A Renewed Ending

Wednesday, November 3, 1007 A.L., Gryphonia

The large space of land that Gregory had been granted by the gryphons was a large grassy area surrounded by a small localized forest. The grass was overgrown, but thanks to him walking through it constantly, there were two paths that had been made from the entrance of his camper. One led out towards the nearest street where a gate existed as an ancient mansion used to exist there before it was destroyed in a fire shortly after the fall of the Empire. Another led to the forest.

Gregory’s camper was a decent mid to upper-sized customized one. Upon entering, one was immediately greeted by a kitchenette/dining area with a decent sized fridge/freezer combo just to the left of the door. To the right of the front door’s entrance was a mid-sized pantry stuffed full of food that could last for a long time. There was also a loft with a full-sized bed above it which he was currently using for extra storage.

On the opposite side of the fridge was a four-burner electric tabletop stove and an oven below it. There was a microwave over the stove top. Next to it was a small sink that could be covered by a dish drying rack with a small window above said sink. Some extra counter space could be folded out next to the door. Above the window were cabinets where he had stored food, plenty of sturdy plates and bowls, pots and pans and other things he thought he’d need for a kitchen. He had a drawer full of silverware made to last.

There was a U-shaped dinette styled table next to the fridge that could be unfolded to form a bed. There was a window behind it. Next to the table there was a decent sized sectional couch that had cup holders and could also fold out to become a bed. Opposite of both was a mounted TV which could be positioned to be in front of the booth or the sectional couch depending on the situation. Below the mount’s location there was a recently installed false fireplace/heater. Above the mount, flush to the ceiling, was the AC unit and recessed lighting.

Further down towards the back was a bathroom with a foot flush toilet, small sink, and a standing shower that had a skylight. Beyond that, there was a door that led to the bedroom which had a queen-sized bed with plenty of storage underneath and two small nightstands with drawers built into them on either side of his bed. There was also a closet in the room with a washer/dryer combo installed inside, a smaller closet for clothes and some drawers built into the walls along with a small one-person desk built into the wall on the left side of the bed. There was another smaller wall mounted television across the bed. The room had two large windows which looked out to the left of the bed and opposite the bed below the TV.

The water tanks he’d had customized so that he could manually refill or empty them by simply opening them up instead of using a hose. Not only that, but he’d had sophisticated filters installed in each faucet to help get rid of any sort of microbes or dirt from the water he would inevitably pour into the clean water tank.

Since it was an older model of camper, he had paid to have speakers installed into the walls and ceilings along with a Bluetooth receiver that connected to them. There were even speakers outside the camper. The speakers also connected to the two televisions in the camper.

Outside, there were two storage compartments near the back, one of which currently held a massive number of physical books he’d bought back on Earth while the other was half full of more books and half full of bulk packs of toilet paper and paper towels. Beside the storage area was an electric grill/flattop stove that came out for outdoor cooking. There was an outdoor mini-fridge next to that, a ladder on the side of the bedroom window which led to the roof, and some outdoor plugs. Lastly, there were multiple stabilizer jacks which he had deployed to keep the camper from moving. He anticipated that the tires would inevitably go flat so he had planned not only to place the tires on blocks but to give added stability by using the jacks as additional support.

Gregory had been extremely lucky during his last year on Earth because the only way he had been able to afford such customizations and the large truck capable of pulling the camper was due to one of the few humans back on Earth who he had a good relationship with. An elderly librarian who he had once worked with in his old town back in his old hometown had been kind to him, inviting him to holidays at her home and basically becoming a foster grandmother to him. Sadly, two years before his arrival on Gaia, she had passed away from a sudden heart attack, but in her will she had left him a hefty sum of money along with all of her worldly possessions.

He’d given most of the possessions away to those he felt needed them more to honor her kind memory, but had kept some that he could replace some of his older and worn-down belongings, including a pair of old lamps that he now had on one of the small nightstands in his bedroom and an antique grandfather’s clock which was situated in the corner of the bedroom. Winding it daily reminded him of her and it always brought a smile to his face. When he’d left Earth to come to Gaia, he had given a few of the larger objects away which he hated because they all had sentimental value to him. Still, he had taken pictures of them and had them in an actual photo album along with other photos from Earth he’d had turned into actual photographs.

