Well, where should I start? Gryph gripped the pencil in his mouth, staring down at the page below. Twilight said that I should write my memories in this diary. That is until I can get the real me back. He lifted the pencil off the paper, staring up at the ceiling with dreamy eyes for a few seconds before lowering his head back down. I guess starting at the beginning of all this is as good a place as any.
“Scauden! Open the door!” A feminine voice echoed from outside the door.
“Just a minute!” Scauden shouted back from inside his room. He reached for his wrench, pulling it close with his claw. Swiftly, he stuck it to a bolt on the small machine in front of him. It stood about fifteen centimeters tall, accompanied with a maze of wires entangling around a large tube of metal, which ended in a sphere at the top. “Alright. Just need to tighten this screw and.... done!” He shouted, dropping the wrench in front of him.
“Scauden!” A much manlier voice shouted from behind his door.
“Yeah! I’m done!” Scauden walked to the door, using his yellow beak to pull the knob open with a ‘click’, allowing two gryphons to enter.
“Nice place.” The female gryphon said sarcastically, glaring at his unkempt bed, oil-stained walls and various tools which laid around the room. The only part of the room that wasn’t a complete mess was the trophy case which sat at the back.
“Yeah yeah, Aeva,” Scauden replied, closing the door. He turned to stare at Aeva’s feathers, which were groomed perfectly, allowing them to fall into place to give her a stunning glow.
“She’s right, Scauden. This place is a mess!” The male gryphon added, his eyes scanning the room.
“Well, I’ve been kinda busy working on something! Besides, don’t you have to be with the Starbirds today, Skyline?”
The male gryphon’s eyes locked onto what he was looking for. It barely stuck out from the pile of clothing in the corner. He raced towards it, pulling out a guitar. “It’s Sunday, Scauden. We don’t do training on Sunday.”
“It’s Sunday!?” Scauden shouted in surprise. “Wow, I’ve really lost track of time.”
“Good thing the music company for the Starbirds is pretty calm, huh?” Aeva leaned forward near Scauden’s bookshelf, where a large jar containing a black liquid sat.
“I wouldn’t say calm,” Scauden rebutted, walking back to his metallic machine. “I mean, I was stationed in Ponysoka for a good few years and we travelled all around Equestria!”
“Well, good thing you’re back in Cloudsdale now.” Skyline ran his talons softly past the strings, playing a few chords. “And to think, you almost became a Starbird yourself!”
“Yeah, too bad you just had to crash on the ground and twist your wing... again.” Aeva lifted her claw to pick up a small bottle that contained a tiny white crystal.
“Well, no use reliving the past.” Scauden leaned down to his machine, tightening a few more screws.
“What’re you working on?” Skyline asked.
“Lightning coil,” Scauden answered, tightening one last screw before tossing his wrench to a random place in the corner.
“Lightning coil?” Aeva inquired, not even looking at Scauden and his contraption. Instead, her attention was directed towards the large trophy case. The awards were for a variety of events. From ‘Best Skydiver’ to ‘Most Talented Musician’.
“Yeah! See, what this does is—”
Aeva stuck her claw out, leaving it inches away from Scauden’s face. “Laygryph terms?”
“It creates lightning.”
The two gryphons stared at each other, silent for a few seconds. They both had looks of disbelief. “Say what?”
“Yeah! Here, let me show you.” Scauden flew towards his window, drawing the curtains shut, drenching the room in darkness. “Okay, so first thing is—”
“Are you sure this is safe?” Skyline asked, putting the guitar down slowly.
“Of course this is safe! Worst case scenario is that this thing blows up and takes everyone three floors up and down with us to Celestia knows where.”
The two gryphons gave Scauden horrified looks, their beaks hanging open.
“I’m just kidding. It’s safe. I’m sure.” Scauden gave a playful smile before leaning back down to the device. “Okay, one. Two. Three!” He counted down, flicking a small switch upwards.
Immediately, there was a huge screeching sound. A sound so loud that it forced Aeva and Skyline to spread their wings to cover their ears. They opened their eyes and gazed in awe at the spectacle. The coil was spitting out two streams of lightning, each one forking off at the end before vanishing into the air. The light was bright and the sound was deafening. Scauden stood, unaffected by the sudden noise. After a few minutes, Scauden flicked the switch off. Once again, drenching the room in silence.
“So how was that?”
Aeva and Skyline allowed their wings to fold back to their sides.
“That. Was. Awesome!” Skyline yelled out.
