//------------------------------//
// The Griffon Knight. 
// Story: The Last Medallion 
// by Thwaitesy 
//------------------------------//

Noah woke in a strange position on his bed after a long night of soul searching. But he didn't wake up because he wanted to. He would have much rather spend the whole day curled up under his blanket on his soft mattress. No, it was the KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK, at his door that roused the blue-feathered griffon from his slumber.

With a grunt and a few unkind mumbles, Noah slowly rose from his bed and, letting his spine crack a few times, made his way down the three steps that led to his living room. Most times Noah would make himself at least somewhat presentable before answering the door, but he just didn't have the heart after learning the truth yesterday.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming. Keep your wings on," Noah grumbled as he reached a talon to the brass door knob. 

The door opened with a creak and before him stood his best friend, a dark grey-furred thestral stallion named Duskwing. He had bright yellow eyes and his mane consisted of two colors: pale brown and dull gold. Duskwing had a grin on his face until he saw the state which Noah was in. "Whoa dude," he said, "what in the Sisters’ names happened to you?"

Noah grunted and stepped aside to let his friend in.  "Well," the griffon finally spoke, "I went to the library, found out my family were noble but lost everything, then I got knocked out of the air."

"Sounds harsh," Dusk replied.

"Oh, it gets even better," Noah said. "Then I visited my Mom and Dad, and I learned that it was because of my Dad that my family is now disgraced."

Dusk swallowed, carefully planning on what he should say next. He knew what Noah was like. He knew that in moments like this, his feather-furred friend was like a powder keg with a short fuse. The wrong word would set him off. He looked around the apartment hoping he could find something to A: distract Noah from his funk and B: supply a new topic of conversation. It was then that Dusk spied an unfamiliar item among Noah’s memorabilia.

Duskwing made his way over to the table that the strange item lay upon, mesmerized by it. All the while, Noah kept on ranting on what had happened last night. His voice pretty much a blur now.

Swallowing hard, Dusk reached a tentative hoof towards the Medallion. He didn't know why, but it seemed so familiar to him. But the thestral knew for a fact he had never seen it before.

"You now, Dusk," Noah said, finally reaching the end of his verbal torrent. "You're always willing to listen even... when... I...." His speech slowed down as he saw that his friend hadn't been listening. "Typical – distracted by something shiny. I swear, thestrals."

Making his way over to Dusk, Noah noticed that his friend seemed to me totally entranced by the medallion he was holding in his hooves. His eyes were wide as saucers and his pupils almost filled them, his mouth was agape and there was even a small bit of drool.

"Hello." Noah waved a talon in front of the stunned thestral’s eyes. "Du-u-usk? Anypony in there?" Then he gently tapped Dusk on the shoulder. "Hey, bat-head!"

The Thestral jumped with a slight high pitched yelp, dropping the Medallion as he did. "Du-u-ude. Where did you get that?" Dusk asked as he recovered from his trance.

Noah picked up the medallion and held it, examining it. "Outside the library. That griff who knocked me out of the air dropped it then flew off." He then closed his claws around it, holding tight. "So it's mine now," he said with a smirk.

Neither Noah nor Dusk noticed the small glow from the medallion when Noah claimed it as his own.

"Well, I suppose you know the second reason I came by this morning, don't you?" Dusk asked. He had a look to him that seemed like it was something that would normally get a griff in trouble. Noah scratched the back of his head with his spare talon and looked around, trying to figure out what Dusk meant. For a moment, he was at a total loss until he saw the calendar on his wall. Then he looked to the clock by his bed "Oh no..." he said, face-palming hard enough for there to be a rather loud slap.

"Oh, yes," Dusk confirmed his friend’s realization "You, sir, are late for work. I had to spend all morning with those argumentative, obnoxious, disagreeable clients. ALL. ON. MY .OWN."

Noah couldn't help but chuckle at that. "Clients? Dusk, you talk like we're lawyers or something."

"We provide a valuable service to society, don't we?" Dusk replied, puffing his chest out proudly. Noah nodded and headed to his closet to get something. "Yeah, of course we do, but we don't go about handling legal cases or finding lost children. We certainly don't save the world. We're tour guides."

