Perfect Rose had no idea history class could actually be interesting.
The now six-year-old found herself rather entranced by the familiar sight of a griffon on the board, only this griffon was a colt! Weird! King Grover was his name, or at least that’s what Caring Hoof claimed. But that was a super long time ago so, like, he was super dead by now. Or maybe he was immortal! Like Fluffy!
Oh yeah, Fluffy was immortal now. She decided this about a week before.
But there were a lot of lessons that Rose found more enjoyable than she did a couple of years ago, maybe her mind was actually developing both in function and in tolerance to sitting still for more than five minutes. Mathematics was still the absolute worst, numbers and symbols that made the entire class’ head spin. Though her parents insisted that it was important because they worked with money and stuff. She wasn’t sure why. Adults had loads of money. Why did they need to count so much?
Science was interesting, though. If still boring and number-y at times. She liked seeing space, learning how apparently the planet once revolved around the sun by itself. Who would have thought! She wasn’t sure why the world would want to be going around and around in circles all the time, it made Rose very dizzy when she tried doing it. But now the princesses did it for the planet because they’re nice like that. Apparently, ponies started doing it because of a cata- catacly- catu-
A bad thing happened! A very bad thing that Fluffy would have told off the bad thing for doing those bad things. Because it was a bad thing!
Caring Hoof said so.
Oh, but this class was also fun to listen to sometimes. Like, the specific thing that the pretty teacher was talking about was how Equestria talks to other nations and tries to be friends, but not everypony wants to be friends and Rose found herself wondering why because that’s just mean.
Oh, and the Grover guy! He was like her, a griffon and stuff, but a colt! Or… stallion? What was the boy word for a griffon? Eh, she didn’t really know. But he was anyway, and that was cool because she’d never seen one before! She’d seen a couple of drawings in books before, but they’d been girls like her. Ponies seemed to draw a lot more fillies than colts in books and stuff.
So this was new! He looked kinda like her, his feathers all black and stuff. But he wore a crown like a princess’ and looked like someone had stolen his favourite toy during break time. She hated it when that happened, and Fluffy didn’t like being foalnapped, either!
But yeah, he looked mad. Griffons weren’t usually mad, were they?
“King Grover ruled over the griffons many years ago, long before even I was born,” Caring Hoof told the children. “Back then, a place called Griffonstone was the centre of the Empire. He kept all of his treasure there, something that made him envied by all the other creatures.”
“Treasure! Now we’re talking!” Bright Spark loudly interrupted.
“Ahem, please raise your hoof if you have a… comment, please,” the teacher gently chided.
“Oh. Sorry.”
Sundance’s hoof dutifully hit the sky.
“Yes, Sundance?”
“What does, um, ‘envied’ mean?”
“Envy, it means that others were jealous,” she helpfully clarified. “So one day, an Arimaspi thief broke into the castle and attempted to steal the most prized item in his collection. The griffons chased the thief, but he fell into a deep chasm and was lost with the treasure. Soon after, Griffonstone was abandoned by the royal family and the capital moved. Since then, the city has become… a little less glamorous than it was under Grover’s care.”
Another colt’s hoof went into the air.
“Yes?”
“Did the bad thief guy die?”
Caring Hoof blinked. “I… do not believe we should concern ourselves with such things. But since then, the griffons have become suspicious of outsiders. So, unlike the hippogriffs of Mount Aris, we sadly aren’t friends with the griffons in the same way.”
Not friends? But she had plenty of pony friends! This was dumb and didn’t make sense.
Wishing for answers to this mystery, she raised a claw into the air.
“Yes, Rose?”
“But I’m a griffon. And I love ponies! Ponies are awesome. Dad’s a pony!”
Caring Hoof chuckled. “And we are very lucky to have you, dear. Of course, there are some griffons who would proudly call themselves Equestrian, much like yourself. But like ponies, not all griffons are alike, and those in the Empire are… touchy.”
“Oh… I wanna meet more friend griffons!”
She gave the young girl a sympathetic smile. “Sadly, you won’t find any besides yourself in Canterlot, but I’m sure you’ve talked long and hard with your parents about that. But if you ever visit a city like… Baltimare! You should be able to find a few non-ponies amidst the bustling crowds.”
