//------------------------------// // Equestrian Idol (76) // Story: Griffin the Griffin // by BlackWing //------------------------------// Equestrian Idol I groan as I pull myself out of bed, my joints popping. "Hey Gilda, rise and shine. The moon is up and it's time to show these ponies what a REAL party is." She hops off the mattress, wobbling a little before giving me a quick nuzzle. "Let's go." We leave the ship, still moored at the fifth tower where below, at the gala building, a number of ponies are cleaning up my...... mess...... from the previous night, and fly down towards the courtyard where the stage had been set up for the concert, as I had asked. We air lifted the rest of the cats down as well, leaving only Steelhorn and Geirmund on the ship, along with the recovering Trixie. I head backstage to fine the crusaders there, beaming. "That was SO AWESOME! I mean, not as awesome as Rainbow Dash but, the way you just went crazy and tossed that big guy out the window." Scootaloo said, hyperactive as the crusaders usually are. 'Well, at least they didn't see what happened AFTER that, they'd be scarred for life' "Yeah, I guess it was pretty cool. No big deal, he was ruining the party." "So, what are you going to sing?" Sweetie Belle, with her squeaky voice which for some reason I didn't mind.... "Can't tell you, it would ruin the surprise." The three crusaders gave a disappointed 'awwwww' and walked away with their heads down to go take their place in the crowd. Truth is, without Trix to play the music, I have no freaking clue what I'm gonna do..... "Come on, chin up. Here." I toss them each a pair of sunglasses, my backups. What? You thought with all the fights I get into I never broke a pair? I have sunglasses stashed all over Equestria in case of a...... no. I'm not going to finish that sentence. "AWESOME!" The cheer before running off. "Heh, kids." "Do you like children?" Gilda asked, her question's hidden agenda is not lost on me, but to my credit I didn't cough or choke on the air. Instead I gave a proper response, which means..... "Don't really know. I never hung around them much." ....no response at all. "Hmm......" "Well, let's not worry about that right now. Time to put on a show!" The curtains open, revealing Nadene, Gilda and I. Etch and Growl were organizing the other cats and griffins, while Maria and the Freuds sans Gear were back stage. My eyes scanning the crowd, I spot Aoi and his group on a rooftop, and Knightmare sitting where else but with Celestia. I shoot a glare at her, still not having forgiven her from breakfast, and she seems to notice it, though she doesn't change position. Wait.... Celestia... hmm, that gives me an idea. I turn back to the crowd. "Hey everyone. Crazy night last night am I right?" The crowd murmurs in disapproval. "Oh come on, it wasn't THAT bad was it? Only two million in property damage.... and for once, it's not even my fault!" That brings some nervous chuckles from the crowd. "Okay, so, maybe the red carpet was me, but that's what happens when certain princesses decide to play pranks." Now the crowd is loosening up a bit more, laughing more freely. These are Canterlot ponies, even more haughty than the Manehatten ones, so it'll take a bit of work to get them in the party mood. "Well, this is the last stop on our concert tour, before we get back to being revolutionaries, and this is also the place where we're picking up anyone who wants to come who we think we can use. So, since this is our last stop, I figure we could sing something a little more....... sophisticated." "Grif... what are you doing?" Gilda whispers in my ear. "Winging it. Just trust me on this....." I look back across the crowd and point my finger, panning through them, before I stop on the changeling and princess in the upper rows, along with a fully recovered Luna. 'What the heck happened after Ember left? Not really any of my business to know, but still....' "Hmm, let me see, where are you......... THERE! Knightmare, Princess Celestia, come on down!" I act the part of searching for drama, even though I already know where they are. They begin looking around, confused. "Yeah! You heard me! Get on down here!" The crowd murmurs at what I'm suggesting, and I can see Celestia face-hoof from here. 