//------------------------------// // Student Six get invited to a wedding // Story: Student Six against the Imperium // by Alank2 //------------------------------// With the new semester starting at the School of Friendship, everyone was full of energy and happy to see their friends again. Especially one group of six students who were happily enjoying their time together once more. They all had amazing adventures over the summer. Some were sad, others scary, and some actually quite funny. But in the end, they all prevailed and helped many different creatures. For now, however, they were back to just being "normal" students - as normal as one could be in a School of Friendship, of course. Their teachers were always able to surprise them with valuable lessons and friendship problems to solve, and it was never boring there. This day, however, would prove to be very unusual even for the School. While Princess Twilight was no longer a full-time teacher, she still taught some classes on special occasions, and this was definitely one of them. Truth be told, Twilight was quite ecstatic about it. "Alright, everycreature," she welcomed her students, smiling. While most of them paid attention to her words, all of them were looking at a second adult in the room with curiosity. "We have a special guest with us today. She arrived from a faraway place, so please give a warm welcome to Princess Lycklig, Lady of Knäktberg, from Vedina." The griffon looked at the students with some tempered curiosity. She had pure white fur, tastefully accented by the large red hat she was wearing. She also had a matching red scarf with white dots on it. Her beak was dark grey, almost black; the same color as a small ribbon she had on her hat. It was obvious to everyone that she paid a lot of attention to her appearance, reminding many students of Professor Rarity. "The Princess will be visiting our school for the next few days. Please, everycreature, make sure not to overwhelm her with random questions and show her our hospitality. She has generously agreed to answer a few questions now, but please keep in mind that she is also tired after a long journey." Twilight stepped aside, allowing the griffonian Princess to take her place in front of the students. Already, hooves and other limbs were rising. Lycklig pointed at one of them. "Yes?" "Are you a ruler of Vedina?" a pony asked. "No, I am not," She answered, amused by the question. "King Gustav IV Wingstrom is our ruler, and I have little blood relation to him." "How do you like Equestria?" another pony asked curiously. "It is definitely different than my homeland," the Princess diplomatically answered. "But I must say, your trains are much more comfortable to travel in. The journey here from Fillydelphia was truly enjoyable." "What is Vedina like?" another student asked. "It is a land of chivalrous knights and home to more knightly orders than any other place on Gryphus. It is a wonderful place, full of thick forests and beautiful hills. You can see the history of our land with your own eyes, as great castles and mighty towers can be seen everywhere you go." She answered a few more questions before Princess Twilight replaced her on a podium. "That’s it for now, everycreature. Princess Lycklig needs some rest." Of course, the moment everycreature left, whispers started. They were all curious about the new arrival and wanted to know more about her. Unfortunately for a certain griffon, everycreature decided he was the best source of information. Gallus was feeling annoyed as he had to repeat himself for the third time to a group of curious ponies. "No, I don't know anything else about Vedina except what I've already told you," he said, exasperated. "Just because I'm a griffon from Gryphus doesn't mean I'm an expert on every country there. Do you guys know everything about Horston just because it's in Equestria? I don't think so." He let out a sigh, trying to contain his irritation. "All I know is that they're obsessed with knights, history, and genealogy. That's it." The ponies looked disappointed and eventually left, leaving Gallus and his close friends to relax by the lake after their classes. Yona was sitting under a tree, seeking shade from the summer heat, while Silverstream and Ocellus were splashing around in the water. Once the coast was clear, Smolder couldn't resist asking, "So, now that they're gone, what do you really know about Vedina?" Gallus groaned and rubbed his face with his talons. "I already told you, and them, everything I know. I didn't learn much about other countries in Griffonstone, and what I did learn later was that Vedina is a feudal kingdom with lots of knights." "Feudal? Since when do you use big words like that?" Sandbar teased. "Very funny, Sandstone. I had to learn about it for a school assignment from Headmare Glimmer. It was torture," Gallus said, shuddering at the memory. "Was it hard or did you procrastinate and had to do it all in one night?" Sandbar asked, grinning. "Both," Gallus admitted, rolling his eyes. Silverstream interrupted their banter, saying, "I wonder if there are any books on Vedina in the library! I've never been to Gryphus before. Why do they have so many castles?" Ocellus, always the knowledgeable one, chimed in. "Vedina is one of the oldest countries in recorded history on Gryphus. They've had a lot of wars in the past, both with their neighbors and among their own nobiles, so they built many fortifications. Even though there hasn't been a war in Vedina for decades, the castles remain a symbol of nobility and history." "Why didn't you say all that earlier?" Gallus asked Ocellus, annoyed. "You could have spared me being bombarded with question by everyone." "I'm not good with crowds," Ocellus replied sheepishly. "Say something else, Ocellus! Is Vedina really a feudal country?" Silverstream asked eagerly. "Yes, they are. In fact, they practice the oldest and most archaic form of feudalism in all of Gryphus. Peasants can't leave their land without their ruler's permission, and every noble is and has a vassal, except for the king and the lowest