Chapter Twelve: Of Plans and Plots

Canterlot Palace

At the hospital wing of the castle, Celestia paused in front of one of the rooms, guarded by two royal guards, who allowed entrance.

“Alright, here is her room. I do ask that you be very careful.”

“I will. Thank you...” Fluttershy softly replied, nodding.

Celestia gave her a warm smile. “Do not worry, Fluttershy. I think, with you there, she will draw strength from your friendship, from your love. I will leave you to see her in private. If you need anything, you may ask any of the medical staff and they will tend to your needs.”

Fluttershy nodded solemnly, stepping into the room beyond. She walked along with her mind drifting to every place that wasn’t the somber room she found herself in. ‘Where’s my Rainbow Dash? I need her... she needs me.’

Further in the room, on the luxurious hospital bed, was the mare Fluttershy had been seeking. The once proud speedster was hooked up to life support. Rainbow Dash wore a hospital gown, bandages, and an oxygen mask over her snout. Despite her injuries and the slightly bloodstained bandage around her head, she looked as if she were merely sleeping.

Fluttershy gasped at the sight and took flight over to be with her loved one as fast as her wings could carry her. “Dashie, oh my Rainbow....” She sobbed as she landed at the foot of the bed, burying her face in the outer reaches of the multi-coloured mane.

Although she felt relieved to know that her beloved was still alive, it worried her. What if she never came out of that coma? What would happen? How long would she be in it and when would she awaken? She wouldn’t die in a coma would she? Fluttershy had so many questions, so many worries. But all she could do was sob, mourning the saddening sight of her best friend. To think that only mere hours ago the day before, they had been laughing and having a good time together, reminiscing of the old days over a great meal. They had been happy, enjoying each other’s company.

“...Rainbow....my love...” Fluttershy rose her head, tearfully gazing upon her comatose companion. “I’m here....I’m here... I won’t leave you, Rainbow...I’ll stay by your side until you wake up... I promise you...”

Rainbow Dash didn’t stir, nor even make a sign of life. All that confirmed her chance at continued existence was her heart monitor. But with each beep it made, Fluttershy couldn’t help but fear of the droning flatline that could appear any second. Every heartbeat she feared would be the last.

Carefully, she leaned in and kissed her lover on the cheek.

“I won’t leave your side until you wake, my darling... I won’t...” She whispered, and lay her head on the mattress, closing her eyes and trying to find some kind of solace. Fluttershy even gently held onto a cyan hoof for comfort. She hoped that somehow, Dash would feel her contact and come back to her.

The comatose pegasus’s hoof offered the terrified pony some comfort amongst the ruined form. She nuzzled the cyan offering, holding onto it as if it were a lifeline.

Although Rainbow Dash didn’t respond any further, it was all Fluttershy needed for now.

She was alive.

And if she was alive, then it meant that her Rainbow Dash could come back to her.

Mighty Wing, Chief Grandeur’s mansion

Gilda sat around the dinner table with the rest of her family. They all ate in silence, tearing the flesh from what they were eating at speeds that would leave other animals fearful of the mighty beaks. Beside her, sat her younger brother, Glen. Chief Grandeur sat at the head of the table. He wore a black suit with slits to allow for his mighty wings. It could be that he had plans later that night that required formal attire. It was also possible that he simply wanted to show everyone that he was the boss of the home. Either way, no one felt like asking the tense griffin chief. On his left side, sat his mistress, a griffin by the name of Gretelda. Across from her sat the elder patriarch of the family, the very father of Chief Grandeur himself, Chief Gigan, a ancient griffin who was almost completely grey in both fur and feather. Despite this beast’s age, he bore himself tall and proud as he continued to devour his meal.

“Hey, dad, when do you get to send me out there again?” Gilda asked as casually as possible. Despite her casual appearance, it was hard for her to keep the eagerness completely out of her voice.

“Oh, me too this time please dad! I wanna do something awesome and cool for once!” Piped in Glen, like a little chick.

Chief Grandeur calmly faced his children as he wiped his beak with a napkin offered to him by his mistress. “Gilda, thou shalt know when the time is right, should such an occurrence come to be. Glen... I will require you to take up more training before I will allow you out there. You must be strong willed and a formidable fighter to face those wretched ponies.”

