs and put a comforting claw on his shoulder. “You’ll be fine,” she said reassuringly. “Go ahead.”

“This is all happening way too fast,” he said, but swallowed and straightened his back. Turning to Gabby, he gave her a warm smile. “Thanks, Gabby.” With that, he turned back to the Idol’s stand, walked over to it, and knelt before it. He brushed away the few fungi that were growing out of it, wiping it clean with his sleeve before he placed the Idol down on the trunk. Standing, he took a step back and watched with the rest.

For about ten seconds, nothing happened. The Idol’s pink gem kept on glowing with the inner clouds moving in a spherical motion. Then, there was a bright flash of light from the Idol. It illuminated all the room, and later Gabby would learn that the light shone out of the Eyrie across all of Gryphonia. Anygryphon who saw it or was even bathed in its light felt renewed sense of pride. That day, every gryphon in the continent and even the world stood just a little bit taller, regardless of station or how wealthy or poor they were.

The light lasted for about a minute before it slowly dimmed, leaving the Idol standing where it was, albeit with a bit of wood having grown around the Idol, keeping it in place. Directly next to it, there was a golden crown, a golden sash with a gryphon emblazoned on a pin, and a simple gold ring, gemless and markless.

There was silence in the former throne room, gryphons looking around at gryphons, all wondering what was to be done now that the idol was back and the kingly accoutrements had reappeared after King Guto vanished from Gryphonstone with his family across the Hyperborean Mountains.

Everygryphon had one question on their minds: What now?