A Renewed Ending

Thursday, December 30, 1007 A.L., Equestria

Special Agent Sweetie Drops, former top agent of the Secret Monster Intelligence League of Equestria, was currently disguised as a refugee. Her cover name was one of her old aliases, Candy Wrap, a sweets connoisseur similar to her Bon Bon persona which in itself was closer to her real self. Her normal mane style was straighter and more ragged. She was wearing her old blue glasses instead of her normal contacts and a ragged baseball cap. Her bag, which itself looked old and ragged, was a clever disguise meant to throw ponies off because the contents inside were some of her former gear. Technology that even now wasn’t available to Equestrian civilians.

The coach car she was in was half full of real refugees from other small towns across Equestria, and that included some fillies and colts. Most everypony in that carriage was asleep since it was thirty minutes to midnight. The train would be arriving at the Gryphonstone Station in the early hours of the morning.

Sweetie Drops adjusted herself in her chair, leaning against the window and looking out at the passing landscape. The sky was cloudy above but she could see some patches of the winter night sky through holes in the clouds. She wanted to sleep, but all of her old training was coming back to her. She admitted that she was rusty, but just like riding a bike, the skills never truly left. Closing her eyes, she allowed her body to relax while her mind stayed alert as did her ears. Soon, she was breathing regularly as if she was asleep. She even included a soft snore here or there to make things more convincing.

The door to the car behind them slid open and a pony slowly and quietly began walking through the car itself. Something about the way the pony walked caught Sweetie’s attention because it sounded familiar. She quickly sifted through her memories until she remembered. Swiftly opening her eyes, she sat up and looked at the dark figure of a pony sneaking down towards the next car. “Lyra?” she whispered.

The teal pony paused, then turned. In the dimly lit car lights, Sweetie saw the guilty look on her friend’s face. “Surprise?” she said lamely.

Sweetie wanted to be beyond pissed off at her friend. She wanted to lay into Lyra about how dangerous this was and how she was putting herself in unnecessary risk. However, she put that anger aside. She would deal with it later. Still, she gestured for Lyra to follow her as she stood up and walked to the door that led between cars. “You. Follow me. Now.”

Lyra was instantly behind her, her expression sheepish. Sweetie opened the door that led to the outside, the sound a bit loud. The two were soon standing across from each other. Lyra cast some sort of spell that surrounded them in a bubble that made the sound from outside go quiet. There was silence between the two of them as they stared at each other. Presumably in an attempt to make the situation less tense, she said, “I’m digging the new look.” Sweetie didn’t say anything except to give her a deadpan look. “R-Right.”

“What are you doing here?” Sweetie asked, eyes narrowing.

Lyra stiffened, then her expression became serious. “I knew you were up to something, and I’m not about to let my best friend, the best friend I’ve had since my friends in Canterlot, go in alone. Ah!” She held up a hoof to forestall Sweetie’s words. “Let me finish. I know all what you’re going to say. It’s too dangerous. I’ll get in the way. I have a mission to complete. Blah, blah, blah. I didn’t just come here on a whim, you know? Ever since you told me about being who you are, I’ve put plans in place to do just what I’m doing. You know that pottery class that I’ve been taking ever since that time?”

“Uh…yeah.” Sweetie Drops was a bit confused.

Her confusion disappeared when Lyra’s hoof shot out and stopped right in front of Sweetie’s muzzle. Sweetie reacted by moving her own hoof automatically in an attempt to hit Lyra, but before she could stop her body’s natural reaction, Lyra blocked with her free hoof. The two stared at each other for a while, then Lyra grinned. “You like my pottery?”

Sweetie’s eyes bulged. “That…was…nearly flawless,” she exhaled as she forced her body to relax as she looked at her friend. “How did you get so good?”

“I practice every chance I get,” Lyra said. “It helps that I’m a musician who has more free time than a sweets shop owner like you. I wasn’t going to let you go alone on any sort of thing like this. And even if you never went on another mission, eventually I would have revealed my new class and would have sparred with you. Learning martial arts is really good exercise and stress relief.”

Sweetie allowed herself a smile. Anytime she was super stressed about an order, she would take about five or so minutes in a basement in her shop to unleash her frustrations on an old sparring tool. Or, she had done so before her shop and house were destroyed by Jason Wright. “Tell me about it.”

“I won’t let you go into this alone,” Lyra said. “You’re my friend.”

“Ly-Ly,” Sweetie said, letting her Bon Bon side come out, “this is an official order from the crown. I can’t, in good conscience, let you-”

“From the looks of things, you’re heading to Gryphonstone as a refugee,” Lyra said with confidence. When Sweetie looked at Lyra in confusion, the unicorn continued. “I’ve heard the rumors. I’ve heard that their new government is accepting pony refugees, and now that the borders are being reopened, there’s likely going to be a surge of ponies going there, not to mention all of the nonponies who live in Equestria. This surge could further harm the Equestrian economy and potentially boost the economy of Gryphonia.”

Sweetie was flabbergasted. She never thought Lyra was stupid, but to be so insightful? That was something she had never seen before. She felt guilty for underestimating her friend. “Lyra…when the hay did you get so smart?” she asked, a teasing tone in her voice.

“I didn’t just learn magic at Celestia’s school,” Lyra said with a huff. “If you’re this super secret agent or whatever, you should know what I learned about.”

