Things had been quiet since Flurry and Moongleam's trip to the Dragon Lands. The mares had taken advantage of this by taking the time to hang out and relax. They were currently in the castle courtyard, enjoying some mid-afternoon sun.
"Boy, it feels good just to lay back and chill." Flurry smiled, stretching out her wings as she sat on a lounger.
"Especially after that adventure in the Dragon Lands." Moongleam looked up from the book she was reading. "'Chill' is just what I need after all that fire..."
"Good one, Moony." Flurry snorted.
"It was no joke." Moongleam said as she cleaned her glasses. "Those dragon flames nearly put me off heat forever."
"But you pulled it off, didn't you?" Flurry pointed out. "Saved my tail. I'd call that a day to be proud of."
"If you say so." Moongleam said humbly. "I'm just glad we got back in one piece."
"No argument here." Flurry smiled.
Suddenly, a gust of wind blew Flurry's mane across her face. The wind had been created by Anthem, who had just flown into the courtyard. He was looking over one side of the courtyard.
"Not here..." He mused.
Anthem flew to the other side of the courtyard, creating another gust of wind that messed up Flurry's mane again.
"Not here..." He frowned.
"Something we can help you with, Ant?" Flurry asked testily as she tended to her mane.
"Don't mind me, I'm just looking for my hoofball." Anthem shrugged. "I'm sure I left it here this morning..."
"Hoofball?" Moongleam asked.
"Yep." Anthem nodded. "I'm playing a game in the park with my friends." He suddenly spotted his target behind one of the courtyards plant pots. "Ah, there it is!" He rushed over and picked it up. "Love to stay and chat, but I've got a game to get to."
"Try not to get trampled out there, squirt." Flurry teased.
"Never gonna happen." Anthem smirked. "Trust me. I own this game."
"Good luck anyway, though." Moongleam declared.
"Thanks." Anthem grinned, before flying out of the courtyard at top speed.
"Well, that's one pony who isn't 'chilling' today." Moongleam cheered.
"No kidding." Flurry rolled her eyes. "Hard to believe we're related, isn't it?"
"You're lucky, though." Moongleam sighed. "I wouldn't mind a little brother or sister myself."
"It does have its upsides." Flurry admitted. "Anthem may bug me sometimes, but I couldn't ask for a better little brother."
"Way to rub it in." Moongleam joked. "There's an only child right next to you, and you're talking about how great it is having a sibling."
"You started it." Flurry joked back. "Besides, your folks are still young... kinda. You never know, you might be getting a little sibling of your own one of these days."
"I can only hope..." Moongleam declared. "But for now, let's get back to 'chilling'."
"My thoughts exactly." Flurry grinned, lying back on the lounger.
A few days later, Flurry was informed of a new assignment.
"We're going to need you to make a goodwill visit to Griffonstone on Friday." Shining Armor told her. "We have a meeting with some delegates from Saddle Arabia on the same day, so..."
"You can count on me." Flurry nodded.
"Of course we can." Cadance smiled. "After all, this trip won't be anywhere near as risky as the trip to the Dragon Lands."
"Even at their worst, Griffons were always more surly than violent." Shining Armor mused. "And they're a lot friendlier these days, so there's nothing to worry about."
"I'm sure Moongleam will be glad to hear that." Flurry chuckled. "Mind if I go tell her?"
"Go right ahead, sweetie." Cadance nodded.
Flurry headed over to Moongleam's home. Starlight once again answered her knocking on the door.
"Hello, Flurry." She smiled.
"Hi, Starlight." Flurry smiled. "Is Moongleam home?"
"She sure is." Starlight nodded. "She's with Sunburst in the study."
Flurry made her way to the study, Starlight right beside her. Moongleam was right there, reading a book on magical theory with Sunburst.
"Hey, Moony. I just got word of our next assignment." Flurry announced. "We're off to Griffonstone tomorrow!"