'Haha, VENGEANCE! If she comes down, then she's gonna have to sing, and if she doesn't, everyone will think she's afraid to. Either way, her reputation will NOT be the same after this. Besides, without Trix to play the music, I don't really have any other options.' They look to each other and share some quick words before begrudgingly flying down from their lofty perch and onto the stage. She gives her subjects a warm smile before turning to me. "What exactly is your plan Griffin?" "Oh.... you'll see...." I snicker as Knight buzzes around on stage, looking excited. I walk up to him and whisper in his ear. After I finish telling him my plan, he looks at me with a great big smile. "So, think you can get her to do it?" "I'll do it, but you owe me for this." Celestia says, coming up from behind us. "Oh come on Celly, it'll be fun an... wait, how did..... did you just.... why is everyone a mind reader?" "Just try not to think to hard about puberty." Knightmare giggles, then stops. "Wait, who's going to owe you, him or me?" "Both of you." "Anything for you milady." Geez, what a dork. "I'll just call it paying you back for this morning." I turn back to my crew after passing Celestia a microphone. "Ready? Gilda, Nadene, you prepped?" "Here we go. Just sing, and don't worry about it too much. Knight, you're guitar. We won't be using the music spell since Trixie is out of commission. Nadene knows drums, apparently it's a tribal thing..... and... I'm on keyboard...." I say the last part a bit depressed, since I have to use that damned instrument again. Knightmare spins his guitar off his back, pulling a quick riff, while I sit down at the keyboard and Nadene starts tapping her drumsticks together. "A one! Two! One, two, three four!" Celestia began sweating as she sang, her memory spell allowing her to know the words. She closed her eyes as the music poured forth, wincing to open them when she heard...... cheering? She opened her eyes all the way to see that her beloved subjects were not mocking her, or booing, but were actually pleased with her performance. She turned back to me with a determined look in her eye, then back to the crowd and began singing full force. Knightmare still rocks his guitar, Nadene pounding the drums, and I play this blasted keyboard. I hate it. I'm good at it, but I fucking HATE it. It's easier with Equestrian ones, because they have innate magic to guide the less dexterous hooves of ponies, but it's still annoying. The song comes to an end, and Celestia looks at me, proud. "It wasn't that bad, was it Celly?" She smiles at the crowd and whispers out of the corner of her mouth. "I'm going to end you in the most horrible way I can imagine." I laugh at her reaction. "Well, that won't be half as bad as what I've already been through. Besides, if I'm gone, who will you look to to liven up your gray little life?" Knightmare pokes me as if to say, 'Hello, right here?' I ignore it. "You underestimate me." Celestia's voice resonates in my ear AND mind. I grin deviously. "And you, me." Knightmare rolls his eyes. "OK, so everyone's underestimating each other, what do we do now?" I ignore his question, as I'm already moving to phase two of the plan. I scratch my chin and turn back to the crowd. "Thank you Canterlot! That was your very own Princess Celestia singing 'Call Me'. For the NEXT song..... I'm thinking...... Prince Blueblood." The crowd looks around till the pompous white unicorn found, and a spotlight comes to rest on him. "Who.... ME?" The suddenly very nervous prince asks. "No, the white unicorn behind you!" Knightmare mocks, then stops for a moment to think as he realized just exactly WHO was behind him. "Better yet, Fancypants! Why don't you join up, too?" They look at each other before giving a nod. "Come on down you two, you're the next contestants on Equestrian Idol!" I can barely hold a straight face as I say it, and Knightmare looks like he's about to crack up. I can only imagine what horrors are going through their heads right now. Celestia moves off to the side, not quite wanting to leave the stage just yet, as two of my griffins fly up and airlift them down. "Psst, Griff, Princess....this is gonna friggin' rock!" The changeling snickers. "Of course it is, it WAS my idea after all." I join his laughter. "Most nobles receive voice training at a young age, many of them sing at a professional level." The princess points out, prompting everyone on stage to give her a deadpan stare. "DUH! That's the point. Nobody wants to listen to bad singing. So, I was thinking we let the bug pick which song they sing. Any ideas?" The unicorn pair are brought in front, and while Fancypants wears an air of calm confidence, Blueblood looks like a nervous wreck. I give the mike to Knight, my co-host for this show. "Alright everypony, the song that these two are going to sing is a little something from home called "Sexy and I Know It" Have fun you two." He grins deviously at the high class pair, now with Fancypants being the nervous one and Blueblood looking like he's actually going to enjoy singing this. The performance was good, they sang it well, but the lyrics, and the fact that it was those two singing it made it absolutely hilarious. Knightmare and I, as well as my crew, were rolling on the ground laughing, while the crowd, mostly comprised of mares, watching two 'hunky' stallions sing about how sexy they are brought them all to embarrassed giggles. I struggle to right myself as I wipe a tear from my eye. "Alright, alright....... whew........ Pretty good guys, not bad at all. Let's seeeeeeee...... Knight, you wanna pick the next one?" The insectoid pony grins evilly, motioning for me to come closer, and whispers in my ear as I nod. "Uh huh. Uh huh. Ohh, that's good. Do it." "LUNA! Come on down! It's yoooouuuuurrrrrr tuuuuurrrrnnnnn!!!!" A heavy metal riff begins playing, apparently caused by the buzzing of Knightmare's wings. "Oooooh no. I'm NOT going down there....." She stamps her hoof to get the point across. I look at her intensely. "Do I need to come up and get you?" "The Mistress of the night is afraid of a lil' music? Oh this is RICH!" My partner in crime taunts while Celestia whispers in my mind. "Leave this one to me." With a flash, Celestia is gone, then back again with her still protesting sister. "Glad you could make it, Woona." I say intentionally into the microphone, causing a peal of laughter to come from the crowd as the midnight blue pony turns red with blush. Knightmare glomps Luna, "Dun' worry, Woona, ish an ad'awwable name!" "Remove thine appendages from mine neck! I will not be made a part of this foolishness!" "Oh yes you will, or do I need to tell everyone about your abacus?" Her eyes turn to pinpricks, focused on me. "You wouldn't dare......" "All of Canterlot knowing about little Abbey..... oh how drole" "Oh! I heard you singing lil' Abby to sleep last night! Why else would I want you to join! You're a B-E-A-UTIFUL singer!" The changeling joins in my taunting. Luna grumbles. "FINE." Knight starts playing the song over again from the start, and I hop backstage to relax for a bit Fairly soon, the lyrics come in, and Luna's hauntingly beautiful voice brings the entire crowd to silence as they listen. [This song is pretty long, you may just want to sit and listen for a bit.] "Gilda, you having fun?" "Not really, I mean, we're just getting the nobles to sing, we're not really even needed right now." "Truth is, I actually kind of wanted a break. We've been doing this for a while, and I figured for our last show, we'd let the crowd have some fun. Besides, it's part of the plan. Unless we get them warmed up by having icons they know and love doing it, these suits will never get out of their shells. Luna is the last one anyways, then we'll get back to our show." "Okay." She gave me a quick peck, (not like a bird, like a kiss moron) and we headed back out onto stage as the song ended. After the song is over, I walk back out on stage to the crowd cheering for their lesser known ruler. "See Luna? It's not so bad. As if ponies are honestly going to boo their princess." "The trolling griffin is correct, dear sister, your singing is quite good." The elder sister adds. "Well, I admit that it was...... fun." At this line, I immediately wink at Knightmare, since we're bothing thinking 'The fun has been doubled!' right about now. Knightmare chuckles and winks back. His face asking silently, 'Wanna make a literal shout out?' I nod back, the entire silent conversation having taken about a second, before we both belt out.... "THE FUN HAS BEEN DOUBLED!" The infamous line is heard by just about everyone. Most of the ponies looked around confused, while a small group burst out laughing, and Luna face-hoofed. "Anyone from Ponyville ought to remember THAT line!" The bug laughs. "Alright, alright, enough making fun of Luna. Well, you've all had your fun, so.... get off my stage. Go on, you heard me. Back to the audience with you." Knightmare pulls Celestia and Luna in close as they start heading off stage. "Shall we, ladies?" "Not you Knight, you're staying up here for the rest of the show." Knightmare stops in his tracks and turns to look at me, "Whojibebewhadda?" "You heard me." After a moment's pause, he bows to the Prncesses and walks back onto the stage, most likely wondering what the hell I'm up to. I bring him and Gilda into a huddle. "So, Knight, you know Lonely Boy by the Black Keys?" He blinks and frowns, "Heard of it, never actually listened too it." I back away slightly and look at him in disdain. "Seriously?" "I'm willing to bet you've never heard of Sabaton, either." "Different tastes I suppose........" He nods. "Yeah, pretty much. Then again, there are some classics no one can top." "Hmm, I wonder if.... would that work? Hold still for a second, I'm gonna try something... Don't give me that look, it isn't dangerous.... at least I think it isn't........... Memoria a Musica." Knightmare sits for a moment, listening to music that wasn't there as I fed it straight into his brain using an already charged gem. When it was done, he played the first bar flawlessly and