Sweetie sighed and nodded. “Economics. Consumer Math. Politics. Those classes?”

Lyra’s ears drooped in exasperation. “Those were some booooring classes,” she groaned, “but surprisingly useful for my own work. Besides, you know one of my other interests is in other species. Why do you think I wanted your help to learn more about humans?”

“I thought it was because you felt guilty,” Sweetie asked.

Lyra nodded somberly. “That is the biggest reason,” she admitted. “What I did to Jason Wright was wrong. I attacked without provocation. Even if it was Discord’s influence that strung the bow, I was the one who let go of the arrow. I didn’t know anything about humans, and I let my fears and lack of knowledge get the better of me. I want to make up for that by learning more. Still, I can’t let you go into Gryphonia alone. Not because I think the gryphons are dangerous, but because you need a partner. Someone who can give you another perspective.”

“Ly-Ly, this is a simple reconnaissance mission,” Sweetie said.

“So what?”

That simple question threw Sweetie off guard once more. It was so simple. Sweetie Drops the agent had been alone ever since her former partners, Special Agents Dusky Heart, Jade Seed, and Dark Desire had vanished during a mission where she couldn’t go. Her heart ached to see her old companions again, but she had never taken a partner out of fear of losing such close friends again. Now, her was Lyra Heartstrings, her new best friend, a mare who had been there for her during some of her most trying times, even if it was as Bon Bon. Part of her wanted to reject Lyra’s offer and send her home at the next train stop, and all of her training was screaming at her to just give her money for a train ticket back to Ponyville Station. Her emotions, however, were getting the better of her, and she knew it.

She took a deep breath, and made a decision.

Friday, December 31, 1007 A.L., Gryphonia

Dark Desire sat up in bed, looking out at the partly cloudy early morning sky. Next to her lay her latest claim, a young gryphon male with dark purple fur, crimson plumage, and gray claws. His name was Garry, Garrison…something like that. He hadn’t been a bad partner, she mused. Certainly there had been better ones in her experience but he wasn’t one of the worst. For her, it had been the thrill of being with somecreature other than a pony. The thrill was exhilarating. Not to mention how different he felt. And his claws…

She shuddered in pleasure as she reached back to feel at the spot where Gerty or whoever had dug his claws into her, not enough to draw blood, but enough to leave scratches that her fur covered up. She could still feel where he had pulled on her mane. She smirked, her dark green eyes full of mirth. Dusky didn’t particularly care for her method of investigation, calling it uncivilized, but he couldn’t deny its efficacy.

And effective it had been. Her latest target had some very useful intel on this new human. He was apparently known as the Idol Bearer, a title given to him by the citizens of Gryphonstone because he had returned their Idol of Boreas to them which restored their pride or something like that. Gregory Graystone was his name, something they already knew. He lived in the upper levels of the city in a field that the new ruling body, the Convocation, had gifted him. The house was something that Jade Seed had gone to investigate earlier the previous day. Her polaroid photographs were remarkable, showing a massive tree that had windows, doors, and a few balconies. As of the night before, none of them knew how that tree had been grown so fast.

Dark knew, though. Gretin or whoever told her what he had seen during the growing ceremony at Gregory’s new house. Apparently, some zebra mare and a few unicorns had helped to grow the tree in mere minutes instead of the weeks or months it took for houses to be constructed regularly. Not only that, but other houses of these houseoaks were being grown around Gryphonstone and the neighboring village in the valley below, Gryphontown? Gryphon Hamlet? Gryphonville? That last one sounded right.

As for the Convocation, they had apparently made allies with two other nations, or were at least in the process of doing so. Saddle Arabia had been a longstanding ally of Equestria until the Canterlot Invasion and the truth behind it came out. As for the dragons, Dark knew that the dragons and gryphons had been enemies in the ancient past, but they had largely left each other alone for centuries after the collapse of the Gryphonia Imperium. If they were starting to build up some rapport, that could be dangerous for Equestria.

She figured that she had gotten as much information out of her latest conquest, so decided to have some more fun in the early hours of the morning. She brushed her tail against Garfield’s chest, causing the young gryphon to wake. He opened one eye, yawned, then slowly sat up. “You’re an insatiable little pony,” he said with a predatory grin that sent shivers of multiple types down Dark’s body.

She moved closer, pressing her body against his. “What can I say?” she purred, “I like what I like.” She pushed him onto his back, looking down at him as she licked her lips. “You’d better be ready for more.” She cast a silencing spell around the room, then leaned down…

“Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind? Should old acquaintance be forgot in the days of auld lang syne? For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne. We'll drink a cup of kindness yet for the sake of auld lang syne.”

Gregory was singing quietly to himself early on the morning of New Year’s Eve as he continued taking down the Christmas tree he had put up nearly a month ago, dutifully and carefully wrapping the Christmas lights up so that they wouldn’t break or get damaged in storage. He had bought a lot of spares, including LED and incandescent. It wasn’t like he could buy any more, although Starlight had assured him that Equestria did have nearly similar lights. That, however, wasn’t a guarantee.

