//------------------------------// // 27 A not so boring dinner // Story: Crushed: The Beginnings // by Silent Wing //------------------------------// We are slowly approaching the impressive mountain fortress of Griffonston and I gaze in awe at the approaching city for some time until I hear the sound of aproaching hooves. “You know, if you want to hide from the mares, this isn’t the best place for that Wingy.” Dad says only a few moments later. “Why do you think I have to hide from them?” I ask in reply, turning my attention to the pony now standing directly at my side. “I haven’t pranked any of them within the last two weeks.” “So it wasn’t you who put itching powder on Princess Celestia’s throne last Friday, only moments before she arrived for day-court?” Dad asks me with a raised eyebrow, not believing me for a second. “I don’t know what you are talking about.” I reply instantly, only half-heartedly trying to deny my involvement in this particular prank. True, I may not have done what he said, but distracting everypony so that nopony notices Dusty was still a vital part of the plan. “Good, I would have been very disappointed otherwise.” He responds mockingly upset, before he leads me to the room Princess Celestia, Princess Cadence, and Rumble share. Once there he knocks at their door and after a short wait the door swings open. Not even a second has passed since the door opened when a cyan blur races past us.  “She knows that this is futile, right Flitter?” I look after the fleeing form of mama D, not expecting her to be scared of a piece of fabric. Dad asks, his gaze directed to where the usually very brave pegasus ran off “Yes, but has that ever stopped her?” mommy asks in return before giving chase and I can only agree. It’s unimportant if it’s Rarity, Princess Cadence, Princess Celestia, or somepony else, she always bolts when somepony wants her to wear something that she thinks is too girly. Like for example that pink dress Princess Cadence is holding in her magic. “Dad said that you wanted to see me?” I ask the two Princess currently occupying the room, getting their full attention. “Yes, you know that we will be arriving in Griffinstone soon?” Princess Cadence reminds me of the obvious. “Let me guess, you want to make sure that I look good so I don’t accidentally  offend our hosts?” I ask the pink alicorn who nods in return, proving my theory about what is about to happen now. “So, what do you have in mind?” Cadence just motions for me to follow her, leading me through a door and on to a pillow before she begins to work on my hooves. “What color do you want them to be?” “As long as it isn’t pink, I don’t care.” As soon as the last word left my muzzle, I know that I just made a grave mistake. “So pink it is.” she replies with a grin on her face before she begins to apply hoof polish in exactly that color. I really should have seen this coming. “So, what else have you planned for me?” I want to know so that I am not too shocked later, should there be anything I don’t like. “Only to put you into a really cute dress and maybe adding matching bows to your mane on and tail.”  “Don’t you think I am already cute enough?” I reply annoyed, not liking the idea of a tail-bow at all. “Wingy, a filly can never be too cute.”  Cadence replies shocked about what I just asked and I can only hope that I didn’t give her any ideas. “And if you think that you are already cute enough, I WILL prove you wrong as soon as we are back in Canterlot.” I scream inwardly, “that I just should have kept my muzzle shut,” dreading what she could be up to. From now on, I let her do what she wants in silence, unwilling to make any more failures like this. “So ready to see your new dress?” She asks me excitedly and I can only hope that it isn’t as bad as I fear. “Yes,” I reply unsure what to expect but my fear of a frilly pink monstrosity is killed the moment she levitates a simple light green dress in front of me. “Wow, where did you get this?” I ask stunned by the sight in front of me not expecting anything I would actually like. “I think Coco Pommel made it, but to be sure you should ask your mother.” She replies while helping me into the dress. That doesn't take long, soon after that, I feel her doing something with my mane before levitating a mirror and allowing me to take a look at myself. To say that I liked what I saw would be an understatement, although I am not too happy about the fact that she changed my favorite bow to the same color as the dress, but it is fine for the moment After we arrived in Griffinstone, all of us had been introduced to King Gustav and Queen Gertrude and their son Georg, who were quite surprised by the number of visiting ponies. We were led into a large dining hall with a few Griffons already present. To my surprise, mama D gasped in shock when she recognized one of them and directly turned her gaze away. I however made sure to remember the Griffon so I can talk to her later, curious why she had reacted like that. Only around ten minutes passed when Queen Gertrude told us that dinner will be served shortly and that everyone should take a seat. When I realized that there was no pre-arranged seating order, I made sure to sit directly next to the Griffon mama D reacted so badly to.  