smiled. "Gilda, you mind taking keyboard? I'm going on the mike." "Sure." The she broke the huddle to get to her station. "Knight, you're gonna sing the chorus with me, got it?" The changeling nods, "Rock on." Well I'm so above you And it's plain to see But I came to love you anyway So you tore my heart out And I don't mind bleedin' Any old time to keep me waitin' Waitin', waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh, I got a love that keeps me waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh, I got a love that keeps me waitin' I'm a lonely boy I'm a lonely boy Oh, oh-oh oh, I got a love that keeps me waitin' Well your mama kept you but your daddy left you And I should've done you just the same But I came to love you Am I going to bleed? Any old time you keep me waitin' Waitin', waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' I'm a lonely boy I'm a lonely boy Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' I'm a lonely boy I'm a lonely boy Oh, oh-oh oh I got a love that keeps me waitin' As the night wore on, playing music next to Knightmare, I actually started having FUN with the guy. Considering before yesterday I was ready to kill him out of sheer annoyance, this is a pretty big improvement, although I still don't wanna hang out with him long term. Now that things were winding down, it was time for the finale. "You ready for the big finish?" As if I even need to ask. "Griffin...THIS....is what I LIVE for! EVERYPONY! MAY I PLEASE HAVE YOUR ATTENTION!" The crowd just keeps cheering and hooting. I'm glad I was able to get these stiffs to lighten up, but we have a show to do. "YO! PONIES! SHUT UP AND LISTEN!" That got their attention. We wait for the crowd to die down before we begin, my co-host grabbing the mike. "Now, it has come to my attention that some of our esteemed nobility disliked our little...incident at the Gala... Griffin, would you like to do the honors?" "I'm not apologizing........" He rolls his eyes. "Fine then, allow ME to appologize for the trouble we've caused..." He grins and begin buzzing his wings, making a familliar tune.. "SORRY FOR PARTY ROCKIN!" When the lyrics begin, he full on body checks me off the stage, where I am caught by a number of ponies who proceed to 'crowd surf' me, slowly passing me over their heads towards the back of the crowd. "Hehe, I guess It's alright." "Ah, screw it. Here I come!" Gilda dives off the stage as well, followed by a giggling Nadene. As they come up beside me, I yell over the roaring crowd. "And now we make our escape. Celestia, you will forever remember this as the day you ALMOST caught Captain Griffin North!" A look of surprise comes over her face, her horn glows, and she disappears. Her bug buddy begins chasing me, trying to catch us, followed by several others as the entire crew takes to the skies, seeing this as our chance to escape the havoc of the concert. As we reach the ship, we are surprised to find that Steelhorn and Geirmund are sitting on the deck, bound and gagged, while Celestia is sipping tea at a small table on board. "Going somewhere?" Then Knightmare lands and slides unexpectedly, tripping over me and landing right in front of his idol, gasping. "I...almost had 'em, Princess..." I simply stare at the princess who teleported aboard my unguarded ship. Rule number one, NEVER leave your valuables unguarded. I let out a sigh. "Right, you can teleport...... Well, let's get this whole 'you murdering me' thing done and over with." Celestia's horn flashes, and I suddenly find that the whole world has taken on a shade of Pinkie Pie. Never mind, it's just me. All of me, hot pink. "Easy enough." The alicorn says smugly while my crew begins snickering silently, hoping I don't hear them. The head of the Celestia fan club bursts out in an uncontrolled fit of laughter. My reaction is to scratch my chin and speak stoically. "Only the manliest of men are not afraid to wear pink. You'll have to do better than that if you want to break me though." She walks around me, appraising my new colour scheme. In other words, checking me out. Yeah, you think I missed it when your eye dropped down to look at that? I didn't, Molestia. Suddenly she stands up straight. "There's a certain ceremony you will be attending tomorrow morning, no excuses." "Don't wanna. Knightmare chuckles, turning into Pinkie Pie....Cupcakes version, "Oh, we have WAYS of making you TALK....er, cooperate!" "Knight, you didn't say it with v's for w's, and now it's totally been ruined." "Okay then. Ve have VAYS of making you TOCK!" "Too late, the moment has passed, but fine, whatever, I'll be there. I assume there's something else you wanted to talk to me about?" Celestia's expression turns serious, but her eyes are filled with pity, "There is. I'm sorry." "Uh...Gilda....cute cat lady....I