From the door to the kitchen, he heard a familiar dragon yawn. Turning, he saw Silica walking in, covering her mouth as she smacked her lips. Ever since she had joined the household and learned more about human culture, she had hired Gryphonstone’s best clothier. Instead of the furs she had worn before, now she was wearing pants that had the look of jeans but that were more sweatpants than anything along with t-shirts and hoodies. Since zippers weren’t a thing here, she had to settle for buttons, but she didn’t seem to mind. At the moment, she was wearing what she considered pajamas, a pair of dark blue sweatpants and a floral patterned t-shirt.

Silica looked at what he was doing and a sorrowful expression formed on her face. “You’re taking the tree down already?” she asked. “That’s a shame. I liked how it looked when all the other lights were off.”

“I do too,” he said, “but if we kept it up for too long, it’d lose its magic.”

“I guess,” Silica said as she yawned again. “What were you singing just now.”

“Oh, it’s a song called Auld Lang Syne,” he explained. “It’s a traditional human song that people sing for New Year’s Day.”

“I still can’t believe you celebrate the first day of the year,” Silica said as she walked over to help take the artificial tree down. His tree was pre-lit, but he also added on twinkling lights to add to the atmosphere. “Nobody else on the planet does.”

“It’s just something we do,” Gregory explained as he held one part of the tree down while Silica gently pulled the top off before unplugging the tree top. “It’s why I asked for today off for myself from both my jobs. I’m just as surprised that nobody celebrates it here.”

“I can’t speak for anypony else,” a new voice said from the kitchen door as Amira walked in, her wings fluttering behind her as she came in, “but we’re still celebrating Haynukkah.” She gestured to the menorah on the windowsill. “Almost everypony in Saddle Arabia celebrates it.”

Gregory nodded, still surprised that they had a Hanukkah equivalent in this world. Unlike the Jewish Hanukkah, Haynukkah’s dates were always from December 24th in the evening to January 1st as world calendars all seemed to share the exact same year structure. From what Amira had explained, while the name and the candle aspect of the celebration were eerily similar, the rest of the celebration had a completely different origin and meaning for the Saddle Arabian ponies. According to ancient tradition and with some historical backup, before the inner ocean on the continent dried up to become the Deadly Valley, there had been a massive war between the three Saddle Arabian tribes. The war resulted in the devastation of a large portion of the ocean which inevitably led to the evaporation of the rest.

According to the story, a group of pony soldiers from each side were left stranded in the new desert. Tensions were high, but because the group didn’t have any way to replenish their water supplies thanks to the evaporation of the inland freshwater sea and because they were too far away from any civilization for even a pegasi’s flight to matter, the group got together and tried to come up with a solution that they could use to help them survive. They pooled their resources, including food, water, and oil for lamps along with wood for fires, because the nights grew bitterly cold in the brand new desert.

Sadly, however, they discovered that all they had would only last for a day or so at least, especially the water supply. The closest town, a former coastal town, was too far away for their supplies to last, but the leaders of each group decided to attempt it as one group. So, they began their walk, and soon their water supply began dwindling. They tried rationing it, but the new desert was too hot and they needed to be hydrated. In desperation, they all called out to Eurynome, begging to save them.

As the first day drew to a close, they set up camp, despair in their hearts. But that was when the guards heard flowing water around midnight. They searched and found a freshly formed spring of sorts. A freshwater spring. They quickly filled up their water pouches and the story went that as the last of their pouches were filled, the spring dried up. They felt some reprieve, but there was still some hopelessness among them because the water they had would only last for a few days at best.

That first amount of water lasted them two days. After a third day without water, they called out to Eurynome again, begging for another miracle. That same night, at around midnight once again, the camp heard flowing water. Just like before, a spring had erupted from the ground nearby. The camp refilled their water pouches and even had time to bathe before the spring dried out again.

This happened six more times for a total of eight miraculous springs of freshwater appearing for the soldiers. This gave them enough time to stretch out their supplies in order to reach the former coastal city. The story ended with the group hearing a loud noise from behind. Turning, they saw a massive stream of water flowing out of the ground into an arc across the sky, forming a temporary rainbow. Not only that, but the water showered over the soldiers, cleaning the dirt off of their bodies. They took it as a sign from Eurynome.

Another miracle that occurred was that no pony had died, although there had been times when death almost claimed some. A third miracle was that the leaders of each group of soldiers bonded so closely during that time that they formed a herd with each other despite the wartime conditions.

It was this story of the miracle of eight springs forming to provide the Saddle Arabians with enough water to survive that caused each side to come to the negotiating table. There, the leaders of each side formed the new Sultanate, uniting each of the three tribes of Saddle Arabians and creating a new nation.

Gregory looked at Amira, who was wearing Saddle Arabian sleepwear herself. “What do we need to do to prepare tonight?” he asked. Aside from celebrating the Blue Moon Festival, Hearth’s Warming, and Christmas, the household had also been joining in the celebration of Haynukkah. Gregory had wanted each group in the house to feel welcome and included, and this was one way he had of showing it.

Amira gave him a grateful smile. “Tonight is the second to last night,” she said, “and there’s nothing too special about tonight that we haven’t done before. The traditional water toast, more of that delicious food, and a small gift exchange. And games, of course.”

