A Renewed Ending

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

Gregory didn’t show it as the impromptu meeting group looked over the small menus provided by the inn, but he was not in a good mood. That was a very recent development, especially considering the fact that he had just seen two ponies who shouldn’t be in Gryphonstone. If the show was correct about things, Sweetie Drops, AKA Bon Bon, and Lyra Heartstrings were both in the city. He had spotted them despite their attempts to hide from him with the oldest trick in the book, hiding behind their menus. Not only were the changelings sent to spy on Gryphonia, but now the ponies sent in a former special agent? He didn’t appreciate it, and decided then and there to bring it up to the Convocation fast. He knew this might mean he would have to reveal the truth about MLP to them, but so be it. He was tired of not being able to talk about it to his other friends aside from Gabby.

Still, he pushed that aside in favor of other more pressing issues. More specifically, the Crystal Empress sitting in the same room as him along with her consort. Deciding to go a bit simpler this time, he chose to get some of the house meat and potato stew, the brown bread, and a slab of cheese along with a large mug of their signature dragon-made bliss, which had a flavor that was unique. Silica got herself the same but instead of cheese she got a small bowl of gems. It always fascinated Gregory that dragons here ate gems. It seemed like a waste until he remembered that gems here were much more common.

Shining Armor and Cadance both ordered the same thing, and to his surprise they got tomato soup along with grilled cheese and a salad. They both got water as their preferred drink. After Smolder took our orders and removed our menus from the table before leaving us alone, Cadance spoke up. “Mr. Graystone, thank you for taking time out of your day to speak with me. I apologize if there’s any inconvenience.”

“Truth be told, I did ask for the day off for a personal holiday that I was planning on celebrating with my friends,” Gregory said honestly, “but I’m not upset about that. As a member of the Convocation, the meeting was important and I couldn’t put it off.”

Cadance’s ears flattened. “I’m very sorry about taking your day off away from you.”

“Again, it’s not your fault,” Gregory said. “I’m not upset about that.”

“Then what are you upset about?” Shining asked bluntly. This earned him a smack on the back of the head from his wife.

“Caught on, did you?” Gregory chuckled dryly. “Believe me, it’s nothing you need to worry about. It’s something a bit more personal that I can deal with later. But for now, you wanted to talk with me about humans? Does this have anything to do with Jason Wright and his vengeful attack on Canterlot and the destruction of Ponyville?”

There was silence in the room before Cadance spoke carefully. “Please understand, I want to make sure that my empire is safe from anything he and the changelings might do. He might have only stopped us from coming to assist our former ally, but I need to prepare in case he does something to act against us.”

“Well, there’s a simple question you should ask yourself, then,” Gregory said. “Were you involved in the three years of torture and blatant xenophobic hatred towards him leading up to his suicide attempt?”

Cadance looked a bit sick at the mention of suicide, and Shining rubbed her back to comfort her. Slowly, she shook her head. “Until the attack on Canterlot, I didn’t even know he existed. Nopony in my empire knew.”

“From what I do know about Jason’s attack on Equestria, it was fueled by revenge against those who wronged him,” Gregory explained. “The little I do know indicates that he could have easily put the ponies he considered guilty to death, but eve when he burned Ponyville to the ground, he didn’t want anyone dead.”

“He did run into a burning building to save a foal,” Shining muttered.

That was something that Gregory hadn’t known, but he nodded. “That only enforces my point. I don’t blame you for being worried about Jason and the changelings. I am, too. I’m a citizen of this continent now, and since I’m a part of the newly forming government I have to think about how to protect my fellow citizens from threats, internal or external. But from what I do know about Jason, it seems as if he is protective of the only species who showed him any form of kindness and acceptance. He probably saw them as kindred spirits thanks to how well they would be treated by ponies even if they did come forward with the hopes of integration.”

He felt a claw on his shoulder. Silica squeezed it with a look of worry on her face. “Gregory…” she said in a concerned tone.