think it's best we give 'em time alone..." The bug says, for once able to read the mood properly as he changes back to his normal form and heads inside with my crew. I took a deep breath, then let it out. "Alright, this is going to be more painful than being pink, so lets get it over with." I fold my legs under me and lay down on the deck in the same position as the sphynx in Egypt, and stare into the night sky as Celestia walks up behind and to the right, then sits as well. "I'd like to start with how I'm sorry about what happened at breakfast, I did not mean to upset you and I apologize for how my words may have reopened old wounds." "Yeah, whatever. Apology accepted." I don't really care, I got her back at the concert. "Second, I'd like to tell you a little about my past, my history before I came to Equestria and overthrew Discord, it is not so different from the path I see before you. In fact, you remind me of a younger me, and that is something I find most disturbing." Aaaand I'm not just going to get a lecture, but story time as well. Aren't I lucky? Gag. "So, you weren't always the 'loving mother' you come off as. I figured as much. Why else would your subjects have a completely irrational fear of you? The only way anyone acts so afraid around someone so...... benevolent..... is if they have a reason to be. They can sense it." She ignored what I was saying, lost in her thoughts. Then I figured it out. She wasn't telling me her story, she wasn't telling anyone. She was remembering it for herself. "I was captured once, did you know that? Imprisoned by a being as foul as he was powerful, he treated me in equal parts a trophy and a plaything." She sighs, a slightly glazed look in her eye. "Let me guess, he taunted and tortured you everyday, until you finally had enough, escaped, and gutted him like the pig he was?" I said more as a statement than a question. Still, she ignored it. "He called himself The Herald, and he took his pleasure from my body, in whatever sadistic ways you can imagine and more. Eventually, he managed to break me. My will and body broken upon the wheel of torture and terror, a maddened husk of lust and rage was all that remained of the once proud Celestia. This lasted for centuries, my memories faded into obscurity and I began to believe that this had always been my life. That anything before was but a fevered dream." "This herald sounds like a real asshat, although, the important question is..... if he was just the herald, what was he the herald of?" She continues to ignore me, her eyes no longer the bright, vibrant eyes of a joyful immortal. For a brief moment before she regained her composure, Celestia looked..... old. "This is supposed to be the part where my knight arrives in shining armor upon a noble steed, shatters my chains, slays the demon, and carries me off into the sunset, isn't it?" She asked, finally paying me some manner of attention. "No. Real world. That kind of crap doesn't happen, unless it's Discord. He's the only one cheesy enough to pull something like that off." Celestia sighs again. "Eventually, The Herald grew bored of his prize and cast me aside in favor of another. I was left at the gates of his castle, shaved bare, bloody, beaten, and fueled by a dark, dark rage. By that point I belonged fully to him, body and soul, and the thought that my beloved master had no more need for me drove me to the blackest pits of the universe and to powers so old even the gods had forgotten them. That of Hate, Jealousy, Rage, and Blood." She almost seemed to shiver at the thought. "With the darkest of magics coursing through my veins, I returned to his palace. The walls shattered beneath my onslaught, the guards buckled beneath my might and were cast aside, and I tore his newest concubine's soul to bloody shreds in my fury. But I wasn't done, not by far. I battled with the Herald atop the Towers of Midnight, and I nearly fell once more. But he erred, he had not counted upon my wielding of powers as dark as his own, and eventually...he lost." I could feel a small inkling of rage bubbling inside her, her mane standing out straight and spiky, her eyes and facial features full of wrath, her coat graying slightly, and the air itself permeated with a hatred so strong you could feel it like it was a tangible object, small sparks on her skin, not quite arcing. I nearly jumped out of my feathers when I saw this, but she regained control, and returned to normal, taking a few deep gasps of air to once more regain her composure after her mane fell flat and sweat appeared on her brow. "I cast him down," She continued her story, "down into the deepest pits of the earth and wrapped him there in chains forged in the heart of a dying star until the End Times. There he remains still, a fragment of his former