“Would that allow me to get a cool title like yours dad?” The youngster asked, seemingly ignorant of the meaning behind his father's title and the hard work involved in obtaining it.

“Absolutely, son. Much as I and my father before me.”

The elder Chief merely nodded solemnly before he resumed eating.

A knock sounded on the door, which was rapid to indicate urgency.

“Come in!” The Chief’s voice rang out with kingly authority.

A messenger scout entered, he shoved the butler roughly to one side as he barged in. The messenger was bedraggled, his deep brown feathers were ruffled and his chocolate brown pelt wet from impacting with too many rain clouds.

“Sire, we have reports from your operative in Manehatten,” announced the messenger griffin, looking off into the distance so as to not meet his master’s eye.

“And...” Chief Grandeur’s menacing tone made it clear that failure was not an option he wanted to hear.

"They report that no artifact is present in the city. They also wish to tell you, it is still poorly defended. The pony princess still fails to heed the hints of war." The messenger bowed his head in respect for his leader as he awaited a response.

Chief Grandeur settled down, pleased by the report. “This is good news indeed. Instruct them to advance our plans. I shall take full control of the council tomorrow at noon. Keep all signs of thy presence hidden till three days thereafter."

"It shall be done, boss." The messenger bowed and exited.

"Does my lord require anything further?" Asked the butler from his place by the door.

"No. Leave us." Grandeur waved the servant away.

The door closed quietly, leaving the family in peace as the head of the table surveyed his house. "Gilda. I would like thee to meet with me come dawn. It shall be in my office as per usual."

"Okay. That sounds cool dad." Grinned Gilda.

"Can I come too please, dad?" begged Glen.

“No. Gretelda, take care of my son. See that he is kept from trouble,” Chief Grandeur instructed as he adjusted his suit. “Father, we shall depart. I shall summon our followers for a meeting.”

The griffin mistress in question nodded in obedience to her mate before resuming what was left of her meal.

“Lame, Dad... Can’t I come tonight too?” Gilda rolled her eyes knowing her question would only be met by a no.

“Come on, Dad! Let me come too! Then I can learn the ways of the lords!” The energetic young griffin almost bounced into the air with excitement. Glen did his best to make sure that he truly meant what he was saying and so met his father with highly excited eyes.

“Son, your enthusiasm is greatly valuable. But now is not the time.” Chief Grandeur chided his son. The mighty griffin went to leave, but paused, turning to face his children. “...Actually my daughter... I have a use for you tonight...” The mighty griffin paused in thought. “I want you to summon our followers.”

“Aww... yea!” The excited youngster hopped up rushed to her father’s side. “Thanks, dad! I’m sure you won’t regret getting me to help.”

“Okay... whatever dad. Just don’t leave it too late. I don’t want to take over from some old bag of feathers who can’t teach no more...” Glen glumly headed out, disappointed that he was about to miss out on such an excellent chance to see his cool father in action, leading others and whatever else he did while he was out.

Taking one glance toward his son, Chief Grandeur paid no further mind to his family as he led his father out of the room to head to the meeting within the grand headquarters of the city.

Mighty Wing Streets

A lone figure snuck along in the night, the griffin stopped at seemingly random doors along the bleak road in Mighty Wing. With a single knock the door would open and words would be exchanged. Sometimes the griffin inside would appear to dispute the orders given to them and a harsh, hushed conversation would take place. Every encounter resulted in the lone figure strutting off successful.

Mighty Wing, the Hidden Underground

“And here we are...” Smiled Chief Grandeur as he settled back in his seat.

The dungeon like room was lit by a single candle in the middle of a simple black circular table.  A small group of seven griffins sat around the table. At the head sat the leader of the group, Chief Grandeur. He appeared as smug as always in his better than thou manor that left the others in the room with no question of who ruled the roost.

A single long talon traced along the table as the chief continued to talk. “You are all no doubt wondering why my daughter summoned you.” He paused to glance at those around him. Apart from his father, no one had any idea why they had been summoned out of the blue. This was good. Although, maybe he should not have sent his daughter away after using her to summon their supporters. After a moment's deliberation the mighty leader put thoughts of his most beloved chick aside. She was to be told anything important in the morning. Better for one so young and valuable to get to sleep. Plus, this way he could leave out anything she was not allowed her hear quite yet.