nobility," Ocellus explained. "King is above everyone, and the lowest nobility has no vassals, only peasants." The six friends continued their conversation by the lake, enjoying the warmth of the summer sun and learning new things about the world beyond their own. And the more they heard about Vedina, the less the liked it. “That sounds bad.” Yona said, still relaxing in the shade. “In return, the noble is bound to protect them from bandits, monsters, and attacks from the neighbors. “ Ocellus finished. “And yes, I agree, it does not sound nice.” “Wait, if there was no war for decades, what are the nobles protecting the peasants from?” Silverstream asked, confused. “From getting richer than nobility?” Others looked at Gallus. “Trust me, I saw some nobles this summer. Many of them would find the very idea of peasants getting rich absurd, and would just tax them more to make sure it doesn’t happen. Empire has that problem sometimes, and even there it’s not as bad as Vedina sounds.” “But griffon Princess seems nice.” Yona added. “Maybe she not that bad?” “We should give her the benefit of the doubt. After all, judging someone by where they come from is wrong.” Sandbar said, looking at the School. “That’s why we’re here, to learn. Maybe we can even help make Vedina a better place?” “We’re students, Sandbar.” Gallus pointed out. “Leave reforming entire countries to adults.” “Said the future advisor to the Emperor, right?” Smolder joked, patting said griffon on his back. To his credit, he managed to stay upright and not fall on his face. “And we already did more for the world outside Equestria then our teachers did. If you ask me, we can totally do it again.” “I’m… not sure.” Silverstream answered unusually slowly. “It can be really dangerous and scary. I think we are not really ready for it.” “Yona ready! Yona will push meanies down the hill and befriend not meanies!” The yak said enthusiastically. She and Smolder did a high-five with full strength, as they tended to do. “I, uh, I think we may want to leave it to adults?” Ocellus said nervously. “It was… really scary, and I still dream of that. Sorry, I’m not that brave.” “Ocellus very brave!” Yona protested. “She just needs hug! GROUP HUG!” Yona grabbed Smolder and Gallus. “Wait don’t…” “My fur and water do not mix!” There was a loud ‘SPLASH’, followed by whining and laughter. On the next day, they saw Princess Lycklig multiple times. She was sitting at their lectures, not asking any questions but making a lot of notes. Between classes, she sometimes talked with their teachers about some applications of the lesson to real-life problems, and occasionally she responded to a question somecreature asked. All in all, it was a curiosity, and a reason for a lot of gossip, but nothing really interesting happened on that day. On the next day, after classes, Smolder was sitting in the library by herself. She needed to read something to better understand one of the lessons of friendship, and was working on her essay – which she failed, as the only person out of her group of friends. They all offered their help, but she refused, half because of her pride and half because she genuinely wanted to learn this lesson by herself. She always found professor Fluttershy’s classes to be the hardest of them all, and she found herself respecting the gentle pony a lot. There was a real strength in her, and courage that not many would expect from the shy pony. “Excuse me. Smolder, I believe?” Somegriffon asked. She turned around, and instantly got up from her chair, seeing Princess Lycklig standing behind her. Oh, shit, dragoness thought to herself. How am I supposed to greet her? What was the etiquette for griffonian nobles? In the end, she decided to just act naturally. Like a dragon. Alright, maybe not like ‘a’ dragon, that would be something very rude, but rather the dragoness who went to School of Friendship. “Yes, that’s me. How can I help you, Princess?” “I have some questions about dragons, if I may?” Smolder managed not to roll her eyes. Great. When she arrived at the School, for the first month she was either feared, or bombarded with questions. At least now she was used to it. “Of course, what do you want to know?” “May I sit?” “This is a public library, you don’t have to ask me. Princess.” Smolder added hastily. Lycklig just sat down and smiled. “You don’t have to use any titles if you don’t want. I deal with Skynanavians and Republicans a lot, and they refuse to use any titles on the principle. I’m used to it.” Smolder considered it for a moment before shrugging. “If you say so. You wanted to ask something?” “Yes. Let’s say, hypothetically, that there is a dragon near my town.” That got Smolder’s attention. She knew there were dragons outside of Dragon Lands, but the few left on Gryphus were loners by nature and almost never visited their ancestral home. “And this dragon is extorting local miners, like a common bandit. Normally, I would gather a group of brave knights and have it killed, but now I wonder if there is perhaps a different way. I spoke with Lady Fluttershy, and she recommended I also talk to you about it.” Lady? That was new. For now though, Smolder focused on the question. “So, the dragon just comes to your mines and scares everyone until they give them the gems? Did they ever talk, say why they do that?” She asked. “Well, the dragon says it’s for ‘protection’. She says the mountain belongs to her, and she simply collects taxes and takes care of local bandits.” Lycklig answered. “Was this dragon always here? Did you wake him up by mining?” Lycklig hesitated for a moment. “That makes sense. Imagine being rudely woken up from a nice, cozy sleep in your house, or castle, and finding out that other creatures are now mining right under your bed, on your land. How would you react?” “But, that mountain doesn’t belong to a dragon. It’s Vedinan.” Lycklig protested weakly, visibly confused. “I thought I can just convince her to leave.” “Yeah, no. We dragons are much older than your kingdom; and if we get into the ‘who was here first’, we’re going to end up in a very bad place.” Smolder thought