In the forest lands of Gi' Thadu, deep in the towering trees of forest, there lived a small village. The huts were built upon the branches of the Sky Trees, the strong bark provided a base for the small homes to lean on. There was no need for ladders or doors, just a simple home made of entwining willows and twigs, with no glass windows. And of course, a nice, comfortable hammock in which the residents use to sleep. The residents themselves were a flying race not known much about. They had the pride and the honor.
These were the griffons, a species of beings which resembled the front half of an eagle and the back half of a lion. They were informed about the recent developments in the land known now as Equestria, over the eastern seas, and were quite surprised. They had never heard of the ponies before then, and were curious to their behavior, just like any other sentient creature would be. But before long, the years went by and they had gotten used to their friendly nature. The ponies were entranced by their land and living style, touring all there was to see. The griffins had created a bond with the ponies after long, helping each other out in certain situations. But as the lands were so commonly visited, eventually the tourists began to decline, leaving the griffons alone once more. Only one pony had decided to properly live with the village, settling on the ground beneath the towering protection of the trees.
A unicorn stallion, with enough strength to lift a boulder, Smoulder Forge was a Blacksmith and apparently according to the rest of his kind, he is one of the best. He found that the wood in the forest could be used to help create high quality tools, furniture, and weapons. According to him, a nearby cave housed a large amount of quality steel as well. The griffins, while they didn't talk to him much since he lived so far below, enjoyed his company most of the time. The items he created had made a nice improvement on the village, some of which were clippers for their feathers, buckets to carry water, and blades for cutting branches which were growing out of place.
Only one griffon visited him daily. The black feathered flier Glider was Smoulder's apprentice, learning the arts of metal moldering. He started the day with a small flight before the rise of the sun, and by the time the dawn had only begun, he was flying down below the trees to the metal forge. It was then that Smoulder opened the door for him, gesturing him inside quickly, and shut the door for the rest of the morning. It was only during the beginning of the sunset the Glider exited the forge, every time with a new creation to show off. The one he was most proud of was his compass, a device to point in the direction known as 'North'. He boasted that because of it, he would never get lost if his wing managed to get injured and he had to reside on the ground. He would talk all day about the wonders of metal and heat. The forge truly did him wonders and dreams.
Which was why he had felt so incredibly bored when Smoulder Forge had to leave for an entire week.
The griffon had been specifically told not to go into the forgery until the unicorn returned. While he was somewhat of a trouble maker, he was loyal to his teacher and respected his wishes. Glider did not even find the skies he so loved as entertaining as they once were. His friends told him he had grown too accustomed to the ground. His brother, Gipha, was currently trying to persuade him to have a little fun to brighten up his day.
"Come on, Glider. One race. You always loved to when you were a kid." Gipha pestered, trying to make his brother submit to his wants. It was a habit of his, being annoying to get what he wanted from his older brother. Glider sighed. His wings felt heavy, his energy low. He believed he did not have the energy to compete.
"Gipha, please, just stop it. I don't feel like it okay?" The elder replied, craning his head away from his sibling. Gipha groaned, and brought his claw up above his head, and immediately began to bring it back down. Glider yelped, turning to see that his younger brother had sliced his claw against his leg, some fur still on his talons. He growled menacingly, only to be met with a ridiculously poor impersonation of a chicken, before his younger took to the skies laughing. The black feather griffon flexed his now weightless wings, and leaped from the balcony, chasing the wind behind his brother. Mocking the older brother was never a smart thing to do.
Snickering, Gipha dropped below the branches of the trees, to the twisting labyrinth of trunks. The unicorn's apprentice followed, diving down into the maze, already catching up to his assaulter. The younger's claws clung to a nearby tree, his wings closing in as his body flew like an arrow around the trunk, letting go halfway around and flinging to the right. This little act surprised Glider, causing him to lose his concentration for a few moments, before returning to the chase. It irritated him immensely, seeing his brother taunt him like that. He gave a huge flap of his wings, soaring up above. His brother looked back, only to find wind on his trail. Before he noticed, the black feathered griffon dived down onto his younger brother. Reacting in the last instant, Gipha, being the devious one, curved his way from his brothers’ claws, shooting up into the branches. Glider grinned, instantly hitting upwards, following Gipha's trail.
Soon, the chase had taken them into the maze where the branches were, curving and swerving in order to manage a way though the endless sea of wood. This brought Glider to a slight disadvantage. He was bigger than Gipha, and therefore could not fit in the smaller spaces his younger brother could. But, his advantage was that he was more experienced, moving through the branches as easily as a stroll in the park. He zigzagged through the wood, his younger brother, while evasive, was losing speed in attempts to lose him. The branches were constantly getting in his way, and instead of moving with the tree's like his older brother, Gipha shot up further, hoping to make a break for it up in the sky.
Big mistake.
As soon as he had reached open air, a black figure shot out of the forest plantation. He grabbed his younger brother around the waist, bringing him to a halt. Gipha yelped, his eyes widening as his brother tugged him back to the village with ease. He dragged him to a wooden platform, his younger brother yelping out in fright. Glider pinned the younger to the solid floor, and growled at him.