Realizing that he’d been ranting, he reigned in his frustrations. “Sorry about that,” he apologized. “I don’t know what you have planned for Jason and the changelings, but I think all they want right now it so be left alone, so that’s what I suggest you do. Let them come to you if that’s what they want.” He felt like a hypocrite for saying that, especially since the Convocation had been keeping subtle tabs on the changelings who were in the city.

“Princess Celestia did say that Jason wanted to be left alone,” Cadance said.

“Then there you go,” Gregory said. “Also, I don’t want to sound callous, but Jason held back. Especially when compared to what some other people would do, and I don’t just mean humans. Every creature has a dark side to them. If certain other creatures had endured three years of torment, they may have gone the scorched earth route. Does that make sense?”

Cadance and Shining looked pale at this, but the former nodded. “Yes, I guess in hindsight what you said makes sense.”

“How?! Everypony in Ponyville lost their homes!” Shining exclaimed in shock.

“Better their home than their lives,” Gregory said, eyes narrowed at the idiot unicorn. “He clearly didn’t want to go too far. Even Jason had some morals, which is more than I can say for Ponyville.”

Cadance’s ears flattened again. “Shiny, he’s right. Just think about it. Besides, Jason didn’t destroy that castle in town,” she added. “There’s plenty of room in there for everypony in town to live during the winter.”

Shining deflated a bit, but nodded in agreement. “It just seems callous,” he muttered.

“I understand,” she said in a soothing tone, “but it’s better to lose your belongings than your life. If I had to choose between my title as Empress and my family, I’d give up my title. You and Flurry mean more to me than any empire.”

Shining perked up a bit at that, and he nodded. “Me too,” he said.

Cadance put a wing around her husband, then turned to Gregory. “I’m sorry about the questions and if they were rude,” she said, “I just want to be sure my family and the citizens of the empire are kept safe from any potential threat.”

“That is something I can understand perfectly,” Gregory agreed. He had little political knowledge, but that was growing exponentially thanks to his seat on the Convocation. That, and the examples he saw in other fiction, like the Galactic Republic from Star Wars or the United Federation of Planets from Star Trek. “Was there anything else you wanted to talk about?”

Before she could answer, Smolder came in with a gryphon employee behind her. Both of them were hovering while holding platters of food and drink which they set down on the table before distributing. “Here you go,” Smolder said with a grin after setting the last plate down. “Hope you all enjoy!”

“Thanks, Smol,” Gregory said with a grin.

This earned him a growl from the orange dragoness, but said growl turned into a grin. “I’ll get you someday,” she said.

When she was gone, Cadance looked like she’d remembered something. “By the way,” she said, “on another subject altogether, I heard you mention something called an adventurer’s guild to the bartender.”

“He’s actually the co-owner,” Gregory corrected her, then chuckled. “Yes, I did mention that. Garble is a new addition to town, and he likes the idea of an adventurer’s guild in town.”

“Interesting…actually, the Empire has an adventurer’s guild in the city,” Cadance said.

That caught Gregory’s attention and he turned to her. “Seriously?” he asked. “I was under the impression guilds went out of style-oh wait, the Empire is still about a thousand years out of date.”

“Exactly,” Cadance said. “The crown has been hiring adventurers to explore potential new sites for colonies in our old territory.”

When did this world turn into some isekai anime? Gregory thought. “Hmm…I did promise that I’d bring this up to the Convocation. Do you think that you could send a couple of adventurers our way? Maybe even the guild master? I think it’d help to know just how your guild works to see if we could replicate it here.”

“I can ask, or you could make a request of the guild,” Cadance said with an amused smile.

Gregory chuckled. “I’ll bring that up with the others.”

After a few moments of silence, Silica actually decided to speak up. “Hey, may I ask a question?”

“Of course,” Cadance said.

“Well, I’m pretty sure I know the answer to this,” Silica said, “but your empire is old but also temporally displaced. Do you have any information on humans in some archive or library somewhere?”