for a moment. “I am sure there are others who say that Vedinan land belongs to them, right? There is always someone who was there before you.” “But Vedina was… rightfully conquered by our ancestors.” Lycklig was visibly hesitating now. “They should just surrender and accept that these lands now belong to us.” “So, if someone conquers you, you would just accept it? Forget your history, your land?” Smolder smiled sadly. “You know, ponies also fought over land once. But now, they live in peace, and no one cares who was where first or last.” “But, the dragon is still a problem! It takes our gems away!” Lycklig protested again. She was expecting some cultural differences, sure, but this? She was a little bit shocked by the preposterous ideas of this dragon. On the other hand, were they actually so preposterous? “Alright, that’s what you should do. Assume it’s not a dragon. Assume it’s a griffon, some noble, who was bored and decided to deal with bandits and all other dangers, in return for a tax. What would you do?” “Send my knights to deal with this noble. This mine is on my territory, I can’t have someone else protecting it without my agreement.” “Sure, do that. Will the knights stay to protect it? Since bandits were already there, I take it you weren’t doing a good job of defending it.” Smolder winced. Too rude, you are talking with nobility after all. “Why not hire this dragon, instead?” “Hire? A dragon?” This left Lycklig utterly speechless. The idea was so absurd, her mind just refused to process it. “Yes. You can even make her your vassal. That’s how it works, right? You tell her to protect the mine, she takes some tax out of it, you take the rest. No bandits, no problems, and additionally you have a dragon as a vassal.” Smolder shrugged. “Of course, you will have to somehow convince her to agree. You can give her a noble title, for example, and guarantee that not only the mountain, but also some area around it as well will be hers if he can protect it. Sweeten the deal with some rare gems that she can’t get out his mountain, dragons like variety in their food, and she should agree. If not, let her know the alternative is bunch of angry knights.” “But, but, dragon? Vassal?” Princess took a moment to mask her raging emotions and shock. “I… thank you, Smolder, for your advice. I will take it into consideration. Now, forgive me for I need to talk with some of your teachers again.” She got up and left. Smolder shook her head and got back to the book. Well, she hoped she did a good job with this problem. Few days later, it was Ocellus and Silverstream’s turn to talk with the Princess. Lyclick came to them when they were both relaxing in the lake, and seemed hesitant to interrupt them. Fortunately for her, she didn’t need to. “Oh, Princess! It is nice to see you again, are you looking for someone?” Silverstream asked, swimming to the shore with Ocellus slowly following her, a little anxious about talking to the griffonian noble. “Yes, I am. In fact, I am looking for you. I talked to Lady Rarity about some traditions in Vedina, and she recommended I talk to you about them.” Princess hesitated for a moment. What Lady Rarity said was reasonable, but still unusual to say the least. “Sure! What is it you wanted to ask about?” Silverstream asked, sitting comfortably in the shallow water. Ocellus stood behind her, also curious, but still a little anxious. “In Vedina, it is a tradition that a noble must show their charitable nature. On special occasions, like their wedding, the birth of an heir, and others, a great feast is announced.” Lycklig explained. “Neighboring nobles are invited, and all friends and family. And after their feast, the peasants are given the remaining food and drinks, so they too can celebrate. Truly charitable nobles even make sure that there is an overabundance of food prepared, so there is more remaining for the poor.” There was a moment of silence, as Silverstream tried to comprehend what she had just heard. Ocellus, to her surprise, was the first one to speak. “So you just give them some scraps and call it a charity?” When both the griffon and hippogriff looked at her, Ocellus took a step back. “I’m sorry, Princess, I shouldn’t have said that.” She quickly added. “No, please, speak your mind.” Lycklig said, even though she internally winced at the harsh way the changeling simplified the Vedinan tradition. “Lady Rarity seems to value your opinion a lot, and she would agree with you, although she used a more… lady-like words to describe it.” Not that she was holding back her opinion. Lycklig was definitely impressed by the ability of Lady Rarity to be at the same time painfully honest and still regal, formal and all lady-like. Ocellus was still a little anxious, so Silverstream answered instead. “How do you think they feel, Princess? Imagine that you want something, and only get some scraps of what they have on some special occasions. Wouldn’t you feel ashamed, that you are so dependent on them? That you are given what would normally be thrown out as trash?” “But that is the natural order of things.” Lycklig protested. “If I was a minor noble, I would want a greater title for myself and my heirs, but it would not be something I can just give to myself. I am a vassal, and I have vassals below me, and we are all depending on each other to keep the order and tradition intact.” “Princess, if you excuse me?” Ocellus braced herself, and found out it was surprisingly easy. She felt anger, and it made speaking much easier. “You cannot compare titles to food. You can live without a title. You cannot live without food. I felt hunger for most of my life, and it is not something I wish anycreature to suffer.” “But it’s not something I can just change!” Lycklig protested. “The land gives enough food to feed everygriffon, but just that. You can’t expect me to just give away my food to peasants.” “Why would you? Why not just make more food?” Silverstream asked. Seeing the confusion on Lycklig’s face, Ocellus explained for her. “Equestria has more food than ponies, and other creatures, can eat. Why not learn how they can do