//------------------------------// // Griffon Problems // Story: Emperor Despair // by Comrade Bagel Muffin //------------------------------// Trove slowly paced in his chamber which was one the deeper parts of Storm's cave. Things were not normal here. These ponies were suicidal and weak, or so Trove had thought, or at least that was what he had thought. Perhaps he still did, but he couldn't tell, and that was what concerned him the most. Ponies were suppose to be weak, they were suppose to be frail needing friends because they were unable to achieve their ends without another's help. That little Pegasus though she had risked her life to save his, because she viewed him as a friend, yet she clearly didn't want to die. "What is it about these little ponies?" He flapped his wings continuing to go around the perimeter of his room slowly dragging his talons on the wall alongside him. The sound was grating, but the feeling of his talons being dragged along cold stone helped him think. "Why would she risk her life for me if she didn't want to die?" After five laps around the room he finally conceded, he didn't know what friendship was. He had never needed to nor desired to, until now it was weakness. "Could I have been wrong?" He landed on the cold cave floor. "I need to know." He left heading for the chamber that the Crusaders had turned into their sick bay. Trove swallowed his pride and entered the chamber. It was well lite by unicorn lights, the little blue unicorn had cast dozens of magical torch spells all along the walls and ceiling. The light was strong, artificial, and warm. There were nearly a hundred cots in the room, but aside from Scootaloo and her wing and her two friends, there were only the two nurse ponies. Two twin nurses shared their tan coat and light brown manes, The colt and filly were currently reading books about complicated surgical magic. Trove left the two of them alone, they didn't even know he existed. "Hey," Scootaloo greeted Trove warmly as he approached. "How are you doing?" "Your the one in the sick bed you tell me." Trove answered. "I'm fine I'll be up in the air in a couple more hours." "No ya ain't," Apple Bloom protested. "ya'll are going to stay right here and get yerself a good rest." "I'm fine, really loads better." "You're staying here Scootaloo. For at least tonight. Just In case." "Rumble I'm fine." "We know and you're going to be fine right here until tomorrow." Scootaloo gave Pound her best imitation of the Stare, "If you want that is." She bust into laughter, with the three older ponies joining her. "You're fine Pound, you're fine." She patted him on the head. "So what are you doing here?" She turned her attention back to the large griffon. "I need to talk to you alone." "Huh, okay sure. Do you guys mind?" Her friends nodded and started to leave. "I'd ask Morphine and Anesthesia to leave, but I don't think they're to interested in much aside from that book their reading." She sat up in the cot. "So Mr. Trove what's on your mind?" "Why did you save me?" "Oh, well because we're friends." "Don't take this the wrong way, but I don't have friends." "Oh, well you may not see me as a friend, but you're my friend, and I don't let my friends get hurt." Trove looked at her perplexed, like she had all of a sudden started speaking in dragon. "What?" "So you can be someone's friend even if they don't see you as a friend?" Scootaloo shuffled around a little bit. "Well yea, I guess you can. I wouldn't recommend it normally, but I think you count as an extraneous circumstance. I think of you as my friend, and I hope that one day you'll come to think of me that way to." "Perhaps, but I need to know why you saved me back there." "I just told you. You, are, my, friend." "What does that mean?" Trove demanded. "What does that mean that you see me as your friend?" "Well it means." She paused thinking of how best to explain it to him. "It means that I care about you. That I want the best for you and want you to be happy. It means that you can depend on me." "Trove!" Gabriella burst into the sick bay, the colt and filly nurses glaring at her for interrupting them. "Trove, Rojak's here, he wants to talk to you." "Rojak? What is he doing here?" "I don't know. He ordered me to get you. He said it was important, and he doesn't sound happy about what ever it is." "Fine." He turned his attention back to Scootaloo. "This conversation isn't over." "Yeah I was afraid you'd say that." He left Gabriella following close behind him. The two of them quickly made their way through the snaking tunnels to the entrance. They heard Rojak long before they saw him. He seemed to be having a heated argument with Comet Dust about something. The two of them turned the corner in time to see him throwing Pumpkin Cake to the floor. "Rojak what is going on?" "This pony wench got in my way." "What you-" "Shut it!" Rojak screamed at Pumpkin as she tried to explain what was going on. "Bite me you big jerk!" He raised his talon. Trove caught it behind his head. "Enough. I assume you came here for a reason that doesn't involve mistreating little fillies." "I did Gilda's position is being challenged and you and her little shadow are being called back, to stand in the court. The whole flock has been summoned." "We can't go yet Scootaloo needs to stay in the sick bay till tomorrow morning." "Who's Scootaloo?" "The Pegasus Gilda made a part of the flock." "You stupid half griffon I said the flocks been summoned, now shut it and move." Gabriella pulled back as if the insult had physically hurt her. "Gilda's position may be challenged, but all her orders and changes are still standing until a challenger bests her. The Pegasus is a part of the flock until then." "Well I'm not staying here, waiting for some little wench to feel better." Trove's glare instantly became cold and deadly. He jerked his talon forward and Rojak screamed in pain. "Oh dear it looks like you broke your talon Rojak, you should be more careful. Let me see if I can pop it back into place." He jerked it to the side. Again the Griffon howled in pain. "Oh no it seems I've only made it worse, you know there is a sick bay here, I'm sure the pony nurses could patch you up just fine. Of course they'd have to monitor you all night to make sure your talon sets right." He pulled the other griffon up to him just a few centimeters from his beak. "Or would you prefer that I try to pop it into place again?" Rojak shook his head. Trove dropped him to the floor. "Sick bay it is then." *** After two days of continuous flying the four of them arrived at the Griffon's new city. It was in a large forest. The city itself was in the trees. Some of the houses and buildings being supported by scaffolding, others were made by carving in to the trees themselves. Rope bridges connected the trees providing a road for those to young, old, or tired to fly. Scootaloo gapped at the city it wasn't like the Crusader's hideout it was a full city with shops and stores and houses and everything. She couldn't believe it. Then they landed and she saw some thing else she couldn't believe. In the center of the town, was Gilda locked in stocks, Glaring at anyone who passed by daring them to try some thing, promising unspoken threats of pain and death should that take her up on her dares.