57 - Magical Mystery Cure
Extended Holiday
Ch 57: Magical Mystery Cure
Act 7
Pensword paused in his patrol along the wall of the New Unity. He’d been doing better the last couple of weeks, though he still could not fly just yet. He smiled. “Shawn should be getting out today ... I think.” He pondered for a moment. “Lunar Fang?” he called out. “When Shawn gets out, the hospital will contact us, right?”
“I think so,” Lunar Fang replied as they looked over to Ponyville. A harsh crack of thunder mixed with hail, rain, and other precipitation alongside the square patches of sunlight bleeding through the clouds left both off kilter. She frowned. “Are you seeing the weather pattern I’m seeing, dear?”
“I believe so… How many should I send in to investigate?” Pensword responded.
“I’ll go and see if Thalia can send a few Gryphons to look into it,” Lunar Fang said. “Anything powerful enough to mess with Pegasus magic should receive appropriate measures.”
“Of course,” Pensword replied. “Just, if that weather starts to to migrate over here, I am going to have to use the Pegasus magic to try and stall it before it makes a mess of New Unity.”
“I don’t think the forest will let itself be controlled,” Lunar Fang noted. “By your magic, or whatever that is.”
“True, but…” he paused looking to his life mate. “You’re not going to let me investigate the problem, are you?”
“The doctor said you're not green for any field work yet,” she reminded him. “I’m giving you a lot of leeway just letting you walk the walls as long as you do.”
“Well, the doctors did mention I need to exercise. You think tomorrow we can fly around a little? Just to the clouds above the castle? Or bring clouds down around the tower?”
“I suppose that wouldn’t be too bad,” Lunar Fang said. “But not until after you rest first.”
“Of course, dear,” Pensword replied with a nuzzle to her check.
“Now head inside. Your daughter wants to see you before her nap,” she said, nuzzling him back with a soft nicker.
“Will do.” Pensword let loose a goofy smile as he turned around and walked slowly towards the stairs.
Grif stood in the point center of the training ground with only a fencing epee in his hand. He held it erect in front of his face with his shoulders squared as he stood still, waiting. This was the stance commonly used for a starting position for Equestrian sport fencing. Surrounding Grif, several ponies and Gryphons stood armed with their various weapons.
Sadly, with the absence of a peer in swordplay, Grif had to resort to sharpening his senses through quick successive duels against multiple styles. With a nod of his head, he signaled the first one and the duel began. As Grif parried and dodged, he remembered back to the Gryphon that taught him to fight in the Northern Isles. The lessons had been long and brutal with Grif leaving the courtyard bloodied and bruised, sometimes in such pain that he could do little more then lay on his bed and let his body adjust. But such hardness had results. Grif had learned the importance of reading an opponent and moving to their intentions.
As Grif outed his third opponent, he also carried back to the five years he’d spent in House Strike before the Third Gryphon War, recalling how it had become necessary to learn the less violent art of dueling. Fortunately, the Gryphon had picked it up quickly, for the challenges came frequently and without mercy. Nobles and their proxies of other houses found insult in the mere presence of “Hammer Strike’s pet.” Grif smirked to himself as he fought. The ones who made it home usually did so with a newfound respect for the Gryphon’s skills.
“You're slipping,” Grif said to the Gryphon across from him, who was wielding a longsword. He locked the epee’s point inside the cross hilt and proceeded to disarm his opponent. He caught the longsword in his talons and held the two blades crossed before the Gryphon in front from him. “This isn’t working.” He sighed as he looked at the defeated sparring partners around him. “How do you improve without someone to challenge you?”
“Why not try another weapon?” one gryphoness suggested as she got up. “Perhaps in trying to adapt your style to work for something else, you’ll be able to come across mistakes you never realized.”
“Well that's a viable idea. I don’t like the idea of learning a skill only to have it languish from misuse,” Grif noted.
“Considering the fight we just had,” a Pegasus said as he worked his wings, checking them for anything more serious than a bruise. “That may be the only thing that works.”
“And what would you suggest I use?” Grif asked, seeing that his troops had some inkling of an idea. He noticed one Unicorn levitating one of the training weapons: a wooden representation of a blade staff. “Longer reach, but less speed. It means you need more technique to cancel out the handicap and will draw out the flaws better.”
“If I didn’t know any better,” Grif said, setting the epee down and taking the staff from the unicorn’s magic. He gave it a few experimental swings. “I’d say you planned this.”
“Making you pick up a weapon you don’t know how to fully use, meaning we’ll probably get to knock you to the dust for a while?” One gryphoness laughed as she readied her spear. “Whatever gave you that idea?”
“Winds damnit.” Grif smiled as he got into the best stance he could. “You guys are the best.” And then the pain began.
Shawn sighed to himself as he wandered the town. Part of him was wishing that the current weather conditions were just medically induced hallucinations, but after finding countless others questioning the patchwork sky, he knew it wasn’t just him.
Rarity had taken his coat and told him that she would repair the damage done to it and that he was to collect it from her shop when he was free from the hospital. Seeing her outside messing with the weather made him decide to just head to the shop, collect it himself, and perhaps leave something on the side for when she returned.
Upon reaching Rarity’s boutique he heard someone inside. Machines whirred incessantly and it sounded like whoever was at the wheel, so to speak, was struggling. “What has Sweetie Belle gotten herself into?” He muttered to himself as he walked towards the door.
What he didn’t expect was Applejack struggling to make an outfit rather than Sweetie Belle. His eyes trailed over to the countless… “outfits” that were scattered about. Worry settled into him as he searched frantically for his coat. He let loose a sigh of relief as he saw it waiting on the top of a shelf, already repaired.
“Uh, howdy,” Applejack said “Can I help you, Shawn?”
Shawn simply reached up, grabbing his coat off the shelf. “Collecting my coat. You, uh, need help with that?”
“You have no idea,” Applejack said. “Do you know anything about sewing machines?”
“Yeah, actually, though it’s been awhile,” he responded.
“Well that’s mighty nice to hear,” Applejack said as music started to play from some unseen location.
Before she even finished the first line, Shawn was already gone, muttering to himself about how that was a dealbreaker. His mind wandered over a few details of both Applejack and Rarity, both having one big difference about them. It didn’t take him long to arrive at the library. With a sense of urgency, he kicked the door open. “Twilight, what in the world have you done?” He shouted before he hunched over, groaning and leaning heavily on the cane in his right hand. “Shouldn’t have done that. Not at full strength…”
“Shawn? Shawn!” Twilight shouted, a mixture of excitement and worry edging her voice as she levitated a chair over for the human to sit in. “Since when did you get out of the hospital?”
“Less than an hour ago.”
“And you came here? You should be resting in New Unity!” She fussed as she muttered about getting pillows and a variety of other items while levitating them over to him. “I’m going to have to look at my medical journals. You could have seriously hurt yourself. Let’s see. Healing cuts, How to Cure Bruising in Manticores, oh, where is it?” she asked, worriedly as she teleported from shelf to shelf while hovering books in her telekinetic grasp.
“Twilight!” Shawn shouted, cutting her off. “Physical wounds are fine. Mine are currently magical. My field isn’t fully connected with the internal part of it.”
“Um … why should that matter?” Twilight asked after eeping and suddenly finding herself surrounded by a flurry of books scattered across the floor.
“Considering my fields were connected before the whole thaumic overtake deal, my body was running off the power of both. Right now, my body is only getting a tenth of what it normally used to keep my body going.”
“So it’s kind of like it’s starving?”
“Sure, we’ll go with that. Now, back on topic. What did you do?”
Twilight chuckled nervously. “Ummm … wadaya mean?” She absently pushed an old looking spell book off to the side with a hoof.