Gregory smiled. He had, in anticipation, bought eight gifts for each night, as the gift giving ceremony was more like a White Elephant celebration where gifts were passed around while they sang a song together, or listened to Amira sing since they didn’t know traditional Haynukkah songs. Once each song was finished, the gifts in the hands, claws, hooves etc. of whoever had them at the end of each song were theirs. Gregory had received several interesting gifts, such as Saddle Arabian perfume that Amira gave as her present for the first night, a small stone statue of Emperor Grover that Gabby gave the second night, some gryphon scones that Gilda gave the third night, a couple books about gryphon ancient history that Gallus gave the fourth night, a gold bracelet encrusted with intricately carved gems that Silica gave the fifth night, and a deck of magic cards that Trixie gave the sixth night. “I look forward to it,” Gregory said, and that was the truth. Amira had an amazing singing voice, angelic almost, and the songs she sang in her native tongue evoked feelings of not only longing for the past but a hope for the future.

Silica chuckled. “Eight days of presents. I think if dragons heard about this holiday, they’d be all over it,” she said.

Amira gave the dragon a wry smile. “Oh, I’m sure they would,” she said. She then finally noticed what Gregory and Silica were doing. “Oh? Finally taking down that Christmas tree? That’s a shame. I enjoyed looking at it.”

“Everyone did,” Gregory said as he and Silica separated the middle part together, “but the holiday season’s over for now. I already took down the smaller one in my room.”

There was a gasp from the stairs, and everyone turned to see Trixie walking down the stairs. She was wearing a nightgown and nightcap. She stared at the nearly disassembled tree and the massive bag where it was stored. Galloping down, she looked up at Gregory with pleading eyes. “Can’t you wait until later to take down the tree?” she begged. “Trixie liked the colorful display.”

Gregory just chuckled. “I have tomorrow off,” he said, “and I don’t want to spend it putting away Christmas decorations. Besides, tonight isn’t just day seven of Haynukkah, but it’s New Year’s Eve. We stay up to midnight and ring in the new year.”

Trixie looked back forlornly at the tree, then sighed. “Trixie guesses you’re right,” she said, “but she wishes she could see the lights one more time.”

“Tell you what,” Gregory said, “if the border to Equestria opens again, I can try and order some Hearth’s Warming lights for your room.”

She brightened a little. “It’s not the same, but Trixie guesses it’ll do.” She then turned and headed to the kitchen. “What breakfast does everycreature want? Trixie can get started.”

“I’ll come join you,” Amira said, turning to go to the kitchen.

A few minutes later, the tree and all of the decorations were all stored away in the basement and he and Silica had joined Amira and Trixie in the kitchen to make breakfast. Gregory and Silica were preparing all of the meat portions of breakfast, which included sausage and bacon. Trixie and Amira were preparing other things, such as hash browns, scrambled eggs, and toast. One thing that the group agreed on was a breakfast and dinner in the dining room every morning. It was rare for there to be lunch in the house, but nobody seemed to mind.

Trixie looked around the kitchen at one point, then looked back at Gregory. “Did you take down all of those Christmas linens too?” she asked.

“Everything Christmas is cleaned and packed away,” he said. “Mugs, dishes, and linens.”

“It feels a bit like the color left the house,” Trixie said sorrowfully.

“That feeling will pass in time,” Amira said reassuringly. “Especially when spring comes.”

Trixie’s smile returned. “Trixie can’t wait for spring.”

“That’s when the real work begins,” Gregory chuckled.

The door to the kitchen opened and Gabby walked in, yawning. “Mmm…something smells good,” she said as she looked at the large platters full of steaming breakfast. “That looks delicious.”

“Could you take that out to the dining room?” Silica asked.

“Sure,” Gabby said, grabbing the tray of scrambled eggs and taking them through to the dining room.

Gilda and Gallus came in next, Gilda looking like she’d just taken a shower and Gallus looking like he had bedhead. Both muttered a tired ‘Good morning’ to the group of four making breakfast before they shuffled into the dining room. Soon after, Starlight and Sunset came in, both looking fresh and clean and definitely wider awake than their gryphon counterparts. Sunset was the first to speak. “Anything we can do to help?” the fire colored pony asked.

“We’ve got things under control,” Silica said.

“If you want to help, look in the fridge and grab some of that orange juice we got in yesterday,” Gregory said. The first batch of oranges had arrived from Saddle Arabia two days prior and Gregory had bought enough to make a pitcher of the delicious drink. He still had several frozen cans of juice concentrate from Earth, but he hadn’t used it up yet.

Sunset walked over and grabbed the pitcher. Starlight grabbed several glasses from the cabinets and began setting them on a tray. Sunset began pouring glasses for everybody, then Starlight carried them out to the dining room. Everyone in the kitchen chuckled when they heard the three gryphons cheer at the sight of their coveted orange juice.

Ten or so minutes later, the group were all sitting at the table, passing the trays of food back and forth as they filled their plates with food. Outside the nearby window, a windless but heavy snow was falling, covering the ground with more snow. Winter had come to Gryphonstone. The three gryphons at the table had already had all of their orange juice and were now drinking some bliss instead to wash down their breakfast.