"Yes, we are. We're the premiere tour guides in Griffonia." Noah rolled his eyes a little; Dusk really did take pride in his work. "Yeah, right. We're pretty much the only tour guides in Griffonia," Noah said from inside his closet.

"All the more reason to appear respectable and be at work when we're supposed to. So your best friend in the world, and co-owner of our business, doesn't have to work your scheduled group."

Suddenly it all made sense. Noah exited the closet with his tour-guide uniform on. "Wait! Wait! Wait! So you had to take all those old-aged ponies around the city?" Noah could not help sniggering, knowing that the thestral had very little patience when it came to the elderly.

Dusk let out an exasperated sigh as he threw his forelegs up in the air. "Why do old beings feel the need to travel around so much, and then complain when the guide needs to 'Shpeak up shonny'?"

"Highlight of their twilight, I guess," the blue feathered griffon said with a shrug. "They wanna see what they never got a chance to while they still can. Besides you shouldn't complain. they're paying customers, and the elderly give some of the best tips."

"Yeah, but they count out Every. Last. Crown." Dusk whined. "Then if they lose count they scoop them all back up and start over again."

It looked like the thestral was on the verge of tears, which prompted Noah to ask, "How many times did they..."

His sentence was never finished as Dusk blew his top. "FIVE TIMES! The mare in charge lost count FIVE TIMES!"

As harsh as it seemed, Noah could no longer help it, and he burst out laughing. In fact, he found he couldn't keep his feet under him, and he collapsed and began literally rolling with laughter.

After several seconds, even Duskwing himself couldn't help but laugh at his little rant, and soon the two of them were recovering and standing to their feet. "Now then, let's get back to the store. I'll bet we've got another load of customers."

With House Path starting up relationships with so many varied cultures all over the world, Griffonia had been getting an increasing amount of visitors who had come to see what they had only heard rumors about. When it became noticeable, it was Duskwing who came up with the idea of opening a tour-guide business. After all, who would be better at showing visitors around than a couple of males who knew the city inside out and upside down? So Dusk and Noah had pooled their savings and opened up their tour-guide station. They had a steady stream of customers – more on special events such as Nightmare Night which had also been introduced by House Path. Noah himself had gone to the first Nightmare Night. He loved the show that had been put on. Of course he still had no idea how they did the special effects on the zombie. 

Arriving at their store, they could see a group of twenty ponies, two thestrals, and surprisingly, five griffons. Noah guessed that they were most likely from Griffonstone. The most surprising, however, were the five undisguised changelings – one Violet, one Green, one Orange, and finally, two Reds who seemed to have a protective air about them over the others. ‘This will be interesting,’ Noah thought to himself. Thirty-two beings in all. Noah and Dusk entered through the main door and squeezed themselves through the throng until they got to the front desk, which was manned by a cute young earth pony mare with a pale blue coat. Her mane and tail were a dull aqua and grey. Upon see her two bosses, her blue eyes lit up. "Welcome back Mr. Wing," she said happily. She then turned her attention to Noah. "Hello, Mr. Bluecrest", she said. Her voice had something of a tinge of seductiveness to it. It always did when she spoke to him.

Noah, as usual, felt a little uncomfortable when he heard that tone in her voice, but he never let it show. "Hello, Miss Dial Tone," Noah said with a smile. "So does the group have any particular requirements before I take them out?"

Dial thought for a quick second. "Not that they told me. They're ready to go however."

Noah nodded and turned to the gathered beings and smiled. "Hello all. My name is Noah Bluecrest and I'll be your guide today around our beautiful city. Now, if you would kindly follow me. If you have any questions, don't be afraid to speak up." With that, Noah began to lead the large group to the first significant place in the city and began to explain its significance.


# # #


Elsewhere in the city, a certain dark-furred unicorn was continuing his search for his target somewhere within the city. Every now and then, he would stop a griffon if they were wearing anything around their neck and demand to see it and know what it is. Most were reasonable enough to allow him to see it, but on one occasion a griffon wouldn't let him even see it. He told the Hunter to back off and mind his own damned business. That griffon was soon discovered dead in an alley with his throat sliced, his 500 meter glide medal lying next to him on the cold stone floor.