“You’re still terrible at lying.”
“Well, um … I might have accidentally cast a spell that might’ve backfired and caused everyone’s cutie marks to get switched up because the spell wasn’t complete and now Ponyville’s in chaos, PInkie Pie’s killed Sweet Apple Acres, Fluttershy’s failing miserably at making the townsfolk smile, Applejack’s obsessed with making dresses out of sackcloth, Rarity’s messing up the weather, Rainbow Dash is making the animals angry, and it’s all my fault!” She gasped for air, gulping greedily after gushing out the explanation. In a way it sounded very much like Pinkie Pie when she was doing her thing. That is, before losing her cutiemark.
Shawn stared blankly at her before sighing. “Just out of the hospital and back into the fray...” He shook his head.
“Eheh … yeah, looks like it,” Twilight said, placing a hoof on her mane awkwardly. “How about you just head home. Let me handle this one. It’s my fault in the first place. I should be the one to fix it.”
“Considering my ‘home’ is a long walk through the Everfree Forest away… I’d prefer to not stumble through it, so I’ll be here for another day or so. Most likely going to pay Berry for a room,” he replied.
“Oh, okay. You could always just wait here till I sort everything out. That way you don’t have to worry about any huge weather patterns hurting you.”
“I highly doubt the weather is going to harm me.”
“Okay, so Thalia sends us off to check the weather over a pony town?” The words came from a large male Gryphon somewhere along the center of the formation. “Who’s to say the Pegasi aren't practicing for some festival or something? These Equestrians are always celebrating.”
“Dropping hail as a part of it?” A female asked on the outer flank. “I don’t think ponies appreciate having ice chunks rained down on them at full plummet speed.”
“Wouldn’t actual Pegasi be a better fit though?” he asked. “I wanted to train with Grif.”
“Stop whining. We’ll be there and back again before you know it,” the gryphoness responded. “It’s not like we have another barrier to deal with.”
“It’s weird,” one of the smaller gryphonesses said as she broke formation to approach one of the square cloud patches. “It doesn’t feel like pegasi magic.”
“Careful, Cloud Wing. You don’t want to risk getting electrocuted,” The male warned.
“I think this one is carrying snow,” she said, placing a claw against it. “Yeah, it’s cold,” she said.
“But this cloud is carrying rain,” a cub spoke as he shook water from his hand. “Why would a Pegasus put two weather systems together?”
“A Pegasus wouldn’t … but a Unicorn might,” another cub said, pointing down through a gap in the patchwork where a pale Unicorn with a purple mane and a glowing blue horn tried directing the clouds with little success.
The cub who touched the rain cloud paused to hover in the air. “Why would a Unicorn be trying to move the weather?” he asked the group. “Should we return and report?”
“Do any of you see any other course of action? This is magic at work after all, and there isn’t much we can do on that front,” Cloud Wing said.
“Very well. Boss?” the cub asked, shaking water from his hand.
“I’m not the boss. I’m just going over our options, Rain Storm,” she said.
“You took point. That makes you the leader for now. Do we return and report or try to help here?” the eldest male asked.
“Fine then.” She sighed. “We’re heading back to Thalia and making a report. Everyone got that?” she asked.
Rain Storm nodded and banked back towards New Unity. “Got it, Boss.” The rest of the Gryphons soon followed.
Pensword was in the middle of the courtyard with his daughter. He smiled as she crawled around, investigating everything she could when a strange sound emanated from the corner of the courtyard. Gradually, a shape faded into and out of existence. There was a heavy bang and a replica of the CMC’s clubhouse stood in the yard.
“What?” Pensword asked in confusion. “Uh… that is not the T.A.R.D.I.S. It sounds like it, though ...”
From the top of the tree, the door opened as Applebloom poked her head out of the door. She ducked back in a moment later. Was she wearing engineering goggles? Was she taller? Pensword blinked, then raced for the ramp as Moon River began to crawl up, curious about the new ponies. “No, please, no time travel for you. You are too young to do that,” he said as he snatched her up and flew back a ways. Moon River shrieked in delight.
A moment later the door opened and a rather grown up Dinky walked out with a smile as she looked around. Pensword could see an hourglass cutie mark on her flank, only filled with bubbles instead of sand.
“Um, hello, Commander,” she said, giving him a small salute. “Uh ... would you happen to know the year?”
“Uh, two years after Luna’s return….” Pensword answered slowly. “You are older. Let me guess, some time machine?” He smiled with a small laugh. “Am I going to become the Brigadier?” he muttered to himself. He cleared his throat. “Should I be worried if you are showing up out of the blue?”
“Spoilers,” Dinky said, turning and running back into her time machine. “I told you we undershot it,” an older version of scootaloo’s voice shouted.
“Scoot-” He choked. “THEY HAVE A TIME MACHINE!” He yelled in a panic as he took to the air, holding his daughter a little tighter. Moon River giggled and squealed, happy for the sudden ride.
The sound of the door slamming echoed in Pensword’s ears, then the sounds happened again as the machine faded away. Pensword stood on a cloud, shaking. A moment Later, Lunar Fang appeared, her face a visage of fury.
“What did I say about flying?” She demanded as she landed on the cloud. Moon River crawled over to her mother.
“CMC… Older…. T.A.R.D.I.S. … Club House,” Pensword muttered as he tried to calm himself. He shook, tossing his mane all over the place. “Lunar Fang, dear… I just ran into an older teenage CMC… I think,” he amended quickly. “Anyway… they have their own time machine and Dinky, Applebloom, and Scootaloo were here. I would not be surprised if Sweetie Belle was there as well.” He took a breath. “Dinky had a Cutie Mark.”
“Did you hit your head, dear?” Lunar Fang asked.
“No. I had to pick Moon River up from the base of their clubhouse. It was right…” he pointed to where a new image was starting to appear. “Now The Doctor is showing up. I really am the Brigadier,” Pensword groaned. As the blue box landed, the doors opened and out popped Time Turner.
“By any chance, did Dinky come through here with her friends? Not your Dinky, of course, but a slightly larger dinky?” The Doctor asked. “Driving lessons kind of went off plan, you see.”
“Uh, she had a Cutie Mark? Hourglass? Bubbles for sand?” Pensword asked, getting a nod. “Yeah, not even a couple minutes ago. Said something about undershot or something. How many Ponies did she bring with her?”
“Oh, you know teenagers. First taste of freedom they want to take all their friends for a ride in their new chariot.” He chuckled awkwardly. “The CMC, and also Pipsqueak. He better keep his hooves from wandering, or so help me ...”
“Spoken like a true father,” Pensword replied. “Still, you just missed them. Try their target zone.” He shook his mane. “At least they are not getting into too much mischief. Good luck on catching up with them.” He laughed.
“Tell that to the hyper intelligent shade of blue people on Machalore Five,” The Doctor said as he boarded his own T.A.R.D.I.S. and immediately left.
“Okay, family nap time,” Lunar Fang said, putting Moon River on her back. “Mommy needs to process this.”
“Yes,” Pensword said. At least we only have to deal with a normal teenager,” Pensword replied. “I look forward to a nap. I need that.”
“Yes, Twilight. The snow and rain are evaporating before it even comes in contact with me… No, I am not questioning this fact any further,” Shawn sighed. “Explain to me again why you tried an unstable spell that you had no idea of its effect.”
“Well,” Twilight began, “I didn’t know the spell would do what it did, honest. I was just reading it out loud. I wasn’t trying to invoke it.”
“This is why I read quietly, or in one case, in Latin.” Shawn sighed. “Any plan from you so far?” He asked as they neared the library.
“What am I supposed to do?” Twilight asked, “I destroyed who they were and I have no way to bring them back.” Spike looked up to Twilight, concerned.