"Please please please please please don't hurt me!" Gipha begged, wincing away as he expected revenge from his brother. "I won't do it again I swear!"
Glider smirked, his claw loosening a little. It was always fun for him to see his brother like this. "Begging now, are we?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, even though his brother couldn't see from being pinned face down. The younger griffin shook in the claws, nodding. "Yes, it's all true. I'm begging to be released! Please!" He admitted, continuing to persist in his ethics of freedom.
Glider began to snicker, his brother's performance amusing him. Soon, the shivering child had caused the griffin to burst into laughter. It was always a joy to see his brother cower in his wake. Such was the bond between brothers. He loosened his claws, no longer pinning him down. Gipha, embarrassed, took it upon himself to get up, stretching his wings as he looked away, his cheeks reddening.
"It's not funny..." He finally said, his gaze still not on Glider's being. Glider, though, continued to laugh, pointing at his younger. "You're right. IT'S HILARIOUS!" He exclaimed, flopping onto the floor and rolling around, clutching his belly. He eventually calmed down, his laughter dimming, only to wipe the tears away from his eyes to see his brother staring down on him, unamused. "You're mean" He simply stated, before turning away and taking to the air. Glider chuckled, bringing himself to his feet as he watched his brother go. He sighed, satisfied at teaching his brother a lesson, he spread his wings also, flying up into the currently cloudless sky. He groaned. A nice, fluffy cloud would be a good place to rest right now. He decided he would take a long flight; see how far his endurance would take him. He began beating his wings furiously as he set out to explore.
The sun began to set, the sky ridden with the majority of warm, energetic colors, making way for the calm, star lit night. Glider panted heavily, his wings seemingly full of led as he strained his way back to the village. After using as much effort as possible, he glided down upon his small home, collapsing at the floor. He gasped heavily, deeply breathing to replace the air in his lungs. He climbed over to his hammock, the only place he was known to sleep. Letting out a deep sigh, he rose up into his version of a bed, and quickly feel asleep. What happened earlier he would reveal to no one.
The sun had once again taken to the sky, though it was several hours after when the sky was in its peak in the sky did Glider rise from his sleep. He felt his body renewed after the long sleep, though strains in his wings would keep him from his daily dose of flying. He slid his eyes open, adjusting to the light of day. He stretched, rising from his hammock, and rubbing the back of his head as he hopped on the floor. He yawned, moving over to the perch where he kept his food, when he recognized a familiar scent. He moved to the entrance to see smoke rising up into the sky from below. His grinned, lifted in joy.
Knocking on the front door of the Forgery, Glider only had to wait a few moments before the door opened to the familiar face of the unicorn. The tinted cyan pony grinned at the sight of his apprentice, shaking some ash out of his beard.
"Glider! It's good tah’ see yah laddy!" Smoulder said deeply in a thick accent. Glider wasn't sure what of though, since he had never really been outside his village. But the griffin found it amusing, which added to the stallion's character. He offered a hoof to shake, which the griffon accepted gladly, only to be pulled into the stallion's embrace. He reluctantly returned the gesture, smiling. As soon as they broke, Glider began to make his way inside. Though, to his surprise, Smoulder held him back, guarding the door. "Laddy, we won't be needin' tah go in there. Believe it or not, I'm actually cookin' for a trip... I'm goin' on another vacation." Glider felt his heart drop. Another vacation?! The griffon twitched, his wings puffing up in instinct. He couldn't stand another week without the blacksmith. Everything seemed so.... boring. Just as the apprentice was about to enter a frenzied state, Smoulder placed his hoof on the young griffon's shoulder, snapping Glider's attention back to his teacher. "I was hopin' you'd come wid me lad." He stated, smiling sincerely at the feathered beast. Glider was taken aback by this, the short sentence taking so long to process.
His master had practically asked him if he wanted to go on an adventure to see lands unknown to him, full of wonders and secrets to those who wish to discover them. His beak widened to a grin, nodding towards the stallion. "I would gladly accept going with you, Mister Forge!" He beamed out, his feathers shivering in excitement. This would be a life time experience. He wondered where his teacher planned on taking him.
"I told ya’ laddy, call me Smoulder." He replied, giving him a tired smile. "Go pack ya’ things boy. We have a long trip ahead of us." The blacksmith began to turn, heading back inside.
"Where are we going, Mist-- I mean, Smoulder?" Glider asked right as the unicorn began to shut the door. He grinned back at the griffon, almost devious.
"Be here at three o'clock, the trip to Canterlot is a long one."
Smoulder shut the door, leaving Glider to ponder on the place Smoulder spoke of. Canterlot sounded like some sort of area, like a town or port. It was probably filled with ponies, as he realized. He tried hard to contain a squeal. More ponies were better in his opinion fore he had seen pictures, and all of them were terrifyingly adorable. Shaking his head, trying to get back to the real world, Glider took to the skies, flying up to his home in the tree. But halfway up, he stopped, deadpanning in sudden realization, asking himself an oblivious question.
"Isn't Canterlot the Capital of Equestria?"