"Griffonstone, eh?" Moongleam mused. "Don't think I've ever met a Griffon face-to-face before..."
"Sounds like it'll be quite the learning experience." Starlight smiled.
"Just so long as dad doesn't freak out again." Moongleam cast a wary glare at her father.
"You have nothing to worry about in that regard, darling." Sunburst declared. "I'm perfectly fine with the idea of you going with Flurry to Griffonstone."
"You mean that?" Moongleam smiled.
"Of course. Griffons aren't anywhere near as dangerous as dragons." Sunburst admitted... Before a crease of worry formed on his brow. "Those talons, though..."
"Dad..." Moongleam groaned.
"Really, Sunburst?" Starlight frowned.
"Okay, point taken." Sunburst sighed. "You can't really blame me for worrying, though."
"Of course not." Moongleam admitted. "It's what makes you such a great dad."
"Thanks, honey." Sunburst beamed.
"Glad to hear everypony's okay with this." Flurry grinned. "We'll be heading out in the morning, so make sure you get to the castle early."
"Have you ever known me to be late?" Moongleam smirked.
"Point taken." Flurry grinned. "I should head back home. Dinner'll be ready soon. Have fun reading!"
"Always do." Moongleam grinned.
The next morning, Flurry woke up bright and early, washed, ate her breakfast, then joined her parents as they went outside the castle, where the Royal Carriage awaited. Moongleam was already there to meet Flurry.
"Right on time as always." Flurry smiled.
"Well, it wouldn't do for diplomats to be late." Moongleam declared.
"Exactly." Shining Armor agreed. "The Griffons can be a prideful race, so you have to be careful what you say and do around them."
"Will do, dad." Flurry nodded.
"Try not to cause an international incident, sis." Anthem teased.
"Anthem!" Cadance frowned.
"Just kidding..." Anthem shrugged. "You'll do great, sis, like always. I know it."
"Thanks, squirt." Flurry ruffled his mane. "Come on, Moongleam. Don't want to keep our feathered friends waiting."
"Of course not." Moongleam nodded, as they climbed into the carriage.
A short while later, they were in the air, heading to Griffonstone.
"How much have you heard about Griffonstone?" Moongleam asked Flurry.
"Not much." Flurry shrugged. "I did hear that the place was kind of a mess not too long ago."
"I'd heard that too." Moongleam declared. "I also heard that it was once a great and prosperous nation, until the loss of a national icon demoralized them."
"That's why the place turned into a mess?" Flurry frowned. "Because of some trinket?"
"Apparently, yes." Moongleam nodded. "The 'trinket' was the golden Idol of Boreas. And back then, nothing mattered to Griffons more than gold. Thankfully, that was then. Nowadays, Griffons are far less materialistic.."
"Glad to hear it." Flurry smiled. "Should've guessed you'd do the research."
"I had to do something to pass the time before bed night." Moongleam said nonchalantly.
Soon after, the finally reached their destination.
"Here we are." Flurry smiled, gazing upon the gigantic tree that formed most of Griffonstone. "Wow, what a sight."
"You can say that again." Moongleam adjusted her glasses, making sure she was seeing straight.
Griffonstone had seen many changes over the years. Thanks to the efforts of a bold Griffon named Gilda (assisted chiefly by an enthusiastic youth named Gabby), the Griffons had gradually learned that there were more important things in the world than gold. It was a slow process, but they had ultimately come to accept the ways of friendship and community.
The location itself had also changed over time, as the inhabitants started to take pride in their home once again. While it wasn't quite as grand as it was in its golden age, Griffonstone's current appearance was still head and shoulders above its lowest ebb. The formerly derelict buildings had been rebuilt, and the once-shabby nests in the tree's giant branches looked much warmer and more inviting.
"I've never seen anyplace like this before..." Flurry mused.
"I saw some pictures in my book, but it doesn't quite compare to the real thing." Moongleam declared.