With a dark smirk, he continued once more. “The pieces continue to move in our favour and I shall take full control of the council tomorrow at noon. Not only that... but we shall get our greatest asset... For here is another piece of Warbeak’s talisman.” As the sharp golden object impacted with the table, several members of the party let out a gasp.

“So it isss true...” Murmured a hooded griffin with an orange and white striped face.

“This must mean... they all have survived.” Added a female voice, awed by the golden claw that was pinned to the table by their chief's claws.

“Yes,” nodded Chief Grandeur as his right claw continued to rest protectively upon the golden claw that was the talisman. “As it was foretold. He has survived, and now is the time for us to bring him back and retake the lands that are ours.”

“But what about the other Warbeak talismans?” Asked a chocolate brown griffin who had blood red warpaint splashed up his face, especially across his powerful beak to make him appear more menacing. “We only have two.”

“There you are wrong, Draven.” A younger griffin who went by the name Kapisi with an almost pale yellow coat with black markings across his muzzle and body spoke up. “My operatives, assassins if you like, for they did assassinate a low priority target on their way... have found another of our talismans.” Bragged the youngster. With that, the young griffin placed a bag on the table. “Behold...” Kapisi ripped the bag away to reveal what appeared to be a golden feather with a deadly sharp tip. “...Our lord’s feather. The talisman of the wind.”

“Very... very good my young kapisi. May I make use of thou operatives for another task that has come to claw?”  Chief Grandeur asked in a disarmingly nice manner.

“Of course my lord. They will do anything for you.” Replied Kapisi before he knelt down to bow before his chief.

“Good. I would very much like to see them after this meeting,” requested Grandeur. “I have some missions in mind for thou operatives.”

“So, we are half way there. But are you sure now is a good time to start the war? We would look like fools if our plan were to be revealed too soon and Celestia prevents the summoning.” A dark grey and black griffin with deep blue wingtips spoke up in his gruff bass voice. He was the only best in the room who could compare to the mighty chief in size and strength. He stood a full head taller than his lord, a true giant of his species. Upon his strong shoulders, he wore black armour that snaked round to cover his muscular chest and sides. Upon the shoulders of the dark metal, there sat a winged shield insignia, the sign of the black guard. Grandeur’s personal armed forces had been ordered to cease operations many times in the past, yet here stood the commander of the forbidden unit in half garb.

“Commander Dark Wing... now is the perfect time. I am well aware of the risks. But should we assassinate several of the members of the pony bearers of harmony, we shalt be well on the way to victory. At this very moment they will be in Canterlot, summoned by their princess to see their friend whom a captain of mine either killed or injured.”

“How do you know this?” asked a snow white female with a black beak. “And isn’t Canterlot too well guarded for any assassination attempt? ...Especially now they know we are hostile?”

“Sasha,” smiled Grandeur. “Good question... yes.” Claws clacked against the hard surface of the table as the leader of the meeting took his sweet time.

“We all know that Celestia hid several of our talismans of Warbeak. Now that my captain has so dumbly alerted her to our search I am sure she shall send out her bearers of harmony to do her dirty work. Once they find the Warbeak talismans, we forcibly remove what is ours before they transport them back.”

“You want them to find the last of our Warbeak talismanss for us?” asked the hooded griffin, his orange and white striped face contorted into a cruel grin. “I likes the sound of that.”

“Is that what my lord requires of his assassins?” asked Kapisi, a delighted grin spreading across his face as he relished the idea of the upcoming fun.

“Precisely,” nodded Chief Grandeur. “Once thy operatives help me take over the council, I wish for them to head to Equestria and seek out and slay the elements. If we can take them all, Celestia will have lost her precious little ponies and the only ones who can stop us.” The griffin chief turned to his faithful black guard who stood at the table on his right. “Commander Dark Wing, while the assassins keep silent watch, I wish for your griffins to make themselves seen once the council is underway. That way, they will know I still hold the true power of the griffin colonies. Volibeak, my captain who is not here, will see to the scouts. They will side with me. Sasha, we shall require thy services. Every griffin under my command will need armour fit for war.” The snow white female griffin smiled a pride filled smile and nodded in reply, allowing her leader to continue. “Draven. I need you to make sure that your fellow commanders in the guard do not try and stop the black guards entry into primal beak. The meeting between our colonies chiefs must not be disrupted, even if it tis me who is under attack.”