“You’ll figure something out…” Shawn replied. “No solution comes instantly,” he finished as he opened the door for Twilight to enter.
Twilight sighed, bowing her head. “I’m heading to my room. You can stay in the library if you want.” She slowly made her way up the stairs. Spike soon followed.
Shawn said nothing as he closed the door behind him, moving his way towards one of the chairs in the room. “She’ll figure something out,” he muttered to himself. “As planned, I expect, as well,” he finished as he sat down, his eyes scanning the shelves.
He trailed over a few works of fiction, several of a popular series that mimicked ones from Earth. What made him pause was a book that had Grif’s name on it in the fiction section. He hummed to himself as he grabbed the book and looked at the cover, “Grif Grafson and the Chamber of Winds.”
“What in the world…?” he questioned as he looked it over a few times. “Not going to be able to read it in time. I have a feeling Twilight will figure something out within the hour… like usual.”
He eyed the cover once again. “Then again, I’m sure I can get a few chapters in…”
He heard a muffled Twilight slowly singing about something, but it was too faint to make out from where he was standing. He quickly opened the book and began to read the first chapter. He got to the start of Chapter two when Twilight moped down the stairs followed by Spike. She stared at the picture of her friends on the mantle as Spike came up behind her.
“Oh, Spike. What have I done?” Twilight sighed as she stared up at the blue framed picture of her friends on the mantlepiece.
Spike approached from behind and placed a loving clawed hand on her flank. “Aw, come on, Twilight, you’ll figure out a way to fix this. These are your friends,” he said as he smiled at her before backing up. Twilight looked once more at the photo, this time with a cheerful smile.
“You’re right, Spike. And they mean more to me than anything. My friends …” Even as she said this, a purple aura began to shine around her as she closed her eyes, glowing brighter and brighter. Then her eyes snapped open, her cutie mark displayed in the stead of her pupils.
“Twilight, are you alright?” Spike asked.
“I’ve got it! I know what to do!” Using her magic, Twilight quickly took the glass case off the top of the pedestal that the Elements were resting on, placing them into the chest Celestia had brought them in originally before shutting it magically.
“Knew you’d figure it out,” Shawn said, yawning.
“Sorry, Shawn, I have to go. Just remember to jot your name down if you’re checking that book out!” she said as she raced out the door with spike and chest in tow.
Shawn stood up as he moved to the door. “Well then…” he said, rolling his eyes as he wrote his name down in the aforementioned book by the door. He closed his cargo, placing it inside his coat as he exited the building, following Twilight.
“Pensword?” Grif called as he entered the area that should have been Pensword’s office. His fur and feathers were messed up and he was clearly favoring his right talon. “You here?”
Pensword looked up from resting on a cushion in his office. “Yes?” he asked as he blinked some of the sleep from his eyes. Grif could see that Lunar Fang and Moon River were also resting in the office. He opened his eyes wider. “What happened to you? Did I actually sleep through an attack? Are we okay?” Pensword stopped himself as Grif raised a talon. He took a deep breath to calm down.
“I was trying out a new weapon.” Grif shrugged. “I was just coming in to talk about preparations for our trip.”
Pensword motioned with his wing to continue talking. “Just close the door. I trust my Life Mate, so she can hear the details as well.” He chuckled a little. “So you finally got bored with the weapons you know, eh? And how went your first day with the new one?”
“I can’t train with a one handed sword and be legitimately challenged. With a new weapon, I can find my mistakes as I try to adjust to it,” Grif said by explanation.
“Sounds impressive,” Pensword responded as Grif closed the door. “Now, touch the Crystal sculpture on my desk. That will give us privacy to discuss the trip.”
Grif did as he was instructed.
“Okay, let’s proceed,” Pensword said as he moved a wing to lay atop his daughter and Life Mate’s back. “What do you have?”
“Okay, so we know we’ll be entering the empire through the Lower Western Kingdom,” Grif noted as he pulled out the map. “When we get to the coast, I want the troops to split into even groups. Every group needs at least one gryphon mixed into it.”
“Right. I recall you said that before. I can do that still,” Pensword replied. “It’s good to go over things. Rather repeat oneself than miss something important.” He chuckled.
“The trip’s going to be made up of long marches with only necessary stops,” Grif continued as he measured out the distance on a map he’d pulled out from his armor. “It’s going to be tough enough being allowed to make camp.”
“Understood. Thankfully, we all can be winged, so, if needed, we could use the clouds. Unless there is some law forbidding cloud roosting,” Pensword added. “Where do you want me stationed? If you have nowhere really, I request to be at the side of Prince Bellacosa during this trip. We can get cloud walking talismans for him and his other guards.”
“You should be,” Grif said. “I’ll take point. I honestly have no idea how they gryphons will respond to Crystal Pony Royalty.”
“Hopefully with curiosity. After all, the Crystal Empire is a time capsule, a lost kingdom returned. I think there will be curiosity and hesitation due to how attitudes were a thousand years ago.” Pensword paused. “I hope.”
“Still, prepare for the worst, hope for the best, right?” Grif asked.
“Of course,” Pensword responded. “That is how all military leaders should plan. Backups to the backup plans.” He shook his head. “Still, my gut is nervous and I ... I do not know what will happen. I am getting used to the clanless, and your clan, and so on. I have never been to the Gryphon Imperial Capital. And well, I am unsure what will happen there. Still, I am happy we are planning.” He lowered his head. “I am even prepared to be imprisoned to protect Cosy’s life. I want him to have a safe return out of Griffonia.”
“I want everyone armed to the teeth,” Grif said. “At least a quarter of the current armory will be leaving with us.”
“Only a quarter? I surely thought more,” Pensword teased. “All the same, I hope Cosy continues in his weapon training from his Brother-in-Law. I will be working with him on some weapon use as well on the trip over.”
“Get him started with a crossbow on the journey over the sea, okay?” Grif said. “That should keep him off the front lines.”
“Will do. And sorry that I have not used your crossbow you got for my Birthday. I haven’t gotten around to getting it modified for Pony use,” he said, waving a hoof. “It is suited for my old body.”
“Tell your men to have their weapons ready to split a hair,” Grif said. “I’ll be testing each and every blade edge, hammer, and warstaff before we leave.”
“Understood. I am sure they will be ready. I will be talking to Wrought Iron. Sharp edges are his specialty.”
“You did tell Shining Armor and cadence to get Bellacosa battle armor, right? Not parade armor. Nothing is for show,” Grif said. “I’m still rather shocked they’re allowing this.”
“I think it is Cosy who is pushing for this. Also, yes, Shining is on top of that. I am told that he is getting battle armor, but Cadence has asked that the battle armor allow a cap for ceremonial purposes only.” Pensword sighed. “The letter is opened on the desk if you want the details.”
“As long as it defends him,” Grif said. “And nothing shiny. Shiny means valuable. Valuable says ‘please try and rob us.’”
“What about the shine of the Crystal Ponies themselves?” Pensword countered. “What if they remain shiny after leaving their capital?”
“Then they need to remain cloaked,” Grif said bluntly.
“Right,” Pensword paused and began to laugh. “Cosy will love that. He gets to act like some of the adventure stories he has been telling me in his letters.”
“His guards are going to need to bring supplies. There won’t be a lot of vegetables and fruits for purchase until the capital. Hunting is going to be tricky enough,” Grif said.
“Right, and we can bring a lot of guard cookies as well. I think we can have the supplies if needed. I might suggest dried Crystal berries as well, just to be on the safe side,” Pensword muttered. “Question. I fear if we do not set a limit, we might have a full unit of Crystal guards.”
“Just tell Cadence no more than ten crystal ponies,” Grif said.