The royal carriage sent down in the streets near the outskirts of Griffonstone. Flurry and Moongleam disembarked and made their way further into the area, gaining some intriguing looks from the locals. Some were surprised, others bowed respectfully, and a few simply dismissed the arrival of their visitors and went about their business.
"Okay, let's head to town hall and properly introduce ourselves." Flurry announced.
"Right behind you." Moongleam nodded.
The two mares made their way to one of the newer buildings in the area; The town hall, constructed only a few years back. In the golden years, Griffonstone was ruled by a succession of Kings. But after the loss of the Idol of Boreas during the reign of King Guto, that tradition had abruptly ended. Even after Griffonstone finally started to recover, it was decided that the Griffon's capital would be overseen by democracy, rather than royalty. So a mayor was elected. And that mayor was the Griffon Flurry and Moongleam were set to visit.
"Here we are." Flurry declared as they entered the town hall. "Time to make with the diplomacy."
"And some good will." Moongleam added.
Waiting for them inside was a grey-feathered and furred female Griffon with turquoise eyes and her head feathers tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a light blue vest over her upper body, with two pink and purple badges on either side of a belt at the bottom. The badges had an image of a trophy on them, and seemed vaguely familar to Flurry.
"Hi!" The Griffon rushed over to greet them. "Princess Flurry Heart, right?"
That's me." Flurry nodded. "And this is Moongleam."
"An honor, I'm sure." Moongleam smiled.
"Great to meet ya both!" The Griffon beamed. "I'm Assistant Mayor Gabriella, but you can call me Gabby! And you are definitely here for the goodwill meeting. Right? Right?"
"That's right." Flurry smiled. "So if you'll please direct us to the mayor's office..."
"Right over here!" Gabby darted over to a door on the right.
"She's pretty fast." Moongleam observed. "But I suppose you'd have to be, in this line of work..."
Flurry and Moongleam followed Gabby to the door. Gabby opened the door, revealing a brown-feathered older female who had white head feathers with pale purple markings.
"The delegates from the Crystal Empire have arrived, Gilda." Gabby announced.
"Thanks, kid." Gilda looked up from her work to see Flurry and Moongleam enter the room. "I'm guessing you're the royal one, right?" She asked Flurry.
"That's right." Flurry nodded.
"Figured as much." Gilda smirked. "The horn and wings combo is a dead giveaway."
"And of course, you must be the Mayor?" Moongleam asked.
"Yep." Gilda confirmed. "Not my first choice of career, but there was a vote, and most of the Griffons voted for me, so here I am, running the whole show."
"When she says 'most', she really means 'almost all'." Gabby smirked. "It was a total landslide! Then again, after everything she did to spread friendship around these parts, they'd have to be crazy not to vote for her!"
"Yeah, I was pretty good at the whole 'spreading friendship', wasn't I?" Gilda bragged. "But I did have a little help, in the form of a certain hyperactive little chatterbox."
"Aw, thanks!" Gabby blushed.
"So it was just the two of you who turned Griffonstone around?" Flurry asked.
"It's not that simple." Gilda shrugged. "We both had a lot of help ourselves, courtesy of some good ponies. I was your typical greedy Griffon with an attitude not so long ago. Then Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie helped me turn my life around, and to top it off, they helped me realise I could do the same for Griffonstone."
"Was it the same for you?" Moongleam asked.
"Actually, no." Gabby shook her head. "Not to brag or anything, but I was always a helpful, friendly Griffon. Kind of an outcast, really. But then, I found out about the Cutie Marks you ponies have, and I went to Ponyville to find out about them from the experts: the Cutie Mark Crusaders! You heard of them?"
"Sure have." Flurry nodded, having heard all about the trio's exploits as she had grown up.
"Well, they helped me discover my true purpose in life: helping others!" Gabby grinned. "They even made me an official member of their club!" She showed off her badges.
"I thought those looked familiar..." Flurry mused.
"After that, I headed back to Griffonstone, to spread the values I'd learned." Gabby continued. "And since me and Gilda pretty much had the same mission, we started working together."
