//------------------------------// // 1) Prologue // Story: My Little Pony: The Griff Chronicles // by MLPFollower //------------------------------// Continuing off where The Last Problem ends Twilight and her friends see Luster off as she goes to hang out with the friends she has made in Ponyville, and as the main characters stand in front of the setting sun, the storybook that opened in the series' first episode finally closes. This was it. This was the end of Equestria's adventures. There would be no more lessons of friendship nor any more challenges and adventures left to tell. It is safe to say that this is finally THE END. "HOLD THE BUS!!!" OR NOT! "You guys thought this was the end? Nah! We’re just getting started!" The storybook reopens back to the Council of Friendship standing in front of the sunset, unaware of a fast-falling object approaching behind them. "Well guys, looks like the last problem has been solved," Princess Twilight commented as she watched her apprentice go off with her newfound acquaintances. "Yepper-rooney!" Pinkie agreed. "And this time, I’m confident nothing can go-" Suddenly, the Council of Friendship hears a hollering noise and turns around, only for their eyes to widen as a falling object sped towards the center of Ponyville Town Square! "Uh, what was that?" Spike asked in concern. The falling object crash landed in Ponyville, erupting in a humongous mushroom cloud! As it dissipated, a weak-sounding “ow” could be heard from crater that had been made by the mysterious object's less then graceful landing. "C’mon guys," Rainbow Dash said, "we gotta go see what the hay we’re dealing with! Princess Twilight nodded before teleporting herself and her friends to the crash site, where a crowd of onlookers gathered around and stared at the crater as well. A groan is heard as the Council of Friendship looked into the crater and discovered a Griffon in the middle of it. This Griffon was actually smaller than the ones they're used to; the beak was more elongated, there were visible catlike ears, and it had a more bipedal gait to its body. "Is that a Griffon?" Applejack questioned. "It’s not like any Griffon I’ve encountered before." Fluttershy commented. The Griffon opens its eyes and shakes its head before glancing at the crowd above. It then spoke in an annoyed young boy’s voice, "Why don’t you take a picture? It’ll last longer!" Twilight pulls the Griffon out of the crater with her magic and sets him down, where he proceeded to brush himself off of dust and debris. "Thanks," the Griffon said before he looks around. "Where am I?" "You’re in Ponyville. I’m Princess Twilight Sparkle, ruler of Equestria," Princess Twilight explained as she introduced herself before asking the Griffon, "Who are you?" "My name is Griffelonious von Masterton III," the Griffon introduced himself to them, "and I’m on a mission… to save the world from evil." He briefly looks around again before looking back at the Council of Friendship. "Does anyone know where the nearest barista is?" With this newcomer in Equestria, Twilight and her friends will discover later on that this event is the start of a new age in Equestria's history books, and they prayed that they were ready for it. Suddenly, the screen pauses on Griff facing the Council of Friendship with a few spectators watching and Griff's voice starts talking over. "That's me, by the way. The very same Griffon who crashed into Ponyville and made a scene of myself. You're probably wondering, 'I thought the story of My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic was over?' Well, you're technically right. However, this story won't be about them anymore. Nope! This time, the story will focus on me and how I rose to become the newest defender of Equestria and the Magic of Friendship! BUT! Before I can tell you that story, you'll need to know how and why I came to Equestria in the first place." A talon with black claws holding a remote control of some sorts appears in front of the paused screen. "Please remain seated while the camera is in motion as we turn our attention to the lands West of Equestria." The talon then pressed a button that "rewinded" all the way back to the start of the episode/finale, only to continue when the screen started to exit out of Canterlot, over Ponyville, zooming over and across all of Equestria's establishments before crossing the ocean on the West side of the world. Different sea creatures jumped out of the ocean and dove back in while a few flying creatures passed over the waves. The camera angled 180 degrees to focus on what appeared to be distant islands in the distance. The camera finally stopped at a dark, uniquely-made, creepy-looking castle that was situated on a rock. Waves crashed against it as lightning bolts appeared in the background, giving the castle a more terrifying feel. What made the castle unique was that it wasn't just made of stone and wood. It also had something that most Equestrians would see as unnatural: ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY, akin to the stuff you see in a sci-fi movie. "It all started on a dark and stormy night..." Griff began in a spooky and ominous tone of voice before he begins to chuckle. "Hehehe, I'm just messing with you guys! The castle comes much later." As he says that, the camera shifts focus to a bigger, more sunny-looking island in the distance that had a big volcano in the middle of it; forests of trees covering the entire base of it. The camera starts to zoom in to the island, passing over the sea and entering the forest, passing by the different plants and animals that lived there before it comes to a medium-sized village/town in a clearing in the forest. "THIS is where our story begins! Welcome to Gabbagon Island, viewers! A mystical place of beauty and wonder... and a place that's forgotten to have existed by the rest of the world, apparently," he said the last part somberly before he shakes off the sadness. "But hey, I guess that's a good thing! That means the inhabitants of the island won't have to face heckling and bothersome journalists when they're trying to go about their day. Plus, we get to go about our lives and businesses with no fear of having to be the predator or the prey. We live in perfect harmony with nature. We know how our world works, and we're at peace with that, even if some of you Equestrians may think otherwise." The camera continues to focus on the inhabitants of the village. The strange thing about them was that most of them happen to be Griffons, albeit smaller and more bipedal than the ones on mainland Equestria and Griffonstone. "And I know what you're thinking. Yep, the village is mostly consisted of Griffons, but not the ones you're used to seeing. See, we're a kind of Griffon that deviated from the rest of the others when we started to colonize the West thousands of years ago. You could say we 'evolved' into a subspecies," Griff explained as the camera comes to find a small, two-story hut with a chimney a bit further away from the village. "That's where I live. I usually start the morning with my usual routines, head down to the village to greet the villagers, grab supplies for myself, see what the biggest hit is, you know, normal things. Then, I head back home ready to do it all again tomorrow. But on this seemingly ordinary day, this is when my life would never be the same again.... EVER. Folks, what you're about to see is gonna be so epic, you'll question if it was legitimate or fictionalized or even both! THIS. IS. MY. TALE." TO BE CONTINUED...