My Little Titan

by Tatsurou


A Griffon Tail

12. A Griffon Tail

Gilda shifted uneasily in her nest. Staring off as she watched the leaves falling, she knew winter was coming soon. The first chill wind brushed her spine, and she shivered. Feeling a body spasm unrelated to the cold, she clenched herself. 'About bloody time,' she thought to herself. 'Once this is done with, I can start looking into getting my own place, maybe a job. I'm sure I could get some work around here somehow.'

She saw Fluttershy approaching along the ground. "Yo, Shy!" she called out. "Anything interesting happen today?"

Fluttershy looked up happily. "Well, today's the last day of autumn, so it was the running of the leaves."

"Running of the leaves?" Gilda asked, tilting her head. "What's that?"

"It's a sort of marathon race across Equestria to make all the leaves fall off the trees," she replied. "Well, not all of Equestria: Equestria's a really big place, and it's divided into several districts. Ponyville ponies only run the Central region that ranges from Canterlot to Ponyville. Other ponies from other regions run their own marathons."

"Huh," Gilda said thoughtfully. "So who all ran?"

"All of Ponyville," Fluttershy said excitedly. Then she lowered her head. "Well, except for me. I'm not much of a runner. Oh, and Pinkie Pie was doing commentary from her hot air balloon with Spike, but everypony else ran. Oh, except Zecora didn't participate, said she prefers to watch the seasons change in Everfree. Oh, and Granny Smith is too old to run, but-"

"So who won?" Gilda interrupted, not wanting to sit through a litany of those that didn't run.

Fluttershy smiled. "Rainbow Dash and Applejack tied for first place. Big Macintosh came in third, and Twilight and Trixie tied for fourth." She chuckled. "So Rainbow and AJ still haven't settled their little 'Iron Pony' competition. So they decided to run the whole thing again, just the two of them."

Gilda chuckled. She'd heard about that, but hadn't gone. As much fun as it would have been to watch, moving was getting to be a bit awkward lately, and she didn't want everypony making a fuss over her. Fluttershy did that more than enough. "I'm surprised Trixie didn't try to get involved in the 'Iron Pony' match."

"She did try, but AJ and Rainbow immediately said no magic, so she quit in a huff."

Gilda chuckled to herself. "Sounds like Trixie," she said quietly. Another chill breeze struck her, and she shuddered and sneezed.

Fluttershy gasped. "Oh my goodness, it's getting too cold!" She rushed inside.

Gilda grumbled. 'Probably off to get a blanket or something,' she grumbled internally. 'Seriously, if I sit in this nest all winter bundled up in linens, I will never live it down-' Her thought was derailed as Fluttershy flew out of the cottage carrying what looked like a large, black hula hoop with two gems embedded at opposite ends. "What's that?"

"Something Twilight made," Fluttershy said quickly as she positioned the hoop to be just below the bottom of Gilda's nest. She then pressed the orange gem which was directly in front of Gilda. The entire hoop glowed orange and hovered there. Fluttershy then flew around to the other side of the hoop.

Gilda turned to watch, intrigued, as Fluttershy fiddled with the blue gem on the other side. An image of the Pony Oaks Library appeared in the gem briefly as it blinked. The blinking then stopped, and the gem glowed steadily, spreading a blue glow over the hula hoop. Seizing the hoop, Fluttershy lifted it.

Gilda experienced a brief sense of disorientation as the hoop passed over her, and she found the nest in the guest room of the library. "Wha?" she asked in confusion.

"Portable Portals," Spike said calmly as he watched the hoop hovering in midair above Gilda. Fluttershy could be clearly seen through it checking the tree for damages. "Sometimes teleportation isn't a viable way to move someone great distances quickly - like in the case of illness, magical malady, or pregnancy - but a portal spell would work fine. Twilight found a way to bind the portal spell to a hula hoop so it could be activated and used anywhere by anypony." He grinned as Fluttershy dove through the portal into the library, disengaging first the orange gem, followed by the blue one, rendering the device once more a magically inert black hoop. Spike then chuckled. "She got the idea from one of Rainbow Dash's video games."