The money had been used to fund his plans to get to Gaia. He’d purchased a strong truck and the older camper which he had customized. He also used his money to purchase everything he’d be taking to Gaia, such as food, water, toiletries, clothes that were sturdy and would last for a while, and plenty of books since he wouldn’t be able to bring the internet with him. He also bought plenty of external drives to store media and eBook files as backups in case one broke. He even purchased about three state of the art laptops as backups in case his current one broke down along with three phones for the same reason. He believed in coming prepared, and would nearly daily check on these backups to be sure nothing had happened to them.

Currently, however, he hadn’t been doing that checking. Gregory was sitting on the small couch after a long day of work at the post office and doing construction. The heater was going, but the false fire wasn’t because that was more for ambiance than anything else and he technically didn’t need it. He was nursing a glass of water while reading the little pamphlet that he’d been given from the Convocation, which he’d been reading over and over for the past few days, memorizing it as best as he could. It seemed simple enough to understand, but he wanted to make sure he understood every bit that he could.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to set, and while the day had been sunny but cold, thick clouds had been slowly forming in the west, possibly indicating rain. The moon was a waxing crescent moon low in the evening sky, the sliver now larger than before. Unlike Earth’s moon, Erda’s was much larger in appearance than the sun. Even so, Gregory hadn’t heard anything about solar eclipses happening as often as he would have guessed. He’d read a few accounts from ancient gryphon history about eclipses lasting for long periods of time, but only a handful of times. Gregory guessed that if this world was a geocentric one instead of heliocentric like he was used to, it might make sense for Celestia, and later Luna, to avoid solar eclipses so as not to scare the world.

Nearby, Gabby was standing near the stove top, heating up some canned soup for the two of them. She was humming the tune to The Loco-Motion. He put the booklet down and looked over at her. “Nice choice,” he said.

She chuckled and gave him a thumbs up. “Hey, I like music, and you have so much on that phone thing of yours,” she said.

The door to the camper opened just then, and Gilda walked in, holding a basket full of her famous scones. “Sup, bitches?” she greeted as she walked in and placed the scones on the table before sniffing the air as she took off her saddlebags and set them down on the ground near the small kitchenette. “Damn, that smells good.”

“Sup yourself, bitch,” Gregory greeted with a wave before reaching over and taking a scone. “Oooh, still warm,” he said as he took a bite.

Gilda sat on the other side of the couch and lay down, letting loose a sigh. “My last batch,” she said by means of explanation. “Grover’s plumage, I’m exhausted,” she said. “We need more scone bakers. Oh! I brought something else by, too.”

Gabby walked over to the saddlebags and pulled out a paper bag. Opening it, her eyes widened as she pulled out something that looked like a burger to Gregory. His eyes opened wider as well as the familiar smell of the now famous burgers from Grant’s Burgers filled the camper. “You swung by Grant’s?” he asked.

“Yep,” Gilda said as Gabby grabbed some plastic plates from a small cupboard and set the table.

Gregory stood and began to help Gabby when the door to the camper opened again. Gallus walked in, carrying a small sack. “Hey, everyone,” he said as he set the bag on the floor next to Gilda’s saddlebags before leaning down and opening it. “I found some good cupcakes before they were sold out.”

Gregory leaned down and looked in, spotting some actually good-looking cupcakes, something else he’d introduced to Gryphonstone. He took them out and looked at them in the light. “Nice!” he said. “These will be perfect for dessert.” He put them in the fridge before returning to helping Gabby set the table.

Gallus looked a bit proud of himself as he sat down and looked triumphantly at Gilda, the latter of whom simply rolled her eyes before grabbing the remote for the TV. She turned it on and then plugged in the older Roku to said TV before scrolling down to select the folder called Game of Thrones. “Hah! I did it without your help!” she boasted, turning to face Gregory and flipping him off. “In your face, dweeb!”

Gregory simply rolled his eyes and snatched the remote out of her claw. “You also nearly destroyed the remote,” he said, “and I can’t really replace it if you break it.”

She rolled her eyes. “I was careful,” she responded.

“But Gregory, didn’t you say that if you couldn’t use that weird little black box then you would have to use that taptop thing of yours?” Gabby asked. “And where is it?”

“Laptop,” Gregory corrected, “and it’s charging on my bed right now. And also yes, we could watch TV using only my laptop. All I’d have to do is connect it to the TV and we’d be golden. Still, we’re pretty much ready to begin the next episode.” He then began maneuvering to the Season 1 folder.