Cadance paused and put her fork down, the salad on it untouched. “I had some of our scholars begin to scour our city’s library and any archives after Jason’s invasion, but we have so many books and records that it’ll take a while before we find something, if anything.”

“Oh, I see,” Silica said, sounding both disappointed but hopeful.

“Silica here is a dragon who has a fascination with human myths,” Gregory explained. “Frankly, I was surprised that they exist in any sort of myths or legends here.” He gestured to the sword he had hung up on the wall next to the door. “See that sword there? That’s a human artifact.”

“May I have a look at it?” Shining asked.

Gregory nodded. “Please be careful,” he said, “Silica gave that to me as a gift, and I don’t want it to be damaged since that’d be insulting to her.”

Silica looked touched at that and gave Gregory a smile, one which he returned. Shining gently lifted the sword up and partially unsheathed it before hovering it over to him. He pushed his chair back and looked at it curiously. Cadance watched too, a look of curiosity on her own face. Gregory saw part of the magic aura on the blade itself brighten, then it moved up and down the exposed blade. After a while, Shining sheathed the sword. “Huh…that’s curious.”

“What is it?” Gregory asked.

“Well, I can’t be too sure,” Shining said, “mostly because my magical detection spell isn’t as good as my sister’s, but I thought I detected a hint of magic coming from the blade.”

“May I try?” Cadance asked.

“Go ahead,” Gregory said, now intrigued.

Cadance unsheathed the sword fully, holding it up for all to see. Gregory had quickly learned how to take care of the sword from Silica and had done everything in his power to make sure the gift from her was sharp and well oiled so it didn’t rust. He also stored it as best as he could. He watched as Cadance performed the same spell on the sword before carefully sheathing it and hanging it back on the hook where it was before. “You’re right, Shiny,” Cadance said, “there is a spell on that sword. Multiple spells, in fact. But spells that weren’t cast by any unicorn or even alicorn. Hay, not even anycreature I know of that can cast magic.”

“Not a centaur? Or a Saddle Arabian unicorn? Or…what other creatures can cast magic…flying reindeer?” Gregory ran through a list of creatures he knew from the show that could use some form of magic. “Who else am I missing…?”

“I know a bit about distinguishing between the signatures of different races,” Cadance said. “Celestia trained that into me.”

“I wonder if Starlight can do the same thing…?” Gregory muttered to himself. He knew from some conversations with Sunset friend that Cadance and Sunset had interactions back when the latter was Celestia’s student, so he didn’t want to bring Sunset to the attention of Cadance.

“Starlight? Who is that?” Cadance asked.

“Starlight Glimmer’s one of my housemates,” Gregory replied as if not thinking about it. “She’s a unicorn who actually has some impressive skills with magic.”

Cadance nodded. “Then she most likely can perform the spell. It’s called the appraisal spell and it can tell somepony generic details about the object being appraised.”

“I’ll ask her about it later,” Gregory said, making a note to ask not just Starlight, but Sunset and Trixie as well, “but back to the sword. What kind of spells were cast on it?”

“That’s the thing: I don’t know,” Cadance said. “The magic signature belongs to a race that I’ve never encountered. I don’t know which race could have enchanted the sword and as such I can’t tell what kind of enchantments were used.”

“They’re probably spells that have to do with combat,” Shining said, his brow furled as if his mind was churning. “When I was in the Royal Canterlot Guard, I helped to place some basic level enchantments on our weapons. Physical enhancements that kept them from being broken as easily, a spell that kept the weapons from feeling too heavy, spells like that. How many enchantments did you detect?”

“Three,” Cadance said, “but there could be more. My appraisal magic isn’t the best.”

“Well, that’s more than I knew about the sword,” Silica said.

“Where did you find it?” Shining asked.

“I didn’t,” Silica said. “I traded a good portion of my hoard for it from another dragon. He said he got it from another dragon who died soon after. I tried getting answers, but I got nowhere.”

“That’s a shame,” Gregory said. “What about those gauntlets you gave me?”

“Those I found in a small lake way out to the east,” Silica said, “but that’s all I found there. I suspect that they were lost by whoever was using them at the time.”