Gilda stared at the hoop like it was a snake before letting herself shiver. "Warn me next time!" she snapped at Fluttershy, but her heart wasn't really in it. After all, the library was warm.

Fluttershy just smiled. "I'll keep that in mind."

Gilda shook her head. 'What happened to the pegasus who was scared of her own shadow?' she thought to herself. 'She was a lot easier to deal with. ...not nearly as fun, though.' She managed a smile, which quickly turned into a grimace as another spasm rocked her body. "Kr'chka!" she swore in Griffin, pushing herself to her feet as her entire body shook with each spasm.

"Oh my goodness!" Fluttershy said in shock. "Spike, go get Twilight and Trixie. Hurry!"

"On it!" Spike raced out.

Gilda lost track of her surroundings as she focused on maintaining her standing position. Instinct had taken over. The egg was at its most vulnerable point right now, and if she let herself collapse from the pain it would break as it was shoved out of her body. This was why physical training for female griffons was so intense, so they could handle this without flinching.

'Of course, generally a more experienced female will be there WITH the laying mother to help her through it, and the father is supposed to be there to bite.' As her body spasmed again, she felt Fluttershy brace against her torso beneath her, helping her remain standing while keeping the path for the egg clear. 'And Fluttershy takes the role of the more experienced female,' she thought silently as another spasm shook her. 'It's official, my entire world has been flipped on its head.'

All of a sudden, the pain began to subside, and Gilda became a bit more aware of her surroundings. Trixie was at her side, her horn glowing as energy flowed from her into Gilda, the absence of pain spreading from where the magic touched her. Twilight stood next to Trixie, feeding magic into the showmare, helping her stabilize the flow of the spell. Glancing down, Gilda saw her beak was clenched tightly on Spike's tail, who was gritting his teeth to keep from screaming. Gilda relaxed her jaw, letting go of his tail. "Sorry," she gasped out as her body continued to spasm.

"Don't be," Spike said as he rubbed his spade tail. "I'm the one who stuck it in there."

Gilda's estimation of the young dragon rose several notches. Before she could say anything, though, one last large spasm rocked her body as the egg slowly pushed itself out of her body to settle into the nest as gently as possible. Contact with air reacted with the mineral composition of the shell, rapidly hardening the exterior against impact. The ordeal over, Gilda settled herself carefully around the egg, wrapping body and tail around it as she extended one wing over it protectively.

Trixie continued to pour her magic into Gilda's body for a few moments longer before cutting the flow. "That should do it," Trixie said calmly. "No internal damage, so recovery should go quite smoothly."

"That's a relief," Gilda gasped out, catching her breath, relaxing into the nest. Carefully, she eased her wing up and got her first look at her egg.

It was a brilliant bronze with gold highlights, swirled together like liquid sunlight. The gleam of the shell seemed to draw light out of the room before casting it back like a miniature sun.

"It's beautiful," Fluttershy whispered in awe.

"Yes," Gilda said quietly, lost in thought. "He is." Instinct told her the young within this egg was a cub, a male. Gently, she stroked the shell, finding herself cooing to it without thinking about it.

"A male?" Spike asked, interested.

Gilda nodded. "Yeah."

"Have you thought of any names?" Twilight asked quietly.

Gilda paused her motions. "No," she said, confused. As realization hit her, she continued thoughtfully, "I guess I'll have to. I'll be playing yearling master, after all."

"Huh?" the others all asked, confused.

Gilda glanced towards them, then chuckled. "Griffons are raised very different from ponies, is all."

"A harsher development, I take it?" Twilight asked calmly. Gilda nodded. "Could you tell me - I mean, us - about it?"

Gilda smirked at Twilight's eagerness for new knowledge. Glancing out the window, she saw the first snowflakes starting to fall. "Sure, why not? I'm stuck here for a while anyway." She shifted, getting herself comfortable as she once more covered her egg with her wing. "Well, a new hatchling - be they cub or chick-"

"Cub or chick?" Trixie asked in confusion.