"Didn't hurt to have a little back-up." Gilda smiled. "Together, we managed to sway more and more Griffons onto the right path, and now look at us."
"Looks like all that work really added up." Moongleam smiled.
"And how." Gabby grinned. "The old Griffonstone wouldn't have bothered with good will visits... or good will anything, for that matter!"
"Speaking of good will, how about a snack?" Gilda reached under her desk, and extracted a plate full of scones. "Not exactly top-rate fancy stuff, but I figured you might like a taste of he local cuisine. Griffon Scones, freshly made."
Flurry tried one of the scones.
"Mmm, not bad." She smiled. "Try one, Moongleam."
Moongleam levitated a second over to her and took a bite.
"That's a good scone." She declared.
"Thanks." Gilda smiled. "It's my own recipe."
"You made these?" Flurry asked.
"Being Mayor doesn't really give me time to bake." Gilda shrugged. "A friend of mine, Greta, handled the actual baking."
"Well, you let her know from me that she did a great job." Flurry smiled.
"Indeed." Moongleam agreed. "To coin a phrase: my compliments to the chef."
"I'll let her know." Gilda smirked.
Suddenly, the door to the office was kicked open, and an unknown middle-aged Griffon burst into the room.
"Hey, Mayor Gilda!" He roared. "I want a word with you!"
The Griffon had black body feathers, a grey lion half and matching head feathers, three of which stood up like a mohawk. He had a sharp beak, and piercing orange eyes to match.
"Oh, jeez." Gabby groaned, not shaken at all by the interruption.
"What is it this time, Garth?" Gilda rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, I kinda have some important guests to attend to."
"That's exactly why I'm here." Garth sneered.
"Say what?" Gabby frowned.
"I heard all about this little 'good will meeting'." Garth spat. "How you're playing nice with the ponies."
"Yeah, what of it?" Gilda narrowed her eyes. "Griffonstone isn't the only place in the world. It doesn't hurt to reach out to our neighbors a little."
"That's not how the kings of old saw it." Garth retorted.
"Well, the kings of old aren't around any more." Gilda pointed out. "I'm the Griffon in charge now, and I say it's good for Grifonstone to have friends."
"I can see you've been rolling out the red carpet for these ponies friends of yours." Garth scowled, glancing at the remaining scones on the desk. "All for free, no doubt."
"Since when are a few scones anything like the 'red carpet' treatment?" Gilda retorted.
"You're still givin' them away for free though, aren't ya?" Garth shot back. "The ingredients for those things cost money, remember? Just look at you: throwin' more gold away, so you can kiss up to these ponies. I remember when Griffons actually used to value their Bits..."
"And I remember when this place used to be a dump." Gilda snorted. "Times change, pal. And you gotta live with it."
"Things only changed around here because of those lousy ponies' influence." Garth sneered.
"Uh... hello?" Flurry frowned. "Ponies right here. You got a problem with us, say it to our faces."
"Gladly." Garth smirked. "I know full well where our illustrious Mayor and her assistant got all these ridiculous ideas from. It was ponies like you who poisoned their minds with your weak ideas!"
"And what exactly is so 'weak' about showing actual concern for others?" Moongleam declared. "If you ask me, spending all those years trying to hoard all the gold you can was the real weak thing to do."
"You're not a Griffon... a true Griffon, so I don't expect you to understand." Garth snarled. "We were doing just fine before, and we didn't try to force anyone else to think like us. But you ponies have been doing an awful lot lately, haven't you?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Flurry frowned.
"Oh, please." Garth chuckled darkly. "We all know Griffonstone was just the start. You hoofed heels have been spreading your little rhetoric all over the place. The dragons, the Changelings... you just won't be happy until every species in Equestria is a bunch of lame, sappy losers like you, won't ya?"
"That's enough, Garth." Gilda growled. "You can rant at me and Gabby all you want, but leave our guests alone."