The Hunter continued on his way through the winding streets of the city, and as a result of not really knowing the layout, he got lost more than once. "How do these Tarturus-damned birdbrains find their way about this stupid city? It's a bucking labyrinth!" The Hunter was not known for his intelligence; in fact he was a simple pony and he liked simple things. Things like killing, maiming, causing pain in general. He was, however, extremely dedicated to his master’s cause, and did whatever he was tasked to do, which always involved finding someone and ending their life. Sometimes in very ingenious ways, but sometimes he went with the tried and true method of stabbing with each one of his daggers. And he always found who he was looking for; this time would be no different.

However, the length of time it was taking to find this target was starting to take its toll. Sure, the annoying griffon he had killed earlier had made him feel better, but he just needed one more thing to sort out his mood. The moment came when he saw a quartet of chicks playing ball. One missed his throw and the red ball bounced down the cobblestone street and stopped only because the Hunter put his hoof down lightly upon it. Perfect.

The group of chicks flew over to him and the leader, a Goshawk and cheetah griffon, said, "Can we have our ball back?" The Hunter looked down at the ball like he'd only just now noticed it under his hoof. Grabbing it with his magic he levitated it up to his face. "You mean this ball?" The chick nodded. "Yeah, that's my ball. Can I have it back?"

The Hunter looked down at the Griffon chick and back to the ball, then back to the chick. "Sure, you can have it back." The chick’s face lit up with a smile. The Hunter returned the ball, not because he was feeling generous, but rather because he had an idea pop into his head. "Before you go, I was wondering if you could help me out." he said, quickly grabbing the chicks' gathered attention. "See, I'm looking for someone here in the city," he said, casting his eyes around. "A ‘friend’, but I'm not having much luck finding him. I don't really know what they look like, see?"

The lead chick looked at the Hunter curiously. "How can we help if you don't know what he looks like? Oooh Is he a quill pal?" the chick asked happily before he continued. "I've got a quill pal in Equestria – he's a pegasus, so he can fly like me and he–”

The Hunter gently put his hoof to the chick’s beak to silence him. "That's great, kid. The only thing I know about my friend is that he has a medallion around his neck. It looks kinda like this.” Using his magic, he created a rough image of the medallion in front of the group of chicks. "If you see someone wearing this, that is my friend, and then you come and tell me where he is so I can ki... I mean, meet him." 

"So we go find your friend so you can meet and be cool friends?" The chick asked.

The Hunter nodded and grinned. "That's right, you clever little thing you," he said to the group’s leader while thinking to himself, 'Stupid, naïve little brat.'  "And for helping me find my friend, I'll give you some nice shinies," he said, and levitated a few gems from a pouch on his harness.

All four of the chicks’ eyes went as wide as saucers when they laid eyes on the shinies. "Ooooooooh," they all said as one. And before he knew it, they were off like a shot looking for his friend.

The concept of using these innocent little chicks to help him find and kill his target made the Hunter smile, his mood so much better now. "It's so good to be bad."


# # #


It was much later in the day when Noah and his tour group returned to the agency after having shown them all around the city. Many no doubt had somewhat tired hooves or talons, but all were very happy about it, for it had been worth it, having learned so much. Noah was, as it turned out, quite knowledgeable about the city. That's what came from spending a lot of time reading.

"So, I hope you all had a good time. I would like to thank you all for deciding to use the 'DuskCrest' tour guide agency. Now, before we go back inside and finish up, does anypony or griff or ling have any last questions?"

A dark chitinous hoof rose into the air. "Excuse me," the Violet Changeling asked, "What's that place up there on the mountain?" He pointed his hoof at the mountain that served as a constant backdrop to the city. "You never took us up there."

Noah followed the hoof and saw what the changeling was pointing at. The old fortress that had been carved out of the very mountainside, stood silent as if patiently waiting for someone to make use of it. "Ah yes. That, is Fort Shield, and no one is allowed to go up there unless given direct permission from the king."

"When was it built?" another a pegasus mare asked, asked joining in with the changeling’s curiosity.