“Yes, Chief.” Bowed the chocolate brown griffin, his red stained beak curled open in pleasure.

Chief Grandeur turned to the hooded griffin to his left. “I want you, unknown, to do what you do best. I want thou to become active in Equestria once more. Join thy spies... find out when it is that Celestia is to send her elements in search of our talismans and where they are destined to go. Immediately inform Kapisi and his assassins for they shalt be waiting in the wing to strike. This must work, for our allies... those unnatural scum grow restless. They hunger for the love the ponies hold in their hearts and I would hate to deny them their wishes for too long. Queen Chrysalis is most unpleased by my lack of action. She does not and may not know why we seek these items.”

“I shall ventuure forth with pleasssure...” replied Unknown, deep scarlet eyes gleamed with dark pleasure from within the hood unnerving every beast around him.

“Good. Depart now,” the chief dismissed his chief spy before turning to his father who sat at his right claw. “Thou art been oddly silent father. Is there something on thy mind?”

“It is as I have told thee my son,” rasped the eldar. “I know that your idiot captain will cause them to rally to their princess. Also, as I have told thee... should we succeed in removing their elements... nothing will stop us... that includes Celestia and her precious partner of old, Discord.”

The mention of the lord of disharmony caused everyone to fall into an odd, uncomfortable silence. While the draconequus had focused his threat upon ponykind, all griffins present knew the kind of chaos that came from the one and only Discord. Although he was merely a story to most griffins, the more learned knew of his past deeds and what he was capable should he be freed from his stone prison. No griffin warrior wanted to be forced to always fly upside down in battle or worse. For the naturally mean spirited griffins, disharmony could easily bring about their defeat.

After a few moments of catching his breath, Chief Gigan continued. “I am sure thou all remember the stories I have told thee... Celestia is not the reason we lost last time. Neither her nor any of her line can defeat our master once he returns... For she allows her elements to be held by mere ponies.” An ancient gnarled claw reached up and dug into the table in malice. “But, I wilt personally oversee the execution of any who hinder our quest. That includes any of thee.”

The elders words rilled several griffins, all of whom considered themselves forever loyal to the chief and his father’s cause.

“Give me the three...” commanded the ancient griffin. His claw opened, demanding payment.

His son, Chief Grandeur turned to face the elder griffin. “Father, thou sure about this? Surely it should be me to-”

“Mine!” raged Chief Gigan, completely intolerant of his sons objections.

“Why?” asked an annoyed Chief Grandeur, angered that his father was standing him up in front of his most important followers.

“Because...” The grey with age beast took a deep breath to steady himself as adrenaline surged through his ancient system, fuelled by his own anger toward his hard headed son. He decided to drop a bomb in the form of information no other beast had been privy to as of yet. “The one who bears the six must give his life that his lord may return. Thy talismans do grant power... but the only control any have is the power to summon the griffin of war. They only have one master and he wilt not relinquish them. This is my dream... this is my life... and none of thou may object.” Bloodshot eyes pierced the gloom as the aggravated elder glared at the younger griffins.

In response to the unexpected information, the leaf was hastily tossed to the elder griffin who snatched the offering without thanks.

Gigan turned to his son. “Well?”

“Well what?” replied Grandeur, his feathers ruffled. He towered over his father and did his best to look intimidating to his eldar. “I will look after them until it is thy time. Don’t you think I too have heard stories? I know what the talismans can do.”

Without warning, the ancient griffin lashed out at his son. His right claw struck the bigger griffin right on the bottom of his muzzle and left a gash all the way up the side of his face. Grandeur held his ground as his father left with his single acquired talisman of Warbeak.

“Dam, boss. You okay?” asked Draven, his gruff bass tone brought everyone out of the shock of seeing their master attacked by his own father. The monster of a griffin took a step toward his Chief, left foreleg outstretched to offer help should it be needed.

“I’ll be fine,” insisted Chief Grandeur bitterly. “This shall make me look nice and pretty for tomorrow.” A cruel grin appeared on the face of the chief as he imagined the impact his latest scar would have on the council tomorrow.

The larger griffin took a step away from his dangerous boss. He nodded respectfully as he sat at his place once more. “I never said a thing. Continue, chief.”

“I think I’ve told you all enough for one night. You lot know what you need to.” The leader’s face hardened as he hid bad mood from sight. “Final question... Who art with me?”