The conversations between them were all simple and friendly, mostly about plans for the day. Silica and Amira planned on staying in and relaxing since there was no Convocation meeting. Starlight, Sunset, and Trixie would be going to the Eyrie. Starlight and Sunset would be going through books in the library while Trixie would be spending time with a few pony foals and the many gryphon cubs there. Gilda was taking the day off and would be spending some time with a few of her newer friends, including Gina. Gallus would be going through the city doing small odd jobs like fixing a few door locks or helping to cover broken windows. Gabby had her job, but she suspected it would be a half day. Gregory, having the day off, planned on going out for a few hours to get some fresh air and to explore the city while getting a bite to eat at lunch, then come home and relax for the rest of the day until the others came back.

Breakfast was just ending when the doorbell rang. As one, the conversation stopped and everyone at the table looked at each other with confusion. “Is anybody expecting visitors?” Silica asked after a few seconds. Everybody else shook their head and gave their denials. “I’ll go see who it is,” the dragoness said as she wiped her mouth with a napkin, stood, and walked out towards the living room.

“Think there’s some girl scouts selling cookies out there?” Gabby joked. That got a chuckle out of the group. One evening a few days ago, Gregory had told the houseguests about Girl Scouts. It had been a random topic about his home and had been one of several things he’d talked about.

“If they found me here, I’d be amazed,” Gregory chuckled, “and then I’d buy all the thin mints they had on stock. God, I miss those cookies. I really should have searched for and downloaded a recipe before I came here.” He looked at the ponies. “Does Equestria have anything like that?” He asked, although he knew that they did.

“There are the filly guides, or the filly scouts,” Starlight said. “There weren’t any chapters in my old town, but my foalhood town had a chapter there. They’re a kingdom-wide organization. There’s also the colt scouts, but they’re not the same organization.”

“Hmm, I wonder if filly scouts have thin mint cookies,” Gregory wondered.

The conversation was interrupted by Silica coming in quickly. “Gregory, it’s for you. It’s Gwendolyn.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow as he stood. “Did she say why she was here?” he asked as he wiped his mouth and took a sip of his orange juice to wash down his breakfast.

“Just that it was urgent,” Silica said. “She’s in the living room waiting for you.”

Gregory nodded, then grabbed his glass of orange juice and walked into the living room. There, he saw the young gryphon sitting close to the fire and warming herself up. When she heard him come in, she stood and nodded at him. “Gregory.”

“Gwen,” he said, offering her his glass. “Hope you don’t mind that I drank this first.”

She gingerly clasped the glass and looked at the three fourths full glass. “Is this what I think it is?” she asked in awe.

“Fresh squeezed yesterday,” Gregory replied.

She took a tentative sip, then shuddered in pleasure. “Oooh…it’s been so long since I’ve had any…it’s better than I remember.” She looked at him. “Are you sure it’s okay to have this?”

“Go ahead,” Gregory encouraged.

She smiled happily, then drank a big gulp, seeming to savor every drop before she set the glass down on the coffee table. Her smile faded a bit as she looked up at him. “Gregory, I’m sorry to visit on a day off, but we’ve got visitors from the Crystal Empire.”

Gregory’s eyes widened in surprise. “Visitors? We weren’t expecting anybody.”

“They caught us by surprise too,” Gwendolyn replied, “but they said they sent us a reply saying they were coming soon.”

Gregory frowned. “You think their letter got lost in the mail?” he asked.

Gwendolyn shrugged. “I wouldn’t be surprised. International mail is always a hit or miss. Our mail service has been trying hard since September to improve, but even they-”

“Hey,” Gregory said, becoming defensive, “don’t knock my and Gabby’s work. They’re trying. I still work there, you know.”

“I wasn’t knocking it,” Gwendolyn said. “I know mail delivery in Gryphonia is getting much better, but international letter delivery is still shoddy at best.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Gregory muttered. “We should all invite reps from each nation over here and get some sort of international standard in place.” He waved his hand to dismiss the issue. “Well, who did they send?”

Gwendolyn smirked a bit. “You’re not going to believe this…”

Empress Cadance walked through the snow-covered city of Gryphonstone, looking around the city in awe. Having lived many years in Canterlot, she could safely say that the city she was walking through was bitter than the cliffside capital city of Equestria. Beside her, Shining Armor and several Crystal Guards walked, being flanked by the Gryphonstone city watch. Shining was walking next to a heavily bundled up Flurry Heart. They would have left her at home for this diplomatic visit, but the young alicorn filly had begged to come, and she and Shining had found it hard to say no to her. She was already four and a half years old and already was very vocal. Celestia had told her that natural born alicorns were quick learners.

Of course, she was still a four and a half year old foal, which meant that the stares of confusion and distrust that the group of ponies received went right over Flurry’s head. Cadance walked closer to where Flurry was hovering. “I think it’s time that you come on down now,” she said to her daughter, “it’s starting to get windy.”

“Awww, but I want to fly,” Flurry whined as she obeyed her mother regardless of her complaints.

“If you behave, and if we have time, then maybe you can fly around,” her husband said, “but only if your guards come with you.”

“But they’re no fun,” Flurry stamped on the ground with her hoof. However, that action caused her to slip into the deep snowdrift and faceplant.

Cadance acted immediately, lifting her daughter out of the snow. “You okay, sweetie?” Cadance asked.