self, condemned to an eternity of nothing but pain and thoughts of revenge. Do you know why I am telling you this, Griffin? No matter, I will tell you." She took another deep breath. "I know what it's like, to run off of rage and hate, to turn all the wrongs done to you into strength. I KNOW the kind of power it gives, the addiction, the beauty of seeing all the horrors inflicted upon you done a thousandfold to your enemies." She paused. "And I know what it will do to you if you reach the end of your path." "And that is?" "You will die, Griffin. You will die alone, all your friends slain and buried with only the tears you cannot shed to remember them. I will not tell you what choices to make, I will not command you to cease, and I will not stop you if you choose to walk this path. I can offer you only the wisdom of one who has walked this path before you. Let go of your anger, let go of your hate, or you will never know peace." I sat and looked at her for a second, thinking very carefully before I spoke. "Do you think I like being the way I am? Of course not, I hate it. But that doesn't change the fact that this is me. If I let go of my hate, will there be anything left? Or, will I be an empty shell? This anger is a part of who I am, so large a piece of me that if it vanishes, I really WILL die. And I don't mean metaphorically. I let go of a small portion of it in that club, NeckTie's, and I collapsed once I got outside." At this, she seemed genuinely concerned, as well as sorrowful and began pondering something. What, I do not know. "Besides. That won't happen. It only happens if you let your hate control you, not the other way around." She got up, walked in front of me, and looked straight into my eyes. "Hate is a drug, Griffin. There is no control." "If hate is a drug, then currently, it's my prescription. My medication. I know all this already. I know I need to let go of my hate, to not let it poison me, but I don't know how. By this point, it's all I know. I've never been without, and, until I've done what I need to do, I can't let it go." I let out a breath, then took another as our eyes remained locked in a what looked like to any who couldn't hear us to be a contest of wills between a goddess and a madman. "And what of the end?" She asks. I begin laughing. I laugh, and I laugh, and I laugh, until a slight amount of fear makes itself present in even her eyes. I stand, and push my beak right up against her muzzle to stare straight in her pupils. "You're telling me I'll die all alone? That happened YEARS ago. Only since coming here have I started to live again. Hate may be a drug, and I might not be able to control it on my own, but that's why I have my family. We all have our own darkness, but so long as we stick together, we can pull each other back from the brink. Blood is thicker than water, but fire is stronger than steel. So long as we keep each other in check, none of our embers will turn into an inferno. For every time I have lashed out in anger, NOT ONCE has it been at those I care about, and it NEVER will." And with that, I collapse on the deck, splayed out. Just being in Celestia's presence during her relapse, combined with still being on the mend, and tired after the concert was just too much. I was still conscious, but I lay on my side and watch the sun princess flick a tear out of her eye as she stood. Celestia turns away and walks to the railing of the deck, spreading her wings. "There are greater powers to call upon than those of the Dark Side, young Padawan. One of them is standing behind you." I would have laughed at the Star Wars reference, if it hadn't been so fitting, and I hadn't been so damn tired. As for standing behind me, Gilda, Nadene, and Knightmare were there. They never actually went inside, they were spying the whole time. I'm not sure how I missed that. "Hey! Celestia!" She turns her head back as she prepares to fly off into the night, and looks at me laying prone on the deck, struggling to lift my head. "Once this is all over, once I don't need my hate anymore......... do you think you could......um..... do you think you could....... help?....... me?" Her eyes, once full of worry, suddenly become warm and motherly, and she smiles, "I would be honored." The changeling comes closer and looks at me with an unreadable expression. "I'd gladly help if I can." He then takes his position next to the princess, and the pair fly off back to the castle. "Well, I'm.... tired. Coming to bed Gilda?" Gilda nods, and supports me as we go to our bedroom. I lay on the bed, asleep before I hit the mattress. I feel a claw rubbing my head and a soft voice whisper. "Shh, it's okay....." And that night, I dreampt. Not the pleasant dream I've been having of late, but dreams of misery and pain. Dreams of darkness, and of blood.