Noah couldn't help but smile a little. He always loved sating curiosity. "Fort Shield was built when griffons first settled in this area. Its sole purpose was to protect this city while it was in its infancy. But over time, the city grew and grew and eventually Shield was abandoned in favor of the new, more readily accessible Fort Aerie, just east of the city."

Noah quickly surveyed the group. "Any more questions? No? OK then, let's head on inside and settle up." With that, they all moved into the agency, and the appreciative beings paid the remainder of the fare for the tour. Noah and Dusk always charged half before the tour and half after.

Unknown to Noah, the group of chicks that had been hired by the Hunter had spotted him and saw the medallion around his neck. As soon as they made sure it was the medallion the unicorn had shown them, they were once again off like a shot to find the Hunter and tell him they'd found his friend.


# # #


As the sun was setting, Dial Tone turned the sign in the agency's window from ‘Open’ to ‘Closed’, then went into the back where Noah and Dusk were in the process of counting up all the Crowns that they had made that day, and dividing it up between the three of them and setting some aside as ‘just in case’ money.

"So, how'd we do today?" the mare asked as she approached, taking a seat. Dusk passed her a hay burger they had ordered for her from a food place that catered to all types.

As she bit into it, Dusk replied, "We've made a good day’s profit. Overall, this week has been one of the best we've had."

Noah nodded. "Yep. It's getting so we won't have to worry about much soon. Tarturus! The tips alone from the group Dusk took out this morning was enough to cover the rent on this place," he said as he took a bite from his own burger. This one however was actually made of meat.

Suddenly Dusk stood and raised his cup. "I would like to propose a toast. Here's to a prosperous month. May the DuskCrest tour guide agency have many, many more."

"Hear, hear!" Noah and Dial said in unison as they touched their cups to Dusk’s.

As Dial took a sip from her cup, a thought popped into her head. "You know, I've always been curious – you two are best friends since you were young, right? But it's only until recently that Griffonia has started seeing much in the way of visitors and ponies and others wanting to live here."

Duskwing chuckled. "That's very true. I suppose you could say my parents moved here before it was cool. My dad was here as a negotiator to try and get a better deal on imports and exports between our countries and he fell in love with the place," Dusk said, recounting the story his father had told him. "He convinced my mom to move over here with him, and she really liked this place too. I was born maybe a year after they got settled."

Noah nodded having already heard this story. "And just guess who they lived next door to?" Noah added. "Our parents hit it off, and we did too. And that, as they say, is that."

Dial smiled as she tried to imagine Noah and Dusk as a chick and foal running around, trying and failing to fly properly the first few times. However, she was brought out of her imagination when she heard Noah’s dreamy voice calling her name.  "Hmm, what?" she said, a little dazed. "I'm sorry, what did you say Mr. Bluecrest?" Noah cleared his throat a bit. "The agency's closed, Dial; you can call me Noah. But I was saying, this has got me wondering how you came to live here. Dusk and I didn't really ask during your interview, and this whole thing just made me realize," he said, resting his elbows on the table and supporting his head in his claws as he looked right at her. "So spill it."

"Oh, there's really nothing much to tell," she said as she looked into her cup and sloshed the contents about a little. "I was bored at work and needed something to do that wasn't working in the mail room."

"So you came here to find a better place to work?" Noah asked. "You do know ponies didn't have it so well around here until very recently?"

Dial nodded her understanding, her mane bobbing up and down as she did. "I know. But I also knew that things were good enough that I wouldn't be treated harshly. And then on my first day of looking, I found the two of you," she finished with a smile. "The Best bosses this side of the ocean," she added with a salute with her cup.

Both Noah and Dusk returned her salute by raising their own. The next half an hour was filled with jokes, laughing, and banter about the day. Once the counting was done, Noah looked up at the clock on the wall. It was getting late, and if he was going to show up on time tomorrow, he'd need a good night's sleep. But on the other claw, it was Friday, and that meant no work tomorrow. And that meant night out!

Noah, Dusk and Dial exited the agency and prepared for a nice night out. Maybe they'd go to a bar, have a few drinks, and sing on stage a bit. Sure, they were no Village Ponies, but they were pretty good together. As Noah took the lead, no one noticed the medallion around his neck pulsing with a faint light.