“Huh…I see. Well, that’s a shame,” Cadance said. “Do you have other human artifacts?”

“A few,” Silica said. “I even bought a human skull one time.”

That caught Gregory’s attention, and he turned to her. “You got a what?!”

“I buried it,” Silica said. Turning back to Gregory, she said, “The individual who I bought it from was using it as some sort of trophy. You might see me as obsessed with studying humans, but that was too far for me. I buried the skull out of respect.”

Gregory relaxed. “Who would use that sort of thing for a trophy?”

“A passing centaur,” Silica replied. “She never gave her name.”

That surprised Gregory a bit. He wondered just what kind of society centaurs had. “Well, thank you for being so respectful,” he said gratefully.

“Could the humans in legends come from your land?” Cadance asked.

Gregory shook his head. “I seriously doubt it. It took certain means for me to get here, and I doubt that any past humans from my lands could have come close to duplicating the process I used to get here.” Which, to him, meant that there were, or perhaps even had been, a group of humans who were native to Gaia at some point in the past. That was unusual, and since the Equestria Girls universe either didn’t exist here or hadn’t been discovered thanks to a lack of portal to the other world, their knowledge of the human race had to come from somewhere else.

One theory he’d had was that Gaia was Earth in the far future, but that was a theory which he’d dismissed immediately because the continents looked nothing like those on Earth. Plus, he’d studied the moon with a telescope he’d brought from Earth and it was nothing like the one he knew. Plus, the two princesses having to raise the sun and moon meant that either this was a geocentric world or the princesses moved the world instead of the celestial objects.

Back in the present, Cadance was saying something. Gregory locked in to hear her say, “So where are the humans now? You say the humans we know about from the past and yours are different. Could that mean they’re two different species with the same name?”

“Not at all,” Silica said. “Did you see the depictions on the sword? They match Gregory’s appearance.”

“And Jason’s, too,” Cadance said.

“Twilight knew what a human was,” Shining said, “so I guess that theory goes out the window.”

“I don’t know what the difference is between humans from my land and the humans who made that sword,” Gregory said, “but at the moment I’m focusing on matters more relevant to the present. Silica’s been studying Gryphonian records, supervised of course, and searching for anything regarding humans, but so far there’s been nothing.”

“That’s completely understandable,” Cadance said. “I will send a message if our scholars find anything about humans, even if it’s just a single mention in an ancient book.”

“Silica and I would both appreciate that,” Gregory said.

“On a lighter note, this food and the bliss is very delicious,” Cadance said with a small smile.

“Definitely better than soldier rations,” Shining added.

“Do you always have to compare things to when you were a guard?” Cadance asked with a hint of annoyance in her tone, but with at twinkle of amusement in her eyes.

“Force of habit, dear,” Shining said apologetically.

“We don’t exactly have what you or Equestria might consider fine dining,” Gregory said, “mostly because we don’t have nobles, and hopefully never will.”

“What kind of nation are you hoping to build?” Cadance asked curiously.

“One where each citizen is equal in the sight of the other,” Gregory said with conviction, “and one which welcomes all races as equals. One where everyone has equal rights, access to the necessities of life, and one where they can pursue their own happiness. Within reason, of course. Crimes will still be punished justly and hopefully fairly.”

Cadance smiled a bit at this and Shining also nodded in approval. “That is a good sentiment, but you do realize this will take a long time,” Cadance said. “And if you plan on accepting all races as equals, it will take longer. How will you accommodate their needs?”

“I chose to be a member of the Convocation with no pressure on me to accept the offer,” Gregory said. “Frankly, I value the opinions of not just my fellow members, but of other races as well. Every race has a different way of thinking and doing things, and if we are going to continue accepting them, then the Convocation will need to grow. I plan on bringing this up with them at some point in the future.” Just then, a devious idea came into his head. He didn’t let it show as he concluded with, “We already have a dragon and a Saddle Arabian pony sitting in as representatives of the Convocation. Empress, who will you be sending to stand in?”