“Perfect!” Gilda clapped her claws. “I want to see what happens to that dwarf when he reached the Eyrie!”

“I still can’t believe that story has a place called the Eyrie,” Gallus said about ten minutes later as everyone was seated at the table while facing the wall mounted TV. Dinner consisted of a burger each, with a bowl of canned soup and scones for the sides. To drink, they all had some locally sourced beverage which was known as bliss. It was a sweet purple juice made from a grape-like fruit that oddly grew all year round. “Next thing you know, they’ll have a place called Gryphonstone.”

“Close,” Gregory chuckled as opened the folder with the episode he wanted to open, “there’s a stronghold called Dragonstone in the Seven Kingdoms.”

“Wow, that’s so weird,” Gallus said before taking a drink of his bliss. “Aaah, that’s the shit.”

“Hush, the episode’s starting,” Gilda said as Gregory his play on the remote and the episode began.

As the episode played and everyone moved to the sectional couch, Gregory struggled to keep his eyes open. The act of eating helped a bit, but having been working at his job then doing construction throughout the city with Gabby by his side nearly every day was taxing on him. He knew he was in decent shape by human standards, but by gryphon standards he was definitely a lot weaker than most. That didn’t stop him from helping, though. Still, he felt more and more exhausted with every passing day.

Gabby leaned over halfway during the episode and whispered, “Gregory, you look terrible. Are you feeling alright?”

He nodded and yawned for the twentieth time. “Just tired,” he said.

Gabby shook her head with worry. “You need a break,” she whispered back. “You’ve been working nonstop for weeks. Tell you what, I know this great masseuse who can help soothe all your troubles and cares.”

“Without puncturing skin?” Gregory asked curiously.

“Definitely,” Gabby said.

“Hey, what are you two talking about now?” Gilda asked, reaching over and pausing the episode.

Gabby looked at the other two gryphons. “Gregory needs a weekend away from the city to rest,” she repeated more loudly this time.

“Hmm, good idea,” Gallus nodded, looking at Gregory. “You have been looking more and more like shit lately.”

Gregory sat up and turned to face the group. He noted the varied looks of worried expressions in their eyes. He nodded slowly after a few moments. “I suppose I haven’t really had a decent break since coming here,” he admitted. “It would be nice to do something to unwind. But as long as you all come with me.”

The three gryphons looked at each other, then all of them nodded. Turning back to him, Gilda was the first to speak. “Sounds good to me, bitch. You need someone to watch that scrawny back of yours.”

“I wouldn’t mind a break,” Gallus said.

“I’d love to come,” Gabby said happily.

Gregory nodded, then looked at Gabby. “So, where in Gryphonstone are we going anyway, and where?”

“I was thinking this Friday afternoon we could go there and spend a couple days in town,” Gabby explained, “and we’re not going anywhere in Gryphonstone.”

Gregory raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Okay…so where are we going?”

“Gryphonville.”

Friday, November 5, 1007 A.L., Gryphonia

Gryphonville was the closest town to Gryphonstone, nestled smack in the center of the forest directly to the west of Gryphonstone. In fact, if one were to look directly east, the massive city could be seen even from that distance, nestled snugly on top of the mountain. Even the Eyrie could be seen on a nice clear day.

Once Gregory was put down after having been flown there in Gabby’s arms, he took in the surprisingly clean and quaint town in awe. Much like the architecture of Gryphonstone, Gryphonville’s houses looked a lot like birdhouses from Earth, with thatched or even wooden slanted roofs with holes in the top and perches just outside of the holes. There were larger buildings that, to Gregory’s surprise, had their own unique styles and architecture. He even saw many buildings that resembled Golden Oaks Library scattered liberally throughout the city, something Gabby told him was called a houseoak.

As he and the others walked through the town, he saw plenty of gryphons working on rebuilding or demolishing old decrepit buildings that needed to be just rebuilt and not refurbished. There were other gryphons flying through the air as well, carrying food or stacks of wood in their arms. From the air, Gregory had actually seen a good number of farms surrounding the town itself, each of which was bordered by the dense forest surrounding the town.

When the gryphons in town spotted them, they rushed over to greet the newcomers, but especially Gregory, who was practically inundated with friendly greetings and even some gifts of food from the farms nearby. He received a basket of assorted fruit, a freshly killed and plucked turkey, and even a few loaves of what felt and smelled like freshly baked bread and some cheese as well. He almost refused, but remembered just in time the gryphon tradition of accepting gifts.