Squarks of support and approval rang out across the dungeon like room. The Chief smiled, delighted that all his followers were still so readily on his side. “And now... I shalt see thee all tomorrow at noon.” The only griffin who wore a suit then turned stalked moodily out as blood leaked down his face and onto his pristine black suit.

Mighty Wing, Chief Grandeur’s mansion

Gilda walked along the passageways of her home, alone. She was tired from playing messenger and her legs had a dull ache in them from all the walking in confined areas. Claws clacked against the solid stone as she made her way up toward her father’s study. The passageway was poorly lit, only by the occasional candle. After all, this section of the house was off limits after dark. Between the darkness and the rugged hallway, a hostile atmosphere hung in the air. It was as if the walls themselves were telling Gilda to turn back for fear of death. While the sense would scare many creatures away, this young griffin was on a mission and she was determined to see it through.

The young griffin soon reached her destination. She carefully pried open the door. “Where are you....?” she muttered, unwilling to be kept out from her father’s room and true plans for much longer.

Sure enough, the intimidating office was deserted, just as it should be at such a time. Given his workaholic ways, he was definitely still at the underground headquarters, a place no normal griffin would ever dream of venturing to. Gilda had no idea how long the meeting would take or what kind of information her dad would hide from her upon his return. The cool youngster sighed and quickly moved over to a few filing cabinets behind her father’s desk. She rifled though several, muttering to herself about papers.

One file in particular, which she had to wonder why it wasn’t stored in a secret place, labeled GRIFFIN COUNCIL, GO DIE, she pulled out.

“Same old Dad. Secretive, impossible to nail down... but... I know how your mind works...” she smirked, flicking through the contents.

The papers inside consisted of information regarding, as she discovered, the treaty between the Griffins and the rest of Equestria itself.

“Wait... There’s a treaty like this?” She questioned out loud. “I thought that was just some dumb story dad fed me when I was a chick to make me go into dweeb land...”

The youngster pulled out the first paper to better read it.

I, Princess Celestia, hereby grant the tribes of Griffins under the rule of the council of 8, the liberty to settle within a place of their choosing. Under the conditions that no harm is to come to any of my subjects.

Provided that your subjects do not cause ponykind harm of any sort, the Griffins are within the right to live just as peacefully and to be afforded the same rights and responsibilities as all ponies in Equestria are.

In turn, I hereby grant that my subjects will be informed of your kind and still feel free to interact. All creatures big and small have the right to live within peace and harmony together. It is what I encourage, but whether you choose this alliance will be up to you and my subjects, so long as no harm is brought to either kind.

At best, a civil alliance shall be formed, in which the Griffins are free to enroll within schools and various careers across Equestria to compliment your own culture. Should there be any matters that are in need of discussion or reform, know that I always hold a court every day, and will be glad to sit down and renegotiate if needed.

Signed, Princess Celestia.

Gilda looked over the treaty, wondering what else there could be to it. That was when she saw the other half of the compromise, this one written by her ancestor, one of the first chiefs of the tribe. The parchment was ancient and clearly had a spell upon it to ease the passage of years. It shimmered in an odd surreal way in the candle light appearing as if near new, yet at the same time appeared to be well over a thousand years old.

I, Chief Warbeak the second, hereby grant the ponies of Equestria the liberty to settle within any domain of their choosing. It may be within your own territories or within the lands of the griffin tribes. As long as no griffin comes to harm, we shall not raise a talion in war. You may not, however, settle within the land of the chiefs as that is the griffin citadel and no other creature is allowed access.

A civil alliance can and will be formulated, in which all eight tribes will freely adhere to.

All ponies within our lands must obey our laws through and through. Laws of our kind have been enclosed within this document, so that they may educate themselves of our laws and our kind. These laws include but are not limited to; the bearing of weapons, interspecies breeding or marriage between a griffin and pony, marriage between two males or two females, all of which being prohibited. Any sort of violation of these laws or any of our other tribal specific laws within our lands will of course result in the Death Penalty. Our kind have but many traditions and customs to adhere, and we do not cross such lines.

If any matters arise in the future, there is court held, every Wednesday. Any issues will be dealt with quickly and effectively, as is our way of life. If you do not bring your issues to our court, do not expect us to lift a wing.