Before they began to make their way to their destination and the fun they had planned, a blast of purple magic knocked all three of them down. Noah looked up to see a dark-furred Unicorn standing nearby. He tried to get up but found the same magic that knocked him down was also holding him down. The Unicorn was making his way over to them and, to Noah's horror, was drawing a dagger. 

The Hunter brought the dagger up to his muzzle and once again licked the blade, slowly as if savoring the taste. "I've been looking forward to this," he said once he was done. "I'll admit, you really made me work to find you. If it hadn't been for those chicks that told me where you were, I might not have. The gems I gave them were definitely worth it. I kill a Medallion Master and I get promoted to a Cloaked One, then who knows I might even become a Shrouded One!"

From where he was on the ground, Noah could see that both Dusk and Dial were also being held down by the strange unicorn’s magic. "Look," Noah said, trying to keep his voice even despite his growing terror. "If it's me you want, then you've got me. Just let my friends go!"

The Hunter looked at the downed griffon like he had sprouted an extra head. "Let them go? Oh no, no, no, no! Killing you – that's just business, but those two," he said inclining he head slightly in the direction of the thestral and the mare, "Killing them is simply for the love of the game." The Hunter then turned and took a look at Dial Tone held under his magic. "Though I will admit, I might be keeping her around for a while."

Dial saw the look he was giving her, and possibly felt more horror then Noah at the implication of the Hunter’s words.

Returning his attention to Noah, the Hunter used his magic to remove the medallion from around the griffon’s neck. "Let's just take this away shall we? Don't want you causing all kinds of trouble for me," he said while examining it. The medallion was glowing quite brightly now, and the Hunter couldn't help but raise a curious hoof to touch it. “YE-OUCH!!!”

It dropped to the floor, and for a moment the magic holding Noah and his friends down was released. Noah didn't know what was going through his mind, but he knew he had to get that medallion back. Meanwhile the Hunter was blowing and sucking on his hoof as though it had been burned. Noah grasped the medallion off the cold stone floor and then something in his mind told him that he should touch the center. With little thought of what might happen, he touched a claw to the very center of it and held it above his head.

The light that emanated from the medallion was as bright as the sun, but it was only slightly warm. A sphere of silver light grew from it and engulfed Noah. The griffon panicked and tried to drop the medallion, but found that he couldn't. However, in the next moment, he found he didn't want to. As the globe of light fully enveloped him, he felt so secure and warm like he did when he was younger and his mother would hug him and settle him after he'd had a bad dream. Then he felt something strange begin to happen. The light seemed to be coiling around him, and even more strange it seemed to be solidifying.

When the sphere of light faded, Noah was covered from beak to tail tip in silver and metallic blue armor. Even the crest on the top of his head was armored. Though they seemed more like blades, and he felt sure he was a least a little bigger. He didn't have much time to conduct a thorough examination of himself as a blast of dark magic hit him again. This time however, all it did was push him back a little. Noah looked to the Hunter just in time to see him use his magic to draw all the rest of his daggers, all six of them joining the other that was already drawn. They levitated around him in a loose formation for at least a second before they were all hurled forwards at an alarming speed.

Acting on instincts he didn't even know he had, Noah was actually dodging the daggers until the realization of what was happening distracted him, and one of the weapons found itself lodged into the griffon’s shoulder. It hurt, but not nearly as much as Noah thought it would. Gripping the hilt with an armored claw, he pulled it out expecting to see the blade covered in his blood, but found it to be remarkably clean. Not even a smear or any kind of stain. Curious, Noah looked at his shoulder where the knife hit him. While there was indeed a hole in this strange armor, he did not see his shoulder beneath it. Instead only a soft glow came from it.

He didn't have time to panic about this unsettling revelation as the Hunter blasted him again with his magic, but this time Noah dodged it. He saw Dusk and Dial in shock about what was going on, obviously rooted in place by events. "GET OUT OF HERE!" Noah shouted at them. He almost didn't even recognize his own voice; it was deeper and reverberated quite a bit, almost like he was speaking with two voices at once.