“I shall inform her in my next Letter. Also, they have decided on coming here first. Then we all move out to the coast together. Princess Luna has promised us one of the few active Royal Naval Vessels that remain.” He sighed. “Sadly, it is a medieval vessel, so no cannons, which means no means of combat at sea.”
“Good. The journey from the coast inwards will be hard enough,” Grif said.
“Do not remind me,” Pensword groaned. “I shall be surrounded by enemies.” He shivered at the thought.
“Act polite, humble if need be. Make yourself someone pleasant to talk to so that when we get to the capital, the audience shall be with you,” Grif said. “It’s best to make ponies look better.”
“I will act like my old human self,” Pensword responded. He frowned slowly. “And the other meeting we need to have with the Emperor?”
“We need to petition for a separate audience without the kings present. That's going to take some doing,” Grif noted.
“Right. I hope that will be easy to achieve,” Pensword responded.
“Daedelus will give us what we want if he’s alone,” Grif said. “But in front of the five kings he’s less able to act.”
“I understand,” Pensword muttered. “Still,” he paused as his daughter began to fuss. “If you would excuse me, I have a diaper to change.”
Fluttershy was downcast as she dropped two Silver bits in front of the hot air balloon. She turned as she heard Twilight galloping towards her.
”Fluttershy, wait!” Twilight gasped as she stopped in front of Twilight, Spike and Shawn behind her as she took a breath.
“Oh... Hey, Twilight…” Fluttershy said, rubbing a foreleg.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked, concerned and breathless. Fluttershy turned her head to the side.
“... I'm moving back to Cloudsdale. I don't know what's wrong, but I can't seem to make anypony laugh,” she said as a whoopee cushion deflated between her hooves, letting out a pathetic sound.
“Before you go, I was wondering if you might be willing to help Rainbow Dash. She's really struggling with her animals,” Twilight said.
“But... I don't really know anything about animals…” Fluttershy said. Twilight got up into her face.
“But you do know something about Rainbow Dash.”
Fluttershy paused, putting a hoof to her chin as she looked uncertainly. “I... know that she's a true friend, and I'll do anything I can to help her,” she finally said decisively as she turned away from the balloon.
Shawn simply watched from the background, not putting in any input. Twilight had a plan and he wasn’t going to alter it. But if this plan involved more songs...
“At least they didn’t have me join in…” Shawn muttered to himself as he trailed behind the six ponies and dragon. “It’s beginning to feel like every plan of Twilight’s might involve a musical number…”
“Well,” Pinkie Pie whispered, “It was a catchy song. And what’s a great party without music?” she asked.
“I can see you all enjoy it,” he replied sardonically.
“Well, of course!” Pinkie Pie shouted. “Still, I really really hope we never have to do this again. I like being me!”
“I would assume you enjoy being you, as there is only one you,” Shawn replied, his thoughts going towards the whole magical clone fiasco not that long ago.
“Yeah, but I’m a rock farmer, not an Apple farmer,” She responded with a roll of her eyes. “Biiig difference.” Shawn saw that they were heading towards Twilight’s library.
The friends quickly trotted in, followed by the human lord and chest toting dragon. Twilight levitated the spell book once again as she brought a pen up with her telekinetic grasp. She mumbled the spell without opening the book as she pondered its lines.
“A mark of one's destiny, singled out alone, fulfilled …” She gasped suddenly as her eyes widened. “Wait a second, that's it! I understand now! I know how to fix the spell!” With that she set to work, writing feverishly. The pen fell with a loud booming sound as it made contact with the page, placing the period to end the incantation. Her friends gathered around her as she read. “From all of us together, together we're friends. With the marks of our destinies made one, there is magic without end!” The moment she finished reading, the elements began to glow, then each fired a beam of colored light at the purple unicorn and her tiara. The light blinded the ponies, human, and dragon as it filled the room, shooting out the windows. When it had all died down, the group stared where Twilight had once stood. Now, only a charred spot remained.
The group gasped in terror and horror at the sight. Rainbow Dash looked confused. “What did we do?” She asked as she put a hesitant hoof on her still warm element.
“Possible teleportation spell,” Shawn said as he moved towards the scorch marks.
“I hope so,” Fluttershy whispered. “I really don’t want to tell Princess Celestia that Twilight was hit by all five elements.”
“Hard to say. Scorch marks don’t exactly tell you much,” Shawn said as he kneeled down, his hand hovering over the burned floor.
“So, what does that mean exactly, sugarcube?” Applejack asked. “What’s your plan? You always seem to have one in your noggin.”
The door flew open. “What happened?” Grif asked as he flew into the library. “I felt something big.”
Behind him Pensword flew in as well, his brow furrowed. The pegasus said nothing.
“Something big did happen,” Shawn said as his magic channelled through his eyes as he looked over the mark. Only a few short seconds later his magic flickered out as he fell of to his side, supporting himself with his hand as his other shot up to his face. After a moment he removed his hand to reveal blood on his knuckles. “Not stable enough,” he said aloud.
“What should I look for?” Grif asked, concentrating.
“Clouds of magic in the air, possible trail,” Shawn said as he stood up, muttering afterwards about finding the bathroom.
Grif looked around the mark “I can see bits and pieces of energy, but no concrete trail. It’s kinda hard to look at.”
“Don’t stare too long. It’ll burn through your insides,” Shawn warned.
“There’s a ripple,” Grif said. “It’s faint, but the spot seems to be pulsing some kind of energy.” The Gryphon headed towards the door “This way. It feels stronger this way.”
Pensword looked to the others, but didn’t say anything as he turned to follow his friend. He was still trying to mull over what he was seeing. He paused and did a double take. “Shawn? They let you out? But we were to get a letter saying you were going to be released.”
“Letters take time,” he replied.
“Still, they would have had to account for the time difference,” Pensword muttered.
“Shawn, what would a weakness in the separation between planes of reality look like as energy?” Grif asked.
“Unexplainable.”
“Okay, well there is something faint a few feet above the ground over there,” Grif said, pointing.
“Uh,” Pensword started before shaking his head out of the stupor he was feeling. “Well, I guess we follow where that is leading?” he asked. “Maybe this is a delayed teleportation spell to protect any bearers from harm if something goes wrong?”
“If delayed, the only thing we can do is wait,” Shawn said as he leaned on his cane.
“Then,” Applejack started with a look of determination. “We wait for whatever happens. I’d still feel a mite better if we send a letter to the Princesses letting them know what happened, though.”
“Part of me feels like they already know,” Shawn replied, eyeing the scorch marks once more.
“I would still feel comfortable if we did send a letter,” Pensword retorted. “Even if they know, they should know that others know.” He shivered. “Pardon me, I just feel cold if I get near that spot.”
“Shawn, who sent her the spell book originally?” Grif asked.
“Celestia.”
Pensword gave Shawn a long suffering look as if an entire argument had just repeated in the span of a second.
“Pensword, it’s been forty years, I’m not changing now,” Shawn replied simply before he paused and looked to the cane in his hand. “Man, the cane reinforces that now…”
“Well, either way, if Celestia sent the spellbook, she likely had this outcome in mind,” Grif said, letting go of the energy in his eyes. The gryphon reached into his bag and retrieved a tome before sitting down and reading. “Might as well pass the time.”
“Uh… well,” Pensword shook his head. “Fine. Meanwhile, I’ll go write the letter.” He moved to a corner of the library, took out parchment and a quill from his saddlebag, and went to writing a report.
Shawn’s eyes wandered to the gryphon as he gave a small smirk. “Hey, Grif, I think I have something you may find… amusing to say the least.”
“Go on,” Grif said, marking his line with a talon.