Cadance thought about this for a little while, looking contemplative, then looking back up and smiling. “I can think of several candidates who would be willing to move here to act as representative,” she said, “and they should come to you within the coming days or weeks depending on how long it takes for me to interview them and bring them up to speed.”

“I think the Convocation will accept a representative, and like we did with the Dragon Lands and Saddle Arabia, we could send one of our own to act as a mediary,” Gregory said. “How does that sound?”

Cadance chuckled softly. “They will be welcomed with open hooves and treated with all courtesy,” she promised.

“Same with whoever you send here,” Gregory promised. He made a mental note to see if he could alter the office room in his house to act as a temporary bedroom for whoever Cadance sent.

Cadance took another bite of salad, and Gregory couldn’t help but watch subtly as she chewed. He was again reminded that she was an equine and as such ate in a manner similar to the equines he knew of from Earth. He looked away and took another spoonful of soup, wondering why in the hell he had focused on that aspect of Cadance. Sipping on the bliss, he enjoyed the uniqueness of the dragon crafted beverage. It had a tartness and even a spiciness that gryphon crafted bliss lacked, and it had become one of the staples of the inn’s cuisine. He had promised to help make the beverage at some point in the future and decided to make that one of his New Year’s resolutions.

Silica must have noticed the change in expression on Gregory’s face because she paused and asked, “Are you alright?” in a concerned tone.

“Huh?” He turned to her and gave her a reassuring smile. “Yes, I’m alright. I’m just looking forward to tonight’s festivities.”

“Oh? Is today a gryphon holiday?” Cadance asked.

“No, it’s a human holiday in my country,” Gregory explained. “That, and we’re celebrating one of our housemate’s holidays, Haynukkah.”

“Haynukkah?” Shining asked. “That’s a Saddle Arabian holiday and-wait, is Princess Amira staying in your home?”

“As is Silica and a number of my close friends,” Gregory said. “When a house was built for me, there were so many rooms that I decided to invite my friends to stay with me. It’s too big for one person, and the three Equestrians who are living with me now were all but homeless. Not to mention the three gryphons with me are close friends and my houseoak home is definitely an upgrade from where they were living. Frankly, I enjoy the company.”

Cadance chuckled at that. “Are humans social creatures, then?”

“For the most part, yes,” Gregory said. “Maybe not as much as ponies are, but most of us need and crave social interaction to stay healthy and mentally sound.”

The moment he said it, he knew it was the wrong thing to say because Cadance’s face fell. Shining noticed this and put a hoof around her back. “I-I see,” she said sorrowfully.

“Sorry for bringing the mood down,” he apologized.

“No, it’s alright,” Cadance reassured him while giving him a smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “Part of why I wanted to talk was to get to know more about humans, after all. Good and bad.”

“All races have good and bad traits,” Gregory said gently, “and it’s not wrong to want to know about them. But a person doesn’t represent a race. There’s a quote from a movie I’m a fan of that could be relevant. ‘A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it’. See where I’m going with this?”

Cadance and Shining nodded. “We ponies do have a herd mindset,” Cadance said.

“Humans less so, but we’re still social,” Gregory confirmed. “Mob mentality can be a dangerous thing.”

“I’ll keep that in mind,” Cadance replied.

The room was silent for a bit, then to the surprise of Gregory, Shining spoke up. “This…might seem a bit out there as a question, but do you know what Ogres and Oubliettes is?”

Gregory almost choked on the soup in his mouth in surprise at how random the question was. “One of my pony roommates told me about it,” he said truthfully, “and it actually sounds shockingly very similar to a game from my homeland called Dungeons and Dragons. You go on quests, roll for initiative, stuff like that. I actually brought a D&D set with me from my homeland.”

Shining’s eyes brightened at that. “Have you played it yet?”

“I’ve been setting up a campaign for my housemates and myself,” he admitted, “but we haven’t started.”

“I’ve been helping,” Silica said proudly.