that?” “They have earth pony magic, and pegasi controlling the weather. We don’t have that magic.” Princess pointed out. “It’s not all magic. There are farming techniques that can be used. Irrigation, for example, or more efficient harvesting methods. Did you look into those?” Ocellus noticed the curious look in Silverstream’s eyes. “I, uh, got really interested in what other races eat lately? It’s really fascinating for me.” Princess slowly nodded, obviously deep in thought. “Thank you for your advice, Ocellus, Silverstream. I will definitely look into these… farming techniques you mentioned.” “If you need some help, ask Applejack! She worked on a farm most of her life.” Silverstream added happily. “She and her family know a lot about farming, maybe even know someone who can go with you to Vedina and help.” Princess nodded her head, said her goodbyes, and left. When she could no longer hear them, Silverstream turned to Ocellus. “You think others will get a visit from the Princess too?” “I think they may.” Changeling answered, deep in thought. “I think our teachers are testing us, giving us these problems to solve. I don’t know if you can count farming advice as solving a friendship problem, though.” “I’m sure professor Applejack would disagree.” Silverstream said jokingly, swimming back to deeper water in the center of the lake. “Besides, if we can help all these griffons in Vedina, I think this counts as a good thing regardless.” “I guess you’re right.” Ocellus joined her, and they both continued to relax in the water. “Sandbar, look! Princess is here to ask us questions!” Yona said happily, ignoring all protocol. Sandbar could only sigh and facehoof. “Forgive her, Princess, she is just overly enthusiastic.” “It’s… not a problem.” Lycklig answered, amused. “I take it you expected me?” “Of course! One of professors sent Princess to us, so we help!” Yona answered. They were currently in their empty dorm; the rest of their friends left for the Castle of Two Sisters for the weekend, but both Sandbar and Yona declined, preferring to stay and rest, and also spend some time together. “Who sent Princess here? Professor Dash? Professor Pinkie?” “It was Lady Applejack. She said you can help me understand something she said earlier.” Princess Lycklig hesitated for a short moment, before continuing. “She said that honor, as an idea, can lead to bad situations. But I cannot understand how. Code of honor and chivalry is the most sacred thing in Vedina, and I cannot understand how can it be a bad thing.” “Oh, yeah, I can see why she would say that. Professor Applejack had some bad experiences with that. Yona, if you may start?” Sandbar said, understanding why their professor sent Princess to them. “Yaks very honorable! Yaks not accept help, because yaks strongest. Yaks never surrender, and they fight honorably in war!” Yona said proudly. “In Vedina, we believe that a true knight should only fight in defense of the weak, never break their word, and accept any challenge, no matter the odds.” Princess said. “Knights sound very honorable. But what if honor forces them to do bad things?” Yona asked seriously. “In Yakyakistan, Yaks freeze to death because they don’t ask for help. Yaks lose wars, because they don’t ask for help. And Yaks start wars because when two Yaks believe something is honorable, they want to fight to prove they are right.” “I… see. I have to admit, that sometimes certain knights in Vedina broke the Code of Honor, but it is very rare. And you have to admit that our Code is much more noble then yaks… with all due respect, of course.” She added hastily. “But they can do evil and harm others even without breaking their code, right?” Sandbar answered. “I don’t know much about your history, but I heard about the wars you had. Isn’t it why you built all these castles?” “Most of them were started by the griffons who had broken the Code! And we had to fight against the Empire, to protect the peasants.” She argued. “Did you ask them?” Seeing the confusion, he specified. “These peasants. Did you ask them if they wanted to go to war, instead of just living their lives?” “Empire wanted to disband knightly orders, destroy our way of living! We had to fight them.” “And their way of life? Would these peasants, as you called them, be unhappy under Empire? Did they want to fight for your knightly orders?” Sandbar asked. “Are griffons in the Empire unhappy? Is it an evil place to live in for everycreature, or is it just bad for knights and their orders?” Lycklig could not find a good answer to that. “Yona not want to say that knights wrong.” The yak added. “Yona just thinks, sometimes lives more worth then honor. Yona stopped war in Yakyakistan, and in honorable way. But war happened because Princes too focused on their honor to talk. Yona thinks, best of both is bestest. Honor good, and being good creature good. Combine them to make best creature.” The Princess just nodded slowly. Gallus stood alone in an empty corridor, waiting. He didn’t have to wait long. “Princess.” He said, turning to Lycklig and bowing slightly. “I heard you wanted to speak with me?” “That is correct, sir Gallus.” She said, nodding her head. “I am no ‘sir’, Princess. Just Gallus.” He answered calmly, silently thanking his experiences this summer. Without that, he would probably be freaking out a little, speaking with a nobility just like that. “Aren’t you a ruler of Griffonstone, and advisor to Grover VI?” She asked, coming closer and looking through the big window. She could see Ponyville from here. “Actually, I don’t rule there, and we didn’t have any titles since Idol of Boreas was lost. And I’m not an advisor yet, I just may be one in the future. How can I help you?” “Well, I’m…” Lycklig stopped for a moment, not sure how to say what she needed to say. Gallus did his best to patiently wait. “I feel like Equestria is vastly different then Vedina.” “You tell me… Princess.” He added quickly. “When I first arrived here, I couldn’t understand anything. Ponies here are so different then griffons at home.” “Yes, exactly.” She seemed a little… lost? “How can we, the