Gilda rolled her eyes. "You'd say colt or filly." When Trixie nodded, Gilda continued. "Anyway, the new hatchling is kept in the nest for the entire first year. For safety and easy keeping track of the young, nests are usually built on cliff peaks." Gilda smiled softly as she remembered her own time in the nest, the memories somewhat dulled by time. Then she frowned. "When the child is a year old, their wings are considered strong enough to carry them in flight, and they're tossed out of the nest and over the cliff."

Trixie and Fluttershy gasped in shock. Twilight and Spike, however, listened calmly, Twilight with only a raised eyebrow, Spike with a quill and scroll, taking notes.

Gilda continued calmly. "The parents then leave the nest, and a Yearling Master takes up their post there until sunrise the next day. If the hatchling manages to return to the nest by that time, the Yearling Master gives the hatchling a name and takes them to the rest of the yearlings who have made it. Any yearling who fails to make it within that time is given up for dead, and those who return outside the timeframe are actively hunted down and killed, either by other predators or by low ranked griffons hungry for a meal."

Trixie gagged a little at this statement. Fluttershy whimpered, closing her eyes tight. Spike continued to take dispassionate notes, not even blinking at these statements.

"How long did it take you to get back to the nest?" Twilight asked calmly.

Gilda smirked. "Three hours. The Yearling Master who'd taken position was quite shocked, so I caught him off guard. Since I didn't know him, I attacked him." She held a claw up to her forehead over her right eye. "Got him a good one right here before he had me pinned. Still went for him, trying to draw blood."

"I'm surprised he didn't kill you," Twilight said calmly.

Gilda chuckled. "He'd have been within his rights to do so. As a Yearling Master, if he judged me to be beyond control and not right in the head, he had the authority to kill me right then and there. Instead...he laughed." Gilda smiled, remembering that sound. She never really knew why, but that sound - her Yearling Master's laughter - had always made her feel...calm, and happy. "As per tradition, he then named me. He called me Gilda, an Old Griff word that means 'vicious'."

"Old Griff?" Trixie asked in confusion.

"The Old Tongue of Griffons," Gilda replied calmly. "Nowadays only used for ceremonies, religious or otherwise, and on occasion names."

"Who was he?" Fluttershy asked. "Your Yearling Master?"

Gilda smiled. "Talos Sirek Wardn. In Old Griff...Warrior, Ruthless, Guardian."

"How did he get that name?" Trixie asked, surprised.

Gilda shrugged. "His first name, I don't know. As for the others...well, after five years with the Yearling Master, young Griffons are placed in military training. Their commanding officer gives them their second name based on their performance in training. The third name is earned when a Griffon makes their first kill. Talos made his while tending a Yearling Class. A wyvern came after the class, and he stayed between the yearlings and it. Tore it to pieces with his bare claws and beak. That's how he earned the name of Wardn, Guardian."

"What about you?" Fluttershy asked curiously. "Do you have other names?"

Gilda sighed. "I do, but...as an exile, I'm forbidden from using them."

"Exile?" all four said in shock.

Gilda sighed. "It's a long story I'd rather not get into."

Spike was the first to nod in confirmation. "Alright." He glanced at his notes. "You were just at your yearling class. How does that go?"

Gilda smiled. "Well, the Yearling Master - in my case, Talos - watches over Griffons from the age of one to six. Classes are kept at less than 30, although the number generally decreases over time."

"Why?" Fluttershy asked quietly, shaking a little.

"The class is provided with a certain amount of food based on how many griffons are left alive. The food is tossed in and the young are allowed to feed themselves."

"But..." Trixie began. "But what is to stop some of the young from hoarding most of the food while some starve?"

"Nothing. In fact, it's encouraged." Gilda closed her eyes against certain bloody memories. "There are few absolute laws in the Griffon Kingdoms...but one that hasn't changed since the beginning...Only the Strong Survive."