Signed, Chief Warbeak the second, representative and lord of the council of 8.

Gilda stared at the section in shock. No such treaty was taught at any of the schools in the griffin tribes. Aside from the odd mention by her father of an ancient treaty that was supposed to bring a false peace between all species in and around Equestria, nothing had ever been mentioned. She smiled.

“Why would they hide this, I wonder...” she mused.

She carefully repacked the treaty and placed it away in its place. As she was about to shut the draw she spotted something else of interest to her keen eyes. She always had known her father must be hiding something. But this was beginning to appear as if she had just walked in on his treasure trove. She pulled out the second sheet.

This was a rather torn piece of paper. The scrawling upon it was clearly her father’s claw.

The treaty is still in place, we should be able to get scouts into the royal city.  In turn they-

The rest was cut off on that end, which confused Gilda. She continued to read what was on there, trying to make sense of it.

…..of Chaos and S....**

...lings have agreed to be our allies fo...   ...manehatten... ...oft target...

…..he six talismans of Warbeak to unloc.....

That was it. Nothing more on either side. Everything else was either torn off by claw or somehow redacted. Gilda mulled it over, before carefully placing the paper back where she found it. ‘No wonder he was always pushing for me to find another talisman of Warbeak. Those things must have some serious power. They sound cooler than the ponies lame elements of Harmony too...’ Another search of her father’s desk drawers led to the discovery of one particular notebook. Which had a lock to it. Where the key was, she didn’t know, but knew that this had to be some top secret information all the more. Her nose could also faintly smell something. It smelt like raw meat. Of course, her father may keep an emergency stash of food up in his study. He did spend all day in here sometimes after all Gilda reasoned to herself.

Gilda shook her head, her father needed to learn to be more subtle sometimes. 

Then a thought stuck the searching griffin. If her father kept all this information hidden away, maybe he kept his talismans somewhere dumb too.

With a grin, the cocky youngster began a new search. She shoved the draw closed and began hunting through the draws on her father’s work desk. The solo griffin’s claws made quick work of sifting through the rubbish and random papers that littered the insides. 

After several tense moments of wondering if the items had been taken out by the Chief himself when he went off to his meeting, her thoughts were halted. Gilda’s claws scraped the bottom of the right hand draw and felt a small steel hook. With a grin, she grasped the hook and slowly forced the hidden compartment up. Inside lay a golden tail ring. It bore an inscription around the band that was impossible for the youngster to decipher. She decided it had to be something unimportant that was written in ancient griffin.

The thief smiled. Good thing no other griffin was ever bold enough to venture into this room. Her father was too easy to steal from. Gilda knew there was no way her father would punish her like he would any other invader. After all, she was his prized chick. If anything she was doing him a favour by making use of one of the talismans of Warbeak.

She was safe. Safe to ‘borrow‘ a talisman she only just had discovered.

 With an excited grin, Gilda picked up the golden tail ring. “Looks like your mine now... I wonder how many more of these cool trinkets Dad has stashed around the place...”

“Hey sis!” The unexpected call made Gilda hit the roof in surprise.

The suddenly extra-paranoid griffin promptly hid the golden talisman against her underside. Her right claw clutched onto it for dear life as she glared at her younger sibling. The last thing she needed was for her loudmouth brother to tell her dad she had been snooping around the study again.

She squawked angrily at him. “Don’t ever do that to me again, pipsqueak! It’s something important here and I don’t want to get caught!”

Glen retracted, wide-eyed, “Sorry, sis... I didn’t mean to. I just saw get back from your super cool mission... you then came in here and I was wondering what awesome stuff you were doing.”

Gilda relaxed a little, maybe her brother could be persuaded to be of use to her this time instead of telling tales to their parents. “It wasn’t that great, little bro. It’s only like I got to tell Dad’s followers to meet him in the dungeon.”

“You mean they didn’t let you come too? Lame...”

“Tell me about it. Anyway...” she paused. No sounds of an incoming griffin were heard so she motioned for him to come closer.

Curious, the younger male wandered forward. The griffin who stood alert and ruffled behind the table quickly grabbed a small pack from an open draw and thrust something inside. With a disarming smile Gilda threw the pack over her hooked beak and across her back. Glen eyed the bulge with curious eyes but decided to question her later about the contents.