Flurry’s light blue eyes began to water, and then she began to cry. Cadance figured it was more out of being cold or shocked than by being hurt, but she did nevertheless check her daughter over and asked where it hurt. Thankfully, Flurry said nothing hurt, but that she was getting colder. One of the Imperial detail came forward with a blanket and offered it to Cadance, who wrapped Flurry up immediately and carried her in the foal sling around her. “You’ll be okay, sweetheart,” she reassured the now sniffling but no longer crying filly.

“By the Maker,” Shining suddenly said.

Cadance immediately covered Flurry’s ears. “Shiny?” she turned to her husband, who was looking off at something. “What is it?”

He raised a hoof and pointed. “There.”

Cadance turned, and she almost said the same thing. They were passing through an intersection and on their left, they were passing by what had to be a restaurant or a tavern perhaps called Green Dragon. There were two dragons walking out, followed by four ponies and two gryphons. The group was laughing and talking in a jovial manner as they turned to their left and walked down the street away from the group of ponies from the Crystal Empire.

Nearby, on the side of the street next to what looked like a café, Cadance saw a group of two ponies and three gryphons sitting all bundled up and sipping on some hot beverages. They were talking animatedly among themselves. Cadance’s alicorn hearing could catch the conversation as they walked past.

“The Bearer becoming the Chancellor? That’s just a rumor,” the first pony, a young stallion, said.

“It’s more than that! I heard from someone that he made the Chancellor’s Ring move and only he can pick it up!” a young female gryphon replied.

“Where’d you hear that from?” the second pony, a mare, asked.

“Gerald,” the same gryphon female replied.

“That gryphon?!” Another older male gryphon laughed and waved a dismissive claw. “He’s always been spreading rumors. In fact, rumor has it he was born saying some nonsense about overhearing his mother cheating on his father, which never happened.”

“Hah!” the third gryphon, another female, laughed. “That guy loves to spread gossip and rumors.”

As the procession from the Empire walked past, one of the gryphons turned to see them, the older male one. His eyes widened in alarm. “What the fuck…?”

Cadance’s ears flattened. She hated that her daughter had to hear such language, but she should have expected it. She held up a wing to pause the procession. Shining turned to her and asked, “Cadance? What’s going on?”

“Remain here,” she ordered the guards before turning and lifting Flurry over to him. “Wait here, please. I’m going to talk to them for a little bit.” Shining didn’t respond except with a nod as the guards opened up a path for her. She strode over to the group, making herself appear as friendly as she could. When she was within earshot, she raised a friendly hoof. “Hello, there,” she said, “do you mind if I ask you five a few questions?”

Everyone at the table was now looking at her with a stunned expression. The gryphon who had sworn was the first to recover. “What would an alicorn princess want with us?”

“She’s not from Equestria anymore,” one of the mares said by means of explanation. “She’s the new Empress of the Crystal Empire.”

The gryphon looked at Cadance with renewed interest. “Huh…you have nothing to do with Equestria, then?”

“Only that I was born and raised there,” Cadance explained, “but I am my own monarch now.”

The group looked at each other, then the male gryphon spoke up. “You said you had questions? Wouldn’t it be better for someone of your station to meet with the Convocation?”

“I have been invited to see them,” she explained, “but I wanted to get opinions from, well, for lack of a better phrase, cityfolk.”

The group chuckled at that. “What’s your question, Empress?” the first female pony asked.

“What is this Convocation like? If you know anything about them, that is?”

Cadance listened as the group told her about the several members of this Convocation. She knew of Ambassador Geoffrey, having met him a few times when he’d visited the Empire before the Canterlot Invasion. The others she didn’t know, but the descriptions that this group gave her helped her form ideas about them. Gwendolyn seemed to be an integral part of the Convocation, helping keep them organized. She didn’t know what an Imperial Mage was, but it sounded like something important.

Members such as Gael, Ginna, and Georgia made sense since they came from different age groups among the Gryphons. She found it wise of the Convocation to include them for differing perspectives. The inclusion of an individual called Grandpa Gruff didn’t make sense at first, but when she asked, Cadance learned that he was something of an elder among the Gryphonstone community.

It was the inclusion of an individual named Gregory Graystone that confused her. They referred to him as the Idol Bearer, and the gryphons told her about how, back in September, he had appeared from a faraway land and found the mythical Idol of Boreas, returning it to them when he easily could have taken it as they said he wasn’t a gryphon. This caught Cadance’s attention and she asked what kind of creature this Gregory Graystone was. The ponies answered before the gryphons did, explaining that he was unique.

Seeing that they didn’t seem to want to divulge the information, she resigned herself to having to be surprised. She was surprised enough when they told her that the Dragon Lord and the Sultan of Saddle Arabia had already agreed to some trade deals with Gryphonstone and alliances were currently being forged between the three nations. As a leader herself, she immediately clutched onto the hope that she could figure out a means to extend an olive branch of friendship and mutual beneficial trade between her Empire and Gryphonia. She did thank them for letting her pick their brains, then she rejoined her convoy. Shining walked up to her, still cradling the now sleeping filly. “Did you learn anything interesting?” he asked as they resumed their walk up to the Eyrie.

“A little bit,” she said. “and what I’ve learned might be big news when it reaches Equestria.”

“Why’s that?” Shining asked, growing concerned.

“Oh, don’t worry, it’s nothing bad. Not for us, I hope,” Cadance said with a smirk, “but it’ll certainly be a slap in the face to those nobleponies in Canterlot.”