“Mind telling us about it?” Cadance asked, clearly happy to have something else to talk about that wasn’t so depressing.

“Why the hell not?” Gregory shrugged. “So, the world I’ve created is called…”

“Bonny, what is that?” Lyra asked after they’d finished their meal in the inn. She was looking at a small but brightly glowing crystal that was sitting on the table in their room, the one Bon Bon had gotten for them.

The room they received was a decent size, having two single creature beds with a small fireplace in between said beds. A single lamp sat on a table on one side of the room with another one hanging from the ceiling. Both lamps were oil lamps and could be dimmed with a small switch. Above their beds were small windows that showed the outside, which showed a heavy snowfall coming down. There was also a smaller side room which had a toilet, sink, and shower.

Bon Bon stepped back and looked at Lyra. “It’s a royal artifact that I was given specifically for this mission,” she said. “It’s a two-way communications crystal. One with a direct link to the princesses.”

Lyra’s eyes went wide as the shock went through her. “That’s…wow…if everypony had something like this, it would revolutionize the kingdom!”

“Shh,” Bon Bon said. “This is an ancient artifact that was discovered centuries ago and can’t be replicated,” she explained.

“Aww, that’s a shame,” she said before stepping back. “Should I be out of the way so you can talk to the princesses?”

Bon Bon paused, looking at the aquamarine unicorn before sighing and shaking her head. “No, better that you reveal yourself to the princesses now. Get ready.”

Lyra wasn’t sure what she was getting ready for. She thought that this crystal was a two way audio artifact. She didn’t expect what happened in the next few minutes. Bon Bon tapped the crystal once and it flashed twice, then went back to normal before flashing twice again. Neither pony spoke until the crystal began glowing brightly. Then, to Lyra’s shock, a magically floating image appeared above the crystal showing the princesses standing there. Bon Bon immediately saluted, prompting Lyra to instead bow. “Special Agent Sweetie Drops reporting in as ordered,” Bon Bon said in an official sounding tone.

“Special Agent, thank you for contacting us so promptly,” Celestia’s voice sounded like she was in the room with them. “And…who is this pony with you?”

Lyra flinched. There was the sound of disapproval in the princess’ tone. Fortunately, Bon Bon spoke up first. “This is Lyra Heartstrings, my best friend. Please don’t be mad at her, your highness. She was worried about me, so she came along-”

“I came on my own, your highness,” Lyra blurted out. “I didn’t want my friend going alone.”

There was silence, then the princess sighed heavily. “I cannot fault you for wanting to support your friend, my subject,” Princess Celestia said, “but you could have put her mission in jeopardy. Normally, you would be arrested for this, but this is strictly an unofficial mission anyway. Now then, raise your heads, both of you. Special Agent, what do you have to report so far?”

As Lyra lifted her head, Bon Bon spoke up. “Your highness, I have confirmed that there is a human living in Gryphonstone. He is now a high ranking member of their reforming government which they’re calling the Convocation. His name is Gregory Graystone.”

Lyra saw the looks of worry on both of the princesses faces. A part of her could understand why. Another human in a high ranking position could spell trouble. “Pray tell, Agent,” Luna began, “what is the current state of Gryphonstone? From what we know, it is in great disarray.”

“Lyra and I both explored the city earlier today,” Bon Bon said, “and the gryphons are in the process of rebuilding the city. Lyra, why don’t you tell the princesses what you found on your walk?”

Lyra nervously stepped forward and cleared her throat. “Your highnesses,” she greeted again, “apparently the human retrieved and then returned an artifact important to the gryphons on his first day here. The Idol of Boreas. The gryphons call him the Idol Bearer.”

Lyra knew she had mentioned something significant when the princesses looked shocked. Princess Luna looked at her sister. “Sister, this is unprecedented, correct?”

