The air of relief was palpable all across the shipdeck, but nobody wanted to be the one to speak first. Eventually, it was Celestia herself who took the initiative. "Am I correct in assuming this is an airship, and you flew across the border from the north?"
Saffron held her bow. "That we did, Your Majesty."
Celestia nodded, looking at everyone equally. "And you knew in advance about the magical nature of these mountains that prevents any from crossing."
Amber kept her ears respectfully down. "If they stop ponies, they didn't this time."
"Indeed." Celestia nodded again. "When notification of the failure arrived in Canterlot, I came as soon as I could. These mountains are a vital part of the world, and their deterioration is most alarming... especially in that they are being crossed so soon. Tell me, why did you come, and are others likely to follow?"
Everyone glanced at each other, most of the ponies cowed by Celestia's gigantic presence. "We are refugees, as you guessed," Grenada eventually said, electing herself to speak up. "You know what happened in the Empire, then."
"I have flown there and assessed the situation," Celestia replied. "The continent recently suffered a large-scale invasion and is entirely without power, but their military has largely restored order and safety to most of the urban areas. So I can afford to tend to my own affairs for the time being." Her eyes scanned the group again. "How likely are others to follow you?"
"...We cannot say," Grenada answered. "Our ship is special, and the Empire lacks a fleet of their own. Ironridge is also grounded for the time being. We did not tell anyone the way was clear."
Celestia looked contemplative for a moment, standing in her shining armor. "None of you are at ease. My little ponies, please. I have much to ask you, but tell me what you require first as a sign of goodwill."
Felicity loudly cleared her throat. "Tell us who these children of the Forest King are, and why you seem so at odds with them, if we may ask?"
Celestia sighed. "A group of griffons who identify themselves by color. From the looks in your eyes, you have already spoken to them at length, haven't you?"
Slipstream mutely nodded.
"So what do you have against each other?" Harshwater frowned. "We're trying to stay safe and be left alone, and don't really want to be caught in a quarrel, you know?"
"I see," Celestia said, standing still. "Those griffons are the descendants of the last monarch to hold power in Griffonstone. Griffonstone has always existed in the shadow of the Empire ever since the creation of the Aldenfold, when some griffons swore loyalty to Equestria and chose to live south of the border. They held themselves together with nationalism and pride, aggressively denying their neighbors' power while building their society around an artifact known as the Idol of Boreas. But some time ago, a monster known as Arimaspi stole the idol and, after a battle with the last king, fell along with the idol into the Abysmal Abyss, a deadly canyon to the east of here. The royal line has lived in an enclave in the forest ever since, a self-imposed exile in which they lament the fall of their country and bitterly long for the ideals they once had. Today, Griffonstone is a ruined kingdom, far beyond the reach of any pride in an artifact to hold them together. Every griffon who wished to has moved elsewhere, toward the center of the world."
Slipstream's ears fell. "And you're somehow to blame for that?"
Celestia shook her head. "Arimaspi likely perished in his fall into the abyss, but he had a brood who survived him, living in these hills. The royal line swore vengeance, and for some time they waged war, flying out from their fortress stronghold to battle them, kin against kin. But Arimaspi's kind cannot fly, and the griffons had an insurmountable advantage in that they could retreat across the abyss to their hideout safe on the other side. Year by year, they drove them back, until they pushed the beasts into the mountains where my soldiers guard the pass. The monsters became a severe peril to the chosen travelers, and even to my border guard themselves. My ponies had no choice but to fight back, and were able to capture the beasts and seal them away. Ever since that day, the lands have been safe from Arimaspi's descendants, but the royal line believed we had robbed them of their rightful vengeance and began striking at us instead."
Felicity sighed. "I suppose simply hoofing the beasts over to them would be too much to ask for, then? If they're already captive, the griffons could be allowed their executions..."
"The children do not wish for the other side's annihilation," Celestia softly replied. "What was at first a crusade slowly evolved from a war to a hunt. They do not want them dead. They want them freed, so they can continue to harry them until the day the throne is restored. Before we were forced to seal them, they hunted the old and spared the young, targeting only the strongest and keeping the beasts weak."
"...Well, that explains a lot." Harshwater sat back with a thump.
"I guess that's who escaped that they ran off to go hunt," Slipstream said with a shrug.
Amber bit her lip. "Almost makes me feel sorry for the monsters."
"They are far from innocent, my little pony," Celestia answered firmly. "One wrong cannot erase another just as much as two cannot make a right. The only thing I can do is step between both sides and distract their ire from each other, and you have seen how that ends. Now. Have I helped to put you at ease?"
Several ponies nodded, but others stayed wary.
"I see." Celestia nodded again. "Tell me what you still fear. Is it your position here, south of the border where you do not belong?"
Jamjars poked her eyes out from the bridge door, her pupils reflecting Celestia's light like a cat in the darkness. "Depends. Are you going to send us back?"
Celestia hesitated. "I would like to have that conversation later. Writs of Harmonic Sanction are mine to bestow, and depending on your circumstances, I may be willing to make you a deal even if you lack enough on your own. But rest assured that under no circumstances will I put you in harm's way. You have clearly been through a great ordeal already."
Saffron lifted her cast and chuckled weakly. "It's that obvious, huh?"
Celestia fixed her eyes on the cast. "Did you obtain these injuries from the children of the Forest King, or were they from your time in the Empire?"
"The latter." Amber's eyes shifted to the door. "Just saying, but if you had medical supplies..."
"You have more injured below." Celestia nodded, and her horn relit. "Bring them to me. I will do what I can, and hope you respond in good faith."
Her brilliant-yellow aura congealed around the cast, deeper and richer than the auras of most unicorns, and Saffron shivered hard, her leg held out. "That's warm! Are you...?"
"Stimulating your body's natural healing abilities," Celestia replied. "You will still need days of rest for it to work, but will heal more naturally and completely than many common magical treatments. Provided you have no injuries that would not heal on their own given time, this is the best you can receive."
Amber hugged Valey closer. "I don't suppose you're good at healing more magical injuries, are you?"
Celestia's eyes passed between Valey's body and Felicity. "You have types of ponies among your party I would not have expected out of the present-day Empire, I see. If you wish for me to help here, I think it would be best if we moved on to my questions for you."