griffons, ever be like that? Ponies are so different then us, but they seem so happy and prosperous despite it.” “Nah, ponies aren’t really that different. And honestly, we don’t have to be like them. I don’t want to be a pony, really.” Gallus answered simply. “One of the most important lessons I learned here, in the School, was that what most creatures think about different races is the opposite of truth.” “What do you mean?” “Well, I’m not an egghead…” Lycklig actually chuckled. “I’m sorry, I meant like, gah.” Gallus grabbed his head in annoyance. “I’m not book-smart like Ocellus is. None of us are. So, forgive me for speaking, um, plainly.” “Go ahead, Gallus.” Lycklig smiled encouragingly. “Alright, so here’s how it is. Or at least, how Ocellus explained it to me once. Most creatures think that everyone is superficially similar, but mostly different. It’s actually the opposite. Imagine that a griffon child is adopted by ponies in Equestria. They would grow into someone much more like pony than a griffon, right? They would know their history, probably value friendship a lot, randomly burst into a song, things like that.” “But they would still have no magic.” Princess pointed out. “It’s not that simple. They could still fly, and that’s more than earth ponies and most unicorns can, isn’t it?” Gallus shrugged. “Everyone is different when it comes to that. Some griffons and pegasi can’t fly, because of illness or something else. Not everypony is randomly bursting into songs, and there are creatures of different races who are amazing singers. Heck, ponies themselves are different, we have four ancient tribes after all, and that’s not counting all different Cutie Marks. A griffon raised in Equestria would be more similar to pegasi then many earth ponies are.” “But they are still different.” “Yes, that’s the point. All creatures have superficial differences, but we are mostly the same in the end. We feel love, we can be friends with each other. We have some natural talents for this or that, and different physical strengths and weaknesses. We can do some things better, other things worse. But that’s all on the outside. Inside, we’re all just living creatures. None of our physical differences make us inherently better or worse than others, and they don’t stop us from having friendship. That’s the real strength of ponies, understanding this.” “In the end, we shouldn’t just be like ponies from Equestria.” Gallus added wisely. “They live in paradise, ruled by immortal alicorns of great power. There was no war here in hundreds of years, they have more food than they know what to do with, and everyone can afford most of what they want easily. What we need is to be better than we are. Find what ponies can teach us, and learn. If we can, we should also teach them what we know. Best of both worlds.” “Is that how you managed to change Griffonstone?” She asked. “Mostly. Pinkie started it by finding something she can change to make things better, and it all began like that. If we just do our best to be better, to change things around us, things tend to get better. If we focus on our differences, fight each other, look for a reason to feel better than others, well. Welcome to Griffonstone of my childhood, I guess.” Gallus was quite winded after that speech. He was proud of it for sure, but it was also quite tiring, trying to explain it all. He knew how weird it sounded to non-ponies, and did his best to put it in a way that’s easy to understand. Still, it was exhausting, and he felt thankful when Princess just nodded slowly, thanked him and left, instead of having more questions. He waited for a moment to make sure she is too far away to hear him, before he slowly exhaled, feeling the tension leave him. “Alright, everycreature, you can come out.” There was a moment of silence, and doors to the closest class opened, showing his friends curious faces. “What? It was obvious all of you wanted to listen to that conversation. So, how did I do?” “Damn, Gallus, where did you learn to be so wise-sounding?” Smolder asked, walking to him and trying to pat him on the back. To her surprise, he instead quickly turned around and high-fived her. All others, except Yona, winced. “Huh, that’s new.” “You clearly underestimate me, Smolder.” Gallus said, trying to not show any pain on his face. That was really painful experience, like he just high-fived a rocky mountain. Ouch. He’s never doing this again. “I’m wiser then you, you know.” Although not wise enough to avoid doing something stupid like high-fiving a dragon with full strength. Oh, that hurt. He was half-sure his claw was broken. “Gallus is really wise and cool.” Yona said happily. “Yona has the bestest friends.” Oh no. Nonono. “Yona, please don’t…” “GROUP HUG!” And now Gallus was sure his claw was broken. Among few other things. Princess Lycklig left few days later, and they were back to their usual classes. Not that it was anything boring or routine – things were always happening in the School. Field trips, mock friendship problems to solve, real friendship problems among students. New buffalo student arrived, alongside a penguin and polar bear students. Soon after, a griffon from Nova Griffonia – a small colony north of Equestria – also joined them, which made Gallus no longer the only griffon at school. It’s been few months since then and winter finally arrived. The School was magically heated, of course, and classes continued as normal. Yona was happily spending a lot of time outside, enjoying the cool weather and snow, but the rest of her friends preferred to stay inside the warm walls most of the time. After their adventures last summer, they all decided to stay together at school during winter break. Aside from just wanting to spend more time together, they were also suspicious of Tree planning something, and did not want to risk coming back home unless they had to. As Gallus put it in a conversation they had, “Kidnappings, interrogations, wars, I think we all have enough of all this for now, right?”