Shining raised an eyebrow, then smirked too. “Good. Those nobles could use a smack.”

She nodded in agreement, then walked closer and leaned against her husband, not caring if it was proper protocol or not. He was her rock, and it always brought her comfort when she was close to her husband. He may have been the Royal Consort, but even she needed someone to lean against, and not just physically.

The past few months had been hard for her, especially with regards to the truth about Emperor Wright’s treatment at the hooves of her own sister-in-law and her friends for three long years. It was a hard pill to swallow, but in the end she had to accept that her former charge when she was a foalsitter had done those things. Not only that, but she had mistreated young Spike, her and her parents. Shining was only marginally better mostly because he wasn’t at home as much during the time before Twilight moved into Canterlot Castle with Spike.

Shining had been training to be in the Royal Guard and didn’t have much time with Spike. Shining had fallen into a deep depression when he realized his own failures and now wrote regularly to Spike. Thankfully, the young dragon wrote back and it seemed as if their relationship was on the mend. Her husband had even invited Spike to live up with them, but Spike had politely declined.

She was still in her own thoughts when they arrived at the gates to the Eyrie. Two large gryphon guards stood there. One of them, a muscular female, stepped forward. “Halt! State your business.”

Cadance stood and reached into her pack with her magic, retrieving the missive from the Convocation. “I am Empress Cadance of the Crystal Empire,” she announced. “This is my husband, Emperor-Consort Shining Armor, my daughter Princess Flurry Heart and my entourage of guards. We were invited here by the Convocation.” She passed the missive over to the guard.

She took it, opened it, and her eyes widened. She turned back to the Empress. “Apologies. I’ll let the Convocation know you’re here. Please step inside.”

The foyer to the Eyrie was larger than either the one in the Crystal Palace or in Canterlot Castle. It had the look of an ancient hall, but there were a few gryphons either cleaning away centuries of grime or repairing parts of the foyer itself. It had a very organic feel to it, without any kind of straight edges anywhere. The place looked like it was made of wood, but a quick scan showed it was made of some kind of stone that she couldn’t penetrate. It only looked like stone. A large chandelier hung over two sets of stairs that led to a balcony which itself led to large winding staircase. Below the balcony was a long hallway where the group saw a large number of gryphon cubs playing with adult gryphons keeping watch.

“Forgive me for asking,” Cadance asked the second guard who had remained behind, “but why are their cubs in here? Isn’t this a place where the Convocation meets?”

“They are refugees,” the guard said. “The changeling Emperor made them leave their colony in the Badlands so they returned here. They’re staying here until winter ends so that new homes can be built for them and their families.”

Cadance immediately understood. Winters in the north where she lived were full of snowstorms, so she could only imagine what storms were like in this mountain city. “I wonder if we can take some of them in back in the Empire…” she thought aloud.

“We do have some pony refugees from Equestria,” a new voice said from the balcony above. Cadance looked up to see a young gryphon female standing there beside the gryphon ambassador. The ambassador was the same as ever, but the female gryphon was new to her. She had yellow claws, light brown fur, long golden feathers in her plumage and bright green eyes. Both wore a dark brown suit, a black tie, and a white cloak with golden fringe and a bright yellow hood. “Empress Cadance, I presume? My name is Gwendolyn, and I am the Imperial Mage and Secretary of the Convocation. I take it you know ambassador Geoffrey?”

Cadance smiled at them. “A pleasure to see you again, Ambassador, and it’s a pleasure to meet you, Miss Gwendolyn.”

“I must say, we weren’t expecting you here today,” the Ambassador said with a wry grin.

Cadance stood taller, smiling up at the gryphon. “I did send a letter about my arrival,” she said.

“We never received anything about that,” Gwendolyn said as she spread her wings and flew down to the ground before them with Geoffrey next to him.

“Our mail service is improving, and even one of our own in the Convocation works part time for them, but international letters do tend to be lost,” Geoffrey said. “When we heard that your envoy had arrived, we set aside a room for you and your group as fast as we could, but please forgive us if it’s not up to your standards.”

“Well, perhaps next time I can send somepony personally to make sure the message isn’t lost,” Cadance said. She could forgive a message being lost especially for a country just beginning to rebuild.

“That would be much appreciated, thank you,” Gwendolyn said.

“And don’t worry about our standards,” Shining said. “As long as we have a place that is warm, dry, and comfortable, we can survive. I’m a former Royal Guard. I’ve slept in some harsh places.”

“The rooms we have set apart for you should more than suit your needs,” Geoffrey said before he turned to Gwendolyn. “I know it’s his day off, but would you fetch Gregory? He will want to be here for this. Ambassadors Amira and Silica as well if they can come.”

Gwendolyn took in a sharp breath. “He won’t like this, but sure.” She spread her wings and flew towards the door, opening it and flying out into the winter day.

Geoffrey turned to Cadance. “Please follow me and I’ll lead you to the Convocation meeting room. I’m afraid you may need to wait for the entire Convocation to meet. One of our own even requested today off to celebrate a personal holiday that his people observe.”

Cadance felt a bit guilty now for arriving at such a time. “If it’s a holiday for one of your own, we can schedule for a meeting another time,” she offered.

“If I know Gregory, he will want to meet as soon as possible,” Geoffrey said. “If he insists on taking today off, we can meet tomorrow.”

