//------------------------------// // The Quail, The Ambassador, and The Griffins (revised) // Story: Twilight's Secret // by Distorted Flare //------------------------------// The royal airship, Solar Wind, was quite an impressive structure. The golden cabin hanging underneath could easily accommodate over a hundred guests and the two dozen crew members. The envelope was filled with high-density clouds that, in conjunction with an integrated cloud-walking spell, provided tremendous lift. The whole behemoth easily was the size of Canterlot castle. Twilight was impressed at the size of the craft, truly a marvel of pony engineering. And she was going to have the penthouse suite for the three day journey to the capitol of the Griffin Kingdom, Mosclaw. Twilight watched out her window as ponies, griffins, and an occasional minotaur boarded the vessel. Although it served primarily as a mode of long range transport for the Equestrian nobility, the Solar Wind also ferried anyone with deep enough pockets to wherever they needed to be. The final passengers on board, the crew cast off. The Solar Wind drifted upwards before spinning about and setting off for Mosclaw. The two oldest alicorns were walking down one of the halls in their castle. “Luna, did you happen to speak with Twilight Sparkle before she left?” There was an odd tone to Celestia's voice. “No, sister, we – errr… I – did not. Why do you ask?” Luna tilted her head. “I wondered if anypony else had spoken with her. During my conversation with Twilight, I noticed something… off about her.” “Off?” the younger inquired. Her hooves stopped walking. “When we talked, I noticed two things. Firstly was her height. It could be my imagination, but I swear that she looked taller, if only by a tiny amount.” “Sister, she is an alicorn, like us. Of course she will get taller.” Luna stated with matter-of-fact tone. “No, she should not. We were born, while she was made. Look at Cadance," Celestia said while tossing her head in the general direction of a stain glass window. The one indicated depicted her niece. "She has not grown past the height of a normal pony. Although—" Celestia paused "—it may have just been the light in the room that made Twilight look taller.” “It is possible. Perhaps we should keep an eye on her, just for her sake. What was the other thing you noticed?” “I trust you understand how well I can read ponies' body language?” Luna nodded. “Far better than I can. What did you pick up from Twilight?” “That is the question. Honestly, I don’t know, and that bothers me. The look in her eyes is not something I have seen in ponies before.” “This is troublesome indeed.” The voyage to Mosclaw passed almost without incident. Spike overdid it on the dessert buffet and ended up with a stomachache for the first day of the trip. Later, after he was feeling better, Twilight and Spike ordered room service. The griffin waiter that delivered the quail dish gave a curious look at Twilight, not seeing Spike at first. That had led to a rather awkward few moments wherein Twilight tried to convince him that the dish was not for her, but for her roommate. As soon as the waiter had left, the pair split the mushroom stuffed quail between themselves. “This is good, but not the best thing I have tasted,” Spike said. “You’d think that a boat as fancy as this could hire better chefs.” “Unfortunately, I don’t have anything to base this on, so I don’t know if this is good considering how it is supposed to be prepared,” Twilight said. The scientific part of her mind was busy analyzing the dish, storing it away for later reference. They continued to chew their way through the dish in comfortable silence. Within a few minutes of their arrival in Mosclaw, Twilight and Spike were escorted off of the Solar Winds and to a waiting carriage. Out in the frigid air, King Grendel Ironbeak stood by his transport. Ironbeak's large, scarred frame gave him an intimidating appearance, but his eyes held a gentleness uncommon among griffins. “My my my, when Princess Celestia said she would be sending an ambassador, I had assumed it would be Mrs. Peace Treaty. Instead, I get Princess Twilight Sparkle. It is an honor to meet you,” The griffin king spoke in his deep voice. He offered out a claw. “The honor is all mine, King Ironbeak.” Twilight shook his claw and then gestured to Spike. “This is my number one assistant, Spike.” “Hi, nice to meet you! I’ve never met a griffin before. Well, there was one, but she was rather mean. She even yelled at Fluttershy! I mean, who does that?” Spike said. “Especially considering how much she valued her image. Although it’s sad to lose a friend - even a shallow one - over a fight. I wonder if Gilda ever apologized to Rainbow Dash?” Twilight said. “You know my daughter, Gilda Ironbeak?” the king asked. “I knew she made a fool of herself, but to think she did it in front of an Equestrian Princess.” Twilight blinked, then said, “Wait, Gilda, as in the griffin that Rainbow Dash made friends with in Cloudsdale flight camp, is the princess of the Griffin Kingdom?” “Yes, that is my daughter.” Grendel faceclawed. “I hope her behavior did not offend you too badly, your highness.” “It is all in the past, your majesty. I was not even royalty at the time, and it was not me that she offended.” Twilight shivered as a blast of snowy air assaulted the group. “Brrrr… Let’s get out of this cold.” She turned to Spike, who was busy warming his claws with a small jet of green flame. “Come on, Spike.” Within twenty minutes, the carriage arrived at Grendel Ironbeak’s castle. The servants escorted Twilight and Spike up to their rooms. They were amazed by all of the artwork that adorned the walls. Paintings of various battle scenes, warriors, and hunts adorned almost every wall. Mounted underneath the torches that lit the walls, various weapons were on display. As they passed through the main throne room, they couldn’t help but stare at the distant ceiling. The mural painted upon it was far more graphic than any of the other artworks. Nevertheless, it possessed a level of quality far beyond that of any of the other paintings. Twilight did not know what to do: look up at the enchanting beauty or look down and hurl. So she took the third option: crashing headfirst into the oncoming griffin that she had failed to notice. “HEY! WATCH IT! I’M WALKING HERE!” a familiar voice yelled. “Oh, my apologies. I was not looking where I was going,” Twilight sheepishly apologized. “You better be,” the griffin growled. “I said I was…” the Equestrian princess trailed off as she recognized who she was looking at. “Princess Gilda.” “That’s my name, don’t wear it out. Who are you?” Gilda asked, the annoyance evident in her voice. Twilight’s eye twitched in annoyance. ‘She’s as bad as before.’ The alicorn took a calming breath. “Princess Twilight Sparkle, ambassador for Equestria. More importantly, I’m Rainbow Dash's and Fluttershy’s friend.”