This was how they arrived at the Gryphonville Spa, each one of them laden with gifts of food from the nearby farms. Gregory was surprised at how blessed this town had become, especially once he’d sampled each of the fruits, the bread and the cheeses and found them to be of exceptional quality. He didn’t doubt that the turkey, too, was of good stock and Gabby promised to cook it the moment they got back.

“By Grover’s plumage, the Bearer himself and his companions! Here at our humble parlor!” a female voice called out from behind a curtained doorway. When the gryphon who owned said voice came in, Gregory noted that she was a dark pink furred gryphon with white feathers, each with a hint of purple on their edges. Her blue eyes were wide with joy as she rushed over to the human and his companions. “I never dreamed a day like this would come! Me or my sisters!” With that, two other gryphons poked their heads through the curtains. One had dark crimson fur and light pink tipped white feathers in her plumage along with red eyes, and the third had dark blue fur, light blue tipped feathers in her plumage and yellow eyes. The three gryphon females all looked identical in appearance aside from their color differences. Almost like they were triplets.

Gregory smiled and waved at them. “Hello there, you three,” he said kindly. “My friends and I came down because we’ve been working nonstop for a while and needed some relaxation.”

“Oh, of course sir!” the first gryphon sister said happily. “I’m Guinevere! These are my sisters Gloria and Gwen! Welcome to 3G Massage Parlor!”

Gregory smiled, holding back a smirk at the name. “Nice to be here. What kind of packages do you offer, if I might ask?”

“Here, have a look!” Guinevere grabbed a small brochure and handed it to the human.

“Hey, just a word of warning,” Gilda said, looking at the sisters, “Gregory here is more sensitive. His skin is weaker, so you be careful if you massage him, okay?”

Guinevere nodded. “Understood, we’ll be careful, right girls?” Here she turned to her sisters, who both gave thumbs up.

Gregory looked over the brochure, which had a layout of the spa itself. The spa was one big warm pool and four hot tubs at the corner. There were massage tables on the outer edges of the pool where the masseuses would go to work. There was also a sauna and an outdoor natural hot spring. All of which sounded incredibly relaxing to him. He showed this and the various packages, ranging from the basic which included a soak in the tub and an hour-long massage to the deluxe package which involved an all-day access to every amenity the spa had to offer. He pointed to the deluxe package. “If I’m gonna relax, I’m going all out. I can pay for everyone here if you want that.”

“Eh, I was planning on doing the same anyway,” Gilda said, grabbing her coin purse from her saddlebag.

“Same here,” Gabby said.

“I can really only afford the basic,” Gallus said with a bit of disappointment.

“I’ll pay for you three,” Gregory said.

“We all will,” Gilda said, giving Gregory a warning glance not to say anything about it.

He held up his hands. “Alright, alright, we’ll all pitch in.” Turning to Guinevere, he said, “We’ll take four for the Deluxe Package, please.”

“I can probably help you, sir,” Gwen said excitedly. She looked like she was the youngest of the sisters and had a higher voice. “I studied massaging bipedal creatures myself.”

“Just as long as you remember that his skin is sensitive,” Gabby said in a protective tone.

“I will,” Gwen replied.

“If you don’t mind, do you have a changing room where I can get into my swimming trunks?” Gregory asked a bit sheepishly. “Humans don’t really like going around naked.”

“I was wondering about that,” Guinevere chuckled. “Yes, we do have a place where you can change. Head through the curtains and take a right. There’s a locker room where you can place your belongings. And it looks like you have plenty from the townsfolk,” she observed, looking at the baskets of food with a knowing grin.

“How much for at least two lockers?” Gregory asked.

“You have six lockers included in the deluxe cost,” Guinevere said. “The ones that are in use are closed, and the others are open, so just close the ones you pick.”

“Understood,” Gregory said, then he looked back at the companions. “Come on, let’s go drop off our stuff.”

After having dropped off their belongings in their six lockers, Gregory had closed the locker room door.Ten minutes later, he came out of the locker room, wearing a dark gray pair of swimming trunks. He stepped into the main pool room where he found Gallus already swimming around in the pool while Gabby and Gilda were in one of the hot tubs. He grinned, made his way over to the pool and looked in. “How deep is this pool?” he asked Guinevere who was nearby.