Baltimare, huh? She had new ideas for an adventure. Too bad she couldn’t wander off by herself or her parents would be upset with her, and that was a very bad thing indeed. But she could imagine. Maybe when she was big like the tall ponies!
Caring Hoof cleared her throat, turning a page in a book she was holding in her magic. “Now, that is the basic history of the Griffon Empire. We shall go into further depth at a later, date, but for the moment, let’s move on to the Abyssinians…”
Perfect Rose’s heard the teacher’s voice gradually fade into the background as her thoughts strayed back to Grover.
‘So, if they only became grumpy after the treasure was stolen, then they were friends with ponies before that?’
Who were those past griffons, she wondered? Actually, now that she thought about it, there was so much of her own history she didn’t know at all. She’d been curious ever since she had realised her true nature, of course. And she’d asked a couple of questions a few times, that’s how she saw the girl griffon drawings. They don’t lay eggs like birds do, apparently. How were those eggs made in birds? How were non-egged griffons like herself made? She would need to ask her parents at a later date.
But what about their actual history? She knew ponies came from the west, how they ran from the snow and founded Equestria. There was a Queen first, then Princess Celestia took over after a jerk called Discord messed things up. But where were her kind during all of that?
“Rose, you’re not listening to Miss Caring Hoof!” Sundance scolded in a whisper. “You should! We’re meant to learn this stuff!”
“I want to go back to the treasure,” Bright Spark complained. “Or talk more about the magical creatures. That’s cool.”
“Sparky! Shush!” she shot back. “You wanted to stick with this school, so you should listen!”
“Hey, I skipped the test for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns cos I wanted to stick with you guys!” he retorted. “You’re welcome!”
“You want to be a mage, right?”
“Wizard.”
“Same thing. You shouldn’t have-”
“I think we should go to the library,” Perfect Rose suddenly announced, cutting their conversation short.
Her friends gave her an incredulous look. Bright Spark being particularly deadpan. “Really? You?”
“I wanna know more about griffons kings. And definitely queens! There has got to be some awesome queens.”
“Well, we’ll need to ask our parents if we can go. You think Time Catcher can take us again?” Sundance asked.
“He always likes to take me places!” Rose confirmed. “Fluffy and I need to learn all the things about griffons! I mean, I am one, and I don’t know a lot of things. And that’s probably not a good thing.”
“Probably,” her friend agreed. “What do you say, Bright Spark? I’m sure they have spell books~.”
He blinked. “I’m in.”
Perfect Rose beamed. This was going to be great!
That evening…
The young griffon carefully made her way down the stairs, Fluffy predictably on her back, poking her beak through the gaps in the railing as she kept an eye out for her parents. She had yet to gain the courage to ask them about the library trip she’d talked about with her friends, childishly afraid that there was an off chance that they might say no. Because if they did, that would really suck. Like, really suck. Smaller griffons were doing flips in her stomach at the thought.
She was actually excited to go to a library. And not just the section with the fun picture books, but the wordy learning section. She felt like Sundance was rubbing off on her and she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
But they wouldn’t say no. Why would they? She just had to be a big girl and ask them like a brave pon- griffon. Be like those queens that definitely existed! Queen griffon! Yay!
Her eagle eyes turned to stare at the living room door as it opened a crack, a shadow being seen inside as it seemed to hesitate and return inside. She had been hearing voices inside while she had been waiting and stewing in her own thoughts. Actually, now that she really considered it, her parents had been acting a little odd.
Now that their voices were coming in a little clearing through the crack, maybe she could find out why.
“-poor dears, I hope Granny Smith is able to comfort them at least a little,” Ebony said sadly to her husband.
“I’m not sure she can do much. Imagine if it were Perfect Rose,” Cash replied.
They were talking about her now? And Granny Smith… wasn’t that one of the apple ponies they worked with?
“And Apple Bloom, she’s only one. She won’t even remember her parents,” Cash lamented. “I can’t even imagine, can you? Who knows what it will be like for her, not knowing her birth parents?”
“It’s not so different from our own child, really…” Ebony Rose pointed out. “At least for her, she will know her siblings and grandmother. Plus the rest of the Apple clan. But… Applejack and Big Mac? They’re the ones I particularly feel for. Just knowing what they must be feeling now that Buttercup and Bright Mac are gone.”