Spike shuddered a little. "Survival of the Fittest, enforced by law," he said quietly.

Gilda nodded. "Indeed. Those who eat enough to stay strong are encouraged. Those who don't...are left to die."

"But...but what about their parents?" Fluttershy asked, her voice quavering.

"After the young Griffon enters the care of a Yearling Master, they never see the griffons who birthed them again." She shrugged as she ignored the gasps. "I've seen that pony society is quite different, but this is how Griffons have always been. Anyway, between feedings, the Yearling Master pushes the yearlings to exercise, push their wings and bodies to their limits, to grow fast and strong."

Gilda smiled as she remembered her time there. Talos had been her Yearling Master, and he had pushed her harder than the others. She had tried to attack him every time he had come close to her, and he had easily beat her back. Each time, he had laughed and said, "Trying to give me another scar, Gilda?" Oddly enough, the less her personal animosity towards him became, the more vicious and intense her attacks on him became...and the more he laughed.

She turned back to her listeners. "Anyway, after military training - which lasts until age 13 - griffons are sent out into the world to make contact with other species, completely unescorted. I was enrolled in the pegasus Junior Speedsters Flight Camp. Things were quite a bit different there. I couldn't understand why there was so much food so readily available to everyone. So, I fell back on my yearling habits and tried to swipe food from another student. That's how I met Dash."

Twilight snorted. "You tried to swipe Dash's food?"

Gilda nodded and gestured at her right eye. "She landed a sharp one right here. Then we fought, beak and claw, tooth and hoof. The teacher's pulled us off each other and we were both sent to the Principal's office." Gilda smiled at the memory. "The thing was, we were completely even. I didn't know how to handle someone who was my...equal. Equals don't exist in Griffon society. After a fight, there's a winner and a loser. If the fight's close enough, there's just a survivor. While we were sitting outside the office, though, Rainbow told me I was a good fighter, and that we should hang out sometime. Then she asked me if I wanted to be friends."

Four heads - three pony, one dragon - nodded in unison. "That sounds like Rainbow," they said simultaneously.

Gilda smiled. "She taught me what it meant to have a friend. It was...a difficult lesson, but a welcome one. Someone who you don't consider a foe or rival, someone you don't have to be afraid of...someone you consider your equal..." She shook her head. "It doesn't really translate well to Griffon culture...but I wanted it to."

While most of her listener's seemed confused, Twilight went pale. "Gilda...what happened?"

Gilda sighed. "When I returned to the Griffon Kingdom's, I...tried to make friends. It didn't work out well. None of the other griffons were interested, and the perceived weakness led to quite a few males trying to be a bit...too forward with me. One of the other absolute laws of the Griffons is that an unwilling woman is untouchable...but those males didn't want to take no for an answer, so I made them." She sighed. "Then...I met him."

"Him?" Spike asked, confused.

"He said his name was Shard. No special meaning, which isn't unusual. He was just a bit slower than me, just a bit weaker, but...he seemed to enjoy just being with me. I hadn't asked the rest of his name, but I thought that he could be...a friend." Her face darkened. "Then one day, about a month before I came to Ponyville, I went into heat. I didn't want to have an egg yet, and I told him so, but...I learned that he had been holding back a lot, and he wouldn't take no for an answer." Gilda closed her eyes. "And that's where my egg came from."

"WHAT?" That shocked shout came from behind her. Turning, Gilda saw that Rainbow Dash was the one who looked ready to murder, and the others - Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity - looked not far removed. "Where's this Shard? I'm gonna kill him!"

Gilda sighed. "Rainbow, as much as I'd love to see him get his comeuppance, he's a lot stronger than you. Also, I'd rather not be the cause of war between Equestria and the Griffon Kingdoms."

"War?" Twilight asked, shocked.