Dusk and Dial quickly found themselves shaken from their shock and both tried to get back into the agency and the relative safety it might provide. The Hunter saw them and charged up his horn again, but this time he aimed at the pony and thestral. He fired, the purple beam racing towards his intended victims. They were snatched out of harm’s way at the last second by Noah. He had saved his friends but the agency had taken the full force of the Hunter’s blast. The explosion was heard all over the city, and those at a higher vantage could even see it.

The Hunter stood stock still watching the fire burning within the now ruined tour guide agency. "Wow. Now that was an impressive explosion. Guess I don't know my own strength," he said with a laugh. Suddenly he was knocked off his hooves as an armored fist collided with the side of his head. Looking up from where he lay sprawled on the floor, he saw the Medallion Master standing firm, wings flared, with the flaming building behind him. Despite the lack of facial expression due to the armor, the griffon looked really pissed off.

Noah was fuming. The business he and Dusk had built together, gone through so much trouble to set up and get permission to start, was gone, all because of this strange pony. "You come into My city," Noah spoke again with that strange double voice, "Threaten and try to kill My friends, destroy My place of business..." Without thinking, Noah made a move as if to draw a sword that didn't exist from a sheath that didn't exist. When he reached the position a sword would be, he clenched his claw tight and a hilt appeared in his grasp. Then he drew the rest of the blade from out of nowhere. The sword itself was absolutely beautiful. It perfectly matched the contours of the Armor. The guard was metallic blue and had a heavy griffon motif, while the silvery blade had intricate engravings that ran all the length of the blood groove, while the pommel was shaped like a griffon’s head. "Big mistake!"

With a flap of his wings, Noah surged forward, swinging his new sword wide, hoping to decapitate this pony who had ruined everything. All the blade cut, however, was air as the Hunter had teleported just out of reach. Noah wasn't dissuaded and tried again. This time the Hunter brought up a dagger, hoping to block the weapon, but watched in shocked horror as the griffon’s sword cut right through the dagger’s blade like a hot knife through butter.

The Hunter stood and looked at the ruined dagger. The cut from Noah’s sword was so smooth, it had a mirror like sheen to it. "That was my favorite dagger..." He saw the Griffon coming at him again and this time blasted at Noah with a beam of magic. It knocked Noah back, but didn't cause any serious harm. "I guess I've gotta handle this the old fashioned way," the Hunter said, and manifested a sword which he held aloft using his magic.

And just in time too, as he had only a second to parry another strike from Noah. From there it was a furious back and forth between the two, each blocking and parrying blows from the other, moving faster than any normal fighters could have. The only difference was the Hunter was getting tired, which was proved when Noah managed to catch his right shoulder, cutting a gash almost half a foot long.

Before Noah could land another blow the Hunter teleported away again. He reappeared on the roof on a building across the road and called down. "Good fight, Medallion Master. Good fight. I'll admit it's been quite a while since I saw my own blood. I assure you we'll meet again." With one last look at Dial Tone, to whom he gave a small wink, he disappeared again in another flash of purple light.

With the fight apparently over, Noah turned and looked at the ruin of the agency. The sword vanished from his grasp and his armored form sat on his haunches and watched the building burn. He was engulfed in silver light again, and once it had faded, he was his normal self again. He didn't notice. He didn't even notice when Duskwing and Dial Tone made their way up to him and sat on either side of him. Together the three of them just sat together and watched the flames. Finally the firefighters arrived and began to ply their trade. 

Suddenly all eyes looked up as a group of griffons flew overhead, circled, and came in to land behind Noah, Dial and Dusk. Leading the group was none other than one of the four founders of House Path – Free Agent. He looked about the area and settled his eyes on the trio. "I think the three of you should come with me."

"But, Lord Free. I swear we haven't done anything. We're the victims!" Noah protested, earning a look of slight disbelief from Free.

Free Agent walked up close to Noah and leaned in so very few save Dusk and Dial could hear him. "Listen – we know something happened here, something magical, a kind of magic that hasn't been felt by anybeing for a very long time to boot. And the three of you were right in the middle of it. So come with me, we'll talk, and then I'll see what I can do about your... what did you three do in this place?"

"We're tour guides," Duskwing spoke up. "This is... was our agency."

Noah and Dial nodded in confirmation.

"I see. Well, come on. Let's go before we catch our death out here."