. However, as it turned out, their plans would prove irrelevant anyway. Days before the winter break would begin, all students were gathered by Princess Twilight and their teachers for a special announcement. “Attention, everycreature. Thank you.” Princess said as the background noise of students talking was replaced by (almost) complete silence. “I have an important announcement. My friends and I are embarking on a long, and very important, mission outside Equestria.” “Huh. It seems the Tree couldn’t wait for us to do its bidding this time.” Gallus whispered to his friends. “Shh!” Ocellus whispered back, shushing him. “As usual, replacement teachers will be taking care of your education in that time.” Princess hesitated for a moment. “We will probably be away for a few months this time. I hope to see you all as soon as possible, but it may be a while. I know that you will do your best to continue learning and understanding the values of friendship and harmony in the meantime.” “That sounds like something big. Think they’re going somewhere where we’ve been before?” Gallus whispered again. “Be quiet Gallus, I want to hear what she has to say.” Sandbar answered quietly, focusing on the Princess. “And with that, I wish you all a relaxing winter break. The rest of your classes today are cancelled, but if you have any questions to your teachers about your homework or specific lessons, this will be your last chance to ask them, so feel free to.” Twilight smiled, seeing some students already getting up and moving towards her friends. “If it’s not part of what we did this summer, I will eat cold lava for the next few months.” Smolder commented as most students started to either leave the room, or talk with their teachers. “I’m happy we’re staying together this winter.” “Shame about our teachers. Whoever the temporary ones will be, none of them will be as cool.” Gallus commented. “Yona will miss professors.” "We don’t know who they will be this time, think about the possibilities for new friendships!” Silverstream said happily, as usual for her. “Gallus, don’t say that.” Sandbar protested at the same time. “We can’t just think of others as worse than our teachers. At least give them a chance, please?” “Alright, alright, I’ll stop.” Gallus turned to Ocellus, who was just standing next to them in silence. “What do you think?” Instead of answering, the changeling looked behind her back. Having a bad feeling, Gallus turned around just in time to come face to face with smiling Princess Twilight. “You should listen to Sandbar, Gallus. When you’re back, you may want to give your new teachers a chance.” “Back? Back from Griffonstone? But I thought we’re staying at school this year.” Ocellus said, confused. “Normally, you would, but something came up in the meantime. Do you remember Princess Lycklig?” Everycreature nodded their heads. “There will be a royal wedding in Vedina, and Princess sent invitations for all of you to attend it.” “Wait, us?” Smolder asked, surprised. “Why us?” “It seems she was very impressed by your understanding of harmony.” The alicorn answered with a hint of pride. “Considering how traditionalist and proud Vedinans are, it’s a great honor to be invited for such an important ceremony. Last royal wedding happened decades ago, and almost no one from outside Vedina was invited to it.” “Oooooh, I always wanted to see Gryphus!” Silverstream almost started dancing in place, full of happiness. “Yona will go, too.” The yak announced. “Princess was nice. Yona wants to see her again.” “Great. Another cold place, and this time full of stuck-up nobles.” Smolder sighed ostentatiously. “I’ll go with you, someone needs to keep you safe after all.” “Oh yes, I will definitely fall into your arms as you dashingly save me from boring noble balls and feasts.” Gallus deadpanned. “Hey! Rude!” Sandbar cleared his throat. “Everyone, maybe let’s act a little more responsibly? Especially standing right next to literally the ruler of Equestria? Your Highness.” He added, bowing before Twilight. “Please stop…” She sighed. “I told you all to stop bowing to me while you’re at school.” “Um, when are we going?” Ocellus asked. “In two days, if you can.” Everyone winced. “Sorry for that, but it takes a long time for a message to go from Vedina to here. We never got an official ambassadorial exchange with them, and the letter had to go through multiple ponies first, then through me, and, well, now I’m here. With the tickets.” Twilight cleared her throat, trying to hide her embarrassment. This entire Arcturian Order situation was already on her mind, and now Vedina, and all the other things, and she was spiraling into her thoughts again, great. “So, here you go, six tickets. There is a ship waiting for you in Fillydelphia, it will take you directly to Vedinan capital, Turhamn.” “But if you’re leaving for so long, Princess, who will rule Equestria?” Sandbar asked, confused. “Princess Celestia will take over my responsibilities for some time.” Twilight answered. “With Luna still in Zebrica and Cadance in Yakyakistan, she agreed to help.” “If I may ask… what’s going on in Chiropterra?” Silverstream asked. “I don’t hear much about it here, and I’m a little worried it takes Luna so long to help them.” “Oh. Of course, you of all creatures have the right to know that.” Twilight hesitated. “It’s not going too well. Their neighbors hate them for what they did, and they want revenge. Chiropterrans themselves are also divided and many do not welcome us there. Princess Luna and Starlight have their hooves full.” “I see.” Silverstream visibly saddened, hearing these news. “But, it’s going to be only better from now on.” Twilight added, trying to lighten the mood. “I have no doubt everycreature there will do their best, and it’s already getting better than it was before. It just takes time.” “…Thank you, Princess.” Silverstream answered, in a slightly better mood. “If you need anything, we’re available for you today. We’re leaving tomorrow, though.” Twilight added. On the next day, everycreature was packing for their trip. While they didn’t have that much to pack - they were going to a civilized place, after all – they still needed to take some