“Seven feet at the deep end, two feet at the shallow end,” Guinevere said.

“Thanks,” he said, before turning and shouting, “Cannonball!” He jumped into the air, tucked his knees under his arms and fell into the water. He was rewarded by warm water surrounding him the moment he went below, and he instantly relaxed, letting himself float gently to the surface. The moment his head broke through the water, he spread his arms and legs and began treading water. “Wow, this is warmer than any pool I’ve been to back where I’m from,” he said as he began swimming towards the shallow end where Gallus was lazily floating.

“We try and keep our pool temperature warm enough for everygryphon who comes here,” Guinevere said.

When Gregory reached Gallus’ side, he stood and looked down at the relaxing gryphon. “Someone looks comfy,” he said with a chuckle.

“I haven’t had a good relaxing day in a while thanks to all that work,” he said in his normal bored tone, but the smile on his face told Gregory he was anything but bored. “I needed this.”

“We all did,” Gregory said as he fell back, letting himself float in the shallow end of the pool. “And it’s just the beginning of our day, you know? We have the entire weekend to relax. One entire day.”

Six hours later, Gregory felt better than he had in months. The sauna and hot tub had been incredibly relaxing, especially when he went from hot tub to pool to sauna back to the pool. Despite the warnings from his new friends, the massage he’d received had helped him relax in ways he hadn’t realized he needed to relax.

After his massage, he decided to spend some time in the outdoor hot spring, where he discovered that it had begun raining. However, the hot spring was covered with a wooden roof, and the sound of rain falling on said roof and around the foliage surrounding the spring itself helped with the experience. The others had come to join him, each having received their own massage and each looking as relaxed as he felt.

Gabby, who was sitting next to Gregory, inhaled deeply, then exhaled as she leaned against him, something she’d sometimes taken to doing whenever the two would come home and collapse on the couch. Gregory didn’t mind it, since it only happened on the rare occasion where their days were extremely exhausting. “I’ve never felt more relaxed in my life,” she said. “I don’t know if I’ll be able to fly back home, now. Or even walk.”

“Hmm…maybe we should do something about that,” Gregory said, looking up past the foliage at the now invisible Gryphonstone.

“Like what?” Gabby asked.

“Well, like a gondola lift,” he said. “A large box where you can sit and relax while you’re pulled up from ground level to Gryphonstone.”

“I’ve seen a few of those in Equestria,” Gilda said, “But we don’t have the magic that they do, so we’d have to do it by claw.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Gregory said. “And I’ve heard that the ambient magic in Gryphonia is a lot less than in Equestria.”

“Speaking of magic,” Gilda said, “does anyone know how those three ponies are doing?”

“I’ve been visiting them for a bit each day,” Gregory said, “and I think Gabby has too, right?” he looked at the aforementioned gryphon questioningly.

She nodded. “They’re doing alright so far, but I think they’re getting a bit antsy, especially that Trixie one.”

Gregory chuckled and nodded in agreement. Two days after he’d visited and spoken with Trixie and Sunset, he’d gone back and saw that Starlight was awake as well. She was a bit nervous to see Gregory, but after he reassured her that what Sunset had told him wouldn’t affect how they would be cared for, she seemed to relax a bit. All three of them would take a couple weeks of recovery, but Dr. Gabriel had assured him that they would completely recover.

Gregory and Gabby had visited with the three about four more times during the week, and mostly just talked about recent events in the world. By now, Gabby knew the truth that Sunset had shared with him, and she had urged him to share it with their other two friends. By now, Gregory considered Gabby, Gilda, and Gallus all friends even if they hadn’t said the words yet. She was also encouraging him to tell them about what she knew about My Little Pony. Gregory, however, had argued that it wasn’t the right time, but he did agree that they should know if they grew closer as friends.

He decided to test the waters a bit as he stretched and splashed some water on his face. “Gilda, Gallus, can we talk about something serious for a bit?” he asked.

Gallus and Gilda, who had both their eyes closed, opened their eyes and looked over at him. “Hey, this is a time to relax,” Gilda said, “so let’s leave serious shit for later.”

“What she said,” Gallus added.

Gabby looked at him, then nodded. “They’re right,” she said. “Let’s not ruin anything by some serious stuff, okay?”

Gregory really wanted to keep going and just get it over with, but the look in Gabby’s eyes told him that she wouldn’t let it go. Slowly, he realized she was right. This was a time to relax, so it would be better to wait. “Yeah, alright,” he conceded, “we can talk about it next week.”