While she was sitting to my right, I was surprised when Prince George sat down directly to my left. I took a look around and what I saw surprised me once more. Where I expected to see two separate sides, one for ponies and one for Griffons, they were completely mixed. At least the next pony, Princess Cadence, is only a few seats away. Soon after the last guest sat down, servants came out of hidden entrances to make sure that everyone has something to drink, before the entry is served. Even if it was tempting, I declined the offered beer and instead ordered some grape juice. “Hi, who are you,” Prince Georg asks me when I am thinking about how I should approach the obviously sensitive topic with the griffon seated on my other side. “Oh, hello Prince Georg.” I replied surprised that he addressed me at all, since I am probably the least important pony of all the ones present. “Silent Wing, youngest recruit of Princess Luna’s Night Guard.” I said not without a bit of pride in my voice. “Well, recruit Wing, I am curious about your earring. It isn’t every day that you see a pony wearing something like this so openly.” I really should have expected a question like that, when I put this particular earring on after Cadence left me once I was "properly" dressed. At least it isn't her complaining about her ruined work, like Rarity would have done. “Oh, this one? It's just a piece of unicorn horn that I cut off of a royal guard during a match." I reply honestly and immediately feel more than one pair of eyes turning in my direction. "So you defeated a simple recruit and take pride in it, that is something any griffin could do." He replies mockingly, not taking anything of what I just said seriously. "It was actually a sergeant, a former lieutenant, if lieutenant Shining Armor told me the truth. Should you not believe me, you can ask Princess Celestia herself, after all, she used it as an excuse to dishonorably discharge him." He is about to reply, probably planning to call me a liar but gets interrupted as the first dish is served. It is clearly a soup of some kind and I can only wonder what it could be. However, my question gets answered as soon as I move the first spoonful of it to my muzzle. The small pieces of meat are easily visible, making it quite obvious that it’s Gulasch.   Princess Celestia warned us that we would be served meat at some point, and that it’s expected from us to eat at least a part of it, otherwise the Griffons could see it as an insult. Still, after I found out just what kind of soup this is, I ate as much as possible before I stopped under the excuse to save some space for the remaining courses. None of the surrounding Griffons seemed to mind and ask me to continue where I left earlier. I tell them about the fight in as much detail I remember before Prince Georg makes himself known again. “Do you really expect us to believe all this?” “No,” I reply honestly and wait a few moments before I say something that murders the grin on his face. “But Princess Celestia sits just over there, so you can ask her.” He is about to wander off into the direction of Princess Celestia, just as the second dish, a tasty looking arugula salad with tomatoes, fried turkey breast filets and, a balsamic vinaigrette, is served. While the first course was eaten in mostly silence at the table, this time it’s different. Encouraged by all the conversations around me, I try to turn my attention towards the Griffon mama D seems to dislike for some reason, only to be interrupted once more by Prince Georg. “So, how did  a very young recruit like you end up accompanying the Princesses and their son on a trip to Griffinonstone? Was there much bribing involved.” “Because she invited me of course.” I tell him in a deadpan voice. By now I am really beginning to dislike him and what he just implied is something I can’t let stand. “And unlike you, you greedy fool, she cares about more than the size of her bit bag. And before you ask why she would do something like that, you should know that Prince Rumble is actually my Coltfriend.” I add hastily, not allowing him to reply in any way. I think this would shut the arrogant prick up, but sadly, this isn’t the case and things only get worse. “Now you are pulling my back you son of a worthless whore.” He spits right in my face. Immediately I drop my silverware and smash my right hoof into his face, which results in him falling off the bench and landing on his back.  I however don’t give him any chance to recover and am on him only moments after he landed on his back, pressing the hoof that struck him on his throat. “You better apologize now, before…” I let my sentence unfinished, so that I have multiple options available.  Half a minute passes in silence when I grow impatient and slightly increase the pressure on his throat, as to make my point clear. “What is going on here?” King Gustav demands from us, not pleased in the slightest with the happenstance. “Your son making a fool out of himself again, sir.” The Griffon that sat on my right replies, with a stoic look on her face.  “What exactly happened Sergeant Grimfeather?” The king asks in return, not even bothering to check on his son, that I am still pinning to the ground. By now the other ponies  and a few more Griffons had come over to us, all listening attentively to the summary of the events that occurred in the last hour. “So this is a matter of honor.” He replies once Sergeant Grimfeatehr ends the tale, turning around to address Princess Celestia directly. “I am afraid Princess, but there is only one way to solve this. A Duel.” “I was afraid of that,” She replies saddened by the prospect of yet another fight. “However, I don’t see a way to avoid this. But since Wingy and her family were the ones insulted, I expect that she is the one to choose the weapons.” “Of course Princess.” King Gustav replies seriously before turning to me. “So what weapons do you choose?” Before I answer the Kings questions, I ask dad if he brought my armor and my blades with. Much to my mother’ dismays, he admits that he smuggled them on board of the airship, having predicted that I would end up in trouble again and would be in need of good equipment. When he leaves to retrieve everything I fully focus on King Gustav. “While I will be using Wingblades, Prince Georg can use whatever close combat weapon he desires.” “You heard her!” The king shouts towards the young prince, who I released a while ago, causing him to run in a direction that either is his room or the armory. “Someone please inform the kitchen staff that the next course will be delayed a half-hour.” He addresses one of the servants who was serving drinks. Now much calmer after his son left, he changes his orders slightly. “No better make it an hour, after all, we don’t know how long this fight will last. Also, inform mister Bean that I may have