"I'd prefer neither option, to be honest." Gabby shrugged.
"There you go again, putting ponies above your own kind." Garth scowled.
"Unless you want me to have your tail thrown in jail for harassment, I suggest you get out of my office." Gilda snarled through her clenched beak, her patience at its limit.
"...You mark my words." Garth seethed. "You're gonna regret leading Griffonstone down this path. Just you wait and see."
"So you keep saying." Gabby sighed.
"Joke all you want." Garth retorted as he marched out of the room. "It'll just make it all the more satisfying when I'm proven right."
Garth slammed the door behind him.
"Who was that guy?" Flurry frowned.
"And what got his feathers in a bunch?" Moongleam added.
"Ah, don't mind that killjoy." Gilda snorted. "He's grouchier than my Grampa Gruff was."
"No kidding." Flurry mused. "Some Griffon needs to get with the program."
"He's not the only one, fortunately." Gabby sighed. "He's part of a group of traditionalists."
"Traditionalists?" Moongleam frowned.
"Yeah." Gilda nodded. "Even after all these years, and all our hard work, there are still some Griffons out there, mostly the older ones who still remember what it was like here before, who prefer the old ways. Y'know, the days when we were all greedy and uncaring?"
"Crazy, right?" Gabby snorted. "I really don't see the appeal in that myself. Then again, I was never really greedy, not even once..."
"Neither do I." Moongleam mused. "But clearly, they see something in that way of life."
"If it were up to them, we'd still still be greedy, gold-grubbin' creeps." Gilda scowled. "Don't know why they want it that way, and honestly, I don't care."
"You don't think they could cause a problem, do you?" Flurry asked.
"Doubt it." Gilda shrugged. "There's only a few of those 'traditionalists' in Griffonstone. They can make a whole lotta noise, but they're not gonna sway too many other Griffons to their way of thinking. Not after all this time."
"How would they?" Gabby grinned. "Most Griffons really, really like the way things are at Griffonstone now!"
"But it looks like not all of them are so willing to accept change." Flurry frowned.
"And to keep doing so after all this time?" Moongleam added. "That's taking stubbornness to a whole new level..."
"Eh, some Griffons just won't see sense." Gilda sighed. "No matter what you do, some folks just won't change. It's annoying, but it's just something we've all gotta live with."
"A pity, really." Flurry agreed.
"But that's enough of the doom and gloom." Gilda smiled. "Let's get back down to business." She offered the plate of Griffon Scones. "Want another scone?"
"Yes, please." Flurry grinned.
"Ditto." Moongleam smiled.
"Hey, try to save some for us Griffons!" Gabby joked. "And they used to call us greedy... kidding!"
The four shared a light chuckle over the joke.
For a good while afterwards, Flurry and Gilda had a lengthy discussion regarding the relationship between Griffonstone and Equestria, each assuring the other that they could count on their own nations. After that, Flurry and Moongleam made to depart.
"Thank you for having us." Flurry said politely.
"And for the Griffon Scones." Moongleam added.
"Any time." Gilda nodded.
"Come back soon!" Gabby beamed.
Their work done, Flurry and Moongleam returned to the carriage. Flurry waved at some of the Griffons as they passed, with some waving back.
"Well, that was certainly an educating experience." Moongleam admitted.
"No kidding." Flurry agreed. "Griffonstone is a lot more than I expected. It's not perfect, but what place is?"
"It may have its problems, but at least it's in good hooves... ah, talons." Moongleam admitted.
"Definitely." Flurry agreed. "As long as Gilda and Gabby are around, those 'traditionalists' won't be having any recruitment drives any time soon. They'll just have to spend their days agreeing with each other. And I think we can agree that it's time to head home."
"Of course." Moongleam chuckled.
After getting back into the carriage, Flurry and Moongleam headed home, leaving behind the place that had grown so much, but still had far greater heights yet to reach... not unlike themselves, in that respect.