“Good boy,” Gilda said, giving him a grin and then patting him on the head roughly.

Gregory shoved her off playfully, then splashed her with the water. “Fuck off,” he teased with a flip of his middle finger.

“Make me,” she snapped back with a grin.

Things may have escalated, had it not been for the door to the inside opening. Expecting it to be one of the gryphons who owned the place, Gregory turned to see which one. Only to pause in shock as a zebra mare stepped out onto the stone walkway surrounding the hot spring. Her deep azure eyes locked with his and she froze, eyes widened in alarm. There was a tense few seconds between them before she relaxed. Before Gregory or anyone else could say anything, an unsure smile crossed the zebra’s face as she said, “Apologies for my intrusion. I did not mean to cause a commotion.”

Nobody spoke for a bit, unsure what to say. After a few seconds, Gabby spoke up. “Not at all!” she said in her normal friendly tone. “You can join us if you want! Right, everyone?”

Gregory was the second to recover and he smiled. “Sure, there’s plenty of space for you. It’s not like we booked this as a private thing.”

The zebra, who Gregory guessed could only be Zecora judging from her voice, eye color, and gold rings around her neck, stepped in, wrapped a towel around her back section and found a set of steps leading into the hot tub. She slowly lowered herself into it and a look of contentment passed over her face before she lowered herself completely up to her neck right after removing her towel and setting it on the rocks surrounding the hot spring. She opened one eye, then the other, looking at Gregory curiously now. “If it is not too much to query, might I ask what creature you be?”

Gregory relaxed a bit. Seeing the famous zebra so far from Ponyville was another surprise to him, almost as big of a surprise as meeting the three unusual trio of ponies in the hospital, but he’d begun to accept that the history he knew from the show was all kinds of messed up. Sunset had never met a human before him, after all. “I’m a human being,” he said. “I’m from very, very far away. My name’s Gregory Graystone.”

An odd expression passed over the zebra’s face, but it was gone before Gregory could fully understand just what it meant. Her polite smile returned and she bowed to him. “It is a pleasure to meet you, good sir. Zecora is my moniker.”

“Miss Zecora, it’s nice to meet you too,” he said.

“What’s a zebra doing all the way out here?” Gilda asked. “Aren’t your kind all in Zebrica?”

“Hey, rude much?” Gregory admonished her before turning to Zecora apologetically. “Sorry about my friend Gilda, here. She tends to run her mouth.”

“Fuck you too, bitch,” Gilda snarked, flipping him off once more.

Gregory repeated the gesture before being smacked lightly in the chest by Gabby. Zecora watched the exchange with curiosity before she waved a hoof. “There is no need for you to apologize, when I show up anywhere, questions will arise. In truth, I once lived across the sea, but troubles there forced me to flee.”

“Troubles across the sea?” Gallus asked with a raised eyebrow. “What do you mean?”

“The Everfree Forest was once my home, but with its invasion, once more I’ve had to roam,” Zecora said sadly. However, there was something in the way she said it that made Gregory pause. He knew she lived near Ponyville, so he wondered if the invasion of Canterlot and the destruction of Ponyville had anything to do with it. And perhaps even what Sunset had told her. “Across the Celestial Sea I fled, and to this land my hooftracks led. In Gryphonville now is where I live, and now to this town my aid I give.”

“Giving town aid…are you the town’s new apothecary I heard about?” Gregory asked.

Zecora smiled and nodded. “If aches and pains your body plagues, my shop is near to give you aid.”

“Well, I’m glad you found a way to live in this town,” Gregory said, “although I’m sorry you had to flee your home. As a non-gryphon citizen of Gryphonia, I’d like to welcome you to our humble little country.”

“Ah, what the heck?” Gilda chuckled as she raised a claw in greeting, “Welcome to Gryphonia.”

Zecora’s eyes widened at the admission, but her smile returned, this one warmer and friendlier than before. “Your welcoming words are most appreciated, a warmer greeting I’ve never had.”

“What do you mean?” Gabby asked, looking curious.