"It's the rest of the story. After what happened, I tried to take it to the one universal authority for the kingdom, King Bloodeye himself. He's ruled over the Kingdoms for nearly 800 years, and I was taught he was a fair king." Gilda closed her eyes. "I told him what had happened, and demanded justice, and then pointed out Shard in the court...and then I learned who he really was." She shuddered. "Moldov Scardek Bloodtoken, King Bloodeye's son, and the second prince."

"But I thought you said that griffon's had no contact with their parents after their first year," Trixie said, confused.

Gilda sighed. "The royalty is the exception. King Bloodeye acts as Yearling Master and Commanding Officer to his sons. He doesn't care for his daughters though." Gilda shuddered. "King Bloodeye asked his son if there was any truth to my accusation, and he said he'd never seen me before in his life. For leveling such an accusation against a prince without grounds, I was banished."

"Wait, he just took his word over yours?" Pinkie asked, shocked. "But that's...that's...what about that rule you mentioned?"

Gilda sighed. "It doesn't appear to stand anymore. Under Bloodeye, we were once great. But now...now the only rule is Survival of the Fittest. The strongest take what they want, and the rest suffer."

"Why hasn't Celestia done something about this?" Rarity asked, appalled.

"Because the Griffon armed forces is the mightiest military force in this world," Twilight replied. "If it actually came to war, the griffon armies could wipe out nearly 80% of Equestria's population before the Princesses could respond directly. The only reason for the uneasy peace between the countries is Celestia's control over sun and moon. The simple fact is, if it came to war, both sides would be destroyed utterly, and the entire rest of the world would suffer for it." She shrugged. "That's more or less the story of politics between Equestria and each of the other Four Kingdoms."

Gilda nodded. "Yeah. Everyone keeps their noses more or less out of each other’s business."

Everyone sat quietly as the story finished, although a couple of sniffles could be heard. Spike was the first to break the silence. "What about Talos, your Yearling Master? Did you have any contact with him before all this happened?"

Gilda sighed sadly. "I'd meant to look him up when I returned - see if I could give him another scar..." She smiled as that got a chuckle out of everyone, lightening the mood. "But he wasn't a Yearling Master anymore, and I couldn't find out what had happened to him."

'I wonder what he'd think of me,' Gilda thought to herself, not sure why.

---------------------

The griffon ambassador bowed to Celestia as he put away the latest economic negotiations for international commerce. "As always, it is a treat to deal with you, Your Highness," he said sincerely. "You always see straight to the heart of the matter.

Celestia smiled at the ambassador. "Likewise," she said happily. "Dealing with you is quite refreshing, not having to dance around what actually needs to be said."

He chuckled indulgently. "I understand you have had quite a bit on your plate lately, what with your sister's return and all. How is she, by the way?"

"Still recovering," Celestia replied. "She gets stronger each day, but it will still be some time before she can resume her royal duties."

The ambassador smiled. "So she gets to skip the Gala?"

Celestia chuckled. "Lucky of her."

"And what of the Element Bearers?"

Celestia smiled. "You are well informed. Well, they have been doing quite well." She picked up some of her correspondence. "They've recently befriended a political refugee...a griffon, to be exact. She recently acquired Equestrian citizenship in the town of Ponyville."

The ambassador paused. "Really? You don't say." He sat thoughtfully, consciously relaxing his frame as he sat eye level with Celestia.

Celestia smiled. "Yes. Apparently, my student Twilight also intends to help her - as do her friends, the other Bearers - in raising her hatchling, now that the egg is laid."

He was silent for a time. "And the egg...is it healthy? And the mother?"

Celestia raised her eyebrow. "Both mother and egg are healthy and well, with a brilliant glow. It seems odd, Ambassador, that you would show concern over a griffon exile."

The ambassador thoughtfully raised his claw to a crescent moon shaped scar over his right eye. "I suppose I'm just an old softie," he said with a chuckle.

Celestia smiled. "You are a strange one, Ambassador Wardn," Celestia replied.

"Please," he said with a pained expression. "I've asked you to call me Talos."