However, before the group took off, Free addressed two members of his squad. "Ophion, I want you to stay here and deal with the city guard and the fire brigade. You know the drill." Then he turned to a female member of the squad. "Themis, you're one of our strongest flyers. I want you to carry the earth pony."

"Yes sir, Lord Free," they both said in unison. Ophion went to talk the city guard that had arrived while Themis walked over to Dial. "Don't worry, I won't drop you" she said with a kind smile.

The group took off, Themis carrying Dial, while Noah and Dusk followed under their own power. Noah couldn't help but feel a little uneasy as they made their way straight for the House Path estate – the estate that once upon a time belonged to his family.

The flight was a little longer then Noah expected but it was blissfully uneventful. After everything that had happened with that strange pony and the agency being blown to smithereens, he was glad for it. Soon enough, however, Freedom squad landed in front of the mansion. Dial looked like she was about to lose her lunch. "I don't think I'm going to get used to that any time soon," she said, and Dusk couldn't help but laugh a bit.

Noah, however, was too focused on the building in front of them. Looking up, he saw the House Shield above the large double door.  Despite his wonder at it, he couldn't help but think that once upon a time, a blue and silver House Shield was displayed there. Noah felt a surge of emotions washing over him ranging from anxiety, fear, anger and even nostalgia. Of course, Free Agent, being a changeling, felt each and every one of them, and made a mental note to mention this to Path. After all, this rather attractive griffon had been here before, during that first Nightmare night. It was hard to miss a Griffon like him, and back then Free had only felt amazement, but now something had changed about the blue, black and white griffon’s feeling about the mansion which seemed to be the focus of the emotions.

Noah finally walked up the five steps to the front door and watched as Free entered. With a shaky talon, Noah took his first step inside, while Dusk and Dial watched and followed their friend inside. Dial was confused by Noah’s nervousness after what she had seen. "Why's Noah so...I dunno so...timid right now? You'd think he's never stepped into a big mansion before."

Dusk, despite himself, scowled a little at the mare. "He's nervous because this place used to belong to his parents."

Dial nearly raised the roof of the place as she replied maybe a little louder then she fully intended to. "WHAAAAAAAT!?!?"

However, before she could make any more of a scene, Dusk had stuffed his hoof in her mouth. "Shhhh!" he said, putting his other hoof to his own mouth for emphasis. Now quiet, Dial looked around to see every griff and pony in the building was looking at her, including Noah. Blushing, she rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry, just got a bit of a surprise." Then she smiled sheepishly, which was accompanied with a little squee sound. The group continued on their way following Free Agent’s lead.

A little further down the corridor, Noah saw a kestrel griff standing sheepishly by a door. Soon enough, an elderly eagle owl griffon exited, holding a plunger in his claws. He did not look at all happy. Erebus Mistclaw turned his gaze to the younger griff by the door. "HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU?!" he hollered at the hapless Krestrel griffon, "WHEN YOU HAVE TO USE THE BATHROOM, DO NOT USE THE WHOLE DAMNED ROLL, OR YOU BLOCK THE PIPES!" Despite his old age, Erebus was still able to intimidate any griffon if he chose to. Erebus was the estate maintenance griffon and had been working there since he was very young, helping out his father with the same job.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Mistclaw. I couldn't help it! They were serving fajitas for dinner, and I can't resist them."

All this did was serve to enrage the elderly griffon more, and the young griff could see the rage building. "WELL YOU'D BETTER, BECAUSE NEXT TIME I HAVE TO CLEAR A BLOCKED LATRINE, I'LL BE USING YOUR CLAWS AS A PLUNGER AND YOUR HEAD AS A MOP TO WIPE THE FLOOR AFTER!"

The younger griffon turned white and wanted to run, but knew to do so would only make it worse. Erebus Mistclaw was notorious for punishing those who ran from his scolding. It was better to face the proverbial music. "Yes, Mr. Mistclaw. I swear I won't do this again." The kestrel griffon stood tall and walked away around a nearby corner where he collapsed into a huddled ball, and if you listened closely, you might very well have heard him sobbing.

Satisfied with the work on both the rest room and the young offender, Erebus made ready to move onto his next assignment on the third floor when Lord Free Agent led a group past him. Erebus knelt as Free passed.