Princess Celestia returned her sister’s gaze with a serious one of her own. “Nogryphon has been named the Idol Bearer since before the fall of the Imperium.” She turned back to the two unicorns. “Idol Bearer is a title that is rarely given, or should I say was rarely given in the Gryphonian Imperium’s history. It’s a title that is considered an extreme honor. I don’t know if the current generation knows just how important that honor is. The Idol Bearers of old were linked in a magical way to the Idol of Boreas and were basically protectors of the object.”

“Your highness, I think they might just have some inkling of how serious that title is,” Lyra said. “Even the nongryphons I spoke to had a high opinion of him. He works among the citizens when he can. In fact, he was the first to start the cleanup in a big way when he apparently began to clean up the Gryphonstone Library a couple months ago.”

“Is he the type of leader who mingles with the common folk?” Princess Luna pondered.

“It certainly seems like it,” Princess Celestia said with what sounded like a hint of regret in her voice. She stood up taller. “Special Agent, I want you to keep an eye on the goings on there for another week, and then report back to us. With the reopening of our borders, my sister and I will be planning a visit to Gryphonstone to meet this Convocation in the coming new year. When we do, we want you to deliver a message to the Convocation.”

Bon Bon saluted again and Lyra bowed. “Yes, your highnesses,” the two said simultaneously.

“Is there anything else you wish to report?” Luna asked.

“Yes, actually,” Bon Bon said. “Earlier today, we saw Empress Mi Amore Cadenza and Emperor-Consort Shining Armor having a private meeting with Gregory Graystone and a dragon female.”

The princesses looked shocked by this revelation. “Cadance is there…? Do you know why?” Princess Celestia asked.

“Probably to make alliances or trade deals,” Princess Luna replied. “If I recall correctly, before Sombra rose, Empress Amore was on good terms with the gryphons. Remember the front of Crystalia’s main library? There are two statues of gryphons there.”

“Yes, you’re right. She did have a good relationship with Gryphonia back then,” Celestia said. “Special Agent, do you have any information about this visit?”

“We only just got here this morning, Princess,” Bon Bon said, “but we’ll get more information as best as we can.”

“Excellent,” Princess Luna said, “and can you tell us anything about the influx of pony refugees to the city?”

“Only that a number of unicorns are being hired to help grow houseoaks,” Bon Bon said.

“A houseoak? What is that?” Princess Celestia asked.

“It’s the same type of tree house that was once the Golden Oak Library in Ponyville,” Bon Bon explained.

The two princesses looked at each other, then back at Bon Bon. “Special Agent, please get as much information on these houseoaks as you can,” Princess Celestia said.

“Yes, your highness,” Bon Bon said.

“Is there anything else to report?” Princess Luna asked.

“Not at this time, your highnesses,” Bon Bon said.

“Very well. If anything special comes up, contact us directly,” Princess Celestia said. “Good luck out there.” And with that, the floating image vanished in a flash of light just like it had appeared.

Lyra felt her body instantly relax. It had been a while since she’d seen either princess, and each time it was tense. The only exceptions were when she was a filly in magic school. Back then, she was innocent and didn’t quite know any better. Not only that, but Princess Celestia didn’t care much for being treated like a princess in the classroom. She sat down and looked at Bon Bon. “What are you planning now? How are we going to get the information the princesses want?”

Bon Bon gave Lyra a small glare before sighing in a resigned tone. “There’s a small town in the valley called Gryphonville. Tomorrow, you’ll go there and pretend to be another refugee. Plus, look for the apothecarist.”

“The apothecarist? Why?” Lyra was confused.

“She and her apprentice are the source of the houseoak information,” Bon Bon explained.

“Who is she?” Lyra asked curiously.

“I didn’t get that information,” Bon Bon replied, “but she’s apparently quite knowledgeable about magic and is the source of the houseoak information.”

Lyra nodded, then looked up at the window. “Well, if the snow doesn’t stop, what should I do? I doubt I can make it down there by myself.”

“I have some emergency talons with me you can use to hire somegryphon to fly you down,” Bon Bon said, indicating her bag with a nod of her head. “Let’s just hope this storm doesn’t turn into a nor’wester.”