Shawn kept his smirk as he reached into his coat, pulling out a certain book and facing the cover towards Grif.
“Wait… is this--? … Okay, I have to see this,” Grif said, taking the book and opening it.
Grif stood in front of the pile of ashes that had been the book, idly sipping from a cup of tea they had raided from Twilight’s supply. “Well, that was embarrassing.”
“You… you burned a book,” Pensword spoke in fear of the sight. “Why?” His hoof shook as he sipped from his teacup. Next to him, a piping hot kettle stood as he guarded it from the others. The outside of the kettle had Celestia’s cutie mark on the side.
“Because I will not be parodied by the written word. Misrepresented by history, maybe, but not parodied,” Grif said
“I thought it was amusing,” Shawn replied, a small grin on his face.
“Ah, well, you owe Twilight bits for destruction of library property,” Pensword said, sipping his tea. “I fully expect you to get a lecture from her for what you did. And that’s if you are lucky.”
“Then she better prepare for one about right to public image,” Grif retorted.
Pensword paused. “Well, I do not know what she will do then. Still, that is going to be interesting. We have been missing for over a thousand years. I guess we should all be looking for what has been written about us.” He paused as he face hoofed. “Oh dear, that is going to reset the laws of use of historic figures.”
“Going to have to keep an eye out for those books,” Shawn said before taking a drink of his boiling tea.
Pensword looked to his friend. “You are showing off again,” he replied, rolling his eyes at the heat Hammer Strike had applied to his teacup. They had chosen to adjourn to the town square nearby and were laying on a blanket while Twilight’s friends paced with worry.
“How can you three sit around drinking tea while we wait for Twilight? She might not even show up with how late it’s getting!” Rainbow Dash shouted at them.
“Same way I could drink tea in my command tent while I besieged Fort Triumph,” Pensword responded with a sip. “A situation like this is a waiting game. No use in wasting energy if it can be helped. It will happen, whatever it is, when it decides to happen.”
“I once spent three days stalking a moose while being stalked by a mountain lion,” Grif said. “Nothing's going to kill me at a perceived moment of weakness, so I can wait for days.”
“A few wars, forty years of isolation, and losing your memories can do wonders for how you handle stress,” Shawn replied with a shrug.
“I just hope Twilight’s okay,” Fluttershy said.
A blinding light filled the sky, grabbing the attention of all gathered.
Pensword stood up. “Well, something is definitely happening now.”
“One way to make an entrance...” Shawn muttered, squinting slightly as he partially covered his eyes.
“Anyone notice the distinctive pattern?” Grif asked.
“Can’t see, eyes burn,” Shawn muttered, turning his head a little.
Any further conversation was cut off as the bright light descended to the ground, growing increasingly radiant. Finally, after everyone had looked away, the light died down to reveal Twilight standing where the light would have landed. Almost on reflex, two large feathered wings stretched out regally from her back.
“Twilight?” Applejack asked, shocked. “Is that you?” The entire group save Shawn, Grif, and Pensword gasped. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“Ha! Twilight's got wings! Awesome! A new flying buddy!” Rainbow laughed, doing a hoof pump.
“Why, you've become an Alicorn. I didn't even know that was possible,” Rarity said in awe.
“Alicorn party!” Pinkie Pie cheered as she swung by on ropes with fake wings attached.
“Well, this is new.” Pensword paused suddenly. “Does that mean I have a new boss?”
“Great, ultra obsessed unicorn with explosive magical potential and no real stress control now becomes an alicorn.” Grif face palmed.
Shawn shook his head, choosing to say nothing. The look on his face said it all.
“You look like a princess,” Fluttershy said.
“That’s because she is a princess,” Celestia said as she appeared behind the group.
Pensword stood at attention, while Pinkie Pie yelled. “Hold on a minute!” She quickly took a drink of water and did a spit take.
“A... A princess?” Twilight asked in concern and worry as she looked up to Princess Celestia.
“Since you've come to Ponyville, you've displayed the charity, compassion, devotion, integrity, optimism, and, of course, the leadership of a true princess.” As Princess Celestia spoke each trait, each of her six friends bowed.
“But... does this mean I won't be your student anymore?” Twilight asked, her voice wavering between worry and panic.
“Not in the same way as before. I'll still be here to help and guide you, but we're all your students now too. You are an inspiration to us all, Twilight.” With that Princess Celestia bowed to Twilight Sparkle, which action was soon repeated again by her friends.
Pensword, who had begun to relax, smartly returned to his stance of Attention as he saluted the new Princess of Equestria.
“But... what do I do now? Is there a book about being a princess I should read?” Twilight asked Celestia, looking a little less nervous, but still tense.
Princess Celestia laughed. “There will be time for all of that later.”
“Why do I have a feeling something big is coming?” Grif asked.
“Uh, Princess, I saved you some tea.” Pensword paused as he realized that there were two princesses present. “Um … Princesses,” he amended. “Princesses, I saved some tea. I am guessing we shall be returning to Canterlot for a coronation?”
Princess Celestia giggled. “Thank you, I think we could have a nice impromptu picnic here if you don’t mind, Princess Twilight.” She smiled proudly on her student.
Twilight made a small eep, but nodded quickly. “Of course, Princess. Of course. Whatever you say.” With the help of Pinkie Pie’s antics she soon loosened up while Applejack brought some food out for the friends to enjoy under the stars. A late dinner was held on the lawn outside of Golden Oaks Library.
Conor came running up the lane as he caught sight of the royal gathering. “Hey!” He waved. “There you guys are! Why’d you have to go and leave me behind like that? It took me forever to get here.” Everyone just stared at him. “What?”
Pensword turned his head with a flat expression. “What does it look like?” He asked in his teacher’s voice. “Take a step back observe, and then, see if you can answer your own question.”
“I kinda meant why the stares? Though I’m guessing some big stuff happened considering the supernova that went off overhead, the fact Celestia is currently enjoying a party with all of you, and Twilight now has wings. Care to fill me in?”
Celestia and Twilight both stared at the semi-human, the one inquisitively, the other with concern.
“Conor, I thought I told you to stay in the hospital until you were finished changing,” Twilight said. Conor shrugged.
“I am done. Apparently, something happened to give me a thaumic field. This is what I’m stuck as for now.” Twilight’s jaw dropped in a brief “O.” “So is anypony going to explain what’s been happening here or am I just going to be left in the dark?” Conor asked as he tapped his foot and leaned forward. “I’m waiting,” he said, drawing out the last word with a knowing smirk as he winked to his friends. Grif pulled a little smirk of his own before returning to a more relaxed state.
“Celestia’s visiting, someone wrote a really bad book about me, Rarity has a lot of outfits to repair, Fluttershy’s house is going to be redecorated, I don’t think Ponyville will need rain for a few weeks,” Grif took a long sip of tea. “And, oh yeah, Twilight’s an alicorn now, so that happened.”
“Oh, is that all? I figured something like a massive tornado moving through Ponyville, or some sort of monster trying to break stuff apart, or maybe a spell gone awry would’ve happened.” The party all chuckled nervously at the last one. “Ah. Got it,” Conor said.
“We’re going to have to see what we can do about getting you fixed though, Conor. After we finish here, I want to perform a few tests,” Twilight said. Conor shuddered.
“You’re not going to stick a bunch of wires in me, are you Twilight?” he asked.
“Of course not … Well, maybe a little,” Twilight said. Celestia put a gentle wing over Twilight’s back.
“I don’t think that will be necessary, Twilight. We’ll find a way to set things right without making him feel so uncomfortable.” The solar princess smiled warmly at Conor. “I’ll see if I can’t work something out with my sister.”
“We’re missing the important thing here,” Grif said. “Someone wrote a parody book. About me! We need to hunt this guy down immediately.”