“Heh, thanks!” Scauden drew his curtains open, allowing a flood of daylight to fill the room.
“I don’t get how you’re so good with all this science and stuff,” Aeva complemented.
“Even our classmates say you’re an android.”
Scauden gave a humble laugh, lifting his machine and settling it down to the left, just beside his knife collection.
“You’re still wearing that?” Aeva pointed to the small black band around Scauden’s left foot. The black band featured a small grey symbol of a gryphon on the front, which itself sported a bright yellow eye.
“Why wouldn’t I?” Scauden asked.
“We sewed that for you a few years back! Can’t believe you’d still keep it.”
“Well, it’s one of the few things that remind me of home when I’m not in Cloudsdale,” Scauden explained, walking to his door.
“Where are you headed now?” Skyline inquired.
“I just need some air. I’ve been holed up in this dorm for the past day or two.”
“Good point. We’ll see you later alright? Remember, we’re suppose to have dinner together!”
Scauden nodded. “Got it.” He opened the door, trotting out of his room and heading straight outside.
”Little did I know that flight would change my life. Well, at least for a while.
Scauden twisted and turned, soaring through the clouds with a grin on his face.
“Yahoo! I really should do this more!” Scauden exclaimed, doing several corkscrews and rolls. Gazing down at the forest beneath him, Scauden gave a smirk. “Maybe I should... No!” He tried to dismiss the idea. “Bad idea! Way too dangerous!”
He looked down once more, the urge for adrenaline rising within him. “Well, maybe just one try.”
With this, Scauden dived downwards, tucking his wings closely to streamline his form, giving him as much speed as possible. As he broke through the thickly woven canopy, he immediately darted straight, doing a sharp ninety degree turn. Trees and branches soared past him, threatening to put a painful end to his flight. Scauden dodged each with extreme agility, banking downwards or gliding upwards slightly to avoid the thick branches which sped past him.
“Awesome! I still got it!” Scauden shouted, closing his eyes for a second. However, as soon as he did, he felt something smash into his left wing. He shot his eyes open in shock to see that he had collided with a branch, a short surge of pain rushing through him. Suddenly, he started to fumble, rocking dangerously back and forth. “Uh oh.”
More and more branches smashed into his face and body, injuring him with tiny cuts. Scauden tried desperately to balance himself but it was no use. All sorts of objects in the trees had started to injure him. Even small red fruit were smashing into him, covering him in sticky juices. He soared upwards, hoping to get out of the forest. Once he did, however, he found he was no better in the sky. The cuts and wounds on his wings affected his flight greatly as he was no longer able to maintain a straight flight.
In the hopes he could see where he was headed. The only thing he could catch sight of in his random flight were the houses which had suddenly appeared beneath him.
Where am I!? Scauden wondered, desperately trying to find a safe place to land. He started to descend faster and faster. Returning his gaze to see what was in front of him, he could only see a large tree awaiting him. The tree, strangely, had many windows and even a balcony adorning its sides. Scauden closed his eyes tightly, knowing that he was heading straight for a window with no hopes of controlling his path.
Craaasssh! A mountain of books tumbled down onto the unfortunate gryphon, which came as quite a shock to Scauden. Well, that could’ve gone better. Now where am I? Suddenly, he felt the large pile of books lift off from him, blinding his eyes slightly with the sudden rush of light. Once his vision had adjusted, he could only see a purple unicorn standing in front of him.
“A...A gryphon!?” The unicorn exclaimed with her horn glowing bright.
“Yeah. I’m Scauden,” he answered, barely managing to push himself upright.
“Oh no. No no no no no!” The unicorn repeated, putting all of the books back onto the shelves. “This is bad, this is bad!”
“Yeah, nice to meet you too.” Scauden spread his wings wide, dusting himself off and revealing the tiny cuts. “Where am I?”
“You’re in Ponyville! Where did you even come from!?”
“Cloudsdale. Sorry about the books. I kinda wanted to try something new. It didn’t really turn out so well,” Scauden explained.
“No no no! This is bad! The Princess is almost here and—”
“Wait, the Princess? You mean, Princess Celestia?”
“Yes! I’m her student! My name’s Twilight Sparkle!”
“Wow. Princess Celestia’s protege,” Scauden tried to take a step forward before wincing in pain.
“Here, let me help.” With a soft glow of her horn, Scauden felt a soothing wave rush over him, filling him with vigor and life. Looking back down, he noticed that all of his injuries had been healed.