“I apologize,” Cadance said, “I should have sent a messenger.”

“With how things are going in Equestria, your messenger may have been stopped at our borders,” Geoffrey said. “There is still a slight mistrust of ponies here, although that is starting to go away for the pony refugees here.”

Cadance nodded in silence as she followed behind Geoffery, who led the convoy up one of the sets of stairs. Flurry Heart was awake by this time and was looking around with awe. She had begun asking tons of questions, but Shining shushed her and said that she could ask later. Geoffrey chuckled at that, turned, and said, “You can let her go play with the gryphon cubs downstairs if you like. It may give some of your guards something to do.”

“A great idea,” Cadance said as she lifted Flurry in her magic and set her down. “Sweetie, Mommy and Daddy need to talk with some important creatures right now. Boring stuff. Would you like to make some gryphon friends?”

Flurry’s eyes went wide with childlike excitement and she nodded. “Yes!” she exclaimed happily.

Cadance smiled happily at this. Foals were always so resilient. Turning to two of her guards, she ordered them to watch over Flurry while she played. The guards took the young princess down the stairs as she flew around, exploring everything. Geoffrey smiled at this as well. “Your daughter is quite an excitable foal,” she observed as they began to walk up the large set of stairs. “I remember when she was just an infant. Those were some interesting times.”

“She’s our little miracle,” Cadance said with a warm tone. In truth, they would have left her at home like they would for other trips of this nature, but she and Shining wanted to use this time as an excuse for a brief family vacation. After this meeting, they were planning on asking about any sort of local sights to see.

“She should be able to make plenty of friends among the cubs,” Shining added.

“Children are our most precious resource,” Geoffrey said.

The group soon reached a level with a set of double doors at the end of a hallway. Geoffrey led them to the door. Turning, he looked at the remaining Crystal Guards. “I’m afraid I must ask that you leave your guards out here while we talk,” he said apologetically.

“Your house, your rules,” Cadance said before the guards could object.

“Stay out here,” Shining ordered.

The guards stiffened and saluted before setting up a watch in their normal formation. Geoffrey then opened the doors and led them into the room where the Convocation met. Immediately, Cadance knew this was an old throne room, but nocreature was sitting in the raised throne. Instead, sitting around a large round table that looked like a tree stump, sat a number of gryphons, some of which looked like they were transparent. Each of them were wearing the same type of outfit that Geoffrey was wearing. Two chairs were quickly brought over by a couple of younger looking gryphons who weren’t wearing the clothes of the Convocation, then they left. Geoffrey pulled out the chairs for the two. “Please sit,” he said, “and we’ll bring you something to eat and drink while we wait for the rest of the Convocation.”

Cadance took note that there were three other chairs opposite hers that looked like they had been made for nongryphons. One had to belong to Gregory Graystone, she surmised, and the others might belong to the two individuals Geoffrey named, Silica and Amira. She surmised they were the ambassadors from the Dragon Lands and Sultanate, although the only Amira she knew was the Princess of Saddle Arabia.

“Allow me to introduce the others while we wait,” Geoffrey said. He went around the table, naming each gryphon. Two of them, the transparent ones, were apparently not physically in Gryphonstone but were in the Dragon Lands and Sultanate, using some Saddle Arabian magic to appear in their seats. Cadance wondered if there was a way to negotiate for this sort of magic for her own empire, or at least she wondered if she could negotiate for its use in future meetings with the Convocations. At least, if there were any future meetings.

The younger pony couple were given some refreshments after introductions were made with a plate of warm bread, cheese, a baked potato with butter, and a mug with a purple drink inside. She looked at the mug, then back at Geoffrey. “Is this what I think it is?” she asked in anticipation.

“I did promise that I would bring you a few barrels before the madness at Canterlot happened, didn’t I?” Geoffrey asked with an actual sheepish look on his face. “Remind me to scrounge up a few aged barrels of bliss for you when you head home.”

“This is bliss?” Shining asked as he lifted the mug and sniffed it. “It smells different from the bliss I remember having in Canterlot.”

“No offense to the ponies there, but Canterlot bliss is not as good as the local offerings,” Geoffrey said.

“I can see that now,” Shining said in appreciation, taking another sip. “I suspect that my wife’s first request will be bliss in exchange for whatever it is you would request from us.”

Cadance lightly smacked her husband with her wing. She loved him dearly, that much was not in question, but she also knew he was not much of a negotiator. Geoffrey laughed at that. “I think you could buy some from local bliss makers without any sort of formal contract,” the older, portly gryphon said. “As long as you pay, they will deliver.”

Cadance relaxed for a bit, until the door behind them opened. She heard a female voice speaking in a Saddle Arabian accent behind her. “You see, Silica? I am more than capable of carrying our gracious host on my back.”

“Hmph!” another female voice said. “It made you look ridiculous.”

“For some reason it felt natural to me,” the Saddle Arabian said.

“Girls, please let’s table this discussion for another time?” a male voice said, “after all, we have a pair of distinguished guests.”

Cadance almost turned around to see who it was, but held herself in place, knowing she’d get a look at whatever creature was coming in a few seconds. And when she saw what kind of creature the male voice, presumably Gregory, belonged to, her composure left her and her jaw dropped.

Gregory Graystone was a human.