“Well, let us not be too hasty. We can at least legally request that the book be taken off the shelves as we are not long dead historical figures anymore.” Pensword paused. “I am sure that at least you shall avoid the history book sections. If writers are akin to Earth, there will be hundreds of opinions of the historical events themselves. However, on the fictional side of things, I think a court battle would be better.”
“Anyways, how about we get back to eating? I’m starving,” Conor said, his stomach growling.
Pinkie Pie popped up out of nowhere as she pulled out a giant platter of oatmeal raisin cookies, sugar cookies with crystal berry frosting, chocolate chip cookies, an alicorn shaped cake, and a ring of her famous cupcake variety pack. “Don’t forget about dessert!” she shouted cheerfully.
Grif shrugged, grabbing a red velvet cupcake. “Can’t argue with that logic.”
Conor chuckled. “You bet. And can I get some of that bread with some apple jam too?” he asked.
“I’ll have the Crystal Sugar Cookies,” Pensword said with a raised wing.
“So when’re you gonna tell your parents, Twilight?” Conor asked. Twilight dropped everything as she froze mid twinge, one eye bugging wide open while the other flickered between a squint and complete closure. She held the pose for all of about ten seconds before she broke out of it, practically hyperventilating.
“Oh my gosh, my parents!”
“So…” Grif sat back in his chair behind his desk, tenting his talons. “You come to me on this, the week of Twilight's coronation, requesting a favor.”
“Well,” Princess Celestia responded looking confused. “Yes. It’s actually Luna who’s pressuring it. She wants better control of Security. And so, I’m willing to hire the Bladefeathers for the job. That is, if you’re willing to take the position,” She said casually.
“For Luna’s peace of mind,” Grif said. “I’d be more then willing. But my gryphons will require reasonable compensation for their time.”
“They will have it.” She nodded. “The starting price is in the contract,” she said, hovering the scroll for Grif to peruse.
“Yes, and it looks reasonable, provided you can throw in a crate of high quality weapons on top of that. We’re still refitting the clan at the moment, and some of my more skillful warriors need something better than broken axes and dull knives.”
“I’m sure something can be arranged, although you already have four of the best smiths in Equestria working at New Unity. I believe Luna and I can come up with something. Is it a deal then?”
“When are the Mane Six heading out to Canterlot?” Grif asked.
“I’ve arranged for transport in two days. It’ll take at least that long for the nobles to adjust to the idea of a new alicorn princess.” Celestia put a wing to her mouth. “Oh dear, I just realized how much those families will be vying for her attentions now. All the more reason for a body guard. I trust you can protect her?”
“I’m going to be assigning personal shadows to each of them,” Grif said. “They’re national assets, and it is time to treat them as such.”
“Excellent.” Celestia nodded. “I’m glad we agree on something for once. Just sign down here. I’ll countersign it and seal it with the royal seal, then leave the contract in your care. I’ll be legally bound to honor it.” She paused for a moment. “Though I do have a suggestion for one of the shadows if you would be willing to receive it.”
“You want to repair the friendship between Gilda and Rainbow Dash,” Grif said, not even bothering to look up from the pages in front of him.
“Exactly.”
“You’ve been working on that one for a while,” Grif said. “A warrior cannot have such a weight on their conscience.”
“And neither can a friend like Rainbow Dash. I take it you agree with my plan?”
“Princess, I may not agree with a lot of your policies, ideas, or even ideals, but gilda is part of my family now, and if there is one thing my father got into this thick skull, it’s that if one of your family suffers, then everyone suffers.”
“... You called me Princess,” Celestia said, surprised.
“As of six minutes ago, this is business,” Grif said. “Mercenaries hold the one rule that when a contract begins, all history between the hirer and the hirelings is gone until the contract ends.”
“I see. In that case, Grif, I look forward to making use of your services. I’ll make sure to prepare the courts so there isn’t an uproar over your family coming,” Celestia said, smiling.
“Let’s hope that this goes peacefully,” Grif said. “Coronations are all too easy instances for assassins.”
“After what happened at the wedding, I’m not taking any chances,” Celestia said soberly. “By the way, congratulations on the twins.” She smiled slyly as she ported away in a flash of sunlight. The scroll blazed momentarily as Celestia’s signature was burned on magically, followed by the royal seal.
“H … Wha … HOW?” Grif could only stand there, flabbergasted at what had just happened. “Did ... did she just troll me?”
Pensword stood akin to a cadet facing a superior officer, keeping his eyes forward while Lunar Fang stalked around him. Moon River slept peacefully in the cloth carrier in front of her barrel.
“So, you ran off,” Lunar Fang said evenly.
“I, I had to.” Pensword responded. “Something, something was off and I could feel it,” Pensword replied. “I deserted my post and went against orders.” He maintained his rigid pose, refusing to let his eyes stray.
“Yes, in the middle of family nap time,” Lunar Fang said. “You woke Moon River up.”
“Yes,” Pensword replied. “I fully expect you have a consequence ready.”
“Here.” She carefully handed the cloth holding their daughter to him. “She’ll be up in about half an hour or so. You get her for the night.”
“Of course, dear.” Pensword replied. “Anything else?” he asked.
“Unless the fortress is under attack, don’t wake me,” Lunar Fang said tiredly as she headed for the bed.
“Of course, dear. Do you want me to pack your full dress armor and uniform for Canterlot?” he asked as he looked down to his sleeping daughter's form.
“Yes,” she said, not even bothering to turn back as she collapsed onto the bed.
“As you wish,” Pensword whispered lovingly. He slowly moved towards the corner where they had set up a play area for Moon River, including a few tall places for her to perch on. The main idea had been to recreate the ledges of a cave. For the most part, it had been a success, though it still didn’t quite fit all the conditions. He settled down and just watched his daughter sleep at the moment as she snuggled against his chest. He sighed as he looked up to the window, a frown on his muzzle.
Why had he been drawn to that event? It was an almost instinctual homing urge similar to how Earth would call migration of birds. He fought it for three minutes before finding himself in the air flying towards that… he paused trying to put to words what he would call it. An outburst, perhaps? Yes, an outburst of energy. He looked down at his sleeping daughter and nuzzled her softly with his muzzle. He hoped the future he was helping to build would be safe for her. Someday, in that hopeful future, war would not be needed and positions like his would be ceremonial.
Gently, the little thestral began to stir next to him. Her large eyes opened up before staring happily at her father.
“Hello, my little Moon River,” Pensword whispered to his daughter. He knew talking with her would help her develop her mind. “Did you sleep well?”
Moon River responded with a happy braying noise.
Pensword smiled and make a sound of encouragement as he watched. This was the first time Moon River had been able to wake up in his arms and she was just so adorable. Putting her down, he smiled as she started to crawl in her play pen. Moon river moved to her toys and grabbed a rubber deer, which she began to nibble on.
Pensword giggled at the sight as he watched his daughter while a sense of pride bloomed in his chest. He paused suddenly, pondering the foal. Could she be teething? He shook his head with a snort. He doubted it. It wasn’t time. At least not yet.
Grif stood outside the walls of new unity, well beyond the the bridge and just at the border of the Everfree. Less than fifty feet away stood the site of what would be the Bladefeather compound. Exactly 25 gryphons of varying gender, type, and size stood at attention before him.
“Okay, so you all are probably wondering why I called each of you here selectively from the rest of the family,” Grif said, getting mixed nods of confirmation and mumbles of agreement from the group. “Well, if you haven’t heard yet, Twilight Sparkle, former student of Celestia Galaxia, has officially ascended to alicorn-hood, and, in one week, will be awarded her own royal house.” A few gryphons responded in surprise, but for the most part the feel was more geared towards Grif getting on with why they were there. Grif obliged.