“Whoa. That’s amazing!”
Twilight gave a shy smile, turning away slightly. “Thanks. But you really need to go! She could be here an—”
Several loud knocks on the main door caught Twilight’s attention, causing sweat to pour down her forehead. “....Uh oh.”
“Well, I guess I’ll just take my lea—”
“No!” Twilight stopped Scauden with a loud shout. “You can’t leave! She’ll see you!”
“Then what do I do?”
“Umm... I... Umm...” Twilight shut her eyes and released a large burst of light. At first, Scauden didn’t feel any different. Only when he tried to take a step forward, did he notice that something was terribly wrong.
“Ah!” Scauden screamed out in horror, staring down at where his claws should be and instead finding hooves. “What did you do to me!?”
“I’m sorry! This visit just has to be perfect! And a gryphon... well...”
Scauden took a few steps forward, hoping to get used to the feel of walking on hooves instead of his usual eagle feet and lion paws The knocking came once again, harder and louder.
“Okay, just act natural, Scauden!”
“I’m a pony! How am I supposed to act natural!?” Scauden yelled, horrified.
“Please!” Twilight begged as she rushed towards the door. With a grip on the knob, she opened the door slowly, revealing Princess Celestia. “Princess!”
“My faithful student. Shall we begin?”
“Umm... s-sure! But first, let my friend leave.”
Twilight turned back around, gesturing to Scauden to exit the treebrary. Scauden trotted forward clumsily until he was in full view of the Princess.
“And who is this?” the Princess asked.
“This is... umm...”
“Gryph!” Scauden answered, a smile on his face. “I just moved in and I love books, but I see you two are busy so I’ll just get going now,” he spoke, not giving one second for either pony to rebut against him. Slowly, he moved out of the door until he was out on the streets.
“Well, it’s always nice to meet new ponies,” Celestia said with a sincere smile.
“You too, Princess!” Scauden replied, backing away further. Once he was a few feet away, he took off down the street.
Need a mirror, need a mirror! He repeated in his mind. Turning a sharp left, he stopped outside what looked to be a bakery. Using one of the tinted windows, he stared wide-eyed at the pony staring back at him.
“W-whoa.” The first thing that caught his eye was his two-colored mane. Separate sections of blue and teal gave his mane and tail a distinct look, one he had never seen before, while his coat was of a much brighter blue, almost a light grey. His pupils were of a golden yellow, the same color as his cutie mark.
“A cutie mark!?” Gryph screamed, turning to his left to stare at the symbol which adorned his flank. It was a golden musical note with a similar golden infinity symbol to its right. He also noticed something tucked against the sides of his body. Closing his eyes, he stretched out his wings. Though they were nowhere near as majestic as his gryphon wings, he was happy he had wings at all. He took one more quick glance down at his left hoof, spotting the familiar band with the gryphon symbol at the front.
“Wait, I need to get back to Cloudsdale!” He spread his wings out wide, preparing to fly away. However, a sharp call interrupted him.
“Heya! You’re new aren’t you?” A high-pitched voice called out to him. Gryph turned around, spotting a pink pony with a puffy mane staring back at him.
“Yeah. How’d you know?”
“Oh, I love new ponies! My name’s Pinkie Pie! And I know because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville!” She gasped. “If you’re new, that means that you haven’t had a party thrown by me before! And if you haven't had a party thrown by me before, that means that you must not have any friends!”
Whoa, this pony sure can talk. Gryph thought to himself. “Whoa, hold on there. I have friends and they’re back in Cloudsdale. So I’m just going to—”
“Cloudsdale? You came all the way from Cloudsdale? Hmm, that means we need an even bigger party!”
“No, really. It’s fine,” Gryph tried to talk her out of it.
“What’s your name?”
“Gryph. Listen. I just really have to go now. I’ll see you some other time, alright?” Gryph started to fly away.
“Wait!” Pinkie yelled out, causing Gryph to stop in his tracks, hovering in the air. “Come on! Just one party? Please?”
Gryph turned back down to see Pinkie’s wide, shining eyes staring back at him. He wanted to say no but he couldn’t bring himself to deny the mare and her huge, shining eyes. The eyes drew him into a sigh, before he reluctantly agreed.
“Yippee! Wait here, I’ll go get everything ready!” Pinkie instructed before disappearing.
I hope she makes it quick...
“Bye Princess Celestia!” Twilight waved as the Princess’s royal carriage departed into the sunset. “What an amazing day!” Twilight remarked before turning back to her library. However, somepony was already waiting for her.