In her own rhyming way, Zecora explained how she had arrived in the Everfree and had found a tree she could redesign for her purposes. She explained in vivid detail how she was received by the ponies of Ponyville at first until the incident with the poison joke and the Mane Six. She’d been welcomed into town for the most part, but when she had heard about the destruction of Ponyville along with the way Canterlot’s government was reacting to the crisis, she’d packed up and left. She hadn’t even become a full citizen of Equestria during the years she’d been living there, only ever achieving the status of immigrant. More specifically, she’d left when she’d heard about the border issue. When Gregory heard this, her reasons for leaving made much more sense, but he couldn’t help but suspect that there was something more. However, since he’d technically just met her, he didn’t ask.

Zecora told of how, when she’d disembarked from the ship and made her way into the forest, how she’d eventually stumbled onto Gryphonville. She’d completely expected a similar treatment to how she’d been received in Ponyville, but was completely shocked when not only did the Gryphons actually give her a houseoak in town for her to live, but helped her move in as well. In thanks, she had opened her apothecary, using ingredients she either grew in her garden or found in the nearby forest.

Gregory learned that the forest surrounding Gryphonville, known as Evertide, was a lot like the Everfree. There were special plants and roots that could only be found in the forest. In fact, she actually provided the spa with some elixirs and potions that helped relax the customers. As she told her story, Gregory grew more impressed. He hadn’t left Gryphonstone since he’d arrived, but he had heard that a similar attitude had spread to every gryphon throughout the empire. Slowly, it seemed, but it was spreading To see it and hear about it from a non-gryphon made his heart swell with pride. When she finished, the day had begun to darken and lanterns that were hung from the ceiling were lit. He and the others were listening raptly.

There were a few seconds of silence before Gilda spoke. “Your rhyming aside, it was a nice story.”

“Why do you rhyme, anyway?” Gallus asked.

“An ancient tradition of my order. It keeps our minds away from disorder,” Zecora said.

“Having to rhyme all the time must be excellent mental discipline,” Gregory said, “but aren’t there times when you’re tired of doing it?”

Zecora smiled at him warmly. “It has become second nature to me. It kept me sane while in Everfree.”

“I like it!” Gabby said with a gleeful smile.

“Same here,” Gregory said. “It’s pretty relaxing in its own way.”

Zecora chuckled. “I never waver from this manner of speech, unless the closest of friends are in my reach.”

“How would you define the closest of friends?” Gregory asked.

Immediately, he knew he’d asked the wrong thing. A dark shadow seemed to pass over Zecora’s face. “A true friend is not two-faced or cruel. Harmonious should be their rule.”

Yeah, so she knows something, Gregory thought as outwardly he nodded. “That’s fair,” he said.

“Yeah, I agree with you there,” Gabby said. “Then again, we’re not ponies. We have our own way of doing things.”

“All differences should be celebrated, and never ignored, abused or hated,” Zecora snarled.

Not wanting things to devolve, Gregory decided to change the subject by standing, wading over to the surprising zebra neighbor they now had, and held out his hand to the confused zebra. “I’ve made a lot of friends since coming here,” he said kindly, “all of them are in this hot spring. I know we just met and all, but would you be okay if I called you a friend?”

Zecora slowly looked around at the others in the spring, then back up at Gregory. She had an odd look in her eyes, almost calculating. However, she seemed to make up her mind only after about ten or so seconds and a smile once more graced her lips. She held up her hoof to his hand and touched it. As he wrapped his hand around her hoof, she said, “Harmony works in mysterious ways, for on a new friend my eyes do gaze.”

“I’ll be your friend too!” Gabby said, swimming quickly over to Zecora. “I’ve always wanted to meet a zebra!”

The others came up as well and offered their claws in friendship too. As Zecora accepted the friendship of gryphon and non-gryphon alike, underneath Gregory’s smile lingered a question:

Why did things happen the way they apparently did?

The group spent a few more hours with Zecora, getting to know her while she got to know the group. She heard of Gregory’s dwindling water supply, and offered to give him a steady supply of a potion that, with one drop, would purify any water he had. He gladly accepted that offer and promised to stop by her apothecary the next day.

When it came time to leave, Gregory paid not just for his friends, but for Zecora. She was so incredibly thankful that she insisted on treating them to a dinner at one of the better restaurants in Gryphonville, the Sweet’N’Savory.

The restaurant itself looked like it had been recently renovated, and half of the tables and booths were occupied by gryphons. The interior was well-lit with gas lamps at each table, chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, circular windows all around the massive domed room, and a counter with stools in front of it. Behind said counter, there were plenty of bottles full of different alcoholic drinks. There was an older gryphon male standing behind the counter, washing a glass and pouring drinks for some of the now drunker gryphons. Outside, the showers had become a steady rain, and the fireplace was lit, spreading its warmth and light throughout the entire restaurant.