“If I tell you this... you are soo going to have to come with me.” Gilda told the inquisitive griffin with a face that made it clear he would be in trouble if he said something smart at this point.

“Come with you? Where?” Glen cocked his head curiously.

“Equestria. Where those idiot ponies live...”

This made the younger griffin smile. “Really?! Awesome! I’ve always wanted to see those places! And what about the Wonderbolts? Can we see them too? I’ve always wanted to go to Cloudsdale! From what you said about it, it sounds really cool! Wow!”

“No Glen. We won’t be going anywhere cool. It will not be a vacation for you to sit there and preen your fancy wings.” She snapped. “I’m going to do what our old featherbag is now too old to do.”

“...But sis...why?” Glen asked softly, looking very disappointed. “I don’t understand why no one likes ponies. I mean....I never met any, but I read a lot of stories and they sound really nice. I want to see these places, sis! I want to meet ponies!”

“That’s because they are naive. The dweebs don’t even know what’s cool anymore.”

Glen bit his beak, looking uncertain, “...What are you going to do, sis?”

“By the looks of what I’ve found so far... It looks like we need to start a war, those old geezers are being too slow.” She turned turned her attention away from the shocked younger griffin to quickly shut the secret compartment and close the gaping draws. She decided that for now, one 'borrowed' talisman would be enough, she just had to get out now before her father returned and asked questions.

Glen didn’t respond; he only looked down at his claws, trembling a bit. He’d heard war stories from his father and grandfather, but didn’t like the sound of conflict at all. “I don’t know, sis...that’s scary and...I...I just don’t know about that. Why do we have to go to war? Nothing wrong happened.”

“Pssh... don’t be a pushover, little bro. If you continue like that, the ponies will win. That Celestia is a real troll, don’t ever trust her.” Gila replied as she strolled around from behind the desk.

“Oh... okay...” Glen continued to look uncomfortable.

“Look, if you’re not going to be of any help then beat it. Our dad is about to claim lordship over all the tribes. From what I’ve managed to find, our chiefs have been hiding stuff that could be really uncool for the normal griffins to see. ...And when dad takes over, we all know what he wants to do. You’re a cool brother and all but I have something I need to do.” Her face lit with cruel joy. “I know exactly where I’m going too now. Thank you dad. I will now do you proud.”

“Okay...” He turned to leave, saddened by his sisters resolve to leave.

Suddenly something stopped him. “You know what, if you don’t want to come... it’s okay.” His annoyed sister looked at him with the familiar expression of harsh kindness he knew he would miss if she went on yet another mission without him.

The older griffin continued, knowing she once again had the full attention of her brother. “Although, I guess that since I do now know of the location of the first assault, I could take my cool bro on a quick tour,” she grinned at him.

Her words turned his world around. “Yes please, sis!” He gave her a big hug.

Gilda brushed her energetic younger brother off laughing.

“Hey, it’s no biggie. Now come on, I don’t need our dad catching us.”

“You got it, sis! ...Wait, you know where the first attack will be?” He stopped dead in his tracks as her information seeped in.

"Yea... I first heard one of Dad's cronies mention it a few days ago... then tonight I caught a few hints too. But I think we should still aim to get these talismans... I think a few ponies might still remember me and be wiling to help the coolest griffin ever." Gilda bragged as she strutted out.

Glen stood for a moment in thought. "So... what your saying is that you know where the attack is... but you don't know where the talismans are hidden but we still are looking for them?"

"Bingo. Together I think we can charm a few ponies into helping us." Gilda flashed her brother a smile. "After all... you do want to meet a few of those dweebs don't you?"

"I sure do! Sis, your the best!" Glen raced up to his elder sister and gave her a quick hug.

She shrugged him off and continued on her way out, a delighted swagger in her step. “And now... two of the coolest griffins ever get to find dad’s missing talismans. I’m sure they can make a super cool griffin like me even cooler and way more powerful.” She grinned as the pair continued on down the hallway together.

Both griffins were ready and eager for adventure. Gilda was becoming especially eager to get her claws on her fathers talismans. If they were as important as she was beginning to think they were, they could make her very powerful indeed. Especially as they linked to her ancient ancestor who had led the war on ponykind. After all, a cool griffin like herself could have a lot of fun with her family’s long lost power. Maybe she could even steal the glory of leading the first assault if she found more of the talismans of Warbeak.