“Your majesty, it looks like we may have to hunker down at our base of operations for a little while,” General Nictis said as he looked at the stone projection screen in front of him. On it, he saw Emperor Jason and the rest of the Imperial Swarm looking at him.

“Why is that?” the Emperor asked.

“Your majesty, the weather here has gotten worse over the past few hours,” the general said. “The locals told us that this is the first sign of what they call a nor’wester.”

“What on Erda is that?” Chrysalis asked with a scowl.

“From what we’ve been able to gather, it’s a deadly winter storm that can strike hard and fast,” Nictis explained. “It apparently lasts three to five days depending on the severity of the storm.”

“You’re all set on love concentrate, right?” Emperor Jason asked, and Nictis felt a surge of happiness at the question. Jason sounded concerned for them.

However, as a consummate professional, he didn’t let it show, simply nodding. “We have enough for at least a week,” he said, “and the inn we’re staying at has some ambient love we can use to tide us over.”

It was brief, but Nictis saw a look of relief on his Emperor’s face, but it lasted only a moment before his royal neutrality reappeared. “Very well. Keep us posted on anything you might find from the innkeeper or the guests.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Nictis and the other changelings said.

The moment the transmission ended, Eltrya came up beside him. “So, how do you want us to approach this?” she asked.

Nictis put the communication stones away, then turned back to the other gathered changelings. “If we’re going to be stuck inside for a while, we should do as our Emperor says and gather more evidence. There are more than a few inns in this city, so before we get completely snowed in, we should split up.” He pulled out a map of the city that they’d made during the past week. “Now then, here’s where we’ll all be going…”

“You’re saying that this Convocation has apparently made contact with the Crystal Empire now?” Prince Blueblood growled angrily as he listened to the report as it was being given by Dusky Heart. “First the Dragon Lands and Saddle Arabia and now the Crystal Empire? This is getting out of hoof.”

“What do you want us to do, your grace?” Dusky asked. Behind him were Jade Seed and Dark Desire who were sitting at the table just out of sight.

“Figure out just what on Equus that crystal skank and her limp husband want,” the prince said with a scowl. “If Gryphonia continues amassing allies, then Equestria could descend further into our economic depression. We need to find a way to stop it.”

“Pardon me, your grace,” a feminine voice said from just out of sight, “but I may have a suggestion.” Dusky knew that voice, and it was confirmed when the familiar form of Marchioness High Life came into frame.

“What is it, Marchioness?” Blueblood asked.

“Well, what do you think about…” and at that moment she leaned in and whispered something into the prince’s ear.

The prince’s eyes lit up with a devilish glint as he listened, followed closely by a grin that sent shivers down the spines of everypony there. “Marchioness High Life, you’re a genius!” He then turned back to Dusky Heart. “Dusky Heart, you and your group are going to make sure that things over there return to their previous state.”

“How should I do that, your grace?” Dusky asked.

“I am about to show you my brilliance,” the prince replied with his normal cocky grin. “Here is my plan.”

Dusky, Jade, and Dark all listened as the prince outlined the idea. The three exchanged looks of wonder at the idea. It was something that they could easily do, they knew, but the question was could they do it with the current weather? When the prince was finished, Dusky spoke up. “Your grace, the weather here is growing increasingly risky for us to go out in. The locals are saying a massive storm is likely approaching so we may be stuck inside for the next few days.”

“So what? That means every other creature will likely be inside as well,” Blueblood said. “Besides, you can still talk with whoever is in the inn you’re staying at, can’t you? Get a head start on it.” Beside him, the marchioness nodded in silent agreement.

“Understood, your grace,” Dusky said, “we’ll do just that.”

“Excellent. Is there anything else you can report?”

“Nothing else at the moment, your grace,” Dusky replied.

“Good, then you will report back at this same time next week,” Prince Blueblood said, “and if there’s an emergency you know how to contact us.”

“Yes, your grace,” Dusky said as he bowed. When the image vanished in a blink of light, he turned to his cohorts. “Okay, everypony,” he said, “it’s time to plan.”