"Still keeping the younger generation on their toes, eh, Erebus?" Free asked with a chuckle.

"Always, my lord," Erebus replied. Then he saw the griffon following Free. Time seemed to have slowed down for Erebus as he looked at the blue jay griffon, and suddenly a long forgotten memory flooded back to him.


# # #


A twelve year old Erebus was running through the halls, smiling and laughing as his father chased him. He ducked around a corner and ran straight into a something solid, knocking him back. The young eagle owl griffon looked up to see what he had ran into, and gasped as he saw it was none other than the Lord of the House, Boreas Bluecrest himself and Lady Kila Bluecrest was right beside him.

"Well, hello there, Erebus," Boreas said in a calm friendly tone while smiling.

Erebus, however, was almost in shock. He'd been taught to always respect the House Lord, and here he had just collided with him! "I'm sorry, Mr. Lord Bluecrest sir!" the young griff squeaked.

Boreas and Kila just chuckled at the overuse of titles from the young one. "There, there! It's alright. See? No harm done."

At that moment, Erebus' father came round the corner and saw his son and Lord Bluecrest talking. "Sorry, my Lord; my Lady. I hope he's not been causing any trouble?"

Once again Boreas laughed and waved his claws dismissively. "Of course not; he's just being young is all. Can't blame him for that. Well, we have to go. King Ironclaw has called a meeting of all the noble families, so my wife and I will be gone for a little while." Then he continued on his way and left the mansion with his wife by his side.

The next day was the last time Erebus saw Lord and Lady Bluecrest as they had lost their titles and land, and had to leave the estate.


# # #


Coming back to the present, Erebus suddenly realized how much things had changed in the mansion. Long gone were the proud blue and white carpets and the heroic displays of all the previous Lords of the estate, even Lord Boreas' painting of his battle with the diamond dog chief, Harkah. This griff was too young to be Boreas, but he looked just like him. There was only one answer that came to the griffon, and he needed to know for sure.

Erebus approached Noah before he lost his chance to ask. "Are you the son of Boreas Bluecrest?" Erebus was never one for subtlety. His questions were always true to griffon nature, direct and straight forward.

Although Noah was surprised by the question, he knew how to respond to a direct approach. "I demand to know who asks before I answer!"

Erebus smiled and gave a curt bow. "Erebus Mistclaw, Head of Estate Maintenance, loyal servant of House Path, and House Ravenwing before that, and House Bluecrest before that."

To say Noah was a little surprised was a bit of an understatement. Not once did he consider that he might actually meet someone who lived or worked here when his Mom and Dad lad last walked these halls. "You know my father and mother?" he asked, therefore indirectly at least answering Erebus' question. Noah was surprised when the older Griff laughed.

"Know them? Your father was my hero when I was a chick!" Noah smiled as Erebus continued with his hero worship of his father. "But there’s one thing Boreas always said that really stuck with me. It was the day he and your mother left here. I didn't want them to go. I ran up to them and blocked their path... silly really. I knew why they were leaving but still... I didn't want things to change. But your father looked at me, smiled, and said, “Don't look to the past; it won't come back again. Instead, improve the present; it is yours. Go forth to meet the shadowy future without fear and with a strong heart'. He gave me the courage to keep going. I just wanted to thank you, his son, for that." Noah felt incredible pride at that moment. However, a slight cough from Free returned Noah's attention to him.

"I know this is a mighty powerfully emotional moment for the two of you, but Path is kind of waiting, so let's go. You two can talk later."

After a few more minutes of walking, Free, Noah, Dusk and Dial found themselves in front of a pair of heavy wooden doors. The two guards positioned on either side of the doors opened them, and the four entered. The room was beautiful, with all the decorations matching the colors of the House crest. And there, sitting at a long semicircular wooden table, which was polished to an almost mirror sheen, were Lord Long Path, Lady Roseclaw cradling a young chick, and Princess Twilight Sparkle beside whom Free took his place.

"So," Path said, eyeing Noah and his friends, "I hear the three of you have quite a story to tell. We're all ears."

Noah swallowed a little nervous lump in his throat as he heard the doors close behind him.