Perfect Rose frowned. The Apples were gone? Gone were? Did they move or something? But why would they leave their kids behind? How odd.
“How does an accident like that even happen?” her mother then wondered aloud. “For both of them to…”
“Well, little can be done now but give our good wishes. We’ll keep an eye on the family. Business will take a hit too while they recover,” Cash noted. “We’ll have some disgruntled partners. But hopefully, they’ll understand that a farm cannot run when it’s owners are… Yeah.”
“Can I help you, young madame?”
Rose practically jumped out of both her coat and feathers at the sound of Time Catcher’s voice behind her, the child jumping into the air with a screech with her wings popping out in alarm. Their sudden beats almost took her into the ceiling before she took control of her flight, Fluffy becoming dislodged and falling towards the floor before the butler lit his horn and catching the doll.
“Do take care with your flight,” he warned. “Lest there be any more broken china.”
“Not my fault!” It was one time! Maybe two. Three. Ba! “They jumped in the way!”
“I’m sure,” he said doubtfully as Rose landed at the bottom of the stairs and he followed, passing the child’s companion back over upon reaching the girl. “Now, mind explaining why you’re eavesdropping on your parents?”
She scuffed the ground. “Wasn’t eavesdropping… I just want to ask them something important.”
“Ask us what?” Cash asked as both he and Ebony exited the living room, undoubtedly drawn in by the commotion in the hall.
“Are you okay, honey?” Ebony asked, sitting down beside her adopted daughter.
“Uh, yeah… I just…” Her beak gaped a moment, attempting to find the will to speak. “Um… Can Time Catcher take my friends and I to the library soon… I want to find griffon queens.”
Cash snorted. “Griffon queens you say? Heh. I don’t see why not, it might do you and your friends some good to do some studying.”
She immediately lit up. “You mean it!?”
“I could come with you myself if you want, show everypony just how much I love my precious little filly at the top of my voice…”
“Daaad,” Rose whined. “Don’t embarrass me!”
“Someday you will appreciate that it’s my job as your father.”
“Cash, knock it off,” Ebony chided, albeit with a laugh. “Time Catcher, would you be willing to go Saturday?”
The stallion nodded. “Of course. I take it during your meeting?”
“Meeting?” the child questioned. “What’s going on?”
Ebony bit her lip. “It… doesn’t matter. We just need to talk some business, that’s all. A lot is happening with Sweet Apple Acres lately.”
“Because those two ponies went somewhere?”
Her parents frowned, looking up questioningly at Time Catcher.
“I do believe she caught a brief word or two about it,” he admitted. “Albeit, I do not believe she grasps the full situation.”
“You are saying weird things!” the griffon protested. “Stop it.”
“Perfect Rose,” Ebony addressed sternly. “Be nice. There is a lot going on that you’re too young to understand, okay? So please be patient.”
Rose glanced downwards dejectedly. “Okay… Sorry…”
“It’s okay. I promise we’ll tell you one day,” she promised in turn. “So, Saturday?”
She brightened again. “Yes! I want to know all the things about me!”
“Hey, just remember that some dusty tomes don’t mean anything about you as a person,” Cash pointed out. “You’re just you?”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“Ah, forget it. Kids…”
Ebony rolled her eyes. “Time Catcher, would you please finalise dinner. I do believe it’s high time we sat down to eat.”
“Oh! Yes!” Perfect Rose enthusiastically agreed. “Fluffy wants burgers!”
“Not today I’m afraid,” the butler replied, much to her immense disappointment. “But I’m sure you will survive. Do you wish to watch?”
“Okay!”
Time Catcher smiled, turning to lead the way as the griffon fell into step behind him. They moved a short distance down the hall, Rose’s parents watching them go with relieved expressions. But then, Perfect Rose had a thought…
There was one thing she had yet to ask them. It had struck her earlier, after all. A strange question that had popped up in her head when thinking about eggs, and it returned to the forefront of her mind with renewed vigour. It would be a shame not to use now to find some answer to it.
She unfurled her wings, jumping into the air and turning around. The sudden ability to stare at her parents at eye level added a greater weight to the immense question she would now ask, ready to shatter any semblance of peace in the household.
“Mum, Dad…” she started, the universe holding its breath. “How are eggs and foals made?”
Her parents blinked.
“Oh no.”