“Princess Celestia has decided to officially bring in some professional help for security. That professional help being the Bladefeather clan. Us,” Grif told them. This proclamation elicited a much more noticeable reaction as the assembled warriors perked up. “And yes, she is going to pay for it.” Now he could see the grins amongst the crowd. Gold always seemed to draw the best attention.
“For the most part you will be divided into small groups and given patrol routes through the grounds of the palace and the planned parade ground. One of you will be carrying a changeling lantern. That one is to keep an eye out for danger. I don’t need to tell you that coronations, as rare as they are in Equestria, are great opportunities for assassins.” While rare in Equestria, in Gryphonia, coronations were indeed common. The mercenaries already knew what their clan leader was getting at.
“Six of you have been selected to serve as minders for the element bearers. These six will be expected to be invisible before and after the coronation. For the coronation proper, you will all be issued special dress armor. I don’t need to tell you all proper mercenary etiquette.” Grif looked at all of them. “Celestia has paid for us to serve as the vanguard. Everypony in canterlot is worth more than any of you until our job is done. Do I make myself clear?” The gryphons nodded.
Taking a load of scrolls from his bags, he began passing them out. “These are your assignments. They are not up for negotiation,” Grif said as he passed Gilda the first scroll. “Learn them, memorize all the details, and prepare yourselves. This turns out well and we may be in for a great deal more high paying security details to come.” Grif looked at the scroll still in his hand with surprise. “Now where is kel’leam?” Grif looked around, confused.
“Right in front of you, sir,” came the somewhat exasperated voice of a large, stocky grey-feathered white furred gryphon, half albatross, half liger. The beast of a gryphon stood a head and shoulders taller than Grif, wearing professionally shined full plate mail and carrying a massive spear and broad shield. Despite all this, it seemed no one could recognise him in a crowd unless he spoke first.
“Oh, there you are, kel’leam. You know, you really should turn your stealth off, it’s kinda jarring when you vanish like that,” Grif said, handing him a scroll.
The massive armored spear fighter just sighed as he took his assignment.
Grif smiled. “You will all report here tomorrow afternoon. Celestia is sending over some of Canterlot's better stock of weapons. I want you all outfitted to your very best for this.” Grif alighted on a nearby boulder as he turned to face his family. “In peace?” Grif asked
“Vigilance,” the assembled warriors responded.
“In war?” Grif asked again.
“Victory.”
“In death?”
“Sacrifice!”
“Who the hell are we?”
“Bladefeathers!”
“And who’s better?”
“Nobody!”
“Dismissed!” Grif saluted with a wing as the assembled gryphons nodded before departing. He turned to leave when he heard the wing beats behind him. “I said they're not up for negotiation, Gilda.”
“You can’t be serious,” Gilda said. “You're not doing this to me!”
“You're the fastest flyer we have in the family. The only one who can keep up with her in most situations,” Grif responded. “And it’s time this was settled. We can’t move forward if you can’t make peace with this.”
“She left me!” Gilda shouted.
“And you tried to alienate her from the ponies she lived with,” Grif shot back. “Greed is our weakness. We are a greedy race and it’s always the cause of our downfall. I said I would make a warrior of the old way from you, and the first thing is you learning that sometimes you have to lower your beak first.” Grif turned to look at her, his face a mixture of sternness and compassion.
“You can do this. Apologize to her. Make peace between you and then perform your duty. That’s all I ask.” Grif placed a talon on her crest and made a few taps on her head. “You’re hardheaded; that’s half the battle. Now you need to learn to be softhearted.” With those words, Grif spread his wings and turned. Without a word, he took to the air and made for New Unity. He’d left gilda with some things to think about, but he was confident everything would be well.
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And we reach the Ascension. And Gilda gets a lesson. Interesting chapter.
6226634
Woah, you sir, just did something I never expected, you did our First comment on a chapter.
Thank you for the compliment, and I am curious, what made this a great chapter?
6227416
That is correct, we have reached the Ascension.
I have to say that this was indeed a most interesting chapter to write, and a fun one as well.
If you do not mind my question, what made it interesting?
6211101
While that would have been hilarious for comedic reasons, it would have however not worked the best for theme and atmosphere of the actual writing.
I want a cookie for my favor. On the day of your daughter's... I mean on the week of Twilight's coronation.
OMFG! He burned A BOOK!
SHE'S GONNA GO NUCLEAR ON HIM!
*checks to see if Stable 2 under Sweet Apple Acres is complete yet*
6227486
What made it interesting? The reconvergence with standard canon, and the fact that you set up several new lines of plot possibilities. Plus the time-travel cameo was hilarious!
Poor Pensword. He really needs to find that book, Wheres My Cloud.
Intresting that after so long, Grif is finally taking to heart, leg, wing, head and other impact areas, that a military force that continues with the same weapons, techniques, resources, will eventually have counterattcks and techniques discovered and created to counteract them. The Griffons I would think being origionally Mercenary based, would be best aiming for Spec Ops basis, where even those that cant make behind front line abilities, get to run logistics and support, at a level any other army has for front line troops. After all, cutting supply lines is one of the best ways to stop the enemy, but if teh supply line itself is a top line combat structure, you have to toss up whether its worth loosing resources in cutting it when those resources themselves could then be cut off. The more weapons Grif becomes competant and even expert in, the closer he comes to being Soul Master.
Poor Shawn, having to undergo trial by narrative song. It couldve been worse, Look Out, Hes goin t use Poetry.
Oh dear, I just realised, after all these years, that horrible, horrible injoke.
Pinkie didnt buy the farm. The farm bought Pinkie.
Poor Griffin scout squad, even during a perfectly normal day in Ponyville, I blame the Gorilla, it looks like Discord is making it his beach house, and he hasnt even turned up yet. They were also lucky in that having two dissimilar sets of weather not only so close, but intermixed, didnt end up with them being the trigger of a whole charge cluster cascade. When you see a true electrical storm with strikes greater than per second basis for extended periods, you Know something nasty is going down. And its not exactly like the UK should have the energetics for such storms.
Oh hai, its the Tardis. Ulp, no it isnt. Everyone run for the hills, close the three ring circus, shut all shops in the mall. Poor Pensword just had a very close call with Phees CMC? Especially just out on a training run. If they ran into the hyperintelligent shade of blue, did they pick up, or just run over Marvin on the way?
Poor shawn, just managed to get started on a new book, and unfortunate circumstances occur later on? Sounds normal for these guys. If the book is based on historical, mythological heros, are you going to be using the demand of Grif for a withdrawal, etc, for whoever the author is, Twilights mum, or Yearling, to swap it round and republish with the expected character because just how many books in the series and how popular are they at this time, given all the hullabaloo over Holmes being killed off in another place?
Things must be bad with trade if the force is going to have to go on older ships, which unless they are in really well kept condition are going to have serious problems with the weather. Trying to remember the old ships, Caravel etc, given I thought Schooners and Cutters came later and the best of the classic sail ships came at the beginning of the industrial revolution before steam engines got efficint enough for the megaship, the Great Eastern, to be able to cross the ocean on its own fuel load. Which begs the question, what if the ship was used as a tug for the journey, utelising weather manipulation so that you have a Mulberry, a heavy floating cloud base, and directed winds, so the forces at least rest on teh clouds with personal supplies, and secondary and heavy supplies on the ship, sealed up, the cloud mass made of blocks, so you have the bulk of occupants resting, several others on the back pushing or on ropes towing, Special Air Boat Service?