clothes, toothbrushes, and such. While packing, they were also all chatting about their new adventure. “So, anycreature wants to bet that nothing will happen there?” Smolder asked, putting some spicy gems inside her backpack. They were quite light, but tasty, and she knew that on Gryphus gems were much rarer. “I’d rather not make a bet that I know I’ll lose.” Sandbar answered. Out of all of them, he had the least to pack, and was now resting on his bed. "I don't have much experience in that, but since last time Equestria had a royal wedding there was an invasion, there is no way nothing will happen there.” “Especially considering our adventures this summer.” Ocellus added, trying to fit all the books about Vedina she could find into her backpack. Sadly, it refused to close. “Here, Yona help.” Yak took some of the books and put them in her bags. Being quite large and muscular, she ended up with quite a lot of space in them, even after packing some nice, formal clothing professor Rarity made for her lately. “And Yona agrees. Tree is doing something again.” “I just hope it’s nothing really bad.” Silverstream was now wondering if she needs formal seapony clothing, or should she just ignore it and pack just her hippogriff clothes since griffons were not aquatic by nature. “If we meet some meanie creature, Yona will smash them.” The yak declared without a doubt. “You know, Yona, I don’t think local nobility would be thrilled if they learned you already plan to smash them.” Gallus answered, entering the dorm. He was carrying a long, thin wooden chest in his claws that he set next to his bed. “You can’t just throw all the problems down a convenient hillside.” He started packing, attaching the wooden chest to his backpack. “Um, Gallus? What’s that?” Smolder asked, pointing at the mysterious container. “My sword.” The griffon answered. There was a moment of silence, before Sandbar answered, confused and surprised. “Wait, like an actual sword? A weapon?” “Yes. What, you’ve never seen one? Speaking of which, Yona, would you mind helping me carry some maintenance equipment for it?” Gallus asked, holding a small but heavy bag. “No problem, but why sword?” Yona asked, taking it. “Well, the nobility on Gryphus usually carry swords on official occasions, so I got one for myself. It’s nothing special, really.” “And Headmare just allowed you to carry it in the school?” Silverstream asked, curiously. “No, of course not. She just kept it for me here, just in case. You didn’t actually think she would allow me to parade around the school with an actual sword?” Gallus shook his head. “I almost sent it to Griffonstone to wait for me there, but fortunately I decided to leave it here just in case.” “Would you look at that. Big Gallus with a sword, and almost officially advisor to griffonian Emperor.” Smolder teased him. “Do you have some fancy title we should use?” “Har har. Very funny. Besides, you stopped a war yourself recently.” Gallus answered, still packing. “And we saved Equestria already. I think we’re all basically adults now, aren’t we?” “Try to convince Headmare Starlight to let us to graduate right now, and I’ll believe you.” Sandbar joked. “Until that, be careful with your new toy. Do you even know how to use it?” “I took some lessons, yes. Is everyone already packed?” Gallus tried, and failed, to change topic. “Mostly. What are ‘some’ lessons?” Sandbar continued asking, smiling widely. “Did you procrastinate again and only now started to learn how to use that toothpick of yours?” “First, stop the stupid procrastination jokes already, Sandstone.” “Hey!” As usual, the pony protested against his nickname. “And second,” Gallus continued, “Toothpick? Really? I see you like quoting Daring Do these days. You know that her adventures on Gryphus are just a book, right?” “Actually, now that I know more about it, these books are really accurate.” Ocellus said, finally managing to close her backpack now that some of her books were carried by Yona. “The author must have visited Gryphus to get all of that right.” “Visited, maybe, but come on. Crazy magocracy council trying to steal powerful artifacts? That’s hard to believe.” Gallus answered skeptically. “Less likely than Mare on the Moon being real, entire race of Changelings not only being real but also infiltrating Equestria for decades without their knowledge, Tirek existing, and all the other stuff?” Smolder asked, grabbing one gem that didn’t fit into her backpack and eating it slowly. “Nice, very crunchy. And then we have that crazy griffon I met, thousand-years-old Nightmare Moon cult, and evil necromancers. At this point, I can believe in almost anything.” “Good thing I’m here to be the skeptic of the group.” Gallus commented. “Alright, everycreature, if we’re all packed and ready, I say we grab some food and go over what I know about Vedinan etiquette.” “Wait, you? Etiquette?” Smolder asked, surprised. Gallus sighed. “Why do I feel like a butt of the joke again?” “’Cause you are?” Sandbar answered happily. “You know, I was going to grab food for you, but after this? Go get your own food, Sandstone.” Gallus walked to the door. And then, the door opened Gallus. Everycreature blinked, confused, and watched two-dimensional cutouts of Gallus, connected by feathery hinges. Then, Discord walked through the stunned griffon, and ‘closed’ the student behind him. “Good evening, everyone! That’s right, it’s me, your favorite god.” The spirit of chaos was wearing an ugly, brightly-colored T-shirt, a wide hat, and carried a bottle of some drink. His luggage was, of course, safely packed inside the bottle. “Missed me?” “No.” Sandbar was the first to answer, shaking off the usual confusion at seeing reality-breaking stunts Discord was pulling off. “What do you want, Discord?” “What, can’t I just want to check on my students?” He changed into a magnifying glass, and started looking over them. “I was never so happy to not be at school, if you are one of our substitute teachers.” Smolder said, trying to ignore the chaotic prankster. “You know, everycreature, how about we don’t come back from Vedina until our teachers