found a solution to his problem and that I want  to talk to him.” “Of course, sir.” The servant replies before hurrying off. A few moments later dad comes back with a large chest, and alongside Cadence hurries me over into the next room to change. While Cadence is a great help to quickly get out of the dress without damaging it, dad just hooves me over everything out of the chest so that I can don my Armor, helmet, and the Wingblades. With that done, we return to the dining hall where everyone, including Prince Georg, is already waiting for us. King Gustav then asks if we have all we need, the prince and I confirm this and he announces that we will head to a nearby training field so we can settle the matter properly. I use the short walk to take a good look at the young Prince, inspecting what weapon and armor he chose. He is clad in light leather armor, and while this allows greater maneuverability, it isn’t very thick. Seeing a short sword strapped to his side doesn’t really come as a surprise. Although it is a short-range weapon, it does allow for quick and decisive strikes. Shortly after I began to think about a possible strategy to defeat my opponent we reached a training ground, similar to those of the Royal and Night Guard. Around fifty ironclad Griffons were training hoof, or in that situation, talon combat in pairs before King Gustav ordered them out of the ring. Prince Georg, King Gustav, and I walked into the middle of the ring, and he looked around to make sure he got everyone's attention. “Normally, disarming your opponent would be enough to gain victory, this isn’t the case for obvious reasons. This time, you have to either knock your opponent out, force him to surrender or force him to step out of the Ring.” He pauses for a moment, gathering his breath before he says something that is directed at the Guards who had been training here a short while ago. “And you lot better pay attention, it isn’t every day you get the chance to see a member of the Equestrian Night Guard fight.” “Sir, what could we possibly learn here? I don’t want to sound insulting, but she is just a young chick, after all.” One of the Guards replies, earning the attention of his King. “This young chick here managed to defeat a member of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard that had served her for over twelve years in single combat. To embarrass the former lieutenant even more, she was only armed with a blunt sword and didn’t wear any kind of Armor during the fight.” Shock now written clearly over the face of every Griffon present, it doesn’t come as a surprise that now every pair of eyes is focusing on me. “You may begin as soon as I leave the ring.” The King says finally before walking over towards Princess Celestia. I wait patiently until the king left and even wait a bit longer, allowing the young Prince to slowly come closer. He is only around two yards away when I quickly rush forward and swing my left wing directly at his head. Taken completely by surprise, he manages just in time to bring his sword in the way, blocking my attack. At least that is what I let him think for a moment, before my helmet strikes him right in the face.  I step back, ignoring the reactions of the onlookers, and allow myself a moment to recover from the headbutt, since even if I am wearing a helmet, it still has consequences.  While I let him advance once more, I notice a small but bleeding cut above his right eye, which is slightly weakening his sight. I avoid the crude swing of his blade by ducking under it before I swing my right wing at his left leg.  With no possible way to block my strike, he is forced to jump back a bit. I am quick to close the gap between us and take advantage of his limited sight when I swing my left wing into his right side. The strike is weakened by his armor, but the blade still manages to draw a bit of blood.  I however take too long to admire my small victory, and while I still see the strike directed at my right side coming, I notice it too late to block it. With a loud “CLANK” his sword slams into my side, but I was saved from most of the damaged by my armor.  I cursed inwardly at my dumb mistake before I pushing it into the deepest part of my mind, telling myself that I should focus on the here and now. His next strike came once more from my right. I saw it coming early and had enough time to raise my wing and block his sword with the attached blade. However much to both of our surprise, his sword broke just over the hilt. While the young prince stares stunned at the remains of his sword, I take full advantage of the situation. Grinning I quickly spin and buck him right in his chest, flinging him backward and right into one of the armored guards with a crash. From the unexpected impact with the prince, the Guard is driven back, allowing Prince Georg to slide out of the ring, securing my victory. Stunned silence dominates the training field and when I look around everyone looks at me in shock and utter disbelief. However, what happens next is the total opposite of what I expected.  I thought they would be mad at me for defeating him, furious even, but this isn't the case. Instead, every Griffon, except King Gustav and Queen Gertrude, form ranks and bowing before me in respect deliver a griffon phrase that I don't understand. “Can someone please take a look at Prince Georg?” I ask the Griffons once they finished whatever they just did.  “Of course Princess, I make sure your fiancé is doing well.” One of the Guards replies much to my shock, before walking towards the unconscious form of the young griffon. “Why do I have the feeling that you forgot to mention something important when you had been teaching us about Griffon costumes?” I ask the largest alicorn in the group, once I recovered from the shock of being called princess, only to get a reaction out of her, none of us mortals could ever have thought of. Princess Celestia, one of the immortal diarches of Equestria, actually facehooves. “Of all the possible things I could forget, it just had to be this one.”