“Oh, hey, Scauden. Or should I say Gryph.”
“Yeah, hey,” Gryph replied impatiently, tapping his hoof.
“What’s wrong? You look angry.”
“Oh, nothing much. I just got changed into a pony against my will! Not only that, but when I tried to go home to Cloudsdale, this pink pony stopped me. I agreed to attend a party of hers but she says that we can’t start without a certain pony, who’s busy,” Gryph gave an irritated gaze towards the unicorn. “So if you could come with me to the party then change me back, I’d be really grateful.”
“Change... you back?”
“You know, to a gryphon?”
“Oh. Heh... about that...” Twilight started, giving a grin which worried Gryph greatly.
“What do you mean ‘about that’?”
“T-the spell I used can’t be undone. It’ll only wear off after a certain amount of time has passed.”
“W-what!?” Gryph shouted, but he quickly regained his composure, taking a deep breath to calm himself down.”And how long will that be?”
Gryph saw Twilight’s mouth move, hearing a faint answer.
“What?” Gryph repeated.
“T-two...”
“Two hours?” Gryph guessed. “Two weeks? Two months?”
“T-two.... t-two years.”
The pegasus’s eyes opened as wide as they could. “Two years!? Two years! You’re kidding! I have to be a pony for two years!? T-that’s... that’s insane!”
“You can... go back to Cloudsdale! I’ll come with you! I have a balloon, we can explain everything!” Twilight hurriedly suggested.
“No, there’s no point. No way will I be allowed to be with the Starbirds, much less play anything with these!” Gryph lifted a hoof up to his face, surprisingly calm.
“Then I’ll get you a house, get you some scrolls! Quills! I’ll make sure that you’ll be able to stay in Ponyville until the spell wears off!” Twilight spoke extremely quickly.
Gryph gave an exasperated sigh. “Well, that looks like the best solution so far. Not like I have any choice anyway.”
Twilight tilted her head, confused and worried at how calmly Gryph was reacting to the news. “G-Gryph, are you... mad?”
Gryph turned his head to look at the unicorn. “Nah, this was all caused by my stupid flight attempt anyway. Plus, one thing I learned is that being angry wouldn’t really change anything. I just gotta deal with it.” Gryph stretched his hooves outwards. “Who knows? Maybe I might enjoy two years as a pony!”
Looks like I have a letter to write to Celestia... Twilight thought as she smiled at the pegasus.
“So, that house and everything. You sure you can do something like that? And you’re sure that after two years I’ll be back to normal?” Gryph asked, concerned.
Twilight nodded. “I can do that and yes, I’m sure,” she replied before giving Gryph a hug. “Thank you, Scauden.”
“Call me Gryph from now on, seems like that’s the name I’ll be called by the most.”
Twilight broke the hug, giggling softly. “Okay, Gryph. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Now come on, we have a party to attend.” Gryph galloped ahead towards Sugercube Corner with Twilight following closely behind.
So that’s really how everything started. It’s been a few months since then and a lot has happened. Who knows, maybe I’ll write more about my life here as a pony. Aeva and Skyline didn’t exactly take it well at first, but they soon accepted the fact. Skyline even managed to talk with the Starbirds and explain my predicament. They say that they’ll gladly accept me back when I’m back as a gryphon. As for learning instruments, it’s going well. Though I think that Octavia is going to hurt me soon if I don’t stop making cello-puns, but that’s another story for another time.”
“Gryph, come on!” Pinkie’s voice called out from outside his window. Gryph turned to his left, looking down from his second story house at the pink pony who was all dressed up as a large pumpkin.
“Coming!” Gryph shouted back.
Well, don’t wanna hold Pinkie up for trick-or-treating! Gryph rushed out of his bedroom, flying down the stairs and snatching his coat off of his coat-hanger. Until next time, diary.
“What’re you supposed to be, Gryph?” Pinkie asked, tilting her head towards the stallion, who wore a brown coat and a brown hat.
“I’m Secret Agent Black Gryphon!”
“Ohhhhh! That old cartoon for little colts?” Pinkie asked for clarity, giggling slightly.
“Hey, he’s really cool, alright?”
“Whatever, silly filly! Come on! Candy awaits us!” Pinkie screamed into the air before rushing down the street.
“Hey, wait up!” Gryph spread his wings out, flying down the street to catch up to the swift pink pony, laughing all the way through.
This is Gryph, signing off.