Hmm, shiney crystal. theres something about that, something about refractive indices and impedance matching, and the right sort of oil causes a near perfect impedance matching between crystal and air. this means that light passing through the air, reacts with the combination of air and oil, and oil and crystal, and crystal, to make the crystal look like air to the light. which means the light doesnt reflect, refract, diffract, bend, or give any notification of intersecting with anything that isnt air there. Even at the worse, it now means your Crystal Ponies are now Cloaked Predators. This can be found out by accident, in that to disguise the Crystal Ponies, you can either cloak them, or dust them. Dust sticks to oil far easier, but can then be wiped off relatively easily as well, so on applying the two part, its observed that it cant be observed. Watch out for wiping oil layered dust off and leaving only a very fine layer of oil behind, giving Rainbow fringes. Then again, it would be intresting arranging Rainbow Frindge Crystal Ponies in a certain pattern, then hitting that pattern with a Flash bang or other powerful source of white, or even Rainbow light.
Shaun really like to have his true true freinds round, but somehow I dont think a Karaoke bar will be fitted at New Unity anytime soon. As for Twilight? she got Multipass. Big BadaBooom.
As for what a reality rift looks like, it might be something like this screensaver I have, which rotates a 4 dimentional polyhedra, maps it into 3D space, then just so it can display on the normal screen, maps that onto 2D. Be intresting trying to observe the intermediate form in parralax or dual display 3D, as there are 6 axis of rotation, and even though Ive set the Real space values to zero, the forms still appear to be rotating in 3 Space, due to the 4th axis behaviour, Real axis X,Y,Z, 4th axis W, therefore the extra 6 rotations are in the WX, WY, and WZ planes. when looking at it in full 3D, you are seeing the 3D form move in one direction, at the same time as seeing it rotate in Three Other directions it cant possibly go in. Hence you get extreme motion sickness, with everything it entails.
TL:DR 4 Dimentional rifts are extremely sickening to look at, for certain forms at least. Higher dimentional rifts are worse.
Finally, the gangs all here, the gang to entertain you, once Twilight drops in again. things people ask, where did Pinkie tir the rope to swing on, did Shawn and crew notice, or was it one of thse framing, hammerspace tricks, or even off one of the branches which I beleive were not close enough? At least they only had Picnic In the Park, I think shaun wouldve ignited if Pinkie had tried for the whole Party In The Park. that, and the Cease And Desist letters etc. As for that poor book. Twilights new state means she is not only more powerful, but far more unstable. shaun, normally wouldnt have any problem with that, but he could have a bit of trouble currently. As for Grif, well he said he wanted to do some traineing againt other weapon systems, how much do you think he wants to go up against directed energy beams, magic missile, slice shield spells etc?
Now Twilight has to meet, The Parents. Mom, Dad, Id like you to meet, Wings. Wings, Id like you to meet Mom and Dad, Im very attatched to them and hope we can all get along juuust fine.
I wonder if Twilights Coronation is going to go quietly because theres a heavy force of Mercs making sure its quiet, or is there going to be an intresting time with Blueblood complaining about being passed over etc? Im afraid Ive forgotton what happened t that guy, or even if he is busy helping the Gardens to grow. If you think Celestias trolling you now Grif, you wait till you get to Canterlot, and she has Octavia playing a song she hopes the Mercs will pick up on. Never Going to give you up, never going to let you down, never going to turn around and desert you.
Poor Pensword, doesnt even get relegated to the couch, but to observation, supervision and interaction. Fortunately its with his kid. which means said kiddie is going to be having lots of input for inquiring mind to absorb, analyze, associate and aquire. just has to be careful about keeping her extra sharp hearing from listenin in to and picking up the usual speaking method of the combat troops, especially when they have to deal with training with Hammerstrike and the new weapons again.
Given in Princess Spike episode, there was a Griffon that was quite definitely an Owl avian, and I wouldve suspected Panther, Jaguar feline, Gustav looks more like across between extreme regal chin Eagle beak, and Pelican. So it looks like its canon that Griffons are not just what I call pure Royal Griffons, Eagle, Lion cross only. this leads to a whole collection of possibilities, including extreme hybrids, evils or monsters or just misunderstoods, like what sort of Griffon would it be if it wasnt aLion hybrid, but a Manticore, or a tiger hybrid, but a Chimera, we have Hippogriffs, equines, but are there dracogriffs. Or how about Discords favourite, a weather controlling Dracoshark?
A family of those in a mobile waterspout is something that no sailor wants to see.
Poor Kelleam, that effect of his is going to be hangng round Grifs neck every time he wants to go after him for reports or information. Going to be really really useful though, ultra high altitude, long range, And stealthed? As long as his eyes are up to it, he is going to be near imposible to beat for scouting. And given the powerful backend, more like the Sunderland Flying Boat than the U2, he can also carry a couple of very nasty suprises where needed.
Making it so Gilda makes freinds, o at least at this time reparations with Dash, can keep going with canon, as Gilda can meet Greta here, or after her tour of duty, returning home, then finding out how things have fallen, or is Griffinhome going to be the primary capital, or the Equestrian enclave capital? Because if it was gernal capital, it was a very, very small city, given the occupancy seems to be related to overall population, for support and such, normally Id have to class the Griffons there as being on the point of extinction. Again, what occured over the years, behind the scenes, after the item was taken, and why wasnt the Gorge scoured by teams using ropes and anchors, unless the magical effect was that powerful, it crushed the remaining Griffons with Withdrawal Depression?
Well, something I dont think Ive done yet, but at this rate Ill probably do it, write a comment thats longer than the story.
Enjoyed, waiting, but waiting, not demanding. Take your time and enjoy yourself. Its supposed to be summer.
6229496 booster you are as always my favorite commenter but pleas eunderstand for the sake of making this response brief i'm only going to touch on a few points briefly.
first off I am glad grifs new weapon lessons went over well, what you said is a very good point to support it but the reasoning here is more to the fact that as new unity's fencing champion in the equestrian games grif needs to be fully aware of his style and it's flaws, something he can't do with his usual dual swords simply because there isn't a person who can keep up within a good few hundred miles. by switching to a new weapon he'll have to adjust his style accordingly and in doing so hopefully reveal a few flaws within the original.
they are taking a regular naval vessel to gryphonia because with demilitarization equestrian has no battle capable airships. well the naval vessel is subject to the tempers of the sea it also provides a certain level of safety going into what well me a very hostile climate. (gryphons hold grudges for a ridiculous amount of time)
given that equestrian doesn't have many coronations and the guard was sadly woefully lacking during the last large event. celestia has decided on skilled labour, remember it was the thestrals that turned the tides during the third gryphon war and that was because of unconventional warfare, you want a fair fight send a pony, you want a fast fight send a gryphon.
given how treasure of gryphonstone presented them it does indeed appear that gryphons can be any crossbreed of bird and large cat so i'm going to be attempting to be more descriptive with newly appearing gryphon chars in the future.
kel'leam is a refrence to a certain videogame character personaly waiting for someone to figure it out.
and gilda won't be returning to gryphonia, we'll probably still do treasure of gryphonstone but it well be altered quite a bit. a clan is both a organization and a family in gryphon society they live together, eat together, and fight together. don't worry about room new unity well be expanding soon. also keep in mind the gryphons mentioned are the ones grif decided where best skilled for the job. with the gryphons who joined from other mercenary groups the blade feathers are at 60 -80 fully capable fighters, and that's not including the masons, smiths, bakers, and other non military jobs that they are free to work at again. battle is a trade all gryphons know, it's not the only trade they know.
I wonder if Shawn will speak words about Celestia about Twi becoming an alicorn? Better yet, wonder if there will be assassins? *pfft* Of course there is! Assassin and politics go hand in hand!
Fire Emblem awakening references make my day.
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FINALLY! someone caught the reference!