Something that Gregory had found completely surprising was that one of the cooks in the restaurant was an older pony mare. Her name was Blanch Blend, and she was a pale blue unicorn with fiery yellow, orange, and red mane and tale. She had deep blue eyes, what looked like a blue bowl of soup with a spoon in it as a cutie mark, and was taller and slenderer than the other three ponies. She was also a huge flirt.

The other surprise was that another cook there was a donkey jenny named Mulia Mild. She had a light gray coat, black mane and tail, and amber eyes. She was a bit older than Blanch and acted more like a mother, at least from what little he’d seen of her.

The bartender was named Gordon, and he was a stern looking gryphon with blonde plumage, dark green fur, and blue eyes. He also had a rather familiar accent that almost made Gregory chuckle. His attitude was even similar.

“Okay, I have to say,” Gregory said after the group of five finished dinner in a local restaurant called the Sweet ‘N Savory which Zecora had escorted them to after their spa day ended, “that was one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I’ve ever had. And their tomato soup? Damn, it’s amazing!”

“Their meals here have been slowly getting better, and you can’t go wrong with their vegetable soup du jour,” Zecora replied as she lifted a spoonful of said soup to her lips, placing it in her mouth.

“That does look amazing,” Gabby said as she finished the steak that she’d ordered. “What’s in it?”

Gregory, who was sitting on the edge of the table next to Zecora, looked down. “Looks like…carrots, peas, potatoes, cabbage, and…I think those are tomatoes. I’m sure there’s more in there that I’m not seeing, though. It does smell amazing, and I’ll definitely try it another time.”

“Honey, I can make you some for the road before you go,” the soft feminine voice of Blanch said from beside the table. The older mare had somehow snuck up on them without anyone noticing.

Quickly recovering from his shock, Gregory chuckled. “That sounds amazing, thank you. I’ll place an order to go for tomorrow afternoon then.”

“I’ll have some ready for you by then,” Blanch said with a wink before trotting away.

“That pony is weird,” Gilda said as she watched the mare walk away.

“Hey, everyone’s different,” Gregory said, coming to her defense. “I don’t see anything wrong with her.”

“This town is full of various types, and never with any have I had gripes,” Zecora replied. “There are kind ones, and quiet ones, and stubborn ones too.” She then turned to Gregory with a meaningful expression on her face. “This town might be a certain haven for you.”

Gregory nodded thoughtfully at that, stroking his chin as he looked around the restaurant. While yes, everyone but him and Zecora were gryphon patrons, an earlier brief conversation with Blanch had revealed that there was a small population of ponies who had actually been living in Gryphonville for years. There were a couple of donkeys in town too and there was even a dragon group, or a hoard, consisting of a dragon male named Ash and two dragon females named Cinder and Olivine. Ash was, of all things, a sheep herder, with Olivine being an extremely popular seamstress with a small stand in the Gryphonville market and Cinder being a member of the local town watch.

“I can’t wait to go exploring town tomorrow!” Gabby said excitedly.

Gregory chuckled and nodded. “Same. This sounds like an idyllic place to live. Although I’d love to know about those houseoaks. Those sound like the perfect solutions to the housing problems up in Gryphonstone. Sadly, I doubt those will be a good short term solution.”

“Why’s that?” Gallus asked with a mouthful of his own grilled chicken legs, chickens in Gryphonstone being safe to eat since they lacked the intelligence and sentience of Equestrian chickens, as did most animals on the continent.

“Trees take years to grow,” Gregory explained, “and we don’t really have years up there.”

“A houseoak’s growth time can be expedited,” Zecora began, “however, a unicorn’s magic is needed. A unicorn blast is needed to, say, make a houseoak grow in less than a day.”

Gregory’s eyes widened at that. Turning to Zecora, he asked, “How strong does the magic need to be? Can it be two of any unicorn or does the magic need a certain amount of power behind it?”

“A moderate level of power will permit a houseoak to grow with nary a split,” Zecora said.

“What are you thinking about, Gregory?” Gilda asked. “I know that look. That’s your ‘I have an idea’ face.”

“I’m just thinking,” Gregory began, “that the housing crisis might be solved after all.”