come back?” “Oh, Smolder, how can you? You hurt me. Literally.” Discord grabbed a ‘wound’ on his chest. The fact that the wound was ‘bleeding’ confetti, and he was an actual literal chest, was only making it more surreal. “Alas, you do not have to worry, my friends. If you don’t want to see me, you will be happy to know I’m going on vacation.” The big backpack pointed at Discord. “See, I’m already packed.” “Oh. Happy vacation, then?” Silversteam said happily, and Discord answered by giving her a thumbs up. Very literally. She jumped in surprise and dropped the thumb she was suddenly holding. “Yes, I think it is time to visit some old friends, drink some tea together, look at the stars, you know.” He looked at the clock; every hour on it was replaced by the sentence ‘time to visit some old friends’. “So, just a heads up, I won’t be here to fix all your problems this time around. I hope you’ll manage on your own.” “When have you ever help us?” Gallus asked, irritated. “So rude, Gallus. Well, if I am not welcome here, I guess I’ll go.” “Wait, don…” Gallus managed to say, before Discord opened him again. Whatever the griffon was saying, changed into a high-pitch unintelligible sounds, and the spirit of Chaos simply left their dorm, closing the griffon behind him. Gallus said something very rude and slightly vulgar, although most of it was lost in the high-pitched sounds he was making before he turned back into his normal, three-dimensional self. “What did I do to deserve that?” He asked no one in particular. “Is it just me, or did Discord act… different then normal?” Sandbar asked. “Is he ever acting normal?” Smolder asked rhetorically. “It’s weird that he came here just to tell us that.” Ocellus pointed out. “And he didn’t say why he was here. That’s unusual for him.” “Yona thinks Discord is playing a trick.” The yak stated. “I don’t think so.” Silverstream answered, little lost in thought. “And, is it only me or he has never before called himself a god?” “You’re right. Huh.” Sandbar wondered. “Why would he say that?” “I think you’re overthinking it. He’s an arrogant spirit of Chaos, nothing more.” Gallus’s voice finally returned to normal. “If you ask me, he was only here to make a joke before leaving on whatever he considers ‘vacation’.” “I think… I think he was warning us we are alone.” Ocellus said slowly, as she realized what the hidden meaning could be. “Alone?” Smolder asked. “Think about it. Princess Luna and Headmare Starlight are still in Chiropterra. Princess Cadance is in Yakyakistan. Princess Twilight and the Elements left for a mission.” Ocellus listed the adults one by one. “Thorax is busy with Greneclyf and our neighbors. Pillars are all scattered around Equestria and busy with their own things. We’re on our own now, if anything does happen in Vedina.” “That’s not true.” Gallus protested. “Dragon Lady Ember can help us, if we need her. And Princess Celestia is still here.” “Ember is so busy with Haukland and generally half of Gryphus suddenly interested in diplomatic relations or trade, she probably won't even be found on the Islands.” Smolder said. “She can be anywhere now, in whatever country invited her recently.” “And Princess Celestia won’t even be staying in Canterlot.” Sandbar added. “Neighvis and Elder Greyhorn are still trying to cause a war. Equestria is going to give back some of the land it took from buffalo hundreds of years ago, and they are both unhappy now. And very vocal about it.” “Wait, doesn’t Equestria have too much land anyway?” Silverstream asked, confused. “And why would a buffalo be unhappy that they will regain some of their lands?” “In short, Neighvis doesn’t want to give up even a smallest piece of ‘pony’ land that was ‘settled’ by his ancestors.” Sandbar sighed. “And Elder believes that Equestria is weak, and instead of getting this land and then negotiating for more if they need to, they could just attack and force a better peace deal that would give them all the territory he considers to belong to buffalo.” “I still can’t believe two creatures who want nothing but to go to war and kill each other would cooperate like that.” Smolder shook her head. “Evil likes to cooperate against good. Only in short-term, of course, and they backstab each other the moment they can.” Ocellus explained sadly. “But for these creatures, their philosophy or morals are just means to an end. Sadly. Back when Chrysalis was still in power, she hoped for an alliance with Stalliongrad. And if Sombra came back to rule Crystal Empire, you can be sure they would both cooperate before inevitably backstabbing one another.” “Alright, alright, everyone. I think that’s enough of that for now.” Gallus stopped the discussion, seeing the signs of everyone getting sadder by the minute. “The world is complicated, sure, but we can still do good there, remember? We don’t need Discord or anycreature else. We dealt with so many thing these summer, and that’s each of us was alone. Together? I don’t think anything is beyond us. And now, food for everycreature!” The mood brightened significantly, and soon they all returned to much simpler and lighter discussions. They knew that something definitely awaited them in the distant Vedina, but they also knew they had each other. Nothing could stop them. And far above their world, Discord was floating in space, deep in thought. Unusually so; in fact, he was so deep in his thoughts, his body was barely visible even if someone stood just next to him (and was somehow immune to the surrounding void). He came to the same conclusion, again. He hated that. Coming to the same conclusion multiple times? Boring! But, sadly, he had to admit that this time it was inevitable. He had to leave, for now at least. If he stayed, and something bad happened to Fluttershy, he would be tempted to intervene. Or, to be honest with himself, he would just intervene no matter the consequences. And if he did, far worse things could happen, things too horrible to be explained in any pony language. Things that made even him uncomfortable. The God of Chaos sighed in defeat and flew away, leaving the planet behind.